You Control Your Own Destiny

Posted on March 1, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Do you believe in fate/destiny?
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I believe that humans are destined for unimaginable greatness and yet have been given the freedom to control our own destiny. We can choose the inner peace that we are designed and destined for, or we can choose misery that violates our mental and emotional design. In other words, we have been given the control of our own destiny. We can choose joy or sadness, hope or discouragement, surrender to God or rebellion against Him. The following poems that express this truth came to me during the night, before I got up and I saw today’s writing prompt: 

The deep yearning 
That is burning
Within your heart 
Is the longing 
For returning 
To God's image. 
No amount of 
Human learning, 
Money earning, 
Or partying 
Satisfies it; 
Only Jesus! 
Be discerning!

The human destiny
Is to begin to be 
What we were made to be, 
Spirit-led humanity
Eating the tree of life,
God's image for all to see, 
Living in His victory. 
But our tendency 
Is to choose to be 
The controller of our life
And violate our destiny 
By trusting in our knowledge
Of good and evil.

Surrender your whole heart 
To God's inner motion. 
Then you will discover
Beautiful devotion

Discernment or deception?
Discernment is reception
Of God's living perception
With the eyes of the heart.
It's so much more than
Mental conception.
It's the tree of life.

Then these two poems came to me shortly after I posted this post: 

Listen to Christ's teaching, 
To His parables in your heart,
As the risen Jesus utters 
Hidden things from old, 
That your conscience 
Has heard and told. 
Then pass them on 
In word and song 
As you go along 
And live the way 
God's Spirit leads you 
By His still small voice 
Speaking within you.
Tell of His power 
And the wonders 
That God's Son
Has said and done
In the Bible 
In your heart,
And in your life! 
(Inspired by Psalm 78.)

Pop star pastors 
Frequently create 
Spiritual disasters. 
Worship the Lord 
And serve Him only. 
Christ is the only One 
Worthy to be adored!
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I Really Enjoy My Volatile Vocation

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Do you enjoy your job?
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Yes! I thoroughly enjoy my vocation, my job. My calling is to listen to and obey the inner promptings of God in my heart. Although doing so is often frightening, every time I do what God prompts, He shows up in a powerful way.

There are many reasons to ignore and disobey the presence and the promptings of the Lord. Gideon, in the Bible, had his reasons to do that. He asked: “If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all His wonders that our ancestors told us about?” But the Lord prompted Gideon to do what was impossible for him to do–to go and save Israel by sending all of his 32,000 men army home except for 300. Then God prompted Gideon to have the 300 men light lanterns in the dark and to crack pots. Because Gideon went and obeyed God’s humanly crazy crackpot directions in what looked like a hopeless situation, a miracle of deliverance happened. When God prompts you to do something that makes no sense to you, will you do it? (Remember, God will never prompt you to do evil.)

God has often prompted me to do crazy things. After I had been a full-time motivational speaker for twelve years, God prompted me to burn and destroy all of my client and prospect contact information. It was very hard to obey that inner nudging, but I did. Shortly after that my wife, Ernie, sent her resume to a blind P.O. box to apply for a part-time counselor job. In return she received a call from The Salvation Army looking for a counselor for their 86-bed men’s recovery rehabilitation center in Nashville. She felt the Lord prompt her to put me on the phone and I was hired within a couple of days. That revolutionized our lives!

Two years later The Salvation Army hired Ernie to run a large inner-city resource center full of various services and organizations to help those in need. Then after three more years they asked us to start “a non-traditional church” in one of their church buildings and encouraged us to replace the Sunday sermon with open sharing and testimonies. We got to see people openly obey the Lord’s inner promptings for almost ten years and the results were spectacular. I even wrote a book about the experience called: “Beyond Church–An Invitation to Experience the Lost Word of the Bible–Ekklesia.”

I frequently sense God prompting me to write and post things that make people feel uncomfortable. Although I want people to like me, I feel compelled to obey what I believe God’s Spirit is saying. I get a good bit of negative feedback, but I also have people tell me that what I post gives them hope and changes their life.

Here are some of my most recent promptings:

Church attendance is not the only way to be a Christian. Following and obeying Jesus throughout each day is a very effective strategy for being a powerful Christ-follower.

When Christianity is seen as going to church, people who are put off by church feel like they are rejecting Christ. The risen Jesus, however, is not bound to or defined by any institution. He can directly reveal Himself to whoever ask Him to.

The reception
Of deception
Is dangerous.
Made up stories
About Jesus,
Though entertaining,
Will twist and distort
Your perception.
Stay focused on
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John!
Avoid all deflection
From the Spirit’s connection.

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I can’t say goodbye to my Jesus Freak phase

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Describe a phase in life that was difficult to say goodbye to.
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The phase in my life that I won’t say goodbye to is my Jesus Freak phase. One day I encountered the risen Jesus Christ and in a moment my life was marvelously and forever changed. Jesus was suddenly real to me and all I wanted to do was to get to know Him better and to follow and obey Him all the days of my life. Almost 54 years later, that’s still the burning desire of my heart.

Because I’m so excited about continually experiencing and obeying the literal and direct Headship and Lordship of the living Jesus, people sometimes think that I’m against traditional church. They sometimes even call me bitter. I’m not bitter with church. I just want it to be better. I want church to demonstrate and manifest the glorious reality of the risen Jesus.

Being a Christ-follower involves so much more than passively belonging to and attending a church. People can plant (or start) a Sunday morning Christian lecture group, but only Jesus can build an interactive, Spirit-directed gathering of the body of Christ.

Church attendance is not a sign or indication of spiritual growth. Many church attendees just sit in passive boredom waiting for the service to end. Jesus said that His disciples will be known by their fruit (by the quality of life they produce). He didn’t say they will be known by their church attendance.

The Bible says to submit to God, but too often Christians won’t even openly admit where they are rebelling against Him. The Bible says, “Resist the devil,” but too often Christians assist the devil and accept his deception. The Bible says, “Come near to God,” but too often Christians refuse to hear God speaking in their conscience. The Bible says, “Purify your heart,” but too often Christians deny and defy God’s call to purity. The Bible says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, but too often Christians grumble whenever their pride is hurt. Let’s become “doers of the word, not hearers only.” (Accept God’s call! Read and do what James 4: 1-10 says to do.

Christians are too often like a barrel of lobsters. If one tries to climb out of the religious system into the reality of the living Jesus, the others frequently try to pull him back. Step out of the religious barrel and into Christ’s glorious light!

Too many Jesus Freaks have been pulled back into the barrel. Today many people can’t see the risen Jesus because their religiosity has shut their eyes.

I’m the tall, white-haired guy in the back of this picture. To learn more about this group of people who seek to go beyond church as usual and to be active sowers and doers of the Word go to this link.

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With an inner click I can be someone else.

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be, and why?
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I can be someone else, not just for a day but for always! “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

When I woke up this morning this poem was forming in my heart. I call it “The Inner Click.”

Go to your settings.
Click on “Allow Christ,”
So Jesus can start
To notify your heart
What He’s wanting you
To say and to do.
 
My human concerns are a stumbling block to the concerns of God. My desires resist what God requires. They cause me to turn off Christ’s notifications in my heart.

Discipleship requires cross-bearing and self-denial. To be able to follow the living Jesus I have to be willing to be constantly aware of and focused on Christ’s inner notifications and to continually give up my control, my desires, and my plans to His Lordship and authority.

What I want and what God wants don’t align. Moment-by-moment, I have to choose whose will I will do. Will I be led by God’s Spirit? Will I give Him my heart and let Him steer it? Only as I die to self-will will I begin to live with the holy thrill of daily following and obeying the risen Jesus.

One click on the screen in your heart can change your life. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Every time Jesus knocks on your heart, click on “Give Access” so He can fully live in and through you. The more human control there is in your life, the less Holy Spirit control is there. A relationship with Christ isn’t humanly organized and programmed. It must flow from the heart.

If Christianity doesn’t involve more than going to church, it’s not enough! True faith develops into daily discipleship. Keep your focus on the living Jesus, not on human programming. If you hear or read something that inspires you, don’t namedrop the author’s name, copy and paste it, or quote it. In your own words, tell what it inspired in you.

Jesus didn’t come to organize a religion but to build His followers together in a Spirit-led, unorganized relationship with Him. The traditional church format of singing some songs and then having the congregation be an audience that passively listens to the same man lecture each week seems to produce more boredom than it does passion for and daily obedience to the risen Jesus. It doesn’t inspire people to click on “Allow Christ.”

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Decades of Rare Quote Collecting

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
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I’ve always loved uplifting quotations, inspiring words that touch my heart and strengthen me from within. However, I’ve never been satisfied with traditional books of quote collections so one day I embarked on a DIY quote search.

As an avid reader (often a hundred or more rare books about personal and spiritual growth a year) I began to underline the many words that deeply moved me. Then I would hand write those quotations in blank journal books. I did this for about thirty years and now I have 36 books overflowing with rare hand copied words that have changed my life.

