One Master

Matthew 6:24 (NET) - No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

These words have been on my mind a great deal lately.

They clearly indicate that each of us must make a choice between serving God or serving money.

But it’s the first part of the verse that I find myself reflecting on.

The part about trying to serve two masters and loving only one of them.

I think if you were to ask 100 people what my purpose is in this world, you would likely get 100 different answers.

It does not matter if you ask people at the corporate level or even people I work with in person daily.

It does not even matter if you ask people with whom I go to church.

I think everyone asked would define my role in a different way.

Their definition would likely revolve around what I specifically do for them.

I think this applies to most people.

Does that mean we should select only one to love?

Quite the contrary.

It means loving and helping everyone God has placed in our lives.

By doing that, we are ultimately serving God and God remains our one and only master.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 17, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, August 24, 2018

Prayer Revisited

I recently had the privilege of leading two adult classes on the topic of prayer.

Prior to leading those classes I posted a blog on my other site entitled Teach Us to Pray.

There I cited the examples Jesus gave us on the proper approach to God in prayer as well as the model He gave us which we now lovingly refer to as The Lord's Prayer.

In this post I thought would expand on the topic of prayer based not only on the curriculum but also from feedback I received from those in attendance.

To begin with, I still maintain my position that prayer is much more than "praying big" to God whose power is limitless.

Prayer remains one of the best means we have of strengthening our relationship with God and not merely a means by which we receive things we request.

Please do not misunderstand me.

I think it is a wonderful thing to pray for others especially when they are ill, coping with loss or dealing with difficult situations.

If we are faced with similar issues, then we should take them to God in prayer as the old hymn reminds us.

But we also need to exercise good judgment when it comes to praying for ourselves.

By that I mean that we really need to understand what is motivating us to pray for ourselves.

When it come to praying for things we really need to exercise caution.

Let's take praying to God for a new church building or for the expansion of an existing one as an example.

On the surface, this seems benign but even in this case we need to examine our motives.

If our motivation is to edify the body and we need more room to accommodate more people then I think we are on good footing.

If our motivation is merely to have a nicer and more beautiful structure then perhaps we should take time to think things over before approaching God.

Granted, I am painting with an extremely broad brush, but this is merely for the sake of example.

That said, let us examine the results of prayer.

For example let us say that there are two people and each has a close family member who is extremely ill.

Let us also say that each prayed for the healing of his family member.

Let us also assume that the first family member was healed but the second died.

Can we conclude that the second person did not pray as hard as the first, or that the right prayer was not said?

Can we conclude that the first person had more faith than the second?

The answer to all these questions is "No".

God has a plan and understands it completely, whereas we cannot.

Though each of the two prayers was answered in a different way, the relationships between each of those praying and God were strengthened.

And the prayers should not end there.

The second should pray for comfort, peace and understanding.

The first should pray with gratitude.

Thus the relationships between those praying and God continues to be strengthened.

It must be stated that too often it is the prayer of gratitude that is overlooked.

These are but a few thoughts on prayer, so I invite you to read Hebrews chapter 11 in its entirety to put things in a proper perspective.

Bear in mind the last two verses.

Hebrews 11:39-40 (NIV) - These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

This brings up a final point.

Some prayers are not answered right away.

Some might not even be answered in our lifetime.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The  Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 20, 2014.
I’ll be back here on Friday, June 27, 2014

Always There

The other day I ran into a problem with a company I have been doing business with for some time.

I knew that I would need to talk to someone in their customer service department in order to clear this up.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number posted on their website.

What I got was a recording.

“Thank you for calling the customer service department,” the recording began.

It continued, “Our business hours are from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern time Monday thru Friday.”

I called from a different time zone.

I looked at my watch and it was 5:01 in the Eastern time zone and I had missed getting a resolution to my problem by a single minute.

It would be necessary for me to postpone my call for one more day.

As I hung up the phone, I remember thinking how glad I was that God does not operate on such a schedule.

I can talk to Him any time at all.

God listens to prayer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There is no waiting as God can listen to many prayers at the same time.

I think it is that aspect of prayer that bothers unbelievers the most.

After all, how can God listen to many prayers "at the same time"?

If you think about, that concept is not really that difficult to comprehend.

"At the same time" simply applies to the human side of the equation - us!

God is not confined to the limits of time.

God is outside of time.

God always existed; He exists right now; He will continue to exist forever in the future.

God can, and does, listen to every prayer that is lifted up to Him.

Philippians 4:6 (NET) - Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

We can lift up our prayers to Him at any time of the day or night.

How He chooses to answer those prayers is up to Him.

His will, not ours, will prevail.



Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The  Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 21, 2014.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 28, 2014.

In the Midst of Tragedy

Recently, two tragic events occurred within days of each other.

The first happened near the finish line of the Boston Marathon when two bombs detonated within moments of each other.

The second happened in the Texas community of West when a fertilizer plant exploded.

The first occurred in a major metropolitan area; the second in a small town.

In both, lives were lost.

In both, many were severely injured.

The first was a deliberate act by two individuals who subscribed to an ideology based on hate.

The second was a terrible accident.

In the days that followed I planned to use this devotional to address a specific question that was on the minds of many.

During that time, I also read some things that caused me a tremendous amount of personal anguish and distress.

After much reflection and prayer, I decided to address both beginning with the one that caused me pain.

Shortly after the bombings in Boston I read in the news of a church in America that believed this event was a direct punishment from God.

A short time later I learned that members of this church felt the same way about the tragedy in the town of West.

I refuse to name that church (or the issue that drives them) as I have concluded they seem to enjoy such publicity.

This church not only drew an erroneous conclusion, they compounded their error by planning to engage in protests at the funerals of the fallen.

It was my personal opinion that their position was flawed, their language was profane and their viewpoint could have been considered just as extreme as those of the bombers themselves.

Adding to my sadness were some of the comments news readers posted in response.

One reader stated that this was why he did not go to church.

Another said that this was why he did not believe in God.

As Christians, our mission is to be a beacon drawing others to Christ rather than a force that drives them away.

While there were numerous passages of scripture I could have cited in response, I opted instead to summarize my viewpoint in a comment of my own that I posted in several forums.

I share that comment with you now.

"The God I worship would have none to perish, in fact. He sent His only Son to save sinners. Even sinners like me. That same Son teaches me to love my neighbor, especially when my neighbor refuses to love me in return. Events like this are not a punishment from a vengeful God, rather, they are a symptom of a fallen world. Scripture must be accepted and understood as a whole. You cannot simply carve it apart and accept the parts you agree with and discard the rest."

This brings me to the initial question that I thought many struggled with in the aftermath of these unfortunate events.

Where exactly was God during these tragedies?

We are taught as children that God is everywhere.

He really is.

When the bombs went off in Boston. God was in the first responders who ran toward the explosions rather than away from them.

God was in the three policemen who stood in front of the fallen runner to shield him from another potential blast.

God was in strangers who assisted those they did not know as they applied makeshift tourniquets to torn limbs.

When the fertilizer plant exploded in the town of West, God was in the dispatcher who stayed calm and did her job even though her friends who were already fighting the fire had likely perished in the blast.

God was in the students who were taking a class in becoming emergency medical technicians as they ran in to assist the injured.

God was in the throngs of people from surrounding communities who came in to help. Many were turned away because too many wanted to help.

God was in the people who collected and delivered relief supplies. So many items were donated that this became a problem in and of itself.

These are but a few examples of God’s involvement.

God was also involved much earlier.

God was also with an eight year old boy when he wrote the words "Stop hurting people" well before he was killed in the blast in Boston.

We live in a fallen world.

As a result, bad things happen.

God does not punish us with these events, neither does he abandon us when they occur.

God Is in control even when the world seems chaotic to us.

God has a plan and He is in complete control.

His plan is not one of punishment.

His plan is one of hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NET) - ‘For I know what I have planned for you,’ says the LORD. ‘I have plans to prosper you, not harm you. I plan to give you a future filled with hope.’


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 3, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, May 10, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.

The Master Designer

Genesis 1:1 (NET) - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Since I was a small child, I have always had a fascination with clocks, watches, calendars, sundials and anything else that has the capacity to track the passage of time.

Of these, I have a particular fondness for watches.

I appreciate the mechanics involved, the interplay of the various gears, the gear ratios, the springs, the tiny screws that hold the assembly together and so on.

In fact, had I been born with better eyesight, my fascination could possibly have turned into a different career.

As it stands, I have a career I enjoy and timepieces have turned into a hobby.

What has this all this to do with faith? For me, the answer is a great many things.

In the early nineteenth century, William Paley made a theological argument for the existence of God in what has come to be known as the watchmaker analogy.

In this analogy, Paley stated that if you found a watch, you would have to conclude that it had been designed because it is "complex". In other words, for the watch to exist, there has to be a watch maker.

It then follows that because the universe is s complex, it too must have a designer, namely God.

When I look at the complexity of the universe, I agree with Paley’s analogy.

Isaiah 45:12 (NET) - I made the earth, I created the people who live on it. It was me - my hands stretched out the sky, I give orders to all the heavenly lights.

There are some additional lessons in faith I have picked up from watches along the way.

For example, the first thing people usually notice about a watch is its face.

These faces range from black to white and include every color in between.

Each color is beautiful.

The same is true of human faces as well, as all are made in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26 (NET) - Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth."

Another feature easily noticed has also been given a human identity.

The hands.

Like their human counterparts, the simplest watches have two hands. One to track the hours and one to track the minutes.

Those that track other things require more hands to do so.

Some have a third hand to track the seconds.

Others require even more hands to track the month, the day, the date and so on.

Others have built in stop watches and require yet more hands.

Interestingly, each of these extra features have come to be known as complications.

I find this to be a remarkable coincidence because often our lives become "complicated" and when they do, a helping "hand" from a friend is always welcome.

Proverbs 3:27 (NET) - Do no withhold good from those who need it, when you have the ability to help.

The outward appearance of the watch is not the only thing that is important to those who appreciate them.

We also care about the what is inside as well, in particular, the movement.

What is inside says a tremendous amount about the watch.

Likewise, what is inside a person says a lot about the person.

1 Samuel 16:7 (NET) - But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do, People look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Finally, sometimes watches stop running or stop running well.

When that happens, they do not operate at the level at which they were designed to operate.

Sometimes this happens as the result of a fall.

At that point, a watchmaker or a highly skilled watch repairman must be consulted in order to get the watch operating in the way in which it was designed to operate.

It is very similar with people.

We do not operate at the level at which we were designed to operate.

This happened as the result of another and more serious kind of Fall.



God, the master designer, can always be counted on to fix even the most broken of us.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 17, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, February 24, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.