Condition Is Not Everything

There are some fairly interesting television programs on the stations I watch most often.

Many have to do with artifacts of historical note.

One of the things these programs often focus on is value.

When it comes to the value of artifacts, their condition plays a key role.

Experts have even come up with standards for grading their condition.

The better the condition, the more the artifact is worth.

When it comes to determining the value of individuals, people tend to take a similar approach.

So much so that we generally allow our first impressions to determine how or even if we will associate with others.

In Luke 15, Jesus speaks of a man with two sons.

The younger son asks his father for his portion of the estate.

This son then leaves home and proceeds to squander his share of the wealth.

Once spent, a famine strikes the land and the son finds himself in need.

He then takes a job in the land feeding another man's pigs.

Soon, he comes to his senses and decides to return to his father and beg him for a job.

His only desire is to be accepted as a hire hand.

Luke 15:21 (NET) – Then his son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to to be called your son.”

His father reacted in a way that must have taken him by surprise.

He had his servants bring the best robe to clothe him.

He put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

The fattened calf was slaughtered and a celebration took place.

The son returned to his father, humbled himself before him and confessed the error of his ways and found his condition to be much improved.

While the conditions of artifacts cannot improve. God can dramatically improve the spiritual condition of anyone that genuinely comes to Him.

Jesus said so.

Luke 15:7 (NET) – I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine people who have no need to repent.

Humans tend to focus on present condition.

God sees the potential.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 7, 2014.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, March 14, 2014.

On Encouragement

There are many things I love about the adult Sunday School class I teach.

Collectively we are called 'The Encouragers'.

I love that name because we not only encourage each other, we also try to encourage others.

In teaching this class, I challenge my students with material that some would consider to be of an advanced nature.

It has been my experience that I have to provide a good deal of encouragement at the beginning of each study.

As time goes by and the students get further into the study, the level of encouragement I need to supply diminishes while their enthusiasm increases.

As we near the end of the study, their grasp of the material becomes more solid.

Their questions and comments get deeper and more challenging thus proving to me that they are grasping the material.

This in return encourages me to continue teaching in this manner.

We are to have childlike faith but we are also to grow and mature as Christians.

As we reach out to those that do not know Christ, we are often asked difficult and challenging questions.

One of my goals is to better equip the students to respond to such questions.

My students are also 'Encouragers' in their own right, but I need to make it clear at the outset that I have nothing to do with this.

One of my students began a ministry making prayer quilts for those in poor health.

Another of my students (who is also an excellent teacher) is quite involved in our community wide Bible study.

Another of my students challenges us to dig deeper financially and give more to our missions outreach.

In each of these cases, and others, these individuals felt the leading of the Holy Spirit and responded to it.

They not only encourage others through these ministries, they encourage us to take part in them.

When we think of what encouraging means today, we typically think of it in terms of being uplifting which is certainly an aspect of it.

Yet I think we all too easily lose sight of its truer meaning which can be found in the root word 'courage'.

Encouragement is helping someone find the courage to do or say what they would neither have done nor said on their own.

The Bible tells us of a man whose gift was encouragement.

Acts 4:36 (NET) – So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and placed it at the apostles' feet.

 

This was one thing that Joseph did but I suspect their were others.

Whenever I read this passage I am forced to stop and ponder on how wonderful it would be to be so encouraging that others would call you by a different name that means “son of encouragement”.

Encouragement is a wonderful thing.

It feels wonderful when others encourage us.

It feels even better when we, with the help of the Holy Spirit, encourage others.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 21, 2014.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 28, 2014.