What God Hates Part 5

After a protracted journey I made it home safe and sound only to discover that the fifth installment in the series 'What God Hates' has been posted to YouTube. As such, please click on the link below to see this newest teaching.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

What God Hates Part 5

Growing in Christ Part 9

2 Peter 1:5-7, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

Each time I read Peter’s edifying counsel on how we as believers ought to continually grow and mature in Christ, I get a flash, an image of a house being steadily built. I see the foundation which is faith perfectly laid out before me, and a man with a stack of bricks beside him, trowel in hand, and plenty of mortar for the job methodically going about the task of laying the bricks one at a time.

Unless you’re buying a house from some disreputable outfit whose only interest is turning a profit, chances are you will be methodical when it comes to the sort of materials you use, as well as making sure everything is built according to the blueprints.

It is not something you do just to get done, nor is it something you rush in any form or fashion because it is a far wiser thing to take an extra breath and make sure you’re doing it as you ought than having to tear down what you built and begin anew.

One realizes upon undertaking the task of building a home that they are building something permanent. Because it is something they will likely occupy all their lives most people take great care that it’s done right and that the home is built with a sense of permanence.

When it comes to building up their spiritual homes, it would seem that nowadays people would rather just wing it and play it by ear than take the time to study out the instructions and be diligent in making sure it is done right.

The Word of God is the blueprint for our spiritual house. Absent the knowledge of the Word of God, absence the adherence to the instructions found therein, whatever spiritual house we attempt to build, it will not be up to specifications, nor will it suffice when the Inspector comes to see what we have built.

Now that we’ve added to our faith virtue, and we strive to live by the moral standard to which the children of God are expected to live, Peter continues his spiritual advice and encourages us to add to our virtue knowledge.

The first and most obvious question is knowledge of what exactly?

What knowledge is Peter referring to?

There are different kinds of knowledge, and there are different sources of knowledge, but knowing Peter to be a simple, practical man lacking formal education we come to understand the knowledge he speaks of here is not book knowledge, or knowledge of some discipline or another, but knowledge of God, the Word of God, the kingdom of God, and the will of God.

When Peter admonished us to add to our virtue knowledge, it was not knowledge of how to fish or what bait to use since this was his profession; it was knowledge of the singularly priceless truth of Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on behalf of mankind.

No other knowledge is worth pursuing or using as one of the bricks in our spiritual house than the knowledge of Christ.

Even Paul the Apostle whose earthly knowledge exceeded that of Peter, who was educated and well versed in ways Peter was not, had the singular desire to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.

Upon beginning to acquire knowledge of Jesus, upon beginning to grow in Him, we come to the realization that there is always more of Him to discover, always more of Him to understand in a deeper fashion, and this keeps the fire of our desire for more of Him burning bright.

It is only those who have never known the beauty of Jesus, those who thought they had met Him but never truly did that insist other pursuits are just as fulfilling and just as nourishing to the human soul.

Once of you’ve met Jesus, truly met Him, you will understand that there is nothing in the universe that comes close to equaling the knowledge of Him in all His glory.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Going Home!

I will be traveling back to Romania this week, so my posts will be somewhat sporadic to say the least.

I do not know how much time I will have for writing, nor will I know how many days it will take to make the journey since I do plan on making a couple stops along the way to check on some projects. My best guess is that I will be home either on Saturday or Sunday, but I will try to post something between now and then.

What I do know is that I will do my very best to get back on a writing schedule as soon as humanly possible, because I've realized that although I love spending time with my wife, I do miss writing when I'm not doing it for more than a couple days.

I thank you all for the anniversary wishes. We had a lovely respite away from gadgets, phones, e-mails and everything else that robs us of time for quiet introspection and simple togetherness. It was refreshing and hugely beneficial to both of us. I do believe a few days of minimal contact with the outside world now and then are necessary for those who try to avoid burnout, and being one who has seen people burn out and the toll it has taken on their lives and families, I choose to do what I can with an eye toward longevity.

We will commence with our 'Growing in Christ' series as soon as possible, and see where the Lord will lead us once this series is concluded.

I covet your prayers as I travel, and I thank you for your patience.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Taking the Week!

This week I will be celebrating thirteen years of marriage, and as such I will be taking the week and spending it with my wife. Sometimes we need a break and this is as good a reason as any.

It seems like just yesterday we were standing in church, holding hands, and being prayed over.

It has been a wonderful thirteen years. Thank you all for understanding.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Growing in Christ Part 8

Since we’ve already established that faith is the first requirement – the prerequisite to building up our spiritual man and growing in Christ – what then can we build upon the faith we already possess that we might be those valiant warriors and true ambassadors of the cross as so many who came before us seem to have been?

