Two Little Girls in the Snow

This is not the devotional I originally planned to post today.

Even at my age, God still finds ways to both surprise and inspire me.

Thursday evening found me at my church along with a number of my friends.

We were all busy working away getting things ready for Christmas.

As we were finishing up, someone noticed that it was actually snowing outside.

Of course, we all stepped outside to take a look.

You see, it rarely snows where I live and to have snow this early in the season is rare indeed.

We went back inside and finished what we had to do.

When it came time to leave, a few of us just stood out in the cold and admired the snow.

I carefully drove home trying not to let the weather distract me.

As I got ready to turn into my drive, I noticed two little girls running around.

They were paying more attention to the snow than to my car, so I entered my drive slowly.

Their mother called them over to her allowing me to safely park my car.

In no time, the two girls returned to their celebration of the snow.

I took a moment to speak to their mother.

As we spoke, I considered what God showed me.

He showed me the white snow, the watchful eye of a loving parent and the pure joy found only in children.

He was also reminding me of the words of the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 1:18 (NET) - Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.

As we get deeper into the Christmas season I am reminded of the fulfilment of this prophecy.

God is our loving Father who calls us to Him to keep us safe from the world.

As we celebrate the birth of His Son, we should remember that it is Jesus who cleanses us from our sin.

Christ was the perfect sacrifice – the Lamb without blemish and without spot.

We no longer have to be stained like scarlet.

We can be made as white as snow.

Perhaps we can also take a lesson from these two little girls and their excitement.

Perhaps we should allow ourselves to get more excited about our salvation.

Perhaps that would make us more eager to share the Good News with others.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 15, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, December 22, 2017

A Three-Minute Start

A number of nations celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

The dates range from early October to late November.

Days of Thanksgiving in America date to its colonial period.

They were proclaimed by church leaders, governors and even the Continental Congress.

In each case a Day of Thanksgiving was set aside to give thanks to God.

It was President George Washington who proclaimed that Americans should set aside November 26, 1789 as a “day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."

From then on. the observance of Thanksgiving varied from state to state.

On October 3, 1863, while America was still in the middle of its Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving should be observed on the final Thursday in November.

Lincoln’s proclamation concluded with the following: “I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.”

Because of the Civil War, those in opposition to Lincoln refused to adopt the date he proclaimed until the 1870’s.

In the late 1930’s President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed that Thanksgiving Day be observed on the fourth Thursday in November.

In 1941, a joint resolution of Congress officially recognized the date change and it was signed into law by Roosevelt.

From its very beginnings throughout the course of its history, Thanksgiving Day is about giving thanks to God in all circumstances.

Unfortunately, with each passing year, we push God further away from the concept of Thanksgiving.

We find more and more ways to distract ourselves from its original intent.

The day after Thanksgiving has now become the biggest shopping day of the year.

Many stores are now opting to remain open on Thanksgiving Day.

I believe it is not too late to return the day to its original purpose.

I recall a story told by a Vietnam veteran of his experiences on one particular Thanksgiving Day.

He and his fellow soldiers had been consuming rations for a very long time.

When Thanksgiving Day arrived, helicopters flew in and brought he and his fellow soldiers a traditional and hot Thanksgiving meal.

But that was not what made the day special.

A satellite telephone unit the size of a bus had also been flown in and set up.

With it, he and rest of the men were each allowed to make a three-minute phone call home.

Some waited in line for over 8 hours just for the opportunity to make their three-minute call.

That three-minute call home meant everything to this man and the others.

Perhaps we can start there.

Paul reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven.

Perhaps we could start with a three-minute prayer to God thanking Him and ask Him to help us better put things in perspective.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NET) - Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

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

Take Courage

Another week has gone by and another senseless tragedy has unfolded.

This one took place inside a church located in a small town only two hours away from me.

While the worship service was going on, a man armed with a rifle entered.

In all, 26 people were killed and still others were wounded.

Among the dead was the pastor’s 14 year old daughter.

Also killed was the visiting pastor.

There are so many people that need our prayers right now.

I pray for the surviving members of this church who are dealing with the kind of shock and anguish I cannot even begin to comprehend.

I pray for this small community where everyone knew at least one person who worshipped there.

I pray for others outside this community who might now be too afraid to go to church because of what happened.

I pray for other church leaders who now have to consider what steps they might take in light of this tragedy.

Of all my prayers, I find my prayers for this congregation’s pastor to be the most intense.

He is a man of God, but, he is a man.

He is a man coping with his own grief.

He is a man coping with his own loss.

He is a man coping with his own questions.

As he wrestles with these things and more, others are turning to him.

They are turning to him with their own difficult questions.

They are turning to him for guidance.

They are turning to him for hope.

He will likely lean on God more in the days to come than he has ever leaned on Him before.

God will be there for him.

God will be with the others as well.

One question that always arises is: “Why must bad happen?”

Jesus gave us the answer.

He also gave us hope.

John 16:33 (NET) - I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.

Together, let us pray together for shattered lives.

Together, let us pray for peace.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 17, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, November 24, 2017

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

Triage

An interesting word that the English language has adopted is “triage”.

In a crisis where there are a number of wounded and dying, medical professionals will employ triage,

Triage decides each patient’s priority and order of treatment.

The goal is to maximize the number of survivors.

Even the best doctors and nurses can be limited by location, medicine, supplies and so on.

In extreme situations, such as wounds inflicted on the battlefield, a number of wounded may be deemed too far gone to help.

They are eliminated from the process in order to give someone else a better chance at life.

Sometimes we as Christians perform our own sort of triage when it comes to telling others about Jesus.

We might make the mistake of assuming someone is too far gone to help.

Without realizing it, we might be putting the emphasis on our individual limitations.

We sometimes forget that Jesus has no limitations.

I recall one man who got it right when it came to mission work.

His name was Count Nikolaus von Zinzendorf.

In 1731, Zinzendorf met a converted slave.

This man desperately wanted someone to go to his homeland in the West Indies.

He wanted someone to preach the gospel to his brothers and sisters.

Zinzendorf raced to his home in Moravia and quickly found two volunteers for this assignment.

Zinzendorf’s community was not large numbering perhaps 600.

Yet his desire for mission work proved contagious.

In less than 20 years’ time, some 70 missionaries from this Moravian community were involved in missions around the world.

They found themselves in places like Greenland, Lapland, Georgia, Surinam, Africa's Guinea Coast, South Africa, Amsterdam's Jewish quarter, Algeria, the native North Americans, Ceylon, Romania, and Constantinople.

They succeeded where others failed.

They told others about Jesus.

Zinzendorf’s concept was a simple one but that is what made it so successful.

"According to him: “Missions, after all, is simply this: Every heart with Christ is a missionary, every heart without Christ is a mission field."

This simple truth remains unchanged today.

Every man, woman and child who knows Christ is a missionary.

Everyone who does not is a mission field.

Our mission field may be found in another part of the globe.

It can just as easily be found in our own communities.

Triage can sometimes be necessary in the world of medicine.

It is completely unnecessary in the spiritual world.

John 6:37 (NET) - Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 20, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, October 27, 2017

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

Blinders

Philippians 4:13 (NET) - with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

I was looking at some old photographs of horses.

Some were farm horses that pulled plows.

Others were used to pull wagons or buggies in town.

Still others were bred for racing.

The one thing that they had in common was that many of them had blinders on.

I could not help but think about why.

No matter how fast or slow they travelled or how hard they worked, blinders were standard equipment.

Trainers put blinders on race horses encouraging them to stay focused on the race in front of them.

Blinders help keep work horses focused on the task at hand.

Blinders also keep horses from being distracted by their surroundings or frightened by things like traffic.

In Paul’s letter, he speaks of striving “toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

If that is the case, wouldn’t we find a set of blinders helpful ourselves?

Not necessarily.

Some blinders can be misleading.

Advertisers, for example, often try to tell us what we should want.

This can keep us from focusing on what we really need.

People we know can fit us with blinders.

They may try to get us to do or say things we know we should avoid.

Sometimes we even create blinders for ourselves.

These can keep us from seeing those in need around us.

Blinders may work well for horses, but we can certainly do without them.

Winning our race means focusing on “the upward call of God in Jesus Christ”.

It also means helping those in need around us and loving them.

We don’t need blinders to help us win our race.

2 Timothy 4:7 (NET) - I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 15, 2017.

I will be back here on Friday, September 22, 2017