No Worries

Psalm 31:15a (NET) - You determine my destiny.

As human beings, we tend to worry about our future.

But worry accomplishes nothing.

No amount of worry can change our future.

The Psalmist’s words are words of comfort.

But more than that, they remind us why we need never worry about our future.

The Psalmist understood that the Lord was his destiny.

The Lord is our destiny as well.

Jesus understood this and explained this to His disciples.

First, He reminded them of the things they tended to worry about.

Then, He reminded them of their value to God.

In the end, He drove the lesson home.

Luke 12:25 (NET) - And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

We like to think that we are in control.

But this is an illusion.

The reality is quite different.

Ultimately, it is God who is in control.

So, what should we do?

We need to let go and trust God.

God can help us do that.

Once we let go, we can encounter God in a new and peaceful way.

We can stop worrying needlessly about the future and focus on today.

We can recognize how much He is with us in the present.

Then we can understand that He is already waiting for us in the future.

Both the Psalmist and Jesus got it right.

God is our destiny and there is no need to worry!

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 10, 2021.

I will be back here on Friday, December 17, 2021

Our Journey

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.

Everyone is facing challenges right now.

I receive so many messages stating that these are “difficult times”.

As human beings, we both dislike change and want easy answers.

We just want the challenge to be over.

We want things to be like they were before.

2020 reminds us that answers do not come easy.

Even the beginning of 2021 has brought additional challenges and issues.

In life there are no quick fixes or easy answers.

Scripture reminds us of many people who endured much.

Yet they kept their faith throughout their challenges.

Faith is a wonderful thing.

But having faith does not mean we will get quick fixes or easy answers.

That is why my thoughts turned to the passage above from 2 Peter.

It reminds us that our life on earth is more about the journey than it is the destination.

We begin the journey with faith.

But that is just the beginning of the journey.

Faith takes us to excellence, then knowledge and then self-control.

We then move on to perseverance and to godliness.

Godliness then leads us to brotherly love and unselfish love.

That is quite a journey.

But we do not travel alone.

God is with us every step of the way.

We must therefore experience not only a change of mind but a change of heart as well.

The Psalmist reminds us of that.

Psalm 95:2-3 (NET) - Let us enter his presence with thanksgiving. Let us shout out to him in celebration. For the Lord is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.

We must give thanks to God in all circumstances, even difficult ones.

For God is indeed great and He will see us through the difficult times!

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

I will be back here on Friday, February 5, 2021

Come What May

As I write this, 2020 is winding down.

Hopefully 2021 will be a better year, but time will tell.

From our current vantage point, there is room for optimism.

The vaccine for COVID-19 is already being distributed.

With it, we may get a handle on the pandemic.

But, from our current vantage point a great deal about the future remains unknown.

Will those who lost their jobs find employment once again?

Will we find healing for the division we currently experience?

Will the virus mutate and perhaps result in additional setbacks?

So many questions.

So few answers.

In pondering the future, my thoughts turn to two men of God from the Old Testament.

The first of these is Abraham.

God asked Abraham to venture into the unknown.

Genesis 12:1 (NET) - Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go out from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household to the land that I will show you.

Despite the unknown, Abraham obeyed God and God made him a great nation.

The second of these men is Moses.

God allowed him to see the Promised Land but did not allow him to enter it

Numbers 27:12-13 (NET) - Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range, and see the land I have given to the Israelites. When you have seen it, you will be gathered to your ancestors, as Aaron your brother was gathered to his ancestors.

God gave Moses a glimpse into the future He promised the people,

One thing these men shared was faith.

Each man’s faith in God allowed him to believe there was a future.

The same applies to us.

2021 might be a complete mystery to us.

It might be a time for optimism, new beginnings, healing and recovery.

It might be a time of additional setbacks,

One thing is certain.

God will be there for us.

We must have faith and trust Him.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

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

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 15, 2021

 

Finding Joy This Christmas

Christmas is an excellent time for reflection.

In doing so, I find that I have many unpleasant memories of events that involve the Christmas season.

One Christmas season, the person to whom I was closest died.

I had to arrange funeral services.

This was made challenging as no one had cell phones.

Many had left town for Christmas and I had no way of reaching them.

Then there was a young lady I met many years ago.

We got along very well.

As we learned more about each other I discovered her family chose not to celebrate Christmas.

For my family, Christmas was a major event.

We parted ways soon afterward.

Neither of us could ask the other to go against our faiths.

I could list other unpleasant memories associated with the Christmas season.

Due to COVID-19, Christmas 2020 will most probably rank among them for most.

But, unpleasant memories aside, we should still find joy in Christmas itself.

It is the day we set aside to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This event was foretold by the prophet Isaiah

Isaiah 7:14 (NET) - For this reason the Lord himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.

The Gospel of Matthew confirmed fulfillment of this prophecy.

Matthew 1:21-23 (NET) - She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Look! The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will name him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.

Yes, we each probably have unpleasant memories of particular Christmas seasons.

But we should still look for and find joy in Christmas itself.

I like the way Paul stated it in his second letter to Corinth.

2 Corinthians 9:15 (NET) - Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

My prayer is that we each find true joy this Christmas despite any unpleasant circumstances in our lives

Wishing you a Blessed Christmas!

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 25, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 1, 2021

 

A Symbol of Hope

 

John 6:30 (NET) - So they said to him, "Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

Throughout His earthly ministry, people asked Jesus for miraculous signs.

Truthfully speaking, these requests were more like demands.

According to their reasoning, this would cause them to believe.

With all that is going on in the world today, perhaps we desire the miraculous even more.

We would like Jesus to end the pandemic.

We would like for Him to heal all division.

Some might even ask Him to restore the economy.

The list goes on.

But faith neither expects nor demand a miraculous sign or wonder.

Faith simply believes.

That is why I enjoy the season of Advent so much.

We surround ourselves with symbols of the season.

One of my personal favorites is the Moravian star.

It began in Moravian boarding schools in the nineteenth century 

Originally designed as a lesson in geometry, it became so much more.

Carried around the world by missionaries and church workers, it became a symbol.

It is now a symbol of Advent.

It is a symbol of hope.

The hope we have as we approach the day of celebration.

The celebration of the birth of Jesus two thousand years ago.

For in Christ lies real hope.

This, I believe, is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions.

It is not about us reaching up to a distant god.

Christianity is about how the loving God reached down to us.

And he did so in the most surprising of ways.

Christ did not come to us as a general or political ruler.

He did not even come to us as an adult.

Christ came to us as an infant; one born to obedient parents in humble surroundings.

So, do not expect or demand miraculous signs and wonders.

Instead, have faith; have hope!

The reminders are all around us.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, December 11, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 18, 2020

 

Worry, Worry, Worry

Philippians 4:2 (NET) - Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.

Scripture tells us time and again that we should not worry.

The words “Fear not” immediately spring to mind.

Good advice.

But some have even gone so far as to say that if you worry then you are not really a Christian.

My mother was a worrier.

I used to tell her that if she found herself not worrying, she would worry about that.

Of course, this was in jest and she took it that way.

But frankly speaking, there is a great deal of concern in the world right now.

There is the pandemic.

There is division.

There is the economy.

Many are out of work.

Speaking for myself, many things have changed due to circumstances beyond my control.

I personally know several people in the same predicament.

I stated earlier that my mother was a worrier.

But her concern was not for herself, rather it was a concern for others.

Mother proved to me very early on that you can be concerned and be a Christian.

Especially when that concern is for others.

Galatians 6:2 (NET) - Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.

I cannot change the circumstances that are outside my realm of control.

But being concerned for others does three things for me.

First, I am far less concerned about myself.

Second, this is what scripture demands.

Third, it makes me glad that God gave me such a great Christian mother and teacher.

 

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at https://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com/ on Friday, November 27, 2020.

I’ll be back here on Friday, December 4, 2020