Scripture

Rest

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

To every toiling, heavy-laden sinner, Jesus says, Come to me and rest. But there are many toiling, heavy-laden believers, too. For them this same invitation is meant. Note well the words of Jesus, if you are heavy-laden with your service, and do not mistake it. It is not, Go, labor on, as perhaps you imagine. On the contrary, it is stop, turn back, Come to me and rest. Never, never did Christ send a heavy laden one to work; never, never did He send a hungry one, a weary one, a sick or sorrowing one, away on any service. For such the Bible only says, Come, come, come.”

– Hudson Taylor
My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.
– Exodus 33:14 (NIV)
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

– Psalm 62:1,2 (NIV)
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

– Matthew 11:28, 29 (NIV)
Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.

– Psalm 116:7 (NIV)

 

Photo taken by Susie Stewart

Doors

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

No matter how hard you try to open that door,

to break it down

 

No matter how much you want something,

or someone

 

If God closes that door,

it won’t be opened to you.

 

Rest in His love,

and wide scope of your life.

– Susie Stewart

 

…the Holy One, the True One, and the One who possesses the key of David, which opens the possibilities so that no one can shut them. The One who closes all options so that no one can open…

– Revelation 3:7 (VOICE)

 

I know what you have done. See, I have opened a door in front of you that no one can shut. You only have a little strength, but you have paid attention to my word and have not denied my name.

– Revelation 3:8 (GW)

 

…yet not My will, but Yours be done.

– Luke 22:42 (NIV)

 

And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You, For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

– Psalm 9:10 (AMP)

 

Artistic Illustration done by Carla Autrey

Best News

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

Jesus’ apostles were beaten and murdered for their bold witness, and they rejoiced to suffer for the name of Christ.

What was my reason again for not opening my mouth to speak the Good News?

– Susie Stewart

 

 

They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go.

The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”

– Acts 5:40-42 (NLT)

 

He preached without fear in the name of the Lord. He talked and argued with the Jews who spoke the Greek language. They kept trying to kill him.

– Acts 9:29 (NLV)

 

They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead.

– Acts 14:29 (NLT)

 

Always think about Jesus Christ. He was brought back to life and is a descendant of David. This is the Good News that I tell others.  I’m suffering disgrace for spreading this Good News. I have even been put into prison like a criminal. However, God’s word is not imprisoned.  For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive salvation from Christ Jesus with glory that lasts forever.

– 2 Timothy 2:8-10 (GW)

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The Best News

must be shared

 

boldly

passionately

graciously

lovingly

 

for it is not by your own power

that you speak this News

 

but by the power

of God’s Spirit

 

He will quicken your mind

give you discernment

make you strong

and give you compassion

for those lost

and in bondage

 

You are the witness

to something glorious

something amazing

something unheard of

 

Sacrifice

Grace

Forgiveness

Heaven

 

Forever with God

The Best News

 

Sharing what He has done

for you

is a privilege

 

Speak

 

open up your mouth

and speak

 

trusting that when you do

regardless of the outcome

you have been obedient

and you have spoken

Hope

 

You are not a proselytizer

but an enthusiastic messenger

with the Best News

– Susie Stewart

 

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Photos taken by Susie Stewart

Truth

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

We’ve all been in a position like this at one time or another, haven’t we? We thought for certain God was telling us something specific. We knew it. We were sure of it. The only place we got a little fuzzy was when we tried squaring it with what we knew of Scripture, or when we tried explaining our thinking to a parent or friend who lived on intimate terms with God. Then it took a lot of mental effort and self-styled logic to try holding all the loose ends together. The voice we thought we’d heard from God didn’t fare so well in the light of His Word. We were left to determine: Will we count on God’s Word as truth? Will we choose to conform to His true character despite what we are feeling?
– Priscilla Shirer

 

When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth..

-John 16:13 (NLT)

 

 

Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.

– Psalm 25:4,5 (NLT)

Photo taken by Susie Stewart

 

Humility

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Humility disappears when God is neglected. True humility is total trust in God.  The Holy Spirit tells us to cast all our anxieties on God and that means we trust Him totally. If we don’t give Him those worries, it means we’re lacking humility.

~ Jay Oertli

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Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though He was God,
He did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, He gave up His divine privileges;
He took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When He appeared in human form,
He humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

~ Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT)

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So bow down under God’s strong hand; then when the time comes, God will lift you up.

~ 1 Peter 5:6 (VOICE)

Photos taken by Susie Stewart

 

Worship

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness, the nourishment of the mind with His truth, the purifying of the imagination of His beauty, the opening of the heart to His love, the surrender of the will to His purpose.

~ William Temple

 

It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men.

~ C.S. Lewis

 

Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and He won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

~ Hebrews 12:28 (MSG)

 

But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.

~ John 4:23 (NLT)

Photo taken by Susie Stewart

Shout

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

 

Hiking along

face down

concentrating on dirt

thinking

walking

thinking

walking

thinking

walking

 

I whisper,

“I love You, Lord”

 

I hear in my head,

“I’m shouting my love for you”

 

Take a breath in

eyes off of dirt

look up

and see a love display from God

 

a shout from God!

 

An “I love you”

from my Father

 

and my heart is stirred

and my eyes light up

and I’m drawn in

by His enveloping love

 

Everyone talks about you whispering, Lord,

and You do,

but sometimes you shout

because you love your children

so much

 

I think You shout a lot

and we are not listening enough

 

So I’m hoping to do better

and keep my eyes off of dirt

looking up

listening for whispers

and shouts

of Divine Love.

– Susie Stewart

 

“The LORD your God is in your midst; He is a Warrior who can deliver.  He takes great delight in you; He renews you by His love; He shouts for joy over you.”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NET)

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Photos taken by Susie Stewart

 

Suffering

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

dark-world images

images-2 images-1

images

Don’t you see,
Christian?

Open your eyes,
Self.

Our call is not to
the comfortable.

We know
we see
we hear
we read
about children suffering at the hands of abusers
about homeless teenagers fending for themselves
about humans trapped in the sex slave industry
about terrorists killing and torturing
about the elderly sitting lonely with their thoughts all confused
about the poor and disadvantaged here and abroad
about suffering…..
About Suffering!

And we sit
and we think about doing something some day

and TODAY is the day of their suffering.

The present is not comfortable for them.
This day chips away at their souls
and they are left in unimaginable pain
and hunger
and lostness….

and they haven’t heard
about The Way and The Truth and The Life

because too many of us are seeking to be comfortable
instead of doing something
for at least one
TODAY.

I put it off
for when it’s convenient
and I feel like getting off this couch
and giving up my time with my screens
and not spending every weekend on pleasure….

I think about
someone else taking care of it
because the problems are overwhelmingly big
and I am just ONE.

And that child
who sits in filth
and can’t go to school
she lives with relatives
who abuse her
and don’t value
this ONE

this child grows
to find herself
selling the only thing she possesses – herself
for money to live.

She is ONE.
And she needs ONE
to love with action.

She needs the hands
and feet
of Jesus.

Wake up, Sleeper.
There is agony all around you.

Bring Jesus’ LIGHT
to at least one person
and let it be today.

And it is very possible
to look this one in the eye
in person
and to touch that hand
and to bring cool water
and Living Water
yourself
because suffering is all around you.

And sometimes you are able
to travel
to find one
or many,
and your hands and feet go
over the land
and seas
because people matter
and because you have a message of hope.

We see
we hear
we read
….and we respond.

Because we are called to rise
and act,
and
NOT
to
be comfortable.

– Susie Stewart

 

“…let us not love with words or speech, but with action and in truth.”

-1 John 3:18 (NIV)

 

“Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ. Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!”

-Ephesians 5:14-16 (MSG)

 

“’I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.'”

– John 14:12 (NLT)

Heaven

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

 

Gazing,

because the beauty draws you.

 

You don’t want it to end,

 

that sunrise with colors unearthly

that thunderstorm dramatic and powerful

that voice of a child so angelic

that happiness with contentment deep roots

that peaceful moment so serene and filling

that rainbow with colors that can’t possibly be real

that music that stirs and pulls you in

that holding of a new life, small and precious

that embrace of genuine love…

 

You stare hard and fast,

you grasp with hands slipping,

for you know you will not be able to keep it.

 

You listen with concentrated brow

for you know it will drift off.

 

You soak up what you can

for you know it’s just a glimpse.

 

Of what?

You may not know.

 

But the beauty pierces you

and the power awakens you

and the depth is undeniable.

 

Glimpses of heaven

your home.

 

You’ve never been there,

but you long for it.

 

Everyone does,

whether they know it or not.

 

Your heart tells you

that what makes your heart leap

and takes your breath away

and stirs the deepest parts

is just a glimpse

of home.

 

Find,

seek,

run after for goodness sakes,

the God who put eternity in your heart.

 

He has made your home ready.

– Susie Stewart

 

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

– John 14:2-4 (NIV)

 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

– Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

 

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

– Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

 

Photo taken by Susie Stewart

Unworthy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

A step back.

That’s what you take.

Unworthiness still plagues you
even though your head
is full of that redemption knowledge.

And regret,
and shame,
and averted eyes
prevent you from approaching His throne,
from whispering His holy Name….
And then you remember
unworthy was made Worthy

and it’s all because of Divine love
and sacrifice
and new birth.
His worthiness clothed you in righteousness.
And it was meant to take your shame
your fear
your hesitancy
your not enough.
A gift without merit
bestowing merit.
And you received it.
And you forgot.
Run child!
Run toward your Father,
who runs toward you,
with daddy arms open,
always ready to embrace.

You are Worthy

because He loved you
enough to give all
to redeem you.

Realize and actualize.

Be unencumbered
as you move out boldly
as a child
unconditionally loved.

– Susie Stewart

 

But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.
– Galatians 3:26, 27 (MSG)

 

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness…
– Isaiah 61:10 (NLT)

 

Photo taken by Andy Stewart