The Original Black Friday

I always look forward to Thanksgiving Day.

Not only is it a great time for personal reflection, it also means spending time with family and friends.

It is also a rather ironic time.

One day, we gather around the table and share with each other reasons why we are grateful.

The next day, many of us will hit the stores the moment the doors open to shop for material thongs.

In fact, the day after Thanksgiving Day has turned into the busiest shopping day of the year.

It even has earned its own name – Black Friday.

The shopping frenzy continues into Saturday which has earned its own title, that of Small Business Saturday.

Even the following Monday has claimed its own title – Cyber Monday.

Human beings are a funny lot.

One day we say we are grateful, the next days are about continued consuming of more and more and more.

As for me, I plan to avoid all the stores this weekend.

I even stocked up on necessities the week before so as not to get caught up in the madness.

What is most ironic is that the very best gift we can receive cannot be found in any store anywhere.

It was a gift first given about 2,000 years ago.

It was given on a Friday as well.

In some respects, on the blackest Friday of them all.

It was the day Jesus gave His all for all.

Mark 15:33 (NET) - Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.

His gift that day is still available to us today.

All we need to do is accept it.

Romans 6:23 (NET) - For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That is certainly something for which to give thanks,

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 7, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, December 14, 2018

Healing Division

Well, the midterm elections are over.

I plan not to turn this into a one-sided political piece.

But there are some things worth considering.

There are some things that definitely concern me right now.

To say that the nation is extremely divided is an understatement.

Elections have ceased to be about objectively selecting the candidates we feel are best qualified.

Elections have degraded into another component of the “us versus them” mentality that we currently find ourselves in.

The media is not helping matters in that they categorize candidates, regions and even voters as either red or blue,

One of the other things that bothers me are the vast amounts of money that pour into the process.

One candidate amassed several million dollars to finance his campaign.

Despite his huge financing, his campaign failed to get him into office.

I try not to think of the millions of dollars more spent by others and the better uses society has for then.

So, now the elections are over and what exactly will we have?

We will have a blue House (a Democratic majority).

We will have a red Senate (a Republican majority).

How much in the way of actual progress can possibly emerge from this?

I still think about a divided nation in which each side is willing to demonize the other simply because they disagree.

Most importantly, I think about how Christ told us to love each other.

Yes, even those with whom we disagree politically.

It is okay if we disagree.

It is not okay for us to become disagreeable people in the process.

In two more years, we will find ourselves mired down in yet another election cycle.

In the meantime, there are some things we need to remember.

First, we must place our faith in the Lord; not politicians.

Second, the Lord is the source of real hope; not political parties.

Finally, we must find a way to love one another no matter how we decide to cast our votes.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NET) - And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 16, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, November 23, 2018