Immersed

March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

You will hear lies

coming from within

and from the outside

And it is infinitely important

that you immerse yourself

in Truth

For if you hear the lies

about you

or God

or life

and you can’t recall Truth

You just might believe

those lies

So immerse

saturate

drown yourself

in Truth

It’s about life or death

for your mind

for your heart

for your soul

– Susie Stewart

…Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

– 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NLT)

Let the words from the book of the law be always on your lips. Meditate on them day and night so that you may be careful to live by all that is written in it. If you do, as you make your way through this world, you will prosper and always find success.

– Joshua 1:8 (VOICE)

How can a young person live a clean life? By carefully reading the map of your Word. I’m single-minded in pursuit of you; don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted. I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart so I won’t sin myself bankrupt. Be blessed, God; train me in your ways of wise living. I’ll transfer to my lips all the counsel that comes from your mouth; I delight far more in what you tell me about living than in gathering a pile of riches. I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you, I attentively watch how you’ve done it. I relish everything you’ve told me of life, I won’t forget a word of it.

– Psalm 119:14-16 (MSG)

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

– Psalm 19:4 (NLT)

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

– Deuteronomy 6:5-9 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Joy

March 8, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Are you familiar

with Joy

these days?

Is Joy a companion to you?

Or a stranger?

Has your Joy been

stolen

snuffed out

fleeting

stifled?

Has busyness

or shame

or self-hatred

or the weight of the world

stolen your Joy?

Maybe you forgot

about Joy?

Who has time for Joy?

In God’s presence

there is Fullness

Abundance

Overflowing

Joy

More of Him

brings more Joy

and

Foundation

March 6, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What is your foundation, friend?

At the bottom of everything in your life

what is your security

your strength

your purpose

your reason to live?

Maybe all you know

is to believe in your self.

And what happens when you fail?

Every self does.

Is your foundation crumbling?

Or is your foundation secure?

Because the only foundation

that will not crumble in the end

is Rock

My Rock is Jesus

He will not fail

He will not crumble

And because I am secure in Him

in His Truth

in His Word

in His Love

when I fail

I know He won’t

And we all need a foundation

for the walls we build

the walls of knowledge

of good works

of family

of purpose

will fall

without The Foundation

What a gift,

my Foundation

in Him

– Susie Stewart

Those people who are listening to Me, those people who hear what I say and live according to My teachings—you are like a wise man who built his house on a rock, on a firm foundation. When storms hit, rain pounded down and waters rose, levies broke and winds beat all the walls of that house. But the house did not fall because it was built upon rock. Those of you who are listening and do not hear—you are like a fool who builds a house on sand. When a storm comes to his house, what will happen? The rain will fall, the waters will rise, the wind will blow, and his house will collapse with a great crash.

– Matthew 7:24-27 (VOICE)

Therefore the Lord God says this, “Listen carefully, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a tested Stone, A precious Cornerstone for the [secure] foundation, firmly placed. He who believes [who trusts in, relies on, and adheres to that Stone] will not be disturbed or give way [in sudden panic].

– Isaiah 28:16 (AMP)

Come to Him [the risen Lord] as to a living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God. You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

– 1 Peter 2:4-6 (AMP)

Jesus Christ is the Stone on which other stones for the building must be laid. It can be only Christ.

– 1 Corinthians 3:11 (NLV

Photo by Susie Stewart

Wait with Hope

March 6, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Right now you may be waiting for something from the Lord. Matter of fact, most people I meet are in some sort of holding pattern. (I Certainly am!) They have something on the horizon that they’re trusting God for. (I certainly do!) And their hope is not misplaced. He is good to those who wait for Him. He is good to those who seek Him. We have nothing to fear. And we certainly have no reason for living each day crushed by guilt or shame…

Contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t sit in heaven with His jaws clenched, His arms folded in disapproval, and a deep from on His brow. He is not ticked off at His children for all the times we trip over our tiny feet and fall flat on our diapers. He is a loving Father, and we are precious in His sight, the delight of His heart.

– Chuck Swindoll

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

– Romans 8:31,32 (NLT)

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)

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
to stick it out through the hard times.

– Lamentations 3:25 (MSG)

Those who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

– Charles Spurgeon

Photo by Gracie Oertli

Listen

March 4, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

WORDS

hurt

heal

inform

affirm

express

Father,

lead my thoughts before a word ever leaves my lips

temper my tongue

for your glory

and for Your Name

Show me what righteous anger looks like

and what is mere bitterness

and selfishness

and pride

Silence the words

that I’m tempted to say

that shouldn’t be said

Teach me to listen

and hear

and respond

from Your heart

Lead on, Lord,

and go before

so that the attitude of my heart

and the words of my mouth

show the light

You have brought to my soul

– Susie Stewart

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

– James 1:19,20 (NIV)

Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; for the [resentful, deep-seated] anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God [that standard of behavior which He requires from us].

– James 1:19 (AMP)

Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

– James 1:18-20 (MSG)

When you are angry, don’t let it carry you into sin. Don’t let the sun set with anger in your heart or give the devil room to work.

– Ephesians 4:26,27 (VOIVE)

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

– Proverbs 16:24 (GW)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Character

March 3, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

God’s character is our standard

perfect and true

holy and good

unmovable

It has stayed the same

and will stay the same

throughout eternity

We, His created,

have inner character

that is either growing

or declining

May it grow

and struggle

through the dirt of adversity

and testings

and trials

with a heart surrendered

to the process

and to the Living Water

to bloom hope

– Susie Stewart

A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches; And favor is better than silver and gold.

– Proverbs 22:1 (AMP)

If a man does not exercise his arm he develops no biceps muscle; and if a man does not exercise his soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength of character, no vigour of moral fibre, nor beauty of Spiritual growth.

– Henry Drummond

Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; to godliness add Christian affection; and to Christian affection add love. If you have these qualities and they are increasing, it demonstrates that your knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ is living and productive.

– 2 Peter 1:5-8 (GW)

No character is ultimately tested until it has suffered.

– Harry Emerson Fosdick

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)

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

– Helen Keller

So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

– 2 Thessalonians 2:4-8 (MSG)

Make Christ your most constant companion. Be more under His influence than under any other influence. Ten minutes spent in His society every day, ay, two minutes if it be face to face, and heart to heart, will make the whole day different. Every character has an inward spring, let Christ be it. Every action has a key-note, let Christ set it.

– Henry Drummond

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

– Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times. God is forever what at that moment, three thousand years ago, He told Moses that He was.

– J.I. Packer

Photo by Susie Stewart

Higher Still

March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You say you don’t know why

and how He could let it happen

And you try to understand,

to know what He’s thinking

But His thoughts

are so beyond

And His ways

not even in range

So we trust that He Is

I AM

and that He took our fallen selves

and loved us still

He took our brokenness

and provided hope

He IS our Hope

and our mercy’s hand

He IS our Lifeline

And though we don’t understand

or comprehend His ways

We can know

He is our Answer

All questions are shrouded

in the glory of who He is

– Susie Stewart

How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension!

– Psalm 147:5 (NLT)

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so My ways are higher than your ways
and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

– Isaiah 5:8,9 (NLT)

Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of His understanding.

– Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)

God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.
He wraps the rain in His thick clouds,
and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.
He covers the face of the moon,
shrouding it with His clouds.
He created the horizon when He separated the waters;
He set the boundary between day and night.
The foundations of heaven tremble;
they shudder at His rebuke.
By His power the sea grew calm.
By His skill He crushed the great sea monster.
His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
and His power pierced the gliding serpent.
These are just the beginning of all that He does,
merely a whisper of His power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?”

– Job 26:7-14 (NLT)

“Indeed, through His own gracious revelation of Himself, we can understand God in part, but we can never fully comprehend Him, or even a single one of His qualities. There will always be more of His wisdom to understand, more of His power, more of His holiness, more of His love. We will never fathom Him, and we will never tire of Him. Through all eternity, we will look upon Him and marvel at the endlessly creative, wonderfully gracious, uniquely righteous, timelessly beautiful, unsearchably glorious, infinitely loving Maker and Ruler of all.”

– Kevin Hartnett

When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—

what are mere mortals that You should think about them,
human beings that You should care for them?

Psalm 8:3,4 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Wide Open

March 1, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Jesus is a Gate

wide open

He is a gasp of fresh air

in a stifling world

He is a window to freedom

in a room of religious rules

He is water, living and alive

to a parched existence

He is a dance

in the midst of a crowd of unresponsive hearts

He is the Gate

I have walked through

and found Eternal Life

in the now

and forever.

– Susie Stewart

I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

– John 10:9,10 (NIV)

David danced before the Lord with all his might…

2 Samuel 6:16 (NLT)

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

Galatians 5:1 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

– John 4:13,14 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Your Mind

February 29, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Our thoughts are just as important to God as our actions, and are known to God as clearly as our actions.

Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that God’s commands are intended not only to regulate outward conduct, but inner disposition as well. It is not enough that we do not kill; we must also not hate. It is not enough that we do not commit adultery; we must not even entertain lustful looks and thoughts.

Just as we must learn to bring the appetites of our bodies under control, so we must also learn to bring our thought lives under obedience to Jesus Christ.

The bible indicates that our thought lives ultimately determine our character. Holiness begins in our minds and works out to our actions. This being true, what we allow to enter our minds is critically important.

– Jerry Bridges

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.

– Psalm 139:1-4(NLT)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

– Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)

…people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

– Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

– Romans 12:3 (NLT)

…let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes

– Ephesians 4:23 (NLT)

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

– 1 Peter 1:14 9 (MSG)

The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.

– AW Tozer

Photo by Susie Stewart

Peace

February 28, 2016February 28, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Perfect peace comes from God. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit for the Believer, and it comes even in the storm if our hearts and minds are set on Him.

– Susie Stewart

The labor of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal, how can you hope to find inward peace.

– AW Tozer

True faith, by a mighty effort of the will, fixes its gaze on our Divine Helper, and there finds it possible and wise to lose its fears. It is madness to say, “I will not be afraid;” it is wisdom and peace to say, “I will trust and not be afraid.”

– Alexander MacLaren

Now may the Lord Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

– 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.]

– John 16:33 (AMP)

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

– Isaiah 26:3 (AMP)

Walk away from the evil things in the world—just leave them behind, and do what is right, and always seek peace and pursue it.

– 1 Peter 3:11 (VOICE)

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,…

– Galatians 5:22 (NLT)

A mind focused on the flesh is doomed to death, but a mind focused on the Spirit will find full life and complete peace.

– Romans 8:6 (VOICE)

For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won’t walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won’t fall apart.” The God who has compassion on you says so.

– Isaiah 54:10 (MSG)

If our minds are stayed upon God, His peace will rule the affairs entertained by our minds. If, on the other hand, we allow our minds to dwell on the cares of this world, God’s peace will be far from our thoughts.

– Woodrow Kroll

Photo by Susie Stewart