Cliffhanger

I enjoy old movie serials and television episodes.

Many of these installments ended in what has come to be known as “the cliffhanger”.

Simply put, this is a plot device in which the installment ends with a character in a precarious position.

It is also intended as an incentive for the viewer to want to watch the next installment.

Until then, the viewer is left wondering how the character can possibly escape almost certain doom.

There is an old saying that states life imitates art.

For those who do not know the risen Lord, death appears to be the ultimate cliffhanger.

Is death the end?

Can there be more to come?

Fortunately, Christ makes it very clear that death is not the end.

This happened at His crucifixion.

One of the criminals turned to Jesus.

Jesus gave him a promise.

Luke 23:43 (NET) -  And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

But these were far more than words intended to comfort a dying man.

This was a genuine promise of hope!

This was not the only time Jesus assured us of eternal life.

Before His crucifixion, Jesus made a promise to His followers.

John 14:1-3 (NET) - “Do not let your hearts be distressed. You believe in God; believe also in me. There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going away to make ready a place for you. And if I go and make ready a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too.

Cliffhangers are fine for movies and television programs.

But, thanks to the risen Lord, the end of our time on earth is not the end at all.

Nor is it something to be feared.

It is a transition of hope made possible through Christ’s love!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 8, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, May 15, 2020

Completed

Election time is drawing near in my country.

There are many people vying for the highest office in the land.

Experience has taught me two things.

The first is that candidates will usually promise anything to get elected.

The second is that some of their statements are simply wrong.

One candidate’s recent claim can fall into the second category.

According to him, he has earned his way into heaven based on something he did,

Politics aside, such a statement is incorrect when viewed in the light of scripture.

Salvation cannot be earned.

It is not our doing.

Salvation is only possible through God’s grace.

It has nothing to do with our actions - no matter how “good” we think they may be.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NET) - For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

As such, we should do the things we were “designed” to do.

Ephesians 2:10 (NET) - For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.

The things we do by faith are fruits of the spirit,

They are the evidence by which others see God’s presence in our lives.

They are the steps we take within our journey.

Steps we take with the Lord that benefit others.

2 Peter 1:5-7 (NET) - For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love.

Our salvation was made possible by Jesus during His crucifixion.

John 19:30 (NET) - When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

That was the moment.

There is nothing more that you nor I nor anyone seeking office can do to add to it.

We can’t even take away from it.

It is completed!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 28, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, March 6, 2020

Gone Too Soon

I have experienced several deaths this year.

Most of these have occurred within my church family.

Losing someone is never easy, but two of these were especially difficult because they were young.

Both died in accidents.

The first was a young lady of 19 who attended my church.

As such, I knew her for a very long time and watched her grow up within the church.

She was an absolute joy to be around.

She made sharing the love of God look natural and effortless.

This is as it should be, so she was one up on many of us,

The second was a young man of 21.

I only knew him briefly over the summer as an intern where I work.

I found him pleasant, agreeable and he too was a joy to be around.

About a month after his internship ended, we received word that he was gone.

While these young people were with us, I was struck by the amount of potential they had.

It would have been nice to see where that potential would have led them in their journeys.

Sadly, we will never know what might have been.

That perhaps is why it is so hard to say farewell to the young.

One moment we expect them to be around for a long time.

The next, we find out they are gone.

And as deeply as we feel grief, we know their parents and siblings feel it more.

Some will point to events like this and question the existence of God.

Yet scripture reminds us that there is good in what we perceive as tragedy.

Romans 8:28-29 (NET) - And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

As for grief, we find both comfort and blessing in the Beatitudes.

Matthew 5:4 (NET) - Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

We also have the promise that grief is with us but for a time.

Revelation 21:4 (NET) - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.

But, for now, it is okay for us to mourn the passing of the young.

It reminds us how special they were.

May it also remind us that we now have even more work to do.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 27, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, October 4, 2019

Choosing Life in a Fallen World

To say that the world is in a mess right now is an understatement.

A review of recent headlines bears this out.

But is this necessarily a new development?

No.

For example, millions of people died in the last world war.

The best estimates put the number of dead somewhere between 50 million and 80 million.

During that same period genocide was attempted.

Members of one race tried to completely kill off another.

New and fearsome technology led to weapons capable of killing thousands in a single stroke.

Today, others are developing similar weapons and threaten us with them.

Turn the clock further back and we confront a time when disease threatened to wipe out a continent.

The Black Death is thought to have killed 30 to 60 percent of Europe’s population.

People did not understand what was happening to them.

Some misinterpreted the disease as a punishment from God.

Many lashed out at against their neighbors.

They searched for possible heretics and the like which resulted in many unnecessary deaths.

History reminds us time and again that bad things have happened and can do so again.

There are two major difference between past calamities and present ones.

First, technology has made it possible for us to learn about them almost the moment they happen.

Second, those using this technology may try to influence how we should think and feel about them.

All catastrophes, modern as well as ancient, do have something in common.

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis put it this way: “All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”

Lewis also stated: “History isn't just the story of bad people doing bad things. It's quite as much a story of people trying to do good things but somehow something goes wrong.”

From the very beginning, God offered mankind a choice.

Choose Him and life, or, choose their own way and the consequences.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve made the wrong choice.

Collectively speaking, we have been making the wrong choice ever since.

Deuteronomy 30:19 (NET) - Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!

We still have a choice.

Let us choose life.

Let us choose life even when others choose otherwise.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 13, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, October 20, 2017

Beyond Dead

I was looking forward to hearing someone speak on Ezekiel 37 and John 11.

The first speaks of Ezekiel and his experiences in the valley of dry bones.

The second speaks of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

Unfortunately, the weather in the area turned quite severe and this was cancelled.

How I would have loved to hear this man speak on these powerful chapters.

Instead, I had to ponder them for myself.

Ezekiel tells us that the Lord had His hand upon him and led him into a valley filled with bones.

Ezekiel did not merely see these bones from a distance.

The Lord made him walk among the bones which must have been quite an experience.

Ezekiel noticed that the bones were very dry.

Bones in and of themselves imply death.

The fact that the bones were dry shows us these individuals had been dead for a very long time.

Then the Lord asked Ezekiel a question.

Ezekiel 37:3 (NET) - He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said to him, “Sovereign Lord, you know.”

The Lord then instructed Ezekiel to prophesy over them.

Ezekiel obeyed the Lord.

Ezekiel first heard a rattling sound as the bones came together.

They were then covered with tendons and flesh.

Even so, the bodies were still not yet alive.

The Lord then instructed him to prophesy over them once more.

At this, the Lord breathed life into them and a living army stood where there was once nothing but death and decay.

Something similar happens in John 11.

A friend of Jesus named Lazarus fell ill.

His sisters sent Jesus a message to come at once.

Jesus delayed, but for a reason.

Lazarus died before Jesus departed for Bethany.

When Jesus and his followers arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days.

The sisters came out to meet Jesus; first Martha and then Mary.

Jesus wanted the stone removed which covered the tomb.

John 11:39 (NET) - Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, replied, “Lord, by this time the body will have a bad smell, because he has been buried four days.”

Again, just as in Ezekiel, this implies a state beyond death as decay had already set in.

The stone was removed.

Jesus prayed to the Father and then commanded Lazarus in a loud voice to come out of the tomb.

John 11:44 (NET) - The one who had died came out, his feet and hands tied up with strips of cloth, and a cloth wrapped around his face. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

In both cases life was brought back to the lifeless and every trace of decay was completely reversed.

As we continue our journey through the season of Lent, let us be reminded that Jesus conquered death.

For beyond the cross there is another tomb - a tomb that was occupied for days.

A tomb that now lies empty because it former occupant has arisen.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 14, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, April 21, 2017

Revolving Around the Son

Recently there was news of the possibility of a new planet in our solar system.

Planet 9, when confirmed, will be very far away.

It will undoubtedly be quite different from the world on which we live.

Although each planet is unique, there is one thing that each of the planets have in common.

Each one revolves around the sun.

That is because the sun’s gravitational pull keeps them in orbit.

The sun also provides warmth which makes life on earth a reality.

If these influences from the sun stopped then the solar system would cease to exist.

In fact, it would no longer be a system at all.

The planets would simply fly off on their own directions into the cold, empty void of space.

This would prove disastrous for life on earth.

Without the sun’s influences, all life on earth would perish.

As we continue our journey through Lent, thoughts of this brought to mind other things.

Just as the planets revolve the sun, so our lives should revolve around the Son.

We rarely give thought to what the sun means to our world.

In a similar way, we can easily lose sight of what Jesus means to our lives and the lives of others.

The sun keeps the planets from wandering away.

The season of Lent reminds us what the Son did for us because we wandered away.

John 15:7-13 (NET) - No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.

As we continue our journey through the season of Lent, may we be reminded of how much the love of Jesus really means to us.

It is the kind of love He demonstrated for all of humanity at the cross.

Given that, shouldn’t our lives revolve around the Son?

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 26, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, March 4, 2016

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

As Strange As It May Seem

I was a child when I first heard the phrase, “God works in mysterious ways.”

I suppose that this is a more polite way of saying that God works in strange ways.

If you really think about it, His ways are often strange... to us.

No matter how long we have been believers, we can never completely understand His ways.

Isaiah reminded us of that.

Isaiah 40:13 (NET) – Who comprehends the mind of the LORD, or gives Him instruction as His counselor?

God both listens to and answers prayer but often times not in the way we would either prefer or expect.

In the book of Numbers, the people complained both about God and His servant Moses.

God’s response came in the form of poisonous snakes.

Numbers 21:6 (NET) – So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit the people; many people of Israel died.

It did not take long for the people to realize their error.

They went to Moses and confessed that they had sinned against God.

They asked Moses to pray that God would send the snakes away.

So, Moses prayed for the people.

God both heard and answered that prayer but certainly not in the way the people expected.

God told Moses to make a poisonous snake of bronze and set it on a pole.

He then instructed that when (not if) one was bitten he should look upon the bronze serpent.

If he did, he would live.

How strange this must have seemed to the people.

They expected God to take the snakes away.

Instead, God gave them something to do.

Something that, on the surface, seemed to make no sense at all.

Those that followed His instructions lived.

Those that did not, perished.

I suspect that it did not take very long for the people to realize God was as good as His word.

I also suspect that it did not take very long for the people to realize that it was in their best interest to know exactly where the bronze serpent was at all times in case they were bitten.

Perhaps this was an object lesson in and of itself.

Looking was important.

Knowing exactly where to look was also important.

That is a very good lesson for us today.

Sometimes we find ourselves in difficult circumstances.

When we do, we often pray to God to remove those circumstances.

Sometimes the circumstances remain.

If that is the case, the better prayer would be to ask how He wants us to deal with those circumstances.

Be open to the possibility that God wants to bring about a change in us rather than our circumstances.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

Fear Not

The other day I had some work done on my car.

There was a great deal of work needed and I knew repairs would take the entire day.

Knowing this, I brought along both a book to read and a notebook in which I could write.

I am glad that I did.

There was a television in their waiting area but it was tuned into one of those 24 hour news channels.

The last thing I wanted was to be exposed to bad news all day long.

I found a seat in the lobby and alternated between reading and writing.

Although I could see the television from my seat I was far enough away that I could not hear it.

Every time I glanced at the television, I could tell from the graphics that the news anchors were talking about Ebola.

When I no longer felt like reading or writing, I gathered my things and went for a walk.

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining.

The birds were singing.

I almost hated to go back inside.

Eventually, I made my way back inside and glanced at the television before opening my book again.

Just as I had suspected, two different news anchors had come into the studio and were talking about the same thing.

I gladly returned to my book.

I certainly do not wish to minimize the severity or the risk of contracting Ebola.

I will certainly not deny that the first person to die of it in my country did so mere hours away.

As I glanced today's headlines, it became easy to see that the levels of fear and anxiety are continuing to rise.

This is most unfortunate.

That is why I am so glad to be a Christian.

Compassion and reason should never allow fear and anxiety to get the upper hand.

As time goes by we will learn more and better understand how this disease is transmitted.

As we do, we must take all necessary precautions in the treatment of its victims.

In the time that Jesus walked the earth a different disease brought about fear and anxiety.

That disease was leprosy.

Victims of this disease were greatly feared and treated as outcasts.

Jesus showed them love and compassion.

Jesus healed with a word or a touch.

Although it is not within our capacity to heal in this way, we can follow His example.

We must never allow fear and anxiety to push aside our love and compassion for those in need.

Psalm 23:4 (NET) – Even when I must walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff reassure me.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

No Sad Ending

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

I am grateful for every one of God’s blessings.

I am also grateful for the people through whom God blesses me.

Less than a year ago, the father of one of my friends passed away.

Although I never met my friend’s father I have been told that he and I had a great deal in common.

A few weeks ago, my friend offered to give me a collection of books from her father’s personal library that were written by an author that her father and I both appreciated.

Of course, I readily accepted.

When my friend brought the books to me the following day, I was quite surprised.

There were over fifty books from a special edition and every one of them was beautifully bound.

I told my friend I did not feel right accepting such a gift and asked her to reconsider her offer.

These books were obviously special to her father and I felt that she should rightfully keep them in her family.

I also told her that she should at least consider selling them.

My friend carefully explained to me that she knew these books were special to her father.

She added that she wanted me to have them because she knew I would appreciate them in the same way that her father had.

I then accepted them and assured her that I would indeed appreciate them in the same way.

Once I had them organized, I could see that there were certain volumes that her father had read several times.

Some of these titles I had read in the past.

A few I had read more than once and I looked forward to reading them again.

That was the case with the first book I chose to read from this set.

As I began to read this book, the story began to replay itself in my mind.

As I progressed through this book I was reminded how the story would eventually play itself out.

I also knew that, in the end, the main character would die.

With that conclusion, I felt a certain sense of loss.

Of course, this was a work of fiction and that character never actually existed.

He was nothing but an idea concocted in the mind of a skilled author who was blessed with both the creativity to weave a story and the ability to put that story into words that he could share with his readers.

In less than a week, I finished the book and that character died just as he had before.

That reminded me of someone else I read about in another book that I have read many more times.

Someone who did the most miraculous of things. 

Someone who had to sacrifice His life.

Someone who had to so in the most horrific of ways.

Someone who had to do so for me.

There were some overwhelming differences between the accounts.

The book I have read many times is the Bible and it is fact not fiction.

That someone is Jesus who is the embodiment of truth.

There is a genuine sadness I experience whenever I read the Bible and the journey of Jesus takes Him ever closer to the cross.

A sadness that culminates when Jesus lays down His very life for the likes of me.

His death, however, is not the end,

Jesus overcame even death itself.

With His resurrection, all the sadness I experience along the way is replaced by complete and utter joy.

Joy for Jesus.

Joy for me.

Because Jesus willingly died in my place,  my own death will not be the end.

Rather, it will only be a transition.

The feelings I experience as I read about Jesus in the Bible are genuine.

That is because Jesus is genuine.

The salvation He offers is genuine.

With Jesus there is no such thing as a happy ending simply because there is no ending.

With Jesus there is complete and total joy which will last for eternity!


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

My Funeral for Sam

This is not my scheduled week to post here, but my friend Sam passed away last week.

Sam was not given a funeral, so the following is my feeble attempt at providing him with one...

We are gathered here today to give glory to God and to pay our final respects to Sam.

No obituary was printed for Sam, so I had to draw on things I have learned from our friendship of over twenty years.

Sam held several jobs in his lifetime but he was an artist at heart.

To the best of my knowledge, he never made any serious money with his paintings, but perhaps that is just as well.

If Sam had managed to make money this way, he would have likely concluded that his art had become too commercial and probably would have abandoned it for another art form.

I showed someone a portrait Sam had painted of Jesus and they remarked that it was a "little scruffy looking."

Artistically speaking, that made some sense to me.

You see, every culture tends to depict Jesus in art in terms of their own culture.

In African art, Jesus is often depicted as African.

In Asian art, He is often depicted as Asian.

I have a portrait of Jesus that was painted by a European artist that depicts Him with flowing blonde hair and blue eyes.

In this portrait Jesus looks quite European.

I think Sam was simply transferring some of his own "scruffiness" into the painting.

Honestly, I don’t think Jesus took any offense.

Sam enjoyed history.

His favorite TV program was The Antiques Roadshow and he was also extremely interested in Nikola Tesla.

Sam read everything about Tesla that he could get his hands on.

Sam was always researching different things and would talk to me about everything from canyons in Mexico to the Antikythera mechanism found in an Aegean shipwreck.

Sam kept a notepad in his pocket.

If something came up in conversation that interested him, he would jot it down and research it later.

Sam attended several churches in his lifetime including the one I attend.

I think his curiosity fueled his desire to experience firsthand how different denominations choose to worship God.

Sam and I had many, many conversations over coffee and we disagreed about a great many things.

It is said that there are two things you should never discuss, namely, religion and politics.

Yet we discussed both.

And, since we were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, we found a great many things to disagree about.

I can honestly say that we never once allowed a disagreement of any magnitude to get in the way of a perfectly good friendship.

Sam understood my fondness for music.

It was Sam that introduced me to the music of an Australian country singer by the name of Slim Dusty.

To this day, I never tire of listening to Slim singing ‘Waltzing Matilda‘.

I will always be grateful to Sam for that.

Similarly, I will always be grateful to God for the friendship He gave me with Sam.

Sadly, at the end, I honestly do not believe that Sam had many friends and even fewer good friends.

More than a few severed ties with him altogether for one reason or another along the way.

Sam was not perfect.

Then again, neither are we.

If you seriously think about it, a lifetime of rejections must have caused Sam to feel a great deal of personal pain.

I can only imagine what that amount of rejection must have felt like.

Jesus did not have to imagine anything of the sort.

He knew firsthand what it was like to have people turn on Him.

One day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the victorious cry of an ecstatic crowd.

Matthew 21:9 (NET) - The crowds that went ahead of Him and those following kept shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna In the Highest!"

A short time later, an angry mob turned on Jesus.

Matthew 27:22-23 (NET) - Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?" They all said, "Crucify Him!" He asked . "Why? What wrong has He done?" But they shouted more insistently, "Crucify Him!"

I have often wondered how many people were part of both the jubilant crowd one day and the angry mob the next.

Jesus knew exactly how it felt to have one of His own turn against Him.

Matthew 26:48 (NET) - Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Arrest Him!"

And it happened just that way!

Jesus also knew personally what it felt like to have friends abandon Him.

Jesus told Peter there would come a time when he would deny Him.

Matthew 26:34 (NET) - Jesus said to him, "I tell you the truth, on this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times."

Again, it happened just that way!

Yes Sam, in that regard, you were indeed in excellent company.

You see, your Savior knew just how you felt.

Now, that same Savior welcomes you home.

Lord, my prayer today is that You help us recognize that there are many Sam’s in the world.

Encourage us to accept them just as they are.

After all, that is just the way that You accept us.

For those of you that attended this "service" and stayed until the end, I offer my sincerest gratitude.

Sam was created in God’s image.

Sam mattered to God.

Sam mattered to me.

Funerals are for the living, bur everyone has a story.

In the end, doesn’t everyone deserve to have at least some of that story told?

It should not matter how many or how few decide to attend.

If it were possible for us to combine our voices in a closing hymn right now, I would ask that we sing "Just as I Am" before we part company.

One final and very personal note,,,

One of the last things Sam ever said to me was, "I can’t wait until you become a preacher."

Well Sam, this is about as close as I can get.

You deserved better.

This was the best I could provide.

Rest in peace, my friend.

Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com