Steve Simms's Blog, page 226

The “man upstairs” or “Christ in you”

Religion is about “the man upstairs.” Biblical Christianity is about “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” God is Light. Light allows us to see. The closer we get to God (and the less we regulate Him to the concept of “the man upstairs,” the more we see the flaws and shortcomings in our life.

The idea that everything came from nothing can’t be rationally explained, nor can the idea of a creator. Both are acts of faith.

The call to good and the woo of evil continually compete for our choices. At any moment, we can sway either way. Choose well.

Every time truth is told to deceive, another lie has been conceived. History shows that people who can arouse a crowd to be hostile about politics, can stir them up to commit atrocities.

To approach God rationally, as a subject to be continually analyzed and evaluated, can’t compare to daily experiencing Him with an open, honest heart. To change your mind and begin to look at your opinions more objectively is a powerful tool for growth that Jesus called “repenting.”

Efforts don’t always equal results; some results come with little effort

My life’s been full of tremendous efforts with little results and no-efforts with tremendous results. Jesus, replace my presumption with humility, my self-promotion with service to others, and my worry with trust in You.

Life is more than hard work and unaided self-effort. Everyday is unearned — an undeserved gift. When you can’t see hope, search for it. It’s inside of you, somewhere.

What’s happening in your mind, your heart, your inner being, is more important than your circumstances. Win within! Fresh insight is often frightening because it can be very disruptive of the security of our own opinions.

Holding angry, hostile opinions can make your mind and heart opaque. Let Christ’s light shine inside you. Life’s greatest mysteries can’t be explained logically; they require the language of the heart. Even Jesus used parables.

Jesus knows the things about you that you don’t want anyone else to know, yet still reaches out to you with mercy and forgiveness. Experiencing God’s love doesn’t make your flaws disappear from your awareness. It makes your sins disappear from your life.

Some impulses are helpful; some are harmful. It’s good to distinguish the difference before you act on them.

Evidence of the supernatural abounds. Unfortunately, hyper-rationality believes that it has explained the miraculous away.

Some people ignore Jesus because they say He is mystical. But all that we see is mystical — electrons orbiting empty space at the speed of life, pretending to be solid and tangible. We lovingly interact with our pets. We don’t dissect them. Why not lovingly interact with Jesus and not theologically dissect Him?

Creating a healthy mental atmosphere within

There are thoughts that will infect your psyche with abusive pain. Quarantine them. Force them out and forbid future entry! Too many people allow people who don’t know what they’ve talking about, to tell them what to think.

Some thoughts are like viruses — destructive, anxiety-infusing, pain-inflicting, contagious. Frequently wash your mind of them.

The thoughts and pictures that you allow to stream inside you, gradually mold your desires and behaviors into their likeness.

All people have both helpful and harmful things inside them that they are unaware of. Few are curious enough to explore their own heart and mind.

Your future isn’t a blank sheet; much of it’s been shaped by what you’ve done, thought, said, and believed in the past and present.

To close your heart to people is to commit yourself to misunderstanding them. Heart-change is more difficult than behavior-change and often requires supernatural help.

Replace my presumption with humility . . .

Pride makes truth harder to find and honesty harder to express, because our self-interest and self-protection keep getting in our way. For people who value their own opinions more than truth, any statement that disagrees with them is fake news. Jesus, replace my presumption with humility, my self-promotion with service to others, and my worry with trust in You.

The reason we need revelation: Reason only explains to the mind’s satisfaction but revelation exposes the heart’s dissatisfaction and pride. Revelation is the opposite of pride and denial.

If Jesus Christ isn’t actively working in and thru you on a daily basis, then perhaps you only have a head knowledge of Him.

Mystery, mysticism, miracles, and manifestations or the risen Jesus, happen a lot, but are often missed because of closed hearts. Biblical Christianity flows from the inside out. It was never intended to work from the outside in. If Christians were trained to interact with and obey the risen Jesus, we’d never be home alone, but always enjoying His presence.

The most powerful event in my life happened in a moment (like a flash of light) when suddenly I perceived Jesus to be alive and present.

Dishonesty impacts reality like a child playing peekaboo. You’d think people would outgrow it. It’s really hard to understand what you don’t want to know.

Jesus is my inner engine, not my outward religion

When things in your life shut down, open up to the risen Jesus. It’s always a great time to connect with the risen Jesus and to learn to hear and obey His voice. If there’s no outpouring of Christ from your heart, perhaps there has yet to be an inpouring.

Your life is a gift of grace–undeserved and unearned. You’re free to use it well or mess it up–to improve it or to abuse it. Talking to yourself (directing your thoughts) is a key to inner health. Continually coach yourself to joy and peace, not to misery.

The living Jesus seldom seems real to those who have spiritually self-quarantined themselves. When you let intimacy with the risen Jesus take over your inner life, you’ll never be content with just outward religion. Historically, biblical Christianity has often grown the most when institutional churches have been shut down. Jesus told His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” He didn’t say, “Go to church and listen to preaching.”

Jesus builds His body (ekklesia) on the rock of revelatory heart-connection, not on the rift of religion. Jesus is my inner engine, not my outward religion

Dear Jesus, give courage and hope to all who are worried, and comfort and strength to all who are suffering or grieving.

Jesus says that the Holy Spirit flows “out of your innermost being,” not out of the teaching of religious leaders or institutions.

Distraction-distancing opens life up to the things that really matter.

Many people are unaware of their own inner story, the condition of their heart, because they’ve never taken an internal inventory. It’s easy to toil and search for things and substances to give us what can only be found in our heart — peace, joy, love, hope.

Distractions separate us from self, from the awareness of what’s going on inside us. They hide the workings of our heart in haze. Second-hand beliefs (learned from others) are only borrowed, yet they often prevent us from discovering what we truly believe.

When distractions are more important than purpose, life becomes a stampede thru sugar coated meaninglessness. When something doesn’t really matter, too many people give a drama about it. However, when distractions are deleted, much can be completed.

Distraction-distancing opens life up to the things that really matter. If you’ll stay six feet away from your bad habits and addictions, you’ll stop them. This is called “recovery distancing.”

Memory looks backwards. Imagination looks forward. Focus them both on what builds you up and fills you with joy, peace, love & hope.

Perhaps hijacked thinking, that merely goes with a crowd, really isn’t thinking at all. Uplifting wisdom leads to a much better quality of life than compelling distractions do. Find wisdom thru open-hearted Bible reading.

The human heart isn’t a waiting room between Heaven and Hell. It’s a spiritual battlefield where evil attacks to overcome good.

Sometimes life distracts us from our daily schedule to reorient us to what really matters. Distractions have a strange attraction that causes spiritual inaction and keeps us from personal interaction with the living Jesus.

To avoid wasting time: Think of practical ways you can make your life better, rank them by effectiveness, and then start working on number one.

Happy Sunday! Are you ready for “church online”?

Peacemaker, peacemaker, we need you (not so much for bullies)

If peacemakers were honored with the same devotion and passion as war heroes are, the world would be a different place. Perhaps countries need a Tomb of the Unknown Peacemaker. Jesus forgave those who treated Him violently, but He praised the peacemakers.

Peacemakers speak the truth with love, and humility. Neither peacemakers nor bullies always accomplish their goals, but when peacemakers fall short, they don’t leave a wake of hate. Fear makes bullies, courage creates peacemakers.

Bullies use intimidation and hostility to relate to others. Peacemakers use kindness and compassion. Bullies can force compliance, but peacemakers create cooperation. Since the world is full of human caused trouble, there must be more troublemakers than peacemakers.

Anybody can escalate conflict by stoking it with anger and insults. Peacemakers choose to extinguish it. As long as people’s hearts are armed and prepared to harm others, they will find or make weapons. Peacemakers disarm hearts.

A sincere smile is an amazing peacemaker. It’s hard to be hostile to someone who is wearing a heart-felt smile.

Peacemakers don’t disrespect, insult, or intimidate people who disagree with them. They don’t let people provoke them to anger. Instead, peacemakers prompt people into peace.

Peacemakers don’t support, engage in, or deny the existence of injustice, but speak out and seek peaceful ways to alleviate it. They believe that people who do or promote injustice are deceived and don’t see clearly, so peace makers confront them with both truth and compassion.

If you reject the feeling of being insulted, there’s no insult. Peacemakers may disagree with people, but they refuse to be hurt or insulted by what people say.

Peacemaking requires great courage. Often in a disagreement, both sides attack and try to silence the peacemaker who tries to help them end their conflict.

It’s hard to be a peacemaker if you’re inwardly full of anxiety. Peacemaking begins within.

Love does not approve of wrongdoing. Instead, it offers healing, redemption, and restoration.

Peace makers need open hearts. However, if you won’t look honestly at your own heart, how can you open it up for anyone else to see? Unfortunately, we are often more interested in what makes us feel better than we are in knowing the truth.

A peacemaking thoughts: Many people falsely believe that hostility is the only answer to hostility. All humans are deceived to some degree about various things. None of us is 100% right about what we believe is true. If we human beings would seek for and submit to truth, we would be united, but self-interest and self-protection prohibit that. Misdeeds that you conceal, clog your conscience. Those you reveal, help it heal. “Confess your faults one to another.” -James 5:16

Coexistence is fine. Cooperation is better. Heart-felt kindness is best.

Fear often causes people to violate their conscience and do what they know is wrong. Peacemaking helps heal their conscience, remove their fears, and turn their heart to what is right. People with no fear can’t be made to do anything against their will.

The early Christ-followers were the world’s most amazing peacemakers. Search for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.

[image error]Jesus wants His peace to flow out of your innermost being like rivers of living water.

God can’t be quarantined

The craziest quarantine is the attempt to quarantine God to church services and church buildings. When you attempt to isolate God, you isolate yourself.

God can’t be quarantined. Jesus made the way for you to go God-direct.

Thoughts about superficiality

Superficial Christianity is artificial. Christianity isn’t an institution. It’s a transformed life and a heart passionately in love with the risen Jesus.

Passive listening to a weekly message tends to promote heart-distancing. Open, Spirit-led sharing connects people heart-to-heart.

Much disagreement comes from superficial thinking, but Christ, living in you, will release clear, supernatural thinking. If you won’t take control of your inner self, your thought life, you will be caught in whatever currents flow by.

Modern Christianity seems to have a much greater focus on the superficial than on the sacrificial. The size of your heart is much more important to your net worth than your financial portfolio is.

Too often, what we call self-fulfilment is self-delusion. Instead of satisfying self, we flood self with meaningless distractions. You can’t get any insight from ideas and/or information that you refuse to acknowledge.

Ekklesia (the body of Christ) is love and kindness that flows from Christ in you. It can be expressed very well online. Christianity isn’t an organization. It’s Spirit-led discipleship.