Offense Defense > Farrell's Bible Notes

Day 151: 2 Chronicles 13-14; 1 Corinthians 5

.1 Corinthians 5:1 | Fornication is sex outside of marriage which, according to this, is not just premarital sex (sex before marriage), but also adultery , which is now sugarcoated and called extramarital affairs or cheating on your husband or wife... adultery. This (1 Corinthians) is a letter written to the church folk! the (saints) who were behaving worse than any of the Gentiles. The Gentiles were the non-Jews, a term which may have included the Christians as well.) The reason I put quotes () around the word "saints" is because in the next chapter (6:9), Paul tells them that fornicators will not inherit the Kingdom of God. |||| Notice that Paul addresses this issue. He didn't have to witness it first-hand, but it was "reported commonly" that it was happening. Plenty of this goes on in our congregations today and we need to follow this example as well, and address the issues, instead of being so afraid to offend anyone by calling out their offenses. |||| Paul is also not speaking from a detached perspective as if he himself never dealth with sexual temptation and desires. In Romans 7:7-8, he even confesses that he once struggled with lust and sexual desires (concupiscence) and even at times did things he wasn't supposed to do, while not doing the things he was supposed to (7:15). He wasn't much different from you and I.

.1 Corinthians 5:2-3 | Paul was speaking to them about the deeds of a certain man, but he doesn't name him. I'm sure the knew who it was, cause if the talk had gotten back to Paul, whereever he was at, I'm sure it made it to the ears of the others there in the congregation. We also notice that Paul says he's alread judged him. Christians are to judge other Christians in order to keep ourselves on the straight path and accountable to each other, especially on this issue, as he says in the next chapter (6:18) that "he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." This may be speaking of his own physical body, but I don't think it stops there. We are the body of Christ... one body. This type of thing done by one, affect us all.

.1 Corinthians 5:5 | God does allow the flesh to be touched with Satan's destruction in certain circumstances like this in order for the person's soul to be saved. There's plenty of people who've gone astray and gotten the wake-up call of an Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD), whether or not we want to acept the idea that God allows this to happen. We must also consider that when we turn away from God, even for just a moment, we may also be stepping away from God's protection, and making ourselves vulnerable to Satan's attacks. This is gambling at it's worst.

.1 Corinthians 5:6 | When cooking, a little leaven is all that's needed to effect the outcome of the whole batch. In the Bible, the term "leaven" is used several times as a metaphor for ungodly ways, beliefs, or teachings which are in some way contagious.

.1 Corinthians 5:11 | I kno0w we want to skip over this verse, but it's here loud and clear and after all these years, it still has yet to disappear. 1 Corinthians 5:11 is not convenient like 7-Eleven... well, depending on how you look at it. The point is not to get leavened (5:6).

.1 Corinthians 5:12-13 | This is what I was referencing earlier about how we are to judge each other, yet leaving those outside of the faith for God to judge. This isn't saying not to teach the truth to them, but you can't hold them to following the things of God's spirit if they are not of God's spirit. |||| The world often fears that we will force our way on them. I'm sure the Devil has something to do with this also, whispering in their ear that we're trying to judge them and that they need to fight us for it (4:5). I suppose the Devil fears 1 Cor 6:2 when there finally comes a time for us saints to judge the whole world.

Day 152: 2 Chronicles 15-16; 1 Corinthians 6

.2 Chronicles 15:8 | The writer calls them abominable idols, saying this idolatry is an abomination. In Galatians 5:20, Paul mentions idolatry as a work of the flesh, which is against the spirit. We have many idols today as well, yet instead of our leaders putting away these idols from among the people, they force us to honor these idols or face consequences. I know this will be an unpopular statement, but anytime all of the people in attendance have to stop everything they're doing to turn and face an object of affection and stand to our feet and look at it holding our right hand over our heart for this thing that is seen as too holy to even touch the ground (the same ground that God came down and walked on, and even made man from), we are holding up that thing as an idol. This is our equivalent of bowing, and if you don't bow to it, you will be spoken against and treated as an infidel. We have lesser idols as well, some in the form of people, some in the form of shiny objects. A piece of wood is a piece of wood, and good to be used as that, but when we start to exalt it and treat it like a god, more than we even treat God like God, we are going against our creator who demanded that we have no other gods before Him (Ex 20:3). Some people idolize animals and would even kill a man for even the appearance of cruelty against one (Matt 5:21-22). We know what a marijuana leaf looks like cause people idolize that. We even idolize women's body parts and literally admit to "worshipping" these body parts, proudly. Fraternities and sororities have their idols. You can tell me what you want, but those Delta elephants (that must have their trunks in the air) are idols. Many Catholics idolize Mary, and us Christians need to be mindful that we don't end up idolizing the cross. But there are so many other idols our society has exalted that I couldn't even scratch the surface. I would like to point out our other scripture for today (1 Corinthians 6:9) points out that idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not gamble with your salvation.

.2 Chronicles 15:16 | He removed his own mother from being queen because she made an idol.

.2 Chronicles 16:12 | One of our readers, CaRin, mentioned "I think it is kind of sad about Asa, that he was doing so good from years 15 through 35 and then in that 36th year it was like he just lost it. And then, it seemed like he couldn't get "it" back because it says that even three years after the 36th year, when he became afflicted with his foot illness, he still could not bring himself to call on the Lord God."

.1 Corinthians 6:1-7 | Paul makes a VERY important point here. If us saints will one day judge the world and even judge angels, why in the world are we taking each other to courts and judged by secular judges who don't regard God's Word in the matter? Verse 7, plainly points out that we are not supposed to be taking each other to court (not the secular court system of the land, at least). And in case you forgot just how twisted their legal system is, Lauryn Hill did an amazing job at addressing the issue from a Biblical view in her song "Mystery of Iniquity" (yet, I can't confirm if she's Christian or not). You can listen to it here, but please discipline and govern yourself not to get caught up in wasting your time viewing every video on youtube, forgetting our purpose right now is studying the Word of God. If you can't handle that, just check the lyrics.
(lyrics: www.offensedefense.org/MysteryOfIniquitybyLaurynHill.htm )
(song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ4xpiYS1fI)
Would we not rather just be done wrong by a brother/sister in Christ than to seek out crooked judgement against them? |||| Even still, we must remember 1 Corinthians 4:5 and Romans 14:1-6,13. |||| Today's court news seems to be a pretty good example of just how questionable the legal system can get (read it: No Charges in Ronnie White Death: Post).

.1 Corinthians 6:9-10 | Very important scripture. Fornication is sex outside of marriage; adultery is when a married person fornicates and has sex outside of their marriage or a person has sex with a person who is married to someone else; effeminate is when a man has qualities unsuitable for a man, feminine, womanish; covetous means desiring that which is not yours and you have no right to it; revilers are people who abuse others verbally; drunkards, is probably their word for alcoholics (give or take a few drinks); extortion is taking money for yourself when it belongs to someone else but it in your trust (i.e. if a store was supposed to sell my products and give me 60% of it, but they kept it all for themselves.); and I'm pretty sure that inheriting the Kingdom of God includes going to Heaven, so I would understand that doing these things would be gambling with your salvation.

.1 Corinthians 6:12 | "All things are lawful unto me" does not mean all actions are lawful. Even still, this is him speaking. Every thing is not okay for every body.

.1 Corinthians 6:14 | "God hath both raised up the Lord..." Jesus is the Lord (Romans 10:9), and in Jesus dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Remember Jesus said He has the power to lay his life down and to take it back up again (some please find this scripture for me). He also said that He shall "destroy this temple" (speaking of His own physical body) and resurrect it in three days, which he did (someone send me this scripture please). Jesus is the creator (

.1 Corinthians 6:16 | 1 Chronicles 5:25

.1 Corinthians 6:18 | This could mean one's own body or the body of Christ.

(.1 Corinthians 4:17 | 1 Corinthians 3:9,16; Colossians 1:24)

Day 153: 2 Chronicles 17-18; 1 Corinthians 7

.2 Chronicles 18 | This same story is told in 1 Kings 22.

.2 Chronicles 18:12-13 | The messenger that went to get Micaiah was trying to make him agree with the other prophets and prophesy good to the King, but Micaiah told him that he's going to truly prophecy what God tells him to, not what they (man) wants him to say. Micaiah was remaining true to God.

.2 Chronicles 18:16 | Ahab was the King of Israel, so in this verse is saying that the people of Israel lose their king. In other words, Ahab gets killed.

.2 Chronicles 18:18-22 | Prophecy or seeing, does not just pertain to things to come in the future, but God can also reveal to the prophet what's currently happening and also what has happened in the past. In this prophecy, Micaiah is telling them what happened just previously. He's saying what happened in verse 5, how this evil spirit was a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab's prophets, and how God allowed the spirit to take on that job and do that. Yes, God can allow an evil spirits to do a job, just as He allowed Satan to have his way with Job to an extent. Just as God used them, this is also indication that just because God uses someone (or something) does not mean that it's good or that it's in good standing with him.

.1 Corinthians 7:6 | I thought this was very honest of him to say that this wasn't a commandment of God, but that this was him (Paul) saying it. He makes a similar statement in verse 25 as well.

.1 Corinthians 7:9 | The King James version says "...it is better to marry than to burn." Some versions add words to this to make it say "burn with passion," which may alter the full meaning. If it's simpy left as "burn." like it is in the King James version, then it may mean "burn in hell" as well as "burn with passion," but when the words "burn with passion" is actually added to the scriptures, that takes away the other meaning. I don't believe it was supposed to be done that way because of the whole topic that Paul is talking about here in these last few chapters. I'm convinced that some versions tried to clarify or specify the meaning of the verse and that's why I believe they added the words "with passion," but that distorted the full meaning of simply saying "it's better to marry than to burn."

.1 Corinthians 7:15 | God has called us to peace, as it says here in verse 15. Now in the news, even from the mouth of President Obama, they are claiming that Islam is a religion that promotes peace, which it is not. I'll share with you words from the Koran (Qur'an) that commands them to beat their wives and literally terrorize those who do not believe as they believe. A Muslim, trying to convert me, gave me a Koran in a train station in New York. I am not recommending that you should go read the Koran or that you need to go learn what everyone else believes because that can be dangerous and open you up to being deceived, since you can't really understand how a lost person sees the world unless you truly become lost yourself, and if you truly become lost, then you can't even help yourself. However, I do want to point this out though because I think a lot of our people have been tricked into sympathizing with Islam thinking that it's wrongly targeted and misunderstood as a violent and dangerous religion. I want to show where their violence is commanded in what they regard as their "holy" book. The Koran is divided into Surahs. Concerning women, Surah 4:34 literally tells men to "beat them" concerning women. It says "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (next), refuse to share their beds, (and last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, do not seek against them means (of annoyance): for Allah is Most High, Great (above you all)." That's what their book (the Koran) says. I did not add a word or take a word away from it. It tells them to beat their women. Islam is not a religion of peace, at least no Islam that follows the Koran. They are told to terrorize unbelievers and even mention Jews and Christians by name. Surah 8:59-60 says "Let not the Unbelievers think that they can get the better (of the godly): they will never frustrate (them). 60. Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies, of Allah and your enemies, and others besides, whom you may not know, but whome Allah knows. Whatever you shall spend in the Cause of Allah, shall be repaid to you, and you shall not be treated unjustly." This is a command for them to terrorize people. This is not just al-Qaeda, this is a command for all of Islam. How do we know it means terrorism? Because it includes "others besides" their enemies who they may not know. This allows them to justify suicide bombing a whole building and killing people they don't even regard as their enemies (others besides who they may not know.) More evidence that this refers to mass killings: a few verses later (65) it says "O Messenger! rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred: if a hundred, they will vanquish a thousand of he Unbelievers: for these are a people without understanding." We can see that they are also referring to terrorizing Christians and Jews because in Surah 9:29-30 they mention Jews and Christians by name, saying "Fight those who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, (even if they are) the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. 30) the Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the Son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!" 9:31 even goes on to say "They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One God (Allah): there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him)." I haven't studied through the Koran, but after 9-11, the Holy Spirit told me specific verses in there to read to know their thoughts where it affects the rest of us. Be reminded as you read these excerpts that I shared, that the Koran is Not a book of truth, so when you read these passages I've included, be mindful not to read it as if it's truth, because it's not (i.e. they say Christians call Christ the son of Allah, when that's completely untrue. Christians do not claim there is any relationship between Christ and Allah.) What I'm pointing out to you though is that they, by their own book, are not about peace even if they do for a moment play like they are being "patient and persevering" or tolerant. Don't let anyone fool you by trying to tell you that Islam promotes peace. The only peace that Islam promotes is that they will fight and kill you until you submit and worship their Allah and do as they say, so they will have mercy on you and leave you in peace. That's the only kind of peace you'll get from Islam, and I don't consider that peace. Pray for Muslims and others as well, because they too need to know the truth of Jesus Christ and be freed from bondage.

.1 Corinthians 7:32 | "But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord," What I'm pointing out here is the word "careful." I've seen some translations replace it with the word "anxious," but "anxious" is not the same as "careful," which we see here literally means "full of care" or "caring," not anxiety. In Philippians 4:6, it says "be careful for nothing," but many other versions change that word "careful" to "anxious" and they don't mean the same thing. Consequently, I have to hear people say "be careful" all day long when God tells us not to be careful. When people tell me to "be careful" are they telling me to "be anxious?" No, they're not. They're telling me to be full of care. But God tells us not to be full of care. If Jesus or any of the apostles or disciples walked around being careful, they wouldn't have done have of the things they did and you and I probably wouldn't be saved.

Day 154: 2 Chronicles 19-20; 1 Corinthians 8

.2 Chronicles 19:2 | "And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him..." A seer is the same thing as a prophet. 1 Samuel 9:9 says "(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, these he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)"

.1 Corinthians 8 | Romans 14

.1 Corinthians 8:4,7,8-12 | "an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one." This is saying that an idol has no actual power, it's nothing, but only something in the mind of him who idolizes it. To those who do not idolize it, it is not a god or has no power, and does not even have any state of being good or bad. Yet, verse 7 essentially tells us that although we may not regard something as an idol or don't regard anything offered to the idol as being anything special, we still must remain aware that by dealing with that thing we may send the wrong message to the person who does believe in the idol. Our dealing with the thing may cause them to feel okay to deal with it as well, although to us it's not an idol, to them it is, so by our actions, we help to cause them to do something wrong. Romans 14:13 mentions this as well, and the following verses here in 1 Corinthians 8:8-12 go more into detail about this too. By doing this, we may not sin directly against Christ, but we sin against those people causing them in their weakness to sin, and by this we do sin against Christ.

Day 155: 2 Chronicles 21-22; 1 Corinthians 9

.1 Corinthians 9 | 1 Corinthians 15:5,7 proves that there were more than 12 apostles.

.1 Corinthians 9:1-2 | In verse one, Paul asks "Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our LORD? are not ye my work in the LORD?" There are some people today who use this scripture to try to claim that in order for someone to even qualify as an apostle, they had to have seen Jesus. However, nowhere in this scripture does Paul even make such a claim. He doesn't even say that his seeing Jesus qualifies him to be an apostle. He asked four questions, and in asking four questions, he doesn't claim that one question is the answer to another. However, afterward, he does, and in verse 2 he says that they in the Lord are the seal of his apostleship. He doesn't say that him seeing Jesus is his seal of apostleship. A seal is something that was used to verify untampered authenticity, such as when a king sent a letter he put a wax seal on it with a marking that only he had, which asserted that he was the one who closed it up and it was not forged, faked, or tampered with.

.1 Corinthians 9:3 | Starting in verse 3, he begins saying what his answer is to anyone examining him; possibly examining whether he is truly an apostle or not. Some may have still been suspicious because Paul did some terrible terrible things to Christians before he himself was converted.

.1 Corinthians 9:9,11,12 | 1 Timothy 5:18 refers to this same scripture. This means that if the ox wants to eat some of the corn that he's treading, then don't stop him. The law of Moses was to let the ox eat it. Paul is using this as a metaphor to apply to at least him and Barnabas, and possibly other apostles, saying that they who are planting spiritual things unto the people wouldn't be wrong to benefit from the people's non-spiritual things (verse 11). In verse 12, he's saying that although they can do that, they don't in order not to hinder Christ's gospel. This could hinder Christ's gospel because they may then begin to do Christ's work because they need to for substance, basically like a regular job.

.1 Corinthians 9:18 | I believe he's saying that his reward, and possibly the reward of any apostle is that he can go and preach the gospel of Christ freely without charge. "Without charge" may either mean that he can preach without being paid anything or he can preach without being instructed or commanded to do so. One definition of the word "charge" is to instruct or command authoritatively. This would mean he can preach without being commanded to do so. An example of this may be Acts 21:39-40 when he went straight to the chief captain and asked to speak to the people and was allowed to preach Jesus to the people from Acts 22:1-21.

.1 Corinthians 9:19 | Paul is not being compelled to do this work by any man. There's no man or organization commanding him to preach the word or to minister, yet he puts himself in bondage, requiring himself to be a servant to all of the people he leads so that he might save them and others. Likewise, I have nobody that I'm under aside from God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, that require me to do the work that I do, yet I am willingly in bondage to the believers and non-believers who are helped by the ministry work that I do, so that you (or they) may grow spiritually or perhaps get saved if not saved already from God's wrath and the consequence of sin (death). I'm sure Paul could have found something else to do with his time. He sees the need for what he's doing, and I'm sure is compelled by the Spirit of God as well.

.1 Corinthians 9:19 | Acts 21:18-32. This says he became as them, but does not say that he actually became one of them or that he denied Christ or truth in anyway just to try to save them.

.1 Corinthians 9:27 | Paul is aware and wise not to allow his own flesh to rise up and cause him to be a castaway. This also let's us see that he is seemingly aware that it is possible for him to become a castaway even though he preaches the gospel of Christ and proclaimed himself as saved. I believe it's possible for one to actually be saved, but then to turn away from that salvation, and it seems he believes the same, and possibly James also (James 5:19-20).

Day 162: Ezra 1-2; 1 Corinthians 16

.Ezra | Ezra was a scribe (Nehemiah 8:1,4) and a priest (Neh 8:2,9; 12:1)

.Ezra 1:1-3 | This is continued from 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. It is believed that Ezra possibly wrote 2 Chronicles.

Day 163: Ezra 3-5; 2 Corinthians 1

.Ezra 4:11 | This letter begins with the words "Thy servants the men on this side..." and seems to end at verse 16.

.Ezra 4:13 | 7:24

Day 166: Nehemiah 1-3; 2 Corinthians 4

.Nehemiah | A few years ago, I had the priveledge of reading a great book by a brother in Christ named John Dillard. I spoke with him also and he was a pretty sincere guy. The book was called Nehemiah's Prayer. It wasn't published yet at the time, but I just looked it up and it was released less than a month ago. I would recommend you pick up a copy. Here's more info about it: http://www.john-dillard.com/voiceofone.htm and it's available on Amazon.com.

.Nehemiah 2:10,19 | Notice how Sanballat and Tobiah laughed them to scorn, although inside they were exceedingly grieved. People will laugh at you in your face as if they think you're crazy. Sometimes they are only doing this to try to discourage you or because they are afraid or hiding some other emotion they are experiencing inside.

.2 Corinthians 4:1 | This "fainting" is spoken of many times in the Bible, but it's not talking about physically falling out on the ground but spiritually fainting. Sometimes we do this with sin. Physically, when a person faints, something causes their body to feel so overwhelmed that the body just completely stops trying and gives up and falls to the floor as if dead. Spiritually, a person can likewise feel overwhelmed and give up, which usually involves relapsing into some type of sin or backsliding. Basically, we stop trying spiritually. But fainting is not a good thing and can be prevented. There's something else common with physically and spiritual fainting. Sometimes when physically standing for too long you can begin to feel physically overwhelmed, and your eyesight begins to fade to darkness, your hearing begins to fade, and you feel your body temperature beginning to rise, you bend your knees and kneel down to the ground until you begin to recover. Concerning spiritually fainting, Paul deals with this in Galatians 6:9, saying "let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Sometimes when we take a stand for God for a long time, we may begin to feel overwhelmed, and we may feel our (spiritual) eyesight start to fade and our hearing (God's voice) begins to fade, and we might even get a little hot under the collar, angry or upset, but that's when we need to bend our knees and kneel down (in prayer) until we begin to recover and can continue standing. Sometimes you might need a brother or sister in Christ to lean on to keep from fainting or perhaps for them to remind you (or advise you) to bend your knees and go down in prayer.

.2 Corinthians 4:2 | "nor handling the word of God deceitfully" should warn us that the Word of God can be handled deceitfully. This is why we must be wise in who and what we listen to. The fact that someone is quoting or preaching from the Bible, is not sufficient evidence that they are honest and truthful. This is why we need to know God's Word for ourselves. This is one of the reasons why I invited you to read the Bible this year.

.2 Corinthians 4:4 | The term "the god of this world" seems to be referring to Satan. If this is so, this should cause us to question, "Why does it call Satan the god of this world?" For the answer, we'll have to remember how the Bible uses the term "world." In John 12:31, Satan is called the prince of this world. Jesus, in John 15:18-19 says "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." The word "world" is used here to refer to that which is Satan's kingdom, not God's Kingdom. It's not referring to the physical world (the earth).

.2 Corinthians 4:8-9 | This is what we need to realize. The new movement of the "prosperity gospel" that we see taking place these days does not align with this scripture. That "prosperity" gospel that man has created, essentially says that a life of Christ is one of material wealth and favor and everyone bowing down to your favor. However, this scripture says that the life of Christ is one of persecution, tribulation, and even death. We must know that this is the life of Christ, because otherwise, we can live in error, thinking that everything in this Christian walk is supposed to be smooth sailing, leaving us unprepared to deal with any persecution or tribulation.
Jesus, although the son of God, did not live His life like a spoiled brat, acting like everything was supposed to go His way, expecting the worldly people to give Him favor and bow down to Him, getting offended and upset when they didn't. He was done wrong, lied on, spit on, all while innocent, but He took it and endured it (long-suffering) without getting all bent out of shape and personally offended, and if you're a member of His body (the church), you'd better be prepared to go through the same. And if someone is teaching you the opposite (that everyone is supposed to bow down to you, because you're a child of God), then they are setting you up for great failure! Because if you choose to stubbornly claim your right to worldly treasures (prosperity), instead of being persecuted and even robbed of your worldly materials, then you are not choosing a life in Christ. And when you choose other than the life of Christ, you're in danger of hellfire.
There are some who call themselves Christian, but will even receive Satan's mark of the beast in order to continue buying the world's goods and services, trying to maintain financial prosperity, supposing that gain is Godliness. In fact, they will have sold their soul to the Devil.
Concerning this, Jesus says "lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves, treasures up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Do not confuse real prosperity with the world's definition of prosperity, being deceived about what it means to live a life in Christ. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."

.2 Corinthians 4:12 | Essentially, he is saying, "we die, so others can live." John the Baptist and the apostles could have been quiet and worked their careers and raised their family quietly, never telling anyone about Jesus so they could prevent their lives from being taken. But instead, they preached Christ and His life of righteousness, and were killed for it. But since they were willing to forsake their own life for the sake of others, we now have eternal life because of what they did. Thank God they weren't selfish and didn't love their life as much as some of us do. And there were others besides them who made the same choice, even some people today. But I thank God that we can also understand with joy that although there may be persecution, those of us in Christ pass from temporary life here, to eternal life, not death, so there is actually nothing lost, only gained. I think it's important to note also that Jesus and the apostles and others didn't seek death, they didn't seek to be persecuted, and they didn't seek to be thrown in jail or any of that.
There are some today, both secular and spiritual, who seek to be done wrong so they can put that on their resume to make them look like they are legit. To say it plainly, getting persecuted, afflicted, killed, or imprisoned is not a way to gain credibility. Don't try to provoke people to do that to you, but don't suppress the Truth in order to try to save your own skin either. It's not about you or your credibility anyway.

.2 Corinthians 4:17-18 | This verse says "our light affliction," but our affliction is not light. There's nothing light about being persecuted to the point of death, but when God is with us through it, it is light. And it's especially light and temporary, when compared to the eternal affliction that will be experienced by those who face eternal damnation do not live a life in Christ. As for me, I'd much rather the temporary light affliction, instead of eternal Hell, but that's just because I believe the Word of God. Of course, anyone who does not truly believe in the Word of God will not choose affliction now, no matter how light or temporary. This is the test. Many say they believe, but man's talk is cheap. Do you think Jesus would have chose to be beaten and die on the cross like that if He didn't truly believe that He would be raised up unto God? Of course not, but He did believe, and He proved it. But even this, He didn't try to provoke them to do to it to Him. They even had to lie to find a reason to convict him.

Day 169: Nehemiah 10-11; 2 Corinthians 7

.Nehemiah 10:2 | Jeremiah the prophet (also called Jeremy somewhere in the New Testament) has his own book in the Bible after Isaiah, and before Lamentations.

.Nehemiah 10:6 | It is said, perhaps not in the Bible, that Baruch is Jeremiah's secretary and wrote the book of Jeremiah, as it was told to him by Jeremiah.

.Nehemiah 10:2-8 | All of these were priests.

.Nehemiah 10:29 | They chose to live by the law of God that was given by Moses and therefore they'd also be cursed if they didn't follow every single part of it. I believe it's possible for us to also do this, entering into a curse, binding ourselves to this law. But we should not do so, because we ignore everything that Jesus did to fulfill the law, including dying on the cross. This includes tithing, which is why I advise against binding yourself to their law of tithing, because if you follow one part, you must follow it all, including offering their burnt and bloody offerings and other of the 17 to 18 different types of offerings and other ordinances, which is not possible, and not convenient. That law is a whole thing, you can't separate a piece of it and just follow that only, and you can't take separate the blessing from the curse it offers for not fully followig it. I have a ton of scriptures for this, but I don't have the time at the moment to get into them right now. Hebrews 7 is one chapter that deals with it though (especially verse 7:12). Galatians 2:16-21 is important to understanding this, and perhaps soon I can share my poem with you too, dealing with the issue. It's called "Is Christ Dead in Vain?" It's on my "Sidewalks Are For Kids" DVD if you have it. www.sidewalksareforkids.com. More scriptures for you to gain understanding from are Hebrews 10:1-20. Hebrews 9 also. Okay, I'll stop there for now.

.Nehemiah 10:38 | The Levites received a tithe because they had no inheritance in that land (Deut. 14:27). They then tithed from their tithe (10% of 10%). That tithe was not money (tithing has never been money). What they all tithed is specified in Neh. 13:5.

Day 175: Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 13

.Job 1:6 | Notice that Satan went among them also when they presented themselves to the Lord, so don't be surprised if you find Satan among you or even up in the church house. Satan comes before God "again" in Job 2:1. We'll talk about that when we get there.

.Job 1:7 | Is Satan bored? Walking to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it, sounds like boredom to me. Especially since he comes to God looking for something to do, some challenge or something to strive toward. Satan doesn't even have to say why he's there, God knows he'd bored and presents Satan with a challenge... Job. Are you that easy that Satan is just bored with you?

.Job 1:16 | It is important to note what this messenger is actually reports this INCORRECTLY. The fire of God didn't come down and burn up anything, but the messenger is just ignorant of what really happened. God didn't do it. Satan did it. Think about some things, natural disasters, that happen today and cause great destruction: floods, earthquakes, fires, tornados, lightning, storms, etc. What do we call these things? We call them "Acts of God." But are they really acts of God or are they acts of Satan?

.Job 1:20-22 | Job dealt with this by falling down and worshipping God, and didn't sin. And SATAN LEFT HIM ALONE! We know that Satan left him alone because in 2:1-2, Satan is back before God again after walking around the earth, seemingly without much to do... bored again. James 4:7 says "resist the devil and he will flee from you." ( Well, you may be asking, "how do I resist the Devil?" and "Why would the Devil flee from me?" I'm glad you asked. I recorded one of my poems to explain how this works. Click here for the poem.

.Job 2:1-2 | This is the second time Satan comes to God and God recommends Job.

.Job 2:3 | "still he holdeth fast his integrity" even after Satan's first attacks.

.Job 2:5 | 3:1 says Job cursed his own birthday and day of conception, but he DID NOT curse God like Satan said he would in 2:5.

.Job 2:6 | At first Satan couldn't touch him at all (Job 1:12), but now he can touch Job, but he just can't take his life.

.Job 2:9-10 | Wow! This looks like Adam and Eve part two (wife tries to get husband to go against God and die). This is how Adam should have responded to Eve.

.2 Corinthians 13:2 | "heretofore" means "here to before" or "from then to now."

.2 Corinthians 13:7 | So essentially, Paul is saying the reason we don't do evil, is not just so we can look like we're legitimate (legit), but so we can be honest. A reprobate is someone who is morally depraved, wicked, and disapproved of by God; condemned; one who has no salvation.

.2 Corinthians 13:11 | He tells them to "be perfect." I hear it said so often that we're not supposed to be perfect, but there is many places where the Bible tells us we are called to be perfect. If you've read the first part of our text for today, you'll even see that Job was called a perfect man (Job 1:8). We'll have to explore this more later.

Day 176: Job 3-4; Galatians 1

.Job 3:1 | Job cursed his own birthday and day of conception, but he DID NOT curse God like Satan said he would in 2:5.

.Job 4:2 | My Bible's vocab section says the word "assay" means venture. Webster's dictionary says it means to examine by trial or test.

.Job 4:4-5 | Essentially, Eliphaz is saying to Job, "you helped others through their tough times, but now that you go throug it, you're troubled." I'd like to point out two recent examples of this lesson being lived out. Sonstar Peterson, the author who wrote the foreword for our book went through one of these situations. But right before he went through it, he wrote a poem for our foreword saying this very thing. I believe God was speaking this to him through his own poem right before his wife passed away suddenly and unexpectedly.

"....This tragedy you can't deny.
The pain inside your heart's no lie.
Now all you want to do is cry... no, there's more,
Truth is, you really want to die... but then, but then!
A window opens and light shines in,
Soothing your soul, compassionate friend.
You know, thou you sit, hand tucked under your chin,
You can't quit, it's not the end; in fact, it's your time to begin.
While the world waits to hear what you've leanred from it;
Yes they wait... they know that you've earned from it...."
-Sonstar Carlisle Peterson
(excerpt from "Inspiration Kept You Sane"; page 16 Seeking Solace: Finding Peace and Comfort in Times of Distress)

Another lesson I wanted to point out regarding this was written by Lynnelle Harrell, one of our Bible readers. This is a VERY important message for parents! (click here to read it)

.Job 4:15-17 | Eliphaz tells his account of seeing a spirit pass before his face.

.Galatians 1:1-2 | Paul is writing this letter to the churches of Galatia. But he's not just writing it representing himself, but also "all the brethren which are with me" he says. So when he says "we," you know who he's talking about.

.Galatians 1:6 | In verse 3 and 4, he identifies God the Father as the subject he's speaking of, so when he says "ye are so soon removed from him" he's saying "ye are so soon removed from Jesus." Remember, the word "ye" usually means "you all" (plural). Otherwise, the word "you" would be used like he says a few words later. so essentially, he's saying "God has called each of you, individually, into the grace of Christ" but that they've been removed from God unto another gospel, which is not even a gospel at all anyway (verse 7).

.Galatians 1:7 | This perverting of the gospel of Christ is what's called "variance" in Galatians 5:20, and it is a work of the flesh that works against the spirit (not good). 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 lets us know that there are others who preach "another Jesus" (v.4). Muslims preach about Jesus, but it's another Jesus. It's not the same Jesus that you follow. The Jesus they preach, they say that he is not the son of God. They say it's the same Jesus, but it couldn't possibly be the same Jesus. Mormons preach a different Jesus. They say that Jesus is Michael the archangel and some more stuff about Jesus that is not at all the same description as the Jesus we know and follow. It's a different Jesus. Those who call themselves Jehovah's Witnesses preach another Jesus, that has a different description than the Jesus we know and follow. Their Jesus, they say is not God, and their scriptures have been changed to show that he is not, and neither one with the Father (John 1:1; 1 John 5:7-8). And there are many others who pervert the gospel of Christ in various ways, that even extend beyond who Jesus is.

.Galatians 1:8-9 | Paul is pretty serious here; so serious that he denied the opportunity to even change his views from what he previously preached. But he's not worried about that because as he says in verse 11, it's not man's gospel anyway. It's not his view that he's preaching, it's God's view and God's doesn't change anyway. Paul says this in 1 Timothy 1:3 also about preaching no other gospel.

.Galatians 1:10 | Good questions for us to ask ourselves as we go about our day.

.Galatians 1:11-12 | 1:16

.Galatians 1:13 | Acts 8:1 and Acts 9:1-4 speak of how badly paul persecuted the church. He was called Saul at the time.

.Galatians 1:17,21 | When I read this, I asked "When did he find time to go to Arabia?" Acts 9:18-26 doesn't mention him going to Arabia. He was in Damascus for quite a while though, and he left from there to Arabia and returned to Damascus. We also see from Gal 1:18 that it was three years after he went to Arabia that he went to Jerusalem where the other apostles were. That means that there was three years time span between Acts 9:18 and 9:26. I found a map in my Bible also that shows that Arabia may have been less than 200 or 300 miles away.
Maps featuring Syria, Cilicia, Damascus, Arabia, and Jerusalem:

(click on maps to enlarge them)

.Galatians 1:19 | James is Joseph and Mary's son. This would make him Jesus' half brother, since Joseph is not Jesus' Father, God is.

Day 177: Job 5-7; Galatians 2

.Galatians 2:1 | There seems to be some significance to the number 14. I'm not sure about this particular case, with 14 years, but in Matthew 1:17 we see that there is some significance with 14 generations till Jesus Christ.

.Galatians 2:11-14 | Paul confront Peter for acting different when he's around the gentiles than when he's around the Jews."

.Galatians 2:16 | highlighting "a man is not justified by the works of the law"

.Galatians 2:18 | "If I build again the things which I destroyed..." This is the definition of transgression. Remember it. For example, a man breaks free from sin's prison through the power of Christ, and he walks out a free man. But then he misses what he used to do in sin's prison and walks back into the prison to feel the comfort of his old chains and his old prison buddies. That's transgression. Today, We often call it backsliding. I prefer using the term transgression so when a person looks it up in the Bible they can find it and hear God's word about how to handle it. If you've become a new creature in Christ, don't go resurrect your old self.

.Galatians 2:19 | He didn't say the law was dead, but that he was dead to the law.

.Galatians 2:20 | This is what it means to be born again. And this is precisely what's signified by baptism.

.Galatians 2:21 | Pay close attention to the wording Paul uses here. He says "if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." He didn't say "Christ died," he said "is dead." In other words, he's saying that if righteousness is achieved by following the law, then Jesus Christ is currently dead right now and did not arise from the grave, because he would have no reason to rise from the grave since you could attain righteousness by simply following the law. But Christ is not dead, He is risen and is alive, so therefore we know that righteousness does not come by the law, but by Jesus Christ. Many of us are still seeking to follow the things of the law, instead of living our life in Christ and by the Holy Spirit. I usually mention tithing, but there are many other areas of the law that people still follow, which ignore or deny the fact that Jesus fulfilled the law, so we don't have to.

Day 178: Job 8-10; Galatians 3

.Galatians 3:1 | I don't think Paul was supposed to have called them foolish, because of what Jesus says in Matthew 5:22 about calling your brother a fool.

.Galatians 3:2 | The answer to this question can be found in Acts 10:43-44.

.Galatians 3:3 | this seems to be a rhetorical question, to which the answer of course would be no.

.Galatians 3:6 | Through Abraham's faith, he had a son at an exceedingly old age, among other things.

.Galatians 3:7 | This is possible because of what's said in verse 29. John 8:27-44 speaks more about this also, but it's a passage that you can't just glance over lightly and understand it fully.

.Galatians 3:10-12 | This says "cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." This means you can't just do some of it, but would have to do ALL of it; one slip up and you're cursed. Verse 12 says "the law is not of faith: but the man that doeth them shall live in them." This is why I believe you can choose to live by the law if you want, but you're basically hopeless at succeeding to follow every point of the law. So many bind themselves to the law of tithes today and are afraid of being cursed if they don't because of how Malachi 3:9 is mispreached out of context ("Will a man rob God?... ye are cursed with a curse"), not realizing that even if you do manage to follow that area of the law and not all of the others, as impossible as they are today, you would still be cursed anyway. Read James 2:10.

.Galatians 3:13 | Galatians 2:19,21; 3:19; Romans 7:4 also speaks about being dead to the law.

.Galatians 3:16 | This is an eye-opener. I have to go back and read this. Paul is clarifying that Christ was Abraham's seed that the promise was made to. Verse 29, says that if we are in Christ we are Abraham's seed, according to the promise. (note to self: Study this with Galatians 4 & Genesis 21, especially Gen 21:13)

.Galatians 3:19 | The law was not always in place, but had to be added because of transgression. Notice the word "till" (until). It was never meant to forever govern man. See Galatians 3:13 on this also. I believe this mediator he's talking about is Moses.

.Galatians 3:21 | This is what Galatians 2:21 was saying. If righteousness comes by the law then Christ is dead in vain. I have a poem on this "Is Christ Dead in Vain?" I don't have time to share it at the moment, but it's on my DVD at www.sidewalksareforkids.com

.Galatians 3:23 | John 1:17

.Galatians 3:27 | Acts 8:16 says, speaking of the Holy Ghost, "for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."

.Galatians 3:28 | The following verses in John and Ephesians speak about being one in Jesus Christ: John 10:16; 11:52; 17:11; 17:21-23; Ephesians 4:11-13.

Day 179: Job 11-13; Galatians 4

.Galatians 4:1-3 | This could be talking about man in general since God gave man (male and female) dominion over ever living moving thing (Gen 1:27-28). But this may be speaking particularly of Christ because of wording in the following verses. In verse 3, Paul begins by saying "even so we," which signifies that he was speaking of someone else before, but is now comparing us to their situation (or His situation, if speaking of Christ). I speculate that this speaks of Christ because it says "though he be lord of all." Verse 2, assimilates being under tutors and governers with being under the law, which Christ was under the law, until a certain time when He fulfilled it in His death and arose, free from the law, freeing us from it as well.

.Galatians 4:3 | Although man had dominion over the living things, I don't recall God every giving man dominion over the earthly elements, such as the water, wind, and whatever other elements there may be. Yet, I'm thinking about how Jesus, once He began His ministry walked on water and commanded the winds and they obeyed Him. That's a thought I wanted to explore later. However, this use of the word "elements" is most likely in reference to the elements of the law, as spoken of in verse 9. I'm not sure if the Greek word for "element" (as defined during Paul's time) is the same word for the earthly elements, but they may both be significant to understanding what's going on here. In fact, Jesus walking on water, not being in bondage to that could very well have been a testimony of neither being in bondage to the elements of the law. Even Peter (with Jesus) walked on the water, showing a new level of liberty.

.Galatians 4:4-5 | "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of woman, made under the law" This, along with what verse 2 says about "the time appointed" tells us that it is Jesus that is being spoken of here, and how Jesus was born a Jew (in bondage to the law) so that he could fulfill the law, for the sake of our freedom. In essence, by what Jesus did, we are now adopted as God's sons (note: it's understood that the use of the word "sons" does not refer to gender.)

.Galatians 4:6 | Romans 10:9;

.Galatians 4:7 | highlighting this verse

.Galatians 4:8 | this could either be referring to either pagan "gods" or idols, or to men (priests). "When ye knew not God" could be referring to them having not having personal relationships with him, but being under priesthoods, for example. It could also refer to when they did not even regard God at all.

.Galatians 4:9 | They turned back to follow the things of the law again.

.Galatians 4:10 | "Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years." What is he referring to? We can look at our own observances to see, but also there were feasts, and appointed times and such that the people had to observe. For us, we now observe national holidays, months (black history month, poetry month, women's appreciation month, etc), and years (the Chinese have different years, for example. 2009, the year of the ox, Ji Chou.) Some observe Lent, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and other days, many (or most) of which were never even required by God. The Muslims observe Ramadan for certain days. For those that Paul is speaking to however, he's likely referring to some other days, months, times, and years. The tithing schedule, I'm sure is one of the things he's referring to, which was on seven year cycles, and after the seventh of those seven year cycles, the 50th year was the year of Jubilee. All of the tithe the 3rd year went to those without inheritance. There were sacrifices offered year by year, as said in Hebrews 10:1. There were certain days, the people had to do certain things under the law. Even the passover, was one of these things the people had to do, but which Christ has fulfilled and we must no longer try to fulfill ourselves.

.Galatians 4:11 | It sounds like Paul's saying he fears to see them like this because then it looks to him that his efforts to help them were in vain (pointless).

.Galatians 4:14 | They received him like they received Jesus Christ. I'd like to get deeper into this verse later perhaps, but essentially he's saying when he was struggling, they almost worshipped him.

.Galatians 4:15-16 | They were so dedicated and speaking so greatly of him, and about how blessed he is, yet when he tells them the truth, they're ready to make him an enemy. Isn't this just like some people you know. As long as you're saying what they want to hear, they love you and are all for you, but as soon as the truth is spoken and it's against what they want to hear, they'll treat you as an enemy. For this reason, some of our leaders today, desiring not to be seen as anyone's enemy, won't even tell the truth if it might offend. The truth is not spoken about many issues, because people who want to live in sin and error will leave or withdraw their support. For this, many will not proclaim Jesus name. Some, even in the church, will not speak the truth about fornication, homosexuality, idolatry, drunkenness, or whatever else because they don't want the people who wallow in those to turn against them. Perhaps I've gotten off focus here. The bigger problem is not those who desire not to be an enemy, but those who refuse to receive the truth.

.Galatians 4:21 | People desire to be under the law, but they don't even know what the law requires, or the consequences in it. They don't even know what it is, have never heard it, read it, or studied it, and probably would refuse to. Also, you can't just hear/read/follow part of the law, but must follow the whole thing.

.Galatians 4:22-23 |

.Galatians 4:24 | (note to self: study Psalms 23 & Ezekiel 34, especially Ezekiel 34:25 as it speaks about a new covenant of peace. And also Zechariah 11:7,10 and about the staff, and the two staves called Beauty and Bands and Ez 34:27, Jer 48:17, Ps 23:4. Also Zech 10:1; Ez 34:25; 36:25; Ps 23:5. Also research Is 4:1-3; the temple called Beautiful in Acts 3:2 and the word Beauty where possibly related.)

.Galatians 4:27 | Daniel 12:11 uses the term "the abomination that maketh desolate." From the use of the word "desolate" here, we see that it can refer to being barren without child (childless). Also in Leviticus 19:22, God said that homosexuality is an abomination. Homosexuality, since it can't produce children, would of course lead to this type of desolation. So homosexuality could very well be the abomination that maketh desolate, spoken of in Daniel. From this, at the end of the book of Daniel, we are given a time frame of when to prepare for the coming of The End. Read all of Daniel 12 for better understanding. What would this mean for you? Matthew 24:15 says when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. As I understand, this would mean to stand in Christ, and Christ in you, taking heed to what Luke 17:20-23, and being aware that you are not supposed to be going to any physical place to look for Jesus or God's kingdom. "The Kingdom of God is within you."

.Galatians 4:30 | These words are the words Sarah spoke to Abraham in Genesis 21:10.

.Galatians 4:30-31 | speaking of Galatians 4:22-23; Gal 5:1 speaks about being free (in Christ) from this bondage and having liberty.

Day 180: Job 14-16; Galatians 5

.Galatians 5:1 | This "yoke of bondage" is a continuation from what's being said at the end of chapter 4.

.Galatians 5:3 | This is what I was commenting on for the Day 178 Bible Notes for Galatians 3:10-12, about how following one part of the law is putting yourself in bondage to do the WHOLE law, not just part of it.

.Galatians 5:6 | 6:15

.Galatians 5:9 | This is speaking of the few who come in and preach to the rest, their own doctrines and affect the whole group. The term "leven" is often used as a metaphor in the Bible to refer to man's own infectious doctrines that are opposed to God's.

.Galatians 5:12 | Leviticus 19:29 speaks about people being "cut off" from their people for committing abominations.

.Galatians 5:13 | We've covered this liberty before in previous studies, so I'm not going to take the moment to cover it again, but I will point you toward Romans 14:13-15. Now, here in Gal 5:13, In reference liberty, Paul says "but by love serve one another." The verse I pointed to in Romans will help with this understanding, but also the following example. It's not law that I open the door for a lady, so when I do it, it shows love. But if it were law for me to do it, it would simply show my obedience to the law, not my love.

.Galatians 5:14 | First, I'd point out that is does say "as thyself," signifying that you are supposed to love yourself as well. There's nothing wrong with that. You should love yourself, but not just yourself. Secondly, the overall point that this verse is making is that if you love your neighbor as you love yourself, you will haphazardly fulfill the law while doing so. In other words, if you love your neighbor, you won't murder her, you won't bear false witness against her, you won't steal from her, you will honor her, you will do what is right without someone having to make you do what's right. For those who would ask, "who is my neighbor?" there is a story told in the Bible of a man who needed help, and the person who cared enough to help him is the one who was considered his neighbor. So the short answer is, your neighbor is whoever you choose to be a neighbor to. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus addresses this issue about fulfilling the law by loving. In the way He addresses it, loving God, loving yourself, and loving your neighbor, are all wrapped up together. Please note that loving yourself is not the same as loving your lifestyle, your belongings, or the things of the world you've grown somewhat attached to, but the person inside of the body.

.Galatians 5:16 | As you're aware that those who live under the law are subject to be cursed or possibly condemned for not following every single bit of it (James 2:10). Read Romans 8:1 to see what it says of us who are in Christ and who walk after the spirit. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." This verse 16 is preparing to tell us how not to abstain from fulfilling the lust of the flesh. Couple these next few verses with 2 Peter 1:4-10 and you'll have a powerful plan in front of you. Hebrews 5:14 gives us the idea that we have spiritual senses that can be exercised to be able to discern. This would mean that the more you use your senses (like exercising muscles), the better those senses will get. If you exercise your spiritual senses, they'll get better and you'll be able to discern spiritual things better. However if you exercise your fleshly senses more, touch typing for example, you'll eventually grow able to better discern one key from another. Apply this thought to your spiritual life.

.Galatians 5:17 | 1 Peter 2:11 testifies that fleshly lusts war against the soul. God, in Genesis 6:3, speaks of the warring between His spirit and man's flesh.

.Galatians 5:18 | "But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." Are you led by the Spirit? Do you depend on the Spirit to lead you in how much to give and where to give it (or who to give it to) or do you simply try to follow some rules of the law that you've been taught by man? Do you simply try to please God by following ten commandments, or do you please Him by loving Him, others, and yourself? Read Hebrews 7, especially the verses surround 7:16, remembering that Jesus is our High Priest (Heb 3:1)

.Galatians 5:19-21 | In Ephesians 5:11, Paul says to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Some of these things are also mentioned in Colossians 3:5. In fact, read Col 3:1-15 if you have a moment for better understanding. Variance is partially what's covered in Gal 1:7, perverting the gospel of Christ. Emulation is essentially copying what someone else does. For example, we see someone do something and we do it just because we saw them do it. If God were to ask you why you did something, it's not a good answer to say "um, because they did it." Many parents have taught this lesson to their kids with the following words "if all of your friends go jump off of a bridge, are you going jump off of it too?" Paul even (perhaps by not knowing what else to do) sought to save some emulators by setting himself up to be emulated by them instead of them emulating those they saw with worldly riches. Whether he was supposed to do that or whether it worked or not, I don't know, but apparently he had good intentions for doing so. You can read about it in Romans 11:11-14. Asa shows how he effectively dealt with idolatry in 2 Chronicles 15:8-17. 1 Corinthians 3:3 and Titus 3:3 talk about some of these works of the flesh as well. 1 Samuel 15:23 says "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." If you ever see a person with an idol and tell them to get rid of it, you'll see this stubbornness come to surface. He may have told them the same thing he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

.Galatians 5:19-21 | Memorize these "works of the flesh," so you will know not to do them. It is just as important for you to know these as it is to know the fruit of the Spirit. Works are something you do or don't do, but fruit is only something that comes as a byproduct of something else. Therefore, it makes more since to focus on the works than the fruit. It doesn't make very much sense to focus on having fruit (joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, raigh, meekness, temperance). These things come as a result of something else. For example, a tree that bears good fruit does not focus on bearing fruit, it focuses on digging it's roots into a firm foundation, getting water, filtering out harmful chemicals and things, healing it's cuts with sap, growing toward the sun, and catching rain water and breathing in carbon dioxide. When it does these things, it is healthy and produces good fruit. It doesn't bear good fruit by standing around saying "I have to make good fruit. I have to make good fruit. I have to make good fruit." God has already put it inside the tree to make good fruit automatically when it does what it's supposed to do. And when the tree does make good fruit, that fruit doesn't feed the tree. It feeds the people, animals, and the ground around it. They want to be around the tree with good fruit. Well, it's not so much that they want to be around the tree, but they need to be around the tree. Likewise, when you don't do the things you're not supposed to do (and do the things you are), others will want or need to be around you as well.

.Galatians 5:22-23 | Most people I know have focused more on knowing the fruit of the spirit, than the work of the flesh. Personally, I think knowing the fruit is only secondary to knowing the works of the flesh. The reason you should know what the fruit of the Spirit is, is because this is evidence of the Spirit living and working within you and prevailing over your flesh. You should inspect your fruit for these aspects, and if you see that you are missing one of these areas (joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, raigh, meekness, temperance), you should take it as an indication that you're not spiritually healthy. Perhaps you're doing one of those works of the flesh we just mentioned, or maybe you're not doing something you should be doing (praying, living by God's word, fellowshipping with your brethren in Christ and bearing one another's burdens, etc.) Read what is said in Ephesians 5:9.

.Galatians 5:24 | Those of us who accepted Christ as our saviour (sacrifice) have laid our sins on Him, causing His crucifixion.

.Galatians 5:25 | "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." I think it'd be pretty unreasonable and a vain attempt to try to get people to walk in the Spirit who don't even live in the Spirit. You just can't expect that. This would probably also apply to those who proclaim that "Jesus is Lord," yet they still try to live a righteous life by following the elements of the law. Paul even testifies in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, beause they are spiritually discerned." But those of us who actually do live in the Spirit should walk in the Spirit and excercise our spiritual discernment.