Steve Simms's Blog, page 36

I’m Fighting to be More Child-Like

Daily writing promptWhat is one thing you would change about yourself?View all responses

Small children often abandon self-focus and the expectations of other people to allow themselves to become freely captivated by the mystery and wonder of being alive. They radiate humble innocence, healthy curiosity, enthusiastic creativity, joyful spontaneity, and non-competitive playfulness. That’s the beauty of a child-like spirit.

However, if adults continually manifest those characteristics, they are considered to be naive and childish. It’s taxing to maintain robust child-like innocence in tough and tumble judgmental world. It’s arduous to “receive the kingdom of God like a child” (to surrender to God’s inner government and be led by the Spirit).

As children grow toward adulthood, life fights to steal their innocence and entrap them in self-focus and pride, in guilt, and shame. Jesus put it this way: “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” To be childlike requires a life-long fight.

The most important fight you can fight is the fight of faith. Fight to fully believe in and unceasingly rely on God like a tiny child relies on his parents. Faithfully fight to bring your every thought, feeling, and desire into obedience to Christ. Fight to be spontaneously led by the Spirit. Fight for God’s supernatural might and spiritual insight to persistently think, say, and do what’s right. Fight to always be honest and to boldly live in God’s light. Fight to ever soar to new heights in your relationship with God. Fight to hunger and thirst for righteousness and to always delight in the Lord! Let your first priority ever be to seek first the kingdom of God and to allow His Spirit to directly rule and govern you from within so that the risen Jesus can always be your Lord.

And don’t fight alone, keeping your heart isolated from other Christians (even when you are sitting beside them in a church service). I believe that the body of Christ met differently in the first century than Christians meet today. Today church is about passively hearing a sermon that was developed through systematic study and analysis, but I believe that the first Christians met support-group-style with lots of passionate Spirit-prompted sharing and singing that overflowed with the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit and with the openness and innocence of little children.

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“The Bright and Morning Star”

Daily writing promptAre you more of a night or morning person?View all responses

Ponder This!

Emmanuel
Has come to be
An inner well.
O taste and see,
Ponder and enjoy
Jesus gems,
Christ in you!
Jesus puts
His gems
In your heart.
Don’t miss them.
Jesus calls
Inside you.
Hear Him.
Jesus comforts.
Jesus guides.
Jesus nudges.
Jesus teaches.
Jesus prompts.
Jesus abides.
Hear Him speak
Within you.

Your mind and your heart receive direct communication from God that often gets overlooked in the flood of all your mental and emotional activity. Begin to notice the poetry of His inner gems. Jesus is called “the Bright and Morning Star.” Let Him freely shine in your heart and mind.

The biggest problem in hearing from God is the false belief that He isn’t talking to you. If God can hear you when you pray, then surely, He can speak to you when you pray. Listen! Regularly hearing God speak directly to you is a skill you can learn if you are willing to work at it. To ask God to listen to you when you are unwilling to listen to Him seems unfair.

Direct communication with God is the bridge that leads from draining discouragement to high hope. A personal relationship with Jesus begins with humble listening to and responding to His inner voice and grows by sincere obedience to the Holy Spirit. Hearing and obeying God is essential for spiritual growth.

The world’s biggest communication problem is the human unwillingness to directly hear heart-to-heart from God. We can’t ponder, treasure, and obey communication that comes straight from God to our heart, if we won’t notice it and recognize it. If being attentive to God’s direct communication to you isn’t your top priority, you probably won’t even notice it.

Direct communication from God is ongoing to those who “quench not the Spirit.” One way to receive direct communication from God is to ask Him to give you the language of Spirit and then begin to speak as the Spirit gives utterance and/or write as the Holy Spirit prompts and directs you.

Humbly receiving and obeying heart-to-heart communication directly from God is the key to 1) the fruit of the Spirit, 2) discipleship, and 3) the gifts of the Spirit. It takes Christianity beyond religion and demonstrates it as daily reality.

Be a believer,
But also be
A receiver
And perceiver
Of what Jesus
Is saying
And doing
Within you.
Let Him be
The weaver
Who holds you
Together,
The lever
Who lifts you up
To soar with
Eagle wings.

Milk or Meat?

Daily writing promptWhat are your feelings about eating meat?View all responses

“Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!” (Hebrews 5:12.) “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” (1 Corinthians 3:2.)

Too many Christians are not ready for and hungry for spiritual meat. It’s easy to stay stuck on and comfortable with milk that is produced for babies. It takes courage to begin to consume, digest, and implement the meat that the Holy Spirit wants to serve us.

The Holy Spirit prompts. Like the wind God’s Spirit prompts where He pleases. Everyone born of the Spirit can hear the inner sound of “Christ in you” blowing in their heart — nudging them, guiding them, directing them. We’re all called to be led by the Spirit and to follow by faith even though we don’t know where obeying God’s Spirit is going to take us.

Jesus loves me this I know because He lives in, empowers, and leads me by His Spirit throughout each day. Will you listen to and obey the thoughts and heart-nudges that God puts in you?

Spirit-prompted assembly creates an astonishing worship gathering. “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation . . .” See 1 Corinthians 14:26.

Christians will learn to be more freely led by the Spirit:
* When the pastor begins to follow John the Baptist’s example, “He (Jesus) must increase. but I must decrease.”
* When the pastor steps to the side and lets Jesus directly guide the meeting.
* When the people are freed up and encouraged to be aware of and to obey the Holy Spirit’s inner promptings.

One way God leads people into the meat of His spiritual pomptings is through the language of the Spirit. The language of God’s Spirit isn’t learned with the mind. It’s a gift from God that supernaturally flows from the heart like rivers of living water. I pray in the Spirit’s miraculous language numerous times throughout each day, and it always stirs my heart with a wonderful awareness of God’s presence. I believe that the Spirit’s language is a gift of spiritual meat that is available to anyone who will humbly receive it and consistently use it.

* When I don’t know what to pray with my mind, I pray with the language of God’s Spirit (sometimes silently and sometimes out loud).

* When I’m struggling with my emotions, I pray with the language of the Spirit.

* When I’m confused and don’t know what to do, I pray with the language of the Spirit.

* When I’m tempted to think, say, or do wrong, I pray with the Spirit’s language.

* When I want to sense God’s presence, I pray with the language of His Spirit.

* When I can’t sleep at night, I pray with the language of God’s Spirit.

* When I’m worshipping God, I pray with the language of the Spirit.

* When I’m driving in my car, I pray with the Spirit’s language.

* I’m praying with the language of the Spirit as I write this.

* When I pray with the Spirit’s language my mind doesn’t understand, but my heart overflows.

* Anytime at all, I pray with the language of God’s Spirit.

* That’s one reason I stay so excited about the risen Jesus!

Physically I am a vegetarian (by preference, not by legalism). However, I devour all the spiritual meat that God grills in my heart!

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Church Can Be More–Wearing the Presence of Christ and the Armor of God

“Cloth yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 13:14.) “Put on the full armor of God.” (Ephesians 6:11.) Church can be more that it normally is.

Because of Christ’s blood
Church can truly be
“The tent of meeting”
Heart-to-heart with God,
A love assembly
To display Jesus’
Presence among us
And living in us.

Church can be more.
O come let us
Actively adore
From our heart’s core
The glorious One,
Our Creator.

Church can be more
Than a program
It can be a door
To encounter
The great I AM!

Take the chance
To dance, dance, dance
Heart to heart
With God.
Be Spirit-led
With Christ as your Head.
Rejoice in the Lord
Always.

Church can be more
Than requirement.
It can be members
Of Christ’s body
Expressing hope
And encouragement
Directly to
One another.

Church can be more than
Routine religion.
People can gather
To open their heart
To God-given vision.

Church can be more than
A Sunday meeting.
It can be people
Eagerly seeking
To surrender all
To the risen Christ.

Church can be more than
Ceremony, songs,
And religious words
That fly like birds
Into one ear
And out the other.
It can train people
To actually hear
And fully obey
The voice of God.

Church can be more than
Sitting through a talk
About religion.
It can train people
To daily walk
And be led by
God’s Spirit.

Church can be more
Than the same person
Taking the floor.
All the members
Of a congregation
Can testify in turn
Without hesitation
As God’s Spirit
Leads them to
Show and tell
What they have
Seen and heard
Jesus say and do.

God wants to do
More in churches
Than He’s allowed to.
Lord, give us a clue
About what You
Truly want to do
When we gather
In Your name.

Churches can be more
Than holy buildings.
They can be places
To train God’s people
To always adore
The risen Jesus
And bravely obey
His inner promptings.

Churches can be more
Than sermon centers.
They can be meetings
Where Jesus enters
And takes full control.

Church services tend
To be pastor-led,
But God wants people
To be Spirit-led.
(See Romans 14:18.)

Yes, church can be more!
Isn’t it now the time
To stop being a mime
And start to verbally
Pour out true heart-felt love
And pure adoration
To Jesus Christ the Lord?
It is necessary
For believers to use words.
Let the Holy Spirit
Train you how to speak
With humble narration
And Christ-led oration.
(The Spirit can train us
To all speak like JD.)

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I’d Be Better Off Without the Technology of Religion

Week after week, year after year, routine religion repeats and circles through the same rigid, technology-like cycles. Jesus, however, wants to lead His people past their prepackaged programs and into the refreshing newness of glory after glory.

Routine religion seldom produces radiant faces. It prefers to mask them with a veil. When religion repeatedly follows a regular pattern, it tends to quench the freedom to be led by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit’s control is curtailed and crowded out human control takes charge. Where faith is stagnant Christ’s inner rivers of living water are no longer flowing.

To let the living Jesus change your life you have to begin to let go of some of your cozy and comfortable criteria. The secret to spiritual lukewarmness is to stay rigidly stuck in systematic religion. Routine religion can easily become spiritual paralysis. Jesus told the Pharisees: “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.”

Biblical Christianity is about living your daily life on God’s schedule, not your own. Look beyond religious routine. Throughout each day behold the unseen presence of Jesus.

A relationship with the risen Jesus is far from the same ole same ole. It’s rigorous yet refreshingly renewing. I relish my relationship with Him.

When there’s a crack in your routine, God’s light can come in. When God slips us out of our religious patterns, too many people jump right back in. Christians have been trained to rely on church routine rather than on a relationship with Christ.

When the risen Jesus is humbly experienced without the veil and trappings of religion, He awakens the awareness of His glorious presence. When people won’t interact with the risen Jesus beyond the veil of religion, they tend to overlook His reality. The stone was rolled away! Look unto the living Jesus.

Jesus is best encountered beyond the complacent comfort of ritual. You have the ability to break out of your religious patterns and to relate to Christ in a fresh beautiful way today. Religious routine repeats over and over but spiritual progress presses “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (See Philippians 3:14.)

All it takes for a church to experience revival is to break out of the veil of routine and to step into the spontaneity of God’s Spirit. The greater the spiritual awakening, the less people and churches are reliant on religious procedures.

Some people think
Being led by
The Spirit of
The Lord Jesus
Is frightening,
But I find it
Wonderfully
Empowering,
CHRIST IN YOU the
Hope of glory.

If you pray
And listen
To the thoughts
God deposits
In your mind,
He’ll disrupt
You today
And show you
A better way.

There’s nothing routine
About the unseen
Spirit of God.

Christianity
That becomes routine
Ignores the unseen
Reality of
The risen Jesus.

If your faith
Doesn’t move
You deeply
From your gut
You may be stuck
In a religious rut.

Let yourself frequently burst into praise and thanksgiving. (Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA so go for it today!)

Dish Up Peace For The Holidays, Before It’s Too Late!

From their safety and comfort in the Kremlin and its bomb shelters, these guys have sent hundreds of thousands of young Russians to their death and caused the death of untold numbers of Ukrainians. That war is now threatening the death of multitudes of millions through nuclear annelation. Lord, have mercy on our planet. Lord, turn the hearts of leaders around the world (regardless of their political persuasion and national pride) to peace and compromise! More war isn’t the answer!

What to do About Invitations to Make Treaties with Evil

The human heart is continually being invited, enticed, and seduced to welcome, entertain, and make treaties with evil. In the midst of all of the corruption and temptation around and within us, Jesus calls us to purify our heart.

Purity is a heart that worships and relies on Emmanuel (God with us) alone — that acknowledges Him in all its ways as the one true Lord. Purity is contemplating the Lord’s glory and being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (See 2 Cor. 3:18.)

The most effective way to fight evil is to start by purifying your own heart. Begin to single-mindedly obey James 4:8.

Purify yourself by obeying the truth (1 Peter 1:22) instead of following your own feelings, desires, and opinions. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Incessantly surrender your will to Him as your living Lord and absolute Master.

Christ in you is the hope of glory. Love one another fervently with a pure heart. Blessed are the pure in heart. The pure in heart overflow with God’s love, even for their enemies.

Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. (See 2 Corinthians 7:1.) All who have hope in Christ purify themselves just as He is pure. (See 1 John 3:3.)

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:16.) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9.) Humbly and ceaselessly allow Christ to filter your heart and remove its impurities and deceptions.

“Holiday” comes from the Old English word for “holy day”

Daily writing promptDo you or your family make any special dishes for the holidays?View all responses

For me every day is a holiday. The word holiday comes from the Old English word for holy day. For me, every day I am alive is a special holy day — a gift that God has dished up for me. Lord, how do You want me to worship You?

How awesome is the work that the Lord will do for us if we will humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. The Lord is looking for people to worship Him in spirit and in truth — who will honestly listen to the Spirit and obey His inner prompting instead of our own personal preferences and comfort zone.

I know of a young woman who recently had a radical encounter with Jesus. Now she gets up and runs around the room (during a worship service) when she feels moved by the Holy Spirit. Quite a few people are shocked and/or offended by her physical approach to worship, but she is courageous enough to do it anyway. I’ve not seen her do this, but I am sure I would be somewhat shocked as well (like Kind David’s wife was when he spontaneously danced before the Lord in public).

I want to be more like that young woman. I want to be freer to say and do whatever the Spirit leads me to, regardless of what people might think about me. Jesus may never call me to run around the room during a worship service, but if He does, I want to be willing to hear Him and be ready to roll. I don’t want to quench His Spirit even when Jesus prompts me to do something that will make me look strange or foolish to people.

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Extra! Extra! Read All About It! (What I Do with My Time)

I had an encounter with the risen Jesus that I have never gotten over. It continues till this day. That encounter instantly changed my heart from a hardened rocky space into a God place. Now the risen Jesus “walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am His own.” Christ continually invites me to “be still and know” that He is God — to “let God arise” within me so I can be single-mindedly led by His Spirit instead of by my own pride, feelings, desires, and opinions.

Suddenly I longed for and craved more than routine religion. I didn’t want to toast God with sanctimonious words but ghost His actual presence in order to boast in a self-focused approach to Him. Now I diligently listen to Jesus speaking inside my heart (no earbuds or headphones required).

I’ve learned that I don’t need to be in a crowd to enjoy His reality. Nothing is small where God is welcome to work. Every whisper from God to a single human heart is huge and is holy! I’ve discovered that it’s vital to my faith to notice and obey God’s simple promptings in my heart throughout each day.

Even the cruel cancel culture of the cross couldn’t cancel Christ. To this day He still calls: “Come unto Me.” I love to pay attention to His still small voice guiding me from within throughout each day. I am persistently thrilled to notice His inner nudging and be awakened, enlightened, and strengthened by what He has to say both through the Bible and directly to my heart.

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Beyond These 3 Pet Peeves — Religious Formalities, Performances, and Institutionalism

Daily writing promptName your top three pet peeves.View all responses

I am a “non-liturgical reader.” I try to avoid reading the Bible (and other Christian writings) through liturgical eyes. I want to see beyond the ritual of routine religion and daily live out the reality that it tries to represent.

Ancient Orthodox monks wanted to do the same. They steadfastly repeated in their mind and heart an ancient prayer that dives deeply into the human soul and intimately identifies with our unceasing need for God’s mercy. It is similar to the prayer of David in Psalm 30:9: “Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me. Lord, be my help.” It’s called the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Ancient monks resolutely repeated that prayer until it began to automatically run within them and to open their heart to incredible insights about Christ and to amazing direct encounters with Him. You can read their testimonies in “The Philokalia,” a 5-volume collection of their writings from the fourth century to the nineteenth century.

A Christian’s posture toward Jesus should be the posture of persistent personal pursuit. We need to courageously avoid the posture of perpetual personal passivity that hides behind religious formalities, performances, and institutionalism.

Unfortunately, Christians have divided into separate religious organizations and refuse to resolutely live like we are all part of the same worldwide body of Christ. When we are unwilling to humbly connect heart-to-heart with one another and “consider others better than yourselves,” we are ignoring Jesus’ desire that “they all may be one.” “Lord, have mercy on us.