Pastor Tom's Journal

More at https://pastortomsims.typepad.com/the_dream_factory/2025/07/i-was-off.html

Extraordinary Generosity “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” - Acts4:32 One of the characteristics of the new believers in the Jerusalem church was their generous hearts. They did not consider their time, possessions, or personal gifts their own. Whatever they had, they submitted to God, and it became available for the Kingdom. The church was not an economic utopia, but a body of Christians, freely associating and freely giving themselves to God through Jesus Christ. Our lives are more complicated today. We have financial advisors and career paths, personal assets, and discretionary time. Our day planners are filled with events that we must juggle to “make time” for ourselves. We have carefully detailed maps of our futures, and we wonder where the wonder went. There was a freshness and awe in the early church that came from the...

Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday Let the Fields Rejoice “Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. “-1 Chronicles 16:32 Seas roar and its more than a metaphor Fields rejoice and somehow find their voice. All therein becomes our kin in the symphony of praise. Nature sings. Each creature brings the offerings of worship. Mountains and hills shout. Volcanoes erupt. Every living thing and every inanimate object joins the mighty chorus that announces the glory of God. Fields rejoice. Imagine that. When the first indicators of spring erupt from the earth, they join in a dance of joy. The colors and the shapes all imitate and reflect the essential nature given to them as a tiny piece of God’s revelation of Himself through creation. “All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world.” — Maltbie D. Babcock Sound, color, even thought can be described in the language of frequency, cycles per ...

More at - Up to My Neck in Rivers of Heck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdzB3AIqh9Q&pp=0gcJCd4JAYcqIYzv Reflections on Psalm 69 A prayer of a man sinking in the mud. "You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you." - Psalm 69:5, NIV I do not know your folly. I am not absolutely certain that I know my own. God knows. Some may consider this bad news. I consider it liberating and the ground upon which grace can build a house of witness in my life and an altar of honest exchange between me and my Maker. Only secrets can feed a dysfunctional system. None exist between God and me - none of mine and He is revealing Himself to me daily and as much as I can bear. No secrets, no pretense, no enabling of my wrongs. God knows me and God loves me. It passes through the filter of a knowledge of God's mercy: "Your love is kind." From Psalm 69 This has always been one of my favorite bible prayers. It has always provided me words to express my own heart in time...

Tongues of Fire When you observe a religious ruckus, you might be like the pilgrims to Jerusalem two thousand years ago and ask, “What does all of this mean?” That would be a very good question. https://youtu.be/F3yCtw8dmcc Friend Link https://medium.com/@tomsims/tongues-of-fire-and-the-spirit-of-truth-1600341a2b67?sk=47818a468f3d5dbd8482b355726bf1d6 Medium Member Link https://medium.com/@tomsims/tongues-of-fire-and-the-spirit-of-truth-1600341a2b #truth #spirituality #pentecost #spiritoftruth #tongues #speakingitongues #BABEL #towerofbabel