Month: March 2017

Love Each Other Deeply

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Above all your needs

above all your desires

above all your plans

above all your aspirations

above all your comfort

 

above

your

very

life

 

love people deeply

 

for that is what you are called to

 

Loving deeply

and genuinely

 

It is intentional

and Spirit-driven

 

It is heart

and head

and will

 

It is vast

and wide

and long

 

People know

if it is real

 

They know if it is shallow

or deep

 

They know whether it originates

with your God

 

-Susie Stewart

 

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

 

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

– Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV)

 

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

– Romans 12:9,10 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

You Are Not Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I’m sorry to say it

 

You are not

enough

 

And we hear all the time,

“You are enough”

 

But in essence,

it’s not true!

 

YOU

are not enough

 

You have a deep, deep

need

for God

 

Deeper

than you can even imagine

 

And not only do you have a need

for God

but you also have a need

for His Son

 

Jesus was enough

Jesus is enough

 

That is why He is the only One

who could be sacrificed for a world of sin

 

Because He was enough

 

Perfection

 

And not only did we need

that sacrifice

 

but we need our Jesus

every day

 

We NEED Him!

 

We are not enough

 

We fall

we fail

we are weak

we are fragile

 

we are imperfect

 

Our

lives

are

in

His

hands

 

Victory is found in Jesus

 

We are not enough

without Him

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Don’t be mistaken; in and of ourselves we know we have little to offer, but any competence or value we have comes from God.

– 2 Corinthians 3:5 (VOICE)

 

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

 

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

– John 15:5 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

For The Good

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I don’t believe

 

that when God says

He works

all things

for the good,

 

 

that He means

 

He gives us brokenness

and then calls it good

 

I don’t believe that

 

I believe that

when God says

He works

all things

for the good

 

He means

 

that for those who love Him,

He takes our brokenness

in this broken world

 

and He uses it for good

 

He redeems it

 

He uses

difficult

and harsh

and sad

and awful

 

and changes hearts

heals wounds

teaches

 

and makes something beautiful

 

He wraps His loving arms

around the worst

 

and when He opens His arms

we find that the worst

 

looks like good

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

– Romans 8:28 (NIV)

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

– Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

 

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.

– Romans 8:28-30 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

I wonder….

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I wonder…

 

How’s your sense

of wonder?

 

How’s your awe?

 

As you stare down

at the earthy path you’re on

 

Have you forgotten to look up?

 

Is your child buried

beneath layers of adult?

 

Is God big to you?

Or, do the concerns of this world smother?

 

Gaze at His beauty

Be excited for His love

 

And don’t make people wonder

about your wonder

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal; let every man, woman, and child live in wonder of Him.

– Psalm 33:8 (VOICE)

 

Therefore, let us all be thankful that we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and offer to God worship that pleases Him and reflects the awe and reverence we have toward Him, for He is like a fierce fire that consumes everything.

– Hebrews 12:28-29 (VOICE)

 

O Eternal, our Lord,
Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth;
Your magnificent glory shines far above the skies.
From the mouths and souls of infants and toddlers, the most innocent,
You have decreed power to stop Your adversaries
and quash those who seek revenge.
When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—
on the moon, stars, and all You have made,
I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—
sons and daughters of men—
specks of dust floating about the cosmos.
But You placed the son of man just beneath God
and honored Him like royalty, crowning Him with glory and honor.
You ordained Him to govern the works of Your hands,
to nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination;
You placed everything on earth beneath His feet:
All kinds of domesticated animals,
even the wild animals in the fields and forests,
The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,
all the multitudes of living things that travel the currents of the oceans.
O Eternal, our Lord,
Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth.

– Psalm 8 (VOICE)

 

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping He might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and Me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in His arms, He laid his hands of blessing on them.

– Mark 10:13-16 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

More Vs. Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Jesus, teach me more

about enough

 

about content

and satisfied

 

Settle the desire

for more

 

and more

and more

 

Tame disatisfaction

and expose greed

 

Because more

will never be enough

 

YOU

must be

my Enough

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

– 1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)

 

Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”

– Luke 12:15 (AMP)

 

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

– James 1:14,15 (NLT)

 

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.  So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

– 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Is This All There Is?

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

Living life

in light of eternity

 

means living as if

there is more than now

 

Eyes up

Trust forward

 

knowing that existence here

is a speck of dust

 

in eternity’s line

of endless

 

Remembering what is important,

Who is important

 

and not becoming attached

to what doesn’t last

 

Lord, show me how NOT to live

as if this is all there is

 

Show me my purpose

lived out

in Love

 

Finite life on earth

wrapped in infinite life with You, God

 

There’s so much more to come

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.

– Luke 10:27 (NIV)

 

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

– 1 Peter 4:7-11 (MSG)

 

Don’t be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in Me. My Father’s house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you?  If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into My presence so that you will be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.

– John 14:1-4 (GW)

 

For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]!

– 2 Corinthians 4:17 (AMP)

 

This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and Him whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

– John 17:3 (WEB)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Confident

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What give us confidence

to approach Almighty God?

 

He does

 

If it weren’t for God’s

mercy

grace

love

and goodness

 

we could not approach Him at all

 

And the thought of Him

providing the means to our confidence

before Him

 

proves even more

His beautiful heart toward us

 

And so, because He tells us

we can be confident in our approach of Him

 

we can!

 

What a gift that is

 

Righteousness

and peace

and confidence

 

because He sits on a throne

of grace

 

-Susie Stewart

 

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

– Jeremiah 17:7 (NLT)

 

…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

 

And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face Him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

– 1 John 4:17 (NLT)

 

This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us.

-1 John 5:14 (AMP)

 

In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

– Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)

 

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

– Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

 

And this righteousness will bring peace. Yes, it will bring quietness and confidence forever.

– Isaiah 32:17 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Gifts Multiplied

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

For those who have accepted

the beautiful gift of grace

 

our words should be gracious

 

For those who have accepted

the unmerited gift of mercy

 

our actions should be merciful

 

For those who have accepted

perfect love unconditional

 

our love should should come without strings

 

For those who have accepted

redemption from darkness impenetrable

 

our attitudes should reflect intense light

 

What precious gifts, these!

 

Who we are in Christ should be a gift

to those we come into contact with

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Whoever loves a pure heart and whoever speaks graciously has a king as his friend.

– Proverbs 22:11 (GW)

 

Pleasant words are like honey from a honeycomb— sweet to the spirit and healthy for the body.

-Proverbs 16:24 (GW)

 

Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

– Luke 12:48 (MSG)

 

Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand Him better.

– Colossians 3:10 (CEV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

The Importance of Quiet

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You must rest

and reflect

and meditate

 

to hear the most important things

I want to teach you

 

A whisper can’t be heard

in noise

 

Truths cannot take root

in chaos

 

Hear Me

in your quiet

 

See Me

through eager eyes

 

Come and taste

and hear

and see

 

Me

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all His goodness.

– Psalm 34:8,9 (MSG)

 

This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: “Call to Me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.”

– Jeremiah 33:2,3 (MSG)

 

That is why we ought to pay even closer attention to the voice that has been speaking so that we will never drift away from it.

– Hebrews 2:1 (VOICE)

 

Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

– 1 Kings 19:11, 12 (MSG)

 

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

– Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

 

This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: You can be saved by returning to Me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting Me. But you don’t want that.

– Isaiah 30:15 (GW)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

How Do You Do Life Without Him?

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

He sustains

He carries

He rescues

He loves

 

and He is strong enough

to create and carry

the whole world

 

So, I wonder

how anyone does life

without Him?

 

Any burden

He asks us to cast on Him

 

During our trials

He promises to be there

 

And when we are stuck

He provides a way out

 

In this life

if you don’t have God

 

What

do

you

have

to

cling

to?

 

Everything and everyone

can be gone at any time

 

Almighty God offers Himself

freely and forever

 

even to the point of death

 

Don’t do life

for one more minute

without Him

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

– Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

 

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.

– Psalm 68:19 (NIV)

 

Cast your cares on the Lord
and He will sustain you;
He will never let
the righteous be shaken.

– Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

 

I cling to you;

your right hand upholds me.

– Psalm 63:8 (NIV)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart