FAMILY

 Proverbs 11:29
He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

Family

Familiar faces, from aged to birth they come
Memories and moments life is made up of…
These are those who turn our hearts to laughter, and tears through precious years...
The circle of life goes on…
Our family and friends not to tolerate…
But to love and cherish and celebrate...
Oh, they make us crazy with drama, of who, did this, and that...
But we cannot live without them…even, if, we want to squeeze their neck
Some are lazy and some never shut up…
Some are obsessive, compulsive, irritating and abrupt…
Some make you scream, ‘til you just want to throw up…
Some are short, and some are tall…
But family is family, gotta love 'em all…
No one better dis them, or the Fam will be called…
Challenged they will fight, to the death if they must,
Family is family and in God, we do trust…
Familiar and steady, strong and true…we are comrades and rascals;
People through and through;
Some even adopted, we accept them too…
No matter what others, may think of us…
Strange, peculiar, and weird and wise…
We see the world through each other’s eyes…
Yes, we are family, tested and tried,
God help us, we will survive!

Marla Shaw O’Neill December 21, 2015©

Put on the Garment of Praise for the Spirit of Heaviness

 

 

This is what the Holy Spirit spoke to my grieving heart this morning...I asked him for JOY he gave me this scripture! Praise God!!!!

Isaiah 61Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Messiah’s Jubilee

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me,
because the Lord has anointed Me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent Me to heal^[a] the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and freedom to the prisoners;

² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of our God’s vengeance;
to comfort all who mourn,

³ to provide for those who mourn in Zion;
to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
festive oil instead of mourning,

and splendid clothes instead of despair.^[b]
And they will be called righteous trees,
planted by the Lord
to glorify Him.

 

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins;
they will restore the former devastations;
they will renew the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers will stand and feed your flocks,
and foreigners will be your plowmen and vinedressers.

⁶ But you will be called the Lord’s priests;
they will speak of you as ministers of our God;
you will eat the wealth of the nations,
and you will boast in their riches.

⁷ Because your shame was double,
and they cried out, “Disgrace is their portion,”
therefore, they will possess double in their land,
and eternal joy will be theirs.

 

⁸ For I Yahweh love justice;

I hate robbery and injustice;^[c]
I will faithfully reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹ Their descendants will be known among the nations,
and their posterity among the peoples.
All who see them will recognize
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.

 

¹⁰ I greatly rejoice in the Lord,
I exult in my God;
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness,
as a groom wears a turban
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

¹¹ For as the earth produces its growth,
and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.

Great News for Always

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is [a]Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Remember?

Remember that special day?
You know the one when the Christ Child was born…
We read about it in our bible…
A baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and He lay in a bed of straw they called it a manger.
They stayed inside a barn because the inn was full…
Of course his mom and dad were there
And some shepherd’s from a nearby field came to see him too
Oh yeah and angels came, they said, Behold we bring you wonderful news of peace and goodwill to all men…
Yep that’s right the Savior was born…
Remember now?
OK great…
Now do you remember when that same Christ child came to live in another very special place?
That place within your heart?
Mom and dad were there, and I was there too…
You were six or seven and the pastor said that the angels are rejoicing because you asked Jesus to come into your heart…
There were others who did the same thing that day…
Remember?
Remember how you cried and then got so happy…you wanted to tell everyone the good news…
Peace, and goodwill had come…
Great Joy filled the room of your heart…I’ll never forget that day!
What?
Oh yeah, he’s still filling hearts today…but there are many who will leave him in the barn…
Is there room in your heart for the savior?
No, well just ask Him in, He will fill you with great peace, joy and goodwill…
Then you will have a day to remember, always…

Marla Shaw O’Neill December 10, 2015©

Thirsty - December 4, 2015

 

I awoke this morning with these thoughts on my mind…

My soul is thirsty Lord; my mouth is parched and dry. Just one drop of water from you Lord is all I need.

Then the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus came to mind; and then, I took a drink of water. Oh how good it tasted. Clean refreshing water.

After getting up, eating some breakfast and having my coffee, I scrolled through a couple of post and came to one that talked about how once you are in hell there is no getting out. You can’t scream, yell, cry, bargain or die your way out; you are there forever!

OK, Lord I get it…this is what you want me to write about this morning.

What I’m saying is not about being rich or poor…it’s about being ready in the moment!

Read the following passage:

Luke 16:19-31New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

22 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham.[a] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead.[b] There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Today you are living your life going about your daily routine, and life simply happens. Work, family, the usual stuff, but, tragedy strikes, and everything comes to an immediate halt; you become paralyzed in time…depression, isolation, waves of deep pain and thoughts that rip through your mind and steal your peace...you can not find your way...torment sets in. You toss and turn...you snap at everyone and everything...you feel as if you are in hell...like the Psalmist your bed is a river of tears...but...there is a way out while your still in this life...there is only one hope!

Only the touch of Jesus's gentleness of grace, can sustain you through these times...right now, while you are living...let him quench your thirst and give you rest...let him be your shalom!

Let all anguish go...release it and receive His healing touch!

Nothing else satisfies...

Don’t wait…It is a daily choice! Choose Him now!

Come to Me



 



If you are struggling for peace today...take a deep breath, close your eyes and whisper a mini prayer...God honors truthfulness...

Jesus is calling, "Come to me."

Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…

He said, He will give you His shalom. (Peace)

Don’t wait until tragedy hits you, or your family or a neighbor or friend; stay so close to the Lord that you can hear his heartbeat…then when tragedy strikes you and Jesus can face it together by faith, with grace and rest (His peace).

NIV Application Commentary:

The yoke of discipleship brings rest because (hoti; niv “for”) Jesus is “gentle and humble in heart” (11:29). Jesus exemplifies the very characteristics his disciples will display as members of the kingdom of heaven—gentleness (5:5) and humility (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). He has castigated the scribes and the Pharisees for their hypocritical self-righteousness (5:20; 6:1–18) and will condemn them for their prideful religious regalia, places of privilege, and elitist titles (23:5–7). But Jesus does not need to strut his authority. He has come gently, preaching and teaching the good news of the arrival of the kingdom of heaven, and in humble human form he has brought healing to sin-sick humanity. This is the true eschatological rest for which Israel has long hoped, “a realization of a deep existential peace, a shalom, or sense of ultimate well-being with regard to one’s relationship to God and his commandments.” Jesus’ teaching is the true fulfillment of the Law, and those who come to him will enter into a discipleship that produces rest for the soul (cf. Jer. 6:16).

While discipleship to Jesus brings relief from the burden of Pharisaic regulations, it is not lawlessness. He goes on to say, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” These two clauses are in synonymous parallelism to emphasize Jesus’ way of discipleship. His discipleship is an easy or serviceable yoke because his teaching equips us most effectively to live out God’s will in the way life was designed to be lived. Furthermore, his discipleship is not the oppressive burden of Pharisaic legalism (23:4) but instead turns the load of life into one that is manageable (cf. Gal. 6:5). Jesus does not release his disciples from burdens, just as he did not escape the burdens of human life in his Incarnation. Illness and calamity and tragedy remain a part of this fallen world until the final renewal, but for those in the kingdom of heaven there is a promise of Jesus’ sustaining help as we carry his yoke of discipleship.

In fact, in Jesus’ interpretation of the Law the challenge of following him may be seen as even more demanding than the Pharisees, because he calls us to fulfill the Law from the obedience of the heart, not simply through external obedience (5:21–47), and he calls his disciples to be perfect, as their heavenly Father is perfect (5:48). But Jesus’ demands are still a yoke that is easy to bear and a burden that is light to carry, because in the coming of the kingdom and the inauguration of the new covenant, his Spirit provides the same strength to carry the load that Jesus himself relied upon to carry his own load of redemptive service to humanity.

However, in the quest to learn from Jesus how to live God’s truth, it is critical to remember that Jesus’ disciples can also turn his yoke into an unbearable burden unless we consciously recognize that discipleship to Jesus is not essentially a religious obligation. Rather, ours is an intimate relationship with the One who calls, “Come to me” and “learn from me.” As complicated as life may become, discipleship is at heart simply walking with Jesus in the real world and having him teach us moment by moment how to live life his way.