Steve Simms's Blog, page 27

Humility Can Be a Wonderful Gift

Daily writing promptShare one of the best gifts you’ve ever received.View all responses

Sometimes the best gifts are the humble ones — the simple gifts that come from so deeply in another person’s heart that they profoundly touch your heart. Humility, even though it doesn’t appear appealing at first sight, is a gift like that. Jesus put it this way:

“I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.” (Matthew 11:25-26)

Jesus’ prayer shows that Jesus want’s His followers to receive the gift of humble child-like faith and to be continually open, receptive, and obedient to God’s direct, personal, and ongoing revelation. “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)

Jesus wants us:
To get out
Of our comfort zone.
To come out
Of all darkness
And into God’s light.
To sell out
To His risen presence.
To live out
His commandments.
And to speak out
With the power
Of His Spirit
All about
What He has done
And is doing
In, among,
And through us.

Jesus doesn’t
Want to build
More buildings
Made of wood,
Metal, bricks, or
Prety stones.
He wants to build
His Spirit-led
Community
Made out of
Living stones–
People who are
Connected
Heart-to-heart
With Him and
With one another.

Settle down deep
Into God’s grace.
Let Him erase
Every trace
Of your pride
And replace
It with His glory
Shinning from your face.
(2 Corinthians 3:18)

The kingdom of God is not of this world. (John 18:36) It doesn’t function by human wisdom, power, methods, or abilities.

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Budgeting 100% to 1 Purpose

Daily writing promptWrite about your approach to budgeting.View all responses

I call my approach to budgeting “100% budgeting.” 100 % budgeting is giving all that you are and all that you have to one purpose. Only one purpose in my life has ever inspired me to try to give everything for its cause. That purpose is revealed in the prayer that Jesus Christ prayed: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

God’s viewpoint is truth. Mine is merely subjectivity. I need to continually set aside my point of view for His.

When people do “what is right in their own eyes,” (Judges 21:25) they disagree with each other. When they listen to and obey what the objective God reveals to them by His Spirit (and confirm what He says by what He said to the writers of the Bible) they find themselves moving closer and closer toward agreement.

“The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21) Use “the keys of the kingdom,” (Matthew 16:19) to unlock your heart and let the King of glory come in (Psalm 24:7-9) to take full control of your life. Continually surrender your will to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Revelation 19:16)

If you want someone to take control and fix things, let that Someone be the risen Jesus. Let Him be your King and Lord. Welcome Him into your life and let Him take charge of what you think, say, and do.

Created objects reveal that a Creator is real. (Nothing makes itself.) Subjective human feelings didn’t create the complexities on earth. God did. Since God is real and He created all that exists, then He has the ability to put a thought in your mind. And if God puts a thought in your mind, then that thought isn’t from you. It’s objective, not subjective. It’s important to discern if a thought is from you or if it is from God.

Christians who are unaware of and/or unsubmitted to the invisible inner government of God, are missing the point of Jesus words: “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mark 1:15) For the most part, contemporary Christians have neglected to inform people about the invisible inner kingdom of God and to train them to let King Jesus personally direct their life by His Spirit. So sad.

Every human hierarchy is flawed because it is made up of imperfect people. The only government that can be fully trusted is the kingdom of the living God directly ruling in your heart and overriding your desires, feelings, and opinions with His will.

People who are under a religious hierarchy are rarely trained (and even more rarely released) to be led by the Spirit. (Rom 8:14) Christ-followers need to budget 100% of all that we are and all that we have to letting God lead and empower us by His Spirit day and night so that we can live by the values of the kingdom of God rather than by the opinions of our culture. Give all your allegiance to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

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This Kingdom Has My Heart and Patriotism

Daily writing promptAre you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?View all responses

Jesus came to announce and establish His invisible inner government inside of human hearts, not to support or endorse a visible human government. I’m a kingdom of God patriot. I’m committed to love, follow, and obey “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” day and night.

When the eyes of your heart
See the one who is unseen
You will never be the same.
He will make you clean
And will wash away
All your guilt and shame.
Look and see Jesus.

Everything that alarms you
Is crying out for you to
Wake up to
Christ’s real presence.
He's the essence
Of the Gospel.

Be Christ’s Garden. Let Him plow and cultivate your heart so He can grow His produce in you.

Be His orchard. Let Jesus prune you and produce an abundance of the fruit of the Spirit within you.

Be His vineyard. Allow Christ to turn the stale water in your life into His new wine.

