God

Story

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

What’s your story

of His grace

in your life?

 

Because

I’d love to hear it

 

What’s your story

of His love?

 

What’s your story

of His mercy toward you?

 

What’s your story

of His hope?

 

I would love to hear it all

 

And I want to encourage you,

my brother,

my sister,

 

to share that story

 

For you are called

to speak as a WITNESS

for your Savior

 

Your TESTIMONY

is what people need to hear

 

You are not asked

to bear witness

to complicated theological facts

 

but to the difference

our great

and gracious God

has made in your life

 

And people are dying to hear it….

 

So let it flow

 

just as you would speak with joy

about the people you love

 

For there has been no greater LOVE

than the story of the One

who laid down His life

for you

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Here’s the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth.

– Acts 1:8 (VOICE)

 

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim Your power.
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim Your greatness.
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about Your righteousness.

– Psalm 145:407 (NLT)

 

I will tell everyone about Your righteousness.
All day long I will proclaim Your saving power,
though I am not skilled with words.

– Psalm 71:15 (NLT)

 

Photo by Amy O’Neil

 

Heart <3

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Into your heart

you accepted your God

 

and with your heart

you hear His voice

 

His words are digested

with your heart

 

and He asks that you love Him

with all of your heart

 

You love people as He does

with your heart

 

and you walk in step with Him

with your heart

 

Religosity walks only

by intellect

 

But God calls us close

 

He searches intently

to see if your heart

 

is lit up

with Him

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

– Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

– Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

 

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

 

 

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

 

I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders. I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I’m singing Your song, High God.

– Psalm 9:1,2 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

I Don’t Want To Miss It

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Lord,

Let me not miss

Your heart

for my day

 

Quicken my spirit

to Your Spirit

 

 

Let me not

be distracted

from Your purposes

 

from adoration of You

 

Let me see people

the way You see them

 

and let me not

put distractions

over love

 

Let me not

miss Your heart

for today

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And hope will never fail to satisfy our deepest need because the Holy Spirit that was given to us has flooded our hearts with God’s love.

– Romans 5:5 (VOICE)

 

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

– Ephesians 5:1,2 (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!

Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.

– Ephesians 5:15-17 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

So Boring

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If you think

church stuff

is boring

 

If you think

answering to God

is stifling

 

If you think

Jesus-following

is all about rules

 

Wake Up!

 

Because you are asleep

 

Open your eyes

to a full and abundant life!

 

Realize true hope

and unexplainable peace

and overflowing joy!

 

See

Hear

Taste

Experience

 

your creative

inspiring

mind-blowing

God!

 

Dive in to the deep

of His

swallow-you-up Love!

 

Know the calming serenity

of wrongs paid for unmerited

 

Find your DEEP

in Jesus!

 

It’s available

to EVERYONE

 

Why would you not choose

 

Abundant?!

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].

– John 10:10 (AMP)

 

I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.

– Jeremiah 29:11 (GW)

 

I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.

– Romans 15:13 (VOICE)

 

The Eternal One will never leave you; He will lead you in the way that you should go. When you feel dried up and worthless, God will nourish you and give you strength. And you will grow like a garden lovingly tended; you will be like a spring whose water never runs out.

– Isaiah 58:11 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

A River Flows Through It

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

An outward focus

is as a river flowing

 

unobstructed

moving

living

 

from a heart

listening to the Spirit

 

An inward focus

is as a black hole

 

dark

still

backward

 

from a heart imploding on itself

 

And it is obvious

when you speak to someone

 

which one they are

and where their focus is

 

Do people come away from talking to you

feeling heard?

Valued?

Seen?

 

Or do they come away from talking to you

knowing a whole lot

about you

with a little more of you

on the side?

 

Our Jesus

Savior

King

God

 

focused outward

 

Time with His Father prioritized,

He went to the masses

 

and He Healed them

with His hands and His words

 

Selflessness

Humility

and attentiveness

come from the character of God

 

And we become more of this

when we allow Him to do His inward work

 

 

looking to Him

and focusing outward

 

– Susie Stewart

 

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of Himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of Himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

Because of that obedience, God lifted Him high and honored Him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that He is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

– Philippians 1:1-11 (MSG)

 

On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took His stand. He cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in Me this way, just as the Scripture says.” (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

– John 7:37-39 (MSG)

 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

– Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

 

Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

— 1 Peter 3:8 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

No Other Option

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Is God

just one of your options

as you scramble to find solutions?

 

Do you pray to Him

and then leave your options open?

