Be Courageous Be Bold Hebrews 4:16

 

When my heart is in sync with God’s heart, love is all I want to share

It’s a heart pure and holy, where angels surround and bear

Songs of joy and happiness, ring-out in the atmosphere

The heartbeat of God, Oh there is nothing stronger than His…

When your heart belongs to Jesus…your heartbeat will know this…

The beat is right on cue…

He gave His heart, long ago to you…

 

When I talk to Him, not about Him, His voice is loud and clear

My heart beats perfectly in rhythm, with certainty and cheer…

As all the enemies’ evil, completely disappears…

When standing in your presence my heart knows I am there

Holy Spirit, saturate my heart, with your loving, compassionate care…

And as it beats, ba-bump, ba-bump…keep it steady and constantly in prayer.

You are my heartbeat God, perfect peace, aware!

Your heartbeat God, is what I hear, as I lay my head upon your chest

Love beats strong and true and I can finally rest…

Let our heart, beat, as one, let love overcome…

With a strong perfect rhythm, like a song gently sung.

~M.S. O’Neill November 16, 2017

Psalm 103 King James Version (KJV) Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.

 

Forty years in the desert

Sand storms and dry dusty days and nights…

Shepherding a flock of sheep

Praying for family I’d weep…

Forty long years and then God drew me near…

Standing shoeless on Holy Ground

I bowed in fear…

Quaking at the burning bush I could only hear

I Am that I Am; a voice came loud and clear…

Fire that does not consume, but fills the dark, the gloom

With over powering solitude…

In the desert I found my purpose…

Go, set my people free…

God asked this of me!!!

I learned patience in the desert

I learned long suffering and gratitude…

I learned no matter what I face in life

God is always faithful, His word cuts like a knife…

But He is always right…

The desert is my learning ground

For in it, I was found!

~M.S. O’Neill November 16, 2017

Exodus 3:4-10 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

 

Homesteaders we are not, for our home is yet to be seen

We live among these citizens until we see our King

Only guests in this foreign place…

Living in a manner to honor Him, while making haste…

To dream and build and occupy for we wish to make no waste…

To sing and dance and write His words upon the comelings hearts

Knowing that we are sojourners here, and here, is where we start…

Sowing seeds and planting fields

Walking beside still waters…

The beauty here cannot compare to what we’ll have, when we get there…

So plow and sweat and play and sleep beneath these wondrous stars…

Teach your children how to pray and reach beyond the bars…

For we are no longer prisoners of the Evil-War-Lord, here on earth

Ours is of a nobler land; not built by human hands

Sojourners, our homes not built on sinking sand…

But built by He, who has prepared, our Promise Land…

We need not wonder…it’s by faith we take our stand…

Knowing there are those who await our arrival,

But until then~

We are sojourners in a foreign land.

~M.S. O’Neill November 15, 2017 

1 Peter 2:11-12 New King James Version (NKJV)

Living Before the World

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Excruciating! Debilitating! This pain is more than the body or mind can take…

Suffering is indescribable, swimming in a tormented lake…

The mind writhes in torture chambers, not asleep and not awake…

Cries for just a moment of reprieve, so, pain-killers I take…

Numb and exhausted finally I sleep the sleep of the undead…

Restless dreams of hope wonder in my head…

Sometimes thoughts of wanting death…

At least I’d be free of the dread, knowing what living, will give instead…

Then someone enters my world of unconsciousness, the face I recognize…

Divine Grace; shining from His eyes…

Floating in a pool of warmth, in peace is where I lie…

As His Divine Grace, pours upon my tattered, torn body, my soul finds rest,

And I am free to fly!

In my Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you that where I am you may be also…

~M. S. O’Neill November 14, 2017

John 14:2-4 The Message (MSG) The Road

“Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.”

My mom used to say this verse all the time, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor, rather than silver and gold.

She’d say, “Your name will go farther than you will, so make sure you don’t ruin your name.”

Our names are given to us at birth and stays with us even after we are gone.

Our name identifies us and sets us apart from everyone else.

Oh there are pet names we give each other, like sweetheart, baby, dar’lyn sometimes brat or goof-ball just to name a few.

Moms called us to supper by our names or to come home when at play. The nurse calls our name at the doctor’s office, and the teacher calls our name at roll call in school. We are known by our name.

And when someone mispronounces our name it’s pretty disturbing and of course we set them straight right away.

We are sometimes given titles to go with our name like Doctor, Pastor, Commander, and so on…

But titles are not the same as our name.

