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

Finishing the Race

Revelation 21:4 (NET) - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist anymore—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.

I have been a fan of auto racing for a very long time.

As with every sport, sometimes a story emerges that transcends the sport itself.

Weeks ago, one emerged that resonated within me and with fans all across America.

It was a story about an 11-year old boy diagnosed with leukemia.

This young man’s name was Caleb Hammond and he was a bigger fan than I could ever hope to be.

With treatments proving ineffective, it was decided that he would leave the hospital and live out his remaining days at home.

But Caleb did far more than that.

In August, Caleb was invited to Southern Iowa Speedway.

There, he learned that he would get to live his dream.

He would be able to race his own car on the track.

Later, he was able to take a ride in a Ferrari on a racetrack.

Shortly thereafter, the news broke that Caleb wanted racing stickers to adorn his coffin.

The racing community responded.

Drivers and teams sent boxes full of stickers to help fulfill Caleb’s final wish.

Caleb left this earthly life days ago.

With racing this week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, several drivers honored Caleb with “Team Caleb” stickers on their cars.

When weather postponed the race until after Caleb’s death, the Speedway honored his memory with a moment of silence.

There are those who will say that Caleb lost his battle.

I prefer to think that he won it.

Death is an eventuality that all must face in the end.

I pray that when my time comes, I can face it with the courage of this 11-year old.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NET) - I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 21, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, September 28, 2018

As Good as His Word

Isaiah 40:8 (NET) - The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.

English is not my first language.

My first language happens to be Czech because that is what my parents spoke at home.

They also tended to speak it with family and old friends.

In public, however, they spoke English so they made certain I learned that as well.

My grandparents, however, spoke Czech almost exclusively.

As I was growing up, my grandmother would send me a card on every special occasion.

The card may have been printed in English, but the sentiment my grandmother wrote was always written in Czech.

Although I could speak Czech fairly well, the written language was another matter.

I would always have to have Mom or Dad read it to me.

As the years went by, I wanted to be able to read my grandmother’s words for myself.

I asked my father to buy me a textbook on the Czech language which I studied.

Eventually I learned enough to grasp the written language.

Then I was able to read my grandmother’s words for myself.

It was one thing for Mom or Dad to tell me that my grandmother loved me.

It was another thing for me to be able to read this in her own words.

In a way, the Bible reminds me a little bit of those cards from my grandmother.

Parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, friends and others can tell us Jesus loves us.

Through the Bible we are able to read this for ourselves.

One of the first hymns we are taught as children is Jesus Loves Me.

As adults, we still think of it as a song for children.

That is because its message is so simple.

Jesus loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so.

We may think that the song is for children, but it can be an excellent reminder in our adult years as well.

Matthew 24:35 (NET) - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 6, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, October 13, 2017

Taking a Different Road

I was driving to work a few days ago and approached a major highway intersection.

Traffic had backed up further than usual and as I stopped the car I could see why.

Although I could not see the intersection I could see the flashing lights of numerous emergency vehicles.

It was obvious that a serious accident had taken place and emergency crews were in the process of rendering assistance to those involved.

It was also obvious that the intersection was going to be closed for quite a while.

To my right was a large shopping center and one by one the cars ahead of me were entering the parking lot in an attempt to find a way around the accident.

I entered the parking lot as well.

As soon as I exited the highway I found a parking spot and offered up a prayer for those involved and for the emergency personnel working the scene.

I then rejoined the line of cars that turned off the highway as we attempted to find a way around the scene of the accident.

Slowly we maneuvered through a series of connected parking lots working our way to an exit on the far side.

Everyone in this line of cars wanted to make a left hand turn out of the parking lot onto a service road that led back to the highway.

Being familiar with the area I knew that this road would quickly back up as well as it was not designed to handle this volume of traffic.

So, I did the opposite.

I turned right instead knowing I would be able to get back onto the highway by taking a different path.

My path would be longer, but it would be safer.

The Christian walk is rather like that.

Sometimes the way we choose to go doesn’t make sense to those going another way.

In the end, the way we choose to go is the better way because God has provided us with scripture as a roadmap for our lives.

The way we choose to go may not be the shortest or easiest way, but with scripture to guide us we are certain to reach our final destination.

After all, that is where we most desire to be.

Matthew 7:13-14 (NET) – “Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 21, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, August 28, 2015

Glimpses of God

Moses was a man of God.

He asked God for something special.

Exodus 33:18 (NET) – And Moses said, “Show me your glory.”

God explained that this was impossible.

It was not impossible for God.

Rather, it was impossible for Moses.

Exodus 33:20 (NET) - But he added, “You cannot see my face, for no one can see me and live.”

God did make it possible for Moses to get a glimpse of Him.

Exodus 33:22-23 (NET) - When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and will cover you with my hand while I pass by. Then I will take away my hand, and you will see my back, but my face must not be seen.”

We find ourselves in the same situation as Moses.

We long to see God’s glory.

Scripture reminds us that we cannot see His face and live.

God does give us glimpses of Himself.

We can see glimpses of God in nature.

We can see glimpses of God in the way the formulas of science and mathematics work perfectly time after time.

We can also see glimpses of God in others.

We can see glimpses of God in the young.

We can see glimpses of God in the not so young.

We can see glimpses of God in those that are like us.

We can see glimpses of God that are not so like us.

This is not surprising.

Each one of us is created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 (NET) – God created humankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them.

Think about this.

Right now there are billions of us on the planet.

Billions more preceded us.

Who knows how many are yet to come?

All those billions and billions of people, and yet we are all different.

Yet we are all made in the image of God.

Each and every one of use offers a glimpse of God’s glory to the others.

Is it any wonder that God’s glory is so magnificent that no man, not even a man like Moses, could see it and live?

One day, we will see God’s glory.

Until then, we must be happy to see glimpses of Him in others.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 17, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 24, 2015

I Didn't Know

I never have to look far to see God’s blessings in my life.

Every year when Vacation Bible School comes around I can always count on God blessing me through a child.

This year was no exception.

This year I taught the adult class and we studied the life and faith of Jan Hus.

Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, but his example influenced those that founded my church in 1457.

The books that Hus wrote were gathered and publicly burned prior to his execution.

I certainly would not put my writing on the same level as that of Hus, but there is one thing our writings have in common.

Writing is a form of worship and I cannot begin to imagine how it would feel to have that destroyed by men,

I explained that to my class.

I also added that any service performed for the Lord is a form of worship.

As I personally knew the students in that class I looked at each in turn and called out one of the services each performed.

I reminded them that each of these services was a form of worship.

As things came to a close that evening I stayed around to help lock up for the night.

A little boy saw me using my keys as I locked a set of doors.

He ran up to me and said, “Hey! I didn’t know you worked here!”

He knew nothing of my teaching or my writing or anything else about me.

All he saw was me using a set of keys and concluded that I was on the staff.

At that point I remembered what I shared with my class about every service being a form of worship,

I felt extremely loved by God at that moment.

I looked at the little boy, smiled and said, “Yes. I work here. In fact, I have worked here for a very long time.”

He smiled and returned to his family who were waiting nearby.

I removed the key from the lock and thanked God for this very special blessing.

Colossians 3:23-24 (NET) – Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as your reward. Serve the Lord Christ.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 19, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 26, 2015

Remember

Monday is Memorial Day in America.

It was originally called Decoration Day.

It is a day set aside to remember those who have died in service of the United States.

Sometimes, people lose sight of that.

Each year news crews are sent to places like parks.

There they will interview people and ask the question, "Why do we observe Memorial Day?"

Most will remember.

Inevitably, there will be a few responses that are way off the mark.

Memorial Day is not just to provide us with a day off from work.

It is not to provide us with time for barbecues and recreation.

Although there is nothing wrong with these activities, we should set aside at least some time to remember the fallen.

Sometimes we lose sight of that.

In a similar way, people sometimes lose sight of who Jesus is.

When asked who He is, we get a variety of answers.

Some will say He is a myth.

Some will say He was a good man who lived a long time ago.

Some will say He was a good teacher.

Some will say He was a man who had some good ideas.

While some of these responses contain some truth, plainly speaking, Jesus is so much more.

The first chapter of the book of John sets the tone for understanding who Jesus really is.

John 1:1-5 (NET) - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.

John 1:14 (NET) - Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory - the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

John 1:29 (NET) - On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

John 1:34 (NET) - I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.

John 1:41 (NET) - He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is translated Christ).

John 1:45 (NET) - Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."

