Romans

Not Good Enough

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If any of us waited to get our act together

before coming to Christ,

we’d all still be waiting

 

We will never be good enough to approach God

on your own merit

 

That’s why we all need a Savior

And that’s why it’s called “asking Him into your heart”

 

We accept in our heart of hearts

that He is indeed the Savior

 

And we are the saved

 

His perfect sacrifice was the only thing

that could rescue us out of our mess

 

Thank you, my precious Lord,

Savior of the not good enough

 

Because You are

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented Himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put His love on the line for us by offering His Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him.

Romans 5:7-9 (MSG)

 

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

– Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)

 

Don’t be mistaken; in and of ourselves we know we have little to offer, but any competence or value we have comes from God.

– 2 Corinthians 3:5 (VOICE)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Signs

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If you were a sign

what would you say?

 

Really.

Indulge me here

 

What is the loudest thing about you?

 

What does your life shout?

 

If you were a sign

where would you point?

 

What do your words

and your actions

direct people to?

 

Is your life sign solid?

Clear?

Or is it falling apart and undecipherable?

 

Let your sign be clear

Let your life be loud

 

Point to Jesus,

worthy is He

 

the perfect destination

 

– Susie Stewart

 

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I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ Himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with His rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple.

– 2 Timothy 4:1-3 (MSG)

 

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My brothers and sisters, I pray constantly to God for the salvation of my people; it is the deep desire of my heart.

– Romans 10:1 (VOICE)  

 

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Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.

– John 14:6 (NLT)

 

We get to be God’s plan for the whole world by pointing people toward Him.

– Bob Goff

 

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

– Matthew 5:15-17 (MSG)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despair

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Despair

can tempt you

 

It can entice you

to embrace the complete loss

of hope

 

And you feel yourself slipping

into its clutches

 

But then you remember

 

You know that despair

is not an option

 

for one

deep in hope

 

And you remember

to cast your cares

your anxieties

your pain

your agony

your confusion

 

on Him

for He cares for you

 

And the slippery slope of despair

develops footholds

to climb right out

 

into the wide open space

of hope

 

– Susie Stewart

 

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
He protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

– Psalm 34:17-20 (NIV)

 

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

– 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 (MSG)

 

Since God cares for you, let Him carry all your burdens and worries.

– 1 Peter 5:7 (VOICE)

 

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 Arik Stewart

Reminder

/ Susie Stewart / 3 Comments

I’m thinking you might need a reminder today

 

A reminder of who you are

 

Because we all tend to believe lies sometimes,

spoken to us

or whispered in our heads

 

Truth is a good reminder,

so soak it in

 

YOU ARE

Loved more than you can even imagine

Redeemed from the worst

Royal, grafted into the family tree

Accepted right now

Child of Almighty God

Saved from eternal death

Friend of Jesus

Heir of treasures and life unimaginable

United with your Creator

Temple to the Holy Spirit

Member of the Body of Christ

Forgiven for everything

Free to walk in freedom

A new creation

Chosen by God

Wise by His guidance

Complete

 

Let truth remind you

and don’t listen to those lies

 

Live a life worthy of your calling

 

And if you went over that list quickly

as you are running through life

stop

and read it again

 

slowly

 

Believe His promises to you

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

– Ephesians4:1 (NLT)

 

How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of His beloved Son.

– Ephesians 1:3-6 (MSG)

 

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God.

– John 1:12 (NLT)

 

And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

– Romans 8:17 (NLT)

 

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

– 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NLT)

 

For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With His love, He will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.

– Zephaniah 3:17 (NLT)

 

Photo by Andy Stewart

 

All In

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

 

All is His

and yet we grasp at it

 

He rules all

and yet we try to control

 

And when we don’t surrender

that which is already His

 

it only creates fear

and anger,

angst and worry

 

And it means that we aren’t all in

with Him

 

And once it is laid down

in love and obedience

 

He takes it and He blesses the sacrifice

done in worship

 

And there is peace in the soul of the one

who laid down the control

that was never his to begin with

 

– Susie Stewart

 

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.

– Romans 12:1 (NLT)

 

If only you would prepare your heart
and lift up your hands to Him in prayer!

– Job 11:13 (NLT)

 

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

– Romans 6:12-14 (MSG)

 

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.

– C.T. Studd

 

Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow You,” he said.

– Mark 10:28 (NLT)

 

Photo by Susie Stewart

Unnecessary Performance

/ Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

Don’t you know?

Don’t you remember?

 

You are someone’s child

 

You are God’s child

 

And He created you

to be in relationship with Him

 

But you think you need

to perform for Him

 

To get it right

to impress

 

To stop

messing up

 

But His love is not conditional

on your performance

 

Nestle into that love

and stay there

 

Performance is for an entertainer

not a beloved child

 

I was inspired to write this piece after listening to a interview my cousin, Kathy Gray, did on her new book “Light in Our Darkness”.  In the interview Kathy said, “We were never created to perform.  We were created for relationship.”  Amen.  Thank you, Kathy

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Don’t be mistaken; in and of ourselves we know we have little to offer, but any competence or value we have comes from God. Now God has equipped us to be capable servants of the new covenant, not by authority of the written law which only brings death, but by the Spirit who brings life.

– 2 Corinthians 3:5,6 (VOICE)

 

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

– John 1:12,13 (NLT)

 

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith…

– Galatians 3:26 (NIV)

 

See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is.

– 1 John 3:1,2 (NLT)

 

And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory.

– Romans 8:17 (NLT)

 

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

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

Moldable

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Would I rather stay a lump of clay,

or be molded

into something beautiful?

 

Would I rather be safe?

Or would I rather experience life

in abundance?

 

Would I rather God grow me through the tough stuff

or stay unchanged,

stagnant?

 

He uses all for my good,

and I can rely on this promise

 

I trust Him to mold me

with His loving hands

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Still, Eternal One, You are our Father.

We are just clay, and You are the potter.
We are the product of Your creative action, shaped and formed into something of worth.

– Isaiah 64:8 (VOICE)

 

We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.

– Romans 8:28 (VOICE)

 

Every man’s character remains as it is, or continues in the direction in which it is going, until it is compelled by IMPRESSED FORCES to change that state. Our failure has been the failure to put ourselves in the way of the impressed forces. There is a clay, and there is a Potter; we have tried to get the clay to mould the clay.

– Henry Drummond

 

What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’

– Isaiah 45:9 (NLT)

 

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Freedom

/ Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I am a slave to no one

and nothing

 

especially to sin

 

It does not rule over me

 

Christ set me free

and I am free forever

 

I am no slave to fear

to people’s opinions

to shame

to evil

 

I conquer

through Christ

 

in fact, I more than conquer

 

The victory is mine

 

And no matter what,

I am free

 

– Susie Stewart

 

Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.

– Galatians 5:1 (MSG)

 

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free.”  ~ Jesus

– Luke 4:18 (NLT)

 

Doesn’t it make sense that if you sign yourself over as a slave, you will have to obey your master? The question before you is, What will be your master? Will it be sin—which will lead to certain death—or obedience—which will lead to a right and reconciled life?

– Romans 6:16 (VOICE)

 

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].

– Romans 8:37 (AMP)

 

Photo by Andy Stewart