The Giving Heart November 5, 2015

 

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:17 (NKJV)


The Giving Heart


Surrender and Humility
Two friends that walk together

Surrender says I lay it down

Humility speaks without a sound

Pride will drive you to hold your own
In haughtiness and defiance

God looks for the broken heart
As it stands in contrite obedience

Humility bows before her foe

As Surrender walks down the rocky road

Right may stand within their grasp
At all the wiles of circumstance

But in the end, these two friends

Gain everything…

Victorious in giving…

They win.

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill November 5, 2015©

When God Calls Your Name

 

So, the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 – (HCSB)
When God Calls Your Name
Searching for something
But what I just can’t tell
It’s just beyond my grasp
It’s just beyond that hill…
Tossing and turning through the night…
Who’s there…?
I wake in fright…
Someone is calling my name I hear…


Who’s there…?

I whisper again…
Straining to see, in the darkness I stare…
Heart pounding…
All senses on alert…
Silence…
Darkness; yet I see a tiny spark of light
Ears tuned, listening with intent, but hearing only…
Silence…
Then, within a millisecond…
A voice loud and clear
Shatters the void,
I am waiting to hear…
“Where are you, why do you run from me…?
I’m been calling you for many years…
Come, and see
The joys I have waiting for thee…
No need of money or script or purse…
What I have for thee is free…
Bought and paid for
Upon an old rugged tree…
Come home now…
Your struggle is through…
It’s time to rest…
I’ve been waiting here for you.”


My search is finished…
I’ve finally found
What I was searching for…
Not success…or fame…or material things…
But perfect peace in Jesus name!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill October 28, 2015

 

Remember Lot’s Wife – Don’t Look Back

But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19:26

 Remember Lot’s Wife Don’t Look Back

Was she a righteous woman…
Who stood in the shadow of her man…
Is there but ten who will follow
The God of Abraham….

Green pastures rich and flourishing
Peace and rest is found…
But in the sinful city her heart was hardened and bound…

Angels came to deliver them…
But she; apprehensive to leave,
For this was her life
This is all that she believed…

Come away from here make haste;
This place is destined for fire…
Take your family; flee…

Death is emanate; have no desire
To stay within this place
Judgment has come
There will be no saving grace…

Taking flight they hurry
Running through the night…
But the woman full of regret
Leaving all behind, memories of her past
Turns not heeding will this be her last…

Shutting out God’s word His messengers she spurned
Wanting her country, wanting only to return…
“Do not look back.” This was God’s command…

Just one look, that’s all it took…
Her breath and life in that moment, forsook
As she turns to take one final look…

A Pillar of salt now stands…

Stone cold, lifeless…
Death from disobedience…
Oh, please, learn this lesson from the Holy Book…

Remember Lot’s wife, you women of worth…
Looking back only turns to regret and hurt…
Put away your idols, your past is gone…never look back…
Keep forging on…

Live in the now…
Heart rich and free…
For God has given His love to thee!
When he says go…don’t look back, just flee!

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill October 26, 2015©
Genesis 19:15-26; Luke 17:29-33

The Secret Place

The Secret Place
Come away with me to the secret place
The place of refreshing and peace
Come to me with arms held high
With heart humbled and free
Come to where there’s no despair,
No envy, no hatred, no fear
A place where only you and I
Relax, and take time to share
Sharing heartaches through years of shame
No judgment, no bitterness no blame
I’ll instruct you with wisdom and secrets so rare
Your heart will sing and dance again
I’ll carry your burdens for my burden is light
Hold onto your faith like an eagle take flight
Soaring over the mountain peaks
Don’t look to the left or to the right
Just keep me, in your sight
Cast all your care at my feet today
Lay your head upon my breast
Come to me with all your heart
Be childlike there and rest
I’ll keep you in my arms forever
And love you tenderly
Walk in my presence and you will find
My Grace is sufficient for thee
No fear or doubt to keep you bound
It’s faith that pleases me
Turn your eyes upward now and see my loving face
My feathers will cover and hide you, in our secluded place
No rejection will you see in me
No utterances of displeasure
As long as you walk in my presence my child
Goodness and Mercy will follow, you’ll see
Stay close beside me in the secret place
As you linger there and feel my embrace
See the scars of long ago upon my hands and feet
A crown of thorns, and bleeding side my blood and water fell
While hanging on a cruel tree upon Golgotha’s hill
Tis finished I cried, and tis finished still

Receive the joy and strength you need so others watching may know
That there’s life and peace, they too can have waiting there for them also;
And in this secret place they’ll find, angels watching silently
Standing in awe at the sight they see, the wonder, the mystery
All who dwell in the secret place will abide under the shadow of the Almighty!

~Marla O’Neill ©8/21/1988, revised 4/24/13

Psalm 91

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him. (NLT)

 

Silence… Revelations 8:1

Silence…

Time…
Stood…
Still…
On a
Tiny…
Ugly hill…

Earth…
Grew…
Dark…
He died!

Heaven…
Rejoiced!

Paradise…
Emptied…
Of…
Those…
In wait!

Breath…
Of…
Life!

Victory!

Death…
Took flight!

Risen…
Alive…
God…
Survived!

Salvation…
Blood…
Bought…

Jesus…
Waits…

Time…
Stands…
Still!

He
Comes!

Lamps…
Full…

Time…
To…
Go…

Silence…

Rejoice…
Evermore!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill October 16, 2015©

The Lamb Breaks the Seventh Seal
8 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the 
scroll, [a] there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour. Revelation 8:1New Living Translation (NLT)

 

It Ain’t About Me, It’s All About Him

 


It’s All About Him

It’s not about me, myself or I; Oh no

It’s time about sharing what He says is so.

Not bickering or snickering on this or that

It’s not about things a tit-for-a 
tat.

Where would we be if not for Him?

We’d be in the trash heap or out on a 
limb.

Get rid of self, set it up on a 
shelf.

Then let those creative abilities 
shine.

Then you won’t have time to moan or whine…

Stop, look and listen for ways to be 
kind.

After all its Jesus who says, “They are mine…”

It’s all about Him and not about 
us.

Be seen in His, Hall of Fame and trust…


Getting rid of self, well, it’s definitely a must.

~Marla Shaw O’Neill 9/25/15

 

The Carpenter

Carpenter working, sunup to sundown.
Roman soldiers commanding more stakes, to be found.
Christians to die on Golgotha’s hill.
Your job is to give me more wood, from your mill.
I cannot do this thing you ask.
My hands only work for my God and His task.
Then at your word you’ll see your last
You’re a carpenter, will this be you’re past…
You want me to give you a stake for my son.
No!
This shall never be done…
And if you hang me, on a cruel tree.
My God in heaven will set me free…
I am a carpenter, but I don’t work for thee!
~Marla Shaw O’Neill 9.20.2015©

 

GUIDANCE

Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance.
1 Samuel 8:6New Living Translation (NLT)

G U I D A N C E –
God, U and I Dance!
I’ve cried off and on for two days, gentle tears but steady…I can sense her presence all around me. I miss her. So today I was reading something she wrote. Mom loved to take words, rearrange the letters and get a message from them…
Like my name. She looked at the word alarm on her alarm clock, rearranged the letters and came up with Marla. That was in 1954. There weren’t any names like that in Alabama when I was born. Today I have many friends, named, Marla. They are everywhere. LOL!
So in one of mom’s sermons she took the word guidance and saw in it…God U and I dance. I don’t know if she read it someplace or if she saw it herself. But however it was found, God brought it to my attention today.
Can you imagine dancing with God? When my boys were little I’d have them stand on top of my feet and we’d dance together to God’s music.
Today I will stand on top of my Father God’s feet, letting him lead, and guide me as I rest in his embrace. We will dance together all around His throne room. I will also imagine that my mom is dancing there even now and I will let that vision fill my heart with JOY, knowing all is well in the presence of God!
God together You and I Dance!
By: Marla Shaw O’Neill 9.20.2015©

Forgiven Much; Love Much!

‘Adonai…’
The room grows silent…
The woman bows to the floor, before the master and begins to weep.
Her tears wash His feet as love is poured from her heart
She breaks the alabaster jar…a years wages…
Fragrance permeates the air…gasps from the others staring in disbelief
As the woman touches the Rabi’s feet anointing them with costly oil…
A woman of sin, unclean. She must not touch him.
‘Adonai my fair one, lover of my soul I adore thee.’
Tears flow from her eyes; eyes that have seen such heartache, rejection and pain
Broken and alone…she finds love she’s never known. She kisses his feet.
She gently touches them with her hands, tender and with reverence … then she wipes them with her hair…not knowing that soon they will be pierced and nailed to a tree….
The others watch in disgust at the spectacle she makes of herself…
Jesus looks at the woman he does not reprimand her but allows her to honor him…
He looks at his host.
 “Who of you offered to wash my feet or kiss me, when I entered your home?”
Jesus knew the hearts of everyone present…He knew their sin….
To the woman he says, “Your sins are forgiven.”
When you are forgiven much, you love much!
Adonai is the plural of Adon, meaning Lord, LORD, master or owner (the word Adon derives from a Ugaritic word meaning “lore” or “father.”)
Luke 7:36-50 New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

When Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”  Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man that he goes around forgiving sins?”

And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

(Greek 500 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.) These men sitting at the table said among themselves, “WHO IS THIS MAN THAT HE GOES AROUND FORGIVING SINS? Luke 7:49-50

They didn’t know him…they didn’t know they were sitting in the very presence of God…God they professed to be following. They had the look, the wealth, the clothes, the house, they were clean on the outside but inside they were lost, empty and blind. Jesus knew their hearts. What did he do? He told them a story.
Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you, go in peace.”
Prayer: Jesus, help us today to sit at your feet and wash them with our tears. Let us kiss you and love you with a pure heart. Help us to love you by loving others. Not for what you can do for us, but because you are worthy to receive all honor and all glory. Amen
~Marla Shaw O’Neill September 20, 2015©
 

Inside Out

 
Tiny cracks within the rock
I’m looking from the inside out
Brightest light of middle day
Burst; revealing; heart is true
The only one who sees, is me
Holy Spirit born of thee
Breaks the rock and sets me free!

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill ©September 17, 2015