Philippians

I have a Complaint About Complaining

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Complaining

is worthless

 

Words reeking of self

and ungratefulness

 

Of no benefit

to those who hear

 

Complaints

come out

and hang in the air stagnant

 

Perspective

Gratitude

Selflessness

Patience

Graciousness

 

– they are needed when tempted

by dissatisfaction

 

Complaining

is an outward expression

of a heart in need of joy

 

And joy is found in Jesus,

the One who should have had the most

to complain about

 

but didn’t

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Don’t let even one rotten word seep out of your mouths. Instead, offer only fresh words that build others up when they need it most. That way your good words will communicate grace to those who hear them.

– Ephesians 4:29 (VOICE)

 

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

– Philippians 2:14-16 (NLT)

 

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.

– Philippians 2:14-16 (MSG)

 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

– James 1:2-4 (NIV)

 

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

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

 

Escapism

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

There are places people go

in their hearts and minds

 

to escape real life

 

And those places

may look like other people’s stories

 

They may look like

a fantastical world

 

They may look like

hours before a screen or pages

 

And while it’s good to dream and imagine,

living a life that is not yours

 

can be dangerous

 

for the escape becomes

your god

 

It becomes more important

than anything else

 

it consumes

and dominates

 

and crushes

real life

 

I know,

because I’ve had times like that

 

I was drawn in

and obsessed

and out of touch

 

God was not on the throne

of my heart

 

May we who follow Jesus

be content where we are

 

relying on Him to walk with us

and not seeking escape

 

Come away with your Lord

for He will fill you

 

like no empty world of escapism

ever can

 

When your escape

leads to

Neglect

Obsession

and Avoidance

 

It’s time to get away with God

 

– Susie Stewart

 

…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)

 

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in Him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

– Philippians 4:4-9 (MSG)

 

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

– Romans 12:1,2 (MSG)

 

Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

– 1 John 2:15-17 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

–

Stretch

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Do you feel

S   T    R    E    T    C    H     E     D

by God?

 

Has He placed you

in a spot

you’re not certain about?

 

Feeling a bit inadequate

for the task at hand?

 

He’s placed you there

nonetheless

 

It’s not meant to be

a painful stretch

 

but an expanding stretch

like breathing in more air

 

And when you breathe in

the very breath

and expanding of God

 

you realize

that this place of challenge

and different

and harder

 

Is for your good

and for His glory

 

You surrender to Him

in the midst of it

 

and find

that you are growing

in the best possible way

 

You see all the more

what God can do through you

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

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

– Philippians 4:13 (NLT)

 

…you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever! Amen.

– 2 Peter 3:18 (NLT)

 

…And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into His glorious image.

– 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Strong Tower

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

There is only one Name

that wields unimaginable power

 

That is the Name of the LORD

 

And when I need strength

sheltering

protection

comfort

 

It is the Name I call

the Name I flee to

 

This Name

in fact

is a Strong Tower

 

for those who trust God

with their lives

 

Calling on the Name of YHWH

when fleeing darkness

 

causes the darkness

to flee

 

It exasperates evil

 

I stand atop that LORD tower

and look down at the one who would destroy me

 

He cannot reach me

and I am secure

 

May I never seek anything

before You and Your strong Name, God,

 

My LORD

My Tower

 

secure

fortified

and strong

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].

– Proverbs 18:10 (AMP)

 

Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy.

– Matthew 6:9 (NLT)

 

So at the name of Jesus
everyone will bow down,
those in heaven, on earth,
and under the earth.

And to the glory
of God the Father
everyone will openly agree,
“Jesus Christ is Lord!”

– Philippians 2:10-11 (GW)

 

No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won’t put up with the irreverent use of His name.

– Exodus 10:7 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

But God

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

I looked at her text

and it gave me pause

 

“Interesting times here, but God…”

 

But GOD

with three tiny dots

 

And it got me to thinking

 

about how God is always present

and supremely sovereign

 

And no matter what…

 

BUT GOD

 

So I went on a search

through the Scriptures

 

and found His hand

working in our circumstances

in the middle of our humanness

 

in the pain

in the joys

 

in the midst…

 

But God…

was in

and about

and through

and all over

 

He is here

and He is aware

and He is at work

 

in our present circumstances

 

And no matter what,

our sentence can end

with “but God…”

 

– Susie Stewart

 

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.

– Geness 8:1 (NIV)

 

But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night…

– Genesis 20:3 (NIV)

 

He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.

– Genesis 31:5 (NIV)

 

…But God has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands…

– Genesis 31:42 (NIV)

 

“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”

– Genesis 41:16 (NIV)

 

But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

– Genesis 45:7 (NIV)

 

“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

– Genesis 45:8 (NIV)

 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you…”

– Genesis 48:21

 

 

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

– Genesis 50:20

 

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid…”

– Genesis 50:24

 

 

…But God did not answer him that day.

– 1 Samuel 14:37

 

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

– 1 Samuel 23:14

 

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

– 1 Kings 5:4

 

…For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

– 2 Chronicles 20:15

 

With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

– 2 Chronicles 32:8

 

 

But the eye of their God was watching…

– Ezra 5:5

 

“But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.

– Ezra 9:8

 

…But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love…

– Nehemiah 9:17

 

But in Your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

– Nehemiah 9:31

 

But God drags away the mighty by His power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.

– Job 24:22

 

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish.

– Psalm 9:18

 

But You, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

– Psalm 10:14

 

 

But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to Himself.

– Psalm 49:15

 

…but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.

– Psalm 66:19

 

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

– Psalm 73:26

 

But God is my King from long ago; He brings salvation on the earth.

– Psalm 74:12

 

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

– Psalm 86:15

 

But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

– Psalm 94:22

 

But the Lord Almighty will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will be proved holy by His righteous acts.

– Isaiah 5:16

 

But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King.

– Jeremiah 10:10

 

But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

– Jeremiah 10:12

 

…but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.

– Daniel 2:28

 

…But you, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit.

– Jonah 2:6

 

 

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

– Matthew 19:26

 

…but God knows your hearts….

– Luke 16:15

 

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

– Acts 2:24

 

You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.

– Acts 3:15

 

But God was with him…

– Acts 7:9

 

…but God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen.

– Acts 10:40

 

But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.

– Acts 26:22

 

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

– Romans 5:8

 

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

– 1 Corinthians 1:27

 

But God has put the body together…

– 1 Corinthians 12:24

 

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us…

– 2 Corinthians 7:6

 

…I do not know, but God knows—

– 2 Corinthians 12:3

 

 

Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.

– Philippians 2:27

 

 

…but God is the builder of everything.

– Hebrews 3:4

 

…but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness.

– Hebrews 12:10

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

 

Dark House

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Worry

Anxiety

Angst

Fear

 

Words that grip

and grasp

and strangle

 

And we, the Free,

choose not to dwell

 

in that dark house

 

We breathe in

and breathe out

 

Light

 

The Light of the World

 

And the reason we don’t live

in that dark house

 

is because we dwell

and we abide

and we exist

 

with God

 

He calms

and strengthens

and shows us

 

that we don’t have to be chained

by fear

worry

angst

anxiety

 

He sets the prisoner free

 

Minds gripped by their circumstances

are bound by this world

 

Walk in your freedom

walk in your Light

 

You may have once been a prisoner

but Jesus set you free

 

Be fearless

because you are held in His arms

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 

– Philippians 4:6,7 (MSG)

 

Later, Jesus spoke to the people again and said, “I am the light of the world. The man who follows me will never walk in the dark but will live his life in the light.”

– John 8:12 (PHILLIPS)

 

But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

– John 14:26-28 (NLT)

 

…The Lord sets prisoners free.

– Psalm 146:7 (NIV)

 

Once you lived in the dark, but now the Lord has filled you with light. Live as children who have light.

– Ephesians 5:8 (GW)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Worthy

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

You have a calling,

a purpose

 

And is the way you are living your life,

worthy of that calling?

 

The choices you make,

the way you spend your time

 

Is it worthy?

Or is it a waste?

 

What is your purpose?

What is your calling?

 

What has eternal value here,

and what does not?

 

Our lives should reflect the Gospel

 

The Gospel of life

and unity

and grace

and peace

and giving

 

If we spend our lives

serving the unworthy

while keeping our eyes on the only One

who is

 

There we will be living

a Gospel life

 

If we realize that we are not entitled,

but are unworthy

 

Then He can use us

to point people to Jesus,

to He who is worthy

 

– Susie Stewart

 

As a prisoner of the Lord, I urge you: Live a life that is worthy of the calling He has graciously extended to you.

– Ephesians 4:1 (VOICE)

 

You see, they go on and on telling us the story of how you welcomed us when we were introduced to you; how you turned toward God and realigned your life to serve the one true living God—leaving your idols to crumble in the dust—

– 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (VOICE)

 

Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

– Philippians 1:27 (NLT)

 

…and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

– Isaiah 58:10, 11 (NIV)

 

Then in my vision I heard the voices of many angels encircling the throne, the living creatures and the elders. There were myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, crying in a great voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honour and glory and blessing!”

– Revelation 5:11-13 (PHILLIPS)

 

Photo by Andy Stewart

 

 

Pain & Joy

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Isn’t it interesting

that in going through a deep valley

 

where all is stripped away

 

we can learn what true joy is?

 

In the hurt

and the less

and the want

 

we learn to look up

 

and we find that the joy

is not really in the circumstances

 

but in the Savior

 

It’s not in the stuff

but in the Divine relationship

 

always being strengthened

by the reliance on who is in control

 

Isn’t it interesting

how pain and joy can co-exist?

 

That joy doesn’t always look

like happiness?

 

But it does look

content

 

Because of who we lean into

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 4:19 (AMP)

 

But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].

– 1 Timothy 6:6 (AMP)

 

So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

– 2 Corinthians 12:10 (AMP)

 

…constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ], steadfast and patient in distress, devoted to prayer [continually seeking wisdom, guidance, and strength],

– Romans 12:12 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart