Freedom thoughts #1

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Steve Simms

Freedom is the ability to do what’s right. Bondage compels us to do what’s wrong. Pride and prejudice are demonstrations of bondage, not of freedom.

Freedom begins within. It banishes tormenting thoughts, enslaving habits, and devouring desires.

Accepting responsibility for your wrong actions is a declaration of freedom. Blaming is admission that you’re in bondage.

If you won’t (or can’t) control your thoughts, feelings and desires, you’re not free. It’s meaningless to talk about fighting for freedom, if you won’t courageously fight to be free from the control of your own imprisoning temptations, habits, and feelings.

When you allow any desire to take control and override your ability to choose to resist it, freedom is lost. The most challenging and ignored freedom is the freedom to consistently think, say, and do what is right.

It’s hard to be truly free if we won’t let go of our mental and emotional chains.

When you allow thoughts that you don’t like, to stay in your mind, you’ve given up your freedom of thought.

Cravings, compulsions, and tormenting thoughts are inner thieves that strive to steal your freedom. Our own habits, desires, cravings, and compulsions, limit our freedom more than outward restrictions do. Freedom lies in not being controlled by them.

The key to freedom from bitterness and resentment is genuine forgiveness.

If you have political freedom but are in bondage to feelings and desires, your not truly free.

Daily following and obeying the living Jesus is the way to freedom from mental and emotional slavery.

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Jesus c3a — 1) aware of, 2) amazed by, & 3) attentive to

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Steve Simms

When you let your attention zoom in on and be continually captivated by the living Jesus, life is supernaturally transformed! Attentive listening to the living Jesus is the most powerful prayer.

Living in the presence of Jesus isn’t just something for the hereafter. It’s a glorious lifestyle for here and now! Overlooking everyday wonders, it’s easy to leave the living Jesus unnoticed. The Bible teaches that Jesus is ever-present, but too many Christians act like He’s never present.

The less my awareness of self and the more my awareness of the living Jesus, the more I’m filled with amazement and joy! If churches were testimony-focused, instead of sermon-focused, you’d be amazed at how ordinary people have experienced Jesus.

What do you call someone who is continually aware of, amazed by, and attentive to the living Jesus? If you’re not experiencing Jesus’ presence daily, perhaps it’s because you don’t want to.

Letting Jesus live in and thru you is far more powerful than merely learning about Him. Listen to the living Jesus, not to analyze what He says, but to be set free by His words of life! Jesus isn’t bound to top-down church domination. He can speak to you anytime and anywhere. Listen.

Martha complained about her sister, Mary’s focused attention on Jesus. He told her that Mary had chosen the one necessary thing. Anything that distracts a Christian’s focus from the living Jesus is a distraction.

A Jesus-c3a is
Someone who is
Continually aware of,
Amazed by and
Attentive to Jesus.

We can learn to recognize and respect the humanity in all people–to appreciate the common ground we all stand on.

I’m amazed by Jesus:
What He did in the past,
And what He’s doing in me.

The world is full of spiritual elephants in the room, clear indications of God’s reality that are overlooked and/or denied.

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The Jesus zone

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Steve Simms

Christians are called to live in the Jesus zone, not in their comfort zone. When we trade our comfort zone for the Jesus zone, life flows supernaturally.

The Jesus zone, surrender and obedience to the risen Jesus Christ, is the kingdom of God. Daily living in the Jesus zone, produces a lifestyle of amazement, delight, kindness, and hope.

Your comfort zone and the Jesus zone are in conflict. You can’t straddle them.

Being comfortable is overrated. A comfort zone drones on and on, with a boring tone, leaving adventure unknown. Adventure is much more exciting. When you’re outside of your comfort zone, look for growth, healing, and adventure.

When human control replaces God’s supernatural flow, the Holy Spirit is quenched.

No matter where you go, you won’t find true paradise until you find it within. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Inspiring thoughts motivate you to live a better life. Tempting thoughts seduce you and secretly lead you into guilt and remorse.

There’s no human remedy or relief for remorse and regret, but there’s a supernatural one–forgiveness and healing thru Jesus. Remorse doesn’t need to be a life sentence. It can be removed with these simple words. “God have mercy on me a sinner.”

Human leadership divides Christians into many different organizations, but Jesus said, “There shall be one flock and one shepherd.” When Christ-followers are living in the Jesus zone, they’re united!

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Systemic racism is like a highway . . .

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Steve Simms

Systemic racism is like a highway built generations ago that people today tend to unconsciously follow, unless they’re redirected. We can learn to equally embrace all people regardless of race. Go to: Off the RACE Track–From Color-Blind to Color-Kind.

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When Christians have their eyes wide open, they can experience Christ-perception

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Steve Simms 
Jesus rising from the dead, 
Isn't just a sermon said, 
To analyze with your head. 
He's the "living bread" 
To embed in your heart.

Christians without Christ-perception are spiritually blind. Christ-perception is essential to biblical Christianity. People who continually experience the risen Jesus have a different perspective than people who only hear about Him. Continually behold the risen Jesus!

No description of anyone can replicate the experience of personally knowing them. This is especially true about the risen Jesus. Christ-perception occurs when we go beyond listening to a man trying to analyze Jesus and begin to gaze at Him with our own heart’s eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus isn’t just an Easter sermon topic. The living Jesus can be perceived and experienced everyday. Church often disguises the risen Jesus with theology, tradition, religion, ritual, curriculum, and creeds. Look beyond that stuff!

When we shift our perception from church to the presence of resurrected Jesus, Christianity breaks out with power! When you’re full of Christ-perception, you don’t want a sermon about Jesus. You want to pour your heart out to Him in adoration.

Ruminate on the risen Jesus until He resonates within and radiates thru you. Make room for the Jesus of the empty tomb to fill your life with His presence.

To know about Jesus, yet not continually perceive His presence, falls far short of biblical Christianity. When we forget to remember and revive the moments we’ve felt closet to Jesus, it’s easy to settle into formalized Christianity.

Human pride disguises the risen Jesus and hides Him from our perception. Brokenness opens our heart to encounter His presence.

Christ’s resurrection isn’t an annual event like Spring. Jesus rose to live forever and He wants to live in and through you everyday! Here’s a complete Easter sermon in 5 words: “Behold the Lamb of God!”

When Christians have their eyes wide open, they can experience Christ-perception.
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Christian spirituality isn’t a dinosaur

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Steve Simms

Christian spirituality is ongoing interaction with and surrender to the living Jesus, that produces the fruit of the Spirit. It’s based on the risen Jesus, not on meeting attendance, legalism, or self-assertion, and needs to be a lived reality, not a theological concept.

No matter where you go, Jesus is there. Thus, you can continually interact with Him. That’s what the Bible means by “abide” in Him. “Devotions” or “quiet times” are a poor substitute for continually focusing on and interacting with the risen Jesus.

Without an ongoing, experiential relationship with the risen Jesus, an intellectual approach to Christianity is incomplete. Many Christians are paralyzed by grace. They believe they have everything God has to offer and that there’s nothing for them to do but wait to go to Heaven. The Bible tells us to “turn away” from such a powerless “form of godliness” and to let “Christ be formed in you.”

When the living Jesus directly teaches you, His words do what no other words can do. They make you alive from the inside out. A Christian who is growing spiritually will interact with, surrender to, and obey the living Jesus more and more. A relationship with Jesus can’t be earned, but once you freely receive it, you can either develop it or drift away from it.

When strangers who experience the living Jesus meet, their experiences with Him match, demonstrating His reality. Christians are called to be an active part body of Christ, united heart-to-heart with all other followers of the living Jesus. When Christians are led by the Spirit, they are led into unity and love for one another. When they aren’t, they’re divisive.

Much stuff that we call Christian blocks our view of the living Jesus. Christians are called to actively grow in our relationship with Jesus, not to settle into a religious routine. We can’t follow the living Jesus without actively engaging with and obeying Him on an ongoing basis. Following Jesus doesn’t require classes or a church’s list of steps. It’s much simplier than that. Just focus on and obey Him.

We want to arrange our circumstances in a comfortable order. God wants us to allow our life to follow His order. In order to worship in God’s order, we need to let the living Jesus directly lead us. The religious term “laity” has come to mean laidback and passive church attendees.

When a group of Christians meet to all hear and obey the living Jesus, supernatural order sets in. Attempts to organize the Holy Spirit result in quenching the Spirit. In a Christian meeting, anyone who quenches or disobeys the Holy Spirit, is out of order.

The most powerful praying is continual interaction with and surrender to the living Jesus. Discipling is more about modeling than mentoring–letting Jesus actively live in and thru you, instead of telling others what to do.

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Big ideas for feeling good

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Steve Simms

Imagine how good you would feel if hope and appreciation continually filled your heart and your mind.

Train your imagination to inspire you with images of joy. Daydreaming empowers; worry devours. When you don’t see happiness in your life, imagine it! Daydreaming can make your day.

If you believe that you’re happy, then you are. To be happy, all you have to do is to convince yourself that you are.

Even when you’re discouraged, you can still dare to daydream about happiness (and doing so will make you happier).

Increase the positive velocity of your curiosity. Be quick to look for the good in every situation.

Curiosity killed the cat’s sadness and inspired the elephant’s happiness. Curiosity is a cure for unhappiness.

When the going gets tough and you feel like you’ve had enough, keep going. Endurance wins!

If you let your think tank run out of gas, your mind will get stuck in a rut. Regularly refuel your brain with inspiring thoughts.

Train your memory to remember the best and your forgettery to forget the worst. You can reimagine your life and improve your future. Persistent imagination is powerful enough to bend reality into it’s image.

If you look closely at the elephant in the room that feels like a nuisance, it may be an opportunity hiding in plain sight. When opportunity knocks, it’s frequently disguised as an elephant trying to find room to inspire your mind.

Everybody’s got problems,
You’re not alone.
Realizing that
Can make you strong.

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Ideas some might call platitudes

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Steve Simms

At the moment of your conception, your sperm won. That makes you a winner!

The magnitude
Of your gratitude
Sets the altitude
For your attitude.

Much of life
Is a chain reaction.
What you say and do
Recycles back to you.

Curiosity that leads to learning something inspiring is a sadness-buster. A simple online search can lead you to much that is encouraging.

The only positive statement some people ever read is in a fortune cookie. Even that tiny bit of encouragement can improve the day.

Often we get discouraged because we try to take one giant step that is beyond our ability instead of a series of small steps that we can easily accomplish.

Every tunnel eventually leads to light. If not, it’s a cave. Tunnel to hope instead of caving to negativity.

Heart-felt joy is like running water. It can find a way around any obstacle, unless we dam it up.

Before declaring that something can’t be done, perhaps you could explore how it can be done.

Repeatedly saying (and thinking) accusative things about yourself isn’t helpful.

First win within and then without a doubt, you’ll win without.

Human nature tends to overlook ideas filled with obvious hope and instead to concentrate on negativity.

Many people don’t want to discuss the meaning and purpose of life because that leads to responsibility and accountability. Calling a statement a “platitude” is often an attempt to avoid its call to self-examination.

Smiling is a catalyst for happiness. Challenging, uplifting ideas (like these) are often labeled “platitudes” in an attempt to ignore them like an elephant in the room. Ideas become platitudes because their deeper meaning challenges people face and overcome their to heal and grow. That makes it easy to overlook the elephant of hope that is contained in what many people call “clichés.”

A cliché
Has much to say,
If we look at its meaning
In a fresh, new way.

Before you say a cliché
Or quote a quotation
Give the words
A creative rotation.

Words exist that can ease the pressure of daily life. When you find them, read, think & say them frequently.

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Can there be inspirational elephants in the room? Why not?

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Steve Simms

Inspiring ideas can be elephants in the room. Many people are uncomfortable talking about their need for personal growth. They feel like talking about it is an admission of weakness, so they’d rather keep silent and pretend that they don’t need it.

This reluctance to talk about the possibility of self-improvement makes those ideas elephants in the room. Inspiring elephants fill every room of your life. They’re not hard to see, but they’re easy to overlook. This . . . can have elephant sized results by helping to expand your comfort zone to embrace more hope. As you read these uplifting statements, take time to ponder them and to sincerely appreciate the encouraging message they have for you.

If you’re bored with life, noticing the inspiring elephants in the room will wake up your excitement. Even the simplest things contain adventure and fun that will enrich your life, if you will step beyond any reluctance and explore them with curiosity and delight.

When it feels like everything is going wrong, you’ve overlooked some obvious things (like your heartbeat and your breathing). Carefully look over your daily life and discover the joy and hope that you’ve been overlooking. Life’s most obvious benefits and blessings are the easiest to overlook. Rediscover them.

An exciting adventure is easy to find. It’s riding the hope-filled elephants in the room.

Much happiness, like a lonely elephant in the room, is overlooked. It’s hard to be happy when you overlook the blessings that surround you.

If you take an attitude of appreciation and look over what you’ve overlooked, you will find much that is amazing and inspiring. If you allow your desires to cause you to overlook the good things that you already have, you’ll miss out on much happiness.

Showing off your stuff gets boring, but sharing your adventure stories stays exciting. Learn to find adventure anywhere.

An inconvenience points you to an elephant in the room, offering you an invitation to have a new adventure.

Problem solving becomes fun when you see it as an adventure and anticipate the joy of discovery the solution will bring. Frustration is an adventure overlooked. A little curiosity plus a little exploration will turn a boring day into an adventure.

Habits are mental apps–“hab-apps” installed in your brain. Keep those that are making life better. Uninstall those that aren’t.

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The sower sowed . . .

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Steve Simms

Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower” examines four heart conditions: 1) A shut-down heart; 2) A shallow heart; 3) A superficial heart; and 4) A sincere heart.

A shut-down heart is closed to spiritual business.

A shallow heart has no spiritual depth finder.

A superficial hearts succumbs to seductive, anti-spiritual distractions.

A sincere heart lives with openness and honesty to God and people.

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