Steve Simms's Blog, page 19

Tattoos Decorate the Skin, but God Heals and Changes the Heart

Daily writing promptWhat tattoo do you want and where would you put it?View all responses

The Pharisees wouldn’t hear or see what Jesus was truly saying and doing. Will you?

You can be a hearer and a seer. Set aside your opinions. Look beyond borders. Listen to God’s inner voice. View from His perspective instead of from your own point of view. Cultivate fertile ground in your heart for God’s seeds to grow and flourish. Humbly receive direct impartation and immediate revelation from God.

Ask yourself these questions:
* What am I not seeing?
* What am I seeing distortedly?
* What have I been unwilling to see?

To surrender to God’s inner winds (instead of to the winds of society) is to soar in the Spirit to ever greater clarity. Ride God’s inner wind not your own self-effort. Refuse to be distracted by the clouds that are passing by. Set your eyes and your heart on eternal things.

Look deeply into your own heart. Notice the overlooked and hidden things that are unaligned with God. Let Jesus have full access to your heart and mind. Allow Him to continually realign every thought, feeling, and desire that is in any way apart from His will.

Human coercion, laws, and physical force can often change peoples’ behaviors, but they can’t transform peoples’ heart. They can’t build the kingdom of God. Only Spirit-empowered love can do that.

It’s easy to be deceived. The Pharisees believed that they were representing God when they pressured Rome to kill the King of Kings. The Zealots thought that they could establish God’s kingdom by using physical violence to overthrow Rome. Instead, the city that Jesus wept over, and God’s physical temple, were both leveled to the ground in 70 AD.

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I Want to Demonstrate the Kingdom of God Better Every Day

Daily writing promptWhat do you wish you could do more every day?View all responses

The kingdom of God is close by and available to all people, but it is invisible and can’t be seen with the eye because it occurs in human hearts (not in visible institutions or governments). When Jesus is allowed to rule as the supreme Lord and Master in a person’s heart, that person begins to live by and demonstrate the wonderful fruit of the Spirit and the characteristics of the Beatitudes. Refuse to settle for anything less in your life.

The kingdom of God isn’t somewhere beyond you in societal structures and organizations. It’s within you. If you won’t let Jesus be your King and Commander and govern your life from within, you’ll won’t experience the kingdom of God.

You will know that the kingdom (inner government of God) is within you when you see and sense the fruit of the Spirit and the characteristics of the Beatitudes growing and flourishing within you. When the fruit of the Spirit is missing the kingdom of God has been abandoned. When you don’t see the Beatitudes in people’s behavior and words, they aren’t seeking first the kingdom of God.

The traditional church service trains people to receive information from one person week after week. It neglects to train people to connect (and stay connected) heart-to-heart with King Jesus and with one another.

The kingdom (inner government) of God begins to manifest when Christians gather to let King Jesus be the Head and Director of the meeting as they each one follow and obey the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. If we follow our own programs, agendas, order of worship, opinions, feelings, and desires, we’re focusing on our own kingdom instead of on God’s kingdom.

For far too many Christians the Bible is like a recipe book. They set it on a counter but seldom pick it up and read it. When they do pick it up, they read a couple of recipes and then quickly walk away without following them. They would rather hear a man talk about the Bible once a week instead of ceaselessly following its instructions and cooking up a marvelous relationship with the risen King Jesus.

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Seeker

Daily writing promptWhat is one word that describes you?View all responses

I am a seeker. I am always seeking and pursuing personal growth. I chaise after mental and emotional health. I hunt for inner peace. I search for what Jesus called the “kingdom of God” — God governing and ruling from within my heart.

To know the one, true, living God and to love Him with all that you are — with all your heart, mind, and strength — and to actively work for and care about your neighbor’s wellbeing as much as you work for and care about your own, means that: “You are not far from the kingdom (inner government) of God.” Jesus also said that loving God and others “is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” It is more important than all the religious things you can do.

To passionately love God enough to allow Him to continually rule and govern you from within is to draw close to and to begin to experience the kingdom of God. To actively and persistently show love for God and for people (even people who disagree with you, argue with you, and/or insult you) let your life be consistently governed by the presence of God’s Spirit within your heart.

Let all the obstacles in your life that are keeping you distant from the inner government of (hardheartedness, superficiality, and self-focused desires and opinions) be swept away by God’s Spirit. Then His light can sine brightly in and through you.

Unpackage “Christ in you.” “Loose him and let Him go so that He can fully rule and reign inside of you, no matter the consequences to your emotions, relationships. and self-esteem. Put the crown of your inner Kingdom on Christ’s Head and let Him be the Head of your life. Give Him the scepter. Crown Him as your absolute monarch and King. Then let Him have all the reigns so He can continually reign supreme in all you say and do.

Remove human tradition from the presence of the King of Kings. Make His paths straight. Dethrone your delights and distracting desires.

Look deeply into your own heart. Notice the overlooked and hidden things that are unaligned with God. Let Jesus have full access to and control of your heart, mind, and behavior. Allow Him to ceaselessly realign every thought, feeling, and desire to His will. To refuse or neglect to let the risen King Jesus personally lead you from within is to avoid the kingdom of God.

To take the kingdom of God “by force” is to courageously use the non-physical weapons of denying yourself, carrying your cross, and radical obedience to “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Taking the kingdom of God “by force” requires constantly confronting your ungodly thoughts feelings, and desires with great and persistent inner force. Soldiers of God’s kingdom fight with spiritual weapons instead of physical ones.

To “seek first the kingdom of God” is to always make hearing and obeying King Jesus your moment-by-moment, number one priority. If you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, then think like it, talk like it, and act like it.

Human coercion, laws, and physical force can often change peoples’ behaviors, but they can’t transform peoples’ heart. They can’t build the kingdom of God. Only Spirit-empowered love can do that.

It’s easy to be deceived. The Pharisees believed that they were representing God when they pressured Rome to kill the King of Kings. The Zealots thought that they could establish God’s kingdom by using physical violence to overthrow Rome. Instead, the city that Jesus wept over, and God’s physical temple, were both leveled to the ground in 70 AD.

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Deny Yourself

Daily writing promptWrite a letter to your 100-year-old self.View all responses

Desires are a fake ID
Built on subjectivity.
Ignoring reality
And true objectivity
They lead to captivity
To deep insecurity
And to false identity.

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to resist, confront, and overcome the devil’s temptations (Matthew 4:1) and Jesus faithfully stayed aligned with the will of His Heavenly Father. When you are in the wilderness and are tempted to disengage from the presence and the will of God, take up the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, (Ephesians 6:17) like Jesus did (Matthew 4:4,7,10) and “fight the good fight of faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12)

Resist, confront, and overcome temptation. Cast down everything within you that in any way exalts itself against the knowledge of God so that you will be able to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5) Refuse to serve your own feelings, desires, opinions, and habits. “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” (Matthew 4:10)

Resist and reject the temptations and the compulsions that try to compel you to conform to them. Refuse to applaud them and never define yourself by them.

When your thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions are aligned with the living Lord Jesus, your life will produce a huge harvest of the fruit of the Spirit. (Mark 4:20) To be unaligned with Jesus is to be aligned with chaos. Christ is the Prince of Peace.

Jesus said, “Deny yourself.” He never said to define yourself. Instead of defining your life by your desires, feelings, and opinions, begin to align everything within you with the risen Jesus and the will of God. That is called repentance, and it will revolutionize, revitalize, and reboot your life. The kingdom (inner government) of God is open to everyone who will align their heart and life with King Jesus.

To focus on self-effort and will-power is to overlook the power of God’s presence and love. Self-denial really does overcome temptation and produce a beautiful life.

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Shopping For a Clearer Perspective

Daily writing promptWhere would you go on a shopping spree?View all responses

As humans our perspective can get foggy, habit bound, and bogged down in the same ole same ole. But there is hope. We can always shop for a fresh, encouraging perspective. Let me help you do that. Let’s go online shopping in your heart.

What should we look for? Our hope is in Christ and in being directly and inwardly led by His Spirit — “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Timothy Tennent wrote: “Many of the acts of worship in the Psalms are quite different from what we might experience on a typical Sunday in church.” Let’s get back to gathering for worship under the direct inner leading of the Holy Spirit.

Here are some heart insights that came to my mind this morning that are helping me gain perspective on how the body of Christ can function more effectively and how it can more clearly demonstrate the kingdom (direct inner government) of God:

* The body of Christ is all the people worldwide who are living under the direct Headship of the risen Jesus by being internally led by His Spirit.
* The ekklesia is any gathering of two or more Christ-followers to listen to and be directly led by the Holy Spirit together. The ekklesia is continually being built by the living Jesus (Matthew 16:18) wherever people gather in His name to let Him lead them by His Spirit and assemble them together heart-to-heart on the rock of direct revelation from God.
* A church is a human led religious organization that is substituted for Christ’s Spirit-led ekklesia assemblies. (Theologian Emil Bruener wrote in his book “The Misunderstanding of the Church:” “What we know as the church or churches resulting from the historical developments cannot claim to be the ekklesia in the New Testament sense.”
* Christ’s apostles are “sent ones.” That’s what the Greek word “apostle” literally means. To be sent on a mission by the Holy Spirit is to be an apostle (a missionary). (Acts 13:2)
* Christ’s prophets are people who hear directly from God (Revelation 2:7) and are prompted by the Spirit to share what they have seen and heard. They are revealers who show people what God is saying and doing.
* Christ’s evangelists are Spirit-led recruiters for the body of Christ. To introduce people to the risen Jesus and help them surrender to the direct inner government of His kingdom is to be an evangelist.
* Christ’s pastors are shepherds. They are Spirit-directed overseers who observe and watch over gatherings of the body of Christ. Anyone who watches out for other Christ-followers and compassionately redirects them when they are off track is an overseer.
* Christ’s teachers are disciple makers. They train and coach people to daily follow and obey the risen Jesus. (Matthew 28:19-20)
* Don’t just study or memorize or analyze the 5 gifts that Christ is giving the members of His body, (Ephesians 4:7-16) demonstrate them in your daily life. Find people who are functioning as sent ones, as revealers, as recruiters, as overseers, and as disciple makers and let them help train you to be directly led by the Spirit so that you too can demonstrate the functions of those 5 gifts. (Ephesians 4:12-13)

Jesus prayed that all of His followers be united as one. (John 17:21) However, churches are shattered and scattered. According to bibleanalysis.org, there are more than 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Today the concept of church is like a beautiful wine carafe (pitcher) that has been dropped and shattered and then pounded with a hammer until it is nothing but tiny shreds. How we need to return to the beautiful unity of Christ’s Spirit-led ekklesia.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the ekklesia and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant ekklesia, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”(Ephesians 5:25-27)

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My Favorite Name

Daily writing promptWhat is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?View all responses

There’s a name I love to hear. The mention of that name gives me hope, peace, and encouragement. I love to keep that name in the middle of my heart and mind. That name did this for me: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:16) If you will open wide your heart to ponder and absorb the Bible verse John 3:16, the eternal one who goes by that name will do the same for you.

Keep your attention intensely focused day and night on Jesus, the Lamb of God who sets people free from the power of sin. (John 1:29) Let Him continually immerse you in and saturate you with His Spirit (John 1:34) so that His rivers of living water can freely flow from within your innermost being. (John 7:38)

Cast out everything that hinders you from being aware of, hearing, and obeying Jesus. (John 10:27) Boldly toss aside hardheartedness, superficiality, and self-focused desires and detractions. (Luke 8:11-15) Ceaselessly cultivate your heart to make it good ground so that you will daily hear what the Spirit is saying (Revelation 3:22) to you. Then the Living Word of God, (John 1:1-5) Jesus Christ, will take deep root, abundantly flourish within you, and produce an amazing harvest of supernatural fruit in and through your life.

The kingdom of God is to do what God says do and to go where God says go — to go, flow, and grow with the Spirit. You are sincerely invited to experience the jubilation of living as a faithful citizen of God’s kingdom.

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Every Day I Learn More About a Unique Kingdom

Daily writing promptWhat is the last thing you learned?View all responses

I’m captivated by a kingdom. I learn more and more about this kingdom and its King throughout each day. I’ve actually discovered a way to communicate with the King and He responds to me. There’s nothing like the sound of His voice. Of course, I’m talking about King Jesus.

Jesus is the King (Matthew 2:2) — “the ruler who will shepherd” God’s people (Matthew 2:6) — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) When the wise men proclaimed King Jesus to King Herod “the Great,” the human ruler Herod was so threatened by the kingdom of God that he ordered the death of all boys in Bethlehem two years old and under so that he could eliminate King Jesus. However, the kingdom of God and its King survived. About 30 years later religious people teamed up with the Roman government to crucify King Jesus because He was a threat to both of them. Within 3 days King Jesus rose from the dead and lives to this day to rule and reign in the heart of everyone who will fully surrender to His Spirit-led, moment-by-moment, inner government. Dare to ceaselessly submit and surrender your will to God!

Receive and use the keys to God’s kingdom that Jesus has offered to give you (Matthew 16:19) (the fruit of the Spirit, the Beatitudes, and the gifts of the Spirit) so that you can bind up and cast down (2 Corinthians 10:5) everything in you that in any way quenches the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) or that hinders the Lordship of Christ (Philippians 2:9-11) in you. Use those kingdom keys to continually unlock and loosen up your heart to Christ’s inner presence. (Revelation 3:20) Humble yourself (Matthew 5:3) so that you can hear what the Spirit is saying (Revelation 2:17) and the King of Glory (Psalm 24:7-9) can freely rule and reign within you. Lock out anything that brings you pride so that you can unlock your heart to Christ’s humility. (Luke 14:11)

Jesus taught that three things hinder the kingdom (inner government) of God from growing and flourishing inside of a person: 1) hardness of heart, 2) superficiality, and 3) self-focused desires and distractions. The “secret of the kingdom of God” is to persistently avoid those three things so that your life can produce a bountiful harvest for and demonstration of God’s inner kingdom and glory. (Mark 4:11-20)

If you’re a Christ-follower, His Spirit in you isn’t passive and inactive. Christ is speaking and working in you. Are you noticing and cooperating with Him? Are you letting Him rule and reign in you as your daily Master and King?

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Will You Stop Talking About the Holy Spirit?

Daily writing promptWhat is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.View all responses

An old man named Simenon who was waiting for the Jewish Messiah was led by the Spirit. (Luke 2:25-35) “The Holy Spirit was on him.” “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah,” and “he was moved by the Spirit” to enter the temple courts when the newly born Jesus was being circumcised. Then he took Jesus in his arms and spoke by the Spirit proclaiming Jesus to be “a light for revelation.”

This was about 33 years before the glorious and rowdy release of the Spirit though powerful demonstrations of the inner government of God through 120 of Jesus closest followers as described in Acts 2. If Simeon could receive direct revelation and information from the Holy Spirit and be moved (governed) by the Spirit, how much more should we who have “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9)

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) This is true for all genuine Christ-followers. “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you.” (2 Timothy 1:6) “As many who are led by the Spirit are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14) It’s vital that Christ-followers begin to live under the kingdom (inner government) of God and be directly and personally led by the Holy Spirit.

The kingdom of God has a unique culture that abounds with the blessings of the Beatitudes and the fruit of the Spirit. When people encounter citizens of the kingdom of God being led by the Spirit and governed by King Jesus, they experience culture shock and mouth-dropping awe.

“The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20) It overflows with demonstrations of King Jesus and of His Spirit’s character, presence, and power. (1 Corinthians 2:4) Always persistently seek the inner government of God first of all (Matthew 6:33) and never push aside God’s promptings and leadings. Refuse to settle for mere religious talk. “Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

A citizen of the kingdom of God is supposed to be a freely flowing fountain of the fruit of the Spirit not a soiled spring of self-focused secularism. The shocking culture of the kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). It’s easy to overlook it and let it stay buried in unawareness. God’s kingdom has to be believed in (John 3:16) and diligently searched for (Matthew 6:33) with sold out hunger and thirst for righteousness. (Matthew 5:6) It needs to be dug up, put in constant circulation, and allowed to govern all your thoughts, feelings, and desires by continually keeping them in God’s will. (Romans 12:2) The Spirit-led inner government of God is the narrow gate and straight way that few people find and follow. (Matthew 7:14)

If you’re a Christ-follower, His Spirit in you isn’t passive and inactive. Christ is speaking and working in you. Are you noticing and cooperating with Him? Are you letting Him rule and reign in you as your daily Master and King?

Staying focused on the politics of a particular nation isn’t the way to “seek first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33) It’s very important that Christ-followers not confuse the kingdom of God with a nation’s government. Set your attention on the risen Jesus and His kingdom. Jesus and His early followers never focused on Roman politics.

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Disappointment is Often a Set-Up for Later Success

Daily writing promptHow has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success?View all responses

Where Jesus, “the true light,” (John 1:9) shines, disappointment disappears. The more a person looks unto Jesus, (Hebrews 12:2) beholds the Lamb of God, (John 1;29) and let’s Christ shine in his heart (2 Corinthians 4:6) the more disappoint vanishes. Disappointments come and go, but “these three remain: faith, hope, and love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Undisciplined thinking that avoids the light of Christ leads to much disappointment. Disappointment is so easy to find but faith, hope, and love require keeping your eyes open to the Light of the World.

Drop disappointment and immediately send it away so that bitterness can’t get a foothold in your heart. Disappointment isn’t your friend. It’s a cruel inner enemy. Refuse to let it stay in your heart.

Disappointment is a reminder that self-focus is a dead-end street but that the true light of “Christ in you” is “the hope of glory.” I’ve noticed that most of my disappointments are divine course corrections that protect me from my bad choices. Every time I am disappointed, I am motivated to surrender more and more to the risen Jesus. When disappointment tries to get me stuck in self-focus, here comes Jesus with His tow truck and pulls me out!

People who find ways to greatly enjoy and appreciate where they are, what they have, and who they are around, avoid disappointment. Gratitude for all the good that God has given me washes away disappointment about what I don’t have. When disappointment tries to take away my trust in God, I look with all my heart at His faith, hope, and love.

Disappointments can be directional, instead of discouraging. Let them guide you to Christ’s better way of living and they won’t ruin your day. The point of your disappointments is to point you to Jesus. They’re calling you to an appointment with Christ. Let Him shine within you and anoint you with the ointment of His inner light.

The antidote for disappointment is the fruit of God’s Spirit and its 9 characteristics. (Galatians 5:22-23) If you will ceaselessly listen to and flow with God’s Spirit in the kayak of His presence disappointment will stay far away from you.

Disappointments look different from the perspective of the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15) You don’t need to travel to God’s kingdom. It has come to you. Open up your heart to the light of King Jesus. Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

The kingdom of God has open borders. Everyone is invited to become a citizen. (Colossians 1:13)

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Learning to Love with Christ’s Love

Daily writing promptYou’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?View all responses

Throughout my life I have been learning to love with Christ’s love. It’s not been easy. It has been the greatest challenge of my life. I’ve had to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow the risen Jesus instead of following my own opinions, feelings, and desires. I’ve had to learn to think God’s thoughts and obey them — to follow DI (Divine Intelligence) instead of following my pride in my own intelligence.

Experience DI Chat (Divine Intelligence). Ask God questions and open your heart to hear His answers. To experience DI begin to think God’s thoughts by reading, absorbing, and pondering the Bible and by listening to and obeying His inner voice. Jesus said: “He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit is saying.” When you’re offline with God, you have isolated yourself from DI (Divine Intelligence).

When I opened my heart to encounter Jesus, I discovered life’s most amazing experience. I’ve never been the same.

Divided and divisive Christians distract people from Christ’s presence and glory. If we want the world to know that Christ is sent by God, then His followers must come to heart-to-heart unity.

Jesus prayed this prayer for His future followers (John 17:20): “I have given them the glory that You gave Me, that they may be one as We are one—I in them and You in Me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me.” (John 17:22-23)

Jesus has given His glory to those who consistently rely on Him so that they can keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3) When people see the unity of Christ-followers who are truly led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) and are radiant with “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:27) they will know (not just believe) that God has sent Jesus. According to Christ’s prayer, disunity and lack of love among Christians causes the world to be unaware of Jesus and of His present-day mission. (John 17:21)

If you want the world to know that you are a true disciple of Christ, then you must demonstrate the unity of God’s love by loving all the members of the body of Christ, even if you don’t particularly like them or agree with them. (John 13:34-35) That requires that Christ-followers do more than sit through a church service together. It requires that we humbly and honestly open our hearts to one another as we daily and unceasingly practice the 50+ one another commands in the New Testament.

Routine religion
Took me round and round.
But it wasn’t
Until I heard
The beautiful sound
Of Jesus’ voice.
That I finally found
The reality
Of His presence.
Now I abound
With His love, joy,
And amazing peace.

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