Steve Simms's Blog, page 77

Artists who are “crazy in the Christ direction”

Daily writing promptWho are your favorite artists?

My favorite artists are passionate Christ-followers who care more about pouring out their heart to the risen Jesus than they do about making radio appealing religious music. I love the early “Jesus Music” of the 1970s before it was taken over by companies with the primary goal of making a profit and then turned into Contemporary Christian Music. We need more artists who belt out their sincere love for Jesus the way Andre Crouch, Love Song, and Larry Norman did.

I love the “crazy for Jesus” artists that Contemporary Christian radio rarely plays, artists like Rick Pino, Jesus Culture, and Sela. I have trouble listening to “Christian radio” because I can’t find a station that isn’t full of silly trivia. After a song of praise that is directed toward Jesus, a man and a woman come on and tease each other about what color of socks they are wearing. Then they play another worship song. Their nonsense gives me spiritual whiplash. Instead, why don’t they share a powerful testimony or a Scripture or a word of encouragement about the risen Jesus?

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 10, 2023 05:27

Courageous listening (by a guy named Ananias)

Be a courageous listener like Ananias. When your conscience, Christ in you, or the Bible tell you something that you don’t want to hear, hear it. “Love your enemies.” “Bless those who curse you.” “Repent.” “Consider others better than yourself.” “Humble yourself.” “Draw near to God.” “Resist the devil.” “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” “Whatever He (Jesus) says to you, do it” “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”

To help Christians be more effective at hearing and obeying the living Jesus it would be a great help if churches would shift away from one man on a platform or in a pulpit controlling everything from the front. Instead, we could meet like the fully participatory, ancient Greek town hall meeting where anyone present is allowed to speak. (Jesus said that He will build His ekklesia and that just so happens to be the name of that Greek town meeting.)

This would give Christ-follows hands-on training in hearing and obeying God’s Spirit in a safe environment with spiritually mature believers serving as overseers (elders/bishops) to keep the meeting aligned with the living Jesus and with the Bible. Christianity has focused on religious programming for many centuries. It’s time for all Christ-followers to shift our focus and obedience to the living, resurrected Jesus.

In the body of Christ, all members can report to and receive their instructions directly from the Head. Today we desperately need churches that will train, empower, and release people to listen to, trust, and directly obey the risen Jesus! When Jesus is allowed to call people to the mic and they are free to speak what He puts on their heart, that’s revival! Try it and see!

To not allow Jesus to take full control when believers gather as His body is to ignore His direct Lordship over His people. I don’t have hope that contemporary churches can release a Spirit-led awakening. My hope is that people will begin to look to and obey the risen Jesus instead of institutional churches.

(Since Jesus prayed that His followers be one, there’s a good chance that He’s not happy that we have divided ourselves into tens of thousands of independent denominations and churches.)

When conflict
Leads to killing,
It’s chilling.
It shows how much
Human hearts need healing
From bitterness
And violent feeling,
By the revealing
Of the Prince of Peace.

Here’s the story of Ananias as recorded in Acts 9:10-19:

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-37643" srcset="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co... 867w, https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co... 100w, https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co... 200w, https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co... 768w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" />Photo by Diego Ramirez on Pexels.com

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 10, 2023 05:00

Listening for hope is a joy!

Daily writing promptWhat is your favorite hobby or pastime?

View all responses

The sounds that strike our human ear drums are often stressful. Negative words frequently bring us bad, threatening, and depressing news. It’s hard to listen for the sounds of hope in a world that overflows with negativity.

My favorite hobby is to train myself to hear hope and to tune out despair in both the words I hear with my physical ear and the words, desires, and feelings that appear in my mind, will, and emotions. I really enjoy savoring the hopeful words that I hear within me and then posting them on social media and also pulling them together into a blog post.

Some words
Need to be said.
Some words
Need to be read.
Some words
Need to be
Left for dead.

I don’t have hope that contemporary churches can release a Spirit-led awakening. My hope is that people will begin to look to and obey the risen Jesus instead of institutional churches.

Is Christ in you?
Has your life
Been made new?
Are you being
Led by the Spirit
In what you
Think, say, and do?
“As many as are
Led by the Spirit
Are the children of God.”
–Romans 8:14

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 09, 2023 04:18

Hear Jesus, not just words about Him.

Hear Jesus here, there, and everywhere. When Christianity is presented as mostly just listening to one man lecture, it causes many people to reject it. Many Christian leaders have been well trained to and are very experienced at quenching the Holy Spirit.

A preacher’s mission is to present Jesus to non-believers, an overseer’s is to help keep a Christian gathering under the direct and personal leadership of God’s Spirit. Where are the overseers? The body of Christ desperately needs more Spirit-led, Bible-aligned pioneers. Be one! Christ-followers need to radiate the presence of the living Jesus, not simply sit thru another weekly sermon.

Traditional Christianity says: “Jesus is alive so come here and hear a weekly talk about Him.” But let’s use some logic here. If Jesus is alive and present when we gather in His name, then we can hear directly from Him. Right? If Jesus can talk to a preacher, He can talk to you. Go directly to the Source!

Members of the body of Christ are not and never were intended to be an audience! Let’s get out of our chairs and run with Jesus! “The gates of Hell” haven’t overcome the church, but making people passive spectators has sure taken the wind out of its sails. Churches that lecture but never train their members to boldly hear and obey the living Jesus will be full of mostly passive people.

Why should a preacher be the only person in a church who is considered to be able to hear from Jesus? There’s nothing in the Bible to justify that idea. Christians don’t need more sermons, studies, conferences, and courses. They need to be released and empowered to effectively and powerfully live out what they already know.

People need Jesus more than they need sermons. “Just give me Jesus.” How many sermons will it take till we learn that too many people have substituted sermon hearing for hearing Jesus?

A preacher’s bias and opinion can easily twist the Bible. Otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have warned us about false prophets. So why not read the Word ourselves so that it isn’t filtered thru a man’s opinion?

Rely on risen Jesus. Put your trust in Him, not in one of the tens of thousands of divisive, mutually independent religious organizations that call themselves churches or denominations. The answer to cruelty, oppression, bullying, name calling, hatred, violence, and war is the risen Jesus–the Prince of Peace! I’m in awe of Jesus when I see nature’s beauty and when I see His image in people’s heart (even in people who don’t acknowledge Him).

Western society proclaims that feelings are Lord–that a person’s feelings and desires define who he is and what he does. True Christianity declares and demonstrates that the living Jesus is Lord–that the resurrected and ever-present Jesus Christ defines who a person is and what he should do.

For me, listening to most formal sermons drowns out the voice of Jesus. I went to a church this morning and felt so distracted from Jesus that I had to leave half way thru the sermon to get focused on Him again. Given the choice, I’d rather hear directly from Jesus than from a preacher. How about you? If churches won’t train people to daily listen to Jesus, who will?

Hope’s in Christ, not in sermons!

Christians are sitting
Week after week
To hear the same man
Give a religious lecture
In a hope-starved world.
But the Bible says,
The hope of glory
Is “Christ in you.”

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 08, 2023 14:56

Learning to speak love language

I’m learning Spanish and the grammar displeases me, but if I change it to fit my desires, I miss it up. The same is true with love language. True love language isn’t uncomfortable when people disagree with or disapprove of each other’s behaviors and beliefs.

Love language speaks with an open heart in order to kindly guide people toward truth and to turn them from error. It never calls people who kindly disagree with each other “haters.” Love language doesn’t retaliate (or “retali-hate”) when it feels like it has been wronged.

Unconditional praise and approval aren’t the language of love. True love language doesn’t speak approvingly when people are causing harm to themselves or others.

Love language is sometimes encouraging and sometimes corrective. If you see me about to be blindsided by a bus, please tell me.

Love language isn’t always sweet and tender. Sometimes it’s strong and straightforward. I don’t always like the love language that people who care about me use when they lovingly correct me, but I need to hear it.

Pride is not a part of love language, but humility is essential to it. Dishonesty and deception disrupt love language. Love language never demands people’s approval or respect.

The best book about love language is the Bible. Read it like a love letter from God, not like a theological textbook.

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 08, 2023 05:37

Some possessions can’t be taken from you.

Daily writing promptWhat would you do if you lost all your possessions?

View all responses

As humans we all have possessions that no one and nothing can take away from us. We may surrender those possessions, but they can’t be taken away from us. What are those possessions?

Love is one of them. People can disappoint you. They can hurt you, but they can’t make you stop caring about them.

How about hope? Life can be discouraging. Your life might even appear hopeless to you, but you can still choose to hold on to hope.

No one can steal your joy. Joy flows from the heart. You can abandon joy, but it can’t be taken from you.

Don’t let anything or anyone repo your faith. Even when all seems lost, keep the faith!

Inner peace never needs to cease. Even if external peace collapses into chaos all around you, you can keep the peace within you.

Nothing can steal your kindness if you refuse to surrender it. Even in this unkind world with name calling and insults streaming online and blanketing social media, you can choose to be kind.

Never give up your power to make wise, life enhancing choices. To give up your power to choose your attitude is the only way that you can lose it all.

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 08, 2023 05:04

My mind changed

Daily writing promptWhat’s a topic or issue about which you’ve changed your mind?

View all responses

I believed that the Bible was a book written by people and full of religious myths (and perhaps a bit of ancient wisdom). I had never read it and never intended to. Then one day something amazing happened inside my heart. Although I was an agnostic who didn’t believe in Jesus, in an instant He became real to me and suddenly I had a strong desire to find a Bible and read it.

I read and read and read. I couldn’t put it down. It spoke powerfully to me and revealed the secrets of my heart. Bit by bit I began to believe that different parts of the Bible were truly holy and divinely inspired, simply because they impacted me so powerfully and filled me with insight and understanding that I never had before. After about two years of reading the Bible for hours each day, I realized that I was convinced that it is a supernatural book inspired by the living God.

Continually reading the Bible (as a love letter from God, not as a religious textbook) began to empower me to live Jesus day and night. O what lasting change! I’ve been reading God’s Book and living Jesus ever since then. I woke up this morning with these thoughts:

Lived experience changes lives. Lectures seldom do. Live Jesus. To go to church is one thing; to live Jesus is another. Live Jesus here, there, and everywhere.

Jesus lived fills your life with His life. Jesus lectured feeds you a few facts about Him. To truly live is to live Jesus.

Live Jesus. Connect heart-to-heart with Him and bend your will to His. Let Him stream in your mind, in your heart, and in your life, today, tomorrow, and forever.

Everything we do that brings us closer to Jesus pleases God. Everything we do that distances us from Jesus displeased God. Make it your life’s mission to live Jesus!

Live Jesus every day,
In what you do
And what you say.
Obey Him in every way.
Never let your heart stray.
Begin to live and breathe
Jesus today!

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 07, 2023 04:41

Can Jesus take charge?

When being led by the Spirit is seen as optional for Christians, we abandon God’s guidance for our own opinions and desires. Institutionally directed eyes are often too institutionalized to focus on the risen Jesus. Focus your eyes on Him. To say that Jesus is the head of a church while confining Him to the role of a mere observer is a contradiction. We need a Jesus take-over.

If Christians promoted being led by God’s Spirit as much as we do church attendance, we’d be experiencing continuous revival! If we truly believed that Jesus is alive and present when we gather in His name, we’d let Him take charge of the meeting. I believe most churches contain at least a few people who are thrilled about Jesus, but they’re not allowed to freely express their excitement and are often shamed when they do.

Spirit-led Christianity doesn’t require a religious regimen. Awareness of and obedience to Jesus will do. I can’t think of anyone or anything more exciting than the living Jesus Christ.

Every Christian is given the manifestation of God’s Spirit so that we can all minister to each other. The responsibility to minister in the body of Christ belongs to every member, not to just one person. If you are a member of the body of Christ, it’s your responsibility to allow the Holy Spirit to manifest in you (and to not hold Him back or “quench” Him) so that other members of Christ’s body can be strengthened by what they see and hear the Holy Spirit do in and through you. See 1 Corinthians 12:7.

When the body of Christ is turned into little more than a passive audience for one person’s speech, people aren’t permitted to function as prompted by God’s Spirit. You don’t need a religious building or a Sunday talk or a well-planned program or a nice service in order to be led by God’s Spirit! Simply focus your awareness on the living Jesus and do what He says.

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 06, 2023 05:16

When these words are misused, it makes me feel out of place.

Daily writing promptTell us about a time when you felt out of place.

View all responses

Sometimes people assume that words spoken about one person also apply to them. That assumption can quickly lead to false presumption. For example, it makes me feel out of place to assume that the words “with Him I am well pleased” that that God the Father spoke over Jesus should be spoken over all Christians including me.

I sometimes disappoint God the Father. Sometimes I ignore His inner voice and choose to do my will instead of His. Sometimes I’m unloving or rude to people. Sometimes I’m like the priest and the Levite in the Good Samaritan parable and I rush by and intentionally overlook someone in need. Sometimes I let my pride entangle me in self-focus. There’s no way that God is pleased with me when I am ignoring His will.

The words that I need are the words of this ancient prayer. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” My “place” is at the foot of the Cross humbly receiving God’s unmerited mercy.

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 06, 2023 04:43

With the inner ABCs a computer is optional

Daily writing promptYour life without a computer: what does it look like?

View all responses

Being led by God’s Spirit is as basic as the ABCs. No computer is needed. Just do what you do, say what you say, and think what you think in obedience to God’s Spirit.

A) Align yourself with the inner actions of God’s Spirit.B) Build your life on the blessings of God’s Spirit.C) Comply with the callings of God’s Spirit.D) Dare to obey the drawings of God’s Spirit.E) Enjoy the encouragements of God’s Spirit.F) Flow with Spirit-given feelings.G) Go with the gushings of God’s Spirit.H) Hold tightly to the hopes of God’s Spirit.I) Identify with the inclinations of God’s Spirit.J) Jingle with the joys of God’s Spirit.K) Keep in step with the Spirit.L) Listen to the leadings of God’s Spirit.M) Meditate on the mentionings of God’s Spirit.N) Notice the nudgings of God’s Spirit.O) Obey the orders of God’s Spirit.P) Pay attention to the promptings of God’s Spirit.Q) Quickly follow the quickenings of God’s Spirit.R) Rely on the reasonings of God’s Spirit.S) Sensitize yourself to the signals of God’s Spirit.T) Trust in the timings of God’s Spirit.U) Unite with the urgings of God’s Spirit.V) Validate the verifications of God’s Spirit.W) Walk according to the words of God’s Spirit.X) ‘Xpose yourself to the X-rays of God’s Spirit.Y) Yield to the yearnings of God’s Spirit.Z) Zero in on the zeal of God’s Spirit.

To follow Jesus you need to be aware of His presence. The ABC’s of the Holy Spirit will make you very much aware of Him. It will also help if you begin to daily read the Bible like a love letter instead of like a textbook.

Christianity without radical discipleship misses the point. Ordinary Christians need to be trained, empowered, and released to continually follow the risen Jesus by listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit. See Romans 8:14.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." data-large-file="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." src="https://stevesimms.files.wordpress.co..." alt="" class="wp-image-37573" />Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

View more on Steve Simms's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on October 05, 2023 05:02