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

We Must Forgive

It seems people are more easily offended with each passing day.

Assuming that we are on the receiving end, how are we to respond?

That depends on whom you choose to listen to,

The world tells us one thing.

It will tell us we need to stand up for ourselves.

It will tell us that we need to respond in kind and exchange hurt for hurt.

In stark contrast, Jesus tells us to forgive.

He does this in the Sermon on the Mount.

We might be tempted to say to Him, “But Jesus, You just don’t understand!”

“You don’t know what it’s like.”

Really?

Think again,

Jesus was often insulted, though not always to His face.

When the disciples were first called, Philip told Nathanael about his encounter with Jesus.

How did Nathanael respond?

John 1:46 (NET) - Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”

Then there was the time Jesus was teaching in the synagogue,

Some heard His teaching and were amazed.

Others were offended.

Mark 6:3 (NET) - Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him.

In the male dominant society of the day, one can read the insult that was intended.

Finally, there was the matter of His crucifixion.

Crucifixion is perhaps the cruelest and most painful form of execution ever devised by man.

Prior to this he was beaten without mercy.

Throughout this ordeal, people hurled insult after insult at Jesus.

As an additional insult, Jesus was executed with common criminals.

Did Jesus retaliate?

No. Jesus forgave even as an angry mob continued to insult Him.

Luke 23:34 (NET) - But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Jesus tells us to forgive and that in and of itself is sufficient reason for us to do so.

Beyond that we must ask ourselves one final question.

If Jesus forgave so very much, shouldn’t we be willing to forgive so very little in comparison?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 1, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, September 8, 2017

Criticism

The Super Bowl is over.

In spite of all the hype and emphasis placed on this game, it ended as all games usually end.

There was a winner and there was a loser.

That should be the end of it, yet something else reared its ugly head - criticism.

Criticism is one thing at which human beings seem to excel.

One player in particular seems to have garnered more than his share.

People criticized his performance.

People criticized him for his attitude after the game.

This bothers me in several ways.

First, a good many people will have forgotten that his team was even in this game a few years from now.

Second, the majority of his critics have never even played the game much less at his level

Third, there is the very real prospect that he is criticizing himself.

As others continue to criticize him this prospect becomes more certain.

Yes, human beings seem to excel at criticism.

Even people who claim to be Christians can be quite critical at times.

I recently read where the work of a Christian author has been criticized by his peers.

As we begin our journey through the season of Lent, I thought about Jesus and criticism.

People criticized Jesus throughout His ministry on earth.

Yet when Jesus encountered sinners, He did not criticize them.

He simply told them to sin no more.

Take the woman accused of adultery.

John 8:10-11 (NET) - Jesus stood up straight and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus reserved His criticism for the religious leaders and experts in the law.

In other words, He saved his criticism for those who were supposed to have known better.

Matthew 23:13 (NET) - “But woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.”

And this is but one of the seven woes Jesus declared to them in this chapter.

As Christians, we need to be less critical of others.

Shouldn’t we know better?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 19, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 26, 2016

Come and You will See

John 1:38-39 (NET) – Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them. “What do you want?” So they said to Him, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?” Jesus answered, “Come and you will see.” So they stayed with Him that day. Now it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.”

This passage was part of a larger reading in our worship service Sunday.

It has been on my mind a great deal since then.

Especially the response Jesus gave the two disciples.

“Come and you will see.”

Jesus did not simply say where he was staying, rather it was an invitation for them to follow Him.

And follow Him they did.

So did the other disciples chosen by Jesus.

They came with Jesus and saw many remarkable things.

In time, they also did many remarkable things.

The lame were made to walk.

The blind were given sight.

Lepers were cured and made whole.

Even demons were cast out.

They came and saw things they could not have possibly imagined before following Jesus.

Yet for all they saw there was something they did not understand.

Luke 18:32-33 (NET) – “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles; He will be mocked, mistreated and spat on. They will flog Him severely and kill Him. Yet on the third day He will rise again.”

These things came to pass just as Jesus said they would.

Jesus was mocked, mistreated and spat upon.

Jesus was flogged severely.

Jesus was killed in the cruelest way known.

He was crucified.

Then, He was laid in a tomb which was covered with a stone.

When the women arrived at the tomb after the Sabbath an angel of the Lord had rolled the stone away.

His words, when compared to those of Jesus are quite remarkable.

