Category Archives: Christian history

It is almost the time when multitudes around the world, believers and non-believers alike, celebrate the day named for Jesus Christ, in honor of His birth. Rejoice that Christ was born! What a difference He has made in this world! What a difference He has made in the life of millions of people from various cultures and time periods during the past 2,000 years! What a difference Jesus has made in my life! The Christ*mas events are about people experiencing Christ. The shepherds didn’t just hear about Christ, they sought Him out. The same with the wise men. Jesus Christ can still be experienced in the 21st Century! Supernatural events are still happening! “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.” So, what about it? Should we have a Christ cameo Christmas? Or A Christ controlled Christmas? A cameo is brief (usually non-speaking) appearance of a well known person in a work of performing art, like a play, a movie, or a TV show. Will Christ make a brief, non-speaking appearance in your Christmas festivities this year? Or will your Christmas activities be totally focused on Him? Or something in between?

Posted on December 25, 2011 by Steve Simms

Posted in blessings, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, church history, Creator, freedom, gratitude, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, meaning, movement, Oh my God, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 2000 years, alike, almost, around the world, believers, birth, celebrate the day, Christ was born, cultures, he made, in honor of, in this world, Jesus Christ, millions of people, multitudes, my life, named for, non-believers, rejoice, the life, the past, time, various time periods, what a difference | Leave a comment

William Wilberforce — The Power Of A Bold Believer

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Steve Simms

William Wilberforce (born in 1759) was a member of the British Parliament who stood up and spoke up courageously against the international slave trade and against slavery in the British Empire. His efforts and those of others ended slavery in … Continue reading →

Posted in abolitionists, alternative lifestyle, Amazing Grace, black history, British Empire, British Parliament, champions, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, church history, conscience, courage, evangelicals, grace, guidance, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, lifestyles, morality, nonviolence, Quotations, Quotes, race, reading, religion, repent, slavery, social justice, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual warfare, Uncategorized, values, Why be a Christian?, William Wilberforce, words | Tagged 1859, against slavery, against the international slave trade, always, Amazing Grace, believed, bold, book, born, bring forth the, British Empire, British Parliment, called, check out, Christian, cold copies, confirms, conveying nothing, courageously, dangerous, dull pencil, during, effforts, ended slavery, evil, fail, faint lines traced, faith, faith's force, false wisdom, feel, few, flourish, fruits of the Spirit, God's, good move, good will come, grace, greatest Americans, grows, hide, humility, Jesus Christ, lifetime, lives, living, member, more influenced by, no reason, nominal Christians, nothing like, others, quotes, read about, Real Christianity, reality, received, released, social justice, Spirit of Chirst, spoke up, stood up, the real things, the reality, the world's opinion, Top 10, truly great men and women, trun away from, unless, very tendency, we are not His, William Wilberforce, without it, wonderful book, world's view, wrote | 2 Comments

My Day In Bethlehem (Not Pennsylvania)

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

I could see the ancient, small town of Bethlehem in the distance as I approached the Shepherds Grotto, a small cave where shepherds have sheltered themselves for too many centuries to count. It was in these fields that something happened … Continue reading →

Posted in Bethlehem, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, church, church history, forgiveness, glory, God, Holy Holy Holy, Holy Spirit, impossible odds, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, kingdom of God, language, miracles, mystery, mysticism, new birth, non-material reality, Oh my God, Oh Sinner Man, prayer, proof of God, Reason For The Season, religion, repent, salvation, Savior, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged after a few seconds, again and again, amazing event, ancient, ancient stairs, angels appeared, announcing, approached, around the world, babe, basement wall, Bethlehem, celebrated, Christ the Lord, Christmas, Church of the Nativity, close, coming, commercial, don't know, down stairs, enables people to speak languages, encounter, even unto the end of the age, event, everywhere, fields, for some reason, from all over the world, gift of the Holy Spirit, greeted, hearing various languages, heart, holidays, holy place, I am with you always, I don't know, in line, in the distance, in the floor, kissing, kneeling, languages, later, little town of Bethlehem, live, living, Lo, long line, look of amazement, Manger Square, miss, mouth fell open, obviously, often wondered, one sinner who repents, Palestinian boy, Pennsylvania, people, people pausing, physically, ready for, reality of God, regarded, rejoicing, remains, resting there, rush, Savior, saw, see, sheltered, Shepherds, Shepherds Grotto, shows, simple, slowly wandered, small cave, small town, smiling, something happened, speaking in tongues, spiritual stirring, spoken by tourists, stared at, still being remembered, still happen, stopped in his tracks, supernatural events, taking it all in, the acutal spot, the birth place, the holy spot, the human heart, the hush of awe, the important spot, the news, there is rejoicing in Heaven, through hallways, tile star, tiny cave, to locate, to see, to see the sights, too many centuries to count, touched my, touching, tourists, transform individuals, trembled, turned and walked away, understood, used to, village, waiting to enter, walked up, what I said, where Christ was born, which is, wise men, young | 1 Comment

