Consecrate

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:1,2 (NLT)

 

Have you ever had times when the Lord was telling you to drop something, to strip yourself of it, to let it go?  That you will be lighter, more free, less encumbered, more effective.

And yet…….

 

 

Ugh.

That’s where I am today.  And have been.  It has bee an actual mental, emotional, even physical struggle.  I keep pulling back what I think I have already surrendered.  Why have I been dragging my feet in the dirt?

Control.

Simply that.

My pride doesn’t want to give up control.

I want to effect the outcome.

I want to manage this.

I want.

I want…..

In the book of Joshua, chapter three verse five, it says that Joshua told the Israelites, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”  God has been reminding me of this verse a number of times recently.

He has been speaking.

I’ve been hearing Him.

And I’ve been… well, I have not been allowing the Holy Spirit to permeate every corner, to consecrate my faith walk.

 

That would take complete surrender.

 

Not surrendering is so exhausting.

It’s like running the race in your coat and snow pants.

That sin, that extra weight that trips us up, its heavy.

Stripping ourselves of that weight, consecrating ourselves before our Lord,  is essential for running with endurance.

 

“Tomorrow” God is going to do something amazing!

How can that be if I’m caught up in yesterday?

My surrender of the “high places” needs to happen today.

It’s not to be saved for later.

Today.

“They worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed all sorts of their own people to officiate for them as priests in the shrines at the high places……..Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols.”    2 Kings 17:32 & 41

These things that we hang on to, the things that gnaw at us, they become idols we are refusing to give up.

Focus is blurred.

Something else in view.  We are straining to see God around “it”.

 

“Because of the joy before Him, He endured the cross…”

Jesus surrendered.  God’s Son endured and took upon Himself that which we want to blindly hold in our tight little fists.

He surrendered and “tomorrow” held amazing things!

He conquered death.  And purchased my freedom.

 

We run with endurance by fixing our eyes on Him.

Not the past.

Not our struggles.

Not other people’s actions.

On Him.

He is the Author and Finisher, the Initiator and Perfecter of my faith.

Time to throw it off.

I much prefer running without the extra weight.

– Susie Stewart

Able

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Your Glory  —–  Untamable

Your Sacrifice  —–  Unthinkable

Your Pain  —–  Unfathomable

Your Determination  —–  Unstoppable

Your Love  —–  Unquenchable

Your Redemption  —–  Unalterable

Your Timing  —–  Undeniable

Your Peace  —–  Unbelievable

Your Purposes  —–  Unbreakable

Your Authority  —–  Unanswerable

My Sin  —–  Untraceable 

My Joy  —–  Unspeakable

My Life  —–  Uncontainable

– Susie Stewart

But Christ came only once and for all time at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing Himself.

– Hebrews 9:26 (NCV)

Barabbas

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

“Give us Barabbas!”  you shouted.

Give us the criminal.

Give us the filth, the vice, the darkness.

Give us what we want.

We choose him.

 

Hearts are dark.

The Light is standing right there.

He is ready to surrender His very life for you.

And yet you say, “Away with this man!”

You want to hold onto dark and give up the Light?

You want to eat from the trough and forego the banquet table?

 

Just give us Barabbas.

We want to stay down here in the mud, in this pit, in this pain.

We want to stay in rebellion.

In pride,

In moral decay.

In depressive thoughts.

In distraction from the Truth.

 

Away.   The Way, The Truth, The Life, is led.

To ridicule.

To torture.

To death.

To what seems like a  snuffing out of the Light.

 

Light, though, will not be snuffed.

It penetrates darkness.

It draws you in with its warmth.

It is hope.

 

Jesus died.

So did Barabbas.

Jesus burst out of that grave, conquering King!

And why did we choose Barabbas again?

Oh yeah, we wanted the world, the dark, the muck…

When we could have had eternity.

When we could have had the Light.

 

There’s still time.

Don’t choose Barabbas.

– Susie Stewart

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Matthew 27:11-26

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.  At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.“Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

Luke 23:18

But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”

John 18:40

They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Knowing

/ Susie Stewart / 6 Comments

Be still and know that I am God.

 
Be STILL and know that I am God.

Be still and KNOW that I am God.

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am GOD.
In the stillness of regret, of loneliness, of disappointment, of pain

In that stillness that doesn’t feel good

Be near my Lord.

 

Let my stillness not be wrought with discontent

Let it be stillness of abiding

Let it be stillness of knowing

Let it be stillness of observing, and tasting, and resting assured that you are God.

 

May this not be a stillness of mind wanderings and worthlessness

May I be still and know that You are God.

 

Therein lies my contentment.

Therein lies my fullness.

Therein lies my peace.

 

Stillness and Knowing

 

Before God Almighty, Loving Savior, Reigning King.

– Susie Stewart
Pslam 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him’’
Zehariah 2:13 – “Be still before the Lord, all mankind…”

Psalm 119:37 – “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.”

Mind The Gap

/ Susie Stewart / 5 Comments

You are there.

I am here.

There is a gap.

I cross the gap and I see you, truly see you.

And you live in extreme poverty

The walls of your home are mud and sticks

Your front door is a piece of torn fabric.

My door here…

Well it opens to a very large house

With too many rooms for the few people who live here

The echo of your voice heard in these large spaces

And your family, all of you, sleep on a mud floor in one room

And you don’t have a bed

And you are tired.

I’m tired too.

I’m tired of the huge gap between me and you

Between how I live and how you live.

That’s why I’m moving.

Out of this familiar and comfortable home

Where rooms are plenty and I forget….

How you are not comfortable

And you may only have one meal a day

And you are a servant to the relatives who took you in

When your parents died…

The gap is too large.

I want to mind the gap

I want to do more, and then more, and then more

And acknowledge that you are suffering.

Acknowledge that you are there.

And I am here.

And there is a gap.

Not just in distance

but in tolerance of suffering.

Just enough is not enough

Radical is what God is after.

Minding the gap

So that you will have a place to call home

With a bed

And a family

And I find joy and purpose and I am blessed

Because I know for you, life is better

Because life for me,  has changed.

– Susie Stewart

Let us not love with words or speech, but with action and in truth.

– 1 John 3:18 (NIV)

Friends, please search your hearts for ways that you can love radically.  There is still so much need in the world.  God calls us to different things, but there is no doubt that He calls all of us to DO something.  This has been a journey for me of how to live more simply so that others can simply live.  I have been inspired by my daughter Nicole, who for so long has set an example of simplicity and a lack of materialism.  The book “Crazy Love” has had a huge impact on our family and this sermon by Joshua Clemmons.  No judgment cast on anyone else, just challenging all of us to find ways to do more.

http://www.trueimpactministries.com – a ministry that is minding the gap.

* “Mind the Gap” is a phrase that originated in London as a warning to passengers as they cross from a station platform to a train door.   

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Photos taken by  Susie Stewart

Let Go

/ Susie Stewart / 8 Comments

 

Let Go, dear one.

Your head and heart are clenched tight

 

You think that you will be shielded by your bravery

 

But you are shut

Like a door without a handle

 

And you long to be out where you can breathe

Where God meets you in your pain

And those closest to you listen

 

And you don’t feel numb from self-protection

And you don’t have to be brave in yourself

 

You are free.

 

Let go

 

…of pleasing the critical

…of criticizing yourself

….of fear

…of control

…of your tender but guarded heart

 

God will be there when you open the door

 

He always is

 

He wants you open, not shut

 

….to experience life

…to try new things

…to love and be loved

…to rest in Him

…to have His unmistakeable joy

 

Let go, dear one.

He is your shield.

– Susie Stewart

 

“The Lord is my Strength and Shield.  I trust Him with all my heart.  He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.  I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

Psalm 28:7 (NLT)

43 Days

/ Susie Stewart / 8 Comments

 

 

7,514 days.

180,336 hours.

That’s about how long I’ve been a mama.

 

2 days.

That’s how long it will be before our firstborn ventures to Australia for 5 months to study abroad.

 

43 days.

That’s how long until our second born leaves home to go to college.

 

4,309 days.

That’s how long it has been since we adopted our youngest.

 

Just numbers.  Right?

 

Not when love runs deep.

Those numbers represent memories, love, pain, laughter, tears, joy, anguish, learning and growing, moments big and small.

The everyday days of the past 20+ years don’t seem so ordinary any more.

I’m a mother, and just like Mary, I treasure all these things in my heart.  They are like a gift to my consciousness, recalling a storehouse of memories at will.

Memories.

 

“I have 43 days until I go to college, Mama!”  she says, as she records all the exciting upcoming dates in her new planner.

43 days.

Her excitement is palpable.  This is what my husband and I have been preparing her for.  Preparing all three of them for.  To take flight.  To be independent.  To move on.

