Blinders

Philippians 4:13 (NET) - with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

I was looking at some old photographs of horses.

Some were farm horses that pulled plows.

Others were used to pull wagons or buggies in town.

Still others were bred for racing.

The one thing that they had in common was that many of them had blinders on.

I could not help but think about why.

No matter how fast or slow they travelled or how hard they worked, blinders were standard equipment.

Trainers put blinders on race horses encouraging them to stay focused on the race in front of them.

Blinders help keep work horses focused on the task at hand.

Blinders also keep horses from being distracted by their surroundings or frightened by things like traffic.

In Paul’s letter, he speaks of striving “toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

If that is the case, wouldn’t we find a set of blinders helpful ourselves?

Not necessarily.

Some blinders can be misleading.

Advertisers, for example, often try to tell us what we should want.

This can keep us from focusing on what we really need.

People we know can fit us with blinders.

They may try to get us to do or say things we know we should avoid.

Sometimes we even create blinders for ourselves.

These can keep us from seeing those in need around us.

Blinders may work well for horses, but we can certainly do without them.

Winning our race means focusing on “the upward call of God in Jesus Christ”.

It also means helping those in need around us and loving them.

We don’t need blinders to help us win our race.

2 Timothy 4:7 (NET) - I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 15, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, September 22, 2017

Don’t Let Being a Sheep Get Your Goat

Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-33
But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left.

My friend Joan once began a devotional in which she pointed out that being compared with sheep isn’t necessarily a compliment based on her experience with sheep. She did point out that sheep are in need of a shepherd.

As she gave this devotional, I thought about this passage of scripture of scripture from the book of Matthew. That also put me in mind of an experience I had regarding a goat.

Several years ago, my boss threw a party at his ranch near Dimebox. He took some of us on the grand tour of his property. It was while on this tour that I came across a beautiful group of horses accompanied by a not so beautiful goat.

While this group of animals grazed I had to ask, “So, what’s up with the goat?” My boss responded, “He must think that he’s a horse because he follows them around all day long.”

As if to prove the point, the horses moved a little deeper into the pasture to graze and sure enough… the goat moved right along with them.

I think that’s the way it is a lot of people, some Christians included.

They will go through this world mistakenly thinking they are sheep. It is only when the sheep and goats are separated will they find out they are goats.

Then, it will be too late. Imagine how devastating that would be!

If you ask people if they believe they are going to heaven, more often than not you will get an answer beginning with “I think so”, or “I hope so.”

Follow that up with another question… “WHY?”

You will often get answers beginning with “I.”
“I try to do the right things.”
“I try to be a good person.”
“I don’t hate anyone.”

Paul is very clear on this subject in Romans 5:8

But God commandeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Goats can take a huge step toward becoming sheep when their answer to “WHY?” begins with the word “He.”
“He died for my sins.”
“He paid the price I could not pay.”
“He loved me that much.”

On the surface, being compared to sheep may not seem very complimentary…

…but it sure beats being a goat!

God Bless You,
The Other Brother Jim