Expressing Proper Gratitude

 

Job 9:8-9 (NIV) - He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

In this chapter, Job responds to his friend Bildad the Shuhite.

Job recognizes God’s role as the creator of the universe.

I find it fascinating that Job mentions the names of the constellations.

God set these forth in the night sky from the beginning.

God created them before man gave them names and used them for navigation, time keeping and more.

Paul, in his first letter to Corinth, discusses food offered to idols.

He writes about those who worship many gods.

Paul then reminds his readers whom they worship and why.

1 Corinthians 8:6 (NRSVue) - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

I find it interesting that Paul uses the words “from whom” and “for whom” in relation to God.

Paul then uses “through whom” in relation to Christ.

God has indeed created a wonderful universe.

God also created life and, by extension, us.

God also created all things that sustain physical life,

This was an expression of God’s love for us, and we should be grateful.

But God also expressed his love for us “through” Christ.

For it is through Christ that we are saved.

This was the ultimate expression of God’s love for us,

For this, we should be extremely grateful.

We should also take the time to say, “Thank you!”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, October 4, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, October 11, 2024

The Right Choices

 

Psalm 51:10 (NRSVue) - Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Psalm 51 is a prayer for cleansing and pardon.

The psalmist asks for mercy.

He also asks to be cleansed of sin.

He even admits to being a sinner from the moment of his conception.

Then comes a crucial moment.

The psalmist asks to be made a new creation.

When Paul writes to Timothy, he warns of false teachers.

Paul warns, these teachers “promote speculations rather than the divine training.”

Such teaching is not derived from faith.

1 Timothy 1:5 (NRSVue) - But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

Where is this leading?

In the case of one seeking cleansing and pardon, a definite change is required.

Doing the right thing is not enough in and of itself.

As for Paul’s words, we live in an age of information.

One does not have to go far to see or hear a sermon.

We can partake of these on television or through our cell phones.

For those who still read, one need only go to a bookstore or shop online.

There, we will see countless books whose authors smile at us from their covers.

Many of these authors proclaim to teach the truth.

But it is left for us to discern just how true their teaching is.

Is the message designed solely to encourage?

How much of this message is speculation as opposed to divine training?

Is the message one of ease, comfort, or prosperity?

Or does the message require a sincere change of heart?

Fortunately, we do not have to navigate this terrain alone.

If we find ourselves wanting to do the right thing, we should ask ourselves why?

Is this desire to do the right thing born in the moment?

Or is God trying to bring about a definite change of heart within us?

If the latter is the case, we can trust God to complete the change He began.

God will even provide us with teachers whose instruction is born from faith and not speculation.

The journey is a long and sometimes difficult one.

In fact, it can be painful at times.

But from beginning to end, God guides us on this journey of change.

He helps us make the right choices for the right reasons.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, September 20, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, September 27, 2024