John

He Hasn’t Left

/ Susie Stewart / 5 Comments

Do you get the feeling

that God’s Spirit leaves

when you are grumpy

sad

angry

 

when you do something wrong?

 

That He can’t really stand

to be around you

when you’re like that?

 

That He’ll come back

when you’re back to yourself?

 

The Holy Spirit dwells with you

just like your family

 

but the difference is

He doesn’t leave the room

in disgust

 

when you are out of sorts

 

He walks with you

 

always

 

and He will be that friend

that sticks closer than a brother

 

He will be the one

who doesn’t leave

 

ever

 

His voice might be harder to hear

when you’re a hot mess

 

but He hasn’t left

 

that’s His promise

 

– Susie Stewart

 

…He will never leave you nor forsake you.

– Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)

 

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

– Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

 

Jesus replied, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them.”

– John 14:23 (NLT)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

 

 

Spirit Gift

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Walk in His Spirit

Speak in His Spirit

Rest in His Spirit

Serve in His Spirit

Love in His Spirit

Be Strong in His Spirit

Be wise in His Spirit

Hear His Spirit

 

Do you realize

the gift the Holy spirit is?  

 

And do you realize 

how many times you are trying

to do it all in your own strength?

 

Trust the Holy Spirit in you

to be everything for you

 

– Susie Stewart

 

But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

– Acts 6:10 (NIV)

 

I’m telling you these things while I’m still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

– John 14:25-27 (MSG)

 

A similar thing happens when we pray. We are weak and do not know how to pray, so the Spirit steps in and articulates prayers for us with groaning too profound for words.

– Romans 8:26 (VOICE)

 

Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves.

– 1 Corinthians 16:9 (GW)

 

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

– Isaiah 11:2 (NLT)

 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

– 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

– Acts 1:8 (NIV)

 

When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.

– 1 Corinthians 2:13 (NLT)

 

Photo by Andy Stewart

 

Silence

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

 

When God is silent, He is not still.  God does some of His best work in the dark.  He does some of His best work when you don’t think He’s doing a thing.  He’s behind the scenes, working it out.  He is faithful even though you feel you cannot see Him.  

He has a plan for you, and it is a good one.  Your commitment in the dark is the path to your victory in the light.  Commitment to keeping your faith is the path to your victory in the light.  Commitment to keeping your faith, seeking God, and not throwing in the towel when no human solution is in sight is the secret to exchanging emptiness for abundance.  

– Tony Evans

 

Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.”

– John 5:17 (NIV)

 

O God, do not remain silent. Do not turn a deaf ear to me. Do not keep quiet, O God.

– Psalm 83:1 (GW)

 

When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible — with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation.

– Oswald Chambers

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Breath and Beat

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Stop for a moment

and notice each breath you take

 

Put your hand on your heart

and feel it pulse

 

Life within you

given by God

 

Each breath a gift

each heartbeat His to give

 

You are alive

 

Are you alive in Him?

Or are you merely existing?

 

Does His heart beat in you?

Does the Life-Giving Spirit breathe in you?

 

– Susie Stewart

 

His speech shaped the entire cosmos.
Immersed in the practice of creating,
all things that exist were birthed in Him.
His breath filled all things
with a living, breathing light—

– John 1:3,4 (VOICE)

 

…in Him we live and move and have our being…

– Acts 17:28 (NIV)

 

God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!

– Genesis 2:7 (MSG)

 

For the Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

– Job 33:4 (NLT)

 

He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need.

– Acts 17:25 (NLT)

 

I will give them a new will—an undivided heart—and plant a new spirit within them; I will remove their cold, stony heart and replace it with a warm heart of flesh.

– Ezekiel 11:19 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Abide with Wisdom

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Abide in Jesus as your wisdom.  Seek to maintain the spirit of waiting and dependence that always seeks to learn and will not move but as the heavenly light leads on.  Withdraw yourself from all needless distraction, close your ears to the voices of the world, and be a docile learner, ever listening for the heavenly wisdom the Master has to teach.  Surrender all your own wisdom; seek a deep conviction of the utter blindness of the natural understanding in the things of God; and wait for Jesus to teach and to guide what you have to believe and have to do.  Remember that the teaching and guidance do not come from without:  it is by His life in us that the divine wisdom does His work.  Retire frequently with Him into the inner chamber of the heart, where the gentle voice of the Spirit is only heard if all is still.  Hold fast with unshaken confidence, even in the midst of darkness and apparent desertion, to His own assurance that He is the light and the leader of His own.  And live, above all, day by day in the blessed truth that, as He Himself, the living Christ Jesus, is your wisdom, your first and last care must ever be this alone:  to abide in Him.  Abiding in Him, His wisdom will come to you as the spontaneous outflowing of a life rooted in Him.  I abide in Christ, who was made unto us wisdom from God:  wisdom will be given to me.

– Andrew Murray

 

You are partners with Christ Jesus because of God. Jesus has become our wisdom sent from God, our approval, our holiness, and our ransom from sin.

– 1 Corinthians 1:30 (GW)

 

Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me.

I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you abide in Me and I in you, you will bear great fruit. Without Me, you will accomplish nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is like a branch that is tossed out and shrivels up and is later gathered to be tossed into the fire to burn.  If you abide in Me and My voice abides in you, anything you ask will come to pass for you.  Your abundant growth and your faithfulness as My followers will bring glory to the Father.

– John 15:4-8 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Sacrifice

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

The son

was to be the sacrifice

and the wood was placed on his shoulders

as he trudged up the hill

 

The father

with heart torn open

was poised to let it all happen

 

And on the mountain

the son

surrendered his will

 

and the father

his will, as well

 

And it was at that dramatic moment

of obedience

that God, the Father of all,

provided the sacrifice

 

At.  Just.  The.  Right.  Moment.

 

The son

and the father

were redeemed

by the Lamb

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith.

“Abraham!” God called.

“Yes,” he replied. “Here I am.”

“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”

The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”

“God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!”

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

– Genesis 22:1-18 (NLT)

 

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.

– Romans 5:6 (NLT)

 

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

– John 1:29 (NKJV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Lying Lips

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The dishonesty

the corruption

the immorality

 

the oppressiveness

of not following God

 

is overwhelming me

as I stare at the screen

 

The disrespect

the anger

the abuse

 

Our world is pregnant with these things

 

And it weighs heavy on me

 

The sin weighs heavy on me

 

And as I turn off the noise,

I pick up my Bible

and read,

“Help, LORD, for no one is faithful anymore;

those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

Everyone lies to their neighbor;

they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.”

 

And it feels familiar

and sad

 

The media

feels like a deep cesspool

and it threatens to pull me down

into it

 

But then I read,

“The words of the LORD are flawless,

like silver purified in a crucible,

like gold refined seven times.”

 

And I know that You, God, pull me out of that pit

 

Your purity

Your absolute faithfulness

Your never-lying, truthful, beautiful words

are nourishment to me

 

And I remember to glance

at the corruption

the lies

the failures

 

and to gaze

at You God

 

Your flawless, sinless, beautiful face

Your life-giving words

are my relief

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
Everyone lies to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.
May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue—
those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”…
And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times.

– Psalm 12:1-4,6 (NIV)

 

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

– John 16:33 (NIV)

 

Online photo

Light!

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Lit-heart,

what darkness will you walk into today?

 

And are you keenly aware

of the Holy Spirit fire

that resides in you?

 

Do you remember that

light overcomes darkness?

 

So why do you fear

the dark places

the dark faces?

 

The blackness slinks to the darkest corners

when light is present

 

So walk into that dark place

where you are the only light-bearer

and know that His flame

burns in you

 

And boldly speak to the ones

who does not know what Light looks like

 

yet….

 

And know without a doubt that

HE is that flame that cannot be extinguished

and you are empowered by HIM

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

– John 1:5 (NLT)

 

Everything was created through Him; nothing—not one thing!— came into being without Him. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.

– John 1:4-6 (MSG)  

 

A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms. It cannot and will not be quenched.

– John 1:5 (VOICE)

 

You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

– Matthew 5:14-16 (MSG)

 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

– John 8:12 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

You Focus

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

What’s it like

to live with you?

 

How is it

to work with you?

 

When people see you

in public,

what kind of person do they encounter?

 

Good questions

 

So many of us are thinking about

and concentrating on

how the people around us

don’t measure up

 

And that judgmental spirit

can be so subtle

that we may not even realize it’s there

 

But what if our focus

were actually on how we can BE the person

who is a blessing to live with

a joy to work with

a pleasant face in a crowd?

 

What if our inward focus

was not rooted in how we’re better

but how we can be better

for the people we come into contact with?

– Susie Stewart

 

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

– Matthew 7:1-5 (MSG)

 

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.

– John 13:35 (NLT)

 

Photo by Gracie Oertli

Priorities

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

…in the good things of life, you should try not to lose the important things.  Show me your calendar, and I will show you your priorities.  How you schedule your time, as well as your resources, reveals what is truly important.

If you are not spending time cultivating your relationship with the Savior, it is not because you don’t have the time.  It is because you don’t prioritize the relationship.  Whatever is first in our life, you will find the time to do.

– Tony Evans

 

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. Anyone who does not remain in Me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

– John 15:5-11 (NLT)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart