He Hears

April 8, 2016April 8, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

You and I live in a loud world. To get someone’s attention is no easy task. He must be willing to set everything aside to listen: turn down the radio, turn away from the monitor, turn that corner of the page and set down the book. When someone is willing to silence everything else so he can hear us clearly, it is a privilege. A rare privilege indeed.

You can talk to God because God listens. Your voice matters in heaven. He takes you very seriously. When you enter His presence, the attendants turn to you to hear your voice. No need to fear that you will be ignored. Even if you stammer of stumble, even if what you have to say impresses no one, it impresses God – and He listens. He listens to the painful plea of the elderly in the rest home. He listens to the gruff confession of the death-row inmate. When the alcoholic begs for mercy, when the spouse seeks guidance, when the businessman steps off the street into the chapel, God listens.

Intently. Carefully. The prayers are honored as precious jewels. Purified and empowered, the words rise in a delightful fragrance to our Lord. “The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God.” Incredible. Your words do not stop until they reach the very throne of God.

…your prayers move God to change the world. You may not understand the mystery of prayer. You don’t need to. But this much is clear: Actions in heaven begin when someone prays on earth. What an amazing thought!

– Max Lucado

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

– Revelation 8:3-5 (NIV)

For the eyes of the Lord are [looking favorably] upon the righteous (the upright), And His ears are attentive to their prayer (eager to answer), But the face of the Lord is against those who practice evil.

– 1 Peter 3:12 (AMP)

Photo by Wade Callison

All In

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Many Christ-ones merely want involvement – and a small piece of it at that – in Christianity. God wants total commitment. He wants us to be wholehearted. Sold out. Willing to pay the price of being disciples.

The purpose of our lives is to know God…This means commitment to God and to His Word with our whole being. It has been said that the Christian life is one big YES and a lot of little uh-huh’s – YES when we ask Christ into our lives to be our Savior and uh-huh in the multitude of lordship decisions we make through the years.

– Carole Mayhall

[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death…

– Philippians 3:10 (AMPC)

More than once Jesus deliberately addressed certain issues that quickly diminished the number of onlookers. It was commitment that thinned the ranks.

– Chuck Swindoll

With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

– Romans 12:1,2 (PHILLIPS)

If you do not plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to Him, then don’t begin, for this is what Christianity is all about. It is a change of citizenship, a change of governments, a change of allegiance. If you have no intention of letting Christ rule your life, then forget Christianity; it is not for you.

– Kay Arthur
Photo by Susie Stewart

Aware

April 3, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Aware

Alert

Awake!

to Your presence God

Seeing

Hearing

Perceiving

YOU

Not sleeping

for You have made me ALIVE

in You

– Susie Stewart

…for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

– Ephesians 5:14 (NLT)

But God is rich in mercy because of his great love for us. We were dead because of our failures, but He made us alive together with Christ. (It is God’s kindness that saved you.)

– Ephesians 2:4,5 (GW)

When we were baptized into His death, we were placed into the tomb with Him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life.

– Romans 6:4 (GW)

Photo by Arik Stewart

Tomb

March 26, 2016March 26, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

In the tomb

encapsulated

deceased

Not hearing

not perceiving

not awake

This is the place

for many

Dead

to the Way

to the Truth

to the Life

And God’s Spirit

comes into that tomb

and wakes the sleeper

and He provides a way out

a way out

And when the deceased

takes hold

of Him

He walks out

New

and Alive

with the risen King

– Susie Stewart

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

– Ephesians 2:1-10 (NLT)

Since we have been united with Him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with Him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and He will never die again. Death no longer has any power over Him. When He died, He died once to break the power of sin. But now that He lives, He lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

– Romans 6:5-11 (NLT)

Photo by Ferrell Jenkins

The Struggle

March 23, 2016 / 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

March 22, 2016March 22, 2016 / 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

Joy

March 8, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Are you familiar

with Joy

these days?

Is Joy a companion to you?

Or a stranger?

Has your Joy been

stolen

snuffed out

fleeting

stifled?

Has busyness

or shame

or self-hatred

or the weight of the world

stolen your Joy?

Maybe you forgot

about Joy?

Who has time for Joy?

In God’s presence

there is Fullness

Abundance

Overflowing

Joy

More of Him

brings more Joy

and

Wait with Hope

March 6, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Right now you may be waiting for something from the Lord. Matter of fact, most people I meet are in some sort of holding pattern. (I Certainly am!) They have something on the horizon that they’re trusting God for. (I certainly do!) And their hope is not misplaced. He is good to those who wait for Him. He is good to those who seek Him. We have nothing to fear. And we certainly have no reason for living each day crushed by guilt or shame…

Contrary to popular opinion, God doesn’t sit in heaven with His jaws clenched, His arms folded in disapproval, and a deep from on His brow. He is not ticked off at His children for all the times we trip over our tiny feet and fall flat on our diapers. He is a loving Father, and we are precious in His sight, the delight of His heart.

– Chuck Swindoll

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else?

– Romans 8:31,32 (NLT)

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

– Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
to stick it out through the hard times.

– Lamentations 3:25 (MSG)

Those who do not hope cannot wait; but if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

– Charles Spurgeon

Photo by Gracie Oertli

Character

March 3, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

God’s character is our standard

perfect and true

holy and good

unmovable

It has stayed the same

and will stay the same

throughout eternity

We, His created,

have inner character

that is either growing

or declining

May it grow

and struggle

through the dirt of adversity

and testings

and trials

with a heart surrendered

to the process

and to the Living Water

to bloom hope

– Susie Stewart

A good name [earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity] is more desirable than great riches; And favor is better than silver and gold.

– Proverbs 22:1 (AMP)

If a man does not exercise his arm he develops no biceps muscle; and if a man does not exercise his soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength of character, no vigour of moral fibre, nor beauty of Spiritual growth.

– Henry Drummond

Because of this, make every effort to add integrity to your faith; and to integrity add knowledge; to knowledge add self-control; to self-control add endurance; to endurance add godliness; to godliness add Christian affection; and to Christian affection add love. If you have these qualities and they are increasing, it demonstrates that your knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ is living and productive.

– 2 Peter 1:5-8 (GW)

No character is ultimately tested until it has suffered.

– Harry Emerson Fosdick

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.

– Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

– Helen Keller

So, friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.

– 2 Thessalonians 2:4-8 (MSG)

Make Christ your most constant companion. Be more under His influence than under any other influence. Ten minutes spent in His society every day, ay, two minutes if it be face to face, and heart to heart, will make the whole day different. Every character has an inward spring, let Christ be it. Every action has a key-note, let Christ set it.

– Henry Drummond

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

– Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

The character of God is today, and always will be, exactly what it was in Bible times. God is forever what at that moment, three thousand years ago, He told Moses that He was.

– J.I. Packer

Photo by Susie Stewart

Your Mind

February 29, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Our thoughts are just as important to God as our actions, and are known to God as clearly as our actions.

Jesus taught us in the Sermon on the Mount that God’s commands are intended not only to regulate outward conduct, but inner disposition as well. It is not enough that we do not kill; we must also not hate. It is not enough that we do not commit adultery; we must not even entertain lustful looks and thoughts.

Just as we must learn to bring the appetites of our bodies under control, so we must also learn to bring our thought lives under obedience to Jesus Christ.

The bible indicates that our thought lives ultimately determine our character. Holiness begins in our minds and works out to our actions. This being true, what we allow to enter our minds is critically important.

– Jerry Bridges

O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.

– Psalm 139:1-4(NLT)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

– Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)

…people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

– Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

– Romans 12:3 (NLT)

…let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes

– Ephesians 4:23 (NLT)

So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.”

– 1 Peter 1:14 9 (MSG)

The neglected heart will soon be a heart overrun with worldly thoughts; the neglected life will soon become a moral chaos.

– AW Tozer

Photo by Susie Stewart