Thankful Hearts and Transformed Lives

Psalm 69:5 (NRSVue) - O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

Psalm 69 is a prayer for deliverance from persecution.

In it, the Psalmist recognizes God’s omniscience.

He understands that God knows everything.

As such, God knows the sins that he has committed.

God knows when we fall short as well.

But God is both generous and forgiving,

He has already planned for our redemption.

We are redeemed through the blood of Christ.

We are forgiven by grace.

Paul understood this.

He explained the spiritual blessing in Christ in his letter to the Ephesians.

Ephesians 1:7 (NRSVue) - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Thanksgiving Day is over.

But we should always be thankful for redemption and forgiveness.

May we be aware of this as we enter the season of Advent.

God is as generous as He is merciful.

And we should be thankful for all the gifts he has bestowed upon us.

May we be especially thankful for His greatest gift of all.

The gift of His Son whose birth we are about to celebrate.

For this is what sets Christianity apart from other religions.

Christianity is not about us reaching up to God.

Christianity is about how God reached down to the lost who could not save themselves.

And just as God gives to us, we are called upon to share with each other.

We can do so because God has transformed our hearts and lives through Christ.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, December 8, 2023.

I will be back here on Friday, December 15, 2023

The Ultimate in Unity

Psalm 118:26 (NRSVue) - Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

Psalm 118 is a song of victory.

It reminds us that those who come in the name of the Lord are blessed.

As such, they become a blessing to others.

The first chapter in the book of John speaks of Jesus.

It refers to Jesus as “the Word Became Flesh.”

It describes those who receive Him.

It also indicates what they become.

John 1:12 (NRSVue) - But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,

Once we receive Christ, we become children of God.

Thus blessed, we can in turn venture out into the world and bless others.

And considering today’s headlines, the world is in dire need of blessing.

Through Christ, we can unite with others we know.

More importantly, with the gifts bestowed upon us, we can unite and bless others.

We can even be a blessing to those we will never meet in this world.

But this is not our doing.

Achieving unity on this scale is only possible through Christ.

Understanding that, we can effectively use the gifts He bestows.

This gives us hope in the promise of the day of even greater unity.

It will be a day when all will be joined together in continuous and eternal praise as one body of believers.

This body will also include those we never met in this world.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, November 24, 2023.

I will be back here on Friday, December 1, 2023

The Kingdom is Like…

Psalm 22:27 (NRSVue) - All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.

Psalm 22 is a plea for deliverance from suffering and hostility.

In fact, Christ’s words from the cross hearken back to this Psalm.

But verse 27 speaks of a time when “all the families of the nations shall worship before him.

Christ also describes what this will be like.

Among the many parables recorded in Matthew 13 is the parable of the yeast.

Matthew 13:33 (NRSVue) - He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

I think many will be surprised to learn that heaven was not what they expected.

I am certain at least a few will be surprised to find me there.

Today, corporations and executives make diversity a selling point.

One might even think that diversity is something relatively new.

But if anyone understands diversity, it is Christ,

He knows we have diverse backgrounds.

He understands we have various interests and ideas.

With His help, we can turn our focus from ourselves back to God where it belongs.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can move in a direction that is best for us.

And, just as yeast causes dough to rise and expand, we too can grow and better serve the Kingdom.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, November 10, 2023.

I will be back here on Friday, November 17, 2023