No matter what your circumstances,
You can trust in Jesus Christ.
So, in all of your happenstances,
Please don’t give up now to strife.

I understand in life is hardship,
Pain to bear as part of life.
Now Jesus suffered much for freedom
From our sin, for sin is rife.

So trust Him as your Lord and Savior.
Turn from sin and follow Him.
Let Him wrap His arms around you.
Know that you have been forgiv’n.

Now follow Jesus where He leads you,
Walk with Him in righteousness.
Give Him all your circumstances.
He will free you from duress.

An Original Work / March 24, 2023

On December 27, 2011, throughout my day the Lord encouraged me much through his word and through songs. One of the passages of Scripture that he led me to read was Psalms 119. Over the years since receiving my Bible as a gift from my children, I have underlined and even dated many sections of this passage of scripture, because the Lord had spoken to me through them. Again these words of David came alive to my heart, as the Lord Jesus was speaking many, many words of comfort and hope to my heart.

The Lord had already given me a tune earlier in the day, and I sensed after reading Psalms 119 that he wanted me to put this Psalm, in abbreviated form, to this music he had given to me. The song is about the word of God that I have hidden in my heart so that I might not sin against God. Jesus is the Word, so the Word is in my heart, and the written word, as well, is in my heart through study and application of its truths to my heart, and through obedience to those truths.

Your Word

An Original Work / December 27, 2011
Based off Psalms 119

Praise You with an upright heart as
I learn of Your righteousness.
I seek You with all my heart;
Do not let me stray from Your law.
I have hidd’n Your word in my heart
That I might not sin against You.
Open my eyes that I may see
Wonderful things in Your word.
I am a stranger on earth.

I have chosen the way of truth;
My heart is set on Your word.
I will walk about in freedom,
For I have sought out Your truth.
Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
For I believe in Your law.
Your hands made me, and they formed me;
Give me understanding, Lord.
I put my hope in Your word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light unto my path.
You are my shield and my refuge;
In Your word I put my hope.
My heart trembles at Your word, Lord.
May my lips o’erflow with praise.
May my tongue sing of Your truth, Lord.
Your salvation, Lord, long I.
Your word, Lord, is my delight.

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We who are following Jesus Christ with our lives are going to have times when we are sick or afflicted or when we are being hounded and persecuted or when Satan is attacking us fiercely with his lies. We must not give in to the enemy! We must recognize that things are not normal and that we are under attack and that we must rely on the truth of God’s word despite our feelings. We will all have days like this. And this is especially when we must take refuge in the Lord and we must trust him with our circumstances.

Hopefully we are surrounded by other believers in Jesus Christ who are those who take God and his word to heart and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands and no longer in sin. Hopefully they are those who love the Lord Jesus and their fellow Christians and that they are those with whom we can share our burdens and who will pray for us. For we all need prayer. We all need encouragement, especially when we are under the attack of the enemy. We should delight in such saints as these.

Sadly, not everyone who professes the name of Jesus is walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to the Lord, and not in sin. Many of them are running after “other gods,” i.e. the gods of this world and of the flesh. Many of them are still living in addiction to sin, making sin their practice, and not godliness, and not walks of obedience to the Lord. And the Lord does indeed say that he does not know them, and that they are not in fellowship with him, and that they will not have eternal life in him.

[1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Galatians 5:16-21]

For if the Lord is our chosen portion and cup, we will delight in him and in his word and in walks of obedience to him in holy living. Our desire will be for him to do his will for our lives and not what this world is calling out to us to do, and not what human flesh craves. For we will rely on the word and the counsel of the Lord to guide and to direct us in the ways of righteousness. And we will trust him to get us through every trial without us wavering in unbelief. No matter what comes our way we will remain steadfast in him.

Apart from genuine faith in the Lord Jesus, or due to faith that is weak because of wrong messages which have been fed into our minds, perhaps over many years, we may be lacking in understanding of all that we have in Christ and of how powerful God really is to meet us in all of our circumstances. And so it is important that we study the Scriptures for ourselves, and that we read them in context, and that we believe what God’s word says, and that we apply its truths to our everyday lives.

