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Complacent

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I know when I’m complacent

I know it’s a choice

 

And I can see why God detests

lukewarm

 

Because when I’m in that place

it’s a miserable place

 

And You, Lord, don’t wake me up

to have me meander, head low, to You

 

You call me to run back!

 

With fervency

and joy

and thankfulness

 

Mercy awaits

the temporarily complacent

 

Mercy beckons

 

Loving with abandon

crushes complacency

 

– Susie Stewart

 

What the world doesn’t need is Christians who tolerate the complacency of their own lives.

– Francis Chan

 

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.”

But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

– Luke 15:20-24 (NLT)

 

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

– Romans 2:4 (NLT)

 

Those I love I also correct and discipline. Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me, and turn back.

– Revelation 3:19 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Light in Light

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In Light

we see Light

 

In darkness

all is dark

 

So, Jesus, open the eyes of the blind!

Awaken them to Light!

 

For the dark

is a scary place to be

 

It’s hopeless…

 

But those who dwell in Light

recognize Your Light

 

and want it

for those in absence of it

 

Those who dwell in blackness

can’t see it

 

Loose them, Lord!

Unbind them!

 

Let us be Your Light

to our fellow-created

 

May Your Light

Pierce the darkness

 

that threatens to overtake

those You love

 

– Susie Stewart

 

For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.

– Psalm 36:9 (NIV)

 

How exquisite your love, O God! How eager we are to run under your wings, To eat our fill at the banquet You spread as You fill our tankards with Eden spring water. You’re a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.

– Psalm 36:7-9 (MSG)

 

In Your house, they eat and are full at Your table.
They drink from the river of Your overflowing kindness.
You have the fountain of life that quenches our thirst.
Your light has opened our eyes and awakened our souls.

– Psalm 36:8,9 (VOICE)

 

But we had to celebrate and be happy, because your brother was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.

– Luke 15:32 (GNT)

 

Light shows up everything, just as the Scriptures say,

“Wake up from your sleep
and rise from death.
Then Christ will shine on you.”

– Ephesians 5:14 CEV)

 

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins.

– Colossians 2:13 (NLT)

 

It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, He embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on His own, with no help from us! Then He picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

– Ephesians 2:1-6 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

But God

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I looked at her text

and it gave me pause

 

“Interesting times here, but God…”

 

But GOD

with three tiny dots

 

And it got me to thinking

 

about how God is always present

and supremely sovereign

 

And no matter what…

 

BUT GOD

 

So I went on a search

through the Scriptures

 

and found His hand

working in our circumstances

in the middle of our humanness

 

in the pain

in the joys

 

in the midst…

 

But God…

was in

and about

and through

and all over

 

He is here

and He is aware

and He is at work

 

in our present circumstances

 

And no matter what,

our sentence can end

with “but God…”

 

– Susie Stewart

 

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

– Geness 8:1 (NIV)

 

But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night…

– Genesis 20:3 (NIV)

 

He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.

– Genesis 31:5 (NIV)

 

…But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands…

– Genesis 31:42 (NIV)

 

“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

– Genesis 41:16 (NIV)

 

But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

– Genesis 45:7 (NIV)

 

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

– Genesis 45:8 (NIV)

 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you…”

– Genesis 48:21

 

 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

– Genesis 50:20

 

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid…”

– Genesis 50:24

 

 

…But God did not answer him that day.

– 1 Samuel 14:37

 

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

– 1 Samuel 23:14

 

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

– 1 Kings 5:4

 

…For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

– 2 Chronicles 20:15

 

With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

– 2 Chronicles 32:8

 

 

But the eye of their God was watching…

– Ezra 5:5

 

“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.

– Ezra 9:8

 

…But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…

– Nehemiah 9:17

 

But in Your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

– Nehemiah 9:31

 

But God drags away the mighty by His power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

– Job 24:22

 

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

– Psalm 9:18

 

But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

– Psalm 10:14

 

 

But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to Himself.

– Psalm 49:15

 

…but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.

– Psalm 66:19

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

– Psalm 73:26

 

But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the earth.

– Psalm 74:12

 

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

– Psalm 86:15

 

But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

– Psalm 94:22

 

But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by His righteous acts.

– Isaiah 5:16

 

But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King.

– Jeremiah 10:10

 

But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

– Jeremiah 10:12

 

…but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.

– Daniel 2:28

 

…But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.

– Jonah 2:6

 

 

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

– Matthew 19:26

 

…but God knows your hearts….

– Luke 16:15

 

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

– Acts 2:24

 

You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

– Acts 3:15

 

But God was with him…

– Acts 7:9

 

…but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen.

– Acts 10:40

 

But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.

– Acts 26:22

 

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

– Romans 5:8

 

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

– 1 Corinthians 1:27

 

But God has put the body together…

– 1 Corinthians 12:24

 

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us…

– 2 Corinthians 7:6

 

…I do not know, but God knows—

– 2 Corinthians 12:3

 

 

Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

– Philippians 2:27

 

 

…but God is the builder of everything.

– Hebrews 3:4

 

…but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness.

– Hebrews 12:10

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

 

Forever

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

God hath given to man a short time here upon earth, and yet upon this short time eternity depends.

– Jeremy Taylor

 

 

Forever

is a long time

 

and there is no one

I’d rather spend forever with

 

than You,

my beautiful God

 

Uninhibited praise

will be Yours

 

Untainted cherishing

will be ours

 

And I long for the eternity

that my mind can’t fathom

 

even as I walk

through time

 

And then I realize

that now

is part of always

 

Time is swallowed up

by eternal

 

All is present

 

And even as I wrestle

with the dust

 

I will still seek to praise You

uninhibited

 

And I will choose to cherish You

every day

 

As I look up with,

“Come, Lord Jesus, come.”

 

– Susie Stewart

 

With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever.

– 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 (CEV)

 
For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.

– C.S. Lewis

 

I will be there to greet you personally and welcome you home, where we will be together.

– John 14:3 (VOICE)

 

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy., the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

– C.S. Lewis

 

When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.

– John 14:3 (NLT)

 

I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:

Salvation to our God on His Throne!
Salvation to the Lamb!
All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing:

Oh, Yes!
The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
The honor and power and strength,
To our God forever and ever and ever!
Oh, Yes!

– Revelation 7:9-12 (MSG)

 

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Not Lacking

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I lack

no good thing

today

 

And I would do well

to remember that

 

I have sought You God

and You allow Yourself

to be found

 

And because You are there

I have what I need

 

I trust You

and I lack no good thing

 

Listen up, heart,

you have what you need

 

– Susie Stewart

 

…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

– Psalm 34:10 :(NIV)

 

So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all His creatures.

-James 1:16-18 (MSG)

 

By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.

– 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Peace Sought

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

You who serve

the Prince of Peace

 

how are You

PURSUING

peace?

 

Do you run toward it

or

do you choose the opposite?

 

The Lord

would have you

SEEK peace

 

Which means

you diligently look for it

 

you hunger for it

 

and your first step in peace-seeking

is to quiet yourself

 

before the Prince

before the King

 

and the next

is to quiet yourself

 

before those

you don’t want to quiet yourself before

 

 

And the third thing to do

is to be alert and aware

 

of triggers in you

of the enemy’s tactics

of the ways people choose division

 

and choose peace

 

Pursue it

Seek it

Live it

 

Let it take root

in your heart

 

– Susie Stewart

 

…seek peace and pursue it.

– Psalm 34:14 (NIV)

 

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

– Romans 12:18 (NIV)

 

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

– Romans 12:17-19 (MSG)

 

Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always].

– Colossians 3:15 (AMP)

 

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

– Hebrews 12:14 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Those Places

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You fill

those places, God,

of emptiness

 

You heal

those places, God,

of hurt

 

You restore

those places, God,

of brokenness

 

You find

those places, God,

that are lost

 

You inhabit

those places, God,

of loneliness

 

You comfort

those places, God,

of deep pain

 

And we get stuck

in those places….

 

but You want us

to find YOU

there

 

– Susie Stewart

 

If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, He’ll help you catch your breath.

– Psalm 34:18 (MSG)

 

When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close and revives him in his pain.

– Psalm 34:18 (VOICE)

 

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

– Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

 

You, my people, have sinned in two ways— you have rejected me, the source of life-giving water, and you’ve tried to collect water in cracked and leaking pits dug in the ground.

– Jeremiah 2:13 (CEV)

 

Let me hear of Your unfailing love each morning,
for I am trusting You.
Show me where to walk,
for I give myself to You.

– Psalm 143:8 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Without Restraint

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What You give, God,

is lavish

and generous

and overflowing

 

You don’t just stop at need,

You go over

and above

and then some

 

You are our God of much

and we are your people most blessed

 

And what You give

is not always what we expect

 

For the world sees lavish

different

than You do

 

You know how to give

good gifts

to Your children

 

With leftovers

 

Not the least of which

is Yourself

 

Our greatest gift of all

 

Friend, if you think God is holding out on you,

look again

 

and find

Love without restraint

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Then Jesus called His disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”

The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”

Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”

So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.

They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children….

– Matthew 15:32-39 (NLT)

 

…your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!

– Matthew 6:8 (NLT)

 

He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

– Ephesians 1:7, 8 (NLT)

 

Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.

– Exodus 34:6,7 (NLT)

 

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)

 

Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children.

– 1 John 3:1 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Self-Preservation

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Shrinking back

from people who disappoint

 

will only cause a tightening

of your soul

 

Loving and giving

without finding fault

 

will help keep

your heart open and free

 

Loving people unconditionally

reflects the Savior

 

Who didn’t shrink back

from us

 

in our undesirable state

 

Love and joy persevere

because of being accountable for ourselves

 

Walls of self-preservation

will only dim our Light

 

– Susie Stewart

 

* I am not speaking of abusive situations.  Self-protection in abusive situations is entirely warranted.

 

Love…does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

– 1 Corinthians 13:4,5 (NIV)

 

But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.

– Romans 5:8 (MSG)

 

Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening].

– 1 Corinthians 13:7 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

My Will

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I bow my will

as worship

to you, God

 

I surrender me

my dreams

my desires

 

I worship You

with the bowing

 

I give to You

that which I wish to control

 

For there are things

in this life You’ve given to me

 

that I would not

have chosen

 

They frustrate

and try

and

challenge

 

and I would not have chosen them

 

but You did

 

And I lay it all down

knowing

 

that in You

I have strength for anything

 

in You

I can be more

 

in You

I can stand strong

 

In You

I know nothing is wasted

 

 

And the reason I know this

is because You’ve shown me before

 

that my will bowed

in the midst of hard and trying

 

means deep-set peace

 

and I know that You endured far more

than a mere trial

 

for my sake

 

So here and now

I bow

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

– Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)

 

We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because He knew that later on He would be glad He did. Now He is seated at the right side of God’s throne!

– Hebrews 12:2 (CEV)

 

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.

– James 1:12 (NLT)

 

…constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength]…

– Romans 12:12 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart