Steve Simms's Blog, page 78
October 4, 2023
Still learning this skill
View all responsesThere is a skill that I’ve been trying to learn for most of my life. It is the skill of quickly admitting when I am wrong, making amends where possible, and humbly changing my thoughts and behaviors to align with what is right.
The most underdeveloped skill among human beings it the skill of listening to and obeying our conscience. The best way to develop that skill is to train yourself to continually open your heart and be led by God’s Spirit.
As I lay sleeping,
I suddenly woke up
With this call to repentance
Forming in my mind.
When your choices
Knock you down
Choose to back up
And to get back up.
Don’t just lay around
And wallow in sin
Until you drown
With your heart
Not right with God.
Turn around,
Step up,
And stand firmly
With Christ
On solid ground
At the Cross.
Turn down
The temptation
To not step up
To God’s plate,
The Cross of Christ.
Your heart will be bright
When the risen Jesus
Is your sky light.
If Christ is in you, be an outlet. Let His glory freely flow to others. It’s not too late to wake up!
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October 3, 2023
Acute awareness of the most important detail
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After I encountered the risen Jesus and surrendered my heart to Him, my life was being continually transformed by His presence within me. I was devouring the Bible daily and it was feeding my soul and changing me from within.
About a year after my initial surrender to Jesus someone shared some Scriptures about “the baptism in the Holy Spirit” from the book of Acts in the Jesus town hall meeting that I was a regular part of. They invited anyone who wanted to receive this experience to come to a guy’s house trailer. I was hungry for more of Jesus (and what they shared was biblical) so I went.
Several people gathered around me, laid their hands on me, and started to pray for me to receive the Holy Spirit. They told me to raise my hands and to repeat, “Thank You, Jesus,” over and over. Then they began to pray in tongues.
After a few minutes there was an incredible release from deep within me and words that I didn’t know began to rush out of my mouth. I was overcome with an awe and an acute awareness of the living Jesus that has stayed with me ever since then. Whenever I feel that awareness start to wane, I pray in tongues and I’m suddenly back in that supernatural state.
Last night I was awakened with this original poem forming within me. It’s called: “How Hope and Awe Arise.”
As I walk along
The ancient road
That follows
A mighty river
Covered with
God’s glory cloud,
My fog clears
And I behold
A radiant light
Rising high.
It’s streaming rays
Flood my heart
With awe and hope.
October 2, 2023
Priority #1: Grow confidence & harvest hope!
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Every step I take in obedience to and reliance on the risen Jesus increases my confidence level in Him! Subjectivity seldom matches reality. Objectivity does. What Jesus says and does in me makes me marvel at His amazing objectivity. Frequently gathering to be Spirit-led enables Christians to be immersed in the culture, language, and objectivity of God’s kingdom.
Let the wall
Around your heart
Begin to fall.
It’s way too tall.
Then you’ll be
Able to hear
God’s call.
Casually socializing, just hanging out with people, lacks the power of openly connecting heart-to-heart. Cultivate purity in your heart so you can plant and harvest seeds of hope in yourself and others.
Christ’s ekklesia begins to function when His followers open their heart to Him and to one another. Let’s gather to encounter, rely on, and actively obey the living Jesus, not to be an audience. Let the living Jesus take active control of the mike, the pulpit, the podium, the program, the platform, and you’ll be amazed by what he does in and thru ordinary people!
Church needs to be more than a sermon dispenser. How about opening the mike for people to testify as prompted by God’s Spirit?
Why don’t Christians have more confidence in Jesus? Perhaps it’s because we have conformed to the world instead of to the culture of the kingdom of God.
Conformation
To a culture
Of corruption
Leads to consternation
And self-condemnation.
September 30, 2023
The trait that keeps me on the straight and narrow
View all responsesAs long as I can remember I’ve had the belief that God knows everything about me — everything I do, everything I think, feel, and desire, and everything I say. Because of that belief I realized that if God already knows everything about me there’s no reason to for me to hide things from anybody else.
That led me to radical openness and self-depreciating honesty. When I’m interacting with people, I tell all and almost never try to hide anything. As a small child I world go to my parents and tell them how I had disobeyed them. (God knew so why shouldn’t they?) My wife says she has never worried about me cheating on her because she knows that I would immediately come and tell her.
