8 And Daniel purposeth in his heart that he will not pollute himself with the king's portion of food, and with the wine of his drinking, and he seeketh of the chief of the eunuchs that he may not pollute himself. 9 And God giveth Daniel for kindness and for mercies before the chief of the eunuchs; 10 and the chief of the eunuchs saith to Daniel, `I am fearing my lord the king, who hath appointed your food and your drink, for why doth he see your faces sadder than [those of] the lads which [are] of your circle? then ye have made my head indebted to the king,' 11 And Daniel saith unto the Meltzar, whom the chief of the eunuchs hath appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 `Try, I pray thee, thy servants, ten days; and they give to us of the vegetables, and we eat, and water, and we drink; 13 and our appearance is seen before thee, and the appearance of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food, and as thou seest -- deal with thy servants.' 14 And he hearkeneth to them, to this word, and trieth them ten days: 15 and at the end of ten days their appearance hath appeared better and fatter in flesh then any of the lads who are eating the king's portion of food. 16 And the Meltzar is taking away their portion of food, and the wine of their drink, and is giving to them vegetables. 17 As to these four lads, God hath given to them knowledge and understanding in every [kind of] literature, and wisdom; and Daniel hath given instruction about every [kind of] vision and dreams. 18 And at the end of the days that the king had said to bring them in, bring them in doth the chief of the eunuchs before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king speaketh with them, and there hath none been found among them all like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and they stand before the king; 20 and [in] any matter of wisdom [and] understanding that the king hath sought of them, he findeth them ten hands above all the scribes, the enchanters, who [are] in all his kingdom. 21 And Daniel is unto the first year of Cyrus the king.

"For ye -- to freedom ye were called, brethren, only not the freedom for an occasion to the flesh, but through the love serve ye one another, for all the law in one word is fulfilled -- in this: `Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;'" (Galatians 5:13,14 Young's Literal Translation)

"For by grace ye are having been saved, through faith, and this not of you -- of God the gift, not of works, that no one may boast; for of Him we are workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God did before prepare, that in them we may walk." (Ephesians 2:8-10 YLT)

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice,  and become one to another kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, according as also God in Christ did forgive you." (Ephesians 4:31,32)

This is a touchy subject. By the grace of God I pray this audio is helpful.

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. 7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5:1)

"I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2nd Corinthians 11:3)

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"...only, of the poor that we should be mindful, which also I was diligent -- this very thing -- to do.  And when Peter came to Antioch, to the face I stood up against him, because he was blameworthy, for before the coming of certain from James, with the nations he was eating, and when they came, he was withdrawing and separating himself, fearing those of the circumcision, and dissemble with him also did the other Jews, so that also Barnabas was carried away by their dissimulation. But when I saw that they are not walking uprightly to the truth of the good news, I said to Peter before all, `If thou, being a Jew, in the manner of the nations dost live, and not in the manner of the Jews, how the nations dost thou compel to Judaize? we by nature Jews, and not sinners of the nations, having known also that a man is not declared righteous by works of law, if not through the faith of Jesus Christ, also we in Christ Jesus did believe, that we might be declared righteous by the faith of Christ, and not by works of law, wherefore declared righteous by works of law shall be no flesh.' And if, seeking to be declared righteous in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, [is] then Christ a ministrant of sin? let it not be! for if the things I threw down, these again I build up, a transgressor I set myself forth; for I through law, did die, that to God I may live; with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me; and that which I now live in the flesh -- in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give himself for me; I do not make void the grace of God, for if righteousness [be] through law -- then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:10-21 Young's Literal Translation)

"Then, after fourteen years again I went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, having taken with me also Titus; and I went up by revelation, and did submit to them the good news that I preach among the nations, and privately to those esteemed, lest in vain I might run or did run; but not even Titus, who [is] with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised -- and [that] because of the false brethren brought in unawares, who did come in privily to spy out our liberty that we have in Christ Jesus, that us they might bring under bondage, to whom not even for an hour we gave place by subjection, that the truth of the good news might remain to you.  And from those who were esteemed to be something -- whatever they were then, it maketh no difference to me -- the face of man God accepteth not, for -- to me those esteemed did add nothing..." (Galatians 2:1-6)

"We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself..."

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"I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself."

"To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled." 

"All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify."
Please pardon the weird little audio skipping 14 minutes into the message (along with the verbal stumbling that takes place at times. There must have been a bit too much caffeine consumed to compensate for having the flu at the time of this recording).

"Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently." (Romans 14:1 The Message)


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