The Sifter

His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 3:12

Lord Jesus

even now with Your

winnowing fork in hand

in every corner of every land

You carefully sift hearts

Separating wheat and chaff

distinguishing good from bad

thought, attitudes, and deeds

You can tell motives of heart

Gathering those who believe

You welcome those in gospel relief

while singularly distinguishing

rejectors for judgment set apart

Joined with Your salvation celebration

from every language, tribe, and nation

holy ones can praise You

with recreated hearts!

Jesus knew.

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”

Luke 2:49

These are the first words chronologically that we hear from Jesus in the gospels. He is twelve years old when He asked these two questions. Every other thing about Jesus up to this point is said by angels, prophets, or His own family. The gospel narrators have filled us in on settings, details, characters, and background to get us to Jesus Who has already been announced to be a Savior, the Messiah, and God.

At twelve years of age, not even bar mitzvahed, Jesus knew the Law and astounded Rabbis at the temple. And He was already on mission in His Father’s house. As a boy, Jesus knew Who He was and acted like the Son of God. The gospels show us this plainly. He wasn’t deified by a later generation of followers. Instead, Jesus is shown to be God, and shows Himself to be God in the flesh, from the very beginning!

Lord Jesus,

As I reflect on Your coming as Savior, Deliverer, and Lord, I pause in thankful worship today. You are my King. You are my Savior. You are my God.

Amen

simply a Son and a Savior

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:24-25

Joseph was a just man. And God gave him a humbling and powerful assignment. He was to finish his engagement to Mary with a wedding, taking her as his wife to raise a unique child that an angel informed him would be a sin-savior. He was commanded to name this boy Jesus. He was to rise above his fears and risk his reputation to obey God.

So both Joseph and Mary knew that God was doing something brand new. The child that they would raise was the Son of God. The task at hand for them was to parent this Son Who would be the Savior. All of this was God’s doing. Even the social rumors and potential whispering. It would not be easy.

God chose to use a simple Galilean Jewish family to carry out this important task. All we know of Joseph was that he was a just, righteous, and obedient man. A simple construction contractor in the backwoods of Palestine was honored by God. The gospel is rooted in simple lives in order to make maximum impact in our lives! The gospel is rooted in obedient lives so that we might obey the call to trust this incredibly true story.

What did Mary know?

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior..”

Luke 1:46-47

Q: Mary did you know?

A: YES!

The End

Son of God - King forever

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

Luke 1:35

And with this announcement the world has changed. We are just a little over a month away from this year’s Christmas celebration. And if we can strip away the ribbons, tinsel, hype, and hustle, we will find this powerful truth in the center of the Nativity manger: Jesus is the Son of God.

The angel promised Mary that Jesus would be the inheritor of David’s throne (Luke 1:31). His reign would be greater than David’s. As the Son of God, He will reign forever. His kingdom will never end. From that moment on that fact has driven world history and still does even now. Jesus reigns!

Christmas is more than remembering a birth. It is a season to celebrate the King and His kingdom. Praise God that this world is under His rule today. And Jesus will never cease to lovingly, wisely, firmly, and justly rule over us! Amen.

In the beginning… the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:1-2

I just started a fresh Bible reading plan today. The goal: read through all the Bible chronologically by testament in one year. So my OT reading today was Genesis 1-3. And this opening to the gospel of John is part of my NT reading. And what a perspective John gives us on what Genesis teaches. When the universe was spoken into being, Jesus announced the words. When Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, Jesus was walking beside them. And when sin broke everything in a moment, Jesus was there, knowing He would have to redeem what our sin had wrecked.

Christians worship God when we worship Jesus. We obey God when we repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. We pray for God’s will to reign in Creation when we pray in Jesus’ name. We are restored to what Creation was meant to be through Jesus!

Lord Jesus,

I know You are my Creator and my Savior. Nothing escapes Your knowledge and wise control because You are God. I trust in You!

Amen

distinction

Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Malachi 3:18

God has no problem with absolute thinking. He is holy and righteous. And He asks us in worship of Him to live in the righteousness He gives to us. There are firm descriptions of how He expects that throughout Malachi’s prophecies as He prepares His people for a refining fire of His judgment in which the righteous will emerge to offer their lives again as a pleasing offering to the Lord (Malachi 3:3-4).

There is in this refining work of God a clear distinction. The unrighteous will be known by their actions that show they do not fear God: sorcery, adultery, lying, oppression of the poor, and mistreatment of immigrants. Their actions start at personal worship (sorcery) evidence in personal selfishness (adultery and lies), and then defile society in their disregard and hatred of the lowest people on the social ladder. And because of this they are prepared for judgment in a greater Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:1).

And what is left when one day God judges the earth completely? The unrighteous are burned to ashes. A distinct righteous people rejoicing in their unique, loving, gracious relationship with God their Savior go on to enjoy all that He has for them (Malachi 4:2). The distinction is drastic. The unrighteous are ashes under the soles of the dancing feet of those who fear God and are saved.  

redeeming, restoring, revitalizing God

“I will whistle for them and gather them in,

for I have redeemed them,

and they shall be as many as they were before.”

Zechariah 10:8

God revealed through the prophecies of Zechariah that the exiled Jews would one day be regathered from all corners of the world. The scattering would end. Jews would flock to Jerusalem and Israel again, no longer flung across the far countries of the world, but gathered together as one nation to once again worship their God. That’s the vision Zechariah proclaimed.

Their coming re-gathering preached by the prophet would be accomplished by a true revitalization of Israel as a nation. The world scene would be reconfigured. The old superpowers weaken and crumble (for Zechariah that meant Egypt and Assyria). Israel rises in strength internationally and in the worship of God supernaturally as the nation walks in God’s name, known again as the people of Yahweh first and foremost.

God redeems and restores. This has always been true of Him. He is doing so in honoring His name among His people. He is calling Jews and Gentiles to repentance now in Christ. He is redeeming the nations. And God is indeed also sovereignty regathering and building Israel as Jews immigrate to modern Israel even today. God is moving before our very eyes. Will we believe He is even now showing how over generations He revitalizes His people?

relentless goodness

For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.”

Zechariah 8:14-15

With the rebuilding of God’s temple in Jerusalem described in Zechariah’s prophecy, and the recommitment of God’s people to worship the Lord, God gave a renewal of the gifts of His covenant in a season of revival. When God is worshiped, He brings blessing.

The past did not change. God reminded them that their forefathers brought upon the nation His unrelenting wrath. But the present was changing in their obedience. God purposed to now bring unrelenting good to a people who once suffered under the wrath of His judgment. And a new future of bright and better days awaited them as they obeyed. No longer did they need to suffer in the hard way of the transgressors. They could again know and possess the joy of the gifts of covenant commitment to the Lord.

Grace is God’s relentless goodness. And He loves to show it to sinners who repent and come to Him. He now forever blesses in Christ all who should deserve His wrath but turn to Jesus for mercy and life. Thank and praise our God for His good purposes!

Silent

Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Zechariah 2:13

Be silent.

In the stillness

ponder the everlasting wonder:

God is on the move.

On the earth His will to do;

His Spirit is alive.

Be silent.

Cease your striving and

hear that our God is very near.

God is with us.

We have life in Jesus.

His kingdom will arrive.

Be silent.

Let the uncomfortable 

calm be your soul’s healing balm.

God calls you to end your strife;

look at His gift of eternal life

your weary soul now to revive.

Be silent.

This response is

best considering His holiness.

Worship quietly Your Lord.

Richly meditate upon His Word.

In His presence you now thrive.

obedience and better blessing

Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD'S message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.”

Haggai 1:13

And with this simple four word encouragement, “I am with you”, God stirred the people of Jerusalem from stagnant complacency back to active, worship-motivated obedience. The particular task at hand was for the returned exiles to re-commit themselves to finishing the task of rebuilding the temple of God. They had started, then drifted to focusing only on their own needs. Then they stopped.

At first God sent Haggai to explain that their selfish disobedience ultimately made their lives much harder. Their crops were meager. A drought had struck them. Through an awareness of this reality, God was calling them to repent and return to Him. Selfishness ultimately led to never having enough. Service would lead to blessing. And then God gave them Himself as the promise!

God was with them. They would be forgiven if they returned to Him. They would be blessed by returning to restoring God’s house of worship. They would thrive again in the presence of the God they obeyed! Obedience made life better. 

marks of a rebel heart

She listens to no voice;

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the LORD;

she does not draw near to her God.

Zephaniah 3:2

The prophet points out four aspects of Jerusalem’s rebellion for which God was bringing His judgment. They are marks of impending judgment even today for those who reject God.

1. Refusal to take any direction. The people would not listen to (follow) the voice (Word) of God.

2. Unwilling to be corrected. They were set in wrong ways and refused to accept any course correction despite repeated warnings and loving calls to repent.

