Redeemed
At seventeen all seems lost as I struggle in these bonds placed on my hands and feet…
Gone is the life that was treasured and sweet…
Betrayed by my brothers; how could this be
Sold into slavery, I travel in defeat…
I only wanted them to see…
The dreams I had were not to boast
There were told to them because I loved them most…
Love was not returned; only hate…
Now I’m forced to live behind an iron gate…
How long O God must I suffer and wait?
Years I’ve served, being faithful to my God, mostly though,
It is He who’s been faithful, my heart is tender and Oh so grateful…
At least I’m still alive…
Years come and years go and I will never ever know the homeland of my birth…
Baker dies, Cupbearer set free, please dear Cupbearer remember me…
Forgotten again by human man…
But my faithful God will let me rise again…
By God’s design my family is restored, now I sit here with my father for a blessing from the Lord.
Jacob speaks, he’s now quite old but with my two sons I now am told…
You were never forgotten, son divine, you see your sons they are considered mine…
A two-fold blessing is given today, Redeemed by God hear me as I say…
Not only is your inheritance intact, you’re restored and blessed by our sovereign Lord…
I never thought I’d ever see your face; and all because of God’s loving grace…I’ve seen you and your sons, who I take as my own… Now I can rest in my eternal home…
And you will live and forever be known…
As Joseph redeemed you will never be alone…
Double blessings come from Faithful God’s throne!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 24, 2020
I wrote this poem because our Church, at Journey, the ladies, have been doing the Bible study, Finding God Faithful, the life of Joseph. Last night as I listened to the video I burst into tears as I heard the part about Jacob blessing Joseph’s two sons.
Joseph had been living in Egypt because his brothers had sold him into slavery when he was just 17 years old. It was thirteen years before he saw his brothers again. It is an amazing story you can read about it in Genesis start in the 12th chapter to get all the background.
But last night it was said he thought his life’s inheritance was lost to him and that he’d never see his family again. But when Jacob blessed his two sons, he told him God had been with him the whole time and not only would there be one tribe there would be two tribes because Jacob took Joseph’s sons to be his own. It’s a custom.
I cried because in my own life I thought I would never rise above all the trials and mess I had made of my life by making wrong choices. I tried so hard but it seemed the harder I tried the more trouble would find me. I can’t begin to tell you all the heartache and hurt and suffering that was in my life and the hurt I caused; I didn’t try to hurt people but I did. I could not get free…until one day, God delivered me and totally and completely changed me. I was taken out of the place I grew up and placed in a foreign land… (Lake Worth) for over five years I was in a place of solitude, alone with God. Yes, I was around people and he brought me to a Church that would heal me and I could grow and thrive. And only by the grace of God was I restored. He has REDEEMED Me and I am blessed more than I could ever tell. He restored me to my family and gave me even more family. Church family and new grandbabies. This life I am now living is all because God saw in me a broken, beaten, defeated, unworthy, prodigal child who on her own could not make it. But by the grace of God and loving children of God I was redeemed!!
This is why this story ministers to my heart more than I could write about.
And if God can do it for me…He can certainly do it for anyone who will surrender to him, love him and give him your full devotion. It is worth more than all the “stuff” or wealth, or earthly gain you could ask for…He said, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His Righteousness and all these other things will be added to you.
Don’t put it off…I’m talking to YOU…you reading this…God wants to Redeem your life…Let Him!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 24, 2020
I AM
I am the God who sees
I am the God who hears
I am the God who speaks
I am the God who delivers
I am the God who saves
I am the God who serves
I am the God who lives
I am the God who sings
I am the God who gives
I am the God who cares
I am the God who prays
I am the God who liberates
I am the God who listens
I am the God who works
I am the God who shakes
I am the God who creates
I am the God who frees
I am the God who heals
I am the God who intervenes
I am the God who corrects
I am the God who connects
I am the God who understands
I am the God who wins
I am the God of mercy
I am the God of kindness
I am the God of peace
I am the God of love
I am the God of forgiveness
I am longsuffering
I am steadfast, immovable, impenetrable, undefeated, soul-saving, Spirit-breathing, life-giving, never ending, eternal, omnipotent, embracing, YHWH.
I AM all that you will ever need!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 24, 2020
Exodus 3:14 New Living Translation (NLT)
14 God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.[a] Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you.”
Footnotes:
a. 3:14 Or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.
My Heavenly Father’s House
Entering the living-room, I hear my father say,
“Hello child, I’ve been waiting for you all day!
The sun is setting, dinners ready, how long will you stay?”
“Dad I’m tired, the world’s really beat me up, but hey,
I knew if I’d come to your house, I’d certainly be OK.”
Giving dad a great big hug, I’m safe within his care
Life sure gets tough dad, I’ll be here awhile,
I’ve got some things I’d like to share.
I’m in my father’s house where all my needs are met
I’m not afraid, because I know, there’s a place that you have set
For me at the table and you will always let;
Me rest and eat and tell my woes, because home is where we go
To our father’s house when life gets hard that’s because we know…
There is laughter, for our tears,
Courage, for all our fears
Help, for our troubles
When our father is near…
“Dad, thank you for allowing me to grow and stand up tall…
But if it’s all the same to you right now, I need you, and that’s all!”
“I’m glad you’re home child, stay as long as you like!”
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 22, 2020
Luke 15:11-32 the full story New International Version (NIV)
Luke 17-24 Parable of the lost son
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Hear What the Spirit of God is Saying
This is the message I received from God.
God did not send the coronavirus to kill people, or destroy or for judgement on the world. He told me, “Why would I kill people when I came to redeem them? I did not send my son to condemn the world, I sent him to save the world.” God is a God of love, a God of peace, a God of salvation. From the very beginning of time it was never his plan to destroy or bring death. It was his plan, to give to life, and an abundant life. He gave us a free will. Jesus in the garden, knowing what he was going to go through, prayed, “Father if it is your will can you take this cup from me…but he turned his will over to the father and said, never the less Not My Will but thine be done.”
God has an enemy and that enemy is Satan and his plan from the beginning, is to kill, steal and destroy everything and anything that is of God. Because he HATES GOD, and, because he hates God, he hates you and me and it is his purpose to destroy us anyway he can. He doesn’t stop, and he is strategic, and cunning, and deceptive, and every evil thing that can ever be said or done comes from him.
God made a way for Adam and Eve to survive, when he put them out of the garden, redemption would come through the seed of man.
Down through the scriptures God made a way…He has always saved his children…With Noah he used a flood. He used Abraham through the covenant. He used forty years through the wilderness by leading Moses to save His people. And there is Samson, and David, and many more, all the way down to Jesus who is the ultimate REDEEMER!
God did not send the CV, but he will, use it, to bring good out of evil.
When is the last time something this catastrophic came upon the world? Seeing it affect the whole wide world in a very up-close and personal way. It has impacted every aspect of our lives.
But God said he will not put more on us than what we can bear in every situation he will make a way of escape.
It rains on the just and the unjust…he showed me that when the Hebrew children were told to put the blood on their doorposts and stay in the house. That death was going to pass over and when he sees the blood he will pass over that house.
If you are God’s child you are covered in the blood of Jesus, stay in that house of safety. It’s like going into a safe place but if you walk out of that safe place, say in disobedience and unbelief you become compromised and an open target for the enemy to attack.
You wouldn’t walk out of safety into a burning building and expect not to be burned.
Stay in the Father’s house where the blood gives you safety…he gives you life and not death.
This is the message. You can either accept it or reject it. You have a free will. Do not fear stay in peace.
Please hear my heart and hear what the Spirit of the Lord is saying…He loves you and he does not want to kill you…he wants to give you life! Open your ears, your eyes, your heart, your mind and your spirit and cry out to Him for safety. Be washed in the blood of the lamb and stay in the Father’s house!!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 22, 2020
Matthew 26:36-56 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch[a] with me.” 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
John 10:10-29 English Standard Version (ESV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd.
Genesis 3:14-15 New International Version (NIV)
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush[b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Footnotes: Genesis 3:15 Or seed Genesis 3:15 Or strike
1 Corinthians 10:12-14 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
12 So, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.
Warning against Idolatry
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
Matthew 5:45 New Living Translation (NLT)
45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Romans 10:9-10 New King James Version (NKJV)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
1 Peter 3:14 New International Version (NIV)
14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats[a]; do not be frightened.”[b]
It Shall Not Come Near You
Surrounded on every side, in the thick of the battle, swords swinging, bodies falling, the enemy raging…I hear God calling…
Men fighting for their lives…nowhere to run and nowhere to hide…
Mindless and tireless, adrenaline carrying us, God, we will abide…
A thousand falling at my side, ten thousand at my right hand
I am unhurt, for God is with me…
Standing strong and fighting hard the battle is the LORD’S…
My shield of faith holds true, and with the Spirit as my sword…
I am a conqueror a faithful child of the Lord…
No time for panic, no time to fear…
Holy Spirit draw me near…
A thousand falling at my side, ten thousand at my right hand…
Praise God you’ve given me this land…
To live and breathe and have my being, in the Spirit I am seeing…
The battle won; victory sung…
This evil is defeated
You see child, God is all I needed!!!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill March 17, 2020
Psalm 91:7-16 New King James Version (NKJV) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
Stand in faith not fear…God is fighting for you!! (Praying for everyone to be well and safe! Love you!)
God Wins!
In light of the events that have taken place over the last month I just want to say that God is Still Faithful. God is a God of love, not hate, peace not fear, grace and mercy, not condemnation. He is a God who delivers, heals, forgives, and who has already won the battle. He’s the one who stands with you and for you and is interceding for you every second of every day!
In the raging storm he says, “Peace be still!” The storm surrenders to His voice!”
Panic, paralyzes! Praise to God, brings peace!
Be a Mighty Warrior of Prayer, Praise Worshipper, Peacemaker, Problem Solver, Wave Surfer, Mountain Climber, Valley Planter, Grace Giver, Heart Lover, Running after Jesus Champion, living in the here and now with all your mind, body, soul and spirit…because Jesus is greater than your fear!
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS FOR GOD IS IN CONTROL!
Mark 4:39 King James Version (KJV) And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Looking into the Face of Jesus
Artist: Daniel Gerhartz
Head bowed low with shame and regret
No hope, defeated the woman wept…
Each tear that drops to his feet as she cries
Using her hair, his feet she dries…
Others in the room smell the expensive perfume
They criticize her, and judge her, their hearts are consumed
With ridicule and disgust they watch in unbelief, thinking, she could have used the money to feed the poor, they do not realize that He, is the LORD!
Then turning her eyes upward, she looks full into His face, what love, what compassion there is no disgrace…
She sees contentment and joy shining through his eyes…peace that calms her soul, she’s not afraid…she’s no longer without hope, all shame disappears as she washes his feet with compassion and tears…
Those doubts that hounded her for years and years…they’re all gone…it’s, as if, she’s new-born…
He speaks and his words are like a healing ointment poured upon her new heart…
She’s clean, no longer dirty or ashamed…she hears him speak her new name…
Meshali…beloved…forgiven…
~Marla Shaw O’Neill, March 12, 2020
John 7:50 (NCV) _ Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
Reflection
We look, but we do not see, for what is seen is only the outer shell
What is unseen is a mystery of bone, organs and cells…
Looking deeper, pulling back layer upon layer,
We begin to see the soul…
The place where Jesus dwells…
Holy Spirit, three in one
God of creation, and Jesus the Son…
Intricate beings we’re seen in new light
Going higher and higher we take our flight
Love revealed, we soar to new heights…
Look deeper when you meet someone
They’re carrying the Spirit of God’s Holy Son
Waiting to be seen the mystery unfolds…
Not just skin, bone and blood to behold…
The person you’re looking at is so much more than that
And as you look, you’ll see God staring back…
~Marla Shaw O’Neill February 21, 2020
Psalm 139:14-16 The Message (MSG)
13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.
Totally Consumed
Saturated with love in his presence
Drenched in holy rain…
Of the old self, nothing remains
Made new, hear the reframe…
Again, and again….
A new creation, a new destination
Running hard and running free…
Prison bars, cannot restrain me…
Darkness, cannot over-take me…
Death, no longer holds me…
For I am born again…
Second birth, first in line
Contained in the resurrected design
Where darkness gives way to light
With strength and beauty, as an eagle in flight…
I’m all in…
Worshipping Him…
My savior, my deliverer, my friend.
Born in death, but now I live
New life beginning; there is no end…
~Marla Shaw O’Neill February 10, 2020
Psalm 103:5 The Passion Translation (TPT)
You satisfy my every desire with good things.[a]
You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again[b]
like a flying eagle in the sky!
Footnotes:
-
Psalm 103:5 The Hebrew text is somewhat difficult to understand. It is literally “who satisfies with good ornaments.”
- Psalm 103:5 Or “your youth [implying both strength and beauty] he restores.”