Proverbs

Gifts Multiplied

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

For those who have accepted

the beautiful gift of grace

 

our words should be gracious

 

For those who have accepted

the unmerited gift of mercy

 

our actions should be merciful

 

For those who have accepted

perfect love unconditional

 

our love should should come without strings

 

For those who have accepted

redemption from darkness impenetrable

 

our attitudes should reflect intense light

 

What precious gifts, these!

 

Who we are in Christ should be a gift

to those we come into contact with

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Whoever loves a pure heart and whoever speaks graciously has a king as his friend.

– Proverbs 22:11 (GW)

 

Pleasant words are like honey from a honeycomb— sweet to the spirit and healthy for the body.

-Proverbs 16:24 (GW)

 

Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

– Luke 12:48 (MSG)

 

Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand Him better.

– Colossians 3:10 (CEV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Around Me

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

It’s good for me

to reflect on what it’s like

to be with me

 

I think so much

about what people do and say

and how they affect my life

 

But what about

how I affect them?

 

Does being with me

drain you

or

refresh you?

 

When I am around

are you affirmed

or torn down?

 

Do I make you

feel loved

or rejected?

 

And most importantly,

do people see Jesus

or self-focus?

 

All  people

 

It’s good to reflect…

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

…whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

– Proverbs 11:25 (NIV)

 

God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with Him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (MSG)

 

So then, let us pursue [with enthusiasm] the things which make for peace and the building up of one another [things which lead to spiritual growth].

– Romans 14:19 (AMP)

 

Photo by Andy 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

 

Resolution

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

I have but one resolution

for the new year

 

and that is

to commit my way to the Lord

 

 

All else falls

below that

 

And when I commit,

I trust

 

I trust my God

Who will guide my steps

 

I trust my God

Who will guard me in His love

 

I trust my God

Who will show me the way

 

As long as I am committed to Him

 

Twenty Seventeen

I give to You, God

 

I look to You for each step

as I worship You

in Your glory

 

You are my Joy

both now

and forever

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Entrust your ways to the Lord.
Trust Him, and He will act on your behalf.
He will make your righteousness shine like a light,
your just cause like the noonday sun.

– Psalm 37:5,6 (GW)

 

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

– Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

 

Take great joy in the Eternal! His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!

– Psalm 37:4 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Victoria Stewart

 

 

I Am Yours

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Whomever You have created,

God,

has had a choice

 

To Follow You

or to turn away from You

 

Even the angels

 

For Lucifer

a beautiful angel in Your courts

 

Chose to despise You

instead of love You

 

And he took with him

others of beauty who made the choice

 

And all is death

and downhill

without You

 

I, God,

choose You

 

I will forever

be Yours

 

Your created

loves her Creator

 

and I’m so glad

for the choice

 

I

choose

You

 

I am Yours

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Today I have given you a choice between life and death, success and disaster.

– Deuteronomy 30:15 (ERV)

 

But maybe you don’t want to serve the Lord. You must choose for yourselves today. Today you must decide who you will serve. Will you serve the gods that your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River? Or will you serve the gods of the Amorites who lived in this land? You must choose for yourselves. But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.

-Joshua 24:15 (ERV)

 

I have decided to take the path of faith; I have focused my eyes on Your regulations.

– Psalm 119:30 (VOICE)

 

 

I love those who love Me, and those who look for Me will find Me.

-Proverbs 8:17 (ERV)

 

Photo by Kitty Keefer

 

Harsh

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

The words are meant to cut

this morning

 

The harsh is meant to hurt

this morning

 

And as I quiet myself

before You, King Jesus,

 

all of that disappears

and I hear grace

 

with my spirit

 

Grace sounds so sweet

and gentle wins my day

 

I prefer to stay here

with You

 

But I’m called out

and in

 

I know that Your gentle

and Your grace

and Your love

still lingers on me

 

May I be the fragrance of You

on this angry words day

 

Whispering

gentleness

 

In a shouting world

 

Don’t you know, friends,

that the Lamb conquers?

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

-Proverbs 15:1 (NIV)

 

The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge,
but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

– Proverbs 15:2 (NIV)

 

The soothing tongue is a tree of life,
but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

– Proverbs 15:4 (NIV)

 

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
but the hearts of fools are not upright.

– Proverbs 15:7 (NIV)

 

The discerning heart seeks knowledge,
but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

– Proverbs 15:14 (NIV)

 

Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.

– Proverbs 21:23 (MSG)

 

Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].

– Ephesians 4:29 (AMP)

Listen

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Learning to listen

well

is important

 

To be heard is precious

and affirming

to the sharing soul

 

And those who hear

with their hearts

and with wisdom

 

glorify God

and build people up

 

Listening to ourselves speak

may bring satisfaction

 

but may not bring about

the righteousness of God

 

when done out of selfishness

and talking just to talk

 

Hearing should be more paramount

than being heard

 

And there should be no one

we listen to more

than God

 

Hearing Him more than we talk

 

Humility listens much

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

– James 1:19 (NLT)

 

Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving];

– James 1:19 (AMP)

 

Listen, open your ears, harness your desire to speak, and don’t get worked up into a rage so easily, my brothers and sisters.

