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

 

Celebrating Dependence Day

Psalm 5:11 (KJV)
But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them; let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.

In America, we recently celebrated the Fourth of July. That is what it has come to be known. It's official name is Independence Day.

The celebration of independence is by no means strictly an American phenomenon.

Many nations and cultures celebrate their own days of independence.

Independence lends itself quite easily to celebration.

Even as children, we long for the day when we will be old enough to strike out on our own and experience independence.

Life, though, is full of irony, and we soon find out that being independent is not at all what we imagined it would be like. We also discover that with freedom comes the freedom to make mistakes. We then learn that we are the ones to have deal with their consequences.

With independence comes responsibility and we quickly find out that the word "responsibility" has the word "responsible" buried within it.

Yet, in spite of these responsibilities, independence still retains a positive connotation.

In contrast, on the other end of the spectrum from "independence" lies "dependence".

Dependence carries with it a negative connotation.

For example, one can have a chemical dependency.

When it comes to matters of a spiritual nature, dependency is actually a good thing, provided one is totally dependent on God.

The Psalm's provide excellent examples for us.

Psalm 18: 2 - The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Psalm 56:3-4 - What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee, In God I will praise His Word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

The New Testament provides us with good examples as well.

For example, in the ninth chapter of the Book of Luke, Jesus sends his disciples into the world to preach the Kingdom. He gives them power over all demons and the power to cure diseases.
Yet He tells them to take nothing for the journey. According to Luke 9:3 (NET)...

He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey - no staff, no bag, no money, and do not take an extra tunic."

The ability to cure diseases and conquer demons will be the easy part. Jesus Himself grants them these powers.

For their basic daily needs like food and shelter from the night chill they will be totally dependent on God and must have faith that He will provide them.

Having faith in God means depending on Him.

We find that difficult because we have been conditioned by the world to be self reliant and independent.

We can un-learn this conditioning and learn to trust God completely.

Once we do, we can then celebrate our Dependence Day.

Blessings,
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeet.byethost3.com on Friday, July 16, 2010.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I'll be back here on Friday, July 23, 2010.