No, this is not a post complaining about people wearing cargo shorts in church. Personally, I choose to show a little more reverence when I enter the house of God than wearing flip flops and an ‘I love puppies’ shirt, but that’s just me. I guess at my core I am old fashioned, but I do not begrudge anyone’s choice of attire. As long as you don’t give me a dirty look for wearing a suit in church, I won’t give you a dirty look for wearing board shorts.
When speaking of the Christian wardrobe, most believers can readily quote the passage in Ephesians that encourages us to put on the armor of God, but there are other accessories that we are encouraged to put on and have on our person at all times. An incomplete Christian will have a walk of frequent failures and defeats, and although we might like to pass the buck and blame it on God, it is not His fault. If we do everything He commanded us to do, we will experience all the victories He promised we would experience. It is not God’s fault that we choose partial obedience; it is not God’s fault that we consider certain things unnecessary or outdated. Too often it seems we act like spoiled children who after being told over and over again not to put their tongue on a nine volt battery, blame their parents for getting a shock when they do it. God has laid out His instruction; our duty is to follow the aforementioned instruction.
So what is the Christian wardrobe and accessories that we not only have access to, but are encouraged to pursue and appropriate?
In the context of talking about the end times and describing the day of the Lord, Paul writes to the church of Thessalonica and after encouraging them that they were not in darkness that this Day should overtake them as a thief, he admonishes his readers, and those who follow after Christ to do one more thing.
1 Thessalonians 5:8, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”
While many put on the breastplate of faith and love, I have witnessed firsthand the disturbing trend of many a soul forgetting or neglecting to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation. When the helmet of the hope of salvation is firmly placed upon our heads, the circumstances of this present life do not dictate our attitude or the way we view our present trials. Because our hope is not tethered to this present earth, because the source of our hope is the risen Christ, we are able to have joy in the midst of tribulation; we are able to have hope even when hopelessness covers the earth like a foreboding storm front.
Another necessity in the wardrobe of every Christian is the armor of God. There are multiple benefits to not only having the armor of God, but being faithful in putting it on every day. Whether it be to withstand in the evil day, stand against the wiles of the enemy, or quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, the armor of God must be put on in order to be effective.
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
Twice within the context of this passage we are encouraged to put on the whole armor of God. Not just gird our waist with truth, or only put on the breastplate of righteousness, but the whole armor of God. From the helmet of salvation, to the sword of the spirit, to the shield of faith, to the breastplate of righteousness, to having shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, to having girded our waist with truth, a Christian must be in complete armor that he may withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.
There is also a great need today for every believer to put on the armor of light. It is an undeniable fact that light repels the darkness. Wherever light is present the darkness must retreat. It has no choice in the matter, for even in the darkest of night a single candle has its say, a single candle in the darkness can neither be denied nor dismissed.
Romans 13:12, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”
Since the fall of Adam, everyone is born in darkness. It matters not how noble a lineage one descends from, it matters not how righteous or godly one’s parents were, when we are born into this world we are born in darkness. The Word of God is straightforward on the matter, when it says that we must cast off the works of darkness before we can put on the armor of light. I repeat it often, because it is an overlooked and readily dismissed teaching within Christian circles today; light and darkness cannot coexist, truth and deception cannot make a home together, the children of God and the offspring of this world will always be at odds.
One of the enemy’s greatest deceptions is convincing those of the house of God that they can live in the gray area of duality and duplicity that they can somehow put on the armor of light without having first cast off the works of darkness. Jesus said it could not be done, and every God inspired servant who penned books of the New Testament echoed this sentiment over and over again. What makes us think we are wiser than Jesus? What brings us to that point of denying scripture and forging our own path toward the darkness, all the while comforting our conscience with the thought that we are journeying toward the light?
When we come to Christ, we are given a new garment, a garment that is spotless and without wrinkle. We are clothed with the robe of righteousness, the garments of salvation; in essence we are clothed in Christ.
Isaiah 61:10-11, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
If we possess the entire Christian wardrobe, and are wise to keep it clean, spotless, and without wrinkle, we will walk in light, we will walk in victory, we will walk in faith, we will walk in hope, we will walk in joy, and be in the perpetual fellowship that the soul so desires. Be clothed in Christ, and you will know true peace, be clothed in Christ and you will know true victory. The victory will not be simply a sporadic and infrequent experience, but a constant, because when one has cast of the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, they are renewed, and reborn to the unshakable knowledge that Jesus is our all in all.
Galatians 3:26-27, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Strange Fire
Nadab and Abihu were the sons of Aaron. From early youth they were witness to the inner workings of the priesthood, having their father as an example of what it was to be consecrated unto God. Granted Aaron had some growing pains along the way, he didn’t always make the right decisions, building a golden calf from the gold and jewelry of the Israelites while Moses was up on Mount Sinai springs to mind, but since God received him as a priest, it is self evident that he repented, and learned obedience in his older years.
Their uncle was none other than Moses the servant of God who led the people of Israel through the red sea as though they were walking on dry land; the selfsame Moses whose relationship with God was so intimate that God allowed him to see His glory, and glimpse His back as He passed by, for no man could see the face of God and live.
Nadab and Abihu were not lacking in godly examples, nor were they lacking in hearing the Word of God, yet they made the fatal error of bringing strange or profane fire before the Lord, and as consequence were devoured by the fire of God.
So what is strange fire, and how can we keep ourselves from offering it before the Lord? It is indisputable that bringing strange fire before God is punishable by death, because the God who changes not, demands that those who come near Him regard Him as holy, and that He be glorified before all the people.
Nowadays the fear of the Lord being what it is among professing Christians, certain men and women who have reached the heights of Christian fame, seem to have no qualms about replacing the fire of God with their own fire. If it is ignorance that is causing them to offer God strange fire, I hazard to submit that ignorance is not an adequate excuse.
Offering God one’s own fire, rather than insisting on His fire, amounts to nothing less than the sacrifice of Cain that was brought before God absent of obedience. There is this sense of going through the motions in today’s church, following some ceremony, or program, simply to placate God. Just as Cain of old, we do not bring our sacrifice of praise, our sacrifice of worship, our sacrifice of reverence before God out of a pure and undefiled heart, but we view these things as necessary burdens we must carry to get God to bless us.
Some consider the path too narrow, some consider the ways of God too intolerant, some consider the standard of God too rigid, and so they take it upon themselves to replace the ways of God, with their own ideas and doctrines. Make no mistake, it is strange fire that many are offering before the Lord, and it was not at His command. They are wise in their own eyes, making straight paths crooked, and by so doing heap up for themselves the wrath and judgment of a righteous God.
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
The second means by which the modern day sons of Aaron offer up strange fire, is by dismissing the commands of God. The Bible was given as a guide and a lamp unto our feet, not as a means by which we can find loopholes for less than total submission and surrender to God. Rather than search the Word for instruction and truth, there are men today whose entire purpose is to scour the Word of God in order to find justification for sin, to find an obscure passage a solitary verse that can then be butchered and twisted to mean something it clearly does not mean. We may think we can play games with God, but God is not mocked.
God’s instruction for us today is as clear and straightforward as it was for those who handled the censers of God in the olden days.
Leviticus 16:12-13, “Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.”
1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.”
So what led to the sons of Aaron offering strange fire before the Lord? I believe the holy things of God had become common and routine for Nadab and Abihu. They had witnessed their father bringing sacrifice to God so many times, that they no longer had a reverence for it. Experiencing the presence of God, bringing sacrifice to God’s temple had become a common thing for them. The entire ceremony had become something they got used to insofar as they came to believe that if they wore the priestly robes they would be spared judgment.
Wearing a suit on Sunday morning as one stands behind the pulpit does not make them right in the sight of God! I have seen, on occasion, men absent of reverence as they treat the word of God as just another book, as a prop that looks good in their hands as they look into the camera and ask you to make the biggest sacrifice you can like that widow with the pancake.
It is a dangerous thing to treat the work of God with indifference and disregard, to set aside the standard of God, and just go through the motions, or worse yet, play it by ear and hope it all works out in the end.
Be in constant awe of God. Make standing in His presence a precious experience. Be reverent and come before Him with a clean heart, and a humble spirit. We learn what not to do from the sons of Aaron, we learn how not to take the things of God and the word of God lightly, we learn that God is righteous and just, and does not play favorites.
Yes, Aaron had done allot for God, but this did not exempt his sons from being obedient, but rather required them to live up to the expectation that God set forth.
The Word tells us that fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. What I find worthy of mentioning, is that Aaron held his peace, accepting the righteous judgment of God even as his two sons were being carried by their tunics out of the camp.
Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Their uncle was none other than Moses the servant of God who led the people of Israel through the red sea as though they were walking on dry land; the selfsame Moses whose relationship with God was so intimate that God allowed him to see His glory, and glimpse His back as He passed by, for no man could see the face of God and live.
Nadab and Abihu were not lacking in godly examples, nor were they lacking in hearing the Word of God, yet they made the fatal error of bringing strange or profane fire before the Lord, and as consequence were devoured by the fire of God.
So what is strange fire, and how can we keep ourselves from offering it before the Lord? It is indisputable that bringing strange fire before God is punishable by death, because the God who changes not, demands that those who come near Him regard Him as holy, and that He be glorified before all the people.
Nowadays the fear of the Lord being what it is among professing Christians, certain men and women who have reached the heights of Christian fame, seem to have no qualms about replacing the fire of God with their own fire. If it is ignorance that is causing them to offer God strange fire, I hazard to submit that ignorance is not an adequate excuse.
Offering God one’s own fire, rather than insisting on His fire, amounts to nothing less than the sacrifice of Cain that was brought before God absent of obedience. There is this sense of going through the motions in today’s church, following some ceremony, or program, simply to placate God. Just as Cain of old, we do not bring our sacrifice of praise, our sacrifice of worship, our sacrifice of reverence before God out of a pure and undefiled heart, but we view these things as necessary burdens we must carry to get God to bless us.
Some consider the path too narrow, some consider the ways of God too intolerant, some consider the standard of God too rigid, and so they take it upon themselves to replace the ways of God, with their own ideas and doctrines. Make no mistake, it is strange fire that many are offering before the Lord, and it was not at His command. They are wise in their own eyes, making straight paths crooked, and by so doing heap up for themselves the wrath and judgment of a righteous God.
Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
The second means by which the modern day sons of Aaron offer up strange fire, is by dismissing the commands of God. The Bible was given as a guide and a lamp unto our feet, not as a means by which we can find loopholes for less than total submission and surrender to God. Rather than search the Word for instruction and truth, there are men today whose entire purpose is to scour the Word of God in order to find justification for sin, to find an obscure passage a solitary verse that can then be butchered and twisted to mean something it clearly does not mean. We may think we can play games with God, but God is not mocked.
God’s instruction for us today is as clear and straightforward as it was for those who handled the censers of God in the olden days.
Leviticus 16:12-13, “Then he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, with his hands full of sweet incense beaten fine, and bring it inside the veil. And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.”
1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.”
So what led to the sons of Aaron offering strange fire before the Lord? I believe the holy things of God had become common and routine for Nadab and Abihu. They had witnessed their father bringing sacrifice to God so many times, that they no longer had a reverence for it. Experiencing the presence of God, bringing sacrifice to God’s temple had become a common thing for them. The entire ceremony had become something they got used to insofar as they came to believe that if they wore the priestly robes they would be spared judgment.
Wearing a suit on Sunday morning as one stands behind the pulpit does not make them right in the sight of God! I have seen, on occasion, men absent of reverence as they treat the word of God as just another book, as a prop that looks good in their hands as they look into the camera and ask you to make the biggest sacrifice you can like that widow with the pancake.
It is a dangerous thing to treat the work of God with indifference and disregard, to set aside the standard of God, and just go through the motions, or worse yet, play it by ear and hope it all works out in the end.
Be in constant awe of God. Make standing in His presence a precious experience. Be reverent and come before Him with a clean heart, and a humble spirit. We learn what not to do from the sons of Aaron, we learn how not to take the things of God and the word of God lightly, we learn that God is righteous and just, and does not play favorites.
Yes, Aaron had done allot for God, but this did not exempt his sons from being obedient, but rather required them to live up to the expectation that God set forth.
The Word tells us that fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. What I find worthy of mentioning, is that Aaron held his peace, accepting the righteous judgment of God even as his two sons were being carried by their tunics out of the camp.
Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Old Leaven in New Molds
Well, I'm back. We had four meetings, in the same church, and I got to do something I don't get to do very often, I preached a series. Four different messages, interconnected, and their one common denominator was Jesus. I even met someone that reads the blog!
We stayed in someone's home, since they were away for the weekend, and it was in a lovely area, surrounded by mountains, and nothing but lots and lots of quiet. I even got to see a herd of elk, but the novelty wore off after a couple hours. I didn't realize how much I needed some quiet time until I was there with nothing to do but read and meditate. So, we made it back, safe and sound, with all limbs still in place. Thank you all for your prayers, for our safety.
Matthew 16:6, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
I am often stunned at how readily the modern day churches are able to dismiss the warnings of Jesus. Because so many are no longer willing to spend time in the presence of God, to be fed and nourished of the Holy Spirit, to receive their inspiration from a divine source, we have adopted this lemming mentality wherein we will mimic anyone and anything that the world might deem as successful. Why spend time in prayer and supplication, why study the word of God, when for an annual fee of some three hundred dollars, you can have your Sunday sermon delivered to you via e-mail, every week of every month? Why take the time to grow in Jesus, to mature as a Christian, to stand for truth, to preach the Word, when a pre-sermon joke, a catchy mantra, and a thinly veiled spiritualized humanism are enough to get you the biggest church in the country?
That whole idea about spending ten hours in prayer before preaching for ten minutes is antiquated anyway, and if you do spend time in prayer, chances are the sermon God puts on your heart isn’t really what the crowd wants to hear, even though it is most assuredly what they need to hear.
Any rational person with an ounce of objectivity can readily surmise that much of what we call the church today is nothing more than old leaven in new molds. We talk like the world, act like the world, live like the world, want what the world has, and revel in their acceptance, but still manage to keep a straight face when we call ourselves children of God, elect, redeemed, and sanctified.
When Jesus warned us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, He knew of what He was speaking. He recognized the dangers of just a little leaven, and its ability to spoil the whole lump, and so was adamant in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke to warn against our indifference to it.
There are three primary types of leaven that I would like to discuss today, and I believe all three are equally dangerous for the body of Christ.
First is the leaven of the Pharisees, or what I like to call the outwardly alive, but inwardly dead condition. There was no one better than the Pharisee at external religiosity. These were men who knew the scriptures, who tithed, who fasted, who prayed, who by all outwardly appearances were upright men of character and integrity, righteous by earthly standards. I believe one of the reasons they hated Jesus so, is that He was able to see past the façade, He was able to see past their exterior shell, and when He peered inwardly, when He searched their hearts, he found them to be unclean and hypocritical.
If they saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time has any veracity if applied to humanity, Jesus was the exception that proved the rule. You cannot fool Jesus!
Jesus saw the wretched condition of their hearts, and had no qualms about speaking His mind, calling them whitewashed tombs, hypocrites, and warning those who truly desired to know God’s grace and mercy, to experience the love and beauty that is a relationship with Him, to stay away, and beware of their leaven.
It is easy to fall into formality, into a systematic ceremonial tradition of sorts, absent of true fruits of righteousness and repentance. “If I just say a certain prayer a certain amount of times, if I just memorize so many Bible verses, if I just give something up for forty days a year, than I’m alright!” This is the definition of the leaven of the Pharisees that can pollute the heart of man, and keep him from discovering Christ in all His glory.
The second form of leaven I want to discuss is the leaven of the Sadducees. Yes, the leaven of the Sadducees is different than that of the Pharisees. The leaven of the Sadducees is often referred to as the leaven of false teaching, or false doctrine.
Of the three, the leaven of the Sadducees is most prevalent in the American church today. The Sadducees believed only what they could see with their eyes, and touch with their hands. They did not believe in the resurrection, they did not believe in angels, because these were things that they had never witnessed for themselves. We have, in our modern age, reduced the gospel, the cross, the Christ, and the blood, to nothing more than means by which we obtain possessions and material excesses. If we can’t see it in the form of a new car, more money, a new house, or a boat, then we consider it irrelevant. I submit to you, that the most important things in this life are things not seen by the eyes of men. They cannot be touched, they must simply be believed.
Last but not least, we have the leaven of Herod. This particular leaven can also be called the leaven of using worldly methods, and worldly means.
Yes, the leaven of Herod is mentioned in the Bible, and it is something I believe Judas suffered from. The leaven of Herod leads one to believe that one can blend the power of this world, and the power of God, the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of God, in order to achieve a certain objective.
Judas believed that Jesus would march on Jerusalem, and become the physical king. So blinded was Judas by the leaven of Herod, that He betrayed his Lord and Master in the hope that he could force Jesus into taking action, and becoming king.
Mark 8:15, “Then He charged them, saying, ‘Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
During the time of Jesus, there was a group known as the Herodites, who had spiritual authority but used it in a worldly manner. It was the Herodites that supported Herod, and the Roman powers of the time. One could say that they had political influence, and they wielded it to impose themselves on the people. Because their influence became more important to them than their worship of God, they compromised their beliefs, they compromised their standards, and they did whatever it took to maintain their political power.
If we are true followers of Christ, than the idea of achieving our objectives by any means necessary, must be stricken from our consciousness. If we are no longer of the world, then we cannot behave as the world, we cannot adopt the same principles and methods of the world.
“Well it worked for the world, why don’t we try it?” This is the first chink in the armor, the first thought that will lead to compromise, and to an inevitable ruination of our principles. There are examples of this leaven, even in our modern era, but since this is not about politics but about Jesus, I will refrain.
The message is clear and straightforward, to those who still have ears to hear. We must at all cost keep away from the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the leaven of Herod. Even a little will spoil the entire lump.
1 Corinthians 5:7, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
We stayed in someone's home, since they were away for the weekend, and it was in a lovely area, surrounded by mountains, and nothing but lots and lots of quiet. I even got to see a herd of elk, but the novelty wore off after a couple hours. I didn't realize how much I needed some quiet time until I was there with nothing to do but read and meditate. So, we made it back, safe and sound, with all limbs still in place. Thank you all for your prayers, for our safety.
Matthew 16:6, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
I am often stunned at how readily the modern day churches are able to dismiss the warnings of Jesus. Because so many are no longer willing to spend time in the presence of God, to be fed and nourished of the Holy Spirit, to receive their inspiration from a divine source, we have adopted this lemming mentality wherein we will mimic anyone and anything that the world might deem as successful. Why spend time in prayer and supplication, why study the word of God, when for an annual fee of some three hundred dollars, you can have your Sunday sermon delivered to you via e-mail, every week of every month? Why take the time to grow in Jesus, to mature as a Christian, to stand for truth, to preach the Word, when a pre-sermon joke, a catchy mantra, and a thinly veiled spiritualized humanism are enough to get you the biggest church in the country?
That whole idea about spending ten hours in prayer before preaching for ten minutes is antiquated anyway, and if you do spend time in prayer, chances are the sermon God puts on your heart isn’t really what the crowd wants to hear, even though it is most assuredly what they need to hear.
Any rational person with an ounce of objectivity can readily surmise that much of what we call the church today is nothing more than old leaven in new molds. We talk like the world, act like the world, live like the world, want what the world has, and revel in their acceptance, but still manage to keep a straight face when we call ourselves children of God, elect, redeemed, and sanctified.
When Jesus warned us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, He knew of what He was speaking. He recognized the dangers of just a little leaven, and its ability to spoil the whole lump, and so was adamant in the gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke to warn against our indifference to it.
There are three primary types of leaven that I would like to discuss today, and I believe all three are equally dangerous for the body of Christ.
First is the leaven of the Pharisees, or what I like to call the outwardly alive, but inwardly dead condition. There was no one better than the Pharisee at external religiosity. These were men who knew the scriptures, who tithed, who fasted, who prayed, who by all outwardly appearances were upright men of character and integrity, righteous by earthly standards. I believe one of the reasons they hated Jesus so, is that He was able to see past the façade, He was able to see past their exterior shell, and when He peered inwardly, when He searched their hearts, he found them to be unclean and hypocritical.
If they saying that you can fool some of the people some of the time has any veracity if applied to humanity, Jesus was the exception that proved the rule. You cannot fool Jesus!
Jesus saw the wretched condition of their hearts, and had no qualms about speaking His mind, calling them whitewashed tombs, hypocrites, and warning those who truly desired to know God’s grace and mercy, to experience the love and beauty that is a relationship with Him, to stay away, and beware of their leaven.
It is easy to fall into formality, into a systematic ceremonial tradition of sorts, absent of true fruits of righteousness and repentance. “If I just say a certain prayer a certain amount of times, if I just memorize so many Bible verses, if I just give something up for forty days a year, than I’m alright!” This is the definition of the leaven of the Pharisees that can pollute the heart of man, and keep him from discovering Christ in all His glory.
The second form of leaven I want to discuss is the leaven of the Sadducees. Yes, the leaven of the Sadducees is different than that of the Pharisees. The leaven of the Sadducees is often referred to as the leaven of false teaching, or false doctrine.
Of the three, the leaven of the Sadducees is most prevalent in the American church today. The Sadducees believed only what they could see with their eyes, and touch with their hands. They did not believe in the resurrection, they did not believe in angels, because these were things that they had never witnessed for themselves. We have, in our modern age, reduced the gospel, the cross, the Christ, and the blood, to nothing more than means by which we obtain possessions and material excesses. If we can’t see it in the form of a new car, more money, a new house, or a boat, then we consider it irrelevant. I submit to you, that the most important things in this life are things not seen by the eyes of men. They cannot be touched, they must simply be believed.
Last but not least, we have the leaven of Herod. This particular leaven can also be called the leaven of using worldly methods, and worldly means.
Yes, the leaven of Herod is mentioned in the Bible, and it is something I believe Judas suffered from. The leaven of Herod leads one to believe that one can blend the power of this world, and the power of God, the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of God, in order to achieve a certain objective.
Judas believed that Jesus would march on Jerusalem, and become the physical king. So blinded was Judas by the leaven of Herod, that He betrayed his Lord and Master in the hope that he could force Jesus into taking action, and becoming king.
Mark 8:15, “Then He charged them, saying, ‘Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
During the time of Jesus, there was a group known as the Herodites, who had spiritual authority but used it in a worldly manner. It was the Herodites that supported Herod, and the Roman powers of the time. One could say that they had political influence, and they wielded it to impose themselves on the people. Because their influence became more important to them than their worship of God, they compromised their beliefs, they compromised their standards, and they did whatever it took to maintain their political power.
If we are true followers of Christ, than the idea of achieving our objectives by any means necessary, must be stricken from our consciousness. If we are no longer of the world, then we cannot behave as the world, we cannot adopt the same principles and methods of the world.
“Well it worked for the world, why don’t we try it?” This is the first chink in the armor, the first thought that will lead to compromise, and to an inevitable ruination of our principles. There are examples of this leaven, even in our modern era, but since this is not about politics but about Jesus, I will refrain.
The message is clear and straightforward, to those who still have ears to hear. We must at all cost keep away from the leaven of the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the leaven of Herod. Even a little will spoil the entire lump.
1 Corinthians 5:7, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Speaking In Montana
Tomorrow I head off to Montana where we will be holding 4 meetings.
They will take place as follows:
Friday April 10, 7:30 pm
Saturday April 11, 11 am and 7 pm
and Sunday April 12, 10 am
The Meetings will all be held at
Woodside Cutoff Road
Corvallis Montana
If you need directions, they are up at the hand of help website, under speaking schedule.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
They will take place as follows:
Friday April 10, 7:30 pm
Saturday April 11, 11 am and 7 pm
and Sunday April 12, 10 am
The Meetings will all be held at
Woodside Cutoff Road
Corvallis Montana
If you need directions, they are up at the hand of help website, under speaking schedule.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Object of Our Hope
Every man hopes in something. Even atheists have an object of hope, their hope being that they are right and there is no God. One cannot go through life without having an object of hope. The only question that remains is what is it that we hope in? Now hope is defined as looking forward to with desire and reasonable confidence. The problem however arises, when we place our hope in the wrong things, and the object of our hope fails to produce that which we desired with reasonable confidence. Countless souls today place their hopes in things that will inevitably fail them. Few things in life are as painful as misplaced hopes, yet men continue to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers, and place their hope in the wrong things.
Every man chooses the object of his hope, and every man without question will suffer the consequence of their choice, or the reward thereof. There are crossroads in the lives of every man, perhaps more than we would like to admit, wherein we are confronted with choices. Today I would like to highlight four of these crossroads and search our hearts as to what the object of our hope is, or would be in these situations.
The first is whether we choose to hope in God or in man. The reason this first question is so important is that it sets the precedent for all the other choices we make. If we choose wrong on this first bifurcation in our lives, the subsequent choices, absent of divine intervention, will inevitably be the wrong choices as well.
Psalm 33:16-19, “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”
We readily dismiss the warning of Jeremiah that any man who trusts in man is cursed, we readily dismiss the fact that man is limited and is constrained by limitations and therefore his help will likewise be limited, and proceed to place our hopes squarely on the shoulders of mere mortals. We idolize men, we make them icons, and we consider them to be the hope that will change the world into a nirvana of sorts where everyone will live out their lives in a perpetual bliss, only to be heartbroken and disillusioned upon realizing we have placed our hope in the wrong thing when we chose man over God. Men will fail you; men will disappoint you; men will fall short of your expectation, but God never will. When your hope is in God, it is sure and steadfast; it is built upon an unchanging foundation and a divine promise.
The second question, is do we choose to hope in riches or in God. I realize it is becoming increasingly difficult to hope in riches, since they are disappearing like a fog before the rays of the sun, but men still cling to possessions like sinking mariners to cement blocks not realizing the object of their hope is dragging them down into hopelessness.
1 Timothy 6:17, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
There are countless examples in God’s word that point out the futility of trusting in one’s possessions. No matter how much one might have amassed, no matter how certain they are of the security possessions may afford them, they will be for naught, for they are temporal things. We hoard and amass today, making plans for an uncertain future, not knowing the fundamental question whether we’ll even be here tomorrow to enjoy the fruit of our labors.
There is nothing wrong in being rich, as long as one views his riches as trivial possessions. When one however is possessed by his wealth, when material things are what define them as a person, then the fall from such deception will be too difficult to endure for some.
We can point to the rich young ruler, who desired to follow after Christ, until he heard the price of discipleship. Christ knew that this young man was possessed by his possessions rather than a love and passion for Him, and simply told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. For the young man, it was too high a price.
Abraham on the other hand, was also a rich man, but he did not hope in his possessions. Abraham hoped in God, and God alone, and for this he had the honor of being called God’s friend. The third question is whether our hope is in this present life or the life to come. This morning I woke up to the news that there was an earthquake in Italy that claimed the lives of close to one hundred people. A couple days ago, a man walked into an immigration center and took the lives of thirteen individuals. Every day that goes by we cannot escape the fact that life is fragile, and life is short. The whole of creation seems to be pointing out that we are temporary beings, here only for a season. Any man who trusts in this present life, being indifferent toward eternity, is truly a fool among fools.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
The fourth and final question is whether we have a temporary hope or an eternal one. A temporary hope, hopes in temporary things. An eternal hope, hopes in eternal things. We might be going through the valley of tears, we may be enduring suffering and hardship, but we know that all these things are passing, for our hope is eternal. Life does not end at the cemetery gates, and our loving Father promised us an eternal rest. If our hope is eternal, then we walk boldly into tomorrow, fueled by the peace and the joy that comes with knowing that heaven is being prepared for us, and one day we will be welcomed into our Father’s home.
Perhaps God is molding and chiseling you today, perhaps he has placed you in the furnace of affliction, but if your hope rests in Him, if your hope rests in the life to come, if your hope is an eternal hope, you will weather the hardship, you will weather the storm, all the while being thankful to God for leading you in His truth and teaching you His paths. We cannot enter heaven while still clinging to this earth. God is not a fan of dual citizenships, and in this time of global troubles He is attempting to show His children how foolish it is to hope in earthly things, and how wise it is to hope in eternal ones.
Psalm 25:4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all day.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Every man chooses the object of his hope, and every man without question will suffer the consequence of their choice, or the reward thereof. There are crossroads in the lives of every man, perhaps more than we would like to admit, wherein we are confronted with choices. Today I would like to highlight four of these crossroads and search our hearts as to what the object of our hope is, or would be in these situations.
The first is whether we choose to hope in God or in man. The reason this first question is so important is that it sets the precedent for all the other choices we make. If we choose wrong on this first bifurcation in our lives, the subsequent choices, absent of divine intervention, will inevitably be the wrong choices as well.
Psalm 33:16-19, “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; a mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”
We readily dismiss the warning of Jeremiah that any man who trusts in man is cursed, we readily dismiss the fact that man is limited and is constrained by limitations and therefore his help will likewise be limited, and proceed to place our hopes squarely on the shoulders of mere mortals. We idolize men, we make them icons, and we consider them to be the hope that will change the world into a nirvana of sorts where everyone will live out their lives in a perpetual bliss, only to be heartbroken and disillusioned upon realizing we have placed our hope in the wrong thing when we chose man over God. Men will fail you; men will disappoint you; men will fall short of your expectation, but God never will. When your hope is in God, it is sure and steadfast; it is built upon an unchanging foundation and a divine promise.
The second question, is do we choose to hope in riches or in God. I realize it is becoming increasingly difficult to hope in riches, since they are disappearing like a fog before the rays of the sun, but men still cling to possessions like sinking mariners to cement blocks not realizing the object of their hope is dragging them down into hopelessness.
1 Timothy 6:17, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
There are countless examples in God’s word that point out the futility of trusting in one’s possessions. No matter how much one might have amassed, no matter how certain they are of the security possessions may afford them, they will be for naught, for they are temporal things. We hoard and amass today, making plans for an uncertain future, not knowing the fundamental question whether we’ll even be here tomorrow to enjoy the fruit of our labors.
There is nothing wrong in being rich, as long as one views his riches as trivial possessions. When one however is possessed by his wealth, when material things are what define them as a person, then the fall from such deception will be too difficult to endure for some.
We can point to the rich young ruler, who desired to follow after Christ, until he heard the price of discipleship. Christ knew that this young man was possessed by his possessions rather than a love and passion for Him, and simply told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor. For the young man, it was too high a price.
Abraham on the other hand, was also a rich man, but he did not hope in his possessions. Abraham hoped in God, and God alone, and for this he had the honor of being called God’s friend. The third question is whether our hope is in this present life or the life to come. This morning I woke up to the news that there was an earthquake in Italy that claimed the lives of close to one hundred people. A couple days ago, a man walked into an immigration center and took the lives of thirteen individuals. Every day that goes by we cannot escape the fact that life is fragile, and life is short. The whole of creation seems to be pointing out that we are temporary beings, here only for a season. Any man who trusts in this present life, being indifferent toward eternity, is truly a fool among fools.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.”
The fourth and final question is whether we have a temporary hope or an eternal one. A temporary hope, hopes in temporary things. An eternal hope, hopes in eternal things. We might be going through the valley of tears, we may be enduring suffering and hardship, but we know that all these things are passing, for our hope is eternal. Life does not end at the cemetery gates, and our loving Father promised us an eternal rest. If our hope is eternal, then we walk boldly into tomorrow, fueled by the peace and the joy that comes with knowing that heaven is being prepared for us, and one day we will be welcomed into our Father’s home.
Perhaps God is molding and chiseling you today, perhaps he has placed you in the furnace of affliction, but if your hope rests in Him, if your hope rests in the life to come, if your hope is an eternal hope, you will weather the hardship, you will weather the storm, all the while being thankful to God for leading you in His truth and teaching you His paths. We cannot enter heaven while still clinging to this earth. God is not a fan of dual citizenships, and in this time of global troubles He is attempting to show His children how foolish it is to hope in earthly things, and how wise it is to hope in eternal ones.
Psalm 25:4-5, “Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all day.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
In Hot Water
My wife collects tea. It used to be stuffed toys, but a couple years ago when we realized our guests had nowhere to sit when they came to visit, my wife bagged all her stuffed toys and gave them to the orphanage. I make it a habit to buy my wife something whenever I take a trip anywhere. It doesn’t have to be big or expensive, just something that shows her I was thinking about her. Since I’ve been traveling pretty much nonstop since we got married, and she forbade me from buying her any more stuffed toys, I started buying her tea. She has a big box full of teabags, and many of them don’t have labels on them anymore. You never know what kind of tea you will be drinking until you put it in boiling water. Only when the teabag is placed in hot water will you discover what is inside. At the onset all the teabags look the same, but after they’ve sat in hot water for awhile one begins to discern the differences in the aromas.
Sometimes God puts us in hot water to show us our true character. Believe me when I tell you it is not for His benefit. He already knows us, He knows our hearts, He knows our thoughts and desires, but as is often the case we have an inflated sense of self. We think ourselves so strong, so spiritual, so mature, that we stop leaning on God, we stop relying on Him, and then to show us the true measure of our impotence He will allow something in our lives, whether a trial, a hardship, or a setback, that will bring us back to the realm of reality.
It is also in the hot water that our character raises to the surface. In our times of distress our true nature, our true character comes boiling up to the surface, whether toward our honor or toward our shame. God is more interested in our character than our comfort. There are many who desire to sit and dine with Christ, to feast at the Lamb’s marriage supper, but far too few, desire to take His yoke upon them; far too few, desire to labor and to sacrifice.
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
How else is God to search our hearts? How else is God to try us but in the fires of affliction? I know it is not popular, I know nobody wants to hear these things, especially now, but if not now when?
Isn’t it interesting that by the same flame wax melts, water evaporates but clay hardens? What are we? In the same flame, in the same fire of affliction some grow stronger, while others melt and evaporate, never to be heard from again.
Sooner or later trials and afflictions come upon all flesh. None is spared, but in the midst of affliction we see how differently two people can react to it. It is how we react to affliction; it is how we react to hardship and sorrow that defines us.
“But brother you don’t know what I’ve been going through. Nobody knows my sorrow as the song so aptly puts it.”
I might not know the specifics, but I do know what trials are, I’ve had my share, I do know what afflictions are, I still have my share, but I also know that God is allowing them in my life for a reason and a purpose.
I have never endured a trial from which I did not learn something. Whether concerning the greatness of God, the discipline of God, the love of God, the chastening of God, the mercy of God, or the righteousness of God, every affliction, every trial allowed me to grow, to understand and to mature. Sometimes the lessons are painful, especially when we are forced to shed ourselves of preconceived notions and ideas of who we thought God was, and what we were entitled to.
Often, and tragically so, we understand the value, the true worth of a thing in our lives only after we have lost it. We are perpetually thankless, absent of contentment, and although God bestows a myriad of blessings upon us, we overlook them and dismiss them readily.
If you have health, thank God for it, countless others do not. If you have a wife who loves you, or a husband who loves you, thank God, countless others do not. If you have children who obey you, thank God countless others do not. If you have found Jesus, and He is Lord of your life, and you feel His presence, thank God countless others have not. There are so many things, for which we ought to be thankful, for which we ought to fall on our faces and thank our heavenly Father.
Even when God puts us in hot water, it is reason to be thankful, because He sees beyond today, beyond present circumstance, to a future time when your trial and affliction having come to their rightful conclusion, worked together for good.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Sometimes God puts us in hot water to show us our true character. Believe me when I tell you it is not for His benefit. He already knows us, He knows our hearts, He knows our thoughts and desires, but as is often the case we have an inflated sense of self. We think ourselves so strong, so spiritual, so mature, that we stop leaning on God, we stop relying on Him, and then to show us the true measure of our impotence He will allow something in our lives, whether a trial, a hardship, or a setback, that will bring us back to the realm of reality.
It is also in the hot water that our character raises to the surface. In our times of distress our true nature, our true character comes boiling up to the surface, whether toward our honor or toward our shame. God is more interested in our character than our comfort. There are many who desire to sit and dine with Christ, to feast at the Lamb’s marriage supper, but far too few, desire to take His yoke upon them; far too few, desire to labor and to sacrifice.
Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
How else is God to search our hearts? How else is God to try us but in the fires of affliction? I know it is not popular, I know nobody wants to hear these things, especially now, but if not now when?
Isn’t it interesting that by the same flame wax melts, water evaporates but clay hardens? What are we? In the same flame, in the same fire of affliction some grow stronger, while others melt and evaporate, never to be heard from again.
Sooner or later trials and afflictions come upon all flesh. None is spared, but in the midst of affliction we see how differently two people can react to it. It is how we react to affliction; it is how we react to hardship and sorrow that defines us.
“But brother you don’t know what I’ve been going through. Nobody knows my sorrow as the song so aptly puts it.”
I might not know the specifics, but I do know what trials are, I’ve had my share, I do know what afflictions are, I still have my share, but I also know that God is allowing them in my life for a reason and a purpose.
I have never endured a trial from which I did not learn something. Whether concerning the greatness of God, the discipline of God, the love of God, the chastening of God, the mercy of God, or the righteousness of God, every affliction, every trial allowed me to grow, to understand and to mature. Sometimes the lessons are painful, especially when we are forced to shed ourselves of preconceived notions and ideas of who we thought God was, and what we were entitled to.
Often, and tragically so, we understand the value, the true worth of a thing in our lives only after we have lost it. We are perpetually thankless, absent of contentment, and although God bestows a myriad of blessings upon us, we overlook them and dismiss them readily.
If you have health, thank God for it, countless others do not. If you have a wife who loves you, or a husband who loves you, thank God, countless others do not. If you have children who obey you, thank God countless others do not. If you have found Jesus, and He is Lord of your life, and you feel His presence, thank God countless others have not. There are so many things, for which we ought to be thankful, for which we ought to fall on our faces and thank our heavenly Father.
Even when God puts us in hot water, it is reason to be thankful, because He sees beyond today, beyond present circumstance, to a future time when your trial and affliction having come to their rightful conclusion, worked together for good.
