“Thank You for Obeying Jesus”

Daily writing prompt

What was the best compliment you’ve received?

Jesus is the question. Is the resurrected Jesus living in you (2 Corinthians 13:5) and directing you through out each day? Are you consistently growing in daily surrender and obedience to the risen Christ? (2 Peter 3:18)

Instead of focusing and relying on daily growing in more and more surrender to the literal presence of the risen Jesus, humanly choreographed Christianity focuses and relies on:

Pastors,
Church attendance
Famous preachers,
Sermons,
Buildings,
Religious programs,
Politics,
Entertainment,
Hyped up events,
Human promotion,
Conferences and seminars,
Rasing money,
Financial prosperity,
Tithing,
Highly talented worship leaders,
Looking good,
Nice decorations and lighting,
Having a great sound system,
The size of a congregation,
“Christian” TV, movies, music, concerts, radio, blogs, brochures, books, podcasts, streaming, and social media.

Where is the living, resurrected Jesus in the midst of all of that? When He has been set aside, ignored, and replaced by other things, we are left with “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (2 Timothy 3 5) Jesus said: “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’” (Mark 7:6-7)

Normalized Christianity abandons discipleship for lukewarm religion. (Revelation 3:15-16) True Christianity is radical discipleship that wholehearted follows and obey the risen Jesus instead of our human desires. (Mark 8:34) It will always be far from normal because it is supernatural. (Zachariah 4:6) Christians who demonstrate and grow in discipleship, will be seen as odd by this world. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV)

When churches or ministries won’t openly tell you where and how they are spending the money that you give them, they are hiding important things from you that they don’t want you to know. (1 John 1:7) Watch the docuseries: “The Religion Business” on Prime.

About Steve Simms

I like to look and think outside the box. In college I encountered Jesus Christ and I have been passionate about trying to get to know Him better ever since. My wife and I long to see the power and passion of the first Christ-followers come to life in our time. I have written a book about our experiences in non-traditional church, called, "Beyond Church: An Invitation To Experience The Lost Word Of The Bible--Ekklesia." If you need encouragement, search for: Elephants Encouraging The Room and/or check out my Amazon author page. Thank you!

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