God’s truth is more complex than any individual can fully explain. We need to hear from various gifts, callings, and perspectives in the body of Christ (not just from the same preacher every week). We also need to check everything we hear to make sure that it is aligned with the Bible. (Acts 17:11)

AI? Why settle for artificial? First and primarily use the real intelligence and creativity that the genuine God has given to you! Be led by the Spirit. (Romans 8:14)

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Why does my human heart want to break the law (not just unintentionally) but often intentionally?

Daily writing promptHave you ever unintentionally broken the law?View all responses

We humans find it easy to abandon godly character and to do ungodly things. Righteous laws are important, but a society needs more than laws. We need to have multitudes of people with a pure conscience who will obey those laws when no one is looking.

Heart contaminants crush mental health. Humanity’s greatest problem is mental and heart pollution. Every lie you tell contaminates your heart. Mental and emotional contamination is highly contagious. If you don’t protect yourself from it, you’ll catch it and absorb it.

Contaminated thoughts will make you sicker than contaminated food. Polluted food can kill your body, but polluted thoughts can kill your soul.

Contaminated thoughts will pollute your life. Quickly resist and reject them. Purity is important for your water, but even more important for your mind, your heart, and your soul. If your heart has been polluted, there is a purifier. (Malachi 3:3.)

Jesus is the antidote for the moral poison that is killing your conscience. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8)

Jesus “gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.” (Titus 2:14) How wonderful it is to be purified by Him and to daily allow Him to keep me from returning to uncleanliness. Thank You, Jesus!

Jesus wants to purify your heart from the contaminants that pollute it so that it can sparkle with His light and life. (Mt. 5:8) He wants to strengthen your heart “so that you will be blameless and holy” in His presence. (1 Thessalonians 3:13) Christ will create a clean heart in you. If you will allow Him to, He will continually purify you. (Ps 51:10)

Power can easily deceive human hearts and lead to spiritual compromise and casual Christianity. It’s extremely difficult to maintain a pure heart if you hold a position of great political or religious power. (Just look at all the corruption that has been exposed in religious organizations and human governments. Imagine what corruption is still hidden. Only the Holy Spirit can root it out.)

God’s prophets in the Bible didn’t hold government offices. Instead, from the outside looking in, they boldly spoke God’s truth to the people in power. They didn’t have political power. They had spiritual power that was mighty through God! (2 Corinthians 10:4)

Toxic religion doesn’t want the living Jesus. Like the religious Pharisees who wanted Him executed, religion tends to prefer a distant or a dead Jesus. It feels threatened by the risen Jesus.

The risen Jesus isn’t about religion or politics. He’s about the inner government of God that purifies human hearts and minds and produces love, joy, peace, hope, healing, and freedom. True Christianity isn’t about religion or politics. It’s about releasing and demonstrating love that “comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5)

Jesus wants to set people free from both the Pharoah of religion and the Pharoah of politics so they can be gloriously led by His Spirit. Let Jesus detox your mind and your emotions so He can make you clean and pure. (Titus 2:14)

It’s interesting that people who break immigration laws are called “illegals.” If we start calling people who break traffic laws “illegals,” every driver will be one. Can you name a driver who has never even once gone a bit (or a good bit) above the speed limit or gently (or rapidly) rolled through a stop sign? Although I drive slower and come to a complete stop as stop signs more often that the drivers around me, I still could get many speeding and stop sign running tickets every time I get behind the wheel, but I haven’t had one in decades because the laws are rarely enforced. If the government cracks down on traffic laws the way they are on immigration laws, all of us illegal drivers will be in trouble!

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The Way to Heal a Nation Isn’t Through Politics

Daily writing promptIf there were a biography about you, what would the title be?View all responses

My life has shown me that the way to heal a nation isn’t through politics. It’s for the people who say they love God to demonstrate God’s government (the kingdom of God) in and through their daily lives by obeying 2 Chronicles 7:14.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) For God to heal their land people who love Him need to do 4 things:

Humble themselves:Deny yourself, (Luke 9:23)Take up your cross, (Luke 9:23) Follow and obey Jesus, (Luke 9:23)Consider others better than yourself, (Philippians 2:3)Forgive everybody, (Matthew 18:22)Always keep Jesus first, (Matthew 6:33)Bless those who curse you, (Luke 6:28)Love your enemies, (Matthew 5:44)Stop exalting yourself, (Matthew 23:12)Confess your sins to one another, (James 5:16)

