Preparing For Persecution XXXIII

 Depending on our focus, we will either have peace or be overwhelmed with fear and trepidation. We can focus on Jesus's warning that we will experience tribulation or His counsel that we ought not to fear. When we take His words to heart, that we ought not to fear, then come what may we will be at peace. If all we dwell on is that there will be tribulation or that we will have to endure persecution and dismiss His direction that we shouldn’t fear these things, that feeling of having a rock in the pit of your stomach will turn into a boulder, and eventually become the thing that our entire existence revolves around.

The profiteers among God’s children use fear as a motivating factor. I’ve watched as we go from one certain, absolute, get in before you’re left out, cataclysmic event to another, and with each one, wouldn’t you know it, they have some product or service that will help you weather the storm, and see you through it safe as a babe in its mother’s womb. It’s almost serendipitous when you think about it. They seem to have a cream for every itch, a remedy for anything that ails you, but when you dig a bit deeper, you realize it’s the same repackaged, rebranded stuff you could make yourself for a tenth of the cost. Granted, you don’t get the spiffy buckets if you make it yourself, but with the money you’ll be saving, you could afford to splurge on a bucket if the need arises.

Never let fear be the driving force in your decision-making process. Never let fear cloud your rational mind and make you do something you’ll regret for years to come. What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander in this case, and what God might tell you to do to prepare might not be what He told me to do in order to prepare. What is general, for everyone, without exception, is the command not to fear!

Fear is not the natural environment for a child of God. Knowing the God we serve and His omnipotence over all things, we have nothing to fear, for He will be an ever-present help in times of trouble and a constant companion throughout this journey called life. A lifetime supply of potatoes-au-gratin from your favorite televangelist will do nothing to help you when facing prison, torture, or death, but an abiding faith that you’ve built up over the years will.

God doesn’t warn you of what will come, so you might fear it. He warns of what is to come so you might prepare. If you spend your days wallowing in fear of what tomorrow will bring, not only have you misunderstood God’s intent, but you’re also doing something Jesus commanded you not to do.

Why do you think Jesus said you should count the cost before you sign on? Was it because your life would be so glamorous, carefree, full of the best the world has to offer, and full of such abundance so as to make Solomon envious?

We cannot look at those who came before us and see what they endured and expect something wholly different for ourselves. When we see that they were persecuted, yet we expect praise; they lacked, but we expect abundance; they suffered, but we expect ease, we will either betray Jesus in pursuit of the things He never promised or grow bitter at not having what we expected to have.

If you spend four years going to dental school and when you graduate, you’re surprised that you don’t get to work on airplane engines, it’s not the school’s fault; it’s yours for expecting something contrary to what you spent four years learning.

If, throughout the history of the church, we’ve been witness to persecution, the vitriol of the godless, and the hatred thereof, what makes us expect any different in our day and age? The level of hubris required for someone to assume that this present generation will be spared the testing of their faith and will not have to endure as all others who came before them have is beyond my ability to fathom.

Hebrews 10:36-38, “Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented – of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in the desert and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”

But that was then, and this is now, brother. They didn’t have the keys to unlocking prosperity and living lives of abundance. Had they been privy to the teachings of modern-day televangelists, they, too, would have basked in the sun as they sat poolside of their beachfront mansions.

To clarify: Jesus warned that we would be hated and reviled, the Bible warns that the children of God would suffer persecution, Paul looks back on those who endured for the sake of Christ and endured things we could scarcely imagine, but we’re supposed to ignore all that because some snake-oil salesman wearing the equivalent of a small nation’s GDP on his wrist says otherwise.

Whether or not we acknowledge them, believe them, accept them, or receive them, some things just are. I can tell myself I’m in my twenties until I’m blue in the face, but my body is that of a fifty-year-old, my hair is gray, and the laugh lines are showing.

Persecution is coming because the Bible says it is. It may not be what we want to hear, but it’s what we need to hear so that we might prepare for the eventuality thereof. Denying it won’t make it not be so, just as denying that the sun is hot won’t keep someone’s skin from blistering if they sit in it all day.

