Steve Simms's Blog, page 27

“Magi Moments” Create My Perfect Space For Reading and Writing

I just read this wonderful blog post written by someone I don’t know named Ivan. Reading it was a powerful “Magi Moment.”

“Ivan.” (What do I see?) I see the name of my next-door neighbor who arrived with his family (4 adults and 5 children) from southern Mexico a year and a half ago. Ivan pronounces his name differently–“E-von.” Ivan and his family didn’t speak English. (He has since learned some.) I had started seriously learning Spanish 9 months before their arrival.

At first my wife and I were not happy that so many people had crowed into the very small side of the duplex next door because we share a common driveway with them. Then God told her to bake muffins to take and welcome them. We knocked on their door and welcomed them to the neighborhood with muffins and Spanish words. Their faces lit up as they physically embraced us.

Their new house was empty except for a small table. So, we went home and began to bring chairs, food, sleeping foam, blankets, towels, and anything we could find to help them get settled. Then we told a prayer group and also a Spirit-led share group about them. People from those two groups began to spontaneously bring beds, mattresses, a couch, fresh produce, pots and pans, deer meat, and much more. Soon Ivan and his family had everything they needed.

It was amazing to see God work in and through strangers’ hearts to bring about such wonderful provision. My family has now been extended. Ivan calls me “hermano” and his children are like grandchildren to my wife and me. They love Jesus and that makes them literally our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thank God that the leading of the Holy Spirit came clearly to my wife and empowered us to override the initial feelings of our flesh. As I think back, I see Romans 8:14 in action. God continually reminds me to follow the “perfect light” of the star of the His Spirit as I “traverse afar” “in spirit and in truth.”

I’ve been learning to live in magi moments. Throughout each day Jesus fills my heart with wonder, brightness, and joy. A commercial Christmas is about collecting new stuff. Christ is about creating a new you through magi moments. Don’t forget to unwrap the presence of Jesus today–to listen to His still small voice in your heart and do what He tells you to.

Driving to Celebrate Christ(mas)!

Daily writing promptWhat is your all time favorite automobile?View all responses

Are You Ready?

I pray
That people
Will prepare the way
Of the Lord Jesus
(The Way,
The Truth, and the Life)
Day after day,
The way
They focus on
Preparing for
Christmas Day,
And humble themselves
To pray
Night and day,
To seek God’s face,
And to turn away
From their wicked ways.
So that Christ can heal
Their heart and reveal
His presence to them
Throughout each day.

May you and your family, friends, and neighbors with your whole heart, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas Day and rejoice in the reality of His resurrected Presence!

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Christians Need Training to be Spirit-Led Soldiers of Love

Armies don’t teach their soldiers to simply sit and listen. They give them hands-on training in giving their all (even their very lives) in battle. Churches could learn a lot from the world’s armies and begin using Sunday mornings to train their members in practical ways to manifest the gifts and the fruit of the Spirit.

To “make disciples” means to train people to continually listen to and obey the risen Jesus. That kind of training should be the norm for all Christians but is now rare and hard to find. All Christians are called to be disciples and to make disciples. I love to share with people the training that God has put me through. My disciple training blog is called: Free Gas for Your Think Tank. If you Google it and go to it, you will see a search bar on the right. Type in a subject and see what God has taught me about it.

Far too often church keeps people silent and passive and causes them to be isolated and closed off to their fellow church attendees. To grow deeper in God and experience Him more powerfully requires that believers humbly open their hearts to each other and obey the 50+ New Testament one another commandments–not just sit together each week to passively listen to a sermon together.

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The Song “Silent Night” Is a Wakeup Call!

Silent Night Isn’t a Lullaby

On a dark night
Shepherds quake
At the sight
Of the newborn King,
Jesus Christ,
The Lamb of God,
Love’s pure light.
The Savior’s face,
Is gloriously bright
And full of grace!
Their hearts take flight
And soar like a kite.
The shepherds,
Like the angels did,
Break the silence
Of the night
As they leave the site
With great delight
To run and tell
And shout from the housetops
What they have seen and heard.
The song Silent Night
Isn’t a lullaby.
It’s a wakeup call!

