Intelligence, Wisdom, and Pride

In Jeremiah 8, the prophet speaks on the perverse nature of the nation.

He speaks of those who consider themselves wise.

In truth, they are not.

They have manipulated the Word to suit their own desires.

Jeremiah 8:9 (NRSVue) - The wise shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them?

In Paul’s first letter to Corinth, he writes of the cross and the wisdom of God.

Just as in Jeremiah’s time, there were those in Paul’s time who deemed themselves wise.

They relied on their own intelligence and neglected the wisdom that comes from God.

1 Corinthians 1:20 – (NRSVue) - Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

What about us in the modern world?

Perhaps we are intelligent.

But the words intelligent and wise do not mean the same thing.

Intelligence describes the capacity to gain new knowledge.

True wisdom comes from God and can be gleaned from his Word.

Those who are granted wisdom by God seek to use that wisdom properly.

That means applying it in a way that aligns with God’s will.

A big part of wisdom involves time.

It means listening for God to call us to a purpose and then pursuing that call.

But the moment we seek to do things our way rather than His, we become unwise.

And that is one of the reasons that Scripture repeatedly warns us about pride.

We must not allow the arrogance of our intelligence to take over from the wisdom God gives us.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, April 25, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, May 2, 2025

With All Due Respect

Habakkuk 2 ends with warnings to the wicked.

The final verse is more than just a warning, it is a command.

It commands all to give God the respect He deserves.

More importantly, it is the respect He expects.

Habakkuk 2:20 (NRSVue) - But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him!

In Mark 11, we see a side of Jesus we do not normally see.

When Jesus enters His Father’s house, he sees the money changers and becomes indignant.

In fact, in His righteous anger, Jesus drives them out.

Mark 11:17 – (NRSVue) - He was teaching and saying, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

One of the duties I have accepted in my church is to act as the audio/visual coordinator.

Along with monitoring the sound board, I also broadcast our service.

My duties include arriving early, setting up equipment, and testing each component to make certain everything is ready to go.

But beyond the duties, I want to make certain that the work I do is not a distraction.

My goal is to enhance the experience for everyone.

If I ever feel my duties have become a distraction, I will resign.

One of the very first things I do when I step into God’s house is offer a prayer.

I thank God for the abilities He has generously bestowed upon me.

I also pray that my every action in the performance of my duties will be accepted as a form of worship.

In this way, I hope to give God His expected reverence and awe. 

I pray that I will be open to His guidance in making decisions that bring honor to Him. 

I pray for a desire to give God my absolute best in His house of worship.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, March 28, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, April 4, 2025

New Creations

Isaiah 62 is about vindication and salvation.

It also speaks of a new name - a new creation.

Isaiah 62:2b (NRSVue) - and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul writes about reconciliation.

He also touches on a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – (NRSVue) - So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being!

But what does it mean to be a new creation?

In basic terms, the moment we establish a relationship with Christ, we become a new creation.

We are different from the way we were before.

We start to see things in a new way.

We begin to understand things that mystified us before.

We are given a new and fresh start.

Moreover, God grants us courage to make this new beginning count!

As we proceed on our journey through Lent, we see the cross before us.

But as new creations, we also see the empty tomb that lies beyond it!

Colossians 3:9-11 (NRSVue) - Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, enslaved and free, but Christ is all and in all!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, March 28, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, April 4, 2025

Living Instead of Surviving

In Isaiah 46, the prophet reminds the people that God is unique in the universe.

No one compares to Him.

Isaiah 46:9 (NRSVue) - remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me,

At the beginning of Revelation, John concludes his introduction.

Revelation 1:8 – (NRSVue) - I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Aside from God, everyone and everything is finite.

We are born, we live, and we die.

Even the churches of Earth are finite.

God existed long before human beings were created.

God existed long before the first church buildings were constructed.

Our lives, in fact, all recorded history pales in comparison to Eternal God.

Our lives on earth are certainly brief by comparison,

But God gives each of us this moment in time to flourish.

How much time each of us has here is not important.

What we do with the time God grants us is.

And we really do not begin to truly live until we fix our gaze upon the Eternal God.

When we seek to please God our lives flourish,

We cease surviving.

We begin living,

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, March 14, 2025.

I will be back here on Friday, March 21, 2025