Perspective

I was reading the Psalms tonight and felt like God spoke to me through Psalm 49. It is a powerful Psalm about wealth being fleeting and death coming to us all. It was a wake up call for me, reminding me that money and wealth are meaningless because you can't take it with you. We will all, regardless of our social standing or title, stand before the judgment seat of God and have to give an account of our lives. 

I confess that I have gotten so wrapped up in serving money instead of God and I need to repent of it. The line between serving money and serving God can be hard to distinguish sometimes. We all work to pay our bills, our mortgages or rent, and to feed ourselves. It is easy to get consumed by those things and forget that all of it is fleeting and the only thing that matters is our standing before God. 

I sometimes thought those preachers who asked people if they were to die tonight, do they know where they would go were being a bit too forceful or melodramatic but it is the truth. Forget about your house and all of your possessions, if you were to die tonight and stand before God what would you say? The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Are you trusting in the saving work of Jesus and His blood which washes away all sin?  

Psalm 49

Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike: My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb: with the harp I will expound my riddle:

Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them--the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—so that they should live on forever and not see decay.

For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die, death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.

Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them.

Though while they live they count themselves blessed—and people praise you when you prosper—

they will join those who have gone before them who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish

The Loss of Religious Freedom

I know it has been a while since I posted on my blog. It is hard to find the time with all the busyness of life but I need to do a better job of putting my thoughts down on paper (or keyboard in this instance). I've been following the events of the Supreme Court hearing on gay marriage and the subsequent reactions with great concern. I know many of the GOP presidential candidates have sounded the alarm about the possibility of religious freedom being taken away with the agenda of the far left and I would have to agree. If gay marriage is declared a constitutional right without any protections for religious objections then the results will be chilling for Christians. Pastors could be put in prison for refusing to marry gay couples and churches could lose their non-profit status and many would have to go underground. My father in law showed me the pledge that has been signed by over 38,000 pastors from all walks of Christianity (http://defendmarriage.org/pledge-in-solidarity-to-defend-marriage) saying that if the supreme court declares gay marriage a constitutional right then it is the line in the sand for us as Christians.

I don't think the importance of this supreme court decision can be overstated and it is a sad testament to how quickly this country has succumbed to a liberal agenda. I would hope that if the supreme court rules in favor of gay marriage that there would be a clause for religious exemptions. Otherwise our freedoms as Christians will be taken away. Now more than ever we have to pray for our country and the supreme court justices as they weigh their decision. Essentially they are redefining the definition of marriage which has held for thousands of years and across a variety of cultures and nations. I agree with the pledge that this is the line in the sand for us as Christians.

All The Lonely People

I don't mean this to be a depressing post but I was at an IT Conference in Philly today and while traveling to and from I was thinking but how lonely our society has become. While sitting on the train there was absolute silence with the majority of people (and I'm guilty of this to) looking at their phones. Along the way I noticed the suicide prevention posters that Septa posted at every station and thought to myself no wonder suicide is such a problem when no one says hello to anyone any more and there is very little human contact. I felt really alone at the conference as well (granted IT people are not known for being extroverts) but I thought how strange for all these people to come together and not talk to anyone. I managed to have a conversation with two people, one was a student from Nigeria who is here in the states for training and the other person was a systems engineer at Lockheed Martin. On the way home there was silence on the train again as I thought about how we barely stop to notice people any more. All of this to say that I need to do a better job of smiling at people and at least saying hello. You never know what that little bit of human contact can do for a person, especially one who may be hurting.

Part II of 365 Day Bible Plan

Tammy and I are almost through Numbers in our Bible reading and before I move on to other things I wanted to add something about the Levitical law that I have always found fascinating. Along with holiness there is a huge emphasis on clean and unclean. Leviticus 11 and clean and unclean animals has always been interesting to me. One of my favorite commentaries I think I ever read was Gordon Wenham's commentary on Leviticus. I went back and re-read his notes on Chapter 11 and he mentions Mary Douglas anthropological approach to understanding it. Mary Douglas said holiness wasn't just about what should not be done but also about wholeness or integrity. Thus the animal world is divided into spheres where each sphere had a particular mode of motion associated with it. Those animals in a sphere that did not adhere to a particular motion were unclean. Now this explanation does not entirely help to explain the clean and unclean animals but I was struck by the notion of holiness as wholeness or integrity. It reminds me that holiness isn't about a set of rules and regulations but God's desire to see his people complete and whole. In this broken world its nice to know that one day God will make all things new and restore the World through Christ.

The 365 Day Bible Plan

Tammy (my wife) and I have set a goal for ourselves of reading through the entire Bible together in one year. We are using a 365 day chronological Bible and it has been a rewarding experience. We are currently in the book of Numbers and I have always been interested in the Levitical law. I can't imagine having to live under the law like the Israelites were commanded to (praise God there is grace because of Jesus) but at the same time I can't help but feel that we are missing out on a thorough understanding of the character of God by neglecting it. 

Reading through the law is a powerful reminder of God's holiness and His desire for Israel to be separated from the other nation's of the world. It is amazing how many times God says to the Israelites that they must not approach His presence unless certain conditions were met or they will die. This brings home the fact that being in God's presence is nothing to take lightly. 

I think it is helpful to remind ourselves of this because in our culture and in our churches God is often seen as a buddy or best friend. Reading the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) makes you realize pretty quickly that God is not to be trifled with. After reading the law I come away with a greater appreciation of Jesus and His interceding on my behalf.

My Purpose For Writing

I must admit I have a lot of difficulty with blogs. I've read some that were incredibly insightful; where the author didn't just talk about him or herself but engaged the issues and made it something larger than himself. I've read some on the other side of the spectrum that were vain and where the author mainly talked about what they ate that day and who they hung out with. 

I want this blog to be the former. I want it to be a place where I can express my thoughts but also a place where the reader feels like they are part of a larger discussion. My hope is this blog will be a place where I can record my theological, political, and every day musings and enable a rich discussion that is edifying to the reader and to God. All of that leads into the title of this blog. 

The threshing floor has rich connotations in the Bible, The threshing floor is where the grain was removed from the husk and the tares (or false grain) were separated from the wheat. It was an important place of activity in an agricultural society like ancient Israel. It was associated with blessing because during the harvest all the wheat was sent there to be processed. It was also a place where significant events occurred in the life of Israel. While Gideon wasn't in an actual threshing floor when beating out wheat, because of the threat of the Midianites, he was threshing wheat when the Angel of the Lord appeared to him saying he would save the Israelites from the Midian's (Judges 6:11-14). 

God also allowed David to purchase the threshing floor from the Jebusite and use it as the location of the temple (Chronicles 3:1). So the threshing floor was in some respects a place where the people met with God. Thus, the name of this blog reflects my desire to be a place of blessing and where God manifests His presence. I hope those of you reading this blog are edified by the discussions.

God Bless,

Adam Kaczor