I was thinking about this the other morning 4:30 in the morning as a matter of fact. I couldn’t sleep no matter what I did, so I thought about many things and after praying a while this came to my mind.

I thought about the name of Jesus. His name was given even before he was born, by the angel of the Lord.

He’s Adonai, Elohim, there are lots of descriptions and titles He’s given, Savior, etc.

He said, “In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

He has given us permission to use His name…

When He hears His name He is quick to listen and attend to our cry…

And this was my thought…The Name Above ALL other names, the name given by God the Father, when we say the Name of Jesus He hears us and responds to His name….

Just like when we hear our name called…someone can say, “Hey you, or Sir or Maim,” and we don’t really pay attention but when you hear your name, your ears perk up, they’ve got your attention and you respond because it’s your name they’ve addressed.

We can love on Jesus by calling Him endearing names…praise worthy words, names that describe Him…

But if we want to get His full attention and have demons run and sickness scatter…say the name of Jesus…or His Hebrew name, Yeshua…

It identifies who we are talking to in the heavenly realm and He said, He will hear and answer because He has given us authority here on earth to say His name and at His name our request will be heard.

There were other Jesus’s in those days just as there are other people who have our name…but there is a district difference when someone you know and love says your name. You know exactly who it is that’s calling you.

Jesus…Yeshua…just saying His name out loud, and knowing who it is I’m addressing brings such joy and love to my heart and mind…

Knowing what he has done for me and you, the love he gave so we could know him, there is no greater name than Jesus…

Knowing too, that He said, I have access to heaven because of His name and what that name means…that by His blood I am free from sin and death…All I have to do is say, Jesus in faith and I am instantly transformed into His presence…

When I say the name of Jesus…His ears perk up, immediately he knows my voice, and I have his full attention…

Thank you Jesus. I love you.

I love you too, Marla!

~M.S. O’Neill November 13, 2017

Proverbs 22: New King James Version (KJV) A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.

Mark 16:17-18 New King James Version (NKJV) And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

John 14 12:13 New King James Version (NKJV) “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

I breathe in the fresh sea air…I look out over the water, and then, land, and watch the gulls circle once, as if in respect for him. Everything becomes still and quiet. I stand among the people who have gathered here by the sea to hear him. They say he’s the Messiah…

Thousands of people are here as far as the eye can see. Some want to kill him…others just want to see what he’ll do next…some are sick and diseased. Women and children, who normally wouldn’t hear the scriptures, listen intently. He is different; he doesn’t speak like the rabbi’s in the temple. His countenance is peaceful and gentle. Yet he has authority and power but with humility and meekness.

I saw him heal a man who was blind. That got my attention. Today I just want to hear his words. I’ve never heard anyone speak the way he does. His words make me want to be different. I believe, he is, the Messiah.

I notice there are no scribes or Pharisees here…I guess it would be beneath them to come to the sea-shore. I’m glad they’re not here, they’re always causing division and confusion. Although it doesn’t seem to bother this man, this man called Jesus.

There in a ship he sits and begins to speak. A sower went out to sow seeds…some fell on by the way side; birds came and ate the seeds that had fallen. Some fell on stony places, there wasn’t much soil, they sprung up but because there wasn’t much soil, when the sun came up they were scorched; they had no root, they withered away.

Some of the seed fell among thorns but the thorns grew and choked out the seed. But some fell in good ground and grew strong and produced fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold and some thirtyfold.

As Jesus talked I began to see exactly what he was saying. He is the sower, his word is the seed, we are the soil. He’s talking about people…I have the feeling that only those who are enlightened by him can understand what this story really means. The man next to me is irritated and wants to leave he’s hot and tired and his little boy is beginning to be restless too. The words of Jesus mean nothing to him.

But the woman on the other side of me is crying; Jesus’s words are touching her heart.

And me, well I’m ready to follow him wherever he goes…His words are seed that are being planted in my heart. Praise the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, my heart is good ground, the roots grow deep. He is the Messiah! I will follow him.

This Parable is found in Matthew 13:1-23

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill February 3, 2016©

The Father is Looking for you!

Luke 15:20
20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.
 
Father of the Prodigal…

Every day I stand at the window and watch…

Looking for my son, and wonder…

Is he alive? Is he well? Will he ever come home?

For ten long years I’ve waited and watched
Is he lost to me forever…
I will never give up hope…

“God wherever my boy is, whatever he has done, protect him, bring him to the end of himself, and bring him home.” Amen.