We cannot dismiss God’s warnings and expect to be victorious during the coming storm. We cannot fail to prepare for the eventuality of having to endure to the end and then blame God for not having the necessary tools to do so. We have the blueprint and the roadmap of what to expect and what we need to do to meet it head-on. We have God’s promises and assurances, as well as the steps we need to take to become bold as lions and valiantly defend the truth of Christ as those who came before us did. The only question that remains unanswered is whether we will choose to do so. Will we follow through? Will we be faithful? And if so, will we be faithful to the end?

Ephesians 6:10-13, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Preparing For Persecution XXII

 The only people in the world that do not experience fear are psychopaths. At least, that’s what the learned among us, whose vocation is to study the human brain, have concluded. Even they, and by they, I mean the psychopaths and not the learned among us (although a case can be made that, in many instances, they share common traits), will sweat a bit when they’re tied to a gurney and feel the needle sliding into a vein as punishment for the lives they’ve taken and families they destroyed.

It’s not that those who’ve suffered and endured persecution for Christ’s sake did not experience fear; rather, in the moment, they concluded that there was something beyond it, something more important, and that knowledge allowed them to overcome their momentary fear. Even when human will failed them, Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was there to strengthen them, comfort them, and carry them through.

Between love and fear, men have gone to far greater lengths when motivated by love than when motivated by fear. When love is the driving force in the actions you undertake, you’ll be able to endure much more for love’s sake than when you do something out of fear of reprisal or fear of reprimand. That’s what the godless will never understand because although they may have known human intimacy, although they may have known affection for a daughter, son, mother, or father if they have not come to the knowledge of Christ, they have not known true and abiding love.

We could readily go into the eight types of love the ancient Greeks identified. I can wax poetic about the difference between agape, pragma, philia, storge, and the less wholesome eros, philautia, ludus, or mania, but suffice it to say, no one has ever loved like Jesus loved, and you will never know the true depth of love until your eyes are open to the reality of what Jesus did on the cross. He loves us with a perfect love, a love that cannot be compared with any other kind, and that knowledge alone should bring us peace and comfort no matter what we might have to endure for His name’s sake.

Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Those were Christ’s words to the church of Smyrna after telling them what would befall them. Jesus knew that fear would attempt to worm its way into their hearts, yet He instructed them to resist it. Though the predisposition to fear would be present, they were to keep their eyes rooted upon Him and not allow it to sway them.

Fear is a powerful motivator. Fear of tomorrow, fear of the unknown, fear of what remaining faithful might lead to, yet we are commanded not to fear, not to dwell on the negative aspects of the trials that will come upon us, but rather on the glorious outcome of having gone through the fire and not having been burned.

We want to see miracles the likes of which Shadrak, Meshach, and Abednego saw but we do our best to avoid the situations in which those miracles can be made manifest. Before you can see the fourth man in the furnace, you must remain steadfast and faithful, be bound up, and throw into the fire. Had they relented, had they bowed, had they done as commanded by the king, they would have never had the testimony they did, nor would they have seen the power of God manifest in that it preserved them to the point that even their clothing didn’t smell like smoke.

A piece of coal remains a piece of coal until enough pressure is brought to bear to form it into a diamond. Pressure is the indispensable ingredient, and if it is not applied, the potential of becoming a diamond will always be out of reach.

There are limits to what the enemy and his minions can do. They can hurt the body, even kill the body, but they cannot touch the soul. Jesus said as much, insisting that we ought not to fear those who can kill the body because the body has an expiration date on it anyway. It doesn’t matter how well one takes care of oneself, at some point, this flesh will give out, return to the earth, and be no more. That’s not the end of the individual; it’s just the end of their flesh, for the soul goes on, and it is the One who can likewise kill the soul that we should fear and not the machinations of men who can only affect the flesh.

Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

When our reality extends only to what we can touch, see, hear, or smell, we tend to funnel all our energies into the here and now, be concerned about the flesh more than anything else, and become subservient to its needs and desires. When our perspective shifts, and we set our minds on the things above and not on the things of this earth, come what may, we will embrace it, endure it, and be perfected through it.

One of the greatest disservices, dare I say evils perpetrated upon the modern-day church is the incessant focus on the flesh, the here and now, and the doctrines that accompany this mindset. Whether you want to call it the prosperity doctrine, the name it and claim it teaching, speaking things into existence, which oddly enough is always about something material, these things have caused an entire generation to be obsessed with ease, comfort, and the coddling of the flesh to the point that anyone who dares to mention what the Bible says about suffering, enduring for the faith, or persecution is summarily ostracized and shunned.

We don’t want to hear that we may have to suffer persecution. We don’t want to hear that evil men with evil intent may one day come and, with the stroke of a pen, leave us homeless, penniless, and with no way of earning our daily bread. We’ve been fed prosperity until we couldn’t take another bite, and it’s the only thing we associate with the Christian walk. It’s the only form of Christianity we will accept, embrace, and validate. Even so, we have the Word of God we must contend with, and if the Word says something contrary to what we believe, we either adjust our belief structure or call God a liar.

Hebrews 10:38, “Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Preparing For Persecution XXXI

 Persecution identifies you with Christ and as one of His own, as nothing else does. It’s one thing to claim we belong to Him; it’s another to endure persecution for His name’s sake. Being persecuted is not a punishment for lack of faith, as some have proffered. It is not the judgment of God upon those who have not embraced the prosperity doctrine or those who haven’t sown seeds in a particular televangelist’s ministry. Persecution serves to test our faith; it is something we should expect to encounter at some point because chances are we will. No matter how far removed one might be from the reality of persecution currently, it must be an ever-present expectation if they are truly denying themselves, picking up their crosses, and following after Him.

Light wars against darkness. Righteousness is an offense to sin. Those who pursue Christ turn their backs on the world, and from that point forward, the world sees them as mortal enemies. The only way to be embraced by the world is to be like the world; if we are like the world, then we are not as Christ would have us to be.

Whatever we are called upon to endure for Christ’s sake is temporary. The reward for having endured, however, is eternal. Jesus didn’t try to sugarcoat what they would have to go through. He told them they would have to go through tribulation, some would be thrown into prison, and some would have to endure unto death. He wanted those of the church of Smyrna to be fully aware of what to expect so they would prepare accordingly.

The only thing holding back the whole counsel of God accomplishes is to create bitterness in the hearts of those who expected to live carefree lives of warm breezes and umbrella drinks only to be confronted with suffering and persecution. You’re not doing anyone any favors by omitting the reality of likely persecution during their walk. On the contrary, since they’ve not been forewarned, they are not forearmed; they are not prepared to endure and, therefore, will find reasons and excuses to deny Christ and obfuscate the truth in the hope of being spared.

Those of the early church, those who suffered and were martyred for the sake of Christ, didn’t have death wishes. They didn’t go looking to be devoured by lions or dipped in tar and lit ablaze for Nero’s entertainment, but they didn’t shy away from it either. They did not love their lives to the death, and were able to endure faithfully, being examples of faithfulness and courage from age to age.

If Christ had not warned that some of them would have to endure to death, or if they had not heeded His warning, they would have faltered in their walk, waned in their commitment, and oscillated in their faithfulness. They knew what to expect just as we should know what to expect, and when we see it, we will not flinch away but be reassured in the knowledge that the One who foresaw our season of trial foresaw the testimonies that would arise from it, and the crowns of life He would be handing out.

Faithfulness is a choice. Enduring to the end is a choice. You can pray for strength and boldness, but you must choose to remain steadfast and resolute in the face of the enemy’s onslaught.

1 Peter 4:12-14, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.”

Strangely, so few have picked up on how contrary modern-day teaching is to the words of the Bible and how seldom we take the warnings we read within its pages to heart. It’s as though the average Christian does not have access to the Word or cannot perceive the words written therein. It’s simply written and does not require any advanced degree to understand its meaning, but we would rather believe men over the Bible because the words of men are soothing and comforting to the flesh, and we think that somehow we will be able to plead ignorance of the truth when we stand before the Almighty.

Peter wasn’t trying to be a hype man. He wasn’t trying to sell a product, insisting that he, too, used it every day and that for a limited time, you could get a great deal on whatever he was selling. It’s not as though encouraging people to suffer well would have mass appeal or open doors for him heretofore barred and locked. He was sharing his lived experience, the things he went through, and the aftereffects of having gone through them.

Enduring suffering or persecution is not a pointless exercise with no noticeable benefit. They are not hoops we jump through for God’s entertainment or things we experience for no practical reason. As one who had gone through fiery trials and partook of Christ’s sufferings, Peter testifies that His glory was not far behind. He echoes Paul’s words that the suffering of this present time is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us.

If we desire the glory of Christ, we must not shy away from partaking in the sufferings of Christ. The one opens up the way for the other. We may want the glory without the testing of our faith, we may want the glory without enduring, but Peter insists that suffering well is what activates the glory, and if we partake in the one, we will have access to the other.

When our focus is shifted from the things of this earth to the things above, when we are no longer living for the present but for the life to come, then whatever we might have to endure in the flesh will seem a small price to pay, something insignificant when compared with the reward our faithfulness will produce.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Preparing For Persecution XXX

 We cannot view the prospect of persecution as some exception to the rule, as some out-of-the-ordinary experience a handful in a given generation were given to go through, but as something common to the followers of Christ, regardless of era or continent. If believers in a particular nation are spared persecution, they must be aware that it’s only for a time, only for a season, and it does not mean that it will never be visited upon them.

If we are not currently being beaten, maligned, imprisoned, tortured, and killed for the cause of Christ, we must see it as the grace that it is, not as the benchmark or the norm. There are more nations in the world today where persecution is standard than not. It’s like the silver spoon kids who grow up rich but never realize it because they think everyone else’s parents have three homes, an indoor pool, and vacations on their private yacht in the Maldives.

It’s not as though the devil’s hatred of God’s children has an off switch, and somebody flipped it after the Romans had their fill of the blood of saints wetting the Colosseum’s sands. The hatred never stopped; the vitriol never stopped; those who would take the lives of believers in service to evil have not ceased being willing to be its instrument. Throughout the ages, God has restrained their madness and allowed it sparingly, but faith untested is faith unproven. Throughout every generation, there are those who’ve had their faith tested and who’ve paid the ultimate price in service to their King. To them, it was the highest honor, yet to this present generation, the notion of being persecuted for Christ’s sake is viewed as a punishment and reprimand. Make it make sense.

Historically speaking, Smyrna was a prosperous city with much commerce, yet by Christ’s words, the believers were considered poor. Jesus did not consider them poor; on the contrary, He called them rich, but anyone who judged them based on their possessions and who used the world’s methods to gauge wealth would conclude that they were impoverished. Joel Osteen would have stood out like a sore thumb.

Our treasure is not to be counted in the physical possessions we’ve laid claim to, but whether Christ has laid claim to our hearts and we belong to Him wholly and unreservedly. Jesus knew all that they’d endured, yet His message to the church of Smyrna was that they were yet to endure more for His name’s sake. They were yet to be tested, they were yet to be thrown in prison, and some would have to endure unto death in order to receive the crown of life.

But that was then, and this is now, and all we have to do is wave a hand, pay Jesus some lip service, and off we go, meeting Him with the saints in the air before a hand can be laid upon us before a fist can strike our ruddy well-fed cheeks. Dare I say most of today’s church would feel out of place among the saints, among those who bled and died and suffered to their last, not denying the Christ, but that’s just an observation.

True soldiers tell war stories, not to boast but to remember those who have already gone to their reward and to glory in the providence of God that carried them through situations and circumstances they would have lost hope in, save for the promise of the glory, and the crown of life.

Fake soldiers relive the battles true soldiers have fought and armchair quarterback their actions, preening about how they would have done it differently. To have the audacity to insinuate that someone who saw their entire family being slaughtered before they themselves were martyred for being a believer could have avoided it had they believed in prosperity is beyond the pale.

Twisted doctrine will never lead to the straight path. Compromise in the small things will not make you faithful and immovable when the sacrifice you are called upon to make is greater than losing a job or being shunned by former faux friends. I agree with the sentiment that preparedness is critical, but I think those trying to sell buckets of gruel for a few hundred bucks are talking about something else.

Spiritual preparedness is paramount, and anything else God might have you do to prepare for what is coming takes second place every time. You can store, itemize, and label a thousand years’ worth of foodstuffs and water filters, but if you’ve not committed your ways to the Lord, sanctified the Lord in your heart, and given Him the place rightly His, it’s all for naught.

Jesus warns the church of Smyrna that they must prepare themselves to endure to the end. If you have a destination in mind and only travel halfway, then turn around, you never reach your destination. You started a journey you never finished, pursued a goal you never attained, and started a race you never finished.

Someone who’s preached a false Christ for all their life will not be willing to lay their lives down for the real Christ when called upon to do so. It just doesn’t happen. The foundation upon which they’ve built their spiritual house is shifting sand rather than the rock that is the Christ of the Bible, and so at the first tremor, the first sign of unease, they will retreat and cower in fear.

Those to whom Jesus was speaking had been faithful, endured, and suffered persecution, yet He insists that they must persevere and continue to be faithful to the end no matter what the enemy might throw their way.

The sad reality is that many today serve a god of their own making, one they’ve fashioned for themselves because they are unwilling to submit and humble themselves to the one true God. They were given license to do so by men who, while calling themselves shepherds, are no more than ravenous wolves seeking their own comfort and ease of life at the expense of the truth of the gospel.

Philippians 1:29, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake.”

Suffering for the sake of Christ is not a punishment, a curse, or something that comes about due to lack of faith, but a grace and a blessing. That someone is found worthy to suffer for His name’s sake is not something we should look upon as undesirable or off-putting but rather as something we gladly endure for the glory that will be revealed in us through it.

Those who do not understand this glorious truth of the gospel will bend and break under the weight of persecution. Those who do will shine like the sun, and their testimonies will be retold among those who likewise endured to the end.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Preparing For Persecution XXIX

 With the advent of the participation trophy, we’ve been taught to believe that half-measures are perfectly reasonable and acceptable. You don’t really have to try; you just have to show up, and someone will hand you a prize for something you never did and make you feel accomplished when, in truth, you accomplished nothing. We need to spare feelings because feelings have become the new currency. If you’ve got a winning smile and learn how to praise people who’ve done nothing praiseworthy, stroke their egos just so, and feed them spiritual scraps, leavings, and cast-offs, you’ll be living in high cotton with not a care in the world.

Whatever you do, however much your conscience hammers away at you, however often that doom-fraught sense that you are leading people into Sheol overwhelms you, if you want to retain the lifestyle to which you’ve become accustomed, you must resist the urge to preach the truth or rightly divide the Word. That way lies poverty and the vitriol of the godless. That way lies invitations to gladhand with Oprah, sip champagne on some rapper’s yacht, or attend a nonbinary wedding between two famous men drying up.

Clout chasing and the gospel are like oil and water. They don’t mix, never have, never will, and if you want to be well-received by the world, you must compromise the Word of God. Turning your face toward one necessitates turning your back on the other. You can have either the world or Jesus. You can’t have both. You must choose one.

Rather than being humbled by Stephen’s faithfulness unto death, as is the correct response, most Christians today tend to roll their eyes and find reasons why they think it was wrong for him to antagonize the ruling class and that, perhaps, he had it coming since he wasn’t willing to compromise, meet in the middle, give a little to get a little, and so on.

We have stripped the modern-day gospel of the Gospel, then wonder why there is so much confusion, division, and acrimony. Everyone’s a theologian, and they’ll make sure you know it given half the chance. Whenever anyone dares to point out that their theology isn’t Biblical, they’ll call you unenlightened and resistant to the spirit. If it’s unbiblical, it’s wrong. Yes, I am resistant to that spirit, as everyone who seeks the truth ought to be because great monsters have been birthed from within the household of faith who went on to persecute the saints because they placed their dogma above the Word of God and deemed it to be the final arbiter.

When someone’s counterargument to Biblical truth is to stone you to death or call for your demise, they have no counterargument and are lashing out in rage and vitriol. It’s to be expected. It’s something we were told to prepare for throughout the New Testament, but we’d rather listen to fairy tales about pet dinosaurs in heaven. Giving our last full measure, enduring to the end, and suffering for the sake of righteousness have become so anathema in the modern-day church that if anyone dares to mention it, they are looked upon as strange and out of touch.

It’s eye-opening to see how some churchgoers react to reading a Bible passage from the pulpit, as though they were hearing it for the first time or had never encountered something so controversial before.

Revelation 2:8-11, “And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write, ‘These things say the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.’”

Yes, I’ve heard the snarky theories of pampered boys in grown men’s bodies wearing horn-rimmed glasses and skinny jeans about how you don’t beat up your bride on her wedding night, and so because our ways must necessarily be His ways and our thoughts His thoughts, that childish anecdote should be enough for us to dismiss the words Jesus spoke through John the revelator.

We’re faithful; just take our word for it. We are committed and steadfast, resolute, and purposed to follow You to the end, but please don’t call our bluff.

In case anyone missed it, the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life, is none other than Jesus. It is He who gives the message to the church of Smyrna, encouraging them, but not in the way one might define encouragement where hurt feelings are compared to the worst of tortures and disagreement of any kind to the pains of death itself.

Jesus didn’t say he knew their tribulation and poverty but that soon they would prosper beyond their wildest dreams. Nor did Jesus say that they would be spared suffering, but rather that they should not fear the things they were about to suffer.

The image of a magic genie Jesus who’s there to serve at your pleasure and pamper you however you see fit, giving you everything, requiring nothing, and denying you nothing is a fabrication of the modern-day church, dare I say the Western church. It’s the only image that would have the mass market appeal they needed to push out enough product to keep them in the lifestyle after which they lusted and to which they’ve become accustomed.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that between a book on holiness unto the Lord and one on unlocking the keys to endless prosperity, the one about getting stuff will outsell the one on being holy a thousand to one. It’s market dynamics dictating what the shepherds feed the sheep, and if the demand is there for sin-affirming doctrine, the supply will manifest.

It’s not as though the church of Smyrna had not endured persecution up to that point. Jesus knew of their persecution and was preparing them for more persecution still. They had not shied away from it, but the foreknowledge of what was to come served as an encouragement to them to persevere and be faithful to the end. It’s not what we want to hear, though. Lord, don’t tell us that we’ll be persecuted; tell us that we’ll be spared persecution. In that case, we’re asking for Jesus to lie to us, and if He does as we will, then when persecution comes, we’ll shake our fists at the sky and call Him a liar.

If the Word of God tells us to prepare for persecution, and if Jesus insists that being hated by the world is a certainty and not a possibility, then it doesn’t matter how many degrees those speaking to the contrary might possess; they’re still wrong. One is a declaration by the omniscient Creator of all that is; the other is the opinions of men who see the world through the prism of having never had their faith tested nor ever having endured hardship for the sake of Christ.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Preparing For Persecution XXVIII

 If you think you’re going to get a fair shake from the godless, you’ve got another thing coming. The same goes for those within the household of faith with hidden agendas, vested interests, and pursuits other than the glory of God. It doesn’t matter what the thing they value more than Jesus is, whether a specific denomination, a theological bend, or a particular individual; they will fight tooth and nail to defend it and are willing to use nefarious means to silence any opposition.

Then you have the profiteers. Those who see the children of God as so many bleating sheep ready to be sheered and fleeced because not only are many of them gullible, they won’t do anything about it once they realize they’ve been taken to the cleaners. The profiteers know they have no credibility or standing, so they attempt to employ those who’ve amassed some sort of trust equity to shill their products and try to sell people worthless things. You may get a nice kickback from selling self-assembly nuclear bunkers or radiation-deflecting underoos, but is it worth the price of your integrity and credibility? If you believe in the product, it’s one thing; if you’re in it for nothing more than filthy lucre, that’s wholly different.

You can’t defend God with lies. It’s not that people don’t try; it’s that it’s impossible to do so. Men can band together, form coalitions, try to shout the truth down, and become vitriolic when you don’t fall in line, but God is still God, He is still on the throne, and He knows the intent of men’s hearts.

The ego and pride of unteachable men led to Stephen’s stoning, and though he tried his best to open their eyes so that they might see the truth, they would not. Their hearts were hard as stone, their minds were made up, and though his face looked as that of an angel, and his words cut them to their hearts, their reaction was one of hatred and their intent one of murder.

You can’t control how those to whom you speak the truth will react to it. Your duty is to speak the truth of Christ’s power to save, restore, and reconcile men unto God; how they respond to it is solely on them. The presumption that everyone will welcome the message with open arms and consider you a friend for speaking truth into their lives is demonstrably false. Yes, some will receive the message, but some will reject it and do so violently. You must be prepared for either outcome and willing to endure the backlash of the hard-hearted when their rejection is made manifest.

Jesus commands us to love those who hate us, to have compassion for their fallen state, and to do our utmost to bring them to truth, light, and life, even at the risk of our comfort, well-being, or lives. He never said it would be easy; He just said it is what we must do. For anyone who believes it’s easy to love one’s enemies, they’ve never had a true enemy. An enemy is not someone who is passive, indifferent, or otherwise neutral regarding your well-being but someone who is actively trying to undermine and destroy you. That some of your enemies will turn out to be those whom you once called brother or sister is doubly painful, and I say this as someone who has lived it.

It is undeniable that Stephen is an example, a prototype of what it means to walk humbly with God and suffer well. Just as Stephen had his heroes, we, too, have ours, and the entire point of it is to look upon their lives and learn from them. Stephen knew the history of God’s people. He highlighted those to whom he looked up and took the time to learn everything he could from their lived experiences walking with God. It’s an odd thing that we know more about baseball stats or the football rosters of our favorite teams than we know about the Word of God, the things Jesus said, and the things the forerunners of the faith had to endure for the sake of Christ.

We learn about things we respect. We learn about things we value. We learn about things that we deem needful. How is it that learning the Bible is so far down the list for so many calling themselves Christians and followers of Christ? Stephen didn’t mumble himself through a weak defense of his position. He knew what he was talking about, and it showed. It was largely the reason those who heard him despised him, so because they could not refute his arguments.

While growing up, there wasn’t much for us to do as children. Gaming consoles hadn’t yet made an appearance on the scene, so our primary entertainment was playing chicken with some rusty lawn darts a neighbor gave us rather than throw away. It was fun for a while until my middle brother Sergiu decided he wouldn’t move, and I planted a lawn dart in his foot. After that, we were prohibited from using them, so we switched to rocks. We’d stand a few feet apart and toss rocks at each other’s heads; whoever flinched or moved was the loser. I never said we were overly bright, but it was entertaining, and no, we weren’t throwing underhand. I mention this only because I know what it’s like to have a rock bounce off your kisser, and even then, it was a small rock compared to what they were using to stone Stephen.

Being stoned to death is not like being beheaded or speared through the heart. It takes time for the individual to expire depending on how many people do the throwing, how big the rocks are, and how violently they are throwing them. Given that the same people who stoned Stephen were the ones who gnashed at him with their teeth, chances are they weren’t holding back.

Through it all, Stephen never once prayed for himself but rather for those who were slowly murdering him because that’s what it was. Imagine being surrounded by men whom you once considered brothers, lobbing stones at your head, being struck over and over, yet having the presence of mind to pray for them. It’s one of those details that is often overlooked but one that is profoundly impacting if you think through it for a breath.

Just as Stephen was not alone during his final moments, neither will any of God’s children if they must walk the road of persecution and martyrdom. He looked up and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. In his darkest hour, God’s presence was made manifest. He was not absentee; He was not otherwise engaged; He was present and revealed His glory to Stephen as he gave his full measure for the sake of Christ Jesus his Lord.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr. 

Preparing For Persecution XVII

 We’ve become so mealy-mouthed and duplicitous that bonafide theologians have questioned Stephen’s actions, insisting that he could have denied Jesus presently and repented for it later. He didn’t need to be that confrontational, that standoffish, that unwilling to bend and compromise, or in the least omit the things he knew would trigger those to whom he was answering.  

He could have placated them, couldn’t he? That way, they say, he could have gone on to minister and preach the gospel and kept himself from being martyred. You live to fight another day. That’s the end goal, isn’t it? Actually, no. If you have to deny Christ to live another day, then the cost of living another day is not worth it.

Numerous people have tried to find excuses for cowardice and even encouraged others to practice it. Still, none of them can definitively state where the cowardice will end once it begins. Is once the cutoff? Is it twice or three times? How many times can you deny Jesus to get out of a scrape or avoid hardship before it becomes one too many? Those who insist Jesus would understand denying Him in certain circumstances conveniently ignore Christ's words, wherein He declared that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father because, to them, looking out for number one is their number one goal.

And you wonder why we’re not seeing the presence of God in most churches today? Do you still have to wonder why so many are lukewarm and willing to betray Jesus at the drop of a hat if it means elevation, promotion, or being left alone by those who would see harm come to the household of faith?

To go into Stephen’s entire discourse would be a book unto itself since he went through the entire history of Israel’s journey from Abraham to Jacob, Joseph, and Moses, reminding them of the prophecies given concerning the Christ and pointing out the resistance of their fathers to the Holy Spirit just as they were resisting the Holy Spirit. He encapsulated Israel’s journey up to that point in time and pled with them to open their eyes and see the truth of Jesus.

It likely wouldn’t have mattered if Stephen had been more conciliatory in his discourse because these men who had plotted his demise had been humiliated, and whatever he said would have landed on stony hearts anyway. If you believe compromising the truth will ingratiate you with those who hate you, you’re in for a surprise.

Why humiliate and prostrate yourself before the godless when their hatred of you will not be tamped down, and their desire to see your destruction will not be satiated? Perhaps, for a little while, they will leave you be, using you as an example to others who’ve not been cowed. Still, eventually, unless you renounce your faith altogether and join the forces of darkness in persecuting the followers of Christ, they will still see you as an enemy.

We’ve all seen what happens to those who give in to the pressure. Although they spoke something demonstrably factual, they backpedaled, apologized, and groveled, only to be shunned and ostracized by those they were trying to placate. Not only are they left with nothing, but they’ve also betrayed their ethics, values, and morals.

Know the truth, live the truth, and speak the truth. Then let the chips fall where they may because although you can control your actions, you can’t control the world’s reaction to who you are.

Acts 7:54-60, “When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, ‘Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.’”

They knew Stephen's words were true; they just didn’t care. It’s as simple as that. These were supposed fellow saints who could not bear the thought of being theologically humiliated and so orchestrated the murder of a man whose only desire was to see the hearts of men turned to Jesus.

It takes monumental rage to gnash at someone with your teeth, perhaps something even beyond rage. I’ve been angry in life, but it never once crossed my mind to gnash at someone with my teeth. These men were convicted and cut to the heart, yet their pride kept them from seeking repentance. If you can’t kill the message, go target the messenger, hoping the message dies with him.

If there had been a shadow of doubt in Stephen’s conviction, if, at any moment, he had valued his life more than Jesus, his story would have had a different ending. If man has not purposed in his heart to endure what may come for the sake of Christ, he will find a way to bypass suffering, hardship, and martyrdom. The opportunity to do so will be presented.

It is a far greater boon for the devil to coerce someone into denying Jesus than to facilitate their murder for His sake. Martyrs have the undesired effect of being looked up to as examples of steadfastness and faithfulness, while cowards are dismissed, and rightly so. The enemy would far rather see a church full of cowards than one of committed saints willing to pay the ultimate price for the sake of Christ. A coward can be brought to heel one way or another. One whose life is forfeit and whose only desire is to do the will of God is impossible to corral.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.