Month: November 2017

Refreshed

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

How refreshing

is Your forgiveness

 

How sweet

Your grace

 

How fierce

Your resolve

 

to save

and redeem

 

And how blessed am I

to receive this gift

 

of Light inside

my very being

 

where darkness

once ruled

 

And how blessed am I

to know

 

I am truly forgiven

by Perfection

 

and that I’m known

for the dust that I am

 

Yet loved beyond reason

 

Forgiveness takes the weight

from the accused

 

and Your forgiveness, Jesus,

took that burden hard

and painfully

 

on Your flesh back

 

so that I

could be refreshed

 

with redemption

 

~ Susie Stewart

 

 

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that He may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

– Acts 3:19,20 (NIV)

 

 

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on His children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
for He knows how we are formed,
    He remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear Him,
    and His righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep His covenant
    and remember to obey His precepts.

– Psalm 103:7-18 (NIV)

 

Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who grants us every spiritual blessing in these heavenly realms where we live in the Anointed—not because of anything we have done, but because of what He has done for us. God chose us to be in a relationship with Him even before He laid out plans for this world; He wanted us to live holy lives characterized by love, free from sin, and blameless before Him.  He destined us to be adopted as His children through the covenant Jesus the Anointed inaugurated in His sacrificial life. This was His pleasure and His will for us.  Ultimately God is the one worthy of praise for showing us His grace; He is merciful and marvelous, freely giving us these gifts in His Beloved.  Visualize this: His blood freely flowing down the cross, setting us free! We are forgiven for our sinful ways by the richness of His grace, which He has poured all over us.

– Ephesians 1:3-8 (VOICE)

 

 

Photo by Nicole Stewart

 

 

More and More and More…

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The MORE of You

is beyond

and infinitely above

my grasp

 

The MORE of what You can

and will do

is immeasurable

and unimaginable

 

The MORE of what I

don’t expect

or don’t ask

of You

is unbelievable

 

To YOU

my unfathomable

beyond

and more

God,

 

I commit myself

to imagine

and ask

and believe

MORE

 

even though it is not

a speck

of enough vision

of You

and Your ways

 

I lean in to witness

the power of You

in me

and outside of me

for Your Divine glory

 

and MORE

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

– Ephesians 3:20,21 (NIV)

 

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

– Ephesians 3:20,21 (MSG)

 

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

– Ephesians 3:20,21 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

That Name

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Love has a Name

My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know Him if you don’t love. This is how God showed His love for us: God sent His only Son into the world so we might live through Him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.  ~ 1 John 4:8-10 (MSG)

It’s Jesus

 

 

Hope has a Name

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.  ~ Romans 15:13 (NLT)

It’s Jesus

 

 

Joy has a Name

You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life.
    As I walk with You, the pleasures are never-ending,
    and I know true joy and contentment.  ~ Psalm 16:11 (VOICE)

It’s Jesus

 

 

Peace has a Name

And now, dear friends, may the Lord of peace Himself grace you with peace always and in everything. May the Lord be present with all of you.  ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (VOICE)

It’s Jesus

 

 

Faithfulness has a Name

If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for He cannot deny who He is.  ~ 2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT)

It’s Jesus

 

 

And at that Name,

above all names,

every knee will bow

 

So you should know this Name

 

or never truly know

love

hope

joy

peace

or faithfulness

 

~ Susie Stewart

 

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

– Galatians 5:22,23 (NLT)

 

So when His name is called, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth, and below.

– Philippians 2:10 (VOICE)

 

 

 

 

Happily Ever After

/ Susie Stewart / 3 Comments

When you were young

did you dream

of your Happily Ever After?

 

Did you imagine your life

would look different

than the reality that has unfolded?

 

Your road has been

so much bumpier

than you wanted, hasn’t it?

 

And happily ever after

seems only a dream…

 

It is true

that in this life

you will have many troubles

 

You are a survivor

in a broken world

wrought with battles unseen

 

But, friend, your joy in between

is unmistakeable

 

For the beautiful parts of your life

are attributed to Him

who created that beauty

 

And you walk in His presence

in the midst of the turmoil

and the disappointment

 

You trust His promises

and you cling to His robe

for dear life

 

He is the Rock

the Fortress

the Shelter you need

 

And you know

without a shred of doubt

 

that your happily ever after

is coming

 

and it will be eternally yours

forever

and

ever

 

– Susie Stewart

 

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone.

It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

– Ephesians 1:11-14 (MSG)

 

 It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, He saved us from all that. It was all His doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God’s gift has restored our relationship with Him and given us back our lives. And there’s more life to come—an eternity of life! You can count on this.

– Titus 3:3-8 (MSG)

 

What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have Him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.

I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.

– 1 Peter 1:3-7 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

High Hopes

/ Susie Stewart / 3 Comments

Having hope is good

 

Having hope in the Lord

is best

 

And we NEED

His hope

 

We need Him

 

Those who hope in Jesus

are renewed over and over

in their situation

 

Focus is re-established

when it starts to wane

 

And sights are set on things above

on sovereign God

 

not on earthly circumstances

 

For His strength,

mighty and unwavering,

is yours

 

And not only that

but You will soar high with Him

 

From the sky you are given a bird’s eye perspective,

an overall look

 

at each small slice

and circumstance

of life here

 

knowing this season

is woven with care

 

in the tapestry,

the landscape,

of your existence

 

Your hope

does not walk tired

 

And you may run

but it is not away from God

 

You run toward Him!

 

The Author and the Finisher

of your faith

 

The One who establishes

and solidifies

 

your hope

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

-Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
– Hebrews 12;2 (KJV)
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
-Psalm 25:5 (NIV)

Completely

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Crush me, God,

with Your love

 

Drown me

in Your grace

 

Break me

with Your goodness

 

Smother me

in Your joy

 

 

Push me

in Your strength

 

Suffocate me

with Your peace

 

Do all this

until I am completely overwhelmed

 

with You

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Still, Eternal One, You are our Father. We are just clay, and You are the potter. We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.

– Isaiah 64:8 (VOICE)

 

Power belongs to You, God,
     and with You, Lord, is unfailing love.

– Psalm 62:11,12 (NIV)

 

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.

– Psalm 73:26 (NLT)

 

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- (NLT)
Photo by Susie Stewart