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Is healing possible? January 29, 2024. Sharing what’s been on my heart and mind, and while I want to keep this channel positive and uplifting, what’s on my heart is the state of our country. We are not at ease as a country. How do we heal from this dis-ease? Would love to know your thoughts. As always, please keep your comments solution based and respectful for all. 0:00 Intro 1:33 Keeping it Non-Partisan 3:04 Fed Up 4:44 We're Right. They're Evil. We're Right. They're Evil 6:28 Is the American Dream Dead? 10:26 Getting Past Partisanship 11:22 Healing the Dis-ease 13:18 Share Your Thoughts Full Video Transcription Peace family this is Christina and it is Monday January 29th and I have a big question for you all: What is it going to take to heal the United States of America? Big one right? I've been hesitant to go here with the channel and as always I want to keep it uplifting respectful of all and edifying to all. However if you live in the United States right now, especially if you are an American citizen, you understand how big of a crisis we're going through in so many different ways and how much dis-ease what I would call it dis-ease (being not at ease) that we are experiencing as a nation. I've been doing these daily videos, and I really want it to come from the heart and so this is what's been on my heart. This is much more dedicated to asking questions than to giving you all an answer, so I really want to know what you all think about this. Before I get into my thoughts and my questions for you all, as always I want to offer you all my well-wishes and my prayers for more life, more love, more joy, more peace, and prosperity to you, to your family, to your community, to your children. even to your enemies. So let's get into this video. If you live in the United States right now, I don't even really have to tell you what's going on, and I'm purposely keeping this nonpartisan. So I will just give you a small amount of background on myself just so that you can have context, but you know I used to be heavily involved in politics and things like that when I was in my 20s which is like I think most people right like you kind of get a cause and you like run with it you know and as I've gotten older I'm really trying to walk what I would call the middle path okay as any of you who've studied Buddhism might understand me where it's just trying to not be too extreme here or there but to really find where is the balancing point for myself right now again this is not to tell y'all what you should do and what you should believe or anything this is really just to ask the question because I think too few of us are really asking this question in a nonpartisan way which is how do we really heal the United States of America you know so I'm talking about I used to be involved in partisan Politics as a younger person because I used to really you know I you know I really believe that we need to be the change that we want to see in the world right so if you want to see a difference you should get out there and do something about it right and so for me at the time I was thinking well like let me get involved in the political process so that I can make a difference here you know and you know as of today and I want to know how you guys really feel so please let me know in the comments how you feel because I know I'm kind of fed up right now with the political process and are you guys fed up with this are you fed up with these Shenanigans. It feels like you know you watch the news or even if you watch YouTube Right everything is like filtered through this very partisan lens right so if you you know if you know how kind of that algorithm works like YouTube right it will feed you what it thinks you will watch and same thing with Instagram you know um you have the people that you follow and then it will kind of suggest to you other things that you might like based on your watch History right and so what happens is we all end up in this Echo chamber that kind of feeds us more of what we already think and believe right and so if you kind of lean more conservative then you will have conservative pundits come up conservative commentators you'll get f Fox News and stuff like that and it will kind of collectively confirm things that you might already believe if you are more left leaning you will have more left leaning commentators more left leaning you know pundits and like you know have MSNBC and stuff like that and it will feel like organically you're like well everyone believes this because this is all that I see on my feet or everyone must feel like this way like how can anyone think opposite right but then like you you do the exercise if you ever have done this if you've never done this really try to do this like if you are an MSNBC person spend the day watching only Fox News or if you're like a Fox News person spend the day only watching MSNBC or spend the day don't watch any of it and just try to watch BBC or like a whole different country's take on how the United States is because it feels like what's happened is we've created these two gigantic Echo Chambers and like these people are like we're right and these people are evil and we're right and these people are evil and these people seem to genuinely feel that way and then you have a lot of us who are in the middle who are like y'all look crazy AF right Is it just me, but it feels like watching this argument go down continually for years and years and years, and the reason why nothing is getting done in the government is because these people who are elected, rather than trying to find the solution that actually makes the most sense, they want to - let's say they're having an argument, they will just do ad hominem attacks, try to tear the other person down, look they're stupid, let me tear down their personal life and things like that. Who cares if this person did all that in their personal life? How do we fix the problem? Or then you you have the government when they start to pass bills - let's say we have some common sense measures that everyone agrees with, but then this party wants to throw in extra BS that's not even related to the bill. So we're talking about a transportation bill, but these people want to throw in stuff about fracking or whatever, and these people want to throw in stuff about books and schools, and we're sitting here like wait I thought this was about transportation like can we just stick to the topic at hand? And the reason why nothing's getting passed is because we're throwing in like everything everything under the sun into these bills as opposed to just being straight to the point, like okay we all agree we need public transportation. How do we make that happen? Period. Done. As opposed to all this extra chatter, and at this point in the United States, it really feels like we are going down the tubes. I've been watching so many videos of like expatriates, people leaving the country like people talking about what do we do here right. I love the United States. I was born here. I've enjoyed growing up here. I feel like it's had a huge amount of opportunity for me. I have a yoga business that I started a few years ago, and it's been a challenge to be honest, but the idea that I can start a business is wonderful. In some countries, I have some European friends who I've talked to. They'll say like, "You may not have been able to create what you've done in this country or in that country just because the laws are different." So I'm so grateful to be born here, and I get why so many people have heard about the American dream, and they want to come here and be a part of it, but I'm sitting here like I'm not sure the American dream is even a dream anymore. It feels like it's turning into a nightmare and it feels like it's happening quickly. It feels like it's happening quickly, like it's like a downturn for the United States. And maybe it was an illusion. Maybe they were just gassing us up and making us think that the United States was doing better than it was. I don't know. I just know that it feels like right now that the country is going down the tubes, and I'm not blaming the migrants, I'm not blaming one party, I'm not blaming another party. I'm trying to ask a genuine question, which is: How do we heal our country? I don't want to leave this country like I like it here you know my family is here and I feel like I've had so much opportunity here. I believe that everyone deserves to have a good life, love, joy, peace, prosperity, abundance all that. But it feels like this negative energy is just hovering over the United States it's like this negative hateful antagonistic, argumentative type energy and it's like this side is just all they want to do is tear down the other side, and this side all they want to do is tear down the other side, and it feels like both sides are willing to literally throw the country under the bus just so that their side can win and I'm sitting here like yo man y'all need to chill. Y'all need to really chill like both y'all need to chill and sit down and and like give up this partisan stuff and actually make Solutions outside of that. And you know it's funny because even like when you have those kind of Centrist people or like you'll have third party candidates come up who are like you know Green Party, there's like a bunch of third parties that will kind of pop up, and a candidate will be a part of that party and then the the angry people on either side will be like, "If you vote for this third party