 

Do you forget

His sovereign hand

in your life?

 

He is not meant to be

an option

 

Plan A

Plan B

C

or D

 

He is meant to be

THE Plan

 

May we put away the

just-in-case-He-doesn’t-answer

mentality

 

He is the Final Word

the Sure Foundation

the Answer

the LORD

 

all falls beneath

His title

His hand

His authority

His Love

 

So next time you pray to Him,

resist formulating Plan B in your head

 

as if He may not

come through

 

Trust

Wait

Praise

Worship

 

Your all-knowing God

 

Faith says

there is no Plan B

 

– Susie Stewart

 

If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

– James 1:5-8 (MSG)

 

Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said He would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God Himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!”

– Romans 4:18 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Love Each Other Deeply

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Above all your needs

above all your desires

above all your plans

above all your aspirations

above all your comfort

 

above

your

very

life

 

love people deeply

 

for that is what you are called to

 

Loving deeply

and genuinely

 

It is intentional

and Spirit-driven

 

It is heart

and head

and will

 

It is vast

and wide

and long

 

People know

if it is real

 

They know if it is shallow

or deep

 

They know whether it originates

with your God

 

-Susie Stewart

 

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

 

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to Him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

– Ephesians 3:16-21 (NIV)

 

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

– Romans 12:9,10 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

You Are Not Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I’m sorry to say it

 

You are not

enough

 

And we hear all the time,

“You are enough”

 

But in essence,

it’s not true!

 

YOU

are not enough

 

You have a deep, deep

need

for God

 

Deeper

than you can even imagine

 

And not only do you have a need

for God

but you also have a need

for His Son

 

Jesus was enough

Jesus is enough

 

That is why He is the only One

who could be sacrificed for a world of sin

 

Because He was enough

 

Perfection

 

And not only did we need

that sacrifice

 

but we need our Jesus

every day

 

We NEED Him!

 

We are not enough

 

We fall

we fail

we are weak

we are fragile

 

we are imperfect

 

Our

lives

are

in

His

hands

 

Victory is found in Jesus

 

We are not enough

without Him

 

– Susie Stewart

 

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)

 

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

– Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

 

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

– John 15:5 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

For The Good

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I don’t believe

 

that when God says

He works

all things

for the good,

 

 

that He means

 

He gives us brokenness

and then calls it good

 

I don’t believe that

 

I believe that

when God says

He works

all things

for the good

 

He means

 

that for those who love Him,

He takes our brokenness

in this broken world

 

and He uses it for good

 

He redeems it

 

He uses

difficult

and harsh

and sad

and awful

 

and changes hearts

heals wounds

teaches

 

and makes something beautiful

 

He wraps His loving arms

around the worst

 

and when He opens His arms

we find that the worst

 

looks like good

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

– Romans 8:28 (NIV)

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

– Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

 

Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.

– Romans 8:28-30 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

I wonder….

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I wonder…

 

How’s your sense

of wonder?

 

How’s your awe?

 

As you stare down

at the earthy path you’re on

 

Have you forgotten to look up?

 

Is your child buried

beneath layers of adult?

 

Is God big to you?

Or, do the concerns of this world smother?

 

Gaze at His beauty

Be excited for His love

 

And don’t make people wonder

about your wonder

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal; let every man, woman, and child live in wonder of Him.

– Psalm 33:8 (VOICE)

 

Therefore, let us all be thankful that we are a part of an unshakable Kingdom and offer to God worship that pleases Him and reflects the awe and reverence we have toward Him, for He is like a fierce fire that consumes everything.

– Hebrews 12:28-29 (VOICE)

 

O Eternal, our Lord,
Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth;
Your magnificent glory shines far above the skies.
From the mouths and souls of infants and toddlers, the most innocent,
You have decreed power to stop Your adversaries
and quash those who seek revenge.
When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—
on the moon, stars, and all You have made,
I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—
sons and daughters of men—
specks of dust floating about the cosmos.
But You placed the son of man just beneath God
and honored Him like royalty, crowning Him with glory and honor.
You ordained Him to govern the works of Your hands,
to nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination;
You placed everything on earth beneath His feet:
All kinds of domesticated animals,
even the wild animals in the fields and forests,
The birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,
all the multitudes of living things that travel the currents of the oceans.
O Eternal, our Lord,
Your majestic name is heard throughout the earth.

– Psalm 8 (VOICE)

 

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping He might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and Me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in His arms, He laid his hands of blessing on them.

– Mark 10:13-16 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart