Job CCLXXVII

 Job 28:8-12, “The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing. He dams up the streams from trickling; what is hidden he brings forth to light. But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?”

It’s not that Job is looking down on or dismissing the impressive scale of human ingenuity. He gives credit to where credit is due, recalling what man can do when he puts his mind to it, from cutting channels in the rocks to overturning mountains at the roots, all in the pursuit of something that, when compared and contrasted with wisdom, is beggarly.

We know where to find ore; we know where to dig up sapphires; we figure out ways not only to find where they are but to get to them and acquire these things from the earth. But pray tell, where can wisdom be found?

If one does not know the source of all wisdom, then their quest to acquire it is far more daunting than mining for gold or digging in the earth for precious stones. Some men spend their entire lives in search of wisdom, never attaining it because no one ever pointed them in the right direction, never took the time to show them the source, and whatever they discover is mere table scraps if God is not at the center of their search.

We will go to great lengths to acquire the meaningless while putting no effort toward attaining the priceless. The absence of hunger for God, the things of God, and the ways of God, is the proof that both wisdom and understanding are far removed from us.

It all boils down to the value we place on the things around us. If I place more value on the things of this earth than the wisdom of God, then I will pursue those things more ardently than Him because I’ve assigned more value to them than I did in growing in God. It’s not that we don’t have the time, it’s that we don’t want to make the time. We refuse to structure our lives in such a way that God is first; we refuse to prioritize Him above all other things, and our lack of a prayer life, our lack of time in the Word, and our lack of being in His presence for any meaningful length of time reveal these truths. They are as self-evident as all men having been created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.

How is it that some men can pray upwards of three, four, five hours per day, while we can’t manage to spare ten minutes every morning? It’s not as though they have more time than we do, or have fewer worries than we do; it’s not as though they don’t have to earn their daily bread, or get the kids ready for school every morning. They make the time because fellowship with God is essential in their lives. He is an existential need, and they arrange their lives accordingly.

I sometimes wonder what some people will do in the presence of God, for all eternity, if they can’t spare a full hour every week to immerse themselves in the hearing of the Word, without being able to resist the urge to scroll Facebook or Instagram while the man tasked with rightly dividing it is doing his best not to lose his cool as new alerts keep going off in the sanctuary, and people consider them more important in the moment than hearing Scripture being read and taught.

Not to belabor the point, but you do realize that there’s no Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, or Rumble in heaven. When we rise incorruptible, when we are transformed in the blink of an eye, it won’t be with the latest iPhone strapped to our palm. For the life of me, I can’t reconcile how the same souls that are compelled to check the time after five minutes of corporate prayer, or ten minutes of worship, will glory in the presence of God without distraction for all eternity.

We’re already supposed to have a renewed mind, a new heart, new desires, and new pursuits. You don’t get those as a swag bag or a welcome gift as you stand before the pearly gates. If you’re waiting for heaven to have the desire to be in the presence of God, if you’re waiting for the marriage supper of the Lamb to want to fellowship with Him, then He is not the treasure you seek, and for the joy of which you surrender all else.

When I get to heaven, I’ll pray more, fast more, desire to know God more, grow my faith more, and walk in His ways more. That’s not the way it works, though. Heaven is the finish line, not the race, and in order to obtain the prize, we must run the race in such a way as to obtain it.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

You are not running a race for a participation trophy. You are running the race to obtain the prize. The prize in question is not some plastic statue or first-place ribbon long abandoned in a cardboard box until it makes its way to the trash when the wife decides it’s time to declutter, but an imperishable crown. The prize is worth the effort. The prize is worth the race, and knowing this, we neither run with uncertainty nor fight as one who beats the air.

The way we master our focus is by mastering ourselves, disciplining our thoughts, our actions, and our bodies, bringing them under subjection, doing all things through the prism of the indescribable worth of knowing God and walking with Him, assigning the appropriate value to prayer, fasting, reading the Word, and spending time in His presence. We strive and struggle, sacrifice and bleed for things that will one day be but ashes blowing in the wind, but lest we forget, he who does the will of God abides forever.

While you have breath, you can. You can make Him your purpose, your joy, your peace, and your refuge. You can make Him Lord of your heart, captain of your life, and master of your soul. While you have breath, you can commit to running the race not as one who has nothing better to do on a given day, but as one whose singular desire is to obtain the prize.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLXXVI

 Job 28:1-7, “Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Man puts an end to darkness, and searches every recess for ore in the darkness and shadow of death. He breaks open a shaft away from people; in places forgotten by feet they hang far away from men; they swing to and fro. As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire; its stones are the source of sapphires, and it contains gold dust. That path no bird knows, nor has the falcon’s eye seen it.”

And thus begins what has been aptly described as Job’s discourse on wisdom. The more Job speaks, the more we understand the depth of his wisdom. When factoring in that he lived somewhere between the great flood and the time of Moses, when wisdom would have been acquired independently, through diligent dedication, without the use of the tools we take for granted today, or even a public library he could pop into regularly, we come to understand that his wisdom was not his own but something derived from God.

Have you ever had one of those moments of clarity when you were certain that you knew something but had no idea where you’d learned it from? The world calls it intuition, or a sixth sense, but the children of God call it inspiration, or divine revelation. While intuition fails men miserably and at the worst possible moments, because it originates in man, divine inspiration or revelation is consistently true because of the source from which it proceeds.

There are a multitude of examples within the Word of God, especially when the prophetic was involved, of those tasked with writing what they had seen or heard having no way of knowing or understanding what they were seeing, yet faithfully recording it nonetheless. What they were shown in no way matched the reality they were living. If they’d attempted to interpret what they saw through the prism of human reason, it would have made no sense.

John the Revelator recorded hearing of a two-hundred-million army of horsemen during a time when the entire world’s population hovered around three hundred million. There was no way he could wrap his mind around that number. Wi-Fi wasn’t what it is today, and the Isle of Patmos likely didn’t have great cell service. I jest, of course, but for anyone to read the Bible while acknowledging the historical context of the time of its writing, and not see divine inspiration in passage after passage, is no less than willful ignorance. It’s not that they can’t see it; they don’t want to see it.

What would a man living in the desert know about mining for silver or refining gold? What would he know about smelting copper from ore, or that stones are the source of sapphires? If the discussion had revolved around shearing sheep or herding oxen, then it wouldn’t stand out. Such things were, after all, in Job’s wheelhouse. He’d had seven thousand sheep at one point, as well as five hundred yoke of oxen, so he knew a bit about these things. But smelting, refining, and mining for precious metals? There wasn’t much of that going on in the desert, and there still isn’t.

This wasn’t a session of fun facts with Job. He hadn’t dedicated his life to learning little-known particulars about niche careers, nor does the Word tell us that he was an amateur rock hound, or an aspiring gemologist.

Every insight, word of wisdom, or truth he spoke that would have been unknowable to him at the time stemmed from his relationship with God. His was a life lived not in pursuit of a hobby, or a greater understanding of how stones become sapphires, but in knowing the One who created all that is seen and unseen. God is the source of true wisdom. He is the source of true knowledge.

Some of the dumbest people nowadays seem to have the most degrees. Are you telling me you went to college for twenty years and you can’t tell the difference between a man and a woman? You can’t say with clarity, conviction, and directness what makes each unique in their own right, or feign ignorance when it comes to something as obvious as the biological impossibility of a man birthing a baby? But congratulations, you have a piece of paper hanging on your wall that declares to the world that you’re smart!

What’s worse is that some of these individuals demand that we defer to them and their way of thinking simply because they have that piece of paper. Well, you see, if you insist men can’t be women and are biologically incapable of getting pregnant, you’re just ignorant. Am I though?

Have you ever seen a flying hippopotamus?

No, I haven’t, but I have a degree, and I believe they exist, so you must validate my delusion and believe likewise.

But they don’t exist; that’s the whole point.

That you know of.

That anyone knows of! Never once has there ever been a flying hippopotamus, and no matter how many want to believe it or insist that they exist, the reality is that they don’t and never will!

Job wasn’t spouting off inanities just to make himself seem wise. He was speaking verifiable, demonstrable, timeless truths he had no way of knowing save for inspiration from God. He wasn’t beating his chest demanding that all look upon him and his brilliance; he was a man humbled beyond what we can fully grasp, yet trusted in the wisdom of the God he served and did not keep from speaking the things that flowed from that relationship.

Whether men nowadays are too proud to listen to the voice of the Lord, or too busy to hear it, whether they think they know better, or are unwilling to humble themselves and submit to His wisdom, there is a glut of supposed super spiritual voices clamoring for your attention who are nothing more than silly children opining on things they know nothing about professing to be wise yet having become fools.

Men will move mountains and dam up rivers, search every recess for ore in the darkness and shadow of death, while ignoring, avoiding, and dismissing the greatest treasure that is within reach of their fingertips day in and day out. Job’s true wisdom lay not in understanding that surely there was a mine for silver, or a place where gold was refined, but in acknowledging that God is more precious than gold, silver, sapphires, or copper. God is not the map to treasure; He is the treasure.  

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCLXXV

 Job 27:18-23, “He builds his house like a moth, like a booth which a watchman makes. The rich man will lie down, but not be gathered up; he opens his eyes, and he is no more. Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest steals him away in the night. The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls against him and does not spare; he flees desperately from its power. Men shall clap their hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.”

The absence of light leads those living in darkness to believe that darkness is all there is to life. They cannot fathom the beauty of the light of Christ, nor can they reconcile the joy of the believer with the misery they experience in their daily lives.

They convince themselves that status will make them happy, or money, or fame, only to discover that after they’ve sacrificed their lives in pursuit of that one thing they believed would fulfill them, it leaves them just as cold and empty as before. Maybe the next thing will work, or maybe the one after that, is what they tell themselves only to discover the same dead end, the same emptiness, and the ever-present awareness that something is missing. Not something irrelevant or tertiary, but something of paramount importance and of an existential nature.  

It is because they cannot understand or perceive the joy that surpasses understanding that the presence of Christ in one’s heart produces that they lash out, whether in anger, frustration, bitterness, or resentment, and set out to demean, mock, ridicule, and look down upon the followers of Jesus with all the vitriol they can muster.

Their joy, purpose, and fulfillment are anchored to the physical, to things they can touch and hold and boast about, not understanding that any joy they might experience is only temporary, a fleeting emotion that they will attempt to grasp anew only to watch it slip through their fingers, perpetually chasing after the new thing, almost instantly dissatisfied with the thing they strived to acquire and sacrificed for, and believed would bring them both satisfaction and validation.

Those who have a product to sell are overjoyed that the culture of consumerism this generation has created has so engulfed the minds and hearts of most, because only in this constant state of delusion that some new phone, car, or piece of clothing will bring about this ever-elusive joy can they keep the hamsters on the hamster wheel, perpetually dissatisfied with what they have, and greedily eying what they don’t.

Some awake from their stupor and, in a moment of epiphany, ask, to what end, but most feel compelled to keep doing what they’ve always done, even though it never produces different results.

If, for the past six iterations, you were first in line for the newest version of the iPhone, thinking this would be the moment you would know true joy, only to be disheartened two days later, understand that the pattern will hold for the next sixty iterations of it. The emotional rollercoaster will end the same way as before, because nothing on earth satisfies, fulfills, or gives one purpose in perpetuity.

This is the point Job was trying to make to his friends, in the hope that they would see his situation for what it was rather than throw him in the same basket as the wicked. His joy never came from the things he possessed but from his relationship with the Almighty. He did not see his wealth as any sort of validation, rather as a blessing from God that He could take away as He saw fit, and Job would not begrudge Him.

The things Job was saying regarding the wicked were similar to what his three friends had said about them, but though they may have been true, generally speaking, they were not true when it came to Job. Sometimes we can speak a general truth to an individual person, and though it may be factual, it does not apply to that person in that moment, given their situation.    

As a general rule, telling someone to go for a walk as the weather allows is solid advice. It has a multitude of health benefits: it’s good for your heart, and you may even get some vitamin D. But when you tell someone in a wheelchair that they should be walking more, it makes no sense and is useless advice.

Job’s friends had tirelessly enumerated the lot of the wicked to him; the only problem was that Job was not a wicked man as they’d concluded. Job, too, agreed with them that the east wind carries the wicked away, sweeps him out of his place, hurls him, and does not spare, but Job made it clear that he was not counted among them.

A man who trusts in his possessions lives in constant fear of losing them. A man whose identity is wrapped up in his position will be obsessed with solidifying it and ensuring that no one can kick him off his perch. Any joy they might have had from having achieved what their heart desired is summarily doused by the constant fear of losing it.

The greatest folly in this way of thinking is not acknowledging the reality that sooner or later, whether in ten years or fifty, we will all return to the dust of the earth, no matter how much we’ve built up, and squirreled away, or how high up the corporate ladder we managed to climb. To place one’s hope in the things of this earth, or to make what we possess the determining factor in whether we have peace, joy, and fulfillment, is so myopic as to be pitiable.

1 John 2:17, “And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

I don’t expect those of the world to know better, but I do expect the household of faith to. Our goals, desires, what animates us and gives us purpose must be different than those of the world because we are no longer of the world but belong to God, having been bought with a price, redeemed from darkness, and reconciled to Him.     

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCLXXIV

Had I been a hypocrite, I could not rightly know what I am about to tell you. Had I had a superficial relationship with the Almighty, I would be as in the dark regarding His sovereignty, power, and majesty, but since I am not, I will teach you about the hand of God, and what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

You already know this, but chose to ignore it because your pride demanded that I fit neatly into the box you’ve predetermined I should be in. Surely you have seen it; why, then, do you behave with complete nonsense?

It seems as though Job caught his second wind, and this will be the longest of his speeches, spanning some four chapters in total, with gems of wisdom strewn throughout as he verbally processes his life up to this point, as well as his understanding of God. It wasn’t forced; he didn’t sit at a desk with a quill and parchment to iron out his autobiography. He spoke from the heart, from experience, with his lifelong worship of God as the firm ground upon which he would build his case.    

Job 27:13-17, “This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage of the oppressors, received from the Almighty: If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword; and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those who survive him shall be buried in death, and their widows shall not weep, though he heaps up silver like dust, and piles up clothing like clay – he may pile it up, but the just will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.”

Divine truth is timeless. It neither expires, grows stale, nor does it become irrelevant with the passage of time. What was true millennia ago is as true and relevant today, and when Job describes the portion of a wicked man with God, and what heritage he will receive from the Almighty, one can’t help but look around and see the truth of it in plain sight.

How do the offspring of some of the most prominent individuals who have every privilege and opportunity to make something of themselves, to succeed, to be productive members of society, become little more than ambulatory train wrecks, and cautionary tales of what not to do in life?

How is it that someone born in poverty, with no discernible advantages, can outperform and eclipse the offspring of those who have need of nothing and should by all rights excel at any endeavor they put their minds to?

How is it that the offspring of the wicked are not satisfied with bread, with living lives others dare not dream about, and feel the need to mutilate themselves, destroy their lives, and surrender to ultimately fatal addictions?

Job insists that these things are not accidental, but rather the heritage of the oppressors. If the one thing you instill in your children is not the fear of the Lord, the love of God, and the vanity of pursuing anything other than fellowship with Him, no matter how much you’ve squirreled away in their college fund, no matter what inheritance you leave behind, you have failed as a parent.

That may have come off as harsh, but it was as much for me as it was for anyone else, because I often find myself resisting the urge to ensure that my girls have an easier life than I did growing up, in lieu of teaching them that all the things the godless value are little more than vanity.

It is a constant battle, and one that is purposefully waged. Yes, it would be easier for me to buy them a couple of cell phones so they can fit in with the rest of their class, or have a tablet as the proverbial co-parent, wherein every waking minute is spent staring at a screen, but since children are a heritage from the Lord, I will do my utmost to raise them as such.

Every year, it becomes harder to push back against the norm, the status quo, the things that the majority accept as inevitable, but the reward of that labor is evident in the hobbies they choose to pursue, the things that interest them, and the manner in which they interact with those around them.

It’s not so much about the generational curses some people are obsessed with nowadays, but about the fact that the wicked have no frame of reference to what it means to raise up your children in the way they must go, nor do they possess the fear of the Lord, so that they can pass it down to their offspring.

The generational rejection of God and the unwillingness to humble oneself in the sight of the Lord is itself the curse that is passed down to the offspring of the wicked as their portion. Having not come to the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, having not repented and humbled themselves at the foot of the cross, the wicked ensure that their offspring are for the sword, and they will not be satisfied with bread.

Any joy they might experience in this life is fleeting and temporary, and though they have need of nothing, they feel no satisfaction in the things they possess, the things others told them would make them happy and fulfilled, the things that would bring warmth, comfort, purpose, and meaning into their lives.

It’s a stark picture Job paints, but not an unrealistic one. Men spend their entire lives amassing, only for their earthly goods to be bought up for pennies on the dollar by strangers or to end up in a landfill somewhere, because what they thought had value had value only to them.

As a father of two bright, bubbly, effervescent, beautiful daughters, I can say with sincerity that your children would rather have your presence than presents, and the only way for them to know the way they must go is if you teach it to them, consistently, repetitively, and purposefully.

In a year’s time, one of them will be a teenager, and the other won’t be far behind, and it’s as though it’s been a breath, the blink of an eye. No man can get back the time he’s squandered, but he can make use of the time he has left. When it comes to being present in your children’s lives, being an active participant rather than a spectator, better late than never is the best course of action.         

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLXXIII

 Job 27:8-12, “May my enemy be like the wicked, and he who rises up against me like the unrighteous. For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he may gain much, if God takes away his life? Will God hear his cry when trouble comes upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? Will he always call on God? I will teach you about the hand of God; what is with the Almighty I will not conceal. Surely all of you have seen it; why then do you behave with complete nonsense?”

Look for the differences between a righteous man and a hypocrite long enough, over a span and time horizon of more than an hour, a day, or a week, and they will be so obvious and glaring as to make one wonder why they didn’t spot them sooner.

Job doesn’t say that the hypocrite won’t succeed at putting on a believable performance, they may even be so good in their pretense as to gain much through their endeavor, but when it comes to it, when the rubber meets the road, the hypocrite has no hope, nothing to cling to, nothing to buoy him, and nothing to sustain him.

Since his friends had intimated that he was a hypocrite, a farceur, someone who pretended at righteousness and devotion rather than sincerely loving God for who He was, Job sets about dismantling their narrative and pointing out the differences between the hypocrite and the blameless.

The first question Job asks regarding the hypocrite is whether God will hear his cry when trouble comes upon him. This question and the way Job phrases it reveal the deep and abiding faith Job had not only in God but also in that when he cried out, God heard him, even though He had not answered or acted upon his pleas.

Trouble had surely come upon him. He had surely cried out to God, yet God had remained silent. This did not sway Job’s deeply rooted faith that, though He had not responded, God had nevertheless heard him.

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

While the passage in Hebrews defines faith, Job exemplified it, put it into practice, and acted upon it with conviction and assurity. There was no doubt in his mind or heart that God had not heard his cry when trouble came upon him. He understood that God has a purpose in all things, even in His silence, and the one thing Job wrestled with is not understanding that purpose himself.

I will trust God, I will trust that He hears my cry, even if He remains silent, even if the situation I’m pleading with Him for remains unchanged, because I know my God, I know whom I serve, and there is nothing that can sway me from this certainty. Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him!

Job’s second question was as revealing as his first, worded in such a way as to make his friends consider all that he’d said since they first came to comfort him, hoping that they would be able to see beyond their hastily drawn conclusions to the reality that stood before them.

While still referencing the hypocrite, Job asks, “Will he delight himself in the Almighty?”

A hypocrite by his very nature will attempt to use God to obtain what his heart truly desires. There is no delighting himself in Him, there is no yearning to spend time in His presence, there is no inclination toward faithful obedience, or worship. Everything is feigned, performative, well-calculated, and forced rather than sincere because the hypocrite is attempting to affect the perception of those in close proximity as to his own spirituality rather than serve God in spirit and in truth.

Do we find our delight in the Almighty or in the things the Almighty provides? If it’s the latter rather than the former, then when those things go away, when they are taken, stolen, lost, or burned in the fire, our hearts will grow bitter, and our instinct will be to shake our fist at the heavens and insist that God is unjust, unfair, or callous rather than loving, forgiving, and gracious. Herein lies the danger of finding delight in anything other than Him.

God is not interchangeable with anything or anyone. He must have singular prominence in our hearts, and our delight must be in Him. Yes, we thank Him for our daily bread, the roof over our heads, healthy children, and the ability to work, but the things He gives cannot replace Him, nor can we place equal value on them as we do on our relationship with Him.

To some, Job may seem cold or callous in that he did not react in a manner they would have given all the things he lost, but such individuals have never known intimacy with God on the level Job did. In his entire existence, there was only one thing he could not do without, and that was the presence of the God he’d served for countless years. It’s not that he didn’t feel loss or didn’t mourn, but for one such as Job, the presence of God was an existential need. He could not see himself continuing on; he could not see himself numbered among the living without God’s abiding presence.

The next question about the hypocrite is emblematic of the human condition, as Job asks, “Will he always call on God?” The adage that there are no atheists in a foxhole has proven true often enough. There comes a time in most men’s lives when they will call on God, when they have no other means of escape or recourse, as will the hypocrite for all the good it will do him.

Later on, as the New Testament was being divinely inspired, those who love God were instructed to pray always and pray without ceasing. We do not commune with God or open up the lines of communication only when we find ourselves buffeted, see no escape, or need Him to come through and save us from the mess we’ve gotten ourselves in. Being in fellowship with God is not a chore, a burden, or something we drag our feet in doing, but the single most important event on our calendar, every day of the year without fail.

Job knew how much time he spent in God’s presence. He knew how much time he spent calling on God, and his question was not intended to puff himself up or highlight his consistency in calling out to God, but to contrast what a hypocrite would do with what his friends knew him to have done.    

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCLXXII

“Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.”

There was no wiggle room in Job’s statement. There was no shadow of turning or doubt. He wasn’t saying he would hold to his integrity only when it was easy, comfortable, or cost him nothing, but until he died, he would not put his integrity away.

When we are established in the will, grace, peace, and Word of God, there is no pressure that can be brought to bear that would compel us to abandon our integrity or relinquish righteousness. Whatever men might say, whatever crashing waves of hardships, trials, and adversities may crash upon us, threatening to drag us under, we cling to the hope we have in Him, and dare not let go.

Job had already committed to his way; he had already established in his heart that, though God slew him, he would still trust Him. These were not mere words but a declaration of intent, a promise of faithfulness, and a sure-footed commitment to keep pressing on no matter how rocky the road or how steep the climb.

Our calling is to be no less committed than Job in our journey toward eternity, even if we might never be called to suffer to the extent that Job did. If we cannot remain loyal, faithful, and true in our seasons of peace, comfort, and plenty, how will we determine to be these things in the face of hardship, privation, and suffering?

