Daniel 4:30, “The king spoke, saying, ‘Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”
These were the last words uttered by King Nebuchadnezzar before his descent into madness, and for seven years he wandered the wilderness eating grass, until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. His insanity was not a gradual progression, but an instant removal of his reason, logic and humanity. In the blink of an eye, the once proud king, the man who walked about the royal palace glorying in his excess and accomplishments became nothing more than a beast, a mindless animal in human form.
I often wonder if we as a nation are not descending into the selfsame madness, if as a nation we have not abandoned logic and reason altogether all the while contemplating our mighty power and all that we have constructed for the honor of our majesty.
It’s hard to argue the case that we are still sane and in control of our faculties when not a word is uttered in protest by our duly appointed leaders as ‘the pedophile’s guide to love and pleasure’ is published and marketed in this country, but one nativity scene in a public place whips them up into a frenzy, causing them to foam at the mouth in rage, as they decry the obscenity of such a blatant display of religious zealotry.
Men writing books on how to molest children, sure no problem, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and all that good stuff we like to talk about.
A nativity scene on your front lawn, well we can’t have that you know, there are limits even to freedoms, we can’t have anarchy and chaos now can we?
Now before the e-mails start pouring in, this article is not about whether Jesus was born in June or in December, or whether we ought to celebrate the birth of Jesus. This article is about the sheer insanity that is gripping this nation ever more tightly to the point that it is choking of logic and reason altogether.
We stand before the precipice of being silenced, gagged, bagged and tagged, allowed to freely express only preapproved opinions, sanitized, prepackaged, and in lockstep with our betters, becoming a giant amalgam of automatons too fearful of reprisal to step out of line. The mask that is the illusion of freedom is slowly slipping off in this nation, and what lies beneath is a truly frightful thing to behold.
How far down the rabbit hole will we descend? How much more madness is yet to be displayed passing itself off as normal? Only time will tell, but I fear by the time enough people have awoken from their stupor, by the time enough people have been jarred awake from their slumber, what now remains of sanity will have been lost and the many will remain subject to the madness of the few.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Dulce Bellum Inexpertis
For the past few months I have actively tried to keep from posting on global events unfolding throughout the world. There are enough individuals in cyberspace whose main focus is global politics and worldwide machinations, so rather than throw my hat in the ring I decided to keep my focus on Christ, the body of Christ, our relationships both with God and with each other, writing in my limited capacity what I felt were worthwhile tidbits of spiritual succor.
Each time I make my way to a news site as of late, I keep having the same reaction as I once did when tuning my mandolin. Yes, I used to play the mandolin once upon a time. Laugh if you must, I won’t hold it against you. As I was saying, each time I would tune my mandolin there would be that inevitable high pitched twang, a tensing of the instrument, which alerted me to the fact that the string was about to break, and most likely whipsaw into my cornea. As such I would always tune my mandolin with my eyes nearly shut, sneaking a peak once in awhile to make sure my fingers were resting on the right tuning pegs.
It goes without saying that the entire world seems to be tensing, and it is with the same facial posture that I look at current events wondering what will be that last tweak that will finally break the string. From England, to Italy, to Greece, to Russia, the once peaceful protests have now started turning into violent riots, and other nations seem to be a degree away from boiling over themselves.
Within the context of Scripture we have known for years now that these things were coming, just as we also know that they will get allot worse in very short order. What I find troubling is that rather than being on our faces before God, rather than repenting in sackcloth and ash, many self proclaimed believers are jumping on the ‘bring it on’ wagon, preparing in the physical when they should be preparing in the spiritual. As the title of this post states, war is sweet to those who have never fought, but to those who have seen the cruelties of war, it is as close as one can get to hell without actually being there.
Although I know these things were prophesied, although I know they were foretold as far back as two thousand years ago by the mouth of Christ, I can’t help but get on my face before God and pray that He terry, pray that He hold His hand, pray that He gives us just a little more time to reach the lost, and proclaim the Christ to all who would hear.
I am not scared of what is coming upon the world, but I am apprehensive, and I fear many, even many believers, still possess a romanticized view of what is about to unfold on a global scale. God will be our only refuge, God will be our only protection, and God will be our only comfort, thus the reason it is paramount for us to have cemented our relationships with Him, to know Him fully and love Him deeply before the onset of these things that will make men’s hearts fail them for fear.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Each time I make my way to a news site as of late, I keep having the same reaction as I once did when tuning my mandolin. Yes, I used to play the mandolin once upon a time. Laugh if you must, I won’t hold it against you. As I was saying, each time I would tune my mandolin there would be that inevitable high pitched twang, a tensing of the instrument, which alerted me to the fact that the string was about to break, and most likely whipsaw into my cornea. As such I would always tune my mandolin with my eyes nearly shut, sneaking a peak once in awhile to make sure my fingers were resting on the right tuning pegs.
It goes without saying that the entire world seems to be tensing, and it is with the same facial posture that I look at current events wondering what will be that last tweak that will finally break the string. From England, to Italy, to Greece, to Russia, the once peaceful protests have now started turning into violent riots, and other nations seem to be a degree away from boiling over themselves.
Within the context of Scripture we have known for years now that these things were coming, just as we also know that they will get allot worse in very short order. What I find troubling is that rather than being on our faces before God, rather than repenting in sackcloth and ash, many self proclaimed believers are jumping on the ‘bring it on’ wagon, preparing in the physical when they should be preparing in the spiritual. As the title of this post states, war is sweet to those who have never fought, but to those who have seen the cruelties of war, it is as close as one can get to hell without actually being there.
Although I know these things were prophesied, although I know they were foretold as far back as two thousand years ago by the mouth of Christ, I can’t help but get on my face before God and pray that He terry, pray that He hold His hand, pray that He gives us just a little more time to reach the lost, and proclaim the Christ to all who would hear.
I am not scared of what is coming upon the world, but I am apprehensive, and I fear many, even many believers, still possess a romanticized view of what is about to unfold on a global scale. God will be our only refuge, God will be our only protection, and God will be our only comfort, thus the reason it is paramount for us to have cemented our relationships with Him, to know Him fully and love Him deeply before the onset of these things that will make men’s hearts fail them for fear.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
When Sheep Become Goats
As far as natural law is concerned things have always been, and will always be simple enough. A sheep will always be a sheep, a goat will always remain a goat, and never the twain shall meet. With the odd exceptions of the You Tube videos wherein a cat befriends a dog, or a lioness thinks a duck is her newborn cub, natural law is stable, unmoving and firm.
When it comes to spiritual law however, and the spiritual realities with which every one of us must contend, things become slightly more complicated, since sheep, of their own choosing often become the goats they once chided, reproved and pitied.
One thing I’ve always tried to do, as far as the church is concerned, is pick up on trends before they become trends, and do my best to forewarn as many as would hear of the new wave, which although still far off in the distance will soon make landfall and carry with it the unsuspecting and unprepared. This new wave of which I speak is now cresting, and will soon crash down on the house of God with force and ferocity, and I fear it will rack up a hefty body count along the way.
Perhaps it’s the times we’re living in; perhaps it’s this defiant generation; perhaps it’s all the pseudo-sermons on self empowerment and the affirmation that we’re all little gods, but more and more people are simply unwilling to be sheep any longer. As a sidebar, the fact that there are still those within Christendom who consider themselves little gods only betrays their ignorance of the One true God, revealing just how small they think God to be.
For many following the Shepherd has become too boring, it has become too mundane, and just as a goat would, they wander off the path the Shepherd laid out for them, going off on their own, foraging high and low for a new experience, a new outpouring, a new manifestation and a new movement.
Never mind the fact that the Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures, never mind the fact that He leads us beside the still waters, never mind the fact that He leads us in the paths of righteousness, we want a little excitement, we want a little danger, we want to think outside the box, and do what hasn’t been done. And so, like those silly individuals who pay hundreds of dollars to eat blowfish which will kill them if improperly prepared, many today stray from the green pastures of God’s Word, and go about eating shrubs, and thistles, weeds and all manner of unknown vegetation, most of which is highly toxic, poisonous and even lethal.
The lucky ones escape with deep spiritual scars and boat loads of disappointment, while the not so lucky suffer the pains of spiritual death, turning their back on God because they foolishly placed their trust in men who turned out to be less than the messianic figures they advertised themselves as.
