Steve Simms's Blog, page 214
July 31, 2020
Gentleness — fruit of the Holy Spirit
Gentleness is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. It’s a characteristic of Spirit-led people.
Gentleness takes a “soft touch” approach to life. It’s “soft spoken” — “speaking the truth in love.” Be gentle. Handle life with care.
Gentleness nudges and persuades people with kindness and humility. It doesn’t bully, manipulate, or use force. It doesn’t threaten people. Gentleness relies on spiritual power instead of physical power or positional power.
Gentleness is like an elephant — mild mannered, yet strong. Gentleness stands for justice and righteousness, yet is tender, compassionate, and merciful.
Gentleness is nonviolent, but not passive. It uses weapons of love instead of physical weapons. It’s redemptive, not punishing.
Gentleness is meekness. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek.” Gentleness works without harshness, sternness, or dogmatism.
Gentleness submits it’s will, desires, feelings, and opinions to the living Jesus. It is an attitude of ongoing submission and repentance, of continually surrendering to God’s will. Gentleness helps lighten the burdens of life.
Gentleness is strength under control of the Holy Spirit. It flows with the will of God instead of resisting it.
Nonviolent movements around the world have shown that persistent gentleness is more powerful than and can outlast brute force. Cruelty is a sign of weakness; gentleness a sign of strength.
A hostile voice provokes aggression. A gentle voice invites kindness. Harshness produces hardness. Gentleness brings healing to hurting hearts. Anger drives out gentleness and if continually followed will lead to a life of bitterness.
Search for my book: The Joy Of Early Christianity.
July 30, 2020
Fruit of the Spirit — faithfulness
Without faithfulness life wavers and totters with instability. You’re seen as unreliable and people have trouble trusting you. When you’re unfaithful to your conscience, guilt is the natural consequence.
Faithfulness is unswerving commitment to what is right. A faithful person is reliable. He or she is loyal to truth and dependable to do live with integrity.
True faithfulness isn’t swayed by circumstances, but steadfastly aligns with God and His character and love. It is to continually trust in the living God — to have faith that endures.
The early Christ-followers were faithful to daily follow and obey the living Jesus, even if it cost them their life. When you’ve been overcome with the love and mercy of the Jesus, faithfulness comes supernaturally. A clear vision of the living Jesus and of His love and mercy for you, creates a burning desire to faithfully follow and obey Him.
Faithfulness isn’t blind loyalty. It’s loyalty to truth, to justice, to what is good, to mercy, and to kindness. Faithfulness is the tenacity to stand for what is morally right, even if you stand alone.
Faithfulness is to steadily follow and obey the living God instead of your own feelings, desires, and opinions. The ultimate faithfulness is to be steadfastly surrendered to God. When you’re faithful to God, it may go unrecognized by people (or it may even be mocked by them), but God sees and says well done.
July 29, 2020
Heart-distancing isn’t healthy (a closed heart is a lonely place to live)
A closed heart is a lonely place to live. To share from the heart is to tell the truth with openness and vulnerability–to let the inner you come into view.
Some people keep their heart closed to try to protect it. However, heart distancing causes more pain than it avoids.
Our human differences are minimal. If we open our heart to each other, we’ll discover that we’re basically the same.
There’s a big difference between arguments and heart-felt conversations. We have plenty of the former, but not much of the latter. People need to be noticed, heard, and appreciated. They need to feel that their lives matter to their fellow citizens and to their country. They need you to open your heart to them.
When people muster the courage to open up and share from their heart, they feel great release as they step out of the shadows. If you share your mind, other people will either agree or disagree with you. If you share your heart, they’ll connect with you.
If an experience or event reaches your heart, you’ll see it much differently than if it only goes to your brain. Open your heart. If you won’t open up and reveal yourself to others, you shouldn’t complain about being lonely.
People may agree or disagree with your opinions, but they won’t understand who you are, unless you let them see your heart. You won’t make deep, human connections if you only share information or opinions, but refuse to let people see who you really are.
Get angry at your insecurities, fears, compulsions, tormenting thoughts, and painful emotions, not at other people. If you bravely expose your struggles, instead of hiding them behind anger, you’ll give people the chance to be compassionate.
“Church-service-distancing” sits people together in rows, but it doesn’t let them interact, keeping their hearts far apart. Instead of training people to share from their heart, church has trained them to be passive, appear to be listening, and keep their heart a safe distance away from the other people present.
Church has trained Christians to keep their heart closed. However, to love people calls for an open, compassionate heart.
Today there’s a deep heart-cry for equality and justice, coming forth. Perhaps we should humbly listen to it, with an open heart, instead of arrogantly resisting it. America is being given an opportunity–the chance to heal our land with compassion, truth, humility, and racial equality.
Check out my handbook for an open heart @
https://www.amazon.com/Off-RACE-Track-Color-Blind-Color-Kind-ebook/dp/B07HYHHK19
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July 27, 2020
Fruit of the Spirit — Goodness!
Goodness and selfishness repel each other. They refuse to peacefully coexist.
People are designed to run on goodness. Alternative fuels mess up their engine. Humans tends to naturally drift into badness, but we have to intentionally pursue goodness.
Greatness isn’t power or prestige. True greatness is goodness. When you see goodness in a human being, you’re seeing a reflection of God.
Much that passes for goodness, is only a coverup of badness. True goodness doesn’t just intend (or pretend) to do good. It actually and continually does good.
Goodness produces inner peace; badness creates guilt. True goodness is right living, that is empowered and motivated by the the Holy Spirit working inside a person’s heart.
Life goes better if we follow goodness and refuse to follow evil. Acting contrary to goodness negatively impacts the quality of your life.
All people are created in God’s image. Although that image is distorted, remnants of God’s goodness remain in every person.
Conscience is God communicating His goodness to you. Your conscience is trying to lead you toward goodness, but it can’t take you there if you refuse to follow it.
Goodness is the choice of right instead of wrong, good instead of evil. It does what is right and avoids what is evil. Goodness is the desire to do right, not just occasionally, but all the time.
Goodness aligns with the living God. Badness rebels against Him. Appreciating the goodness of God can give us the buoyancy to rise beyond bias.
(Learn more about the fruit of the Spirit in my book: The Joy Of Early Christianity available @ https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Early-Christianity-Prepare-Lord-ebook/dp/B07X6434JN/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
July 26, 2020
Avoid the unkindness kickback
Rampant unkindness tramples the human spirit. However, kindness can do miracles. It can turn an enemy into a friend.
Anything can be expressed with kindness, even the strongest disagreement. Unkindness is the outward reflection of a disturbed heart and mind. An unkind mind frequently turns its unkindness on itself.
Be unkind to others to the degree that you want them to be unkind to you. When you’re kind, unkind people will sometimes attack you. The best way to fight unkindness is with kindness. Retaliation only amplifies it.
If you use unkind language, expect a kickback. Profanity involves unkind words and an unkind attitude. Learning to live without using profanity is a step toward kindness.
Heart-felt kindness is a sign of strength. Belligerent unkindness is a cover-up for weakness. There’s no unkindness in Heaven. If we plan to go there, it would be good to go ahead and learn to live without being unkind.
Kindness and hostility won’t coexist in your heart. One will force out the other. Hostility has a purpose. Treat people with kindness, but treat your tormenting thoughts and feelings with hostility. Expressing unkindness, anger, and hostility, won’t change other people’s hearts, but it will harden your own heart.
To be kind when you feel threatened, requires more courage than it does to respond with unkindness and defensiveness. If you insist that people earn your kindness, you’ll find yourself being quite stingy with it.
A lifestyle focused on getting what we want, easily moves into unkindness towards people who seem to be getting in our way. Kindness boomerangs. Unkindness does, too.
Help alleviate the current crisis of a shortage of kindness. Contribute kind words and actions whenever you can. If we won’t notice people’s pain and problems, we won’t realize their need for our kindness and concern.
It takes a lot of effort and energy to stay angry at someone who continually responds to you with kindness. Unkind people often have a great need for your kindness, but their pride won’t let them admit it.
Ongoing anger overrides empathy and releases unkindness in words and action. Unkind words cause painful moans, even if you don’t throw sticks and stones.
Kindness cares about all people (friends, family, strangers, and even enemies) and treats them with compassion and respect. Kindness treats everybody as an equal. It looks down on no one. To refuse to listen when people are hurting is unkind.
Occasional kindness is good, but kindness as a lifestyle far surpasses it. If you begin to regularly treat people with kindness, soon your heart will follow up your words and actions, and feel genuine concern for them. If you’ll be kind (especially when you don’t feel like it), you’ll experience greater peace of mind and better relationships with others.
Regardless of its politics, a country with little kindness falls short of true greatness. If an unkind country isn’t the kind of country you want, it’s not too late to turn it around. Whether it comes from the right or the left, unkindness isn’t helpful. When politics is drowning in unkindness, it’s time to kindly throw in some life preserver rings.
Here’s some simple advice that can change a life. “Be kind.” Search for my book: Off the RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind. Thank you very much.
A heart free of racism
If there’s no racism in your heart, you don’t feel threatened when genuine racism is exposed in history (or in contemporary society). Instead you’ll be glad that it’s finally coming to the light.
Racism trains us to see different skin color as a threat. Love empowers us to see various skin colors as an opportunity to interact with kindness.
Search for: Off the RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind. Thank you.
July 25, 2020
You can’t overcome impatience in a hurry
Patience isn’t a prisoner to time frames and to-do lists. Patience isn’t upset by delay. Patience appreciates moments, not just results.
Patience waits without complaining. It endures with inner peace because it never lets go of hope. However, anger frequently tosses patience overboard.
Every frustration is an opportunity to grow your patience. Patience is the ability to trust God’s timing rather than your own.
Patience trumps the tedious by outlasting it. It triumphs over annoyance. Patience remains unruffled. Although patience isn’t very popular, it can save much wasted effort and frustration.
Patience is power — the power of restraint — the power not to be pulled, pushed, or pressured in the wrong direction. Patience can overcome great obstacles and solve major problems.
Patience is endurance of difficulty without anger or retaliation. Delay doesn’t make patience disappear. It reveals it (or reveals the lack of it).
Patience is the ability to continue to demonstrate love, even when you’re tempted to act with irritation and/or anger. It waits with kindness.
Rivers are patient. Sometimes they flow fast; sometimes slow. Like a river, patience doesn’t rush in the wrong direction.
If you build your life with mental blocks, you’ll box yourself in. Build with patience instead. Patience isn’t about knowing how to wait. Instead it is the willingness to calmly wait. You can’t overcome impatience in a hurry.
Patience doesn’t get irritated with and/or try to silence people who speak against injustice. It listens with compassion.
Loving thru the fruit of the Holy Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit is love.
Joy is love shared. Peace is when love meets anxiety. Patience is love over time. Kindness is love in action. Goodness is the character of love. Faithfulness is the loyalty of love. Gentleness is the humility of love. Self-control is restraint produced by love.
For more about practical ways the Holy Spirit works to produce His fruit in human lives, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Early-Christianity-Steve-Simms/dp/1689381213.
July 24, 2020
Inner peace — a beautiful release that makes anxiety cease
Without peace of mind, life will always seem unkind. Anxiety will make you feel like a victim instead of an overcomer. If you continually welcome thoughts and feelings that disturb your inner peace, anxiety will be your way of life.
Distraction from anxiety is nice, but genuine peace of mind greatly surpasses it. Inner peace is a beautiful release from mental torment that makes anxiety cease.
Some people embrace anxiety and destroy their inner peace. Life’s better when we embrace inner peace and drive out our anxiety. Beware of the disturbers of your peace. Avoid things like: anger, fear, worry, bitterness, hostility, and/or resentment. Learning not to take offense is a key to inner peace.
Inner peace isn’t obtained by passivity, but by intentionally pursuing hope and by opposing the thoughts and feelings that try to disrupt it. Politicians like to say they’ll “fight” for you, but if you want real victory fight for yourself and overcome the theft of your inner peace.
To recognize and appreciate the beauty of life is the beginning of inner peace. Thoughts and behaviors that diminish your inner peace are probably best avoided. To resist and refute the disturbers of your inner peace is a key to contentment.
The more you resist the disturbers of inner peace and expel them from your mind and heart, the more room you make for “Christ in you.” Jesus spoke and calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Hearing His voice speak in your heart can calm your storm and give you peace.
It’s very hard to be consistently happy without peace of mind. Jesus said, “My peace I give you.” It’s the best gift in the world.
Practice preemptive peace. Cultivate peace in your own heart, even when living in hostile, angry, and violent times. Peace isn’t freedom from disagreements or disputes, but maintaining respect and kindness in the midst of them. Peacemakers have learned how to maintain harmonious relationships, even when there’s open disagreement.
Peace is when conflict is handled with kindness, instead of by hostility, hatred, or violence. It’s not just the absence of conflict, but also the presence of fairness and respect for human rights.
When we work for what we want by helping people instead of by insulting or harming them, the world will be closer to peace. Lasting peace involves forgiveness, because without out it, new conflict can break out at any moment.
For more about inner peace, go to: https://www.amazon.com/Joy-Early-Christianity-Steve-Simms/dp/1689381213/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
