Job CCLVIII

 Job 24:13-17, “There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; he kills the poor and needy; and in the night he is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises his face. In the dark they break into houses which they marked for themselves in the daytime; they do not know the light. For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; if someone recognizes them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.”

Even a blind man can feel the warmth of the sun on his face and know the difference between day and night. It’s not that those who rebel against the light don’t know of its existence. In order to rebel against something, whether an institution, a government, or an individual, you must be aware that it exists, it is real and tangible, yet you choose to rise in opposition to it. Although they know of its existence, they neither know its ways nor abide in its paths. The rejection of the light and rebellion against it is a purposeful, willful choice, and not some accident or mistake.  

The wicked know an alternative exists to the darkness, but they are wholly opposed to it and have no desire to know it or abide in its paths. The wicked will not be able to claim ignorance of the light’s existence when standing before God’s throne on that day of days. None will be able to insist that they didn’t know of it, but rather knowing that it existed, they chose to walk in darkness, doing the things they knew to be evil and debased because their flesh reveled in it.

Things haven’t gotten better over the four thousand years since the book of Job was written. Try as we might to tell ourselves that we are wiser, more aware, civilized, and evolved, the same issues that plagued the wicked then plague the wicked now, only magnified and multiplied in frequency. Ignorance of the light’s existence was never the issue, but rejection of it and rebellion toward it.

What we deem the pinnacle of civilization and civility doesn’t look any different from the times Job lived in, except for conveniences such as electricity, infrastructure, indoor plumbing, and automobiles. As far as human nature goes, it’s eerily similar. Wicked men still do wicked things, murderers still murder, adulterers still commit adultery, the powerful still exploit the weak, and though things might have changed outwardly in relation to the world and its progress, inwardly, when it comes to the heart of man, they’ve remained the same.

The awareness that light exists and that God is real is not something humanity has happened upon in the last few centuries. It has been evident since the beginning of creation, so that men are without excuse in their rejection of Him. When men reject God, it’s knowingly, willingly, and purposefully.

Just as no man can stumble his way into heaven, or make it there accidentally, no man can stumble his way into hell. It will be by choice. Men choose to reject the light. Men choose to reject the Christ. Men choose to reject the narrow path. Men choose to reject the truth and instead embrace a lie. Every day, men and women, young and old, make a multitude of choices, and the wicked are consistent in choosing rebellion against the light. Is it a choice they will regret? Most assuredly, but for now, they ease their conscience by insisting that no one sees, no one hears, God is busy, and He has bigger fish to fry than to take note of one man’s sin and rebellion.

Romans 1:18-21, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Two thousand years later, Paul undergirds the truth Job was trying to convey, wherein it’s not the absence of the awareness of light, but that men willfully reject it. Since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Rather than acknowledge this obvious truth, man would rather insist that it was all one serendipitous accident, without the aid of intelligent design, without the molding of God’s eternal hand. Everything was thrown in a cosmic blender, and wouldn’t you know it, a perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned turducken magically appeared on your plate. As the adage goes, it takes more faith to believe that everything came from nothing than to believe God created it.

But it takes countless things to be perfectly proportioned for life to be possible on this rock, never mind the almost infinite plantlife, animals, microorganisms, and man himself. Too much heat, we all fry. Too much cold, we all freeze. Too much water, we all drown. Not enough, and the parched desert consumes everything. Yep, all a happy accident.

Just because men refuse to acknowledge God, it doesn’t mean He isn’t there. Just because they come up with fanciful, illogical, irrational, and specious tales about how the world came to be rather than acknowledge His eternal power and Godhead, it doesn’t make Him any less real. Just because they ignore their mortality, it doesn’t make them immortal, and just because they refuse to acknowledge that one day they will stand before God’s throne of judgment, it doesn’t mean they will bypass it.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLVII

 Job 24:9-12, “Some snatch the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge from the poor. They cause the poor to go naked, without clothing; and they take away the sheaves from the hungry. They press out oil within their walls, and tread winepresses, yet suffer thirst. The dying groan in the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out; yet God does not charge them with wrong.”

The actions of the wicked do not occur in a vacuum. They cannot be done in secret forever. Eventually, the effects of their wickedness are readily visible to anyone with intellectual honesty who does not see the world through the prism of some allegiance, whether to a particular man, a denomination, or a political party, but as it is, warts and all.

Some demand perfection from everyone within their sphere and live in perpetual disappointment. If the microscope were turned on them, they would fail to meet their own standard, but that either doesn’t register or doesn’t bother them to the point of dialing back the rhetoric of calling everyone Ichabod until they’re left alone on their island, praising their own self-righteousness.

That said, there should be a standard and a well-defined separation between the wicked and the righteous. Yes, I expect more from pastors, preachers, teachers, and elders than I do from politicians, athletes, or television personalities, and so does God. To excuse the behaviors of spiritual leaders that are on par with the most hedonistic, deviant, and off-putting practices of the wicked, while demanding righteousness of men who never claimed nor pretended to be spiritual pillars of God’s kingdom, is hypocritical on its face.

Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.”

We cannot invert expectations and expect more of a babe in Christ, or one who has never professed Him, than one who is supposed to be seasoned and mature. A general has a far greater responsibility than does the private, and more is expected of him by the King due to the level of authority committed to him.

Job knew there was a difference between the wicked and the righteous. Job knew what the wicked did, and that he didn’t do likewise. A man can boast of his righteousness yet do as the wicked, proving his boasts to be nothing more than empty words. Likewise, a righteous man can remain silent, speak nothing of his righteousness, yet his consistent, daily actions will reveal his integrity and the content of his character to all those with whom he comes in contact.

If wickedness does not occur in a vacuum, neither does righteousness. One’s actions will speak louder than words, whether their own or the words of others about them, because actions are tangible while words are just that. I can tell my wife and daughters I love them every day, but if my actions belie my words, if everything I do contradicts my declaration of love to them, at some point, they will doubt my sincerity or the veracity of my proclamations.

I love you, Lord, but I don’t want to spend any time in your presence. I love you, Lord, but I want nothing to do with your Word. I love you, Lord, but unless I’m in a pickle and I need some miracle-level intervention, I’d rather not be bothered with anything having to do with anything pertaining to Your kingdom. I love you, Lord, but not to the extent of caring for the widow and orphan, or feeding the hungry. I love you, Lord, but I’d prefer not to deny myself or pick up my cross since I have an aversion to splinters.

When referring to the wicked, Job makes a statement that could also be seen as an open-ended question: why does God not charge the wicked with wrong when the dying groan in the city and the souls of the wounded cry out? The short answer is, He does. Just not in the timeframe we would see as equitable, some not even while here on earth, but judgment is established for the wicked, and none will escape God’s justice, whether here, in eternity, or both.

The big idea in Job’s last response to Eliphaz is that one cannot remain steeped in wickedness, committing wicked deeds, having a heart of stone, and preying and exploiting the poor, the widow, or the orphan if God is the center of their lives. One’s close proximity to the righteousness of God transforms the heart of stone into a heart of flesh; it compels transformation from the inward parts, which is visible in the outward actions.

If no such transformation is forthcoming, if no such change is visible, if the things you sought, desired, or hungered for remain unchanged after your encounter with God, then it was a momentary experience rather than a transformative event that changed the entirety of one’s life trajectory.

Our encounter with God must be no less life-altering than Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus. We may not see a bright light or hear a voice from heaven as Saul did, but the transformation must be no less life-defining. From that moment, Saul was no longer the man he had once been. He went from being the persecutor of the brethren to the staunchest defender of Jesus throughout the nations. Salvation is transformation, it is rebirth, it is being given a new mind and a new heart that no longer yearns for the things of this world but for the presence of Christ alone.

This is the one thing Job couldn’t get his mind around. How could his friends paint him out to be a man wholly given to wickedness, a man who exploited the poor, and had no empathy for the widow or the orphan, when the singular desire of his heart was to feel God’s presence, and when he knew himself to have treasured the words of His mouth more than necessary food.

Job had never taken to pretending to be something he wasn’t, but by the same token, he wasn’t about to admit to being something he knew himself not to be. There is a time to be silent, then there is a time to speak, but in all his defense, Job did not make it about himself, but rather the juxtaposition of the wicked and the righteous, appealing to God rather than man to vindicate him, and give him justice.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLVI

 Do you not possess enough discernment to know the difference between the wicked and the righteous? Do you not possess enough understanding of God, His will, and His purposes, that you would confuse those who hunger and thirst after Him with those who despise and reject Him? Can you not see the difference between those who feed the hungry, shelter the fatherless, comfort the widow, and those who shun them, exploit them, and hurt them? He did not say it quite as poignantly or directly, but this is what Job was asking his friends.

You know what the wicked do, and it should come as no surprise when they do it. They seize flocks violently and feed on them. They drive away the donkey of the fatherless. They push the needy off the road. They do abhorrent, repugnant, inhuman things and justify them every day, but the children of God do not!

This is why it comes as such a shock to the system when you hear of men who claim to be godly, who are in positions of authority requiring godliness, doing the selfsame things they condemned those of the world for doing. It’s because, while they claimed to be different, were expected to be different, and were commanded by God to be different, they were only pretending when others were watching, but in their hearts wickedness abounded.

Yes, there is a difference between the godly and the ungodly. Yes, there is a difference between those who know Him and those who do not. The difference must be clear, discernible, unambiguous, and well-defined. They do those things; those who know God do not. At least that’s the way it should be, biblically speaking, morally speaking, and logically speaking. It goes beyond projecting an image, and since I’m a jaded sort of soul, people who try too hard to project a certain image are suspect from the jump, but to the core of one’s nature, to what they have been transformed into by the salvific power of Christ.

Why so jaded? Because I’ve seen enough, heard enough, witnessed the aftermaths, and helped pick up the pieces one too many times to allow for the childish notion that every guy in a suit with gel in his hair is what he claims to be. You will know them by their fruit. If there is no fruit, there is no power. If there is no fruit, there is no righteousness. If there is no fruit, there is no authority. You can claim all these things, but the absence of fruit is proof enough that your goals are something other than furthering the Kingdom of God or rightly dividing the Word.    

The difference between the wicked and the godly should be so vividly evident as to be undeniable. We are not of the dark; we are of the light, but if we are of the light, why are so many of those claiming to be of the light so comfortable in the dark?

If you can’t tell the difference between the two, you’re still in the dark. One keeps you blind, the other illuminates everything, including the corners, nooks, and crannies of one’s heart, exposing everything and leaving nothing in the shadows. When the light of the gospel shines in the heart of man, it exposes everything and reveals it for what it is. You don’t get to pick and choose what stays and what goes. Everything goes! The carpets get ripped out, the cupboards get replaced, a new coat of paint is applied because a new tenant is moving in, and He will not abide the filth, dirt, and cobwebs left by the previous tenant.

If your new life is no different than your old life, if you are still doing all the things the wicked are known for doing, then your new life is a lie. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Old things have passed away. You no longer identify with they, or them, those who would gladly starve widows if it meant a little extra coin in their pocket, or needlessly burden the poor in exchange for an easier life.

Job makes it very clear that wicked men existed in his day, and this is what they did, but he could stand before both God and man and adamantly declare that he had never done such things.

We were once like them, but they were never like us. We, too, were once dead in our sins and trespasses, but no longer. It’s why we have compassion on the lost and go out of our way to consistently point the way to Jesus. Anyone who exudes spiritual elitism rather than compassion when it comes to those yet in darkness forget that they too were once slaves to sin. They forget that they, too, were once shackled with chains of their own making, and it took Jesus to set them free. They didn’t do it on their own; they didn’t discover the key to their prison in a corner somewhere, but another who had once worn similar shackles took the time to tell them that there is freedom, there is light, there is life, and there is hope in Christ.

But you don’t get it, preacher man. I dug my way out of my prison Shawshank Redemption style. I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, poured all the booze down the drain, joined AA, and took a shower. All that did for you was transfer you from solitary confinement to the general population. Unless Jesus sets you free, you’re still in prison. Unless He washed you and made you clean, you still reek of death and despair.

John 8:34-36, “Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’”

Only Jesus gives true freedom. Anything else is either an illusion of freedom or a temporary pause on one’s journey to destruction. One may stop their self-destructive ways for a season, but they will never truly be set free until Jesus makes them free.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLV

 Job 24:1-8, “Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him see not His days? Some remove landmarks; they seize flocks violently and feed on them; they drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge. They push the needy off the road; all the poor of the land are forced to hide. Indeed, like wild donkeys in the desert, they go out to their work searching for food. The wilderness yields food for them and for their children. They gather their fodder in the field and glean in the vineyard of the wicked. They spend the night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. They are wet in the showers of the mountains, and huddle around the rock for want of shelter.”

Job continues his discourse with a question that has wide-ranging and thought-provoking implications. Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why do those who know Him see not His days? The first thing that stands out is Job’s acknowledgement of God’s omniscience. Nothing catches God by surprise. He is never blindsided, nor has He ever thought to Himself, “I didn’t see that coming.”

Times are not hidden from the Almighty. He is not reactionary, nor is there the constant push and pull of action, reaction, for He knows the entirety of human history, from beginning to end, and nothing is hidden from His sight. As wanderers and travelers on this earth, we operate with limited understanding. Not so with God.

He tells Jeremiah that even before He formed him in the womb, He knew him. If this was the case with Jeremiah, it was the case with Job, Paul, Peter, you, and me. There are no accidents, no coincidences, and no mistakes when it comes to the order of the universe, or the course of human history. God is not solely concerned about big events that shape and reshape the world, but is aware of how many hairs you currently have sprouting on your head. Each one, to the last, is numbered.

Yes, some of us try to make it easier on the Almighty and shave our heads so He doesn’t have to count every morning, but even if I had a glorious mane of lustrous hair, it would not bother God in the least to keep count. The one unanswered question I have, which will go in the rolodex of unanswered questions I’ve amassed over the years, is: Does God count transplanted hair? Does the hair someone had removed from their back and reattached to their scalp count as the hair on one’s head? Try unraveling that mystery! You’re welcome.

All kidding aside, if the very hairs of your head are all numbered, does anyone honestly believe that God would have made such a glaring mistake as to place someone in the wrong body, or assign them the wrong gender in the womb? It is and always has been about rebellion, about Satan trying to prove God wrong, or insisting that He made a mistake. Given that He is incapable of making mistakes, it’s a reach, but just because he failed every other time he tried, it doesn’t mean the devil will give up trying.

The second part of the question is another one of those gut checks that Job is fond of delivering, whether intentionally or otherwise, because it turns the spotlight on the children of God, those who know Him, and simply asks: why do those who know Him not see His days? Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, why are those who know Him unable to discern them? Why are we groping about in the darkness as those of the world, terrified at whispers and rumors, reacting to everything when we possess a clear roadmap of where the world is headed?

If, as those who know Him, we are as ignorant as those of the world regarding the times and seasons we are living in, what does that say about us and the manner in which we spend our days? Knowing God gives us access to understanding tomorrow just as clearly as today, and in knowing that He knows what tomorrow will bring, we are at peace, fully assured that He has made a way for His own.

That God would number every hair on your head yet be indifferent toward your survival, protection, and provision is incongruent with His nature. A God so meticulous as to know something so trivial would not accidentally lump in His children with the wicked when He pours out His judgment. It’s inconceivable and ludicrous on its face to insist that this is even a possibility.

The other day, I was picking my daughters up from school, and it was raining. It wasn’t anything cataclysmic, just a sheet of rain coming down steadily. While all the kids were running helter-skelter trying to avoid the rain and get to their parents’ cars as quickly as possible, one little girl was taking her time, walking slowly because her mother had brought an umbrella, walked into the school, and was holding it over her head.

The little girl was not bothered by the rain, nor did she do what all the other children whose parents hadn’t brought umbrellas were doing, because she knew she wouldn’t get wet. She was safe, and her mother would keep pace, holding the umbrella over her head. God’s got the umbrella; He knew the storm was coming, and He will be faithful to hold it over the heads of those who are His own.

We may only see in part, but we see enough to be fully assured that God is good, He is just, He is loving, and He is faithful. We may not know the ins and outs of every event from now until the return of Jesus, but we know that He is returning. We also know that when He returns, He will send His angels and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Is it not wisdom itself to focus on being one of those elect who will be gathered rather than endlessly ruminating on the power plays and machinations of the power-hungry? Am I His in word and in deed? Do I know His voice well enough to pick it out from a sea of other voices? Is my focus on the things above rather than the things of this earth? These are the questions we must contend with before anything else, because they are the questions that matter. The answers to these all-important questions set us apart, single us out, mark us, and on that day of days when He appears, we will be gathered unto Him.

There will be no squatters in God’s kingdom. No one will be able to sneak in, bribe their way in, or trick their way in. His elect will be gathered, and since He said narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it, it would behoove us to know clearly and unequivocally that we number among them.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLIV

 There is enough aggregate data available to conclude that, save for divine intervention or some miraculous event, no individual could withstand physical or psychological torture indefinitely. Everyone has a breaking point. Given enough time, eventually, everyone breaks. The outliers, those that did not break, the exceptions to the rules, if one were so inclined to phrase it, were either those who expired while in the midst of their torture, or those whose purpose went beyond self-preservation, the defense of a nation or a state to something deeper, more profound, and all-defining. The big one was God, faith, a purpose beyond their mortal flesh they were willing to die for; family came in a distant second.

What few talk about is that even those who survive prolonged torture and, for whatever reason, do not break and retain their mental faculties, have to deal with the trauma for the rest of their lives.

I’ve been in conversation with enough people who spent months and years in prison, who suffered privation, humiliation rituals, beatings, tortures, and all manner of degrading and demeaning things, and they all had their scars. They all had their bruises. Some of the most stoic men I’ve ever met in my life would tense up at a particular sound, or begin to unconsciously clench their fists as they retold the stories of the horrors they’d had to endure.

It changes you. It leaves an indelible mark, no matter how resilient and strong-willed one might be. The best one can hope for is that it doesn’t become the defining event of their existence, but something they acknowledge they endured, lived through, and survived. The beauty in the retelling of the stories of those who suffered for the sake of Christ is that not only was God present during their trial, giving them strength they themselves knew they did not possess, but comfort and peace in the aftermath. Do they still bear the scars? Most assuredly, but not the open wounds.

It’s similar to those who’ve been to war, seen the brutality and horrors thereof, and return home trying to relate to family and friends who’ve never had to witness such things, who’ve never had a friend die in their arms, or suffer wounds that would be lifelong reminders of what they’d survived.

How does this relate to Job? Only insofar as understanding that intact as his integrity remained, strong and resilient as he was, the constant barrage by those closest to him, whether his wife or his three friends, left a mark. He was not unaffected; he was not indifferent. Their words connected, and they wounded and dispirited him, not to the point of his denouncing God or cursing Him and dying, but enough that the Almighty terrified him.

If he were the man Eliphaz painted him to be, and God had indeed remained silent because he had sinned, then Job had every right to be terrified. Standing before an omniscient God, standing before His throne of judgment, without having repented, without having been born again, without having been washed clean by the blood of Jesus, should be a terrifying prospect for every sinner, and every soul that delays humbling themselves and coming to the foot of the cross in repentance.

Those who know, know. Those who don’t know assume the best of themselves and their strength, until faced with the reality that when it comes to physical or psychological torture, it’s an open-ended proposition. It’s not like a prison sentence where you get to count down the months, days, and hours. There is no finality to the pain except by death, and the idea of it becomes a hoped-for relief after a while, as it did for Job.

You have a group of well-fed, well-rested, determined individuals whose singular purpose is to break you, break your will, and obtain the information they require that you have determined not to disclose. It’s not a fair fight, it’s not one against one, it’s not a battle of wills but a war of attrition in which you are outnumbered. The Geneva Convention does not apply; human decency is nonexistent, and there is no one to plead your case to or seek redress from. I paint this picture for a purpose: lest we judge Job too harshly for confessing that the Almighty terrified him, this is what he was currently going through, and had been for some time. No, his friends were not beating him with sticks and clubs; the enemy had seen to his physical torment well enough, but they were bombarding his mind with all manner of accusations and contrived presuppositions intended to cause him to lose hope.

It’s easy to sit in judgment of others when you don’t have to walk a mile in their shoes. It’s easy to insist that we would have been better men, had done greater things, and figured out what was still a mystery to Job, the why of his suffering, knowing himself to be innocent of all the accusations leveled against him.

At least if you’re in an interrogation room with someone beating you to a pulp, you know why they’re doing it. By the time it gets around to the torture portion of your incarceration, your persecutors have made it abundantly clear what you must do in order to make it stop. Job had no such clarity. He was suffering in ways we could hardly imagine, all the while not knowing why these things had befallen him.

It’s undeniable that Job was a tortured soul hanging on by a fraying thread. If the three men attempting to convince him of wickedness were given another three rounds each, his hope would have likely continued to fray incrementally, and the story would have ended very differently.

Even though Job had concluded that though he had not been cut off from the presence of darkness he had been cut off from the presence of God, it was not an accurate conclusion. God knew the limitations of what Job could endure, and though he allowed Satan to take him to the edge of despair and despondency, He would not allow Satan to push him over.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CLIII

 Job 23:13-17, “But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever His soul desires, that He does. For He performs what is appointed for me, and many such things are with Him. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider this, I am afraid of Him. For God made my heart weak, and the Almighty terrifies me; because I was not cut off from the presence of darkness, and He did not hide deep darkness from my face.”

It’s interesting to note that a man who lived thousands of years ago, who did not have the benefit of the interwebs, commentaries, or even the Pentateuch, which are the first five books of the Bible, could have a better grasp on the reality of who God is than most seminarians or even seminary professors.

The closer we get to the end of all things, the more we try to convince ourselves that we can make God bend to our will, that He will do our bidding and act in accordance with our wants rather than His sovereign will.

Job had a profound understanding of God. He understood that God does whatever His soul desires and performs what is appointed for each person as an individual, because He is sovereign and omnipotent. He also understood that God was just, and His justice would prevail in the end.

Currently, Job’s consternation centered around the idea that although he had not been cut off from the presence of darkness, he had been cut off from the presence of God. If the presence of God were still tangible, if Job could still hear His voice and feel His embrace, not having deep darkness hidden from his face would have been an easier trial to overcome.

It’s not the presence of darkness, nor the trials of life that should vex us; it’s the absence of God’s presence that should trouble us to no end. For those not fully surrendered, for those insisting that they can have one foot planted in the world and the other in the Kingdom, the absence of God’s presence isn’t worrisome or troublesome, but a welcome occurrence. They know that their duplicity and feigned commitment are off-putting to God, and if He were near, if He were present, if they heard His voice, they know with absolute certainty He would speak correction and rebuke.

If God isn’t saying anything, I can pretend I am in right standing with Him. If He is not correcting or rebuking me, then I can keep doing what I’m doing, appeasing the flesh, and walking uncircumspect, while clinging to the illusion that He is well pleased with me, that He will abide and overlook my lukewarmness and divided heart.

James 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

Any man who feels relief when God is silent, equating His silence with validation of his choices, is doing what James said men do when they are not doers of the word but hearers only: deceiving themselves.

Job was troubled in his soul by God’s silence more than anything else his flesh had endured thus far. It was the voice of God he desired to hear, the presence of God he yearned to feel, and having endured the silence and absence for so long, Job was simultaneously terrified of God’s presence, as well as His absence.

The reason God’s presence now terrified him is that although he knew himself to be innocent of the accusations leveled against him by his friends, he now wondered if there had been something he had done to displease the Lord.

I cannot abide His absence, I cannot bear His silence, but I am terrified of His presence. That is not an enviable position to be in, but here Job was, having been affected by the words of his three friends to enough of a degree that the fear of what the Almighty might say terrified him.

When we allow ourselves to be affected by the words of men, whether they be praise or criticism, and don’t have the sure foundation of being a hearer and doer of the word, eventually the cracks will start to show, and there will be moments of indecision, hesitation, delay, and second-guessing.

Are you doing what the Word commanded you to do? If so, the words of men should be of no consequence. They do not determine how God views you; only He determines how He views you, and although Job was in this tug of war with himself, wherein he both feared and desired the presence of God, in the end, he had to acquiesce and submit to the reality that God does as He wills, whether men approve of it or not.

It’s easy to sit in judgment of Job and insist he should not have been terrified, especially when we fail to realize that you and I have countless privileges not afforded to Job. We have the written Word, we have numerous examples of faith, obedience, servitude, and steadfastness, but most of all, we have the Mediator between God and men, the Man Jesus Christ. Job had none of these things, yet God declared him to be both blameless and upright, a rarity among rarities, yet still a man ill at ease in the silence, yet fearful of hearing His voice.

There is an endearing quality to Job’s honesty, wherein he does not portray himself as superhuman, or having attained such spiritual heights as to not be affected by frailty and pain. Be wary of the man who says he’s never been hurt, bruised, or scarred. Either he stood at the back of the army, watching others do the fighting, never seeing the whites of the enemy’s eyes, or he was never on the battlefield to begin with.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCLII

 “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” That’s the one sentence that resonated to the degree that it kept me up half the night. Job’s words not only challenge, but to a certain extent admonish, because they put the way we should view the Word of God into perspective, and looking back, I can pinpoint times, and even seasons, when I fell short of that ideal. It’s the passion and hunger with which Job describes the way he viewed the words of His mouth that are humbling more than anything else. It’s the value and worth, the rightful place of prominence that he assigns the words of God’s mouth that causes me to search my heart and realize that there have been times when the issues of life took precedent, if only for a short while, and I did not view the Word through the same prism Job viewed the words of God’s mouth.

We take the Word of God for granted as though we were owed it, deserved it, and everyone else throughout the history of mankind had the same ease of access and abundance of it as we do today. Perhaps it’s because our present generation has adopted the mindset that scarcity equals value, and if the Word is in such abundance here in the West, its worth must diminish in proportion to its availability.

My grandfather was a Bible smuggler. I understand better than most that in certain parts of the world, even to this day, the Word of God is rare, treasured, sought after, and sacrificed for. I also understand that it is hated by both the enemy and his minions, and above all, his other machinations, the enemy’s paramount purpose is to keep God’s Word from reaching the hands, hearts, and minds of men.

That we would have the complete canon of scripture within easy reach, readily accessible and available, and still turn aside to fables is not only telling but damning. It’s not ignorance that is making men embrace a different gospel; it’s not scarcity or lack of availability; it’s willful rebellion. They don’t like what the Bible has to say, so they either make up their own version or gravitate toward those who’ve done the legwork of producing heresy and made up their versions already.

Rather than obsessing over things we can’t control, and becoming overnight experts about everything from CERN to dwarf planets, to black holes, aliens, inter-dimensional flight, or alternate realities, our time might be better spent asking ourselves one question before resting our head on our pillows every night: Did I treasure the words of His mouth more than my necessary food today?

What does this mean? In essence, it’s whether I prioritized the spiritual man over the physical, not so much the flesh but rather the basic necessities of this present life. That the flesh must be crucified is a given, but this is not what Job was referring to. What he was saying is that the words of His mouth, the presence of God, and intimacy with Him must take precedent over everything, including what is deemed necessary for survival, such as food. As Jesus would later expound, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

It’s about priorities and what we place at the top of our hierarchy of needs. As children of God, our hierarchical need structure must differ from that of the world. While the world is focused on psychological needs, security and safety, love, belonging, or esteem, our top priority must be seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Our spiritual man, spiritual needs, and spiritual growth take priority, no matter how busy we get or how many responsibilities we have.

This must be an active, consistent, and purposeful pursuit, not something we hope will come about, but rather something we are actively working toward. If it isn’t, if we do not prioritize God in our day-to-day lives, there will always be something pressing that demands our attention, some new issue only we can solve, and we end up putting off the eternally consequential for the trivial matters of life that, looking back, will seem irrelevant.

God knows we need to eat, keep a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs, and He promises that if we seek Him first, the things He knows we need will be provided for. Trusting in the promises of God eliminates fear about tomorrow and anxiousness about today. I am doing what Jesus said I must, which is to seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness. Everything else, God has well in hand.

The choice before us is a simple one: Either we double down and keep pace with the ever-accelerating hamster wheel, working twice as hard to have half as much of the things of this world, or we rest in Him, knowing He is a good Father who keeps His promises to His children. Are you saying we should stop going to work? No, because ever since Adam, it is with the sweat of our brow that we must earn our daily bread. What I am saying is that if we consistently prioritize God, whether it’s over the promotion we’re vying for, the five-cent bump in hourly pay, or the shiny new car we’ve been eyeing, we will come to realize that He satisfies far more than any of those things combined.

Mark 8:36, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?”

Know what matters most and pursue it with abandon. As Jesus asked, what will it profit anyone if he gains the whole world, not just a mansion on a beach, a Rolex, a Bentley, or a Learjet, but the whole world, lock, stock, and barrel, yet they lose their soul? Nothing. Nothing at all, because one day, though they may have gained the world, they will return to the dust of the earth, then judgment.

When offering a summary of life, the once greatest of all the people of the East said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

In case you’re wondering, yes, it was the same man who said: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Priorities, indeed.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCLI

 Job 23:8-12, “Look, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He works on he left hand, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandments of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

Job’s biggest concern wasn’t the pain he was in, the possessions he’d lost, the children he’d had to bury, or that his friends were accusing him of things he hadn’t done, but that though he went forward, God was not there, and if he went backward, he could not perceive Him. It’s the absence of the presence of God that vexed him more than anything else he was currently experiencing, and that’s saying a lot.

If you’ve ever wondered why God saw Job as a blameless and upright man, this handful of verses should suffice in answering the question. The first thing that stands out and serves as the bedrock of Job’s unshakeable faith is that although he could not see, hear, or perceive God, he was certain that God saw, heard, and watched over him. He knows the way I take. He sees me where I am, as I am, hears the cry of my heart, and when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.

Just because God is silent, it doesn’t mean He isn’t there. Just because God does not act on our behalf when we would like Him to in the manner we deem fitting, it does not mean He will not, or is incapable of doing so.

Job had been crushed, everything he’d had was taken from him, his health was failing, his flesh stunk to the point that his own wife couldn’t stand him, he’d cried out day and night, repeatedly pleading for everything from an answer, a resolution, and even death itself, yet through it all he never doubted that God knew the way he took, and one way or another, when God had tested him, he would come forth as gold.

If you possess this level of submission to the will, purpose, and sovereignty of God, wherein no matter what, you are fully assured that God sees, hears, and will bring about a resolution in the manner He sees fit, then feel free to call yourself blameless and upright. If not, perhaps a little less chest-beating and a little more humility would be in order.

We murmur and bristle at the slightest hiccup nowadays, thinking it’s the end of the world if the corner store runs out of bagels before we get a chance to buy one, and fail to consider that we run across people every day who deal better with far worse things than we do with the trivial.

Job wasn’t boasting about his righteousness, his attributes, his charity, or his uprightness; God did it on his behalf. It’s an important distinction and one we would do well to take to heart. The only thing Job was certain of, and as such was willing to verbalize declaratively, was that his foot had held fast to God’s steps; he had kept His way and not turned aside; and he had not departed from the commandments of His lips.

Whether that classified him as blameless or upright did not concern Job. He wasn’t interested in the title, just the obedience and faithfulness. Had he been the sort of man to feign righteousness for the sake of others or pretend to be upright when he wasn’t, the inverse would have occurred. He would have boasted of his blamelessness, insisted upon his uprightness, while God would have remained silent regarding his boasts, or rebuked him for having made such claims.

This is also a reliable telltale sign, generally speaking, when someone insists that you address them by their title or office, whether self-appointed or undergirded by some piece of paper declaring them to be what they insist you address them as. Unless you live out in the woods, far away from civilization, you’ve likely run across such individuals, and more often than not, the entire exchange is off-putting and disappointing.

“I have a to-go order for Jeff”, the girl at the counter shouts over the din of conversation and steaming milk.

“Actually, it’s Dr. Jeff,” the man answers smugly. And? Will that make your coffee taste any better, or your bran muffin feel less like you’re chewing sodden dirt and crunchy pebbles?

Granted, I used an inoffensive example, but you know, and I know, and you know that I know, and I know that you know, that it happens with such regularity within Christendom as to have become cliché. Whether the title is prophet, apostle, elder, bishop, or pastor, unless that’s the name on your birth certificate, shake my hand and tell me your name’s Bob. I’ll respect you more for it.

If indeed you are an apostle or a prophet, the calling will be evident soon enough. If you aren’t, no matter how many times you insist I address you as such, you’re still a faker, a farceur, a pretender who will one day have to answer before God for having claimed a title you had no right to.

Claiming a title will do nothing to impress God. All it does is stroke the ego of the self-obsessed, self-serving, and self-aggrandizing, who, as yet, have no identity in Christ, but in themselves. If they did, they would understand that the title of servant is more than enough, it suffices, and encapsulates everything one could ever hope to be in Him.

I’ve known genuine men of God who could be labeled as prophets, biblically speaking, yet none of the real ones claimed the title for themselves, and what’s more, they scolded anyone who addressed them as such. They understood that it’s not about them as an individual, but about whom they served, and if any of the honor or glory risked being syphoned from Jesus and appropriated to them, it was something they could not abide.

If you ever wonder whether someone is or isn’t what they claim to be, ask yourself one question: Are they determined to further the kingdom of God, or their own? Do they give God the glory or take it for themselves? That should tell you everything you need to know.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCL

 If Job were the man Eliphaz painted him to be, his rebuttal toward Eliphaz’s accusations would have sounded very different than what he answered. Here was a man whom his own friend painted as heartless and cruel, one who would merrily watch widows going hungry and men dying of thirst, who didn’t lash out angrily, who wasn’t caustic or biting in his response, who didn’t threaten or go on the offense, but whose only desire was to have an opportunity to plead his case before God.

Even when you are being accused of things you haven’t done by people you trusted, there is a certain decorum you must retain, and a particular way you must approach your defense. Surely, Job could have leveled his own accusations at his three friends; he’d known them long enough to know every time their actions or words did not mirror the righteous men they claimed to be, but Job wasn’t in the habit of fault mining, going toe to toe with baseless accusations, or trying to justify himself because there was nothing to justify.

He didn’t need to explain why his friends were wrong in interpreting what he’d done as wicked because he’d done nothing that could be misconstrued as such. When your first reaction is to defend yourself against baseless accusations, things that were said about you that were made up out of whole cloth, you’re playing the devil’s game, and it’s a game you can’t win.

A couple of years after I started traveling with my grandfather, there was a man who felt compelled to write a lengthy letter after he’d heard my grandfather give his testimony, insisting that rather than being a man sent by God to warn a nation to repent, he was a Russian agent whose mission was to dispirit the people of America, and make them see themselves as less than the shining light on a hill that they were. Yes, it was convoluted and had no basis in fact, but since we answered every letter we received, usually by hand, I took it to my grandfather and read some of the highlights contained therein, asking for guidance on what to answer.

To my surprise, because it was the first time he’d said something of the sort, he said, “nothing. When you entertain a fool and give him your time, you validate his foolishness and become a fool yourself. This man has made up an entire story, and insisting it’s not true will only make him dig his heels in. God will judge; He always does.”

That was one of those seemingly innocuous moments that taught me a life lesson. There was no prophecy, no casting out of demons, no fiery sermon, just a handful of words that I remember from time to time, reminding myself that not every question deserves an answer, and not every accusation merits a defense. An obvious lie will eventually expose the liar. The secret is having the patience for the situation to work itself out and not react in the flesh, so that in mounting your defense, you become the thing you’ve been accused of being. I’ve seen people grow bitter, resentful, angry, and hateful because they were accused of something they hadn’t done, and rather than let God deal with it, they sought to clear their name. It’s instinctual, to a certain degree, to try and vindicate oneself, but once you realize that the one doing the accusing isn’t looking for the truth and will twist every word you speak in your defense to prove your guilt, you’ll realize it’s a hopeless endeavor.

Psalm 26:1-3, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth.”  

Even though Satan was one among countless hosts of heaven and sons of God, and when God called Job blameless and upright, none of them tried to correct Him, Satan still tried to besmirch Job’s faithfulness and devotion. It was all of heaven against one lone voice, but the one the voice belonged to was so shameless and determined to prove God wrong that it didn’t matter to him whether Job was blameless; he was not concerned with whether or not he was upright; he’d find a way to make him seem less than the faithful servant he was.

The truth? Since when do we let the truth stand in the way of a self-serving narrative? What does the truth have to do with any of it? We’ll take the truth and call it a lie, we’ll take the lie and twist it into truth, and if you repeat both long enough, the simple-minded will go along because they always do.

Through it all, God sees, God hears, God knows. He knows that you have clung to your integrity, he knows that you have trusted in Him, and He knows that you have walked in His truth. He is not ignorant of the situation, or those accusing you of things you never did, and it is He who will vindicate, and bring to light the snares set before you, that the enemy was certain you would fall into.

Job wasn’t trying to vindicate himself; he was seeking to be vindicated by the God he’s served his entire life, a God who, for the first time in his existence, seemed distant, hidden, shrouded, and far from him and his cries.

If you are not the man or woman the enemy is accusing you of being, he will try to use others to turn you into it. It’s the most evil and sinister type of projection wherein the enemy, being fully aware that you are walking uprightly, with integrity and faithfulness, begins to level unfounded accusations and whispering innuendos to the point that your focus shifts from faithfully following after Him to defending yourself.

Keep following Jesus; God is your defender. Keep pressing in; God is your vindicator. Do not be distracted by the slings and arrows of men or devils. Your duty is to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and his minions. If we’re too busy trying to stand against the enemy in our own strength, not having bothered to put on the armor, we will lose. If we are wise and focus on putting on the whole armor of God, leaving nothing unattended, come what may, we will stand. Sometimes the reality of a situation is as simple as that.      

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXLIX

 Who we run to in our time of distress says everything about where we place our faith, hope, and trust. We can say we are fully trusting in the mighty arm of God, but if every time we find ourselves buffeted, we run to everyone else but God, then our actions belie our words and prove us to be either double-tongued or outright liars.

Job had not given up on God. He had not sought answers from another, and even in the protracted silence he was experiencing, wherein he did not hear the voice of God nor feel His comforting hand, God was still the one he ran to, and yearned for answers from.

“Oh, that I knew where I first met Him, that I might come to His seat!”

God’s silence was new to Job. It unnerved him, and having his three friends insist it was because of wickedness in his life didn’t help matters any. He was going back through his memories, trying to pinpoint the environment in which God’s presence was felt, thinking that if he could replicate it, then he would be able to present his case before God and know the words that He would answer.

When one is persecuted for their faith, whether imprisoned or tortured, it may not be easier, physically speaking, but from a psychological standpoint, at least they know the why of it. I am being beaten because I will not deny Jesus. I am in prison because I am a believer. Job didn’t know why he was suffering the things he was, and that was adding to his already monumental pain.

When my youngest was old enough to walk, she got into her exploration stage with much more enthusiasm than her older sister. If you have children, you know what I’m talking about. They want to touch everything, explore everything, stick pencils, forks, and anything that has a chance of fitting into outlets, and be, in effect, a human hurricane during their waking hours.

One day, my wife had a roast in the oven. The glass door gets hot whenever the oven is above 350 degrees, and wouldn’t you know it, that was when Malina decided to waddle over to the oven and explore that particular piece of kitchenware. She reached out to touch the glass, and my wife slapped her hand away for fear of her burning herself.

That was a new experience for Malina, so much so that it shocked her, because Momma had never done anything like this. She was maybe three at the time, so she knew enough words to communicate, but as the tears started flowing down her cheeks, the only thing she would say on repeat was, “Why, Momma? Why?”

My wife picked her up, sat her on the couch, and explained that the oven was very hot, and she would have hurt herself. Once the why of it was cleared up, she wiped at her face and said, “Okay, Momma”. The explanation had sufficed, and she could bear the burden of having her hands slapped by her mother because the intent had not been to do her harm, but to keep her from harm.

There are countless situations when understanding why something is occurring gives a sense of relief and lifts the weight threatening to crush us into the dust. We want rational explanations for why something is happening, but wanting something doesn’t always mean we’ll get it.

The question of why is never truly satisfied. Unless you are a toddler, with full faith and trust in your mother or father, you are always bound to have follow-up questions relating to why, as well as justifications as to why the answer you received is not to your satisfaction. When Jesus said that unless we become like little children we would never enter the kingdom of heaven, it went beyond innocence or the absence of guile and duplicity, to exhibiting the trust and faith exclusive to little children.

The only time my daughters would go on a protracted campaign of ‘why’ was when they were trying to get a rise out of me, and they knew that if they kept it up long enough, they eventually would. Why do I have to eat the broccoli? Because it’s good for you. Why? Because it has fiber, and it will make your life a whole lot easier when it finally makes its way through your colon. Why? Because that’s the way God designed the human body. Why? Because He didn’t want you to needlessly suffer every time you went potty. Why? And no matter your answer, the question would always be why.

Even as grown-ups, we have the same tendencies, asking God why, even though He’s already given the answer in His Word. Whether we’re hoping for a different answer or just being obstinate for reasons known only to ourselves, unlike little children, we should possess enough wisdom to understand that sometimes we will not receive the answers to the questions we are posing.

It doesn’t mean we never will; it just means that, for the moment, we must trust God and His sovereignty and continue walking in faithful obedience. Trials are temporary. Suffering is temporary. The valleys we must traverse in order to reach our destination are likewise temporary. Our reward for faithfulness and obedience is not. They are eternal just as the God who will be faithful to reward us is eternal.

Job knew how he’d lived. He knew he’d been faithful, so the explanation Eliphaz had proffered for why he was suffering rang hollow and untrue. He knew he could find no resolution with his friends, no satisfactory explanation as to why he was suffering in the manner he was, so his response was not targeted to Eliphaz, or the other two who were present, but to God Himself, for Job knew that only God possessed the keys that unlocked the mystery of why.

Job wasn’t looking to quarrel with God. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But at least I would know that He knows, that He sees me, and hears my cries. At least I would know that He is aware, and all of this isn’t happening without His knowledge.

Consider the level of faith and devotion Job had toward God, in that as long as he knew God had allowed these things to come upon him, he would be satisfied in that knowledge. Yes, he would make his plea, yes, he would attempt to reason with Him, but that, to him, was a secondary issue. His primary desire was to know that God had not turned from Him or was somehow ignorant of what he was enduring.        

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXLVIII

Job 23:1-7, “Then Job answered and said: ‘Even today my complaint is bitter; my hand is listless because of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I first met Him, that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in His great power? No! But He would take note of me. There the upright could reason with Him, and I would be delivered forever from my Judge.”’

If the enemy can’t steamroll you into submission, he will attempt to chip away at your conviction, assurance, and confidence that you have in Jesus. If a frontal attack won’t work, he’ll try the sneak attack, hoping he catches you off guard, or in the midst of celebrating that you resisted his frontal attack. Winning a battle is not winning the war. There will be enough time to celebrate once you’ve crossed the finish line; until then, keep pressing on.

By Job’s own words, it seems Eliphaz’s latest tactic had worked more than the others because it’s the first time we notice a lessening of the determined confidence he’d exhibited thus far. He went from declaring “For I know my Redeemer lives and in my flesh I shall see Him”, to “Oh, that I knew where I first met Him, that I might come to His seat.”

Sowing doubt is like planting seeds. Not all of them will take root, mature, and grow, but the enemy wasn’t looking to plant an herb garden. He was looking for a chink in the armor, for one seedling to grow, which he could then exploit to no end.

Every once in a while, we have to remind ourselves that Job was human. He was a man like any other among his generation, made unique by his faithfulness and uprightness before God. It wasn’t his wealth that made him stand out; it wasn’t his large family that caught God’s eye, but that he feared Him and shunned evil.

There’s a reason the Word tells us to be watchful and on guard without qualifiers. It doesn’t say to be watchful unless you’re a preacher, to be on guard unless you’re a pastor, or unless you’ve been in church for less than a decade. If the enemy never ceases trying to find a way in, then we should never cease being watchful and on guard.

How men who’ve been in ministry for decades, who’ve pastored churches since bellbottoms were en vogue, and who others looked up to as spiritual giants fall is no mystery. At some point along their journey, they stopped being watchful. They stopped guarding their hearts and minds, they stopped being wary of the devil’s plots and schemes because they thought themselves above it all.

I’m the head of an entire denomination; the devil could never get to me. I’m the head of an international ministry; the enemy could never blindside me. I’m on television every other day; Satan could never outmaneuver me. The problem with this mindset is twofold: first, you’re standing in your own strength rather than His, and second, you ceased to do what the Word insists you must, which is to be watchful and sober-minded.

1 Corinthians 10:12, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

To take heed within this context is to be aware, to pay attention, to acknowledge reality for what it is, and not dismiss the warning signs that appear long before the bear trap shears your leg off at the knee.

There is a balance that must be struck: we are not seeing demons behind every tree and hiding in every bush, imagining demonic attacks even when they’re not there, but are also keen enough to notice when something isn’t right and to remove ourselves from the situation before it becomes a situation.

Whenever I travel back to the home country, I like to check in on some of the old guard who are still around. They were grown men when I was young, and now, in the twilight of their lives, it does my heart and theirs good to reminisce, break bread, and look back on all the things the Lord has done.

I was visiting a brother who used to play a mean accordion before the arthritis set in. During our conversation, after asking how he was, he arched his eyebrows and said, “The devil just won’t leave me alone”. Since I knew him to be a talker, I didn’t bother asking a follow-up question, knowing he’d continue his story, and he didn’t disappoint.

“Brother Mike, for the past few weeks, the devil has been trying to keep me from going to church. I’m fine the whole week, then the morning of, I wake up, get dressed, and the moment I put on my good shoes, there’s a shooting pain in the sole of my foot that makes it almost impossible to walk to church.”

Being the rationally minded individual I am, I asked, “You only wear those shoes for church?”

“That’s right, they’re my good shoes, so I only wear them to church, they’re right there”, he said, pointing a gnarled finger at the entryway. I saw the pair of Chinese-made fake-leather loafers he was pointing to well enough, and yes, they were nicer than the tennis shoes next to them. I bent over and picked them up, turning them over to look at the soles, thinking that maybe he’d stepped on a nail, when a decent-sized pebble rolled out of the left shoe and clinked on the floor.

I picked up the pebble, and smiling, I said, “I found your devil.”

Blushing, he arched his brows again and said, “I never thought to look inside.”

Some things have rational explanations and are not demonic attacks. Others are, and demonstrably so, and knowing the difference will keep us from hyperventilating every time a squirrel ruffles some branches in a tree, while concomitantly identifying the enemy’s snares and avoiding them.        

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Job CCXLVII

 Job 22:27-30, “You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, and you will pay your vows. You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways. When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’ Then He will save the humble person.” He will even deliver one who is not innocent; yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

Do what I tell you, the way I tell you to do it, and things will work out. That was the conclusion of Eliphaz’s third and final oration. Generally speaking, there was nothing improper about the advice he was giving to Job, but contextually speaking, as it pertained to Job himself, Eliphaz missed the mark because his underlying premise was that Job was guilty of sin, had committed wickedness, and must therefore acknowledge it, repent of it, and return to God. If anything, the purpose for which Job should have done these things was a bit off kilter, but we will get to that in due course.

Imagine someone knocking on your door and insisting you have to go home. But I am home. You came to my house, knocked on my door, and insisted I ought to go to the place I’m already in. Return to God, and He will hear you. Return to God, and He will deliver you. But I never left! I’m exactly where I’ve always been at my Master’s feet, crying out to Him, knowing He is the only remedy to my current situation.

Someone trying to invalidate your relationship with God because you don’t see some tertiary issue the way they do, don’t idolize the preacher they do, or don’t belong to the same denomination as them, isn’t your friend, nor are they looking out for your spiritual well-being. The plumbline isn’t their opinion; the plumbline is the Word of God.

That more and more seem to be following after the words of men while disregarding the Word of God is not accidental. It was foretold and prophesied. It’s not that they don’t have access to the Word; it’s that they don’t like what the Word has to say, and so, having itching ears, they turn away from the truth and are turned aside to fables.

2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

The reason for it isn’t something as noble as wanting to get to the truth, or because they want to unravel some mystery they deem of existential import, but because they prioritize their own desires over sound doctrine, and will find a way to facilitate dismissing it. If the Bible is clear on a topic and I happen to disagree with it, doing the opposite of what it prescribes, I know I’m walking in rebellion. If, however, I find someone deemed a spiritual authority who validates my rebellion, who insists that God didn’t mean what He said, then I have enough of a justification wherein I won’t have to repent, turn, and follow after the truth.

Men gravitate toward those who offer them liberties the Scriptures would otherwise not allow because their true heart is not about denying themselves, picking up their crosses, and following after Jesus, but having some perceived fire insurance while doing as they will.

It’s no longer about finding a church that focuses on prayer, studying the Word, and sound doctrine; it’s about finding one that entertains, puts men at ease, and doesn’t last longer than forty minutes on the dot because we’ve got things to do and places to be, and being there isn’t about being in His presence anymore, but about making sure we were checked off at roll call as though attendance was the thing God takes into account and not the hearts of men.

Although I have no concrete evidence, given the early date of the book of Job, it seems to me that Eliphaz was likely the first-ever quasi-prosperity preacher, the forefather of what has become the doctrine du jour for so many today. Do good, and good will come to you; declare a thing, and it will be established for you. Be God’s friend, and nothing bad will ever happen in your life.

This creates a false standard of righteousness, wherein men can boast that because they are rich, they are favored of God, because they have wealth, God is on their side, and those who don’t aren’t as special in the eyes of God, nor are they walking uprightly, because if they were, they too would live in opulence and luxury.

We’ve all seen the clips of supposed shepherds boasting to their flock about the new jets, the watches that cost more than a single-family home, the mansions they’ve acquired, or the money they’ve amassed, insisting that their way is right, evidenced by the earthly goods they’ve procured.

This is the selfsame mindset Eliphaz had, insisting that if Job would reacquaint himself with God and return to Him, his coffers would be so overflowing as to lay his gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

If you serve God in the hope that He will make you rich, you’re serving riches and not God. All you’re doing is using God to obtain what your heart truly desires, which isn’t Him, but the things He can give.

Eliphaz insists that God prospers the righteous in the material sense, and their prosperity is a sure sign of their righteousness. Paul insists that God chastens those He loves, and scourges every son whom He receives. Given all the times he’s been wrong thus far, I’d take anything Eliphaz has to say with a grain of salt. The same goes for the modern-day Eliphazes, who insist that trials, tests, tribulations, pruning, scourging, and chastenings are not of God.

Without trials, there would never be a need for long-suffering, which is a fruit of the Spirit. Without being wronged, we would never have to learn to forgive. Without need, we would never have to have faith that God will provide. Without temptation, we would never need to resist it, thereby proving our faithfulness. All the things that the flesh deems as negative facilitate the growth, maturing, and sanctification of our spiritual man. All the things the world looks down upon and mocks only serve to deepen our relationship with God.

Some of us don’t need deliverance; we just need to see the world through spiritual eyes. Then, rather than praying for deliverance, we will pray for endurance; rather than pray for escape, we will pray for boldness, rather than pray for riches, we will pray for contentment of heart, and find our joy and satisfaction in what He’s already done, and not what we’re hoping He will do on our behalf.     

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Job CCXLVI

 There are clear and well-defined guardrails in the Word of God. There are practices the Word calls sin that are sin, regardless of how many people insist otherwise, or who the individual giving license to practice them might be. There are virtues we are called upon to nurture, grow, and mature, such as prayer, fasting, the study of Scripture, and the building up of our most holy faith; then there are personal convictions that are by definition personal, and not to be insisted upon as divine commandments for the rest of the body of Christ. Personal convictions and God’s commands are not interchangeable, nor do they hold equal weight.

Romans 14:1, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.”

The verse itself is clear enough, but when did we ever allow Scripture to get in the way of imposing our will on others or insisting that our personal convictions are on par with the voice of God Himself? It is, after all, so much fun sitting in judgment and judging everything everyone else is doing as though we were responsible for keeping the judgment seat of Christ warm until He gets around to judging those who will stand before it on the day of days.

We are not to shun but rather to receive those who are weak in the faith, and we are to do so for a specific purpose. Contrary to popular belief, the purpose is not to dispute over doubtful things. Another applicable word for “doubtful” within this context is “unclear”. If the Word of God is clear on a topic, whatever that topic might be, then we must declare it as such boldly and without equivocation. If, however, it is unclear as to whether wearing a necktie is cause to cast you into outer darkness, or wearing a wedding band will bar you from entry into the Kingdom, then insisting it is so means you are playing God, and making up rules for others to follow that the Bible never said one should. A personal conviction is just that: personal!

Romans 14:2-4, “For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”

So does this mean we have freedom to do as we will? Are the few preachers and teachers insisting upon holiness, repentance, righteousness, and purity just old fuddy-duddies, relics of a bygone era, clinging to precepts that no longer apply? No, this passage does not give anyone the freedom to sin; it reaffirms the truth that those who have been freed from sin are allowed to be individuals, preferring peaches over kale, steak over tofu, and a nice baked potato over a salad with fat-free drizzle dressing on the side. The entire passage is within the context of those who belong to the Lord, who live or die to the Lord, and whose purpose is the glory of God in their lives.

I don’t have the right to judge you for drinking tea, just as you don’t have the right to judge me for drinking coffee. This passage is not about rebellion, disobedience, or disregard for the Word of God and its guardrails; it’s about picking out one thing that you don’t do that someone else is doing that is not defined as a sin in the Bible, yet judging them for doing it and thinking them less spiritual than yourself.

Romans 14:5-10, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”

If the grace of God were as hard to come by as the grace brothers show brothers nowadays, heaven would end up being an empty place. Again, Paul isn’t talking about sin in the camp or disobedience of God’s Word. He is specifically pointing out that a personal conviction, or a personal preference, does not give me the right to feel spiritually superior to another, nor does it give me the right to judge or show contempt for a fellow brother in Christ.

Insisting that someone isn’t saved because they don’t believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, don’t read the King James exclusively, or wear jeans to church that one time instead of khakis, is as absurd as Eliphaz insisting that Job’s suffering was evidence of his wickedness.

He’s not clapping along, so he must not be feeling the Spirit. That’s a leap, isn’t it? Perhaps you failed to notice the tears and the groaning because you were so focused on the clapping. Perhaps their relationship and intimacy with God go beyond the performative to something real, tangible, and heart-piercing.

Paul noticed enough of a pattern of both judgment and contempt among brothers developing in the early church that he felt obliged to address it. It has not lessened over the millennia; it has only increased, and more and more people feel entitled to determine the eternity of others based on their personal convictions rather than on the Word of God.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.