Steve Simms's Blog, page 44

Advice to Melt the Ice in Your Heart

How do you spell “relief”? Too often it is spelled as “h-e-a-r-t–-h-a-r-d-e-n-i-n-g.” When we humans are in the midst of troubles we tend to cry out to God and allow Him to soften our heart. However, when relief comes and the difficulties depart, it’s easy to harden our heart, to restart our dependence on self, and to realign with our pride.

Real repentance is relief that lasts. It doesn’t vanish behind pride, self-sufficiency, and hardness of heart.

Life’s an amazing mystery. Here we are! I wrote this and now you’re reading and perceiving it. Something is flowing from one life to another, from my heart to yours. I choose to impart kindness, not anger; peace, not hostility; hope, not despair. What are you imparting to others?

Life should be treasured. Savor and appreciate the gift of every moment! To disrespect the gift of human life and make it disposable (to carelessly treat your life and/or any other human life between conception and death) is to totally miss the point of our existence.

I think, (I ponder, I perceive and receive glorious things that are beyond material existence — love, joy, peace, hope, faith, forgiveness, gratitude, and so much more), therefore I am (blessed to be alive). How about you?

The human body is an amazing organic machine. The immense complexities of human anatomy that all have to work together in perfect harmony to keep you alive and functioning well are mind boggling. (Take a look through a book on human anatomy.) But the mind itself, the awareness that is able to perceive and be conscious of the immense complexities of human anatomy including the complexities of the brain, is the most mysterious and glorious part of human existence.

What is this consciousness that humans call me, myself, and I? It is the invisible reality of the nonphysical you. You are more than an incredibly crafted material organism. You are a spirit. You have a soul. You are literally from beyond this physical world. Your intelligence isn’t artificial. It’s real. Think, ponder, and let your genuine intelligence go beyond information sorting. Let it keep you overflowing with wonder, awe, and great gratitude!

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A Tender Heart Gives Me Energy

Hard-hearted people create hardship for themselves and others. They wind up shipwrecked within and yet they pretend that all is well. However, I have found that a tender heart gives me great energy!

The source of a hard heart is sin — the prideful human desire to do our own will instead of God’s will. God created the human heart to be intimately surrendered to and submitted to Him. When we shut down the tenderness or our heart and our awareness of God in our daily life, we have been created so that our neglect of God gradually hardens our heart. That’s why we can honor God with our lips while our heart is far from Him.

God doesn’t want human hearts to be hardened by sin. That’s why Jesus, the God-man, came to proclaim the inner government (kingdom) of God and call to people to repentance and full surrender to His will. He died on the Cross as the sacrifice for our sin and rose again so that “whosoever will” can have a new heart that is continually aware of and reliant on “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

A hard heart refuses to say and do what God commands. A hard heart quenches what God the Holy Spirit has to say because it doesn’t want to hear it, say it, or do it. Pharoah in ancient Egypt is an example of a hardened heart.

Pharoah was a cruel dictator, holding multitudes of people in the terrible bondage of life-long slavery and forced labor without pay — using them to build gigantic monuments to himself. Moses and Arron repeatedly came to Pharoah and offered him God’s way out of his hardened heart by telling him to set the Hebrew slaves free. Time and again, chance after chance, Pharoah refused to align with God’s will and his refusal led to God’s judgment. Don’t let a similar thing happen to you.

I saw a leaf moving down a road and I knew that the wind was there. Let people see Jesus moving you from within so they will know that He is there in your heart.

Being hateful
Is a stressful
Way to live.
Being prideful
Is deceptive.
Humble yourself.
Be receptive
To God’s presence.

People like to accuse
Other people of things
That they like to excuse
In their own behavior.

When you point your finger
In verbal attack
Three fingers
Always point back
And show that you lack
Heart-felt compassion.
Speak the truth with love.
It’s time we rise above
Speaking our opinions
With anger.

Be a fan of Jesus. Stay excited about Him day and night. Nothing and no one on earth can compare to His glorious splendor! When you become aware of the presence of the risen Jesus, no political leader is worth getting excited about!

Jesus is so much more than a Sunday message. He’s alive and well. He’s working in and through whoever will surrender to Him.

The American government has never been the cause or source of the growth of Christianity in the USA. Christianity has grown here because of mighty moves of God: The first and second Great Awakenings, The Layman’s Prayer Revival of 1859, The Azusa Street Revival/Pentecostal Movement, The Jesus Movement and The Charismatic Movement of the 1970s, and the thousands of local spiritual awakenings in individual churches and communities across the land. If we want lasting spiritual awakening perhaps, we need a reformation of the way we do church so the Spirit can directly lead us.

This picture shows how Jesus keeps my heart bright and tender.

My Favorite “Album”

Daily writing promptWhat’s your all-time favorite album?View all responses

One definition of album is “a blank book for holding a collection of items.” I fill up the album of my memory with the things that I have heard the risen Jesus say and the things that I have seen Him do. One of the ways that I do that is by daily writing and posting those things on my blog (and on Facebook and X). They have become my all-time favorite album.

This is what I heard in my heart this morning:

I’m a Jesus-writer.
I love writing for Jesus.
I want to write for Jesus
All the days of my life.
I listen with my heart.
And some thoughts come from Christ.
Then I use the Bible
So I can verify them.
His sheep hear His voice.
And I write what He says.
I love hearing from Jesus.
I want to hear from Jesus.
All the days of my life!

If you will keep God’s insights in your sight, hope will never be out of sight. The devil is the accuser and he’s good at his job. He doesn’t need you to help him out. Be kind! Keep hope alive.

I’d Like to Be Better Informed About My Own “I Will Nots”

“I Will Nots”

Pharoah refused to obey the Lord because he had a hardened heart. When God used Moses to tell Pharoah to “Let My people go,” Pharoah replied, “I will not.”

The Bible tells Christians: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.” If you have any “I will nots” between you and God, you have hardened your heart.

Here are some “I will nots” that are very common among Christians today: “I will not obey . . .”

* “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven.”

* “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

* “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

* “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

* “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

* “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

* “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

* “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.”

* “Repent.”

* “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.”

* “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in Heaven may forgive you your sins.”

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The music that matters most

Here’s the big picture: Music that is heard by the ears is temporary. Music that is heard with a humble, tender heart can change a person’s life forever. Open your heart to hear the music of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

A nation’s government is temporary. If you change it, the change won’t last. Human beings are eternal. When they truly allow the living Jesus to change them from inside out, that change is forever. Seek first the change that lasts — the kingdom of God within you, not the kingdom of human government. To politicize Christianity is to focus on human governments and ignore inner the kingdom of God.

Many Christians today seem to have a hardened heart like the Pharoah in ancient Egypt. When they hear what the Lord says they refuse to obey: “Love your enemies.” “Bless those who curse you.” Where are God’s love-governed people who live moment by moment under the direct heart-to-heart leadership of the risen Jesus? Christians should stop the slander, scorn, spitefulness, and smear tactics and start showering people with Christ’s love.

It is time to let God’s people go free from human control and religious manipulation so they can worship Him in spirit and in truth. Then they can go beyond routine, gather in Jesus’ name (instead of in the name of a church, a preacher, or a ministry) and be led by God’s Spirit.

Churches need to do more than lecture people. They need to train and empower people to open their heart to God and to each other and to speak as the Spirit leads them. (See 1 Corinthians 14:26.) Don’t just find and attend a Spirit-filled conference, church service, or revival. Be one 24/7/365.

Here’s a sign of hardened hearts. Christians are supposed to be one big spiritual family. Instead, we have divided ourselves into tens of thousands of independent religious organizations each one doing our own thing. Oops!

When you repeat someone’s lies (intentionally or unintentionally) you’re being a liar. Refuse to make accusations without personally having solid, tangible, irrefutable proof. It’s easy to cry cheater (and convince yourself that people are guilty of it). It’s hard to prove it beyond any doubt. (The greatly increasing anger and hostility in America is on the verge of breaking it into pieces and totally destroying the economy.) Hardened hearts desperately need to let God’s inner music soften their soul.

God loves people.
You should too.
Let His love
Flow through you.
In all you say
And what you do
Speak truth with love.
If you’re unwilling
To “love your enemies”
You’re not following
The risen Jesus.

Two Misused Words

There’s nothing “great”
About spreading hate.
There’s nothing “reproductive”
About abortion.

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How I Celebrate and Make Everyday a Holiday

I celebrate being alive and make every day an enjoyable holiday. You can to. Here’s how:

Go through your daily life with never-ending conscious awareness of God, refusing to be distracted from Him! It’s easy to walk away from a time of prayer, a Bible study, a devotional, or a church service and leave your short-term focus on God behind. It’s easy to feel good about having done your religious duty and then to put God on the shelf until tomorrow, or next week, or next religious activity.

If you like to set God aside for a while and go do what you want to do, you’re overlooking the all-consuming inner fire that He is. You’re missing out on fully experiencing Christ in you the incredible hope of glory who ever flows from deep within as rivers of living water. You’re not remembering to continually taste and see that the Lord is good. You’re neglecting to always rejoice in the Lord with joy unspeakable and full of glory. You’re forgetting to abide steadfastly in His presence and peace that passes understanding. You’re avoiding praying without ceasing. You’re trying to satisfy your inner hungering and thirsting with something or someone other than the presence and power of the risen Jesus.

Jump into the inner rivers of the Spirit and be continually swept away from self-focus. Ever stir up the heart-fire of the inner presence of the living Jesus. Continually surrender to, adore, and interact with Christ in you. Be mended moment by moment by His mercy and ever surprised by His joy! The way to grow is to go.

I Can’t Hide So Why Try?

If everything about you is already known in the places that matter the most, why try to hide things from anybody? That’s a lesson I learned very early in life, and that realization has caused me to be radically open and honest.

For example, if a drug dealer finds out that the police and the FBI have a list of all his customers and records about all his transactions over the past several years, there’s no need to hide what he has been doing. Since the facts are all already known in the places that matter the most, he can be completely honest.

As a small child living in a non-religious home, I had a strong awareness of God. (Later I became an agnostic and finally a passionate Christ-follower.) As a young child, I realized that God already knew everything about me (all the details of my life).

I have always had a rational mind, so I began to think that if God (the most important Being in existence) already knows everything about me, there is no need for me to hide things from anybody else. Living openly and honestly over the years has given me great inner peace. (Hiding stuff from people takes a lot of work, frustration, and deception.)

When God gets your full attention, He will lead you beyond your good intentions into the center of His will. Too many Christians are oppressed and obsessed by blame and anger. Let it go. “Bless those who curse you.” “Love your enemies.”

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Invisible Food

Humans need invisible food in order to keep hope alive. Burgers and fries (and even broccoli and carrots) don’t offer enough nourishment for people to thrive. For inner healing and mental health, we need to daily dine on the encouragement of inner peace, joy, and kindness. We all need the nourishment of faith, hope, and love.

One day Christ’s disciples were concerned that He wasn’t eating. He told them, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” He was talking about feeding on the Spirit of God. “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” (See John 4:31-33.)

God told Moses that His name is I AM. I AM is the Almighty, the eternal Creator of all that exists. He is directly communicating with people today and calling us to exit our self-effort and self-focused lifestyle and to continually give our all to Him.

Jesus (Emmanuel–I AM with us) said: “My sheep hear My voice.” To be “led by the Spirit” we must hear and obey the voice (the inner promptings) of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Jesus is the fire that burns within the heart of His surrendered followers and empowers and directs them through the inner flames of His Spirit. Will we “walk in the Spirit” or will we quench the Spirit and live by our human thoughts, feelings, and desires? I AM is calling you. Will you go where He sends you and say what He tells you to?

Seeing the Holy Spirit work is as easy as 1-2-3.

1) Gather with a small group of people who want to directly hear from the risen Jesus.

2) Have everyone present listen to Jesus and notice what He says or does in her or his own heart.

3) Let each person say and/or do whatever Jesus prompts him or her to say and/or do.

If you do these things, you will experience the risen Jesus working in and through the people present in deeply heart-touching ways as the Holy Spirit directly leads the meeting.

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Running From Self-Righteousness

I used to be self-righteous, thinking I deserved God’s approval. Now I run away from self-righteousness every day so that I can rely on God’s mercy instead of my own goodness.

Self-righteousness hardens the human heart. It tries to boost itself by blaming others. Self-righteousness is based on pride, true righteousness on humility. Self-righteousness likes to advertise its self-proclaimed virtues.

The self-righteous are too proud to see or to admit when they are wrong. If you always think you are right, you are self-righteous.

Self-righteousness is a trap. Humbly asking for forgiveness leads to freedom. Self-righteousness is the weapon of the insecure.

Self-righteousness enjoys seeing itself as better than other people. It over looks its own faults and exaggerates the faults of others. It sees kindness as weakness. It withholds compassion.

Self-righteousness has no need for the risen present Jesus. It’s satisfied with a distant religious Jesus.

Self-righteousness keeps people from fully experience the mercy, forgiveness, and grace of God. It’s a terrible deception. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Self-righteousness blocks personal and spiritual growth.

“The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit.” –Charles Spurgeon

With you/in you/through you
 
Christ is called
Emmanuel,
God with us!
Jesus has
Sent His Spirit
To now live in
And to lead
His followers
From within:
“Christ in you,
The hope of glory.”
Stir up the gift
That is in you.
Refuse to
Quench the Spirit.
Let His presence
Overflow
From your heart
Day and night.

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I Was Asked If I See Myself as a Leader

Self-deception is rampant. I want to look beyond myself and my pride so I can discover truth (whether I like it or not). I want to live in reality, not in self-righteousness. Am I a leader? I don’t know. What do you think?

In contemporary society’s heavy fog of constantly spotlighted feelings, opinions, desires, distortion, deception, cravings, and confusion, many people arrogantly claim that they are right and anybody who disagrees with them is wrong. They think that they are good people but that the people who see things differently than they do are bad people. Let’s get real.

There is some good and there is some evil in every individual person (including you). It’s easy to see the evil in people who you see as a threat, but all that does is increase your fear. Instead, first begin to recognize, attack, and overcome the roots of the evil fog in yourself. Then you can begin to see the good in your opponents and to love your enemies so that they can see the good in you.

Anger intensifies day after day. It grows into fear and insecurity. It sees people as threats. It morphs into hostility and a desire for retaliation. Anger justifies itself. It ignores logic and rationality. It inspires insults and accusations. It makes feelings and opinions more important than reality. It can suddenly lead to violence — even to angry mob violence.

That’s why the Bible says, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” When anger is carried overnight it gets stronger. Imagine how it grows if carried over months, years, and decades. If you are angry, don’t be its slave. Obey the Bible. Get rid of your anger before sunset tonight. Then you will be able to see things much more clearly.

Anger distorts truth. Without truth we are slaves to falsehood. Break free from anger’s bondage. “The truth will set you free.” Humbly seek it.