Escape Plan

I had the privilege of listening to a speaker Sunday afternoon.

He spoke of how he and his family escaped from an oppressive regime several decades ago.

He spoke of obstacles such as barbed wire, watch towers and armed guards with dogs.

When he finished describing these and other deterrents he added one important point.

These deterrents were not meant to keep people from entering.

They were put in place expressly to keep people from leaving.

The regime was determined to hang on to its population no matter how the people felt about it.

It was willing to use even the most extreme measures to accomplish this.

Satan can be compared to that regime.

He does not want any within his grasp to escape either.

He does not use things like barbed wire and armed guards.

Rather, he relies on temptation to both capture people and keep them ensnared.

He even tried this with Jesus Christ.

The Gospels tell us that Jesus went into the desert and fasted for forty days.

There, Satan tried to tempt Jesus.

Jesus resisted all of Satan’s temptations.

Human beings are not as resilient.

Any of us can find ourselves tempted to the point of becoming and remaining captive.

But God has provided us with a way out.

An escape plan that will work.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NET) -  No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, August 3, 2018.

I will be back here on Friday, August 10, 2018

The Other Six Commandments

I have spent a considerable amount of time recently studying the Sermon on the Mount.

These words of Jesus begin in Matthew chapter 5.

His words have been with us for a very long time.

Centuries ago, theologians extracted from them the “Six Smaller Commandments”.

Personally, I do not care for the word “smaller” but I have kept it here for historical accuracy.

Just what are the six smaller commandments?

Do not respond to violence with violence.

Do not divorce your spouse.

Do not swear oaths.

Do not be angry without cause.

Do not look lustfully at someone.

Love your enemies.

In looking at these individually, I have drawn a few conclusions.

The first seems to be in direct opposition to the “eye for an eye” doctrine found in the Old Testament.

When we feel we have been wronged our initial thoughts often turn to retribution or retaliation.

As for divorce, I will not debate under what circumstances divorce should be granted.

But given the current divorce rate, I will say that it is now far easier for couples to divorce rather than work through their problems.

As for the swearing of oaths, we have even made exceptions to that.

For example, we may be required to swear oaths if we serve in the military or hold government office.

As for getting angry without cause, I would venture that practically everyone who has ever felt angry has also found a way of justifying his anger.

As for not looking at someone lustfully, this is not easily done.

We don’t even have to go out of our way to look for it.

Advertisers have understood for a long time that sex sells.

This is but one example of how we are tempted into disobeying this teaching.

As for loving our enemies, we may find this sixth commandment the most difficult of all.

It flies in the face of the conditioning the world has imposed on us from our youth.

We certainly have a hard time living up to these commandments of Jesus.

Yet we often make the task harder ourselves.

One way we do this is when we ask ourselves what Jesus meant rather than focusing on what he actually said.

Another is when we try do everything on our own.

Philippians 4:19 (NET) - And my God will supply your every need according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 3, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, November 10, 2017

Choices

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NET) - No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful. He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also be provided a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Choices are part of life.

Each one of us is faced with a number of choices we have to make every day.

Most of the choices we make do not come with tremendous implications.

Every now and then we are asked to make choices that have that have enormous consequences.

The kinds of choices that directly impact our relationship with others.

Last week, I watched an auto race whose outcome changed based upon the choices made by others. Along with that, these choices determined the last handful of drivers that would be allowed to compete for the championship in the following weeks.

As the laps wound down and the lead changed hands, a car inexplicably spun out bringing out a caution that in effect jumbled the running order.

Those of us who watched the race on television immediately questioned why this car had spun as there was nothing apparent on the replay that appeared to cause this.

The in car audio further added to our suspicions.

The race ended, a winner was declared and the final qualifiers for the championship were determined.

Over the course of the next two days, the sport’s governing body reviewed all the evidence it had at its disposal.

It determined that the spin was a deliberate act designed to give one of the other two team members a finish that would qualify him for a run at the championship.

The team owners were required to pay a substantial fine.

The crew chief of the car that spun was suspended indefinitely.

