Steve Simms's Blog, page 234

See Jesus, hear Jesus, speak Jesus! Go beyond denial.

Too many Christians live by: “See not Jesus, hear not Jesus, speak not Jesus.” If you are unaware of “Christ in you,” perhaps He’s not. Being unaware of the presence of the risen Jesus, is like being in a spiritual coma. Perhaps instead of more preaching, Christians need greater awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus.

It’s easy to go through the motions of religion and to be unaware that we are unaware of the living presence of Jesus Christ. However, Scripture says, Behold the Lamb of God,” — be aware of His presence. Jesus is continually trying to break through our unawareness of His presence. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

If Christ has risen and is present when we gather in His name, there’s no reason to be unaware of His presence. To live, unaware of the presence of Jesus Christ, is to live in practical denial of His resurrection. The measure of church is its fruit. How effective is it at creating committed & obedient followers of the living Jesus?

Perhaps we should pray, “Jesus, if You’re really risen from the dead and present in the 21st century, make me truly aware of You.” Why not try it?

When we sin and refuse to confess and repent, our sin blocks our awareness of the presence of the risen Jesus. What we refuse to acknowledge and confess to God, will continually torment us from within. Denial can’t erase our guilt. Medicating it only temporarily dulls it. However, our confession and God’s forgiveness, removes it.

You clean your conscience by humble, honest confession, not by self-justification. Disagree with people but don’t disrespect or disdain them.

"Walk in the Spirit" with continual awareness of the living Jesus

To “walk in the Spirit” is to maintain continual awareness of the risen Jesus. The first step toward Christian growth is awareness of the risen Jesus. The second is obedience to Him.

I love to maintain awareness of the living Jesus through out the day. It’s such an exciting way to live! Continual awareness of the risen Jesus is the most amazing experience of my life! These things help me maintain that awareness:

Reading the Bible with an open heart awakens my awareness of the presence of Christ. I love how it connects me with Him!Praying with one or more people, in a free-flowing, heart-felt, Spirit-led way, makes me deeply aware of the risen Jesus.Singing worship songs from my heart, directly to the risen Jesus, intensifies my awareness of His presence. I continually try to avoid any thoughts, words, or behaviors that diminish my inner awareness of the living Jesus Christ.Obeying the Holy Spirit’s inner promptings (and asking for forgiveness when I disobey) makes Jesus more and more real to me! Praying in tongues through out the day makes me intensely aware of the living Jesus and His presence.

It requires training and effort to learn to keep your focus on the presence of Jesus, but it’s a wonderful habit to develop. Since Christ works inside of us, to be aware of Him, we must be aware of what He is saying and doing in our individual heart.

If you are unaware of the risen Jesus, you’ll fail to observe Him in action, even when He’s working in your own heart and life. However, when you becomes acutely aware of the presence of resurrected Jesus, everything changes for the better.

To grow in your awareness of the risen Jesus, is to experience ever increasing amazement, awe, and glory. To be unaware of the presence of the living Jesus, is to miss out on the reality of Immanuel, “God with us.”

When Christians meet to be aware of and focus on the presence of Jesus, God’s light shines within and among them. Without inner awareness of God, religion is just an outward form.

Football players celebrate in their struggles, Christians can, too.

Early Christians, like football players, knew how to find joy in the middle of struggles and pain. They knew how to celebrate! Sometimes God just wants us to get our ego, our traditions, and our stuff out of His way and celebrate His glory.

When we refuse to daily rely on the risen Jesus, we deny His reality and treat Him like a religious myth. Relying on the risen Jesus, means continually shifting from self-reliance to self-surrender. Jesus never said, “Accept Me as your Savior.” He said, “Follow Me.” (Search for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.)

New stuff without a new you leads you to the same place the old stuff led you. Make a new you, your first priority. Seek first God’s kingdom — His government ruling over your life.

Biblical Christianity isn’t an annually repeating church calendar. It presses forward to fresh experiences with the risen Jesus. It doesn’t miss the reason for the season and walk away Christ-less after Christmas (or other religious holidays).

God’s house has arms and legs, not bricks and mortar. Christ wants to live in and thru you, not in a religious building.

God led Joseph and Mary into Egypt for asylum. Perhaps God is leading many people into America for the same reason.

Christmas best list . . .

I love to daily live in the Noel of Emmanuel — God with us — as reality, not religion! Here are some of my Christmas bests:

The best Christmas advice — “Wise men still seek Him.”

The best Christmas tree — the old rugged cross where Christ laid down His life for you & me.

The best Christmas light display — the risen Jesus, who is the Light of the world.

The best Christmas gift — Immanuel, “God with us.” Unwrap God’s presence. “Quench not the Spirit.”

The best Christmas verse — “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish . . .”

The best Christmas activity — “Come unto Me, all you who are weary & heavy laden.”

The best Christmas drinks — the Holy Spirit’s new wine & His living water.

The best Christmas merriment — “the joy of the Lord” — “joy unspeakable & full of glory.”

The best Christmas treat — “O, taste and see that the Lord is good.”

The best gift exchange — surrendering our sin & guilt for Christ’s forgiveness and freedom! “He shall save His people from their sins.”

Best Christmas message — Follow Immanuel, “God with us,” wherever He leads you. Journey daily with Jesus.

Because of Immanuel, God is with us, and therefore, we don’t need to talk about Him like He’s not in the room. Instead, we can interact with Him daily.

For some practical ways you can experience Christ’s best, check out, The Joy Of Early Christianity, at this link.

You can (and need to) feed yourself spiritually

Infants are fed, but Christians need to be encouraged, trained, and allowed to feed themselves and not kept dependent on a talk. Feed yourself spiritually. I like to take the Bible straight, not filtered thru commentary, traditions, and opinions. Reading it with an open heart is powerful!

Biblical Christianity begins when we unwrap the risen Jesus from the boxes of religion and tradition and let Him be our Lord and Master. An unwrapped Jesus will do incredible things in your life!

Biblical Christianity is about experiencing and surrendering to ongoing Divine intervention. It’s not about our religious intention. All Christians should be experiencing inner manifestations of the risen Jesus Christ. Quench not the Spirit.

Jesus is called Immanuel, “God with us,” not just “God preached to us.” Lights sometime show you things you don’t want to see. Dare to open your spiritual eyes to God’s inner Light.

Unless we attempt or experience something beyond our ability, we have no need to rely on Jesus. Rely on Jesus, not on lies. Can you hear Him now?

Color-diversity and equality is a gift from God. To work against it is anti-Christian. Search: Off the RACE Track book.

Inside condition (How's yours?)

Biblical Christianity is about the risen Jesus, living inside and thru His followers, as their risen Lord and Master. It’s the process of daily following and obeying Jesus — the life-long experiment of discovering and embracing what makes you closer to Jesus while rejecting what separates you from Him. To make your life look good on the outside, while staying the same on the inside, isn’t biblical Christianity!

The most important government is the government that rules inside you. Is it the kingdom of God or the kingdom of self? “Christ in you” is a Christian doctrine, but when it becomes reality, everything changes.

Learning about Jesus from the outside, as religious info, is just a starting point. God’s goal is Jesus living in and thru you. If you are unaware of Jesus actually living His life inside of you, He may not be in there. Let Jesus be your inner animator, directing you from within. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

If Christ is in you, find Him inside and put Him on the throne to rule and reign within you; if not, let Him in! “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” It’s “joy unspeakable” to let the risen Jesus live in you!

Biblical Christianity isn’t about standing still spiritually. It’s about being continually changed “from glory to glory.” True progress brings you closer to where God wants you to be, not to where you want to be. However, if you sit and don’t move, you can begin to believe that your chains are jewelry.

It’s hard to hear God speak in your heart if you don’t listen for His voice. For many people, the voice of God is like a background noise that they have ignored so long, they no longer even notice it.

