Published by Joshua Swanson
"[1] Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
[2] Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
[3] For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
[4] Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight: that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest.
[5] Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
[6] Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
[7] Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
[8] Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.
[9] Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
[11] Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
[12] Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.
[13] Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.
[14] Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.
[15] O Lord, open Thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth Thy praise.
[16] For Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering.
[17] The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
[18] Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.
[19] Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar." (Psalm 51:1-19)
I am a Christian, and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior from my sins! Praise the LORD for saving such a sinful wretch like me!! Courage, Christian soldiers serving under King Jesus' banner! "What shall we then say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3)
Favorite book: The Holy Bible, which is the Word of God. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Other favorite books: The Bell Mountain Series by Lee Duigon; The Remnant Trilogy by Tim Chaffey and K. Marie Adams; The Crown & Covenant and The Faith & Freedom Trilogies by Douglas Bond; etc. I recommend these books!
View all posts by Joshua Swanson
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
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Thank you, Ryan! I wish you and your family a God-blessed Merry Christmas, too!
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Christmas present for you: a quick chess lesson. More about Rooks.
There are two important things to remember about Rooks. 1) They work best when they work together. Unlike Bishops, they can defend each other. Unlike Knights, they can do it at long range. Rooks at a1 and a8, for instance, provided there is nothing in the way, defend each other the length of the board. 2) The principal of “sliding Rooks”: although the Rook is a high value piece, it can often be sacrificed–for instance, by taking a Pawn that is protecting the opposing King, blowing a hole in the defense–when the other Rook is able to “slide in” to replace it on your next turn. Example: Rooks on h1 and g1. The g1 Rook sweeps down to g7 to capture a defending enemy Pawn and threaten (“check”) the opposing King. The King, due to circumstances we won’t go into here, has no alternative but to capture your Rook on g7. When it’s your turn to move again, your h1 Rook “slides” to g1 and again attacks the enemy King–who no longer has a Pawn in front of him to defend him.
There is a saying in chess, “When you can move either of your two Rooks, you almost always end up moving the wrong one!” So take the time to carefully consider your moves.
Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas, Lee Duigon! Thank you for the lesson! I played chess with my cousin, who knows how to play chess (2nd or 3rd time for me to play chess). It was a close game, but I won, thanks to you!
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How about that! And I haven’t even finished explaining how all the different pieces move.
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I would probably have lost if didn’t have my lessons from you.
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I would’ve enjoyed watching that game.
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🙂 I had a good time playing the game with my cousin. She’s really a sweet girl.
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Did you get a chance to shock her with an En Passant?
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I didn’t this time, but I shocked her when I told her that a Pawn could be changed to a piece of higher value when it reaches the enemy’s front row. At the end of the game, we both had our Kings left, with me having only one Pawn, 2 to 1. It was then that my Pawn turned into a Queen. The game ended when my King defeated her King. I think she kind of gave up when my Queen made her unexpected reappearance.
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Most players will give up, at that point. Way to go!
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Thanks! Today I taught her how to play Checkers, which is easier than chess, and she seemed to get the hang of it pretty fast. She won the game.
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Serious checkers was big in the 19th century. A prominent chess and checkers columnist back then, I can’t remember his name, said, “Chess is like a sea with no shore, but checkers is like a lake with no bottom.” Not sure what he meant by that, but it sounds profound.
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I was happy to be able to teach her how to play checkers and I was also happy to be able to play chess with her. 🙂
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