2. Pray:

For God’s will to be done, (Matthew 6:10)For His kingdom to come, (Matthew 6:10)For daily provision, Matthew 6:11)For forgiveness as you forgive others, (Matthew 6:12)For victory over temptation, (Matthew 6:13)For deliverance from evil, (Matthew 6:13)For God to send workers into His harvest, (Matthew 9:38)For one another, (James 5:16)For those who curse you and abuse you, (Luke 6:28)For people in government positions, (1 Timothy 2:2)In the Spirit at all times, (Ephesians 6:18)In tongues, (1 Corinthians 14;5)

3. Seek God’s presence:

Draw near to God, (James 4:8)Taste and see that the Lord is good, (Psalm 34:8)Hunger and thirst for righteousness, (Matthew 5:6)Come unto Jesus, (Matthew 11:28)Quench not the Holy Spirit, (1 Thessalonians 5:19)Be led by the Spirit moment-by-moment, (Romans 8:14)Approach God through Jesus, (Ephesians 3:12)Seek God with all your heart, (Jeremiah 29:13)Return to the Lord, (Hosea 6:1)Always stay close to Jesus, (John 15:4)Continually quote and ponder the Bible (Joshua 1:8)

4. Turn from their wicked ways. Admit that you have “wicked ways.” Then stop:

Letting any person or thing come between you and God, (Exodus 20:3)Misusing God’s name, (Exodus 20:7)Dishonoring your father or mother, (Exodus 20:12)Committing adultery and all other sexual sins, (Matthew 5:27)Divorcing, (Matthew 5:31)Stealing and cheating, (Exodus 20:15)Being dishonest and lying, (Exodus 20:16)Getting drunk, (Ephesians 5:18)Wanting other people’s possessions, (Exodus 20:17)Comparing yourself to others, (2 Corinthians 10: 12)Being unkind to people. (John 13:4)Angrily insulting people. (Matthew 5:22)

I don’t believe that the kingdom of God comes by politically changing a human government. I believe it comes by God supernaturally changing human hearts. The calling for a Christian is to proclaim and demonstrate the love of Jesus to everyone, not to proclaim a particular political position.

A human government and the government of God won’t mix, no matter how hard people try to put them together. (1 Corinthians 15:50) The invisible government of God is the only government that all human beings will have to answer to. Seeking it should be a much higher priority than seeking a visible human government.

Christians aren’t called to make a particular country great. They’re called to proclaim and to demonstrate the greatness of the invisible kingdom of God. My trust is in the risen Jesus, not in a particular politician or a particular country. Regardless of what happens in America, I’m seeking first the kingdom of God. I want to be governed by King Jesus.

Obeying 2 Chronicles 7:14 will heal a nation. Unfortunately, that has rarely been done because it’s much easier to refuse to change and simply trust a political leader to fix things.

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My Ageless Father

Daily writing promptWhat were your parents doing at your age?View all responses

“Age is only a number.” At least that’s true for my father. He never seems to get old. He is unchanging and timeless because he is beyond time. I’m talking about someone who many people don’t believe even exists — God the Father. I love Him and continually seek to get closer and closer to Him.

In order to come to God, you must be fully convinced that He exists and that He wants to reward you for diligently seeking His presence. “Seek and you will find.” Seek God’s presence (not information about Him) and He will show up and show out in your life. (Hebrews 11:6)

A great way to seek God is to absorb His word until it burns in your heart. (Luke 24:32) Don’t analyze the Bible and pick it apart like a textbook. Devour and savor it like a love letter. Let it touch your heart and direct you.
1) Continually quote it, (Joshua 1:8)
2) Contemplate it day and night, (Joshua 1:8)
3) Observe how it works inside of you, (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
4) Daily do what it says. (James 1:22)

Throughout history Christianity has had a far greater and more positive impact on society when people have personally sought, experienced, and obeyed God. When individuals are personally encountering Jesus and directly hearing from Him instead of merely attending church, their lives are filled with the power of Christ’s presence and their impact on the people around them is life-transforming. Have you ever met anyone like that?

Heart-felt joyful laughter is rare. Most laughter seems to be either forced or coerced. As for me, the joy of the Lord who lives in my heart gives me faith to cheerfully laugh and enjoy life even though I’m surrounded by the mess that we humans have made of the world.

Information
About God
Can be taught
But His presence
Must be sought
Until it’s caught
By the heart.
Knowledge puffs up
But the presence
Of God’s love
Will build you up.

