Return from institutional exile back to ekklesia

Posted on January 21, 2020 by Steve Simms

God is releasing a heart-longing for a return to ekklesia (early Christianity before it was organized into an institution). When ekklesia was replaced by institution, Christians began focusing on following procedures more than on obeying the risen Jesus. It costs very little to be churchy, but it costs everything to follow Christ.

When Jesus called His first disciples, He said, “Follow Me.” Today, He still calls His disciples to follow Him. Do you? Too many Christians are listening to talks about the fountain, instead of daily drinking Jesus’ living water.

Ekklesia is so simple, yet incredibly profound. It’s two or more people coming together to listen to and obey the living Jesus. I love Spirit-led order, when each person present, prompted from within, obeys the risen Jesus. Let Christ synchronize your heart with His will. Let Him break through the clouds that darken your heart.

If Jesus is the Head and Christians are part of His body, let’s all directly listen to and obey Him. Jesus came to rescue us from rules and regulations by calling and empowering us to receive and follow His presence living within us.

We experience the eternal internally (not externally) by learning to hear and obey Christ speaking inside us. All Christians are meant to be mentees of the risen Jesus.

Some people want Christianity when it’s convenient and an escape clause when it’s not. Accept no substitutes for the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. Christians are called to be disciples of Christ, not disciples of a religion, culture, or a nation.

The most effective Christian leaders train people to surrender to, to follow, and to obey the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. Are you being led to follow the living Jesus?

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Blog & books — I love to write

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Steve Simms

If you like my blog you will enjoy my books. Learn more about all 3 @ this link.

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“Selfianity” promotes self-focus

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Steve Simms

Christianity calls us to self-denial. Selfianity promotes self-focus. Some people want Christianity when it’s convenient and an escape clause when it’s not.

When Christ is only a theory, we’ll grow spiritually weary. When He’s living within, we’ll overcome our sin.

Can you hear God now? “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says.” –Jesus (Accept no substitutes for the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.)

Church should be where the human love of hierarchical power is replaced with the power of God’s supernatural love. Early Christianity wasn’t a professional career for a few believers, but a calling for them all to obey the living Jesus. The most effective Christian leaders train people to surrender to, to follow, and to obey the resurrected Jesus Christ.

Jesus left His tomb empty. Now let him fill you (not just your preacher) with His living presence. The greater your awareness of Christ living in you, the greater your peace and joy. Search for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.

Silence your conscience by turning away from wrong and doing right, not by medicating it or denying it. The Bible calls that repentance.

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Let thoughts fly instead of missiles

Posted on January 10, 2020 by Steve Simms

Good and evil are not defined by national borders. Both can be found in every human heart. We humans tend to focus on perceived, external threats to our well being, while often ignoring or defending threats that live in our own heart. (By the way, have you noticed that the people who plan, start, and run wars are rarely the people who fight and die in wars?)

Pride often pushes peace aside. International confrontations can be defused by kindness and understanding or stoked by pride and control. However, as long as nations take pride in their wars, peace will be hard to achieve.

History shows that humanity easily gives up on peace and embraces war, often using justifications like rights or defense. However, war reveals the wickedness of mankind as we inflict death and destruction on ourselves and each other. Even a famous general said, “War is hell.”

If peace was waged with as much money, effort, organization, training, and enthusiasm as war, this world would be a better place. Countries need a peacitary, a government funded, trained and sponsored corps of nonviolent peacemakers (as large as their military) to give us an effective alternative to war.

It’s hard to imagine peace that makes militarism unnecessary. Most people won’t even try. However, organized non-violence has been proven an effective alternative to war. Here are two examples: Indian independence and American civil rights. Perhaps children play war and not peace, because there are almost no role models for peace. We need more Gandhis and MLKs.

A true nuclear proliferation treaty would prohibit any nation (and anyone) from making any more nuclear weapons. Let’s try that!

Taking turns killing people is a deadly way to handle disputes between nations. Repeated retaliation between nations leads to an ever growing tally of death and destruction on both sides.

Early Christianity trusted in the risen Jesus and His spiritual weapons. See 2 Corinthians 10:4. Jesus said, “Love your enemies,” not, “Kill your enemies if you think they might be about to attack you.” To be nice to people (whether you like them or not) costs you little (except your pride) and will make the world a better place.

“Christianity has been growing at a fast rate in the last couple of decades in Iran.” –CBN News. Let’s be careful not to stop it!

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Jesus advocates peace

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Steve Simms

Jesus says, “Bless those who curse you.” Wouldn’t that be an interesting policy?

Jesus says, “Do good to those who hate you.” Following Jesus is much harder than most people think.

“Love your enemies.” If Jesus really means that, we’ve got a long way to go.

Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Perhaps we should pay more attention to them.

You can experience much more inner peace by trusting God than you can by trusting human governments and politicians.

Some thoughts are promptings from God, others provocations from the devil, and some expressions of self. Use discernment.

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Christianity needs more “heartials” and fewer facials

Posted on January 7, 2020 by Steve Simms

Facials are fine, but what we all really need is heartials. When Christians gather with a “minister to me” attitude instead of a “let’s minister to one another” attitude, we miss much that God has for us. Perhaps a group of Christ-followers directly led by the Holy Spirit is more powerful than a group led by a mere man.

To be “led by the Spirit” and to “quench” the Spirit, are opposites and can’t be done at the same time. Pride can easily be led by self and/or by sin, but it takes surrender and humility to be consistently led by the Holy Spirit.

To “led by the Spirit” is to be aware of and to obey God’s inner promptings. To “quench” the Spirit is to ignore or disobey them. Christianity is a Spirit-empowered lifestyle, not just lessons learned by listening. Relationship with Jesus is about surrender to Him. You can learn a lot about Jesus, yet still be in rebellion against Him

Being called a pastor doesn’t make a person any more (or less) qualified to minister to people. When members of the body of Christ are unresponsive to Jesus, the Head, the result is spiritual paralysis. Just because you don’t have (or assume) a religious title, shouldn’t hold you back from daily following & obeying Jesus.

The body of Christ isn’t an audience. It’s God’s family–His people coming together heart-to-heart. When people are trained and allowed to step out in SPaction (Spirit-prompted action), church opens the door to miracles.

God’s grace is a free way out of bondage to sin, not a free excuse for continuing in for sin. Search Amazon for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.

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More compassion would make a better & more peaceful world

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Steve Simms

Compassionate thoughts and feelings come from God. If you follow them, they will lead you to Him. A lack of compassion for others frequently cause us to get distracted by and entangled with self. Life is better when we choose compassion, when we continually learn to cultivate it, not to curb it,

To have compassion is to be aware of other people’s pain and to want to help ease it. Compassion is to feel the distress of others, so strongly in your own heart, that easing their suffering becomes important to you. Compassion cuts thru unkindness and replaces it with deep concern and caring.

Indifference allows cruelty. Compassion dispels it. Practice compassion by allowing yourself to see people with your heart open to genuine concern and caring for them and for their needs.

When we’re deeply hurting, we need compassion and appreciate those who show it to us (whether or not we like or agree with them). It’s hard being a human. Show some kindness and compassion to struggling people.

Every time we refuse to feel and show compassion, we harden our heart. Blame blocks compassion. It’s popular to verbally “put others in their place,” however, to understand others, you need to put yourself in their place. Unkindness toward others typically reduces their kindness toward you.

We can’t blame and show compassion at the same time. The desire to control others will also cut off your compassion for them.

Too often we see compassion as a fleeting emotion, but Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of compassion. True greatness is to be filled with compassion. The goal of Christian compassion is to show and connect people with the love and healing of the living Jesus Christ.

When you have compassion for people, you can’t bear to inflict more pain on them, but instead you want to help relieve their hurts. Compassion is an important part of joy.

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New wineskins for Jesus

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Steve Simms

Jesus talked about the need for new wineskins. New wineskins allow room for the body of Christ to manifest supernatural heart-connection between Christ-followers. Old wineskins have hardened into religious systems and traditions.

Systems are great and help humans function in orderly ways, however, Christ calls us beyond religious systems into new wineskins that create close relationship with Him. The old wineskin of sermons tell people what to do, without giving them any hands-on training in doing it.

New wineskins are rare and hard to find. I wrote a book about them. Search Amazon for: Beyond Church.

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Last year’s ruts make new year changes difficult. We need SPaction!

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Steve Simms

Too often New Year’s Day is but a fleeting moment of briefly thinking beyond the monotony of the old year. However, status quo (year after year) isn’t a gift of the Spirit. For a year (or a decade) to pass without inner progress toward greater sanity and serenity, shows we’ve been stuck in life’s ruts.

It’s hard to have a “Happy New Year,” without consistently happy thoughts, words, and actions. If you won’t stop your old, negative thoughts and behaviors, they’ll quickly take over and possess your New Year. That’s why New Year’s resolutions seldom work. We want new behaviors without getting free of old behaviors thru confession and repentance.

Here is a Happy New Year secret: If you consistently watch, read, think, hear, and speak sadness or anger, you won’t feel much happiness. Negative thoughts have legs and will run around in your mind, trampling your serenity, if you don’t stop them.

New years pile up and eventually make you old, but if you surrender to the risen Jesus, He will make you new. Politics changes laws; the living Jesus changes hearts. New hearts are much more powerful than new laws!

A new year without a new you is rather repetitive. Hope in a new year too often results in repetition, but hope in the living Jesus results in restoration and inner revolution. Let the risen Jesus make your next trip around the Sun a joyride. Search The Joy Of Early Christianity.

A new year is a great time to learn SPaction. All Christians are called to be “led by the Spirit,” to experience regular SPaction (Spirit-prompted action). SPaction is much more powerful than hearing the word without doing it. Make the 20s the decade of SPaction.

New Year’s advice: Keep giving the living Jesus new areas of your heart and mind, until you have surrendered all to Him.

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See Jesus, hear Jesus, speak Jesus! Go beyond denial.

Posted on January 1, 2020 by Steve Simms

Too many Christians live by: “See not Jesus, hear not Jesus, speak not Jesus.” If you are unaware of “Christ in you,” perhaps He’s not. Being unaware of the presence of the risen Jesus, is like being in a spiritual coma. Perhaps instead of more preaching, Christians need greater awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus.

It’s easy to go through the motions of religion and to be unaware that we are unaware of the living presence of Jesus Christ. However, Scripture says, Behold the Lamb of God,” — be aware of His presence. Jesus is continually trying to break through our unawareness of His presence. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

If Christ has risen and is present when we gather in His name, there’s no reason to be unaware of His presence. To live, unaware of the presence of Jesus Christ, is to live in practical denial of His resurrection. The measure of church is its fruit. How effective is it at creating committed & obedient followers of the living Jesus?

Perhaps we should pray, “Jesus, if You’re really risen from the dead and present in the 21st century, make me truly aware of You.” Why not try it?

When we sin and refuse to confess and repent, our sin blocks our awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus. What we refuse to acknowledge and confess to God, will continually torment us from within. Denial can’t erase our guilt. Medicating it only temporarily dulls it. However, our confession and God’s forgiveness, removes it.

You clean your conscience by humble, honest confession, not by self-justification. Disagree with people but don’t disrespect or disdain them.

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