Opportunities

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

These words from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians are among my favorite in all of scripture.

I think every Christian would agree that faith is a wonderful thing.

And, who among us does not like to have hope.

But Paul reminds us love is even greater than faith or hope.

All three of these things involve relationships.

The first two, faith and hope, mainly involve our relationship with God.

Love, on the other hand, is not so limited.

While it is an integral part of our relationship with God it is also important to our relationship with others.

Jesus reminded us of this.

John 15:12 (NET) - My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you.

The words we speak can demonstrate our love for God and others.

More importantly, our actions also demonstrate our love.

That’s where opportunities come in.

The dictionary defines opportunity as: a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

One kind of opportunity is the kind we create ourselves.

The other is the kind that presents itself to us.

These can be difficult for us to recognize with all the distractions the world offers us.

That is why it is important that we remain open and receptive to God’s leading,

When we do, something remarkable happens.

Our response to these opportunities is a great way to demonstrate our love for God and others as well.

We demonstrate our love for God and others at the same time.

Paul understood this and pointed this out in his letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 6:10 (NET) - So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.

As Easter draws ever nearer, let us remember how God demonstrated his love for us through Christ.

Let us remember that Jesus willingly laid down his life for us because He loves us.

John 15:13 (NET) - No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.

Opportunities still arise.

Let us be open to them.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 5, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, April 12, 2019

A Symbol

Symbols – We encounter them every day.

Some help us get around language barriers.

Male and female symbols above bathroom doors are a good example.

Some help direct us.

Arrows on road signs are a good example.

They warn us about sharp turns ahead or advise us which exit to take.

Some companies have created their own symbols called logos.

They use these to promote their products or services.

One symbol in the world does all these things and more.

It is instantly recognizable when we lay eyes on it.

That symbol is the cross.

It does all the things mentioned before.

If we see a cross on a church, we instantly know that the people who gather there follow Christ.

We know this even if they speak a different language than we do,

The cross can help direct us.

When we find ourselves lost in our daily struggles, the cross reminds us to turn to Jesus.

The cross is even a bit like a logo.

The sight of it reminds us of all the things Jesus did and continues to do for us.

In that respect, it is unlike any other logo we might see a company use.

It also reminds us of His rejection, suffering and death.

No company in the world would use a symbol for its logo if it reminded people of that.

But, the cross also reminds us of some wonderful things as well.

The cross reminds us of the unfailing love that Jesus has for us.

After all, He willingly laid down His life for us on the cross.

John 15:13 (NET) - No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.

The cross is also a symbol of hope.

It reminds us that death is not the end.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NET) - For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures

Yes, the cross is the most powerful of all symbols.

When we gaze upon it, we may feel one or many emotions.

We might feel love or joy or hope… or we might even feel uncomfortable.

Some might even look upon it with hatred.

The one thing we can never do with the cross… is ignore 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.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 15, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, March 22, 2019