Steve Simms's Blog, page 125
September 17, 2022
What we call church (may be off base)
Love can’t be limited
To hearing sermons
About God’s love.
It must be lived
In the heart-felt unity
Of Jesus-focused community.
The human longing
For belonging
Isn’t satisfied
By the weekly gonging
Of a sermon.
An hour or two
Sitting thru
Church services
Won’t glue
Hearts together
In community
Calling something a church doesn’t make it biblical. The way we see church seems to be different than the way the Bible presents Christianity. We need to wake up and see that the religious system known as church isn’t working. It’s failing to produce multitudes of Christ-like disciples overflowing with passion for the risen Jesus.
What we call church works from the top down. The preacher speaks to an audience but what he says is rarely put into action. The biblical Christian community works from the inside out. Jesus speaks to hearts and empowers people to obey Him.
We see church as a classroom. The New Testament presents Christianity as Spirit-led community. An audience isn’t a community — even if it’s an audience for a Sunday sermon. Without interactive Spirit-led community what we call church is just a never-ending lecture series.‘
We see church as a man-made building, but Jesus wants to build by connecting Christians to Himself and to others in the Spirit. To sense that you belong to the supernatural community of Jesus-focused people (which spans time) is a glorious delight!
We see church as a religious meeting conducted and led by a pastor or priest, but Jesus wants to gather people under His own Headship. The Bible says we should be “led by the Spirit.” Jesus-led community happens when people open their hearts to Him and to one another. It requires more than analytical minds.
We see church as a religious organization with a hierarchy, but Jesus said, “the greatest will be the servant of all.” Jesus-focused community is life-changing. The smallest gathering of the body of Christ is two people. You don’t need a crowd to experience Jesus-focused community.
The 50+ “one another commandments” in the New Testament show that the body of Christ is a community, not a religious organization. What we call church doesn’t look like what I see when I read the book of Acts. The body Christ with Jesus as the functional Head doesn’t need a hierarchy.
When English language Bibles quote Jesus as saying, “I will build My church,” it seems like He meant a Spirit-led community, not an institution. If you’re courageous enough to speak about your love for and devotion to the risen Jesus, you’ll discover that you’re not alone.
When you really believe in someone you rely on them. If you believe in Jesus, you rely on Him not on your own effort. Often people who loudly proclaim their rights and their freedom are caught up in inner bondage.
Avoid
The void!
The Spirit-led
Body of Christ
Meeting with
King Jesus
As the active Head
Is the missing community.
Gather a group
To hear and be led
By the risen Jesus.
September 16, 2022
For hope view life as a mosaic
Some people see randomness
Others a loose collage.
I see life as
An amazing mosaic.
Don’t despair. Begin to see life is a collage of cascading creativity and a mosaic of marvelous mystery. In an artfully crafted mosaic, the ugly pieces and the pretty pieces blend into magnificence. When you align the broken pieces of your life with God’s pattern and plan, you’ll have a mosaic instead of a monstrosity.
To drift with God’s Spirit is to soak in the mosaic of His glory. Be a Spirit-drifter. Let go and flow with Christ in you. When a broken heart is fully surrendered to the risen Jesus, He turns it into a glorious mosaic.
A Spirit-led life is like a mosaic. Looking at it one piece at a time is confusing but when it all comes together you can see the hand of God. When by faith you see the mosaic God wants to make out of the circumstances in your life, you’ll want to surrender to His will.
Keep making a collage out of the good and bad events in your life until God assembles them into a life-inspiring mosaic. Many people want to decorate their body with life-long tattoos. God wants to decorate your heart with His eternal mosaic.
Because we get stuck focusing on individual events, we frequently fail to see God’s artwork in the overall mosaic of our life. In the mosaic God has planned for each person’s life even the ugly pieces will contribute to the beauty. Surrender; don’t rebel.
The living Jesus wants to lead you from within moment-by-moment. Cooperate. Let Him assemble your life like a mosaic, one piece at a time. When life’s broken pieces are fully surrendered to the living Jesus, He’ll create a beautiful mosaic.
Everyone believes pieces of truth and pieces of error. We grow when we strive to increase the one and decrease the other. If you pay attention the overall collage of your life can teach you more than the college of your choice. The Bible’s a mosaic that will change your life if you read it as a whole but will frustrate you if you analyze it piece by piece.
Every moment is a treasure but most pass by unnoticed. Look back at the ongoing stream of your moments and discover God’s mosaic.
When I let my heart
Drift with the mosaic
Of God’s Spirit,
I’m carried, comforted,
And recharged.
September 15, 2022
Beyond Churching
If churching
Isn’t helping
You be and live
Like Jesus every day
It’s not working.
Churching
Without discipling
Is often hindering
For Christ-following.
(1 Corinthians 11:17.)
A decision to acknowledge Jesus and to start churching isn’t the same thing as surrendering to and relying on the risen Jesus daily. Christianity needs to extend far beyond mere churching. Churching with the same format week after week can easily become “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”
If you’re unwilling to say that you’re wrong when you are wrong, you might enjoy churching, but you won’t be able to truly follow Jesus. Churching should never be a substitute for cultivating and surrendering to the presence of the living Jesus in your own heart.
People like to refer to the church when in reality there are thousands of independent churches each promoting their own opinions. When people refer to the church are they talking about every institution in the world that calls itself a church?
When churching alone is seen as the normal Christian life, we’ve set our sights far too low! Churching is called a service, but Christians are called to serve, not to passively be served.
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Start a heart-fire.
Ask God to give you
A burning desire
To know Jesus
Better.
The fire of God must be demonstrated. It can’t be taught or explained. It transcends human rationality.
Fire is hot. It’s never lukewarm. Lukewarm Christians have abandoned God’s fire.
When God lights a fire in your heart don’t let it be contained because a contained fire eventually goes out. Fan God’s inner sparks into roaring flames until they burn up your dependence on religious forms and organizations.
When people claim their opinion to be “my truth” it would often be more accurate to say, “my error.” To say “my truth” is to falsely believe that truth is based on human opinion rather than on reality.
Our self-created “Me Hall of Fame” (often called a resume) can distract us and others from our shame, but it can’t unleash God’s power of forgiveness and restoration that will completely remove it. The shame-denying veil we wear motivates the disparity between who we are and who we pretend to be. That’s because we like Adam and Eve try to hide parts of us from God, other people, and even from self. Meanwhile God asks: “(Your name here) where are you?”
God hasn’t lost sight of you and the unpleasant realities you are trying to hide, but you have. God’s asking you to walk in the light — to openly, honestly, and verbally acknowledge where you really are — to freely expose the shame of your rebellious and hurting heart so that He can heal and transform it from glory to glory. Before you exit your life on this planet take time to consider and prepare for your final destination.
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If King Jesus isn’t first in your life, you’re out of sync with Him
When we’re out of sync with God we sink into sin. When we’re in sync with Him we let King Jesus lead us. When you find your life sinking, start syncing with Jesus and you’ll rise.
Before you speak, lip-sync with “Christ in you.” Align your words with His voice. If King Jesus isn’t first in your life, you’re out of sync with Him.
To be a disciple of Christ is to learn how to synchronize your thoughts, feelings, and desires with God more and more every day. When you’re in sync with the world and its values, you’re out of sync with God. Synchronicity with the City of God will put you at odds with the ways of the world. The Jesus-first community has hearts in sync with one another.
Our human desires, feelings, and thoughts are frequently out of sync with reality. In a world warped by selfishness and evil, our perspective will be distorted until we lay down our preferences and align with truth.
When you personalize truth by attempting to define it by your thoughts, feelings, and desires, “your truth” becomes distorted. The essence of sin is an unwillingness to synchronize with God.
The law makes us aware that we’re unaligned with God but has no power to permanently align us with Him. The Good News proclaims that Jesus shed His blood to align us with God so that we can live in the light and reflect His power and presence with ever increasing glory.
If you’re heart isn’t ruled by King Jesus, your lifestyle won’t be either. King Jesus doesn’t just command (like a country’s king). He offers people grace — His supernatural presence and power to obey Him.
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The Jesus-first community obeys King Jesus
The Jesus-first community
Experiences ongoing
Heart-to-heart unity
And takes every opportunity
To glorify Him.
Ask not, “Where do you go to church?” Ask, “How do you connect with the Jesus-first community?”
The Jesus-first community consists of Christ-followers who interact heart-to-heart with the living Jesus and with each other, keeping faithfulness to King Jesus as their top priority. Christ-followers are sent to show and say (to demonstrate and declare) that Jesus is the true King and deserves all allegiance.
Although the Jesus-first community has been divided by man-made churches and religious opinions, when two of them meet they recognize the Jesus-thrill in each other. If you strive to obey “Christ in you” as your King and Lord, you’re part of the Jesus-first community.