Matthew 28:6 (NET) – “He is not here, for He has been raised, just as He said. Come and see the place where He was lying.”

When they returned to the disciples, the book of Mark tells us the disciples did not believe them.

I can imagine them saying, “Come and you will see.”

We have eternal life because of who Jesus was and the price He paid which we could not.

He was and is who He claimed to be!

The tomb is empty.

Come and you will see.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 7, 2014.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 14, 2014.

Having a Bad Day?

It was a few days before Christmas about 25 years ago.

I stopped at the local mall after work to do a little Christmas shopping.

After checking out a few stores I decided to get something to drink.

I made my way to the second floor where there was a common dining area surrounded by several restaurants.

One counter and had only one customer so I got in line behind her.

A young lady in her teens manned the counter and was in the process on waiting on this customer.

This customer was digging through her purse looking for change.

It was obvious from the sound of her grumbling that was having little success.

That’s when it happened!

In an attempt to ease the tension the young lady behind the counter innocently asked, "Having a bad day?"

The woman immediately stopped looking through her purse, glared at the young lady and asked (quite loudly), "What did you just ask me?"

The young lady behind the counter then received a verbal lashing that caused her to turn several shades of pale.

The customer then demanded to see the manager.

At this point, I picked up on two things.

First, the young employee was worried that she was about to lose her job.

Second, the customer indeed had a bad day and was willing to vent her frustration at anyone who dared to get too close.

I wanted to say something to the irate customer but decided to see how the manager would handle this volatile situation.

The manager arrived and asked if there was a problem.

He then became the object of the woman’s wrath.

When the woman finished delivering her complaints, the manager told her that he encourages his employees to be friendly and he felt certain that no harm was intended.

At this the woman’s anger soared to new heights as she all but shouted, "I don’t believe what I am hearing!"

That’s when she made her mistake.

She turned and looked at me and barked, "Do you believe this?"

I looked her in the eye, smiled and asked calmly, "Having a bad day?"

Fortunately for me, looks cannot kill.

If they could, I would have just finished my last day on earth.

After glaring at me, she picked up her purse and stormed away without an additional word.

I looked at the manager who simply shook his head, laughed and returned to his office.

I stepped up the counter to place my order.

The young lady who had been extremely frightened only a moment ago gave me a smile and said, "Thank you!"

"Don’t worry about it." I said.

"You didn’t do anything wrong. She decided to take her frustrations out on you," I stated, "and that isn’t right."

I then placed my order for an iced tea which she paid for despite my protests.

Bad days.

We have all had them.

How do we deal with them?

As our journey through Lent continued, I thought about the kind of day Jesus had.

He was arrested.

His friends abandoned him.

He was mocked.

He was beaten.

He was made to carry His own cross.

He faced the cruelest form of execution - crucifixion.

As Jesus was crucified, He showed mercy to those who antagonized Him.

Luke 23:34 (NET) - But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing." Then they threw dice to divide His clothes.

As Jesus endured this, a thief asked Jesus to remember him.

How did Jesus respond?

He showed him mercy as well!

Luke 23:43 (NET) - And Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Throughout this ordeal of pain and humiliation, the mercy, kindness and forgiveness Jesus showed remain without equal to this day.

As Easter draws ever nearer, we should be extremely grateful that His mercy, kindness and forgiveness are extended to us as well.

We should also take the time to ask ourselves a very important question.

If Jesus could forgive so very much under the most extreme of circumstances, shouldn’t we be willing to forgive others of so very little by comparison?


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 8, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 15, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.

At the King's Table

(Author’s Note: I have personally learned a great deal from allegories through the years, and often use them when teaching my Sunday school class. As part of my journey through Lent, I felt moved to put one down in writing.)


As you walk into the great dining hall you are amazed.

The magnificent hall seems to go on forever.

For all you know it might, for you cannot see the end of it.

The table is equally spectacular.

It, too, seems to go on forever.

The end of it, like the hall, simply disappears from view.

"There is an empty seat over here," you hear someone say.

You look upon the speaker, one of a vast multitude seated at the table, as they point out an empty chair next to them.

You walk over, thank them, and take your seat.

You look up and down the table and spot some very familiar faces, but you seem to know everyone you can see somehow.

Before you can ask yourself how it is that you know everyone here, a plate is set before you.

You are amazed by the meal placed before you.

Others are already enjoying their meal.

