Making Introductions

 

Ezekiel 20:44 (NRSVue) - And you shall know that I am the Lord when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways or corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, says the Lord God.

Here, the prophet tells the people that God will restore them.

Once restored, they will realize that they were not restored through their actions.

The people will acknowledge that it was God who restored them.

In Paul’s letter to Rome, he speaks of justification.

In particular, he writes of the implications for the justified.

Paul concludes this section with a reminder.

The believers in Rome were not justified by their actions.

They were justified by God’s love and Christ’s willing sacrifice.

Romans 5:8 (NRSVue) - But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Wherever we may be on our spiritual journey, God meets us where we are.

His love for us endures even when we are far away from Him.

And, when we let Him, God leads us into that essential personal relationship with Christ.

This is the moment when we are restored.

This is the moment when we are justified,

In other words, our lives will never be the same as they once were.

Transformed, we set about to do the work He places before us,

Moreover, He equips us for the journey ahead,

He starts by enabling us to listen.

From there, we become more compassionate with our fellow man,

We even learn what it means to truly forgive,

After all, God was compassionate with us.

Through Christ we were forgiven.

There is no shortage of people in need of restoration.

Perhaps they feel they can never be justified.

To be clear, we can neither restore nor justify others.

We could not even do these things for ourselves.

But we can introduce them to the One who does both.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, August 16, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, August 23, 2024

A New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Us

 

Isaiah 65:17 (NRSVue) - For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Here, the prophet speaks of God’s new creation.

This will be completely new.

Nothing will remain as it was before.

This creation will be so new that we will not think of the former one.

In Revelation, John experienced a vision of this new creation.

Revelation 21:1 (NRSVue) - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Scripture reminds us more than once that this will happen.

To some, this seems unlikely.

To others, this seems impossible.

But to the believer, this is a promise.

And the believer has concrete proof that a new creation is possible.

In fact, a new creation is more than probable.

The believer simply needs to look inward to recognize that he or she is already a new creation.

The believer understands that he or she is not the person they once were.

If God can transform our lives, He can also transform the lives of others.

Could it be that this transformation of lives will be part of the new heaven and the new earth?

It is.

God is at work transforming us into who He wants us to be.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, August 2, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, August 9, 2024

Rousing a Deaf World

Joel 2:13a (NRSVue) - rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God,

Here, the prophet implores the people to return to the Lord.

In Biblical times people would tear their clothing when they were overcome with the pain of grief.

This would be an outward sign plainly understood by any observer,

But here the prophet, speaking for God, indicates that a change of heart is necessary.

Clothing is temporary and can be replaced, but a true change of heart is permanent.

And such a change is apparent to God and the one who repents.

It can also be as visible to others as is torn clothing.

Paul, in his first letter to Corinth, tells the people to glorify God.

Paul states they should do so in body and in spirit,

1 Corinthians 6:20 (NRSVue) - For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

In times of pain and difficulty, it is easy to turn inward as a means of isolating ourselves from pain.

But in doing so, we also isolate ourselves from both God and community.

The far better option is for us to turn to Christ.

With His help, we experience a true change in self.

So equipped, we can rejoin and experience community as opposed to solitude.

We can reach out and serve others in pain and in need.

We can extend mercy to others just as Christ was merciful to us.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, July 19, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, July 26, 2024

Rest and Understanding

 

Psalm 6:2-3a (NRSVue) - Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror,

Psalm 6 is a prayer for recovery.

In fact, it is a prayer for recovery from a serious illness.

The words reflect just how heavy the burden is and how strong is the fear that accompanies it.

In Matthew 28, Jesus prays to the Father.

He thanks the Father.

Christ acknowledges that those the world deems simple are granted insight.

No one knows the Son except the Father.

And no one knows the Father except the Son and those whom the Son chose to know the Father,

Christ then prays for those who are burdened and promises rest.

Matthew 11:28 (NRSVue) - “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Christ is the great physician.

He tells us to bring our burdens to Him.

And when we do, Christ grants us rest.

This is not just rest for our bodies, this is rest for our souls as well.

It does not matter what our burdens are, Christ invites us to bring those burdens to Him.

He removes all burdens: physical illness, fear; distress of the mind, even concerns of the heart.

In their place, Christ gives rest, peace, and hope.

This is one of the first verses my mother taught me as a small boy more than half a century ago.

I take its meaning to heart.

I also understand that this was a very unique way in which I was chosen to know the Father.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, July 5, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, July 12, 2024

As Near as Prayer

 

Jonah 2:7 (NRSVue) - As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.

Jonah prayed from the belly of the fish that swallowed him.

Although in a crisis, Jonah knew God would hear his prayer.

Although miles away from any human being, Jonah knew God was nearby.

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, encourages his readers.

He reminds them not to worry about anything.

He also reminds them to give thanks and pray.

Philippians 4:6 (NRSVue) - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Everyone, including me, faces difficult and challenging times in life.

When we find ourselves in a crisis, we often focus on the challenge rather than the solution.

We even think we are alone although we are not.

When troubles come, we would do well to remember Jonah.

Though miles away from any human being, God was as near as a prayer.

We would also do well to remember Paul, who reminds us not to worry about anything.

Instead, we should pray with an attitude of thanksgiving.

We will then encounter God’s grace and have enough strength to meet the challenge.

Paul had something to say about this as well.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NRSVue) - Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, June 21, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, June 28, 2024

The Promised Reward

 

Jeremiah 31:16a (NRSVue) - Thus says the Lord: Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord:

Jeremiah 31 talks about the joyful return of the exiles.

God’s people had endured hardship.

But God promised their return and renewal.

In John 16, Christ tells His disciples what they still had to face. 

They would be put out of the synagogues.

Christ reminded them there was more suffering to be endured.

But Christ also gave them a promise.

John 16:22 (NRSVue) - So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

Believers today understand that while we live in this world, we will face difficulties.

The faithful also know that when we depart this world our suffering will be at an end,

Until then, we must remember that we do not face difficulties alone.

The triune God accompanies us on our journey.

It is easy to focus on pain, loneliness, suffering and persecution.

But we must never allow these things to convince us that we face them alone.

When we focus on God, we see that our burdens are shared.

We can then more clearly see the promise that lies ahead.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, June 3, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, June 10, 2024

Provision in Abundance

 

Joel 2:26 (NRSVue) - You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

The second part of Joel 2 is about God’s response and promise.

Part of that promise concerns God’s abundance.

The provision Christ offers is equally plentiful.

In Mark 6, Christ feeds five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread.

Not only were the five thousand fed; they were filled.

Mark 6:41-42 (NRSVue) - Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before the people, and he divided the two fish among them all. And all ate and were filled,

This example of Christ’s abundance is amazing.

It is the only one of His many miracles to be recorded in each of the four Gospels.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit give in abundance.

So much so that we often take this abundance for granted.

In fact, we often forget that literally everything we have comes from God.

Now is an excellent time to remember God’s abundant provision.

With His help, we might be more inclined to recognize this in the future.

Perhaps we might even acknowledge that all we have comes from Him.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, May 17, 2024.

I will be back here on Friday, May 24, 2024