Steve Simms's Blog, page 37

If there’s a guarantee not to fail, it’s this!

As I was with a group on of people on Sunday night listening to God’s Spirit together, someone began to talk about waiting on the Lord. That’s never been one of my favorite subjects because I’d rather get going in my own power than wait around for God’s presence.

As she spoke a picture came to my mind. I saw a man sitting peacefully in a recliner. He was all by himself on the deck of a cruise ship. The words came to my mind, “That’s to wait on the Lord.”

Suddenly I realized that waiting on the Lord isn’t just being inactive. It’s to wait in God’s motion — to rely and to depend on God’s action instead of on my own efforts.

The man in the ship is going to get to the right destination because he is waiting patiently in the ship and relying on its motion to transport him. As he waits, he is being moved closer and closer to his destiny. Instead of trusting in his own actions, the man is trusting in the action of the ship.

When that image dropped into my mind, I was greatly encouraged. As I shared it with the other people present it encouraged them, too.

That’s how the body of Christ can wait on the Lord together. Instead of relying on a plan or a program when we meet together for worship, we can all listen to the Holy Spirit and rely on Him to individually speak to us. Then we can openly share the thoughts, images, Bible verses, feelings, and promptings that He deposits in our heart and thereby demonstrate the reality and presence of the risen Jesus to one another.

Gather in Christ’s name with a group of people. Wait on the motion of His Spirit. Then see for yourself how Jesus moves you forward as you wait on the Lord.

Instead of
Rushing straight
Out of the gate
With your plans
In your hands
Learn to wait
On the Lord
And His timing
And refining.
Let Him heal your soul
And make you whole.
That’s life’s main goal.
That’s life’s main goal.

The Hardest Personal Goal

Walk in the Spirit

The risen Jesus
Is living in me
But we don’t see
Eye to eye.
We often disagree.
He wants to lead me,
But I want to be free
To do what I want
Whenever I want.
He calls me to die
To my own desires
And that requires
My full surrender,
Moment by moment,
To His will.
To follow Jesus
Is to walk through life
Being Spirit-led
By His inner presence
And not fulfilling
The desires of the flesh.
(Galatians 5:13-25.)

I want to be like glowing ripples and continually reflect the radiance of God in the stream of life. That’s my life’s goal.

The Art of Readjusting Definitions to Reality

It’s easy to distort definitions and change the meaning of words in an attempt to justify our own opinions, desires, feelings, and behaviors. However, to do so is often a departure from reality. Spirit-led artists can help us get back to actuality. People who do that are my favorite artists.

I’ve been thinking about some distorted definitions lately. Here are my attempts to realign a few of them with their literal meaning.

Love is love but
Sex isn’t
Always love.
Love is to
Put another’s
Wellbeing
Ahead of
Your own.

Being great
Means refusing
To spread hate
And cruelty.

Cruelty is cruelty
Whether it’s
Prenatal
Or postnatal.

Calling the destruction
Of reproduction
A “reproductive right”
Is an oxymoron.

War is
Postnatal
Abortion.
It makes some
Human lives
Disposable.

Christians are people
Who are witnesses
By admitting
And letting Jesus
Overcome their
Weaknesses,
Participants
Not attendees,
Doers of the Word
Not passive hearers,
Disciple-makers
Not stale religion
Partakers,
Enemy lovers
Who don’t hide
Under covers
But speak truth
With kindness
And love.

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Basking in the Warmth of a Glowing Fire During a Cold Dark Day

Life is stultifying. Humans need high hopes, but most people simply hope to cope–to just get by and make it through another day. Yet God is awe inspiring! Look what God can do! Let the Bible get your hopes up!

In the Bible you’ll see that fire represents God’s Spirit. Fire will either warm your cold heart, purify you, and light your way, or it will consume you, depending on whether you approach it carefully or carelessly.

Humbly come to God for mercy, cleansing, and forgiveness. If you choose to let your pride cause you to toss aside His warmth, His purity, and His light, instead of purifying you, the fire of God’s glory and perfection will burn you up. We can’t have it both ways.

God’s will is your redemption. He wants to rescue you from your rebellious self-destruction and despair. Jesus came to save you from your pride, self-focus, and sin so that His fire can purify you and you can live with Him forever.

Reject human vanity and futility by fully embracing and ever surrendering to God’s high hopes for you. Then you will begin to experience His peace that passes understanding and His joy unspeakable and full of glory–both day-by-day and forever!

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Sometimes Loss Is a Wake-Up Call That Leads to Gain

Wake Up! Flee the deception of Egypt!

Let the Lord fight for you. Let Him protect and defend you. Let Him make His way where you see no way. Rely on His living presence not on your own feelings, desires, and opinions. Listen to His voice. Stand still and see the salvation (rescue) of God. If Christ is in you and you call Him your Lord, then live every moment like He is!

The answer isn’t on a ballot or in stale religion. (2,000 years ago, religion and government teamed up to crucify Jesus. That team is still a bad idea!)

The presence of the risen Jesus is the answer we humans need. Make it your first priority to always listen to Him and humbly do what He says (even when you’d rather not).

Love your enemies! In the midst of the hatred of slaveholding and civil war, Abraham Lincoln said: “With malice toward none, with charity (love) for all . . .” That’s the kind of leadership the world needs today.

To insult people because of their political views or their belief system is a sign of weakness; to kindly disagree is strength. In a free country people have the right to have and express political views that differ from yours. To keep your country free respect that right!

To make America hate again is the recipe for disaster. We need to make America radiate the hope of its founding documents again!

The most important
Battleground state
Is your state
Of mind.
It’s essential to find
Ways to be kind.
Filling your mind
With hate
Won’t make
Your country great.
Anyone can berate
And insult
But that’s a trait
That will result
In toxic bitterness.
The risen Christ
Is the open gate
That leads to a life
Far beyond hate.
Daily follow
And rely on Him.

If you think that hate
Will make a country great.
You’re not thinking.

Stale religion
Can produce hate.
But the risen Jesus
Doesn’t want you to
Walk through that gate.

The Sequel of “This Changes My Mind Throughout Each Day”

After reading my blog post today, someone sent me this question: “I get it, but HOW do you hear the Spirit?” Here’s my answer to him.

Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice.” I take Him at His word. That means all God’s people hear His voice. As a new Christians I asked God why He spoke so much to people in the Bible but isn’t speaking to people today. Suddenly this thought came to my mind. “The problem isn’t that I’m not speaking. It’s that you’re not listening.” Ever since then I’ve been trying to listen better and better.

I think the key to hearing the Spirit is to humbly open your heart and be willing to hear things that you might not want to hear. The Spirit convicts of sin. When you feel convicted about a sin that you are doing (or have done) that isn’t just human guilt. It’s the voice of the Spirit calling you to repentance, healing, and victory over that sin. Respond appropriately.

The thoughts that cross your mind come from three sources: 1) Yourself, 2) the devil, and 3) God. Read the Bible everyday with an open heart. Ask God to give you discernment so that you can recognize which thoughts that come to your mind are from God.

Thoughts that come from God won’t contradict Scripture. Once you recognize a thought from God obey. If you ignore it or refuse to obey it, you will quench the Spirit and harden your heart, making it more difficult to hear God. The opposite is true. Every time you recognize the voice of God and obey it, you soften your heart and make it easier to hear God.

God seldom speaks with an audible voice. Yet He frequently puts thoughts in your mind and feelings in your heart. If something comes to your mind and you don’t want to do it or to think it, it’s not from you. It is either from God or the devil. If it disagrees with the Bible, it’s from the devil. If it aligns with the Bible and glorifies God, it is from God. I believe that you are hearing God, but you aren’t recognizing His voice. We too often want God to speak in grandiose ways, but He usually speaks with a still small voice (like He did with Elijah).

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This Changes My Mind Throughout Each Day

My mind is being changed every day. The more I listen and the more I humbly obey, the more my mind grows in its ability to think beyond my own desires, feelings, and opinions. My most important listening isn’t hearing human presentations. It’s learning to hear what God’s Spirit is saying within me. Every day the Spirit is leading me to think and perceive a little more from His point of view instead of from my own perspective.

Seven times (in the book of Revelation) the risen Lord Jesus told Christians to hear what the Spirit says. Perhaps we should try listening to God’s Spirit. The first step to following the risen Jesus is to open your heart and begin to hear what the Spirit is saying.

It’s easy to hear a politician, an influencer, a preacher, or an expert. It’s more important to hear what God’s Spirit says. Christians have been trained to sit and hear what a preacher says, but not to hear what the Spirit is saying. Don’t just go to church. Hear what the Spirit says (all week long).

If the distracting noise around you and within you annoys you, step aside and begin to hear what God’s Spirit says. Let Him be your inner Guide! God has thing under control. To be led by the Spirit you need to take the time to hear what the Spirit says and then humbly and courageously obey.

When the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit are rare, it’s because Christians are unwilling to hear what the Spirit says. To avoid quenching the Holy Spirit, you have to learn to actively and continually hear what the Spirit is saying.

The sound of the still, small voice of God’s Spirit is sweeter than a bird’s tweet. Hear what the Spirit says.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice.” Hear what the Spirit says. How can you hear what the Spirit is saying? “Be still and know that I am God.”

Simon Says is a game. Preacher says can also be a game called “playing church.” To hear what the Spirit says is game on! Hear God’s Spirit now!

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13.) Hear what the Spirit is saying.

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8:16.) Hear what the Spirit says.

Moses was willing to hear what the Spirit says. He was humble and courageous enough to obey what he heard. O for some Christians who will follow Moses’ example into even more glory!

Too many Christians
Would rather hear
Their favorite preacher’s
Religious research
Than to let God search
Deep within their heart.
O how we need to
Hear what the Spirit
Is saying!

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Sermon-Hearing Makes Me Feel Out of Place

Sitting and hearing a sermon makes me feel out of place. I want to be a doer of the word, not a passive sermon-hearer. I want to meet with people to be led by God’s Spirit together so that we can actively demonstrate the presence of the living Jesus by obeying the 50+ “one another” commands in the New Testament.

People of God, “Be led by the Spirit.” Refuse to stay stuck in the same ole same ole of routine religion. Get a vision beyond Sunday tradition.

Jesus told His disciples to “Go.” He wants us to grow in our relationship with Him and our obedience to Him, not to settle comfortably into what we think we already know about Him. Jesus wants us to experience His presence living and working inside and through us day and night.

Listen to Jesus. Do what He says. Be led by His Spirit, not by your opinions, feelings, and desires. Lift up your head and look unto Jesus as the Lord and Head of your life. Let God lift up your heart as an everlasting door so the King of Glory can come in. (See Psalm 24:7-9.)

It’s good when God speaks to you through a preacher, but it’s even more powerful when you let Him speak directly to your heart! Preaching and teaching alone aren’t working to make Spirit-led, Christ-like people. Just look at how divided faithful church attendees are–how angry, how prideful, how bound up in self-focus.

Where are the disciples who put Christ and His will first–above nation, family, and personal desires? They can only be produced by daily surrender to and obedience to the risen Jesus. It’s time for churches to begin to actively train and disciple people to set aside self-focused desires and to continually listen to and obey Christ’s inner voice.

The people of God need Spirit-led, hands-on training sessions where they open their hearts to God and to one another. We need to learn to individually listen to Jesus and to faithfully say and do what He tells us to (regardless of our discomfort level). The goal of church should not be just to get people to passively reflect on and ponder a sermon, but to train people to actively reflect and radiate the wonder and glory of the risen Jesus with one another and everywhere they go.

A one-size-fits-all sermon can give you information about God, but a message received from God directly by your heart (without going through a religious system) is far more powerful. Now is the time to begin to listen to and obey God’s Spirit!

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Beyond AI and Computer Intelligence

It is easy to rely on AI and computer intelligence, but I am called to rely on an intelligence beyond that. I’m not talking about my own intelligence, but the supernatural wisdom that comes from direct revelation from the living God.

Beyond Fear to Faith

To hear God’s Spirit
Speaking in your heart
Begin to notice
Pure and holy thoughts
That don’t come from you.
They are Christ’s voice
To lead and guide you,
Calling you closer
So you’ll make the choice
To do what He says.
Pay close attention
And you’ll hear Him speak.
“My sheep hear My voice.”
Go beyond your fear.
Be willing to hear.
Rely on Jesus
Living inside you
To reveal to you
What to say and do.

Too many Christians are afraid of the Holy Spirit and try to keep their distance from Him. However, I can say that the best thing that I ever do is to listen to the Spirit (Christ in you) and do what He prompts me to.

Without direct revelation from God, we end up with Christless Christianity that is based on human intelligence rather than on the active leadership and reality of the risen Jesus. Christless Christianity prefers to hear a talk about Jesus instead of experiencing and surrendering to His presence and power. Christless Christianity is led by a human head instead of by the literal Headship of Christ in you, the hope of glory. It makes Christ a mere figurehead instead of the actual Head.

Promoting and defending a Christian organization can easily become more important to its members than being faithful to the kingdom (government) of God. I believe that elders in the Bible are “Seniors” in Christ — seasoned and mature in hearing and obeying the risen Jesus — not official religious office holders.

Many people have been helped by hearing sermons, but there is more to Christian worship than that. It’s also important that when Christians gather that Christ is allowed to be the literal Head and the Holy Spirit is allowed to prompt and lead anyone present to speak. See 1 Corinthians 24:26.

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The Skill of Seeing Goodness as a Thrill

Badness has a thrill that goodness often seems to lack. When tempted between the choice of right or wrong, wrong frequently appears to be the most exciting choice; right, the dull and boring one. It takes skill to see beyond the self-destructive, craving impulse of the moment and to recognize the thrill of goodness. It takes the skill of humbling yourself and pulling down your pride in order to be able to recognize the thrill of following the risen Jesus into the joy of the Lord and the peace that passes understanding.

The pride that’s prevalent in our culture causes people to believe that darkness is better than light, that wrong is better than right. The truth is that the people who act like they think that they know it all and proudly pontificate about politics (or other topics) while accusing people who disagree with them of lying and cheating are speaking more from hearsay and opinion than from facts.

The skill of seeing goodness and humility as true greatness is best learned in Spirit-led community. A gathering of the body of Christ is the greatest town hall meeting in the world when God’s Spirit is allowed to speak in and through the various people present. It’s the way to see the goodness of Jesus working in and through other people.

Unfortunately, Christianity has usually been set up where people are shut down and Spirit-led community isn’t allowed to happen. When Christians gather as an audience and aren’t permitted to obey God’s inner promptings, the Spirit is quenched.

When we ignore our desires
And are led by the Spirit
So we do what God requires,
Not the comfort zone things
That our flesh desires,
People who love Jesus will be
A godly community,
A kingdom colony
Doing the things on earth
That are done in Heaven.
God wants to lead us
Out of the world’s ways
Beyond its deceptive haze
And enslaving dark daze,
Into the glorious light
Of the life-changing insight
And constant awareness of
And surrender to
Christ living in you.

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