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Dear SCC & Friends, …One sows, and another reaps. ~John 4:27 Reflection #152                  The principle of the harvest is applicable to all of life. Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences. ~Robert Louis Stevenson~ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. ~Gal. 6:7 I have a paperweight on my desk that says, “Never, never, never give up.” ~Winston Churchill~ He also said, Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue…

Dear SCC & Friends, But no one can tame the tongue…. ~James 3:8 Reflection #151                  Words do matter. The tongue has no bones but is strong enough to break the heart. ~Anon.~ I must admit I like good words that edify and strengthen versus those that tear down and bring unnecessary pain. I once turned down an executive promotion for what I considered a very good reason, but “the boss” didn’t like it. He lit into me and said I’d be nothing but a “first-class ditch…

Dear SCC & Friends, Cease striving and know that I am God… ~Psalm 46:10 Reflection #150                  A diamond is just a lump of coal that did well under pressure. We are all a work in progress and process. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. ~Philip. 1:6 When I started out as a pastor, I sometimes got frustrated that I wasn’t doing enough or could be doing more… pray…

Dear SCC & Friends, …I am the way… ~John 14:6 Reflection #149                  Stanley Jones tells of a missionary who got lost in an African jungle—nothing around him but bush and a few cleared places. He found a native hut and asked the native if he could lead him out. The native said he could. “All right,” said the missionary, “show me the way.” The native said, “Walk.” So, they walked and hacked their way through unmarked jungle for more than an hour. The…

Dear SCC & Friends, What is man… ~Psalm 8:4 Reflection #148                  We just celebrated New Year’s… a pivotal time recognizing another 600-million-mile orbit around the Sun. Beyond that, our Earth rotates at over 1,000 miles an hour, which facilitates night and day, the seasons…rain, snow, heat, cold… And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. ~Col. 1:17 Winter prepares Spring, Spring brings Summer and Fall ushers in another Winter… In particular, a Winter season can be long, hard and cold, but…

Dear SCC & Friends, …holding to the mystery of the faith… ~1 Timothy 3:9 Reflection #108                It takes considerable knowledge to know the extent of one’s ignorance. The more we know the less we know; and what we know falls short of what we could know. Every era in human history has had noise and distraction, but our generation has taken it to another level. The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. He will not allow quietness. ~Elisabeth Eliot~ In…

Dear SCC & Friends, …for we cannot stop speaking ~Acts 4:20 Reflection #107                Our testimony has power because it is a true witness of God’s faithfulness in and through our lives. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony… ~Rev. 12:11a Your personal testimony is impacting because it’s authentic and not simply an abstract theory or something read in a book. It’s your life interacting with God’s grace, forgiveness and love. Some years ago,…

Dear SCC & Friends, He who walks with wise men will be wise… ~Proverbs 13:20 Reflection #106                Is there any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a fire? ~C.S. Lewis~ By God’s grace and goodness many of us have been blessed with good friends who are also wise. A person with wisdom is not necessarily a genius but knows how to apply knowledge with understanding. Friendships come in a variety of packages. Some of my friends have been very…

Dear SCC & Friends, Fight the good fight… ~1 Timothy 6:12 Reflection #105                One thing we can know for sure is that God is in control, and nothing escapes His eye. The Lord has a different way of keeping time. …do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ~2 Pet. 3:8 We serve a God who knows the end from the beginning and is…

Dear SCC & Friends, …do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. ~Hebrews 10:35 Reflection #104                One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. It can be hard to throw things away. I have a favorite T-shirt that has been thrown away at least a half-dozen times but to no avail… I still have it and wear it on special occasions. I bought the T-shirt in Minnesota at our son’s wedding, nearly 20 years ago. It’s faded, looks like Swiss cheese,…

Dear SCC & Friends, …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… ~Romans 3:23 Reflection #103                The only Christian doctrine that needs no empirical evidence is original sin. ~G.K. Chesterton~ Let’s be honest with the fact that we are all sinners… I’ve actually been pretty good at it; that is sinning. Romans 3:23 was the text for the first sermon I ever gave. It impacted me then and impacts me now… All have sinned, meaning every single human being. Our…

Dear SCC & Friends, Let love be sincere… ~Romans 12:9 Reflection #102                A sincere person is free from pretense or deceit. When our son, David, was a young boy, he had a favorite professional wrestler that he often mimicked. His name was “Brother Love”. His pre-match ritual included nearing his opponent and speaking in a low and gravelly voice with obvious insincerity, “I really luuuuuv you, but that doesn’t mean I liiiiike you!” Mimicking Brother Love became a family joke, yet the…