25 March 2018
Two-Minute Features | 01 April 2018 | 18 March 2018

We Are Not to Quench the Spirit in Our Lives (TMF:855)

Friday, March 30, 2018
Peace to Live By: We Are Not to Quench the Spirit in Our Lives (TMF:855) - Daniel Litton
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       Now, we are not to quench the Spirit (see 1 Thess. 5:19). When we don’t receive conviction from the Spirit, we quench him and his work. And then, after rejecting it more and more, we then can face personal discipline from the Lord, which I don’t think any of us want. Think of it like when you do something wrong at work. Often, the first time, you will receive a verbal warning for whatever you did wrong. And you may even receive two or three verbal warnings. But if you don’t change your behavior, you may get written up with an official warning. That’s a more severer form of discipline. It could be the case that we are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives. We should pray that we become sensitive to his conviction, and that he will help us to be aware of his leading. We can depend on our flesh to make improvement in our lives, or we can depend on the Holy Spirit. We need to do all things through the Spirit instead of fleshly efforts. Jesus told us in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (ESV).

We Should Want the Holy Spirit's Conviction (TMF:854)

Thursday, March 29, 2018
Peace to Live By: We Should Want the Holy Spirit's Conviction (TMF:854) - Daniel Litton
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       I would like to say that we should want the Holy Spirit’s conviction in our lives. We shouldn’t dread his conviction, or despise it, since it comes to help us. God wants to help us become more like Jesus, not just rain condemnation down on us for the fun of disciplining us. I believe that God does not take pleasure in disciplining us. He’s not like a strict grade-school principle, or a harsh father, who loves discipline. But God does know that conviction helps us to grow. And so he provides it for our own good because he loves us. And remember also, the Holy Spirit will also provide encouragement toward our spirits as we are making progress and doing better, and he may even provide rewards for us, in the here and now, as we have successes. Now, we are not to quench the Spirit (see 1 Thess. 5:19). When we don’t receive conviction from the Spirit, we quench him and his work. And then, after rejecting it more and more, we then can face personal discipline from the Lord, which I don’t think any of us want.

We Should Choose to Follow the Spirit vs. Sin (TMF:853)

Wednesday, March 28, 2018
Peace to Live By: We Should Choose to Follow the Spirit vs. Sin (TMF:853) - Daniel Litton
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       So, once we have been given the conviction from the Spirit—at that point, we can choose to follow the Spirit, or we can choose to continue going down the wrong path. This can be just in a basic life situation, like when an argument is brewing between you and someone else. The Holy Spirit may say, “Hold it. You need to correct what you’re saying,” and at that point we need to correct it or we are heading for a ‘real’ problem. It’s better to swallow our pride and snuff out developing problems rather than continuing along and then having a ‘real’ problem. I think most of us recognize from experience that it is far better to deal with a brewing problem right away rather than to wait for it to get far worse. The issue for us is that it is very hard to do at the moment in time at which the problem is occurring. Like, if we are in an argument, we want to keep arguing to win, even when we know, deep down, we should stop. So, pride gets in our way, causes us to sin, and then we are left with the Spirit’s conviction and a relationship that needs mended.

Sometimes Conviction of Sin is Continual (TMF:852)

Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Peace to Live By: Sometimes Conviction of Sin is Continual (TMF:852) - Daniel Litton
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       Now, this conviction of sin is sometimes continual as we are seeking to rid ourselves of a bad habit that we have come to realize we have. Though, there are times when we have realized we have a bad habit in some area, and from time to time we will catch ourselves slipping up, and we then correct ourselves. So, the Holy Spirit didn’t need to correct us in that situation, as we were able to correct ourselves. But if we continue doing the wrong thing without correcting ourselves, then the Holy Spirit will step in and bring conviction. And if we don’t pay attention to his conviction within ourselves, sometimes he will use external signs to try to get us to wake up to what he wants us to see, to correct. Nevertheless, sometimes the conviction that comes to us is for a one-time sin, whether big or small, for a sin that’s not habitual but just happened in one moment of time. So, once we have been given the conviction from the Spirit—at that point, we can choose to follow the Spirit, or we can choose to continue going down the wrong path.

As Christians, Our Sanctification is a Process (TMF:851)

Monday, March 26, 2018
Peace to Live By: As Christians, Our Sanctification is a Process (TMF:851) - Daniel Litton
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       As we have discussed many times, part of the Christian life is our sanctification process, the process of us becoming more and more like Jesus. Many people do believe, and erroneously so, that Christians should be perfect people who have reached the heights of good behavior, in thought, word, and deed. But any of us who know other Christians will realize that this is not the truth. It is far from the truth actually. Our sanctification is a process. It takes us time to grow here and then grow there. Some of us are better in certain areas, and some of us are better in other areas. And central to all of this growth that is occurring is the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin, wrong things we do, in our lives. Now, this conviction of sin is sometimes continual as we are seeking to rid ourselves of a bad habit that we have come to realize we have. Though, there are times when we have realized we have a bad habit in some area, and from time to time we will catch ourselves slipping up, and we then correct ourselves.