About 6 years ago I stopped copying quotes in books and instead began to write my own uplifting quotes. Every morning, I wake up with original inspiring thoughts developing in my mind and heart. I get up and post them on social media, one after another until they stop. Then I copy and paste them one at a time on WordPress and pull them together as a blog post. (Occasionally I will still write a blog post the traditional way, but most of the posts that I write now are assembled by piecing together individual sentences and poems that I have written and posted elsewhere the first thing in the morning.)

Here are my most recent morning sentences and poems:

A closed heart is unwilling to be led by God’s Spirit. The more you ignore your conscience the more your life becomes contorted. When God asks us to surrender something on His altar (that we want to hold on to) we too often have an altercation with Him. It’s time for Christians to seek first the kingdom (inner invisible government/Lordship) of God, not to put their hope in human politics.

We live in a time
Where people define
Themselves by their desires
Not by what God requires.
But what I desire
Is not who I am.
I am who “I AM”
Says that I am.

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I try to ban the word “proud” from my vocabulary.

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?
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There’s a widely used word that bothers me. People frequently say, “I’m proud of . . .” or “Be proud of . . .” or “I’m a proud . . .” I try to ban the word “proud” from my vocabulary because Scripture warns against pride:

  • “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble,”
  • “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up,”
  • “Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position.”
  • “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
  • “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
  • “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”
  • “Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”

Instead of telling someone, “I’m proud of you,” I say, “I’m blessed by what you did.” Instead of telling someone, “You should be proud of yourself,” I say, “You are so blessed that you were able to do that.” Instead of saying, “I’m a proud (whatever),” I say, “I’m blessed to be a (whatever).”

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Posted in God resists the proud, pride, self-esteem, self-focus | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Challenge to Hear Jesus Talking

Posted on February 24, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What is the biggest challenge you will face in the next six months?
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Life’s biggest challenge is to be willing to hear Jesus talking. He doesn’t say what I want Him to. What He does say hurts my pride–my facade that says that I’m doing alright running my own life. It’s so easy to just ignore Jesus and go my own way pretending to be okay. But I’ve come to realize, if I won’t hear and humbly respond to Jesus talking, I will make a never-ending mess of my life.

Forever Changed

Dead to the voice of the living God,
Controlled by self-focused desire,
Ruled by pride and disobedience,
Inwardly defeated by guilt,
Deserving of God’s punishment,
Avoiding His Holy presence,
Insensitive to His great love,
Unaware of Christ’s rich mercy,
One day I heard Jesus talking
And started walking
With Him!

At the start of each day
I hear Jesus talking.
Before I get on my way
I hear Jesus talking.
When my conscience speaks
I hear Jesus talking.
In valleys and on peaks
I hear Jesus talking.
As I listen and pray
I hear Jesus talking.
If I begin to stray
I hear Jesus talking.
When I open my heart
I hear Jesus talking.
When I need a new start
I hear Jesus talking.
As I read Bible verses
I hear Jesus talking.
In all of life’s reverses
I hear Jesus talking.

Listen. Deep inside your heart you can hear Jesus talking. I love listening to Jesus! He said that His sheep hear His voice. Do you?

When you spend time with people in a humble, Spirit-led environment, you can see their hurting heart and experience the living Jesus Christ together with them. If you listen, you will hear Him speaking.

If people attend a church that doesn’t listen to Jesus and talk about His Cross, about our sin, about repentance, and about Christ’s salvation, they’re usually seen as Christians, but if Christ-followers who daily listen to Jesus don’t attend an intuitional church they’re often seen as rebellious and out of line. Does that line of thinking make any sense?

The Bible says for Christians to assemble ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25), but that verse doesn’t say how we are supposed to do it. Here are 2 verses that tell us how to do it (along with the 50+ “one another” commands in the New Testament): Romans 8:14 and 1 Corinthains 14:26. Anybody can open a church but only the risen Jesus can build the members of His body together as living stones.

Churches are dependent on God, not vice versa. If Jesus isn’t actively talking in their midst, they are only a religious lecture center.

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Can Trump Protect God?

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Steve Simms

I dreamed that I was at a table eating with two other people. Donald Trump was also at the table, and we were trying to ignore him, but he kept interrupting us by saying mean and crude things. When I woke up I heard that Trump was speaking that evening at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville (where I live). I was very sad that an international Christian organization would embrace a speaker who disrespects people and stirs up hostility the way he does.

At the convention Trump claimed that he is going to “protect God in the public spaces.” He told them that his criminal indictments are “arrows” he is taking for them. Then he stretched out his arms like he was on a cross. He was cheered throughout the speech. Those Christian broadcasters seem to have forgotten that there is only one Savior — Christ Himself!

Being Pharisees
Or the Taliban
Is not how Christians
Take the land.
They’re not called to
A political stand
But to show
Amazing love
Throughout the land.

Let’s be patriotic to the invisible kingdom of God that has representatives in every nation in the world!

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With Discipleship Your Ship Won’t Sink

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
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Halfhearted Christians become hardhearted, but Christ daily demonstrates His reality to the tenderhearted. Christ’s true disciples are living examples of people who have a heart that’s sensitive to, responsive to, and obedient to His presence and who continually surrender to be led by His Spirit, not by their own desires.

Sermons don’t equip people to be sold-out followers of the risen Jesus. Inner transformation does. Experiencing the risen Jesus will lead you to obedience. Hearing a religious talk about Him wont.

Disciples of Christ aren’t religious spectators contented to sit and hear religious talks about Him. They listen to the living Jesus speak in their heart and then do what He tells them to.

Because disciples of Christ are often led in ways that others are unwilling to go, they sometimes become churchless. Many of the strongest Christ-followers I know don’t regularly attend a traditional church. Jesus doesn’t want to give you a superficial religious makeover. He wants to take over your heart and your daily life.

Jesus tells His followers to, “Go and make disciples.” Before you can go and make disciples” you have to be one. Learn to daily demonstrate deep sensitivity to the presence of the risen Jesus so that others can see Him working in you and be inspired and empowered to connect heart-to-heart with Christ.

Biblical Christianity isn’t built on politics, nationalism, religious tradition, or church attendance. It’s built on direct personal revelation from God and ongoing surrender to the living, resurrected Jesus. The early Christians’ response to paganism wasn’t grasping for political power. It was showing Christ’s love to their enemies.

Unity in the body of Christ won’t happen in big meetings or by pastor’s trading pulpits for a week. It happens when Christ-followers begin to connect with Jesus and with each other heart-to-heart.

Religious activity
Without sensitivity
To the reality
Of Jesus
Is empty.

Church attendance
Without dependence
On the presence
Of the risen Christ
And obedience
To His Spirit
Makes an audience
Of religious
Spectators.

Church is looking
For an audience
For a sermon,
But Jesus is looking
For people who will
Let Him determine
Their future.

Let your heart be
Sensitive
So you can sense
Christ’s presence
And truly be
Appreciative
Of who He is.

You can pretend
But true transformation
Will only begin
If you let Jesus
Change you from within.

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The Typical Church Format Bores Me

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Steve Simms
Daily writing prompt
What bores you?
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When church is canned
And over planned
Till it presents
God’s promised land
As dull and bland
It makes me bored.
I want to stand
And to shout out,
“Jesus is here,
Let’s all listen
To His inner voice
And make the choice
To do what He says!”

Every Christian
Is an instrument
God wants to play,
Not an audience member
To hide away.

To not do God’s Word
Is to build on sand.
The body of Christ
Is a marching band,
Not just a grandstand
For a preacher man.
Time for the kingdom
Of God is at hand.
Let God’s marching band
Now be Spirit-led
By Jesus the Head.

Church is like a bunch of silent musical instruments lined up in neat rows in a room as one man gives a talk about music theory. A marching band practices and learns to play their instruments together as one. They don’t just listen to a lecture and then think they’re done. Christians should gather to be God’s music, not to hear a religious talk about it.

Your heart’s an instrument for the Great Musician to play. If you’ll surrender it to Him, you’ll hear its glorious sounds.

Many Christians have never been trained how to let the risen Jesus play His glorious music on their heart. The body of Christ is God’s silenced orchestra and humanity desperately needs to hear it. The body of Christ isn’t silenced by persecution. It’s silenced by institutional religion.

Christians don’t need more sermons about Christ’s music. They need to learn to let Jesus play His symphony on their heart. If you keep your heart shut up in a case the Great Musician won’t be able to play it.

If you won’t let God play His music in your heart going to church won’t do you much good. Without God’s music being played within you, hearing preaching will be nothing but empty words.

Music isn’t made by lectures and Christians aren’t made by sermons. Let Jesus make His music in your heart so you can make His music with your friends.

When Christians gather, they’re all on stage. The risen Jesus wants to conduct them like an orchestra or a marching band. (1 Corinthians 14:26.) Let Christ play your emotions and make your mess His music.

Lord, make me an instrument for You to play Your music in and through me throughout the day. Let me be Your flute, blow Your Spirit through my heart. Let me be Your violin, bow Your tune on my soul. Let me be Your guitar, chord Your will in my life. Let me be Your drum, tap out Your rhythm for my daily steps. Let me be Your piano, play Your keys to my life.

To live how you want
Is to burry your head
In rebellion’s sand
And to ignore the fact
That the kingdom of God
Is closely at hand.
It matters how you act!

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