Author: Susan Smith Bennett

Susan lives in Florida, USA, and is the mother of three grown children, two stepchildren, and five grandchildren. She and her husband Charles attend St. Andrew's in Sanford, FL. Susan is a recent graduate of the Master's Program for Marital and Family Counseling from Stetson University. She is also a Nationally Certified Biblical Counselor through ACBC and counsels at The Jonathan Project in her community. Susan has served the Lord for more than 40 years as a Christian in various ministries and positions such as Bible Study Fellowship and Young Life. She currently serves as Women's Ministries Coordinator at St. Andrews Chapel. Her passions are the people of God and the Word of God.
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All is Calm, All is Bright

Dear sister,

Are you familiar with the phrase; “the calm before the storm”? That little ditty creates an anticipation of fear doesn’t it?  It tells us to watch out when we experience peace because fury is sure to follow in its steps! How sad for us when we are in the midst of silence and serenity to fear that all hell may break loose at any moment?  This is not how our Heavenly Father works.  Instead, when chaos surrounds us and peace seems to elude us, He speaks and it brings forth order to our messy lives. How sweet and awesome is His grace!

This year as I prepare to celebrate Christ’s first coming, which serves as a reminder to me of His second coming, I want to concentrate on this Truth. Perfect Love has cast out fear!! God has not given us His Son so as to then yank the proverbial rug out from underneath us! He has sent His Son, that those who trust in Him will have peace…everlasting peace…peace that passes all understanding. He delivers us from the tumult of sin and gives us rest in our hearts which guards our hearts and our minds. (Philippians 4:7)

Tis the season that you and I scramble about to prepare for time with family and friends to share in the celebration of this glorious truth.  Yet, the longer our lists grow the more stress and anxiety elevate, until there is no peace of mind and heart to be found. I have decided to take a few minutes each morning before my day begins (somedays before my feet hit the floor next to my bed) to thank God for this costly peace.  For it has come to us through His precious Son Jesus Christ who stepped down from heaven (He stooped or condescended to us) that we might know Him and His peace.  In other words, like the hymn Silent Night says, in the stillness of the night when the world was lurching in the chaotic mess of sinful darkness, Jesus came, and all was calm and all was bright.  Let’s be still and know that He is God, the great giver of ALL that is calm and most definitely ALL that is bright.

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Hebrews 1:3

Peace Be With You,

Susan

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Leaning Forward

 

“ Brothers (Sisters), I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

 

My dear sister,

Today’s Scripture reading reminded me of the importance of “leaning forward” in my faith and not looking behind (like the wife of Lot did becoming a pillar of salt-Genesis 19:26).  Instead, I am to look ahead in the confidence of 2 Corinthians 5:17.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

I am indeed a new creation, one that God has and is fitting for the tasks in front of me, those having been sovereignly ordained for me before time began. (Ephesians 2:10)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” 

All things are in His hands, including every moment of every day of 2017; therefore, I can surrender this year to Him and his perfect will; trusting and abiding in His Goodness and Love. Knowing that everything is working together for my good and His glory. (Romans 8:28-30)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

I pray that you will enter this New Year with the assurance of who you are in Christ and with the goal in your heart to bring Him glory in whatever you either do or that comes by way of life to you.  Lean forward my dear sister, lean forward.

Your sister,

Susan

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Hope That Grows

My dearest sister,

It has been 35 years since the day that I received Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have to confess, it has been so long that I had to do the math before I could finish that last sentence. A lot has transpired in my life since that day, and I can thankfully say that I am not the person I was so long ago. If the Lord’s purpose in redeeming this lost soul was to transform (aka change) me then He has done much of that! (Romans 8:28-29)

Being on the receiving end of all this change has not always been easy nor pleasing to look at. In other words, I have not always responded well to what or who God has skillfully used to mold me into the image of His Son. However, one aspect of all this change has become sweeter and sweeter to me. The hope I have in Christ has grown! The Psalmist wrote that as he hopes in God, his praises increase. “But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (Psalm 71:14) I wholeheartedly agree!!

My hope is in the One who gives hope. It is grounded or firmly fixed on whom He is and what He has done to secure my salvation and to conform me into His Holy image. The Scripture tells me that this hope is an anchor for my soul. What a tremendous picture. This hope not only grows in size but it grows in depth as well. The more I know Christ and His deep, deep love the deeper that anchor of hope is set in my soul and it is set upon the greatest Rock there is. (Psalm 71:3)

“So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever…” (Hebrews 6:17-20a)

 My dear sister, how has your hope grown since the day you heard the Truth of God’s good news to you? Maybe you have not even stopped from your busyness to think about that. I urge you to do so today and sing praises to your Rock for the anchor that has been set in your soul. But I do not want you to stop there dear one, share this hope with others just as the Psalmist did, just as the one who shared this hope with you!

Holding fast to the Hope that grows,

Susan

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Blessed Hope in Love

My Dear Sisters,

I lift you up before the Lord, the Most High God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Coming before His throne of grace on your behalf I ask that His love, which was manifested ultimately in the sending of His own Son that you might walk in newness, freedom and peace, would abound in all that you do today.  I ask that His love, which was poured out into your heart through the Holy Spirit, overflow and touch the lives of those He has ordained to enter your busy life this day.  May His love shine the Blessed Hope you have in Christ into a hopeless heart.  May His love wipe away the grief and pain that has taken harbor in the heart of someone you love.  May His love enable you to love the souls of others (even the unlovely) so as to draw them closer to Him and His precious Son the Lord Jesus Christ.  May the hope of Christ as is evident through this Love be made known throughout your sphere of influence (your family, your neighborhood, your place of work, your community, your church) for all of eternity for His Name sake. To Him be the glory!

Because of His Blessed Hope,

Susan

 

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The Dark Alley of Unbelief

My dearest sister in Christ,

I am writing this letter to you today with a humble heart.  Forgive me for not writing to you sooner.  I must admit that even though life has been hectic and at times even chaotic, the primary reason for this letter’s delay is the subject matter.

Each time I have set out to put my thoughts to you in order, I have been challenged by my own heart’s attitude.  I could easily write to you with what it means to be submissive and even offer a few helpful “how to” tips.  Those are good and noble for sure.

However, as I have examined my own heart (as best as I possibly could with the help of the Holy Spirit) it seems to me that the greatest help, the best encouragement that I can offer to you in this matter, is that it is a matter of the heart.  So, I must ask; where does your heart lie?  How is it positioned with regards to submission?  To whom does your heart belong, even?

It is at this place that we ALL must start: “For where your treasure is, there you will also find your heart.” (Matthew 6:21) Really, truly, everything comes down to the matter of the heart which is why Solomon wrote “Keep your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23). Jesus warned the religious zealots; “… what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (Matthew 15:18)

We say we love Christ.  We avow it is our heart’s desire to follow Him all the days of our lives.  We say we might even go to the farthest reaches of this globe (earth) to proclaim His Truth and Beauty.  Yet, in the matter of submitting to our husbands there is that devilish little word…”but” which negates any lovely intention we have to obey the Word of God.  Once we add that little three letter word to the end of our intention we remove the sincerity of our vows.  That little word is a detour within our hearts which mostly reside on the avenue of Trust and Obey.  The detour takes us down the dark alley of Unbelief that weaves in and around our hearts like a maze.

This is the culprit that lurks within all of our hearts, and when they are tested  (and they will be) they will come face to face with Unbelief.  Do I trust what God has said to be true?  Do I believe that God is Good? Do I trust that in His perfect time and way all will be revealed and that justice belongs to Him alone?

There is no way for me to know from what perspective your heart is reading this letter today.  God alone is the heart knower.  However, I can tell you, I feel I must even warn you that circumstances often distort our perspectives.  Just as a pilot must constantly look to the instruments of the airplane to determine the position of the aircraft in relation to the horizon, we must always check the position of our heart in relation to God and His Word. He will always right our perspective.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He tenderly cares for those who are His and He is jealous for His own. He promises to bring us through the storm and just as we begin to sink in the ocean of despair He holds out His hand to rescue us. He has given us a spirit of adoption as children by whom we cry “Abba!” “Father!”

Stop, and ask yourself; where is my heart’s position at this moment? Come out from that dark alley of Unbelief dear sister and walk with Christ along the Avenue of Trust and Obey. 

Steadfastly,

Susan