Signs Of Apostasy

Just as important as the early detection and immediate treatment of cancer, is the detection of any spiritual decline, for the prevention of possible apostasy. Like cancer, apostasy gives warning signs.

There are seven signs of possible apostasy to look for:

  1. Loss of Appetite for God’s Word.

Just like physical food is necessary to preserve our bodies, the Bible is the spiritual food that’s necessary for our survival of our spirit (Matthew 4:4, John 6:35-47, 48:48).

God expects us to become skilled in reading and applying spiritual principles and truths that are in the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15, Acts17:11, Hebrews 5:12-14).

A loss of appetite for God’s Word, is a possible indicator of apostasy from faith.

2. Neglecting the power of prayer.

Just like daily Bible study, we need daily prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Acts 12:5, Romans 12:12). Prayer is the way we communicate our needs to God (1 John 3:22, 5:14-15, Matthew 7:7-11).

Prayer is the way we receive strength and wisdom for God.

We need daily communication with God to remain strong in our faith. Without it, we will get spiritually sick and eventually die (Hebrews 3:5-12, 6:1-6, 10: 23-31).

3. Failure to commune with fellow believers.

The first century’s priority was to come together and commune with each other (Acts 2:42, 2:46. 20:7).

There are many people who say they believe but do not go to church. They say the church is too “judgy” I say I don’t go to church for others but for God.

Having a mindset of not wanting to assemble with others, can be a sign of apostasy.

4. Non involvement in the workings of the church.

Every person’s participation in God’s work, is vital and necessary in keeping our church’s strong and vibrant (Ephesians 4:11). Simple things like helping prepare the communion trays, or cleaning the church are God’s Work. Not wanting to be involved in the work of the church can be a red flag of apostasy.

5. A Critical Spirit.

We should never have a critical spirit. Examining of own spiritual deficiencies in light of God’s Word should be key, instead of judging others (2 Corinthians 13:5-6, Matthew 7:1-3). We can not make light of the sincerity or integrity of others, to appear “holier than thou” (Luke 18:9-14).

A critical eye always discloses an impure heart. A heart that causes people to apostatize from God and His church (1 Thessalonians 4:7).

6. Lack of regard for the truth.

We must be confident and uncompromising in our faith and righteousness. We can’t compromise with the world’s evilness. We must Uphold God’s truth at all times (Galatians 1:6-10, Timothy 1:1-20, Titus 1:7-16). Lacking regard for God’s truths is apostasy.

7. Lack of spiritual concern for others.

The hallmark of being a follower of Jesus is displaying love towards others (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, Philippians 2:4).

People who follow Jesus deeply care about the needs of the people around them (Galatians 6:2, Romans 10:1. We need to care about the needs of others (Matthew 25:31-40, James, 1:27, 2: 14-17, John 3:17-19).

The world loves to judge others selfishly, with a view of personal fulfillment and self-inflation.

We should be looking outside our interests for the sake of helping and saving others. If we find ourselves judging every situation selfishly a red flag should go up.

My Parents

What were your parents doing at your age?

When my father was my age he was a professional automobile painter. One of the best in our town, people used to come from all over the state to have my father paint their vehicles. My father was an amazing man. He was a military guy in his younger days, and had half his face blown off, and still continued to lead a full life, provided for his family, and work a full time job.

My mother, well if you have read my past posts, you know she wasn’t a very nice person. She kept the house clean and cooked for my father. She passed away at 59 years old.

God’s Power In Our Problems

We don’t often think of God being powerful in our problems. Often when our problems don’t seem to go away, we wonder where God’s power is.

How many times have you prayed for something bleeding that God would do it -but He didn’t?

How many times have you asked God to move a mighty way on your behalf or for someone else -but He didn’t?

It’s in those times where we can either believe that God’s not powerful, or His power is being shown in a different way. God might have the power to take away our problems, but His power is greatest showing and helping us endure. I don’t think the greatest show of God’s power is in removing our problems, but in giving us the strength to endure them.

And John 9, Jesus and his disciples came across a man who had been blind from birth. When the disciples drew attention to the man asking Jesus. “Why was this man born blind was it because of his own sins or his sins?” Jesus answered them.

“It was not because of his sins or his parents sins, This happened so the power of Gods could be seen in him” -John 9:3

Jesus went on to heal the man of his blindness , which caused quite a stir among the religious community. even if God doesn’t heal, protect, or take the problem away, His power can still be seen in us. God’s power is not seen in us when He takes away the problem. His power is seen most when He gives us the strength to endure it.

