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Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Through promises fulfilled and promises given in Scripture, I discovered the answer was always the same when I asked: “God, are You enough?”
Yes, He is.
Nothing here on earth is guaranteed, except for one thing: Jesus is with us always. And when we understand who He is, our doubts begin to disappear.
The Bible tells us Jesus is sufficient; He’s enough. Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (NIV 1984). I discovered this to be true. Every need, every doubt, every inadequacy, every fear was met, answered and removed by Jesus.
If I lost everything, I’d be okay because no one can take away my Jesus. Whether I live in a mansion on a hill or in a tent on the side of a swamp, I have my Jesus. Whether the world is for me or against me, I have my Jesus. When I am knocked down, I get on my knees and find my Jesus.
When life becomes more than you think you can handle, don’t quit. And certainly don’t believe the lie God is not enough. Instead, ask yourself, “God, are You enough for me?” Then plant His Word deep in your heart so you’ll always have the ready answer, that yes He is. He is enough for me, for you.

– Melissa Taylor

 

Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King.

– Philippians 4:19 (VOICE)

 

For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

– 2 Peter 1:3 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Let Go of Control

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

 

A curious and continuous pursuit of our good God opens doors for us to experience all possibility beyond what we could imagine for ourselves.

I don’t know about you, but if I’m picking what is good for my life, then it’s probably going to feel good, look good, taste good, smell good, and be visibly good to anyone who sees it.

But the truth is, even some of the things that have looked “bad” from the outside have turned out to be good for me.

Because, while the currency of God’s goodness looks different from my own, it is infinitely more valuable.

Hard things make us dig deep within ourselves to find strength we didn’t know we had.

Loss teaches us to appreciate blessings that surround us.

And while I don’t want to minimize the depth of any pain and the years it can take to overcome the brokenness we experience in this life, there is good to be found, even in the hard and even through the bad.

As we embrace a curious faith, we exchange the currency of our control for the wealth of God’s possibility.

Maybe sometimes we do think we can control the way things go. To some extent we have the capacity to define our own paths and make decisions that shape the way we live.

We can direct behaviors and events, but when we allow that thinking to rule the way we live, we also lose the capacity to be curious about things unknown and outside of our own plans, outside of our limited view.

Control robs us of curiosity and puts a ceiling on our allowance of God’s possibility in our lives. Because after all, you can’t be curious about something you control.

I’ve heard it said, “Blessed are the curious … for they shall have adventures.” And, friend, when we try to control our lives, we miss out on the adventure of faith.

 

Release control…

be curious, and rediscover hope in the God of possibility.

– Logan Wolfram

 

Anxiety is a funny thing. We hoard up worries the way we hoard money and material goods. In some eras and cultures, people live hand-to-mouth and rely on each growing season to make it another year. I’m grateful not to live in a culture like that, yet I realize we’ve lost a certain perspective it fosters: our eyes no longer look to God to provide for daily needs. Instead, we take bread for granted and borrow trouble ahead of schedule, focusing on the adequacies and inadequacies of our insurance policies and savings accounts. We have so much less to worry about but worry about so much more! We get distracted by the constant barrage of media headlines about random violence, obscure medical anomalies, aberrant weather patterns, and the economic downturn. Suddenly, we’re a mess, worrying about our health and safety and families and careers and possessions. How can we possibly feel secure?

The answer is simple and yet such a hard thing to do: give up control and trust in the Lord with all my heart. God says over and over again to trust Him with fears and anxieties.

– Sharri Bockheim Steen

 

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

– 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

 

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 4:5-7 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Beyond

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

It is good to be present

 

here

now

 

But it is also good to focus beyond

 

there

future

 

For when we suffer

when we have trials

when today is heavy

 

Beyond

is a comfort

 

And Jesus will always

give us hope for the beyond

 

Beyond the suffering

Beyond the trial

Beyond this life

 

Jesus endured the cross

for the joy beyond

 

We endure the pain of sinful earth

for the joy of Heaven

 

Always hope

for the beyond

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

And so now, we wait.  We wait for our bridegroom.  “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 130:6).  We lean on the windowsill of eternity, look to the sky, and whisper, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly.”

Oh when will He come?

And every once in a while, when our heart grows weary of waiting, the Lord revives us with snatches of joy…It is a preview of the joy that will overtake us when, finally, the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

And it will all happen in the twinkling of an eye.

Before we realize it, if we are blessed to be living at the time of His return, we shall find ourselves in the embrace of our Savior at the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.  Heaven will have arrived.  The Lord’s overcoming of the world will be a lifting of the curtain of our five senses, and we shall see the whole universe in plain sight.  Life and immortality will no longer be dim thoughts, but vivid and strikingly real.  At first, the shock of joy may burn with the brilliant newness of being glorified, but in the next instant we will be at peace and feel at home, as though it were always this way, that we were born for such a place.  At that moment, earth will seem like a half-forgotten dream, pleasant enough, but only a dream.

