What Do You Think?

Like many, I was saddened by the news of the recent passing of Ravi Zacharias.

There were many things I liked about listening to him.

I liked his voice.

I liked his message.

Most of all, I liked the fact that he always made me think.

That was really the heart of his mission: helping thinkers believe and helping believers think.

Not bad for someone who experienced an unsuccessful suicide attempt in his youth.

While the 17-year-old Zacharias recovered in the hospital, he turned to scripture.

There he found the risen Jesus and his life was never the same.

Neither were the countless lives of those touched by his ministry.

This put me in mind of another man who started out not believing in God.

As a young man, C. S. Lewis had given up on God.

God had certainly not given up on him.

God used his close literary friends to open both his heart and his mind.

His works of fiction like The Chronicles of Narnia and his works of non-fiction like Mere Christianity accomplished the same purpose.

Thinkers were helped to believe; believers were helped to think.

These men simply begin a list of people with a similar purpose.

It’s a funny thing.

From our youth we are told time and again that Jesus wants our hearts,

While true, it goes beyond that.

Jesus wants all of us.

That means He wants our minds as well.

He even said that loving God requires the mind and soul as well as the heart.

Matthew 22:37 (NET) - Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

John Amos Comenius, whom I also admire, put it this way: “The mind is a great gift from God and to use it properly can be nothing less than an act of worship.”

The pandemic has made us miss out on a lot of things.

I think I miss teaching my Sunday school class most of all.

I always encouraged discussion concerning the materials we studied.

Those discussions helped develop the way we think, not just the way we feel.

In today’s world, we need to remember it’s important to ask, “What do you think?”

Zacharias and the others are gone.

I pray God will continue to raise up men who encourage us to use our minds as well as our hearts.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 5, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 12, 2020

A Window on the World

Self isolation and working from home are still in effect.

I recently rearranged things in my home office so I could sit closer to the window.

There is a great deal to be said for natural light.

Spiritually speaking, this move also provided some additional benefits.

The sounds that come through the window bring their own rewards.

For instance, there is a songbird that frequently visits a tree just outside my window.

The melody it provides puts me in mind of scripture.

Matthew 6:26 (NET) - Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?

In times like these. it is good to be reminded that we are valued.

This tiny winged miracle is certainly not the only reminder I receive from God.

As we are in the season of Spring, the sound of the gusting wind also serves as a reminder.

John 3:7-8 (NET) - Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Then, there is the occasional sound of children.

My neighbor has two little girls.

Their mother has apologized to me more than once for the noise they sometimes make.

Such apologies are never necessary.

The sound of children’s laughter and play reminds me that they are happy and healthy.

It also reminds me of my Savior’s words and His love for children.

Matthew 19:14 (NET) - But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Children are special to the Lord; therefore, they are special to me.

Yes, I am glad that I rearranged things.

The sounds I am exposed to are excellent reminders in this new state of normal.

Even the natural light plays its role.

While it is both lovely and inviting, its beauty pales in comparison to the light of Jesus.

John 8:12 (NET) - Then Jesus spoke out again, “I am the light of the world! The one who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

We continue to live and work in new ways.

Things will improve as time goes by.

Yet the reminders of the Lord’s great love continue to surround us.

We just need to remain open to them.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 15, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, May 22, 2020