One of the many downsides of traveling allot, is losing your rhythm. No, I don't mean one's ability to bob their head up and down to the beat of any particular song, but the loss of one's daily routine. When I first started this web long I was in the States, and every morning upon waking up, I would sit down and write something, anything, just to know that it got done. Once I started traveling back and forth to Europe again, I find myself being unable to find the time to get something down, and post it with any regularity.
In my defense, I've also been looking after my brother Daniel for the past couple weeks, and since he only has the use of one leg and is forced to use either a walker or crutches, I am as over protective of my little brother, as a mother hen would be of her chicks. Tomorrow I take him to the airport, since he is going back to Romania, and starting Thursday I will do my best to get back into the groove, the rhythm, the ritual, the routine, and post something on a daily basis.
If it does anything to aleviate some of your frustration in regards to my not posting anything, I did have a wonderful time with my little brother these past couple weeks.
I know allot has been happening in this country and in the world, I know some of you check every day to see if I've written anything concerning what's going on, but the fact of the matter is that nothing really needs to be written concerning current events. These events have been foretold, and now they are coming to pass. It's as simple as that. I am not one of those people who acting like an over caffeinated toddler starts screaming and banging on pots and pans to get every one's attention so I can tell them we were right. I can take credit for nothing in regards to fulfillment of prophecy, for they were God's revelations to begin with. What I can say, and what I will say, is that the worst is not over by a long shot, and any temporary relief they might be able to conjure up in regards to this nation's economy, will be just that, temporary.
Again, my apologies for being away so long, and with the Lord's help, you'll get fed up with all my posts soon enough.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Watching And Waiting
It has been about a week since I arrived back on American soil, and since that time I've been trying to get over the jet lag, catch up on some correspondence that has piled up, be a good host to my little brother Daniel who flew in five days after I arrived, and absorb all the information that has been pouring in on the current climate of this nation.
The day I arrived Ike hit Texas, and awestruck as everyone else I watched the devastation unfold. A couple days later the news of bank failures started making headlines and it has been a rollercoaster ride of misery for most people ever since.
It's one thing to talk about these things coming, these events unfolding in the abstract, as merely passing on a message that was received from God and faithfully transmitting it, and another to see that which has been foretold coming to pass before your very eyes. It is surreal, and even I, who have been hearing this message of judgment for the better part of twenty years am taken aback by the suddenness of it all.
As I stated some months ago, whether on this blog, in a sermon or in our newsletter, we are no longer living the season of warning, we have entered into the season of fulfillment. Now all we can do is watch and wait for the other proverbial shoe to drop. If anyone thinks the worst is behind is, they are sorely mistaken. Something far worse is in the wings, and I suspect that by year's end we will see turmoil in this country as has not been seen in many a decade.
Those who have been faithfullly building up their relationship with the heavenly Father, those who have been growing and maturing drawing ever closer to Him, look upon these events from a position of peace and shelter, for they are in His embrace where nothing can harm them.
It is those who have believed a false gospel and embraced a false christ that are now scrambling to make sense of it all, for all the promises that less then reputable men made them over the years of riches and prosperity are slipping through their fingers like so much sand. If you happen to be reading this post, and are such a soul, who believed that if they couldn't buy the favor of God, perhaps they could rent it for a couple hours, there is still time to know the one true God, to surrender yourself to the Christ who waits patiently for you to lay down your life, to die to self, that you may have life.
The dark days will only grow darker, but the children of God will find shelter in the light of His Word and promises. I will post something more substantial as I am able. My prayers are with all of you, especially those that had to deal with, and are still dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. Even when we cannot see far enough into the future to understand the plan of God, we must be ever certain that He does have a plan.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
The day I arrived Ike hit Texas, and awestruck as everyone else I watched the devastation unfold. A couple days later the news of bank failures started making headlines and it has been a rollercoaster ride of misery for most people ever since.
It's one thing to talk about these things coming, these events unfolding in the abstract, as merely passing on a message that was received from God and faithfully transmitting it, and another to see that which has been foretold coming to pass before your very eyes. It is surreal, and even I, who have been hearing this message of judgment for the better part of twenty years am taken aback by the suddenness of it all.
As I stated some months ago, whether on this blog, in a sermon or in our newsletter, we are no longer living the season of warning, we have entered into the season of fulfillment. Now all we can do is watch and wait for the other proverbial shoe to drop. If anyone thinks the worst is behind is, they are sorely mistaken. Something far worse is in the wings, and I suspect that by year's end we will see turmoil in this country as has not been seen in many a decade.
Those who have been faithfullly building up their relationship with the heavenly Father, those who have been growing and maturing drawing ever closer to Him, look upon these events from a position of peace and shelter, for they are in His embrace where nothing can harm them.
It is those who have believed a false gospel and embraced a false christ that are now scrambling to make sense of it all, for all the promises that less then reputable men made them over the years of riches and prosperity are slipping through their fingers like so much sand. If you happen to be reading this post, and are such a soul, who believed that if they couldn't buy the favor of God, perhaps they could rent it for a couple hours, there is still time to know the one true God, to surrender yourself to the Christ who waits patiently for you to lay down your life, to die to self, that you may have life.
The dark days will only grow darker, but the children of God will find shelter in the light of His Word and promises. I will post something more substantial as I am able. My prayers are with all of you, especially those that had to deal with, and are still dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. Even when we cannot see far enough into the future to understand the plan of God, we must be ever certain that He does have a plan.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A Refresher Course
1 Corinthians 15:1-2, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”
This morning I spent a good ten minutes looking for my keys. It had only been a few hours since I had laid them down somewhere, after spending the evening with a couple brothers visiting from Wisconsin, but for the life of me I could not remember where I had placed them.
I have long believed man is a forgetful creature, and as I hunted desperately for my keys this morning, it became all the more apparent. There are certain things in this life that are worth keeping fresh and at the forefront of our mind on a daily basis. All of us vaguely remember having known certain things, that have somehow slipped from our mind, a certain passage from the Word, a certain lyric of a song, whatever it may be there is not a person alive on this earth that has perfect recall of everything they ever heard throughout their lives. There are even things we might have known very well once upon a time, over which the cobwebs of every day life have slowly grown until they are but a faint memory.
I know it might sound morbid to some, but I enjoy spending time in cemeteries, especially really old ones. I like reading headstones, seeing a life that once was encapsulated in a few words, whether they be loving husband, beloved mother, or adoring son. The older the grave markers, the harder they are to read, often shrouded in grass, weeds, and flowers. I think our memories can sometimes get that way, overgrown with the passage of time with the grass weeds and flowers of yet another season that has come and gone.
Whether we are just beginning our journey on this earth, or nearing its end, there are certain things that must be kept ever fresh in our mind’s eye. There are certain truths that can never be forgotten, over which the worries, fears, and uncertainties of this life can never be allowed to grow and consume. Even the most seasoned of Christians sometimes need a refresher course in the basics; they need to be brought back to the simplicity of the gospel and the pillars that hold up the entire weight of the Christian experience.
The Christians in Corinth were no different than many of us, and they needed a refresher course on the Gospel that the apostle Paul had preached to them. They had started to forget what was most essential and important in the scripture, that Jesus was crucified, that Jesus died, and that He rose again. It is in the cross and the resurrection that we must always dwell, it is these two essentials that can never be forgotten or allowed to lose their relevance. The Corinthians, like many Christians today had started chasing after miracles, after signs and wonders, and had forgotten the cross and the resurrection.
Theoretically the Christians of Corinth were in the Gospel, but practically they were far removed from it. We must continually and ceaselessly be refreshed and renewed in the gospel of the cross and the resurrection, for only in this way are we able to live a life in Christ.
Unfortunate as it might be, the practice of the church of Corinth is alive and well in the modern day church. Many who call themselves Christians, and children of God no longer believe in the resurrection, because they no longer live the Gospel of the cross in a practical manner. Yes, they perform certain religious formalities with great precision, but they no longer believe the promises of God’s Word, nor do they live within the shelter of the Holy Lamb’s blood, which is the cross. They have become separated from these truths, and strangers to them.
Salvation is a present work of God’s sovereign grace in the hearts of those who truly believe. When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he did not say that the gospel that he preached to them would one day save them, but rather the gospel had saved them. We are saved by the gospel presently, and the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of righteousness, the nature of Christ must be visible in us.
A perverted gospel, a gospel absent of Christ, the cross, and the resurrection, does not save, but merely soothes the burdened conscience. When men preach salvation by any other means but by Christ and the cross, they are preaching a perverted gospel that does nothing to unshackle the imprisoned soul, which does nothing to bring freedom and peace to the hearts of their hearers. I liken such experiences to a man who suffering from leprosy goes to the doctor, and after being consulted, the doctor tells his patient that he is healed. Awestruck by the doctor’s remarks, the man looks at his broken body, and tattered flesh, and says, ‘but there is no evidence of my healing, my flesh is still as it was, my disease is still present.’
Only through the gospel of Christ, only by way of the cross, by way of repentance and obedience to God’s Holy Word are we able to see the evidence of our being renewed, transformed, and brought from death unto life.
Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
This morning I spent a good ten minutes looking for my keys. It had only been a few hours since I had laid them down somewhere, after spending the evening with a couple brothers visiting from Wisconsin, but for the life of me I could not remember where I had placed them.
I have long believed man is a forgetful creature, and as I hunted desperately for my keys this morning, it became all the more apparent. There are certain things in this life that are worth keeping fresh and at the forefront of our mind on a daily basis. All of us vaguely remember having known certain things, that have somehow slipped from our mind, a certain passage from the Word, a certain lyric of a song, whatever it may be there is not a person alive on this earth that has perfect recall of everything they ever heard throughout their lives. There are even things we might have known very well once upon a time, over which the cobwebs of every day life have slowly grown until they are but a faint memory.
I know it might sound morbid to some, but I enjoy spending time in cemeteries, especially really old ones. I like reading headstones, seeing a life that once was encapsulated in a few words, whether they be loving husband, beloved mother, or adoring son. The older the grave markers, the harder they are to read, often shrouded in grass, weeds, and flowers. I think our memories can sometimes get that way, overgrown with the passage of time with the grass weeds and flowers of yet another season that has come and gone.
Whether we are just beginning our journey on this earth, or nearing its end, there are certain things that must be kept ever fresh in our mind’s eye. There are certain truths that can never be forgotten, over which the worries, fears, and uncertainties of this life can never be allowed to grow and consume. Even the most seasoned of Christians sometimes need a refresher course in the basics; they need to be brought back to the simplicity of the gospel and the pillars that hold up the entire weight of the Christian experience.
The Christians in Corinth were no different than many of us, and they needed a refresher course on the Gospel that the apostle Paul had preached to them. They had started to forget what was most essential and important in the scripture, that Jesus was crucified, that Jesus died, and that He rose again. It is in the cross and the resurrection that we must always dwell, it is these two essentials that can never be forgotten or allowed to lose their relevance. The Corinthians, like many Christians today had started chasing after miracles, after signs and wonders, and had forgotten the cross and the resurrection.
Theoretically the Christians of Corinth were in the Gospel, but practically they were far removed from it. We must continually and ceaselessly be refreshed and renewed in the gospel of the cross and the resurrection, for only in this way are we able to live a life in Christ.
Unfortunate as it might be, the practice of the church of Corinth is alive and well in the modern day church. Many who call themselves Christians, and children of God no longer believe in the resurrection, because they no longer live the Gospel of the cross in a practical manner. Yes, they perform certain religious formalities with great precision, but they no longer believe the promises of God’s Word, nor do they live within the shelter of the Holy Lamb’s blood, which is the cross. They have become separated from these truths, and strangers to them.
Salvation is a present work of God’s sovereign grace in the hearts of those who truly believe. When Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, he did not say that the gospel that he preached to them would one day save them, but rather the gospel had saved them. We are saved by the gospel presently, and the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of righteousness, the nature of Christ must be visible in us.
A perverted gospel, a gospel absent of Christ, the cross, and the resurrection, does not save, but merely soothes the burdened conscience. When men preach salvation by any other means but by Christ and the cross, they are preaching a perverted gospel that does nothing to unshackle the imprisoned soul, which does nothing to bring freedom and peace to the hearts of their hearers. I liken such experiences to a man who suffering from leprosy goes to the doctor, and after being consulted, the doctor tells his patient that he is healed. Awestruck by the doctor’s remarks, the man looks at his broken body, and tattered flesh, and says, ‘but there is no evidence of my healing, my flesh is still as it was, my disease is still present.’
Only through the gospel of Christ, only by way of the cross, by way of repentance and obedience to God’s Holy Word are we able to see the evidence of our being renewed, transformed, and brought from death unto life.
Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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