BACK TO THE BASICS
Dear Friend in Christ:
They say, “April showers bring May flowers,” so I hope the flowers are blooming wherever you are. Springtime is when Mobile, Alabama, really shows off with azaleas, dogwoods, magnolias, and roses. Bluebirds, hummingbirds, and cardinals flit about in our trees. Brooks babble and breezes merrily blow; sometimes in sinister-looking funnel clouds. The familiar cry of the fire ant is heard once again in our land. (Note: the fire ants do not cry out, but you will when they bite you.)
It’s a time of renewal and rebirth, and a time of needed Spring Cleaning. What we see in the natural world is also happening in the spiritual realm. This is a good season for us to seek the Lord and ask Him to examine our hearts; to restore the ways that bring life and to discard that which brings death.
There are many urgent personal health and ministry updates I need to share with you, and will do so via email. If you would like to receive the email, contact us at csmpublishing.org or call (251) 633-7900. You can email us at customer.service@csmpublishing.org. But in THIS letter, I want to look at five basic foundation stones for the new temple God is building … there are even more basics than I can mention in this letter. Many of us want to know the exotic new prophecies du jour from the latest YouTube influencers, but I sense the Holy Spirit leading us back to the bedrock of Scripture; to not only be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word.
If you’re here to learn more about the second horn on the third beast, you will be disappointed. But, I’m serious–and I believe the Lord is serious–about His Church entering a new season of humility, repentance, restoration, and revival by remembering to do the first things and returning to our First Love. If we don’t get the foundation right, nothing else will stand.
LOVE GOD
God’s Word is often simple. It is not always easy, and never shallow, but it is direct. Sometimes, we over-complicate it or we spend so much time seeking out hidden mysteries that we ignore the plain truth right in front of our eyes.
It’s been said that the Bible is a book of don’ts, but it’s really a book of do’s. If you spend your energy and time trying not to do the don’ts, you will fail. But if you spend your energy and time doing the do’s, you won’t have time to do the don’ts.
Jesus always knows how to cut through the fog of our confusion and get right down to the nitty-gritty. What does Jesus say about this?
“But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:34-40).
The whole of the Ten Commandments and the words of the prophets are summed up succinctly and brilliantly by Jesus here. Do we need a PhD to understand this? Thank God for education and degrees. They are truly important. But if you are not proficient in Greek or Hebrew; if you don’t know the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism; if you don’t own a pair of skinny jeans; you can still love God and love your neighbor!
Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14). He did not say, “true love is expressed when you applaud my suggestions.” Love is not simply an emotion or feeling, but it is a verb. Love takes action. We cannot claim to love God while deliberately walking in rebellion to His Spirit, Word, and ways. Too much of the Western Church, especially the Americanized Church, has forgotten our “First Love,” and neglected to do the first things (see Revelation 2:1-5). Our witness for Jesus in this generation has been corrupted and compromised by our lust for power and perceived influence.
When the world looks at us, what do they see? Is the love of God evident? In some places, yes–praise God! But too often, the world sees a bunch of fearful, angry, arrogant folks, striving for position and domination, fighting with each other, and showing no mercy to “sinners and heathens.” Don’t get mad at me for saying so. I’m just a messenger with a warning and an appeal. I love the Church dearly and have served it and sacrificed for it more than 44 years. This is why I speak urgently with truth and love.
Many are calling on God to send His judgment, forgetting that His judgement begins in the House of the Lord – and it is already happening. Repentance is the order of the day. Oh, to see the altars of our churches filled once again with weeping Christians, humbly repenting before God and crying out for His mercy and forgiveness! And it would not be for the sins of others “out there,” but for sins in our own house and hearts. If we want to make our country great, maybe the altar of repentance would be a good place to start. That’s where real revival begins!
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
When Jesus repeats, “Keep My commands” in John 15, He goes on to say: “This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” In 1 Corinthians 12-14, the Apostle Paul instructs us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The centerpiece is 1 Corinthians 13, the great chapter on love. You can have all the gifts in the world, but if you do not have love, you have nothing but noise.
“Love your neighbor,” Jesus said. In Luke 10, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” He deliberately portrays a stranger–from a despised race of outsiders–as the hero of the story. Today, there are some devilish untruths making the circuit among some Western churches. Some religious influencers claim that our “neighbors” are only people who look or talk or think like “us.” That is in direct rebellion to the teaching of Jesus. We must reject it.
Another popular untruth is, “Empathy is a sin.” The result of this teaching is increasing cold-heartedness, cruelty, and isolation away from a lost and dying generation. It is rebellion against very Gospel of Jesus, the sinless Savior Who loved us while we were yet sinners (see Romans 5). For more, read my February 2025 Pastoral Letter, “Love is Bigger” at csmpublishing.org.
WHAT DOES THE LORD REQUIRE
As He does with love, God gives us some simple, memorable, direct instructions regarding His requirements from His followers:
He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
• Do justly –Deuteronomy 32 tells us God is a God of faithfulness and truth, without injustice. He is good and upright. The Lord abhors injustice, lies, manipulation, oppression, gaslighting, theft, deceptive measures, cruelty, adultery, and lawlessness. The Bible is filled with God’s admonitions regarding doing justice, and in restoring justice to those who have been treated unjustly. God is passionate about it. These are not light matters for the Christ follower.
In Luke 4:16-20, Jesus quotes the prophecy from Isaiah 61 …
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’ (Luke 4:16-20).
People hearing Jesus were so excited about this Good News that they went into a frenzied rage and tried to throw Him off a cliff. I kid you not! But this is the forever heart of Jesus, and it will be the heart of all who truly know, love, and follow Him.
• Love mercy –God is a God of justice, but also of mercy, and He calls His people to both. Psalm 85 offers us a beautiful prophetic picture of Christ …
“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Yes, the Lord will give what is good; and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway” (Psalm 85:8-13).
As followers of Jesus, we are both receivers of mercy and bearers of it. We are to sympathize with those who are walking on a difficult path that we have walked. We are to empathize with those who suffer, though it may be a different kind of suffering than we have personally experienced. Showing mercy is not a sin; rebuking mercy is.
• Walk humbly with God – Do you ever need God’s grace? I know I do! I’ve learned the hard way. 1 Peter 5:5-6 tells us God resists the proud, gives grace to the humble. It’s one thing when the Devil resists you, but when God Himself resists you, you’re in real trouble. But when God gives His grace, nothing–“no power of hell, no scheme of man”–can overcome it.
When I was a kid, I heard this verse all the time: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). I’ve heard it a few times since I was a kid also! But if we will humble ourselves before the Lord, He will raise us up in His time. Don’t lose heart!
Please keep CSM in your prayers and in your giving. We are reaching many new people, including young people, with the Gospel message. As opportunities increase, we’ve seen the giving to this ministry dramatically decrease since my father’s passing last year. Dad is with Jesus, but the mission remains before us: “Restoring the Generational Bridge.” You are a key part of this mission. Thank you for your friendship. We love you!
In Jesus,
Stephen Simpson, President