John 1:49 (NET) - Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!"

This Memorial Day, take the time to remember those who have fallen in defense of their country.

Also, take the time to truly appreciate who Jesus is.

After all, that is one of the freedoms for which the fallen laid down their lives.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 5, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 12, 2015

Love

Valentine’s Day is soon to be upon us.

The moment Christmas was over stores committed aisles of shelves to this holiday.

The assortment of gifts includes candy, cards, flowers and jewelry.

I will not even hazard a guess as to how much money will be spent on this holiday.

Do not get me wrong.

I firmly believe that if you love someone you should demonstrate it.

I am also of the opinion that if you truly love someone, you should demonstrate it every day.

Love should not be measured by how much money we choose to spend on Valentine’s Day.

The English language further complicates things because there are different kinds of love; yet we only one word for it.

Perhaps that is why there are so many Valentine’s cards available.

Ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, it is a challenge to find a card that expresses the kind of love we have for someone.

I wonder how we have taken something as basic and essential as love and turned it into something complicated.

When it comes to our love for others, there is no better guide than 1 Corinthians 13.

The opening verse sets the tone for the entire chapter.

1 Corinthians 13:1 (NET) – If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

The last verse sums matters up quite nicely.

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

Paul reminds us that love is even greater than faith.

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the most important, He gave a two part answer,

Mark 12:30-31 (NET) – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”

What about God’s love for us?

John 3:16-17 (NET) – For this is the way God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son , so that 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.

Do you want to feel even more loved?

What about the love of Jesus?

John 15:13-14 (NET) – No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Perhaps it is time we look at love in an uncomplicated way again.

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves through the words of a song we were taught as children.

Its meaning has not changed even though we have.

I am sure you remember the words.

Jesus loves me. This I know

For the Bible tells me so.

With LOVE,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 20, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 27, 2014

Diamonds in the Rough

Diamonds are formed by a combination of intense heat and pressure.

Along with its rarity, a diamond’s cut, when made by an expert cutter, increases its value tremendously.

Before the expert makes his first cut, he will study the diamond, look inside it, and determine exactly where he will make his cuts.

In essence, what he is doing is determining what part of the diamond will stay and what parts will not.

After the cuts are made the facets of the stone that remain are polished and the diamond’s true inner value can finally be seen.

Something remarkably similar takes place in people.

While we can easily underestimate the value of a person, God sees the true value hidden within.

When God sent Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse as king, Samuel noticed Eliab and was certain that God would choose him.

But God did not choose Eliab.

God reminded Samuel, “People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart,”

God sees the internal beauty then transforms lives.

He expertly chips away any excesses that interfere with the relationship between Himself and the believer.

He does away with self-destructive behaviors.

He removes bad habits.

He discards old prejudices.

As the excesses are removed, God polishes the believer.

The life of the believer is thus transformed into something completely unrecognizable from what it was before.

Scripture reminds us that nothing is impossible for God.

We must therefore never, under any circumstances, say that someone is beyond hope,

To do so discourages them.

Not only that, it also attempts to place limits on God who has none.

Isaiah 64:8 (NET) – Yet, LORD, You are our Father. We are the clay and You are the potter; we are all the product of Your labor.

It is important to remember that all believers were at one time diamonds in the rough.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 6, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 13, 2014

Green with Envy

Matthew 6:19 (NET) - Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.


Exodus 20:17 (NET) - You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Scripture warns us about both worldliness and covetousness.

In reflecting on these conditions I realized that both the world and desire of another’s possessions often go hand in hand.

The world begins to influence us very early in life. It makes us desire the things others have which we do not.

I asked myself when did worldliness and covetousness first enter my life and the answer came both quickly and easily.

It happened when I started the first grade and involved, of all things, crayons!

Yes, even something as seemingly benign and innocent looking as a box of crayons can be used by the world in a negative way on young minds.

Before I started first grade, my mother took me to the store to get the supplies I would need according to the local school system.

One of the items on the list they provided was a box of eight crayons.

One day, shortly after school began, the teacher asked us to get out our crayons as she passed out a worksheet we were supposed to color.

As we got out our crayons, I quickly realized that not everyone was limited to eight crayons.

Many had sixteen, some had twenty four, a few had forty eight and two actually had sixty four.