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Being Led by Love is More Powerful Than Any Law

Daily writing promptIf you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?View all responses

Where love leads good things follow — kindness, hope, community, forgiveness, patience, humility, honesty, faith, and compassion. No law can produce those things. They only come from the kind of love that was demonstrated when God so love the world that He gave His only Son (John 3:16) in order to open the way to intimacy with Him and to and call people into His government.

No law, person, organization, or nation should ever be allowed to come between a person and the risen King Jesus. (Matthew 6:33) The kingdom of God is a kingdom of the heart. It’s the direct government and invisible rule of King Jesus in human hearts. (Acts 8:29) Greatness in God’s kingdom is humble obedience to Christ the risen King both day and night. (John 14:15) It’s not about legalistically or pridefully obeying laws.

If you haven’t humbly followed and obeyed King Jesus, ultimately who or what you have followed instead of Him won’t help you at all. Christ-followers are called to make the invisible kingdom of God visible by focusing on and obey the inner promptings of King Jesus. Abandoning my will to follow King Jesus and His will is the greatest treasure of my life — “the pearl of great price.”

To experience and demonstrate the kingdom government of God requires that we begin to align our heart and our will with God’s will. That’s what King Jesus means when He says, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” Wherever and whenever the risen Jesus is allowed to exercise His full authority as King, the kingdom of God has come to that person or group of people. (Luke 17:21)

The kingdom of God is a monarchy with Jesus, Himself — King of Kings and Lord of Lords — enthroned and directly ruling within the heart and mind of each one of His true followers. (Colossians 1:27) God’s kingdom comes and His will is done when King Jesus is allowed to sit on the throne in a fully surrendered human heart and take complete control of a person’s thoughts, feelings, desires, words, and actions. (Matthew 6:10) To experience the kingdom of God requires that we completely give our heart and life to King Jesus. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)

Jesus calls Himself a king. (John 18:37) He’s the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” (Revelation 19:16) He wants to be the absolute monarch in your heart and life. If King Jesus isn’t governing your daily life, you’re not headed toward the kingdom of God. (Romans 8:14)

The kingdom of God can only be experienced by surrendering to King Jesus. It can’t be reached by following king self. (Luke 9:23) The kingdom of God can be recognized when a person submits to and obeys the direct inner rulership of King Jesus throughout each day. (John 2:5)

When King Jesus is allowed to rule and reign in a human heart and life, the invisible kingdom of God is at hand. Let King Jesus, the God-man, always rule and reign in your heart by His Spirit.

When Jesus is truly crowned as King in someone’s life, He dethrones self and begins to directly exercise His authority within them. (John 10:27) A true and faithful citizen of God’s kingdom faithfully listens to and obeys the inner voice of King Jesus. (Colossians 1:13)

True Gospel preaching is the presentation and demonstration of the presence and power of the living King Jesus and a call to surrender to the control of His direct inner government. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) The purpose of God’s grace is to freely empower people to live in fully surrendered and obedient allegiance to the inner government of King Jesus — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

The kingdom of God isn’t a human government. It’s the supernatural government of Christ the King living and reigning in people’s hearts. Jesus said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36)

King Jesus didn’t preach or try to reform the kingdom of Rome or the kingdom of any other nation. His focus was and is on the kingdom of God. (John 18:36) When your eyes and your heart are on an earthly kingdom or a merely human head of state, it’s easy to overlook the kingdom of God and the headship of King Jesus. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

The only truly great nation on earth is the invisible kingdom of God. All other nations fall far short of God’s glory. The head of state of a human government cannot create or bring about the kingdom of God. Only the risen King Jesus can do that!

The powerful kingdoms and governments of the past have crumbled and disappeared. However, the kingdom of King Jesus ruling, in surrendered and obedient human hearts, continues to demonstrate itself until this day through the humility, sacrifice, and love of Christ’s true and faithful disciples all over the world.

Nobody but King Jesus is completely right in all they say and do. Follow Him!

Jesus invites you to change kingdoms — to separate from the kingdoms of the world and their dominions of darkness and to enter into the glorious light (John 12:46) of the invisible kingdom of God. (Colossians 1:13) Receiving direct revelation from God about who Jesus is and letting Him empower you by His grace to align your heart and behavior with His are the keys to the kingdom of God. (Matthew 16:17-19)

If Jesus isn’t your Lord and King, are you really His follower? “I am not the king. Jesus Christ is the King. I’m just an entertainer.” –Elvis Presley

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My Dream Home Isn’t a House

Daily writing promptWrite about your dream home.View all responses

My dream home isn’t a house. It is heart-to-heart, deeply caring community with other people. That type of community can’t be attained by rules and regulations. It’s produced by God’s Spirit.

