One Thing

My plans for Thanksgiving Day changed.

The wonderful people who invited me to share the day with them encountered circumstances beyond their control.

They contacted me the day before and explained the situation to me.

I completely understood and told them so,

I told them not to worry about a thing and informed them that I would lift them up in prayer.

The moment I hung up the phone, I did just that.

Once I concluded that portion of my prayer I asked for His guidance in how I should spend Thanksgiving Day.

The answer came as no surprise as it was embedded in the name of the day.

I should spend my day simply giving thanks to God.

Although this should be simple, the difficulty lies in where to begin.

No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in we discover that we have so much for which to be thankful.

As I began to mentally prepare a list, my thoughts turned to a work by a man named John Amos Comenius who lived in the 1600’s.

Comenius was many things.

The world knows him as the father of modern education, but he was also an author, a theologian and many other things as well.

Unum Necessarium is but one of the books Comenius wrote.

The subject of this book is “the one thing necessary.”

Of all that we have or could have only one of them is completely necessary.

What is this one thing?

The one thing necessary is a relationship with God which is made possible through Jesus Christ.

Acts 16:31 (NIV) - They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

I will forever be grateful for the one thing necessary.

Being thankful in this will allow me to be grateful for everything else.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) - Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Of course that means I am grateful for you too.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 4, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 11, 2015

Still Waters

I learned something new the other day.

I learned that sheep will not drink from running water.

This immediately brought to mind Psalm 23.

Especially the second verse.

Psalm 23:2 (KJV) - He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Most people consider Psalm 23 to be simply a passage that provides comfort and a sense of peace.

It also provides a tremendous amount of truth.

Verse one sets the tone.

Psalm 23:1 (KJV) - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The Lord is the shepherd and as such He knows exactly what His sheep need.

Notice that He makes us lie down.

Left to our own devices we constantly find ways of staying busy.

The Lord knows we need rest as well so He makes us do just that.

A good shepherd also knows that his sheep will not drink from running water.

The Lord, being our shepherd, leads us beside still waters.

If we partake of this water, we will never thirst again.

John 4:14 (KJV) - But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

There is more.

Psalm 23:3 (KJV) - He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

The Lord restores our souls and leads us into righteousness not only for our sake, but also because this is who Hs is.

This is what He does.

There is still more.

Psalm 23:4 (KJV) - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Even the thought of death cannot frighten us, for we do not travel the path alone.

Psalm 23:6 (KJV) - Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The shepherd assures us that death is not the end, but merely a transition.

Psalm 23 provides us with comfort.

It also provides us with a tremendous amount of truth.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

I’ll be back here on Friday, November 27, 2015

Sincerity, or Truth

When given a choice between a more difficult path and an easier one, people often select the easier one.

We have even come up with a term for it: “Taking the path of least resistance”.

On the surface it would seem like there is nothing at all wrong with this.

After all, why put forth effort if someone else provides what seems to be an easier alternative?

That has been the case with the topic of salvation for centuries.

According to scripture, there is only one path to salvation.

Jesus Christ is that path.

In fact, He is the only path.

Yet people, some of whom are quite influential, try to tell us otherwise.

They tell us that there are many paths that lead to God.

They tell us that it really does not matter what we believe as long as we are sincere in our beliefs.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

What good is sincerity when one could be sincerely wrong?

What if someone offered me a glass that contained a clear, odorless and tasteless liquid?

I might sincerely believe that glass contained water and drink it.

What if it were not water, but instead a lethal poison?

The end result would be my death no matter how sincere my belief was.

Sincerity in one’s belief only matters if what one believes happens to be true.

The plain and simple truth is that Christ is the one and only path to salvation.

The fact that some choose not to believe this truth in no way diminishes it.

Some, especially those with influence, will counter that Christianity’s view is too narrow.

They may even say that they cannot accept a view that provides only one way to salvation.

Yet when you consider all the evils that man has committed throughout history, isn’t remarkable that God provided one way for us at all?

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NET) - For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching. Instead, following their own desires, they will accumulate teachers for themselves, because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things. And they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand they will turn aside to myths.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

I’ll be back here on Friday, November 13, 2015

No Matter Where You Are

This time of year always causes me to reflect on change.

In the Northern Hemisphere we are now into fall.

Leaves are turning various shades of brown, red and yellow.

Soon the ground will be covered with them,

The temperature is also growing milder and this serves to remind me that winter is not too far away,

The opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere where spring is in the air.

Winter is releasing its hold on that part of the world.

Everything there is once again turning green with the promise of renewed life.

To our way of thinking, changes of this kind seems gradual.

It takes an entire year to complete the cycle of seasons.

Other changes take place both more quickly and more often.

This is true when we change directions from North and South to East and West.

Half the globe is experiencing day and the other half night in a cycle.

It takes only 24 hours to complete this cycle.

These are changes with which we are somewhat aware.

Yet there are some things of which we are not aware at all.

You may need to sit completely still for this next part.

The speed at which the Earth rotates about its axis is close to 1000 miles per hour (1600 km/hr) at the equator.