In a true kingdom, the king’s will comes first! If you’re a citizen of the kingdom of God, obeying King Jesus should be your top priority. If Jesus is your Lord, ask King Jesus what He wants you to do today.
Put King Jesus first! Defund self-focus. To rebel against King Jesus by ignoring His authority in your daily life isn’t a good thing.
My best sermons are the ones the living Jesus preaches inside my heart. Our religious self is sneaky and snuggles up to the splendor of God, not just to worship, but also to subtly boast. It’s easy to get distracted from a focus on King Jesus.
Information,
Explanation,
Education,
And even
Certification
Can’t bring
Transformation
To a human heart.
King Jesus can!
September 11, 2022
The King who matters most says: “Love one another.”
The King of Kings says: “A new command I give you: Love one another.” We have no excuse for rebelling against Him.
King Jesus is too often robbed of His authority. Like a figurehead king, He’s honored with words, but His commands are ignored.
The Romans placed a sign on Jesus’ cross (written in the Jewish, Roman, and Greek languages) that said, “This is Jesus, King of the Jews,” revealing that they were threatened by the assertion that He is King. Later they persecuted Christians because of their loyalty to the risen Jesus as their King. Throughout history, the more Jesus has been followed and obeyed as the ever-living, supreme King, the more His followers have been persecuted.
I owe my allegiance to King Jesus, the King who matters most. Christ-followers aren’t bound to a religious chain of command. They’re bound heart-to-heart to the living King Jesus. Any chain of command that comes between you and the risen Jesus is bondage.
If King Jesus is truly living in you, then He needs no human chain of command to guide and direct you. He can do it Himself. The Bible calls Christ-followers “a royal priesthood” because they communicate directly with God and are members of the eternal royal family.
The ever-living King who communicates directly and individually to each of His subjects needs no chain of command. To be “led by the Spirit” is to receive your orders directly and continually from King Jesus. When people are trained to rely on organized religion more than on direct communication with the risen Jesus, the Holy Spirit is hindered.
Whenever there’s a tug-a-war between a chain of command and your conscience, follow your conscience. Jesus will often lead you through your conscience.
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Mental wealth matters. Make your mind a treasure chest of beautiful thoughts. It’s good to have money, but mental wealth is more important. Too many people hope for riches instead of enjoying the riches of hope.
Peace of mind is the currency of mental wealth. Without mental-wealth management, we can easily squander our inner resources. If we won’t work for mental wealth, we won’t have much of it.
True mental wealth is much more than information and knowledge. It includes wisdom, insight, discipline, and optimism. An unprotected and undisciplined mind can’t accumulate much mental wealth.
When mental wealth is lost, it feels like all is lost! It’s the wealth that matters most! It makes your heart rich! True mental wealth accumulates and lives by wisdom, not by self-focused desires.
Life is full of mental wealth scams that will take away your peace of mind. Be wise! Many things that are presented by society as exciting are schemes that will steal your mental wealth.
Always work on your mental wealth. Grow it every day! To grow your mental wealth, invest in and save hope and wisdom. Mental wealth is a mind full of beauty. To build mental wealth be in the business of finding, focusing on, and celebrating goodness.
Mental health is a wealth of wisdom applied to everyday living. I pursue mental wealth — beautiful thoughts, words, sights, sounds, and memories that that keep me filled with hope.
Mental wealth is a portfolio of contentment, peace, wisdom, and inspiration. It is the ability to procure and maintain peace of mind. To acquire mental wealth become a serious collector of thoughts that inspire and encourage. Self-focus devours mental wealth and steals peace of mind.
Mental wealth is the ability to find and maintain the most hopeful perspective in any situation. It’s a disciplined mind, free from torment and grateful for being alive. There’s a big mental wealth gap between people who think negatively and people who think positively.
The Bible is the greatest mental wealth book I’ve ever read. As I invest reading time in it every day, it renews my mind.
A person should have much more mental wealth than the wisest statue:
A person should have much more mental wealth than the wisest statue.
September 9, 2022
Christians should train like Navy Seals so they can follow Jesus better
If you don’t train your desires, emotions, and thoughts to align with truth and integrity, they’ll align you with self-deception. Overcoming temptation requires training, not just will power!
Christianity’s not about settling into a comfort zone. It’s about rigorously training yourself to follow Jesus whatever the circumstances. Don’t just be a passive Christian spectator. “Train yourself to be godly.” 1 Timothy 1:7. If you’re not as close to Jesus as you once were, that might indicate that the way you’re approaching Christianity isn’t working.
Grace isn’t an excuse to avoid God’s discipleship training. Grace is hearing the call to sell it all for Jesus! Grace gets Christ in you, but it takes strenuous training to get yourself aligned with Christ. If you won’t train your free will to pursue and obey the risen Jesus, it will pursue and obey your own desires.
A Christian who doesn’t daily train to follow and obey the living Jesus is like an athlete who doesn’t train — very ineffective. The Bible’s the training manual for Christ-followers. Wear it out from frequent use. Then get another copy and do it again.
Someone who daily trains to follow and obey the living Jesus will experience a different kind of Christianity than someone who merely sits thru sermons. Christians: Train, train, train! — until you begin to daily think and act and love like Jesus.
To get
Spiritually fit,
You need to fit
Your life
Into God’s plan,
Not vice versa.
If Christ-followers
Would train
Like Navy Seals,
We’d not be discouraged
No matter how life feels.
Train yourself
To surrender
To Jesus
So you don’t hinder
His will.
Use your trials
For discipleship training,
Not for
Constant complaining.
Acquiring Bible knowledge
Without training
To do what you know
Is just a show.
Discipleship requires
That we train
To be led by God’s Spirit.
Grace is free to obtain,
But costly to sustain.
Athletes practice and train. The Bible says that Christians need to, too (1 Corinthians 9:25). Get training! A Christian who doesn’t passionately learn the Bible is like a football player who doesn’t know his team’s playbook.
If Christians would count and maintain their steps with Jesus the way many count their physical steps, they’d have much better spiritual health. Train yourself to stay intently and continually focused on the risen Jesus. Train yourself to quickly repent, to freely forgive, and to “pray without ceasing.”
When you tune in to God’s whispers, His breath (His Spirit) will tune up your heart to hunger and thirst for His presence and His will. The problem isn’t that God isn’t whispering, but that we’re not quietly focusing and intently listening. When we train ourselves to notice God’s whispers, the inner promtings of His living Word will transform us from the inside out.
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The wondrous web of ongoing Jesus-awareness
In a moment
I awakened
From Jesus
As a religious word
To Jesus as living Light
And glorious insight
Full of present-day
Power and might!
When I awakened from unawareness to awe in the presence of Christ, the living Jesus filled up my senses. Everyday Jesus shows me His presence, power, and reality through His wondrous web of many ways.
I continually need more Jesus-awareness. Jesus-information isn’t enough. Jesus-awareness matters!
I sense Jesus working inside of me, healing my heart and molding my mind, offering me revelation and insight, and empowering me with strength that I didn’t know I had. When I observe the beauty, detail, and glory in nature, I’m aware that Jesus (“God with us”) is revealing His presence everywhere to whosever will see.Listening to and singing along with soul-stirring Jesus music often overwhelms me with His presence.When awe inspiring circumstances happen that are statistically off the chart (and they do every day) I’m aware that Jesus is present and working right now!Opening my heart to Jesus and talking with Him throughout the day makes me know He’s with me!Hanging out and interacting with people who have the Jesus-thrill lets me see Him working in them.When I freely express heart-felt love and adoration to Jesus, His glory floods my soul.The more I read the Bible with an open heart, the more real Jesus becomes to me.As I notice people doing loving acts of kindness, I’m aware (even if they’re unaware) that Jesus is acting through them.When I hear people talk about what Jesus has done and is doing in their life, I feel His presence!Frequently praying with the supernatural gift of tongues makes Jesus feel more real to me than the physical world.When my conscious is activated to steer me in the right direction, I know that is Jesus is protecting me.Every time I count my blessings, I’m conscious of Jesus’ favor on my life.When I quietly listen to Jesus, thoughts come to my heart and mind that I know aren’t mine.The Jesus-thrill that I frequently feel lets me know that He is real!People don’t spend their life hearing weekly lectures about their best friend. They spend time together. Jesus is my best Friend. Perhaps church could focus on training people to spend time with Jesus.
The institutionalized Jesus is defined and confined by religious leaders and organizations. The alive Jesus speaks for Himself. God has much to say beyond church.
Entitlement is to proudly believe that you have some self-focused claims on God. Grace is to freely and humbly admit that you are at God’s mercy and have no claims on Him and no rights before Him. Even the most exemplary Christ-followers are only “unworthy servants.” “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.”
I see Jesus (“God with us”) in nature. If time and chance didn’t make the shed, how could it make the spider that made the web?
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