I have had migraine since I was 12 years old. I can’t tell you how many times I have prayed for God to heal me. I have been to every doctor in my area. I have tried everything including Botox to help me get relief. But the migraines are still here. I have found supplements that have eased them, but not take them away. Yet God gives me strength to endure them.

The world expects God to heal, protect, or make our lives problem free. What the world doesn’t expect to see his followers remain faithful to Him even when he doesn’t seem to come through on our behalf. I think our faith in God stands out more when we endure problems through God’s power, not when He removes us from experiencing any problems.

The Law

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

One law I would like to change is in our approach to drug cartels in America.

We should implement a zero-tolerance policy on drugs. If you are caught selling drugs or making this poison there should be a harsh punishment like the death penalty for large scale drug trafficking.

Too many Americans die of overdoses. In 2023 alone 110,037 people died because of taking this poison the drug cartels put on our streets.

Fighting With God

Why do we sometimes fight God when He wants us to do something in our life?

Have you ever felt something in your spirit so strong that there is no denying it was God telling you something. Yet, we fight against it. Essentially it is a battle between our human nature and the spiritual guidance we receive from God. Our own desires conflict with what we believe God wants for us.

There are a few points to consider:

  • Misinterpretation. Sometime people misinterpret what they believe God wants, leading to resistance or conflict with their actions.
  • Fear of the unknown. Change can be scary, even when it is aligned with God‘s will, leading to resistance and hesitation.
  • Self-Centeredness. Our own desires and infections and sometimes overshadow what we proceeded as God‘s plan for our lives.
  • Spiritual Warfare. We are constantly in a fight with spiritual forces that oppose God’s will, which leads to internal conflict.

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 21:30,

“There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord.”

Which essentially says, anyone who goes against God is a fool. You can’t fight God. You can’t find one man in the Bible that ever fought against God and won.

Dream House

Write about your dream home.

My dream home would be a house on the coast. It would have to be at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. And a hot tub, a outdoor shower, and a fire pit and a place to watch the waves for hours.

Slowing Down In A Busy Life

Sometimes I feel like I am constantly running on the treadmill of life. Sometimes I feel like I can’t slow down and take a break. It’s not easy to slow down in a world that makes us feel that multitasking is a must. t what point to our bodies say enough is enough.

It’s not easy to slow down, but it turns out it’s exactly what we may need. Slowing down is not only good for our well-being, it also helps us feel less stressed while accomplishing more.

Slowing down and giving ourselves more time to make decisions. How many unimportant things do we do each day. We think we need to get it “all done” in one day, when that’s not really necessary.

When our minds are speeding, our performance and effectiveness get slower or weaker. It’s not being slow that most of us are seeking necessarily, it’s the feeling that we have time to do things that matter. It’s when we feel like we can handle our daily tasks, and don’t feel stressed, and have time to rest, be present, and enjoy the good things in life.

In the world today, we are encouraged to be busy, to multitask, and to be as productive as humanly possible. Most of us probably feel the pressure to perform, or at least look like we’re performing even if that means masking exhaustion with caffeine and sugar. But this feeling of “time urgency” or the sense that we don’t have enough time actually leads us to perform worse. Faster doesn’t always equal better, and being busier does not mean we are being more productive.

When we give ourselves more time to think through that questions we have in life, we can likely come up with better answers. Pausing instead of rushing can help our brains work better.

When we feel that life is to hectic because of what’s going on in our heads, maybe we need to short circuit our thoughts. If you’re like me, you get too many thoughts going on in your head at once and finding a way to get all those thoughts out of our heads is key.

There are a few techniques for getting thoughts out of our heads involve mindfulness meditation, challenging out negative thoughts and focusing on positive aspects or journaling. The key is to acknowledge our thoughts without getting caught up in them, and actively redirecting our focus to something calming.

Getting Some Amazing News

You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?

In America everything is celebrated with food because sharing a meal together is a powerful way to connect with family and friends. This creates lasting memories.

So, I imagine whatever the great news would be I celebrated with a meal and there would definitely be wine involved.

Overwhelmed By Sin

When we are overwhelmed by sin it’s a feeling of being deeply burdened and weighed down.

David says in Psalm 65:3 “Sin overwhelmed me, but You atoned for our transgressions.” Psalm 65 gives glimpse of the enormous burden of sin, A person who has never been overwhelmed by his consciousness of sin will never understand forgiveness in a real sense.

A real understanding of what sin creates in us a sense of being overwhelmed. It has nothing to do with the number of sins we’ve committed.

Sin cuts open fresh wounds in the heart of God. God suffers from those wounds because He forgives His children. Knowing that His children are behaving in ways that sin against Himself, His laws, and His love creates pain in His heart. He forgives us to bring us back to Him, He forgives but that forgiveness is costly to God.

When we realize the sorrow in the heart of God over sin in us, we experience the overwhelming. When we see the repulsiveness of sin to God, then we are able to see the grieving heart of God.

We can experience true forgiveness when we can say to God that we too have begun to understand what it costs for God to forgive us.

Until we realize that we don’t know what forgiveness is, we will not understand what God’s love is.

God is full of mercy in His dealings with us. The moments when we come to know the utter repulsiveness of sin in our lives and feel overwhelmed by it will God take the initiative to forgive us. (Psalm 40:12).

We cannot earn forgiveness because it is a God-given gift. It is after forgiveness that we learn to love God much. He has forgiven us much.

Activities or Hobbies

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?

I used to enjoy hiking but with a rough knee surgery a year ago, I’m struggling to recover from I think my hiking days are over. I am able to walk fine, but I will never be able to climb like I used to.

A Judgmental Spirit

“Judge Not”

No biblical phrase has been more overused, or abused. Was Jesus actually saying that we should have no discernment?  what did he really mean and how do we steer clear of breaking this commandment?

The sermon on the mount where this was spoken, was written primarily to correct the faults religion of the Pharisees.

So what are the signs of judgmentalism and how do we steer clear of it.

  • We shouldn’t exercise authority over people that we do not possess.

Jesus set shepherds in the church to discern false prophets, and open sin against God‘s Word (1 Corinthians 5). As members of a church, we are called to submit to one another, not judge one another. We should not possess the gift of suspicion.

  • We shouldn’t treat  suspicions or rumors as fact.

Judgmentalism puts opinions ahead of the facts. We must make a full, investigation of a matter to obtain clear proof. Even God came down to see that’s how a Babel and the wickedness of Solomon Gomorrah before he poured out His judgment.

I have an example of this: today I was at the store and bought beer. A lady that goes to my church seen it, and I could tell by the look on her face she was judging me. I’m not in the habit of trying to hide my life from others. I was buying it for some guests coming over that I thought they would like a beer with their meal. She was judging me before she had the facts.

  • We shouldn’t presume to know the motives of peoples actions.

Anyone can judge actions. It is obvious. The problem comes when you decide to know the “Why” of those actions.

Only God knows person to motives. He will judge everyone, including us at the judgment seat of Christ to reveal our true motives.

  • We shouldn’t be quick to detect minor, faults and others, while being blind to our own sins.

Roman’s 2:1 says,

“Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.”

Judgement puts opinions ahead of facts.

  • We shouldn’t judge things that are not clearly spelled out in the Bible.

God’s Word is perfect and does not need us to add to it our own condemnation.

  • We shouldn’t ignore everything favorable about a person and fixate only on an unfavorable trait.

Judgement shouldn’t become personal and not prejudice. In court any juror with a personal relationship to a defendant is disqualified.

When it becomes personal our desire is to condemn a person rather than get rid of the evil in a person.

  • We shouldn’t spread our wrong conclusions to others.

People on social media have a habit of sounding off on people with only knowing a fraction of the facts. Later after learning the whole truth, they make no effort To go back and inform others the whole truth. Which can cost others their reputations.

  • We shouldn’t pronounce final judgment on any person.

Only God can do that. We may judge their actions, but we cannot judge the person themselves.

There is a lot of judgment going on in the world today. Just be careful with your words if you don’t know the whole truth of a situation. Not only can it ruin a persons reputation in some cases it can be dangerous for the other person.

Ask yourself:

  1. Do you have the full context of the situation?
  2. Are there other possible explanations for their behavior?
  3. How would I feel if I were in their shoes?

My Favorites

What’s your favorite candy?

All my favorite candy is slowly being taken off the shelves at the grocery stores.

When my father used to take me fishing with him, we would go gas up the truck on our way out of town. He would let me pick something sweet.

My favorite were the Twin Bing, Idaho Spud, and Rocky Road candy bars. The only one that I can find at any stores near me, are the Idaho Spuds.

It’s funny how simple things like candy bring back old memories. In my case fishing with my father.