– James 1:19 (VOICE)

 

A [closed-minded] fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his personal opinions [unwittingly displaying his self-indulgence and his stupidity].

– Provers 18:2 (AMPT)

 

Being listened to is so close to being loved that most people cannot tell the difference.

– David Augsberger

 

The ear is the road to the heart.

– Voltaire

 

The first duty of love is to listen.

– Paul Tillich

 

He was interesting because he was interested.

– Gore Vidal

 

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

– Stephen Covey

 

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

– James 1:22 (NIV)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Fear

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.
– Proverbs 9:10 (NLT)

 

A life of worship

is a life of fear

 

And it sounds strange

to say so

 

For fear

brings thoughts of scary

and terror

and angst

 

But Abba calls us to fear Him

with awe

and reverence

and joy

 

He calls us to see Him

in everything

 

He tells us not to fear people

or circumstances

or spiritual darkness

 

But to stand bold

in His Spirit

 

and this leaves us

with only the fear of HIM

 

But it couldn’t be further from the word we know

 

For this fear

dances in His presence

 

And brims over with joy

 

And seeks Him passionately

 

This fear is amazed at

and respecting

all-knowing

all-seeing

all-important

God

 

It is the beauty

of Father and child

 

It is

Fear

and fear not

 

– Susie Stewart

 

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

– 1 John 4:18 (NIV)

 

Fearing God has been a term I’ve wrestled with and longed to better understand. I know it means to have a deep level of reverence for God. But I love what a friend of mine who studies language root words to better understand biblical terms recently shared with me. After much study, she now defines a person who fears God as ‘one who sees the hand of God in everything.’ There are several Hebrew words for the word ‘fear’, but let’s look at two of these closely. One is ‘pachad’, which means terror. That’s not the one used in this passage about the fear of the Lord. The word used is ‘yirah’, which means being in awe of God. That deep sense of reverence where we truly desire to look for the hand of God in everything.
– Lysa Terkeurst

 

Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere Him.

– Psalm 33:8 (NIV)

 

Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal; let every man, woman, and child live in wonder of Him.

– Psalm 33:8 (VOICE)

 

The Fear-of-God is a spring of living water so you won’t go off drinking from poisoned well.

– Proverbs 14:27 (MSG)

 

 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

– 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

 

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

– Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

Heart Trust

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

 

Has a person

broken your heart?

 

Crushed you

deeply?

 

And as a result

have you determined

 

that you can’t possibly

trust your heart

to God?

 

Secretly

you guard your heart

 

for fear

that He will disappoint

 

just like people have

 

But He calls out to you

as a faithful lover would

 

A faithful lover

 

He pursues you

consistently

 

And you gently learn

that your circumstances

 

don’t determine

His love for you

 

And that God,

your faithful One,

will hold you

 

in those circumstances

 

That He does not leave

nor forsake

 

And you find

that in trusting Him

with your heart

 

 

that He is the One

who wraps you

in His sheltering arms

 

When people

can’t be trusted

with your heart

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.

– Psalm 28:7 (NIV)

 

Our hearts erupt with joy in Him because we trust His holy name.

– Psalm 33:21 (VOICE)

 

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
He’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give Him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under His loving correction.
It’s the child He loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.

– Proverbs 3:5-12 (MSG)

 

Be strong. Take courage. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down; He won’t leave you.

– Deuteronomy 31:6 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Solid

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I don’t want

a circumstantial faith

 

I want a solid faith

 

Up & Down

Up & Down

Down & Up

 

That wavering

is a rollercoaster

I don’t want to be on

 

Jesus, help me

keep my eyes on You

and on Your promises

 

In the storm

In the desert

In the fire

In the parties

of life

 

And let my confidence

be unshaken

 

For circumstances

don’t change who You are

 

You

are

my

Rock

 

– Susie Stewart

 

If our definition of success is solely based on outcome, we’ll live like we’re on a never-ending bungee jump.  We’re up.  We’re down.  We’re swayed by failure or buoyed by success.  We’re left hanging until someone reels us in with a word of praise.

– Suzanne Eller

 

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

– Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

 

…for the Lord is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.

– Proverbs 3:26 (NLT)

 

But the Master, God, has something to say to this: “Watch closely. I’m laying a foundation in Zion, a solid granite foundation, squared and true. And this is the meaning of the stone: A TRUSTING LIFE WON’T TOPPLE.

I’ll make justice the measuring stick and righteousness the plumb line for the building. A hailstorm will knock down the shantytown of lies, and a flash flood will wash out the rubble.

– Isaiah 28:16,17 (MSG)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart