Find Me True

April 23, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 5 Comments

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him….

– 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)

Every day we make

Choices

Too many to count

choices

about how we spend our time

how we treat people

what we will eat

how we will respond,

or react

where we will go

what we will think about

Who or what we worship

And, Lord,

my deepest desire

is for You to find me faithful,

for You to see me

seeking You

and that the choices I make

are directed by You

Your eyes roam the earth

to find the faithful

the committed

the wise

and that’s who I want to be

one of the few

who seeks You wholeheartedly

and makes choices

in Your strength

and with Your wisdom

eyes on You

as You find me true

– Susie Stewart

God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

– Psalm 53:2 (NIV)

God has looked down from heaven upon the children of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God [who requires Him, who longs for Him as essential to life].

– Psalm 53:2 (AMP)

God sticks His head out of heaven. He looks around. He’s looking for someone not stupid— one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.

– Psalm 53:2 (MSG)

From heaven the True God examines the earth to see if any understand the big picture, if any seek to know the True God.

– Psalm 53:2 (VOICE)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Divine Silence

April 15, 2017 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Silence

Deafening silence

And your heart is heavy

and grief-striken

How can one hope

in such circumstances?

When God is silent?

He left

and despair is overwhelming

But fight your despair,

for even when there is death,

there is hope

for the true follower

of Jesus

All may be silent

for a time

But dawn will come

tomorrow

And you will see

that what was dead

will be alive!

So in this place

of silence and mourning,

Hope

The end of the story

has not yet come

And our Divine Jesus

will not remain silent

– Susie Stewart

Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.

After sundown, the high priests and Pharisees arranged a meeting with Pilate. They said, “Sir, we just remembered that that liar announced while He was still alive, ‘After three days I will be raised.’ We’ve got to get that tomb sealed until the third day. There’s a good chance His disciples will come and steal the corpse and then go around saying, ‘He’s risen from the dead.’ Then we’ll be worse off than before, the final deceit surpassing the first.”

Pilate told them, “You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can.” So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.

– Matthew 27:57-66 (MSG)

Even in the unending shadows of death’s darkness, I am not overcome by fear. Because You are with me in those dark moments, near with Your protection and guidance, I am comforted.

– Psalm 23:4 (VOICE)

Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.

– Psalm 31:24 (MSG)

Story

April 11, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

What’s your story

of His grace

in your life?

Because

I’d love to hear it

What’s your story

of His love?

What’s your story

of His mercy toward you?

What’s your story

of His hope?

I would love to hear it all

And I want to encourage you,

my brother,

my sister,

to share that story

For you are called

to speak as a WITNESS

for your Savior

Your TESTIMONY

is what people need to hear

You are not asked

to bear witness

to complicated theological facts

but to the difference

our great

and gracious God

has made in your life

And people are dying to hear it….

So let it flow

just as you would speak with joy

about the people you love

For there has been no greater LOVE

than the story of the One

who laid down His life

for you

– Susie Stewart

Here’s the knowledge you need: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be My witnesses, first here in Jerusalem, then beyond to Judea and Samaria, and finally to the farthest places on earth.

– Acts 1:8 (VOICE)

Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
let them proclaim Your power.
I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
and your wonderful miracles.
Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
I will proclaim Your greatness.
Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
they will sing with joy about Your righteousness.

– Psalm 145:407 (NLT)

I will tell everyone about Your righteousness.
All day long I will proclaim Your saving power,
though I am not skilled with words.

– Psalm 71:15 (NLT)

Photo by Amy O’Neil

Heart <3

April 9, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Into your heart

you accepted your God

and with your heart

you hear His voice

His words are digested

with your heart

and He asks that you love Him

with all of your heart

You love people as He does

with your heart

and you walk in step with Him

with your heart

Religosity walks only

by intellect

But God calls us close

He searches intently

to see if your heart

is lit up

with Him

– Susie Stewart

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

– Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

– Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

– Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart, I’m writing the book on your wonders. I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I’m singing Your song, High God.

– Psalm 9:1,2 (MSG)

Photo by Susie Stewart

The Importance of Quiet

March 12, 2017 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You must rest

and reflect

and meditate

to hear the most important things

I want to teach you

A whisper can’t be heard

in noise

Truths cannot take root

in chaos

Hear Me

in your quiet

See Me

through eager eyes

Come and taste

and hear

and see

– Susie Stewart

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.
Worship God if you want the best;
worship opens doors to all His goodness.

– Psalm 34:8,9 (MSG)

This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: “Call to Me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.”

– Jeremiah 33:2,3 (MSG)

That is why we ought to pay even closer attention to the voice that has been speaking so that we will never drift away from it.

– Hebrews 2:1 (VOICE)

Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

– 1 Kings 19:11, 12 (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)

This is what the Almighty Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: You can be saved by returning to Me. You can have rest. You can be strong by being quiet and by trusting Me. But you don’t want that.

– Isaiah 30:15 (GW)

Photo by Susie Stewart

How Do You Do Life Without Him?

March 6, 2017March 6, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

He sustains

He carries

He rescues

He loves

and He is strong enough

to create and carry

the whole world

So, I wonder

how anyone does life

without Him?

Any burden

He asks us to cast on Him

During our trials

He promises to be there

And when we are stuck

He provides a way out

In this life

if you don’t have God

What

you

have

cling

to?

Everything and everyone

can be gone at any time

Almighty God offers Himself

freely and forever

even to the point of death

Don’t do life

for one more minute

without Him

– Susie Stewart

Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

– Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
who daily bears our burdens.

– Psalm 68:19 (NIV)

Cast your cares on the Lord
and He will sustain you;
He will never let
the righteous be shaken.

– Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

I cling to you;

your right hand upholds me.

– Psalm 63:8 (NIV)

Photo by Arik Stewart

Pained Sister

March 1, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 6 Comments

Sister,

you have known much pain

You have been doubled-over

in life

for such a long time

And yet,

you have faithfully come

to worship

You have begged for healing

from your low-perspective infirmity

And yet it continues

and continues

Faithful sister,

your God has seen your pain

Your God has seen

your circumstances

He has seen your faithful heart

Continuing to trust

continuing to come

to Him

And just when you think

it has been too long

to be noticed

He speaks your name

and sets you free!

And your bowed position of humility

and pain

has produced in you

a strength and an inheritance

for eternity

You are loosed

from the weight

of the world

Sister, I see your faithfulness

and your love for the Master

You praised Him bent over

and you praise Him standing tall

Always trusting

bringing glory to Him

– Susie Stewart

One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, He saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then He touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

– Luke 13:10-13 (NLT)

“Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and He saved them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them,
snatching them from the door of death.
Let them praise the Lord for His great love
and for the wonderful things He has done for them.
Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving
and sing joyfully about His glorious acts.

– Psalm 107:18-22 (NLT)

So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life.

– James 5:16 (VOICE)

For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]!

– 2 Corinthians 4:17 (AMP)

Truest Love

February 14, 2017February 14, 2017 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In this life

there will never be

a truer love

than Jesus’ love

for you

You may have an attentive sweetheart

You may not

Regardless,

Jesus is matchless

in the way He focuses

on your life

on your heart

on your ways

His love surpasses

all others

Vast beyond measure

Deep calling to deep

Aware

On purpose

Romancer of your spirit

Jesus,

the truest

of Loves

– Susie Stewart

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

– Psalm 36:5 (NLT)

God’s love is meteoric,
his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,
slips through the cracks.

– Psalm 36:5,6 (MSG)

Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me.

– Psalm 42:7 (NIV)

Photo by Susie Stewart

This Man

February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 10 Comments

How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word.

– Psalm 119:9 (ESV)

I knew a young man

who loved Jesus

He sought to ground his life

on biblical truth

He was unique from others,

different from those who followed the crowd

A young man to be respected

because of his integrity

So I married this young man

He wasn’t perfect

but was set apart

Grounded

Honest

Kind

Faithful

A man after God’s heart

Every morning I would find him

with his breakfast and his Bible

And when we had our first child

a son to call our own

I was grateful that my man was a man

my boy could be proud of

and was a support to the boys

who didn’t have that example

As our young boy grew to be a young man

I saw in him his father

Grounded

Honest

Kind

Faithful

Every morning he had seen his dad

breakfast and Bible before him

It made an impression

For that had been

and would continue to be

the foundation of my man’s day

The foundation of his life

Living according to God’s Word

How does a young man

and his dad keep their way pure?

By living according to God’s Word

– Susie Stewart

…do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth.

– 2 Timothy 2:15 (VOICE)

Photos by Todd Versaw, Bob Karraker, and Susie Stewart

The Depth of You

January 21, 2017 / Susie Stewart / 3 Comments

I’m standing next to you

as you talk to our friend

listening to your sweet voice

watching your expressions

gazing at your lovely profile

and I feel depth

and hear a Bible verse in my mind

at the same time

“You knit me together

in my mother’s womb…”

And in the standing

and the socializing

and the regular life

I gasp inside

anew

at the miracle that is you

You

were knit together by God

inside of me

You

this lovely young woman

were designed purposefully

lovingly

and I was the vessel

gratefully used to bring you here

You have no idea

I’m thinking any of these thoughts

that I am reflecting in wonder

at who you are

profoundly impacted

by truth once again

that you

are a part of me

and we are created

by Him

– Susie Stewart

For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in Your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are Your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with You.