The Threshing Floor

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

If we believed the words of John the Baptist in this passage our lives certainly would be a bit different. Upon reading this passage the word 'throughly' should hit us square between the eyes and cause us to fall down an plead God's mercy upon our congregations, homes, schools, offices and so on. Do we not know that the threshing floor will be clean when the day of judgement is past. There will be no remnant missed, no residue of chaff left, and not a kernel of wheat missed. It will ALL either be gathered to the garner, or cast into unquenchable fire.

Is there any compassion in the hearts or today's professing christians when they look across a crowd, a classroom, a congregation, or a public venue? Do Christians today not remember these words of John the Bapist; "He will throughly purge His threshing floor," or do we sit back without ever considering the gravity of what is going on around us. Today we tend to live as though the threshing floor will never be throughly purged, instead we see it as being partially purged. It is more comfortable to believe that not every person you come in contact really has an eternity before them, it is just too overwhelming. However John the Baptist says NO, the threshing floor is to be "throughly" purged, without a scrap of chaff left.

((to be continued))

More on Value

In the last post we established that we have value as human beings only in the fact that Christ has paid the ultimate price for us. Value is not determined by the usefulness of an object, or a person, it is however determined by the price someone is willing to pay. An antique clock that needs adjusted every 2 days is likely more valuable than your clock radio, even though your clock is always accurate, plays music, and so on. The antique is not so useful, but is valuable, the clock radio is very useful yet has little value. There is no correlation between usefulness and value. Again we as humans are incredibly valuable because of the price that was paid for us, not because of our usefulness. You ought to value every person you meet because you know your Older Brother spilt His blood as a payment for them.

Now here is the issue, Christ has paid the price for us regardless of our usefulness. We may accept that payment or reject that payment, to reject it is to render youself of no value in that day of judgement. That which has no value in the end ultimately is cast aside, or thrown away. Jesus speaks of Gehenna, the following is an excerpt from the lexicon from www.blueletterbible.com: (Strongs #G1067)

"Hell is the place of the future punishment call "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire". This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned; a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction."

So basically the reference to Hell is a trash dump. What goes into a trash dump? That which has absolutely no value. Who goes to hell? He or she who has no value. How can a person have no value? While they are alive it is impossible, because Christ's payment on their behalf is pending, but if that payment is never accepted, that value is never accredited to them and ultimately they go the way of all souls who have no value.

On the other hand by accepting His payment as payment in full He has then secured you from distruction because His work has given you value. Just as coupon by itself has no value, but when it is redeemed it has worth, so too is it with the redemption of a human soul.

Now we are not like the antique clock that has value for no good reason other than being antique. We have value because the Son of God purchased us, not some crazed collector. The Lord has purchased us, but goes a step further, and He determines to restore us. Not only does He purchase us because He loves us, but He purchases us to restore us to usefullness. We are more than a peice of junk He has redeemed, we are a person whom He has determined to fashion into His likeness. He desire to restore us to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ himself. If there is no sanctifying restoring work being performed by the Lord in your life, know this, you have not by faith and repentance truely accepted His payment on your life. You are still a pending transaction.

Please realize that if no noticable change in your dispostion or desires has ever occured because of the transforming work of Christ, then you have yet to truely believe.

Before anyone casts a stone, I do believe in the Sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. This post tends to emphasize choice, or even free will to accept or reject payment, so do the scriptures. I as the publisher of this post recognize God's sovereign activity in our decisions. The paradox of sovereignty and free will is a philospical issue not a theological one, I simply except both to be true. To say there is no paradox is to be intentionally naive to much of scripture.

Why are you valued?

Well first off it has been a long time since I have posted, and for that I am sorry. Hopefully I will be getting back at it a little bit more. The Lord has blessed my family and I richly, and His hand is clearly in the Youth Ministry which I have been blessed to oversee. There is much I could say about the volunteers He has supplied, the provisions He has given, and the many ways He is at work, both in the ministries which Kristin and I are involved in, and in our personal lives. What seemed seemed like such a big leap for Kristin and I, now seems a simple step after seeing the Lord provide every need we have. On to the blog... Why is a Picasso painting worth so much? Is it because Picasso himself painted it? Is it because of the skills Picasso had? Or a Hank Aaron rookie baseball card, why is it so valueable? Is it because he was so great? Is it because the card is so rare? What about the house I live in, is its value determined by its size? The decor? The neighborhood? Where does something receive its value? If there were another economic depression of the same magnitude of the great depression would a Hank Aaron card lose its value? Certainly it would when people need money for bread. Would a Picasso sell for as much? Certainly not when people could not afford clothing. Would my home retain its value? Of course not. Now does the change in economy affect the rareness of baseball card, the appearance of a painting, or the layout of a home? No, those things remain constant but the value may change drastically. What then determines the value of something? My home is a lower middle class home that would sell for around $110,000 in Toledo Ohio, in West Virginia it may sell for $70,000, and in California it may sell for $500,000. Why is it worth more or less? The value of an object is not determined the attributes of the object. The value of an object is determined by how much someone will pay for that object. There are many impressionist painters with greater skill than Picasso who have gone unnoticed in the history of art. The value of their paintings though superior in quality are less, because people are not willing to pay as much for them. So what is the point? Your value is not, and never will be based on your skills, your sacrafice, your performance, or anything else about you. All your value rests soley in the price that was paid for you. You are worth very little outside of the payment that Christ paid on your behalf. The purchase price of your soul was so high, therein lies your value. This is important to see, as soon as you can grasp this you will feel the weight of your unworthiness fall off of your shoulders. He has given you value by paying such a high price for you. There is no room for depression in the Christian life, there is no room for feeling worthless, or unwanted, or rejected in this life. The price was paid for you! The unthinkable thing would be to choose to reject His payment on your behalf and remain of no value. To attempt to stand before the Lord on that day believing yourself to be valuable because you are you, and you are special. Forget it, your value lies only in Christ, the value of your family, your congregation, your friends, is only in the fact that Christ died for them, that He paid the price. He paid that price, and He in the words of Paris Reidhead, "He Deserves the Rewards of His Suffering" in other words He paid for you in full. He paid the price for you in full. A sobering question is this: Has He received what He paid for? That is all for tonight.

A Quick Update

Effective Sept 25, I will no longer be employed as an engineer, instead I will be the director of youth ministries at our local church. Please pray for my family, my church, and I as we make this transition.

I have much I desire to write upon and hopefully I will have time soon. A few topics I have in mind are as follows-

Forgoing the American Dream to Pursue the Heavenly Vision
Two worlds colliding in one man on that tree
Blinde Prosperity

to name a few.

Blind Prosperity

Luke 16:3 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

These words of Jesus are possibly some of the hardest in all of scripture, but nonetheless they are true. Here in America we are the most prosperous (mammon wise) people on all the earth, and we know it, and we are proud of it. We claim this prosperity to be the blessing of God, but I am going to contend that this prosperity amounts to nothing more than scales that blind our eyes to the very majesty and true provision of the Lord. The Lord has provided us much, but our own self-made prosperity has blinded us to the true blessing of the Lord.

When a sacrifce is made for the Lord He receives it and showers blessing upon the sacraficing individual. This is true, the problem is that people in general do not really want true blessing, instead they only want more back of what they gave. The mentality is "If I give money, I will receive more" and the motive for giving is a selfish plan that requires no more faith than putting a 10% of your income into a CD, or stock. The truth is that this type of giving is not serving the Lord, but mammon, and in that final day this giving in order to receive worldly reward will be exposed and that giving will be shown to be nothing more than wood, hay and stubble. What is the real blessing of the Lord? The greatest blessing the Lord can give an individual is fellowship with Himself. There is nothing greater. One of the greatest hinderances to this fellowship is our own prosperity, and yet we are so foolish as to call the very thing that blocks the blessing blessed.

So how does this sacrafice work. A properous individual can buy all the food he wants. Yet when this individual sacrafices much he comes to the point where he relies on the Lord for provision. My dad drives a semi truck for McDonalds, and because of this he can get us frozen uncooked quarter pounder meat very cheap. He always just gives it to us. Myself being an engineer in a fairly lucrative position always receive this meat and eat it with out thinking much of it. Now this free food has always been a provision of the Lord, but I never needed it, therefore I never recognized the blessing that it was. Now that I am finding myself in a much different place in life (forgoing engineering for ministry) the very hamburger pattys that I have always had without thinking have become a great blessing in my life. The scales of prosperity have been removed from my eyes and I can now clearly see the hand of the Lord as He feeds me. What a blessing that is. You will never see it so long as you remain fat in prosperity. It certainly is OK to have a lucrative job, but to make no sacrafice is foolish and is willfully remaining blind to real blessing.

This blessing is too great for words, again it is to be able to see God. When Jesus told that young man to sell everything, it was not to be a hard command, but it was a command of love that carried the greatest of blessing. When He says you cannot serve God and wealth, He is not being hard, instead He is trying to open your eyes to real blessedness. A grilled mcdonalds hamburger patty between two slices of bread given by a fellow believer is more satisfying to both body and soul than the finest steak money will ever buy. To hell with getting rich, and all of the wealth that we amass for some later time, would that we would all be paupers feeding from the very hand of the Lord. Again, to have a lucrative job is not unchristian, but to live making little or no sacrifice certainly is.

I must stop, I will probably write much on this topic in weeks to come, it is a passion of mine after seeing already how good the Lord is being and is going to be through this.

I recommend for anyone desiring this to read The Autobiography of George Muller, it is a fantastic testimony to the faithfulness of the Lord.

Sin is the result of unbelief

This post is in response to a comment left on the last post from a dear brother of mine in the Lord.

In light of God's love and mercy it seems to me to be absolutely absurd that we would ever disobey God. If God does not change, and I assure you He does not, and God is Love, and I assure you He is, then we must be able to say that God always has been Love. Not only that, God is also all-wise, and all-powerfull. So if God has given a command it certainly must be a command of Love, regardless of the command. This is important to see. The commandments of God are not a burdensome set of rules designed to restrain you from doing all the things you love, the commands come forth from a loving God who is admonishing you not to do the very things that can kill you (physically and eternally). It is love that brings forth the command.

Let's get really practical with this. If God thru Christ has commanded me not to look upon a woman lustfully and I knowing that I am to turn away still determine to take a look, what does that mean? The answer may suprise you, it means not that I have lust in my heart as much as it means I still have unbelief in my heart. My prayer of confession should be 'Lord help me with my unbelief.' Why is it unbelief? Well, if I believe that God is love, and that He is not a liar, and that He works all things to my good, then clearly I would accept obedience to His word as the very best thing I could do. With that lustful look by my action I have either not believed that God was loving in His commandment, or that we was not wise in His institution of that commandment, or He was not powerful enough to work something better in me if I obeyed the commandment. Can you see how the root of all sin is unbelief. When we sin we are always questioning or doubting the character of God. While in our mind we may still ascend to these truths are actions prove to be evidence of unbelief.

It is God's love, and our entire belief in that love that drives us into holiness and righteous living. It is recognition not only with our minds but with our actions that God is love and that His commandments are born out of that love and meant to bring us unto repentance and life. The pharisees missed this important part, they attempted (with a degree of success) to obey the law by being in bondage to it with out ever realizing that they were to be freed to obey it. It is only by the regenerating work of Christ that the law will ever lose it burdensomeness to us, and become to us the life giving commands of God.

Thanks Bruce for the comment, I need to post more on the love of God than I do.

What is God's Purpose in Justification?

First let me start by saying that Kristin and I have had our baby. He was born August 17 at 12:39am weighing in at 7lbs 13ounce. He is healthy and happy. There is a lot I could write about his birth, and maybe, hopefully I will be able to at length on this blog. I have been constrained however to write about something else today.

The focus in evangelical Christianity today seems to be solely on justification. You know, "Let's get as many people saved as possible", however that focus is not the focus of our Lord. Maybe that is a bad statement, 'getting people saved' might be the focus of our Lord, but we must define the term 'saved'. I know I have become a broken record on this blog, but salvation is not just deliverance from eternal punishment, it is deliverance from present tense sin, and is separation from this world.

It is true that God justifies the sinner based on the attoning work of Christ on the cross. Christ suffered once under the wrath of almighty God for our sin, bearing willfully the punishment on our behalf, we are justified based on that work. This is a beautiful unexplainable truth, and that truth must never be minimized. Instead we must look deeper into that justifying work and see what exactly its purpose is. Is justification all that was accomplised on the cross? Was God's entire purpose of the crucifiction to keep undeserving sinners out of hell. The answer is NO, a thousand times no.

Let's focus on Isaiah 53 for a moment. We see in this chapter the punishment poured out on Christ for our sin. Why does a father punish his son. Why would I punish my new son Joseph? If I gave Joseph a command; "do not talk back to your mother or else I will give you a spanking", what must I do if he violates my command? Clearly he must receive the punishment that came with the command. Now why as a father do I punish him? The obvious reason is because I must be true to my word, and his sin must receive the punishment promised, however this is not the only reason, in fact it is not even the primary reason. The reason I would punish him is so that he will no longer talk back to his mother. Lets compare my example to the example of Christ on the cross. Did Christ pay the penalty only because a penalty needed paid? If we were in Him at the crucifiction was it only for the reason of being pardoned for our trangressions? No, he received the punishment on our behalf so that we would not continue in sin. This is so important, we were disciplined unto holiness in Christ. This is not some abstract concept, he was crushed not just to pay for our disobedience, but to put an end to it all together.

Am I saying the sinless perfection is possible? I do not think so, what I am saying is that the ultimate purpose in God's justifying work is to move you ever closer to perfection and perfect holiness as long as you walk this earth. He payed the price in order to purchase a people holy and separte from the world. Did God deliver Israel from Egypt primarily to get them out of bondage to Pharaoh? No, if that had been the case he could have left them in the wilderness. He delivered them from Egypt in order to establish them in the promised land. So it is in our lives, Christ died not only to save us from the penalty of sin, but instead that we would enter into kingdom today. God kept telling Israel to remember their dilverance from Egypt so that they would remember the He has the power to establish them in the promised land. You should remember your justification, but remember it in order to better realize the power of God to keep you holy.

I need to stop because I would have to write a book to explain all the implications of this line of thinking.

Moldy Manna

I have not proof read this. I wrote it quickly fairly late at night. It was burning in me a little so I thought I would get it down. Exodus 16 clearly laid out the command that manna should only be gathered for 1 days consumption, except for the day prior to the sabbath on which two days supply must be gathered. When this was violated and there was an attempt to eat old manna it was found to be rotten. Jesus is the bread of life, the bread from heaven, the new testament manna. When we pray ...give us this day our daily bread... in a sense we are asking for His provision of Himself for our day. Let's put this all together. You can not live on past experiences of Christ. Period. It is moldy, and holds no value for today. Did you go to promise keepers? Wonderful, that is good for one day, what about the next morning. Did you wake up to fresh bread, or did you pull out that old moldy loaf from the day before. Youth often seem to be prone to relive past events, you know the big rallies and retreats, but the reason they are so afixed on the past is that they have no abiding prescence of God in the present. A popular retreat amongst people in our denomination is call 'The Walk to Emmaus', this is a retreat that focuses around fellowship and preaching (talks) and various other small group interactions. It has had a profound impact on many, and yet the majority of its participants have a tendency to desire to live off that same bread for the next few weeks, months and some even years. Again the reason is that there is a lack of daily abiding in His prescense, so they will go back to that old moldy loaf that was once fresh (for a day). Much of the ministry done today is an attempt to feed people moldy manna. Pastors preach messages to give people something to chew on until the next sunday, when in truth it is moldy monday morning. Some people will go from event to event trying to get fresh manna, but again it is in vain, you must collect that manna fresh from the ground each and every day. Lets wake up, Christianity is not event based, it is daily from minute to minute relying on fresh revelation from His word, fresh strength from His prescense, not past experiences. Again preachers are feeding this stuff to their congregations because they often have no fresh manna of their own. They go and find already preached messages that were once fresh. The find 'ministry models' and 'growth strategies' developed by other men, and all of it may have been fresh.... yesterday. They cannot bring a fresh word from God because they have not gone to Him to receive one. They have instead gone to Spurgeon, or to Ravenhill, or to Wesley, or Augstine, or Calvin, or Paisley or whoever they go to, but they have not gone to Him. They find the latest person that preaches with power and try to feed there congregation with another mans power, but again its yesterday's manna. A few quailifying words before I close this rant. We are certainly called very often in scriptures to remember. Israel is constantly being commanded to remember, and we too are reminded to remember. Past experience is not to be forgotten. Even great words of past preachers are not to be ignored and can be used in preaching. Nonetheless we are to remember the provision in the past only to remind us of the confidence we can have in God for our present provision. We can quote if we must in order to bolster the fresh manna we have received today.