– Joni Eareckson Tada

 

…For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

– Hebrews 12:1,2 (NIV)

 

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

– 2 Corinthians 4:17,18 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Wait & Hope

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Waiting is hard for me.  It’s not my forte.  I like to get things done quickly.  Boom.  Done.  My writing, too, is usually short and to the point.

But the Lord has called on me to wait.  And wait.  And wait some more.  This is often His way.

I find myself wanting to sprint out ahead of God.  To take things into my own hands.  He lovingly grabs ahold of my “suspenders” from the back and places me behind His lead.  He is my teacher.  And on Him, I need to wait.  He sees eternally into the future.  And His wisdom is beyond my comprehension.

Waiting and trusting and hoping –  all wrapped up in the package of obedience. To this, He has called me.

– Susie Stewart

 

But as for me, I will look expectantly for the Lord and with confidence in Him I will keep watch; I will wait [with confident expectation] for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

– Micah 7:7 (AMP)

 

Like the faith diggers do every day. We bury our swollen prayers in Him who’s raised from the tomb.

We lay our hope, full and tender, into the depths of Him and wait in hope for God to resurrect something good.

Good always necessitates long waiting.

Every tulip only blossoms after cold months of winter wait. Every human ever unfurled into existence through nine long months of the womb waiting. And the only kingdom that will last for eternity still waits, this millennia-long, unwavering-hope for return of its King. Instead of chafing, we accept that waiting is a strand in the DNA of the Body of Christ.

That this waiting on God is the very real work of the people of God.

– Ann Voskamp

 

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

– Psalm 27:13,14 (NIV)

 

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him
so he can show you His love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God.
Blessed are those who wait for his help.

– Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)

 

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him,
to the one who seeks Him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

– Lamentations 3:25,26 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Evidence

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In short, I didn’t become a Christian because God promised I would have an even happier life than I had as an atheist. He never promised any such thing. Indeed, following him would inevitably bring divine demotions in the eyes of the world. Rather, I became a Christian because the evidence was so compelling that Jesus really is the one-and-only Son of God who proved His divinity by rising from the dead. That meant following Him was the most rational and logical step I could possibly take.

– Lee Stroebel

 
Many people entertain the idea that Christianity, like almost any other religion, is basically a system of beliefs – you know, a set of doctrines or a code of behavior, a philosophy, an ideology.
But that’s a myth.
Christianity is not at all like Buddhism or Islam or Confucianism. The founders of those religions said (in effect), “Here is what I teach. Believe my teachings. Follow my philosophy.” Jesus said, “Follow me”(Matthew 9:9).
Leaders of the world’s religions said, “What do you think about what I teach?” Jesus said, “Who do you say I am?”(Luke 9:20)
― Josh McDowell

 

The Old Testament records the preparation for the coming of the Messiah. The Gospels record the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. The book of Acts records the propagation of the gospel (the good news) concerning Jesus Christ. The Epistles (letters) explain the gospel and its implications for our lives. The book of Revelation anticipates and describes the second coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His eternal kingdom. From beginning to end, the Bible glorifies Jesus Christ and centers on Him. Its Christ-centeredness is one of its wonderful features.

– Josh McDowell

 

This is what God has done for us: He has said, “I forgive you.” But He paid the price for the forgiveness Himself through the Cross. It’s a payment that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, or any other religious or ethical leader cannot offer. No one can pay the price by “just living a good life.” I know it sounds exclusive to say it, but we must say it simply because it is true: There is no other way but Jesus.

– Josh McDowell

 

But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”

But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”

Eight days later, His disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”

Then He focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”

Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”

Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”

Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way He personally revealed it.

– John 20:24-31 (MSG)

 

HE IS RISEN AND HE IS COMING AGAIN!

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

The Struggle

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Struggle is an essential part of the spiritual life.  A profession of faith and performance in service just aren’t enough…It is not enough to superficially say we believe in Christ and then go on our merry way.  It is not enough to mechanically function in one or more church jobs.  Spiritual experiences aren’t enough.  Jesus said that even those casting out demons and performing miracles could be self-deceived.  Since not many can lay claim to such feats, His words should make us pause.

Faith itself is not easy.  Those who think it is have never exercised the real thing.  Faith does not mean a carefree absence of doubt, but it means acting on God’s trustworthiness in spite of the doubts we have.  Do we think it was easy for Abraham to go out from Ur not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8) or to offer his son Isaac as God commanded (Genesis 22:1019)?  If faith is easy, then some of Jesus’ sayings concerning His kingdom become quite difficult to understand:  “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).

Entering God’s kingdom by violence or force?  C.S. Lewis said he was dragged into the kingdom kicking and screaming.  Many have become Christians only after the intellectual equivalent of storming the Bastille – leveling the fortresses of ideologies and thought that are much harder to pull down than mortar and brick.

