Random Thoughts and Updates

For the past week or so I’ve been nursing my sickly wife back to health with everything from chicken soup, to vapor rub, to contraptions invented with the sole purpose of decongesting the nasal passages. After a mountain of Kleenex, repeatedly wondering how the human body can produce so much mucus, and sleepless nights feeling powerless as I listened to her sneeze and cough, the worst is behind us and she is feeling better.

Thankfully it wasn’t the flu; it was just a bad cold.

Because she was feeling better, and I’d agreed to it before she got sick, I had a two hour long radio interview last night, and among the things we discussed I also ended up reading some of my grandfather’s vision for America on the air, something he’d received back in 1984, and something I’d not read aloud in at least five years.

I was his translator, so I still remember every word verbatim, but I guess a different part of your brain is engaged when reading something aloud, rather than when you remember certain words. Something to do with right brain, left brain, and synapse firing, but all I know is that for the first time in a long time I tried to put myself in his shoes at that particular moment, and imagine how I would have reacted in his stead.

The thing that struck a chord wasn’t so much the message for America, because that’s pretty much playing out before our eyes at this moment, but the fact that this messenger of the Lord told my grandfather that he would be on television, on radio, and speak in churches, and he didn’t just start laughing and walk away.

Imagine being new to a country, not speaking the language, not knowing anyone there, and having someone tell you that you would be on television and preach in churches and be on the radio. It would have sounded absurd if not outright ridiculous, and it really hit home how much faith my grandfather must have had in order not to question what the messenger was telling him and just take it as a statement of fact.

If God promises you something, or tells you He will do a certain thing through you, even if it seems improbable and impossible, trust that God will follow through and keep His word.

Just as the messenger foretold so many years ago, at a moment in our family’s story when we were sleeping on suitcases in a rented apartment in Fullerton California, knew no one, and didn’t even know what a ministry was, he was on television, he was on radio, and he spoke in countless churches even though he never mastered the English language.

Trust that God will make a way because He can make a way. Trust that God will keep His word and His promises to you, because He is able to do exceedingly beyond what the human intellect can conceive or imagine. All we need do is trust, and when He speaks believe as though it has already come to pass.

Tomorrow I travel back to my homeland to see my brother and my father, and I would ask that you keep me and my wife in your prayers. Hopefully, I will have time to write a little more regularly, and perhaps finish up some projects that are long overdue.

 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.

The Darkness Within

If you watch the godless long enough and close enough, and you know what to look for, you quickly realize that all their talk of tolerance, all-inclusiveness, coexistence and universal brotherhood is just a bunch of words they’ve learned to spew at people, without ever desiring or attempting to live them.

Lately, from what I’ve been seeing at least, everyone’s allowed an opinion on any given thing, as long as that opinion fits the mold, as long as it falls into lockstep with the rest of the automatons, and any divergence, any straying from the preapproved talking points is met with swift and brutal retaliation.

As much as they try to seem what they are not, for the godless it is a constant battle to keep the darkness within from seeping out, and try as they might most succeed only part of the time.

It’s like taking a paper bag, filling it with ink, sealing it up, then submerging it in a vat of buttermilk. Given enough time the ink will seep through, and the contrast of it against the white of the buttermilk will be all too obvious to the naked eye.

The issue, and the idea the godless are trying to put forth is that one can be a complete, thoroughly human individual absent God, absent the spark of the divine residing in one’s heart.

Absent God, as close as it may get to the real thing, it is still a faux compassion, faux empathy, faux sympathy, and faux love.

True compassion, godly compassion, compels us to be concerned with more than just the cosmetic resonance of a person or situation, and truly seek to aid them and be there for them. True love, godly love, is not ignoring one’s predicament and pretending as though they are not on a self-destructive course.

True love warns when warning is needed, and rebukes when rebukes is in order. Not in a self-righteous, or superior way, but tethered in the divine love that defines God himself.

As much as I have tried to steer away from this vein of writing in recent days, I’ve had no success, and through I may meditate upon another topic, or consider other issues which are worthy of contemplation and comment, I keep returning to the basic nature of man, and how perverted it has become absent the light of God.

It is sad and overall tragic that we have, generally speaking, embraced the notions of counterfeit love, tolerance and acceptance as the real, and have come to the point of denouncing the real as some obstructive thing worthy of scorn and a swift death.

Unless the light casts it asunder, the human heart will always hide darkness within. Unless the love of God resides in one’s inner being in permanence, the love we feign will always have some hidden motive, some agenda, directly benefiting us, and no those we purport to love.

The mask slips and we get a glimpse often enough, but somehow we talk ourselves into believing that individuals could never be as malicious or maleficent as all that, forgetting the bloody lessons history has taught us since the dawning of man.

When the enemies of good no longer have reason to hide their darkness, only then will we see how uninhibited in their hatred they can be. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr. 

Numb!

Back in the olden days, before the advent of the internet or mobile phones, my family and I would regularly have to fold and stuff over two thousand newsletters every couple months. If you’ve never had to fold and stuff envelopes, be thankful, and take it from someone who has, it gets real old real quick, and you have no choice but to barrel through and get the job done.

I remember that the worst of it was the first few hours. After that, after the requisite paper cuts, and the twitchy fingers from too much repetitive movement, I would get sort of numb, and it would be mostly mechanical.

Collate, fold, stuff, seal. Collate, fold, stuff, seal. It went on and on, until finally we were down to the last box, and then the labels.

Why I share this story with you is because seeing all that is going on in this nation, and the absence of reaction most everyone is having, I realize a sort of numbness has settled upon most. Although things are spiraling out of control at an alarming rate, a great majority is just going through the motions, unwilling to take the time and process what they are seeing, then come to a logical and reasonable conclusion.

Gamblers, especially poker players, call it going on tilt. Truck drivers, and most motorists who drive long hours call it spacing out, but whatever the term we use to describe this sort of numbness, this sort of unfeeling mental fatigue, it does us no good, and it is of no benefit.

I realize full well that some are just so disgusted with everything they’ve decided to tune out and no longer bother, but we have not been called to indifference, we have not been called to apathy, we have been called to action.

We must know by now that the world interprets our numbness as acquiescence and even approval of their agenda, and as a result grows bolder and more aggressive in implementing it.

The godless being what they are, to them silence is consent, and so our numbness, our silence, is to our own detriment.

Will calling darkness and sin by name make a difference? Probably not, but at least our resistance will stand as testimony one day.

I know it’s hard to keep getting up when all that seems to happen is that you get knocked down, but we have no other choice but to shake off the dust and get up again and again as long as we are able, and as long as our legs will hold us.

To understand the importance of standing for truth, to understand the importance of being light, we need only look to the alternative, and what the absence of truth and light would mean.

Jesus said we are the light of the world. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. If these things be no more, then darkness will reign, and that which the salt kept from putrefaction will resume its natural course.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr. 

A Prayer Request

Shortly after my last post I received a telephone call from one of the major Christian television networks and was asked to do a thirty minute program on salvation, which they would then air free of charge.

I am still uncertain if they will follow through and air the program once they see the content, but I would ask that you pray for this project to come to a good end, and for the program to air.

Also, I would ask that you pray for divine inspiration, that God would put the right words in my mouth, and the message of salvation would reach the ears of those lost, hurting, and dying.

I've been fasting and praying over the last few days, getting some notes together, and spending the evening hours reading the Word, because this offer came out of nowhere, and I know wholeheartedly it was a divinely inspired situation. One that may bear much fruit in due season.

I thank you for your prayers, as well as your forgiveness for being the worst blogger ever.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

The Coward in the Corner

I grew up as the offspring of Christians, in a Communist country, during a time when the persecution of Christians in general was not only sanctioned, but encouraged. Since both the teacher and the schoolmaster knew of my parents’ leanings, I and another boy whose parents were also Christians were signaled out, and oft mistreated, daily told there was no God, and mocked for having uneducated, unenlightened parents who clung to the notion of a supreme being without ever having seen Him.

Although neither of us ever said anything, there was a third boy who we knew from our church services in our class, but who the government had as yet not discovered as being the son of Christians. Every day he would sit quietly in the corner, and watch as we were berated, or taken out of class to go to the special room where we were to be reeducated, and he never once said anything.

Granted, he was only eight. In his shoes, I don’t know if I would have acted any different at that age, but the Christians who are currently keeping silent, sitting in the corner and watching as their brothers and sisters are being persecuted are not eight year olds. They are grown up, adult, mature individuals, who ought to have the requisite spine to say something in regards to the war being waged against believers throughout the world.

I don’t know how much of the boy’s silence was fear, cowardice, or a desire to spare himself what we went through every day, but his family was eventually found out. Someone eventually informed on his parents as being among those who followed after Jesus, and soon enough there were three of us being maligned, berated, and reeducated.

Ignoring the reality of our times, and pretending as though persecution against believers is not on the rise both here and throughout the world is childish and counterproductive.

Seeing the trend, seeing the rise of the persecutors and the increase in persecution, it would be well worth our time, and even a priority to prepare our hearts and minds for the eventuality of enduring persecution and hardship as our brothers and sisters currently are.

Sitting quietly in the corner, hoping not to attract any attention to ourselves will only delay the inevitable, and brand us as cowards to boot.

If all we’re going to do is sing ‘stand up, stand up for Jesus’ then we might as well stop singing, and put an end to the self-delusion we've fashioned for ourselves that singing it somehow means we are in fact doing it.

Unless we remember what we were meant to be, and return to that which we have been called, we will be swept asunder by the wave which even now is barreling toward us.

Matthew 24:9-13, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.  

Failure to Post

Since some of you have written in wondering why I haven't been posting as regularly, and inquiring as to whether or not everything was alright, I thought I'd take a few minutes and assure you that yes, all is well, if ever so busy, and inform you that I will be getting back to a semi-regular writing schedule soon.

Since my wife is here with me, we've been spending more time together, as well as looking at baby clothes an in ordinate amount of time in preparation for our little one.

I discovered what Baby Buds are, found out babies can hear sound at a very young age, and have been reacquainting myself with classical music.

Although at first I thought it would be a boy, it has been confirmed we are having a daughter, and the thought of her dating someday has already aged me by a decade.

I know things are happening, but we knew they would. I am not, and will never be one of those individuals who revels in blowing their own horn and playing the 'we told you so' game.

For some time now, we have crossed the threshold, and have entered the season wherein the righteous will become more righteous still, and the ungodly will increase in their ungodliness.

This week, Lord willing, we will return to our Call to Arms series, unless some cataclysmic, prophetic event takes precedent. Thank you all for your understanding, your prayers, and your concern.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Inappropraite Reactions

When your house is on fire the last thing you should be concerned with is teaching others how to make shadow puppets. Given any circumstance or situation there are appropriate reactions, then there are inappropriate reactions.

This morning as I was making coffee, my wife turned on the television to check the weather and see if we would have to take a class on making igloos and ice sculptures, only to be met by the smiling face of a man made famous by writing one of the most uninspired pieces of pseudo Christian pabulum in recent history, The Purpose Driven Life.

Given the current condition of the church, and the undeniable fact that most professing Christians seem to be in a deep, deep slumber, and given that this man is a self-described pastor, one would have expected a call to repentance, a call to the old path, or an insistence upon spiritual wakefulness, but why speak on any of those things when you could be peddling a new diet book?

The house is burning, and we’re teaching people how to make shadow puppets. The church has become a spineless, ineffectual, duplicitous, and inert static mass, and what we deem appropriate and even immediate, is to use the platform of a national audience to try and sell a book which will inevitably tell you to visit the local buffet a little less, and move around a little more.

Take it from a guy who’s probably lost and gained close to a thousand pounds in his thirty-eight years on this rock, there is no secret to losing weight, there is no magic potion, or mysterious algorithm. Three quarters of your success will depend upon your diet, and the other quarter upon whether or not you are getting enough exercise. Eat less of the wrong foods – breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, fried foods – essentially everything that tastes really good, more of the right foods – lean chicken, broccoli, spinach, nuts – watch your calorie intake, do it consistently, and  voila, you are now a diet guru. There you go. You are welcome. I just saved you some money.

Given the current spiritual climate, there are only a handful of appropriate responses, especially when it concerns the leaders, or the spiritual authorities of our time. For many, the only appropriate response is mourning, and weeping, and repenting in sackcloth and ash for having led the people of God astray, and having taught a fraudulent, powerless gospel subservient to the flesh for so many years.

For the handful who have kept to the truth, their response will inevitably be standing in the gap, and weeping between the porch and the altar for the sheep of God’s pasture, that they might open their eyes and see the world lukewarm hearts have created in all its grizzly horror.

Is this really the right time to be peddling a new diet plan? Is it really the appropriate reaction to all that ails the household of faith?

Let’s not pretend a donkey is a zebra. It is intellectually dishonest, and what’s worse we are making light of the seriousness of the peril the church finds itself in.

The only way trying to sell a new diet book while the church is coming apart and being decimated from without as well as from within can be deemed appropriate is if money is your god, and not the God of the Bible.

Is this all the church has become? Are we simply a large pool of consumers to which unscrupulous souls can market Christmas albums, diet books, and family friendly movies? If this is all we are, then I weep openly, for what we were meant to be is so much more glorious, profound, and impacting.

Although men often react inappropriately, God’s reactions are always, without fail, appropriate. Seeing as God’s reactions are always appropriate, I fear this coming year will be one of great shaking for what we perceive to be the household of faith, and the separation which has been long in coming will finally commence.

I don’t mean to be a downer so close to the beginning of a new year, but circumstances dictate I must. One question remains, one with a profound and lasting impact on each of us as individuals. Knowing that the shaking is coming, knowing that the separation will begin, are we certain, beyond doubt that we are among the wheat and not among the tares?

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

Happy New Year!

May you be blessed, protected, and comforted in this coming year. May the Lord be with you and guide you, may He take you by the hand and lead you in the way you must go, and may you know the peace that fully trusting in Him brings to one's heart in perpetuity.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.