27 May 2018
Two-Minute Features | 03 June 2018 | 20 May 2018

We Should Not Speak Careless Words (TMF:900)

Friday, June 01, 2018
Peace to Live By: We Should Not Speak Careless Words (TMF:900) - Daniel Litton
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       When we don’t allow the Spirit to lead us in our speech, we are setting ourselves up for trouble, and often times big trouble. Just look at people who make the evening news because of the wrong things that they say. I want us to consider a passage of Scripture from Matthew chapter 12. Go to verse 34. Here, Jesus talks about the things we say: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:34-37, ESV). This is a startling passage. Note first that we as Christians should not have evil treasures in us by which we “bring forth evil” with our mouths. Why do we speak careless words, words with no thought to them and words that hurt others?

A Pessimistic Attitude is a Sinful Attitude (TMF:899)

Thursday, May 31, 2018
Peace to Live By: A Pessimistic Attitude is a Sinful Attitude (TMF:899) - Daniel Litton
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       Probably one of the biggest problems Christians have is when we are expecting bad to happen instead of good. If we have a negative outlook, we will always be saying the negative thing that we think is going to happen. Let’s say your furnace quits working, and you have to call the furnace company to come out to your house. A negative person will say something like, “I bet this is going to be bad. I bet I’m going to have a huge bill. In fact, I will probably need a new furnace. It seems like something bad always has to happen!” Now, a positive person would say something like, “Well, that’s too bad my furnace has quit working. I don’t think the bill is going to be that high. I think the repair will be cheap and easy. This is just a one-time fluke. I have a good furnace.” That’s the difference between the negative and positive person. The positive person is always hoping for, and expecting the best. And he or she verbalizes this with their speech. It’s easy, and shameful at times, that you can recognize a person easily by the things they say. All you have to do is just listen to a person for a short while.

The Spirit Will Lead Us to Say Things to Others (TMF:898)

Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Peace to Live By: The Spirit Will Lead Us to Say Things to Others (TMF:898) - Daniel Litton
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       When we allow him to, the Spirit will lead us to say certain things to others. As Paul said, God wants us to be an encouragement to each other, to be encouraging each other. The words we speak to others can help them by building them up. Our words can produce life in their lives, and this by the Spirit. Jesus said, “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” (John 6:63, ESV). Well, just as Jesus spoke spirit and life to others, so should we. And the Spirit of God will guide our speech when we witness to other people if we will let him. We should go with the flow of the conversation, and pay attention to the Spirit in us. He will guide our thoughts so that we say the right things when witnessing. It’s really is important that we are careful about what we say.

Our Speech Shows Our Faith or Lack Thereof (TMF:897)

Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Peace to Live By: Our Speech Shows Our Faith or Lack Thereof (TMF:897) - Daniel Litton
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       We can either use our mouths to speak good things or bad things, to encourage others or tear down others, to speak positively or to speak negatively. It’s amazing how often our speech displays what we really think. It can show others our faith or, in many cases, our lack of faith. The way some of us act toward one another can be very discouraging at times. Some people are so busy correcting others that they become overbearing to be around. They have a dominate presence, and they are overly critical. You feel uncomfortable around them; you cannot really relax when this kind of person is present. You always have to be on your toes because they always find what is wrong with something, and pay no attention to what is right. They are not living by the energy of the Spirit, but by the energy of the flesh. Lots of legalistic brothers and sisters are like this, and they need to fix this problem. Jesus didn’t call us to be critics in the body of Christ. And the thing of it is, most of the time these type of people don’t even realize they have a problem.

What We Say Should Be Approved by God (TMF:896)

Monday, May 28, 2018
Peace to Live By: What We Say Should Be Approved by God (TMF:896) - Daniel Litton
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       We should filter everything we say through what the Holy Spirit thinks, considering first whether God approves of it or not. The Apostle Paul stated in Romans 8, “So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:12, 13, ESV). One of “the deeds of the body” that we often let go unchecked is what we say with our mouths. We can either use our mouths to speak good things or bad things, to encourage others or tear down others, to speak positively or to speak negatively. It’s amazing how often our speech displays what we really think. It can show others our faith or, in many cases, our lack of faith. The way some of us act toward one another can be very discouraging at times. Some people are so busy correcting others that they become overbearing to be around. They have a dominate presence, and they are overly critical.