peace to live by

Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 4 (TMF:2890)

Friday, June 05, 2026
Peace to Live By: Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 4 (TMF:2890) - Daniel Litton
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       Thus, our conscious becomes our friend in how we act toward outsiders, and we wish to be walking in a way in which our conscious isn’t regularly violated. We desire to have that peace within our hearts, ruling in our hearts, as Paul mentioned in the last chapter. This verse would appear to imply, then, if we take a reverse side look at it, that we aren’t to go around and rebuke unbelievers for their sin, at least, on a one-on-one basis. What is meant by this is, is that it isn’t wrong for the minister of God or the Bible teacher to call out sin for what it is, as in the case of delivering a sermon. That should be done; that is necessary and definitely needed. But what we are discussing are one-on-one interactions in the outside world. If we are trying to get or make non-believers to act like Christians we are going to find ourselves in real trouble. And this may be more of a temptation for those who are recent coverts, as, for the speaker, it definitely was in the year or two after becoming saved.

Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 3 (TMF:2889)

Thursday, June 04, 2026
Peace to Live By: Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 3 (TMF:2889) - Daniel Litton
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       Let us bring to mind what the Apostle Peter has told us in his first epistle. He noted, “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience” (1 Peter 3:14-16, ESV). So, even Peter emphasized the “gentleness and respect.” This just isn’t a Paul thing—a thing that we can try to somehow maneuver around or get ourselves out of. Peter’s addition of “having a good conscience” helps us to gauge perhaps when we have said something we think we shouldn’t have, or when we have crossed the line. Thus, our conscious becomes our friend in how we act toward outsiders, and we wish to be walking in a way in which our conscious isn’t regularly violated. We desire to have that peace within our hearts, ruling in our hearts, as Paul mentioned in the last chapter.

Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 2 (TMF:2888)

Wednesday, June 03, 2026
Peace to Live By: Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 2 (TMF:2888) - Daniel Litton
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       Yet, continuing in our higher calling here, we are to have speech that is loving, pleasant, and kind. Paul goes the extra mile by saying that it should be “seasoned with salt.” So, it should be appealing to others, drawing them in in a way (a good way), where they care to ask more, where they have the inclination to question what is behind it. We should have a pleasant taste about us, where, when individuals experience what we have to say, they aren’t left with a bad taste in their mouth, a bitter taste, and where they wouldn’t mind if they didn’t so much as see us again. And notice, Paul expects that people are going to ask us questions due to our commendable behavior, due to our out of the ordinary pleasantness. For Paul states, “so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” People are going to want to know what our drive is—why we are the way that we are. And they will set out to ask questions.

Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 1 (TMF:2887)

Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Peace to Live By: Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 1 (TMF:2887) - Daniel Litton
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       Verse 6: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (ESV). It’s seems that Paul certainly cares about the reputation of the church, for he emphasizes how are speech is to be—to be “always” gracious. That’s a tall order, isn’t it? To always say the right things in front of those who don’t believe, of those who are outside the church? That’s what he says, nonetheless, and it would seem likely that most of us, if not all of us, fail at one point or another when it comes to this. A lot of people have short tempers, for instance, and blow their stacks before those who don’t believe. A lot of people might find it difficult to not laugh at a joke they know they shouldn’t laugh at. It can be hard to be kind toward others even when they aren’t treating us how we think they should be. Yet, continuing in our higher calling here, we are to have speech that is loving, pleasant, and kind.

Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 5 (TMF:2886)

Monday, June 01, 2026
Peace to Live By: Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 5 (TMF:2886) - Daniel Litton
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       No, we are to shine our lights well, so that when we do explain Christian ways, again, making the best use of our time—for that is how we do that—that folks actually benefit from being in our presence. Each of us has a presence before others, a way that we are before others. We want that presence to be truly admirable. This leads us to make the best use of our time before others. If we are a person that others admire, a person of which they wish to be around, then when we are around them we will be able to tell them why we are the way that we are. They will want what we have. When they see our peace, our lack of worry; when they see our good work ethic, when they see our kindness, when they witness our speech as encouraging, they will ask questions. And because we have walked in wisdom, because we have acted like a proper Christian, we will be able to tell them why we are peaceful, kind, and all the rest. We will be able to make the best use of the time because we have set ourselves up for the moment.

Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 4 (TMF:2885)

Friday, May 29, 2026
Peace to Live By: Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 4 (TMF:2885) - Daniel Litton
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       If there really isn’t anything different you can tell about us, as Christians, then what’s the point? How are we going to shine our lights, be trustworthy models, and perhaps indeed lead individuals toward the truth, toward a relationship with God, if we are, in fact, pretty similar to everyone else. If we involve ourselves in questionable things, hang around the “gray areas,” people aren’t going to get it. And they won’t see a need for God, or to have anything much of what we have. We can’t make the best use of our time if we are taking all the time to explain away our behaviors, to explain away why we do what we do. No, we are to shine our lights well, so that when we do explain Christian ways, again, making the best use of our time—for that is how we do that—that folks actually benefit from being in our presence. Each of us has a presence before others, a way that we are before others.

Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 3 (TMF:2884)

Thursday, May 28, 2026
Peace to Live By: Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 3 (TMF:2884) - Daniel Litton
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       Thus, it’s these kinds of contradictory behaviors, contradictory walking, if you will, that Paul is warning us against. He says, rather, that we need to have “wisdom” in how we walk. To “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.” That means being generally consistent with what seems to be of noble character, what the common society (in our case the United States), thinks to be of good character. That’s how we “Walk in wisdom.” If we are walking in ways that seem questionable—ways that even unbelievers wouldn’t do—that’s not good. Even unbelievers have limits, and we should still yet rise above those so that we are standing out in a good way. We don’t want to be the same as them, where, one can hardly tell the difference. If there really isn’t anything different you can tell about us, as Christians, then what’s the point? How are we going to shine our lights, be trustworthy models, and perhaps indeed lead individuals toward the truth, toward a relationship with God, if we are, in fact, pretty similar to everyone else.

Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 2 (TMF:2883)

Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Peace to Live By: Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 2 (TMF:2883) - Daniel Litton
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       Notice that Paul said the believers are to “walk in wisdom.” First, let’s focus on the verb “Walk.” We all walk in a certain way—we all present ourselves in a specific way. We value certain things, and we move our feet toward those things, and we talk about those things. There are numerous examples we could use to show what contradictory behavior might look like for the Christian. For instance, it certainly doesn’t make sense for us to call ourselves Christians if we live with our lover, not being married to that person. That’s will cause a non-believer to scratch their heads. We probably shouldn’t be adamant gambler, walking in the casinos and doing this and that, and then going around and telling are non-Christian neighbors about our gambling exploits. That won’t make a whole lot of sense to our unbelieving friends, will it? “So you’re a Christian, you say, and you like to gamble?” That could be something they ask. And then, after we’re gone, they might look at their spouse and say, “Well, he goes gambling every week, so why don’t we? There must not be anything wrong with it.”

Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 1 (TMF:2882)

Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Peace to Live By: Walking in Wisdom Toward Outsiders, Part 1 (TMF:2882) - Daniel Litton
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       Colossians chapter 4, starting in verse 5: “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time” (ESV). Paul’s discussion today moves toward the church’s outside actions, the way they conduct themselves with the outside world. As was pointed out at the beginning of Colossians 3, we are going to live our lives, as Christians, among those who are in the world. That’s just the way it works, and even for more collective societies, as undoubtedly the Colossians were part of a more collective society. It’s not that we are just going to stay in the church building all week long, or only associate with fellow Christians. Every one of us, no matter who we are, are going to be out in the world dealing with those who don’t believe yet—those who aren’t part of the body of believers. In America, we know that all too well. In fact, for many of us, we will probably associate more with those who are unbelieving rather than those who are believing. And the focus is on how we present ourselves before those people—how we look before them, and how we interact with them.

The Delivery of the Good News, Part 3 (TMF:2881)

Monday, May 25, 2026
Peace to Live By: The Delivery of the Good News, Part 3 (TMF:2881) - Daniel Litton
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       It is through making the message clear, for instance, that many churches and Bible teachers have moved away from the King James Version of the Bible, the version that was used for a real long time, both here in America and indeed beforehand. While it is a beautiful translation and very excellent for that matter, a lot of its language isn’t clear. This point was reminded for the speaker recently, when, in attending a Bible study, and having a newcomer to the faith along, a recent convert. The speaker was trying out a new Bible translation, which was a moderately updated version of the King James (for there are several new takes on it available). The speaker read the passage that we were going over, and the newcomer stated that that which had just been spoken was quite a bit different than what his Bible said. And this fact wasn’t even realized until it was pointed out in this manner. And feelings of regret arouse for reading the passage from the translation, and the leader of our group decided to re-read it in a more easier to understand translation.