Category Archives: religious tradition

Traditions Can Be Traps

Posted on July 30, 2025 by Steve Simms

Exchange your self-focus and religion for a Spirit-led relationship with Christ. Powerful results come from ongoing obedient surrender to God the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8 and Galatians 5:22-23) Weak results come from religious self-effort. The Bible is God’s lens. It … Continue reading →

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Actionless in Church (Silent-Group-Sit)

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Steve Simms

I’ve spent many years as an attendee sitting actionless in church. I wish I had had the courage to speak up more often, but I let the religious system keep me silent and passive. Out of fear of being thrown … Continue reading →

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Let the “New Wine” Flow Freely

Posted on February 21, 2025 by Steve Simms

Religious traditions can easily become old wineskins that refuse to bend and be moved by the Holy Spirit who wants flexible new wineskins that will allow people to be led by His “new wine.” (Matthew 9:17) People gathered to be … Continue reading →

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Sermon-Hearing Makes Me Feel Out of Place

Posted on October 2, 2024 by Steve Simms

Sitting and hearing a sermon makes me feel out of place. I want to be a doer of the word, not a passive sermon-hearer. I want to meet with people to be led by God’s Spirit together so that we … Continue reading →

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I Associate with Non-Religious Spirituality

Posted on September 23, 2024 by Steve Simms

Religion is often a vaccine that keeps people from catching a clear, captivating vision of the risen Jesus. Routine religion can easily become a distraction that traps people in spiritual inaction and self-righteous satisfaction. It often hinders people from being … Continue reading →

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I’ve Overcome Fear by Letting Jesus Out of 4 Bags

Posted on June 1, 2024 by Steve Simms

When I let Jesus out of the bag and into the driver’s seat of my heart, my fears began to vanish. He began to fill me with love, power, and a sound mind. His presence transformed (and continues to transform) … Continue reading →

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The Table Server Who Challenged The System Had My Middle Name

Posted on March 8, 2024 by Steve Simms

My birth certificate reads “Charles Steven Simms,” but I’ve always gone by Steve. When I first began to read the Bible, I came across a guy named Stephen. He was an early Christ-followers and was one of seven people appointed … Continue reading →

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My Parents’ Tradition of Not Going to Church

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Steve Simms

I grew up in a place and time called the Bible Belt where the majority of people had a family tradition of going to church, but my parents didn’t. Adults would often ask them, “Where do you go to church?” … Continue reading →

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The Bible’s Religiously Unapproved John

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Steve Simms

A man named John, independently of the religious establishment of his day, began to preach in isolated places (without official credentials) and to challenge people to fully surrender their life to the Lord. As a sign of their surrender John … Continue reading →

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Religion is often spiritual shrink wrap

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Steve Simms

Too many Christians have been shrink wrapped by religion. To shrink wrap is to shut things up in bags and suck the air out. It entombs things and keeps them locked in place so they can be stored away with … Continue reading →

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