Steve Simms's Blog

Daily writing promptWho are your current most favorite people?View all responses

My favorite people are people who flow and glow with heart-felt love, kind words, and caring actions. I love people who overflow with living water.

Living water causes Christians to love one another and unites them heart-to-heart as one in the Spirit. Bottled water divides Christians and scatters them into hundreds of thousands of denominations and nondenominational churches worldwide, each one acting independently and disagreeing with the others (often with hostility) about many things.

Living water is the risen Jesus Christ freely flowing in your heart and releasing rivers of His presence and the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) from deep inside of you. Bottled water is religion with its talks, rituals, divisiveness, controls, pride, and expectations.

Christians too often treat Jesus — the living water of Christ in you — like a plastic bottle of water. Bottled water is completely contained and controlled. It is opened and closed. At times it is carried around and other times it is set aside and ignored. Bottled water is sometimes sipped, sometimes gulped, and sometimes even tossed aside.

Living water, however, is completely different from bottled water. Living water freely flows without human controls. Attempts to control living water will quench and slow down its flow. Dams will even shut it down. (1 Thessalonians 5: 19)

Lectures or teachings about living water don’t satisfy the hunger and thirst (Matthew 5:6) in a human soul. Living water needs to be experienced not explained. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8) Jesus said: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.” (John 7:37)

Jesus offers to release “rivers of living water” from within your “inner most being.” (John 7:38) He doesn’t invite you to a religious meeting to hear another theological lecture about Him.

Without the living water of Spirit-led discipleship Christianity is easily shipwrecked. It’s not enough to hear religious talks. Instead learn to jump into and be freely carried along day and night by the inner flowing of the living water of Christ in you. Let the world see Christ living in and consistently flowing through you so that they can truly know that Jesus is sent from God. (John 17:23)

Jesus alive,
The Living Word,
Needs to be heard.
It’s not enough
To hear lectures
And conjectures
On the subject
Of religion.

Daily writing promptWhat are your favorite animals?View all responses

Pets are wonderful. Animals are amazing. However, my best friend isn’t an animal. My best friend is an invisible person who lives and works inside of me.

“This is what the disciples of Jesus do. They put down pretense, confess their ignorance, and ask one another questions in order to grow in their faith and understanding.” –JD Walt

This is how Paul describes the disciple making process that Christ-followers need to engage in: “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation.” (1 Corinthians 14:26) “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” (Psalm 107:2)

People’s testimonies about “the blood of the Lamb” are so powerful that they overcome the devil (Revelation 12:11) and his temptations. (1 Corinthians 10:13) It’s time for the body of Christ to quit focusing on the same person’s teaching every week and instead to begin to train and release all of God’s people to openly testify about Jesus as they are led and empowered by the Spirit! (Acts 1:8)

Then Christ-followers can begin to hear what God’s Spirit declares in and through one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) They can become openhearted friends living in intimate community with one another and with the risen Jesus working in and through each other. They can train one another how to listen to Jesus, how to be friends with Him, and how to hang out with Him night and day.

True Christianity isn’t a religion. It’s a heart-to-heart friendship with the risen Jesus.

Religious people like to ask:
“Where do you go to church?”
But I prefer to ask:
“What do you and Jesus do together?”
Or even:
“What’s your favorite thing to do with Jesus?

Here are some things that I love to do with Jesus:

Listen to Him.Do what He tells me to.Talk to Him.Read the Bible with Him.Sing to Him.Thank Him.Worship and praise Him.Walk with Him.Write with Him.Tell people what He tells me.Focus on and enjoy His presence day and night.Do everything that I do with Him.

What has the Godman Jesus (John 1:1-14) done for you?

When you were born
Christ gave you a lot.
Appreciate
And celebrate
What you were given
And what you got!

At birth you were gifted with and received most if not all of these things . . .

Eyes to see,Ears to hear,A nose to smell,A tongue to taste,Hands to work with,Legs to stand on,Feet to walk with,Arms to reach with,A heart that beats,Lungs that breathe,Conscious awareness,A mind to think with,The ability to learn a language,Someone to feed and clothe you,People to care about you,The ability to communicate and express yourself,The opportunity to experience life,The capacity to enjoy being alive,An awareness that someone created you,The potential to be a benefit to others,The capability to care deeply about people,A conscience to guide you to inner peace,A period of time to be alive,The invitation to be a friend of Jesus,And so much more!
What are you doing with all of that?

Life can give us lots of problems and many difficult mountains to climb. When life does that to me, I like to soar above them by hang gliding with Jesus.

Abide and Hang Glide!

To learn to glide
And how to ride
With the Spirit
As your true guide
Begin to reside
And to abide
In Jesus Christ.
(John 15:1-5)

Let the Bible direct you to God’s launch site. (John 3:30) Then spread your wings of hope (Psalm 2:5) and take a leap of faith. You can rely on the mighty rushing wind of the Spirit to fill you (Acts 2:1-4) and to lift you higher than you can imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) If you’re tired of being swept along in the wrong direction, (Galatians 5:19-21) let Jesus always be the wind beneath your wings.

Don’t just wing your way through life. Be uplifted. Glide with the moving of God the Holy Spirit in your heart. Humble yourself. Jump into God’s wind (John 3:8) and let Him lift you up. (1 Peter 5:6)

Christ’s joy is anti-gravity. (John 15:11) Hang-glide with the risen Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:4) Catch the inner updraft of His Spirit and joyfully soar like an eagle (Isaiah 40:31) as you ride with the inner leadings of His Spirit. (Romans 8:14)

It’s important for Christians to learn to be individually led by the Holy Spirit. It’s also important that we learn to assemble together (Hebrews 12:2) to worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23) and to minister to one another (1 Corinthians 14:26) as we are corporately led by the Spirit.

My favorite church service rarely happens. It is when the preacher loses the control of the meeting, and the Holy Spirit takes over.

If you are wondering about the picture on this post, I wrote a book about Black History and as I researched it, I was amazed at how African Americans survived and overcame the cruel horrors they were subjected to in the USA. Multitudes of them relied on the risen Jesus to get through all the evil they were put through. Their faith greatly inspired me! To learn more Google: Off The RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind.

Daily writing promptWhat are your family’s top 3 favorite meals?View all responses

Jesus allowed God the Father to live and to work in Him. (John 14:10) Now Jesus wants to live and to work inside of you. (Colossians 1:27)

Will you persistently surrender to the risen Jesus and always make room for Him to be your Lord and your God? (John 20:28) Will you let Jesus constantly lead you by His Spirit? (Romans 8:14) If so, He will manifest and demonstrate His presence in and through you by empowering you to outwardly do the works that you allow Him to do inside of you. (John 14:12)

One way that Jesus works in people today is by you allowing the writings of His earliest disciples (collected in the Bible) to burn in your heart (Luke 24:32) and to effectively work in you. (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Another way is by you allowing Him to speak directly to your heart (John 10:27) and to personally lead you from within by His Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Paul put it this way. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12) To do the works of God it is essential that you let the Godman (Jesus) unceasingly live and work within you. (John 15:5)

Let nothing come between you and the presence of the risen Jesus (Acts 4:12) — no person, no ministry, no technique, no doctrine, no name, no organization, no church, no pastor, no strategy, no plan, no teaching, no sermon, no nation, no distraction! Jesus said: “Come unto Me,” not come unto something or someone else. (Matthew 11:28)

Jesus said: “Follow Me.” (Mark 1:17) Follow no one and nothing that doesn’t point you to Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and cause you to hunger and thirst (Matthew 5:6) for more of His Presence. Ever and fully surrender to the love of Jesus.

Let Christ’s love overflow from your inner most being (John 7:38-39) with kindness, joy, peace, patience, and all the rest of the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) touching every person you encounter both in person and through media. Let Jesus display and demonstrate His love by freely expressing Himself through your words, your actions, and your emotions to everyone you come across.

Lay down and walk away from the love of power. Let Jesus work deeply within you to release the unending flow of the present-day reality of His Presence and His love from your innermost being. (John 14:34-35)

Daily writing promptIf you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?View all responses

You really need to meet
The historical figure
Who worked miracles on feet
And allow him to repeat
His miracles on your feet
To get you off of your seat
And walking by His Spirit,
Turning away from defeat
With a heart that’s pure and clean.
(John 13:3-17)

Jesus wants disciples with clean feet (John 13:5) who “walk by the Spirit,” and who don’t dirty their feet and their heart with “the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) Look at your own dirty feet and heart. Jesus humbled Himself so He can wash them and demonstrate for you how His presence and love can flow in and through you (John 7:37-39) and wash the feet and heart of the people you encounter. (John 15:14-17)

Jesus invites you to enjoy the joy of clean feet and a clean heart. “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) Jesus said: “If you keep My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:10-11) Enjoy Jesus and have a joyous day today!

Learn to unceasingly rely on Christ in you. (Colossians 1:27) Don’t try to figure Him out. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Continually contemplate Jesus and ponder His presence. Meditate on His word day and night. (Joshua 1:8) Don’t analyze Him. Keep His commandments and every time you step in the dirt of the flesh, immediately let Jesus wash your feet and your heart. (1 John 1:9)

Evangelicalism without Christlike humility and compassion is empty religion. Instead of attracting people to Christ too it often repels them from Him. My “spiritual tribe” is every person world-wide and throughout history who has given their all to humbly and daily follow and obey the risen Jesus Christ and to let His words continually burn in and cleanse their heart!

Perhaps Christians who need titles (or who need Christian leaders to have titles) are trusting too much in outward appearance and not enough in the actual active presence of the risen Jesus. (Matthew 23:5-12) Solely sermon-fed Christians seldom seem to stay focused on seeking first the inner kingdom of God. (Matthew 6:33)

I trust my best and most noble instincts. I try to keep them stirred up so that they become and stay red-hot within me. I reject and resist my worst instincts and do my best to freeze them out of my life. I strive to never drift into compromise between the two which is lukewarmness.

Lukewarm Christianity is sneaky and deceptive. Jesus strongly warns people against it. (Revelation 3:15-16)

Self-protection is the shell that keeps us humans from falling to the ground like a seed and surrendering wholeheartedly to the Lord. It keeps Christians satisfied with and trapped in lukewarm Christianity. As long as ego keeps us focused on our desires and opinions, we follow the pull of pride instead of the inner promptings of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Lukewarm Christianity is passive, casual, Sunday focused, half-hearted, routine, religious, programmed, part-time, superficial, and powerless. It trains people to only be hearers of the word but not actual doers of the word. (James 1:22)

Lukewarm Christianity honors God with words but people’s hearts are kept far away from Him. (Matthew 15:8) It is bound up in traditions that make the Word of God ineffective. (Mark 7:13) It has an outward form of godliness that denies, (2 Timothy 3:5) quenches, (1 Thessalonians 5;19) and grieves (Ephesians 4:30) God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants to see red-hot Christianity. (Revelation 3:15-16) Red-hot Christianity keeps the fire of God stirred up in people’s heart. (2 Timothy 1:7) It doesn’t just talk about Jesus; it demonstrates His power and presence. (1 Corinthians 2:4)

Red-hot Christianity anoints individual Christians with flames of fire and burning passion to follow and obey the risen, ever-present Jesus. (Acts 2:3-13)) Red-hot Christianity is Spirit-led (Romans 8:14) not human-controlled. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Red-hot Christianity focuses on Christ living inside of people (Colossians 1:27) not on outward religious programs. It doesn’t just study, analyze, and systemize the Bible. It causes God’s words to continually burn in the heart. (Luke 24:32 & Jermiah 20:9)

Jesus said that if you’re not red-hot it’s better to be ice-cold than to be lukewarm. He said that if you are lukewarm, He will spew you out of His mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’d strongly advise you to take Christ’s warning seriously. Get and stay fired up for Jesus!

Getting free from lukewarm Christianity involves obeying Jesus’ command to repent. (Matthew 4:17) What does the word repent mean?

To repent is to resist every form of sin (John 8:11) by consistently fighting against every temptation that comes your way. (1 Corinthians 10:13) It is to purify your heart by drawing near to God (James 4:7-8) and by keeping your heart closely connected to Him. (Matthew 15;8)

Whenever you go against God’s will in thought, word, or action, repentance involves confessing to God what you’ve done and humbly receiving His forgiveness. (1 John 1:9 & Psalm 32:5) It also involves confessing your sins to another human being (James 5:16) and walking in the light of openness and honesty (John 1:7) instead of hiding your sins from people. (Proverbs 28:13)

As you can see from the Bible, repentance is a lifestyle that involves continually changing how you think and how you act by consistently aligning your thoughts and your behaviors with God and His will. (Romans 8:14) It’s not a onetime apology to God or to a person. It’s a lifetime struggle to deny yourself, take up your cross, and daily follow and obey the risen Jesus Christ. (Luke 9:23)

God wants every human being to come to and live in a state of repentance and full surrender to Him. (2 Peter 3:9) Will you? Reach for red-hot Christianity. Laydown lukewarm Christianity.

This pic is how Jesus describes His reaction to people who are lukewarm. (Revelation 3:15-16) Does He really mean it?

Daily writing promptWhat’s your favorite month of the year? Why?View all responses

My favorite time of the year is anytime I am with my best friend, and my attention is focused on listening to him. He is always with me, but if I am not careful, I can become unaware of His presence with me and living inside of me. His name is Jesus.

“Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” –Jesus (John 11:40)

I believe that Christians are supposed to see the glory of God and behold the Lamb of God (John 1:29) throughout each day. We are supposed to look not at the things that are see but at the things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18) and to continually fix our eyes on the invisible Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) who is always with us (Matthew 28:20) and always living inside of us. Paul declares that Christ in you is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1;27) No matter where Christians go there Christ is (Psalm 139:7-12) ready to reveal His glory to our heart. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10) Yet it is very easy to be distracted from and unaware of Christ’s immediate presence the way the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were. (Luke 24:13-35) Christ in you, God the Holy Spirit, will never let you down, but we frequently ignore or overlook His presence and let Him down.

Christian leaders and churches are called to empower people to live out their faith fully aware of and obedient to the presence of Jesus so that they become dynamic doers of the word, not just passive hearers. (James 1:22) So, where can you discover a church that actually equips people to put the word into action, and that invests time and effort into training people to live out what they’ve learned from the sermon? Churches that embody James 1:22 and train people to be continually aware of and surrendered to Christ’s never-ending presence are a rare and precious find!

Dear Lord, help me not only believe all that I have just written. Help me to be constantly aware of, in awe of, and surrendered to Your never-ending presence both within me and around me. Help me to rely on and depend on Your presence more faithfully than on anything or anyone else. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Daily writing promptWhat is your favorite place to go in your city?View all responses

I have two favorite places to go in Nashville, Tennessee. One is a few blocks from my house. I love to go there and walk with my wife and even by myself. It’s full of trees and flowers, numerous interesting buildings, two roaring creeks. several trails that wander through woods, an 8-acre farm that grows all kinds of produce, a farm store, and even a museum. It is Ellington Agricultural Center, and it is the headquarters of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. It’s never crowed except when they host an annual festival. The nature there points me to its Creator, and I hear His voice as a stroll along.

Ellington Agricultural is a wonderful place today, but it hasn’t always been. There is a small family cemetery that reveals a history of men, women, and children being abusively held in forced life-long labor and bought and sold like cattle. Walking there among slaveholders’ graves helped inspire me to write a book about the history of race-based human trafficking in America. If you want to read it, google: Off the RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind.

My other favorite place to visit in Nashville is the Saint Ignatius Antiochian Orthodox Church building. It’s actually in Franklin, Tennessee just South of Nashville. My wife and I have been visiting it for many years. We even celebrated our 10th anniversary there with a marriage rededication ceremony in the sanctuary and a reception in the fellowship hall.

We love to go there and sit alone in the sanctuary full of beautiful icons and incense. As we enter, we begin to sense the presence of the risen Jesus Christ. As we quietly listen to Christ’s inner voice, we hear Him speaking to us and feel Him touching us deep within. I love to listen to Jesus anywhere and everywhere, but Saint Ignatius is one of my favorite places to do so. I’ve written a book about how to listen to Jesus. Google: The Joy of Early Christianity book.

I was listening to Jesus last night as I was visiting a friend’s home. This is what I heard:

Divisiveness among Christians is a sign. It reveals that they are not listening to Christ’s voice but to the world’s voice.

Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and follow Him. People who aren’t His sheep don’t. (John 10:26-27) When Jesus’ sheep listen to Him, they discover that they are connected heart-to-heart with all of His other sheep worldwide regardless of religious affiliation. (John 10:16)

When there is jealousy and quarreling among Christians and when they align themselves with a man or an organization they are acting as “mere human beings” instead of as Christ’s sheep. (1 Corinthians 3:3-4) People who are listening to Christ’s voice don’t boast about human leaders. (1 Corinthians 3:21) “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31)

Be Spirit-led by Christ in you.
1) Ask Jesus to speak to you.
2) Notice what comes into your consciousness as you listen.
3) Embrace and obey what aligns with the Bible and your conscience.
(Romans 8:14)

No religious institution has the right to say who can listen directly to Jesus and who can or cannot speak for God. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

Daily writing promptWhat’s the first impression you want to give people?View all responses

There is amazing hope for your life. No matter what you have been through or are currently going through there is incredible hope is available to you supernaturally. If you look beyond systematized church and formalized religion, you can encounter the living and resurrected Jesus in a way that will propel you into indescribable inner healing, peace, and joy. Here’s how:

Sermons heard
Fly like a bird
In and out
Of the mind.
But when people
Do God’s Word
It comes alive
And burns in them.
(2 Timothy 1:6)

Who
Will do
Christ’s words
And be
Made new?
Will you?

Listen directly to Jesus Himself, not just to a religious talk about Him. Gather with Christians to together listen to and obey the ever-present Jesus, not to hear yet another sermon about Him. Sermons are shallow substitutes for the supernatural presence of Christ. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” The Bible never says: “If you want to go to Heaven, simply say a onetime prayer and be in the audience for a weekly sermon.”

When Christians are true doers of the Word and not just passive sermon-hearers, Christ’s light shines through them (Matthew 5:16) and changes their nation and transforms the culture around them. Then they experience genuine revival and spiritual awakening, and they don’t feel a need to rely on political power. Unfortunately, Spirit-led Christianity will soon shift into structured Christianity if it isn’t kept stirred up. (2 Timothy 1:6)

Sermons are soon forgotten. A direct encounter with Jesus is something that a person never forgets. Seek Jesus not another sermon. If spiritual growth came from sermon-hearing contemporary church attendees would be the most powerful Christians of all time.

For far too long churches have focused almost exclusively on human leadership and ignored the direct leadership of God the Holy Spirit and His supernatural gifts and fruit. The majority of Christians believe that Jesus can’t lead a church service, so they depend on a preacher to program and control it.

How many sermons must someone sit through before he’s allowed to speak up in church and testify about Jesus? No amount will do. To freely speak up in church a person has to either have official “ordination” or start his own church. If not, then people are only allowed to sit and listen (and maybe sing together a bit).

Churches call their Sunday meetings worship services. To me they seem more like sermon services.

Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and His right living, (Matthew 6:33) not just to sit and hear a weekly talk about it. Jesus also said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” (Matthew 5:6) not those who show up for a Sunday sermon.

Sermons make audience members. Hands on interactive Spirit-led training makes disciples. Sunday morning audiences are called churches, but is that really what Jesus had in mind?

The Bible tells Christians to meet together (Hebrews 10:25) but when it describes what they are supposed to do when they come together (1 Corinthians 14:26) it doesn’t sound anything like a church service: “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation . . .” That Bible verse is completely ignored or explained away.

Don’t wait till Sunday mornings to sit and hear another talk about Jesus. Allow Him to directly talk to your heart night and day!

Unfortunately, only a hired person is allowed to freely speak in most churches, yet Jesus said: “The hired hand is not the shepherd (pastor).” (John 10:12) Christians are called to humbly and daily demonstrate Christ’s presence and love, not to be bench warmers for a hired pastor’s talk.

I don’t see how anyone can read the Book of Acts in the Bible and then go to a church service and not realize that God wants to do so much more than He is allowed to do in Sunday services. Let the glorious works of God be displayed in and through your life (John 9:3) so they can demonstrate the Holy Spirit’s power and presence. (1 Corinthians 2:4) Work out your own salvation with profound awe and amazement because God is at work in you to do His will and pleasure. (Philippians 2:19)

Don’t ignore or put out the Spirit’s inner fire. (1 Thessalonians 5:19) Always keep God’s spiritual fire stirred up within you. (2 Timothy 1:6) Abide in the vine because apart from Jesus you can do nothing. (John 15:5) Christ in you is the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27) If you love God and are called according to His purpose then consistently trust in and rely on Him to work all things, good and bad, together for your good. (Romans 8:28) Then you will be able to supernaturally rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4) with joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Peter 1:8) as you continually celebrate His grace (Titus 3:5-7) and redemption. (Galatians 3:13)

Sermon-hearing keeps Christians toned down and quietly stuck in their seats as mere hearers of the word–not doers. (James 1:22) Be someone who always rejoices and praise the Lord, not a toner-downer.

Toner-downers say
Don’t praise Christ that way.
It’s enough to pray
Very quietly.
You should always stay
Calm and dignified
And sit passively
In church on Sunday.
Hear Jesus Christ say:
“Shout from the rooftops.”
Who will you obey?
(Matthew 10:27 & 2 Timothy 1:6)

What I write and proclaim isn’t about church hurt. Because I am outspoken about my belief that Christianity is far more than Sunday sermon-hearing I’m sometimes accused of reacting to church-hurt. However, my belief that the risen Jesus has the amazing ability to personally and supernaturally lead a gathering of His followers is based on Scripture and personal experience. I saw Jesus directly lead a church service weekly for just under 10 years. My belief has nothing to do with church hurt. I even wrote a book about it. Google: Beyond Church–An Invitation to Experience the Lost Word of the Bible–Ekklesia.

Daily writing promptWhat book are you reading right now?View all responses

I read from my favorite book every day. Why? Because it inspires me in many ways. Reading it produces hope, insight, courage, conviction, and creativity in me. Here’s what it produced in me just now.

Self-Righteousness is “Stoney” Ground (Mark 4:5)

Guilt confessed
And expressed
Unto God
Is addressed
By Christ’s blood.
Guilt repressed
And denied
Eats away
Deep inside
Of people
Until they
Are obsessed
And depressed.
Rely on
God’s mercy
Not on your
Righteousness.
(Luke 18:13)

Self-righteous people are active accusers, shame slingers, and guilt stoners. Only sinless people have the right to “stone” people, but the truth is there are no sinless people. (Romans 3:10) “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone . . .” (John 8:8)

True Christianity depends on Christ’s empowerment not on human effort. Jesus said: “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Rather than trying harder, Christians need to surrender their opinions, feelings, and desires to Jesus. They need to depend and rely on Him instead of on their own ability.

Paul asks a key question to the Christians in Galatia. “After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you not trying to finish by means of the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

So, I ask you: When you go to church do you encounter the supernatural means of God’s Spirit at work within and around you? Or do you see human effort and religious programming? An honest answer to my questions will reveal why there is so little life-transforming power in contemporary Christianity.

Be a balanced Christian. Without daily absorbing the written Word we can be deceived by an evil spirit appearing as an angel of light. Without the direct, personal, and intimate leading of Christ the living Word abiding within us as our ever-present hope of glory we will drift into the mere religious formalism — that Paul tells us to avoid. (2 Timothy 3:5)