Steve Simms's Blog, page 238
November 13, 2019
When Jesus is in the present tense, there’s no need to be tense
When you begin to experience Jesus in the present tense, you won’t be so tense! To learn about Jesus is good, but it can’t compare to experiencing Him. Jesus is talking. His sheep hear His voice.
I believe in Jesus like I believe in gravity. Although I can’t see Him with my physical eyes, I continually feel His pull!
When worshipping Jesus captivates you, worship becomes 24/7/365! The kingdom of God comes when people gather to hear and do what Jesus says.
Anyone or anything that is between you and the risen Jesus, is out of place. When someone experiences the actual presence of Jesus, they are in awe, deeply moved, even stunned! We need Jesus, not religion.
The Pharisees focused on religious behaviors, but let their heart get hard. Jesus called them, “the blind leading the blind.” The witness of the Spirit — how we need to hear it! (See Romans 8:16.) Hearing a sermon is far different than hearing the living Jesus speak directly to your heart. Man-led religion can’t compare to a Spirit-led relationship with Jesus! A lifetime, Jesus trip is so much better than a religious script! (Search: The Joy Of Early Christianity book.)
I believe in
The water parter,
The Red Sea,
The Jordan River.
When there's no way,
He's the way maker.
November 9, 2019
2 thoughts & some verse about blaming & unkindness
You don’t have to approve of things you disagree with and you don’t have to be unkind either. Instead, be honest yet compassionate.
Unkind words
Go in circles.
They return and
Bring unkindness
To the one
Who spoke them.
It's easy to be
A Pharisee,
To see wrong in others
But miss it in me.
It's easy to be
A Sadducee,
To use religion
But deny it's reality.
If you take the blame,
You can change your game.
If you pass it on,
You're hope is gone.
Blaming others is much easier than improving yourself (but it really doesn’t help much).
People say, "Follow your heart."
The Bible says,
"The heart is desperately wicked."
To avoid wickedness,
Follow the Holy Spirit instead.
Internal Christianity spontaneously flows . . .
There’s nothing like internal Christianity that spontaneously flows from the heart with rivers of love, joy, and peace! “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit.” God’s Spirit speaks intuitively within us. Listen!
Directional confusion: Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will flow “out of your innermost being,” not “into you.” For electricity to flow it needs an exit point. Same with the Holy Spirit. Open your spirit and let Him flow!
A hard heart quenches the flow of the Holy Spirit. Dare to open up and let God rewire your wounded heart! Instead of trying to “find yourself,” come out of hiding, surrender to the living Jesus, and let Him find you.
The Bible says, “Behold (focus on) the Lamb of God.” It never says to focus on a preacher. The message of Christianity isn’t come to church. It’s surrender the control of your life to the risen Jesus.
Lecture me
And I forget.
Train me to
Listen to,
Follow and obey
The risen Jesus
And I'm transformed!
November 5, 2019
When desires determine ethics
Your desires are not definitive of who you are, or determinant of your destiny, until you begin to obey them. Resist ungodly ones.
When our desires determine our ethics, right is soon replaced with wrong and often we no longer hear our conscience correcting us. Ignoring your conscience is dangerous. Violating it produces ongoing feelings of guilt.
Self-focus will crowd God out of your life. “Deny yourself,” and make room for Jesus!
Being ruled by your own desires is devastating; by rules is exhausting: but by Christ in you, is joyously freeing. When you ignore your conscience, you quench the Holy Spirit. The Bible says not to do that.
When you identify yourself by God’s desires for you and not by your own desires, the fruit of the Holy Spirit will manifest in you. People who don’t think they need mercy are offended by Christ’s offer of repentance and forgiveness.
What you are (deep down inside) is much more important that what you own or how you look. Integrity is the greatest wealth. Most of the problems with government, come from corruption in the hearts of those who run it. The best government is to let your heart and life be governed by the kingdom of God.
Search Amazon for: The Joy Of Early Christianity
When Christianity’s no fun, an hour a week is enough; when it is fun, 24/7/365 isn’t!
People don’t need more explanation of Christianity, but more demonstration of it. Christians need supernatural encounters with the risen Jesus, more than logical answers to theological questions. You have to wait till Sunday morning to hear your preacher live and in person, but Jesus is available 24/7/365!
Biblical Christianity is about mystery. (“Great is the mystery of godliness.”) It’s not about having all the answers. Jesus didn’t die to answer your questions, but to brighten your perceptions of His presence. Behold Him! If Christ is with us when we gather in His name, maybe we could take the time to encounter, experience, and interact with Him.
When you make room in your heart for appreciation, awe, wonder, mystery, and mysticism, experiencing God will become your norm! Christ in you is as powerful as Christ in any other human being. You don’t have to go thru a minister to experience His power.
When I read the Bible, I see Christianity as being much more alive, powerful, and Spirit-led than Christianity as presented today. Be careful not to let attending a religious service be a substitute for daily, spontaneous interaction with the living Jesus. When Christianity’s no fun, an hour a week is enough; when it is fun, 24/7/365 isn’t! Jesus said that His joy will be in His followers. Boring Christianity is an oxymoron.
When Jesus said, “Whenever you gather in My name,” did He intend for us to gather around a preacher-talk? Early Christianity wasn’t about a weekly preacher-talk, but a daily walk with the risen Jesus! Preacher-talks without Christ-encounters are what the Bible calls: “Having a form of godliness, but denying its power.” Are you hearing and obeying the risen Jesus better after the sermon’s over and you’ve left the building? Listening to people is more powerful than just lecturing them.
The Bible is an amazing Whistleblower. It brings to light the evil in my own heart and calls me to live a godly lifestyle. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate Whistleblower. He lives in my heart, convicts me of my sin, and empowers me to turn away from it.
Biblical insight will change your plight. Read the Bible daily, with an open heart, and see. I believe the Bible because when I read it, it burns in my heart, changes my life, and connects me with the risen Jesus!
Everybody’s experienced suffering thru someone or some situation. We all have emotional sores and scars. Speak truth with love. Rivers of living water will flow, if you make room for Jesus to connect your heart with Himself and with other people.
Search Amazon for: The Joy Of Early Christianity book.
November 3, 2019
Pondering mental health
Your mental health is influenced by the thoughts you think. Improving the quality of your daily thinking will improve your mental health.
There are thoughts that are troubling to think, and scenes that are stressful to see. Mental health requires monitoring your mind. Much of our emotional pain is self-produced and comes from the mismanagement of our mind and from harmful thought patterns.
Mental health isn’t magic. It’s developed and maintained by continually improving the contents in your mind.
Your thinking has a bigger impact on your feelings than your circumstances do. Things seem better when your thinking is brighter.
If you won’t work to control, care for, and corral your thinking, you may find yourself being like a rancher who carelessly neglects his cattle. For wilderness survival you have to know what’s dangerous to eat; for mental health, what’s dangerous to allow in your mind. Promoting and watching fear and horror probably isn’t good for your mental health.
If you protect your computer and phone, why not also protect your mind from harmful downloads? Reject seductive media! An wide-open mind is dangerous. Open your mind to the good and wholesome, but close it to the unkind, discouraging, and profane.
Your mental health care begins with you. Daily monitor, care for, and improve your thoughts. What you are (deep down inside) is much more important that what you own or how you look. Integrity is the greatest wealth.
Your desires are not definitive of who you are, or determinant of your destiny, until you begin to obey them. Resist ungodly ones. When you continually identify yourself by God’s desires for you and not by your own desires, the fruit of the Holy Spirit will manifest in you. When our desires determine our ethics, right is soon replaced with wrong and often we no longer hear our conscience correcting us.
Conservative or Progressive Jesus?
Conservatively follow the risen Jesus, by holding on to and demonstrating His love to all. Progressively follow the risen Jesus, no matter what the culture says. Make progress obeying Him.
Church-focus should never eclipse Christ-focus. A service about God isn’t the same thing as surrender to God.
“Where do you read the Bible?” may be a better question than “Where do you go to church?” Jesus isn’t a subject to be lectured about. He is Almighty God and He wants to live in and thru 24/7/365.
