Psalm

Gift

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Do you know you woke up to a gift today?

 

This day,

this very one,

is a gift

 

You are here,

and your Sustainer

has enabled you to be here

 

We tend to think we are self-sufficient, don’t we?

That all is because of what WE do?

 

No

 

God gifted you with today

 

– Susie Stewart

 

This is the day the Lord has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad today!

– Psalm 118:24 (GW)

 

This is the very day God acted— let’s celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

– Psalm 118:24 (MSG)

 

Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words!

 -2 Corinthians 9:15 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Still

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

So often people stay busy

to keep from feeling alone

 

They don’t slow down

for fear that life will not feel meaningful

 

without activity

 

But I have found

that when I am still

that’s when I realize more than ever

that I’m not alone

 

God is always with me

and being still helps me focus

on His being there

 

Stillness

affirms

His existence

to me

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Be still, and know that I am God

– Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

 

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:

12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

– 1 Kings 19:11,12 (KJV)

 

I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will remain constantly with you.

– John 14:16 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Rain

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Rain down on us

sweet Jesus

 

Living Water, flood us

with Your love

 

We long for Your refreshment

in a dry and weary land

 

Cover us

Drench us

 

With Your kindness

Your forgiveness

Your acceptance

Your joy

Your Light

 

With YOU

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

A song of David while in the wilderness of Judah. O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust. I seek You with every fiber of my being. In this dry and weary land with no water in sight, my soul is dry and longs for You. My body aches for You, for Your presence.

– Psalm 63:1 (VOICE)

 

Skies above, open up and let the clouds rain down righteousness! Let the earth below sprout triumph and justice. For I, the Eternal, have created them.

– Isaiah 45:8 (VOICE)

 

His voice thunders through the heavens, and the waters gush from the sky; He summons the clouds to build up over the earth. As the rain falls, the lightning flashes at His command; the wind rushes in from where He alone can store it.

– Jeremiah 10:13 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Your Number

/ Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

No matter what you do

or where you go

or who you come into contact with

the Lord has chosen the number of your days

 

You can’t grit your teeth

and will

one extra day

out of life

 

He is the Author,

you are the created

 

He gets to choose

 

And we often don’t understand

why some have 1 day

and some have a 100 years

 

But we trust

 

And we know

that He will fulfill His purposes

for each of our lives

 

– Susie Stewart

 

You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.

– Job 14:5 (NLT)

 

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

– Psalm 138:8 (ESV)

 

You see all things; You saw me growing, changing in my mother’s womb; Every detail of my life was already written in Your book; You established the length of my life before I ever tasted the sweetness of it.

– Psalm 139:16 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Words

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to You, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

– Psalm 19:14 (NLT)

 

Did my words

encourage today?

 

Were they chosen carefully?

 

Did they build people up?

 

Did they affirm

and bring glory to God?

 

Were my words

reflective of the faith I profess?

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

Therefore encourage and comfort one another and build up one another, just as you are doing.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (AMP)

 

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.

– Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT)

 

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!

– 1 Peter 4:8-11 (MSG)

 

Don’t say anything that would hurt another person. Instead, speak only what is good so that you can give help wherever it is needed. That way, what you say will help those who hear you.

– Ephesians 4:29 (GW)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Surrender

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

Surrender

is so sweet

 

It is a free fall into the arms

of Abba

 

It is a breath of fresh air

after holding it for too long

 

It is the white flag

changed from black control

 

It is tight fists

released and open-palmed

 

It is the bowing of all

for God’s purposes

 

Acknowledgement

of sovereignty Divine

 

Surrender is necessary

for peace and joy

 

Surrender

is so sweet

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

– Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

 

The Eternal made everything for a reason. Even wrongdoers fit in His plans; troubled times await them.

– Proverbs 16:4 (VOICE)

 

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

– Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

 

Peter: Master, we have left behind everything we had to follow You.

– Mark 10:28 (VOICE)

 

For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated.

– Mark 8:35 (VOICE)

 

Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship.

– Romans 12:1 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

All His

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to Him.

For He laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
and built it on the ocean depths.

