Lord, Teach Us To Pray! Part 58

Prayers of Petition continued...

To answer some of your questions as kindly as possible, no, I don’t believe I was too harsh in yesterday’s post. No, I don’t believe in showing grace to unrepentant sinners behind pulpits, who attempt to widen the path of righteousness which Christ laid out, and for the integrity of which all but one of the apostles were martyred. No, I do not have a bad attitude.

Please understand, what I write, I write out of love for the body of Christ, out of love for the sheep of God’s pasture, because the days which are fast approaching will be days of trouble, and darkness and distress, and if you are not prayed up, and read up, and suited up with the armor of God, you will not withstand the evil day.

I have grown disgusted with hirelings whose only desire is to ‘grow their ministries’ never taking into account that the sheep are starving.

I’m almost forty years old. I’ve been in ministry since I was twelve years old. My hair is gray, my face is haggard, and my throat is soar from preaching repentance to a nation that wants to hear about having their best life and thinking positive thoughts instead.

I have lost friends for standing for the gospel, the ministry has lost supporters because I would not compromise the truth, and if not for the knowledge that God sees all things, knows all things, and rewards all things, I would have walked away from it all, long ago.

So, no, I am not unloving for calling sin, sin. I am not intolerant for echoing the word of God when it comes to the paramount need for righteousness and holiness, and I’m not judging anyone, because judging implies passing sentence.

God will judge, and do so with great and terrible swiftness. All I’m doing is trying to warn the handful of sheep that would still hear, and the handful of souls that still think the word of God matters, that it’s still important, or that we should still adhere to it.

I don’t write for those who think the Bible is an accessory for Sunday mornings, or that like a baseball card, it will lose value if you take it out of its wrapping. I write for the saints, because I made a vow to my God that I would.

Believe it or not, yes, there are other things I could be doing. There are other responsibilities I put off, so I could sit here every morning, and type out whatever God is putting on my heart.

No, this is not a pity party. I don’t believe in self-pity, but I am tired, and haggard, and worn, and it’s getting so hard to stand against the current, when it would be so easy to just float along on the stream of indifference and apathy so many seem to be enjoying.

While I was still living in California, a friend of my grandfather’s had a daughter who fell in with the wrong crowd, and started traveling down the wrong path. Her parents prayed for her, warned her, begged her, pleaded with her, but to no avail.

Finally, they decided to throw down the gauntlet, and given the girl an ultimatum. They waited until after her new boyfriend gave her some fresh bruises and a swollen eye, and finally told her she had to choose between him, and them.

Without giving it a second thought, or a moment’s worth of hesitation, the girl grabbed her bag, and ran out of the house, into the arms of the man who less than a day before had beaten her into unconsciousness.

I share this story, because this is how far too many believers act nowadays. The wolves abuse them, and mistreat them, and fleece them, but when Jesus says they must deny themselves, pick up their crosses and follow Him, they run into the arms of the wolf who just got done exploiting them.

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

It’s the word of God! I didn’t make it up to put undue burden on the children of God; neither did some nefarious denomination in the hopes of getting people to live holy just because they thought it’d be a hoot to see it.

It’s the Book, it’s the word of God, it’s the Bible, and if we do not adhere to the words contained therein, why are we still calling ourselves Christians?

If it’s not one doctrine the children of God are chasing after it’s another, the latest and greatest of these apparently being universal reconciliation - meaning eventually everyone, including the devil will be saved - making Jesus, His blood, His death, and His resurrection utterly irrelevant in the great scheme of things.

Lest you misunderstand, this is not a doctrine the world is promoting, but people calling themselves Christians.

We must return to holiness. We must return to righteousness. We must obey the word of God and present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, because it is our reasonable service, the least that is expected of us, and if we desire to be welcomed into His kingdom, then we must do as the Book commands.

As a friend of mine is fond of saying, ‘no excuses, just obedience.’ It is what God desires, demands, and expects of all His children.

Alright, enough of sermonizing; Since I didn’t pop a blood vessel, or have an aneurism yet, Lord willing tomorrow we return to our discussion on prayers of petition. Maybe…

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.