Where to Turn

 

Sunday is Mother’s Day.

My mother passed away about two decades ago.

So, it is only natural that I think about her.

When I think of her, I also remember a passage of scripture she loved.

Matthew 11:28 (NRSVue) - “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

She loved this verse because her life was difficult.

She knew that she could not carry her burdens alone.

So, she brought her burdens to the Lord.

The psalmist understood this.

Psalm 68:19a (NRSVue) - Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up

Throughout her life, my mother counted on the Lord to bear her up,

He did just that.

And now, in His presence, He grants her rest.

The Lord lifts us up when we are weary.

Through His love, He makes our burdens lighter.

My mother trusted in His grace, His mercy, and His love.

That is what gave her hope.

She knew she could not rely on her own strength,

She also knew that she could rely on the Lord.

Another passage she treasured bears this out.

Psalm 121:1-2 (NRSVue) - I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

My mother has gone to be with the Lord.

But the example she set lives on in me.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, May 15, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, May 22, 2026

For Our Benefit

 

Genesis 24 relates the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah.

Abraham was old.

He made a servant take an oath to find Isaac a wife,

The servant found one in Rebekah.

But when it was time to leave, Rebekah’s family wanted her to stay for several days.

The servant sent by Abraham refused.

Genesis 24:56 (NRSVue) - But he said to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master.”

Rebekah’s family did not want her to leave.

But it was to their advantage that she did.

In John 16, Jesus discusses the role of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus reminds his followers that He must leave.

He explains that it is to their advantage that He depart.

Only in this way could they receive the Holy Spirit.

John 16:7 (NRSVue) - Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.

The Holy Spirit remains the most mysterious aspect of the Triune God.

God, The Father, creates.

Jesus, The Son, redeems.

The Holy Spirit works to make us holy.

It is hard for us to fully understand and appreciate the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

But Jesus promised the presence of the Holy Spirit is necessary for us.

May we set aside the noise and distractions in our lives.

In doing so, we are enabled to tune into the Spirit’s guidance,

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, May 1, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, May 8, 2026

What Tomorrow Brings

 

Psalm 84 is about the joy of worship in the Temple.

The psalmist opens by remarking on its beauty.

Psalm 84:1 (NRSVue) - How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

In John 14, Jesus tells His followers that He is the way to the Father.

Jesus reminds them of the Father’s house.

It is a house that has room for many.

Christ reminded His followers that He would prepare a place for them.

John 14:2 (NRSVue) - In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

That means He has prepared a place for us as well.

Days ago, we celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord.

In His Resurrection we have hope!

We know that death has been conquered!

2 Timothy 1:10 (NRSVue) - but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

We need not live in fear.

We know what tomorrow brings.

We know a dwelling place awaits us.

And we know it will be beautiful.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, April 3, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, April 10, 2026

Rise!

 

Psalm 9 is about God’s justice and power.

In verse 19, the psalmist calls upon the Lord to prevail against mortal men,

Psalm 9:19a (NRSVue) - Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;

In Mark 9, Jesus foretells His death and resurrection.

Mark 9:31 (NRSVue) - for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.”

The day would come for His crucifixion,

Upon His death, undoubtedly there were some mortals who thought they prevailed.

They certainly thought death prevailed.

But the resurrection of Jesus proved them wrong on both counts.

The miracle of the resurrection proved that neither mortals nor even death itself can prevail.

For our part, we should be forever grateful for His sacrifice.

It was a sacrifice not made in vain.

For on the third day, the Lord did rise!

And our response of gratitude should be rooted in faith, hope, and love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NRSVue) - And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, April 3, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, April 10, 2026

Oh, Brother!

 

Luke 15 contains three parables.

One is about the lost sheep.

The second is about the lost coin.

The third is about the lost son.

The three parables teach about the lost.

They also teach about repentance and the joy in recovering the lost.

But there is one part of the parable of the lost son that always makes me pause and think.

It concerns the son that did not leave and his reaction to his brother’s return.

Luke 15:28-30 (NRSVue) - Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!

This brother was angry.

He felt it necessary to remind his father of his service.

He accused his brother of wasting his inheritance on prostitutes.

