Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Scribbles

I'm a scribbler, always have been. Today I noticed that my Bible was getting a little on the thick side, and so I decided to clean it out. I discovered I had accumulated allot of pieces of paper, old church bulletins from churches I've spoken in, gas receipts, napkins, and oddly enough one wedding invitation, all scribbled on with thoughts or ideas I had at a certain moment in time.
Since tomorrow I will be going away for a few days, to see the Romanian countryside and spend some alone time with my wife, sans laptop, cell phone, two way radio, telegraph machine or any other form of technological distraction, I decided to type up a few of the notes I'd found in my Bible and make them into a post.

These are just my thoughts. If offensive in any way, I apologize in advance....

We are so busy lamenting, bemoaning and decrying the effects of our disobedience, that we fail to see the cause. We have become cold and blind to our own sins as a nation, and as such cannot hope to right ourselves. The glory of what was will be a memory still for we refuse to do the one thing that would turn the tide. We refuse to repent!

The fact that we seek out points of egress before we even consider fighting for truth testifies to the weakness of our character, and the lukewarm state of our commitment. We will not commit to confrontation unless we’ve already mapped out an exit strategy, unless we’ve formulated a means by which we can backpedal and retract what we proclaimed, making our original statements void of conviction or validity. We are pretending to fight a war, with no true intention of winning it! We are pretending to oppose the enemy, with no true intention of shedding one tear or drop of blood for our convictions!

It is a tragic thing watching the downfall of a nation. My heart can’t help but weep.

I relish the idea of how simple my life would be if I would have never left my homeland. Chances are I’d be a farmer; chances are I’d know how to milk a cow by now.

I have discovered a sure way to keep from getting discouraged in ministry. Every morning, look in the mirror and remind yourself that it is not your battle it is God’s. Do what you were called to do, do it faithfully, do it diligently, do it wholeheartedly, do it passionately, and let God do what He promised He would, namely draw all men unto Himself.

God never promised He would spare us from trials; the only thing He promised is that He would be with us in our trials.

Can there be any hope for the next generation when we so vehemently idolize the functionally retarded?

Being incapable of desiring wisdom is a sure sign of mediocrity.

Be certain that what you are living for, is worth dying for.

A day absent of prayer is a day absent of blessing; a life absent of prayer is a life absent of power.

Perceive your sadness as the shadow of the blessing that is on its way.

Make your heart the temple of the Holy Spirit, so much so that every sacrifice you make upon its altar will be well pleasing to God.

We have come to expect men of God to boast of their works, to glory in their own fame, and seek the honor and reverence of men. It was not always so, and we are the worse for it, for having lowered ourselves to praising men.

We live in a material world, all the while being granted the privilege to peer into the immaterial, the spiritual, that which eyes of flesh alone cannot perceive.

What measure of tragedy must befall this nation, what cataclysmic catastrophe must we be witness to, that we may be compelled to repent?

We influence all that surrounds us, every minute of every hour, of every day.

Those, whose desire is to be in one accord with the world, deny Christ.

We cannot be in one accord with God and with the world; with the law and with grace; with scripture and traditions that have no scriptural basis.

There cannot be a dual harmony with God and with mammon. We can only be in harmony with one, subservient to one, and the choice is left up to us.

It is neither what man thinks himself to be, or what others consider him to be that is of any relevance. In the end all that matters, the only opinion of any relevance is God’s. How does God consider you?

Men give themselves titles and positions, things that are worthless in the eyes of God.

You are only what the grace of God has made you; aspire to nothing more than to do His will.

How can one block out the sun? How can one deny the existence of fire as it burns and blisters? How can we reject life, when it beckons to us with every breath?

There are certain realities that exist, which are so powerful that man has no choice but to acquiesce to them.

Truth must be rediscovered by every generation. The search for truth continues unabated to this day, and it will continue as such until the end of time.

What a savage enemy the fear of men can become when in pursuit of truth.

Fear destroys the fiercest of warrior, and the most devoted of servants.

The truth of the gospel is not a religion or denomination, it is not a system or a philosophy, it is not brittle morality, but it is life and heavenly light, it is power and joy, it is Jesus Christ, in the fullness of His sovereignty.

Give heed to no man that would seek to teach you something other than the words of the Holy Scriptures.

No authority on earth, no power of this realm has the right to modify the word of God.

Man’s earthly origins are of no relevance to God. He judges without partiality.

When Christ came, the one and only reality, the one and only truth, there no longer remained a need for shadows, symbols, and empty traditions.

God has seldom chosen the great men of this world, for it would seem, high places and faith in Christ do seldom well agree.

There is much to sadden us in the view of the ruins of our race. What we once were, and what we have become is beyond tragic, and truly lamentable.

Fear is a useless emotion; its only benefit from the flesh’s point of view is to justify our inaction.
Only in the light of the gospel can we see what an utter tragedy sin is, and the blinding beauty of what God’s grace is.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.

5 comments:

A Seed Sower said...

small doses of good medicine

k.mag.. said...

The way I look at doing the job The Father gave you is, Our Father taught you how to do your job the best way possible for you, right now at this time in your life. If The Father so chooses to teach you a better way, bringing more joy, He will teach you at the right time. Do your best for God because He has you on the cutting edge of
of knowlege and skill and joy in His labor. I pray all the time Lord teach me my job, He does and it is a joy.

Anonymous said...

Dear Michael,
I appreciate these pearls of yours so very much. They are like wonderful new proverbs and very relevant to the current downward-spiraling state of the nation. Sometimes I'm amazed that our Lord can tolerate so much spiritual filth and willful blindness another day without moving to wipe it out. As I look around and marvel at the lifestyles, entertainment, and other activities embraced by many "Christians," I can't help but wonder whether they ever read the Bible. I understand more and more how a population can become so thoroughly and willfully corrupt as to be beyond hope and merit only destruction. However, there is one pearl of yours that I want to memorize because it is so encouraging: "Perceive your sadness as the shadow of the blessing that is on its way." Thanks for the wisdom!

Melanie

Anonymous said...

This was an inspiration and encouragement to keep my eyes and heart on the Word/Lord... to know He is faithful and we need be ready to give account of all He shows us to be that light to others... Thank you for your light!

Anonymous said...

Michael, once again I have to agree with your thoughts. In so many ways many of us think a like.

You wrote or thought. Give heed to no man that would seek to teach you something other than the words of the Holy Scriptures.

No authority on earth, no power of this realm has the right to modify the word of God.

This is so true, yet it seems that many out there today are trying to do just that. May our Lord bless you in your work for Him. In bring forth Truth in Jesus.

Mary