01 October 2023
Two-Minute Features | 08 October 2023 | 24 September 2023

Guarding Ourselves Against Wandering Away (TMF:2195)

Friday, October 06, 2023
Peace to Live By: Guarding Ourselves Against Wandering Away (TMF:2195) - Daniel Litton
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       Nevertheless, the point is that there is a lot of deception in the world. There is a lot of thinking that is contrary to sound doctrine presented in the Scriptures. That’s why we need to keep the Bible at the top, to keep it as the sole filter through which everything else flows. If someone says something, whether that be a believer or anyone, and it aligns with Scripture, we know we are good to go. But if what they say directly contradicts Scripture, we know that’s an alternative avenue that we don’t want to follow. It will hurt us down the road. In our day of so much knowledge, perhaps never has there been greater opportunity for people to wander from the Truth. Unfortunately, I would have to say that I have already seen it a couple times in my Christian existence. These were people that believed the Bible, shared the Gospel, one of them had their own personal ministry that they created, and yet they left the Truth and began to follow after ways that don’t align with God. This can be heartbreaking to see, and especially when the person shows no remorse, and is completely unrepentant when confronted.

Helping Others Come Back to the Truth (TMF:2194)

Thursday, October 05, 2023
Peace to Live By: Helping Others Come Back to the Truth (TMF:2194) - Daniel Litton
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       The point James is making is that the famous prophet Elijah from the Old Testament was a human being just like any other human being and he prayed, and big stuff happened. We know he was an obedient man to God, we could say that, but he was just like any other person. So, if Elijah’s prayers reached far and wide, so can ours. Just another reason it’s important for us to pray. Speaking of obedience, now we come to the our final instruction from James. Verse 19: "My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Now we could debate over whether the person James is talking about here is a ‘born again’ ‘new creation’ Christian, or one who just ‘knew about’ the truth, was a part of the church, and then just one day left. From the reading of the rest of the verse, I think personally I tend to favor the second approach here because, otherwise, I guess you would be saying the Christian lost his or her salvation, or could in fact lose it.

All Humans are Just That, Humans (TMF:2193)

Wednesday, October 04, 2023
Peace to Live By: All Humans are Just That, Humans (TMF:2193) - Daniel Litton
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       Continuing on, on this subject of prayer, James says for us: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit” (James 5:17, 18, ESV). Let us focus first on how James says, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.” I think it’s often the case that with Biblical figures, or even celebrities of our day, that we cast this sort of mystical, magical, superiority of character over their personhood, as if somehow they are some sort of superhuman. But, really, we should know, in serious contemplation, that all humans are just that humans, whether they are famous or highly revered by many. They are of the same makeup as the average folks. For them, themselves, on a personal level, many of them would tell you there is nothing magical about them. The point James is making is that the famous prophet Elijah from the Old Testament was a human being just like any other human being and he prayed, and big stuff happened.

Having the Right Mindset in Life (TMF:2192)

Tuesday, October 03, 2023
Peace to Live By: Having the Right Mindset in Life (TMF:2192) - Daniel Litton
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       What I have found in my personal life is that the higher my consciousness level, the better I feel, and the greater I see God’s power flowing in my life. Prayers seem to be answered easily and effortlessly. I think you know the flow. It is when everything in life, from our relationship with God to going through the routine seems to be flowing really well. And, in considering the why behind this, I think we find that because we are more filled with faith, because of that, we find that things are flowing better. When I notice that negative events start to get on a roll, and start to snowball into something greater, the first thing I do is check my own consciousness level. Eight out of ten times this is the problem. It is that I have let my own happiness start to drift downwards, slowly and subtly. That’s the problem; it often happens so slowly that we don’t realize it until we have a continuous stream of bad things happening. Then we realize it and can make correction, which sometimes takes a day or two of re-thinking.

The Prayer of a Righteous Person (TMF:2191)

Monday, October 02, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Prayer of a Righteous Person (TMF:2191) - Daniel Litton
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       Anyhow, we need to move on to the second part of this verse, and let’s read it again, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Before we even discuss this, we need to define who “a righteous person” actually is. Technically, all Christians are righteous from having Jesus’ righteousness bestowed upon them from believing in his work on the cross. But I don’t think that’s what James is talking about here. If it were, then all Christian’s prayers would have great power as they are working. The implication seems to be that there are certain Christians, namely, ‘righteous’ Christians whose prayers have a greater impact than the normal. They have great power from God behind them. So, in view of this, who is a righteous person? We could say that a righteous person is one whom is on the higher levels of consciousness. Certainly so. They have been more obedient to God and haven’t been wallowing in self-pity and selfishness. In other words, the more negative a person is, the more unrighteous he or she is. I think it’s fair to put it that way.