Constants and Changes - Part 2

Those of you who follow my regular offerings here may notice this one is in a different format. This is intentional because of all that is going on around us. This piece is a continuation of my offering last week which can be accessed via the link at the bottom of the page,

COVID-19 continues to change our routines and even more changes are in store. As we try our best to cope, even more questions arise.

8. What is the Church? For many of us, our local churches play a significant role in our lives. By necessity, temporary suspensions of worship services including Sunday school, Bible studies, and outreaches are now a necessity. I will honestly say that this has impacted my life more than any other change. But there are two things we can immediately learn from this. First, the church is NOT the building. Second, the church is NOT simply a small group of people who gather on Sunday because they worship in the same way. The church is the entire body of believers worldwide with Christ as its head. The church is very much alive, and it is my prayer that it may blossom as never before when the current threat of COVID-19 subsides.

Ephesians 2:19-20 (NET) - So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

9. Has the Mission of the Church Changed? No. The mission of the church has not changed. The Great Commission remains unaltered. The world was in desperate need of hope before COVID-19 became a part of our vocabulary. That need is even more desperate now.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NET) - Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

10. Can We Pursue the Great Commission Right Now? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is a resounding “YES!” Congregations and individuals are meeting this challenge by spreading the word in new and creative ways. They are becoming more technologically adept. Pastors are delivering messages online. Individuals are turning to things like social media to share their faith with others. God is there to help us in these endeavors if we but turn to Him for guidance.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (NET) - Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.

11. What is Important? The importance of prayer cannot be overstated. This was true before COVID-19. It is true now. It will continue to be so as long as we dwell upon God’s earth.

Ephesians 6:18 (NET) - With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints.

12. Can Any Good Come of This? YES! This answer should come as no surprise. But perhaps a reminder would be in order.

Romans 8:28 (NET) - And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

13. Is How We LIVE Important? The way we choose to live can speak volumes to those who do not know Christ or need to know Him better. A student of mine once stated: “We may be the closest thing to a Bible a person might encounter”. This is especially true as people choose to live in fear. Our love for God and for our fellow man should be plainly obvious to everyone right now. Especially those whose lives are governed by fear and suspicion. While others “look out for number one”, we should look up to God and out for our fellow man.

Matthew 5: 14-16 (NET) -  You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

14. Socially Distant? One of the consequences of COVID-19 is that we adopt “Social Distancing” to help reduce the spread of the virus. While we must (for now) adopt this for the good of all, my greatest concern is that it may have unintended consequences. Broadly speaking, we have already become socially distant from those less fortunate. Moreover, we have all witnessed how people immediately turn to their phones and devices rather than engage with those around them. Once the threat of COVID-19 subsides it might become even more tempting for us to remain socially distant. My prayer is that this period of isolation will make us hunger for more social interaction rather than less. Living in isolation is not what we were designed for.

John 10:10 (NET) - The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

Our lives have changed in some radical ways. Certainly the most in living memory. This will pass! Things will get better! But until they do, let us remember how Jesus wants us to LIVE!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 3, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, April 10, 2020

Looking Forward

I recently watched a rather interesting television program.

It was about a man who found himself moving backward in time.

When the man woke up each morning, he discovered that he had moved backward another day in time.

After several such mornings, he learned that he would be able to prevent a personal tragedy.

He also learned that by doing so, he would reveal a crime he had committed earlier.

He then realized that he would have to pay for that crime once he put things right.

Granted, this is fiction.

But it caused me to recall a conversation with a friend whom I love like a brother.

We were discussing faith and ministries and how personally rewarding they were.

I was relatively new to one such ministry at the time.

My friend posed the question: “Don’t you wish you had started sooner?”

The obvious answer is of course, yes.

But unlike the man in the story, I cannot go back in time and do that.

The journey toward Easter reminds me I never have to look back.

None of us do.

Here is what the Old Testament prophet Isaiah said…

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NET) - “Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events. Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the wilderness and paths in the wastelands.

I like the way Paul put it in his letter to the Philippians…

Philippians 3:13-14 (NET) - Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead, with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

But no one put it better than Jesus.

Luke 9:62 (NET) - Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

There is no need for us to dwell on our past.

There is no need to be haunted by missed opportunities.

Not when we have so glorious a future thanks to Jesus.

Even this Holiest of seasons reminds of this.

True, we think of Jesus and all He endured for us.

But the journey did not end at a cross.

Not when there is a vacated tomb beyond it.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 20, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, March 27, 2020

Choose Not to Remember

I like questions.

In most cases they remind me how much I do not know

As such they force me to dig deeper into God’s word.

I recently had such a question posed to me.

Does God forgive and forget?

After considering the question carefully, I had to turn this into two questions.

Does God forgive?

Scripture makes it very plain that God does indeed forgive.

Daniel 9:9 (NET) - Yet the Lord our God is compassionate and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

There are other examples from the Old Testament.