I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but men don’t have the boldness of their forefathers anymore. They don’t have the strength of character, and the courage of their convictions to stand for truth, or defend it for that matter.

It is largely the reason the enemy has been able to run roughshod over the house of God in recent years, and it is to our shame and dishonor.

What became of the men who would not flinch in the face of the enemy, or back down when others disagreed with them? Since when did being a spineless, mealy mouthed, soothsayer and ‘yes’ man of the godless become the accepted norm within the house of God?

Men of conviction and boldness are so rare in the church nowadays, that the system doesn’t know what to do with them when they spring up from time to time. Because much of the church today doesn’t want to be associated with anyone who might be controversial, chances are better than good that rather than come alongside and defend the truth as they ought, they distance and disavow themselves of the individual in question, finding reasons why they’re really not a brother, because, well, they’re not tolerant enough for the world’s palate.

2 Peter 1:5-7, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

So Peter assumes, and rightly so that since we’ve escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, we already possess faith. As such, he encourages us to give all diligence in adding to our faith virtue.

Since virtue is the first thing Peter mentions, it is the first thing we will discuss as one of a handful of necessary building blocks for our growing in Christ, and maturing our spiritual man.

So what is virtue? Well, virtue is defined as behavior showing high moral standards, and although it is that, it is also much more than that where the children of God are concerned.

I realize full well there are teachings floating about the ether telling believers they need not aspire to, nor seek to live a high moral standard, but the word of God tells us otherwise.

Once more, as is often the case, we come to the crossroads of choosing whose report to believe, and which voice to lend our ear to.

Do we believe the words of men, or do we believe the Word of God?
Yes, the words of men will always be easier on the flesh, they will always require less self-renunciation, but just because something is easier it doesn’t make it better, or the right course of action for that matter.

As followers of Christ and as His representatives here on earth, we must add virtue to our faith and pursue it, even when it’s to our own detriment.

There are times when having less than a high moral standard benefits you. That’s just the reality of the times we live in. You cut a few corners, tell a few half-truths, and voila, things are much smoother than they would otherwise have been.

When we add virtue to our faith, even when we know something would work out in our favor far better if we chose to blur the lines, because we are who we are, and are mandated to be as He was, we hold to our standard, we retain our virtue, even if by doing so we lose out on some material thing.

As the saying goes, it’s easy on paper, but much harder to be consistently virtuous in everyday life. Situations arise, and temptations are ever present wherein if only we lowered the standard a smidge, we would exponentially benefit in the natural.

You know the virtue of an individual not when being virtuous is easy and pain free, but when being virtuous costs them something at best, and at worst everything.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Growing in Christ Part 7

Although doctrines insisting that as children of God we need not repent, break ties with sin, or escape the corruption that is in the world through lust are increasingly popular, there is nothing Biblical about them.

These are doctrines fashioned by men, for the flesh of men, and have nothing whatsoever to do with the God of the Bible or the clear separation He demands of those who are called, saved, and sanctified.

As I was pondering Peter’s introduction to his second epistle, I was struck by his word choice when it came to discussing the corruption that is in the world.

‘Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

The one word that I underlined then circled in my Bible as I contemplated this handful of words is ‘escaped’.

To escape is to break free from confinement or control. There is no possible way the word escaped can be used in a positive manner, or seen in a positive light.

When we broke ties with the corruption that is in the world through lust, when we endeavored to surrender our hearts to Christ, we broke free – we escaped.

The corruption that is in the world is not the vacation destination the devil makes it out to be. Sin is not fun but for an instant, then the consequences of the sins we willfully commit haunt us for the rest of our lives.

With the help of God, and through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we escaped, we got free, we broke loose, and only when we forget the prison that sin is do we begin to entertain the idea of returning to it again.

I’ve counseled individuals battling drug addiction, alcohol addiction, nicotine addiction, addiction to pornography and a score of other addictions that kept them ensnared, hopeless, and joyless.

With God’s help they were able to break free, to escape, but not all who escaped remained free, for they returned, and willingly so, to the prison they once inhabited, and freely took upon themselves the shackles which had once ensnared them.

Some of them would call after a few months and ask for prayer or counsel again, and when I’d ask why they had returned to the mire, why they had taken up the thing they had so desperately ought to escape once more, the unanimous answer was, ‘because I forgot how bad it was. I kept remembering the highs, but never remembered the lows.’

It’s a good thing to remember from whence we escaped. It is a good thing to keep at the forefront of our minds just how destructive, debilitating, and hopeless sin truly is, that once we have been freed, we would not return to the shackles.

2 Peter 1:5-7, “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.”

‘But also for this very reason’

What is this reason Peter is referring to? The reason is the fact that we’ve been freed, and that we have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

What Peter is saying that because you have escaped corruption, because you have escaped the prison of sin, you must automatically seek to grow in God, the knowledge of Him, and the will of Him.

Before he begins to outline what are essentially the building blocks of ongoing spiritual maturity, Peter admonishes to give all diligence in pursuing these things.

Since the word diligence means careful and persistent work or effort, we understand giving all diligence to mean that we spare no effort in our pursuit of amassing these building blocks of spiritual growth which Peter goes on to outline.

There was an urgency, and an admonition to press in and be tenacious in seeing these things out in Peter’s phrasing. He didn’t say if we had the time, if nothing was pressing, if we weren’t too tired, or if we just needed a change of pace we should seek after these things. He said we must give all diligence in adding to our faith which is the foundation of our spiritual house, and the first prerequisite when attempting to add on anything else.

It is common knowledge that when attempting to build a house you begin with the foundation. You make certain the foundation is stable and sure, you make certain it is strong enough to bear the load of the rest of the edifice, then you begin to build, brick by brick, stone by stone, until your house is done.

Faith is that foundation, and if our faith is strong, then we can proceed to build upon it and add to it, maturing our spiritual man and growing in Christ with each thing we subsequently add to the foundation of faith we’ve established.

Hebrews 11:1-3, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

That is both the most succinct and the most revelatory definition for faith in the entire Bible, and it is the one thing that serves as load bearing foundation for the rest of our spiritual construct.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Absolute Power!

During medieval times, if you were unfortunate enough to be a sibling to one who had recently ascended to the throne, the best you could hope for was a short life in a dark dungeon away from prying eyes.

It is well known that men who ascended to power did everything they could to cling to the power to which they’d ascended for as long as humanly possible.

To this end, men butchered their own kin, their own siblings, poisoned their own fathers and mothers, and ordered the genocidal extermination of millions without a second thought or the loss of a single night’s sleep.

What most have forgotten and few still realize is that once they attain power, individuals will do all they can to retain the power they’ve attained.

First you attain, then you retain.

To think that men have evolved and now seek higher office for the good of their fellow man is laughable on its face, and those who believe such trifle are infantile in their thinking beyond description.

You don’t spend a billion dollars because you really, really want to take pictures holding other people’s babies while plastering a fake smile on your face.

Men seek power for power’s sake, and once they attain the power they sought even good men are corrupted and transformed, never mind men of less than noble character and intent.

Although the situation itself isn’t funny by half, the reaction of some individuals is quite amusing – especially their disbelief at the reality that they’re being spied on in the most egregious manner by their government.

The mask has come off, and now we see what has become of the noble notion of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.

As tyrannical governments have proven out time and again, first you gain control of the majority, and then do away with the dissidents, nonconformists, and those who oppose you in any way.

We are still in the control phase of the operation, but as control is acquired more thoroughly the silencing and containment of outspoken opponents will begin.

There has been an overflow of information as to what has transpired in this nation over the past few years, from the active targeting of certain citizens and groups, to the open favoritism of what ought to be an impartial government body.

What we knew as freedom is now in the rearview, and I fear we’ve only scratched the surface of what has been going on behind closed doors. We’ve gotten the first whiff of decomposition, and though we think to ourselves this is bad enough, it will get worse.

Although as believers we are no longer of the world, we are still in it, and what happens in it affects us whether directly or indirectly. When pressure is first applied it is always gentle – perhaps a persuasion or an implied consequence for not going along – but soon enough it will turn to threats and the carrying out of said threats.

I guess the whole point of today’s post is this: you can see what’s happening; it’s clear now, and whether or not you will compromise and walk away from your principles and convictions is something you will have to determine now rather than when you are forced to choose on the spot.

Those who purpose in their hearts today not to defile themselves tomorrow stand a far better chance of following through than those who are clueless and thinking to themselves that they won’t be here for when it does get really bad.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s getting really bad, and it’s only going to get worse. Get under the covering of God’s protection now, know that you are tethered in truth now, live for Him wholly and completely now, so that tomorrow you would not bend and break as so many will.

Again, not under the covering of a man, a ministry, a denomination, or a doctrine, but under God’s covering is where we ought to be, and where we ought to reside.

Psalm 91:1-2, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.’”

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.