Agape is the missing piece in human kindness

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Steve Simms

The Bible is full of teaching about love and about God’s loving kindness. Most preachers have preached multiple sermons on love. Is more theological configuration of love necessary? Can more analysis about love help us love more? Jesus clearly demonstrates love in the Gospels. Paul clearly defines it in “The Love Chapter.”

Love isn’t a theology–a religious head trip. It’s a heart that’s been so captured by kindness and consumed with compassion that it “considers others better than yourself.” It’s not sweet feelings, but courageous, continuous, self-sacrificing behavior.

Love’s a “do”–a very demanding “do.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s not thought or sentiment. It’s caring action.

“Agape” is the most important word that the Greek New Testament uses for love. There’s nothing human about agape. It’s God’s love. It’s part of the fruit of the Spirit, which means that love isn’t produced merely by human effort but is inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit living in and through a human being. My desires, feelings, and opinions must decrease within me so that God can become the source of my behavior and I can be led by the Spirit. Without God’s supernatural empowerment, we can’t demonstrate and spread agape. Left to our own resources and abilities we can only offer people a generic brand of love that’s laced with selfish motives.

Agape begins with and is continually motivated by a new birth and a new heart that makes us “pure in spirit” so that the living water of agape can flow from our innermost being and manifest in our considering others better than ourselves and demonstrating that in our actions. Agape is glorious and the only hope humans have of glory is “Christ in you.” “God so agaped the world . . .” By complete and continual surrender to God’s Son, you can be an instrument of God’s glorious and supernatural agape.

Lord, make me contagious with Your agape. Constantly empower me to be kind and compassionate to everyone.

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Religious choreography or joyous heart-felt celebration?

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Steve Simms 
When words are said
With the head
But not the heart,
Liturgy's dead!

Liturgy
Is religious
Choreography,
Scripted words
That can be parroted
Without deep feeling
Of their real meaning!

Prayer’s not just words
That you share
With God.
It’s letting your heart
Deeply care
About
What He cares about.

If a church is full
Of salvation testimonies
It doesn't rely
On sermons and ceremonies.

Something's not right
When sitting through
A religious rite
Doesn't make people
Want to live right.

Following Jesus
Should be a symphony
Of ongoing epiphany,
Continually basking
In His presence.

When life that was full
Of heart-connection
With the living Jesus
Began to fade away,
Church fabricated liturgy
As a substitute.

Most church services are scripted and choreographed so well that they have no need for Jesus. They run well enough without Him. Liturgy is so locked in tradition that it allows no interruption or redirection by the living, ever-present Jesus.

Liturgy is a methodological attempt to maintain the truths that Christianity had before it morphed from a movement to a monument. Religious formulas aren’t necessary when the living Jesus is allowed to freely flow out of the heart as rivers of living water.

A priest or minister who performs a religious rite is called a “celebrant,” even when his face looks somber and noncelebratory. When a church “celebrates the liturgy,” one thing that seems to be missing is heart-felt celebration. Since churches use liturgy, why don’t basketball fans read words together in unison?

A technician knows how to put knowledge to work in practical ways. Modern Christianity desperately needs Spirit-led technicians, not just liturgy celebrants.

If soldiers can lay down their feelings, desires, and opinions to follow orders, surely Christians can in order to follow and obey the living Jesus. Until Jesus replaces self as the supreme power inside of us, we’ll be in bondage to our opinions, feelings, and desires.

The Pope before Frances, Pope Benedict XVI, seems to agree with me on this subject. He said: ““What happened after the Council was totally different: in the place of liturgy as the fruit of development came fabricated liturgy. We left the living process of growth and development to enter the realm of fabrication. There was no longer a desire to continue developing and maturing, as the centuries passed and so this was replaced—as if it were a technical production—with a construction, a banal on-the-spot product.”

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Marinate in Jesus!

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Steve Simms

Marinate in Jesus
Until He saturates,
Permeates,
And activates
You from within!

Let Jesus
Live in you
And flow through
All you say
And do.

When your heart
And mind
Are entwined
With Jesus,
You’ll be aligned
with His will.

Unless we let Jesus grasp, captivate, and take control of our heart, we’re only playing with Christianity. The brighter we let Jesus shine forth in our heart, the more self fades from our view. Jesus doesn’t come into a human heart to be passive, but to express Himself as the loving, inner King, Lord, and Master!

