More Than Meets the Eye

In Judges 8, Gideon and his army pursue and defeat the Midianite kings.

In gratitude, the Israelites want Gideon, his son, and his grandson to rule over them as a dynasty.

Gideon refuses.

Judges 8:23 (NRSVue) - Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

In John 20, the resurrected Jesus appears before the disciples.

But Thomas was not with them.

The disciples tell Thomas who refuses to believe.

Thomas insists on proof.

He had to see with his own eyes.

Later Jesus appears again when Thomas is with them.

Thomas sees Jesus and touches the wounds of the cross.

John 20:28 (NRSVue) - Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Do we seek power and recognition?

Or like Gideon, will we acknowledge the Lord’s sovereignty?

Like Thomas, do we insist on proof?

Or will we rely on faith?

John 20:29 (NRSVue) - Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, October 23, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, November 6, 2026

Knowing Where We Stand

In Genesis 18, God pronounces His judgment on Sodom.

God also shares this information with Abraham.

Abraham decides to speak to God, but he does so with the utmost respect.

Genesis 18:27 (NRSVue) - Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord, I who am but dust and ashes.

In Matthew 15, a Canaanite woman pleads with Jesus concerning her daughter who has a demon.

To the untrained ear, the response from Jesus could appear insulting.

It is possible that Jesus was measuring her faith.

The woman persists, but like Abraham, she does so with respect and humility.

Matthew 15:27-28 (NRSVue) – She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that moment.

Like Abraham and the woman, we too can ask for what we need from the Lord.

But we should do so with humility and respect.

The Lord knows what we need before we even think to ask.

But asking the Lord with the respect He deserves is how we foster a healthy relationship with Him.

Like Abraham and the woman, we need to have the courage to ask.

And we must do so knowing where we stand in this relationship.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com on Friday, October 16, 2026.

I will be back here on Friday, October 23, 2026

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

What Unites Us

I have been preparing to teach a class about a remarkable Christian who lived centuries ago.

Part of my preparation involved anticipating questions I may be asked.

One question I am anticipating is: “What would this man have to say about Christianity today?”

Frankly, a great deal.

But I think one thing that would surprise him would be the number of denominations that have arisen.

I think he would be amazed at the number of different churches there are each claiming to be Christian.

This put me in mind of a conversation I had with a friend long ago.

We attended different churches.

We had some lively discussions concerning our differences.

Suffice it to say, my friend was a bit opinionated.

At the end of one such conversation, I asked my friend to consider scripture we might agree on.

I asked him if we could agree on this passage from Romans…

Romans 6:23 (NET) - For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course, neither of us disagreed with that.

I then asked my friend if we could agree on this well-known passage from John…

John 3:16-17 (NET) - For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

Again, this was something we could agree upon.

I than asked my friend about an earlier passage…

John 3:5-6 (NET) - Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Again, we agreed upon this.

I then told my friend that although we worshipped in slightly different ways, we agreed on some very important things.

Perhaps, as Christians, we would be wise to focus on that which unites us rather than that which divides us.

In doing so we would be better able to serve God.

In doing so we would be better able to serve our fellow man.

I think the man about whom I will speak would agree.

He once had this to say…

“Whenever you encounter one of your neighbors, regard him as yourself in another form (which he is), or indeed as God in another form, for he is the image of God, and God will be watching to see how reverently you treat him.” - Comenius

I think we can all agree on that.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 24, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 7, 2019

Speaking Out

I find the amount of division in my country and other countries staggering.

A recent headline certainly does not make me feel any better.

There were almost 18% more hate crimes in my country this year than the year before.

Frankly, I feel that percentage is likely higher.

After all, not all hate crimes get reported.

There are also crimes based in hatred that are not officially classified as “hate crimes”.

Division has found its way into entertainment and sports.

This solves nothing.

In fact, it merely fans the flames of hatred.

Elected officials and candidates knowingly or unknowingly contribute to this growing problem as well with their rhetoric.

What is the solution?

Before attempting to answer such a question, I think we need to look at things objectively.

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis stated, “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.”

I think we can easily throw division and hatred into the list.

                                                                                                                          

In Surprised by Hope, N. T. Wright cites a reporter who states that we live in an age where politicians want to live like rock stars and rock stars pretend to be politicians.

As for me, I think the rise in hate crimes in my country and others can be directly contributed to our desire to distance ourselves from God.

Our continued futile quest to find things other than God to make us happy.

This is compounded by those who are supposed to lead but do not.

It is aggravated by those who are supposed to entertain but choose to play at politics.

Through the years, we Christians have been told to keep our opinions to ourselves,

We have done just that.

What is more, our silence is deafening.

It is not enough for Christians to simply want problems like hate crimes to go away.

We must be willing to be part of the solution in partnership with God.

If not us, who?

If not now, when?

1 John 4:10-11 (NET) - In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 23, 2018.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 7, 2018

Love, Respect and Dignity

One observation I have made through the years is that people often treat others according to their status.

In business, people tend to treat their bosses with more respect than they do their employees.

People in high positions of government expect to be addressed in certain ways.

In the world, it often boils down to what the other person can do for you.

I honestly believe that this is one area in life where Christians have a real advantage.

Jesus told us to love our neighbor.

Mark 12:30-31 (NET) - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

That means we are to love everyone.

It does not matter what their worldly status happens to be.

It does not matter whether they can do things for us or not.

It does not even matter that they may not love us in return.

Other verses echo this as well.

Galatians 5:14 (NET) – For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment, namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

What does loving our neighbor mean?

For one thing, it means treating everyone with respect and dignity.

The same respect and dignity we like to enjoy ourselves,

This is what I meant when I said the Christian has an advantage.

By treating everyone equally, we do not have to choose how we will treat an individual.

One of my favorite authors and theologians is John Amos Comenius (1592-1670).

He once put it this way: “Whenever you encounter one of your neighbors, regard him as yourself in another form (which he is), or indeed as God in another form, for he is the image of God, and God will be watching to see how reverently you treat him.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 27, 2018.

I’ll be back here on Friday, August 3, 2018

Man Up

Father’s Day is this Sunday, and this has been very much on my mind.

Many of my friends are fathers.

Some are grandfathers.

God has given me my own circumstances.

I have neither children nor grandchildren.

I am quite certain of one thing.

Children are special to Jesus.

Matthew 19:14-15 (NET) - But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” And he placed his hands on them and went on his way.

As a result, I have come to one inescapable conclusion.

If children are special to Jesus, they should be special to me.

Therefore, as a man, I must be careful.

Children learn not only from our words but from our behavior as well.

A careless word or action on our part as adults can do considerable damage.

It can undo valuable lessons taught to them by their parents.

Jesus cautioned us about this.

Matthew 18:6 (NET) - “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.

As a child I was blessed.

There were several men I looked up to as role models.

The way they lived influenced the way I live now.

Now, it is my turn to “man up”.

With God’s help I hope I am doing so.

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.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 22, 2018.

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 6, 2018

An Open Letter to Fathers

Fathers:

Some of you know me quite well.

Some of you know me socially.

Many of you do not know me at all.

Regardless of the nature of our relationship, I know that as fathers you are concerned about your children.

I appreciate your concern especially in these times.

I have no direct experience with the responsibilities that accompany fatherhood.

That said I am well aware that all men, including me, have responsibilities where children are concerned.

Fathers teach their children with words and by example.

I might not teach your children with words, but I hope I can teach them by example.

If we attend the same church, there are things your children will see.

They will see me coming out of my Sunday school class.

They will see me at Vacation Bible School serving in some way.

They will see me participating in Christmas programs and attending rehearsals.

They will see me helping out during church in one capacity or another.

There are also some things neither you nor they ever see.

You will never see the hours I spend in committee meetings which help direct the course of their education.

You will never see me when I come in on the occasional Saturday to set up and test equipment for their use in Sunday school.

You will never see the hours of preparation and research that go into my ministries.

Some of you do not attend my church.

In fact, many of you do not know me at all.

My responsibility to your children is equally important.

Whenever I am out in public I know that there is always a chance a child might be observing me.

Your child might notice my behavior or interaction with others.

Having been a child myself, I am well aware that children are not fooled by hypocrisy.

If I should speak or behave inappropriately in a public setting, I could potentially damage valuable lessons you are trying to teach them.

I might not be a father but I am a man.

That is a role I take very seriously.

Although I have no children of my own, scripture reminds me how special all children are to the Lord.

Luke 18:16-17 (NET) - But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Because all children are special to Him, they are special to me.

That includes your children.

No matter how well you know me, I want to be the kind of male role model for your children that other men were for me.

As fathers, you are concerned about your children.

That goes with the territory.

I appreciate that concern.

When Father’s Day comes on Sunday your children might give you a gift to express their love for you.

There is nothing I can give you that can equal that.

What I hope I have given you is one less thing to worry about.

I wish you a happy and blessed Father’s Day.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 24, 2016.

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 1, 2016

Dignity and Respect

One of the things I find interesting about the human race is the way we treat “important” people.

In business we tend to think of our superiors as important.

In politics we tend to think of our leaders as important.

We even tend to think of religious leaders as important.

Leaders are given titles and those titles denote their position within the structure of the body they serve.

In and of itself this is not a bad thing as it helps everyone within the structure function efficiently and effectively.

As humans, we tend to treat those above us in the structure as more important than ourselves.

In fact, we tend to think the higher up in the structure a person is, the more important that person must be.

Unfortunately, we tend to apply the same logic to those below us in the structure.

We tend to treat these individuals as if they were less important than ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with treating those that lead us with respect and dignity,

Plainly speaking, we should treat everyone with respect and dignity no matter what their station in life happens to be.

I do not think for a moment that God considers any one human being as being more important than another.

After all, God provided for the salvation of mankind long ago.

John 3:16 (NET) – For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

The passage continues.

John 3:17 (NET) - For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

Notice that these verses apply to “everyone” in “the world”.

Nowhere is it stated that salvation is reserved for “the important”.

That concept of importance is a human invention.

Every man and woman, leaders and followers alike, are creations of God.

All are created in His image.

As such, everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 9, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, October 16, 2015