To move forward.

My heels find themselves digging in as if I’m being dragged to this finish line instead of sprinting exuberantly toward it.

I must continue to allow Your Spirit, Lord, to grow and change me for each new season.  Each new day.

Life is always changing; My second born and I discuss this.  You can’t keep anything just the way it is no matter how hard you try.

And that’s a good thing.

Change is inevitable and God is good.

Children need to grow up, to become independent, to make a difference.

Parents need to move on.  To shift some of their focus.  To remember what is most important.

My relationship with my Heavenly Father is of the utmost importance.  Above any other relationship.  His gracious Fatherly love is eternal and He knows me.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb…”  (Jer. 1:5)

Just like my mama heart longs for time with my children, God longs for us, His children.  He loves so completely and so overwhelmingly.  His love is like ocean waves that continue to wash up on our shores.  Unrelenting.

As my children grow, Lord, give me grace and peace for their changing seasons.  Give me your strength and joy for each of my own seasons, especially where they are concerned.

Thank you, God, for life.  None of us knows how many seconds, minutes, hours, days or years we have here.  Help us make the most of it for Your glory.

– Susie Stewart

 

Photo taken by Susie stewart

 

Dusk

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

 

 

The Light of Jesus has penetrated your darkness.

Has it penetrated your dusk?

He came in and saved you, pulled you out of chaos, oppression, sin, the pit.  There’s no doubt.

Have you allowed Him access to your dusk?  

Negativity has seeped in.

You have chosen not to rejoice.  You have chosen un-joy.  

People are driving you crazy.  Nothing seems to be working.  

Annoyances.

Gossip.

Dissatisfaction.

Discontentment. 

Disrespect.

Dis….

It’s not bright in your soul.  It’s only dusk.  

A partial light.

Hazy, not able to see clearly for the semi-darkness hanging over your heart and mind.  

Why do we long to stay in the dim sometimes?  

“Just let me have a bad day.”

 

A bad day.

 

Every day is sacred.

“This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 

“Redeem the time for the days are evil.”  

“He is light.  In Him, there is no darkness at all.”

You are LIGHT.  He is in you.  

Holding on to dusk is not what He would have for you.  

Or for me.

Walk in the light. You’ve been pulled out of darkness into His marvelous light!  

Why linger in the shadows.  In the corner.  In the dusk.

Come out into the wide open space and honor Him, glorify Him, seek Him, love Him.

You were never meant to choose dusk.

– Susie Stewart

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Psalm 118:24, Ephesians 5:16, 1 John 1:5, 

Joy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Did you miss it?

Did you miss seeing, hearing, tasting JOY?

It awakened your morning with the melodies of winged soloists, welcoming the day.

It warmed and soothed, darkness overcome with sun’s light.

It smiled with the shapes of clouds, billowy and Heaven-enticing.

It burst with the colors of the flowers of Spring, winking at your soul.

It sang melodically as water tumbled and refreshed and shimmered.

It soared above your head as a bird playfully danced with the wind.

Its delightful fear came over you when you heard the low rumble of thunder.

It rang out with the aspen leaves fluttering like musical bells.

It had the scent of earth, and green and flora.

And on and on…..

Joy.

Creation’s joy.  Our Creator’s joy.  Our joy.

Did you miss it today?

Did you miss JOY?

– Susie Stewart

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Good

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

This morning I read the words aloud.

For God to hear.

For the angels to hear.

For the dark ones to hear.

“In the beginning God created  the heavens and the earth…”

What a sentence!  It is amazingly understated, but as I read it aloud, the profundity of it quickened my spirit.  Deep called to deep.

“…and God saw that it was good.”

My eyes, my heart, my spirit, everything that bears His image in me, knows that

IT IS GOOD.

All of His glorious creation.  It is good.

We gaze at a brilliant sunset, and our spirits say “It is good”.

We see a precious baby born, and our spirits say “It is good”.

We feel love for a person so deeply that it seems we might burst from the depth of it, and our spirits say “It is good”.

We stand on the edge of a great and awesome cliff overlooking a scene we can hardly comprehend, and our spirits say “It is good”.

We take time to focus on Creator God, we are filled up, and our Spirits say “It is good”.

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him…”

What a treasure we have in these jars of clay bodies that we can live and breathe and experience “good”,

the understated awesome.

Lord, I will speak Your Name forever.  Out loud.

– Susie Stewart