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Do Not Grieve Him

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

It hurts my heart,

Spirit of God,

that I would ever grieve You

 

And those times

throughout my life

that my words have cut

 

and were not of You

 

I long to breathe them

back in

 

Angry words

Gossip words

Rage words

Bitter words

Malice words

Slander words

 

And I know I’m not alone

in this

 

But what it comes down to, Holy Spirit,

is You and me

and no one else

 

We are in relationship,

You dwelling within me

 

And there is no one closer

than You

 

No one

 

So You are the last One

I would want to grieve

 

Especially since You speak

such goodness

affirmation

and light

into me

 

Thank you for changing me,

Spirit,

over these years

 

You are at work in my heart

 

And showing me

how to put a check

on my words

 

Sometimes I fail You

 

and yet

 

You are so loving

that You keep showing me

how not to grieve You

 

And You always love

 

I want to be like You

who dwells inside of me,

always loving

and watching my words

my attitude

my walk

 

with You

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

– Ephesians 4:29-32 (NIV)

 

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

– James 3:9-11 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

More and Less

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

The more we grow in Christ

and learn to love Him

and to trust Him

 

the less our peace and joy

are dependent

on people

and circumstances

 

What a relief

 

– Susie Stewart

 

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

– Romans 15:13 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Worthship

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Lord, I feel as if I’m learning

all the time

what worship of You

looks like

 

It is all-encompassing,

a life poured out and in awe of You

 

A wide awake observation

 

It is my everything

bowed to You

expecting and obedient

 

It is surrender

humility

recognition of You

as God of all

 

It is discipline

heart focus

clarity

Light

 

It is words

and listening

singing

speaking

quiet

 

Worship is open eyes

open heart

open mind

open, redeemed, learning soul

 

Worship is gratefulness and reverential wonder

 

You are the object of my worship

Yours is the grace that brings me here

 

– Susie Stewart

 

It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.

– John 4:23-24 (MSG)

 

In prayer we are occupied with our needs, in thanksgiving we are occupied with our blessings, but in worship we are totally occupied with God Himself.

– A.P. Gibbs

 

Worship is not a repetitious exercise of rituals and formulas. These create a veil that actually prevents us from enjoying the presence of the Lord. Worship is the heart poured out in gratitude and awe, expressing our appreciation of who He is and what He has done for us by His grace through Jesus Christ.

– Dave Hunt

 

Worship is the path to experiencing the presence of God, the way to face-to-face intimacy.

– Linda Dillow

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

 

 

The Blessing of Obedience

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

There is freedom in obedience

There is joy in obedience

There is peace in obedience

 

What tangles we would avoid

if only we heeded the instruction

 

of the One who is Truth

 

What pain we would prevent

if only we would listen

 

to the One who knows best

 

What heartache we would escape

if only we were humble enough

 

to obey

 

For there is where we find

freedom

joy

peace

 

and show God

how much we love Him

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Anyone who loves Me will listen to My voice and obey. The Father will love him, and We will draw close to him and make a dwelling place within him.

– John 14:23 (VOICE)

 

Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

– Deuteronomy 5:33 (NIV)

 

Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

– Proverbs 10:17 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Harvest

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Our hearts are soil

and God has provided

all that we need to harvest that soil

 

with love

and righteousness

and goodness

 

 

by allowing His Spirit

to cultivate in us

all for His Divine purpose

 

May the soil of your heart

and mine

not become hardened

and parched

 

but may we be soft

and plantable

with Living Water

and the seed of God’s Word

firmly planted

 

We can be assured of a harvest

bountiful

and huge

bringing glory to the Master Gardener

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.

– Hosea 10:12 (NLT)

 

Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

– Galatians 6:7 (MSG)

 

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, He will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.

– 2 Corinthians 9:10,11 (NLT)

 

And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

– Luke 8:15 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Defender

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

He is defending you,

firm and resolute in your corner

 

He Himself,

when all others have turned away

 

The God of the Universe

is your defense

your strength

your vindication

 

And isn’t it so good

to have a Defender

who sees all?

 

Who sees what you are going through?

 

Who sees what is not fair

or right?

 

Be at peace knowing

that He’s got you

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The LORD, the LORD Himself, is my strength and my defense;  He has become my salvation.

– Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)

 

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. …The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

– Exodus 14:13,14 (NIV)

 

I love you, Lord;
You are my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and He saved me from my enemies.
The ropes of death entangled me;
floods of destruction swept over me.
The grave wrapped its ropes around me;
death laid a trap in my path.
But in my distress I cried out to the Lord;
yes, I prayed to my God for help.
He heard me from His sanctuary;
my cry to Him reached His ears.
Then the earth quaked and trembled.
The foundations of the mountains shook;
they quaked because of His anger.
Smoke poured from His nostrils;
fierce flames leaped from His mouth.
Glowing coals blazed forth from Him.
He opened the heavens and came down;
dark storm clouds were beneath His feet.
Mounted on a mighty angelic being, He flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
He shrouded Himself in darkness,
veiling His approach with dark rain clouds.
Thick clouds shielded the brightness around Him
and rained down hail and burning coals.
The Lord thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded
amid the hail and burning coals.
He shot His arrows and scattered His enemies;
great bolts of lightning flashed, and they were confused.
Then at your command, O Lord,
at the blast of your breath,
the bottom of the sea could be seen,
and the foundations of the earth were laid bare.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
He drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,
but the Lord supported me.
He led me to a place of safety;
He rescued me because He delights in me.
The Lord rewarded me for doing right;
He restored me because of my innocence.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord;
I have not turned from my God to follow evil.
I have followed all his regulations;
I have never abandoned His decrees.
I am blameless before God;
I have kept myself from sin.
The Lord rewarded me for doing right.
He has seen my innocence.
-Psalm 18:1-34 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

My brother, Danny Oertli – “Fight For Me”

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

 

 

Kind

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Kindness

is rooted

in God’s heart

 

It is tender

and heart-felt

and real

 

It chooses the soft

when the hard is expected

 

And only through

His Spirit

can we consistently

 

breathe kindness

in an unkind world

 

– Susie Stewart

 

A kindhearted woman gains honor…

Proverbs 11:16 (NIV)

 

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

– Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

 

Love is patient and kind…

– 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

My precious Niece Maggie ❤

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

Strong Vulnerable

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

…the strength of vulnerability. I am speaking of that paradoxical place where you discover the strength God has placed in you by actually risking the pain you would normally run from — especially in close relationships. You step into the difficult place and find you are not blown away. Hearing a friend’s criticism, you resist being defensive. You take the humble road, and find that it is the means of walking straight and tall. You say the words you need to say. In these kinds of moments, you can almost feel your soul expand.
Have you ever had an ‘impossible person’ in your life, with whom most of your interactions inevitably led to rejection and hurt feelings? If so, then you know the courage it takes to risk your heart – to be vulnerable – and to love in the face of that. That courage, exercised wisely, is like lifting weights in a gym, except that the strength you gain is an inner one.
In many ways, vulnerability is the last thing we would expect to combine with strength. The word literally means ‘able to be wounded,’ and therefore, vulnerability flies in the face of our usual concept of strength, certainly the one served up to us daily. To be vulnerable is to voluntarily place yourself, for the sake of a larger purpose, in a situation that could bring pain. You see something at stake — your own spiritual growth or someone else’s — and you are willing to risk your heart in a vulnerable way.

– Paula Rinehart

 

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.

– Psalm 73:26 (NLT)

 

Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

– 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart