Be Courageous Be Bold Hebrews 4:16

Are you struggling to fit in? Do you question your worth? Is your life at a standstill? Do you wonder why you were ever born? These questions do pop up from time to time. We may all have had or are having these kinds of thoughts but let me tell you this, it may help, I hope so.

People come from all walks of life. Different backgrounds, different areas of the world. We’re all different even if born in the same family, no two people are the same. It’s God’s design, he made us all unique even animals and snowflakes, stars and planets even the air we breathe is different. We may be similar in many ways but we are all individuals with a particular set of molecules designed to be different and since God doesn’t make junk, we are all precious and a masterpiece made in His image to be unique for a distinct purpose.

Stop the struggle to fit in and stand out. You are worth more than fine gold or jewels. If you’re standing still right now, then stand still and know that God is God. He’s got you right where he wants you.

(Paraphrased)* God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” “Call unto me and I will show you great and mighty things that you’ve never seen.” “Cast all your cares, frustrations, questions on me, for I, care for you.” Come to me and I will not reject you. I will give you rest. When you search for me with all your heart, you will find me. Put me first in your life and I’ll turn everything around for you. I long to bless you and give you good things. But because of your pity parties and self-indulgence you can’t hear me, you can’t see me. You’re blind, deaf and dumb. Self blinds you to my truth. It keeps you bound in a self-made prison, and you become lost and afraid.

These are the tactics of the enemy of your soul. But, when, you take your eyes off yourself, what you want, what you desire, what you lack and put them on me. The cloud of despair and depression lifts and the Son begins to shine. I said S O N, because it’s only through my Son that you can be freed from your self-made prison, Freed from bondage. Freed from sin that separates you from the truth.

You start with Praise! Praise takes your mind off of yourself and puts it on me the only one who can help you out of the Mulley grubs. Your self-thoughts can keep your trapped in a pit that gets deeper and deeper the longer you linger in that atmosphere. But Praise is the wind that will cause you to soar in the heavenly places where I am, and I come into your heart and mind and free you. I break every chain; I extinguish every fireball that is hurled at you by the enemy. You are no longer caught in a whirlwind of destruction. No longer bound by fear and lack. Your mind becomes free and whole to bring true worship to your creator and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt who I AM! Joy infiltrates your being. Faith comes alive. Hope is restored. Life is full of promise and new horizons.

Put on your Praise Garments and see with new vision who you are, where you are going and what you are created to do. The how will manifest because you are no longer walking by sight you are walking in the Spirit…The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into right thinking, right living and will position you to gain what you could not obtain in yourself. Without me (Jesus) you can do nothing, but with me, you can do all things because I give you, my strength. The Joy of the Lord is your strength.

Yes, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm and fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, and not with the distractions of the natural realm.

Your crucifixion^[a] with Christ has severed the tie to this life, and now your true life is hidden away in God in Christ. And as Christ himself is seen for who he really is, who you really are will also be revealed, for you are now one with him in his glory! Colossians 3:2-4 The Passion Translation

Footnotes 3:3 The Aramaic could be translated “Your death and your life are both hidden with the Messiah in God.”

~Marla Shaw O’Neill January 8, 2022

Acts 16:25-26

King James Version ²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

*Scripture references:

Psalm 46:10

1 Peter 5:7

Jeremiah 33:3

Matthew 11:28-30

Jeremiah 29:13

Psalm 103:5

Matthew 15:14

Isaiah 61:3

2 Corinthians 5:7

Philippians 4:13

Nehemiah 8:10

Love is the fruit of the Spirit. In that fruit we will find sections of…

Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control…

You will find all of these characteristics included within God’s love.

If you have the love of God within you, you will also have joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It’s not different fruits. It is One. And that fruit is called LOVE. God’s love. In his love all the other sections are found.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit by accepting the Lord Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior we are filled with God’s love, his joy, his peace, his patience, and kindness and generosity, his faithfulness, gentleness and his self-control.

His love has to be cultivated and practiced so that all the other qualities will also emerge within us. As we mature in Him all of his attributes will also mature within us.

God is love.

When we are sad, we can still have his joy. When everything around us is in chaos we can still have his peace that passes all understanding. When there is stress and uncertainty and we are stretched beyond human limits, his patience will sustain us. The world can be so mean and hateful, but being filled with God’s love we can still be filled with his kindness. Greed and selfishness are all around us but we don’t have to participate we can be full of God’s generosity because of His love. With commitments being broken in marriages, employments, friendships, partnerships, we can remain faithful because of God’s love within us. People can be rough around the edges and hateful, offendable and in a rage but God’s love will display his gentleness in the way we interact toward others, even, if they do not behave the same way. And last but not least, God’s love helps us to practice his self-control so that we are a power-house under his control, anointed by him to serve and honor him. Self, has to die, because of the Love of God so that he can live, in us.

It begins and ends with the love of God. His love in us gives us Holy Spirit power to live this life in obedience to the one who created all things. The one who came to earth, died and resurrected so that we could be renewed and live forever in Him and He in us!

Let God’s love rule our hearts and all the rest of God’s attributes will manifest in every area of our lives.

The fruit you want to be produced in you is Love. From there all the rest will follow.

Do you want Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control? Then eat the fruit of the Spirit which is Love. God’s love!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill January 6, 2022

Galatians 5:22-23 New Living Translation ²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

 

Art by Floyd Cooper

Joy is such a tiny word, three letters to express

Delight, exuberance, strength and happiness…

Like an apple or a strawberry, fruit so sweet and good…

Joy, given from heaven, sometimes misunderstood.

Joy is more than an emotion, more than feeling glee

Why it’s produced by the Spirit, where Jesus sets us free

To live totally in grace, with songs of victory!

Rejoicing with the angels, even when hard times call

Girded with truth and peace and hope, surrounded by these walls

Fire cannot penetrate, floods parted in the wake, mountains moved

When the earthquakes…Joy will be mine to take

Through all of life’s heartaches…

Joy, a constant in the battle that conquerors every fear, every doubt, every torment

Joy will shout, in silent resilience to the foe that comes to defeat…

Joy is concrete, Joy makes us complete…

In the Spirit where God meets…

Our saddest moments and deepest longings…

Joy will be sweet…

As morning gives way to joy…we will not weep

Nothing will steal our joy; it is ours to keep!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill January 5, 2022

John 15:10-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible ¹⁰ If you keep My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commands and remain in His love.

¹¹ “I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. ¹² This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you.

Psalm 30:4-6 King James Version ⁴ Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. ⁶ And in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved.

Galatians 5:22-23 The Passion Translation ^22–23 But the fruit^[a] produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:^[b]

joy that overflows,^[c] peace that subdues, patience^[d] that endures, kindness^[e] in action, a life full of virtue,^[f] faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit.^[g] Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.^[h]

Footnotes

1. 5:22–23 The Greek word here can be translated “harvest.”

2. 5:22–23 There is clear textual inference that the “fruit” (singular) of the Holy Spirit is love, with the other virtues displaying aspects of the greatest quality of Spirit-life, agape love.

3. 5:22–23 This translation has chosen to supply action to these virtues, for they are not meant to be abstract virtues, but made visible with actions.

4. 5:22–23 The Greek word for patience is taken from a verb that means “ever tapping” or “never quitting.”

5. 5:22–23 The Aramaic word can be translated “sweetness.”

6. 5:22–23 Or “goodness.”

7. 5:22–23 The word self is not found in this verse; however, most translations render this as “self-control.” The word is actually “lordship,” or by implication “spirit-strength.”

8. 5:22–23 Literally “there is no law set against these things” or “there is no conflict with Jewish laws.”

A trillion tiny sparkles are seen from here below

As day gives way to night, God’s fireworks bestowed.

