I love to express what I feel called to say. Writing helps me to open up my heart and do that. I hope that what I write helps you in some way. I hope it makes you think, encourages you, or inspires you. If it challenges you or if you disagree, I hope you know that I respect your right to have a different point of view.
Faith isn’t a religious tool to get what you want. It’s the courage to surrender your life to what God wants.
It takes much more and greater faith to trust in and rely on God when prayers don’t appear to be answered than it does when a prayer is quickly answered with a miracle, a conversion, or a healing. “I believe, help my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) Abraham relied on and trusted God in faith for many years before his prayers were answered and God’s promise was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac.
Trust God when you don't see The things you want to see. Rely on God always; Both good days and bad days. Never stop depending On what God is doing, Because if you love Him, He will make all things work Together for your good. (Romans 8:28)
Nature isn’t all natural. It’s full of the supernatural.
Nature is built on the tree of life. Life is a mystery that inhabits physical matter but originates and flows from beyond it. Scientists can explain how living organisms function, but not what life is or how it came to exist.
To ignore the supernatural nature of life is to deny the astonishing differences between organic and inorganic matter. It is to pretend that all life, including human life, consists merely of mechanical mechanisms and digital processors. It is to believe that both basic and brilliant brains are nothing but bots, and that human consciousness is only a matter-made mirage.
If nothing exists but energy and matter, then nothing truly matters. Human understanding, consciousness, ideals, inspirations, and insights are just illusions. However, if there isn’t anything outside of nature to animate it, how can I be writing this, and you be reading it?
Listen to the loudness of life! Look at its luscious beauty. Let it launch you into a lifestyle of awe, amazement, and appreciation. Open up and begin to experience the astounding reality of compassion, kindness, and heart-connection. Step boldly beyond any bias that perhaps is blocking your perception of the supernatural.
If life's only natural, A product of time and chance, Why do we think it matters?
A man stands on a forest trail, marveling at the surrounding greenery.
Don't fear a tear. It often means That Christ is near.
Outside of funerals, crying is rarely appreciated or encouraged in church. People are quick to hand a tissue to help a crier tidy up. However, when Christians gather as ekklesia to open up their heart to one another and to the God the Holy Spirit, it’s not unusual for teardrops to fall.
Why do people cry? Because tears are a gift from God. They’re not just salty eyewater. They have a spiritual, supernatural aspect to them.
The fear that a tear may appear causes many Christians to quench the Holy Spirit by fighting to keep their eyes dry. But what happens when the eyes moisten anyway? What happens when teardrops fall?
There are two kinds of tear tracks. Sad tears happen when we are hurting. They are a nonverbal, prayer-like cry for help. They release and our pain and keep it from building up inside of us.
Glad (or tender) tears occur when we feel blessed. They help awe, gratitude, and love to freely flow from deep within us when our heart is being tenderly touched with appreciation. When we hold back our tears, we hinder God’s help and we harden our heart to the awareness of His glorious presence.
In Western culture people crying is usually seen as embarrassment, as weakness, as emotional breakdown, as lack of self-control, as something to avoid at all costs (especially for men). Children grow up being called “crybaby” by other kids and being sternly told “Don’t cry,” or “Stop Crying,” by adults.
Those of us raised in Western culture have been taught to keep our eyes dry. We have been trained to try our best not to cry and if we do to keep our tear time as brief as possible. We feel like we owe it to ourselves and to the people around us to save us all from tear-embarrassment.
So, when we see someone beginning to cry there is normally a sense of awkwardness and panic. However, if we can get beyond that and accept tears as a spiritual gift from God, amazing things begin to happen.
Tenderness and compassion begin to spread around the room. People begin to feel more connected to one another. Humility comes out of hiding. Friendship thickens. The awareness of God’s presence intensifies. Few eyes remain dry as the warmth of heart-connection triumphs in the room.
I’ve always had a soft heart and because of that I cry easily, especially with tears of compassion and when I feel God’s presence. All my life I’ve struggled with feeling ashamed when tears come to my eyes and I’ve tried to hold them back. I’ve been so brained washed by Western culture that I still do.
Last fall my wife Ernie and I spent three months in Costa Rica (at Vidanet) helping to disciple young adults from the USA and several Latin American countries. When I would share a devotion with them, I would usually cry. Although I know that good things happen when tears are allowed to fall, I would still be embarrassed by it.
The day that most of us were leaving to go home, I knew I would cry every time I told someone goodbye, so I wore sunglasses to hide my tears. One of the leaders walked up to me and said, “Steve, why are you crying?”
I said, “Why do you think I’m crying?” She replied: “Because you are wearing sunglasses and it’s too cloudy to need them.” She caught me hiding the gift of God.
What would happen if those of us who are seeking to follow and obey Jesus would stop quenching and hiding our tears. What if we would begin to openly allow people to see how deeply the Holy Spirit is touching our heart? What if we ignored Western culture and quit disobeying the Scripture that says, “Quench not the Spirit,”?
Lord, please forgive me for all the times I’ve quenched Your Spirit by holding back and trying to stop Your gift of tears. Please help me to have the courage to let that gift feely flow without embarrassment every time You start releasing it through me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
People in a support group comforting a woman who is upset and crying.
Sunday morning is still the most racially and ethnically segregated hour in the world. Why is that?
I see two reasons. One is the Christian history of pride, self-righteousness, and love of power. The earliest Christians were full of joy. They were led by the Holy Spirit and humbly radiated God’s love, compassion, and forgiveness not only toward one another, but even toward the people who persecuted them.
However, once Roman Emperor Constintine made it illegal to persecute Christians and began to personally put his political authority behind Christianity things changed. Christianity shifted from being motivated and spread by love to being spread and maintained by coercion, political power, and even by violence.
Church became a place of compelled conformity. People who didn’t fit the church’s mold were seen as threats. Instead of “speaking the truth in love” and with kindness, church leaders began to speak and act with insults, baseless accusations, and hostility toward people who looked, believed, or acted differently.
Church teamed up with political power and began to verbally and eventually even violently persecute people who disagreed with or looked differently than them, even to the point of torturing people and publicly burning people alive. Some examples are the treatment of nonbelievers called “heretics,” violently forced conversion, the Spanish Inquisition, church supported racial and ethical prejudice, the endorsement of chattel slavery, the Crusades, and the way so-called Christians around the world have physically abused even to death Bible translators, protestants, anabaptists, quakers, and people who were seen as inferior.
Today there are tens of thousands of denominations and independent churches each with their own self-focused version of Christianity. They’re not only divided by beliefs, but they’re also divided by race and ethnicity. If they have any diversity at all, it is minimal.
The second reason Sunday church is so segregated is the controlled way church services are conducted. In the Bible Paul told the Christians in Corinth what to do “when you come together.” He told them that each person present should share “a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation . . .” Gradually Christianity drifted away from that biblical model and moved toward the same one man controlling the meeting and doing all the speaking each week.
Jesus told His followers to avoid setting up a hierarchy and instead to see each other as brothers and sisters. However, by the second century a hierarchical system was continuing to develop where one-man controlled each church and a one-man bishop controlled a group of churches. Individual Christ-followers were made subject to them.
I believe that Jesus had a reason for wanting His followers to function as equals, free from hierarchy. That was so that they would learn (both individually and corporately) to rely on the direct leadership of the Holy Spirit (“Christ in you, the hope of glory,”) instead of on human control.
Human hierarchy in institutional religion tries to maintain homogeneity, (the outward appearance of unity) by resisting or rejecting people who look differently. The same one man speaking and controlling every Sunday meeting is a powerful way to keep things homogeneous. He can set things up in ways that make people who look differently feel uncomfortable being there.
However, a meeting where everyone present is free to speak up as they feel prompted by the Spirit, is inherently equalizing and welcoming to everyone. The institutional church has strongly enforced slavery, segregation, and other more subtle forms of racism. Spirit-led, participatory Christianity has persistently resisted those things.
My wife and I helped oversee a nontraditional, Spirit-led church in inner city Nashville for ten years — The Salvation Army Berry Street. The meeting began with a Scripture reading. Then after Spirit-felt praise and worship people were invited to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey His promptings.
The meetings attracted intimate racial diversity that went far beyond tokenism and superficiality. We shared our hearts and our resources with one another, supported and encouraged each other, and began to know and love one another at a deep level. We learned to listen to each other and to appreciate and find God’s beauty in our racial and ethnic differences. Every time we gathered we would experience even greater love for Jesus and for each other.
One young shy black man who stuttered began coming. He eventually stood up to share something. It was painfully slow to watch, but everyone was patient and respectful toward him. You could see in his eyes the encouragement he felt. Gradually he began sharing almost every week and even began greeting people when they arrived. Over time his stuttering began to subside and although it never completely went away, he became a very effective communicator of God’s love.
To break free from the history of Sunday morning segregation, I believe we need to shift from the passive model of pastor-controlled homogenous church services to the welcoming, interactive model that the early Christians called “ekklesia.” A participatory circle free from hierarchy is inherently equalizing.
Try it and see. Gather a small group of Christ-followers. Have someone lead a prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to everyone present. Then encourage everyone to be still and inwardly listen. Finally ask them if they will share what they heard. You’ll be amazed at the results.
If you live in the Nashville, Tennessee area you can experience a gathering like that every Saturday morning at 8:30 at Chile Burrito, 330 Franklin Road, Brentwood, TN 37207. Everyone is welcome.
.Deconstruction can be dangerous. Religious deconstruction without Spirit-led reconstruction will leave your faith in rubble.
To move beyond the authoritarianism of churchianity we need to break free from the chains of self-righteousness and spiritual pride. We need to move away from being a high control group so we can discover true freedom in Christ. It’s vital that we go beyond inherited beliefs into direct personal, heart-connection with, direct interaction with, and ongoing surrender to the risen Jesus.
To deconstruct churchianity so that Christ can be the literal and living Head of His body requires that Christians go through a Spirit-led deconstruction process. It’s important that we lower our degree of religiosity by eliminating fear-based loyalty to the human hierarchy of holy institutions and church traditions.
To truly encounter the beauty and glory of Spirit-led reconstruction it’s essential that we learn to daily listen to, experience, and obey the presence, power, and reality of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” We also need to be continually corrected by and aligned with the Spirit-inspired writings of the earliest Christians that were brought together as the Bible.
It is invigorating to let the Holy Spirit deconstruct the institutionalism that has accumulated around Christianity and to clear away the rules, rituals, teachings, and formalisms that aren’t rooted in the Bible. Then way we can make room for the living Jesus to step into the literal Headship of His body. However, here’s a word of caution.
To obey one prompting from God is much more powerful than doing dozens of obligatory things. Being led by God’s Spirit is far more effective and healing than being led by religious requirements.
When Christians gather And let Christ be Head They are Spirit-led.
I never really believed it, but growing up I was surrounded by the attitude that pride is life’s greatest ride. Adults like to tell children to be proud. “Be proud of yourself. Be proud of your family. Be proud of your country.” They like to tell them, “I’m proud of you.”
Pride isn’t promoted only through words. Adults and children like to do more than boast about their pride. They like to display it through an arrogant and boastful attitude. Nowadays there’s even a month that celebrates pride. I believe in humility.
A great country is made up of great people. If you want your country to be great, you need to become great. But how can you become great? Jesus put it this way: “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:11-12)
Greatness consists of the servanthood of humility, not the boasting of pride. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (4:6)
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise. His greatness no one can fathom.” (Psalm 145:3) “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6) That’s what Jesus did. (Philippians 2:3-8)
Let Christ live in you. (Colossians 1:27) Let Jesus be your risen Lord. (Philippians 2:9-11) Let Him directly lead you from within throughout each day. (Romans 8:14) Then you will experience true greatness because: “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
People often see their religion as something to be proud about, but Christ wants to lead people toward humility. Proud religious institutions tend to promote Jesus as though He is dead or stuck in the past. But He is alive and present in the present. Life’s greatest ride is to deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow and obey the risen Jesus. (Luke 9:23)
Christianity without full, humble surrender to the real, active, and demonstrated presence of the living Jesus falls far short of the faith described in the Bible. Here’s the religion that the Bible teaches. “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
Media regularly consumed leaves life-altering imprints on the human mind and soul. For better or worse it molds a person mentally, emotionally, and spiritually into its own image.