Notice that I still remember that exactly two had sixty four crayons.

How I envied those two when I compared their boxes of sixty four to my paltry box of eight.

In the world of adults, this would be comparable to someone living in a modest home envying someone of their mansion.

For weeks, I remember pleading with my parents to get me a box of sixty four crayons but to no avail.

Eventually, they gave in and bought me a box of twenty four.

In our little world, that of first graders, it was the number of crayons one had that determined our social standing.

As a Christian adult and In hindsight, this was a silly thing. To a small child’s mind, it seemed like one of the most important things of all.

Yet, that is exactly the kind of hold the world can have on us throughout our lives.

If we permit it.

Without Jesus, the only thing that really changes is the price of our toys.

Jesus overcomes the grip the world has on our lives.

By the way, there is an additional lesson I have learned from all of this.

Back then, when a child with few crayons, like me, would ask to borrow a particular color from someone who had more the response was usually the same.

"My father (or mother) told me not to let anybody use them."

We are each blessed by our Heavenly Father in many ways.

Our Heavenly Father expects us to share our blessings with others and not keep them for ourselves.

He even gave us the greatest example of all when He shared His Only Son with us in order that we be saved.

We may have outgrown crayons, but we dare not let material wealth in the adult world have the same kind of hold.

Everyone needs to grow up sometime.

We do that when we mature as believers.

1 Corinthians 13:11 (NET) - When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 17, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, May 24, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.

At What Risk?

Luke 12:38 (NET) - But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Persecution.

Since the earliest days of Christianity, persecution of the church has been a reality.

In many parts of the world, it still is.

Some nations claim religious tolerance and freedom and cite their legality of Christianity as proof.

The real proof of their intolerance is made apparent when converts become second class citizens.

New Christians in these countries often find it extremely difficult to marry or find employment.

So much for tolerance.

In some nations professing one’s faith in Christ can bring a death sentence.

I once watched a smuggled video taken with a phone of the execution of a man who was charged with evangelizing in his village.

The entire village was forced to witness this brave man’s execution by firing squad.

Immediately afterward, an army officer stood up in the back of his jeep and addressed the village through a megaphone.

The officer shouted his warning, "This man was a fool! Don’t be a fool!"

That nation rules with an iron fist.

It uses execution as a means of both eliminating existing Christians and intimidating others in an attempt to deter them from embracing the faith.

In reality, it is the government that is frightened because Christianity transforms lives in ways that it cannot.

Still, it continues to tighten its grip using a combination of fear and intimidation.

Yet even as its grip tightens, more and more of its citizens turn their lives over to Jesus.

That frightens it even more.

I once read of a young man in another country who, along with his friends, persecuted Christians.

Like Paul, this persecutor had a conversion experience.

This young man’s conversion was made possible because of the witness of one that he persecuted.

He now shares his faith in Jesus with others.

As a result, several unsuccessful attempts have been made to kill him.

In time, he learned that a contract had been taken out on his life.

That contract was paid for by his own father and that price remains on his head.

In spite of the personal risk, he still continues to share Jesus with others.

These are but two examples among several that I thought about this week.

Persecution has been on my mind a great deal because a friend who is a pastor in another country contacted me through a social network requesting my prayers.

That pastor's church is currently experiencing persecution.

Of course, I agreed and continue to pray for them and other persecuted Christians as well.

This forced me to think about my own country.

God has blessed us with the both the freedom and safety to worship,

At the risk of painting with a very broad brush, a less than desirable consequence has arisen among Christians in America.

That consequence is complacency.

As a whole, we seem to have lost some of the drive, some of the desire and some of the sense of urgency in sharing the Good News with others.

Those in regions of persecution risk much, and their flame burns bright by comparison.

This should concern us.

The church at Laodicea received a direct warning.

You can find it in Revelation 3.

As we near Easter and consider what Jesus has done for us, shouldn’t we be more eager to share the Good News with others?

We also need to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who currently face persecution.

We should also pray for those who persecute them.

After all, their need for Jesus is the greatest.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 5, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, April 12, 2013.
Schedule subject to change.

My Funeral for Sam

My friend Sam passed away last week.

Sam was not given a funeral, so the following is my feeble attempt at providing him with one...

We are gathered here today to give glory to God and to pay our final respects to Sam.

No obituary was printed for Sam, so I had to draw on things I have learned from our friendship of over twenty years.

Sam held several jobs in his lifetime but he was an artist at heart.

To the best of my knowledge, he never made any serious money with his paintings, but perhaps that is just as well.

If Sam had managed to make money this way, he would have likely concluded that his art had become too commercial and probably would have abandoned it for another art form.

I showed someone a portrait Sam had painted of Jesus and they remarked that it was a "little scruffy looking."

Artistically speaking, that made some sense to me.

You see, every culture tends to depict Jesus in art in terms of their own culture.

In African art, Jesus is often depicted as African.

In Asian art, He is often depicted as Asian.

I have a portrait of Jesus that was painted by a European artist that depicts Him with flowing blonde hair and blue eyes.

In this portrait Jesus looks quite European.

I think Sam was simply transferring some of his own "scruffiness" into the painting.

Honestly, I don’t think Jesus took any offense.

Sam enjoyed history.

His favorite TV program was The Antiques Roadshow and he was also extremely interested in Nikola Tesla.

Sam read everything about Tesla that he could get his hands on.

Sam was always researching different things and would talk to me about everything from canyons in Mexico to the Antikythera mechanism found in an Aegean shipwreck.

Sam kept a notepad in his pocket.

If something came up in conversation that interested him, he would jot it down and research it later.

Sam attended several churches in his lifetime including the one I attend.

I think his curiosity fueled his desire to experience firsthand how different denominations choose to worship God.

Sam and I had many, many conversations over coffee and we disagreed about a great many things.

It is said that there are two things you should never discuss, namely, religion and politics.

Yet we discussed both.

And, since we were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, we found a great many things to disagree about.

I can honestly say that we never once allowed a disagreement of any magnitude to get in the way of a perfectly good friendship.

Sam understood my fondness for music.

It was Sam that introduced me to the music of an Australian country singer by the name of Slim Dusty.

To this day, I never tire of listening to Slim singing ‘Waltzing Matilda‘.

I will always be grateful to Sam for that.

Similarly, I will always be grateful to God for the friendship He gave me with Sam.

Sadly, at the end, I honestly do not believe that Sam had many friends and even fewer good friends.

More than a few severed ties with him altogether for one reason or another along the way.

Sam was not perfect.

Then again, neither are we.

If you seriously think about it, a lifetime of rejections must have caused Sam to feel a great deal of personal pain.

I can only imagine what that amount of rejection must have felt like.

Jesus did not have to imagine anything of the sort.

He knew firsthand what it was like to have people turn on Him.

One day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the victorious cry of an ecstatic crowd.

Matthew 21:9 (NET) - The crowds that went ahead of Him and those following kept shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna In the Highest!"

A short time later, an angry mob turned on Jesus.

Matthew 27:22-23 (NET) - Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?" They all said, "Crucify Him!" He asked . "Why? What wrong has He done?" But they shouted more insistently, "Crucify Him!"

I have often wondered how many people were part of both the jubilant crowd one day and the angry mob the next.

Jesus knew exactly how it felt to have one of His own turn against Him.

Matthew 26:48 (NET) - Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Arrest Him!"

And it happened just that way!

Jesus also knew personally what it felt like to have friends abandon Him.

Jesus told Peter there would come a time when he would deny Him.

Matthew 26:34 (NET) - Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."

Again, it happened just that way!

Yes Sam, in that regard, you were indeed in excellent company.

You see, your Savior knew just how you felt.

Now, that same Savior welcomes you home.

Lord, my prayer today is that You help us recognize that there are many Sam’s in the world.

Encourage us to accept them just as they are.

After all, that is just the way that You accept us.

For those of you that attended this "service" and stayed until the end, I offer my sincerest gratitude.

Sam was created in God’s image.

Sam mattered to God.

Sam mattered to me.

Funerals are for the living, bur everyone has a story.

In the end, doesn’t everyone deserve to have at least some of that story told?

It should not matter how many or how few decide to attend.

If it were possible for us to combine our voices in a closing hymn right now, I would ask that we sing "Just as I Am" before we part company.

One final and very personal note,,,

One of the last things Sam ever said to me was, "I can’t wait until you become a preacher."

Well Sam, this is about as close as I can get.

You deserved better.

This was the best I could provide.

Rest in peace, my friend.


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