– Psalm 24:1-2 (NLT)

 

You established all of it, God

 

You created it all, every thing and every person

 

and even though some do not acknowledge You

or they shake their fists at You

 

it’s still all Yours

and always will be

 

You spoke

and it all appeared

 

You created in love and power

 

God, You sustain us

and I am so grateful

 

that the One who spoke life into

oceans and galaxies and babies and whales

 

loves me

and I am Yours

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are Mine.

When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.

For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior….

…you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.

– Isaiah43:1-4 (NLT)

 

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.

 -Revelation 21:3 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

 

First

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

As a new believer I often said my purpose was to know Him and make Him known.  Too often my emphasis was on making Him known rather than on knowing Him….  My desire to serve God was good, but my priorities were out of order.  God’s Word clearly says that the first and most important thing is this:  to love God with all our being (Matthew 22:37-38).  This is the first and greatest commandment.  The second commandment is loving others, which includes ministry or works of service (Matthew 22:39).  I had reversed these two.

It’s so important to be able to say, I am not primarily a worker for God;  I am first and foremost a lover of God.  This is who I am.

…When our priorities become turned around, and we place more emphasis on loving others than on loving God, we are headed for spiritual and physical exhaustion.

– Linda Dillow

 

All of us need to be lovers who work rather than workers who love.

– Bob Sorge

 

 

You first, God

 

All others –

people

work

recreation

ministry…..

 

Second

 

And not just in theory

but in Truth

 

I love You, Lord!

I delight in You

worship You

adore You

 

and I find my grounding here

find my purpose here

 

Loving You

 

And finding more reasons to love You

increases my delight in You

increases my awe of You

makes me want to love You more

 

For You loved me first

and drew me to Yourself

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

O True God, You are my God, the One whom I trust.
I seek You with every fiber of my being.
In this dry and weary land with no water in sight,
my soul is dry and longs for You.
My body aches for You, for Your presence.

– Psalm 63:1 (VOICE)

 

I have loved you with an everlasting love—
out of faithfulness I have drawn you close.

– Jeremiah 31:3 (VOICE)

 

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

– Psalm 27:4 (NIV)

 

Come, let us worship Him. Everyone bow down;
kneel before the Eternal who made us.

-Psalm 95:6 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

 

Security

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In these days of uncertainty

of violence

of confusion

of hatred

of pain

 

I am eternally grateful

for my hope in You, Jesus

 

my security in Your promises

my peace, God-given

 

You are my Rock

when all is crumbling

 

All of my hope

is in You

 

– Susie Stewart

 

After all they had endured, they remembered that God, the Most High,
was their Rock, their Redeemer.

– Psalm 78:35 (VOICE)

 

We must meet the uncertainties of this world with the certainty of the world to come.

– AW Tozer

 

 

No one is holy like the Eternal One—
no, no one but You;
and there is no rock as solid as our True God.

– 1 Samuel 2:2 (VOICE)

 

My salvation and my significance depend ultimately on God;
the core of my strength, my shelter, is in the True God.

– Psalm 62:7 (VOICE)

 

Internet photo

Big

/ Susie Stewart / 4 Comments

You are big enough

to create an endless universe

 

with words and will

 

You are big enough

to have Your eye on billions of souls

 

always

 

You are big enough

to hold everything and everyone

 

in Your hand

 

and yet

You are mine

 

You hold everything together

and all the while, You speak tenderly to my heart

 

You are big

beyond comprehension

 

but You love

one-on-one

 

personally

in the closest way

 

as if You were not so big

 

but I’m glad You are

for that is why

 

I can trust you with the small

 

– Susie Stewart

 
God stretches the northern sky over empty space
and hangs the earth on nothing.

He wraps the rain in His thick clouds,
and the clouds don’t burst with the weight.

He covers the face of the moon,
shrouding it with His clouds.

He created the horizon when He separated the waters;
He set the boundary between day and night.
The foundations of heaven tremble;
they shudder at His rebuke.
By His power the sea grew calm.
By His skill He crushed the great sea monster.
His Spirit made the heavens beautiful,
and His power pierced the gliding serpent.
These are just the beginning of all that He does,
merely a whisper of His power.
Who, then, can comprehend the thunder of His power?

– Job 26:7-14 (NLT)

 

When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers—
the moon and the stars You set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that You should care for them?

– Psalm 8:3,4 (NLT)

 

O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you!

– Jeremiah 32:17 (NLT)

 

Photo by Arik Stewart