Steve Simms's Blog, page 56

In 10 Years I See Myself Staying, Not Straying

Daily writing promptWhere do you see yourself in 10 years?View all responses

We’re prone to stray
And drift away
From Jesus Christ.
Choose to stay
Conscious of Christ
Throughout each day,
Always aware
Of His presence
And His power
Along the way.

When Christians gather
To be Spirit-led
And obey what Christ
Says within their heart,
Everyone can see
Jesus is their Head
And know He’s not dead.

If you’re a Christian you are called to take the witness stand for Christ, to proclaim the Good News about Jesus, and to tell what He has done and is doing in your life. If you are a Christ-follower you are a preacher–a clergy person. Daily experience His love and preach it! Stay with your calling. Don’t stray from it.

Christians who focus on following a human leader tend to fall or be discouraged when the leader they depend on falls. Christians who focus on following and obeying the risen Jesus, press on no matter what a leader does. Leaders in the body of Christ are called to function not as a dominating individual but as a humble plurality that holds each other accountable.

The Holy Spirit is the only leader not subject to the deception of pride. The role of human leadership in the body of Christ is “episkopos” which unfortunately is translated as bishop in many English Bibles. It actually means “overseer.” That’s someone who oversees a gathering of the body of Christ like an official oversees a basketball game. He lets the game flow and only steps in if someone is out of order. As long as believers are being led by the Spirit, Christian leadership’s role is to equip and release all Christ-followers so they are empowered to do the work of the ministry themselves, not to make them ever dependent on hearing one person lecture.

When Christianity becomes more about the Holy Spirit steering than sermon-hearing, that’s revival! Let Jesus have the final say in what you say and do day by day. Stay close to and obedient to Him.

Christ-followers need to trust in and rely on the risen Jesus, not religious leaders. The leadership of the Holy Spirit is the key to spiritual awakening. Human leadership too often gets in the way. When we read the book of Acts, we see the leadership of the Holy Spirit being the key to growth in the body of Christ (ekklesia). When the Spirit-leads as at Pentecost, divine order that transcends human control prevails.

When the disciples try to set up a hierarchy with the 7 in Acts 6, it quickly gets blown up by Stephen’s preaching (instead of following his assignment of table serving) and scatters all the believers everywhere preaching the Gospel, except for the sent ones (apostles) who remained in Jerusalem. That leaves the scattered ones without their leadership until Phillip inspired such a spiritual awakening in Samaria that the sent ones finally send Peter and John on a temporary mission to offer some very short-term leadership. The spread of the Gospel was Spirit-led, not leadership driven. That’s still the key today.

People have skin
Of different hues
But didn’t choose
Whose hues are whose.
Please don’t refuse
To love all hues.
For healing views
Based on true news
Google the book,
“Off the Race Track–
From Color-Blind
To Color-Kind.”

I seldom quote other people. I believe that Christ is calling all His followers to directly listen to Him and to proclaim (tell, preach, write, and/or post) what He is telling them. However, I so identify with this quote that I feel the need to share it.

“I didn’t want to be a religious professional whose identity was institutionalized. I didn’t want to be a pastor whose sense of worth derived from whether people affirmed or ignored me. In short, I didn’t want to be a pastor in the ways that were most in evidence and most rewarded in the American consumerist and celebrity culture.” —Eugene Peterson

You don’t need to hear more preachers and Christian speakers. You need to hear “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

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Focus, Focus, Focus, Focus, Focus

Daily writing promptWhat are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?View all responses

I focus on what makes me happy. (To be unhappy, focus on yourself and your problems.) Things don’t make me happy. Jesus does. The key to happiness is Christ-focus.

If the main attraction
In your daily life
Is continual distraction,
You’ll be spiritually
Out of action,
Lacking interaction
With the living Jesus.

Focusing
On
Christ
Unleashes
Serenity.

If you haven’t
Recently heard
The living Jesus
Speak in your heart
Your vision of Him
Will be blurred.

Every moment that you ignore Jesus you’re missing out on the glorious awareness of His presence! There’s no other focus in life like the living Jesus. Keep your attention locked on Him.

