Arise O My Soul - Devotional October 5, 2015

2 Chronicles 20:20-22King James Version (KJV)

20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth forever.

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

Arise, O my soul
Awake out of the dark
Arise and sing unto the Lord, Praise His Holy name
For His mercy endures forever
Stand and sing out, before the armies of the Lord
Praise him in the beauty of holiness
Singers praise Him; we set an ambush against the enemies of our God
Let them fall, ten thousands upon ten thousands…
Sing, glorious ones…sing and give praises to the Lord
Our warfare is swift and unbeatable, for the Lord goes before us…
The enemy is fallen they cannot stand against the armies of the Most High…
In singing we defeat the enemy…
Singing brings victory…
They lie smitten and defeated!
No retreat, No mercy, the battle is complete.
Principalities and powers of darkness in high places crumble
Sing songs of praise to our God! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Our Messiah, Jesus is Alive!
He’s coming on the clouds of glory!
Praise His Holy Name!

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

As for Me and My House... Devotional October 5, 2015



Joshua 24:15…”But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

I found the following; among some writings of my mother’s… I call these tid-bits, “Mama’s Pearls.” She left this earth on July, 2015. Mom ministered the gospel of Jesus Christ for over fifty years. She was a prayer warrior in every sense of the word and she read her bible every single day…reading it through many, many, times…I hope this blesses you.

The Family

The family is like a book…
The children are the leaves,
The parents are the covers…
That protecting beauty gives...
At first the pages of the book
Are blank and purely fair,
But soon time writeth memories
And painteth pictures there...
Love is the little golden clasp,
That bindeth up the trust…
O, break it not…
Lest all the leaves should scatter and be lost…
A little love will heal a hurt,
A lot of love will give
Precious moments to a soul
And make it want to live.
(Author unknown)

(Often a fellow’s burden is just more than he can bear, but his burden will be lighter, if you prove to him you care.)

Hear our prayer today,

“Father, God, in the name of your son Jesus, our Messiah, I ask that you protect our families…give us your grace to walk in your way…I thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us through this life…and who, will take us all the way home. But until that time, I ask that our lights will shine before men that they will glorify you, father God and long to know you. Amen”

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

Yes I Will Go - Devotional October 4, 2015

Are you willing?

57 “Well,” they said, “we’ll call Rebekah and ask her what she thinks.” 58 So they called Rebekah. “Are you willing to go with this man?” they asked her.
And she replied, “Yes, I will go.” Genesis 24:57-58

If God asked you to do something for him today, would you do it?

Let’s pray:

Jesus, help us to be willing to answer your call today. It may not be to go around the world or preach to thousands…or feed a multitude. Maybe all you ask of us today is to smile at someone. Or open the door for them. Maybe you just want us to simply change our attitude about something or someone. Maybe you would like us to say a few words in prayer and be grateful. Help us today Jesus to respond to your question by saying, “Yes, I will go.” Amen.

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill October 4, 2015©

Our Time is Now - Devotional October 3, 2013

 

43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’[a] and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies![b] Pray for those who persecute you! 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. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[c] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. Matthew 5:43-47 (NLT)

Our Time is Now!

We cry out in anguish and shake our fists at the sky and scream WHY?

God said he repented that he made man…their hearts are evil and cruel and yet he found within a handful of humanity a few with faith…

A call went out today a call of evil and death…We never know where it will hit or who it’s next victim will be…but it’s here in the world ever present…

There is no security anywhere. Our only hope is in the one who not only can kill the body, but can also destroy body and soul.

We must not fear or be afraid…but trust, put your trust in the Lord God of heaven and earth.

Who’s next? Is it those across the ocean or those on a distant mountain in a foreign land? Is it in a place in my country, my town, next door, or one of my own, or me?

Safety? Where do we run for a safe harbor?

Can we shut the door of our homes and never venture out again because the world has been turned into a place of horror and murder?

NO! We must as children of God, stand fast; stand true! Our lives are more than this meager life we hold onto so tightly and dare anyone to trample…

Souls are at stake…our children and children’s children stand in the balance…what’s happening is no surprise. Jesus said these things would happen…Do not hang your head and ask why?

Lift up the hands that hang down, now is not the time to weep and lament…now is the time to fight but not as the world fights…take up the sword of the Spirit…God’s word…use the weapon of prayer to fire at the enemy and proclaim in faith in the name of Jesus, WE WILL NOT DIE IN VAIN…If we live, we live unto God and if we die, we die unto God!

We as the children of God can no longer sit in silence and vanity and look the other way…our world is shaking and we as the sons and daughters of God must stand in the gap and make up the hedge…Be what God has called us to be. Pray for our enemies…bless and do not curse…if they smite you on your right cheek, turn to them the other also…we are not weak, trembling, defeated or beaten…Do not let them take goodness from you by returning evil for evil…pray for them…God sees and has spoken his angels have been sent out…

You are the sons and daughters of your heavenly Father. Our time is Now!

Hear the battle cry…Jesus is coming…He will avenge his own…and the enemy will tuck his tail between his legs and run…but he cannot hide… the toothless lion is defeated!

Be vigilant, be steadfast… be ready! Pray! Let’s pray: 

Heavenly father keep us in the palm of your hand. You conquered death and the grave….Help us to stand strong and true. Let our lives be lights in this world so that even our enemy will tremble and know that you are for us, so who can be against us?…That even as the saints of old who were thrown in lion’s dens…burned at the stake…boiled in oil and hung on a cross…nothing can separate us from your great love! Amen!

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill October 3, 2015©

Invisible Ones - Devotional October 2, 2015

Parable of the Good Samaritan…

36“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.
37The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
Luke 10:36-37 (NLT)

The Invisible One’s

Good morning!

Today I want to bring your attention to that person driving in the car next to you, yes that one who's head is bobbing to the music. Or the one you just walked passed on your way to your office, hurting so bad but no knows. Maybe you are in a grocery store and you stepped in front of someone while picking up a can of green beans…you smile, but say nothing, they kind of step to the side and say nothing as well…

You’re in the doctor’s office, the room is full, you feel a little awkward but head for a seat, the only one left, next to a stranger. Without acknowledging one another, you both sit side by side, feeling the silence between you.

Later you are driving home and you notice the ‘street person’ with his cardboard sign that says..."I'm hungry" he's standing in the median…but you don’t dare look his way…the light is red and you can hardly wait for it to turn green… You scream in your mind, “Please don’t come to my window, please, light hurry up and change. Oh why did I think, change?” You look down at the change sitting there in the little groove under your radio dial. The light changes…whew thank goodness…you’re off the hook.

We have eight hundred and something friends on Facebook but they are all invisible…oh there are pictures and laughter and tears, you share everything in your life with them, but never once do you physically touch…

Oh the fantastic invention of technology…cold and isolated...

Where is our sense of community … humanity…I watch as people become less and less in-touch with each other and more and more distant and farther and farther apart from…What happened to the generation where others reached out with a helping, loving hand, when someone was in need?

God made us to be human…to be relational…I challenge you today to go out of your way and give someone a great big HUG and KISS, in the physical realm today!

Keep your Facebook friends too…but be a Good Sam today as well!

Even animals still make contact when passing someone. Why because God put that in them...and they don't know how to relate to technology...at least not yet! LOL!
Let’s pray…

Father God…Let us see someone today, literally touch someone. Smile, hug, laugh, and talk with others. Help us to come out of our invisibility mode and instead of a text message, let us call the person or better still go and visit them…so that we can hear their voice, and see their expressions and to understand we need each other more than we ever have before. Just as you said Jesus, “You go and do the same!” Amen.

By: Marla Shaw O'Neill October 2, 2015©

Each One Teach One - Devotional October 2, 2015

¹⁵ Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

It was the eighties; I needed a job, so I went to work for the School District, a temp position as a secretary. I filled in for someone on maternity leave, knowing they would be coming back, for their job. I had two sons at the time, we needed the money and so I did what I had to do. 

They were a great bunch of people to work with. After about a week, I was instructed that I would be doing a book inventory, no big deal. There were rows and rows of these stalls more like skinny closets, with shelves and shelves of books. Well for me that was like being sent to heaven…I loved books. The challenge was I didn’t want to count the books; I wanted to read them. So I persevered. Then I came across this one book and began to read a wonderful story about Dr. Frank Laubach, known as a man of Literacy. A Godly man…a man determined to make a difference.

As I read his story I was captivated about how he lived among and befriended the Muslim Maranao tribe, in the Southern part of the Philippines. He saw they were a sad people though, because when their loved ones left their tribe to live elsewhere, they had no way to communicate or keep in touch. They had no written language. His mission came flooding in and he knew what to do, he would devise a written language for them.

He was teaching them with his new system, how to read and write which took only two weeks. But the depression hit and he told the Chieftain that he could no longer teach them because funding had been cut.

The chieftain, who had been taught to read, even though he was an old man, knew that learning to read had, and would help his people to prosper. He declared “If I can learn, anyone can learn. Let each one who learned to read, teach someone else or die!” From that chief’s decision the “Each One Teach One” concept was born, and became the motto and emblem of his literacy movement.

This is the point I want to make. I told you this story because if you reach one person and they reach one person pretty soon we have a whole community of people. Reach out today, shake someone’s hand, smile, do like Frank Laubach, dare to make a difference in the life of someone today!

Let’s pray…

Jesus, thank you for knowledge but most of all, thank you for your wisdom. Help us to reach out to others today and make a difference in someone’s life. You are our example, Lord, you call us one at a time…and you teach us on a one, on one, basis…let us follow your example. Each one, teach one…amen!

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill October 2, 2015©

CLUTTER?-Devotional for October 1, 2015

 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.[c]

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-8

Now upon reading these verses, I don’t think you’d relate it to, getting rid of clutter, but this is exactly what the Holy Spirit made me aware of this morning.

Most of us; especially if we are over the age of fifty have a need to save everything! We collect, maybe even horde, “stuff.” 

The pantry is full of plastic grocery bags, bread ties, mugs and plastic bowls that we say to ourselves, “Better not throw that away I may need it later.” But, do we? Most likely we don’t. Not for the number we have stashed away for, ‘just in case.’

Our minds are the same way! We collect trivia, quotes, hurts, and unforgiveness…grudges held onto for just in case…

God says “Get rid of that stuff. You don’t need it. It clutters your mind and gives the enemy ammo to use against you and others. STOP IT! It takes up valuable space and accomplishes nothing.”

This is what I want you to do today, right now…Put On the Mind of Christ! “How do I do that?” Glad you asked…

Number one…Be Full of God’s Joy! Let me repeat that…BE HAPPY!
Number two…Be considerate of everyone in all you do! Remember Jesus is coming soon!
Number three…DO NOT WORRY about anything; instead PRAY about everything!
Number four…Tell God how grateful you are for everything He has done!

Then you will experience God’s Peace! It will exceed your wildest expectations.

As you pack up the clutter in your mind and throw it out, it becomes less and less. Then you can begin to fill the shelves of your heart and mind with…thoughts that are…

True; honorable; right; pure; lovely and admirable.
Thought’s which are excellent and praise-worthy.
Practice makes perfect.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
Breathe in that freshness, ahhhhh…nice and clutter free!

Clutter, clutter, go away now that you're gone I have room to play!

Let’s pray…Thank you Jesus for giving us your joy today thank you for helping us unclutter our hearts and minds with your truth. Keep us ever aware to stay focused on you and never let our hearts be stuffed with junk that is good for nothing but the wood pile. Keep our minds and hearts full of your love! Amen!

By: Marla Shaw O’Neill October 1, 2015©