Giving Them My Best

I think everyone gets busier the closer we get to Christmas.

I certainly do.

One of the things that makes me busier is our annual Christmas Program.

The last few of these have seen me become an active participant.

There are lines to learn.

There are rehearsals.

As always, there are also the general preparations.

To be honest, I really don’t mind the extra work this creates for me.

This is certainly an opportunity for me to thank God for sending His Son into the world.

Christmas marks the beginning of Christ’s journey among us.

A journey that began in a stable,

A journey that ended at the cross.

Taking part in the Christmas Program helps drive that home for me.

I pray it does for others as well.

One of the additional benefits I receive from this is having the opportunity to work directly with our youth.

Most of the time I work with people my own age – the “not so young” people.

Of course, I do things indirectly that benefit our youth serving on various committees.

One of the things I hear quite frequently is: “These young people are our future.”

Granted, there is a fair amount of truth in that.

God has blessed me with a somewhat unique set of circumstances.

Circumstances that allow me to be perhaps a bit more objective.

These young people have a future of their own.

Some will go to college.

Some will get jobs and move to another city.

Some will become part of a new church family when they get married.

My responsibility, from a purely objective standpoint, is clear.

I need to give our young people the best I have within me spiritually.

That applies to whatever committee on which I serve.

It also applies to working directly with them in a Christmas Program.

No matter how busy I get, serving them means serving God.

Proverbs 22:6 (NET) - Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

No matter where their future takes them, I want them to have the best preparation we can provide.

That means giving them the best I can provide.

God will take care of the rest.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 8, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 15, 2017

Country Road

There is an old country road I traveled many times in the past.

I hardly ever use it anymore.

It passes alongside farms, fields, horses and other livestock.

It also passes alongside an old country church that is still in use.

Just beyond that, the road comes to a T shaped intersection leaving you with two options.

You can turn left, or you can turn right.

Sometimes we would turn to the left and go to the home of my uncle and aunt.

Sometimes we would turn to the right and visit the home of some dear family friends.

Whichever way we went, we would always take that same country road home.

I recall a time when I was very, very young when we traveled on that road at night.

As we passed that old country church it was bathed in light.

“What is that?” I asked my parents.

“That is God’s house,” my mother answered.

I already had some idea of who God was thanks to my parents.

I took Mother’s statement quite literally.

As a small child, I honestly believed this was the one place on Earth God chose to call home.

I also thought my family, my uncle and aunt and our friends were very fortunate to live so very near God’s home.

As I grew older, I learned that this was just Mother’s way of defining a church to an inquisitive child.

My parents and my uncle and aunt are gone now.

The friends we had no longer live in that area.

So, there is no need for me to travel down that road much anymore.

In my mind I still do.

At times when I feel God’s hand upon me, I recall that church, that old country road and that night when I was so young.

I recall how special it felt to believe God was so very near.

Now, as a man, I understand that God is everywhere.

Because He is everywhere, He is always very near.

Jeremiah 2:22-23 (NET) - Do you people think that I am some local deity and not the transcendent God?” the Lord asks. “Do you really think anyone can hide himself where I cannot see him?” the Lord asks. “Do you not know that I am everywhere?” the Lord asks.

I do now.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 24, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 1, 2017

Miscommunication

Technology is great… when it works.

One of the most frustrating technical problems is a device that has trouble communicating.

Perhaps it is a telephone that misses calls.

Maybe it is a computer that has trouble sending or receiving email.

It might be a tablet that loses connection with the Internet.

Even if the device is otherwise perfect functional, a communications problem can push our patience to the limit.

Speaking from experience, these problems are often the most difficult to diagnose.

Even when we manage to correct the problem, there are no guarantees that it will stay fixed.

Communication in our journey through this world can be every bit as frustrating.

Sometime we find it difficult communicating with others.

We can even experience difficulties in communicating with God.

Scripture can help us communicate.

What does the Bible say about communicating with others?

The book of James gives us some sound advice.

It tells us to listen first.

James 1:19 (NET) - Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

What does it say about communicating with God?

Prayer is an excellent beginning.

Jeremiah 29:12 (NET) - When you call out to me and come to me in prayer, I will hear your prayers.

What if we still have a problem communicating with others?

Perhaps we need a bit more patience.

Ephesians 4:1-3 (NET) -  I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live worthily of the calling with which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

What if we still find communicating with God difficult?

We might need to set aside the distractions that constantly vie for our attention.

Perhaps what we would find most helpful is to just be still.

Psalm 46:10a (NET) - He says, “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 10, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, November 17, 2017