For, if our lives are committed to Christ to do his will, and we are not walking in sin, but we are walking in obedience to our Lord, although perhaps not with absolute perfection, we will dwell secure in the knowledge of who God is and that he is completely sovereign over every aspect of our lives, and that he has a plan and a purpose for everything that he allows to come into our lives. And he will accomplish his will and purpose for us as we continue to surrender to him, and as we keep doing what he has called us to do.

But, with regard to having that assurance of salvation from sin and eternal life with God, that must be based upon the teachings of the New Testament in their full context regarding what constitutes genuine faith and salvation and eternal life in the life of one professing faith in the Lord Jesus. For not everyone who says “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. For Jesus said that if we would come to him we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Songs in the Night

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!

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Prayers for your intentions Riley!

Vambram said:

As an Army soldier for many years, this song has a lot of real life meaning to me.

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Amen to that, and thank you for your service. Remember, God will always protect you, even after being a soldier, cos we have the armor of God (Ephesians 6:11).

Presbyterian Continuist said:

Satan owns all the nations of the world, but he can do only what God permits. This is why Christians get a better deal in some countries, but a severely persecuted in others. It seems that the Christian Church is stronger in those countries where there is serious persecution, while in countries where there is little persecution, churches tend to be complacent and riddled with liberalism. In time, God will turn the tables, and persecution in some countries will decrease as He answers their prayers for relief and revival, while persecution will increase in western countries as we are seeing in parts of the UK.

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I agree that Christianity is stronger in countries with severe persecution and I feel for those who suffer so much for their faith. I hope that they do get relief.

I don't see that sort of persecution here in the UK though. As individuals we may lose friends, spouses, etc., or be ridiculed, but as for the Church I think our greatest threat comes from secularisation not from Muslims.

Diamond72 said:

I did a fair amount of camping when I was young. Cooking over an open fire. I remember I had a candle that I would use to heat water for coffee. During the day I would keep the coals just hot enough to start the fire back up at night.

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Belonging to Abba said:

A banker told me that if I use a credit card, I am more likely to get my money back if I am a victim of fraud than if I use a debit card. So I want to get a credit card for online transactions over the Internet since I am concerned about Malware. I recently read an article about malware on Android that has millions of installs and I don’t expect that my Windows computer is fully safe either.

First, which credit card would anyone recommend getting? My credit score has dropped to fair since I completed paying off my student loan a year ago and have had no credit activity since than. So I may have to get a credit card with more limits, like a secured credit card. Should I go with American Express, Capital One, or Chase Bank, or something else?

Secondly, I want a credit card that I can just pay by calling a phone number. My bank told me that their credit card has to be paid online or with the app and that you can’t call a phone number to pay it because of security reasons. However in researching this online, I read that most of the major credit cards have a phone number on the back of the card that you can call and provide your bank account number and pay that way. I don’t want to pay online or with the app because that defeats the purpose of why I am getting a credit card. I am trying not to use my computer or phone to pay because that could potentially expose my bank account number to malware or hackers.

I found that on Experian’s website if you provide your phone number and last four of your social, you can view preapproved offers. Is that a good place to sign up? Where else should I sign up?

I also want a card that has no monthly fee, and which one would give me a better interest rate?
The article on malware on Android in the Play store with millions of installs has me concerned, but should I assume that my Windows 11 computer with Windows defender and Malware Bytes Anti-Malware is safer? I am not paying for any virus / malware protection with this setup, as I am just using the free version of Malware Bytes.

Someone also mentioned to me that I can get a lower interest rate if I go with a credit union.

Also because I prefer to donate a certain percentage of my income to charity or the church, I might have online transactions with large amounts of money. I am kind of wondering if I should really do that with a credit card. If I were to become unemployed for some reason, I wouldn’t want a large amount of money to have to pay off if I did not anticipate becoming unemployed. Normally I would plan to pay off the balance each month.

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Ask for a visa or mastercard, from your bank, they have one or the other. these 2 are widely accepted, get a small limit only 500 dollars max and always pay in full your credit bill monthly, your credit score will improve dramatically quickly. as foa paying you can always do so at the bank or ATM much safer this way.

the interest rated on any credit card are monstruous, only buy what you can pay each month and pay in full.

