Steve Simms's Blog, page 33

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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I’m Happiest When . . .

Daily writing promptWhen are you most happy?View all responses

I’m happiest when I boldly yet humbly go beyond the veil. My goal is to live my life there day and night.

It’s exciting and joyous to focus on the living Jesus and let Him speak in my heart. It continually fills me with awe and wonder to know that the Creator of the universe is speaking to me.

The veil between
You and God
Has been torn
So you can
Let it go
And let Jesus,
Emmanuel,
“God with us,”
The Messiah,
The risen Lord,
“Christ in you,”
Light of the world,
Unceasingly
Shine His glory
Within your heart.

Get to know
God’s Spirit
More and more
So you can grow
In His flow
And daily go
Where He shows you.

Allow the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures to keep you ceaselessly aligned with the heartbeat of God. Let the Holy Spirit be your constant teacher and the Bible be your daily devotional guidebook.

When people abandon self-control and the awareness of God, they begin to obey their feelings and their desires instead of their responsibility and their conscience Thus they kill their joy and destabilize their mental health.

Joy to the world! Jesus has come and is alive, present, and available to give people the best present ever–the joy of His presence! (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.)

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Childlikeness Has Led Me to Joy

Daily writing promptWhat was the last thing you did for play or fun?View all responses

Childlikeness has led me to joy. It has helped me to find purpose and meaning in my life. It has opened my eyes to experience and follow the inner government of God as He speaks and leads me from within. The kingdom government of God must be received like a little child. (Mark 10:15) The humble, honest, and simple way that little children approach Jesus is an example of how to connect with the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:14)

The kingdom of God happens inside of human beings. It is God’s personal and direct government of your heart. (Luke 17:21.) To be governed by the kingdom of God is to be continually led from within by God’s Spirit. (Romans 8:14)

The kingdom government of God is like yeast. Let it rule your heart, and it will transform you from within. (Matthew 13:33) The kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed. If you plant it in your heart and allow it to grow into maturity, it will become a large tree full of life. (Matthew 13:31-32.)

God’s kingdom is the pearl of great price. It makes you want to give up everything so you can fully experience it. (Mt. 13:46) The kingdom of God is God’s will being done on earth as it is in Heaven, in and through human beings. (Matthew 6:10) When the Holy Spirit is allowed to drive evil out of human hearts the kingdom of God is present. (Matthew 12:28)

God’s inner government is now close at hand. Align your heart with it and unceasingly believe and rely on the living Jesus to lead you by the Spirit. (Mark 1:15) People who have set aside pride and embraced poverty of spirit are able to experience the kingdom of God. (Matthew 5:3) Being directly governed by God and His righteousness leads to various degrees of persecution by people who want to avoid His literal presence. (Matthew 5:10)

The kingdom of God (His government) is like the wind. It can’t be seen with physical eyes. (Luke 17:20) It isn’t rules and regulations. It’s the Holy Spirit’s righteousness, peace, and joy within you. (Rom. 14:17) The kingdom of God isn’t about religious lingo. It’s about the power of God to transform human hearts. (1 Corinthians 4:20)

To be in the kingdom of God is to do the will of God instead of your own will. (Matthew 7:21) If you follow and identify yourself by your own desires, you won’t be able to be led by God’s kingdom. (Galatians 5:19-21) To be governed by the kingdom of God requires more than religious righteousness. (Matthew 5:20)

The kingdom of God isn’t a government established by people. It has no physical location or human hierarchy. (John 18:36) To enter the kingdom of God and be governed by His presence requires that we be born again by the Holy Spirt–that we be enter into a personal relationship with Him. (John 3:3-8)

The kingdom of God must be sought. Seeking it should be your first priority in all the areas of your life. (Matthew 6:33) Jesus sent His followers out to proclaim the government of God and to heal. (Luke 9:2) Thus the first Christians proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with great boldness. (Acts 28:31)

The kingdom of God is good news. It’s the essence of the Gospel. (Matthew 24:14) It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give to you His kingdom government and to lead you by His Spirit. (Luke 12:32) However, it’s not easy to be governed by God’s kingdom instead of by your own desires. (Acts 14:22)

“Emmanuel–God with us,” means the King has come to rule and reign inside of human hearts. (Matthew 1:23) Have you been delivered from the domain of darkness and begun to live in and obey the inner government of God? (Colossians 1:13)

Ancient shepherds were migrant farm workers. They got no respect as they moved their sheep from pasture to pasture, but people would have been hungry without them. Some of those ancient shepherds heard angles proclaim that the King of Kings has come to rule and reign inside of human hearts. Who knows what angels are telling migrant farm workers and other immigrants today, as they work in humble jobs. (“God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”)

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What I consume and store in my heart doesn’t come from the grocery store.

Daily writing promptList your top 5 grocery store items.View all responses

God has sent His positioning system to mankind! The Holy Spirit has come to be our GPS–God’s Positioning System. “Christ in you” is the living WAZE (the WAZE, the truth, and the life) who has come to fill you up with His presence and to directly lead you moment by moment from glory to glory into more and more of His hope.

It’s good to hear what a weekly sermon says, but it’s much better and more powerful to hear, follow, and obey the living Jesus, the perfect WAZE, all week long. Let’s go beyond what the sermon says and daily flow with what God’s Spirit says.

Christians need to be taught how to be taught and led by the Holy Spirit instead of merely by men. Biblical Christianity is so much more than lining people up in pews or chairs and preaching to them. The Bible says “Whoever has ears let them hear what the Spirit says . . .”

What a sermon says comes through a preacher, but what the Holy Spirit says is routed directly from God to your heart. Both can be helpful but it’s much more powerful to hear what the Spirit says and to read what the Bible says than it is to simply listen to what a sermon says.

The best sermons train people to continually hear what the Spirit says and to daily read and do what the Bible says. People who merely listen to sermons disagree with each other a lot, but people who consistently hear and obey the Spirit connect heart-to-heart and find themselves to be spiritually on the same page.

What one preacher’s sermon says frequently contradicts what another preacher’s sermon says. Thus, the world is filled with hundreds of thousands of independent churches and denominations believing different things, but the voice of the Holy Spirit consistently aligns with what God spoke to the writers of the Bible.

The sermon often says sit still and look like you’re listening. The Bible says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” The Spirit says, “Let Me lead you throughout each day.”

Would you like to be pure in heart? Only in and though the Spirit (the still small voice and WAZE of God) can you discover the pure version of who God made you to be. Hear Him speak directly to you.

Jesus said that our tradition can make the Word of God of no effect. Religious routine tends to lull us to sleep. When the sermon says to do what the Spirit says spiritual awakening is coming soon!

King Herod’s deceptive response to the wise men (the Magi) who were seeking the infant Jesus and the violence Herod later unleashed against the babes in Bethlehem show us that everyone who says that they want to worship Jesus doesn’t really want to worship Him in spirit and in truth. That’s why we need the Holy Spirit’s gift of discernment. The wise men had that gift and instead of reporting back to Herod after they found and worshipped Jesus, they obeyed what the Holy Spirit told them through a dream and went home another way.

Let’s not walk in the way of King Herod (and the Pharisees) and honor Jesus with our mouth while keeping our heart far from Him. Instead let’s boldly be led by God’s Spirit (like the wise men) and go another way. (See Romans 8:14.)

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