3. Lack of trust in God. Faith was placed in the nations around them (culture). Trust was placed in false worship (idols).

4. Incapable of the worship of God. Trusting in other things rejects God and the heart will then recoil at the thought of submission to Him. 

Lord,

Give me a soft heart to seek Your direction, hear Your Word, obey correction, trust in You, and truly worship You alone!

Amen

rapid fire end

Neither their silver nor their gold

shall be able to deliver them

on the day of the wrath of the LORD.

In the fire of his jealousy,

all the earth shall be consumed;

for a full and sudden end

he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zephaniah 1:18

Spending time in the minor prophets quickly slaps me to the reality of human vulnerability and culpability before a holy God. He has appointed a day in which His fire will burn in total judgment. And it will be unlike anything we can imagine or this planet has every seen.

Some features of judgment from this verse:

• It is inescapable. Nobody can buy a reprieve, no matter how wealthy or influential or powerful.
• It is a display of God’s wrath upon sin. It is all poured out.
• The fire of God’s judgment is fueled by the lack of His worship. He deserved human worship and so jealous judgment is unleashed.
• It is a global event with nothing spared. The entire earth is consumed to cinders.
• It is instant. A full and sudden end comes quickly to everything.

But this bleak day is mitigated by one other reality: God sent His Son, not to condemn, but to save the world (John 3:16-18). Those who are kept by faith in the saving work of Jesus are delivered to a new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

a prayer of waiting

If it seems slow, wait for it;

it will surely come; it will not delay.

Habakkuk 2:3b

Lord,

What You reveal as Your will seems so far off in this wicked day. I believe Your kingdom is coming. I believe Your will must be done on earth as it is in heaven. And yet I can stumble if I look at how much You are resisted and mocked here and now. It is disheartening.

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time,” You say. I believe You and trust. “It hastens to the end — it will not lie,” You promise. I know that from Your eternal perspective these statements are absolutely certain.

And as You comforted Your prophet so long ago, now You console me. It DOES seem slow. So I will wait on You. It WILL surely come to pass. Nothing is delaying Your rule. I still wait. I will silence my complaint. I will trust in You. “Maranatha, Lord Jesus!”

Amen

when God does judge

And all who look at you will shrink from you and say,

“Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?”

Where shall I seek comforters for you?

Nahum 3:7

In the story of the prophet Jonah God spared Ninevah because the people repented of their violence and evil. But with the prophet Nahum God decrees their final end. Their repentance was short-lived. Their attitudes became proud, their worship idolatrous, and their violence pervasive and oppressive to all the nations around them.

When God finally brought Ninevah down, there was nobody left in the ancient Near East to mourn them. This was a result of their own oppression. Everybody rejoiced when Assyria fell. When evil is toppled, the righteous and the oppressed are relieved. You get a sense of why Assyria’s slaughter went unmourned: They had slaughtered countless people themselves.

And so God’s justice turns. He has the right to restore the repentant. He has the right to destroy the depraved and demented. We should believe and pray with this history in mind.

surviving a wicked culture

I will bear the indignation of the LORD

because I have sinned against him,

until he pleads my cause

and executes judgment for me.

He will bring me out to the light;

I shall look upon his vindication.

Micah 7:9

Waiting in a season when a sinful culture will only be remedied by the judgment of God is hard. This was where Micah was as he looked at both Israel and Judah. In addition he saw the coming oppression from violent and sinful gentiles and grieved. Nothing looked good for a long time.

Micah was spiritually starving in a drought of God rejection around him (Micah 7:1). He observed that the godly had perished from the earth, that wickedness ruled cultural practices everywhere, and that small and great alike conspired evil and could not be trusted. The evil rot went right into the very core of the closest family relationships (Micah 7:2-6).

Micah responded by turning to God. When a culture is evil, we must double-down on our focus on God’s power and goodness, wait for His justice and our deliverance, and accept the consequences. We should repent and grieve over our personal sin, not cling to self-righteous judgmentalism and know that God WILL bring His vindication!

instruction or destruction?

And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance

on the nations that did not obey.

Micah 5:15

When we understand the Day of the Lord as the prophets foretell we see a two-fold future. In one part of the world yet to come, the nations of the world stream to Zion, to the temple of the Lord where He rules and puts an end to war. They are eager to worship God. They want to learn His law and follow His ways. From God Himself the nations receive INSTRUCTION (Micah 4:1-2).

On the flip side of this vision of the world yet to come, there are some people will will not obey God. They do not stream to His temple to repent and learn from Him. Instead, they will continue to trust in chariots and horses. They will still brag on their cities and strongholds. They will still turn to sorceries and the occult. Idolatry will still have their hearts. For those nations that did not obey, God decrees that they receive DESTRUCTION (Micah 5:15).

So the future Day of the Lord has two parts: 1) Reception and instruction for those who will repent and turn to God their Savior. 2) Rejection and destruction for those who do not obey God’s call to repent and worship Him. And today the gospel bears this outcome in view as well. To believe Jesus, repent, and obey Him as Lord brings life and a lifetime of learning from Him. He is meek and gentle of heart and rest is found in Him. To reject Jesus brings misery and an eternity of destruction under the wrath of the Lamb. Both facets of our faith motivate us to keep sharing the gospel with nations that need to stream to Jesu!

false prophets & dark days

But as for me, I am filled with power,

with the Spirit of the LORD,

and with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his transgression

and to Israel his sin.

Micah 3:8

God’s prophet, Micah, stands in sharp contrast to the false prophets that the people of God rejected their God to believe. Starting in Micah 3:5, God gives Micah a message to declare against the false prophets. And this would put an end to the influence of these deceivers. They were shown for what they really were, weak and selfish liars when compared to the Spirit-empowered true prophet of God!

• The false prophets would go dark with no “vision” to empower them. Micah’s voice as the true prophet of God would ring true (Micah 3:6). Micah would be empowered by God’s Spirit.
• The false prophets were motivated by greed and material gain (Micah 3:5). The true prophet was consumed with matters of God’s justice and might.
• The false prophets loved to proclaim peace and prosperity (Micah 3:5) while God was declaring through Micah the sins and transgressions exposed in a coming day of reckoning God had for His people.

God would be true. Always. Those who claimed to speak for Him falsely would be silenced by God. Their motives would be exposed. Their light would go dark. There sin became their shame. Their lies became their disgrace.

The truth of God will stand. God need not be “propped up” or defended. You do not defend a lion… you just set him loose! And so it is with God’s Word. We proclaim it. We stand with it. The false will be shown for what it truly is.

May we share the gospel in this darkness. May we be unafraid to preach in a culture dominated by false prophets that deny God. In the end, the truth will always win out! God’s Spirit will speak! God’s power wins! God’s justice and might will be shown!

a great God saves a great city

And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.

Jonah 3:5

God sent Jonah to preach a message of judgment against wicked Nineveh. God knew the Assyrian empire, headquartered in Nineveh was evil and violent. And He also cared enough to to warn them of judgment. Why? God’s own assessment was that Nineveh was a “great city”. It was large. It was influential. It was home to a lot of souls ignorant of God. In His mercy He sent His prophet to warn this great city. Four times in the four short chapters of Jonah God reminds His prophet that Nineveh is a great city.

One of the features of the little story of Jonah is the amount of superlatives packed into the book. Here is a short list of a few… there are more than this:

• Nineveh is a “great city” (1:2; 3:1, 3; 4:11). In 3:3 Nineveh is “exceedingly great”.
• God sends a “great wind” and a “mighty tempest” when Jonah flies by ship to Tarshish (1:4, 12).
• Sailers are “exceedingly afraid” when they find out Jonah was fleeing God’s command (1:10).
• After they took Jonah overboard, the sailers “feared the Lord exceedingly” by offering sacrifices, a precursor in their pagan repentance of what Nineveh would eventually do (1:16).
• God sends a “great fish” to swallow Jonah (1:17).
• The “greatest” to least repent at Jonah’s preaching (3:5).
• The king called Nineveh to cry out “mightily” to God for mercy (3:8).
• Jonah is displeased “exceedingly” at Ninevah’s repentance (4:1).
• God “abounds” in steadfast love (4:2).
• Jonah is “exceedingly glad” about a plant (4:6).

God does great things to save a great city. His mercy and grace are given to heathen Ninevah in order to show His greatness. This is true even as Jonah greatly runs from God and greatly hates Ninevah. God moves the greatest to the least in salvation. He does so despite the greatly misplaced values and emotions of His prophet. God can save still, through Jesus, today. He will use us, despite us, to reach great cities. Will we believe this, or will we hatefully hope to see God damn “the wicked” to judgment?