The Question I Don’t Like

Posted on March 6, 2026 by Steve Simms

I don’t like the question: “Where do you go to church?” Because I’m excited about Jesus, people assume that I attend a sermon-based church service. I don’t. I’m more like these four undocumented men in the Bible.

Four Gentiles in the Bible
Said, “We want to see Jesus.”
They came together to find
And encounter His presence.
They wanted so much more than
Superficiality.
Religion wasn’t enough;
They wanted reality.
When Jesus heard about them,
He told His disciples that
His Father will honor those
Who follow Him and serve Him
And give up their self-focus
To be led by His presence.
A voice came from Heaven
To give glory unto God,
But most of the people
Said it was only thunder.
Jesus is speaking to you.
Listen while you still have time.
(John 12:20-35)

I believe that those four men are a demonstration of what Jesus wants to build among His followers. He used the word Greek “ekklesia” to describe it. (Matthew 16:18) Ekklesia was the name of the participatory town meeting in Greek cities where anybody present could speak. Jesus was very much aware of Greek cities and their way of doing things.

Jesus promised to show up whenever two or three people gather in His name (Matthew 18:20)–when they come together to experience His presence moving and working among them. When we gather to encounter and interact with the living Jesus like the four Gentiles wanted to do, we won’t just listen to a religious talk. Together we’ll experience and be led by His presence, power, and glory!

Host a Spirit-led support group. Invite 2 or 3 or more people to listen to God together and then share what the Holy Spirit puts on their heart.

Go beyond church. Search for: The Joy of Early Christianity book.

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War Doesn’t Kill People (People Do)

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Steve Simms

War doesn’t kill people. People kill people. They are the ones who pull the trigger, launch the missiles, and drop the bombs. It sure would be nice if people would stop the stupidity and waste of war!

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He calls His followers to be peacemakers who love their enemies. To attempt to use Christianity to justify the failure, cruelty, and hell of war is evil. War is horrid, not holy. Make peace not war!

Bashing and trashing people because they see things differently than you do is a key symptom of self-righteousness. It plants the seeds that can provoke war.

Two twenty-first century wars were started this way: When Putin ordered Russians to start killing Ukrainians it made me very sad. Now Trump has ordered Americans to start killing Iranians and it makes me even sadder. I don’t believe in killing people based on their nationality.

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What Is Success? (A Shift in Focus)

Posted on March 5, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?
View all responses

Because my vision is
Distorted and deceived
I’ve made the decision
To deny myself and
To trust in God’s vision
Instead of in my own.

Christians are commanded to stop evaluating things from a perspective that conforms to this world. We are told instead to be transformed by viewing life with a renewed mind that sees from God’s heavenly point of view. (Romans 12:1-2)

My vision only sees the outward appearance of things, but God sees the heart of the matter. (1 Samuel 16:7) I want to get defensive and to justify myself before people, but God knows what is really going on deep inside of me. (Luke 16:15)

I want to let my pride be my guide, but God wants me to humble myself and to allow Him to lead me with the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit within my conscience. (Romans 8:14) God is continually trying to train and disciple me to lean not on my own understanding, but to look beyond my spiritual daze and in all my ways to rely and depend on His wisdom rather than on my personal point of view. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God wants me to stop focusing on the things that I see with my natural eyes so that He can show me the truth and inner realities behind them. (2 Corinthians 4:18) He wants to help me set my affection on the unseen spiritual things above, not on earthy things. (Colossians 3:1-2) He wants me to keep my gaze always fixed on the risen Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

My eternal citizenship is in Heaven, not here on earth. (Philippians 3:20-21) Although I haven’t seen Jesus with my physical eyes, I love Him with all my heart. As I seek to rely on His presence within me throughout each day, He fills me with joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8-9)

No human eye has seen, or physical ear has heard the things that God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed those things to Christ-followers by His Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) We no longer have to “only imagine,” because now God the Holy Spirit has come and is present to personally show us the Father’s perspective (John 14:26) and to guide us into all the truth. (John 16:13)

God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shinned in my heart–my jar of clay. Day by day He is shining His light inside of everyone who wants to truly experience His reality and showing us His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) Are you looking?

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Losing Self-Love–Finding True Love

Posted on March 4, 2026 by Steve Simms

The key to a wonderful life is losing self-love and finding true love. True love and true greatness go together. True greatness sets aside me-focus. It comes from obeying God’s two greatest commandments. The first one is to love the Lord with your all in all.

The second one is often misunderstood. It is to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39) Unfortunately, that commandment is frequently twisted to justify and proclaim self-love, self-focus, and self-exaltation. I believe that it means to love your neighbor instead of loving yourself–to shift your focus away from me-love to neighbor love. Love your neighbor as if he were you.

When you give up on trying to love yourself, you can find true love. Jesus taught self-denial (Mark 8:34) and humility (Luke 8:14) not me-love. He calls His followers to take the lowest place not the high places. (Luke 14:10-11)

In Philippians chapter two, the Bible tells us to: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It goes on to tell us how Jesus humbled Himself from equality with God to death on the Cross. It says that we should have the mind of Christ and allow God to work inside of us to do His will instead of our own. That is self-denial, not self-love!

Me-Love?

Ego
Makes me go
The way
Of self-love.
However,
To humble
Myself
And shift
Away from
Self-focus
Is the way
To healing
And joy.

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Faith, Hope, and Love

Posted on March 3, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What are three objects you couldn’t live without?
View all responses

I believe that faith, hope, and love are objective, not subjective. They are invisible realities that can grow and flourish in a human heart. Some people want to write off everything that occurs in a human heart as mere subjectivity. But that’s not true.

Sure, many of your thoughts, feelings, and desires are produced by your subjectivity. But not all of them. Some of them are unseen objectivities that can’t be seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted with your human senses. Jesus came to connect us with inner realities like faith, hope, and love. (1 Corinthians 13:12-13)

Christianity is way off track when:

  • It is low on love. (1 John 4:20)
  • It sees faith as mere church attendance rather than as the substance and evidence of God presence living within them. (Hebrews 11:1)
  • It is superficial instead of supernatural. (Acts 2:43)
  • It tries to serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24)
  • It’s so earthy minded (Colossians 3:2) that it lacks the ability to demonstrate the actual presence and character of Jesus. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
  • It is a mere outward form of godliness without the power to change the way people live their daily life. (2 Timothy 3:5)
  • It embraces and aligns with the human culture that surrounds it. (1 John 2:15)
  • It presents Jesus as far away and removed from everyday life instead of as living inside of and continually interacting with His followers. (Colossians 1:27)
  • It is low on the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
  • Its traditions make the word of God of no effect. (Mark 7:13)
  • It acts like Jesus is a dead religious figure instead of the living Lord (Romans 14:9) and the Creator of all that is. (John 1:1-3 & 14))
  • Its focus is on a weekly religious meeting instead of on daily discipleship. (Luke 9:23)
  • It puts its hope in human wisdom and a human government instead of in Christ. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Loveless Christianity isn’t taught in the Bible. It’s a false religion. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) Love God and love people, even your enemies.

Faith, hope, and love are not subjective feelings. They are objective realities working inside human hearts that will humbly open up to them.

It’s so painful to see how far away we Christians are from where God is calling us to be. That’s why so many of us shut our eyes, sink into religious tradition, and pretend all is well. When pastors and church leaders truly want people to hear the word of God, they compassionately share the Bible verses that make them unpopular with people as they speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)

Jesus is the living way. (John 14:6) He want’s His followers to get back on His track. He calls us to: “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17) How we who say we are Christians need to be inwardly led by the promptings of God the Holy Spirit so that we can live our life in much closer alignment with the inner government of God the Father. (Luke 17:21)

When Christians feel like they aren’t “evil” like people they despise, they’re acting like the Pharisee in the Bible who prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.” (Matthew 18:11-12) It’s never too late to replace the subjectivity of anger and unkindness with the objectivity of God’s supernatural love. Listen and obey the objectivity of God the Holy Spirit speaking in and through your conscience.