Micah 7:18 (NET) - Who is a God like you? Who forgives sin and pardons the rebellion of those who remain among his people? Who does not stay angry forever, but delights in showing loyal love?

I think my favorite examples come from the Psalmist and Isaiah.

Psalm 103:12 (NET) - As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.

Isaiah 1:18 (NET) - Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.

Forgiveness is possible through His Son.

Ephesians 1:7-8 (NET) - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.

All of which is well and good.

But, what about the second part of the question?

Does God forget?

God is omniscient.

God is all knowing.

To me, forgetting is a human weakness.

We can forget everything from appointments to birthdays and anniversaries.

We even forget the promises we make.

That is why I have a difficult time saying that God could forget.

Fortunately, Scripture provides the better alternative.

Isaiah 43:25 (NET) - I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake; your sins I do not remember.

It is the best of everything.

God forgives and chooses not to remember our sins anymore.

He chooses never to hold our past against us.

Shouldn’t we try to do the same with others.

Colossians 3:13 (NET) - bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

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

Don't Pack Everything Away

Things begin to change the day after Christmas.

Some people begin the process of taking down the decorations and lights.

Some cities begin recycling Christmas trees.

Within a week or two one would be hard pressed to find any sign that Christmas had occurred at all.

Because of my work schedule, I went to the store today.

Christmas items were being sold at a fraction of their retail value prior to Christmas.

By Friday, these items will be replaced with items for Valentine’s Day.

Broadly speaking even attitudes quickly sour.

People grow impatient with returns and standing in line.

It is ironic.

We invest time and energy preparing for Christmas.

We might have even grown more cheerful, giving and patient.

Then, beginning on the 26^th, we quickly begin abandoning the reminders of the season.

These will be boxed up and relegated to attics and storerooms.

Once there, they will quickly be forgotten until the next Christmas season approaches.

I suppose that is human nature.

But we dare not do this with Christ.

His influence should be evident in our lives throughout the year.

We are not perfect, but through Him we are being perfected.

Philippians 1:6 (NET) - For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is my prayer for the New Year that those we encounter continue to see His influence in us.

1 John 2:6 (NET) - The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, January 3, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 10, 2020

Where to Turn

With Thanksgiving on our doorstep, I wanted to write about gratitude.

I will, but in a slightly more roundabout way.

Recently, I had to travel to someone’s home and retrieve a piece of equipment.

I was given the address and a phone number.

This person lived in a remote area.

It was so remote that even technology like map websites and GPS were only helpful to a point.

I traveled out to this area and turned onto the road on which this person lived.

The first thing I noticed were that the house numbers made little sense.

I could have traveled up and down this road for hours and perhaps not found this individual.

I pulled off the road and did the only thing I could and telephoned this person.

He understood my confusion and told me what to look for as I completed the final leg of my journey.

With these instructions I found the residence and retrieved the device.

The journey back was much easier as I simply reversed my course until I reached the highway.

Faith is a little like that.

Sometimes we waver in our faith.

For example, we might find it hard to do certain things like love or forgive.

Knowing the right thing to do and failing to do it is a bit like being lost.

When this happens, the sooner we get our bearings straight the better.

The great news is we do not have to go about it alone

It is often as easy as making a telephone call.

One way is to turn to scripture for guidance.

Hebrews 4:12 (NET) - For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

We can also turn to our Christian family and friends.

Proverbs 27:17 (NET) - As iron sharpens iron, so a person sharpens his friend.

These methods and others can point us back to the right path when we have lost our way.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: “Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”

We all find ourselves on the wrong path from time to time.

Fortunately, God provides us many ways to help us to find our way back to the right path.

That is truly something for which to give thanks!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 6, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 13, 2019

All the Above

It has been an eventful week.

It has been full of people and events.

Some events were good.

Some were not so good.

A friend’s father passed away.

Another friend was due to be released from the hospital.

Some friends were able to help me out.

Some were not due to illness.

Some people asked for my help and were understanding.

Some demanded my help and were anything but understanding.

Some gave me clear instructions.

Others gave me instructions that weren’t so clear.

Someone broke into our facility and stole a piece of equipment,

This piece of equipment was used by our children.

I ordered materials for my class.

Some were delivered as expected,

Some got held up and I spent time on the phone sorting things out,

As you can see, some things went my way.

Some things did not go my way.

Some people were helpful and understanding.

Some people were not.

One got good medical news.

One did not.

One even took something used by children.

With everything tallied up, questions arise.

Who among these people needs my love and understanding?

Who among these people should I pray for?

I’ll admit this is a bit of a trick question, but I did give away the answer in the title.

All the people listed above I should love and try to understand.

All of them I should pray for.

This includes those that were difficult.

It even includes the one who stole from us.

Colossians 3:12-13 (NET) - Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 1, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, November 8, 2019