Blood over Bloodlines

Nations whose rulers are kings or queens place great emphasis on bloodlines.

The monarch who sits on the throne does so because members of his family ruled before him.

Typically, their oldest son or daughter will reign after them.

The book of Matthew talks about the earthly bloodline of Jesus.

In the very first chapter we are told exactly how the ancestry of Jesus can be traced from Abraham through David to Joseph the husband of His mother Mary.

Matthew then describes how Jesus came to be born.

Matthew 1:18 (NET) – Now the birth of Jesus happened this way. While His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

It is good to note that one can trace the earthly ancestry of Jesus from Joseph all the way back to Abraham.

It is far more important to remember the relationship that Jesus has with God.

God called Jesus “My Son”.

He did this when Jesus was baptized.

Matthew 3:17 (NET) – And a voice from heaven said, “This is My one dear Son; in Him I take great delight.

Jesus called God “My Father”.

Matthew 11:27 (NET) – All things have been handed over to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal Him.

When it comes to earthly monarchs, humans place great emphasis on bloodlines.

When it comes to faith what we must value is the blood of Jesus.

Mark 14:24 (NET) – He said to them, “This is My blood, the blood of the covenant, that is poured out for many.”

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he explains that God sent His Son to be born of a woman to redeem us.

Once redeemed, we are no longer under the law but adopted as children.

Galatians 4:6-7 (NET) – And because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, who calls, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.

Since that is the case, the value of adoption far exceeds any bloodline one may have.

This is true even of monarchs.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

Future Plans

This past weekend it was my honor and privilege to speak at our church convention.

On Saturday, I spoke to the delegates about our church history.

On Sunday, I gave the devotional as part of the worship service at the very first church in our state which was built in 1866.

Although that congregation has since built a newer church, the old church has been preserved for history.

I am glad that they decided to preserve the old church.

That church is one of the “Painted Churches” which means that the interior was painted in a very special way.

In January, I had an opportunity to stop by that old church but I only got to see it from the outside.

After the worship service on Sunday I was able to go inside and see it for myself.

I made certain that I had my camera with me as I wanted to get some photographs of the interior.

In the 1880’s, the Reverend Bohuslav Laciak painted the interior.

Laciak painted geometric patterns on the ceiling and the walls as well as ornate columns.

At the time the church was also used as a schoolhouse and Laciak was the teacher.

Word has been handed down that the students remembered studying while the good Reverend Laciak stood on a ladder painting those elaborate designs.

Unfortunately, Laciak died in a hunting accident and his painting was never completed.

It remains just the way he left it.

I took a number of photographs and in two of them I could make out the pencil marks drawn by Laciak.s hand indicating where he intended to continue his work.

At the worship service, a pastor reminded us that the church is not the building.

The church is, in reality, the people within the building.

He is quite correct in this.

Still, I am glad that the building was preserved and I am also glad to have been able to capture Laciak’s pencil marks.

These serve to remind me that the work of the church… the work of the people… is never really complete.

The duties of faith, hope and love never end.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NET) – And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

The Handwriting On the Wall

In the fifth chapter of Daniel, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his nobles.

Heavily influenced by wine, King Belshazzar ordered that the vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in.

Once this was done, all present drank wine from them and in their drunken state praised gods of metal, wood and stone.

At that moment, a hand appeared and began writing on the wall.

This sight greatly disturbed the king.

Even more disturbing to the king was the fact that he was unable to read the inscription.

The king was frightened to the core of his being.

He summoned the wise men of his kingdom to come interpret the inscription.

Despite promises of wealth and power, not one of his wise men could interpret this writing.

At this point Daniel was brought in and King Belshazzar promised him wealth and power in return for his interpretation.

Daniel rejected the king’s offer but agreed to interpret the writing left behind by this mysterious hand.

Daniel first reminded the king that he failed to humble himself before God.

He then reminded the king that he made matters worse by exalting the false gods made of metal, wood and stone.

Then Daniel interpreted the inscription.

Daniel 5:25-28 (NET) -  “This is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Teqel, and Pharsin. This is the interpretation of the words: As for mene—God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. As for teqel—you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. As for peres—your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

That same night, King Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took control of the kingdom.

This account gave rise to a phrase we utilize today, namely that the ‘handwriting is on the wall’.

It has come to mean a premonition of failure or disaster.

Today’s headlines point toward failure or disaster.

Fortunately for us, there is still time.

We still have time to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor.

We still have hope.

Must we wait until we see the actual handwriting on the wall for ourselves?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com