Monday, November 24, 2025
Do Local Assemblies Need To Be Guided By A Pastor?
The Apostasy of the Modern Church
We have all had to question God, asking for truth to dispel all the wrong things we were taught. Only those who want pure truth will realize they have been manipulated and intimidated by a system God never commanded.
Satan has been very clever, twisting scripture to make people believe things that placed them under the control of men while negating the control of the Holy Spirit.
I will never forget a conversation many years ago with a woman who had left the Catholic church and joined the Protestant system. The same system I was in at the time. We also had left the Catholic church and were seeking the truth.
She had been taught a wrong doctrine. During our discussion, I mildly challenged her to look at the Word of God with me so she could weigh what she was taught and what she was about to do, against the Bible.
My friend's answer to me was that her pastor told her what to believe about it, and that settled it for her. She would not look at the passages I suggested because in her mind, she went to the authority and he told her what she wanted to hear.
I suddenly had the feeling that we were back under the priest all over again, only under a different name, the "pastor".
My friend told me I couldn't know the truth because I had not been to seminary. At which point I posed the question to her, "Oh, you mean the Holy Spirit only goes to seminary?" She saw my retort as a rude remark, refused to answer, and no longer treated me as a friend but as an enemy.
Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."
The subject of the discussion was remarriage after divorce. My friend had seen many miracles after her husband left her. God provided for her because she was innocent in the matter. But then one day she decided to change her view and remarry. Sadly, her pastor advised her that it was alright to remarry after a divorce. My friend shared that she was perplexed that she no longer saw miracles as she had before the remarriage. She didn't put it together that her blessing of provision dried up when she disobeyed God.
Malachi 2:16-17 …15 Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith. 17 You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?
Mark 10:9
"Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. / But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."
Luke 16:18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Romans 7:2-3 "For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man."
Is it any wonder why my friend refused to look at the passages given by God? She had been assured by her mentor whom she viewed as the mediator between her and God. This mentor was of the Baptist persuasion and she saw him as the authority over the Holy Spirit.
When I spoke out in an adult Sunday school class about this matter, I was told I was not loving if I did not accept this matter of remarriage as the rest of the class was doing. Only one person approached me after that and said they agreed. That gave me a sense of how many people in that group cared about Christ and His truth.
The "pastor' who counseled her to remarry also stated in a sermon that I heard myself, that all teenage children must rebel against their parents at some point, it is normal.
Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children and Parents
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
I sent a note up to the pastor in the middle of his sermon with this passage and another one written on it;, the other passage was;
1 Samuel 15:23 "23 For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
The pastor was taking questions that night, read my statement, and looked into the audience with a stern look of resolve, and repeated his stance that children must rebel.
Is it any wonder that authentically born-again believers are leaving the organized church system that dominates everything, silences those who speak out for God, and shuns those who speak the truth?
This "pastor' was seen as "the Authority over that congregation of 200 members at that time, but over the years has grown to 1400. Is it any wonder why that church has grown? It has compromised and fed the people what they wanted.
I suggest that this particular church was a microcosm of the rest of the country. As the years passed, in the beginning, I believed this gathering was an anomaly; I was wrong. I found out that everywhere we went in the denominational organized church, the same mentality was emerging rapidly, that being the Bible was only a guidebook of suggestions that we were free to ignore in favor of "love", which was not love at all but tolerance for sin.
In my estimation, I equated this false love with bad parenting in which the parents don't discipline their children and give them whatever they want to keep the peace. The children grow up to refuse any correction or instruction they don't personally like. And that is where we are right now in the churches.
My thoughts in recent years is to cling to what God has told me to do and our soon homegoing as the church is removed. My guess is that most of the people in those institutional gatherings will still be sitting in the pews after the rapture.
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Keep Looking Up, our redemption draws nearer every day.
,
Satan has been very clever, twisting scripture to make people believe things that placed them under the control of men while negating the control of the Holy Spirit.
I will never forget a conversation many years ago with a woman who had left the Catholic church and joined the Protestant system. The same system I was in at the time. We also had left the Catholic church and were seeking the truth.
She had been taught a wrong doctrine. During our discussion, I mildly challenged her to look at the Word of God with me so she could weigh what she was taught and what she was about to do, against the Bible.
My friend's answer to me was that her pastor told her what to believe about it, and that settled it for her. She would not look at the passages I suggested because in her mind, she went to the authority and he told her what she wanted to hear.
I suddenly had the feeling that we were back under the priest all over again, only under a different name, the "pastor".
My friend told me I couldn't know the truth because I had not been to seminary. At which point I posed the question to her, "Oh, you mean the Holy Spirit only goes to seminary?" She saw my retort as a rude remark, refused to answer, and no longer treated me as a friend but as an enemy.
Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."
The subject of the discussion was remarriage after divorce. My friend had seen many miracles after her husband left her. God provided for her because she was innocent in the matter. But then one day she decided to change her view and remarry. Sadly, her pastor advised her that it was alright to remarry after a divorce. My friend shared that she was perplexed that she no longer saw miracles as she had before the remarriage. She didn't put it together that her blessing of provision dried up when she disobeyed God.
Malachi 2:16-17 …15 Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith. 17 You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” By saying, “All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and in them He delights,” or, “Where is the God of justice?
Mark 10:9
"Therefore, what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 "To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. / But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife."
Luke 16:18 "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Romans 7:2-3 "For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man."
