Thursday, November 6, 2014

Our Hope and Our Faith Part 3


“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world”

I’ve contemplated these ten words for the longest time. They’ve been with me ever since I first read them many, many years ago, and they are a source of much comfort in my life.

Within these ten words we see clearly that God did not scramble, He didn’t send Jesus on a whim to try and save face because His creation went off the rails, the coming of the Son, His being raised from the dead, and being given glory was all foreordained before the foundation of the world.

That sort of throws a wrench into the whole ‘God’s just as surprised as you or I about what’s happening in the world’ mentality that a certain segment of the church has embraced, seeing as before the foundation of the world the coming of the Christ was foreordained.

My faith and my hope are in God through Christ because I know that He knows the end from the beginning, and has seen to my protection, my safety, and my provision, long before there was need of these things.

I do not fear for tomorrow, nor do I fear for today, because the God who foreordained the coming of the Christ from the foundation of the world also promised that not a hair from my head would fall without Him making note of it.

Because we have faith in what Jesus did on the cross, because we believe God raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, we also have hope. It is not a false hope, it is not a vain hope, it is a hope rooted in the reality of who Jesus is, and the love God manifested for mankind in the person of the Christ.

If our hope and faith are not through Christ in God, then they are vain, and void of substance. Being positive, having self-esteem, or having some quirky mantra you tell yourself in the mirror every morning, all these things are illusions of hope that implode upon gentle prodding. They are the means the world employs to keep trudging along, and not fall into despair altogether, and sadly in recent years much of the church has been employing the selfsame means.

Why would I need anything more to get me through the day when I retain the knowledge of God through Christ? Why would I need a band aid, a distraction, a diversion, or even medication to get me through the day when I know that my redeemer lives, and that I will live with Him?

Is it possible that those who claim to know Christ yet live lives of quiet desperation, utterly joyless and absent of peace don’t really know Him at all?

Christ transforms us. Our faith in Christ gives us hope, it gives us peace, it gives us joy, it tethers us to the Kingdom and allows us to see the plan of God for our lives even when in the present we endure hardships and tribulations.

There is nothing in the world that compares with the freedom we have when we possess true faith and hope in God through Christ, and it is something that the world cannot take away, that persecution cannot take away, that lack, need, or hardship cannot take away, but that we often times willingly abandon for the promise of faux liberty to pursue the lusts of the flesh, that never truly materializes as we had hoped.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have pondered that same verse, but it troubles more than reassures me. It means Jesus was destined to die for our sins before Adam and Eve were created. Which means God knew we would not be able to withstand the wiles of the enemy, and things would deteriorate into a cesspool where parents have to watch demons like ISIS saw their children in half and worse. Things have happened throughout history that are so horrible, you would think they should only happen in hell, but they are happening here. And apparently that was OK, and He went ahead with it. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY would a loving and compassionate God DO that?????

Anonymous said...

Beautifully put, Bro. Michael! Warmed my heart and made me feel encouraged in these precarious times, while somehow feeling more connected to you and to our other brothers and sisters in Christ. What a blessed security we share in that One Who had everything foreseen and worked out from the foundation of the world. Thank you for reminding us in such a poignant way.
Much love,
Melanie

Anonymous said...

We are missing your teachings and are wondering if the Lord has finally given you leave to go home from this Babylon.
We hope all is well with you and your precious family.
We will always be grateful for the ministry of warning that God gave our country thru you and your grandfather.
Thank you so much for your faithfulness. Go with God and be blessed, brother Mike.

Anonymous said...

why why why and Bro Michael, I'm not sure if ya'll are aware of the 3 earth and heaven ages.
Before we came in these flesh bodies was the 1st earth and heaven age.

All of God's children were there. There was a governmental system there also. It's because of what satan did that caused us to come in the flesh. It's all in God's Word. Hidden in plain site so to say.

I think I sent this to Michael before. If anyone wants me to try to explain this send me an email at:
mary4jeshua@gmail.com