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
In The Shadows
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist”
-Charles Baudelaire French poet 1821-1867
Recently there was a special aired on television, the topic of which was whether or not the devil really exists. A colorful cast of characters made their individual cases, and although there was allot of back and forth debate, nobody really clarified the matter, at least not to my satisfaction. I realize some of you are scratching your heads wondering why I would waste my time writing about the devil, seeing as there are a thousand other topics I could write about, but the reality of our enemy is something to be pondered if we are to defend against his wiles.
The devil is not a comfortable topic to talk about for anyone. Once you begin to understand his utter hatred for mankind, and his desire to destroy what God has created, one can’t help but feel a bit perturbed. In the old country, whenever the devil’s name was mentioned the elderly women would spit on the ground three times, and with a look of disapproval say ‘it’s better not to talk about that one.’
There are countless misconceptions concerning the enemy of our souls. The devil does not live below ground, he doesn’t have horns, he doesn’t run away from garlic, or from salt, in fact the devil doesn’t run. He is forced to flee at the name Jesus, he fears the blood of the Lamb, but we will get to that in due time.
During the Middle Ages the devil was caricaturized, with paintings and murals showing a red horned beast with a long tail, while in our modern age he has been wholly ignored even though he is ever present, smiling with yellowed gums and missing teeth because he’s old, and when he can no longer tear with his teeth, he will chew with his gums.
In order to defeat an enemy, you must know your enemy’s weakness, and as such we must understand the devil who revels at the thought of being overlooked and dismissed. He makes his home in the shadows, and does not desire to be seen. When I speak of knowing our enemy, I do not do so in the sense of fearing him, but rather reviling him, being by nature repulsed by his nature, and learning the weapons of our warfare inasmuch as we are able to defeat him.
God, our heavenly Father, desires to be found, discovered, loved, and worshiped, but the enemy is content with going unnoticed. As long as he can ply his trade, as long as he can snatch unwitting souls and drag them down into the deep, he is content with keeping to the shadows. So why talk about our mortal enemy? Is he really that dangerous? Unfortunately yes, and if we know the ways and means he employs to deceive and imprison the souls of men, we can do our utmost in keeping ourselves from falling into his snares.
First, the devil tempts. It is what he does best, and we’ve all read it in the Bible, heard it from our parents, sat through the sermons in church, so much so, that it no longer sounds sinful to our ears. Temptation does not sound like a negative thing to the modern hearer anymore, because when one is tempted by its very definition temptation must be something that the flesh yearns for and desires. It is not evil itself that tempts us, but something we dreamed of, some possession, position, or person we desired.
We rationalize and justify falling into temptation, still desirous of reaching heaven, because temptation attempts to convince us that we can take a shortcut, just like Eve so long ago, we are talked into believing that we can circumvent the authority and commandments of God, because they have a negative connotation, and cut our own, much shorter path toward the pearly gates.
Temptation is as persistent as a toothache, continually presented to us through different prisms which attempt to minimize the consequences, sugar coat the aftereffects, and keep us from seeing what awaits us at the end of the journey if we give in and take the bait. Temptation comes in our moments of weakness, as well as our moments of strength, because if one’s armor is not securely fastened, if one’s prayer life is not active, even in what we perceive as our greatest time of strength, the enemy will find a weakness which he can then exploit.
As pleasing to the eye, and desired by the flesh a temptation might be, the end result desired by the devil in any given temptation is to cause us to miss the mark altogether, to forfeit the eternal promises of God, for the temporal pleasures of this earth.
Second, the devil is a thief and a liar, but often his theft is so delicate that some go on for years not realizing what he has stolen from them. Eventually all who have fallen into the snare of the enemy wake up to the reality that something is missing, something has been taken. By stealing our peace, our joy, our charity, and our strength, the devil does not become richer, but we become incomparably poorer. What troubles me is that this theft takes place with the tacit support and approval of the victim, who feels a masochistic sort of pleasure in being robbed of the most precious virtues he possesses.
Third, devil divides, but not with the intention of coming out of the shadows, showing himself, and lording over those he has deceived, but out of the sheer joy of witnessing a daily Babel, in which a mass of humanity is yelling at each other absent of understanding, with no common goal or unity. The enemy’s methods of infusing hatred within the hearts of men vary, but all toward the same defined and desired result.
The enemy also binds. Habits have often been referred to as man’s second nature, and habits are not necessarily bad or evil. If you wake up every morning and brush your teeth, which is a habitual practice, it is not evil, just common sense, and respect toward your fellow man in not forcing them to smell last night’s garlic on your breath. However, some habits can be perverted and then those selfsame habits become snares. The chains of habitual practice are at first too thin and small to notice or feel, but given enough time eventually become so thick that one can no longer break free. It is the journey from wearing a thin and delicate chain around your neck, to that selfsame chain becoming a shackle and a fetter, fastened to the earth that so many fail to notice until it is too late. We all know what these practices that lead to abject slavery are, even in the lives of some believers. I will not enumerate them for fear of missing one, that selfsame one that a reader of this article might then say, ‘wow, dodged a bullet, he didn’t name my vice, my habit or my addiction.’
You know what is just and unjust, you know what is good and what is evil, don’t let the devil deceive you into indifference and apathy. More Christians suffer death by apathy than we would like to admit.
The devil kills. He kills out of pleasure, not out of fear. He kills because he knows his end, he knows his time is short; he kills because his hatred of man knows no bounds. The devil is not man’s friend, he is our enemy, and as such we cannot make concessions. The most enticing of temptations is nothing more than bait upon a hook, the most reasonable of compromises a smooth road to destruction.
The devil will forever remain in the shadows, because he fears the light. He fears the light of truth, he fears the light of Christ, he fears the light of the gospel, and so remains well hidden.
As children of God, as those possessing the light of truth, we must be fearless when confronting the enemy. Too often between fight, flight, or immobility, we choose either flight or immobility acting as though we are defenseless, or as a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.
The Bible calls him a lion, a snake, a wolf, a leviathan, and the truth is that we wage war on his turf, on his territory, but wage war we must. The alternatives are too bleak to consider. If we do not fight, if we do not as Dylan Thomas once said, rage against the dying of the light, then we will surely be overtaken, and sooner or later become complicit in the enemy’s plot. From one who was tempted, man becomes the tempter, because it was not the devil that tempted Adam, it was Eve after she fell.
If we are to fight well, if we are to do battle with nobility and dignity, we must know our adversary, we must renounce fear, put on the whole armor of God, and resist our mortal enemy, keeping the knowledge that our General Jesus goes before us at the forefront of our minds.
Revelation 12:10-11, “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
-Charles Baudelaire French poet 1821-1867
Recently there was a special aired on television, the topic of which was whether or not the devil really exists. A colorful cast of characters made their individual cases, and although there was allot of back and forth debate, nobody really clarified the matter, at least not to my satisfaction. I realize some of you are scratching your heads wondering why I would waste my time writing about the devil, seeing as there are a thousand other topics I could write about, but the reality of our enemy is something to be pondered if we are to defend against his wiles.
The devil is not a comfortable topic to talk about for anyone. Once you begin to understand his utter hatred for mankind, and his desire to destroy what God has created, one can’t help but feel a bit perturbed. In the old country, whenever the devil’s name was mentioned the elderly women would spit on the ground three times, and with a look of disapproval say ‘it’s better not to talk about that one.’
There are countless misconceptions concerning the enemy of our souls. The devil does not live below ground, he doesn’t have horns, he doesn’t run away from garlic, or from salt, in fact the devil doesn’t run. He is forced to flee at the name Jesus, he fears the blood of the Lamb, but we will get to that in due time.
During the Middle Ages the devil was caricaturized, with paintings and murals showing a red horned beast with a long tail, while in our modern age he has been wholly ignored even though he is ever present, smiling with yellowed gums and missing teeth because he’s old, and when he can no longer tear with his teeth, he will chew with his gums.
In order to defeat an enemy, you must know your enemy’s weakness, and as such we must understand the devil who revels at the thought of being overlooked and dismissed. He makes his home in the shadows, and does not desire to be seen. When I speak of knowing our enemy, I do not do so in the sense of fearing him, but rather reviling him, being by nature repulsed by his nature, and learning the weapons of our warfare inasmuch as we are able to defeat him.
God, our heavenly Father, desires to be found, discovered, loved, and worshiped, but the enemy is content with going unnoticed. As long as he can ply his trade, as long as he can snatch unwitting souls and drag them down into the deep, he is content with keeping to the shadows. So why talk about our mortal enemy? Is he really that dangerous? Unfortunately yes, and if we know the ways and means he employs to deceive and imprison the souls of men, we can do our utmost in keeping ourselves from falling into his snares.
First, the devil tempts. It is what he does best, and we’ve all read it in the Bible, heard it from our parents, sat through the sermons in church, so much so, that it no longer sounds sinful to our ears. Temptation does not sound like a negative thing to the modern hearer anymore, because when one is tempted by its very definition temptation must be something that the flesh yearns for and desires. It is not evil itself that tempts us, but something we dreamed of, some possession, position, or person we desired.
We rationalize and justify falling into temptation, still desirous of reaching heaven, because temptation attempts to convince us that we can take a shortcut, just like Eve so long ago, we are talked into believing that we can circumvent the authority and commandments of God, because they have a negative connotation, and cut our own, much shorter path toward the pearly gates.
Temptation is as persistent as a toothache, continually presented to us through different prisms which attempt to minimize the consequences, sugar coat the aftereffects, and keep us from seeing what awaits us at the end of the journey if we give in and take the bait. Temptation comes in our moments of weakness, as well as our moments of strength, because if one’s armor is not securely fastened, if one’s prayer life is not active, even in what we perceive as our greatest time of strength, the enemy will find a weakness which he can then exploit.
As pleasing to the eye, and desired by the flesh a temptation might be, the end result desired by the devil in any given temptation is to cause us to miss the mark altogether, to forfeit the eternal promises of God, for the temporal pleasures of this earth.
Second, the devil is a thief and a liar, but often his theft is so delicate that some go on for years not realizing what he has stolen from them. Eventually all who have fallen into the snare of the enemy wake up to the reality that something is missing, something has been taken. By stealing our peace, our joy, our charity, and our strength, the devil does not become richer, but we become incomparably poorer. What troubles me is that this theft takes place with the tacit support and approval of the victim, who feels a masochistic sort of pleasure in being robbed of the most precious virtues he possesses.
Third, devil divides, but not with the intention of coming out of the shadows, showing himself, and lording over those he has deceived, but out of the sheer joy of witnessing a daily Babel, in which a mass of humanity is yelling at each other absent of understanding, with no common goal or unity. The enemy’s methods of infusing hatred within the hearts of men vary, but all toward the same defined and desired result.
The enemy also binds. Habits have often been referred to as man’s second nature, and habits are not necessarily bad or evil. If you wake up every morning and brush your teeth, which is a habitual practice, it is not evil, just common sense, and respect toward your fellow man in not forcing them to smell last night’s garlic on your breath. However, some habits can be perverted and then those selfsame habits become snares. The chains of habitual practice are at first too thin and small to notice or feel, but given enough time eventually become so thick that one can no longer break free. It is the journey from wearing a thin and delicate chain around your neck, to that selfsame chain becoming a shackle and a fetter, fastened to the earth that so many fail to notice until it is too late. We all know what these practices that lead to abject slavery are, even in the lives of some believers. I will not enumerate them for fear of missing one, that selfsame one that a reader of this article might then say, ‘wow, dodged a bullet, he didn’t name my vice, my habit or my addiction.’
You know what is just and unjust, you know what is good and what is evil, don’t let the devil deceive you into indifference and apathy. More Christians suffer death by apathy than we would like to admit.
The devil kills. He kills out of pleasure, not out of fear. He kills because he knows his end, he knows his time is short; he kills because his hatred of man knows no bounds. The devil is not man’s friend, he is our enemy, and as such we cannot make concessions. The most enticing of temptations is nothing more than bait upon a hook, the most reasonable of compromises a smooth road to destruction.
The devil will forever remain in the shadows, because he fears the light. He fears the light of truth, he fears the light of Christ, he fears the light of the gospel, and so remains well hidden.
As children of God, as those possessing the light of truth, we must be fearless when confronting the enemy. Too often between fight, flight, or immobility, we choose either flight or immobility acting as though we are defenseless, or as a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.
The Bible calls him a lion, a snake, a wolf, a leviathan, and the truth is that we wage war on his turf, on his territory, but wage war we must. The alternatives are too bleak to consider. If we do not fight, if we do not as Dylan Thomas once said, rage against the dying of the light, then we will surely be overtaken, and sooner or later become complicit in the enemy’s plot. From one who was tempted, man becomes the tempter, because it was not the devil that tempted Adam, it was Eve after she fell.
If we are to fight well, if we are to do battle with nobility and dignity, we must know our adversary, we must renounce fear, put on the whole armor of God, and resist our mortal enemy, keeping the knowledge that our General Jesus goes before us at the forefront of our minds.
Revelation 12:10-11, “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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