The speed at which the Earth travels around the Sun is an incredible 66,000 miles per hour (107,000 km/hr).

The Sun (along with the Earth) is travelling around the galaxy at a staggering 483,000 miles per hour (792,000 km/hr)!

Just how fast is the galaxy moving (along with the Earth)? This speed turns out to be an astounding 1.3 million miles per hour (2.1 million km/hr)!

You see, even when you are sitting completely still you are still travelling at an incredible rate of speed even though you are not even the slightest bit aware of it.

Day or night, spring or fall, or even where you in the universe at any given moment based on its various speeds, God knows exactly where you are and what is going on in your life.

He not only knows; He cares.

Joshua 1:9 (NET) - I repeat, be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 16, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, October 23, 2015

A Universal Reminder

For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with astronomy.

It began when I was a young child.

At that time the United States and the Soviet Union were caught up in “the space race.”

Each nation wanted to be the first to send men to the moon and return them safely back to earth.

Although space exploration has changed my interest in astronomy has not diminished.

Whenever I think about astronomy, I also think about God.

God spoke the universe into being and the things he has created are magnificent.

Genesis 1:16 (NET) - God made two great lights – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.

The universe is so wonderful that we continue to discover new things about it all the time.

Take black holes for example.

There was a time when we could only theorize about them.

They were not even called black holes until 1963.

It was not until 1971 that technology had improved enough for a likely candidate to be found.

Black holes are remarkable in that they are formed when large stars die and collapse in on themselves,

The resulting mass is so dense and has such a gravitational pull that anything passing too close will be pulled inside.

Not even light which travels at 186,000 miles per second can escape its pull.

This is the reason why they look black.

Even more amazing is the concept of supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.

The reason they are called supermassive is that they can have the mass of billions of suns.

Certainly we have the technology to see them in other galaxies today.

In reality, we have to look no further than the heart of our own galaxy to find one.

As I pondered this, I was reminded of a passage from scripture.

This passage of scripture talks about sin.

We do not need to look for sin only within others.

We need only to look within ourselves.

Matthew 7:3-5 (NET) – Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

The universe God created is full of wonder and there is much out there that we have not yet seen.

The universe can also serve to remind us that we also need to look deep within ourselves.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 2, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, October 9, 2015

A Heritage of Faith

I am a very fortunate man.

My parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts were people of faith.

Each of them helped instill a foundation of faith in me which I continue to build upon.

Although almost all of them are gone, I continue to thank God for every one of them.

I am also interested in history especially the history of those with whom I share a connection.

Some were people from my family’s history.

Some were people from my church’s history.

Some were people native to the lands from where my family originated.

One of the things they had in common was faith in the Lord.

Many of them willingly risked much in order to preserve their faith.

Many were persecuted for their faith.

A few even willingly sacrificed their very lives for their faith.

As I learn more about these individuals and their stories two things happen.

Their stories become a part of me and I want to share their stories with others who share a similar heritage,

I share these accounts with members of my family and members of my church.

I may even share their experiences as an example for the students in the Sunday school class I teach.

As time has gone by I have found that others also have an interest in these accounts.

This makes sense because faith is an important part of the heritage with which we have been entrusted,

These accounts need to be shared,

Sharing these accounts gives us a better perspective on our own faith.

It also helps us to develop stronger bonds with each other.

It also helps us to be more grateful.

Isaiah 38:19 (NET) – The living person, the living person, he gives you thanks, as I do today. A father tells his sons about your faithfulness.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 4, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, September 11, 2015

Getting Out of His Way

Romans 12:7 (NET) – If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach;

One the great joys in my life is teaching an adult Sunday school class.

The learning experience should last a lifetime,

We begin learning when we are very young and we should continue to learn as we mature.

One of the challenges each teacher faces is how best to teach the age group with which we are entrusted.

Young children learn differently than older children.

Teenagers learn differently than young adults.

Adults learn differently than senior citizens.

Scripture tells us that we must have faith as that of a child.

I would not for a moment disagree with this.

Mark 10:15 (NET) – “I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Scripture also places emphasis on wisdom.

Matthew 10:16 (NET) – “I am sending you out like sheep surrounded by wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”

It must be stated that there is a big difference between intelligence and wisdom.

Intelligence is what allows us to learn.

Wisdom is the application of what we have learned.

We live in a world that, intentionally or not, feels the need to treat each of us as if our intelligence is limited.

Cups warns us that coffee is hot and bottles warn us that shampoo is for external use only.

That is why I challenge my students with difficult material.

God gave us a heart therefore he expects us to use it for compassion.

God also gave us a brain therefore he expects us to use it in order to become wise.

It is possible for one to grow in wisdom and still maintain faith like that of a child.

It is a great pleasure to witness wisdom flourish in my students.

There are times when my students interact with each other about the material on a level that exceeds even my expectation.

In those moments, I get a glimpse of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives and I do something very wise.

I humbly get out of His way and allow Him to do what He is far better at than I am.

Perhaps I am growing wiser as well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 4, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, September 11, 2015