The meal in front of you looks so inviting that you simply must taste it.

This is without doubt the best meal you have ever had.

In time, you and the others finish and you are overwhelmed by a new sensation.

Complete and total satisfaction.

Never before have you ever felt this satisfied.

As you are about to discuss this with the one who offered you your seat, you notice someone come into the hall.

As he nears, you realize two things.

First, this man is the head waiter.

Second, he carries with him the bill for the entire meal.

This is something you certainly had not counted on.

The waiter is getting uncomfortably close to you.

Discomfort turns to something akin to panic when he stops at your seat and places the bill alongside your now empty plate.

What to do?

You certainly could not afford such a meal for yourself. let alone everyone else in the great hall.

Soon, it appears that all eyes are on you.

As you try to think of a way to explain your inability to pay you realize that it is not you they are looking at.

They are looking behind you.

You turn in your seat and look up into the kindest face you have ever seen.

The individual with the kind face looks at you knowingly and smiles.

He reaches for the bill and that is when you see the nail scarred hand.

As He picks up the bill, you turn to face Him again.

You want to say something, but mere words are not enough.

He places His other hand reassuringly on your shoulder.

It, like the other, is nail scarred.

He smiles and says, "It’s okay. You see, My Father wanted Me to pay for everyone that you see here. That means He wanted me to pay for you too."

Words cannot express the gratitude you feel to this man with the kind face, the warm smile, and the nail scarred hands,

The seeds of this allegory were planted years ago when I read of David’s act of kindness to a crippled Mephibosheth.

2 Samuel 9:13 (NET) - Mephibosheth was living in Jerusalem, for he was a regular guest at the king’s table. But both his feet were crippled.

David performed this act of kindness for the sake of Mephibosheth’s father, Jonathan.

Mephibosheth was crippled by a fall as a child, yet David made sure he had a place at the king’s table.

We are crippled from a different kind of fall.

One that goes back to Eden.

As we continue on our journey through Lent, let us be mindful of the kindness Jesus showed us as He obeyed His Father’s will to the cross and beyond.

We cannot earn salvation.

Neither do we deserve it.

Someone had to pay the price we could never hope to pay.

As the hymn reminds us, "Jesus Paid It All!"


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, March 1, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, March 8, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.

Remembering Kindness

The other afternoon, I stopped at a local restaurant to enjoy a cup of coffee with friends.


There was a man waiting in line who looked me over and then called me by my name and then asked if he was correct.

I told him he was, but I on the other hand had absolutely no recollection of this man.

He removed his sunglasses and introduced himself.

It was only then that I realized I indeed knew this man because we had once worked together over twenty five years ago.

He had yet another surprise for me.

He told me he remembered a kindness I had shown him those many years ago.

Not remembering it myself I had to ask what exactly that kindness was.

After all, a great deal of time had passed and those days were long ago.

At this point in my life I can barely remember what I had for breakfast Tuesday morning.

He related the incident and as he related it the memory of it returned.

This man had made a mistake on the job and knowing our employers the way I did, I feared they would make an example of this man.

I knew this man needed the job and firing him would bring tremendous financial hardship on him.

I spoke to his supervisor and a member of management and told them of his circumstances hoping they would perhaps show him some leniency.

My words fell on deaf ears.

They told me that the decision to fire him had already been made and I received a rather stern speech for trying to intercede for him.

A coworker ran into him a few days later and told him about my efforts.

I had forgotten completely about the incident and my efforts.

This man did not.

Even though more than a quarter of a century had elapsed and the final outcome did not change, this man remembered how I tried to intervene on his behalf.

It reminded me how fortunate I was to have someone intercede on my behalf.

Paul reminds me that I am a sinner.

Romans 3:23 (NET) - For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.

Even in my fallen state, I have someone who intercedes on my behalf. And where I failed in my attempt, the one who intercedes for me will never fail.

Romans 8:34 (NET) - Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.

Why would Christ intercede for me?

I can do nothing to earn salvation.

I certainly can do nothing to deserve it.

If I were to get what I truly deserve my situation would be most dire.

It is because of God’s love and mercy that Christ paid the price I could never hope to pay.

John 3:16-17 (NET) - For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that the everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

It is through Christ’s willingness to follow His Father’s will to the cross that I have hope.

That is a kindness I will never forget.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 10, 2012.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, August 3, 2012.
Schedule subject to change.