If the way the church attempts to garner the world’s validation were not so utterly tragic, it would be outright humorous. Each time, I can’t help but think back to my own school days and how the nerdy kids would try to get close to the cool kids, and get their approval or be accepted into their inner circle.
No, I wasn’t one of the cool kids, but I had enough presence of mind and self-awareness to not care about the approval of my peers, be they football players or cheerleaders.
We’re batting our eyes and ‘doing the world’s homework’ just hoping they invite us to their next party, or walk down the hall with us during recess. The fact that the world has abused, belittled, mocked, denigrated, bullied, and marginalized the household of faith for as far back as one can remember doesn’t seem to be computing, and with each passing day we are trying to find reasons as to why we should still support worldly corporations, worldly athletes, or worldly movie stars with our hard earned money, even though we know better.
Either we are blatant sadists, screaming ‘thank you sir, may I have another’ as the world punches us in the throat repeatedly, or we are so afraid of being hated, we are willing to do absolutely anything just to keep the peace.
For some unexplained reason, I believe, today’s average believer has an aversion to being hated, and they will do almost anything to avoid being singled out and disliked by the world.
Other groups seem to have no qualms with being hated, and though their cause is less than honorable, and their behavior less than civil, they revel in the notion that they’ve successfully pushed someone’s buttons and they’ve reacted in a certain way.
It is elementary knowledge that Jesus forewarned us we would be hated by the world. He even went so far as to tell us why we would be hated, and implied that if the world hated us they did so because they saw Him in in us, which is a glorious, glorious thing.
To try and sidestep being hated, is in effect trying to minimize the light of Christ in you, or at least camouflage it to such an extent wherein the world will think you are one of their own.
As is the case with many words in our modern age, we’ve diluted the true meaning of the word hate, and in having done so, whenever we contemplate the reality of what Jesus said in regards to the world and their reaction toward us, we don’t fully understand what will soon transpire.
When Jesus spoke of the world hating Him, He did not mean that they stopped inviting Him to the family barbecues, unfriended Him on Facebook, or walked away mid-conversation because of something He’d said.
When Jesus spoke of hate, it was with the full knowledge that men were actively plotting His murder, bribing one closest to Him to betray Him, and spreading lies regarding His character and person.
The world will hate you with the selfsame illogical, maniacal, single-minded hatred with which they hated Jesus, and knowing this beforehand keeps us from being shocked or stunned when this does come to pass.
It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when. Jesus did not exaggerate; He did not embellish or otherwise inflate what we would have to contend with for the sake of making it seem exciting. Jesus spoke truth even when the truth He spoke was difficult to receive or accept.
In love, Christ forewarned those who would follow after Him that they would be hated because He was hated, by a world growing increasingly averse to the light of Jesus with each passing day.
1 Peter 4:112-13, “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.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The god of Their Delusions
Recently one of the America’s most beloved, and simultaneously most blasphemous and heretical spiritual authorities came out with a video comparing the God of the Bible with a beat up Oldsmobile from his youth, a car which at the time served its purpose but was now good for nothing more than the trash heap.
He drew this comparison to highlight how the God of the Bible, the One True God, the God to which all creation will one day inevitably bow, was acceptable to a less enlightened version of humanity, but we who have blazed the trail of the internet and all its many wonders must upgrade the God of the Bible and give him a makeover.
Being the generous chap that he is, this man graciously offered to introduce us to his god, a god who is nothing more than a manmade apparition, a god of his own delusion and debased mind.
For the sake of argument, let’s say the God of the Bible is like an Oldsmobile. Frankly, I’d rather be in an Oldsmobile during a collision than in a Smart Car. You might have a bump on your head, and a few bruises to show off to your coworkers the next day, but the Oldsmobile is built solid, and chances are better than good that you are more likely to survive in the Oldsmobile than in the Smart Car in case of an accident.
God isn’t broken. Stop trying to fix Him!
God’s Word is not past its prime, antiquated, or no longer viable for our enlightened and overly stimulated generation.
It is man who has turned his back on God, and with the aid of such wolves as the individual to whom I am referring – whose name happens to rhyme with hell for anyone interested – the hearts of many are growing cold, and the one true God is being ignored, mocked, and maligned.
Look, mister horn rimmed fancy pants, original as you may think yourself to be, unprecedented and fresh as you might believe your ideas and ruminations, there have been countless others before you who having gone down the path of heresy had their conscience seared and their spiritual lives shipwrecked.
Remember the Gnostics? Yeah, those guys a long time ago who thought they had it all figured out, who thought they’d outgrown the God of the Bible, and no longer had need of Jesus as Lord, King, and Savior.
Guess what? All the Gnostics of that time are dead and gone, no more than ash, if that, yet the Word of God remains, the Christ is still worshiped and praised and men still seek Him for the salvation of their souls.
So the next time another wannabe original wants to pass off esoteric mysticism as a new way of seeing the one true God, just remember: not only are they unoriginal, in case of an accident the Smart Car god they’re trying to sell you on will do nothing to protect you.
