Month: May 2016

Light!

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Lit-heart,

what darkness will you walk into today?

 

And are you keenly aware

of the Holy Spirit fire

that resides in you?

 

Do you remember that

light overcomes darkness?

 

So why do you fear

the dark places

the dark faces?

 

The blackness slinks to the darkest corners

when light is present

 

So walk into that dark place

where you are the only light-bearer

and know that His flame

burns in you

 

And boldly speak to the ones

who does not know what Light looks like

 

yet….

 

And know without a doubt that

HE is that flame that cannot be extinguished

and you are empowered by HIM

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

– John 1:5 (NLT)

 

Everything was created through Him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without Him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.

– John 1:4-6 (MSG)  

 

A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms. It cannot and will not be quenched.

– John 1:5 (VOICE)

 

You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

– Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG)

 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

– John 8:12 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Tug-O-War

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I’m in a tug-o-war,

a fierce competition

 

Only, it’s not a game,

but a battle

 

On the one side,

pulling me one direction,

is my longing for God,

my heaven-ward focus

 

And on the other,

the pull of the world

of distraction

of selfishness

 

And I feel that pull

that tug

that struggle

 

every.  single.  day

 

It’s not a horizontal battle

but a vertical tug o war

 

upward

and downward

 

and I want You, God,

yet….

 

I am pulled

by so much

 

electronics

my own thoughts

busyness

the enemy

 

the list goes on and on

 

But

in the middle

of that taut rope

is a tied piece of ribbon

 

and I see that red cloth

as

my choices

my focus

my will

 

It is me taking my thoughts captive

to make them obedient to Christ

 

or me allowing defeat thoughts

to overtake my hours

 

It is me choosing prayer

over mindless hours of screen time

 

or me letting entertainment

step on creative, full living

 

It is me deliberately serving

and honoring my King

 

or me procrastinating

what He has asked me to do

 

Choices bringing my ribbon

ever upward

or yanking me downward

 

And I see that the anchor

of the heaven-ward side

is God Himself

 

always drawing me in

and looking for my eyes to fix on Him

not on the competition

 

and I decide which side

I want to be pulling on

for my own soul

and because I am called to more

than downward

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (MSG)

 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

– Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

 

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

– James 4:7 (NLT)

 

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

– 1 John 4:4 (NLT)

 

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT)

 

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.

– 1 Peter 5:8-11 (MSG)

 

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

 

Online photo

 

Ponder Love

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The very thought of God, to a man who truly loves Him, is ecstasy! If my eternity could be spent in a dungeon with my heart full of love to God, it could not be an unhappy experience to live so!

But, at the back of this, there comes a far greater thing. Brothers and Sisters, we know that God loves us. I never dare to try to speak about this great Truth of God—it is a thing to think over rather than to talk of. I like to get away quietly in a corner and just try to roll this sweet morsel under my tongue, to suck on it till I draw the very essence out of it—God loves me—or, as the hymn puts it—“I am so glad that Jesus loves me.”
For God to think of me is something. For Him to pity me, is more. For Him to help me practically, is still more. But for Him to love me—this is the greatest wonder of all! You know how you, being evil, love your own children, but your Heavenly Father loves you far more! You husbands know how you love your wives, yet there is One who loves His Church far more, for He gave Himself for her! God loves you, my Brother. God loves you, my Sister, if, indeed, you have been brought to believe in Jesus. And to know this great Truth of God is to have an “exceeding great reward,” because, if God loves us, everything must be right!

– Charles Spurgeon

 

So if you, who are sinful, know how to give your children good gifts, how much more so does your Father in heaven, who is perfect, know how to give great gifts to His children!

– Matthew 7:11 (VOICE)

 

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

– Romans 8:38,29 (NLT)

 

To be loved

now

and forever

by God

is everything

– Susie Stewart

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Mother Revolutionaries

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The world needs mothers. The world needs us to come find you in whatever your ache, and hold on to you in whatever you’re wrestling hard, and to believe in the imprint of something holy in you.

The world needs mothers to turn around and show you kids a revolutionary way.

The world needs Mother and Fathers, men and women, who live a revolutionary way to show you kids how to be an army of love warriors, who know your first tour of duty is always a tour of listening.

The only way to a sincerely God-obedient life — is to live a sincerely Listening Life.

A brave generation knows the best way to take a stand is to listen until we understand.

You need us mothers and fathers to quietly show you: There is more than doing what is good in your own eyes. There is being given eyes to see good beyond yourself so you can become more.

You need to know that when we were kids? We had tastes for deadly things; we collected our own poisonous seeds and we all drank down our own versions of poison berries. We all have a way of drinking down death, of picking up our own poisons.

But — we had kind mothers and fathers. We had mothers and fathers who sat and listened and loved us with our affinity for lesser things —- and gave us an appetite for far greater things. So we could live… so we could thrive and flourish and become the best versions we are called to be.

The world needs mothers who come for the kids being duped by drugs, the kids being hooked by hook-up culture, the kids being profaned by pornography, the kids being confused by conflicting voices.

And when you live unmasked, when you give words to whatever you’re wrestling, we will always call that what it is: Courageous. Comes from Cor. Means ‘heart’ in Latin. When you live with your heart on the outside, when you risk your whole heart — this is what makes you Courageous.

This is why every time you risk your heart — in telling your story, in sharing your struggles, in sacrificing yourself — we will always call you: Brave Heart.

Be brave and courageous and tell us your struggles. We will always listen to your courage. And we will love you through anything. Love does not always agree or affirm someone — but it is always sacrifices for someone.

This is what good mothering, what good parenting does: We don’t say, “Do whatever you want, just be you.” We say, “Become whatever is the best version of you — just be like Him.” We will lay down and sacrifice and serve you with our lives — so that you can have the best kind of life.

We will be the mothers and the fathers who are like Jesus, Jesus who reaches out to the woman caught in a mess: “I do not condemn you. Now go and sin no more.” (John 8)

We will be out on the street corners and on the corners of couches, living this for you.

This is the expansive embrace of Christianity: There is always first no condemnation — followed always by a movement into transformation.

The order of those two sentences is the essence of Christianity: No Condemnation. Come just as you are into Transformation.

Change the order of those two lines? And you lose the essence of Christianity…. you lose Christ.

We will sit with you and hold you in your courage — and we will stay with you always and we will sacrifice for you always and you must know this always, no. matter. what.

We all need mothers who love the largest and most revolutionary and say the wisest: Don’t simply follow your heart — but follow a Light so lovely that it will ignite your heart.

This will be road less travelled.

This will make all the difference.

Because you are not here to make an impression, you’re here to make a difference.

The world needs mothers who say: Press your ear up to the earth, and listen — listen to the hurting and the angry in our streets, the protesting and the broken around our corners, the different and the Other in our news stories, and let their breaking stories break you wide awake. Weep with the wounded. Carry a bottle with you and catch every tear you witness.

Bearing witness is how the world bears down and delivers change.

I don’t know, Beautiful Kid, but something tells that maybe no one knows it, or maybe they call it something else —

But I wonder if maybe everyone’s looking for a few lavishly gracious men and women to rise up and be like —- yeah, be like Jesus —- because the thing is:

Jesus’s company is always all inclusive.

The judger and the limper, the struggler and the Other, the finger-pointer and the Pharisee and the forgotten — everyone is welcome and Jesus’s expansive embrace excludes no one. No one.

And at the same time — Jesus’s kingdom is always all receptive.

The weary and the wayward and the worn out and the wounded who want to move from being only Company Keepers with Jesus to being heirs and Kingdom Dwellers in Jesus — must believe and receive.

Those who want to be Kingdom Dwellers are the ones who experience more than an embracing interaction with Jesus. They experience a liberating transaction with Jesus.

Company Keepers are satisfied simply perceiving Jesus’ love.

Kingdom Dwellers can’t resist opening their hearts and receiving His love.

And whoever receives Jesus and His finished work on the Cross, receives that Cross to do work in them.

Only those who are willing to let Jesus do battle with their old selves can enter the Kingdom of God.

So maybe that’s how all the kind revolutionaries live?

Just live out what all the courageous have discovered:

The Kingdom of God… “is more radically inclusive than any other philosophy or movement or religion or non-religion on earth. Absolutely every nation, tribe, and tongue is invited, welcomed, and will represented at the Table. And yet, no one comes to the Father except through Him.” [Scott Sauls]

That’s what Jesus — who is either a complete lunatic or completely Lord — said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father, but by Me.” Either that is the God-honest, iron clad Truth and Jesus is the only Way —- or Jesus is not a man to follow but a complete liar to completely dismiss.

So maybe —

Maybe now is the time for a whole lot of mothers and father, men and women, to not be afraid of living the humble brave way that makes your life into an pointing arrow — by the way we humbly sacrifice and serve:

Because who can forget the words of one bold atheist: “I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize. I don’t respect that at all.

If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life … and you think that it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward…

How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” [Penn Jillette, atheist]

How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible — and not tell them that?

So the world needs the mothers and the gentle and the kind and the humble and the generously giving to get down on their knees and love enough to say exactly just that– through their words and hearts and serving, sacrificing hands.

Success is showing up and kneeling down to serve.

That’s all, kids– lean in and hear it, don’t stop listening till you hear it: You were made for the place where your deep passion meets compassion, because therein lies your deep purpose. You were made for the place where your deep passion meets compassion, because therein lies your deep purpose.

Focus more on living Truth than pointing out error,
more on celebrating the beautiful than decrying all that’s broken —
more on being a servant than on being right.

Hear us: That doesn’t mean you ignore concerns— it means your ultimate focus is on the commendable.

We all need the tender mothers and fathers who don’t just say it, but dare to compassionately live it with this generation of kids:

Don’t bother being a megaphone — the world has so many of those we’re all growing deaf.

Just…. Be a Light so lovely. Be a Light so lovely that people are drawn to the Source and warmth of it.

The most conservative in believing should be the most liberal in loving — because the conservative are called to conserve the revolutionary ways of Jesus.

If you listen closely, if you come closer and listen — you can hear it, you can hear the soundless cries of a confused and hurting world.

And you can find the mothers who come after their children and whisper revolutionary things to them and hold them close —

so they feel the sure pulse of compassion.

So they hear the steady heartbeat of God.

– Ann Voskamp

 

As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over …

– Isaiah 66:13 (NIV)

 

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her.

– Proverbs 31:10,11,26,28 (NIV)

 

Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.

– Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

Loving Yourself

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Jesus shares the the two most important commandments – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

I think we probably remember the love the Lord part.

And we likely remember the love your neighbor part, too. But that as yourself part—those are the words we forget…

Jesus knew that our self-care wasn’t just about us. Loving ourselves has a positive ripple effect on our families, our neighbors, our communities and the world.

We are the body of Christ. We belong to one another and desperately need one another’s love. But that starts with the way we love ourselves.

Just think of what the world would look like if we really embraced Jesus’s commandment.

If we started exercising and took control of our eating habits.

If we made time to be creative.

If we spent time in the Word.

We would be healthier.

We would be happier.

We would love our neighbors better.

We wouldn’t neglect our friends when they are going through painful seasons, too wrapped up in our own busyness.

Instead, we would be able to radically love the way Jesus has called us to do.

This new year is already looking different for me. I chose the word SLOW as my word for the year and I am embracing it deeply.

I have turned down work opportunities and not over-scheduled myself.

I have made room for a Bible study and book club.

I have already had lunch with three different friends, and several more dates are on the books.

And while slow might be my word, that doesn’t mean days aren’t going to be full and sometimes messy.

That’s not how life works—all of us know that firsthand. Three kids to parent, 9-5s to report to, meals to make, laundry to fold and the list goes on.

Yet, in each day, fringe hours can be found. Those bits that might be missed or wasted all together can be redeemed for beautiful, soul-filling hobbies and habits.

When we redeem those hours, life-change happens. Beauty is found. Friendships are nurtured.

We are the best versions of the people God created us to be.

– Jessica Turner

 

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

 – Mark 12:30-31 (NLT) 

 

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

 

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.

– 3 John 2

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

You Focus

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What’s it like

to live with you?

 

How is it

to work with you?

 

When people see you

in public,

what kind of person do they encounter?

 

Good questions

 

So many of us are thinking about

and concentrating on

how the people around us

don’t measure up

 

And that judgmental spirit

can be so subtle

that we may not even realize it’s there

 

But what if our focus

were actually on how we can BE the person

who is a blessing to live with

a joy to work with

a pleasant face in a crowd?

 

What if our inward focus

was not rooted in how we’re better

but how we can be better

for the people we come into contact with?

– Susie Stewart

 

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

– Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG)

 

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.

– John 13:35 (NLT)

 

Photo by Gracie Oertli

Blessing for Curses

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Retaliation is human,

for wrongs committed

 

Cursing the offender,

is the usual way

 

Wishing harm to your enemies,

is so typical

 

But what is not

typical

is Your way, Jesus

 

Returning an offense

with a blessing

 

Persecution

with a prayer

 

Evil

with a peaceful demeanor

 

Impossible?

 

Not with the Holy Spirit

pouring love and blessing

into you

so that you

in turn

can pour out blessing on people

 

Being offended

is a choice you make

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

“I will take revenge;
I will pay them back,”
says the Lord.
Instead,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

– Romans 12:14-21 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Unwavering Trust

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Is your trust

swayed with your emotion?

 

Is your trust

in a wave-like motion?

 

Up and down

up and down

up and down

 

Or is your trust

grounded and firm?

 

Based on truth unwavering,

solid?

 

Set your eyes, your mind, your heart

on the God who does not change

 

and let not your circumstances

lessen your trust

 

He will still those waves

if you only surrender

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.

– Psalm 143:8 (NIV)

 

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

– James 1:5-8 (MSG)

 

Late that day He said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took Him in the boat as He was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused Him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”

Awake now, He told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”

They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

– Mark 4:35-41 (MSG)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

Consequences

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

You are wading,

trudging,

struggling,

in consequences

 

The consequences of your choices

 

And you know that you’ve found freedom

in the confession

 

But the consequences…

 

The result

of your choices

 

they are heavy

and far-reaching

and inevitable

 

and you must wade through

 

the heavy murkiness

that tugs at you

even as you are enveloped in God’s forgiving grace

 

Be strong in Him

keep taking responsibility for the pain caused

and accept that consequences are real

 

We all must face them

 

Except when it comes to our Savior

 

He took our consequences

 

All the consequence of our sin

weighed heaven and earth-sized on His shoulders

and He trudged through the murky waters

until there was

one

last breath

 

and He had drown

in our consequences

 

Thank You, dear Lord.

 

Dear friend, when you find yourself

knee-deep in consequences

 

stop and thank the Lord

 

that He will not leave you stuck in sin,

that He gives grace to the humble,

that He died for you

and

that He truly brings freedom

 

And know that because of HIM

you will not drown in your consequences

– Susie Stewart

 

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

– Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

 

And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

– James 4:6 (NLT)

 

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].

– 1 John 1:9 (AMP)

 

But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

– Romans 6:22,23 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Good & Trustworthy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The God Jesus reveals would never do anything to harm us.  He has no malice or evil intentions.  He is completely good.  And the fact that God is also all-knowing and all-powerful makes His goodness even better.  I can trust God even if things look bleak.  It does not matter that God is all-powerful or all-knowing if He is not all-good.  If He isn’t all-good, I will never be able to love and trust Him.

– James Bryan Smith

 

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

– Psalm 125:1 (NIV)

 

He is the Rock; His deeds are perfect. Everything He does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright He is!

– Deuteronomy 32:4 (NLT)  

 

But as we come to know the good and beautiful God that Jesus knows, our struggles take on a whole new meaning.  If God is truly good and is looking out for our good, then we can come to Him with complete honesty.  We can practice honesty when we pray – baring our soul and confronting those hurts that make us doubt God’s goodness by handing them over to Him for healing.

– James Bryan Smith

 

Photo by Susie Stewart