Jesus was the best counselor and communicator who ever lived. Now He offers to counsel and communicate with you through God’s Spirit. However, it’s hard to hear Jesus if we don’t believe that He speaks and we’re unwilling to be quiet and listen.

Life-changing power is released when Christians begin to obey the inner nudgings and promptings that come from Jesus. Begin to listen to and obey Him!

Christ-followers are called to live contrary to the values of their world, not to align with them. When Christians live a different lifestyle than the society around them, they don’t need to be trained to do evangelism. It happens spontaneously.

Water baptism is good, but Christians need much more than that. They need to be continually immersed in and saturated with the presence of the living Jesus.

Whatever fills a human heart seeps out for all to see. A person’s actions and attitudes eventually reveal what’s inside them.

Churches don’t have a shortage of programs, but they often seem to have a shortage of life-changing power. Church programs tend to produce passivity. They seldom seem to produce a heart that’s openly passionate about Jesus.

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Does church ignore the connectivity of the Holy Spirit?

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Steve Simms

When Christ in you connects with Christ in me, an instant sense of kinship happens, even if we’re strangers. When we sense that connection, we tend to open our hearts to each other and begin to actively experience our unity in Jesus. It’s no longer a theory or an empty theological point. It’s real and joyous!

Christianity has been routinized so that too often we assemble as if in a classroom, merely to sit together and be taught (or retaught) Christianity 101 as if it were a religious curriculum instead of a supernatural lifestyle. By doing so, we miss out on “the unity of the Spirit” and “the bond of peace.” Early Christians seem to have met without a steadfast routine, trusting in the active presence and leadership of the Spirit to guide and direct the meetings. In fact, Romans 8:14 says that being led by the Spirit is characteristic of the children of God.

When “bands” or “cell groups” or “house churches” meet to surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit by allowing each person to obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit, an amazing thing happens. One after another (see 1 Corinthians 14:26) people begin to say and do what the Spirit tells them to, and it soon becomes obvious that a supernatural presence is directing the meeting. Suddenly everyone knows that the living Jesus is in the house. I’ve been in that kind of meeting hundreds of times, and they always fill me with a sense of awe and amazement at the demonstration of the reality of the presence of the risen Jesus through ordinary people.

Church organization, programming, and formalities are frequently barriers that prevent the movement of the Holy Spirit. The programmed predictability of church squashes the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit. Perhaps salvation testimonies are rarely heard in churches because, so few members have a salvation testimony to give. Any free-flowing movement of God’s Spirit tends to be seen as a threat to churches, so they usually react by trying to shut it down.

Routinized Christianity has always been boring to me. Many Christians feel restricted and trapped by church programs and religious hierarchies. Programmed church services contain many barriers to the free movement of the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of Christians gathering isn’t to hear a sermon or to engage in rituals, but to encounter and obey the risen Jesus. Spirit-led small groups can help us do that.

Church cages
Capture Christians
And clip their wings
So they sit
Rather than fly.

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We need more Christians who are drunk (on God’s new wine)

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Steve Simms

Ephesians 5:18 offers an amazing alternative to getting drunk on alcohol or high on drugs. Instead, we can overflow with God’s Spirit and that’s an out-of-this world experience that produces “joy unspeakable and full of glory,” as well as “peace that passes understanding.” There’s nothing like continually basking in the incredible fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and experiencing the astounding gifts of the Spirit throughout the day (1 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Letting the Holy Spirit flow “out of your innermost being” is extremely inebriating. That’s why, when 120 of Jesus’ disciples began to overflow with the Spirit and flooded out of the Upper Room into the street while whooping it up for Jesus, many people thought they were drunk. My view on Christians drinking alcohol is, who needs wine when you can be drunk with the “new wine” of the Holy Spirit and ‘rejoice in the Lord always?”

So how can you live under the influence (LUI) of the Spirit? How can you get and stay tipsy in God’s Spirit?

1) Ask. “You have not because you ask not.” Continually ask God to fill you up with the Spirit. I like to ask Alexa to play “Fill My Cup, Lord” and then sing along with my whole heart. Whew! Then I soon begin to feel the Spirit moving in my soul!

2) “O, taste and see that the Lord is good.” The Holy Spirit needs to be experienced, not just theologized, surrendered to, not defined. Read the Bible every single day with a humble, open heart. Read it like a love letter, not like a textbook. Also check out: “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby.

3) Go with the Spirit’s flow. Through your conscience and through His “still, small voice” the Holy Spirit prompts people to say and do things. If you resist His promptings, you’re disobeying God. If you begin to obey the nudgings of the Spirit, even when you would rather disobey them, you will soon begin to experience spiritual inebriation.

4) “Stir up the gift that is in you.” If you are a genuine Christ-follower, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you, even if you have “left your first love.” Continually fan the embers of God’s Spirit into an ongoing raging fire in your heart. Get pumped up for Jesus!

5) When people get drunk together, they call it partying. Party in the Holy Spirit like the first Christians did on Pentecost. Gather with one or more other Christ-followers and begin to celebrate, rejoice, and praise Jesus together. Go with the flow of the Spirit together as you listen to the Spirit and then say and do what He tells each of you to say and do.

6) “Quench not the Spirit.” Don’t let anything put out the Spirit’s fire in your heart. Seek to avoid sin, but if you slip into a sin, quickly repent and let the living Jesus restore you to His amazing presence. (See 1 John 1:9 and Romans 8:1)

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Be astonished by something today

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Steve Simms

When the heart is trained to perceive and appreciate the beauty that the eyes behold, astonishment becomes an ongoing occurrence. Any day without astonishment hasn’t been lived to the fullest. Astonishment is refreshing because it reminds us that life is more than biology.

Life without astonishment tends to be an ongoing disappointment. If you sit still and quietly listen for peace within, you’ll soon be astonished at the hope that’s hidden in your heart. Let yourself be astonished by something today.

There’s so much in life that is astonishing, but we’ve been trained to call it ordinary. When curiosity activates the brain, it produces analysis; when it activates the heart it inspires astonishment. When we’re stuck in analysis, astonishment is off our radar.

A heart that’s open to astonishment, daily gathers much delight. No one is ever astonished by unseen, unrecognized, or unappreciated marvels. Astonishing moments of my life often come to my mind, and I still marvel at them with awe and gratitude.

When analysis is used to amputate our astonishment instead of to amplify it, we’re left with the boredom of cold, hard facts. People like to list their achievements, but few list their astonishments.

Much that’s astonishing is unnoticed. The fact that humans have the ability to be astonished is in itself astonishing.

Nature is full of astonishment, but we’ve seen it so often that it mostly hides behind the fog of familiarity. The astonishment of nature relieves anxiety. Wander down a wooded path and wonder and at its marvels.

Rationality fills up your mind and sensuality your senses, but it takes spirituality to fill up your heart. I’ve rarely found astonishment in programmed church services, but I continually find when I read the Bible with an open heart. Christianity without continual astonishment is only a shadow of what it’s meant to be.

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Following your desires is a cinch to quench God’s Spirit

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Steve Simms

An employer doesn’t want you to follow your desires, but to obey his instructions. The same with God. Putting your desires above God’s desires is called quenching the Spirit. If you continually put your desires above your employer’s desires (or above God’s desires), you’ll lose your position and be unemployable. Every time you obey your desires instead of God’s desires for you, you quench the Holy Spirit and set Him on the bench.

When we look to our desires for direction, we quench the Spirit. Anytime we ignore, hinder, resist, or interfere with what God is doing, we also quench the Spirit.

Too many people quench the voice of God but amplify the allure of their desires. Christ-followers are called to quench their ungodly desires, but not to quench God’s Spirit.

Every time we disobey God’s command to be led by the Spirit, the Spirit is quenched. When we ignore or resist what God’s telling us thru our conscience, the Bible, or His inner voice in our heart, we quench His Spirit.

Passively sitting through a preset church service every Sunday has trained Christians to follow programs instead of God’s Spirit. Quenching the Spirit is the main cause for the many divisions in Christianity. Unity in the body of Christ requires that we connect heart-to-heart with and obey the living Jesus. As long as we merely talk about Jesus, but neglect to actually hear and obey Him, Christians will remain divided and divisive.

Resignation
To temptation
To do what the voice
Of wrongful desires
Requires
Fans their embers
Into flames.

Putting your desires first
Is always a cinch
To quench
God's Spirit!
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The end is near–should I fear or persevere?

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Steve Simms

1 Peter 4:7 — “The end of all things is near.”

The clock’s running down. Time is short. Give your all for the kingdom of God with whatever time you have left. Heaven is forever and God’s will is always done there. Not so on earth though. Here, the will of God is often resisted, ignored, and violated by the human will. On earth there is a continual battle between God’s will and human and demonic rebellion. The Moravians called this ongoing fight of the present age, the Lamb’s War. However, soon that war will end and the victory of Jesus, the Lamb of God, will be obvious to all people, to all demons, and to all creation.

In the meantime, if you’re reading this, the fight between God’s will and rebellion is still raging both around you and within you. There’s still time on the clock for you to make a difference in the epic battle of the universe. Don’t sit on the bench. Don’t ask the coach to take you out of the game. Don’t coast on grace! Don’t be a slouch and half-heartedly follow God’s playbook. And please don’t fumble (accidentally or intentionally) your assignments and give momentum to the powers in rebellion against God.

No matter how far away the end of all things is, the end of your life is closer than you think. Get on fire for God, “quench not the Spirit,” and “fight the good fight of faith” with weapons that “are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and bringing every thought into obedience to Christ.” Do it now! Do it until you die. And do it every moment in between!” The end is near! Fight!!!

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Show me Jesus, don’t give me a show about Him!

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Steve Simms

A sermon,
Although you
May like to hear it,
Is no substitute
For walking
In the Spirit.

I balk
At hearing
Another talk
About Christianity.
I want to walk
In the Spirit.

Churches claim to be part of the body of Christ. If that’s so, they need to let the living Jesus take the literal role as the actual Head and leader of His body. On the organizational chart for the body of Christ every member is connected directly to the Head (not so for churches).

I want church to actually show me the presence of the risen Jesus. Instead, it just gives me a show about Him.

Programs and methods make Christians trust in programs and methods, instead of trusting in the living, resurrected Jesus. Rather than acting like “Christ in you” is “the hope of glory,” most Christians act like that’s just a theological myth.

Every time we program and run a Christian meeting, we’re proclaiming that we don’t believe that Jesus can lead it by Himself. A human-led meeting can’t teach people how to let Jesus lead a meeting. We learn that by actually letting Jesus lead us.

We don’t need experts in explaining Christianity. We need people who will actually listen to and humbly obey the risen Jesus. Theological explanations, without real life, heart-felt, Spirit-led demonstrations, accomplish little.

The function of New Testament “overseers” is to prevent God’s Spirit from being “quenched” in a meeting. However, if a meeting is programmed to quench (or ignore) the Spirit, overseers have no job. That’s why, in the traditional idea of church, the concept of overseers has been replaced by a one-man leader who controls and directs the meeting.

Preachers wear me out. They keep telling people what and how to do, over and over, and then send them home without letting them do it. When a preacher writes a sermon, he trusts his notes to help him deliver it. If he speaks from the heart, he has to trust in Jesus.

The Bible says to “wait on the Lord.” Instead, Christians are trained to passively sit and wait on a pastor to spoon feed them. If Jesus is actually living and working inside of you, focusing on and obeying Him is far more powerful than hearing a talk about Him.

Many Christians show more passion and enthusiasm for their favorite basketball team than they do for Jesus. What’s up with that?

How many
How-to talks
Does it take
Before Christians
Begin to
Meet to
Actually do
What they're
Being taught
How to do?
Whew!
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Thinking about Judgment Day . . .

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Steve Simms

People don’t want
To think or say
Judgment Day,
But it’s on the way.

As humans we tend to compare ourselves to people who are doing or have done some of the worst things we can imagine. Thus, by that comparison, we can state and believe the common human claim: “I’m a good person.” However, according to the Bible, that line of reasoning is based on deception.

The Bible boldly states: “There is none righteous, no not one,” “There is none good but the Father,” and “All your righteousness is as filthy rags.” In the light of those verses, who is “a good person”? No one!

Deceiving myself into falsely believing that I’m a good person, is not the way to prepare for Judgment Day. Just the opposite. Believing that I’m a good person sets me up to ignore God’s mercy and instead to stand before Him in my own misguided sense of righteousness. That would be a disaster!

Instead, I need to confess my sin (unrighteousness) and receive God’s forgiveness that comes through His grace provided by the blood of Jesus. That’s the only plea that will satisfy God’s justice. In Christ, I’m a “new creature,” but in my flesh (my human nature and self-based desires) I’m the “wretched man” that Paul describes.

When Judgment Day comes for me, I need God’s mercy, not His justice. His justice would give me just what I deserve (what I’ve earned by my thoughts, words, and behaviors) and would separate me from God forever. However, His blood-bought mercy (O what a price!) will cover me with His righteousness and open the gates for an eternal relationship with Him. Even today in the comfort of my home, my plea before God is Jesus and His mercy, and not any right behavior of my own.

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