All three team drivers were penalized in points which eliminated the driver that qualified for the championship run. He was replaced by the driver who was cheated out of that last qualifying spot.

The loss of points for the driver that spun makes it all but impossible for him to win the championship.

All this because bad choices were made.

Together, these bad choices had other far reaching consequences.

They damaged relationships, some perhaps for a very long time,

Because of the choices the team owners made their sponsors are now reconsidering their future with them.

They are concerned about their companies’ reputations becoming tainted.

Because of the choices the crew chief made, his every decision (if he is reinstated) is going to be scrutinized by both the sport’s organizers and the teams with whom he competes.

If he is not reinstated, the choices he made will have a direct impact on future employment opportunities.

Because of the choices the driver made, it will take some time for him to regain the respect he had with his fellow competitors,

It is also possible that he has alienated some of his fan base.

It will likely take a very long time, but hopefully the individuals involved will learn from their bad choices and eventually repair the damages done to the relationships.

In thinking about all this, I was reminded about sin and its consequences.

Sin occurs when we make bad choices.

It occurs when we do that which we know displeases God.

It also occurs when choose not to do that which we know would please Him.

Sin damages the relationship we have with God.

It also damages the relationships we have with others.

Fortunately God loves us and is willing to forgive us if we just admit our wrong to Him.

Others are will not be as forgiving but we must try to rebuild those relationships as well.

The best course of action is not to make the bad choice in the first place.

Even when we are tempted to make the bad choice, God always provides us the means of making the right choice,

It is always there though we may have to look for it.

He will even help us find it if we ask for His help.

In trying situations others may let us down, but God never will.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 20, 2013.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, September 27, 2013.

A Matter of Trust

Psalms 31:5 (NET)
Into your hand I entrust my life; you will rescue me, O LORD, the faithful God.


In Texas, geckos have become as much a part of the landscape as pecan trees and bluebonnets.

These pinkish brown lizards made their way into Texas and decided that they liked it here as much as the rest of us and made it their home as well.

They really are amazing little creatures. When they are young their skin has a transparent quality and you can actually see their tiny hearts beating.

They can scale everything from rough walls to smooth glass and even hang upside down from ceilings.

They also have another quality. They can squeeze through the tiniest of cracks.

I find them in my garage all the time and occasionally they make their way into my home.

I have no animosity toward them, in fact, I really like these tiny creatures.

While my home is a great place for me to live, I know that for them it really is not.

In fact, their chance of survival inside my home is greatly diminished.

I try to capture them if I can and release them into the bushes by my patio.

This is not easy for a number of reasons. They are tiny, fast, agile and have detachable tails.

Final score: Geckos 4, Jim 0.

Although I want to save them, they see me as just another predator to elude and they succeed far more often than I do.

Recently, I found several gecko corpses by accident.

I found them in the crease that exists between the edge of my front door and the door frame where it hinges.

Apparently, these saw me when I came in before I saw them.

They looked at the crease that formed between the open door and the frame as a safe place in which to hide from me. Their place of refuge then turned into a trap from which there was no escape.

"What a pity", I thought, "that these little fellows mistrust my intentions. If only they knew that I just wanted to take them gently in my hands and place them where they belong."

Yet, isn't that the way we are? Isn't that the way we have always been since the beginning?

God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He gave them everything they needed and gave them only one restriction, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

They were not to eat of its fruit. They were not even to touch it.

Yet, they did.

And as soon as they did, they realized that what they did was wrong and tried to hide themselves from God.

Genesis 3:8 (NET) - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the orchard.


Things have not changed very much. We still make poor choices. We still end up in places and situations we shouldn't. We still sin.

And when we do, we do what the geckos do. We try to run from God rather than running to Him. We allow fear to keep us from putting our lives into His loving hands and trusting Him to put us where He knows we need to be.

Remember, He only wants what truly is best for you.

2 Peter 3:9 (NET) - The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because He does not wish any to perish but for all to come to repentance.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeet.byethost3.com on Friday, September 17, 2010.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I'll be back here on Friday, September 24, 2010.