Updates (Page 119)

Dear SCC & Friends, And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. ~Luke 2:52 Update #59      We live in a time of incessant cultural noise. It is an era of information overload in which we may be well informed but ill-equipped to handle the issues of life. Wisdom is the acquisition of knowledge with applied understanding. Scripture warns us that knowledge “puffs up” but never questions the authenticity and value of wisdom. The pursuit of wisdom…

Dear SCC & Friends, I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. ~Psalm 32:8 Update #58      Several years ago, I was in Colorado Springs to attend a church service. As we drove to church, I couldn’t help but see the unique and unusual. I commented, “Here we are, two Irish-Catholics who became pastors, driving up Interstate 25 to get off at Baptist Road, to go…

Dear SCC & Friends, While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. ~Genesis 9:22 Update #57      I love the smell of fresh-cut grass. I went to high school and college in Virginia and relished the change of seasons. After a grey, cold and snowy winter, I couldn’t wait for spring. The cherry blossoms at the D.C. Tidal Basin would come to full bloom…the reappearance of robins,…

Dear SCC & Friends, But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. ~Romans 8:11 Update #56      But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they…

Dear SCC & Friends, My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. ~Psalm 121:2-4 Update #55 How many times has the Lord saved our lives? How many times has he delivered us from danger or “the snare of the trapper”? My uncomplicated answer is too many to count…My youth had a “Huckleberry Finn”…

March 17, 2021 Dear SCC & Friends, …And in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. ~Psalm 139:16 Update #54 Easter is around the corner, and I’ve been reminiscing about my journey and our journey in Christ. So often I’ve said, “I found the Lord, or I received the Lord on July 1, 1972.” The truth is He found me and received me. That was a…

Dear SCC & Friends, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ~ Lamentations 3:22-23 Update #53 How would you define steadfast love? Does resolute, incessant and unwavering come to mind? Steadfast love is the opposite of being temperamental, moody or fickle. The Lord’s love is an eternal constant, unflappable regardless of time or circumstance. New mercies (compassions) are a manifestation of His love and will…

Dear SCC & Friends, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 3:14 Update #52 Milestones give us a sense of progress. How far we’ve come…Fifty-two COVID Wednesdays ago I started these weekly updates, and hardly anything has been the same since. Normal may be defined as conforming to a standard, usual, typical or expected. At the onset of the virus, I figured a month or two and then back to…

Dear SCC & Friends, And He shall be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure. ~Isaiah 33:6 Update #51 “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live in such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us. ~ JRR TolkienTime is…

Dear SCC & Friends, The wicked (fearful) flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion.~Proverbs 28:1 Update #50 We are capable of abandoning our post, neglecting our duty and flee out of fear. I believe that to greater or lesser degrees, all of us have had to deal with fear. Fear is a God-given emotion that has positive and negative effects depending on the situation. My dad was a WWII hero who was wounded…

Dear SCC & Friends, Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? ~Proverbs 20:6 Update #49 It’s been a number of years since we remodeled our kitchen and family room. At the time, we searched out several contractors and finally settled on one referred to us by a good friend. The contractor and his workers were very good. My dilemma was his estimate was so much higher than other contractors, and I had to ask…

Dear SCC & Friends, If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?~Jeremiah 12:5 Update #48      Did we sign up to compete with horses? Did we plan to fight it out in the thicket of Jordan? “Come to Jesus, and He’ll take care of all your problems” or “Why is…