Category Archives: life

Olympics — Thoughts For Spiritual Athletes

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Steve Simms

Life’s not about achievement.  It’s not about how many medals you (or your country) win.  Life’s about aligning yourself to God and to His will. That’s what matters most in the long haul. “If Christians were putting into their spiritual … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Timothy 4:7, alternative lifestyle, ancient Olympics, asceticism, ascetics, athletes, attitude, belief, belief system, burning heart, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, courage, disciple making, discipline, discipling, glory, God, godliness, guilt, guts and glory, I Corinthians 9:25, I Timothy 4:7, idealism, inward change, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus is Lord, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, Lord, monastery, monastics, mystery, mysticism, Olympic athletes, Olympic medals, prayer, presence of Christ, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religious ceremonies, right conduct, sacrifice, saved, Savior, self-discipline, self-help, soul, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual combat, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual walk, spiritual warfare, surrender to God, tebow, tebowing, training, Warren Wiersbe, Why be a Christian? | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Am I A Victim Of Discrimination & Hate Speech For Being A Tongue-Talker?

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Steve Simms

I have been a tongue-talker for forty-one years.  (Speaking in tongues is a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables a person to speak in languages he/she doesn’t know.  It is a powerful spiritual experience that fills a person with … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, attitude, belief, belief system, business, Christian, Christian values, Christianity, clear conscience, coffee, compliance, compromise, conscience, contemporary, conviction of sin, corrupt culture, criticism, cruel, cultural taboos, deciision making, deny yourself, disapproval, ethics, faith-based, fast food, gift of God, gifts of the Spirit, guidance, hate, hate speech, human rights, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, message, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, morals, natural laws, preference, prejudice, restaurant, right and wrong, right conduct, self-denial, sex, sex in marriage, sin, Starbucks, victims, Western world | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Was Matthias A Mistake? — The Human Need To Institutionalize Spirituality

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Steve Simms

Was replacing Judas (who had betrayed Jesus) with Matthias a mistake?  Was it a very early example of the human desire to institutionalize church?  Perhaps. The Book of Acts begins with the resurrected Jesus spending 40 days with the apostles … Continue reading →

Posted in 120 in upper room, Acts, acts of God, Bible, choice, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christian history, Christian values, Christianity, church, church history, church meetings, church programs, church roles, church structure, disciples, ekklesia, empty tomb, faith, fire, gift of God, gifts of the Spirit, God's authority, God's government, Gospel, Gospels, Greek word, guidance, hearing God, hearing Jesus, heirarchy, His story, history, Holy Spirit, house church, insight, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus' mother Mary, Judas, kingdom of God, life, lifestyle Christianity, Luke, Matthias, missional, move of God, movement, mysticism, non-church, organic church, Pentecost, pentecostals, presence of Christ, presence of God, quench the Spirit, Quotations, quote, Quotes, religion, revelation, revival, rivers of living water, Scriptures, speaking in tongues, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, spiritual warfare, supernatural, The Voice, tongues of fire, tradition, unprogrammed church, voice of God, voices, What is church?, words on fire | Tagged , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Lifestyle (Real World) Christianity

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Steve Simms

Lifestyle Christianity is faithful faith — faith that lives faithfully according to its values and beliefs.  Its focus is to actually follow and obey the commands of Christ rather than to merely swallow a prepackaged belief system about Him. Lifestyle … Continue reading →

Posted in belief, belief system, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, challenges, change, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian community, Christian history, Christian organizations, Christian values, church, church history, church programs, church roles, church structure, commands, community, confession, creeds, deeds, disciples, discipling, faith, faith-based, faithfulness, forgiveness, gifts of the Spirit, guilt, inward change, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, Music City, Nashville, obedience, one anothers, organic church, peace, presence of God, real world, recovery, religious ceremonies, self-denial, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual growth, supernatural, support group, team, values, witness | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Guilt-Free Living

