Faith focus — trusting Christ, not accumulating stuff

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Steve Simms

Keep faith always in front of you & fear will be forced to stay in the rear.

When we have no idea what to do if God doesn’t come through; we can either stand on faith or give up in despair.

Faith is an intense fight against doubt & fear; not a causal, untested belief.

When you pull the ripcord of faith in Jesus; you’ll stop your freefall through life and make a safe landing!

Faith knows the Son still shines, even when hidden behind dark clouds.

It’s easy to be encouraged when you see what you want to see; but it takes firm faith to remain hopeful when you don’t.

Faith isn’t always getting what you want; it’s trusting God even when you don’t.

Faith’s not a way to manipulate God. Faith is trusting God enough to surrender to Him.

The more you get to know the risen Jesus, the easier it is to have faith in Him. The more time you spend with someone, the better you get to know her/him. The same is true about the risen Jesus.

Faith is not a way to lead God around. It’s letting God lead you around.

The stronger a person’s faith is, the more she/he surrenders to God.

Proclaimed belief without corresponding behaviors is defunct.

Faith is trusting God even when you are treading through topsy-turvy turf.

By faith you can speak to mountains of doubt & cast them out of your thoughts.

Faith is like a muscle. It grows stronger the more you use it.

Need proof for God? Ask Him to show you that He’s real. He will!

What nation holds no territory but its citizens are scattered all around the world? Answer: The Kingdom of God.

Posted in author and finisher of our faith, by faith you are saved, Deep in my heart I do believe, evidence of things not seen, faith comes by hearing, faith healing, faith in action, faith in God, faith walk, faith without works, fight the good fight of faith, hearing with faith, how to experience a miracle, I'm a believer, living out your faith, miracles, people of faith, practical faith, seed faith, sharing your faith, trust in God, Uncategorized, working of miracles | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Lord’s Prayer in bite size bits

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Steve Simms

“Our Father,” Jesus invites us to be sons & daughters of God.

“In Heaven,” a holy & pure dimension of existence beyond the physical realm.

“Hallowed be Your Name,” may His name release holy astonishment in all who hear it.

“Your kingdom come,” may the government of God be revealed & established.

“Your will be done,” may we lay down our resistance to what God wants.

“On earth as it is in Heaven,” Heaven is the example of how to live on earth.

“Give us today our daily bread,” one day at a time.

“And forgive us out trespasses,” Lord, have mercy on us.

“As we forgive those who trespass against us,” show us the same level of forgiveness that we show to others.

“Lead us not into temptation,” steer us clear of our wrongful desires, cravings, & compulsions.

“But deliver us from evil,” set us free from sinful thoughts, words, & behaviors.

“For Your’s is the kingdom,” our loyalty belongs to God.

“And the power & the glory forever,” all power & glory belong eternally to God.

prayoffs2

Posted in AA, AA meetings, Alcoholics Anonymous, Amen, daily bread, eternity, Father in Heaven, forgive us our trespasses, glory of God, God's power, kingdom come, kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, kingdom values, NA, NA meetings, Narcotics Anonymous, support groups, Thy will be done, Uncategorized, will be done on earth as it is in Heaven | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

12 steps for one another groups

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Steve Simms

The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous established 12 steps to help people overcome an addiction to alcohol. As the program gained success, various support groups for other addictions began to apply the steps for their own needs.

In 50-something places the New Testament tells Christians to do things for one another in a reciprocal way in order to help bring about our healing, recovery, inner peace, and freedom in Christ. Perhaps, based on the 12 step example, we could embrace 12 steps to help create an environment where Christ-followers can more effectively fulfill those “one another” instructions.

Here’s my attempt:

1) We acknowledged that we were powerless over certain circumstances, situations, and behaviors and that our lives had become inconsistent, painful, and often chaotic.

2) We came to believe that the risen Jesus Christ could help us recover inner peace.

3) We chose to turn our will and our lives over to the living, resurrected Jesus as revealed through the Bible.

4) We began to meet in groups with other Christ-followers in openness, humility, equality, compassion, and mutual support as prompted and directed by the living Jesus.

5) Those Christ-led one another gatherings helped us to see that, in our struggles, we have much in common with others.

6) Sharing those insights and experiences allowed us see each other’s hearts, and knitted us together in a genuine community of heart-felt caring and concern for one another.

7) We began to learn how to personally hear Christ’s voice, to obey Him, and to share what we hear with each other.

8) We began to see the risen Jesus actively working among us, in and through the faces, the sincerity, the words, and the actions of each other.

9) This made the Bible come alive in our hearts as a present day reality and we began to continually search it and read it, not as a religious rule book, but as a daily guide to help us more fully understand, hear, and obey the living Jesus.

10) Our hearts grew in gratitude and love for Jesus, for one another, and for the whole world.

11) Almost without trying, we put this love into action beginning to show more and more kindness to one another and to everyone we met.’

12) Having been spiritually transformed by following these steps, the way we lived our daily lives changed. Then we began to share the good news with people outside of our one another groups, about how our relationship and encounters with Jesus changed our lives.

Posted in celebrate recovery, cell groups, encounter group, encouragement, house church, Love one another, NA, NA meetings, Narcotics Anonymous, one another, one anothering, open sharing, organic chruch, overcoming depression, Overeaters Anonymous, recovery quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Think outside yourself!

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Steve Simms

It ain’t over till you quit praying over it. Believe in God. Your self will let you down. Keep your eyes on the wise, not on the foolish. Let Jesus lead you from the mundane to the marvelous in your life! Think outside yourself!

If you keep doing and thinking the same things, you’ll never get different results. When disappoints pounce, let God give you bounce!

Persistent prayer can take you beyond excuses into the power & presence of God! Pray large & let your worries be small. Pray, worship, and pursue Jesus outside your comfort zone.

When the going gets tough & faith seems to falter; passionately pursue Jesus. You don’t have to do everything. Give up & let God do something!

Discipling isn’t filling minds with religious information. It’s filling hearts with Christ’s fire! Do the next Spirit-led thing.

Freedom gives us choice. We can follow & obey Jesus or we can do our own thing.

I love how Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as inner rivers & I love to let them flow. Through Christ we can continually experience an inner strength that’s not our own.

Jesus sends a friend request to every human heart. We can accept or ignore it.

Paul describes Christianity as: “His working, which works in me mightily.” (Col. 1:29) Early Christianity was vibrant, spontaneous, life-transforming, & world-changing.

Faith often starts with a single prayer. Why not say one now?

Let the Holy Spirit
Be in control
Freely flowing
In your soul!

Posted in comfort zone, dealing with disappointment, disciple making, discipleship, discipling, Holy Spirit, It ain't over till, Keep your eyes on, rivers of living water, sayings, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A month of freedom (31 freedom thoughts)

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Steve Simms

A month of daily freedom thoughts to help you recover & maintain your freedom:

1) Freedom without meaning & purpose wanders in despair.

2) True freedom is the power to do right, even when you want to do wrong.

3) Freedom of the body is not enough. Souls need freedom, too!

4) When we’re captured & controlled by our cravings, freedom slips away.

5) The hardest place to obtain freedom is in your mind.

6) Freedom is when our desire to show that we care, overcomes our need to impress.

7) Is a nation that overflows with anger, violence, addiction, depression, & crime, really free?

8) Freedom is found when we begin to obey our conscience & to ignore the enslaving seductions of our culture.

9) Freedom’s not the rights to do what we want; but the wants to do what is right!

10) Unbridled freedom leads to unsettled & unhappy circumstances.

11) No on can be really free until she/he has inner peace.

12) Outward freedom is often used to medicate inner bondage instead of overcoming it.

13) To get your soul right with God is to step out of bondage & into freedom!

14) The one who lives on her/his knees before God, is free to stand with bold love before people.

15) External freedom + internal bondage = personal & societal chaos.

16) The free person is the one who refuses to follow evil thoughts.

17) If you’re caught in a thought or behavior, Jesus can break your chains.

18) Freedom’s just another word for victory over negative desires, thoughts, & emotions.

19) Without the inner freedom to forgive, we get caught in the bondage of bitterness.

20) It’s hard for people to get free from bondage that they enjoy.

21) The amazing freedom to change the direction of your life, does you no good unless you use it.

22) It’s sad to have political freedom yet still be stuck in inner bondage.

23) Jesus unlocked & opened the door to your jail cell. Will you exit it?

24) The ability to feel what you want to feel is an important & realistic freedom that we can all strive for–attitude-engineering.

25) The freedom to think before we speak is often ignored.

26) Like all freedom, the freedom to align with Christ is costly.

27) Open, heart-felt sharing in caring community releases freedom.

28) The rarest freedom is the freedom to avoid thinking, saying, or doing wrong.

29) A comfort zone often feels like freedom; but it may be bondage.

30) What then is freedom? The power to consistently hear & obey your conscience!

31) Too many people celebrate freedom from conscience when what we really need is the courage to obey our conscience!

A few bonus thoughts to help keep your freedom going into the next month (BE FREE WITHIN):

B) Be an inner freedom-fighter. Always go all out to win your inner battles!

E) The more elaborate & restrictive a gathering may be, the less freedom of expression.

F) There’s no freedom to swim, unless you get in the water. Christ’s living water is beckoning!

R) License / Freedom / Legalism — (Notice that freedom is balanced in the middle.)

E) True freedom is a personal battle everyone must either choose to fight or ignore.

E) License exchanges freedom for bondage to our own desires & compulsions.

W) Let Jesus change your chains into change-agents of freedom!

I) Give yourself the freedom to live a better life, no matter what others think.

T) It’s amazingly liberating when you refuse to take offense at what others may say and/or do to you.

H) Fear and inner freedom don’t mix.

I) Freedom is to be so caught up in Christ & His cause that you forget about yourself.

N) If you have lies to protect, then you’re really not free!

freedom thoughts

Posted in born free, freedom fighters, freedom from sin, freedom in Christ, freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, freedom's just another word for, liberty and justice for all, set the captives free, truth will set you free, Uncategorized, what is freedom | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The status quo is often a no-go to following Jesus

Posted on July 1, 2017 by Steve Simms

If we refuse to glorify anyone but Christ, the glory of God will fill a meeting. When no mere human is the “King” of a meeting, ekklesia can break through.

A powerful way to minister to people is to let them minister to you. If we followed preachers’ example, we’d all be giving long talks.

Seeing Jesus working in synergy through ordinary people as they are prompted by the Spirit, produces hearts full of awe. Authentic community is not hard to find. We just meet with some believers & let the risen Jesus lead us!

Let’s look behind, back to the book of Acts, & go beyond church as usual. Let’s go beyond formality to an ekklesia mentality & experience our commonality in Christ. Ekklesia is home, even if we don’t realize it. Perhaps we are all homesick for it. Ekklesia dares to let go of the status quo & follow where the Spirit goes.

Listen to me speak & you’ll soon forget. Listen to Jesus & you’ll be transformed. God designed people to need one another. Ekklesia gathers to meet that need. Ekklesia is a morsel & foretaste of Heaven! It allows Christians to be child-like, innocent, joyful, & honest with one another.

Christ’s body can be seen when Christ-followers interact in Spirit-led community. When some members of the body of Christ aren’t allowed to function; the body becomes lame. When the body of Christ meets together, all members need to function, not just one.

Ekklesia lets ordinary people meet & share “best practices” for obeying Jesus. Living to obey Jesus isn’t legalistic; it’s live-giving, invigorating, & joyous! Let’s allow Jesus to be Himself instead of trying to squeeze Him into our programs.

No one’s income level, professional standing, level of education, or social status matters in ekklesia. Ekklesia’s simple: Come together; listen to Jesus; all share what you hear. Ekklesia is when a group of people meet under the direct influence of Jesus without an intermediary.

Ekklesia is “the communion of the saints” sharing their hearts with one another. Ekklesia lets people experience the availability of God. It shifts your focus from a program to the presence of Christ. Without ekklesia we long for genuine, heart-felt community.

Ekklesia is about sharing common life–the life of Christ working in us all. Ekklesia makes God known! “The real crisis of worship today is…that people have no sense of the presence of God.” –R.C. Sproul

Church often requires people to leave their spiritual gifts at the door before they enter the meeting. Church tends to be about the “art” of worship. Ekklesia is about the “heart” of worship. “Modern worship has become passive—listening to a message and singing some songs.” ―Craig Olson

Church tends to take the things that God is doing in and through ordinary people and hide them behind the preacher. Just listening to a preacher often makes my heart lukewarm. However, talking about Jesus sets my heart on fire!

Passively listening to one person can be a unity mask. True unity comes when we share our hearts with one another.

“The force be with you?” is so impersonal. I prefer “The risen Jesus be with you!”