It is dusk, the sun is setting. A gentle wind blows the wild flowers in the field…standing at the gate looking out to the east…a bent, dark figure approaches…He’s leaning on a staff, limping as he makes his way over the rocky path…rags cover his body, dust covers his feet.

I squint to see in the distance someone, a man walking…

Can it be…? Is it him…?

My heart begins to pump faster, strength enters my body and joy floods my soul…

It is…

It’s my son…

Darting out across the field…In a full run, I grab him and kiss him…the stench is ignored … he’s thin and dirty…that does not matter…My son! My son…has come home!

Thank God, thank God, it’s you…

God loves us with an everlasting love and rejoices when one of his children was lost then returns to him.

He’s a good, good father!

He watches everyday, waiting for you to come home.

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ Luke 15:21-24 ESV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? f you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:7-11

Forged in fire, flames lifting higher and higher…

My body begins to melt…

My mind is tormented by things I’ve never felt…

What is this Lord, don’t take your Spirit from me, I cry out!!!

Sleepless nights and weary days…I try, to pray…

Words go no higher than the ceiling…I grieve with pity and complacency

Taking Your Word I read and read, but nothing seen, can take this trail away…

God you said…

It is written…

Your words are true…

But there is nothing I can do…that brings me peace…what is this God? I am lost without you…drowning beneath the sea…

I cannot see a way out of this. What, I just don’t know…

I’m at my wit’s end…

Help me my friend…I…am…desperate for you…

Holy fire and Holy Wind…like an earthquake…shattering…

The tempest breaking in, to set me free…

Jesus, I need only thee…

Broken, and surrendered, I’m piled onto the ashes of my will…

Tears wash my soul and my mind is still…

Submerged beneath your loving faithful hand…

I can do nothing without your command…I humbly bow and wait…until…

I lay down my life for there’s nothing left of me; the consuming fire is all I see

Pure gold forged within my soul. Metamorphosed, you’ve made me whole.

Counting it all Joy to be among so great a cloud of witnesses, so I’ve been told…

Nothing strange has taken me, as closer and closer I’m drawn to thee…

Jesus, my comfort and security…

That the trial of my faith was wrought in thee…

More precious than pure gold, the dross disposed of, and all that’s left of me,

Is Love.

~M.S. O’Neill November 9, 2017

1 Peter 1:7 King James Version (KJV) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Bodies in ancient crypts are laid…

Once vibrant and full of life a person was made…

Born naked, had no knowledge of words or creed…

Their mother’s milk was all their tiny bodies would need

Lived lives of many things, time swiftly took them away…

Buried long ago in an earthen grave….

Names long forgotten…children came and went…

Eons ago, bodies decayed and sent

To a timeless resting place for there it is meant…

To rest in the earth a soul from birth

The body dead and gone what was it worth…?

No longer remembered; too many years gone by…

Dry bones called alive…

Asleep now wakened by the death and life of the King

Calling on relatives, but on one has seen…

Cousin Rufus for many years…what can this possibly mean?

It’s resurrection day…the dead in Christ shall rise

Astonished, everyone begins to rub their eyes…

More alive than ever before, radiant and smiling while knocking on the door

I once was dead but not anymore!!!!

Called away to heaven to meet Jesus in the air…

All those who know him…

Others beware!!!

~M. S. O’Neill November 8, 2017

1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 Good News Translation (GNT) We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him. 

What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel’s voice, the sound of God’s trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. 

Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 

And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.

Into the raging war you go—

Relinquishing strength,

As sweat and blood flow…

Sons of men, and babes of women,

Fighting for their freedom…

An invisible host,

In an invisible realm,

Fights while the battle rages…

His Kingdom come…His will be done…

On Earth as it is in Heaven.

What are you fighting for; people of earth?

What reason are you here?

What reason for your birth?

It’s more than you can fathom;

More than you can even imagine…

Souls, crying to be born…

Not of flesh and bone;

Mind, soul or emotion…

But born of Spirit long forgotten,

This battle in motion…

Not of weapons by man’s design,

But of the Holy One, He’s divine…

The fight has already been won…

Liberty sung…

By Heaven’s Chosen One…

Yeshua…

God’s only begotten Son—

After the battle…what then?

Soul’s crying out,

Reaching out,

Birthed in a Holy Shout…

It… Is… Finished!

Will you accept the call?

Will you give your all?

New birth, Spirit born—

Is, what, then!

~M.S. O’Neill November 8, 2016