Latest / 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast / Climbing Out of the Pit | Biblical Steps to Overcome Depression

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Climbing Out of the Pit | Biblical Steps to Overcome Depression · 1 Year Audio Bible Podcast

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  Have you ever found yourself in the pit of despair,
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  in a place of depression,
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  discouragement? Listen in as we
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  unpack this topic and give you some tools for your toolbox
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  for how to climb out of the pit of depression.
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  These are practical tools that you can use right now to
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  get out of that pit. Welcome to the
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  Daily Audio Torah. Today is August 15th. Now let's
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  continue our journey reading through the entire Bible in one year.
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  This week we are reading from the New Living Translation for the Old Testament and
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  for the New Testament.
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  Deuteronomy 7:1-11.
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  When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter
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  and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you.
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  The Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites,
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  Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
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  These 7 nations are greater and more numerous than you.
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  When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and
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  you conquer them, you must completely destroy them.
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  Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.
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  You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters
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  and sons marry their sons and daughters. For they will lead
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  your children away from Me to worship other gods. Then the
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  anger of the Lord will burn against you, and He will quickly destroy you.
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  This is what you must do: You must break down their pagan
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  altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah
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  poles and burn their idols. For you are a holy people who belong to
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  the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has
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  chosen you to be His own special treasure.
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  The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because
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  you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest
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  of all nations. Rather, it was simply that
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  the Lord loves you and He was keeping an oath it sworn to
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  your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a
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  strong hand from your slavery and
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  from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.
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  Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God.
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  He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for
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  a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing
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  love on those who love him and obey his commands.
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  But He does not hesitate to punish and destroy those
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  who reject Him.
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  Therefore, you must obey all these commands,
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  decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.
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  Nehemiah 9:22-10:39.
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  Then You, the Lord, helped our ancestors conquer great
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  kingdoms and many nations, and You placed Your people in every
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  corner of the land. They completely took over the land of King
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  Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.
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  You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and
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  brought them into the land You had promised to their ancestors.
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  They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations
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  before them. Even the kings and the Canaanites
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  who inhabited the land were powerless. Your people could deal
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  with them as they pleased. Our ancestors captured fortified
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  cities and fertile land. They took over houses
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  full of good things, with cisterns already dug, and vineyards and
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  olive groves and orchards in abundance. So they
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  ate until they were full and grew fat and
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  enjoyed themselves in all Your blessings. But despite
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  all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
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  They threw away Your Law, they killed the prophets who encouraged
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  them to return to You, and they committed terrible blasphemies.
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  So You handed them over to their enemies. But in their time of
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  trouble they cried to You, and You heard them from heaven.
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  In great mercy You sent them deliverers who rescued them from their
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  enemies. But when all was going well,
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  Your people turned to sin again, and once more You let Your
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  Their enemies conquer them. Yet, whenever Your people cried to You again for help,
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  You listened once more from heaven. In Your wonderful mercy,
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  You rescued them repeatedly. You warned them
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  to return to Your Law, but they became proud and
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  obstinate and disobeyed Your commands. They did not follow
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  Your regulations by which people will find life if
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  only they obey. They stubbornly turned their
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  backs on You and refused to listen. In Your love,
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  You were patient with them for many years. You sent
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  Your Spirit who, through the prophets, warned them about their sins.
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  But still, they wouldn't listen. So once
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  again, You allowed the pagan inhabitants of the land to conquer them.
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  But in Your great mercy, You did not destroy them completely
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  or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God
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  You are! And now, our God, the great and mighty and
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  awesome God who keeps His covenant of unfailing love,
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  do not let all the hardships we have suffered be as nothing to
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  You. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings
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  and princes and priests and prophets and ancestors,
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  From the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed
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  over us until now. Every time You punished us,
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  You were being just. We have sinned greatly, and You gave
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  us only what we deserved. Our kings,
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  princes, priests, and ancestors did not obey Your Law or
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  listen to Your commands and solemn warnings.
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  Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve You, even though
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  You showered Your goodness on them. You gave them a large,
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  fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.
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  So now, today, we are slaves here in the land of plenty
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  that You gave to our ancestors. We are slaves among all this
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  abundance. The lush produce of this land piles
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  up in the hands of the kings whom You have set over us because
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  of our sins. They have power over us and our cattle.
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  We serve them at their pleasure, and we are in great misery.
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  Yet, in spite of all this, we are making a solemn promise
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  and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are
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  the names of our princes and Levites and priests. The document was
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  ratified and sealed with the following names: Nehemiah
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  the governor, son of Hakaliah. The priests who signed were Zadakiah,
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  Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
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  Pashhur, Amariah, Melchijah,
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  Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, Harim,
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  Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel,
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  Ginnathon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah,
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  Midjimam, Maziach, Bilgai, and Shemaiah.
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  These were the priests. The Levites who signed were Jeshua
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  son of Azaniah, Binnui from the family of Henadad,
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  Hadmiel, and their fellow Levites, Shebaniah,
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  Hodiah, Khalita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
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  Micah, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zakur,
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  Sharabiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani, and Beninu.
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  The leaders who signed were Parosh,
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  Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu,
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  Bani, Buni, Azgad, Bebai,
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  Adonijah, Bigvai, Adeen, Ater,
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  Hezekiah, Azur, Hodiah, Hashum,
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  Bezaiah, Hariph, Ennathoth, Nebai,
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  Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezer,
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  Meshazzabel, Zadok, Jedua,
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  Pelatiah, Hanan, Aniah, Hoshea,
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  Hananiah, Hashub, Hallohesh, Pilha,
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  Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah,
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  Maaseiah, Ahiah, Hanan, Enan,
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  Malluch, Harim, and Bana. The rest of the
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  people— the priests, Levites, gatekeepers,
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  singers, Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from
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  the pagan people of the land in order to serve God,
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  and who were old enough to understand— now all heartily
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  bound themselves with an oath. They vowed to
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  accept the curse of God if they failed to obey the Law of God as
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  issued by His servant Moses. They solemnly promised
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  to carefully follow all the commands, laws, and regulations
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  of the Lord their God. We promise not to let our daughters
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  marry the pagan people of the land, nor to let our sons
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  marry their daughters. We further promise that if the people
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  of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold
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  on the Sabbath or on any other holy day,
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  we will refuse to buy it. And we promise not
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  to do any work every 7th year and to cancel the
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  debts owed to us by other Jews. In addition,
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  we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax
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  of an 8th of an ounce of silver, so that there will be enough
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  money to care for the Temple of our God.
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  This will provide for the Bread of the Presence, for the regular grain
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  offerings and burnt offerings, for the offerings on the Sabbaths,
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  the New Moon celebrations, and the annual festivals.
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  For the holy offerings and for the sin offerings to make atonement
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  for Israel. It will also provide for the other items necessary
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  for the work of the Temple of our God. We have cast sacred
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  lots to determine when, at regular times each year,
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  the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should
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  bring wood to God's Temple to be burned on the
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  altar of the Lord our God as required in the Law.
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  We promise always to bring the first part of every harvest
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  to the Lord's Temple, whether it be a crop from the
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  soil or from our fruit trees. We agree to give to God our
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  oldest sons and the firstborn of all our herds and flocks,
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  just as the Law requires. We will present them to the
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  priests who minister in the Temple of our God. We will store the
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  produce in the storerooms of the Temple of our God.
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  We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings,
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  the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive
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  oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a
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  10th of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites
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  who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. A priest,
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  a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites as they receive
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  these tithes, and a 10th of all that is collected
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  as tithes will be delivered by the Levites to the Temple of our God and
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  placed in the storerooms. The people and the Levites must
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  bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive
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  oil to the Temple and place them in the sacred containers near
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  the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. So we
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  promise together not to neglect the Temple of
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  our God.
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  1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13.
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  This means I, Paul, am not bound to obey people just because
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  they pay me. Yet I have become a servant of everyone so
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  that I can bring them to Christ.
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  When I am with the Jews, I become one of them so I can bring
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  them to Christ. When I am with those who follow the Jewish
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  laws, I do the same. Even though I am not subject to
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  the Law, so that I can bring them to
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  Christ. When I am with the Gentiles who do
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  not have the Jewish Law, I fit in with them as much as I can.
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  In this way I gain their confidence and bring them to Christ.
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  But I do not discard the Law of God; I obey the
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  Law of Christ. When I am with those who
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  are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring
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  them to Christ. Yes, I try to find common
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  ground with everyone so that I might bring them to
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  Christ.
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  I do all this to spread the Good News, and in doing so,
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  I enjoy its blessings. Remember that
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  in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets
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  the prize. You also must run in such a way
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  that you will win. All athletes practice strict
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  self-control. They do it to win a prize that
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  will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
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  So I run straight to the goal with purpose
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  in every step. I am not like
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  a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an
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  athlete training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear
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  that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified.
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  I don't want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, what happened to
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  our ancestors in the wilderness long ago.
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  God guided all of them by sending a cloud that moved along
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  ahead of them. And He brought them all safely through the waters
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  of the sea on dry ground. As followers
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  of Moses, they were all baptized in the cloud and the sea,
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  and all of them ate the same miraculous food, and all of them
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  drank the same miraculous water. For they all drank from the miraculous
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  rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet,
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  after all this, God was not pleased with most of them, and He
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  destroyed them in the wilderness. These events happened
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  as a warning to us so that we could not crave evil things as
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  they did, or worship idols as some of them did.
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  For the Scriptures say, the people celebrated with feasting and
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  drinking, and they indulged themselves in pagan revelry. And we must
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  not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000
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  of them to die in one day. Nor should we
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  put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from
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  snakebites. And don't grumble, as some of them did, for that is why
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  God sent his angel of death to destroy them. All these events
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  happened to them as examples for us. They were written
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  down to warn us who live at the time when this age is drawing
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  to a close. If you think you are standing strong,
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  Be careful, for you too may fall into the same
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  sin. But remember that the temptations
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  that come into your life are no different from what others
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  experience. And God is faithful. He will
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  keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand
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  up against it. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so
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  that you will not give in to it.
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  Psalm 34:1-10.
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  I will praise the Lord at all times; I will constantly
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  speak His praises. I will boast only in the Lord.
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  Let all who are discouraged take heart. Come,
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  let us tell of the Lord's greatness; let us exalt His name
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  together. I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me,
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  freeing me from all my fears. Those who look to Him
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  for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of
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  shame will darken their faces. I cried out to the
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  Lord in my suffering, and He heard me. He set me free from all
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  my fears. For the angel of the Lord guards all
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  who fear Him, and He rescues them.
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  Taste and see that the Lord is good.
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  Oh, the joys of those who trust in Him.
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  Let the Lord's people show Him reverence, for those who honor Him
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  will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes
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  go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will never lack
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  any good thing.
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  Proverbs 21:13. Those who shut
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  their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time.
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  Of need. I want to speak to you today from our
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  reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 9 and 10,
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  and I want to open with a question.
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  Have you ever struggled with depression?
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  Being sad, discouraged,
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  in a pit, hard to get out of bed in the morning?
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  I want to talk to you about what the Scripture can teach us about how
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  to get out of the pit of depression.
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  And in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, Paul speaks about
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  having purpose in life. He says in verse
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  24, chapter 9, verse 24, remember that in a race
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  everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize.
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  You also must run in such a way
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  that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control.
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  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we
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  do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight
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  to the goal with purpose in every step.
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  So what is the goal? The goal is we are running towards
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  Jesus Christ. He is the one who initiates,
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  who starts us in the race. He's with us every step
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  of the way in the race. And He is with us when
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  we cross the finish line. He is our goal,
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  to be one with Christ, to see
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  Him face-to-face, to step into the wedding supper of the Lamb,
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  that we are His bride. He is our goal. But here's
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  the key. He says, I run the race with purpose in every step.
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  He also compares it to, I'm not like a boxer
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  who misses his punches. Or if you were an archer and
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  you had arrows in your quiver, you don't just send the arrows out with
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  your bow willy-nilly in every random direction.
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  There's a target, and you're aiming for the target.
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  You're aiming for a bullseye. So one way out of
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  the pit of depression is to seek the Lord and
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  ask Him to give you His purpose, to give
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  you His assignment. That you have an assignment,
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  you have a mission, you have a task, you have purpose,
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  and that brings meaning to your life.
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  Now, it could be something simple, something small, that maybe
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  his purpose for you is, I want you to be the very best father
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  that you can be, or I want you to be the very best
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  mother that you can be.
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  It may be a short-term purpose. I want you to go on that
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  missions trip to Mexico and serve and love on
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  the people. It may be a longer-term purpose
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  or mission. I want you to serve at
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  your church in the children's ministry department
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  and love on those children that are in your classroom.
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  Whatever it is, you get it from Him. You don't just dream it
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  up or drum it up or just decide willy-nilly. You seek the
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  Lord and ask Him, Father, I need You
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  to give me purpose. And often that purpose is very much
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  wrapped up in serving others.
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  Sometimes we get into a depression pit when we're focused on self.
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  We get into self-pity, woe is me. We feel sorry for
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  ourselves. Things didn't turn out the way we had hoped. And the more we
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  focus on self, the more we can go deeper into that pit
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  of depression. But when we start focusing on others
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  and serving others, maybe serving at a food bank once a week,
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  maybe an outreach to the homeless,
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  whatever it might be, volunteering in some capacity,
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  serving others, then the focus comes off of
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  self and you become other-centered.
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  So the other way out of depression is to practice an attitude
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  of gratitude. You can get a notebook or a journal,
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  and every day in that gratitude journal,
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  write down 5 things that you are grateful and
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  thankful to God for. Father God,
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  today I'm thankful that I have my health. Father God,
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  Father, today I am thankful for my family.
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  Father, today I'm thankful for this beautiful day, the lovely weather,
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  the blue skies, for the beauty of your
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  creation. Father, I'm thankful for my sweet little dog
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  Benji, who keeps company. He keeps me company,
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  and he is just the sweetest, most loving little dog in
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  the whole world. Just the small things.
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  Father, thank you for the roses that are in bloom in my front yard.
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  Just when you practice gratitude, it's hard to get into the negativity route,
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  the thoughts of negativity. Take a
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  break from reading the news. The news can be very depressing.
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  Put on some worship music. Very, very uplifting
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  when you are worshiping God, when you are focused on Him
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  and on His nature and His character, His loving kindness,
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  His patience, His goodness,
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  His provision,
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  how kind He is, how patient He is.
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  So these are some tools for your toolbox for how to get out of
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  the pit of depression.
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  Have a blessed day and we'll see you tomorrow. Shalom.
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  Yevrekka Adonai,
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  vihishmerekka
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  Yahweh Adonai.
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  Anav Eleka,
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  Vikunneka.
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  Isa Adonai,
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  Anav Eleka,
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  Vayeseleka.
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  The Aaronic Blessing from Numbers chapter 6,
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  24 to 26.
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  Adonai bless you and keep you. Adonai make
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  his face to shine upon you and be gracious to
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  you. Adonai lift up his countenance upon you and
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  give you peace.