Steve Simms's Blog, page 24

My Definition of Fun

5 things I do for fun:

Smile: I don’t wait until I’m having fun to smile. Smiling itself is fun. Consume hope: I search for and devour positive, hope-filled media.Absorb nature: I stroll and ponder its beauty, inspiration, and glory. Be kind: I interact heart-to-heart with people as I show them kindness.Surrender to God’s grace: I walk and talk with the risen Jesus through the grace that he purchased for me by His blood.

Grace gives
All the glory,
All the credit,
All the merit,
For ever and ever
To Jesus!

Grace is released according to God’s power “that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20) It is unmerited access to a personal relationship of ongoing alignment with God through the risen Jesus.

Grace isn’t a one-time transactional prayer that’s prayed to God so that we can be excused for our behaviors and protected from their consequences. It’s not a powerless “form of godliness.” (2 Timothy 3:5) It freely empowers us to live by God’s will instead of by our own will.

The grace of God
Doesn’t justify
Or defend our sin.
It changes us
From deep within!

Trying to justify and defend our sin “falls short of the grace of God.” (Hebrews 12:15) Anyone who thinks that he deserves God’s grace doesn’t understand it. The kingdom of God is no meritocracy. Only one human has ever deserved access to God the Father–that is Jesus the God-man.

To live in God’s grace, we have to let go of our self-righteous pride and deceptive belief that we deserve God’s favor, so that we can humbly admit the truth that we are completely undeserving of His grace. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Grace and truth go together. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17) Let the grace and truth purchased by the blood of Jesus continually overflow from deep within you. (Colossians 1:6)

We humans need “the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness” (not a little dab) so that we can reign in life (not just in Heaven) through radical surrender and total submission to the presence, authority, and will of Jesus Christ living in and through us. (Romans 5:17) “For if by the trespass of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.”

Grace and sin don’t mix! “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2) Grace requires for a person “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” (Romans 12:3)

Grace produces work! “But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Be aligned with Christ, not alienated from Him! “You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

Grace is given by the working of God’s power. Let His power freely and continually work within you to keep you charged with His presence and make you into a servant. “I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.” (Ephesians 3:7)

One Thing to Learn from the Master

Daily writing promptIf you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?View all responses

Dare to have a long unscripted conversation with God. Let Him show you one thing that will make your life better. You’ll be glad you did!

God’s plans, not mine;
Let me align
With His will
And be a branch
On Christ’s vine
Overflowing
With new wine
So I can live
By His design,
Not mine,
And Christ in me
Can be my hope,
My powerline,
And my future.

Let Christ wake up
Your conscience
And empower
You to live up
To His plans.

True Christianity’s
About Christ on the scene
Leading with His presence,
Not religious routine,
A sage up on a stage,
Or a man on a screen.

It’s bad to be mean spirited. Be Christ-spirited instead. “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you.” Lord, help me jump wholeheartedly into your will! When deceiving and insulting become popular the foundations of society crumble. How we all need to be trained by God!

Christianity has pulled the wool over the eyes of God’s sheep and put them in tightly controlled sheep pens where they can’t see that they all carry the power and presence of the Lion of the tribe of Judah within them (“Christ in you, the hope of glory,”). They’re blinded to the fact that they are all called and all empowered to continually demonstrate and proclaim Christ’s presence and reality. Christian leaders, please let God’s sheep out their religious pens!

Who will let God’s sheep out? Who? Who?

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My New Name (Takes Me Off Script)

“To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name. known only to the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17) “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” (Romans 8:14) Jesus calls to me in an inner place far beyond mere words and prompts me to follow the unscripted leading of His Spirit as a child of God.

“Wherever two or three (or more) gather” to “hear what the Spirit is saying,” and to all “be led by the Spirit,” Jesus begins to function as the living Head of His body. He prompts and nudges people by their intimate new name. To grow strong in the Lord regularly meet with some Jesus-lovers and follow the unscripted leading of the Spirit.

Experience Unscripted Christianity

Say what the Spirit is saying.
Do what the Spirit is doing.
Live out the living Word of God
As it comes from the mouth of God.
Let Christ engrave it on your heart
And display it in your actions
Making you a wellspring of
His living water.

I Dream of Unprogrammed, Unscripted Moments in Church

Perhaps it’s not enough to gather to only hear the word of God. Perhaps Christians also need to gather to say and do the word of God as the Spirit prompts them. (James 1:22 & Romans 8:14)

Is there a church service anywhere that will allow even one unprogrammed moment? Can Christians get off the Sunday morning script for at least a quick breath of the experiential reality of Holy Spirit’s presence? When I was a teenager attending a Presbyterian church, they did allow a spontaneous moment. It was a tiny period of silent prayer. We were permitted (for thirty seconds or so) to mentally pray our own prayers (and think our own thoughts) instead of just being trapped in the rigidity of routine religion.

A church service that allows unscripted moments is very hard to find. I love to gather with Christians to all “draw near to God” (James 4:8) without a program. A beautiful thing begins to happen. Together we begin to see, hear, and experience the Holy Spirit directly taking the lead and we realize that “This is that spoken of,” in the Bible.” (Acts 2:16)

When Peter preached in the Bible he made the declaration, “This is that spoken by the prophet Joel,” as he explained the unprogrammed energy, power, and excitement that was overflowing from the gathered Christ-followers. Nowadays preachers act like that was that, and that now Christians are supposed to gather not to make Spirit-led biblical declarations, but merely to listen to their sermon.

Is this that? (See Acts 2:16.) I don’t believe that this that we call church attendance is the same thing as that relationship with the risen Jesus that the first Christians had. What JD described is much closer to biblical experience than just passively hearing the Word.

God gives us fresh fruit but by the time people get through with it we’ve often turned it into a can of fruit cocktail. God gives us His Spirit, but we too often replace the Spirit with programmed religion.

The Best Leader

The greatest nation on earth is the kingdom of God. It always has been and always will be great. Everyone is invited to become a citizen of this eternally great nation by fully surrendering their heart and life to the direct authority, Lordship, and Headship of King Jesus. Its patriots love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who mistreat them. (Luke 6:27-28)

The nation whose God is the Lord is called the kingdom of God. Its citizens are “from every nation, tribe, people and language.” (Revelation 7:9) God has rescued them from the dominion of darkness and brought “into the kingdom of the Son He loves.” (Colossians 1:13) They are empowered by the Holy Spirit to “say Jesus is Lord,” (1 Corinthians 12:3) and to demonstrate His power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4) They “worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3 NKJ) They rely on the Lord as they “wait in hope,” for Him. (Psalm 33:20) They rejoice with “inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)

When people gather to let Christ be the literal Head, Jesus takes the wheel and begins to steer the meeting by nudging and prompting people. That’s the setting where people can learn to hear and obey the risen King of Kings and to actually be the Spirit-led body of Christ.

Human nations rise and fall but the kingdom of God never needs to be made great again. It’s always great! “Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.” (Psalm 145:3)

Jesus consistently proclaimed the kingdom of God. He once used the ancient Greek’s name for their town hall meeting (where any citizen present could speak up) to describe what He was building — “ekklesia.” However, over time the kingdom (direct government) of God was replaced by institutionalized church, formalized traditions, and religious programs.

If the kingdom of God isn’t the only ruler of your heart you’re trusting in the wrong nation. Jesus first! Refuse to live a life distracted by human kingdoms and earthly concerns. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” (Matthew 6:33)

“If you have not chosen the kingdom of God, it will make in the end no difference what you have chosen instead.” –William Law

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Let’s Uninvent Distractions

Prompt me, Jesus,
Nudge me, Lord.
Help me obey
So I can live
In one accord
With Your will.

A nudge from God
Is a lightning rod.
It's His wake-up call
To change your behavior
And follow the Savior.

Let God's nudges
Direct your choices.
Reject the voices
That try to silence them.
Let God nudge you
Here and there
And lead you
Everywhere
He wants you to go.

God has a way of nudging you when He wants you to do something. Obey what His inner guidance is nudging you to do or say. A nudge from God is an invitation for you to experience a demonstration of His presence and reality. Step out of the comfort and false security of your own desires, feelings, and opinions let the current of His Spirit lead and direct you from deep within.

God nudges toward truth (“I am the way, the truth, and the life,”), toward humility (“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble,”), toward love (“Love your enemies,”), toward peace (My peace I give unto you,”), and toward hope (“Christ in you the hope of glory,).

People pay less attention to God than they think they do. It pays to notice and obey His inner nudges.

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Christian Self-Help Makes Me Feel Loved

There’s so much self-help for a Christian to do:

“Repent.”
“Fight the good fight of faith.”
“Resist the devil.”
“Draw near to God.”
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
“Press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling God in Christ Jesus.”
Bring “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
“Think on these things.”
“Put off” the old man and “put on” the new.
“Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you.”
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.”

Discipleship is Spirit-led self-help. It is empowered by and obedient to the risen Jesus — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Let what you do and say be prompted and guided by what Christ does and says inside of you and thus engage in Spirit-led self-help. To work as God intends for us to, we must make every effort to be led by His Spirit, not by our desires, by our emotions, or by our logic. Spirit-led self-help is supernaturally powerful!