The Joy Of Christ*mas Stopping

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Steve Simms

Does Christmas shopping ever leave you empty? Do you ever feel like Christmas shopping is not enough? That there must be more to the Christmas season than just buying lots of stuff to give away on Christmas Day? Well, there … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, boundaries, casual sex, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, conscience, conversion, evangelicals, forgiveness, freedom, grace, guilt, history, holiday, holidays, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, lifestyles, meaning, miracles, morality, morals, mysticism, new birth, non-material reality, peace, prayer, proof of God, Reason For The Season, recovery, religion, repent, revelation, salvation, saved, Savior, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, sex, sin, sobriety, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, stuff, supernatural, support group, Uncategorized, values, Why be a Christian?, words, worship | Tagged a very important aspect, adultery, an angel, attitudes and actions, behaviors, brought to Christ, buying, celebrations, cheating on, Christmas, Christmas Day, Christmas shopping, Christmas stopping, Do you ever feel like, experiencing, fabulous freedom, for He shall save His people, from, from their sins, give away, Go and sin no more, God's great gift, great joy, Have you done your Christmas, It's not too late, Jesus, Jesus gave, Joseph, leave you empty, lots of stuff, met Christ, most ignored, not enough, nowadays, often left out, people's taxes, perhaps it is time, put it to, repent, self-destructive, sleeping around, stopped, stopping, take, teaching, than just, the Christmas season, The Cross, the first, the real Christmas tree, the tax collector, There must be more to, this way, thoughts, to do, well, woman caught in the act, words, wrongful, You shall call his name Jesus, Zacchaeus | 2 Comments

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Steve Simms

In some Arab countries it is against the law for a person to convert to another religion than the religion of her/his birth and upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, American, change, change management, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, church, church history, conscience, conversion, disciple making, English, evangelicals, fire, forgiveness, freedom, glory, God, grace, history, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, Jesus Take The Wheel, John Wesley, joy, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, miracles, movement, mystery, mysticism, non-material reality, Oh my God, praise and worship, prayer, proof of God, recovery, religion, repent, revelation, salvation, saved, self-image, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, trust, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 1700s, 17th, 18th, a deep work, a heart work, accepting, adhering, adopts, against the law, American Colonies, another religion, Arab, based, been converted, being justified, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, centuries, change, childhood, Christ, convert, convinced, countries, deceptions, defined, direct, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Exemine yourself to see, faith, few, follow, frustrated, goal, God's own likeness, goes thoughout, Gordon D. Fee, greatest human, has to give up, helped spark, His will, Holy Spirit, I came to America, I felt my heart strangely warmed, in the faith, Indians, indication, infect, infection, intorduced, invaded by, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, Ledyard Cuyler, living, man, members, mighty, mind, multitudes, never, on fire, particular religion, passionate preaching, Paul of Tarsis, perhaps, person, personal, personal transformation, questioning, quotations, raised, realized, receive the Spirit, redeemed, relationship with God, returned home, rish his life, rote rituals, salvation, saved, set in, some, soul, spiritual awakening, spiritual conversion, spiritual illumination, spiritual movement, suggestion, teachings, the living God, the reality of, think, thoughts, truly, truth, trying to convert, upbringing, validity, ways, whether you are, who will convert me?, wish it otherwise, witnessing | 2 Comments

Merry Messiahmas?