I don’t like to carry guilt when I’ve done wrong, so I confess it and get it out into the open. That way I don’t have to secretly carry the burden.
By opening my heart with honesty to people I feel a deep connection with them, and they usually offer me kindness and compassion. They often reciprocate and open their heart to me. This makes a deep connection.
I was a counselor/chaplain in a recovery treatment center for 5 1/2 years. Rather than approaching the men with reserved professionalism, I shared with them with openness and honesty about my own struggles with guilt, fear, and worry. Then they opened up to me, confessing and often weeping. It was an amazing thing to see this powerful healing pattern repeated over and over in hundreds of men’s lives.
It doesn’t matter to me whether I get likes on this post or not. Good comments, bad comments, or no comments, God knows my heart, so I am free from other people’s praise or criticism. I only hope that this post has encouraged you. God knows everything about you, even the things you’ve hidden from yourself, and He loves you so much that He longs to lead you to hope, healing, forgiveness, and righteousness. Here’s how He does that: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Why not open your heart to the risen Jesus Christ right now?
[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-37539" />Photo by Gu00f6rkem Dalgu0131u00e7 on Pexels.comSeptember 29, 2023
My 3 jobs that had nothing to do with money!
View all responsesNo matter what my employment has been, my number one job has been to testify to the presence, power, and reality of the resurrected Jesus Christ. The three main ways I was employed as I pursued that path are:
A motivational speaker and writer. (Check out my author page on Amazon.)A counselor and chaplain in a residential alcohol and drug treatment center for 86 men. An officer in The Salvation Army. [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-37534" />Photo by Malcolm Hill on Pexels.comCalling for Christian witnesses, not just Christian lawyers!
A lawyer argues his case by trying to persuade people with logic, reason, and sometimes emotion. A witness testifies by telling what he or she has personally seen and heard. Anyone can argue the case for Christ, but someone has to have personal experience with the risen Jesus in order to testify about Him.
Jesus isn’t searching for expert witnesses. He’s calling ordinary people to take His witness stand to everyday life so that they can show and tell what Christ has done in and through their lives. Every Sunday millions of formal presentations about Jesus are given around the world, but very few heart-felt testimonies about how He has saved, healed, and delivered ordinary people are heard. It’s time to: “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,” by training them to share “the word of their testimony.”
It’s good to want the risen Jesus to be allowed to be the literal Head of His people when they gather in His name. Jesus didn’t rise from the dead to be entombed again by religion. Let Him live in and direct you!
Relational Christianity, connecting heart-to-heart with Jesus and with His followers, is powerful! It’s impossible to go God’s way as long as we insist on going our way.
Jesus knocks
On your door.
Let Him thru
All the locks
That keep your heart
In a box.
Lifeless religion
Without Christ’s fire
Burning in human hearts
Is not God’s desire.
September 28, 2023
The heritage of the awed
View all responsesI’ve always been amazed by the culture of the awed — the people who always notice the beauty around them and let it touch their heart. People like that overflow with gratitude and joy. They focus on the delight of being alive and avoid the blight that tries to hide beauty from their sight.
The heritage of the awed transcends all the ethnic, racial, national, and other boundary lines that have been built by human fears and people’s pride. It consists of the grateful and open-hearted ones from every kindred and every tribe on earth.
The culture of the awed is my heritage, not by birth, but by my choice and by consistent effort to keep my focus on life’s loveliness. The more I let my heart marvel in amazement at the wonder all around (and within) me, the more I’m certain of the reality of God and of His love for all people that He demonstrates through Jesus Christ.
The ancient King David, who wrote much of the awe-filled book of Psalms, told God: “You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.” The heritage of the awed is offered to all people. However, if we refuse to open our heart and let it be deeply touched, we will miss the wonder of it all. Look around and be awed by God’s beauty today!
Here is a bold and shocking quote from the first Christ-follower to be murdered for His faith, His name is Stephen and he boldly warned people with these words: “You always resist the Holy Spirit!” How can that be? When you resist your conscience as it tries to guide you away from corruption and into the glory of a better life, you’re resisting the Holy Spirit.
To be spiritually well fed
Make Christ your living Head.
Learn to always be led
By Jesus alive from the dead.
We can’t go God’s way as long as we insist on going our way. To live a Christ-led life requires that we continually cultivate the condition of our heart so that the living Jesus Christ can have complete control. That’s the heritage of those who are continually awed by the risen Jesus. Count me in!
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The contemporary power of an ancient brand
View all responsesA brand is a name that identifies or defines the things that people consume. By that definition “Jesus” is God’s brand. He has my brand loyalty.
Unfortunately, over the centuries, “church” has become known as God’s brand. People consume church like a product. They “shop” for a church. Then they choose one and join its loyalty club. Now there’s nothing wrong with going to church and it does bring people some comfort, but just consuming a church’s programs falls far short of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Jesus wants His followers to receive “living words to pass on to” others. (See Acts 7:38.) To fully experience the Jesus Brand, boldly quote and read Scripture until it comes alive in your heart, fills you with ongoing awareness of the risen Christ, leaves you awestruck, and overflows to everyone you meet.
Flowers are created to open. Human hearts are too. When I see people open their heart to Jesus, to continually staying in His Word, and to one another, it gives me hope. A heart fully surrendered to Jesus is open, tenderhearted, and Spirit-led. It makes a person’s face look like an angel’s.
Do the things that cause you to love Jesus more. Avoid the things that distract you from His presence.
Christ in you isn’t about a fresh start. It’s about a brand-new life! Don’t just accommodate Jesus in your life. Let Him be your life!
It’s not New Testament Christianity to merely involve Jesus in your life. Let surrendering to Him be what your life is all about!
Inner peace doesn’t come from explanations or from answers to your questions about life. It comes from full surrender to the risen Jesus.
My brand is: Jesus first! Jesus 24/7! Jesus now!
You aren’t who you think you are. You’re who God says you are. Dive into the Bible with an open heart and discover how the Jesus Brand defines you.
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When life is a sinking boat
View all responsesI could do more of many different things, but if I did more of some things, the quality of my life would be much lower. Some of my thoughts, desires, feelings, and behaviors confuse me and capture me with deception. They harm me while they lie and trick me into believing that they are good for me. To make my life better, I need to recognize the things that try to sink my boat, resist them, and do less of those things.
I bet you’re in the same sinking boat that I was caught up in — drifting through life without discernment — following the current of whatever whims come my way. It’s such an effort to bail out of that sinking boat, but there’s someone offering to help rescue you from drowning.
The living Jesus pulled me out! To show my gratitude I seek to follow and obey Him as I live my life and to adore Him more and more.
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To tell God’s Good News accurately, we must know it. To tell it effectively, with faith’s supernatural substance, we must allow it to continually burn in our heart.
How can we tell Christ’s story with the Holy Spirit’s fire? Before I got out of bed this morning, this poem formed in my heart:
Heart Fire!
When Christians retire
God’s inner fire,
They get caught up
In self-focused desire.
To follow Jesus
Will always require
A heart ablaze
With God’s Holy fire.
(Revelation 2:4-5.)
Mankind has always sought control — freedom from daily dependence on God. From the first humans until today we have wanted to disobey God instead of fully trusting in and surrendering to His spiritual life. Because of this we have reduced God to an academic subject, devoid of the supernatural substance of faith, to be understood with human knowledge, but God longs to be the living heart-fire who burns within us.
To restore humans to intimacy with Him, God chose a man named Abraham to give birth to a nation that would bless the world. He revealed Himself to that nation through Spirit-led judges and prophets, but they mostly ignored His efforts to lead them to daily live His presence.
Finally, God sent His Son Jesus — Immanuel — “God with us” — the Creator in human flesh. Jesus lived a life of total obedience and through the sacrifice of His life on a cruel cross paid the penalty for all human sin and restored access to the ancient Tree of Life to whosoever will “taste and see that God is good” and be led by Christ’s Spirit rather than by human desire. (Romans 8:14.) Jesus rose from the dead and abides with us today as “Christ in you, the hope of glory” — living and working in all who will daily following and obey Him.
Following a preacher on a platform wasn’t the norm in the New Testament. The first Christians opened their heart to let Christ reside and live inside. They followed Him as their inner Guide — “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” If you won’t listen to your conscience, it doesn’t do much good to listen to a preacher. (The people who are most anointed are very often the least wanted in a church.)
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