Little by little, day by day, you think, speak, feel, and act more and more like the media that you continually consume and allow to build up inside your memory, your subconscious mind, and your soul. Be careful what you listen to, scroll through, watch, and read because it is all puling you to be like it.
In a society that’s awash with media that is stressful, accusative, anxiety provoking, vulgar, violent, sexually obsessed, dishonest, deceptive, and perverted, people don’t even know that they’re trapped in its dangerous undertow. They just go with the flow of mental, emotional, and spiritual trash that surrounds them and try to drown their sorrows in diversions, distractions, denials, alcohol, and prescription (and illegal) drugs.
I intentionally choose the media that I allow to change how I view the world. You can too. Before you watch, read, scroll through, or listen to any type of media, ask yourself; “Do I want to become like what is being presented in this media?” If your answer is no, don’t go there. Reject it and run away from it!
Instead, make a conscious decision about how you want to think, feel, believe, and behave. Then search for media that matches the way you want to be. Sometimes it is hard to find because Western culture produces so much more destructive media than it does constructive media. When you locate uplifting, inspiring, inner peace producing, wholesome media devour it day and night.
Some of the media I have devoured and allowed to shape and mold me throughout my adult life is practical self-help books (Anthony Robbins is one of my favorite authors), movies, series, music, and videos that have a message that lifts me up, encourages, and strengthens me (my favorite is Brother Sun, Sister Moon), books by Catholic mystics, Eastern Orthodox monks, and Spirit-led Protestants (the Philokalia is my favorite), and the media that has brought (and continues to bring) me the greatest inner healing, joy, peace, and power is the Bible (especially the New Testament). I’ve only missed a few days reading it since I was 19.
Sanctification (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
How is your soul? Empty or whole Or just so-so? Life’s greatest goal Is a pure soul.
A man joyfully splashes in a river filled with various smartphones, tablets, and electronic gadgets
Communal Meetings for Encouragement and Accountability
Steve Simms, through his blog “Free Gas for Your Think Tank,” advocates for a specific model of communal gathering that prioritizes spiritual leading, mutual encouragement, and organic accountability. He refers to these as “Unprogrammed Church” or “God-Gatherings,” emphasizing a departure from traditional, human-led church services.
Key Characteristics of Simms’ Suggested Communal Meetings
Simms’ vision for communal meetings is rooted in the belief that when human agendas are set aside, the Holy Spirit can lead, fostering genuine spiritual growth and connection . His suggestions can be summarized by the following principles:
1. Spirit-Led and Unprogrammed Structure
•Absence of Human Control: Simms strongly argues against meetings that are “directed and run by a human being,” which he believes overrides God’s direction and makes the meeting feel like a “human performance” . Instead, he advocates for an “unprogrammed” approach where the Holy Spirit takes over .
•Spontaneous Participation: In these gatherings, individuals are encouraged to “listen to the Spirit and do whatever He tells us to do” . This allows for spontaneous participation, where people might share a song, a testimony, a spiritual gift, a scripture, a short teaching, or a prayer .
•Expectation of Divine Intervention: “God-gatherings” are characterized by an expectation and reliance on the “direct intervention and leading of God as a present reality” . Simms believes that when human programs are set aside, God truly shows up and takes control .
2. Encouragement and Mutual Edification
•Mutual Stirring and Sensing God’s Presence: When the Spirit moves in these unprogrammed settings, people are “stirred up,” and everyone begins to “sense His presence” . This shared experience of God’s presence is inherently encouraging.
•Sharing and Testimonies: The format allows for individuals to share what God puts on their heart, which includes testimonies of how they met Jesus . This sharing of personal experiences and insights serves to encourage others in their faith journey.