Self-deny or self-identify?

Christ-followers are called to seek the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of self — to self-deny, not to self-identify. Think outside the self-box. Serving others instead of self, rocks!

Self-focus shackles us to our own feelings and opinions and drags us away from the joys of serving others. Fear forces us into a defensive, self-focused, and self-protective mode. Love focuses us on kindness and compassion for others. Disagreement is an opportunity to show kindness, not a call to arms.

To extinguish your anguish, refuse to languish in fear and negativity. Instead continually nourish your mind with love and hope.

It’s easy to be like “whited sepulchers”—self-proclaiming that we’re clean, yet inside being “full of dead men’s bones.” Suppressed guilt always torments.

To express self-express sin and self-suppress guilt, brings torment. To resist sin and admit guilt, leads to forgiveness.

If you choose self-identity rather than your conscience and the wisdom within you, you’ll be overcome by the chaos around you. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Christianity’s about receiving God’s grace and then allowing, Christ in you, to empower you to obey His will, not your own. If we are not acutely aware of Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness, our self-focus will tend to hold back from opening up to His presence and leadings.

Access Jesus (is so much better than Access Hollywood)

You’re invited to spend today with the risen Jesus Christ. Jesus has no walls to keep us away from Him, but we often build walls to keep Him away from (or limit His access) to us. Jesus doesn’t just offer you permission to experience Him now and then. He offers you continual access to His presence and power.

Jesus tore down the wall of sin and guilt that keeps us apart from Him. Now He invites us to live in His presence and let Him live in us.

Jesus said: “I am the door.” No matter what you’re stuck in, unconditional surrender to the living Jesus is the way to freedom. When Jesus knocks on your door does He receive the message, “Access Denied”?

Modern Christianity tends to overestimate the value of religious meetings and underestimate the value of direct access to Jesus. Whatever hinders your direct access to the risen Jesus, is a major disadvantage in your life.

To have access to the Bible and not to read it is to miss out on the world’s all-time, best selling book. Prayer is the most accessible form of communication that exists, yet many people ignore it. We all have access to repentance and forgiveness, but many people choose to carry guilt instead.

Humility, brokenness, and repentance have far more access to God than pride, entitlement, and self-effort. Repentance is to open up and give the living Jesus all of your passwords — full access to your heart and your life. Pride tries to achieve access (authorized or unauthorized) to whatever it wants. Humility surrenders fully to God and His will.

Temptation is a hacker that continually tries to hack your heart and fill it with negativity, bondage, evil, and torment. Then it can hinder your access to God.

When access to God’s love, presence, and mercy is ignored, that access is denied, not by God, but by us. If you’re not interested in spending time with the risen Jesus on earth, you’d be unhappy in Heaven because it’s all about Jesus.

Guilt-free living is good health care. Avoid thinking and doing wrong. Every time you slip up, stop it and ask Jesus for forgiveness.

If you don’t give people access to your heart, you’ll feel alone, no matter how many people are around you. Open your heart to Jesus and to other people. I have a book that can help you with that at this link.

Reality Christianity — more than a "form of godliness"

Reality Christianity presents Jesus as real, present, active, and powerful in the now (not just in the past). Reality Christianity isn’t a program or presentation. It’s to obey Jesus’ words: “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me.”

The Bible says that “having a form of godliness” isn’t enough. It needs to be accompanied by the power of God. (2 Timothy 3:5) Reality Christianity lets you open your heart, be honest, and humbly receive help and healing from the living Jesus.

You can’t rig reality; maybe religion should remove any rigging and create a supportive environment where people can be open and real. Reality Christianity–it’s not something you watch on Sundays–it’s something you’re called to live out every moment of everyday. I’m continually thrilled by reality Christianity.

When church is staged, Christ is caged. (Much church is staged and scripted.) Why not let Jesus be spontaneous and free? I think God would sometimes like to lead a church service by Himself instead of always having to depend on a preacher to lead it.

When the risen Jesus becomes reality to you (not theory), your heart will be continually on fire. If we let go of the religious reins and let the risen Jesus, Himself, reign in church meetings, the book of Acts will begin to happen in our midst.

Hearing a talk about Jesus can never convey His reality the way that personally interacting with Him can. It’s easy for a group to sit through a religious program, but when they begin to collectively follow Jesus, Heaven starts to manifest.

“Reality TV show” is an oxymoron. If it’s a show, it’s not reality. If it’s reality, it’s not a show. Perhaps Christianity shouldn’t be presented as a show either.

Jesus said to let the Spirit give you words in the moment, without preparing ahead of time. “And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take you no thought how or what thing you shall answer, or what you shall say: For the Holy Spirit shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:12. If Christ-followers aren’t supposed to prepare before we speak to synagogues and government leaders, why do we obsess so much about preparing programs & sermons for church services?

For more about reality Christianity, Search Amazon for my book, The Joy Of Early Christianity. Thank you.

Make your feelings obey your mind

Feelings, like fog, can hide many facts. It takes focus and patience to see beyond the haze of foggy feelings. It’s easy to follow feelings and forgo facts, however, in reality, feelings are often nothing more than emotional illusions.

Some people say that feelings can’t be controlled. Of course they can. You’ve overcome and/or refused to act out many feelings. The idea that feelings aren’t controllable is a myth that makes many people miserable. You can train yourself to act contrary to your feelings. You have free will, not feeling dictated will.

If you always do what you feel, you’ll be like a truck wheel — continually going round and round while carrying a heavy load. Letting your feelings tell you what to think and do, guarantees a life of instability.

Feelings are fickle. They’re frequently false and often lead us into self-destructive behaviors. The follow your feelings mentality usually leads straight to a slow downward spiral. Logic and honest reasoning can avoid deception much more effectively than trusting your feelings can.

Feelings aren’t final and often misrepresent and distort reality. Following false feelings creates much pain and misery. As humans, we can let our thoughts follow our feelings, or we can train our feelings to follow our thoughts.

Feelings can sneak up on you, but you don’t have to welcome bad ones. Instead, you have the inner right to resist and refute them! Sort thru your feelings. Nurture the positive, healthy ones. Begin to resist and root out the negative, harmful ones. Sometimes it’s good to hurt your own feelings by refusing to act on negative or destructive ones. Don’t spare your feelings. Repair them and make them align with wisdom.

True love goes way beyond feelings. It’s based on commitment and kindness, not on mere emotion. It’s good to feel love, but Christ-followers are called to show and share love whether we feel it or not.

Anger is a feeling that provokes people into letting their mouth (or keypad) work faster than their brain. Kindness communicates with compassion.

The option to smile is always available (no matter how you feel). You can even choose smiling when you feel sad. Try it. It might make you feel better.

To feel that wrong is right, is like feeling that down is up. Both are deception. All feelings are not created equal. Use self-control. Cultivate the helpful ones, work to eliminate the harmful ones.

Align your feelings with your conscience, not your conscience with your feelings. Don’t do it if your conscience says “no,” no matter how good it may feel. When you feel a desire to do something wrong, that’s temptation. When you do it, that’s wrongdoing.

Some feelings should never be welcomed, expressed or obeyed. The Bible says: “Guard your heart.” The living Jesus can give you the power to drive out tormenting or destructive feelings. Give Him a chance!

Our culture calls us to follow our feelings. Christ calls us to follow Him and His will. Feelings change — the living Jesus doesn’t. Follow Him. The living Jesus changes people from the inside out — from character, thoughts, and feelings, to words and actions. Whatever you delight in, you invite into your life.

I’ve been changed by Jesus & I’ve seen too many other people changed by Him to ever doubt His reality and His power. If you truly change your perspective, you’re feelings will change. The Bible calls that repentance. For a great change in perspective, search for: The Joy Of Early Christianity.