MEM

What has become of God’s mighty men? What has become of the warriors of God’s house? Where are the battle hardened, those who know how to wage spiritual war, those who acknowledge the fundamental truth that the enemy we face takes no prisoners, and our only option is to stand and to fight and to overcome the darkness on its own turf?

With the old guard, the previous generation, the old soldiers all but gone to their eternal rest, having fought their fight and received their reward, what has replaced them can be likened to many things, but none of the things they can be likened to is a warrior of Christ. Where once the motto of the believer was ‘onward Christian soldier’ it has been replaced by the new and less catchy motto, ‘avoid confrontation at all cost.’

The standard lays in the dust, the banner of truth is hidden away, rather than be ashamed of their sin, men are ashamed of the Christ who bought them with His blood, and the new self-appointed generals of God’s army would much rather attempt to talk the enemy to sleep, or better still wave the white flag of surrender than run the risk of chipping one of their manicured nails, or heaven forbid wrinkle their three thousand dollar suit.

The godless mock; the saints stay silent! Sin is running amuck, closet doors are squeaking on rusty hinges, and preachers, and leaders, and evangelists are coming out shameless in their shame, and the saints stay silent!

We have become coward to our core, to the very marrow of our being, but rather than fess up to our cowardice, rather than admit that we are spineless and weak willed, we attempt to justify it by invoking tolerance.

Long forgotten is the command that we are to hate evil, long forgotten is the command that we are to strive for holiness, long forgotten is the command that we are to be light and salt and truth in a world of darkness and deception. No, not us, not this generation, we have more important things to worry about than standing for truth or having the courage of our convictions.

We look down on those who suffered, and bled and died for the cause of Christ, we scoff at the sacrifice of our fellow brothers throughout the world, and rather than be shamed by their faithfulness, rather than be shamed by their selflessness, we defend our apathy by telling all who would hear that they’re suffering and dying because they didn’t have enough faith to believe for prosperity, they didn’t know the secret combination to unlocking vast fortunes, a blessed life, an adoring public, and an easy ride on the heaven express.

We have lost our ability to blush! We have lost our ability to be convicted! The church has descended toward the deepest bowels of lawlessness and sin, has shunned righteousness and holiness outright, yet still has the temerity to say ‘we will lead you out of the darkness into that glorious light of truth!’

As for the soldiers, they are on furlough. ‘No battle here, nothing to see, move along.’ We thought we’d have to stand up for Jesus at a certain point, but then the world set us straight, and showed us just how profitable compromise can be. We have crossover artist, crossover preachers, and crossover churches, all integrated, interchangeable, and flavored to everyone’s taste. It’s just the strange folks, the outcast, those on the outskirts of modern Christendom that still believe there is an enemy to be confronted, a battle to be fought, a war to be won, and a crown to be had. They’re the folds that give us tolerant all-embracing Christians a bad name.

Diplomacy! That’s the ticket, not these antiquated ideas pulled from spiritual reliquaries of the past like holiness unto God, the fear of the Lord, or sanctification. Those people just didn’t know about the power of the double portion, and the hundred fold return, they were just ignorant. So what if God did miracles by their hands? So what if the lame walked, the blind saw, the deaf heard, and demons were cast out of many? They still didn’t have what really matters; they didn’t have wealth, and gaudy mansions, and indoor pools, and fancy cars and expensive watches. So what if all we have is a form of godliness? So what if we are weak and powerless and absent of conviction? We have stuff; lots of stuff; expensive stuff!’

And so we march to the beat of our own drummer, we are our own generals, we make the rules, change the rules, even erase the rules altogether, considering God’s Holy Word to be nothing more than an arbitrary self-help manual, but nothing really set in stone, certainly not something we will be held to account for in case we choose to dismiss it. We are after all ‘little gods’ are we not, and as ‘little gods’ we create the construct of our own personal universe.

Lie to ourselves as we might, there is one truth from which all of our self-delusions will not shelter us, the fact that the gardener is here, shears in hand, and He has methodically begun to prune the trees in His vineyard, removing the dry and dead branches, the rotten fruit and all that He finds displeasing. He will be merciless in His pruning, that what remains might bear good fruit, that when He returns He might still find faith on the earth. May God help us!

Mic 6:8 (KJV) He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

With love in Christ, Michael Boldea Jr.

*Looking beyond our present day circumstances is obeying the righteous Word of the Creator.

Proverbs 21:21 He who pursues righteousness and loyalty Finds life, righteousness and honor.

Proverbs 18:5 To show partiality to the wicked is not good, Nor to thrust aside the righteous in judgment.

Proverbs 24:24 He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous," Peoples will curse him…

Proverbs 25:26 Like a trampled spring and a polluted well Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

Proverbs 29:7 The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor…

Proverbs 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Our responsibility Proverbs 28:5 … those who seek the LORD understand all things.

George Washington

"The invasion of the Church by the world is a menace to the extension of Christ's Kingdom. In all ages conformity to the world by Christians has resulted in lack of spiritual life and a consequent lack of spiritual vision and enterprise. A secularized or self-centered Church can never evangelize the world." - John R. Mott

Attack of the Giant Red Crabs

It sounds like a 1950’s science fiction movie: Giant red crabs attack and cause devastation wherever they go. But its real, and it’s happening in the Antarctic. The New Scientist website reports that king crabs measuring more than a meter across are invading the waters underneath the South Pole, laying waste to the ecosystem.

Over one million Neolithodes yaldwyni (king crabs) have migrated to Palmer Deep, a basin beneath the continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula, where they’re crashing through the fragile sediment of the ocean floor with their long legs. They appear to be devouring sea urchins, starfish, and other aquatic life, reducing the number of species in colonized areas to just a quarter of that in other, not-yet-invaded regions. Scientists say that warming temperatures have allowed the crabs to expand their home base.

Not all items verified

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your drink across the room, denting the freshly-painted project, which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh no--!' 

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the puzzle principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. 

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race. 

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity. 

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper. 

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge. 

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect. 

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part. 

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short. 

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit. 

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use. 

If you have not enjoyed any of these tools of practical use we suggest you proceed with caution.

Have you ever heard the word 'conformist' used other than as an insult? Yet have you also noticed how rare true independence and originality are? Those who would be rebels are within their own group more conformed in thought, appearance, and manner than the greater society they would criticize. Such is the human longing for identity. Do you hear criticism of believers for being conformed to Messiah? Yet who would you rather be conformed to? The world wants to squeeze you into its mold, but we have been created in His image for a unique destiny. Don't be ashamed to conform to Him.

What is a right to privacy? Does this mean that you can do whatever you want without anyone finding out about it? You hear debates about it in law and politics. These are so persistent that it is commonly accepted, but it does not exist in natural law or in God’s Kingdom. There you have a guarantee of no privacy. For we are told plainly that whatever you whisper in the ear will be shouted from the housetops. Secrets cannot be kept forever, and at the end of the age there will be none, for all things will be revealed. We are told in advance so you may embrace this truth and live openly and transparently, and not be ashamed before Yeshua (Jesus) at His coming.

(Adopted from a blog post by Dale Cresap)

Psalm 6:8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity, For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.

Psalm 119:28 My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Thy word.

Psalm 126:6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Blessed be YHVH (Genesis 14:20 And blessed be God Most High…)