When we aren’t focused on the risen Jesus, life quickly gets off track. If you will forget about yourself and begin to focus on the risen Jesus, you’ll be amazed at what happens in your heart.

Keep your conscious mind focused on the risen Jesus, not on yourself. You don’t get inner peace by focusing on yourself. You get inner peace by continually focusing on the risen Jesus. If you will keep your heart always focused on the living Jesus, you’ll be daily carried along by the reality of His presence.

You can focus on the risen Jesus, or you can ignore Him. The key to happiness is to always focus on Jesus and head in His direction. The more you focus on the living Jesus the more you will be aware of His presence and reality, His power and love. Live your life intensely focused on the risen Jesus.

When your heart is blurry, your mind will deceive you. Let the risen Jesus clear up your inner vision! People who are focused on the risen Jesus have an instant heart-connection when they encounter each other.

Your life will follow your focus. You can’t follow Jesus without continually focusing on Him. No one is perfectly focused on the living Jesus. Daily improve your focus. Seek to make Christ your ongoing locus of control. Develop a laser-like focus on the living Jesus. You’ll never see Him very clearly by candlelight.

Focus directly on the risen Jesus, not on lectures and programs about Him. When people are satisfied with an occasional glimpse of the living Jesus or a weekly religious service, they stray away from the awareness of His presence and live their life like He is far away from them.

Don’t ghost the risen Jesus. Be His daily host. If you leave church and ghost Jesus the rest of the week, you’ve wasted your time.

To focus on the living Jesus:

Stay in continual open-hearted conversation with Him.Quickly and consistently do what He prompts you to do.When the attention of your heart slips away from Him, promptly redirect it to His presence.When you disobey or ignore Him, immediately get back on track, ask for His forgiveness, and realign with His will.Daily read the Bible with your heart wide open to Him.Keep Scriptures flowing through your mind.Spend a lot of time with and open your heart to people who are intently focused on Him.Look for how Jesus is working in every circumstance throughout the day.“Consider others better than yourself.”Humbly love and serve people.See Christ in “the lease of these.”

You have the right to control your focus. Boldly and courageously keep it on Jesus! Focus is about spiritual warfare. Whatever gets your focus wins the battle. Self-focus interrupts Christ-focus. Choose which you will serve. When your focus on the risen Jesus is so intense that others think you’re crazy, you’re headed in the right direction. (Paul the Apostle said, “We are fools for Christ.”)

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People Love to Follow Their Impulses

Daily writing promptDescribe something you learned in high school.View all responses

High school taught me that people love to follow their impulses, even when they’re enslaving and/or self-destructive. Since that time, I’ve graduated to a better way of living.

Christ’s witnesses are led by His inner promptings, not by their own desires and impulses. We can only witness to what we’ve experienced. Christ’s witnesses cultivate the inner fire of His Spirit. They don’t quench it.

People who obey Christ’ inner promptings begin to live like He’s alive. They begin to do what He says and to love (even their enemies) like He loves.

To be a witness do what Christ’s inner promptings ask, not what bossy impulses demand. It’s easy to obey enticing impulses but it takes great courage to obey Christ’s inner promptings. Impulses are intrusive and pushy compulsions. Christ’s promptings are gentle and polite inner nudgings.

A culture caught up in confusion calls deception perception and lies truth. It needs Christ’s witnesses to speak the truth in love and to demonstrate His presence by their behaviors. Impulses imprison people in compulsive behaviors. Christ’s promptings set them free to follow Him and witness to His reality.

The body of Christ without Christ’s direct, personal and ongoing leadership and Headship quickly slips into human hierarchy and religious tradition. Christ’s witnesses call people beyond routine religion and into obedience to the inner promptings of the living Jesus.

I believe that Jesus never intended for His body of believers to become thousands of independent institutions. Because Christ lives in His followers, He can personally and directly lead and prompt them. There’s no need for religious organizations to corral and control His disciples. Christians need to gather as a heart-felt, interactive, Spirit-led community that obeys Christ’s promptings, not as a religious organization.