All across the atmosphere; filled with wonder at the sight

Supernatural display of glorious light!

Traveling through a time-warp at the speed of sounds unknown

We are born, live and then fully grown

Turned back to dust, as time rushes on…

Generations upon generations, ancients come and go

Waiting and watching slowly behold…

One face we seek above all others, babies held by their pondering mothers

Like vapors in the wind…

Beginning and end, with Him!

Past, present and future souls, are born and then die…

Live and let live, still the questions remain, why?

Eternity, written on the wind…

Comes swiftly there is no end.

Stars shine brightest in the darkness

All will see…as night gives way to daybreak

The light forever stays…It is His to give and His to take…

Keep shinning, keep believing

You are brighter than you think.

Do not wink and do not blink…

Watch the stars and you will see…

Eternity!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill January 1, 2022

Job 38

New International Version

The Lord Speaks

38 Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said:

² “Who is this that obscures my plans
with words without knowledge?
³ Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels^[a] shouted for joy?

⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors
when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
and set its doors and bars in place,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
here is where your proud waves halt’?

¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
or shown the dawn its place,
¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
and their upraised arm is broken.

¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
Tell me, if you know all this.

¹⁹ “What is the way to the abode of light?
And where does darkness reside?
²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!
You have lived so many years!

²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
or seen the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,
for days of war and battle?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁶ to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
Who fathers the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,
when the surface of the deep is frozen?

³¹ “Can you bind the chains^[b] of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons^[c]
or lead out the Bear^[d] with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God’s^[e] dominion over the earth?

³⁴ “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
and cover yourself with a flood of water?
³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who gives the ibis wisdom^[f]
or gives the rooster understanding?^[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
³⁸ when the dust becomes hard
and the clods of earth stick together?

³⁹ “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?

Footnotes

1. Job 38:7 Hebrew the sons of God

2. Job 38:31 Septuagint; Hebrew beauty

3. Job 38:32 Or the morning star in its season

4. Job 38:32 Or out Leo

5. Job 38:33 Or their

6. Job 38:36 That is, wisdom about the flooding of the Nile

7. Job 38:36 That is, understanding of when to crow; the meaning of the Hebrew for this verse is uncertain.

Jesus, you said, you give us peace (shalom), not like the world’s peace. John 14:27

You said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matt. 22:37

You said, Do not be afraid. It is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

You tell the demons to leave and they obey you. Matt. 8:28-34

You said, Come, follow me. Matt. 4:19

You said, with man it is impossible but with You, All things are Possible. Mark 10:27

You said, the one who stands firm until the end will be saved. Matt. 24:13

You said, Take heart I have overcome the world. John 16:33

You said, believe what you ask in prayer and you will receive. Mark 11:24

You said, your word cleanses us because of who You are. You are the word. John 15:3

You said, you are the light of the world! Matt. 5:14

You said, look at the birds of the air they do not sow nor reap nor store away in barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt. 6:26

You said, take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Mark 11:29

You said, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled. Matt. 5:5-6

You said, if we say we have fellowship with you but walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. 1 John 1:6

You said, to ask, seek and knock and it would be opened to us. Matt. 7:7-8

You said, you are the Good Shepherd, that you give your life for your sheep. Your sheep hear your voice and a stranger they will not follow and they can never be plucked from your hand. John 10:27-28

You said, “I am the bread of life.” John 6:48

You said, “I am the living water, all who drink of me will never thirst.” John 4:10-14

You said, you came to set us free from sin and death. When the enemy comes in life a flood and tries to drown us with sickness and fear and doubt…You lift the standard against him. You conquered hell, death and the grave. And because you were victorious, we are victorious also. Not in our own strength but in You, we can do all things because you give us your strength. (Luke 19:10; Isaiah 59:19; Colossians 2:15; Phil. 4:13)

You said, to put our trust in you and we will live and not die. John 14:1

You said, you are the resurrection and the life and all who believe in you will never die. John 11:25

Lord, we need you. Help us to open our ears to what you say and believe the truth of your word today! That what you say is true. Let us not listen to the lies of the enemy. Let us focus on your voice and hear what you are saying. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill December 29, 2021

He is, time-traveler, silent listener, invisible to the human eye.

Soul-whisperer to everyone, he hears each and every sigh…

Speaking words of life, but we ignore them, we don’t even try

We’re unaware of the visitor, wanting nothing more, than our lives

To be abundantly blessed, but we pay him no mind.

He’s there in the stillness and busyness, when we laugh or joke or drive…

He’s there in the darkness when we toss and turn and wonder why,

Life is so unkind.

He’s there when the doctor gives reports of no more time…

He’s there when our babies come and when our loved ones die…

He’s there in every circumstance of our short or long lives…

Open your eyes,

Open your ears,

He’s here…

At your lowest, darkest moments, in your pain, suffering and unrest…

God is with you in every heartache and every test…

Stop, listen, feel His presence… hear his voice whispering

“Child, you are not alone I’m right here with you. I’ll dry your tears, sooth your fears. Let me carry you today. Baby, I’m never going away.”

~Marla Shaw O’Neill December 20, 2021

Psalm 139 The Passion Translation – You Know All About Me

For the Pure and Shining One – King David’s poetic song

139 Lord, you know everything there is to know about me.
² You perceive every movement of my heart and soul,
and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind.
^3–4 You are so intimately aware of me, Lord.
You read my heart like an open book
and you know all the words I’m about to speak
before I even start a sentence!
You know every step I will take before my journey even begins.
⁵ You’ve gone into my future to prepare the way,
and in kindness you follow behind me
to spare me from the harm of my past.^[a]
You have laid your hand on me!
⁶ This is just too wonderful, deep, and incomprehensible!
Your understanding of me brings me wonder and strength.^[b]
7 Where could I go from your Spirit?
Where could I run and hide from your face?
⁸ If I go up to heaven, you’re there!
If I go down to the realm of the dead, you’re there too!
⁹ If I fly with wings into the shining dawn, you’re there!
If I fly into the radiant sunset, ^[c] you’re there waiting!
¹⁰ Wherever I go, your hand will guide me;
your strength will empower me.
¹¹ It’s impossible to disappear from you
or to ask the darkness to hide me,
for your presence is everywhere, bringing light into my night.
¹² There is no such thing as darkness with you.
The night, to you, is as bright as the day;
there’s no difference between the two.
¹³ You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside
and my intricate outside,
and wove them all together in my mother’s womb.^[d]
14 I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
¹⁵ You even formed every bone in my body
when you created me in the secret place;^[e]
carefully, skillfully you shaped me^[f] from nothing to something.
¹⁶ You saw who you created me to be before I became me!^[g]
Before I’d ever seen the light of day,
the number of days you planned for me
were already recorded in your book.^[h]
17–18 Every single moment you are thinking of me!
How precious and wonderful to consider
that you cherish me constantly in your every thought!
O God, your desires toward me are more
than the grains of sand on every shore!
When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.
¹⁹ O God, come and slay these bloodthirsty, murderous men!
For I cry out, “Depart from me, you wicked ones!”
²⁰ See how they blaspheme your sacred name
and lift up themselves against you, but all in vain!
²¹ Lord, can’t you see how I despise those who despise you?
For I grieve when I see them rise up against you.
²² I have nothing but complete hatred and disgust for them.
Your enemies shall be my enemies!
²³ God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart.
Examine me through and through;
find out everything that may be hidden within me.
Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.
²⁴ See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on,
and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way—
the path that brings me back to you.

Footnotes

1. 139:5 Or “You hem me in [lit. “besiege me”] before and behind.” The implication is that God protects the psalmist from what may come in the future and what has happened in the past.

2. 139:6 As translated from the Septuagint. The Hebrew reads “too high to understand.”

3. 139:9 Implied in the Hebrew, which reads “the remote parts of the sea” or “beyond the horizon to the west.” The sea is west of Israel.

4. 139:13 The Hebrew word for “knit” or “wove” can also be translated “covered” or “defended.” God places an eternal spirit inside the conceived child within the womb of a mother and covers that life, sends the child a guardian angel, and watches over him or her.

5. 139:15 The Hebrew text is literally “the depths of the earth.”

6. 139:15 Or “embroidered me.”

7. 139:16 The Hebrew could be translated “as an embryo.”

8. 139:16 See Ps. 69:28.

 

Artist: Vanessa Maddoux

I can’t, but…

With Jesus, I can.

Jesus loves us conditionally. You know how I know; this is true? Because he didn’t die for me after I accepted him. He didn’t die for me before I cleaned up my life. He didn’t die for me after I was saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit. No.

Jesus died for me, even though I was lost. Jesus died for me, while I was in darkness. Jesus died for me, while I was unclean. Jesus died for me while, I didn’t even believe in him. Jesus died for all of us while, we were still, empty, broken, foul mouthed, murderers, liars, steeped in idolatry, prejudiced, prostitutes, sadistic, heretics, Godless, unholy and full of dead men’s bones. Man, woman, boy and girl…you are the reason he died in the first place. Even before you were born, the Son of God, Jesus, died for you and me.

This morning in my alone time with my precious Savior, the King of Glory, my dearest friend…He listened to me as I poured out my heart and soul to him. Sometimes you just have to get down to it…to the place where nothing or no one else matters except being bare naked and with raw honesty before the living God. Jesus doesn’t manipulate us. He doesn’t say come to me and I’ll save you if you’ll just serve me and work for me. He doesn’t want our carnal, intellectual prayers or our fleshy good works. That’s not what he asks of us. He wants our devotion to be from the heart and of the spirit to love him as he loves us. Unconditionally, no strings attached kind of love.

Because of His great love for us knowing what he did for us and has done and is doing for us that we love him so much we get to serve him. We get to love others and serve them because of what He did. Not because of what we think we will receive. No praise. No recognition, No applause from the crowds. Our hearts must be like His…even if we are rejected, persecuted, stripped of everything we have, accused or even put to death…we are to love, and treat others just as Jesus has done for us.

We get one life, it’s a one-way ticket through this life and if you are blessed enough to accept Jesus, as your Lord and Savior, don’t waste one minute trying to live by someone else’s idea of who they say He is. Know him for yourself. Get alone with Him. Talk to Him about everything. We have an enemy it’s not your neighbor, family, foreigners. The enemy is the accuser…He is a liar, and he comes in all shapes and sizes to kill you, destroy you and steal your life. He’ll use people and make you think it’s them, but he is behind every evil thought and action. You can’t fight him on your own merit or knowledge. It’s spiritual and can only be fought with spiritual weaponry.

I have one answer for you it’s the best answer you’ll ever receive. It’s right in front of your eyes and has been all along. It’s so simple that most people miss it. What is the answer you ask? When I tell you don’t roll your eyes or, dismiss its importance. If you are wise you will adhere to it, you will take it and it will transform your life forever.

It’s the Holy Bible. God’s words written down to instruct you in every area of your life. Financial, family, marriage, children, government, history, environment, prayer, strategy for war, past, present and future. There’s just one thing required, YOU HAVE TO READ IT AND OBEY! That’s it. That’s all I got! The rest is up to you and Jesus.

I can’t, but with Jesus, I can do all things because he gives me strength.

~Marla Shaw O’Neill December 17, 2021

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version

¹³ I can do all things through ^[a]Christ who strengthens me.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 The Passion Translation

^3–4 For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide.^[a] 5 We can demolish every deceptive fantasy^[b] that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought^[c] and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.

Footnotes

1. 10:3–4 Or “strongholds.” The Aramaic word for strongholds can also be translated “rebellious castles.” Paul seems to be referring to demonic strongholds or centers of opposition to the light of the gospel.

2. 10:5 Or “citadels of argumentations,” which include fantasies.

3. 10:5 Or “every scheme.” Paul is using the concept of taking prisoners of war, but in this case the prisoners held captive are faulty patterns of thought that defy God’s authority.

 

Unaware, in the still of the night, gathered around a warm fire light, shepherds were watching their sheep sleeping in an open field.

God said, “Angel-bright go and tell them the good news.”

A glorious light shown around the men as they staired in awe and fear…but Angel-bright said, “Do not be afraid shepherds. I have an announcement to make, I am from the Lord Most High and he sent me to tell you, His son, your Messiah has been born this very night. It will be a sign unto you, go to Bethlehem and you will see a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a humble trough. Mary, his mother and Joseph are there too.

The shepherds looked on in wonder and as they listened a battalion of angels sang out in one accord…Glory to God in the highest they sang, peace, goodwill to mankind we bring…let all of heaven and earth rejoice at the arrival of the newborn King!!!

The shepherds took an unblemished lamb to lay before the Great I Am and there, they saw, the baby Jesus just as they had been told. The little lamb bayed at the Savior’s side, breathing, sleeping, Messiah, alive…

The sacrifice was made…coming down from heaven His life he gave…

Oh, worship the precious baby lamb today!

His story has been told throughout the ages…

We know he’s no longer in the troth…or wrapped in strips of death-cloth…

The angels are still singing his glory, we, are still proclaiming His story…

Wisemen still seek him…shepherds are watching…for in a day when we least expect it…

The Lion, no longer a lamb will return!

Watch and pray…

~Marla Shaw O’Neill December 15, 2021

Luke 2:8-14 New Living Translation

The Shepherds and Angels

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

 

Thank you for another week of providence.

Thank you for seeing me for whom I am, for whom you created me to be.

Thank you for trials that refine me. Give me a heart like Yours so that I can express your goodness to others.

Thank you for showing me what it’s like to live and love like Jesus.

Help me to be content in all circumstances.

Help me to be satisfied with the manna that you have provided.

Help me to be comforted knowing that I am surrounded by your army of angels who are ready to fight my battles.

Thank you for always providing a way to reframe difficult situations and see them as opportunities to love others.

Help me to see others through your eyes so that I can empathize more and criticize less.

Help me to want good things for others so that I can better appreciate the blessings you have given me.

Thank you for the gift of opportunity every day that I get to be a light to others.

Thank you for the freedom that comes with surrendering to your will.

Thank you for leaving the 99 to pursue the one who got away.

Thank you for pursing me when I was that one.

Create in me a heart that longs for you and sees the world through your eyes.

Teach me how to shift from pride to humility, from anxiety to trust, from cynicism to kindness, and from resentment to forgiveness.

Embolden me to step into faith and live according to the purpose you’ve given me.

Help me stand firm and be the basis of a newfound wild and reckless, trust in you, that surpasses understanding.

Prepare my heart for more of you.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

~Anonymous December 12, 2021

I heard this prayer the other day and it touched my heart in a profound way. A few days ago, there was a circumstance which took place that left me hurt and bewildered. I had absolutely no control over what happened. I wasn’t the person affronted, but it did touch me indirectly. I struggled with God about it. I didn’t want to be bitter or hold ill will against anyone, then I heard this prayer. They were praying my heart. I thought, well, if it touches me in this way, there must be others it would touch also.

I asked if I could share it on my blog and they said, “Yes, but could I please keep it anonymous?” Of course, I said I would. God’s love covers a multitude of sin. We can’t let anything in this life come between us and our loving heavenly father. We must forgive, seventy-times-seven. Give it all to the Lord and let him sort it all out. That is the best way. If the enemy can’t kill us, he’ll try his very best to corrupt us. We must have on the Full Armor of God and fight in the spirit. God bless you today!