Worshiping the gods of our own delusions might seem fun for a while but only insofar as the sun is shining, the road is clear, and there are no hurdles along the path.
When the storm clouds roll in and the weather turns and the only hope left is in something other than yourself, that’s when you know if you are serving the one true God, or a god of your own invention. Though you may call out, though you may plead, if you are serving an idol of your own making, your god will not answer, because he does not exist.
In order to know, and fellowship with the one true God, we must foremost submit to His will, His authority, and His purpose for our lives. We must subjugate our pride, and come to terms with the reality that we are not the top of the food chain, we cannot will God into doing what we want Him to do, and though we might like to change Him in some way or another, He is the God who changes not.
We have sacrificed righteousness, holiness, and sanctification on the altar of cultural relevance, and in so doing we have abandoned truth and light and wisdom.
Sorry. No, I don’t want to be culturally relevant, I just want to be Kingdom relevant, and if that makes me a hater, a Neanderthal, a relic, or whatever else men such as this will call those who continue to cling to the Old Path, so be it.
As Elijah once said to the prophets of Baal, ‘you call on the name of your god, I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire – he is God.’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
He drew this comparison to highlight how the God of the Bible, the One True God, the God to which all creation will one day inevitably bow, was acceptable to a less enlightened version of humanity, but we who have blazed the trail of the internet and all its many wonders must upgrade the God of the Bible and give him a makeover.
Being the generous chap that he is, this man graciously offered to introduce us to his god, a god who is nothing more than a manmade apparition, a god of his own delusion and debased mind.
For the sake of argument, let’s say the God of the Bible is like an Oldsmobile. Frankly, I’d rather be in an Oldsmobile during a collision than in a Smart Car. You might have a bump on your head, and a few bruises to show off to your coworkers the next day, but the Oldsmobile is built solid, and chances are better than good that you are more likely to survive in the Oldsmobile than in the Smart Car in case of an accident.
God isn’t broken. Stop trying to fix Him!
God’s Word is not past its prime, antiquated, or no longer viable for our enlightened and overly stimulated generation.
It is man who has turned his back on God, and with the aid of such wolves as the individual to whom I am referring – whose name happens to rhyme with hell for anyone interested – the hearts of many are growing cold, and the one true God is being ignored, mocked, and maligned.
Look, mister horn rimmed fancy pants, original as you may think yourself to be, unprecedented and fresh as you might believe your ideas and ruminations, there have been countless others before you who having gone down the path of heresy had their conscience seared and their spiritual lives shipwrecked.
Remember the Gnostics? Yeah, those guys a long time ago who thought they had it all figured out, who thought they’d outgrown the God of the Bible, and no longer had need of Jesus as Lord, King, and Savior.
Guess what? All the Gnostics of that time are dead and gone, no more than ash, if that, yet the Word of God remains, the Christ is still worshiped and praised and men still seek Him for the salvation of their souls.
So the next time another wannabe original wants to pass off esoteric mysticism as a new way of seeing the one true God, just remember: not only are they unoriginal, in case of an accident the Smart Car god they’re trying to sell you on will do nothing to protect you.
Worshiping the gods of our own delusions might seem fun for a while but only insofar as the sun is shining, the road is clear, and there are no hurdles along the path.
When the storm clouds roll in and the weather turns and the only hope left is in something other than yourself, that’s when you know if you are serving the one true God, or a god of your own invention. Though you may call out, though you may plead, if you are serving an idol of your own making, your god will not answer, because he does not exist.
In order to know, and fellowship with the one true God, we must foremost submit to His will, His authority, and His purpose for our lives. We must subjugate our pride, and come to terms with the reality that we are not the top of the food chain, we cannot will God into doing what we want Him to do, and though we might like to change Him in some way or another, He is the God who changes not.
We have sacrificed righteousness, holiness, and sanctification on the altar of cultural relevance, and in so doing we have abandoned truth and light and wisdom.
Sorry. No, I don’t want to be culturally relevant, I just want to be Kingdom relevant, and if that makes me a hater, a Neanderthal, a relic, or whatever else men such as this will call those who continue to cling to the Old Path, so be it.
As Elijah once said to the prophets of Baal, ‘you call on the name of your god, I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire – he is God.’
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The Importance of Foundation
One of the many things I will be eternally grateful for in this life is the discipleship I went through in my younger years while serving as my grandfather’s translator. It was not with the intent of pursuing ministry on my own, nor was it for any vested interest, but for the pure desire to grow in God and be evermore rooted and grounded in Him.
It seems to me in recent years we’ve lost sight of the importance of having a stable and solid foundation. We’ve lost sight of the importance of being disciples, and insist on being viewed as spiritual authorities the moment we get our name printed on the bottom right corner or our Bibles in gold leaf.
I fear one of the reasons for so much foolishness, deception, and outright heresy in our day and age is the absence of discipleship when it comes to new converts, and those called to repentance. We’re so enamored with the numbers, we so want to have more converts today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we did today, that even if someone twitched involuntarily, or happened to scratch their nose while we were giving the altar call, we count them among the saved and eternally secure.
Granted, some do respond honestly and desire to give their hearts to Christ, but even they are told once they raised their hand and said a short prayer nothing more need be done, ever, and all they really need to do now is direct deposit a tenth of their earnings into the church’s account.
Discipleship is necessary for a true and stable foundation. We must know what we believe, why we believe it, that what we believe is in harmony with the Word, and make certain we will not be swayed once these things have been established in our hearts and minds.
Because so few have a true foundation in Christ, the ‘hath God said’ deception is in full swing, clouding the conscience of many and causing a disturbing number of souls to go off into the desert thinking they’ve spotted an oasis. There is no oasis in the desert. It is only a mirage beckoning the gullible to walk further and further away from truth until exhaustion finally claims them.
The notion of being as a house built upon the rock doesn’t appeal to many folks nowadays, because they would much rather have a home on wheels which they can maneuver whenever and however often they deem fit. Whenever what they hear is not pleasing to their flesh, whenever they are challenged or called to repentance, they just fire up the old motor coach and puddle on to the next destination where the preacher is more welcoming and tolerant, and his theology is less stringent.
The only problem is that since a body in motion tends to stay in motion, such individuals go from one place to another, one congregation to another, never finding their place, perpetually bouncing back and forth, consumed with finding the ideal comfort rather than growing and pursuing God.
Ask any disciple and they will tell you their singular concern, desire, and purpose is to be more like the Master. It is not to be at ease, it is not to be comfortable, it is not to be pampered, coddled, or praised, it is to be rooted in Jesus, grounded and founded in Him, perpetually transformed by the connection of our roots taking their nourishment from Him and His nature.
The storm is here. It is no longer afar off, it is no longer on the horizon, the storm is here and if our foundation is not sure, if we are not firmly affixed to the Rock having Him as our foundation, we will be swept away like all the others who never took the time to fortify and sanctify themselves in Christ.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
It seems to me in recent years we’ve lost sight of the importance of having a stable and solid foundation. We’ve lost sight of the importance of being disciples, and insist on being viewed as spiritual authorities the moment we get our name printed on the bottom right corner or our Bibles in gold leaf.
I fear one of the reasons for so much foolishness, deception, and outright heresy in our day and age is the absence of discipleship when it comes to new converts, and those called to repentance. We’re so enamored with the numbers, we so want to have more converts today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we did today, that even if someone twitched involuntarily, or happened to scratch their nose while we were giving the altar call, we count them among the saved and eternally secure.
Granted, some do respond honestly and desire to give their hearts to Christ, but even they are told once they raised their hand and said a short prayer nothing more need be done, ever, and all they really need to do now is direct deposit a tenth of their earnings into the church’s account.
Discipleship is necessary for a true and stable foundation. We must know what we believe, why we believe it, that what we believe is in harmony with the Word, and make certain we will not be swayed once these things have been established in our hearts and minds.
Because so few have a true foundation in Christ, the ‘hath God said’ deception is in full swing, clouding the conscience of many and causing a disturbing number of souls to go off into the desert thinking they’ve spotted an oasis. There is no oasis in the desert. It is only a mirage beckoning the gullible to walk further and further away from truth until exhaustion finally claims them.
The notion of being as a house built upon the rock doesn’t appeal to many folks nowadays, because they would much rather have a home on wheels which they can maneuver whenever and however often they deem fit. Whenever what they hear is not pleasing to their flesh, whenever they are challenged or called to repentance, they just fire up the old motor coach and puddle on to the next destination where the preacher is more welcoming and tolerant, and his theology is less stringent.
The only problem is that since a body in motion tends to stay in motion, such individuals go from one place to another, one congregation to another, never finding their place, perpetually bouncing back and forth, consumed with finding the ideal comfort rather than growing and pursuing God.
Ask any disciple and they will tell you their singular concern, desire, and purpose is to be more like the Master. It is not to be at ease, it is not to be comfortable, it is not to be pampered, coddled, or praised, it is to be rooted in Jesus, grounded and founded in Him, perpetually transformed by the connection of our roots taking their nourishment from Him and His nature.
The storm is here. It is no longer afar off, it is no longer on the horizon, the storm is here and if our foundation is not sure, if we are not firmly affixed to the Rock having Him as our foundation, we will be swept away like all the others who never took the time to fortify and sanctify themselves in Christ.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
When Ye Pray...the Kindle Version
For those of you who were waiting with bated breath for the Kindle version of 'When Ye Pray', you wait is over. The book is now available in the Kindle format for $4.99, the price of a swanky cup of coffee at any overpriced chain. I will include the link below, and if you haven't read the series on this blog, and didn't feel like shelling out the clams for the paperback version, now there's a third, and more inexpensive option.
If you've ordered the paperback, read it, and it has blessed you, I would also ask you take a second to rate the book on Amazon, and leave your impressions concerning this first of three volumes about prayer.
As always, thanks for your prayers, thanks for reading, and may God keep you close to Him.
'When Ye Pray' Kindle Version
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
If you've ordered the paperback, read it, and it has blessed you, I would also ask you take a second to rate the book on Amazon, and leave your impressions concerning this first of three volumes about prayer.
As always, thanks for your prayers, thanks for reading, and may God keep you close to Him.
'When Ye Pray' Kindle Version
Michael Boldea Jr.
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Ever Changing World of Men
If the Christians of old were as spineless, compromising, mealy mouthed, and wavering as most of today’s professing Christians, I submit to you that there would have been no martyrs, and the persecution which marked the primary church would have never occurred.
If compromise were an option for those of the primary church, surely they would have chosen it, since no one likes to be imprisoned, beaten, tortured or killed if they can avoid it.
If giving in to the demands of the governing body of the age were a viable option, why would anyone choose to be devoured by lions, crucified, or burned alive just out of stubbornness?
If there is one visible constant in this present generation, it’s that we are full of ourselves.
The claims we make are more audacious with each passing day, and the conclusions we come to are staggering in their implications if one takes the time to logically reason them out.
Apparently ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ has only just been discovered, and for two thousand plus years men who bled and suffered and died for the sake of Christ their Lord completely missed the boat and perished in vain.
True worship, true faithfulness, true transformation of mind and heart no longer consists in loving what God loves and hating what God hates, but in disregarding God’s word and will altogether, and telling Him what He must love, and what He cannot hate.
The voices of the famed, the loved, and the embraced within Christendom are telling us to adapt or die. We must embrace sin for our own good, we must call darkness light for our own self-preservation, because wouldn’t you know it the world is-a-changing and if we don’t change right along with it, we run the risk of dying the death of a thousand cuts.
The only way to reach the world today is to wink at their sin, and embrace their perversions, reminding them that God is love, but forgetting to likewise mention that love without justice is a lie, a misshaped, deformed thing, bearing only the appearance of love.
The world of men is ever changing, but the God who created this world does not change. He is forever and always the same, whether yesterday, today, or a thousand years from now.
Try as we might to circumvent this truth, try as we might to pretend as though we can will God into being more broad-minded and accepting of sin, His Word stands as testament to the contrary.
The world will continue to praise and embrace those who would wink at sin, while marginalizing and demonizing those who speak against it, because the world’s intent is to dilute the household of faith to the point of irrelevancy.
When once we compromise on a thing, the enemy will return the next day and demand we compromise on two. When once we compromise on two things, the enemy will return the day after and demand we compromise on four. It is a never ending cycle wherein the believer, the congregation, or the church in general is worn down bit by bit, until righteousness is thoroughly silenced and what was to be the light on a hill is but a dying ember.
We can go with the flow or stand against the tide. We can be the yes men of the world, or the bondservants of Christ Jesus. We can choose to compromise and be embraced by the godless, or stand on truth, rooted in the Word, and be thoroughly hated and maligned.
One thing is certain: the coward is readily forgotten, while the valiant and true are remembered evermore.
Temporary acceptance or eternal reward; this is the choice we are faced with today, and when one thinks it through, it really isn’t a choice. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
If compromise were an option for those of the primary church, surely they would have chosen it, since no one likes to be imprisoned, beaten, tortured or killed if they can avoid it.
If giving in to the demands of the governing body of the age were a viable option, why would anyone choose to be devoured by lions, crucified, or burned alive just out of stubbornness?
If there is one visible constant in this present generation, it’s that we are full of ourselves.
The claims we make are more audacious with each passing day, and the conclusions we come to are staggering in their implications if one takes the time to logically reason them out.
Apparently ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ has only just been discovered, and for two thousand plus years men who bled and suffered and died for the sake of Christ their Lord completely missed the boat and perished in vain.
True worship, true faithfulness, true transformation of mind and heart no longer consists in loving what God loves and hating what God hates, but in disregarding God’s word and will altogether, and telling Him what He must love, and what He cannot hate.
The voices of the famed, the loved, and the embraced within Christendom are telling us to adapt or die. We must embrace sin for our own good, we must call darkness light for our own self-preservation, because wouldn’t you know it the world is-a-changing and if we don’t change right along with it, we run the risk of dying the death of a thousand cuts.
The only way to reach the world today is to wink at their sin, and embrace their perversions, reminding them that God is love, but forgetting to likewise mention that love without justice is a lie, a misshaped, deformed thing, bearing only the appearance of love.
The world of men is ever changing, but the God who created this world does not change. He is forever and always the same, whether yesterday, today, or a thousand years from now.
Try as we might to circumvent this truth, try as we might to pretend as though we can will God into being more broad-minded and accepting of sin, His Word stands as testament to the contrary.
The world will continue to praise and embrace those who would wink at sin, while marginalizing and demonizing those who speak against it, because the world’s intent is to dilute the household of faith to the point of irrelevancy.
When once we compromise on a thing, the enemy will return the next day and demand we compromise on two. When once we compromise on two things, the enemy will return the day after and demand we compromise on four. It is a never ending cycle wherein the believer, the congregation, or the church in general is worn down bit by bit, until righteousness is thoroughly silenced and what was to be the light on a hill is but a dying ember.
We can go with the flow or stand against the tide. We can be the yes men of the world, or the bondservants of Christ Jesus. We can choose to compromise and be embraced by the godless, or stand on truth, rooted in the Word, and be thoroughly hated and maligned.
One thing is certain: the coward is readily forgotten, while the valiant and true are remembered evermore.
Temporary acceptance or eternal reward; this is the choice we are faced with today, and when one thinks it through, it really isn’t a choice. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The Blessed and the Cursed Part 3
Psalm 1:4-6, “The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
While the first part of this psalm was no less than a benediction, a list of blessings God would bestow upon the godly and those who found their delight in Him, the second part of this psalm speaks of the ungodly and what will become of them.
First, the psalmist compares the ungodly with chaff which the wind drives away.
The ungodly have no foundation to speak of. Where the godly are like trees planted by rivers of water, whose roots are deep and true, the ungodly are blown about by the wind, driven away by every gust, because they have no foundation, they are not tethered to anything, and as such are easily moved, swayed, and convinced.
The godly have access to the storehouse of God’s blessings, the storehouse of God’s gifts, while the ungodly do not, because they cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous.
We’ve been trying to blend the godly and ungodly and make them into one inert mass for so long, that we’ve decided to do away with what the Bible says about light and darkness not being able to coexist. Because it was better for the bottom line, we’ve decided to ignore what the Word has to say about the ungodly and the godly having two distinct paths that they follow.
In the hopes of attracting more of the ungodly to the house of God, we’ve even twisted scripture to the point of insisting that sinners can stand in the congregation of the righteous, and though God might disapprove of certain practices, no way would He send anyone to destruction or allow anyone to perish.
This first psalm leaves nothing to chance, nor does it leave any room for ambiguity. There are the godly, then there are the ungodly. There are those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly then there are those who play games with God, thinking they can wear Him down if they keep at their foolishness long enough.
If the Bible says something is sin, yet you are trying to find the one preacher that says it isn’t, you’re just fooling yourself. You are playing a dangerous game with an omnipotent God because to you, your sin, your habit, your addiction or your perversion is more important than surrendering your heart to God, and obeying Him in spirit and in truth.
If you look long enough, if you look hard enough, you will always find someone who will condone and validate your lifestyle, your sin, or your proclivity. There are preachers out there who don’t care whether you’ve ever repented of your sins or not, who don’t care whether you are presently living in active and open rebellion toward God, who don’t care if you continue in sin, as long as you send in a check, or put a few bucks in the offering plate.
The world loves those kinds of preachers.
‘Just don’t talk to me about repentance, holiness, righteousness, abstaining from sin and striving for godliness, and we can be friends, and I’ll support your ministry, and even tell others about it.’
Preach as Jesus commanded we preach, tell those who would hear that they must repent and that no matter how much they give to a certain cause or a certain ministry they cannot buy their way into heaven, and you’ll be labeled a fundamentalist, a zealot, a fanatic, an extremist, and these are just the names I include in this teaching without getting three dozen e-mails about the use of profanity in my writings.
Men don’t like being challenged about their sin. Men don’t like being told they must repent, and men really don’t like being reminded that God Himself differentiates between the godly and the ungodly, the saved and the unsaved.
If the Bible would say something different, I’d be preaching something different. But since the Bible speaks of repentance, and Jesus, and John, and Peter and Paul and every New Testament author spoke of repentance, or turning away from our sinful past that we might embrace a glorious future in Christ, we are obliged to speak the same truth, and call men to repentance as ardently as they did two thousand years ago.
The godly, the righteous, the saved, the redeemed, are blessed…the ungodly are not so.
There are only two paths. There are only two avenues we can walk upon, and whether it’s the narrow path of faith, or the wide path which leads to destruction is entirely up to us.
God has made it abundantly clear in His word what becomes of the ungodly, of those who choose the wide path of the world, and this first psalm concludes with the stern warning that the way of the ungodly shall perish.
It doesn’t matter how good the way looks, how safe the way looks, how easy the way looks, the word of God tells us that the way of the ungodly perishes as do all who walk upon it.
For some as yet unexplained reason, many in the church look upon those of the world and desire to be more like them rather than more like Jesus. We have been told the end of those whose hearts have not surrendered to Christ is destruction, we have been told that they will perish if they do not repent, yet we look upon them and decide in our hearts that the answer to drawing more people into the house of God, is to become more like the world we’re hoping to pluck them from.
Does that make sense to you? To be honest it makes absolutely no sense to me.
You don’t try to pull someone out of the mud just to offer them a less rancid version of the selfsame mud. You don’t try to pry someone from the grips of spiritual death just to offer them a more comfortable state of sedation wherein they are in a vegetative state, very close to death, but not quite dead enough to bury six feet under.
It is because we’ve diluted the message of the gospel to the point that it has become of no effect that so few are truly turning their hearts to the Lord, and choosing the narrow path of faith. How can one walk the narrow path if they were never told a narrow path exists? How can one choose and differentiate between the path of the godly and the ungodly if those in spiritual authority over them never took the time to disciple them and show them the difference between these two paths, and that they exist?
Two paths stand before every man. We choose either the path of the godly or the ungodly; the path of the blessed or the path of the cursed; the path of light or the path of darkness. Depending on which of these two paths we choose, we will either be blessed of the Lord, or perish in our own hedonism and self-flattery.
One day we will stand before the creator of all that is. One day we will stand before the God of the universe, and all our self-importance all our vainglory, all our vanity will be stripped away and all that will remain will be the reality of who we truly are, and what path we chose in this life.
It’s not complicated, it’s simple really. We choose life or death, we choose to live with the godly, or perish with the ungodly, and the choice is exclusively ours as individuals.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
While the first part of this psalm was no less than a benediction, a list of blessings God would bestow upon the godly and those who found their delight in Him, the second part of this psalm speaks of the ungodly and what will become of them.
First, the psalmist compares the ungodly with chaff which the wind drives away.
The ungodly have no foundation to speak of. Where the godly are like trees planted by rivers of water, whose roots are deep and true, the ungodly are blown about by the wind, driven away by every gust, because they have no foundation, they are not tethered to anything, and as such are easily moved, swayed, and convinced.
The godly have access to the storehouse of God’s blessings, the storehouse of God’s gifts, while the ungodly do not, because they cannot stand in the congregation of the righteous.
We’ve been trying to blend the godly and ungodly and make them into one inert mass for so long, that we’ve decided to do away with what the Bible says about light and darkness not being able to coexist. Because it was better for the bottom line, we’ve decided to ignore what the Word has to say about the ungodly and the godly having two distinct paths that they follow.
In the hopes of attracting more of the ungodly to the house of God, we’ve even twisted scripture to the point of insisting that sinners can stand in the congregation of the righteous, and though God might disapprove of certain practices, no way would He send anyone to destruction or allow anyone to perish.
This first psalm leaves nothing to chance, nor does it leave any room for ambiguity. There are the godly, then there are the ungodly. There are those who do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly then there are those who play games with God, thinking they can wear Him down if they keep at their foolishness long enough.
If the Bible says something is sin, yet you are trying to find the one preacher that says it isn’t, you’re just fooling yourself. You are playing a dangerous game with an omnipotent God because to you, your sin, your habit, your addiction or your perversion is more important than surrendering your heart to God, and obeying Him in spirit and in truth.
If you look long enough, if you look hard enough, you will always find someone who will condone and validate your lifestyle, your sin, or your proclivity. There are preachers out there who don’t care whether you’ve ever repented of your sins or not, who don’t care whether you are presently living in active and open rebellion toward God, who don’t care if you continue in sin, as long as you send in a check, or put a few bucks in the offering plate.
The world loves those kinds of preachers.
‘Just don’t talk to me about repentance, holiness, righteousness, abstaining from sin and striving for godliness, and we can be friends, and I’ll support your ministry, and even tell others about it.’
Preach as Jesus commanded we preach, tell those who would hear that they must repent and that no matter how much they give to a certain cause or a certain ministry they cannot buy their way into heaven, and you’ll be labeled a fundamentalist, a zealot, a fanatic, an extremist, and these are just the names I include in this teaching without getting three dozen e-mails about the use of profanity in my writings.
Men don’t like being challenged about their sin. Men don’t like being told they must repent, and men really don’t like being reminded that God Himself differentiates between the godly and the ungodly, the saved and the unsaved.
If the Bible would say something different, I’d be preaching something different. But since the Bible speaks of repentance, and Jesus, and John, and Peter and Paul and every New Testament author spoke of repentance, or turning away from our sinful past that we might embrace a glorious future in Christ, we are obliged to speak the same truth, and call men to repentance as ardently as they did two thousand years ago.
The godly, the righteous, the saved, the redeemed, are blessed…the ungodly are not so.
There are only two paths. There are only two avenues we can walk upon, and whether it’s the narrow path of faith, or the wide path which leads to destruction is entirely up to us.
God has made it abundantly clear in His word what becomes of the ungodly, of those who choose the wide path of the world, and this first psalm concludes with the stern warning that the way of the ungodly shall perish.
It doesn’t matter how good the way looks, how safe the way looks, how easy the way looks, the word of God tells us that the way of the ungodly perishes as do all who walk upon it.
For some as yet unexplained reason, many in the church look upon those of the world and desire to be more like them rather than more like Jesus. We have been told the end of those whose hearts have not surrendered to Christ is destruction, we have been told that they will perish if they do not repent, yet we look upon them and decide in our hearts that the answer to drawing more people into the house of God, is to become more like the world we’re hoping to pluck them from.
Does that make sense to you? To be honest it makes absolutely no sense to me.
You don’t try to pull someone out of the mud just to offer them a less rancid version of the selfsame mud. You don’t try to pry someone from the grips of spiritual death just to offer them a more comfortable state of sedation wherein they are in a vegetative state, very close to death, but not quite dead enough to bury six feet under.
It is because we’ve diluted the message of the gospel to the point that it has become of no effect that so few are truly turning their hearts to the Lord, and choosing the narrow path of faith. How can one walk the narrow path if they were never told a narrow path exists? How can one choose and differentiate between the path of the godly and the ungodly if those in spiritual authority over them never took the time to disciple them and show them the difference between these two paths, and that they exist?
Two paths stand before every man. We choose either the path of the godly or the ungodly; the path of the blessed or the path of the cursed; the path of light or the path of darkness. Depending on which of these two paths we choose, we will either be blessed of the Lord, or perish in our own hedonism and self-flattery.
One day we will stand before the creator of all that is. One day we will stand before the God of the universe, and all our self-importance all our vainglory, all our vanity will be stripped away and all that will remain will be the reality of who we truly are, and what path we chose in this life.
It’s not complicated, it’s simple really. We choose life or death, we choose to live with the godly, or perish with the ungodly, and the choice is exclusively ours as individuals.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
The Blessed and the Cursed Part 2
As we continue to search out this benediction, we see the three stages of a man’s downward descent. First the man walks, then the man stands, and finally the man sits. One who begins to walk in the counsel of the ungodly will likely stand in the path of sinners, and finally sit in the seat of the scornful.
We are obliged by the word of God to flee from the counsel of the ungodly and thus end the cycle before it begins.
As the Psalm continues, we also come to see that it’s not enough to keep from evil, but our heart must be given over to good.
There are men in this world who are not necessarily evil. These are men who don’t murder, who don’t cheat, who don’t do any of the things we associate with evil men, but their delight is not in the law of the Lord, and they do not meditate in His law day and night.
It is not enough for us to consider ourselves good people, moral people, spiritual people; we must delight in the Lord, and desire more of Him in our lives, and perpetually so.
If we delight in the selfsame things after coming to Christ than we did before coming to Him, we must diligently search our hearts because something just isn’t right.
When we come to the saving knowledge of truth, when we come to the saving knowledge of Christ, we begin to delight in Him rather than the things we once delighted in.
The Word of the Lord and the law of the Lord become our delight, and we meditate upon them because we know they are the only path to true joy, true fulfillment, and true peace.
What do you delight in? That is a question only you can answer. If you delight in the word of the Lord, then you delight in righteousness and truth. If you delight in the fleeting, passing pleasures of the world, then you delight in the temporal.
We cannot belong to God and delight in the things of the world, just as those of the world do not delight in the law of the Lord.
What you delight in today will set the course for your tomorrow.
What are the benefits of one who is blessed? What are the benefits of one who not only keeps himself from evil but delights in the law of the Lord?
The first benefit is that he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season.
So what’s so great about being like a tree planted by the rivers of water?
The number one reason a tree becomes fruitless, withers, and dies is lack of water. When the roots of a tree have no water source, when the roots of a tree go deep into the ground but find no water there, the tree itself begins to wither and eventually, inevitably die.
Even though the root of a tree is invisible, it is the most important aspect of the tree itself. It is the root of a tree that allows nutrients to flow to the branches, and if the roots are deep and planted by the rivers of water, the fruit the tree produces will be plentiful indeed.
The roots determine the strength of a tree. If a branch withers there is still a chance that the tree itself will survive. If the root withers there is no chance of survival for the tree is essentially dead.
When we flee the appearance of evil and delight in the Lord, we never run the risk of withering and dying. God promises to plant us by the rivers of water wherein we will always have an abundance of the living waters of life which cause us to grow and be fruitful.
Not only does God promise that we will be like trees planted by the water, we will also bring forth fruit in due season. Being fruitful is a necessity for every child of God. Because our roots are deeply tethered in truth, because the living waters nourish us, we are fruitful in the things of God, and our fruit is readily visible by all who would look upon us.
Even though some refuse to acknowledge it, there is an underlying reciprocity throughout the word of God, and we see God Himself using the word ‘if’ often. Since we know God to be meticulous in the wording He chooses, since we know that nothing superfluous with God, since we know that He means what He says and He says what He means, when God says He will plant us by rivers of water if we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, we realize we have a role to play in this. It is incumbent upon us to choose light over darkness, truth over deception, the God of heaven over the god of this world, and in so doing we will be blessed of Him, and kept by Him, and victorious through Him.
One last blessing for those who guard their hearts, flee from evil, and delight in the law of the Lord is that they will prosper in whatever they do.
So many things we attribute to our own ingenuity, our own abilities and our own intellect really have nothing to do with us. Sure, we might endeavor and try and strive, but if God is not in it and if God doesn’t bless it, we are essentially tilting at windmills and trying to push a boulder up a hill all at the same time.
When God blesses the work of our hands, when God blesses what we do, even the most difficult tasks become easy and trouble free. When God’s hand of blessing is not upon our labors, we will work ten times as hard and have half the reward, because when God isn’t in it, we earn our daily bread by the sweat of our brow, and do so the hard way.
The promises of God are as valid today as they were when the psalmist penned this psalm. God has not changed, therefore His promises for His children have not changed either.
The benefits of turning our back on evil and finding our delight in the Lord are incalculable. Not only will we know that God stands with us, protects us, and blesses the works of our hands, we will likewise know that we are fruitful in the things of God because we are planted by the living waters of the gospel.
The Word of God is clear, and there is no room for doubt or interpretation as to whether or not we should break ties with sin and with the things of this world, which do nothing to mature us and grow us in the Lord. Anyone who still questions whether or not God demands repentance, righteousness, and holiness does so either because they haven’t read the Bible, or because they are willfully ignorant and are pretending as though they did not understand or perceive even though the truth was made evident to them.
Whether we are as a tree planted by rivers of living water, or a tree planted in the desert is something dependent upon whether or not we heed the warnings of God, and guard our hearts against evil in its many forms.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
We are obliged by the word of God to flee from the counsel of the ungodly and thus end the cycle before it begins.
As the Psalm continues, we also come to see that it’s not enough to keep from evil, but our heart must be given over to good.
There are men in this world who are not necessarily evil. These are men who don’t murder, who don’t cheat, who don’t do any of the things we associate with evil men, but their delight is not in the law of the Lord, and they do not meditate in His law day and night.
It is not enough for us to consider ourselves good people, moral people, spiritual people; we must delight in the Lord, and desire more of Him in our lives, and perpetually so.
If we delight in the selfsame things after coming to Christ than we did before coming to Him, we must diligently search our hearts because something just isn’t right.
When we come to the saving knowledge of truth, when we come to the saving knowledge of Christ, we begin to delight in Him rather than the things we once delighted in.
The Word of the Lord and the law of the Lord become our delight, and we meditate upon them because we know they are the only path to true joy, true fulfillment, and true peace.
What do you delight in? That is a question only you can answer. If you delight in the word of the Lord, then you delight in righteousness and truth. If you delight in the fleeting, passing pleasures of the world, then you delight in the temporal.
We cannot belong to God and delight in the things of the world, just as those of the world do not delight in the law of the Lord.
What you delight in today will set the course for your tomorrow.
What are the benefits of one who is blessed? What are the benefits of one who not only keeps himself from evil but delights in the law of the Lord?
The first benefit is that he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season.
So what’s so great about being like a tree planted by the rivers of water?
The number one reason a tree becomes fruitless, withers, and dies is lack of water. When the roots of a tree have no water source, when the roots of a tree go deep into the ground but find no water there, the tree itself begins to wither and eventually, inevitably die.
Even though the root of a tree is invisible, it is the most important aspect of the tree itself. It is the root of a tree that allows nutrients to flow to the branches, and if the roots are deep and planted by the rivers of water, the fruit the tree produces will be plentiful indeed.
The roots determine the strength of a tree. If a branch withers there is still a chance that the tree itself will survive. If the root withers there is no chance of survival for the tree is essentially dead.
When we flee the appearance of evil and delight in the Lord, we never run the risk of withering and dying. God promises to plant us by the rivers of water wherein we will always have an abundance of the living waters of life which cause us to grow and be fruitful.
Not only does God promise that we will be like trees planted by the water, we will also bring forth fruit in due season. Being fruitful is a necessity for every child of God. Because our roots are deeply tethered in truth, because the living waters nourish us, we are fruitful in the things of God, and our fruit is readily visible by all who would look upon us.
Even though some refuse to acknowledge it, there is an underlying reciprocity throughout the word of God, and we see God Himself using the word ‘if’ often. Since we know God to be meticulous in the wording He chooses, since we know that nothing superfluous with God, since we know that He means what He says and He says what He means, when God says He will plant us by rivers of water if we do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, we realize we have a role to play in this. It is incumbent upon us to choose light over darkness, truth over deception, the God of heaven over the god of this world, and in so doing we will be blessed of Him, and kept by Him, and victorious through Him.
One last blessing for those who guard their hearts, flee from evil, and delight in the law of the Lord is that they will prosper in whatever they do.
So many things we attribute to our own ingenuity, our own abilities and our own intellect really have nothing to do with us. Sure, we might endeavor and try and strive, but if God is not in it and if God doesn’t bless it, we are essentially tilting at windmills and trying to push a boulder up a hill all at the same time.
When God blesses the work of our hands, when God blesses what we do, even the most difficult tasks become easy and trouble free. When God’s hand of blessing is not upon our labors, we will work ten times as hard and have half the reward, because when God isn’t in it, we earn our daily bread by the sweat of our brow, and do so the hard way.
The promises of God are as valid today as they were when the psalmist penned this psalm. God has not changed, therefore His promises for His children have not changed either.
The benefits of turning our back on evil and finding our delight in the Lord are incalculable. Not only will we know that God stands with us, protects us, and blesses the works of our hands, we will likewise know that we are fruitful in the things of God because we are planted by the living waters of the gospel.
The Word of God is clear, and there is no room for doubt or interpretation as to whether or not we should break ties with sin and with the things of this world, which do nothing to mature us and grow us in the Lord. Anyone who still questions whether or not God demands repentance, righteousness, and holiness does so either because they haven’t read the Bible, or because they are willfully ignorant and are pretending as though they did not understand or perceive even though the truth was made evident to them.
Whether we are as a tree planted by rivers of living water, or a tree planted in the desert is something dependent upon whether or not we heed the warnings of God, and guard our hearts against evil in its many forms.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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