•Spurring One Another to Love and Good Works: Simms explicitly references the biblical injunction to “spur one another on to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24-25) as a purpose for these gatherings . The participatory nature of the meetings, where individuals contribute as led by the Spirit, naturally facilitates this mutual encouragement.
3. Organic Accountability
•Openness and Honesty: While not explicitly detailing a formal accountability structure, Simms’ broader emphasis on “realing” (truth-telling) and radical honesty suggests that these gatherings foster an environment where individuals can be “totally open and honest” with each other . This inherent transparency forms the basis of organic accountability.
•Community Support for Truthful Living: By regularly meeting with a group of people who can encourage honesty, individuals are supported in their commitment to truth . The shared pursuit of a “totally truthful” and “real” lifestyle within the community naturally leads to members holding each other to that standard .
•Confronting Dishonesty (Implicit): While not directly stated in the context of these meetings, Simms’ strong condemnation of lying and its “dirty downers” implies that a community committed to truth would naturally challenge dishonesty among its members, albeit in a spirit of love and restoration.
In essence, Simms envisions communal meetings as dynamic, Spirit-led environments where individuals are empowered to participate, share, and grow together in honesty and faith. The accountability within these groups arises organically from a shared commitment to truth and mutual spiritual support, rather than through rigid, human-imposed structures.
The truth is lying’s easy. Lying requires no special knowledge, skill, or ability. It comes naturally.
There are several types of Lies Which ones do you tell?
1) The intentional lie is when a person knows he is lying and does it anyway. 2) The accidental lie is when a person sincerely believes that he is telling the truth but isn’t. 3) The truth twisting lie is when a person tries to convince himself and others that he isn’t really lying but he actually is. 4) The dodging lie is when a person does all he can to avoid telling the whole truth while trying to make people think that he is. 5) The silent lie where people quietly try to make people falsely believe that they don’t know something that they do know. 6) The commitment lie is when a person makes a commitment and then forgets or neglects to follow through. 7) The protection lie is to distort the truth so as not to offend someone or hurt their feelings.
The Bible offers several ways to avoid lying:
1) Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:25) 2) Decide and faithfully commit to stop lying. (Colossians 3:9-10) 3) Confess your sins to one another. (James 5:16) 4) Walk in the light. (1 John 1:7) 5) Be led by God’s Spirit (the Spirit of truth). (John 16:13) 6) Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. (1 Peter 5:6) 7) Repent and fully receive God’s forgiveness for all the lies you’ve ever told. (1 John 1:9) 8) Let God continually shine in your heart. (2 Corinthians 4:6) 9) Daily devour the Bible and get to know the truth so it can set you free. (John 8:31-32) 10) Begin to regularly and faithfully meet with a group of people who you can be totally open and honest with and who can spur you on toward honesty and encourage you. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
The more types of lies that you tell, the greater will be your fear of truth. Instead of hiding behind various types of lies, train yourself to be completely truthful so that you can stop living a fake, make-believe lifestyle. The closer you are to being totally truthful, the less you have to fear being caught in a lie.
If you believe that Jesus is alive act like you do. Listen to and obey Him throughout each day!
Christianity without ongoing surrender to the real, active, and demonstrated presence and direct leadership of the living, resurrected Jesus is dishonest. It falls far short of the faith described in the Book of Acts.
The language of faith is so much more than words. It’s body language. It speaks through action. It demonstrates its belief in and love for God through consistent acts of kindness and deeds of compassion. It doesn’t just hear a weekly talk about the Bible.
The language of faith humbly and courageously lives out the Bible in daily life. It radically impacts and heals the life of everyone who truly embraces it. Speak faith by demonstrating it through the way you live your everyday life.
Faith’s not thoughts in your head. (2 Timothy 3:5) Without works it is dead. (James 2:26) Wake up! Get out of bed. (Ephesians 5:14) Learn to do what Christ said (John 14:15) And to be Spirit-led. (Romans 8:14) Train yourself to be fed (Hebrews 5:13-14) By Christ the living bread. (John 6:51)
Mother Teresa compassionately cares for a sick man on a busy street
Free Gas for Your Think Tank -- Short Reflections, Lasting Encouragement 