because of being under His God-sized umbrella of grace
How blessed we are to be
so lovingly called out of darkness
to be His own
– Susie Stewart
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.
– 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
Remember you are people who have been set apart for Him; He has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the earth.
– Deuteronomy 14:2 (VOICE)
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Glory and strength to Christ, who loves us, who blood-washed our sins from our lives, Who made us a Kingdom, Priests for his Father, forever—and yes, He’s on His way! Riding the clouds, He’ll be seen by every eye, those who mocked and killed Him will see Him, People from all nations and all times will tear their clothes in lament. Oh, Yes.
– Revelation 1:5-7 (MSG)
With a loud trumpet call, He will send out battalions of heavenly messengers; and they will gather His beloved faithful elect from the four corners of creation, from one end of heaven to the other.
Now think of the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and greenish, as soon as it begins to sprout leaves, you know to expect summer. In the same way, when you see the wars and the suffering and the false liberators and the desolations, you will know the Son of Man is near—right at the door.
– Matthew 24:31-33 (VOCE)
“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
– Revelation 22:12-13 (NLT)
He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
– 1 Kings 19:11,12 (KJV)
I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will remain constantly with you.
A song of David while in the wilderness of Judah. O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust. I seek You with every fiber of my being. In this dry and weary land with no water in sight, my soul is dry and longs for You. My body aches for You, for Your presence.
– Psalm 63:1 (VOICE)
Skies above, open up and let the clouds rain down righteousness! Let the earth below sprout triumph and justice. For I, the Eternal, have created them.
– Isaiah 45:8 (VOICE)
His voice thunders through the heavens, and the waters gush from the sky; He summons the clouds to build up over the earth. As the rain falls, the lightning flashes at His command; the wind rushes in from where He alone can store it.
You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.
– Job 14:5 (NLT)
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
– Psalm 138:8 (ESV)
You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb; Every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
– Psalm 19:14 (NLT)
Did my words
encourage today?
Were they chosen carefully?
Did they build people up?
Did they affirm
and bring glory to God?
Were my words
reflective of the faith I profess?
– Susie Stewart
Therefore encourage and comfort one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.
– 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (AMP)
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.
– Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)
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 4:8-11 (MSG)
Don’t say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you.
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
– Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
The Eternal made everything for a reason. Even wrongdoers fit in His plans; troubled times await them.
– Proverbs 16:4 (VOICE)
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
– Psalm 37:23 (NLT)
Peter: Master, we have left behind everything we had to follow You.
– Mark 10:28 (VOICE)
For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated.
– Mark 8:35 (VOICE)
Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship.
Would I rather God grow me through the tough stuff
or stay unchanged,
stagnant?
He uses all for my good,
and I can rely on this promise
I trust Him to mold me
with His loving hands
– 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)
We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.
– Romans 8:28 (VOICE)
Every man’s character remains as it is, or continues in the direction in which it is going, until it is compelled by IMPRESSED FORCES to change that state. Our failure has been the failure to put ourselves in the way of the impressed forces. There is a clay, and there is a Potter; we have tried to get the clay to mould the clay.
– Henry Drummond
What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’
This is the embodiment of true love: not that we have loved God first, but that He loved us and sent His unique Son on a special mission to become an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
– 1 John 4:10 (NLT)
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
Susie Stewart 