No Fear

September 24, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

– John 14:27 (NIV)

You have a will

over your fears

It is possible to not

let

your heart be troubled

It is possible to choose

not

to be afraid

And God is there

to strengthen

and enable

and affirm you

in your not-fearing

and your resolute mind

Giving you what you need

as you do battle with fear

His Spirit will bring you

the courage you need

– Susie Stewart

When struck by fear, I let go, depending securely upon You alone.

– Psalm 56:3 (VOICE)

You see, God did not give us a cowardly spirit but a powerful, loving, and disciplined spirit.

– 2 Timothy 1:7 (VOICE)

Photo by Arik Stewart

Eye Contact

September 23, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

When you see someone you love

in a crowded room

Your eyes light up

your spirit smiles

You make eye contact,

and all is in black and white

Except for the one you love

I see Abiding in Christ

that way

In the eternity cracks

of my every day life

I make eye contact with God,

the One I love most

I can’t see Him,

but my spirit does

The eyes of my heart

focus on Him

And I may not say a word

but I know that He knows

I “see” Him

There are many ways I abide in Him

Through reading or thinking about His Words

Through calling out to Him

By listening for Him

By talking about Him

By trusting Him

and more…

And in those times,

I see my beloved

and He sees me

Across my crowded life,

that would be black and white

without Him

– Susie Stewart

I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

– John 15:1-11 (ESV)

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people…

– Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Solid

September 21, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I don’t want

a circumstantial faith

I want a solid faith

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

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

Entitled

September 20, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 2 Comments

We have the great privilege

of coming to God with our requests

We ask Him for what we want

and He chooses to answer the way He wants

And we get into a dangerous place

when we only see Him as good

When He answers the way we think He should

The fact is,

we either trust His sovereignty

His wisdom

and His omniscience

Or we don’t

When we meet God’s “No”

with the stomp of our foot

We in essence are showing a lack of trust

and a sense of entitlement

Santa Jesus would hand us whatever we ask for

and therein we would develop no faith

We would have no need of an all-knowing God,

for whenever we exercised our will of asking

Santa Jesus would give us

whatever we want

This is not what we should expect

May our prayers be ones of great faith

and trust

In our great God

who knows best

– Susie Stewart

He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what He was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him. After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name. After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself. And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.

– Romans 8:27-30 (MSG)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…

– Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”

– Mark 5:36 (NLT)

They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

– Psalm 112:7 NIV)

Photo by Andy Stewart

Friend

September 20, 2016September 20, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 5 Comments

My responsibility to you as a friend

is not

to always be the one you need

It is to point you

to the One

who can come closer to you like no one else

My aim

as a friend

is to point you to Jesus

I want you

to really know Him

My desire

is that you hear His voice

more and more

That you receive godly wisdom

knowledge

and discernment

I long for you to know

the love

that God lavishes on you

And the hope

that goes beyond this life

What I want

even more than to be close to you

is for you to be close to God

And that you

know

the glory to which He has called you

That is what being a true friend

is all about

– Susie Stewart

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way.

– Ephesians 1:15-23 (NIV)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Before & After Christ

September 18, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

I was love-starved

and now I am beloved

I was existing

and now I am thriving

I was invisible

and now I am seen

I was aimless

and now I have purpose

I was a mess

and now I am His messenger

I was lost

and now I am aligned with God

I was confused

and now I see clearly

I was hopeless

and now I am hopelessly in love

I was directionless

and now I am Holy Spirit directed

I was confined in my sin

and now I am confidant in my redemption

I was empty

and now I am full of Him

I was drowning

and now I am saved

I was dead

and now I am alive!

Life before Jesus

and after Jesus

The Divine Difference

– Susie Stewart

We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!

– Luke 15:32 (NLT)

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)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

– 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put Me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

– John 5:24 (MSG)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Focus

September 16, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

If you were to be honest with yourself,

would you say you focus on…

How big your circumstances are,

or how big your God is?

How weak you are,

or how strong your God is?

How you don’t understand,

or how wise God is?

Your focus determines

your mindset

Trust wins

– Susie Stewart

Worship and glory belong forever to the eternal king, the immortal, invisible, and only God. Amen.

– 1 Timothy 1:17 (GW)

“Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord.
“No, I am far away at the same time.
Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place?
Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?”
says the Lord.

– Jeremiah 23:23,24 (NLT)

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done Him such a huge favor that God has to ask His advice? Everything comes from Him; Everything happens through Him; Everything ends up in Him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.

– Romans 11:32-36 (MSG)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Come

September 15, 2016 / Susie Stewart / Leave a comment

You hear my heart

as I turn to You

You know my thoughts

not a single one missed

No pompous prayer needed

or pretentious posture required

I come as I am

in what state I am in

The highs and the lows

bowed before Love

Imperfect speaking to Perfect

adoring one another

All bowed down

– Susie Stewart

We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!

-1 john 1:2-4 (MSG)

“…those the Father has given Me will come to Me, and I will never reject them.”

– John 6:37 (NLT)

“Come now, let’s settle this,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.”

– Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.

– Revelation 22:17 (NLT)

Photo by Susie Stewart

Drawing Me In

September 14, 2016 / Susie Stewart / 1 Comment

Your love, God,

it pulls me in

to a warm embrace

Your kindness

leads me

to repentance

Your goodness

pursues me

as a friend

Your mercy

settles

my anxiety

Your faithfulness

holds me

tenaciously

Your patience

encourages

my walk with You

Your grace

brings hope

to my soul

Your love

encompasses my life

in parental care

No wonder I run to You

– Susie Stewart

Over time I realized that when we love God, we naturally run to Him — frequently and zealously. Jesus didn’t command that we have regular time with Him each day. Rather, He tell us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.” He called this the “first and greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). The results are intimate prayer and study of His Word. Our motivation changes from guilt to love.

This is how God longs for us to respond to His extravagant, unending love; not with cursory “quiet time” plagued by guilt, but with true love expressed through our lives.

– Francis Chan

What a stack of blessing you have piled up
for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
to escape an unkind world.

– Psalm 31:19 (MSG)

Do you take the kindness of God for granted? Do you see His patience and tolerance as signs that He is a pushover when it comes to sin? How could you not know that His kindness is guiding our hearts to turn away from distractions and habitual sin to walk a new path?

– Romans 2:4 (VOICE)

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

– 1 John 3:1 (NIV)

Photo by Andy Stewart