Just because you believe Christ is safely tucked away in your heart doesn’t mean He’s actually in there. Seek to be absolutely certain that He is. If the 9 qualities of “the fruit of the Spirit” (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) aren’t steadily growing and increasing inside of you, then there’s a strong possibility that Jesus is on the outside of your heart looking in. (If you’ve kept Jesus out of your heart, then He’s not in you.)

Throughout each day prepare the way of the Lord so He can have His way with you. Continually cultivate your heart and make more and more room for the risen Jesus to plant and produce an ongoing harvest of His fruit within you. Wholeheartedly welcome Christ to make His home in you and strive to get out of His way so that He can take full control of your thoughts, feelings, desires, words, and behaviors.

Always break up any hardened ground in your heart. Throw out all the stones. Pull out all the weeds. Make the Lord’s path’s straight. Then you’ll know for certain that Christ is in you brightly shinning His majestic hope of glory on your lampstand for all to see.

Christ in you is not a religious belief, a parable, or a teaching. He’s the ultimate reality — the living hope of glory. If there’s nothing amazing happening in your heart, then Christ probably isn’t living and working in there. If Christ is living in you, you really don’t what to ignore and miss out on what He’s saying and doing in your heart. Make every effort to cultivate your awareness of His presence. (You can’t consciously interact with Jesus if you’re unaware of His presence.)

Christ doesn’t sneak into your heart when you’re not paying attention. He patiently knocks and waits for you to open the door. Work to keep all the doors in your heart wide open to the living Jesus.

If Christ is in you
And you find yourself bored,
It’s because you’ve ignored
The resurrected Lord.
If you lock your heart down,
You probably won’t even notice
When Christ is around.
Prepare the way for Jesus
Through Spirit-led self-help.

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I Unclutter My Rudder

I unclutter
My rudder
So I don’t sputter
Through my life
And fall in
A gutter.

I have fought
To be taught
By Jesus
So my every thought
Can be brought
To align
With His will.
I have sought
To let His words
Burn in my heart
So I can live caught
By His presence,
Power and love.
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

A cluttered rudder is a terrible router and a dangerous guide. Cut the clutter around your rudder. Let God form and shape and mold and make your heart to be like Jesus.

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The Dove is a Symbol of Hope and Peace

Daily writing promptWhat is your favorite animal?View all responses

The dove is a symbol of hope, purity, and the tenderness of God’s love. A dove with an olive branch represents peace. When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, He came in the form of a dove. To quench the Holy Spirit is to chase away the dove of God, to disrupt His peace, and to abandon the awareness of His presence.

Every person you will ever see was made by God — a masterpiece of art created in His image. (You are, too). Look beyond the flaws of fallen human nature. Search for and appreciate the beauty and splendor in everyone (including you). It can be hard to find, but it’s always there somewhere, oftentimes buried deep within and crusted over with sin.

Jesus came (lived, was crucified, died and rose again) to restore God’s perfect art in every human heart so that His Spirit can live within and be the hope of godly glory. Christ says, “Come unto Me all you who are weary.” Let Him restore you to what God created you to be.

Quench not the Spirit.
Let the Dove
Of Christ’s light
Shine ever bright
Within your heart
And give you
Constant insight
And revelation
Of what you’re called
To be in Him.

When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, He came in the form of a dove. The dove is a symbol of hope, purity, and the tenderness of God’s love. A dove with an olive branch represents peace.

To quench the Holy Spirit is to chase away the dove of God, to disrupt His peace, and to ignore His presence that restores His image in you. Continually welcome and cultivate the awareness that you all the people you will ever encounter are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Make your life
A real adventure.
Refuse to be
A Spirit-quencher.
Dare to venture
Wherever God leads.

Let the risen Jesus be the author and editor of your life. He’s much better at it than you are.

Bearing My Heart to Communicate Online

Bare your heart to the risen Jesus (not barely, but wholeheartedly) so He can abundantly bear the fruit of His Spirit in and thru your life. Let Him continually remind you, “If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” Die to your own desires so that you can overflow with beautiful fruit for Christ’s glory and thus demonstrate that you are His disciple.

To get going
With the fruit
Of the Spirit
Get rooted,
And grounded
And growing
In Jesus.

Ever entwine
Your life in
Christ the vine
So Jesus can
Produce the fruit
Of the Spirit
Inside of you
And you can dine
In His presence
As you savor
His new wine.

Let God plant you by Christ’s inner rivers of living water and make you His spiritual fruit tree that produces abundance and never withers. The first step to being “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14) is to “hear what the Spirit is saying.” (Revelation 2:7) Jesus, God’s beloved Son, is speaking to you. Hear Him.

Christ living in you,
The hope of glory,
Hear His voice
And tell His story.

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