Impulsive behavior is an enslaver, not a savior. Jesus is the Savior! Impulsive thoughts and actions often lead to repulsive consequences. Resist your impulses. Obey Christ’s promptings. If you’re a Christ-follower, you’re a member of the body of Christ. Jesus never told His followers to join a religious organization.

When intrusive
Or impulsive
Or compulsive
Thoughts arrive
Be expulsive.
Kick them out
Of your mind!

When you call deception
Your truth
You lose your perception
Of the truth.

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Keeping My Conscience From Being Eclipsed

Daily writing promptDescribe one positive change you have made in your life.View all responses

We live in a society where people’s conscience has been eclipsed. I made the decision to continually resist and confront the culture’s constant attempts to cancel and override my conscience.

An eclipsed conscience is drenched in darkness. The eclipse of ethics, wisdom, and morals has hardened people’s conscience and is carrying our culture toward complete collapse.

If you feel like you’re experiencing a total eclipse in your life don’t sit and be depressed in the darkness. Move into the light.

Modern society works to eclipse God and deny His existence. Look beyond it! When I let the presence of the risen Jesus eclipse the trials in life, I’m overcome with awe, gratitude, and joy! Continually gaze at the Son of God. Don’t let anything eclipse Him.

Christianity has far too often let preachers and religious organizations eclipse the presence of the risen Jesus. Let Jesus eclipse your ego.

An eclipse of the sun quickly passes away, but an inner eclipse of Jesus Christ can keep a person in darkness forever. What is the eclipse in your life that’s keeping you from clearly seeing the Son of God?

Personally experiencing
The living resurrected Jesus
Will forever eclipse
Following religious scripts
And anything a preacher
Can say through his lips.

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Running to Tell People Good News

Daily writing promptWhat’s the most fun way to exercise?View all responses

Once when I was begging God for answers, the Holy Spirit released these words in my heart: “The answer is: you have the answer.” In a flash I realized that I didn’t need more religious explanations and dry information. I suddenly knew that all I needed to do is to continually focus on and follow Christ’s inner promptings and be enamored by His presence inside of me day by day. What marvelous peace, joy, insights, and miracles that releases!

An angry and hostile religious man was traveling the road to Damascus to arrest Christ-followers and take them to jail. Suddenly he encountered the risen Jesus. In a moment of insight, epiphany, and revelation his attitude was completely changed. He surrendered to the risen Jesus and began to listen to and obey Him moment-by-moment for the rest of his life. His writings are part of the bestselling book of all time and have released supernatural revelation within untold millions of people throughout the centuries. Have they revealed the risen Jesus to you and compelled you to pursue Him with all your heart?

Two discouraged and depressed Christ-followers were walking along the road to Emmaus, when the risen Jesus came by and began to walk with them. They had spent a lot of time with Jesus, knew Him well, and had even heard that Jesus had risen that very morning, but with all that information about Jesus, they didn’t recognize His presence.

As the risen Jesus spoke with them, His words began to burn in their heart. When they arrived at their destination, they invited that “stranger” to come in and spend more time with them. They asked Him to sit down with them and offered Him food. As He broke the bread, they suddenly realized who He is, and He vanished from their physical sight. They were instantly filled with the unspeakable joy of spiritual revelation, “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and went running to tell their friends about the living Jesus. Running to tell people about the reality, love, and presence of the risen Jesus is the most fun way to exercise. Have you experienced such a revelation that makes you run to tell people about it?

Religion and politics separate people, but the risen Jesus connects them heart-to-heart. When people who have experienced the risen Jesus tell how He has worked in their life, it touches human hearts. Testify!

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My Read Again and Again Book

Daily writing promptWhat book could you read over and over again?View all responses

Here’s the account of an amazing event from the book that I read every day, over and over again. It a tale of two cities about a trip from Jerusalem to Damascus.

Saul of Tarsus had great religious knowledge, but that knowledge didn’t bring Him into a relationship with Christ. All he had been taught didn’t open His heart to Jesus. He knew what Christians believed about Jesus, yet he wanted to throw them in jail for it.

Then one day on a road trip from Jerusalem to Damascus Saul’s theology was tripped up by the presence of the risen Jesus. From down on the ground, He asked: “Who are you, Lord?” Jesus replied: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

When Saul opened his eyes, he realized that he was physically blind. As he got up to go into the city, he was beginning to see the presence of Jesus as he caught inner glimpses of spiritual realities that can’t be taught.

Here’s what Paul wants us to know about His conversion: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (See Galatians 1:11-12.) He went from Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle–from taught to caught.

Religious information is learned by study. Relationship with Jesus is acquired thru direct personal revelation from God. Christianity isn’t produced by church attendance, but by acquiring an acute awareness of the actual and ongoing presence of Jesus. The more closely you associate with and surrender to the risen Jesus, the more you acclimate to His presence and acquire His character.

True faith in Christ is acquired by direct personal revelation from God and an intimate relationship of continual submission to the presence and Lordship of the living Jesus. Christianity’s not a religious curriculum learned thru lecture but a relationship with Jesus acquired thru ongoing surrender.

The purpose of human life is not mere existence. The purpose is to acquire an eternal relationship with God by ever aligning your consciousness and lifestyle with the risen Jesus and allowing Him to grow the fruit of His Spirit in your innermost being.

Jesus couldn’t be contained and controlled by routine religion in the first century and He can’t be today either! Look beyond religious routine and ever surrender to the living, resurrected Jesus!

I believe that churches make a big mistake by trying to teach Christianity as if it is an academic subject. I think that churches would be much more effective if they would cultivate an environment where people can freely open their hearts to one another and share how the risen Jesus has worked and is working in their life.

Here’s the bottom line: Faith in Christ isn’t something that can be taught. It’s acquired by being caught thru direct, supernatural revelation from God.

You can go to church,
Study the Bible,
And even sing in the choir,
Yet still not acquire
Christ’s spiritual fire
Burning within you.
Let Jesus ignite you
With His heart fire!

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I Wanna Be the New Me

Daily writing promptIf you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?View all responses

I don’t want to be a character from a book or film. I want to be the new me.

I’m not who I used to be. My old desires, feelings, and thoughts no longer define or dominate who I am. They’ve been pushed aside by a mighty inner flow of new desires, new feelings, and new thoughts that gush from my innermost being. I’m being changed day-by-day and from glory to glory to be like Jesus who came to live inside me and surround me with His presence. Being caught up in Christ is so wonderful, I never want to leave or be distracted from His majesty.

No matter where I go, there Jesus is making Himself known to me. I’m continually in awe of Him. My greatest desire now is to not hinder the rivers of living water that the risen Jesus releases within me and to allow His inner current to carry me wherever He desires. Moment-by-moment I seek to let go of my will and be swept along in Christ’s river.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

The Meaningless Cruelty of War

Materiality without meaning is merely mechanics. Science by explaining how things work but not why they exist, allows humanity to manipulate matter but can give us no purpose for our being alive.

A sense of meaninglessness makes humans feel insecure. Insecurity causes conflict and hostility. Conflict and hostility lead to violence and war. Nations that are built on insecure people will never demilitarize and war will continue.

War is the worst death penalty because it executes anyone who gets in its way. If we knew, deep down inside, why we humans are here on planet earth, war would be hated instead of being celebrated, honored, and memorialized.

A meaningful life will never rise from rational materialism. It comes from transcending the physical and beholding “the Lamb of God.” It comes from surrendering to the “Prince of Peace”–the living, resurrected Jesus Christ.

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Beyond Pets

Daily writing promptWhat animals make the best/worst pets?View all responses

Many people look to pets as their source of companionship, comfort, and stress relief. That can be helpful. Pets today are sometimes called “therapy animals” and are used to help people cope with daily life. However, there’s a far greater and more effective source of companionship and therapy than a pet.

Pets can distract us from companionship with God. If people would focus on and interact with the risen Jesus Christ with as much time, attention, and love as they do their pets, their lives would be immeasurably better! There’s nothing wrong with having pets, but if they become a substitute for a continual heart-to-heart relationship with Jesus, they’re keeping you from the most powerful source of healing and comfort in the Universe.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the ekklesia and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21.)

The world needs to see ongoing demonstrations of God’s “power that is at work within” people who continually hear and obey the risen Jesus and not just hear talks about Him. It’s time to let God do “immeasurably more than all we ask or think.”

The fewer the Spirit-led doers, the weaker the body of Christ becomes. Christians have been trained to hear a preacher but not to listen to God’s Spirit and do what He says. How often do you hear what God’s Spirit is saying and then do what He tells you to? If you will get your will out of the way, God’s will, will make immeasurable headway. “He who has ears to hear, let Him hear.”

Pets are great, but God is immeasurably greater. Seek Him and see!

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The Jesus Experience Blows the Lid Off of Church Boxes

Church fits people into a fixed form, but I believe that Jesus wants to prompt all of His followers to freely speak out as a forum for Him. Christianity should have never been locked up in church boxes. Let’s unbox the faith and let the risen Jesus lead us, direct us, and speak through us, wherever we go. Experience Jesus

The Jesus experience blows the lid off of church boxes and releases inner geysers of living water. Experiencing Jesus is far more powerful than hearing a sermon about Him. People who continually experience Jesus radiate His love, joy, and peace. They’re living witnesses of His daily presence. Do more than learn about Jesus. Experience Him!

A relationship with Christ comes from experiencing His presence. It can’t be taught. Open your heart to the risen Jesus. To experience Jesus is to go beyond your understanding and into the mysteries of God. You can’t figure Him out, but you can continually surrender to His presence.

Churches want me to listen to a talk about Jesus, but Jesus wants me walk with Him and experience His presence day and night. Jesus wants all His followers to be His witnesses. You won’t be an effective witness for Christ until you learn to daily experience and appreciate His presence. To outfox the devil, unbox Jesus. Many churches today have pushed the risen Jesus so far down into their boxes that their sermons seldom even mention Him.

To be Christ’s witnesses we need more than information about Him. We need ongoing encounters with Him. Open your heart to ongoing encounters with the living Jesus. Every time someone begins to daily experience and obey the risen Jesus, the world becomes a better place.

Church puts Jesus in religious boxes and divides His followers into independent organizations that tear apart the unity of the body of Christ. However, people who experience Jesus look beyond the boxes and experience heart-felt unity with one another regardless of church names and labels.

It’s a fact that governments often silence Christ-followers. It’s also a fact that churches often silence Christ-followers. Speak! It’s much more comfortable (but far less exciting) to attend church weekly than it is to daily experience and speak up about Jesus.

Crated Christianity is easily ignored, but the real deal is a never-ending thrill! When Christianity is contained in church cartons, people can’t see Christ for the carton. Church needs to be a Christ-led spiritual gift charging station, not a warehouse for religion. When Christianity gets out of the church box it will change the world again like it did in the pre-church era of the first few centuries A.D.

Christianity–when we box it, it can become toxic. It’s time to let the risen Jesus out of the religious boxes! If you begin to daily experience Jesus, you won’t be able to keep from speaking about the things you have seen and heard.

Testify! In this world that’s falling apart before our eyes, Jesus is calling you to His witness stand. Use your platforms, your networks, your phone, your voice, and anything else that you can find, to boldly testify about His presence and reality.

The Jesus experience is incredible! To miss out on it is to overlook life’s greatest treasure. God’s forgiveness is powerfully therapeutic. Ask for and receive God’s forgiveness for the things that cause you to feel guilty. In your chaos and confusion call on Christ and be set free.

I'm experiencing Jesus
Night and day,
All along life's way
Personal experience
Makes all the difference!
Christ's witnesses
Need experiences.
Where do you experience
The risen and living Jesus?[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." data-large-file="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." src="https://hopethoughts.com/wp-content/u..." alt="" class="wp-image-39473" />Photo by Yakup Polat on Pexels.com