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Homepage
Revised: 9/6/08
INTRODUCTION
Dear Reader:
We pray that above all, throughout this ministry, you see Jesus. Jesus, Who did not seek His own glory or the glory of men, but the glory of The Father. Jesus, Who came not in pomp and circumstance, but lowliness and humility of heart. Jesus said that whatever we do unto the least of these (in the eyes of society), we have done it unto Him. In the process of ministering in the nursing home, it has caused us to sort through the pithiness of our own walk with the Lord and what this involves...namely, our life of integrity before Him, motives and desires.
This ministry is about living on the back side of the desert; it is about standing outside the Lazarus tombs of society to call forth the dead...it is about ministering in a place where even the Church doesn't like to go. And why? Because it kills the flesh inside of us to go there. It takes us to the Cross, where we are forced to lay down every iota of "who we think we are spiritually" and reveals to us our nakedness and our nothingness and that apart from Him, we can do nothing.
This type of ministry exposes our self-righteous, filthy rags and brings us to the point of having the Lord Jesus peel the flesh off of us and take us through the straitened (this word means: "compressed") path to slowly and methodically squish the flesh out of us like bursting a pus filled boil. And when the Lord takes us through this process, what is left is a lifeless form at the foot of the Cross, through which only the Holy Spirit can resurrect and bring life to use for the Kingdom.
Jesus made Himself of no reputation and took the form of a bondservant. He came not to seek the high estimation of men, but the Father's will and approval for He knew what was in the heart of man. Are we not to do likewise? It is of the utmost that we ask God to search our hearts and to clean out our quest for man's approval; to seek only The Father's approval.
In Luke 14:23, Jesus is telling a parable and says, "Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.'" The word compel or constrain denotes a physical, moral or circumstantial force involved that draws or moves a person from one place to another. Therefore, there must be the compelling force/the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit drawing and moving us toward and into the things of The Spirit of God to have a lasting effect upon us.
So it is with this ministry, if there is anything that is to be lasting, it must be of the Spirit to draw the person into it, and not because of any desire of the flesh "For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Gal. 6:8) "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."(Gal. 5:24) So what then do we come seeking? That which will satisfy the eyes of the flesh or the spirit man? I pray, your spirit man be fed and you find something in this site which is deep calling unto deep.
If we are willing to allow Him to bind our flesh to the horn of the altar so that we won't crawl away, He will do it. He will cleanse us. And as we repent and return to our First Love, He will fulfill His promises given to us, His Church, His Body, as He states in Revelations 2 and 3. (I encourage you to search out Leonard Ravenhill's article: "Are we willing to drink His cup?". (www.ravenhill.org/message.htm)
In Art Katz's book "Apostolic Foundations - The Challenge of Living an Authentic Christian Life", he writes on p. 23 "There is a requirement to minister unto God before one ministers to men. If we lack the sense of the sacredness of God, which is to be found only in the holy place, by those who have the posture of the priest, that is to say, prostrated as a dead man before Him, then there is going to be something brittle, something lacking, and something plastic in the ministry we bring. There is a cry of God for the restoration of priesthood that alone will save us from the superficial demonstrations that are ostensibly performed in His Name." And from pp. 38-39 "One of the reasons why our attempts at blessing do not convey a blessing is because they are not priestly, and they are not priestly because they are not bloody. It did not cost anything, there was no sacrifice."
May we all come into a fuller meaning of the essence of ministry...unto God first...and then unto men. Do I say that I've achieved all this? Not by any means! But I do tell you that I press on in Christ toward the goal...the high calling in Christ.
In closing: "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)
We encourage you to write us with your comments and prayer requests. May the Lord bless you and keep you ever in His care.
Ever yours in Christ,
Steve and Crista Simmons
LifeCare Ministries seeks to minister to nursing home residents and their families. It consists of two separate, yet intertwined, ministries: Sunday Services and HeartLink Visitation. (Please refer to their separate page for a more in depth description.)
We want to share this ministry and ourselves with you; to encourage your hearts and to exhort each one of us to live and go forth in the fullness of Christ into the "Lazarus tombs of society"; into the places of our lives and society which seem impossible and barren that anything good could come out of them. For when His answer comes, it will be Christ and Christ, Alone, who will receive all the glory, honor and praise. If at anytime you have questions or comments, please feel free to email us.
This ministry is not what we as a church have come to equate with "normal" nursing home ministry. Even though we are involved in visitation, hymn singing, and preaching, there is a deep call, a groaning in our spirit that there is more; a hunger for so much more and the visible manifestation of the glory of God that to be satisfied with anything less would be to miss the mark of that to which the Lord has called us; to live and move and have our being in Christ; in the fullness of Christ.
The essence/the heart of this ministry is to minister unto Jesus, Himself, and in so doing to bring restoration to the old waste places. (Is. 61:4 "And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations." Neh. 4:2 "And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said,...Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish - stones that are burned?") Ah yes, that is the call: to usher in the Lord's restoration to that which in the natural realm looks absolutely hopeless; to rebuild the old waste places. In the natural, nursing homes have become waste places for the infirmed. There is nothing good/spiritually that seems could come out of them.
However, to the Nursing Home Residents, our message is this: "HOPE has a Name, and His Name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth." To the Church, our message is this: "Jesus has a name, and His name is: Betty, Judy, Barbara, Joanie, Jim, Lee, Elbert, Bonnie, Barb, Kathy, Johanna, Vicki...etc."
Mission Statement:To preach/walk out the Gospel of Christ without compromise, in the fullness of Christ, that Matthew 11:5 be fulfilled in its entirety: "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed (by healing) and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the good news (the Gospel) preached to them."
We believe Jesus came to set the captives free, and this includes residents of nursing homes! By His stripes we are healed. His Name IS THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES! HE IS THE NAME ABOVE ALZHEIMER'S AND DEMENTIA! HE IS THE NAME ABOVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS! HE IS THE NAME ABOVE HEAD INJURY AND QUADRIPLEGIA! His promises are "Yea and Amen" to all; for He is no respecter of persons. "God disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross]. (Col. 2:15)
For far too long, we as a society have put away our infirmed; silently turning our backs until time to give them a "proper funeral". Many residents of nursing homes feel that they have been sent to an open grave, and that the nails have now been hammered into their own personal coffin. Hopelessness is a word with which many residents and families contend on a daily basis.
We only need to look at the empty tomb to see the HOPE of God's resurrection power. We as the CHURCH; THE BODY OF CHRIST are called to the Lazarus tombs of society that the Glory of the Lord may be visibly seen. On the Cross, Jesus said, "It is finished." So often, we focus on the front of the Cross; Jesus, Our Savior. This is right; for He IS our Savior, but He is also OUR HEALER. Jesus came to heal, save and deliver. Therefore, we must also look at His back; for it is on His back that He took the stripes/flesh being ripped off His body so that we might be healed; not just spiritually, but emotionally and physically as well.
We as a CHURCH are called to the fullness of FAITH in CHRIST and the finishing work of the Cross. In this, we must be willing to walk into the Lazarus tombs of society/the enemy's camp, and there proclaim the TRUTH of the Lord in the fullness thereof, for His Word is THE SEED, and HE PROMISES A HARVEST OF HIS SEED! He promises that His Word shall not return unto Him void, but shall accomplish that which He purposes, and it shall prosper in the thing for which He sends it. (Is. 55:11)
God has given us a vision to see the nursing home residents at Life Care Center of Plainwell, Michigan and around this nation set free in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. As a result, Lazarus tombs will become empty and the Glory of God will be seen as Healing Centers rise up from the very catacombs of society. (John 11) Jesus came to set the captives free, and this includes every resident of a nursing home! We endeavor to see the manifestation of His Glory; to press in and press through in the very places which seem barren and hopeless to the human eye; for we are called to walk by faith and not by sight. We are called to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. We are called to do the greater works. We are called to live holy and righteous before Him that His Glory may be evident to all. We are called to be soldiers of the Cross and to exhalt the Name of Jesus in word and deed!
We are called to live in Him that we walk in the fullness of Who He IS that we see faith and love working together for the lost, the sick and the captives to be set free in the Name of Jesus!
Ever yours in Christ,
Steve and Crista Simmons
LifeCare Ministries and Healing Centers is a ministry which is independent of Life Care Centers, Inc. We remain accountable to: Four Winds Ministry, Pastor David Alderman, Plainwell, Michigan, and our home church, Church of God - Family Worship Center, Pastor E. Lane Davis, Comstock, MI. Lord willing, we shall soon be completing the 501c3 process.
5846 M-89
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