candidate that's really a vote for one of the the other candidates," or "You're you're pulling votes from one of the other candidates so what you should really do is just pick a side." And I just feel like the country for us to heal has to get somehow beyond this like you're either here or you're there and it's like the people who end up in office seem to be the most extreme of the extreme, and then we put those people on television and those are the people that get the most views because they're so extreme. People are like, "Oh my God look at this crazy stuff that this person is saying!" So the actually insane people are the ones who I feel like get the highest rank and the most views and the people who are like reasonable, the Centrists, the people who are like I can see both sides of this. I can see why you would think that and I can see why you would think that let's come to middle ground. It's like those people are not the ones who end up in office. It ends up being the most extreme of the extreme and then they can't come to any type of harmony because they're kind of stuck in this echo chamber that says we're right they're they're evil, we're right they're evil, and it just feels like in order to really heal our country, we just have to get past all of this partisan stuff. Maybe it's just me and if there's another solution, I would love to hear what you all think it is because I want to see this country not only bounce back, I want it to thrive. I want to see immigrants be able to come into the country. I also want to see the people in the United States be successful. I want to see people be able to have businesses and like myself, who wants to have a business, wants to be a business owner, but I also want to see people who haven't been able to do that to have whatever resources they need. And so it's like why can't we just get along! It sounds so silly, but it's true. What is this energy about that is so aggressive and angry and like I said this country is just in a state of dis-ease, it's diseased, and it feels like there's like a cancer or something in our country that I'm not sure that just picking a new president is going to fix it. I just really don't know and it almost feels like we need an overhaul or something you know. I don't want to see see our country literally go down the tubes and have an economic collapse in order for us to learn our lesson that we should just be chill and try to support support each other as opposed to trying to tear each other down. And so that's what's been on my heart and mind today. Like I said, I was really hesitant to even do this video because I don't want to be negative. I want you know I embarked on the this path of more life, more abundance, really to heal my mind, and to heal my life, and to find this positive happy place, and I want all of us to feel that way. I want all of us to feel uplifted. I want all of us to feel peaceful in our homes, peaceful when we go outside. I want us to all feel safe in our communities. We should be safe to go down the street and walk and talk to each other and say hello. We should feel happy driving down the road as opposed to it feels like just complete chaos. And it feels like these people who are in office for whatever reason are hellbent on creating angst and chaos and destruction, it's this destructive energy, and I'm not really sure where it's coming from. That's why I'm asking more a question than giving an answer and I want to really hear I want to see who's on this vibration and might have some insight. Go into the comments and like I said this is not a place to be negative. I want this to be uplifting. If y'all get into conversation in the comments, I want this to be helpful, edifying, positive, solution based, as opposed to F them F them, they're stupid, they're dumb, you know that's not helpful. Destructive stuff isn't helpful. We've been doing that for long enough. How do we like like elevate our consciousness, elevate our our country? How do we do that? And I'm not saying that I have the answer, but maybe you all do, so I would love to hear your comments on this. If anyone else feels like the country is going down the tubes. I don't believe that we should live in a state of fear at all. God has not given me a mind of fear but of faith and of a sound mind, and so when you become fearful, that's when you make bad decisions and that's across the board right so I think we have to come from a joyful place, an uplifted place, a clearheaded place, and I think we can find the solution to this. I think there is a way to bring our country back, and I'm not saying back to the slave days, stuff like that no, but I mean bring our country back to a place of the American dream I want to I want the American dream. I want to have have my picket fence and my family and and feel like we can buy a home comfortably like previous generations did, and that we can retire, and that we can go outside with our kids and walk down the street and there's not going to be shootings and stuff. Where we can send our kids to school and there's not going to be any problems. That's what I want the country to be. That's the country I want to live in. And I want people to come here and feel like this is a great place to be, but it has to be a great place to be, and I'm not sure that it's it's being that way right now So again, if you have any thoughts on this, I wish that you would comment your thoughts. Again, let's keep it positive. If this was helpful, please give it a thumbs up and I'm trying to keep this positive. I might talk more about current events, so let me know if you have any other comments, if you've been watching my channel, of what kind of stuff you want me to talk about in an uplifting uplifting way. So as always, you know I love you guys so much. I love this country. I love the world. You know all I want to do is send love out into the universe, and let's just keep it there. So as always, I will see you on the next one. Wishing you life, love, joy, peace, and prosperity, but not just to you, to all of the country, to all of the world and with that I will see you on the next one. Peace. Christina V. Mills is the creator of Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine and our products. She is a lifelong spiritual seeker, writer, and yoga teacher. Follow her on Instagram @morelifemoreyoga. Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

Let whoever is of a generous heart bring the LORD’S offering. The Books of the Bible Sabbath Regulations Exodus 35:1 Moses assembled all the congregation of the Israelites and said to them: These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of solemn rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire in all your dwellings on the sabbath day. Preparations for Making the Tabernacle 4 Moses said to all the congregation of the Israelites: This is the thing that the LORD has commanded: 5 Take from among you an offering to the LORD; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the LORD’S offering: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine linen; goats’ hair, 7 tanned rams’ skins, and fine leather; acacia wood, 8 oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 9 and onyx stones and gems to be set in the ephod and the breastpiece. 10 All who are skillful among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle, 11 its tent and its covering, its clasps and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 12 the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the curtain for the screen; 13 the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance, the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin with its stand; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the finely worked vestments for ministering in the holy place, the holy vestments for the priest Aaron, and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests. Offerings for the Tabernacle 20 Then all the congregation of the Israelites withdrew from the presence of Moses. 21 And they came, everyone whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and brought the LORD’S offering to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the sacred vestments. 22 So they came, both men and women; all who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and pendants, all sorts of gold objects, everyone bringing an offering of gold to the LORD. 23 And everyone who possessed blue or purple or crimson yarn or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or fine leather, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make an offering of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD’S offering; and everyone who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work, brought it. 25 All the skillful women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun in blue and purple and crimson yarns and fine linen; 26 all the women whose hearts moved them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 And the leaders brought onyx stones and gems to be set in the ephod and the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD. New Revised Standard Version Liveology Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life. Join us on the journey of seeking God, self-study, healing, and awakening as we draw from spiritual traditions across the world. Subscrib e for access to our exclusive library of articles and videos and other special benefits. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube ! Thank you for your continued and growing support. Peace & Pineapples!

Seek the LORD and live. The Books of the Bible The Book of Amos A Lament for Israel’s Sin Amos 5:1 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 2 Fallen, no more to rise, is maiden Israel; forsaken on her land, with no one to raise her up. 3 For thus says the Lord GOD: The city that marched out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which marched out a hundred shall have ten left. 4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: Seek me and live; 5 but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter into Gilgal or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to nothing. 6 Seek the LORD and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it. 7 Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! 8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name, 9 who makes destruction flash out against the strong, so that destruction comes upon the fortress. 10 They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. 11 Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. 12 For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate. 13 Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time. 14 Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. 15 Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord: In all the squares there shall be wailing; and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! alas!” They shall call the farmers to mourning, and those skilled in lamentation, to wailing; 17 in all the vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through the midst of you, says the LORD. The Day of the Lord a Dark Day 18 Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD! Why do you want the day of the LORD? It is darkness, not light; 19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. 20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? 21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. 25 Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; 27 therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine creates uplifting content for evolving humans as we draw from wisdom across the world. Shop yogi swag and go down the rabbit hole for exclusive content. Please join our email list and tell a friend about us today. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

For who has ever escaped your endless cruelty? The Books of the Bible The Book of Nahum Ruin Imminent and Inevitable 1 Ah! City of bloodshed, utterly deceitful, full of booty— no end to the plunder! 2 The crack of whip and rumble of wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! 3 Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, piles of dead, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over the bodies! 4 Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute, gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery, who enslaves nations through her debaucheries, and peoples through her sorcery, 5 I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and will lift up your skirts over your face; and I will let nations look on your nakedness and kingdoms on your shame. 6 I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt, and make you a spectacle. 7 Then all who see you will shrink from you and say, “Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you? 8 Are you better than Thebes that sat by the Nile, with water around her, her rampart a sea, water her wall? 9 Ethiopia was her strength, Egypt too, and that without limit; Put and the Libyans were her helpers. 10 Yet she became an exile, she went into captivity; even her infants were dashed in pieces at the head of every street; lots were cast for her nobles, all her dignitaries were bound in fetters. 11 You also will be drunken, you will go into hiding; you will seek a refuge from the enemy. 12 All your fortresses are like fig trees with first-ripe figs— if shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater. 13 Look at your troops: they are women in your midst. The gates of your land are wide open to your foes; fire has devoured the bars of your gates. 14 Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts; trample the clay, tread the mortar, take hold of the brick mold! 15 There the fire will devour you, the sword will cut you off. It will devour you like the locust. Multiply yourselves like the locust, multiply like the grasshopper! 16 You increased your merchants more than the stars of the heavens. The locust sheds its skin and flies away. 17 Your guards are like grasshoppers, your scribes like swarms of locusts settling on the fences on a cold day— when the sun rises, they fly away; no one knows where they have gone. 18 Your shepherds are asleep, O king of Assyria; your nobles slumber. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them. 19 There is no assuaging your hurt, your wound is mortal. All who hear the news about you clap their hands over you. For who has ever escaped your endless cruelty? New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? The Books of the Bible Bildad Speaks: How Can a Mortal Be Righteous Before God? Job 25:1 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered: 2 “Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. 3 Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise? 4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 5 If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his sight, 6 how much less a mortal, who is a maggot, and a human being, who is a worm!” New Revised Standard Version Liveology Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life. Join us on the journey of seeking God, self-study, healing, and awakening as we draw from spiritual traditions across the world. Become a Member! Members receive access to our exclusive library of articles and videos ad other special benefits. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Sharing is caring. Thank you for your continued and growing support. Peace & Pineapples!

A vision of a spinning top. Received a vision of a spinning top. Some people realize they are spinning in the wrong direction and would rather save face and stay going in the wrong direction rather than to change course. But if you're reading this, I know that's not you. What happens when you decide to turn it around. 0:00 A Top Spinning in the Wrong Direction 1:44 It Has to Stop Completely 3:30 The Top will Fall Over 4:30 Why Most People Never Change Course 5:55 Spinning in the Right Direction Full Video Transcript Okay peace family this is Christina, and I'm out here in this freezing cold weather in Atlanta, all bundled up, walking little Buff Buff. She is over there being all cute. I wanted to share with you guys a vision that I received during my time of prayer and meditation of a spinning top. God was showing me this interesting vision of a spinning top, but the top is going in the wrong direction. Similarly a spinning clock. If you envision a clock on the wall like a analog clock, old school clock, but the clock is not going in the right direction it's going counterclockwise. And so this is for those of you who feel like your life has been making progress on some level but it's not progress in the right direction family. So we have been doing things, creating things on our own, outside of what God has asked us to do, and so we're creating, we're making things right, we're we're moving, we're creating, we're building, but now that we've gone far down the road, we've made a whole bunch of stuff. We may have made relationships, all kind of stuff. Way down the road you realize that wasn't even the direction I was supposed to go in in the first place. You've gone hundreds of miles in the wrong direction family, and so this is really for you all. This is all coming out of my own experience and what God is speaking to me. If you think of a spinning top that is spinning in the opposite direction, it's going counterclockwise. At some point, if you want that clock to go in the right direction, the clock has to stop completely. It can't go immediately from backward to forward. If you're driving, and you're backing up, you can't immediately go forward while you're going backward at the same time. It's not possible. I can't go east and at the same time go west. Something has to completely stop. It has to come to a full stop, and if you envision a spinning top, because I literally have been seeing this top spinning for like some days now. If you think about a spinning top right, and you have it spinning, and it's going in the wrong direction, and it's spinning spinning spinning, what happens is first it's kind of going really fast upright. If you're going in the wrong direction you can be completely upright and create a business that's totally outside of God's will. It's spinning it's going. You might be using some type of energy that's not God to have it run, that's the crazy thing. So we can look at people who look like they're being successful on Earth, and that might be you family, who has created something or is doing something that might look on the outside like you're spinning upright. Everything is going fine, but it's in the wrong direction, and it's not using God's energy. It's using some other energy source. That other energy source could be other entities, it could be other people, using other people for your own energy like vampire type of energy. And what happens is if you think of this top, if you realize whoa like I have this thing spinning all the way counterclockwise I want to turn it clockwise, what you have to do is it has to stop completely. And if you think of a top, it's spinning really fast and if you just stop giving it energy, it will start getting wobbly. It'll make this kind of loose wobble, wobbling, and then all of a sudden it'll fall over. And so here's the part that I think a lot of people are terrified of. It's the time when everything has to stop completely, I mean like dead stop okay dead stop, and I mean like you might even fall over. Dead stop. Like you're driving 100 miles, 1,000 miles, 10,000 miles in the wrong direction and you're like wait I have to go the other way. You have to come to a full stop. You can't keep going in the same direction. You have to stop. That top will fall over. It might look crazy, and you might publicly fall over. It may be just a few people that see it. It might be a bunch of people that see it, but the reality is if you truly want God to take over your life and to spin your top in the right direction, you have to go through it, and this is why so many people never go through it, why so many people never make the shift. It's because truly billions of people are spinning in the opposite direction, and a lot of people would rather save face and stay upright, look like they have it together. "I'm going to keep going make it look like I have it together and keep spending my energy on using other type of not God energy and using other people for my energy right, and have the appearance of being upright," knowing good and well that they're going counterclockwise, knowing good and well they're going backwards, and they know this but they would rather stay there and have it appear that they're upright. "Look I'm still up. I'm still good right," than to start looking wobbly and to fall over. And so what God was showing me is wherever you are in this phase, you could be just realizing that you need to turn around the opposite direction, you might be in a place where it's winding down and you're kind of looking like "Uh oh like is this really what I wanted?" All of a sudden you might be losing a relationship, you might lose your, job you might have to leave your job, you might have to consciously leave, you might have to move. You might have to change friend groups. There might be a whole bunch of changes that you realize you have to make because in order to spin that top in the right direction, you might have to get rid of your whole life, depending on what what it is right. You have to be willing, and not saying that it will be that way right, but you have to be willing to allow the top to fall over so that God can spin it. God will like be like, "Alright now. Are you done spinning in the wrong direction? Are you done? Are you done? Because once you're done, then I can spin it in the right direction, but you have to stop letting it go in the wrong direction and stop feeding it. A lot of times we are actively feeding it. It's not that it's going in that direction. It's that we're pushing the gas for it to go in that direction. And so I just wanted to share that with you guys. Wherever you are in this journey, whether you just realized, "Whoa, I've been going that way I need to go all the way that way!" Or if you've already stopped putting the gas and you're starting to put that break on the wrong direction and you're kind of looking at your life like, "Whoo, I don't know if this is what I was ready for," just stay with it. And even if you're at that point where you fell over and you're literally laying on your side like, "God I thought you said that uh... this what I was supposed to do..." That's exactly where you're supposed to be. That's exactly where you're supposed to be, because that shows God that you have stopped giving gas to the opposite and you are trusting God to spin you in the right direction. It requires surrender, requires letting go and trusting, and that's the hardest part, but you can do it. I know you can. And so I just wanted to share that with you guys. You know that everything is going to be alright. You know it always gets darkest before the dawn, you know it's always hardest right before that breakthrough, and so if you're at that hardest point, literally if you already fell over, this is really for those of you who are on your side, on your back right now. You know you it's about to happen for you. You know God's about to spin you out in the right direction, and that's exactly where you're supposed to be And so as always you, know I love you guys. I just send these messages to uplift myself, and if I can uplift one more person, two people, 10, 100, a million people doesn't even matter. It's all about just sending love into the universe, and so I'm wishing you all abundant life, love, joy, peace, and prosperity. And as always I love you guys. Peace. Christina V. Mills is the creator of Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine and our products. She is a lifelong spiritual seeker, writer, and yoga teacher. Follow her on Instagram @morelifemoreyoga. Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. The Books of the Bible Moses Makes New Tablets Exodus 34:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself there to me, on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and do not let anyone be seen throughout all the mountain; and do not let flocks or herds graze in front of that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the former ones; and he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tablets of stone. 5 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name, “The LORD.” 6 The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, a forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” The Covenant Renewed 10 He said: I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been performed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the LORD; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 Observe what I command you today. See, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you are going, or it will become a snare among you. 13 You shall tear down their altars, break their pillars, and cut down their sacred poles a 14 (for you shall worship no other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God). 15 You shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, someone among them will invite you, and you will eat of the sacrifice. 16 And you will take wives from among their daughters for your sons, and their daughters who prostitute themselves to their gods will make your sons also prostitute themselves to their gods. 17 You shall not make cast idols. 18 You shall keep the festival of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt. 19 All that first opens the womb is mine, all your male a livestock, the firstborn of cow and sheep. 20 The firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. No one shall appear before me empty-handed. 21 Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest. 22 You shall observe the festival of weeks, the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the festival of ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the LORD God, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out nations before you, and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the LORD your God three times in the year. 25 You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, and the sacrifice of the festival of the passover shall not be left until the morning. 26 The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk. 27 The LORD said to Moses: Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. 28 He was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. a The Shining Face of Moses 29 Moses came down from Mount Sinai. As he came down from the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant in his hand, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face was shining, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the leaders of the congregation returned to him, and Moses spoke with them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near, and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 When Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face; 34 but whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would take the veil off, until he came out; and when he came out, and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 the Israelites would see the face of Moses, that the skin of his face was shining; and Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with him. New Revised Standard Version Liveology Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life. Join us on the journey of seeking God, self-study, healing, and awakening as we draw from spiritual traditions across the world. Subscrib e for access to our exclusive library of articles and videos and other special benefits. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube ! Thank you for your continued and growing support. Peace & Pineapples!

I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me. The Books of the Bible The Book of Amos Amos 4:1     Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!” 2  The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness: The time is surely coming upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, even the last of you with fishhooks. 3  Through breaches in the wall you shall leave, each one straight ahead; and you shall be flung out into Harmon, says the LORD. 4  Come to Bethel—and transgress; to Gilgal—and multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; 5  bring a thank-offering of leavened bread, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel! says the Lord GOD. Israel Rejects Correction 6     I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 7     And I also withheld the rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest; I would send rain on one city, and send no rain on another city; one field would be rained upon, and the field on which it did not rain withered; 8  so two or three towns wandered to one town to drink water, and were not satisfied; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 9     I struck you with blight and mildew; I laid waste your gardens and your vineyards; the locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 10     I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword; I carried away your horses; and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 11     I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a brand snatched from the fire; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD. 12     Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel! 13     For lo, the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, reveals his thoughts to mortals, makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name! New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine creates uplifting content for evolving humans as we draw from wisdom across the world. Shop yogi swag and go down the rabbit hole for exclusive content. Please join our email list and tell a friend about us today. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

What unconditional love IS and what it’s NOT. Love is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately, many narcissistic and abusive people have been using the phrase “unconditional love” to gaslight their partners into accepting their abusive and harmful behavior. What unconditional love IS and what it’s NOT. Full Video Transcript Peace family. This is Christina, and I'm out here walking little Buff Buff she's being super super cute. I wanted to talk about unconditional love. I've been seeing a lot of people talk about unconditional love out here and interestingly I feel like it's the people who are literally the walking red flag who are like, "You should have unconditional love for me, we should have unconditional love for each other." I totally believe in unconditional love. I feel like unconditional love has definitely been demonstrated to me by my parents, and I'm really grateful for that, so I have a really good sense of what unconditional love really is, where it's giving and you can mess up and the person is still there for you right, and you can make a mistake and you're not rejected. You're not kicked out of the house. These people will still continue to love you and help you. That is unconditional love. But unconditional love I feel like is a phrase that is being used right now by highly abusive people. I just keep seeing this, which is why I had to make this video. I keep seeing them say, "We're supposed to have unconditional love for each other. You're supposed to love me," but it it's these people who are saying that who are like cheaters, they're cheating on you, they might be putting you down emotionally, trying to make you feel bad about yourself. Let's say you're trying to start a business, they'll sit out here and poo poo your little business like it's stupid. "Why are you doing that? It so silly. You think that's going to make any money? You think that's going to do something?" putting down your efforts. You you go above and beyond to help them, and they're like, "You thought you did something for me? You didn't even do that much." And you're sitting here trying to do more and more and more, and these people are like, "You should have unconditional love for me." And then this person's out here cheating on you, they're talking about they want to be polyamorous. They want to bring other people into the relationship and you're supposed to keep having unconditional love for them even as they cheat on you and bring other people into the relationship and abuse you. They might physically abuse you, they might emotionally abuse you in your mind, and these are the people who are talking about you should have unconditional love for them. I'm not arguing for conditional love. My argument is that is not love in the first place. That's abuse. That's narcissism,, and anyone who is abusing you and manipulating your mind and cheating on you and putting you down and calling it unconditional love doesn't love you in the first place. Here's the part that I think a lot of narcissistic and abusive people are really missing about unconditional love. Unconditional love does not mean that we expect people to put up with our crap forever. That's not what unconditional love is supposed to mean. Yes, if you're in a relationship and you make a mistake, a true mistake that was not intentional, of course, of course you want the person to forgive you, and you would want to forgive them. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about people who are in cycles of abuse and repetitively treating their partner badly and then asking for unconditional love. Well, to me that's not love in the first place. And to me unconditional love means that I love you so much that I'm willing to make a change in myself because I see that you're hurting. So if I'm doing something, let's say want to be polyamorous, but you don't, and we're in a relationship, and I'm continuing to date other men and sleep with other people while we're in a relationship, and I want to tell you, "Well you're supposed to have unconditional love for me because we love each other. I have unconditional love for you so you should have unconditional love for me while I'm out here cheating on you and being poly." If it's hurting you, and you are telling me that it hurts you, then unconditional love would not mean that you just have to put up with it. Unconditional love would mean that I should be willing to change because I see that I'm hurting you, and that's where I feel like a lot of these narcissists and a lot of these abusers out here, when they use unconditional love, they they use it almost like a weapon on you. They use the weapon on their mark, on their partner to say, "You should just put up with all the things I'm doing to you because because you have to unconditional love for me." But where is the unconditional love on their part? Where is their unconditional love that says "I love love you so much that I see that I'm deeply hurting you. I see that you're crying. I see that your mood has changed, you're disturbed and that my actions are hurting you." Where is their responsibility in this where it says, "I love you so much that I'm going to stop cheating or I'm going to stop hurting you or I'm going to stop whatever it is. That to me is true unconditional love. it's not expecting someone else to do something, but it's actually changing yourself. That to me is the hardest part and that's the biggest form of love, I think to say that I'm willing to let go of something that I might really want. So let's say that person really wants to be poly and really likes to have sex with other women all over the place. To me the biggest act of love would be to say, "You know what? I really want to do that but I'm not just because I love you that much. Something to think about. Love you guys. Peace. Christina V. Mills is the creator of Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine and our products. She is a lifelong spiritual seeker, writer, and yoga teacher. Follow her on Instagram @morelifemoreyoga. Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

See, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke. The Books of the Bible The Book of Nahum The Destruction of the Wicked City 2:2 (For the LORD is restoring the majesty of Jacob, as well as the majesty of Israel, though ravagers have ravaged them and ruined their branches.) 3 The shields of his warriors are red; his soldiers are clothed in crimson. The metal on the chariots flashes on the day when he musters them; the chargers prance. 4 The chariots race madly through the streets, they rush to and fro through the squares; their appearance is like torches, they dart like lightning. 5 He calls his officers; they stumble as they come forward; they hasten to the wall, and the mantelet is set up. 6 The river gates are opened, the palace trembles. 7 It is decreed that the city be exiled, its slave women led away, moaning like doves and beating their breasts. 8 Nineveh is like a pool whose waters run away. “Halt! Halt!”— but no one turns back. 9 “Plunder the silver, plunder the gold! There is no end of treasure! An abundance of every precious thing!” 10 Devastation, desolation, and destruction! Hearts faint and knees tremble, all loins quake, all faces grow pale! 11 What became of the lions’ den, the cave of the young lions, where the lion goes, and the lion’s cubs, with no one to disturb them? 12 The lion has torn enough for his whelps and strangled prey for his lionesses; he has filled his caves with prey and his dens with torn flesh. 13 See, I am against you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

Are you ready to come into the new and improved version of you? Are you ready to shed your scars and come into your new and improved version of you? Just as a lobster molts its exoskeleton in order for it to grow and evolve, we have opportunities to “molt” over and over again. But you have to accept it. It was in the 20s in Atlanta, so Buffy and I had a short walk and I decided to record my talk in the warmth of my home. Hopefully it will warm up soon so we can walk and talk tomorrow. 0:00 Teaser 0:32 Meet Buffy 1:36 It's Time to Molt. Shedding Your Skin 3:33 Leon the Lobster 5:35 Molting 7:11 Brand New! 9:09 We Can Also Shed our Skin 14:11 We Often Resist/Fear our Molt 18:05 Let Go to Grow 20:40 Some May Try to Remind you of your Old Self 24:24 Be Full & Grateful Christina V. Mills is the creator of Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine and our products. She is a lifelong spiritual seeker, writer, and yoga teacher. Follow her on Instagram @morelifemoreyoga. Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow. The Books of the Bible Job Complains of Violence on the Earth Job 24:1 “Why are times not kept by the Almighty, and why do those who know him never see his days? 2 The wicked remove landmarks; they seize flocks and pasture them. 3 They drive away the donkey of the orphan; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge. 4 They thrust the needy off the road; the poor of the earth all hide themselves. 5 Like wild asses in the desert they go out to their toil, scavenging in the wasteland food for their young. 6 They reap in a field not their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked. 7 They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. 8 They are wet with the rain of the mountains, and cling to the rock for want of shelter. 9 “There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast, and take as a pledge the infant of the poor. 10 They go about naked, without clothing; though hungry, they carry the sheaves; 11 between their terraces they press out oil; they tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst. 12 From the city the dying groan, and the throat of the wounded cries for help; yet God pays no attention to their prayer. 13 “There are those who rebel against the light, who are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. 14 The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. 15 The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me’; and he disguises his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves up; they do not know the light. 17 For deep darkness is morning to all of them; for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18 “Swift are they on the face of the waters; their portion in the land is cursed; no treader turns toward their vineyards. 19 Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters; so does Sheol those who have sinned. 20 The womb forgets them; the worm finds them sweet; they are no longer remembered; so wickedness is broken like a tree. 21 “They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow. 22 Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power; they rise up when they despair of life. 23 He gives them security, and they are supported; his eyes are upon their ways. 24 They are exalted a little while, and then are gone; they wither and fade like the mallow; they are cut off like the heads of grain. 25 If it is not so, who will prove me a liar, and show that there is nothing in what I say?” New Revised Standard Version Liveology Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life. Join us on the journey of seeking God, self-study, healing, and awakening as we draw from spiritual traditions across the world. Become a Member! Members receive access to our exclusive library of articles and videos ad other special benefits. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Sharing is caring. Thank you for your continued and growing support. Peace & Pineapples!

No Dead Leaves! Letting go of people, places, and things that no longer have a place in our lives. Another daily walk and talk with my sweet doggie Buffy. Christina V. Mills is the creator of Liveology® Yoga Studios & Magazine and our products. She is a lifelong spiritual seeker, writer, and yoga teacher. Follow her on Instagram @morelifemoreyoga. Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our visualizations and our exclusive library of articles and videos. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Pineapples!

Show me your glory, I pray. The Books of the Bible The Command to Leave Sinai Exodus 33:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Go, leave this place, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, and go to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4 When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. 5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” 6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. The Tent outside the Camp 7 Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. 8 Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. 9 When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. 10 When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent. 11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then he would return to the camp; but his young assistant, Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the tent. Moses’ Intercession 12 Moses said to the LORD, “See, you have said to me, ‘Bring up this people’; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.” 17 The LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing that you have asked; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Show me your glory, I pray.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, ‘The LORD’; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.” 21 And the LORD continued, “See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; 23 then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen.” New Revised Standard Version Liveology Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life. Join us on the journey of seeking God, self-study, healing, and awakening as we draw from spiritual traditions across the world. Subscrib e for access to our exclusive library of articles and videos and other special benefits. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and YouTube ! Thank you for your continued and growing support. Peace & Pineapples!

The LORD said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites 7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops that were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them, below the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’” Thus Gideon sifted them out;a twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained. 4 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there. When I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5 So he brought the troops down to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths,a you shall put to the other side.” 6 The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. 7 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.” 8 So he took the jars of the troops from their hands,a and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents, but retained the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley. 9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; 11 and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12 The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.” 15 When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the LORD has given the army of Midian into your hand.” 16 After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, 17 he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’” 19 So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21 Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the three hundred trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,a as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after the Midianites. 24 Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they seized the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 They captured the two captains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the wine press of Zeeb, as they pursued the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty warrior.” The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible The Midianite Oppression 6:1 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. 2 The hand of Midian prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian the Israelites provided for themselves hiding places in the mountains, caves and strongholds. 3 For whenever the Israelites put in seed, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 They would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the land, as far as the neighborhood of Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel, and no sheep or ox or donkey. 5 For they and their livestock would come up, and they would even bring their tents, as thick as locusts; neither they nor their camels could be counted; so they wasted the land as they came in. 6 Thus Israel was greatly impoverished because of Midian; and the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help. 7 When the Israelites cried to the LORD on account of the Midianites, 8 the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites; and he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt, and brought you out of the house of slavery; 9 and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you, and gave you their land; 10 and I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not pay reverence to the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not given heed to my voice.” The Call of Gideon 11 Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty warrior.” 13 Gideon answered him, “But sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Midian.” 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.” 15 He responded, “But sir, how can I deliver Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16 The LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike down the Midianites, every one of them.” 17 Then he said to him, “If now I have found favor with you, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. 18 Do not depart from here until I come to you, and bring out my present, and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay until you return.” 19 So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. 20 The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And he did so. 21 Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. 22 Then Gideon perceived that it was the angel of the LORD; and Gideon said, “Help me, Lord GOD! For I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” 23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.” 24 Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it, The LORD is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 25 That night the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred polea that is beside it; 26 and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, in proper order; then take the second bull, and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the sacred polea that you shall cut down.” 27 So Gideon took ten of his servants, and did as the LORD had told him; but because he was too afraid of his family and the townspeople to do it by day, he did it by night. Gideon Destroys the Altar of Baal 28 When the townspeople rose early in the morning, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the sacred polea beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. 29 So they said to one another, “Who has done this?” After searching and inquiring, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.” 30 Then the townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred polea beside it.” 31 But Joash said to all who were arrayed against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you defend his cause? Whoever contends for him shall be put to death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because his altar has been pulled down.” 32 Therefore on that day Gideona was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend against him,” because he pulled down his altar. 33 Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East came together, and crossing the Jordan they encamped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 But the spirit of the LORD took possession of Gideon; and he sounded the trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called out to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they too were called out to follow him. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they went up to meet them. The Sign of the Fleece 36 Then Gideon said to God, “In order to see whether you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said, 37 I am going to lay a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you have said.” 38 And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. 39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, let me speak one more time; let me, please, make trial with the fleece just once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.” 40 And God did so that night. It was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying... The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible The Song of Deborah 5:1 Then Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying: 2 “When locks are long in Israel, when the people offer themselves willingly— bless the LORD! 3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing, I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel. 4 “LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens poured, the clouds indeed poured water. 5 The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel. 6 “In the days of Shamgar son of Anath, in the days of Jael, caravans ceased and travelers kept to the byways. 7 The peasantry prospered in Israel, they grew fat on plunder, because you arose, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel. 8 When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel? 9 My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless the LORD. 10 “Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way. 11 To the sound of musicians at the watering places, there they repeat the triumphs of the LORD, the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel. “Then down to the gates marched the people of the LORD. 12 “Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! Arise, Barak, lead away your captives, O son of Abinoam. 13 Then down marched the remnant of the noble; the people of the LORD marched down for hima against the mighty. 14 From Ephraim they set outa into the valley, following you, Benjamin, with your kin; from Machir marched down the commanders, and from Zebulun those who bear the marshal’s staff; 15 the chiefs of Issachar came with Deborah, and Issachar faithful to Barak; into the valley they rushed out at his heels. Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 16 Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds, to hear the piping for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. 17 Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan; and Dan, why did he abide with the ships? Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, settling down by his landings. 18 Zebulun is a people that scorned death; Naphtali too, on the heights of the field. 19 “The kings came, they fought; then fought the kings of Canaan, at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they got no spoils of silver. 20 The stars fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera. 21 The torrent Kishon swept them away, the onrushing torrent, the torrent Kishon. March on, my soul, with might! 22 “Then loud beat the horses’ hoofs with the galloping, galloping of his steeds. 23 “Curse Meroz, says the angel of the LORD, curse bitterly its inhabitants, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty. 24 “Most blessed of women be Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, of tent-dwelling women most blessed. 25 He asked water and she gave him milk, she brought him curds in a lordly bowl. 26 She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen’s mallet; she struck Sisera a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple. 27 He sank, he fell, he lay still at her feet; at her feet he sank, he fell; where he sank, there he fell dead. 28 “Out of the window she peered, the mother of Sisera gazeda through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the hoofbeats of his chariots?’ 29 Her wisest ladies make answer, indeed, she answers the question herself: 30 ‘Are they not finding and dividing the spoil?— A girl or two for every man; spoil of dyed stuffs for Sisera, spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?’ 31 “So perish all your enemies, O LORD! But may your friends be like the sun as it rises in its might.” And the land had rest forty years. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible Deborah and Barak 4:1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. 3 Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly twenty years. 4 At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgment. 6 She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, “The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’” 8 Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” 9 And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and ten thousand warriors went up behind him; and Deborah went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites,a that is, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had encamped as far away as Elon-bezaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 When Sisera was told that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the troops who were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day on which the LORD has given Sisera into your hand. The LORD is indeed going out before you.” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand warriors following him. 15 And the LORD threw Sisera and all his chariots and all his army into a panica before Barak; Sisera got down from his chariot and fled away on foot, 16 while Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim. All the army of Sisera fell by the sword; no one was left. 17 Now Sisera had fled away on foot to the tent of Jael wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between King Jabin of Hazor and the clan of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 Then he said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 He said to her, “Stand at the entrance of the tent, and if anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is anyone here?’ say, ‘No.’” 21 But Jael wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, until it went down into the ground—he was lying fast asleep from weariness—and he died. 22 Then, as Barak came in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went into her tent; and there was Sisera lying dead, with the tent peg in his temple. 23 So on that day God subdued King Jabin of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 Then the hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

So the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible Nations Remaining in the Land 3:1 Now these are the nations that the LORD left to test all those in Israel who had no experience of any war in Canaan 2 (it was only that successive generations of Israelites might know war, to teach those who had no experience of it before): 3 the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their ancestors by Moses. 5 So the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; 6 and they took their daughters as wives for themselves, and their own daughters they gave to their sons; and they worshiped their gods. Othniel 7 The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, forgetting the LORD their God, and worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim; and the Israelites served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the Israelites, who delivered them, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 The spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel; he went out to war, and the LORD gave King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died. Ehud 12 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 13 In alliance with the Ammonites and the Amalekites, he went and defeated Israel; and they took possession of the city of palms. 14 So the Israelites served King Eglon of Moab eighteen years. 15 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent tribute by him to King Eglon of Moab. 16 Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he fastened it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 Then he presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent the people who carried the tribute on their way. 19 But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” So the king said,a “Silence!” and all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 Ehud came to him, while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber, and said, “I have a message from God for you.” So he rose from his seat. 21 Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon’sa belly; 22 the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the dirt came out.a 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule,a and closed the doors of the roof chamber on him, and locked them. 24 After he had gone, the servants came. When they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “He must be relieving himselfa in the cool chamber.” 25 So they waited until they were embarrassed. When he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them. There was their lord lying dead on the floor. 26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the sculptured stones, and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites went down with him from the hill country, having him at their head. 28 He said to them, “Follow after me; for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they killed about ten thousand of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest eighty years. Shamgar 31 After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who killed six hundred of the Philistines with an oxgoad. He too delivered Israel. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

I will never break my covenant with you. The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible Israel’s Disobedience 2:1 Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, “I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you into the land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you. 2 For your part, do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my command. See what you have done! 3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become adversaries to you, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 When the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 So they named that place Bochim,a and there they sacrificed to the LORD. Death of Joshua 6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites all went to their own inheritances to take possession of the land. 7 The people worshiped the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred ten years. 9 So they buried him within the bounds of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 Moreover, that whole generation was gathered to their ancestors, and another generation grew up after them, who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. Israel’s Unfaithfulness 11 Then the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and worshiped the Baals; 12 and they abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; they followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were all around them, and bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD, and worshiped Baal and the Astartes. 14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers who plundered them, and he sold them into the power of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them to bring misfortune, as the LORD had warned them and sworn to them; and they were in great distress. 16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who delivered them out of the power of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen even to their judges; for they lusted after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their ancestors had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the LORD; they did not follow their example. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the LORD would be moved to pity by their groaning because of those who persecuted and oppressed them. 19 But whenever the judge died, they would relapse and behave worse than their ancestors, following other gods, worshiping them and bowing down to them. They would not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and he said, “Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their ancestors, and have not obeyed my voice, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.” 22 In order to test Israel, whether or not they would take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their ancestors did, 23 the LORD had left those nations, not driving them out at once, and had not handed them over to Joshua. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Magazine creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!

Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them? The Book of Judges The Books of the Bible Israel’s Failure to Complete the Conquest of Canaan 1:1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up. I hereby give the land into his hand.” 3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. 5 They came upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has paid me back.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba); and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim.”a So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth. 16 The descendants of Hobaba the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites.b 17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called Hormah. 18 Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 The LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron. 20 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day. 22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 When the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them the way into the city; and they put the city to the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 So the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz; that is its name to this day. 27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not in fact drive them out. 29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; 32 but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them. 34 The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country; they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. 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What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? The Book of Nehemiah The Books of the Bible Foreigners Separated from Israel 13:1 On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. The Reforms of Nehemiah 4 Now before this, the priest Eliashib, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon I went to the king. After some time I asked leave of the king 7 and returned to Jerusalem. I then discovered the wrong that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah, preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the room. 9 Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. 10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them; so that the Levites and the singers, who had conducted the service, had gone back to their fields. 11 So I remonstrated with the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan son of Zaccur son of Mattaniah, for they were considered faithful; and their duty was to distribute to their associates. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service. Sabbath Reforms Begun 15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys; and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I warned them at that time against selling food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of merchandise and sold them on the sabbath to the people of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17 Then I remonstrated with the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the sabbath day? 18 Did not your ancestors act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.” 19 When it began to be dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the sabbath. And I set some of my servants over the gates, to prevent any burden from being brought in on the sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. 22 And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love. Mixed Marriages Condemned 23 In those days also I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab; 24 and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke the language of various peoples. 25 And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not King Solomon of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?” 28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; I chased him away from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priests and the Levites. 30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering, at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. 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They sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. The Book of Nehemiah The Books of the Bible A List of Priests and Levites 12:1 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the leaders of the priests and of their associates in the days of Jeshua. 8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his associates was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unno their associates stood opposite them in the service. 10 Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua. 12 In the days of Joiakim the priests, heads of ancestral houses, were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel. 22 As for the Levites, in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, there were recorded the heads of ancestral houses; also the priests until the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 The Levites, heads of ancestral houses, were recorded in the Book of the Annals until the days of Johanan son of Eliashib. 24 And the leaders of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua son of Kadmiel, with their associates over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, section opposite to section. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of the governor Nehemiah and of the priest Ezra, the scribe. Dedication of the City Wall 27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with rejoicing, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 The companies of the singers gathered together from the circuit around Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves; and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. 31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall, and appointed two great companies that gave thanks and went in procession. One went to the right on the wall to the Dung Gate; 32 and after them went Hoshaiah and half the officials of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and some of the young priests with trumpets: Zechariah son of Jonathan son of Shemaiah son of Mattaniah son of Micaiah son of Zaccur son of Asaph; 36 and his kindred, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and the scribe Ezra went in front of them. 37 At the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went straight up by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east. 38 The other company of those who gave thanks went to the left, and I followed them with half of the people on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both companies of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. Temple Responsibilities 44 On that day men were appointed over the chambers for the stores, the contributions, the first fruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the Levites from the fields belonging to the towns; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For in the days of David and Asaph long ago there was a leader of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers. They set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the descendants of Aaron. 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And the people blessed all those who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. The Book of Nehemiah The Books of the Bible Population of the City Increased 11:1 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem; and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in the holy city Jerusalem, while nine-tenths remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all those who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem. 3 These are the leaders of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah all lived on their property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants. 4 And in Jerusalem lived some of the Judahites and of the Benjaminites. Of the Judahites: Athaiah son of Uzziah son of Zechariah son of Amariah son of Shephatiah son of Mahalalel, of the descendants of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah son of Baruch son of Col-hozeh son of Hazaiah son of Adaiah son of Joiarib son of Zechariah son of the Shilonite. 6 All the descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were four hundred sixty-eight valiant warriors. 7 And these are the Benjaminites: Sallu son of Meshullam son of Joed son of Pedaiah son of Kolaiah son of Maaseiah son of Ithiel son of Jeshaiah. 8 And his brothers Gabbai, Sallai: nine hundred twenty-eight. 9 Joel son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah son of Hassenuah was second in charge of the city. 10 Of the priests: Jedaiah son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah son of Hilkiah son of Meshullam son of Zadok son of Meraioth son of Ahitub, officer of the house of God, 12 and their associates who did the work of the house, eight hundred twenty-two; and Adaiah son of Jeroham son of Pelaliah son of Amzi son of Zechariah son of Pashhur son of Malchijah, 13 and his associates, heads of ancestral houses, two hundred forty-two; and Amashsai son of Azarel son of Ahzai son of Meshillemoth son of Immer, 14 and their associates, valiant warriors, one hundred twenty-eight; their overseer was Zabdiel son of Haggedolim. 15 And of the Levites: Shemaiah son of Hasshub son of Azrikam son of Hashabiah son of Bunni; 16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the leaders of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God; 17 and Mattaniah son of Mica son of Zabdi son of Asaph, who was the leader to begin the thanksgiving in prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his associates; and Abda son of Shammua son of Galal son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred eighty-four. 19 The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their associates, who kept watch at the gates, were one hundred seventy-two. 20 And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, all of them in their inheritance. 21 But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants. 22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi son of Bani son of Hashabiah son of Mattaniah son of Mica, of the descendants of Asaph, the singers, in charge of the work of the house of God. 23 For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a settled provision for the singers, as was required every day. 24 And Pethahiah son of Meshezabel, of the descendants of Zerah son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. Villages outside Jerusalem 25 And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet, 27 in Hazar-shual, in Beer-sheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they camped from Beer-sheba to the valley of Hinnom. 31 The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of artisans. 36 And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were joined to Benjamin. New Revised Standard Version Liveology® Yoga Studios creates uplifting content for your whole life, drawing from spiritual traditions across the world. Our entire website is an interactive experience. You never know what you'll find! Become a Member for access to all of our exclusive content. Thank you for your continued and growing support all over the world. Peace & Love!