Mark

Possible

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

 

Impossible

is not a word

God acknowledges

 

For He is God!

And there is not a thing

that isn’t possible for Him

 

 

Believe it

 

 

With people,

we don’t dare to ask

for what doesn’t make sense

 

With God,

He is glorified

in the asking

in the belief

and in the trust

 

For the impossible

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

– Matthew 19:26 (NIV)

 

Everything is possible for one who believes.

– Mark 9:23 (NIV)

 

Is anything too hard for the Lord?…

– Genesis 18:14 (NIV)

 

Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.

– Jeremiah 32:17 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

All In

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

All is His

and yet we grasp at it

 

He rules all

and yet we try to control

 

And when we don’t surrender

that which is already His

 

it only creates fear

and anger,

angst and worry

 

And it means that we aren’t all in

with Him

 

And once it is laid down

in love and obedience

 

He takes it and He blesses the sacrifice

done in worship

 

And there is peace in the soul of the one

who laid down the control

that was never his to begin with

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.

– Romans 12:1 (NLT)

 

If only you would prepare your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer!

– Job 11:13 (NLT)

 

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

– Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)

 

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.

– C.T. Studd

 

Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow You,” he said.

– Mark 10:28 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Surrender

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Surrender

is so sweet

 

It is a free fall into the arms

of Abba

 

It is a breath of fresh air

after holding it for too long

 

It is the white flag

changed from black control

 

It is tight fists

released and open-palmed

 

It is the bowing of all

for God’s purposes

 

Acknowledgement

of sovereignty Divine

 

Surrender is necessary

for peace and joy

 

Surrender

is so sweet

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

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.

– Romans 12:1 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Quiet Place

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I know you are going 100 miles an hour

these days

 

and you don’t know how it will all get done

 

But you had time to read this

and so I want you to know

 

Jesus is gently calling

“Come”

 

“Come to me and find some rest”

 

He will help you get it all done

 

but for now

take some moments with Him

 

Your strength will be replenished

You will find some peace

and You will never regret

time with the King

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.

– Mark 6:31 (NIV)

 

The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.

– Mark 6:31 (MSG)

 

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

– Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

 

Photo by Kim Stewart

 

Loving Yourself

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Jesus shares the the two most important commandments – to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.

I think we probably remember the love the Lord part.

And we likely remember the love your neighbor part, too. But that as yourself part—those are the words we forget…

Jesus knew that our self-care wasn’t just about us. Loving ourselves has a positive ripple effect on our families, our neighbors, our communities and the world.

We are the body of Christ. We belong to one another and desperately need one another’s love. But that starts with the way we love ourselves.

Just think of what the world would look like if we really embraced Jesus’s commandment.

If we started exercising and took control of our eating habits.

If we made time to be creative.

If we spent time in the Word.

We would be healthier.

We would be happier.

We would love our neighbors better.

We wouldn’t neglect our friends when they are going through painful seasons, too wrapped up in our own busyness.

Instead, we would be able to radically love the way Jesus has called us to do.

This new year is already looking different for me. I chose the word SLOW as my word for the year and I am embracing it deeply.

I have turned down work opportunities and not over-scheduled myself.

I have made room for a Bible study and book club.

I have already had lunch with three different friends, and several more dates are on the books.

And while slow might be my word, that doesn’t mean days aren’t going to be full and sometimes messy.

That’s not how life works—all of us know that firsthand. Three kids to parent, 9-5s to report to, meals to make, laundry to fold and the list goes on.

Yet, in each day, fringe hours can be found. Those bits that might be missed or wasted all together can be redeemed for beautiful, soul-filling hobbies and habits.

When we redeem those hours, life-change happens. Beauty is found. Friendships are nurtured.

We are the best versions of the people God created us to be.

– Jessica Turner

 

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

 – Mark 12:30-31 (NLT) 

 

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, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

– 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)

 

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.

– 3 John 2

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Unwavering Trust

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Is your trust

swayed with your emotion?

 

Is your trust

in a wave-like motion?

 

Up and down

up and down

up and down

 

Or is your trust

grounded and firm?

 

Based on truth unwavering,

solid?

 

Set your eyes, your mind, your heart

on the God who does not change

 

and let not your circumstances

lessen your trust

 

He will still those waves

if you only surrender

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life.

– Psalm 143:8 (NIV)

 

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)

 

Late that day He said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took Him in the boat as He was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused Him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?”

Awake now, He told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”

They were in absolute awe, staggered. “Who is this, anyway?” they asked. “Wind and sea at his beck and call!”

– Mark 4:35-41 (MSG)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

Saved From Empty

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

To this world:

I’ve been looking at you all wrong.

You stepped up to me when I was young and flung open your coat so I could see what you carried.

You cooed, “I’ve got it all. Anything you want.”

You seemed nice enough. So I took a hit.

First it was popularity, which has taken approximately my whole life to come down from.

Then you let me sample pride, possessions, power. It was all so strong. It was all so intoxicating. You spun me around until I was too dizzy to look straight and you sent me on my way, “I’m all yours, baby. Live it up.”

I guess it could have worked but in my reeling stupor the Savior of this world grabbed me by the shoulders, He called my name. And I was, with great resolve, wholly His. The aroma of His love exposed the aroma of you, which smells mostly like rot.

He set me straight and showed me how truly upside down you are.

You put the best looking first and the least of these last. You pour accolades on the rich and devastate the poor. You invite the popular first. You hide the unwanted in the shadows.

But can I blame it all on you? You convinced me that it’s my life I need to save – and for a time I agreed.

But His call was so inside out. It was so fantastically right. It went something like this, “Let’s lose your life and go save so many others.”

….We must act.

We must allow Him to use our life for something greater than this world has to offer.

– Brianne McKoy

 

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.

– Matthew 16:25 (NLT)

 

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

– 1 John 3:16 (NLT)

 

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.

– Mark 10:45 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

7 Days A Week

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

 

Sunday best

Dressed

 

Outer Core

Impressive

 

Inner sanctuary

Ragged

Calloused

Dirty

 

 

Weekday shabby

Dressed

 

Outer core

Forgettable

 

Inner sanctuary

Lovely

Sincere

Honorable

 

7 Days A Week

A heart

knowing God is observing

not

the outside

but the in

 

And that

is the focal point

of existence

 

– Susie Stewart

 

People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

 

“I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

– Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)

 

…Grant forgiveness according to each person’s heart, for You know the heart of every man. You, and only You, know every heart

– 1 Kings 8:38-39 (VOICE)

 

Sitting across from the offering box, He was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called His disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”

– Mark 12:41-44 (MSG)

 

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

– 1 Chronicles 28:9 (NIV)

 

…for He knows the secrets of every heart.

Psalm 44:21

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Strength

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

I get, Lord,

that I need to love You with my everything

 

heart

soul

mind

strength

 

and I find myself pausing at the strength part

 

because it’s an interesting word to use

and I ask You to help me grasp what that means…

 

…what it has meant to me

in my life

 

Loving You with all my strength

brings to mind

times of feeling weak

and life was dim

but I trusted

and I loved

beyond reason

because I was loving You with the strength

that I had

 

You were my strength

 

My body felt weak

but I loved You with my trust

and You would remind me

that Your grace is always sufficient for me

 

And I think about times

when I felt so confident

and strong

but I was easily pulled down

because my eyes were on self

and not on You

 

Love of self

focus on self-preserving

focus on self-promoting

weak

 

Not loving God with all my strength

 

Seemingly strong on the outside

but compromised on the inside

 

And so I know that

no matter my weakness

my suffering

my conditions

my surroundings

 

I can love You with all my strength

because it is the power

that You give that’s important

 

Everything I can love You with

first came from You

 

Which is all the more reason

to love You

with all of it.

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,

all your soul,

all your mind,

and all your strength.

– Mark 12:30 (NCV)

 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

– 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 (NIV)

 

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

– 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (MSG)

 

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.  But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

– 1 John 4:7,8 (NLT)

 

Photo by Nicole Stewart