Articles By Michael O'Connor

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL O'CONNOR:

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Beloved in Christ:

I sincerely welcome you to the library of my writings. Please take time to prayerfully read this introduction. Thank You!

If I have been granted any literary ability, I make no boast of such, nor may I receive any credit for whatever feeble attempts made on my part to present the Gospel in any manner. All praise and honor must be rendered unto our Lord Jesus Christ! I am only a “sinner, saved by grace.” At best, as declared our Lord Jesus Christ, in Luke 17:10: “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” My only boast is in Christ: Crucified, Risen, and Coming Again! The writings posted hereinafter are only a few of those in my files. Please agree in prayer with me that our precious Lord Jesus shall encourage and help us to edit and prepare those on file, for posting upon our website. This will be a colossal undertaking, and I am not so young anymore! The glare of a computer monitor is very straining to my eyes, so I will need to prepare hundreds of pages upon a conventional typewriter, which will then be scanned and transferred to digital format. Please pray that our precious Lord shall in His mercy raise up workers and helpers to assist us! Thank You!

Some may perceive my writings and preachments to be rather strong. Perhaps to their observation, is this true, nor do I fault them for their opinion. From my position, however, I write freely as a servant. I never place a fee upon anything. Freely I have received, freely I must give. I write to alert, warn, and instruct all who will hear. When a watchman perceives danger, he must take decisive action! He dare not sit passively by, while ravening wolves lurk nearby, to snatch His sheep, one by one; dragging them away to devour them.

Speaking of "Watchmen," our Lord referred to the backslidden Prophets in Ancient Israel as: "dumb dogs" (Isaiah 56:10): Why? Because they would "no longer sound the alarm" (that is, no longer bark to alert the people of impending danger). A watchdog who refuses to bark when it senses danger is worthless! It is a traitor to those depending upon its faithfulness to bark-out and alert, when something is amiss.

When I was about five years old, my Uncle Gabriel gifted my older brother, Christopher and I, with the cutest little puppy. He was a Husky-mix, and as a pup, he resembled a cuddly little lamb. Of course, we spoiled him and showered him with love, but we failed to properly train him. In honesty, I doubt that he could have learned much, for he was one of the stupidest dogs ever I have seen. Yet, he was loyal, loving and gentle, so we kept him for years as a family pet. "Teddy's" only talents seemed to be: 1. hating cats (his only enemies); 2. digging holes in the yard; 3. chewing-off his leash; 4. eating and sleeping; 5. riding in a car; 6. going swimming in the river; 7. running away for days at a time; 8. and lastly, one of his favorite antics was, to chase Dad's car (driving at a fairly low speed, of course), and while at full gallop, to leap through an open rear window. We could never teach him even one trick. He grew to be quite large and had a voracious appetite. If we fed him "Kennel-ration," he'd turn up his nose, slink away from his bowl, and pout. (Oh yes, he'd be highly insulted if we fed him anything but, "Alpo," which was in the 1950's, a very expensive dog food.) The very worst aspect of all this, was; that while we were giving such excellent care to this lummox, he was utterly worthless as a watchdog! He was no protection to us whatsoever. Total strangers could enter the yard, and Teddy would begin to wag his tail, and trot over to them to be petted! He would lie in the cellarway landing, and the meter-men would have to step over him to descend the stairs to read the meters. Teddy's problem was that he was a "dumb-dog." Oh, he could bark loudly enough at cats, but when it came time for him to sound an alarm, announcing the presence of possible enemies, and potential dangers, he fell strangely silent and passive. Is it not amazing that our Great Omniscient God, chose to use such a creature as an allegory for backslidden prophets.

I do not write to please people, nor to gain favor of man. I write as the “voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight – Repent! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Matthew 3:2-3, Isaiah 40:3). Indeed, I believe we are in a “spiritual desert,” and the “highway” to be prepared is, the Highway of Holiness, spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 35:8). Thank God there is a cast-up highway (Isaiah 62:10), running safely through this desert, where we may walk securely, and in righteousness.

Your Brother and Servant in Christ

Brother, Michael O'Connor

(Dad O'Connor)