Blessings

It's time for the third, where the main characters will organize a secret group to reach out to as many as they can. The prologue is a review of what gone on before and the first chapter will pick up where the last one left off. Again, I don't own any of the Left Behind characters. They all belong to Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim Lahaye. I only own my oc's. Hope you enjoy

Prologue

*****
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week. Daniel 9:26-27

Bradskii said:

Apart from embarrassing anyone who is a genuine Republican, what purpose can this possibly serve?

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I'd never heard of these guys, but they appear to be a longstanding faction within the GOP. The call themselves the "Republican wing of the Republican Party". Others referred to them as the TEA party before the TEA party. Sort of orthodox, establishment Republicans with any hint of liberalism purged, none of the populism of the Trump movement and without the libertarian wing's notion about freedom, plus a strong splash of soft Christian nationalism or at least the Christian assumption among its policies, and then turned up a notch or 3. They seem to have caught a heavy fever of nativism as well.

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Party's over, shut it down,
I'm huntin' for someone y'all
He's a lyin' thievin'rattlesnake
and he's broken every law
He's terrorized the lives
of men and he's under arrest
because I've been sent
with a warrant from the body of Christ
-Well, tell me what it says then! -
"Satan, bite the dust!"
Every one of you unclean spirits,
I'm runnin' you outta town
Depression, strife,
disease and fear, your posse's goin' down
-Boy, last tenderfoot who
talked that big we sent him home in a box -
But I know who I am
through Jesus Christ so I talk to you demons like dogs
Satan you coward, you molester of souls,
I command you to appear
You're hidin' from the presence of God but
I can feel your fear from here
-You rattled my chain, boy, long enough, you
got something in your craw? -
A praying church wants you to know
- Know what? -
Your kingdom's gonna fall
-There's gonna be
trouble here tonight -
'Cause I represent a
whole new breed of Christian of today
And I'm authorized and
deputized to blow you clean away
I've got a message to
deliver from One who's true and just
We'll spit in your eye,
you father of lies
Satan, bite the dust!
-Boy, you gonna take me on and my unholy herd?-
Not only take you on, but
take you out by the Spirit and the Word
One by one you'll drop
like flies under foot and in the ground
Because greater is He who is in me
than the snake I'm starin' down
You demon of alcoholism,
you'll be the first to go
There's deliverance from you
through Jesus Christ, so, hit the road!
You spirit of infirmity,
you ain't welcome here no more
We lay hands on the sick
and they recover so, out the door!
You demon of false religion,
you've preyed on minds so simple
I bind the spirit of your songs,
so el kabong!
Play that in your temple!
Now Satan you're next in line,
I'm gonna hit you where it hurts
'Cause I'm tired of you in
my family and I'm tired
of you in my church
I'm not my own,
I'm bought with a price,
I'm a Holy Ghost filled man
And I'm tollin' the bell of
your eternal destruction
'cross the land
'Cause I represent a
whole new breed of Christian of today
And I'm authorized and
deputized to blow you clean away
I've got a weapon with
two bullets that overcome all sin and crud
One bullet is called the word of my testimony,
and the other one's called The Blood
Satan, bite the dust!
Bite the dust!
Well how do you feel about that, devil?
-I'm afeelin' mighty low-
Good!

Vambram said:

Thank you for sharing another wonderful and great song, my friend!!

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You are welcome, brother. Another classic from when I was a young boy. Used to sing "You Are God Alone" during the worship service in at least one or two non-denominational churches that I went to as a young churchgoer. Now, if I can ask the Catholic church that I attend to play this music on piano, that would be awesome, cos they played Hillsong - Oceans before Mass started a few weeks ago, and some other modern song that I have never heard of or even got the title of before today's Mass.

Since this month, I have began to sing worship songs again by pulling the lyric videos up online a few times a week.

We no longer care about human life and the most vulnerable. It's sad.

Radrook said:

So man as a mammal experiences time delay problems in neural transmission while other bipedal creatures such as T Rex, and Terror Birds who dwarf them didn't. Very strange!

This ape was 12 feet tall!
Gigantopithecus

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God point!

How scary!

Enough is enough!

There is too much violence in this world

Lord have mercy!

I know he was Episcopalian.

May God bless him in his journey.

Praying for peace!

May God fill you with holy joy!

May God bless the faithful throughout Tanzania and Kenya!

May God protect you and sustain you in his love

God's will be done!

Lord have mercy!