From the instant one begins a journey, they commit to completing it. If I promised my daughters we would be driving to Florida, and somewhere past the Indiana border, I turned the car around, not only would I be breaking my promise to them, but I would have wasted the time it took us to drive the few hours only to come back to where we’d started.

Chronic false starts are not conducive to spiritual growth, maturity, or sanctification. By that, I mean the noticeable pattern where people reach out for Jesus only when they’ve dug themselves so deep that they need a miner’s lamp, and once by His mercy, they are pulled from the mire, they start digging another hole next to the one they’ve just been pulled out of. You can’t use Jesus as a life preserver every time you get tired of treading water, then discard Him when your strength is up to par.

Another term for this is chronic backsliding. If Jesus sets you free, washes you clean, and the next moment you cannonball into the mud pit He saved you from, that is not true repentance, no matter who insists otherwise.

So what’s so dangerous about these chronic false starts? They can quickly become a form of self-deception, wherein, although the individual is making no substantive progress but treads the same ground month after month, they convince themselves that it is well with their soul.

There is also Christ’s warning about a return to one’s former sins and vices that we must take to heart, because if anyone knew what he was talking about regarding the spiritual realm and how unclean spirits operate, it was Jesus. He wasn’t guessing at what may occur; He was outlining how unclean spirits operate.

Matthew 12:43-45, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

For the evil spirit to be barred from access to the now empty, swept, and put-in-order house, the new owner must be present, moved in, and settled therein. If Jesus is present, the devil can’t get in. He might try to look through the windows, assess the situation, and see if there’s any way for him to slink back in to his former residence, but if the light of Jesus is present, if the once darkened heart is filled with His truth, the enemy knows it’s a fight he can’t win, and a heart he cannot conquer anew.

If a heart is not filled with the presence of Christ, not only will the squatter return but he will bring seven friends along, more wicked than himself, not because he has love for his fellow spirits but because he knows there is strength in numbers and there is less of a chance that he will be cast out again, or in the least that it will be more difficult to do so.

It is also worth noting that the last state of the man will be worse than the first if, after having his heart emptied, swept, and put in order, he assumes there is no need for surrender, obedience, and faithfulness to Jesus.

Not to be divisive, but Christ’s very words also put into question the once saved always saved, do as you will after you wave your hand at a crusade philosophy running rampant amid today’s generation. Jesus isn’t renting an Airbnb for the week; He is not signing a twelve-month lease, nor is He interested in renting your heart. The only way for the house to remain clean and put in order is for Him to take ownership of it, reside in it permanently, and do as He wills with it.

The former owner can’t come by for a visit and tell the new owner he doesn’t like all the changes he’s made to the property. It no longer belongs to him, and he has no say in the matter. You were bought at a price, and the new owner is not interested in roommates or in cohabitating with the previous tenants.

Job knew who the Lord of his heart was. He knew that God had ownership, was living and active in him, and so was able to declare, “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go.” How many of us can say the same? We should be able to if He is Lord of all in our lives, not just in word but in deed.

Yes, when my righteousness is compared and contrasted with His, it is like a filthy rag, but that does not mean righteousness should not be pursued or that it cannot be attained. When God says “be holy,” it’s a command, not a suggestion, and if He commanded it of us, then it is not something unattainable.        

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLXXI

 Job 27:1-6, “Moreover Job continued his discourse, and said: ‘As God lives, who has taken away my justice, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the breath of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Far be it from me that I should say you are right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live.”

Integrity is not situational. If you can claim integrity and denounce it depending on the situation, like putting on and taking off a coat or a pair of socks, then you have no integrity. If integrity is absent in one’s life, then nothing is permanent, nothing is consistent, nothing is stable, and everything becomes fluid, negotiable, and flexible to the point that if God doesn’t give me what I want when I want it, I’ll find someone who will. Your love, loyalty, and affection are not hostages to be used as leverage against God to get what you want, nor are any of us in a position to demand ransom from Him in exchange for our fealty, fidelity, or devotion.

When we begin to place conditions on our obedience and faithfulness, when we begin demanding things in return for our service, we are proven to be nothing more than hirelings and mercenaries, selling our loyalty to the highest bidder for as long as the checks clear. If we are motivated by anything other than love and a sincere desire to serve God, whether money, fame, or the acceptance of the godless, the question isn’t if but rather when the offer to compromise and betray the truth will be made.

Men don’t unwittingly begin to teach another gospel. They choose to dismiss what the gospel says while attempting to rationalize their betrayal of truth. If I keep insisting on sanctification, righteousness, holiness, prayer, fasting, study of the Word, and intimacy with God, I will never grow my church or my ministry. Nowadays, people want something new, fresh, and instant. They’re unwilling to take the time to press in, to grow, or build up their most holy faith. They need something immediate, instantly gratifying, something that moves at the speed of their busy lives.

If I keep calling sin what it is and not attempt to soften the blow of what it means to be in rebellion toward God, the handful of people who have expressed displeasure at being convicted will end up leaving, then what will I have?

Either trust God or don’t. Either cling to your integrity and stand on the truth of Scripture or do as so many others have and take liberties where the Word offers none, and twist the gospel to suit men’s lukewarm state rather than admonishing them to awaken from their slumber and pursue God purposefully and with pure intentions. Just make sure you understand one thing: when God gives someone over to uncleanness, when men exchange the truth of God for the lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, it is no less than the manifest wrath of God upon them.

That’s what Paul tells the Romans within the first chapter of his epistle. The suppression of truth in unrighteousness isn’t liberty, or a new way of solving an old problem; it is the wrath of God being revealed against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. Judgment begins in the house of God for a reason. If you haven’t noticed, the house of God has been under His judgment for some time now.   

In the physical Job had every reason to be angry, bitter, and disillusioned. It’s not as though he’d forgotten the man he’d been, the children he’d buried, or the fortune that had disappeared overnight. Even so, he declared with all the force he could muster that his lips would not speak wickedness, nor his tongue utter deceit. When we commit our ways to the Lord, what is happening around us, or even to us, cannot sway or affect our commitment to Him. The devil can’t make us be disloyal to God, nor can he make us speak wickedness or utter deceit. He facilitates the environment for us to make that choice, putting his finger on the scale as heavily as he is allowed to, but ultimately, the choice is still ours as individuals.

Adversity tests integrity. Seeing the dreams, plans, and aspirations you’ve worked toward your entire life implode within the blink of an eye isn’t easy; it’s not something one receives with a smile on their lips and gladness in their eyes, but it’s those moments that define us, mature us, and grow us in ways nothing else can.

More often than not, integrity comes at a price. There is a cost attached to it, whether that cost is losing friends, being shunned by family, or being seen in a negative light by those around you. It’s far easier to capitulate, to give in, to go with the flow, and be just another face in the crowd than it is to stand firm in your convictions and refuse to be swayed.

Job knew full well he could put an end to this entire drama by acquiescing and telling his friends they were right, or at least that they’d made some valid points. He could have been the peacemaker, but doing so would have come at the cost of his integrity, and admitting to something he knew himself to be innocent of, and that was something he was unwilling to do, and rightly so.

The sad reality is that the squeaky wheel often gets the grease. It’s those who are loud, brash, and hyperbolic who often get their way because they’re willing to talk over anyone trying to make a valid point or insist upon facts and evidence rather than feelings or emotions. Yes, we should always strive to reason together, but for that to occur, both parties must be reasonable and willing to consider the possibility that they are wrong. Job’s friends would not. They would rather believe that their friend was a man of such wickedness as to deserve worse than he was experiencing than allow for the possibility that they’d erred in their judgment.

Job’s integrity was built upon the foundation of having had a protracted relationship with God. Our integrity, likewise, must be rooted in God’s Word, and what it says, rather than our own machinations or vain imaginings. It is the only sort of integrity that will weather the storms, that will remain steadfast and unmoved, because it is tethered in the truth of He who abides.    

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.