In the services at our church, we give evangelistic invitations.  To Christans who have never done it, let me say that coming down an aisle is a traumatic experience.  Big, strong men come shaking and with tears.  Some have told me they felt the whole world was fastened on their coattails like an anchor.  But still they come to exercise faith, to take hold of Christ, to strain against the gravitational pull of their own deadness with a force that scripture calls violence.

Christian growth almost invariably involves struggle.  Paul says in Galatians 5:24, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”  What he means is that, as Christians, we should consider our old lives to be nailed to the cross of Christ, stripping our sin of all power over us as we choose to live by faith in Christ (Romans 6:1-11).

I believe there is an additional reason Paul chose the metaphor of crucifixion to express what our attitude toward the flesh would be.  Crucifixion was a slow, painful death.  It was not the only method of capital punishment in those days.  There were certainly quicker ones.  Quite simply, the flesh dies hard.  Few Christians bypass the feeling of certain conceit or cockiness over a rapid spurt of growth, only to fall in an area of their lives they thought was cleaned up.  Christian growth involves struggle.

All those who set out to seek the kingdom of God must pay the price of a disciplined life.  Discipline is the mark where faith struggles against areas of the flesh that are in disrepair. The writer to the Hebrews said it well:  “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness”  (Hebrews 12:11).

We are continually under construction.  Certain areas of life will provide spiritual workouts as long as we live.  We can mark and engage them and grow.  If we ignore them, our Christian life and pursuit of God’s kingdom will flounder badly.

– David Swartz

 

“Not everyone who calls out to Me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name and cast out demons in Your name and performed many miracles in Your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.’”

– Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Voices

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If you are beginning this day

with the weight of how you’re not enough

with a forboding

with condemnation accusing

 

Know that this is not

the voice of your King

your Savior

your Lord

 

Your life is hidden in Christ

your sins are paid for

your day is new with His possibilities

 

and you are loved unconditionally

 

Know it

believe it

soak it in

 

And when you get to the end of this day

with the weight of how you weren’t enough

with regrets

with condemnation accusing

 

Choose instead

to hear the voice of God

who loves you

and does not condemn you

 

Choose to listen to the life-giving voice

of Truth

from beginning to end

and then start again

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

– Romans 8:1 (NIV)

 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.

– Lamentations 3:22,23 (ESV)

 

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.

– Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart

Life

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

God is not far

from any of us

 

He made us

and in Him

we live and move

and have our being

 

We exist because

of Him

 

He gave us breath

and movement

and life

 

Our being here

is because

of Him

 

Our living

should be

for Him

 

Living out loud

in light of who He is

 

– Susie Stewart

 

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve His needs—for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything, and He satisfies every need. From one man He created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and He determined their boundaries.

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him—though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to Him. For He has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man He has appointed, and He proved to everyone who this is by raising Him from the dead.”

– Acts 17:24-31 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

OJ & Life

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

A glass of orange juice

knocked over the breakfast table

all over me

 

Sticky liquid splattered

my beginning of the day

outfit

 

Server youth, red-faced  and apologizing

brings another orange juice

 

We take some of  breakfast with us

a great oblong cinnamon toast cracker

ready to eat

 

Falls to the ground

and shatters into pieces all broken

 

We head for a change of clothes

and

a fresh start

 

Wouldn’t you know it

thumb burns

on hot flat iron

 

It was a rough start

to the day

 

And some days are like that

 

And some days

start

with more

than an orange juice in your lap

 

Some days bring a splattering

of hopes and dreams

 

And some days

start

with more

than cinnamon toast all over the floor

 

Some days bring a shattering

of what you thought

your future would be

 

And some days

start

with more

than a burned thumb all painful

 

Some days bring a burn intense

red hot

to your tender heart

 

But whatever the intensity

whatever the circumstance

whatever the heartache

 

God’s grace will carry you

His strength will hold you

His love will envelope you

 

Each day has the potential

for trials

large and small

 

Let His grace be everything

for you

– Susie Stewart

 

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.

– 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

 

Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].

– Hebrews 4:16 (AMP)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Don’t Quit

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Our society is filled with runaways, dropouts, and quitters. The epidemic of walking away has hit our land with effects as devastating as the bubonic plague, and it has destroyed millions of effective lives and relationships. We are so self-centred that we have ceased to lay down our lives for others. We have seen others faint or walk away and we have followed in their weakness. We have fainted when we could have persevered by exchanging our strength for His! With His strength, not only could we have kept on walking, we could have run!

– Kay Arthur

 

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

– Ephesians 4:13 (ESV)

 

Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.

– Isaiah 40:31 (GW)

 

The Eternal One is good, a safe shelter in times of trouble. He cares for those who search for protection in Him.

– Nahum 1:7 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart