Steve Simms's Blog, page 192

Systemic racism is like a highway . . .

Systemic racism is like a highway built generations ago that people today tend to unconsciously follow, unless they’re redirected. We can learn to equally embrace all people regardless of race. Go to: Off the RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind.

When Christians have their eyes wide open, they can experience Christ-perception

Jesus rising from the dead, Isn't just a sermon said, To analyze with your head. He's the "living bread" To embed in your heart.

Christians without Christ-perception are spiritually blind. Christ-perception is essential to biblical Christianity. People who continually experience the risen Jesus have a different perspective than people who only hear about Him. Continually behold the risen Jesus!

No description of anyone can replicate the experience of personally knowing them. This is especially true about the risen Jesus. Christ-perception occurs when we go beyond listening to a man trying to analyze Jesus and begin to gaze at Him with our own heart’s eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus isn’t just an Easter sermon topic. The living Jesus can be perceived and experienced everyday. Church often disguises the risen Jesus with theology, tradition, religion, ritual, curriculum, and creeds. Look beyond that stuff!

When we shift our perception from church to the presence of resurrected Jesus, Christianity breaks out with power! When you’re full of Christ-perception, you don’t want a sermon about Jesus. You want to pour your heart out to Him in adoration.

Ruminate on the risen Jesus until He resonates within and radiates thru you. Make room for the Jesus of the empty tomb to fill your life with His presence.

To know about Jesus, yet not continually perceive His presence, falls far short of biblical Christianity. When we forget to remember and revive the moments we’ve felt closet to Jesus, it’s easy to settle into formalized Christianity.

Human pride disguises the risen Jesus and hides Him from our perception. Brokenness opens our heart to encounter His presence.

Christ’s resurrection isn’t an annual event like Spring. Jesus rose to live forever and He wants to live in and through you everyday! Here’s a complete Easter sermon in 5 words: “Behold the Lamb of God!”

When Christians have their eyes wide open, they can experience Christ-perception.

Christian spirituality isn’t a dinosaur

Christian spirituality is ongoing interaction with and surrender to the living Jesus, that produces the fruit of the Spirit. It’s based on the risen Jesus, not on meeting attendance, legalism, or self-assertion, and needs to be a lived reality, not a theological concept.

No matter where you go, Jesus is there. Thus, you can continually interact with Him. That’s what the Bible means by “abide” in Him. “Devotions” or “quiet times” are a poor substitute for continually focusing on and interacting with the risen Jesus.

Without an ongoing, experiential relationship with the risen Jesus, an intellectual approach to Christianity is incomplete. Many Christians are paralyzed by grace. They believe they have everything God has to offer and that there’s nothing for them to do but wait to go to Heaven. The Bible tells us to “turn away” from such a powerless “form of godliness” and to let “Christ be formed in you.”

When the living Jesus directly teaches you, His words do what no other words can do. They make you alive from the inside out. A Christian who is growing spiritually will interact with, surrender to, and obey the living Jesus more and more. A relationship with Jesus can’t be earned, but once you freely receive it, you can either develop it or drift away from it.

When strangers who experience the living Jesus meet, their experiences with Him match, demonstrating His reality. Christians are called to be an active part body of Christ, united heart-to-heart with all other followers of the living Jesus. When Christians are led by the Spirit, they are led into unity and love for one another. When they aren’t, they’re divisive.

Much stuff that we call Christian blocks our view of the living Jesus. Christians are called to actively grow in our relationship with Jesus, not to settle into a religious routine. We can’t follow the living Jesus without actively engaging with and obeying Him on an ongoing basis. Following Jesus doesn’t require classes or a church’s list of steps. It’s much simplier than that. Just focus on and obey Him.

We want to arrange our circumstances in a comfortable order. God wants us to allow our life to follow His order. In order to worship in God’s order, we need to let the living Jesus directly lead us. The religious term “laity” has come to mean laidback and passive church attendees.

When a group of Christians meet to all hear and obey the living Jesus, supernatural order sets in. Attempts to organize the Holy Spirit result in quenching the Spirit. In a Christian meeting, anyone who quenches or disobeys the Holy Spirit, is out of order.

The most powerful praying is continual interaction with and surrender to the living Jesus. Discipling is more about modeling than mentoring–letting Jesus actively live in and thru you, instead of telling others what to do.

Big ideas for feeling good

Imagine how good you would feel if hope and appreciation continually filled your heart and your mind.

Train your imagination to inspire you with images of joy. Daydreaming empowers; worry devours. When you don’t see happiness in your life, imagine it! Daydreaming can make your day.

If you believe that you’re happy, then you are. To be happy, all you have to do is to convince yourself that you are.

Even when you’re discouraged, you can still dare to daydream about happiness (and doing so will make you happier).

Increase the positive velocity of your curiosity. Be quick to look for the good in every situation.

Curiosity killed the cat’s sadness and inspired the elephant’s happiness. Curiosity is a cure for unhappiness.

When the going gets tough and you feel like you’ve had enough, keep going. Endurance wins!

If you let your think tank run out of gas, your mind will get stuck in a rut. Regularly refuel your brain with inspiring thoughts.

Train your memory to remember the best and your forgettery to forget the worst. You can reimagine your life and improve your future. Persistent imagination is powerful enough to bend reality into it’s image.

If you look closely at the elephant in the room that feels like a nuisance, it may be an opportunity hiding in plain sight. When opportunity knocks, it’s frequently disguised as an elephant trying to find room to inspire your mind.

Everybody’s got problems,
You’re not alone.
Realizing that
Can make you strong.

Photo by Aenic on Pexels.com

Ideas some might call platitudes

At the moment of your conception, your sperm won. That makes you a winner!

The magnitude
Of your gratitude
Sets the altitude
For your attitude.

Much of life
Is a chain reaction.
What you say and do
Recycles back to you.

Curiosity that leads to learning something inspiring is a sadness-buster. A simple online search can lead you to much that is encouraging.

The only positive statement some people ever read is in a fortune cookie. Even that tiny bit of encouragement can improve the day.

Often we get discouraged because we try to take one giant step that is beyond our ability instead of a series of small steps that we can easily accomplish.

Every tunnel eventually leads to light. If not, it’s a cave. Tunnel to hope instead of caving to negativity.

Heart-felt joy is like running water. It can find a way around any obstacle, unless we dam it up.

Before declaring that something can’t be done, perhaps you could explore how it can be done.

Repeatedly saying (and thinking) accusative things about yourself isn’t helpful.

First win within and then without a doubt, you’ll win without.

Human nature tends to overlook ideas filled with obvious hope and instead to concentrate on negativity.

Many people don’t want to discuss the meaning and purpose of life because that leads to responsibility and accountability. Calling a statement a “platitude” is often an attempt to avoid its call to self-examination.

Smiling is a catalyst for happiness. Challenging, uplifting ideas (like these) are often labeled “platitudes” in an attempt to ignore them like an elephant in the room. Ideas become platitudes because their deeper meaning challenges people face and overcome their to heal and grow. That makes it easy to overlook the elephant of hope that is contained in what many people call “clichés.”

A cliché
Has much to say,
If we look at its meaning
In a fresh, new way.

Before you say a cliché
Or quote a quotation
Give the words
A creative rotation.

Words exist that can ease the pressure of daily life. When you find them, read, think & say them frequently.

Can there be inspirational elephants in the room? Why not?

Inspiring ideas can be elephants in the room. Many people are uncomfortable talking about their need for personal growth. They feel like talking about it is an admission of weakness, so they’d rather keep silent and pretend that they don’t need it.

This reluctance to talk about the possibility of self-improvement makes those ideas elephants in the room. Inspiring elephants fill every room of your life. They’re not hard to see, but they’re easy to overlook. This . . . can have elephant sized results by helping to expand your comfort zone to embrace more hope. As you read these uplifting statements, take time to ponder them and to sincerely appreciate the encouraging message they have for you.

If you’re bored with life, noticing the inspiring elephants in the room will wake up your excitement. Even the simplest things contain adventure and fun that will enrich your life, if you will step beyond any reluctance and explore them with curiosity and delight.

When it feels like everything is going wrong, you’ve overlooked some obvious things (like your heartbeat and your breathing). Carefully look over your daily life and discover the joy and hope that you’ve been overlooking. Life’s most obvious benefits and blessings are the easiest to overlook. Rediscover them.

An exciting adventure is easy to find. It’s ride the hope-filled elephants in the room.

Much happiness, like a lonely elephant in the room, is overlooked. It’s hard to be happy when you overlook the blessings that surround you.

If you take an attitude of appreciation and look over what you’ve overlooked, you will find much that is amazing and inspiring. If you allow your desires to cause you to overlook the good things that you already have, you’ll miss out on much happiness.

Showing off your stuff gets boring, but sharing your adventure stories stays exciting. Learn to find adventure anywhere.

An inconvenience points you to an elephant in the room, offering you an invitation to have a new adventure.

Problem solving becomes fun when you see it as an adventure and anticipate the joy of discovery the solution will bring. Frustration is an adventure overlooked. A little curiosity plus a little exploration will turn a boring day into an adventure.

Habits are mental apps–“hab-apps” installed in your brain. Keep those that are making life better. Uninstall those that aren’t.

The sower sowed . . .

Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower” examines four heart conditions: 1) A shut-down heart; 2) A shallow heart; 3) A superficial heart; and 4) A sincere heart.

A shut-down heart is closed to spiritual business.

A shallow heart has no spiritual depth finder.

A superficial hearts succumbs to seductive, anti-spiritual distractions.

A sincere heart lives with openness and honesty to God and people.

Jesus steps are better than “baby steps”

Every step you take with the living Jesus brings you closer to the truth that sets you free. Every step prompted by the living Jesus will deepen your relationship with Him and will increase His power in your life. When Jesus is prompting you to take a step, don’t wait for human approval.

One solitary, Jesus-prompted step is more powerful in your life than a Fitbit full of self-directed steps. Take Jesus-prompted steps every day and you’ll begin to experience His miracles as a regular part of your life. One small, Jesus-prompted step can lead to a giant leap in spiritual growth!

Jesus-steps don’t follow a plan or a program. Jesus said, “I am the way.” They follow Him. To take Jesus-steps, we need to be directed by the living God, not by our own feelings or desires. When you take a Jesus-prompted step, don’t look back, or you’ll miss the miracle in front of you. Jesus-prompted steps will lead you outside your comfort zone and into His miracle zone.

When I look back in my mind and trace my Jesus-steps, I’m amazed how the Lord has led my life! Every time I’ve taken a Jesus-prompted step into the unknown, I’ve grown.

If you’re stuck in the past, you won’t have the faith to Jesus-step into the future. Every failure that motivates you to take a Jesus-prompted step, is a success. When you take Jesus-prompted steps, you walk in His footprints.

Jesus-prompted steps always involve humility. You can’t take them with pride. Jesus-prompted steps deny the odds and produce amazing outcomes. Sometimes God lets our problems pile up to motivate us to take a Jesus-prompted step that we’ve been ignoring.

It takes two to take Jesus-steps; Christ in you and you’re cooperation. The missing step in your life is probably the one you that you sense Jesus is prompting you to take. Take the Jesus-prompted step that you’ve been putting off.

Begin taking daily Jesus-steps and soon you will flow with divine choreography. The steps you take, under the influence of the living Jesus, will change your life and intoxicate you with love.

Hearing God’s melody and the beat of His heart, will make you want to dance with Jesus-steps. If you lose yourself in Jesus-steps, you’ll find joy like never before.

The living Jesus can choreograph my life far better than I can. When life tries to give you a blackout, let the living Jesus give you a light-up. Repentance is to take a step backwards and do your best to make things right.

Spiritual growth is a lot of Jesus-steps put together. You don’t have to understand the entire Bible. Just begin to take Jesus-steps day by day. Taking daily Jesus-steps will teach you how to actively follow Him.

You can’t walk in the Spirit by just Sunday-sitting in church. It’s a daily thing! The secret to “walk in the Spirit” is to begin to regularly take Jesus-prompted steps. Let the living Jesus choreograph your every step. A few occasional footsteps with Jesus do not make a Christ-follower.

Begin to baby step with the living Jesus and one day you’ll be giant stepping with Him. It’s hard to take Jesus-steps when we’re following our own opinion. Take distinct Jesus-steps by listening to His voice & doing what He says.

“Walk in the Spirit.” Let your steps be prompted by the living Jesus. To “rest in the Lord” is not to do nothing. It’s to wait for His prompting with eagerness to obey. If you follow and obey the living Jesus, He’ll lead you to the right steps at the right time.

Take some Jesus steps-everyday, until all your days are filled with them. To begin a lifestyle of Jesus-prompted steps, you have to be willing to take the first one.

Jesus stepping:
Sensing His nudging
And obeying
Without begrudging.

Take one Jesus-step
After another
And soon you’ll discover:
He’s propelling you.

The crowd follows
The status quo
But the living Jesus
Wants you to go
With Him.

Inside you,
The living Jesus
Longs for your heart
To fully surrender to Him.

Let the living Jesus
Be your stepping stone,
The solid rock
You build your life on.

Christianity is more powerful when lived on your feet in the street than on your seat in church. Daily Bible reading is a great gift in my life–stirring my heart with love for Jesus and training me to hear and obey His voice. If Christians don’t share testimonies, people won’t know the amazing things that Jesus has done in their lives.

Apollo G? No apology . . .

A sincere apology helps two people. It eases one’s hurt and relieves the other’s guilt.

It takes great strength to humbly apologize. To apologize is to value truth more than you do your pride. Reluctance to apologize when you’re wrong isn’t a matter of logic, but of pride.

A true apology includes an admission of wrongdoing. Some people will never apologize. You’ll feel better if you forgive them anyway. To sincerely apologize is to value another person’s feelings more than your own.

I was wrong.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
These are words
Of courage and healing.

Grudge-be-gone–grudge-busters to set you free!

To retaliate against hatred with hatred is to imitate evil instead of good. It is to escalate the hatred. Hold forgiveness; let grudges go.

Forgiveness heals hurts. Revenge extends them. It takes courage to behave better than the people who hurt you. To ignore the nudge from your conscience and refuse to budge from your grudge, isn’t sanity. A grudge is a life-disturber.

Grudges are like ghosts. They are invisible ideas that people allow to haunt them. When grudges get going they release a floodgate of hatred. To let a grudge get a grip on your mind is to allow anger to rip off your inner peace. To hold a grudge is to give someone you don’t like power over your life.

Grudges are the bars in the fence that entraps your mind in focusing on people’s bad behaviors. A grudge makes you the only judge and jury.

The more your grudges the greater will be your pain. Forgiveness brings freedom from your emotional strain.

Revenge keeps anger swinging back and forth on the hinge of hatred. Hatred is the absence of love. It’s overcome by spreading love, not by withholding love.

Reverse retaliation is powerful. Get back at evil back with good. If you want to retaliate, use kindness. Jesus teaches us: “Do good to those who hurt you.”

Defensiveness sees people as dangerous. Kindness sees them with compassion. Humble people seldom hate.

Retaliation focuses your enemy’s anger. Kindness confuses and distracts him.

To be glad
Remember the good
Done to you
And forget the bad.

For help in forgiving think about this: The Bible works within the people who read it with an open, humble heart and changes them from the inside out.