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Not I, But Christ

Not I, but Christ

By Ada A. Whiddington / A. B. Simpson

… I no longer live, but Christ lives in me… (Galatians 2:20 NIV)


Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted,
Not I, but Christ be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ in every look and action,
Not I, but Christ in every thought and word.

Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow,
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ to lift the weary burden,
Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear.

Christ, only Christ, no idle word e'er falling,
Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound;
Christ, only Christ, no self-important bearing,
Christ, only Christ, no trace of “I” be found.

Not I, but Christ my every need supplying,
Not I, but Christ my strength and health to be;
Christ, only Christ, for spirit, soul, and body,
Christ, only Christ, live then Thy life in me.

Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision,
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see;
Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling,
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it might be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.

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Stressed and Burnt Out from Work

My last job I was constantly given more work and because I did it without complaining it never stopped. When I moved to a new company I was much more vocal when they gave me work so I didn't get into that situation again.
Lol... yup.
I worked in IT. One of my co-workers kept telling me I had to mess up once in a while and not have such a fast turnaround because everyone would be calling me. But I liked the work and wanted to satisfy. Being an old military Sgt, I knew it was my job to make my boss look good. I even told my supervisor that. Needless to say, my goldbricking friend did not last long. I retired after 17 years.
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Bitter Jealousy and Selfish Ambition

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13-18 ESV)

We are not wise just if we have a lot of book smarts. A scholastic education does not make anyone wise, necessarily. We can be some of the smartest people on the planet, with high IQs, and know all kinds of stuff other people don’t know, but that doesn’t mean we are wise. For wisdom has to do with applied knowledge, but applied rightly in a way that is wise (sensible, prudent, having good and correct judgment and discernment). For wisdom is the opposite of foolish (thoughtless, reckless, senseless, irresponsible).

So, wisdom is not shown by how intellectually smart we are and what all we know, or think we know. Wisdom is shown by what we do with what we know, i.e. when we respond with good judgment and right conduct. And good conduct is not defined by the flesh, nor by the world, nor by our culture, but by God and by his Word (the Scriptures). And the Scriptures teach that we are to be morally pure, upright, godly, righteous, faithful, honest, trustworthy, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands.

Therefore, if our conduct reveals that we are people whose hearts are filled with bitter jealousy (like Cain with regard to his brother Abel) and with selfish ambition, which stem from earthly, unspiritual, and demonic wisdom, we are to face this reality head on, and not be false to the truth, and not deny what is reality. For those who deny their own sinful conditions and what is stored up in their hearts, and who trivialize their own offenses, or who blame others, will never know the wisdom of God, but will continue in evil.

And pride is one of the hindrances to anyone having and putting into practice godly wisdom and right judgment and good conduct. For pride is selfish by nature, and does not like to be confronted with wrongdoing or to be corrected in any way. So pride stubbornly goes one’s own way, despite knowing the right way to go. It refuses good judgment and wise counsel in favor of having its own way and stubbornly holding on to its own self-will. So humility is necessary if we are to have and to exercise godly wisdom.

But where bitter jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. And that is because the people giving in to these, who are letting these character traits overcome them, are being led by their sinful flesh and not by God, and not by his teachings. And the Scriptures teach that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” So the evil person, out of the evil treasure of his heart, produces evil (Matthew 15:17-20; Luke 6:45).

So, if you who are practicing evil want to live godly and morally pure lives, you have to get rid of the evil that is stored up in your hearts. You have to forgive all who you believe have offended you. You have to forgive God, who did no wrong, for not performing for you the way you thought he should. You have to let go of all bitterness, resentment, hate, anger, lust, and all that evil, which is stored up in your hearts, and let the Lord fill your hearts with his love and grace, and with uprightness, moral purity, and love for others.

And you do this only by genuine God-provided, and God-gifted, and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) of your life. And this faith requires death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness. We must die with Christ to sin so that we can be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, what we practice, it leads to death. We will not inherit eternal life with God if we practice sin.

[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 2:3-6,15-17; 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]

Near the Cross

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869
Music by William H. Doane, 1869


Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.

Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.

In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.

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Grace Wins by Matthew West

The first time that I heard this song was about 8 years ago. I love this song so very much but sometimes I forget to listen to it when I might need it the most.
Matthew West has a few more great songs that I ought to keep on my playlists.
Yeah, the song was released in 2015. Remember, if you ever feel down, listen to Matthew West, or other classic Christian songs from the 1980s-early 2010s.


Also, I remember this song from Matthew West - You Are Everything, as I looked up his discography. It was released when I turned 8 years old:
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Please Preach the Good News

It is not me you must agree with. You must agree with what the Scriptures teach, and I am teaching what they teach. Read Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21; 1st John 1:5-10; 1st John 2:3-6; 1st John 3:4-6, just for starters, and read Ephesians 2:8-10 and Titus 2:11-14, etc.
I hear ya, but i have to listen to the Spirit of the Lord that breathes his life into those scriptures. I'm not saying I don't agree with you totally, just that works is the product of faith and sonetimes it doesn't sound like you are saying that, to me anyway.

Either way, you have wonderful things to share.
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Good morning Mercy by Jason Crabb

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Without the grace, mercy, and love of my Savior, I would be one of the most wretched man in all the world.

@AlexB23 and @Hazelelponi please listen and tell me what y'all think about this song.
This is a catchy one. The cowboy hat is a little overkill when singing worship, but the lyrics are truly Christian, and the song makes me wanna dance. The verse below is relevant to the song, as it discusses God's mercy.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV): "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
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Breath

Do people breathe in heaven?
Good question. We only have Jesus when he arose from the dead in his healed old body. He had back his old lungs, but that doesn't tell us anything about our future bodies, which will be different. In his new immortal body, he must have put on something different because he is in heaven, where there is no air.

Furthermore, the New Jerusalem's highest floor is higher than satellites in space--again, no air. If people want to see the view from the top floor of New Jerusalem, they will have to have air tanks or a different set of lungs.

I'd like to think that our future immortal bodies will be similar to what we have now. But Paul called such speculation "foolish." And I don't want to be a "fool!" ;) But it's a good question!
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Be Thou My Vision (Heavy Metal Version)

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I was listening to a song earlier this afternoon that I like on YouTube and about a minute to a minute and a half my phone did like a refresh and then started playing this song for no rhyme or reason, nothing was near my phone or anything, not even me at the time.

So, I think God chose well today with this song. (This was my first time hearing this song):
*head banging with the song*

This song is awesome. Who would have thought that heavy metal music would be perfect for those old lyrics?
Thank you for sharing this really cool song!!!
  • Love
Reactions: Hazelelponi
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Harris Slammed Over Disastrous Solo Interview With Local Station

Harris is doing a mini filibuster.

That's one way of looking at it. She dodged the questions of "how are you different from Biden" and "can you think of a reason Trump has supporters?"

And I'm paraphrasing.

Let's be clear...that was the right move. She isn't really different from Biden....she won't be running things just like Biden currently isn't.

If she said "Trump's clearly more brave than me"....since I'm nervous about a one-on-one interview for 11 minutes and he's got people trying to shoot him. That's not going to fly.

And you can see the wheels turning as she tries to balance the interests and demands of a diverse voting coalition thats more than half of the country.

????

Most of her current voters were the same voters she had when it was announced she was taking over the ticket. You're not entirely wrong, she does have a diverse coalition....

Big pharma
Multinational investment firms
Big business
Banking
And unsurprisingly, the institute of both public and higher education.
Establishment Media

The identity group voters just think they're on the same team. The feminists, gays, trans, are not on the same team. Jews and Muslims and black people aren't on the same team. In fact, black people and anyone...including the indigenous people they claim....aren't on the same team. The white pseudo-socialist liberal isn't an ally of anyone.

The reason these companies signal to the left that they're on your side is because....like you....they believe it's an actual team that supports each other and shares values. That's not the case though.

Whether or not she understands it....Harris is the uniparty trying to retain its grip. It was less obvious when each side could pretend to have different views and she wouldn't be bragging about having 200 Republicans on her side.

In reality though, the reason why Obama was every bit as disappointing as GW Bush is because every 4 years....they're told what to do and how to do it. All the donors are lined up on one side....and Trump's getting shot at. Harris spent most of this interview trying to convince people she's got middle class working roots. This doesn't take Columbo to figure out.

Want something different? Change the system so we dont penalize alt party voters with the spoiler effect.

RFK tried to run....as an alt candidate under the Democratic Party. He was barred from debates. He was scrubbed off ballots. The only places he was allowed to be on the ballot were states he was more likely to take Trump votes. He knows the score...he opted out.
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Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Night Jesus was Betrayed.

Thank you SO MUCH for your reply. I had no idea this was such a hotly debated topic. I apologize. I did not mean to step in poo.

Nah, it's all good, and I didn't mean it to come across that way. In fact I was waiting for the sparks to fly and for some reason it didn't happen, (lol). Nothing wrong with what you asked!
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The Beginning of the End of Recreational Catholicism

While Recreational Catholicism—the tangled knot of the therapeutic, political, theatrical, and ego-massaging trend besetting the Church—has had its day, we are now on the cusp of a resurrection.

Recreational Catholicism? Let me explain.

It is an attribution identifying the current stage of collapse in the Roman Church. Its coinage is meant to convey the tangled knot of the therapeutic, political, theatrical, and ego-massaging trend besetting the Church, all of which produces a kind a zombie Catholic, who is daily fed on what Huxley called in Brave New World the “feelies”: engineered pleasures that maintain their victims in a state of floating euphoria.

Its principal vehicle is the liturgy, where Sunday “celebrations” are carefully planned by Liturgy Committees for maximum effusions of non-threatening messages of “welcoming.” While normal men gag on its oozing sentimentality, certain kinds of Catholics crave it. Sunday after Sunday. It is like a narcotic, you see.

Continued below.

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