All true Christ-followers are united in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). Their “unity of the Spirit” isn’t based on agreement, approval, organization, religious affiliation, or church attendance. It is built on intimate heart-to-heart connection with the risen Jesus. As Christ-followers daily surrender to and obey Christ living in them, (Colossians 1:27) they are “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14) and experience the amazing kinship of being united with other believers in a supernatural “bond of peace.” To maintain that unity, they must be careful not to quench or hinder the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

I frequently encounter people who I’m not on the same page with, yet as we connect heart-to-heart in God’s Spirit, we experience divine community. For example, I am a tongue-talking, vegetarian, political-centrist, black history student, Jesus Freak but I don’t demand that people accept, approve of, or applaud my beliefs and behaviors. People have a right to disagree with me, so I don’t insult them or call them haters and phobic when they do.

Love and kindness are far beyond approval or disapproval of someone’s lifestyle. Love is patient and kind. It’s not about approving or applauding what people say and do. Love is sincerely caring about and respecting people regardless of their beliefs and lifestyle. Spirit-led, loving community is my dream home.

Christianity without Christ-receptivity is just routine religion. When you feel overwhelmed that’s a good time to turn back to a simpler and better life. Make way for the Lord’s character (Psalm 103:7) to be continually produced in your heart by the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

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I Don’t Have Freedom of Speech

Daily writing promptYou get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do?View all responses

I don’t have the freedom of speech. When something happens, I’ve been told to express gratitude. I’ve been told to say it out loud and say it to a crowd. I’ve been told to verbally express thanks not only to people I appreciate, but to everyone. Thank you so much for reading my blog and sharing it with others.

Why don’t I have the freedom of speech? Because someone who has captured my heart now tells me what to say. His name is Jesus. It’s not only me. All true Christians are called to surrender our freedom of speech to Christ.

That’s why true Christians no longer have the freedom of speech. We are told to:

* Not lie. (Colossians 3:9)
* Speak evil of no one. (Titus 3:2)
* “Preach the Gospel.” (Mark 16:15)
* Be “led by the Spirit.” (Romans 8:14)
* “Bless those who curse you.” (Luke 6:28)
* Continually quote the Bible. (Joshua 1:8)
* “Speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15)
* Not repay insult with insult. (1 Peter 3:9)
* “Let your conversation be always full of grace.” (Colossians 4:6)
* Make the words of your mouth acceptable in God’s sight. (Psalm 19:14)
* “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.” (Psalm 34:13)
* Not let “any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths.” (Ephesians 4:29)
* Understand that you will have to answer for every careless word. (Matthew 12:36-37)
* “Continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of your lips that openly profess His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

The calling for Christ-followers isn’t to say what we want to say in order to express our own desires, feelings, or opinions. It’s not to promote or defend political positions. It is to demonstrate the love, power, and presence of the risen Jesus through all of our words and actions.

Only allow seeds to be planted in your heart and mind that will grow inside you to produce a harvest of righteous thinking and uplifting words that empower you toward right living. Repeatedly resist, reject, repel, and uproot every seed of unrighteousness that tries to enter your mind and heart.

The Kingdom of God

God’s government
Is Christ in you
Telling you
What to say
And to do.

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I’ve Lost Interest in Self-Focus

Daily writing promptAre there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time?View all responses

I’ve lost interest in self-focus. I find that I am happier and much more at peace when I keep my focus off of myself. Another has captured my attention and my focus. Now the most exciting and most important part of my life is my ongoing interaction with Jesus Christ. He continually puts thoughts in my mind that delight me and drastically improve my life.

To be brought
Into a real
Relationship
With Jesus
Involves more
Than being taught
About Him.
It means that
You surrender
Your whole heart
To be caught
And led by
His presence!

Go beyond sleepy religion. Wake up to:

* Unending heart-connection with God. (John 14:23)
* The community of the unity of the Spirit. (Ephesians 4:3)
* God working inside of you. (Philippians 2:13)
* Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
* Being continually led by the Spirit. (Romans 8:14)
* Hearing Jesus talk to you. (John 10:27)
* The inner government (kingdom) of God. (Luke 17:21)
* The guilt-free living of God’s forgiveness. (1 John 1:9)
* Freedom from sin’s control. (John 8:32)
* The wonderful fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
* The powerful gifts of the Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:1-11)
* Peace that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:7)
* Joy unspeakable and full of glory. (1 Peter 18)

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