Love Conquers Fear

 

Proverbs 10:12 (NET) - Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

Division has been on my mind a great deal.

We’ve seen division in politics.

We’ve seen division between races.

Even the pandemic brings about its own unique divisions.

Saturday, I witnessed two people almost come to blows over the pandemic.

One chose to wear a mask, the other did not.

It occurred to me that this division was born out of fear.

One feared the pandemic.

The other feared a loss of freedom.

When you get down to it, almost every form of division and hatred is born out of fear.

This is not the way mankind was meant to live.

The words of Jesus bear this out.

John 4:13-35 (NET) - Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.”

We are meant to love one another.

We  are to love those who disagree with us politically.

We are to love those whose skin happens to be a different color than our own.

Even in the middle of a global pandemic, we must continue to love one another.

Love conquers hate.

That is because love conquers the fears that are at the root of hatred.

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

Faith is a wonderful thing to have.

Who among us doesn’t want hope?

Yet love is greater than either faith or hope.

Remember, love conquers all fears.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 11, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, September 18, 2020

 

With Kindness

 

Proverbs 11:17 (NET) - A kind person benefits himself, but a cruel person brings himself trouble.

The temperature here has been over 100 degrees for many days.

A very old cat recently found a relatively cool spot near my door behind a bush.

One day, I opened the door to check my mail and I startled the poor old feline.

It stood up, arched its back and hissed at me in a very menacing way.

To be honest, I was more than a bit startled myself.

But rather than chase the animal away, I spoke to it in a soothing voice.

This ritual repeated itself day after day.

I would open the door and, as expected, the cat would bare its teeth and hiss at me.

I continued speaking to it in a soothing voice.

Days later, my small act of kindness was rewarded.

Now, the old cat looks at me and just goes back to sleep.

Scripture reminds us to be kind… to others.

Ephesians 4:31-32 (NET) - You must put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and slanderous talk—indeed all malice. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

We are also to be kind to those less fortunate than ourselves,

Proverbs 14:31 (NET) - The one who oppresses the poor has insulted his Creator, but whoever honors him shows favor to the needy.

Christ stressed this point as well.

Matthew 25:40 (NET) - And the king will answer them, ‘I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.’

If you think about it, it really costs nothing to be kind.

The more you practice kindness, the easier it becomes.

Even being kind to the smallest of God’s creation becomes part of our character.

The world in which we now live needs kindness, perhaps now more than ever.

Many are frightened by violence and the pandemic.

Many have lost loved ones.

So, be kind.

The seeds we choose to plant today will bear fruit tomorrow.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 21, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, August 28, 2020