Love Endures

Proverbs 31:26 (NET) - She has opened her mouth with wisdom, with loving instruction on her tongue.

Mother’s Day was a bittersweet time for me.

Mom passed away almost 15 years ago, and I still love and miss her very much.

That is why I was so grateful to receive an email from a friend who is a man of God.

Like me, he too had a wonderful relationship with his mother,

In his email, he reminded me how blessed both of us are for the mothers God gave us.

I readily agreed.

My faith would not be what it is had it not been for my mother.

Some of my earliest memories are of her telling me stories from the Bible.

She told them with great conviction.

Afterward, she took the time to answer the questions a young boy inevitably had.

That is why I always think of Proverbs 31 whenever I remember my mother.

The last half of this chapter describes a good wife.

I believe it also describes a good mother.

This year I wondered how Mom would have dealt with the current situation.

I concluded she would have been concerned.

But her concern would have been for others rather than herself.

In fact, two passages of scripture she cited most often were about concern and where to turn for help.

John 14:27 (KJV) - Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Psalm 121:1-3 (KJV) - I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Mother’s Day will always be a bittersweet time for me no matter how old I get.

That’s a good thing.

It reminds me how special she was to me.

It also reminds me others thought she was special as well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 22, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 5, 2020

Christmas, Tradition and Love

One of the things I enjoy about Christmas is tradition.

The church I attend has several traditions.

Some of these traditions go back many years.

For example, a traditional gift among people who share my heritage is “The Christmas Sack”.

This is a simple brown paper bag containing an apple, an orange and a few pieces of candy.

My parents always gave me this gift every Christmas when I was a boy.

I am not certain how many generations back this tradition goes.

My church continues this tradition as well.

Every year my church puts on a Christmas Program.

A few nights before the program, a few of us will meet at the church and prepare many sacks.

When the Christmas Program ends, everyone in attendance gets one and so the tradition continues.

Another tradition I enjoy takes place at our worship service every Christmas Eve.

Prior to the start of the service we place a rocking chair in our sanctuary.

At some point during the worship service our pastor will sit in that chair.

The children in attendance will then come forward and sit on the floor around the pastor.

He will then read to them about the very first Christmas from the gospel of Luke.

Another tradition we have is quite new.

Empty boxes are provided to all members at the start of Advent.

Members place a non-perishable food item in their box each day during the season of Advent.

By the time Christmas arrives, all the boxes have been filled with food.

The filled boxes are gathered, and the food is donated to the local food bank to help the less fortunate.

These are but some of our traditions.

No doubt, you have traditions of your own.

Traditions play an important role in helping us observe Christmas.

It is important that our hearts are in the right place as we take part in them.

Simply going through the motions is not enough.

Everything we do should be rooted in faith, hope and love.

After all, it is God’s love for us that is at the very heart of Christmas.

Christmas is not a celebration of how we reach up to God.

Christmas is a celebration of how God reached down to us.

It is a celebration of how God reached down to a disobedient and fallen world that could not save itself.

It is a celebration of how God reaches down in the most remarkable and unexpected of ways.

Luke 2:11 (NET) - Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.

I wish you all a happy and blessed Christmas!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 22, 2017.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 5, 2018

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

Acts of Worship

An older friend of mine used to open up the church every Sunday morning.

One Sunday morning, he took me under his wing and began to show me all the tasks he performed.

Every Sunday morning after that, we would go through these tasks together.

Eventually I learned how to do all of them.

Due to circumstances beyond his control, he is no longer able to open up the church on Sundays.

These tasks now fall to me as he has shown me how to do them.

I am grateful because performing these tasks reinforces something I have always believed.

Every service performed for the Lord is an act of worship.

Even the smallest of tasks can be an act of worship.

What matters is our motivation for doing them.

For an act to be one of worship the focus has to be on Him rather than ourselves.

It has to be done with an attitude of love rather than automatically and without thought.

Unlocking the doors permits His worshipers to enter.

Turning on the lights allows his worshippers to see.

Turning on the speakers and microphones allows his worshippers to hear.

Setting out the offering plates allows his worshippers to give.

These and other tasks, no matter how small they may seem, can be acts of worship.

My friend taught me that.

I could see that in the way he did them.

That is the best way to instruct.

Love has to be demonstrated.

One day, I too will take someone under my wing and show them how to do these things.

Then the day will come when I will no longer be able to do them.

The one I teach will then perform these acts of worship.

I sincerely hope I can demonstrate the kind of love to that person that was shown to me.

1 Samuel 15:22 (NET) - Then Samuel said,

  “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

  as much as he does in obedience?

  Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice;

  paying attention is better than the fat of rams.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 27, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 3, 2016

Mama's Boy

Sunday is Mother’s Day.

When I was young the term “Mama’s boy” was considered an insult.

If a boy was really intent on getting into a scrap with another boy on the playground then this phrase was almost sure to do it.

Frankly, it did not get much better when we grew older.

Now there is even a definition for it.

Today, “Mama’s boy” is a term for a man who is extremely attached to his mother at an age when men are expected to be independent.

In my case, being a “Mama’s boy” was born more out of necessity rather than choice.

My father died when he was a young man.

Shortly afterward, my mother’s health began to deteriorate.

Having no surviving siblings, it fell to me to make certain her needs were met.

Unlike my father, my mother lived into her advanced years.

As each year passed, she was physically able to less and less so she counted on me more and more.

Mother passed away about a decade ago, but I treasure all those years I was able to spend with her.

The faith she instilled in me as a boy she built on as I became a man.

While I am by no means perfect, I have come quite far.

The ministries I am involved in today would likely have surprised her.

They certainly have surprised me.

Looking back, I realize just how much my relationship with her prepared me for today.

I have no idea what God has in store for me tomorrow.

Whatever His plans are for me, it is likely that the relationship I had with her will play a pivotal role as well.

When I was a boy, she taught me with words.

As I became a man and she needed help just to get through the day, well, that is when she taught me by example.

Those are the lessons I have learned best of all.

When I was young the term “Mama’s boy” was considered an insult.

Today I consider them praise.

One more thing…

As I said, Mother passed away about ten years ago.

Not a day goes by that I do not think about her or miss her.

The love I have for her, however, has not died.

Such is the beauty of faith.

Scripture reminds us how vital it is to honor our parents.

Exodus 20:12 (NET) - Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you.

I believe that means honoring their memory as well.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 13, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, May 20, 2016

Amazing Grace

I was thinking about hymns and the first one that came to my mind was Amazing Grace.

This hymn has always held a special place in my heart.

The title and opening stanza say it all…

Amazing grace (how sweet the sound)

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found.

Was blind, but now I see.

How true those words are.

They are just as true as when John Newton published them in 1779.

Perhaps that is why it is one of the most recognized songs in the world.

It does not matter who the artist is.

It does not matter what instruments are played.

It does not matter what language, if any, is used.

As soon as we hear it, we instantly recognize it.

It is a song that translates well into any language without loss of meaning.

I believe these things are true because of the message the song delivers.

Each of us, every man, woman and child was at one time lost.

Each of us was blind to the existence of God.

Our condition was truly wretched,

But there is saving power in Jesus Christ.

This is a gift God’s grace,

We neither earned this precious gift nor did we deserve it.

Yet, He saved us.

That is truly amazing.

Romans 3:23-24 (NET) - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

It’s enough to make anyone want to sing!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 23, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, November 6, 2015

Our Daily Manna

I recently watched a DVD in which the speaker discussed miracles.

One of the miracles the speaker focused on was the quail that the Lord sent His people in the book of Numbers.

The speaker made this sound like a wonderful thing for them.

He did this to imply that God will do marvelous things for us if we but ask Him.

Unfortunately, the speaker neglected to tell the entire story.

While everything God does is miraculous, sometimes His purpose is correction.

The account of the quail really began much earlier when the people complained about the Lord's provision.

In Exodus chapter 16, the people complained to Moses and Aaron about hunger.

God told Moses that He would rain down bread from heaven for the people.

He also gave Moses very specific instructions.

The people were only to gather as much as they needed for the day.

On the sixth day, however, they would be able to gather twice as much so that the seventh day of rest could be observed.

Moses instructed the people that they were to keep none of it until morning.

Some, as if doubting that God would continue to provide, gathered more.

What they kept overnight went bad.

This angered Moses.

So, each morning the people went out and gathered their daily portion and returned.

On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as the Lord had instructed.

The people called this bread from heaven “manna” and it was in this way the Lord provided for them.

Then, in Numbers chapter 11 we find the account of the quail.

This was preceded by complaint as well.

The people missed the food they ate in Egypt.

They even believed they received it freely forgetting that they paid for it by being slaves.

It was at this point that they openly declared their dissatisfaction with what the Lord had provided.

Numbers 11:6 (NET) – But now we are dried up, and there is nothing at all before us except this manna!

One can almost imagine how that made God feel.

God informed Moses of what would take place.

He would give the people meat.

Numbers 11:19-20 (NET) – You will eat, not just one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick, because you have despised the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come out of Egypt?”

The Lord then caused the wind to drive in quail from the sea which fell around the camp to a depth of three feet.

The people eagerly gathered quail all that day, through the night and all the next day.

That is when it happened.

Numbers 11:33 (NET) – But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague.

The speaker on the DVD left that part out.

We really need to be grateful for God's daily provision.

Just as He provided His people with enough manna for each day He provides for us.

Jesus echoed that sentiment.

Luke 11:3 (NET) - “Give us each day our daily bread,”

It reminds me of something an old friend said to me years ago, “Be needy, not greedy.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

Weathering the Storms

John 16:33 (NET) - I have told you these things so that in Me you will have peace. In the world you will have trouble and sufferings, but take courage - I have conquered the world.

In the summer, it is relatively easy to predict the weather where I live.

If I were asked to do so, I would forecast hot and dry and be correct the vast majority of the time.

I recall one summer day when the forecast called for hot with a slight chance of rain.

Even the professional forecasters all but dismissed that chance of rain.

Throughout the day and into the evening, it was indeed hot and not a single drop of rain fell.

That night, the slight chance of rain materialized in the form of a severe thunderstorm.

As it approached, I knew that we were in for quite a night because of the amount of thunder I heard in the distance.

When the storm arrived in full force, I was amazed by the amount of lightning it generated.

Continual flashes of lightning lit up my windows.

Several lightning bolts struck nearby.

Seated with my back to the wall, I could literally feel their shock waves as the concussions traveled through both the wall and my chair.

I could hear the wind as it drove the rain into my door and window panes.

As the winds continued to blow, hail began to fall.

Eventually, the storm passed.

The following day I saw some of the damage left by the storm.

Leaves littered the ground.

Broken tree branches were scattered about. Some fell in the streets.

Roofs were also damaged.

Yes, this was quite a storm.

The storm also brought one more thing.

Precious life giving rain.

A substantial amount had fallen and was quickly absorbed by the ground which the day before was extremely hard and dry.

In the days that followed, the grass, once brown and dry, softened and turned green once again.

It was given a new lease on life.

At times, the weather becomes turbulent.

At times, our very lives become turbulent.

Even believers experience times of turbulence and upheaval. 

Jesus was very clear about this in scripture.

That is why I have a problem with concept of only prosperity for believers.

According to some, becoming a believer will eliminate every problem and every challenge.

Experience, however, confirms both His words of caution and His promise.

In fact, some of the most faithful people I have ever known have endured challenges that would cause many without faith to become easily discouraged.

In some cases it was a health crisis. In others it was the sudden loss of a loved one. For others it was a problem in the workplace.

To speak candidly , believers face many challenges in a lifetime.

There are even times when they face several challenges at once.

The believer, however, knows that he does not face these storms alone.

The believer knows that there is no reason to fear and every reason to hope.

The believer knows that Jesus has conquered the world and will help them weather the storm whatever that storm may bring.

They rest assured knowing that they will be blessed in the process.

They may even be a vehicle of blessing for others as a result.

It is easy to thank God when things are going our way.

The faithful also thank God during the storms in life.

It is in the process of overcoming them that He refines us.

It is in facing them that our relationship with God is strengthened.

When the storms pass, and they will, the blessings that accompany them are truly appreciated.



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

Worlds Apart

Matthew 5:3 (NET) - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of God belongs to them.

My friends just returned from a mission trip.

They shared some of their experiences with me.

In reflecting on the things they shared, I could not help but feel overwhelmed.

The remote village to which they traveled was quite poverty stricken.

The people there had very little as far as possessions are concerned.

Home was little more than four walls and a roof that could not even keep out the rain.

A simple bag of food distributed by missionaries to a household would be rationed and stretched to its limit and would last that family several days.

My friends have been sponsoring two children in this country for a number of years.

On this trip, God moved them to sponsor a third child.

Given the opportunity to meet this child, they took her to a zoo in the city.

These were both very new experiences for her.

She delighted in seeing all the different kinds of animals on display at the zoo.

Afterward, they went to a restaurant but were surprised that the child did not wish to eat her meal.

When asked why, she said she wanted to take it home and share it with her family.

This moved my friends who then told her to eat her meal and they promised her that before leaving they would buy food for her family.

Church was also a different experience for them.

The service was held in a structure that is a far cry from the image most people think of when they hear the word "church".

The service also lasted much longer than what most of us are accustomed to.

Singing songs of praise took up much of that time.

God had a surprise for one of my friends.

He was asked to preach.

He had nothing prepared ahead of time and found himself in total reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

Speaking through an interpreter, he delivered the message that God had given him to share.


Why am I sharing this?

Most of us have much more in terms of possessions than the people in this village will ever have.

In regard to food, most of us discard in a few days what families there share in a week.

Even the overall church experience differs.

At the risk of painting with a very broad brush, we expect church to conform to what we expect from it rather than what it is meant to offer us.

Perhaps most revealing was the overwhelming knowledge that those who have so very little are far more grateful than we can ever hope to be.

They are likely truly happier as well.

Matthew 5:8 (NET) - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

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