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Steve Simms

Guilt-free living is amazing . . . Knowing you are forgiven, Keeping a clean conscience, and Living in freedom from the control of cravings and compulsions. Guilt-free living comes through daily following and obeying the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. “What … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, addictions, alternative lifestyle, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, boundaries, brokenness, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christian organizations, Christian values, church, clear conscience, community, conviction of sin, ethics, faith-based, forgiveness, godly sorrow, guidance, guilt, habit, healing, heart care, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, missional, moral principles, morality, morals, non-church, organic church, recovery, relational church, repent, repentance, revelation, revival, salvation, search for significance, searching for significance, shame, show and tell, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual formation, support group, surrender to God, The Salvation Army, values | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Stormy Weather

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Steve Simms

It’s not easy to weather stormy weather.  Dark clouds, wind, hail, floods. There is a story about a man who built his house on sand.  When the rains came and the winds blew his house collapsed into ruble. However, another … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Bible, built his house on a rock, change, change management, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, dark clouds, faith, faith-based, floods, God, hail, hearing God, inward change, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, normal Christianity, Oh my God, peace, rains, repentance, salvation, self-help, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, stable, stormy weather, thundeer, training camp, values, voice of God, wages of sin, wind | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

A Brief (Alternative) History Of Western Christianity

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Steve Simms

An alternative history of Western Christianity . . . The early Christians were passionate and obedient followers of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.  The government didn’t like them and put many of them to death. However, the love, lifestyle, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 95 theses, alternative lifestyle, Castle Church, church, Constantine, downline, early church, ekklesia, empire, Germany, heretic, house church, Jesus, Jesus Christ, life, lifestyles, love, Martin Luther, mullti-level, Muslims, mystery, mysticism, non-church, non-traditional church, open church, organic church, Orthodox, political issue, politics, Protestant Reformation, reformation, religious ceremonies, religious wars, Roman Catholic, simple church, true Christian life, turned the world upsidedown, values, Western religion, Western world, What is church?, Wittenburg Door | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Would Chance Produce These Words? Or This? mbvpp[s fji03 n jfn9a- JFJ

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Steve Simms

If the symbols that you are now seeing on your computer screen couldn’t have happened over billions of years by a self-produced process of time and chance, but were instead, intentionally designed and built and posted by intelligent beings; how … Continue reading →

Posted in computer, creation, creationism, Creator, deny God, doubts, evidence for God, evolution, faith, God, hope, intelligence, life, materialism, materialistic evolution, mystery, natural laws, nature, Reason Rally, religion, science, self-produced, supernatural, symbols, tablet computer, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Don’t Let The Myth Of The Material Make You Miss Life’s Most Meaningful Reality . . .

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Steve Simms

It would be a shame to go through life caught in the myth of the material and miss out on the most amazing reality on Earth.  Yet many people do. We think we have “permanent housing” but that is a … Continue reading →

Posted in belief, Bible, Biblical concept, Christian, Christianity, compassion, conscience, consciousness, facts and figures, faith, faith-based, faithfulness, God, having a form of godliness, heart-felt love, human body, human life, insight, kindness, life, lifestyles, love, materialism, materialistic evolution, meaning, meaninglessness, mystery, mysticism, natural laws, nature, non-material reality, Oh my God, origin of life, peace, permanent housing, religion, scholasticism, science, soul, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, still small voice, supernatural, testimony, The God Delusion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Do You Know God?

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Steve Simms

Do you know God?  Not religion or church or the Bible or prayer or worship or doctrine or Footprints In The Sand; but is the Creator, Himself, real and alive in your heart? Are you captivated by God’s majesty and … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, beauty, belief, Bible, burning heart, Catholic mystics, Christian, Christianity, church, clear conscience, confession, contemplation, conversion, conviction of sin, Creator, dancing with God, devotion, evidence for God, faith, faith-based, gift of God, God, God-shaped vacuum, good question, good sermon, guidance, hearing God, hearing Jesus, inner rivers, insight, inward change, life, lifestyles, majesty, mystery, mysticism, Oh my God, peace, presence of Christ, presence of God, religion, religious ceremonies, repent, revelation, self-denial, sermon, sermons, sin, spiritual, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, still small voice, The Voice, words on fire | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments