Steve Simms's Blog, page 44

A Write About Freedom

The freedom to ignore and disobey your conscience is the false freedom to self-destruct. That’s the freedom that is being promoted and embraced by our contemporary culture. It’s no surprise that the sadness of self-destruction surrounds us.

Here’s true freedom: Instead of passively letting your desires define and dominate you, you have the ability to define and dominate your desires.

The freedom to put individual subjectivity (feelings, desires, and compulsions) ahead of obvious physiology and to demand or bully people into public agreement, is a false freedom that leads a society into confusion and mental duress. True freedom allows people to openly make these observations: Abortion ends a human life. A person’s body declares his or her gender.

The freedom to insult and belittle people is another false freedom. It leads society into anger and bitterness. True freedom is the freedom to share our perspective with kindness and to respect other people’s right to disagree with us. People who think they know what they don’t know frequently get mad at and/or insult those who disagree with them. They are far from freedom. (The idea that you can make America great by continually insulting the Americans you disagree with is terribly misguided concept of freedom.)

If nothing produced everything it would mean that everything (including you and the entire human race) is nothing but a meaningless accident. It would mean that people are merely mechanism–machines that operate without free will. It would mean that freedom is only a myth. Fortunately, nothing has ever been shown to produce anything, so it’s impossible that nothing could have produced everything and made it all fit together and work together with intricate detail and precision. Someone has done an amazing job of designing your body and your mind!

Some racial insults
Are spoken with hate,
Some with ignorance,
Either way they won’t
Make America great.

Life is short.
Breathless bodies
Buried beneath
The dirt
Becoming dust
Bring to mind
My mortality
And make me grateful
For the blessing
Of every breath
And for the awareness
Of Christ in me.

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The Priceless Meal

Daily writing promptWhat’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?View all responses

When hope shuts down and fear closes in, it’s good to remember that there’s a meal that no money can buy. It is a gift of value that is beyond description. It is symbolized by bread and wine. It is the gift to be “partakers of the divine nature.”

At what is called The Last Supper, “Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'” (Matthew 20:26-27.)

That priceless meal was more than bread and wine. It was the offer to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” It proclaimed the gift of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Last night during a small gathering of Christ-followers (as I was pouring out my heart in adoration to Jesus) an image of Christ appeared in my consciousness. He was walking beside me. As we walked together, He got closer and closer to me until His shoulder was touching my shoulder. Then His shoulder began to literally merge into my shoulder and suddenly His entire body moved inside of mine.

I had never had that literal of a perspective of Christ in me before. The Scripture that says, “Christ in you,” isn’t just a religious teaching. It’s real. It’s experiential. It’s powerful. It’s glorious!

Faith is to wholeheartedly rely on and daily depend on the presence, activity, and reality of the risen Jesus working inside of you, instead of on your own efforts, abilities, or resources. Train yourself to continually rely on the resurrected Jesus. He’s the same “yesterday, today, and forever.” That is the ultimate dependability!

The gift of the manifestation and inspiration of Christ in you is more satisfying and longer lasting than any human pleasure. Receive the gift of His indwelling presence now!

Open the eyes
Of your heart
And behold
The glorious view
Of Christ in you.

Christianity’s not about the size of your train. It’s about staying on track with Jesus. Let Christ freely live and work inside of you!

From “Blah, Blah, Blah,” to “Rah, Rah, Rah!”

Daily writing promptScour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.View all responses

There’s a story that many people find uninteresting because it is too often presented as “blah, blah, blah.” However, to me it is the most exciting series of events in history. That story powerfully impacts my life throughout each day. It’s account of Jesus and His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ongoing working in human hearts! Christ’s presence in me freely flows from my innermost being as living water.

“My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.”
Christ is risen!
Church sometimes seems
Like “blah, blah, blah,”
But Christ in me
Is “Rah, Rah, Rah!”
Think outside
Your comfort box
Until you find
Hope that unlocks
God’s building blocks
And puts you on
The Cornerstone.
To raise you above
Life’s hard knocks–
“If then you were
Raised with Christ,
Seek those things
Which are above.”’

My wife, Ernie, and I love to bask in Christ’s living water that flows from deep within us:

30 keys that unlock happiness

Daily writing promptList 30 things that make you happy.View all responsesLove, Joy, Inner peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control,Faith, Hope, Confession with repentance,The mercy and grace of forgiveness,Ongoing surrender to Jesus,Being Spirit-led,Flowing with the gifts of the Spirit, Encouraging people to obey Jesus,Praying out loud with people,Listening to the risen Jesus,Talking to Jesus, Walking with Jesus,Writing about Jesus, Posting about Jesus on social media,Keeping my attention on Jesus,”Obeying Jesus,Interacting with Spirit-led people,Rejoicing in the Lord, Praying in tongues, Spirit-led worship that passionately flows from the heart,Gathering with other Christ-followers as His Spirit-led town hall meeting (ekklesia).

Words about Jesus without a godly lifestyle are hypocritical. A godly lifestyle without words about Jesus makes people think you’re a good person. Don’t let people give you credit for what Christ is doing in you. Show and tell what Jesus has done and is doing in and through your life. Use actions and words to declare His glory. Both are necessary.”

Following Christ is about daily attentiveness to, obedience to, and reliance on the presence and power of the risen Jesus. Are you willing to humbly hear, obey, and rely on what Jesus has to say in your heart, even if it is something you don’t want to hear? Dare to let your heart be continually aware of and surrendered to the heart of Jesus. “Whatever He says to you, do it.” “He that has ears let him hear what the Spirit is saying . . .”

I can testify to this! Jesus said: “Therefore do not worry . . . but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” Ever since I was 19, I’ve sought to follow and obey the risen King Jesus, and all these 30 things have been added unto me!

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I’m Curious About How to Encourage All the Discouraged People

Daily writing promptWhat are you curious about?View all responses

All the discouraged people want hope. They pursue it in political figures and hunt for it in celebrity-worship. They look for it in religion and even grasp for it in mind altering substances.

I’m curious about how to encourage all the discouraged people. That curiosity causes me to think a lot about the most encouraged people I’ve ever met in person or read about in history. Those people have one thing in common. They have a life-consuming faith that resounds far beyond routine religion. The Bible is full of people like that: the Old Testament prophets, the early followers of Jesus, and of course Christ Himself.

My curiosity keeps me reading the writings of people whose faith sets my heart on fire. I’ve read many hundreds of books like that (most written by people who died long ago). Curiosity makes me want to find and spend time interacting heart-to-heart with present-day people who are unashamedly and passionately focused on and in love with the risen Jesus. (Sometimes they are difficult to find.)

No matter what I’m facing, the living Jesus gives me hope and keeps encouragement flowing from deep within me. I’m curious about how to effectively pass that encouragement on to all the discouraged people. My heart breaks because I don’t know how to effectively share Christ’s encouragement so that He becomes real to multitudes of hopeless people the way that He continually shows Himself as real to me. And my curiosity grows ever stronger.

This prayer comes from deep in my heart! “Lord, show me anything I can do to help You encourage all the discouraged people.”

Here are some of the most recent words that have come to my heart. I hope they help you find hope.

Biblical Christianity is ongoing interaction with and surrender to the risen Jesus. It is spontaneous like breathing. It’s not something that needs to be programmed or institutionalized.

You Can See Hope More Clearly

Hearing a sermon
And singing some songs
Will be deceptive
If they don’t align
With the Bible.
Search the Scriptures
And do what they say.
Hear what God’s Spirit says
So you won’t be deceived.
“Humble yourself.”
“Bless those who curse you.”
“Love your enemies.”
(See Acts 17:11 and James 1:22.)

If you feel devalued, this might be the reason. Love doesn’t applaud, approve of, or engage in behavior it believes to be wrong. When a society teaches people that prenatal lives don’t matter, they devalue post-natal lives as well. All lives matter to the risen Jesus, including yours! You can trust His voice of mercy and hope in your heart to heal, comfort, and restore you. Christ’s still small inner voice isn’t your imagination. It’s real! Confirm it by what the Bible says and let it flood you with encouragement.

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A Lifestyle of Intentional Kindness

Daily writing promptWrite about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.View all responses

Instead of an occasional random act of kindness, my goal is to live a daily lifestyle of intentionally being kind to everyone I encounter (whether I want to be kind to them or not). Unfortunately, I fall short of that goal and can easily be unkind. Sometimes I ignore people. Sometimes I speak harshly. Sometimes I am rude. When I am unkind, I ask people and God to forgive me. As a Christ-follower my unkindness can cause people to hear what I say about Jesus as “blah, blah, blah.” That’s one reason I strive to be kind to all.

When people hear “blah, blah, blah,” from Christians what we say is blah, blah, blocked from their awareness and they walk away unaware of the reality of the living, resurrected Jesus. It’s a great sin when Christians bore people with the most exciting news in human history–the invasion of planet earth by the God-man, Jesus the Christ.

One reason multitudes of people don’t hear, comprehend, and surrender to the Good News about Jesus is because of the way it is presented. It is presented as religious theory, as ancient history, as church routine, and as prideful theology, instead of as present-day reality. It is lectured about in formal Sunday sermons instead of being openly testified about with heart-felt vulnerability, gratitude, and humility that radiates from Christians’ faces and from their daily lives. If we want people to be able to hear about and receive Christ’s present-day forgiveness and life-transforming power, we need to point them to the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, passionately testify about how Jesus has become real and active in our daily lives, and lay down our self-protection, self-righteousness, and self-focus. (See Revelation 12:11.)

The world wants inclusion. Inclusion! This biblical inclusion is usually ignored by Christians. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We human beings have “all” fallen into a rebellious self-focused mess. That includes each one of us. We all need God’s mercy, forgiveness, and ongoing restoration. “There is none righteous, no not one.” Will you join with the tax collector in the Bible who “beat his breast and said, ‘God have mercy on me a sinner!’”? “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

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I’m Living in Bright Light

Daily writing promptHow would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?View all responses

I’ve discovered that light can lead me safely through the dark tunnels in my life. I love stepping out of those dark tunnels and living in the light! I try to keep my inner eyes fixed always on life’s brightest light and not on the darkness around me or on the temptations within me. The risen Jesus is the Light who “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome.”

My heart used to be an arid environment where the Spirit of Christ struggled for access. I resisted the Light because I was afraid. Then one day I surrendered my opinions, feelings, and desires to the living Jesus and He turned my heart into a tropical paradise where His Spirit flourishes.

When people who claim to be Jesus-followers refuse to humbly reflect the reality of the radiant character of Christ’s love, mercy, and light, few will fully believe the Bible’s claims that He is alive and actively working in human hearts. The way to spread the Gospel is to daily demonstrate the presence of the risen Jesus by pointing people to His blood, continually testifying to His present-day transforming power, and repeatedly laying down all self-righteous at the foot of His Cross. (See Revelation 12:11.)

There are no shadows
In God’s brilliant light.
There’s no place to hide
The things that aren’t right.
That’s why many choose
Darkness over light.

Be courageous.
Come to the Light.
Just say “Jesus,”
Not in your mind
But out loud.
Softly repeat His name
Several times.
Then sit quietly
And notice the things
That occur within you.
Somewhere inside
You will notice
An encouraging
And gentle thought
Or sensation
Which is Jesus knocking
On your heart’s door.
Open it wide to Him,
Not just once,
But often
Until you learn
To daily live
With your heart
Fully open
To Jesus.

The Tradition of Blaming Others for Your Condition

Daily writing promptWhat traditions have you not kept that your parents had?View all responses

My mother had a tradition of blaming people for her condition. She wasn’t always vocal about it. It was usually a quiet but obvious blaming that had morphed into bitterness. You could sometimes see it on her face, sense it in her attitude, and feel it in her behaviors.

As early as I can remember, I was aware of her bitterness, and it broke my heart. I didn’t want that kind of obsession to take over my life, so I broke with the tradition and worked hard to not blame anyone for anything that happened in my life.

Life continues to give me many opportunities to work on that. I’m still sometimes tempted to blame people and I resist those temptations with all my might. One tool that helps me a lot is to pray by name for the individuals (or groups) I’m tempted to blame and to ask God to bless them in as many ways as I can. I’ve noticed that it’s harder to blame people when you are asking God to abundantly bless them.

Blame and unproven accusations flew in the Bible. The Pharisees frequently used false accusations as a way to try to discredit Jesus. Later many of the same religious people accused Paul. “They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.” (Acts 25:7)

Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you,” and “Love your enemies.” He taught and demonstrated the forgiveness that sets aside blame. Even as Jesus was dying on the Cross, He broke the blame cycle and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The blame cycle began in the Garden of Eden. Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the devil, and humans have been blame shifting ever since. Perhaps our lives would be better if we focused on fixing our problems instead of on accusing other people of causing them.

When you lose,
Rather than accuse
Other people
And excuse
Your own behavior,
Pay your dues
By graciously
Admitting your loss.
To play the blame game
Of spreading your
Unproven views
In order to accuse
Will only confuse
The situation
And distort the truth.

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How to Avoid the Daze of Typical Days

Daily writing promptWas today typical?View all responses

Typical day?
No way!
Here are some ways
I avoid the daze
Of typical days.

I met with a small, informal gathering of people last night. (I think there were 13 of us.) As we began to worship a sense of incredible awe filled the room. You could see God’s glory on each face. When I closed my eyes, I felt the same way I felt when I was worshipping in the Hughes Auditorium during the Asbury Awakening. These words kept running through my mind: “This is very significant. It is Heaven touching Earth.” When the Spirit-enriched worship ended after more than an hour and a half, we all sat in profound stillness savoring the presence of the Lord.

The Bible says that Christians are supposed to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Why do so few Christians seem to fit that description? Perhaps Christianity is supposed to be a moment-by-moment relationship with the risen Jesus instead of a once-a-week religious event.

There’s nothing typical about following and obeying the risen Jesus instead of your own thoughts, feelings, and desires. Very few people do that. Come out of the haze and follow His ways!

Typical choices
And regular behaviors
Brought you where you are.
If your daily ritual
Of being habitual
Has made you unhappy,
That’s very typical.
Look beyond the routine.
Life involves the unseen.
It’s not analytical;
It is supernatural.
Open your heart to Christ
And to His invisible
Presence and love.

Typical day?
No way!
The risen Jesus
Gives me ways
To void the daze
Of typical days.

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Christianity is More Than Sitting People in Rows

Faith is inspired
By God’s Spirit.
It’s not acquired
By studying.

An inner flash
Of sudden insight
Has more power
Than a mental stash
Of information.
Faith isn’t science.
It’s full reliance
On Christ in you.

The way faith grows
Isn’t by sitting
People in rows
To listen to
What one man knows.
It grows
When people expose
Their heart to Christ
And to one another.

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