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My Creative Thoughts About Artificial Intelligence

Daily writing promptHow are you creative?View all responses

Artificial intelligence is superficial:
Analysis without appreciation,
Bean counting without belief,
Calculation without compassion,
Data processing without deliberation,
Evaluation without enlightenment,
Findings without fascination,
Grading without goodwill,
Happenings without hope,
Information without inspiration,
Judgment without justice,
Keeping lists without kindness,
Linking ideas without love,
Methodology without meaning,
Nuance without nurturing,
Outcome without optimism,
Processing without perception,
Quotients without questioning,
Ranking without reasoning,
Stats without sincerity,
Technology without tenderness,
Utility that is uncaring,
Verdict without virtue,
Words without wonder.

Genuine intelligence is the breath of God in human flesh. It’s so much more than mere data processing done by our neurological physiology.

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Healing From Mental and Emotional Pain

Mental and emotional pain by any other name–heartache, sorrow, grief, depression, heartbreak, disappointment, sadness, distress, agony, misery, suffering, or torment–feels the same. As human beings we’ve all said or done things that have caused others pain and we’ve all been hurt by other people’s words or actions. That kind of pain is a tremendous strain on our state of mind. It drains us of our joy and tranquility. Here are some simple ways we can move beyond it and into inner healing and peace:

1) Always strive to avoid taking offence at things people say or do to you. Forcefully shake off their painful words and actions before they dig down deep inside of you.

2) Be an inverse paranoid. Assume that everybody cares about you (even when it appears obvious that they don’t), but that their own pain has disabled their ability to communicate it to you. Remember that hurt people hurt people. Instead of being offended when someone hurts you, remind yourself that they must be even more miserable than you are. Then you will feel some compassion for them.

3) Refuse to play the blame game. Avoid thinking or speaking accusations against the person, people, or organization that sparked that pain in you. Instead, “Love your enemies,” by “speaking the truth in love.”

4) Refuse to retaliate. Refuse to open your heart’s gate to hate. “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”

5) When you want to blame or retaliate, bless instead. Ignore your negative feelings and continually force yourself to think, wish, pray, and say good things for and about the individual or group who hurt (or is hurting) you. “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who despitefully use you.”

6) Compel yourself to focus on, enjoy, be grateful for, and talk about whatsoever things are encouraging, hopeful, true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, “if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.” Refuse to think about hurtful things that were said about you or done to you.

7) Remember that God’s prophets were persecuted, and that Jesus Christ was “despised and rejected” and crucified on false charges yet still forgave. It’s an honor to “share in the fellowship of His suffering.” Let your pain cause you to grow closer to Christ’s presence and comfort. Let it motivate you to fully open your heart to and surrender to “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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Lost in the Christmas Chatter Are the Influences in My Life That Really Matter

Daily writing promptWho are the biggest influences in your life?View all responses

In all the Christmas chatter
There is still a smatter
Of conversation about
Bethlehem’s baby boy
And Emmanuel’s joy.
Yet the true reality
Of “God with us”
And “Christ in you,
The hope of glory,”
Can get lost in the story.
This is a wonderful time
To fully open your heart
To a fresh new start
By surrendering your life
To the risen Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas!

The Three in One–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–are the biggest influences in my life. Biblical Christianity is to surrender to God’s will, “quench not the Spirit,” and allow Jesus to have His way in your life! The world is full of cities, but the city of God is hard to find. I seek first to be governed and influenced by God from within me.

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Year By Year The Truth Never Changes

Daily writing promptShare what you know about the year you were born.View all responses

Truth telling (not my truth or your truth, but the real, honest truth) is the sign of freedom and courage. It’s the freedom and courage to speak and obey your conscience instead of deceptive feelings and desires.

Truth aligns with actuality. Dishonesty and deception don’t. “The truth shall set you free.” Truth doesn’t hide, doesn’t deceive, and doesn’t distort reality. It doesn’t twist and turn and scheme.

Truth never lies. The truth and dishonesty don’t mix. If you claim to have your own truth, but aren’t completely and fully honest, your truth is a lie.

The truth exists. It’s what is truly happening and what has truly happened. It’s not myths that are made up and manufactured to protect the sensitivity of human feelings and desires.

It takes great courage to admit and speak the unfiltered and unaltered truth, especially to do so with humility, love, and care. Dare to be the rare human being who consistently and sincerely attempts to kindly speak the truth to everyone (uninfluenced by pressure from others) regardless of the cost or consequences. Refuse to mix truth with the inclusion of delusion.

Seek the truth. Run with the truth. Proclaim the truth. Demonstrate the truth daily. Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life.” Open up and surrender your heart to the risen Jesus so that “Christ in you,” can empower you from within to consistently and humbly live in the truth and so He can be your “hope of glory.”

Freedom of Conscience

Often inclusion
Is an illusion.
Like oil and water
Some ideas don’t mix.
There is no fusion,
Only confusion.
Right and wrong
Don’t sing the same song.
There’s no collusion
Between them.
Blanket approval
Of good and evil
Brings societal
Upheaval.
Here’s the conclusion:
Show kindness and care
To everyone,
Even enemies,
And speak truth with love.
Protect your conscience
From the intrusion
Of moral delusion.
Refuse to approve
Of what you believe
To be morally wrong.

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A Prenatal Christmas Thought

Do something nice for your parents this Christmas. (No matter how bad you think they are at least they didn’t pay someone to kill you in the womb. Thank God that Mary didn’t do that to her unborn child!)

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Our Words (Or Lack of Words) Reveal Our Character

Daily writing promptAre you a good judge of character?View all responses

Week after week Christians are being trained to sit by and be silent. However, silent Christians don’t:

* Testify (Revelation 12:11),
* Witness (Acts 1:8),
* Make disciples (Matthew 28:19),
* Speak about the things they have seen and heard (Acts 4:20),
* Quote Scripture (Joshua 1:8),
* Share a revelation that has come to them (1 Corinthians 14:26),
* Shout it from the housetops (Matthew 10:27),
* Speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15),
* Confess their faults one to another (James 5:16),
* Exhort one another daily, (Hebrews 3:13),
* Teach one another (Colossians 3:16),
* Comfort one another with words (1 Thessalonians 4:13),
* Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11),
* Preach the Gospel (Acts 8:3-4),
* Spur one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24),
* Speak as the Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2:4),
* Manifest the gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:1),
* Prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:31),19)
* Make a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 100:1).

Perhaps our silence quenches the Spirit and keeps the body of Christ from being as effective and as powerful as God wants it to be. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” (Psalm 107:2) Train yourself to persistently speak out about Jesus! Here are some of my words about Jesus:

Jesus Can Stop Your Storm of Guilt

Your guilt can be gone!
Guilt goes
With being alive
Because everyone knows
We’ve all embraced
Thoughts and behaviors
Where guilt grows.
It’s one of our strongest
Inner foes
And it only goes
Away one way–
Where true love shows
And forgiveness flows
From the Cross of Christ.

If you’re not continually aware of the presence of the risen Jesus, perhaps it’s because you’re not keeping your focus on Him and continually speaking up about Him. If you’re not as close to Jesus as you used to be, you must have pulled away because He’s “the same, yesterday, today, and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8).

Unwrap Jesus from religious boxes. Let constant awareness of His presence be your never-ending present. Walking with Jesus keeps me holly jolly all year long! The Bible calls it “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Christmas is a nice moment. It’s a hopeful season, but it can’t compare to the joy, love, and power of an ongoing, ever-growing relationship with the risen Jesus Christ.

MCPA — Make Church Participatory Again. Jesus said that He would build His ekklesia (the proper name of the ancient Greek town council where any citizen could speak). Let’s take the gag rule off of ordinary Christians and let them speak up in church services as they are led by the Holy Spirit! (See 1 Corinthians 14:26 and the 50+ one another commandments in the New Testament.)

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