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Math Experiences Have Helped Me Grow in Life

Posted on March 2, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What experiences in life helped you grow the most?
View all responses

Math is powerful! Mathematics has greatly helped me to grow in inner peace and to experience great joy in life. However, I’m not referring to just any branch of mathematics. I’m talking about God’s math. To experience more fulfilment out of life, let God multiply your hope.

When your life isn’t adding up use God’s math:
* Add: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)
* Subtract: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

The way to learn God’s mathematics isn’t just to study it. You have to use His math: Subtract from your self-focus. Add the cross to your daily life. And do what Jesus says. (Luke 9:23)

* Forgive 70 times 7 times. (Matthew 20:21-22)
* Frequently gather in a group of 2 or 3 (or more) and experience the presence of the risen Jesus together. (Matthew 18:20)
* If you know 99 people who are doing all right and 1 who is messed up, leave the 99 and go help the one. (Luke 15:4)
* Be good soil. Let God multiply your harvest 30, 60, and even 100 times. (Mark 4:20)
* Feed people and watch God multiply. 5 loaves and 2 fish can feed 5000. (Matthew 14:16-21) 7 loaves and a few fish can feed 4000. (Mark 8:5-9)
* Seek 1st the kingdom of God and His right living and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

God’s math is amazing. He makes life add up!

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Let Hope Change Your Fate

Posted on March 1, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Do you believe in fate/destiny?
View all responses

Hope is a gate that can change your fate. It can turn your life around.

When hope declines fatalism grows. But where can hope be found? Let the risen Jesus be your living hope. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Jesus is my refuge and shield. I have put my hope in the written word of the Bible (Psalm 119:114) and the living word of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (Colossians 1:27)

* When people go to war, follow Jesus to peace. Be a peacemaker. (Matthew 5:9)
* When people insult and disrespect each other, speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15)
* When people praise and adore a merely human leader, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:22)
* When people approve of and applaud sin, instead do what Jesus said: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
* When people parade their pride, humble yourself like Jesus did. (John 13:3-5)
* When people put self-righteousness first, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
* When people look down on and marginalize certain groups of people, treat those who are called “the least of these” as if they were Jesus. (Matthew 25:40)
* When people boast in a powerless form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5) beware of false prophets. (Matthew 7:15)
* When people trust in their own understanding, feelings, or desires, don’t be like them. Instead trust in the Lord with all your heart. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
* When people ignore and disobey their conscience, (Romans 2:14-15) let God strengthen yours and lead you by the inner promptings of His Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
* When people seek and trust in earthy treasure and prosperity, put your hope and security in heavenly treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
* When people retaliate against one another, turn the other cheek. (Matthew 5:39)
* When people hate their enemies, love yours. (Matthew 5:44)

To insult someone for simply saying something that you disagree with is to childishly disrespect their freedom of speech. It’s so easy to insult people and call them names. Even a child can do that. All of us humans have intentionally and/or unintentionally insulted people. We need to minimize how often we insult people and to apologize to them when we do. That’s true Christianity.

When the boat of discipleship has been hauled out of the water of life and abandoned, Christianity is shipwrecked. True Christianity is:

* More than religion,
* More than church attendance,
* More than a daily devotional,
* More than Bible study,
* More than theology,
* More than good behavior,
* More than a worldview,
* More than a political perspective,
* More than a “Sinners’ Prayer.”

Christianity is:


* Christ Himself graciously living and working in and through you, (Colossians 1:27) freely flowing out from within you, (John 7:38-39) and leading you by the inner promptings of His Spirit (Romans 8:28) as you give your all to consistently and persistently follow and obey Him. (Luke 9:23)
* Quite uncommon.

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Put These Cs Into _hristianity

Posted on February 28, 2026 by Steve Simms

When I was a college student, I experienced a thrilling and rare form a Christianity full of the following Cs. That’s a phase in my life that I’m never saying goodbye to. Everybody needs to discover Christianity that overflows with these Cs:

Through the winter woods
I see light glowing,
Dancing on a stream
Of water flowing.
Like a neon sign
It captures my heart
And shouts to my soul,
“Let Jesus make you whole.”