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Steve Simms

Merry Messiahmas? Christmas is named for Jesus Christ. Jesus is His name. Christ is a Greek translation of the Hebrew title, Messiah, which means Anointed One. The folks who first translated the New Testament into English used the Greek term, … Continue reading →

Posted in Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, English, Greek, Hebrew, Jesus, Jesus Christ, language, Messiah, mystery | Tagged anointed one, arrival of, be real, celebration, during, English, first translated, folks, followed suit, Greek, Greek term, Greek translation, Hebrew, Hebrew title, His name, if they had, instead, Jesus, Jesus Christ, later, long-awaited, may, means, Merry, Messiah, Messiahmas, named for, New Testament, season, translators, word, you | 4 Comments

Confronting The Christmas Claims — Conscious Contact With God

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Steve Simms

The original Christmas is full of contact with God. The ordinary becomes the extraordinary as people encounter God’s Presence and power. A physical new star in the heavens becomes a messenger from Heaven, directing wise men hundreds of miles to … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, angels, Angels We Have Heard On High, Bible, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, creation, evangelicals, forgiveness, glory, God, grace, gratitude, guidance, Jesus, Jesus Christ, joy, kingdom of God, Lord, miracles, mysticism, new birth, non-material reality, Oh my God, prayer, proof of God, recovery, revelation, salvation, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, tradition, Uncategorized, virgin birth, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 21st Century, 84, a light for revelation, about Jesus, All who heared it were amazed, angels, Anna, at what the shepherds told them, babe, beautiful, Bethlehem, born, Christ Child, Christmas, Christmas claims, circumcised, confronting, conscious contact, continually, declared, demonstrationg, directing, effort, eight days, Elizabeth, encounter, excitedly, extraordinary, follow, glory, God, God's presence, guided by the Spirit, heart, heaven, heavens, Holy Spirit, hundres of miles, Israel, Jesus, Jesus' mother, John the Baptist, Lord's, lowliest occupations, Mary, messenger, Messiah, motivated, moved by the Spirit, New Testament, not see death, ordinary, original, overcome by, parents, people, physical, power, power of the Spirit, prayed and fasted, prophetic words, resources, revealed, run around, sacririce, Shepherds, signs and wonders, Simeon of Jerusalem, small town, speak, spiritual, star, still shines, stirring, telling everybody, that very moment, the Spirit of God, the Temple, this very day, time, to the Gentiles, treasured, walked up to, widow, wise men, worship, year-old, Zachariah | 6 Comments

Christmas Claim — Who Was/Is Mary’s Son?

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Steve Simms

A classic Christmas carol asks the question: What Child Is This? And that is a not just a nice song, but a very important question to ask at Christmas time. Who was/is Mary’s Baby Boy? The New Testament gives some … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, angels, awe, Bible, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, Creator, glory, God, history, holidays, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, Lord, movement, mysticism, New Testament, non-material reality, praise and worship, religion, salvation, saved, Savior, soul, Uncategorized, virgin birth | Tagged absolute master, actions, amazing, ancient, angel, anointed one, answers, anti-supernatural prejudice, appeared, attitudes, born to you a Savior, centuries, child, Christ the Lord, Christmas, Christmas carol, Christmas season, Christmas time, classic, communicate, create, David, deliver, delivered, designed, discover, Emmanue, examine, fashioned, from their sins, glad, God in human flesh, God with us, Greek translation, hard to deny, He will save His people, hear, heart, Hebrew word, Hebrews, historical documents, humanity, humans, hurting, in vain, Jesus, Joseph, long-awaited, Lord, Luke, marvelous being, Mary's Baby Boy, matters little, mean, Messiah, name, name Him Jesus, need, neew born, New Testament, observe, Old Testament, open mind, opinion, prophesied, prophets, question, read, reality, religious, reports, rescued, rescuer, reveal, saved, Savior, self-destructive, sentiment, Shepherds, song, the truth, thoughts, tidings, titles, to ask, Today in the city of David, very important question, What Child Is This | 6 Comments

Christmas Claim — Angels

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Steve Simms

The popular, traditional Christmas carol, Angels We Have Heard On High, points out one the astounding claims made by Christmas — that supernatural beings from God were communicating to humans and celebrating Christ’s birth with them. The New Testament does … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts, ancient history, angels, Angels We Have Heard On High, awe, Bible, blessings, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas carols, Christmas Eve, Egypt, glory, God, history, holidays, Holy Spirit, impossible odds, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lifestyles, meaning, miracles, non-material reality, popular culture, religion, supernatural, Uncategorized | Tagged 9 months later, a multitude of the heavenly hosts, actually happened, alone, angels can appea, Angels We Have Heard On High, announcing, anytime, appeared, As A, astounding, beyond, Bible, birth of Jesus, book of Acts, book of Hebrews, break the engagement, celebrating, childless, Christ's birth, Christmas, Christmas carol, Christmas season, claims, communicating, confirmed, didn't believe, dream, drive, early christians, Egypt, Elizabeth, emergency room, encountered, events, fact, factual, flee to Egypt, God, have a son, have welcomed angles, health emergency, heard, Holy Spirit, human being, humans, interacting with, involving angels, John, John the Baptist, Joseph, just think, logically, made by, Mary, Mary's, menopause, myths, nam, Nazareth, neglect, New Testament, news, no middle ground, nurse, of course, offered, outlandish, personally, points out, popular, possible, pregnancy, pregnant, priest, return, rfiance, saw, Shepherds, show hospitality, shows, someone, stranger, supernatural, supernatural beings, tall tales, the lowest people in society, the real world, traditional, virgin, wife, without knowing, working of the, Zachariah | 5 Comments

The Claims Of Christmas — Virgin Birth

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Steve Simms

It is easy to overlook some of the remarkable claims of Christmas. One such claim is that a young woman named Mary gave birth to a child without having had sexual intercourse. I have noticed that this amazing claim is … Continue reading →

Posted in blessings, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, Christmas, Christmas Eve, feelings, glory, God, history, impossible odds, joy, kingdom of God, life, miracles, mysticism, non-material reality, proof of God, religion, spiritual, spiritual formation, supernatural, Uncategorized, virgin birth | Tagged a fair question, a supernatural event, allegiance, amazing, amazing claim, artificial insemination, astounded, author, be convinced of its truth, became a human being, before, Bible, blindly accept it, Book of Luke, by a miracle, carefully, cause a baby to be conceived, certainty, Christ, Christian Standard Bible, Christmas, claims, conceive, convinced, created, creating, creating a baby, Creator, deserves, easy to overlook, events, everything, exammined, excuse the pun, explored, eyewitnesses, first, frequent experience, fulfilled among, gave birth to a child, God, good question, handed, heard, high school, how, How can this be, human beings, I didn't believe, I have not been, ignorant, in their time, inpossibility, instructed, intimate with a man, intorduced, investigated, is alive, Jesus Christ, just as, know, literally occured, Luke, making the claim, Many have undertaken, Mary, Mary asked, miracles of Christmas, most Christians, most honorable, myths, named, narrative, New Testament, noticed, original, others, personal relationship, physical, pondered, procreation, pun, read, reject it outright, remarkable claims, reporting, responded to, scientific fact, seemed good, servants of the word, sexual intercourse, since, skeptics, spacetime, supernatural Being, supernatural experience, supernatural means, suppose, testimony, Theophilus, thinking, to believe, to compile, total commitment, virgin, where babies come from, without, womb, world, wrestled with, writers, young woman | 6 Comments

Category Archives: Christian history

My Day In Bethlehem (Not Pennsylvania)

The Joy Of Christ*mas Stopping

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Merry Messiahmas?

Confronting The Christmas Claims — Conscious Contact With God

Christmas Claim — Who Was/Is Mary’s Son?

Christmas Claim — Angels

The Claims Of Christmas — Virgin Birth

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