Scripture states his spending was reckless but says nothing about prostitutes.

This was an assumption.

He also accuses his father of favoritism.

He basically asks, “What have you done for me lately.”

In this parable. Jesus is comparing the son that stayed home to the Pharisees.

Yet how many of us can identify with the son who stayed home?

How many of us can relate to “What have you done for me lately?”

This part of the parable reminds me to be grateful and not vindictive.

In short, I should not expect to be rewarded now for doing what I am supposed to do.

Matthew 6:2-4 (NRSVue) - “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, March 20, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, March 27, 2026

Between God and Humanity

 

1 Chronicles 29:11 (NET) - O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You, Lord, have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.

Here, David praised the Lord and recognized His sovereignty.

Although David wished to build the Lord’s Temple, God chose Solomon for the task.

The people gave generously for this purpose.

But David continued by acknowledging that all wealth belongs to God.

As such, God is deserving of both thanks and praise.

1 Chronicles 29:12-13 (NET) - You are the source of wealth and honor; you rule over all. You possess strength and might to magnify and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your majestic name!

Like those of long ago, we too should give God our thanks and praise.

And our thanks should be deeper and our praise even greater.

That is because God has given us something even more valuable than wealth.

Despite our flaws and our sin, God gave us His Son.

A Son who does for us that which we cannot do for ourselves.

Christ makes us right with God.

Paul discusses this in his first letter to Timothy.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NET) - For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time.

Christ came to dwell among us. 

He also paid the ultimate price for us, and it is that sacrifice that makes us right with God.

Moreover, Christ continues to intercede for us, 

We should be grateful and praise God for creating us and the world in which we live.

But in His infinite wisdom, God also gave us His Son to make us right with Him.

He did this because He knew we could not accomplish this on our own.

He did this because He loves us.

We, in turn, should share this love with others.

They, like us, are creations of God.

And Christ intercedes for them as well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 3, 2022.

I will be back here on Friday, June 10, 2022

By Our Side

Zephaniah 3:17 (NET) - The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.”

The prophet wrote of the corruption of God’s people.

He also wrote of God’s purification.

Moreover, he promised that God would be in the midst of His people.

This is something easily forgotten especially when things are not going well.

A similar thing happened to the followers of Jesus.

One night, they went fishing.

Although they stayed out all night, they did not catch a single fish.

They returned to shore empty handed.

Although they did not realize it, someone was already there.

John 21:3-4 (NET) - Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they replied. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already very early morning, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus knew they had caught no fish.

So, He instructed them to cast their nets in a different direction.

When they did, they caught more fish than they could handle.

In times of difficulty, it is easy to forget that the Lord is nearby.

In fact, He is right by our side.

He can help us overcome our fears,

He can help us overcome any feelings of doubt.

Most importantly, He can help us move forward once again.

We can move forward, confident that He is at our side.

Many of us have just celebrated Thanksgiving.

But Scripture reminds us we should be thankful in all things.

That means being thankful regardless of our present circumstances.

Perhaps we might find it easier to be thankful by first remembering His nearness.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 3, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, December 10, 2021

He Is Waiting

 

Psalm 51:17 (NET) - The sacrifice God desires is a humble spirit—O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.

God is both just and forgiving.

But the Psalmist reminds us that God requires two things from us first.

One of these is humility.

But what exactly is humility?

In basic terms it means recognizing that the world does not revolve around us.

Our individual importance is less than what we would care to admit.

We are certainly not more important than God.

Nor are we more important than those God places in our path.

The other thing God requires for forgiveness is repentance.

God does not just want to hear the words.

God wants to feel how deeply we regret our transgression.

Jesus explains this in his parable about the prodigal son.

In it, a young man demands his share of the inheritance before his father dies.

He then squanders his new riches.

Reduced to poverty, he takes a job feeding another man’s pigs.

He finds himself desiring the food on which the pigs were feeding.

The son returns home and begs his father’s forgiveness.

Luke 15:21 (NET) - Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

How beautifully Jesus illustrates both humility and repentance in these words.

In the parable, the father then showers his son with affection.

Jesus reminds us that God is waiting for us.

He is waiting for us to approach in humility and repentance.

God desires to both welcome us back and shower His affection and mercy upon us.

God is omniscient, so He already knows our misdeeds.

He just wants us to admit them to Him.

Perhaps He wants us to admit them to ourselves in the process.

We stumble daily.

Even in our broken state, He is waiting to welcome us back.

He is waiting to show us both His compassion and His forgiveness.

For this we should be grateful.

We should also be willing to forgive others as well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 19, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, November 26, 2021

With Open Arms

 

Isaiah 30:18 (NET) - For this reason the Lord is ready to show you mercy; he sits on his throne, ready to have compassion on you. Indeed, the Lord is a just God; all who wait for him in faith will be blessed 

The heading from this translation’s text is a great reminder.

It states that the Lord will not abandon his people.

This verse reminds us that the Lord is ready and waiting.

He is ready and waiting to show his mercy and compassion.

But what is God waiting for?

In truth, He is waiting for us.

He is waiting for us to return to Him.

Perhaps the best example of this is in a parable of Jesus.

Specifically, the parable of the Prodigal Son.

In this parable, a young man demands his share of the inheritance before his father dies.

Having received the money, the son traveled to a distant land.

He quickly spent his inheritance and then found himself in the middle of a famine.

He then took a job feeding another man’s pigs.

In desperation, he found himself longing for the food he was feeding the pigs.

The son then decided to return home and throw himself upon his father’s mercy.

He felt unworthy to be called his father’s son.

He would be happy just to be employed as a hired hand.

But Jesus tells us that something wonderful happened.

Luke 15:20 (NET) - So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.

The man’s father had been waiting for him to return.

He rushed out to greet his son and showered him with affection.

Jesus paints us a perfect picture of God waiting for us.

Waiting for us to return to Him.

God wishes to welcome us back and shower us with His affection and mercy.

Such is His grace.

So, what are we waiting for?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 5, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, November 12, 2021

Complete Forgiveness

Jeremiah 31:34b (NET) - “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

In this section of scripture, God makes a covenant with his people.

God finishes with words of forgiveness.

But God states that He will do more than forgive our sin.

He promises never to hold them against us again.

That is the mark of true and lasting forgiveness,

Paul understood this.

This is evident in Acts 10 when he visits Cornelius.

This man tells Paul about a remarkable experience he had.

As Cornelius spoke, Paul realized that God shows no favoritism.

This also prompted Paul to echo the reality of complete forgiveness.

Acts 10:43 (NET) - About him all the prophets testify, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Everyone has a past.

But everyone can begin anew.

This starts when we are forgiven through Jesus Christ.

It continues because God chooses to no longer hold our sins against us.

But what is expected of us then?

What does God want from us?

Where will this hope lead us?

Only God can reveal that to us.

But shouldn’t we be forgiving of others along the way?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 15, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, October 22, 2021

Constant and Continual

 

Psalm 44:8 (NET) - In God we boast all day long, and we will continually give thanks to your name.

The heading in this translation refers to Psalm 44 as a “well-written song.”

I am inclined to agree.

First, the Psalmist reminds us that we are to praise God “all day long.”

Second, he reminds us to “continually give thanks.”

But human beings find praise and gratitude difficult at times.

We certainly find praise and gratitude easier when things are going well for us.

But they do not come so easily when circumstances become difficult.

Is it possible to praise God when illness strikes?

Is it possible to be grateful when we face unemployment?

Is it possible to praise or be grateful when a loved one dies?

Despite human reasoning, the answer is yes.

Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, reminds us to rejoice always.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 (NET) - Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,

That means rejoicing no matter the circumstances.

But how can we rejoice when faced with things like illness, unemployment, or loss?

Paul gives us the answer.

We are to “pray without ceasing.”

Prayer is the key.

In prayer we find that the Lord is our strength.

In prayer we remember that the Lord is worthy of praise throughout the day. 

In prayer we find that we are always able to praise Him even in difficult circumstances.

Prayer reminds us that there is no one like God.

It reminds us that we may approach God daily for there is no other help but His.

Challenging times are temporary.

But God always hears us and answers us.

Therefore, God deserves our constant praise.

He also deserves our continual gratitude.

Both are possible when we persist in prayer.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 1, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, October 8, 2021