How We Are Known

On Sunday morning it was my privilege to lead our Senior Assembly.

This gathering takes place prior to Sunday School.

After leading this assembly, I began gathering my materials.

A small child entered the Sanctuary.

I asked her what she was doing there.

She told me that her class needed my help.

It turned out that there was a technical issue with their DVD player.

I told her I would be there just as soon as possible.

She then said something that took me by surprise.

She reminded me that I was their “tech guy”.

Although I found this quite amusing at the time, I suppressed the urge to laugh.

Even at her young age, this child understood one of my roles.

She also understood I could be relied upon in technical matters.

I corrected the problem and went on to teach my class.

That’s the way life is,

People tend to know us based on what we do.

My class thinks of me as a teacher.

My employers think of me as an employee.

My coworkers, like this child, think of me as their tech guy, and so on.

But God sees us differently.

Because of Jesus, He sees us all as His children,

John 1:12 (NET) - But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children

Moreover, He sees us as wanted, adopted children,

Romans 8:15 (NET) - For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”

This relationship is underscored later.

Romans 8:29 (NET) - because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

People may identify us by what we do.

But God does not view us that way.

Thanks to Jesus, we have a special relationship with God.

In the meantime, we still need to use our gifts to help one another out.

John Amos Comenius once said that the mind was a great gift from God and to use it properly was an act of worship.

Luke 12:48b (NET) - From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 7, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 14, 2020

Simplicity

As human beings, we tend to overcomplicate things.

This is even true when it comes to Christianity.

We might occasionally think that it is complicated.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

God does not set out to confuse us.

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NET) - for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace.

What about the commandments and rules laid out for us in the Old Testament?

Surely it must be impossible to remember and keep them all.

Jesus tried to simplify things for us.

An expert in religious law once asked Jesus which commandment was the greatest.

Jesus gave him a two-fold answer.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET) - Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Jesus understood that in keeping these two commandments we would be keeping them all.

Despite this, we still tend to overcomplicate things.

I once went to listen to a man with a doctorate in theology.

During his presentation, he spoke of two of the most common questions people asked him.

The first was: “How many people have you saved?”

His reply was that he has saved none because only Jesus can do that.

The second was: “When were you saved?”

He responded that it was on a Friday afternoon about 2,000 years ago.

People look for complicated answers when the simplest will suffice.

Perhaps that it why some of us find it difficult to share our faith with others.

In truth, all we need do is tell others about Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:2 (NET) - For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

One of the most successful missionary movements took this to heart.

They took their message of Jesus to all parts of the world.

They succeeded where others before them had failed because their message was both simple and sincere.

Can salvation be as simple?

It is according to scripture.

Romans 10:13 (NET) - For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

You do not have to have a doctorate in theology to be saved.

You do not have to have one to tell others about Jesus.

C. S. Lewis put it this way: “One of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.”

Faith is a journey, not a destination.

It is a journey that begins with a single step and continues for as long as we live.

We will meet countless people along the way who may feel as we once did.

They just need someone to simplify things.

Someone to point them in the right direction.

Someone willing to point them toward Jesus.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, January 17, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 24, 2020