Updates (Page 118)

Dear SCC & Friends, It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call righteous men but sinners to repentance. ~Luke 5:31-32 Update #72      “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.” ~Leo Tolstoy The Greek word for “change of mind” is metanoia, which literally means repentance. Repent is a good word that is too often vilified or misunderstood. Jesus used it many times……

Dear SCC & Friends, Ah Lord God! Behold, Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee… ~Jeremiah 32:17 Update #71      I’m better than I used to be, but I generally don’t like to read directions. I don’t know why…call it a personality flaw or a “missing link” in my makeup. It’s ironic because I have given much of my life to studying the Bible,…

Dear SCC & Friends, Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. ~Jeremiah 17:7 Update #70    “Never make predictions, especially about the future.” ~Yogi Berra Nevertheless, talking about projections, forecasts and opinions on the future remain big business. Modern culture literally bombards us with the latest information about what to do to protect our future…political pundits, financial experts, spiritual gurus and the like are vying for our trust. It’s an amazing irony, because when they…

Dear SCC & Friends, The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. ~Psalm 33:11 Update #69    Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” This July 4th marks our country’s 245th birthday. The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men who pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. They affirmed self-evident truths that we are endowed with unalienable rights by our Creator, not government…an endowment of…

Dear SCC & Friends, Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained… ~Proverbs 29:18 Update #68      A “Reading Specialist” once told me the difference between sight and vision. He said every normal eye has sight, but vision is sight with understanding. A reading disability occurs when a person can see the letters but is limited in their ability to track or understand what they’re seeing. I couldn’t help but think of Scripture… Having eyes, do you not see? And having…

Dear SCC & Friends, Honor your father and mother that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. ~Ephesians 6:2-4 Update #67      I can’t tell how grateful I am for my Dad. I greatly respected him, and he was truly a man of steel and velvet. My father was raised in Valentine,…

Dear SCC & Friends, But if we hope for what we do not see, with patience we wait eagerly for it. ~Romans 8:25 Update #66      Patience is a most underrated virtue. It often is falsely accused of being synonymous with procrastination or lack of action. One of the disadvantages of patience is it takes such a long time. The old cliché comes to mind, “I want patience and I want it now!” More than just the ability to wait, it is…

Dear SCC & Friends, For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it…~Phil. 1:6 Update #64      When I was a new Christian, I went with a friend to help an elderly widow whose house was dilapidated and in desperate need of care. We brought rakes and shovels along with paint and plaster and a sincere desire to be a blessing. I felt really good about myself being so…

May 19, 2021 Dear SCC & Friends, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life… ~Proverbs 23:6 Update #63      Southern California is a beautiful place to live…beaches, mountains, lakes, parks and almost always great weather. As the pandemic abates it’s been refreshing to see our grandchildren enjoying the outdoors once again…Little League baseball, girls’ softball, soccer and more. Some of their games are close, but often times the scores are quite lopsided. An interesting twist…

Dear SCC & Friends, …pray without ceasing… ~1 Thess. 5:17 Update #62      Prayer gives us spiritual oxygen to accomplish God’s purposes in our lives. Pray without ceasing is impossible unless we see prayer as more than words. There is no record of His disciples asking Him to teach them how to heal or deliver. They did ask Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus modeled prayer… And in the early morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and…

Dear SCC & Friends, She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. ~Prov.31:26 Update #61      My mother was an amazing person of talent and grit. An Irish-Catholic reared by a single parent in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Her mom died when she was four years old. She grew up in the midst of The Great Depression and the onset of WWII. Her adult life would make a great novel… crossing the Atlantic in 1946 with…

Dear SCC & Friends, And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. Gal. 6:9 Update #60      We reap what we sow. This is a principle for all people regardless of their faith or circumstance. It can be an uncomfortable thought unless we approve of what we sow and how we sow. Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows…