Great Faith is Great, but Little Faith is still Faith!

Are you intimated by the faith of those around you. If so that might be your only problem. Your projected fear could be what is hindering your faith from moving you forward. Fear hinders faith because it is a form of doubt. But, remember, if you choose to let fear hinder your faith it is your choice. It is possible to have both. It is possible to be in the Spirit and yet in the flesh. We are spirits that live in bodies. Both body and spirit. So yes, inside full of faith, and yes outside full of fear. But when you walk in the Spirit, you no longer obey the works of the flesh. You know longer are captive by the things of the world and "Fear" itself can't stop you. Even Paul, when faced with many troubles feared just like you and me. Even God sent His angels to tell Paul, "Do not fear".

What does fear do to you. Well it was faith that inspired a man named Peter to step out of a boat onto some rapid stormy waters, but yet it was fear that made him begin to sink. Peter saw the storms, the wind, the circumstances. He was intimated, he was fearful, he was doubtful. But one thing is for sure, Peter is the one that walked on water, not Thomas, not the sons of Thunder, but Peter. Peter stepped out of the boat. Even when Peter stepped out, none of the others got excited enough to do the same. None of them decided that if Peter can do it so can I. Should we let others that have great faith makes us doubt our own, should we be intimated? Or should we look at the miracle and believe that with God anything is possible?

So what did Peter have that was different then you? Why could Peter walk on the water and not the others? What kind of man was this Peter, a fisherman by occupation, a man who knew first hand the dangers of the seas. Answer, a man of little faith. A man that was vulnerable to fear like you and me. A man with his own doubt. This man named Peter, was successful at stepping out of the boat. Successful at walking on the water. And when he began to sink, he was successful to put His trust in Jesus to save him. And what was his reward from His happy King Jesus. Jesus simply said, “You of little faith,” ,“why did you doubt?”. For sure you can learn this one thing from Peter, that is doesn't take great faith to walk on water. Jesus can not and will not every lie, and yet He said to this great man of faith, “You of little faith,”.

So moral of the story is, next time you have a "little" bit of faith, why don't you just go ahead and walk on water because that is all it takes. And while your at it, don't let those that you perceive to have great faith be the storms on the sea for you. Don't be intimidated. Don't mix doubt with your faith. Don't sink. But if you do, praise the Lord for divine Grace because God will lift you up over the stormy waters and save you. Trust in God today. Trust and Obey. Trust and Pray! Trust and do the unthinkable! Be that man or woman of "LITTLE FAITH"! Faith pleases God, and never forget that. Faith alone pleases God, it doesn't have to be great faith, just faith alone.

Hebrews 11:16
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

www.RichCohrs.blogspot.com

by Rich Cohrs

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Good News not the Harsh News

Proverbs 15:1

 1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, 

But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Even God's Word shouldn't be used with a brother or sister to stir up anger. If you are in a scriptural debate and you get angry, most likely you are not feeling the anger of the Lord that most people claim to be feeling (Godly anger, Fiery indignation, Passion for the Word). Most likely your feeling your own pride wanting to be right and wanting to have the last say so. You think your right, they think their right, but it doesn't matter in the end, cause when you use God's word in a debate neither one of you are now "right". Even if your opinion was the right opinion you are now wrong in the way you are delivering it. You have both become an enemy to the gospel, to the "Word of God". Sure people will always get offended at the Word of God because it says profound things that get people all shook up, but that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about your close nit family of the Lord. 

Ephesians 4:26 says to "Be Angry", but "SIN NOT". That verse is one of the hardest scriptures to obey. How hard is it to actually be angry and not sin at the same time? Extremely! The next part of the verse says not to let the sun go down on your wrath, or your anger. So now it is saying to forgive. Let it go, be the man in the situation, or for some of you, the woman in the situation. Both parts of the verse leave us with a warning, that is is not good to be angry and if you are then you are in danger. What Danger? Danger of a bitter and wounded spirit. If you learn to forgive at the drop of a dime you will learn a GREAT secret of guarding your heart. Forgiveness is like a shield to you against the enemy. It protects you against bitterness and keeps you from getting wounded. 

So now back to what I was first saying. A gentle answer turns away wrath (anger), but a harsh Word stirs up anger. So if you are warned to not be angry lest you fall into temptation of unforgiveness then why would you be the one giving the harsh words. Why would you be giving your brother or sister a reason to be angry and unforgiving. Think about what you are saying before you say them. If someone needs correction cause they believe the Word of God in error, then pray about it first before speaking. If God's Spirit is not directing you, then there will be no power in what you say. It is God's anointing that breaks the yoke. You need the Spirit that has been poured out on you to do the leading in these situations. God sets people free not you. It is His Spirit that brings freedom, not you. Remember God is not fighting His children, He is loving them. Don't be the advocate, be the avenue of God's Love. 

Last thing I want to say, is that if your brother is sinning, and you feel it is your need to give a harsh rebuke. Just remember this, nobody is without sin. NOT EVEN YOU! Cast the first stone, and one day I am sure it will hit you right up the side of the head. LOL If they need to repent, God's goodness needs to be reminded to them. 

New International Version (NIV)

Romans 2:1-4

 1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

It is His GOODNESS or as in this translation it says, "KINDNESS"  that leads people to repentance. Fear brings deception, but Goodness brings revelation of God's love to a His child. Yes we should fear God, but there needs to be a balance of LOVE and GRACE. A reverential fear of God. Fear as in Respect, not the feeling of God is going to ZAP you for doing wrong. 

Galatians 6:1

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

 1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

And for those of you who feel it is your job to be the O so Powerful JESUS REBUKER, remember this verse. RESTORE in the SPIRIT OF GENTLENESS! You also are vulnerable to fall in the same sin. Don't think you are that spiritual. I did that once, and had to pay the price for years. When you think you are the purest then mostly likely that is your folly already. Season all your words with GRACE. That is the Word of God. Its not the HARSH NEWS, but the Good News! 

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"Not about Religion but about Relationship"

Please read all the way through and read the Disclaimer as well!!!

Do you want to hear something profound that will shake your boots and make you want to throw stones at me? OK I will say it. "Jesus was the most RELIGIOUS Man of His days."

Make you mad yet. Jesus was Religious! Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes!! Tick you off yet. LOL Yes He was, you better believe it. There is PURE and IMPURE Religion, we too often are scared to even say the Word RELIGION anymore, but the truth is we are suppose to be religious, not like the religious leaders of Jesus days but like the Religious leader that Jesus was in His days on earth. Pure and undefiled.

James 1:27
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained [a]by the world.

People quote this verse left and right and all they get out of it is that it is pure to visit the orphan and widow. Then they make a muck with it by pretending to genuinely care outwardly by their speech to others about the orphan and the widow in order to make others think they are pure. We see this all the time. Doesn't mean they are bad people just means that they have forgotten the last part of the verse indeed.

"...To keep oneself unstained by the world." The Contemporary English Version says, "...and not let this world make you evil." Wow, now that is profound. The Amplified says the word, "uncontaminated", as in contaminated with filth or poisonous material. So to be religious is or almost the opposite of what most in the Church perceive as religious. We see the religion of certain denominations and we say they are religious. Yes we are right about that too, but it is only the impure form of religion. The Pharisees were indeed the religious leaders of Jesus days but Jesus said to the multitude this statement.

Matthew 23:3-39
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

You see Hypocrisy was the Pharisees cup of tea. They were good at it. They were like coffins full of dry bones and they didn't even know it. They looked down upon the downcast of those days, such as the poor, leapers, the sick and the hurting. They wouldn't lift a hand for them instead they demanded everyone's attention as if they were the Greatest in the Kingdom. The exact reason why they wanted Jesus dead, cause the peoples eyes were enraptured with the glory that came with Christ. Their eyes were off the leaders and on the Majestic Ancient of Days, Jesus Christ. Jesus was stealing their show.

Our Lord said do all that they tell you to do, but don't do what they do. So what I am trying to say is that being religious isn't like being a Pharisee or about visiting the orphan and widow. Its about doing the commands of God. The Pharisees had mostly good doctrine they just didn't have revelation that comes from knowing Jesus and they didn't obey their own words either. Most people don't mind saying the word Pure and undefiled religion and then defining it as visiting the orphan and the widow, but that is not the definition, instead that is just two examples of a huge list of things that are pure.

Galatians 5:16-18
New King James Version (NKJV)
Walking in the Spirit

 
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

So here is the deal. If you Walk in the Spirit you will not fulfill the Lust of the flesh. You will not be spotted by the world. You will not be contaminated or stained by the world. You would not let this world make you evil. So being led by, or to Walk by the Spirit as Galatians put it, is the answer to being Pure and Religious. Yes there it is again, being religious, I said it again. Most people want to be led by the Spirit all the time, they want to learn to walk in the Spirit, they WANT to BE RELIGIOUS! They want to be religious they just don't know it yet. They don't know that being religious is what Paul strives for when he says, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." Our goal is to be Pure Religious Zealots. Zealous about Jesus and about the Kingdom of God. You don't do this on your own, but you have to have fellowship with God, with His Spirit in order to be one that is led by His Spirit. It is almost like learning to swim and your instructor is the Spirit of the Living God, except His Spirit will never leave you nor forsake you, unlike an instructor that is there solely to train you.

Next time you are about to say this statement, "It's not about Religion, its about Relationship" I am sure you will understand that it is quite the oxymoron. It is one in the same. You can't have a relationship with the Lord without being religious. Having a relationship with the Lord is what makes you pure, it is what cleans you and makes you holy.

Bless you today and God's Grace be with you!

Rich Cohrs

Disclaimer:: Although I have written this blog, I only did it with the purpose of teaching Purity. The famous statement that says, "It's not about Religion but about Relationship" truly inspires people to do what is right and to have a relationship with the Lord. I do believe it is not statement that will stand through fire in itself but I will have to say the spirit of the statement couldn't be more true. The purpose of saying it is to get people's eyes off of doing the impure things and on to Jesus instead. The sole purpose of the statement, right in the heart of it, is indeed true. So saying that, I just wanted folks to have a bit more knowledge. There is no need to hunt all down that say the statement, they are only doing good, but there is no problem explaining to them that there is a PURE Religion also. LOL GBU all in Jesus Name

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He has no reason for a Front!

Some people put on a front as if they are better than they really are. Richer, smarter, physically sharper. More More More than what they are or have in order to have more, more, more from you. To have your attention and your awe. To capture there audience. BUT GOD!!! BUT GOD has NO reason to put on a front for you. We can't even fathom the true nature of God. How Smart, How Wealthy, How Beautiful our Creator really is. We can't comprehend His infinite wisdom. His Foreknowledge. We can't understand His ways 100% yet the one who has no reason to put on a front humbled Himself to be a man like you and I. Then to top that off, He gave His precious life in the place of ours so we don't have to suffer for eternity. What an awesome God we serve. What a privilege we have in His presence. Direct your attention to Him in Complete Awe! Let Him Capture your eyes and ears!

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Faithfulness! Hay and Stubble or Gold Silver and precious stone?

Some people think that being faithful is to finish what you have started. "Finish what you have started" really, that is faithfulness? No! What if you without knowing started to build hay and stubble thinking you are doing the work of the Lord. Then God tells you to stop, but to continue your faithfulness you continue in the work. What now is faithfulness? Did it profit anything at all? Nope! Just gets burned. 


Just because you have started something doesn't mean you need to see it through till the end. In fact, in God's Kingdom many workers, led by God's Spirit, will make the heavy load light. Even if you are building with silver, gold and precious stones, God is still in control, you need to be humble enough to stop when He says stop. His Kingdom also isn't a one man show. One man plants, and another waters but God gives the increase. You may start a project and another finishes it, but its God's Spirit that needs to be directing both in order for there to be an increase. 

Its about God and not about you. He has prepared Kingdom assignments for us to work together. Don't do it on your own. Be faithful to God and not to your own"Finish what I have started" ego. God is not in the business to make you look good, but in the business to destroy darkness, to save the Lost, heal the sick, and put to shame the works of the evil one. The cross was to unite us and not to divide us. A kingdom divided against itself will surely fall, but a nation with one language and one mind can do anything. So we need to speak the same language do the same work. That work isn't yours its God's, it's His plan. That language is the language of Love. Just let go and let God be God. ~ Rich Cohrs




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Restoring the Anointing by David Wilkerson and also some great worship

Couple very power teaching on loosing and regaining God's anointing. Also a few of my favorite worship songs as well. 

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The Atheist Joke

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.."
The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?"
"Oh, I don't know," said the atheist. "How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly.
"OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?"
The atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea."
To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death, when you don't know crap?" And then she went back to reading her book.

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Even There

Psalm 139:7-12
New International Version (NIV)
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

David said in verse 10, "Even there your hand will guide me". Think about that. You can't hide from God's Spirit. He is everywhere. People often say, "It just feels like God left me, like He isn't with me anymore. He is disgusted with me and left." Or, "I am so far away from the Lord right now, I don't know how to get back." The reason why we say these things is because of the darkness, but like verse 12 says "EVEN" the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." And then again Even there your hand will guide me.

You see your not hidden in the darkness like God can't see you. He is with you, He never left you. He is just waiting for you to follow His leading. Even there your hand will guide me. First believe He is there cause it is true, He really is, then trust Him and take His hand and let Him lead you. Even there, right there, where you are, Take his Hand and let Him lead.

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His Glory is for YOU!

Your GREATEST Calling in Life is not to be a mother, father, wife, husband, Business man or woman, or anything related. Your greatest calling is not ministering to each other. Your Greatest calling is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart. Gods anointing to do all those other things comes with your deep relationship with Him.

You have to step into His presence and keep walking further. The veil was torn from top to the bottom for a reason. That reason is YOU! Your greatest calling is a priest of Most High God, but different than the priest of the old testament. They "STOOD" continuously offering the sacrifices of the people; and Jesus with one Sacrifice perfected the old testament priesthood then "SAT DOWN" at the right hand of the Father in the Heavenly places. That priesthood ended that day. Sacrifice was perfected, so what kind of priest are you? The type that stays in the temple offering himself to God. Gods Grace is on you to enter behind the Veil. His calling on your life is to do just that.

While you are in the presence of Jesus, Gods glory will get all over you. Like when Moses spent time with God on the mountain. When he came down people couldn't even look at his face cause it shined so bright the Glory of God. Moses had to put a Veil on His own face that day. But that Glory faded away. We have a covenant with the Father and we as Son's and Daughter's can come freely into His presence. Offering yourself Continually to the Lord, and ministering to Him will produce a living and abiding anointing. You will walk in greatness. You speak with authority. When you pray you will pray with faith. Unlike Moses the Glory doesn't have to fade away. If the Glory is fading away its because you are walking away. Lets learn to give up somethings to be with the Lord. Spend time with Him, it is well worth it. God Loves you, so Love on God! Bless Ya!

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Biblical Questions Answered Part 1

Questions #1 How are our sins forgiven through Jesus? Jesus said if you forgive others others God will forgive you so God was already forgiving people before Jesus died. 

Question #2 Also aren’t we all God’s Children?

Question #3 John 6:65 Jesus says no one can come to me unless the father enables him. What does that mean to you?

Answer:   Well first of all these are very common questions and I am going to try answer them all in one letter. So Here WE GO! 

To answer the first question we have to understand two things, Man’s fallen nature and Old Testament Sacrifice. We will start with the present nature of the human spirit. We all know that as you age through life there is going to be an end of all to your bodies. (scripture about spirit renewed day by day) They are decaying day by day. One day there is not going to be any life whatsoever in your flesh. But the human spirit is eternal. That means it will always exist. You may be wondering why is it important to know Jesus if your spirit will always exist. Reason why is because Jesus is the key factor of “WHERE” your spirit will exist. (Lazors drops water on tongue) I don’t want to live a black and white life with no gray area’s in everything I do but in this case there is no in between. Two locations your spirit has a place to dwell. Bad news first, one place your spirit may dwell for eternity is in hell (not a brimstone preacher, but I don’t comprise the scriptures either).  Torment for eternity, a place that was created for the fallen angels, but now also for those who don’t trust in Jesus. Now for the Good News, the second place for your spirit to dwell is in a BRAND NEW(if you like comics books movies then you will like this. Lol)  awesome spiritual body in Heaven. This is scriptural, and I will post the scripture for you. This body is indestructible, can’t be broken and doesn’t decay. God has only given us a little knowledge about this but made it O’ so clear. Thank you God for you coming blessing! 

Ok still haven’t answered the full question so I will continue. Lets look at Genesis for a bit to find out more about the human spirit. You know the story, and if you read some of my other letters this is going to be a bit of a repeat. All the way back to Adam is where we are going with this one. Most of you are Americans and most of you have heard the story sooooo many times and you might be thinking why it’s even relevant. Here We GO! First of all, it was God the Father who created the Earth and Heaven and everything that was in them. He also created man in his image. The first man Adam, and first woman Eve. Took Eve right out of the poor little mans side. So these two humans were the first of many. They walked among the earth, and God gave them dominion in all the earth. They were Earth’s rulers. With all this God only gave them one command. He gave them all kinds of tree’s to eat from but one tree was off limits. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (bad tree, lol). Lets look at the Scripture. 

Genesis 2:17(NASB) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the “DAY” that you eat from it you will “SURELY DIE”.” (emphasis by me)

Notice what I highlighted, DAY, and SURELY DIE. You know the story Adam and Eve ate. Then there eyes were open and we know Adam lived another 900 years. God doesn’t lie. Never has and never will. Everything He says is truth. According to the scriptures He is the Spirit of Truth. Adam died that same day. So did Eve. There bodies continued on and so did there spirits but they weren’t the same. They were separated from their Creator for eternity. That is what spiritual death is. There spirit no longer possessed LIFE eternal. But instead lost a part of God that day. Without that missing part you and me will not be able to have life after death. After our bodies fully give out on us, we are stuck with eternity whether you like it or not. If your spirit stays in the state that Adams was after he sinned, which God the Father called Death, then you will not see Eternal LIFE. But the Good news is that Jesus is Eternal Life (scripture). He is the Way to the Father, He is the Truth and the LIFE. 

So now we are ready to get started. How are our sins taken away by Jesus? Well here is the deal, from the very beginning sacrifices had to be sacrificed all through the scriptures to remove the sin. But it was continually done. Certain times of the month, certain holy days, sacrifices were sacrificed for the sins of the people. Once a year there was a Passover Lamb the was for the Passing over of death. The only problem with this lamb during the Passover is that it wasn’t perfect, if it were then there would have been no more need for sacrifice at ALL. There would have been no reason to have the Jewish priesthood anymore. But we know the sacrifice continued from month to month and year to year, and on holy days. 

Both New Testament and Old Testament speaks about the Lamb that takes away the sins of the World. Jesus is the Lamb of God According to Scripture. You see these animals couldn’t really be in place of our sins. There blood was pleasing to God for a short while but God was demanding peace between man and Himself. God wanted to draw men closer. God needed a perfect lamb without spots or blemish to be the perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sins. The only candidate for the job was Jesus Christ himself. God spoke in every book of the bible about this Lamb, about this Messiah, about His Son and our Lord. Jesus himself spoke of this sacrifice that would be made. John the Baptist declared this of Him.

John 1:29 (NKJ) The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God that Takes away the sin of the world! This is He (Jesus) of whom I  said, After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me. I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I come baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying “I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He(God the Father) who sent Me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ “And I have seen and testified that this is the SON OF GOD.”

He is worthy. He is perfect. A sinless man according to scriptures and according to the Spirit of God. He is the Lamb that is to take away the SIN of the world. You noticed that when I typed the previous scripture I underlined sin. Notice that sin has no (s) behind it, but instead indicates that this is sin in general, ALL SIN. No need for several different sacrifices. Just one perfect one. Jesus Christ of Nazareth. This topic has so many different angles that we could go and could go much further into the scripture I am going to stop right there and if you have any questions post a comment. But just remember when Jesus died He was the perfect Lamb.

To Answer the second part of the first question. Jesus said if you forgive others others God will forgive you so God was already forgiving people before Jesus died. Well this is true God was already forgiving people before Jesus died. But if you remember in the previous paragraphs about the sacrifices, they were for the forgiveness of the men’s sins. The problem was is that God thought it was evil for a man to come to him with a sacrifice and ask Him to forgive the him even though they had not forgiven those who had wronged them. This context comes from the book of John as well. John was speaking to a bunch of Jewish people who practiced the tradition of sacrificing animals for there sins. Jesus was profoundly stating that even sacrifice alone could never take away your sin, cause you have hatred in your heart for another person. The sacrifices were conditional. You can’t trick God. God requires purity of heart and humility. You couldn’t just come to God with a sacrifice and yet are not even sorry for the person you wronged. God wanted them to have faith in Him, to truly Fear Him. When they brought sacrifices it was supposed to be with repentance. If you truly loved your brother and you would have forgiven him as well. Unfortunately that wasn’t always the case. Man formed religion and it became more a duty than a worship. They brought there sacrifices cause they were raised to do it. Some of them wasn’t sorry about anything. This wasn’t faith which brings us to the next question. 

To Be Continued::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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