Posted in availability of God, body of Christ, Christian community, church programming, common life, communion of the saints, community, community building, ekklesia, heart of worship, life together, lukewarm, may the force be with you, Quotes, R.C. Sproul, Uncategorized, worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beyond “services” to meetings . . .

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Steve Simms

It’s time to let God go & let Him take control both of your life & of His gathered people. Churches have services; but ekklesia & AA & NA & Al-Anon have meetings.

Practicing the presence of God by yourself is powerful; but it can be even more powerful in a group meeting. When we meet together to minister to one another and experience Christ together, Jesus eclipses our sorrows, trials, and sins. By ministering to one another as the Spirit leads us, we can hydrate our hearts with Jesus’ living water!

Big Jesus in control + little us in obedience = ekklesia! To gather in Christ-led community is to experience a life recovery group. However, when the spiritual life in people is kept on lockdown, churches feel the need to rely on programs. Lecture informs. Heart-felt, community interaction & sharing heals. The body of Christ has much wisdom; but only being taught by one person can lead to deception.

Church looks to one person for ministry; ekklesia looks to one another. When Christians meet to encounter Christ in & through one another, He shows up! I love it when a meeting is carried along by the Holy Spirit rather than following a set program.

Spirit-led choreography happens when believers come together & “keep in step with the Spirit.” (See Galatians 5:25.) An every-light-shines meeting can release more light than just one person shining.

In the body of Christ “members do not all have the same function,” so why do we make all but one, passive spectators when we meet? Perhaps instead of relying on a program, we need to develop Jesus dependency. People who are Jesus-dependent have amazing lives! When Jesus-dependent people get together & totally rely on Him, Heaven breaks out! It’s such a blessing to meet with Jesus-dependent people who are hooked on the King of Kings! Jesus takes us beyond emotional medication to spiritual transformation.

True leadsrship in ekklesia: “We rejoice when we are weak & you are strong.” -Paul of Tarsus. In ekklesia we are told to: “Value others above yourselves.” –Paul of Tarsus, Philippians 2:3

The Bible helps us distinguish between the voice of self, the voice of the devil, & the voice of God. I’ve found that the more that I read the word, the more it burns in my heart and works inside of me! The Gospel is “now revealed & made known through the prophetic writings.” Romans 16:26

Some people fear that false doctrine &/or sin may be promoted when Christians are allowed to follow 1 Corinthians 14:26. However, in our 9 years of meetings at The Salvation Army Berry Street we’ve found that ekklesia is one of the safest places from incorrect doctrine and sin.

As we begin with someone reading a Scripture each week and them move into anointed worship, the Holy Spirit begins to freely move among us. When the Spirit is flowing, rather than promoting sin, people begin to feel convicted of their sins. Rather than sharing incorrect doctrine, their hearts are opened to truth as the Holy Spirit teaches us through His presence and humility in one another. However, as a safety valve, we do have mature believers (the Bible calls them elders) who oversee the meeting (like officials in basketball), so if anyone does share something in the flesh that needs to be corrected, an elder can simply stand up, thank them for sharing, and then correct anything that was off base.

Experience ekklesia every Sunday morning @ 10:45 @ The Salvation Army Berry Street, 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207. Learn more about it here.

practicing the Presence

Posted in AA meetings, Al-Anon, alcohol rehab, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, Berry Street, body of Christ, celebrate recovery, Christ-centered recovery, Christian meetings, Christian recovery, Christian support group, church meetings, class meetings, effective meetings, NA meetings, organic chruch, recovery groups, recovery quotes, religious meetings, support groups, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ekklesia’s worth 1,000 words (#UnconferenceNashville quotes)

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Steve Simms

Church looks to one person for ministry; ekklesia looks to one another. Here are a few quotes from people who attended UnconferenceNashville @ The Salvation Army Berry Street June 23-25.

“Who knew? I thought that I would learn about ekklesia. It ended up BEING ekklesia. Thanks from the bottom of my heart to each and every one who was there or had anything to do with making unconference happen. Above all thanks Holy Spirit for moving me to attend. Thanks Jesus for giving me a glimpse of what you died and live for. Thanks Father for the strong, strong fabric of love you have wrapped your creation inside. Much love to you all!”