Sheep follow; goats wander. When we take it upon ourselves to blaze our own trail, to forge our own path, to find our own spirituality rather than humbly following after Jesus, we take it upon ourselves to become our own shepherds, solely responsible for our own wellbeing, protection, spiritual nourishment and even survival. Noble as it might sound to say that we are the captains of our own ships, the shepherds of our own souls, in reality we become but mere goats whom out of rebellion, pride, and an unwillingness to submit to the authority of Christ, have wandered far from Him.
There is one Shepherd, and His name is Jesus. There can be no surrogates or substitutes for the one true Shepherd, and any man who claims to be such is a liar, plain and simple.
The reason I felt I needed to broach this topic is because of late I have been getting a disturbing amount of correspondence from individuals who have taken it upon themselves to shepherd their own spiritual lives and as such have come to doubt the deity of Christ, denounce the Pauline epistles as heresy, and even do away with the Bible altogether claiming that all we really need is some form of transcendental meditation in order to tap into the god within and thereby posses illuminated minds unencumbered by either the standard or will of God.
As I said, this new wave is cresting, and due to the presupposed liberties it will offer to the lukewarm and rebellious among us, it will become more popular than we can imagine. Former sheep will glory in their hollow spirituality, and newfound liberties, mocking those whom with humble reverence continue to follow after Jesus, ignorant of the fact that spiritual death awaits them with open arms and their end is a foregone conclusion.
I cannot speak for another, but as for me and my house, we will follow the one true Shepherd who has always led, guided, protected and kept us; we will follow after Christ.
Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
2 Peter 2:1-2, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
When it comes to spiritual law however, and the spiritual realities with which every one of us must contend, things become slightly more complicated, since sheep, of their own choosing often become the goats they once chided, reproved and pitied.
One thing I’ve always tried to do, as far as the church is concerned, is pick up on trends before they become trends, and do my best to forewarn as many as would hear of the new wave, which although still far off in the distance will soon make landfall and carry with it the unsuspecting and unprepared. This new wave of which I speak is now cresting, and will soon crash down on the house of God with force and ferocity, and I fear it will rack up a hefty body count along the way.
Perhaps it’s the times we’re living in; perhaps it’s this defiant generation; perhaps it’s all the pseudo-sermons on self empowerment and the affirmation that we’re all little gods, but more and more people are simply unwilling to be sheep any longer. As a sidebar, the fact that there are still those within Christendom who consider themselves little gods only betrays their ignorance of the One true God, revealing just how small they think God to be.
For many following the Shepherd has become too boring, it has become too mundane, and just as a goat would, they wander off the path the Shepherd laid out for them, going off on their own, foraging high and low for a new experience, a new outpouring, a new manifestation and a new movement.
Never mind the fact that the Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures, never mind the fact that He leads us beside the still waters, never mind the fact that He leads us in the paths of righteousness, we want a little excitement, we want a little danger, we want to think outside the box, and do what hasn’t been done. And so, like those silly individuals who pay hundreds of dollars to eat blowfish which will kill them if improperly prepared, many today stray from the green pastures of God’s Word, and go about eating shrubs, and thistles, weeds and all manner of unknown vegetation, most of which is highly toxic, poisonous and even lethal.
The lucky ones escape with deep spiritual scars and boat loads of disappointment, while the not so lucky suffer the pains of spiritual death, turning their back on God because they foolishly placed their trust in men who turned out to be less than the messianic figures they advertised themselves as.
Sheep follow; goats wander. When we take it upon ourselves to blaze our own trail, to forge our own path, to find our own spirituality rather than humbly following after Jesus, we take it upon ourselves to become our own shepherds, solely responsible for our own wellbeing, protection, spiritual nourishment and even survival. Noble as it might sound to say that we are the captains of our own ships, the shepherds of our own souls, in reality we become but mere goats whom out of rebellion, pride, and an unwillingness to submit to the authority of Christ, have wandered far from Him.
There is one Shepherd, and His name is Jesus. There can be no surrogates or substitutes for the one true Shepherd, and any man who claims to be such is a liar, plain and simple.
The reason I felt I needed to broach this topic is because of late I have been getting a disturbing amount of correspondence from individuals who have taken it upon themselves to shepherd their own spiritual lives and as such have come to doubt the deity of Christ, denounce the Pauline epistles as heresy, and even do away with the Bible altogether claiming that all we really need is some form of transcendental meditation in order to tap into the god within and thereby posses illuminated minds unencumbered by either the standard or will of God.
As I said, this new wave is cresting, and due to the presupposed liberties it will offer to the lukewarm and rebellious among us, it will become more popular than we can imagine. Former sheep will glory in their hollow spirituality, and newfound liberties, mocking those whom with humble reverence continue to follow after Jesus, ignorant of the fact that spiritual death awaits them with open arms and their end is a foregone conclusion.
I cannot speak for another, but as for me and my house, we will follow the one true Shepherd who has always led, guided, protected and kept us; we will follow after Christ.
Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
2 Peter 2:1-2, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Free Stuff!
Everybody likes free stuff. Some think it's what makes the world go 'round. Almost everyone I know gets roped into buying a useless trinket that ends up gathering dust somewhere in their home, because with the purchase of the trinket, they got a free toothpick, pocket protector, eyeglass cleaning cloth, or a flimsy pair of dog tags with the company's logo bodly stamped right in the center.
Well, today I'm offering free stuff with no purchase required, and personally I think it's more substantial than a toothpick or a pocket protector. For those of you that are not on the Hand of Help mailing list, and do not receive our newsletter, once in awhile we print calendars, and this year happens to be one of those years.
So if you send me a comment with your name and address, one of our calendars will be shipped to you, no strings attached. Your name and address will not be sold, bartered, traded, or added to any mailing list, nor will it be made public. This is my gift to you, the only thing I ask is that when you pray, you remember this ministry in your prayers as well.
As the saying goes, supplies are limited, so first come first serve.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Well, today I'm offering free stuff with no purchase required, and personally I think it's more substantial than a toothpick or a pocket protector. For those of you that are not on the Hand of Help mailing list, and do not receive our newsletter, once in awhile we print calendars, and this year happens to be one of those years.
So if you send me a comment with your name and address, one of our calendars will be shipped to you, no strings attached. Your name and address will not be sold, bartered, traded, or added to any mailing list, nor will it be made public. This is my gift to you, the only thing I ask is that when you pray, you remember this ministry in your prayers as well.
As the saying goes, supplies are limited, so first come first serve.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
It's A God Thing!
Well, another week has gone by, and with the precision of a Swiss timepiece, another high profile evangelical scandal is brewing. From the few e-mails I’ve gotten from different sources it would seem the founder of the second largest television network in America has admitted to a protracted and prolonged affair with a staff member.
The man, along with his wife and their attorney were apparently quick to point out that the affair was with a woman, lest we jump to conclusions of the more unsavory kind.
Well, phew, that’s a load off, I can breathe easy now, it was just common, garden variety adultery, nothing more scandalous than an evangelist betraying the covenant of marriage, abusing his partner’s trust, trampling on the blood of Christ’s sacrifice, once more bringing shame to God’s house, and admitting the only reason they decided to get ahead of this and fess up to it was because someone was trying to blackmail them and squeeze a few million dollars from their clenched fists.
Although there will be those within Christian circles that will claim this, and the many other scandals within Christendom of late are the work of Satan, and that these are just attacks of the enemy, I submit to you, that rather than attribute these shameful outings to the devil, we ought to open our eyes and realize that it’s a God thing.
It is not the devil that is bringing the sins of these men to light, there would be no profit in it since the enemy already had them neatly bound in their sin, and as such they could be of no benefit or usefulness to the kingdom of God. Satan is not in the habit of shooting himself in the foot, and he does not attack those already doing his bidding. If a man is tainted, then he is compromised, and if he is compromised, his willingness or ability to fearlessly preach the truth of God’s Word is nonexistent, the sword of Damocles perpetually hanging above his head held there by a tenuous horse’s hair.
It is not the devil exposing sin within the house of God, it is God beginning to clean house!
“But brother Mike, how could you think that?”
Because God doesn’t think like men do, His ways are not our ways, He isn’t interested in public relations, public perception, public image, and all the other idiocies men of a certain stature are obsessed with, His only interests are righteousness and holiness, and He has no reservations about destroying men’s painstakingly crafted public projections of themselves. God has no qualms about embarrassing men, humbling men, shaming men, or exposing men. God brings the truth into the light, and the harsh reality of the truth that the light reveals is solely dependent on the actions of the individual God thrust into the selfsame light of truth. God demands a spotless bride, God demands a righteous bride, and if He must He will expose ten thousand more hypocrites that what remains might be pure and undefiled.
As I said, God is beginning to clean house, and He’s starting from the top down. What we must understand is that it’s the enemy’s pleasure to see sin devouring the light from within; it is the enemy’s pleasure to see sin corrupt, destroy, pollute, and twist the way of righteousness via those we revere as the mouthpieces of God, those entrusted with our spiritual nourishment and maturing. No, the enemy does not expose such individuals, he does everything he can to protect them and prosper them, and keep them in the limelight until God Himself pull back the veil, until God Himself unmasks the evil lurking beneath the smooth Botox filled features, and chemically whitened teeth.
Don’t blame the devil for what God is doing, rather thank God for the work of pruning that He has begun, and will continue to perform. God is cleaning house, and all the chaff and the mold and the dust and the trash is being swept up and scrubbed off, that God might once more reside there, that the fullness of Him might once more be experienced by those still desperate for Him, and that His works might be made manifest even in this sinful and perverse generation.
1 Peter 4:17, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
The man, along with his wife and their attorney were apparently quick to point out that the affair was with a woman, lest we jump to conclusions of the more unsavory kind.
Well, phew, that’s a load off, I can breathe easy now, it was just common, garden variety adultery, nothing more scandalous than an evangelist betraying the covenant of marriage, abusing his partner’s trust, trampling on the blood of Christ’s sacrifice, once more bringing shame to God’s house, and admitting the only reason they decided to get ahead of this and fess up to it was because someone was trying to blackmail them and squeeze a few million dollars from their clenched fists.
Although there will be those within Christian circles that will claim this, and the many other scandals within Christendom of late are the work of Satan, and that these are just attacks of the enemy, I submit to you, that rather than attribute these shameful outings to the devil, we ought to open our eyes and realize that it’s a God thing.
It is not the devil that is bringing the sins of these men to light, there would be no profit in it since the enemy already had them neatly bound in their sin, and as such they could be of no benefit or usefulness to the kingdom of God. Satan is not in the habit of shooting himself in the foot, and he does not attack those already doing his bidding. If a man is tainted, then he is compromised, and if he is compromised, his willingness or ability to fearlessly preach the truth of God’s Word is nonexistent, the sword of Damocles perpetually hanging above his head held there by a tenuous horse’s hair.
It is not the devil exposing sin within the house of God, it is God beginning to clean house!
“But brother Mike, how could you think that?”
Because God doesn’t think like men do, His ways are not our ways, He isn’t interested in public relations, public perception, public image, and all the other idiocies men of a certain stature are obsessed with, His only interests are righteousness and holiness, and He has no reservations about destroying men’s painstakingly crafted public projections of themselves. God has no qualms about embarrassing men, humbling men, shaming men, or exposing men. God brings the truth into the light, and the harsh reality of the truth that the light reveals is solely dependent on the actions of the individual God thrust into the selfsame light of truth. God demands a spotless bride, God demands a righteous bride, and if He must He will expose ten thousand more hypocrites that what remains might be pure and undefiled.
As I said, God is beginning to clean house, and He’s starting from the top down. What we must understand is that it’s the enemy’s pleasure to see sin devouring the light from within; it is the enemy’s pleasure to see sin corrupt, destroy, pollute, and twist the way of righteousness via those we revere as the mouthpieces of God, those entrusted with our spiritual nourishment and maturing. No, the enemy does not expose such individuals, he does everything he can to protect them and prosper them, and keep them in the limelight until God Himself pull back the veil, until God Himself unmasks the evil lurking beneath the smooth Botox filled features, and chemically whitened teeth.
Don’t blame the devil for what God is doing, rather thank God for the work of pruning that He has begun, and will continue to perform. God is cleaning house, and all the chaff and the mold and the dust and the trash is being swept up and scrubbed off, that God might once more reside there, that the fullness of Him might once more be experienced by those still desperate for Him, and that His works might be made manifest even in this sinful and perverse generation.
1 Peter 4:17, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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