Where can we read about the power of Jesus?
Where can we learn of His humble beginning on Earth?
Where can we read of how He was despised and rejected by people?
Where can we learn about His suffering and how we, as people, misunderstood that this was necessary?
Where can we learn that He was taking the punishment for us; because of our sinful nature?
Where can we learn that He was forced to endure so much because we strayed?
Where can we read that He bore all this in silence?
Where can we be informed that He went through a sham of a trial?
Where can we be told that He was buried in a rich man’s tomb?
Where can we be informed that He enjoys everlasting life since restitution is paid?
Where can read that many will be acquitted of their sins because of His sacrifice?
Where can we be told that victory is His because He willingly submitted to death for our sake?
If you answered the Gospels, you would be correct.
Yet there is another place where you can find the answer to every single one of my questions.
That place is Isaiah Chapter 53.
What makes this truly remarkable is that these words were recorded centuries before the events actually took place.
What is more they took place exactly the way they were recorded.
That is what makes this prophecy.
Jesus fulfilled that prophecy down to the smallest detail.
As we approach Easter, I invite you to read Isaiah 53.
Reflect on how Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.
Once you have done so, take time to thank Him.
After all, He did this for us.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 6, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, April 13, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Reflection on Forgiveness
As the season of Lent continues my thoughts inevitably turn to the Passion.
Christ endured great humiliation, tremendous pain and even physical death at the hands of people.
Years ago, a fellow student, with whom I attended Sunday School, asked me whom I thought was responsible for the death of Jesus.
I asked him to expand on his question.
He did so by asking me if I thought it was Judas, the teachers of the law, the soldiers, or someone else.
I asked him if he wanted to know what I really thought.
He said that he did.
I said that I thought I was, and that I thought that he was too.
Indeed every human being, alive or dead, was responsible for all that Jesus had to endure.
I say this because every human being is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 (NET) - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Jesus lived a perfect life and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
John 1:29 (NET) - On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Yet, in doing so, He endured much.
He was abandoned by His followers.
False witnesses told lies about him.
He was mocked.
He was beaten.
He was spit upon.
He was forced to wear a crown of thorns.
He was forced to carry His cross.
He was nailed to it.
Yes, Jesus endured much.
Yet when He looked upon his tormentors, He responded in a way that only He could.
He forgave them.
Moreover, He asked the Father to forgive them.
Luke 23:34 (ASV) - And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what that they do. And parting His garments among them, they cast lots.
Jesus forgave them.
He forgave me.
He forgave my fellow student.
He forgave everyone.
As I continue my journey through Lent, I am reminded that as a Christian, I am called upon to forgive as well.
If Jesus could forgive so very much, shouldn't I be able to forgive so very little by comparison?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 6, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 30, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.
Christ endured great humiliation, tremendous pain and even physical death at the hands of people.
Years ago, a fellow student, with whom I attended Sunday School, asked me whom I thought was responsible for the death of Jesus.
I asked him to expand on his question.
He did so by asking me if I thought it was Judas, the teachers of the law, the soldiers, or someone else.
I asked him if he wanted to know what I really thought.
He said that he did.
I said that I thought I was, and that I thought that he was too.
Indeed every human being, alive or dead, was responsible for all that Jesus had to endure.
I say this because every human being is a sinner.
Romans 3:23 (NET) - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Jesus lived a perfect life and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
John 1:29 (NET) - On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
Yet, in doing so, He endured much.
He was abandoned by His followers.
False witnesses told lies about him.
He was mocked.
He was beaten.
He was spit upon.
He was forced to wear a crown of thorns.
He was forced to carry His cross.
He was nailed to it.
Yes, Jesus endured much.
Yet when He looked upon his tormentors, He responded in a way that only He could.
He forgave them.
Moreover, He asked the Father to forgive them.
Luke 23:34 (ASV) - And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what that they do. And parting His garments among them, they cast lots.
Jesus forgave them.
He forgave me.
He forgave my fellow student.
He forgave everyone.
As I continue my journey through Lent, I am reminded that as a Christian, I am called upon to forgive as well.
If Jesus could forgive so very much, shouldn't I be able to forgive so very little by comparison?
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 6, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 30, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Look Again
Exodus 3:4-5 (NET) - When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." God said, "Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
What an incredible way God revealed His presence to Moses.
Imagine God speaking audibly to you from a burning bush and then warning you not to come any closer.
Such a display would certainly make a lasting impression.
God also chose an impressive display to make himself known to his chosen people.
Exodus 19:17-18 (NET) - Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the LORD descended on it in fire, and its smoke rose up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
Imagine that powerful display as your introduction to God.
That would also leave quite a memorable impression.
Does God always make His presence known in displays that overwhelm the senses?
Not always.
Elijah, who was hiding in a cave, experienced God’s presence in a completely different way.
1 Kings 19:11 (NET) - The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Look the LORD is ready to pass by," A very powerful wind went before the LORD, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
Imagine yourself in Elijah’s place.
You experience not just wind but a wind powerful enough to dig into the very mountain itself.
Then come the landslides where perhaps tons of material mere feet away suddenly break loose and accelerate down the mountain and disappear from view.
After that there is an earthquake that completely shakes what remains of the mountain.
Almost surprisingly, God was not present in any of these.
1 Kings 19:12 (NET) - After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.
Elijah then experienced fire on top of all the other events he witnessed.
Yet, God was not in the fire either.
There was one more experience in store for Elijah after the fire.
It was nothing at all like anything he had experienced thus far.
By comparison, it may have seemed like almost nothing.
It was a barely audible soft whisper.
But, there was something remarkable about it.
God was in that whisper.
1 Kings 19:13 (NET) - When Elijah heard it. He covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"
God can make His presence known to us in ways that to us are powerful.
God can also make His presence known to us in ways that are quite subtle by comparison.
Even in something as subtle as a whisper.
Do you sense God at work in your life?
If not, consider changing your perspective.
Think about the subtle ways God may be at work in your life.
You might be surprised by what you see.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 16, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 23, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.
What an incredible way God revealed His presence to Moses.
Imagine God speaking audibly to you from a burning bush and then warning you not to come any closer.
Such a display would certainly make a lasting impression.
God also chose an impressive display to make himself known to his chosen people.
Exodus 19:17-18 (NET) - Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their place at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely covered with smoke because the LORD descended on it in fire, and its smoke rose up like the smoke of a great furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently.
Imagine that powerful display as your introduction to God.
That would also leave quite a memorable impression.
Does God always make His presence known in displays that overwhelm the senses?
Not always.
Elijah, who was hiding in a cave, experienced God’s presence in a completely different way.
1 Kings 19:11 (NET) - The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Look the LORD is ready to pass by," A very powerful wind went before the LORD, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
Imagine yourself in Elijah’s place.
You experience not just wind but a wind powerful enough to dig into the very mountain itself.
Then come the landslides where perhaps tons of material mere feet away suddenly break loose and accelerate down the mountain and disappear from view.
After that there is an earthquake that completely shakes what remains of the mountain.
Almost surprisingly, God was not present in any of these.
1 Kings 19:12 (NET) - After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.
Elijah then experienced fire on top of all the other events he witnessed.
Yet, God was not in the fire either.
There was one more experience in store for Elijah after the fire.
It was nothing at all like anything he had experienced thus far.
By comparison, it may have seemed like almost nothing.
It was a barely audible soft whisper.
But, there was something remarkable about it.
God was in that whisper.
1 Kings 19:13 (NET) - When Elijah heard it. He covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. All of a sudden a voice asked him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"
God can make His presence known to us in ways that to us are powerful.
God can also make His presence known to us in ways that are quite subtle by comparison.
Even in something as subtle as a whisper.
Do you sense God at work in your life?
If not, consider changing your perspective.
Think about the subtle ways God may be at work in your life.
You might be surprised by what you see.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 16, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 23, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.
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