  • Christ as “the Head of the body, the church.” (Colossians 1:18) Refuse to settle for Jesus as a mere formal figurehead. (2 Timothy 3:5) When Christians meet together and allow Christ to personally direct them as the literal and present Head of the gathering, He Himself leads the meeting and demonstrates His supernatural Presence. (Matthew 18:20) Try it and see!
  • “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) God the Father and God the Son want to live inside of you through God the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that He and His Father will come and make their home with His true followers. (John 14:23) Your body can literally be “a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
  • Community. When Christians come together as a support group to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” and to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24-25) by everyone being free to speak in the meeting (1 Corinthians 14:26) as led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) they open up their heart and literally experience the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 3:12-18)
  • Compassion. “Whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” (1 John 4:20) Love is essential. Christianity that doesn’t spread the love of God is nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
  • Commitment. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) Jesus said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
  • Consistency. “Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) Christ-followers should not be “infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)

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I Want to Let Jesus Live Thru Me

Posted on February 27, 2026 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
View all responses

Every day I seek to let Jesus live in and thru me. (Colossians 1:27) I focus on listening to and obeying Him day and night. He is my shepherd. Psalm 23 explains our otherworldly relationship.

If you are a Christ-follower, this world is not your home. (Hebrews 12:14) Your citizenship is in Heaven. (Philippians 3:20) You are called to live in this world as a foreigner and an exile (1 Peter 2:11) and as a stranger on earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Jesus calls all of His followers to be “the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) If you are a Christian, you are supposed to be God’s light everywhere you go (Philippians 2:15) and not to be entangled in the world’s bondage and deceptions. (Galatians 5:1) Keep your focus on the risen Jesus, not on the affairs of the world. (2 Timothy 2:1-4)

Jesus wants you to be His disciple making missionary, not the world’s mission field. (Matthew 28:19-20) “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17) Therefore we look unto Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2) “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”2 Corinthians 4:11)

Refuse to be conformed to the culture and customs of your country. Instead, be transformed by aligning your mind to the risen Jesus (Romans 12:2) and making your every thought obey Him. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Christian ministry isn’t supposed to be a career that brings notoriety, prestige, and financial prosperity. Christianity is supposed to be “a holy priesthood,” (1 Peter 2:5) “a kingdom of priests,” (Revelation 1:6) all called to minister to one another by meeting together to spur each other on to love and good works and to encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25) True Christianity begins when Christians deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and obey the risen Jesus. (Luke 9:23)

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It’s Your Move (DIY) Draw Near To God

Posted on February 26, 2026 by Steve Simms

While you are passively waiting for God–or running from Him–He is waiting on you to step out of the boat of religious tradition (Mark 7:13) and to begin to do what He is telling you to do. (James 1:22-25) God’s done His part. Now it’s your turn. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

“The Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) has come to earth and made salvation available to “whosever will” (John 3:16) through His death on the Cross and His resurrection. Jesus has physically ascended into the dimension of Heaven and returned as God the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) to live inside of (Colossians 1:27) and directly lead (Romans 8:14) His followers.

Now it’s your turn. What are you doing about Jesus and His presence and power working in and through “whosoever will”? It’s easy to merely go through the motions of honoring Him with your lips while your heart is far from Him. (Matthew 15:8-9) Please don’t do that.

To have a form of Christianity without personally experiencing God’s power and letting His words burn within us, (Luke 24:32) puts us humans into a sleepy comfort zone. (Ephesians 5:14) It causes us to be like whitewashed tombs, looking good on the outside, but inwardly full of dry bones and impurity. (Matthew 23:27)

The Bible tells us to turn away powerless religion. (2 Timothy 3:5) Surrender your all to Jesus by daily taking up your cross and following Him. Instead of denying the power of God, deny your selfish desires. (Luke 9:23) Then allow the risen Jesus to make all the dry bones in your heart come alive to His presence, and glory. Let God the Holy Spirit freely work in and through you. (Ezekiel 37:1-12)

There is a longing in the human heart for more–not just more material things, but more kindness, more purpose, more inspiration, and more meaning in life. God has done His part. Now it’s your turn. I’ve found all those things by talking and listening to Jesus alone and with other people throughout each day. You can too!

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