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.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
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5 comments:
I always hear people in church say,beware the wolf in sheeps cloathing.Their is something much worse than this,The wolf in shepards cloathing is far more dangerous.I say this to all the wolves in all their disguises,Beware the one who protects his sheep and makes sport of hunting the wolves.
"For many following the Shepherd has become too boring, it has become too mundane. . ."
But of course, the default methodology of the follower is boring; so many people only know the play-it-by-ear, never study, ignore tests, spend all your time in amusements/diversions way of living. The ability to look deeper, to actually digest the meaning of the scriptures . . . to see them as living, vital, and vibrant with meaning and import . . . is rare indeed. It is a trained skill sorely lacking today, only gained through the example of a consecrated disciple or the extreme duress of sore trial.
Thank you for the ringing of your confident and determined testimony, which sounds out in everything you write. May the Lord's sweetest blessings rest upon you and yours.
Hi Michael -
Amen to the entirety of this piece!
Thank you
My pastor grew up in Ethiopia with his sister herding sheep and goats...He always felt sorry for his sister when she got stuck with the goats...they kicked her, ran away and were generally a very unteachable bunch! With ya, Michael...your newsletter and your pure straight forward messages are always appreciated by us sheep! Thank you! Phyllis
We had a pet goat once, and she was always going where she shouldn't, refused to stay within the fences, and ate everything, whether it was good for her or not. When we moved, and gave her to a friend, she still used to wander. She would stay with the neighbouring flock sometimes, but then she would just go through a fence and go where she pleased, as they all liked to do.
Thanks for continuing to feed the sheep, Michael. I haven't been here to your blog for a little while, or commented lately, but I am always so refreshed and encouraged when I do. And challenged too.
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