“This weekend completely blew away my expectations. Even though we aren’t perfect, at Berry Street we have a functioning Ekklesia. BUT – having 50-70 people, with like mind and hunger creates an environment where God’s presence is undeniable. It was like a dream come true having so many hungry people in one place. The immense love in the room was powerful and Sunday morning was probably the funnest ‘church service’ of my life. Can all of you just move to Nashville and we do this every week?”

“A strong theme was Christ being the Head of His church, and the Spirit leading His church. I found that I pretty much cried through the whole service Sunday morning. There is such beauty in seeing the Spirit of God lead anyone and everyone to build one another up.”

“This weekend filled me with such real joy that I am still riding the high this morning as I sit at my desk in California. I was also filled with so much faith and confidence that the Lord can really do anything, and that He actually WANTS to do so much more than I usually expect.”

” So thankful to have gotten to meet such special new brothers and sisters. Can’t think about your faces without tears in my eyes. Last night, I was mulling over the weekend and was experiencing such complete contentment – it was beyond peace. R and I had ekklesia all the way home and both agreed that we are so thankful to have met such treasures who walk around on the earth. There is such depth in each one of you. Thanks for being real and for being Christ. Talking with each of you brought such encouragement. Blessings.”

And here are a few quotes about unconferences in general:

“Unconferences are about empowering attendees to share their expertise. They give participants the opportunity to have an unfiltered exchange of innovative ideas.” –Rebecca O. Bagley

“The sum of the expertise of the people in the audience is greater than the sum of the expertise of the people on stage.” Dave Winer

“An unconference creates an egalitarian moment in time where people from all walks of life . . . can simply share, learn, communicate and grow.” –Mitch Joel unconferenceNashvilleGunnar

Posted in Beyond Church, Christ the Head of the church, Christian conferences, Christianity, experiencing God, fellowship, house church, organic church, Quotations, simple church, Uncategorized, worship, worth a thousand words | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thoughts from a Jesus addict

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Steve Simms

I’m a Jesus addict, staying high on Him & looking to start a Jesus epidemic! I’ve found that true happiness is addiction to Jesus.

Group meetings help Jesus addicts keep His fire burning in one another! O, what a relief it is to forget about self by focusing on loving Jesus & serving others!

So let’s put our religious docket in our pocket & plug into Jesus’ power socket. For a meeting to have a docket & lock it in, can often knock it off track with the Holy Spirit.

The Bible’s like a powerful drug. Soak up some Scripture & experience what it does! Jesus doesn’t just reveal Himself within us. He has also revealed Himself to the writers of the Bible. Their writings give us a solid objectivity to anchor our own inner perceptions of Christ to.

Jesus doesn’t follow our schedule; but calls us to follow Him! Shall we? It’s much better to fit your life into God’s schedule than to attempt to fit God into your schedule. It’s important we don’t confuse following Christ with following our own feelings & opinions.

Trying to schedule God is like trying to schedule the weather. It just doesn’t work! Christ puts His wisdom in all His people. Perhaps we could let them all share it as they are prompted by the Holy Spirit.

Too many people try to make Christ fit their lifestyle instead of making their lifestyle fit Christ! Don’t let your feelings push you around. Stand up to them & do what’s right! A person following his/her own opinions & desires is like a dog chasing its tail.

Faith is birthed through Christ-encounters; not just by theological reasoning! The more we obey the risen Jesus, the less we are consumed by self.

“Encourage one another & build each other up.” (1 Thes. 5:11) That’s what we do when we meet in ekklesia! Ekklesia meets with no itinerary but to hear & obey Jesus together as His body.

God is beyond human comprehension, yet my heart sings His praises! Then I strive to be faithful to the truth revealed in Scripture both in my beliefs and in my lifestyle!Jesus' power socket

Posted in Bible, Bible one anothers, change, change management, choice of lifestyle, happiness, inward change, lifestyles, one anothers, schedule, stress relief, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A poem about an altar call

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Steve Simms

The beauty of an altar call,
When people open their hearts
And respond in obedience to God,
Doesn’t have to be confined
To a few minutes at the end
Of a church service.
Why not open up the meeting
From beginning to end
And freely allow people to
Hear and obey the risen Jesus
The whole time we’re together?
(Learn more about this @ http://amzn.to/2tg8Uxi)

Posted in Beyond Church, ekklesia, house church, organic chruch, simple church, Uncategorized, unchurching | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments