Photography

Focus

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If you were to be honest with yourself,

would you say you focus on…

 

How big your circumstances are,

or how big your God is?

 

How weak you are,

or how strong your God is?

 

How you don’t understand,

or how wise God is?

 

Your focus determines

your mindset

 

Trust wins

 

–  Susie Stewart

 

Worship and glory belong forever to the eternal king, the immortal, invisible, and only God. Amen.

– 1 Timothy 1:17 (GW)

 

“Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord.
“No, I am far away at the same time.
Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place?
Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”
says the Lord.

– Jeremiah 23:23,24 (NLT)

 

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done Him such a huge favor that God has to ask His advice? Everything comes from Him; Everything happens through Him; Everything ends up in Him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

– Romans 11:32-36 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Come

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You hear my heart

as I turn to You

 

You know my thoughts

not a single one missed

 

No pompous prayer needed

or pretentious posture required

 

I come as I am

in what state I am in

 

The highs and the lows

bowed before Love

 

Imperfect speaking to Perfect

adoring one another

 

All bowed down

 

– Susie Stewart

 

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

-1 john 1:2-4 (MSG)

 

“…those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them.”

– John 6:37 (NLT)

 

“Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.”

– Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

 

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

– Revelation 22:17 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Possible

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

 

Impossible

is not a word

God acknowledges

 

For He is God!

And there is not a thing

that isn’t possible for Him

 

 

Believe it

 

 

With people,

we don’t dare to ask

for what doesn’t make sense

 

With God,

He is glorified

in the asking

in the belief

and in the trust

 

For the impossible

 

– Susie Stewart

 

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

– Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

 

Everything is possible for one who believes.

– Mark 9:23 (NIV)

 

Is anything too hard for the Lord?…

– Genesis 18:14 (NIV)

 

Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.

– Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Spirit to Spirit

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Spirit

to

Spirit

 

The connection Divine

 

Unbroken

 

For You have taken up residence

inside my heart

 

I think about You

and I speak to You

and even when I do neither

 

Your Spirit knows

the worship that is all for You

 

In the mundane

I know I am heavenly connected

 

to Your God-Spirit

always there

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

– Psalm 42:7 (NIV)

 

There is a way of ordering our mental life on more than one level at once. On one level we can be thinking, discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external affairs.  But deep within, behind the scenes at a profounder level we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship and a gentle receptiveness to divine breathings.

– Thomas Kelly

 

I will be in my kitchen cooking for missionaries or writing at my desk, my mind on “outward” things, but when I turn inward, where my Lord resides, it is as if I’ve never left.  I am aware that worship has been going on from my spirit to Him who is Spirit while I was cooking and writing!  Oh, it is so beautiful to be aware of the continuous connection, spirit-to-Spirit.

– Linda Dillow

 

Blessed are the people who know how to praise you. They walk in the light of your presence, O Lord.

– Psalm 89:15 (GW)

 

This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in Him, and He in us: He’s given us life from His life, from His very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent His Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.

– 1 John 4:15-17 (MSG)

 

It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.

– John 4:23,24 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Inside

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Outward

Shell

Exterior

Shallow

Skin-Deep

Temporary

 

Inward

Depth

Core

Heart

Soul-Deep

Forever

 

Watch what you look at,

for beautiful can be deceptive

 

What lies within

is profoundly significant

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

 

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

– Proverbs 31:30 (NLT)

 

…but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.

– 1 Peter 3:4 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Relationship Over Religion

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Religious people talk to God

out of obligation,

in memorized words,

focused on what they can get out of Him

 

Lovers of God bask in His beauty,

seek Him wholeheartedly,

walk with Him,

and love Him with their words

 

Religion is man-made

Relationship is His Divine plan

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for Him, as if He couldn’t take care of Himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make Him. Starting from scratch, He made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find Him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; He’s near. We live and move in Him, can’t get away from Him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

– Acts 17:26-29 (MSG)

 

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

– Galatians 5:25 (NLT)

 

And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.

– 2 Corinthians 6:18  (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

He Is There

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Are you looking?

 

Are you listening?

 

Are you searching?

 

God is there

 

He is there!

 

He is communicating to you,

the child who He loves

 

He is conveying His

Mercy

Comfort

Love

Forgiveness

 

Himself!

 

But you’ve got to quiet yourself

 

Intentionally

 

You’ve got to look

to listen

to search

On Purpose

 

For all that entangles

and distracts

and pulls you away

from His loving presence

 

Will drown out the whispers

and the shouts

of God

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;
collect my counsels and guard them with your life.
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;
set your heart on a life of Understanding.
That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,
and won’t take no for an answer,
Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,
like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;
you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

– Proverbs 2:1-5 (MSG)

 

DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One.
Teach me to understand so I can follow.
EASE me down the path of Your truth.
FEED me Your word
because You are the True God who has saved me.
I wait all day long, hoping, trusting in You.

– Psalm 25:4-5 (VOICE)

 

But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep respond to His voice. He calls His sheep by name and leads them out of the pen. After He has brought out all his sheep, He walks ahead of them. The sheep follow Him because they recognize his voice.

-John 10:2-4 (GW)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Not Good Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If any of us waited to get our act together

before coming to Christ,

we’d all still be waiting

 

We will never be good enough to approach God

on your own merit

 

That’s why we all need a Savior

And that’s why it’s called “asking Him into your heart”

 

We accept in our heart of hearts

that He is indeed the Savior

 

And we are the saved

 

His perfect sacrifice was the only thing

that could rescue us out of our mess

 

Thank you, my precious Lord,

Savior of the not good enough

 

Because You are

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. 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 5:7-9 (MSG)

 

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

– Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)

 

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)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

The Wait

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

When it comes to waiting on God

you can either wait with your hands on your hips

or you can wait with your hands outstretched in worship

 

Which do you think is the wise way

to wait on Almighty God?

 

Rest in His agenda

 

– Susie Stewart

 

At the end of the four hundred and thirty years, to that very day, all the hosts of the Lord [gathered into tribal armies] left the land of Egypt.

– Exodus 12:41 (AMP)

 

I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

– Psalm 27:13, 14 (AMP)

 

But as for me, I trust [confidently] in You and Your greatness, O Lord;
I said, “You are my God.”
My times are in Your hands…

– Psalm 31:14, 15 (AMP)

 

One caution:  When we bring our questions to God, we need to wait for His answer.  We must not throw our questions at Him and then go to a friend and complain, “I can’t understand what God is doing to me.”  Such actions constitute unbelief.  So after you bring God your questions, hold your ground, even if you are still in the dark about why you are waiting or about how long you will wait.

– Linda Dillow

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

God’s Child

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

“He reacted like it was the best news he’d ever heard!”

 

I listened as my friend Carol

recounted one of her interactions in Uganda…

 

As she taught village children about God’s Word

and encouraged them to memorize the precious words,

 

She led some in a prayer of surrender

to Truth

 

And told a young one,

“You are now a child of God!”

 

 

The boy reacted with sheer

uninhibited excitement

 

With elation

inside and out

 

It was the best news

he had

ever

heard

 

No one could curb his enthusiasm

over the unbelievable message

 

And a life was changed that day

 

Because a young one

embraced His Father

 

And God’s grace

and love

and forgiveness

enveloped the child

 

He was grafted into the family

he longed for

 

An orphan’s hope,

to be adopted by God

 

– Susie Stewart

 

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

– John 1:2 (NLT)

 

Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. Then He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

– Matthew 18:2-4 (NLT)

 

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so He could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Him.

When Jesus saw what was happening, He was angry with His disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then He took the children in His arms and placed His hands on their heads and blessed them.

– Mark 10:13-16 (NLT)

 

You are all God’s children by believing in Christ Jesus.

– Galatians 3:26 (NLT)

 

“I will not leave you orphaned. I’m coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you’re going to see me because I am alive and you’re about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I’m in my Father, and you’re in me, and I’m in you.

– John 14:17-19 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart