Steve Simms

Christians Either Stand Together or Fall Apart hopethoughts.com/2026/11/06/…

Intense adoration for and surrender to the risen Jesus living in and through them (Colossians 1:27) keeps people connected by great love and compassion for one another. (John 13:34-35) It's not an institutional or doctrinal unity. It's family unity.

People who love and obey Jesus more than their pride, their opinions, their church, their family, their friends, and their country discover amazing heart-to-heart unity with one another.

When will Christians learn that we will never be united by church attendance or obedience to religious institutions or politics? We can only be united by surrendering our thoughts, opinions, desires, and feelings to the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Christians have devoured and destroyed the unity Jesus prayed for. We have shattered ourselves into tens of thousands of denominations and many hundreds of thousands of fully independent churches headed by merely human leadership instead of being directly led by the Spirit.

The more Christ-followers are united as one, heart to heart, by God's love and by Christ living in and working through them, the more people will recognize that Jesus has been sent from God. (John 17:20)

Jesus prayed that all His followers be united as one, as He and the Father are one, so that the world will know that He was sent by the Father. (John 17:21). Paul told the early Christians to "keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3).

Christians Either Stand Together or Fall Apart When Christians allow God to knit their hearts together with His love, they stand. When they don't, they fall apart. They "bite and devour one another." They destroy each other and refuse to walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:15-16)

How we, who call ourselves Christians, need to move beyond theology into daily following and obeying “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

Instead of relying on the living Jesus to personally lead and direct them throughout each day, many Christians passively trust in church attendance and hearing a preacher’s weekly sermon.

Most Christians embrace the theology behind Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. They say that they believe Jesus is risen. However, many live like He’s still shut up in His tomb.

Creeds without Spirit-led deeds are dead religion. (James 2:17)

I affirm, believe in, and rely on the theological truth presented in the Bible and ancient Christian creeds. I strive every day to align my thoughts and actions with those truths and be led by the presence of the resurrected Jesus living in and through me.

The goal of the Bible is to train people to continually rely on God and to love and obey Him wholeheartedly. It’s not a book designed to be analyzed and picked apart. It’s a book that brings awe, adoration, and transformation to those who persistently read it with an open heart.

The Bible reveals Jesus Christ as Lord, as “Emmanuel — God with us.” It focuses far more on experiencing, surrendering to, and obeying God than on explaining Him. It even explicitly states: “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)

The Bible testifies to the ways He has sought to reveal Himself to people, heal them, lead and guide them, restore them to an intimate relationship with Him, and unite them heart-to-heart with one another.

Theological knowledge should never replace daily discipleship. The Bible is more about having a relationship with God than about trying to figure Him out. It describes what God has said and done throughout history. It praises Him.

The Bible is the book about how God has acted in and through human beings. It contains more testimony, examples, instructions, and exhortations than explanation or theology. One book in the Bible is even called “The Acts of the Apostles,” not “The Theology of the Apostles.”

To Those Who Are Scared (Hope for scared Americans) hopethoughts.com/2026/11/04/…

It's time to turn away from fear, anger, domination, and unkindness. Instead, let's embrace the courage to obey these Bible commands: "Bless those who curse you," "Love your enemies," and "Overcome evil with good." It's time to "Walk by the Spirit," not by the flesh.