Is it any wonder why my friend refused to look at the passages given by God? She had been assured by her mentor whom she viewed as the mediator between her and God. This mentor was of the Baptist persuasion and she saw him as the authority over the Holy Spirit.
When I spoke out in an adult Sunday school class about this matter, I was told I was not loving if I did not accept this matter of remarriage as the rest of the class was doing. Only one person approached me after that and said they agreed. That gave me a sense of how many people in that group cared about Christ and His truth.
The "pastor' who counseled her to remarry also stated in a sermon that I heard myself, that all teenage children must rebel against their parents at some point, it is normal.
Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children and Parents
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."
I sent a note up to the pastor in the middle of his sermon with this passage and another one written on it;, the other passage was;
1 Samuel 15:23 "23 For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as reprehensible as false religion and idolatry. Since you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
The pastor was taking questions that night, read my statement, and looked into the audience with a stern look of resolve, and repeated his stance that children must rebel.
Is it any wonder that authentically born-again believers are leaving the organized church system that dominates everything, silences those who speak out for God, and shuns those who speak the truth?
This "pastor' was seen as "the Authority over that congregation of 200 members at that time, but over the years has grown to 1400. Is it any wonder why that church has grown? It has compromised and fed the people what they wanted.
I suggest that this particular church was a microcosm of the rest of the country. As the years passed, in the beginning, I believed this gathering was an anomaly; I was wrong. I found out that everywhere we went in the denominational organized church, the same mentality was emerging rapidly, that being the Bible was only a guidebook of suggestions that we were free to ignore in favor of "love", which was not love at all but tolerance for sin.
In my estimation, I equated this false love with bad parenting in which the parents don't discipline their children and give them whatever they want to keep the peace. The children grow up to refuse any correction or instruction they don't personally like. And that is where we are right now in the churches.
My thoughts in recent years is to cling to what God has told me to do and our soon homegoing as the church is removed. My guess is that most of the people in those institutional gatherings will still be sitting in the pews after the rapture.
Matthew 7:21-23 "21 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Keep Looking Up, our redemption draws nearer every day.
,
The Hospitality Crisis
Cell phones have created a hospitality crisis. People spend more time on their phones than with those right in front of them.
Sunday, November 23, 2025
Idle Conversation Breeds Gossip
This is the kind of gossip that God commanded His people not to indulge in, it only causes others to look down on the target of the gossip without reason.
Recently, someone confided in me about something a father had done wrong. They saw him from across the parking lot, chastising his daughter who was talking to a boy.
They made the assumption that the daughter and young man were innocent in their conversation, even though they saw them only once a year, didn't know what the father was saying, and had no information as to the interactions with the daughter and young man all the rest of the year.
In fact, they didn't even know the young man. But they judged the father harsh and restrictive. This is the very kind of thing I see all the time that ruins reputations. No real information, not even knowing what was said or why.
These are also those who made judgments about me without information, only what they wished to believe, without enough information, and worse, it was none of their business.
These people could have easily chosen not to make a judgment at all, assuming the father knew what he was doing and that whatever it was, it was none of their business.
Let's stop judging people for things that are not our business, not sin, and may even be what God told the judged person to do.
Someone who thinks they have a right to know everything about others, but often knows little because they are the ones who do not communicate well with others. They assume things that make them feel superior, unable to be completely objective.
John 7:24 "24 Do not judge by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
When we judge, it ought to be according to God's standard and not our own prejudices. It ought to be with knowledge about the situation and not merely ideas thought up in the head about what might be going on, based on our own prejudices about someone, or worse, the desire to turn others against that person.
People who think they know everything are the most likely people to make judgments they have no business making about others.
We must judge things to be able to present the truths of God, but it matters what we are presenting and why.
Also, perhaps it is best to speak to people about others on a "need to know" basis, not just for the sake of idle conversation.
Matthew 12:36 "36 But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment."
Recently, someone confided in me about something a father had done wrong. They saw him from across the parking lot, chastising his daughter who was talking to a boy.
They made the assumption that the daughter and young man were innocent in their conversation, even though they saw them only once a year, didn't know what the father was saying, and had no information as to the interactions with the daughter and young man all the rest of the year.
In fact, they didn't even know the young man. But they judged the father harsh and restrictive. This is the very kind of thing I see all the time that ruins reputations. No real information, not even knowing what was said or why.
These are also those who made judgments about me without information, only what they wished to believe, without enough information, and worse, it was none of their business.
These people could have easily chosen not to make a judgment at all, assuming the father knew what he was doing and that whatever it was, it was none of their business.
Let's stop judging people for things that are not our business, not sin, and may even be what God told the judged person to do.
Someone who thinks they have a right to know everything about others, but often knows little because they are the ones who do not communicate well with others. They assume things that make them feel superior, unable to be completely objective.
John 7:24 "24 Do not judge by the outward appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
When we judge, it ought to be according to God's standard and not our own prejudices. It ought to be with knowledge about the situation and not merely ideas thought up in the head about what might be going on, based on our own prejudices about someone, or worse, the desire to turn others against that person.
People who think they know everything are the most likely people to make judgments they have no business making about others.
We must judge things to be able to present the truths of God, but it matters what we are presenting and why.
Also, perhaps it is best to speak to people about others on a "need to know" basis, not just for the sake of idle conversation.
Matthew 12:36 "36 But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment."
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