Sesquicentennial.
It’s a fancy word that means 150th anniversary.
I begin this way because about three years ago I felt God leading me to write and share a weekly devotional and this makes devotional number 150.
What’s so remarkable about that?
Not much unless you consider the fact that I never considered writing on my own.
In fact, by profession, I deal far more with numbers than words.
I followed His lead and I am glad that I did because some exciting and completely unexpected things happened as a result of it.
When I first began writing, it was a challenge for me.
I knew this was going to take me out of my comfort zone.
I also knew that if it made a difference in only one life, all the effort will have been completely worth it.
Mark 16:15 (NET) - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Eventually I learned that this happened when I was contacted by someone who was reading them.
We began communicating and I will never forget the question he posed to me.
"Do you think there is hope for me?"
I replied that there was indeed hope for all of us because of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:3 (NET) - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,..."
That individual, with God’s help, turned his life around in an amazing way and we still stay in touch.
Of course the credit and the glory both belong to God.
I am delighted simply to be the instrument that He used.
As a result of this, I came to another conclusion.
Since I was able to help this one individual, perhaps I will be able to help others along the way,
Another benefit I have personally received as a result of following His lead are the connections I have made with other Christians along the way.
Connections with the other contributors to this blog site are a great example.
Although I have never met them (and others like them) face to face, I feel as if I know them because of their willingness to both encourage and edify.
That is what Christians are supposed to do for each other.
I always look forward to seeing what God has written upon their hearts to share with others.
I have also made connections with others.
Therein lies opportunity.
Most surprisingly, I have come to know myself better as well.
I have also had to make some choices and some changes along the way.
The biggest among these is how I choose to make use of what I consider a very precious commodity.
Time.
When people think about stewardship, thoughts automatically turn to money.
Also important is how we choose to invest our time.
We all have a finite amount of time and not one of us knows how much of it we have.
How we choose to invest that time is of tremendous importance.
So, when you feel His leading, I strongly urge you to follow it.
God indeed works in strange and mysterious ways.
If someone had told me a decade ago what my life would be like today, I simply would not have believed them.
I once heard someone say that God does not always call the equipped, but he does equip those He calls.
There is a tremendous amount of truth in that.
When God calls, follow the example of Samuel.
1 Samuel 3:10 (NET) - Then the LORD came and stood nearby, calling as He previously had done, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel replied, "Speak, for Your servant is listening!"
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com
It’s a fancy word that means 150th anniversary.
I begin this way because about three years ago I felt God leading me to write and share a weekly devotional and this makes devotional number 150.
What’s so remarkable about that?
Not much unless you consider the fact that I never considered writing on my own.
In fact, by profession, I deal far more with numbers than words.
I followed His lead and I am glad that I did because some exciting and completely unexpected things happened as a result of it.
When I first began writing, it was a challenge for me.
I knew this was going to take me out of my comfort zone.
I also knew that if it made a difference in only one life, all the effort will have been completely worth it.
Mark 16:15 (NET) - He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Eventually I learned that this happened when I was contacted by someone who was reading them.
We began communicating and I will never forget the question he posed to me.
"Do you think there is hope for me?"
I replied that there was indeed hope for all of us because of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:3 (NET) - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,..."
That individual, with God’s help, turned his life around in an amazing way and we still stay in touch.
Of course the credit and the glory both belong to God.
I am delighted simply to be the instrument that He used.
As a result of this, I came to another conclusion.
Since I was able to help this one individual, perhaps I will be able to help others along the way,
Another benefit I have personally received as a result of following His lead are the connections I have made with other Christians along the way.
Connections with the other contributors to this blog site are a great example.
Although I have never met them (and others like them) face to face, I feel as if I know them because of their willingness to both encourage and edify.
That is what Christians are supposed to do for each other.
I always look forward to seeing what God has written upon their hearts to share with others.
I have also made connections with others.
Therein lies opportunity.
Most surprisingly, I have come to know myself better as well.
I have also had to make some choices and some changes along the way.
The biggest among these is how I choose to make use of what I consider a very precious commodity.
Time.
When people think about stewardship, thoughts automatically turn to money.
Also important is how we choose to invest our time.
We all have a finite amount of time and not one of us knows how much of it we have.
How we choose to invest that time is of tremendous importance.
So, when you feel His leading, I strongly urge you to follow it.
God indeed works in strange and mysterious ways.
If someone had told me a decade ago what my life would be like today, I simply would not have believed them.
I once heard someone say that God does not always call the equipped, but he does equip those He calls.
There is a tremendous amount of truth in that.
When God calls, follow the example of Samuel.
1 Samuel 3:10 (NET) - Then the LORD came and stood nearby, calling as He previously had done, "Samuel! Samuel!" Samuel replied, "Speak, for Your servant is listening!"
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com
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