02 August 2020
Two-Minute Features | 09 August 2020

Real Life is Available Today (TMF:1430)

Friday, August 07, 2020
Peace to Live By: Real Life is Available Today (TMF:1430) - Daniel Litton
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       It could be that you’ve been listening to what I’ve been talking about and perhaps what I’ve said has been foreign to you, and you don’t know Jesus. It is true that real life is found only Jesus. One doesn’t find the best life in just trying to be good—or trying to be pleasing to everyone—not trying to offend anyone. One finds real life in the living of life through the Spirit of God—though the Words of Jesus. The Apostle Paul noted in Romans, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (8:6, ESV). For anyone who doesn’t feel they have real life, I’ve got good news for you. You can have real fulfilling life by recognizing a new identity in Christ. If you will turn from the things that offend God and give yourself over to him, he promises you an inheritance, one that includes both benefits now and even many more in the future. And God indwells each believer who gives him or herself to him, giving the person a new reason to live.

God Cares about Small Things (TMF:1429)

Thursday, August 06, 2020
Peace to Live By: God Cares about Small Things (TMF:1429) - Daniel Litton
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       Sometime ago one day when I was working with a coworker at my workplace, we started discussing the Superman movies—the original ones which starred Christopher Reeve. I had mentioned that I had the complete set on DVD because I liked them that much. And he said he hadn’t seen parts one and four, and asked me if he could borrow them. I said “Sure,” and brought them in for him the next day. Anyway, time passed and he never returned the movies to me. Now, I remembered what Jesus had taught about us letting people borrow our stuff, and I never asked for the movies back. Well, this occurred during the springtime I believe. The following Christmas, one the presents my mother gave me was a complete set of the original Superman movies. I had never told her about the fact that I had let someone borrow a couple of them, and she would have had no idea. So, God decided to reward me in this life for being faithful in something small. It may not seem like this kind of situation would matter much to some, but it definitely matters to God.

Real Needs, or Mooching? (TMF:1428)

Wednesday, August 05, 2020
Peace to Live By: Real Needs, or Mooching? (TMF:1428) - Daniel Litton
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       Finally, Jesus says, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” I think this saying from Jesus is pretty self-explanatory. I would say, however, that I think our Lord here is talking about people with real needs, and not a person who just wants to mooch off of us or take what we have. We should use wisdom and common sense here. We shouldn’t be unwise in our lending to others. I think most of us, because of the way American society is, will be pretty responsive at this one. Even unbelievers here in America may be good at this. We as Americans generally like to help people, especially if the need is real and the person or people are begging us for it. And the same then would be true for a person who wants to borrow from us. If we see the person really has a need, and they want to borrow from us, we should let them borrow. And I think a lot of us will let people borrow from us even when they just want to, and there really isn’t a demanding need.

Carrying the Solider's Gear (TMF:1427)

Tuesday, August 04, 2020
Peace to Live By: Carrying the Solider's Gear (TMF:1427) - Daniel Litton
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       Thirdly, Jesus said, “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” I think for us to best understand this sentence, it is almost certain that Jesus was referring to here the fact that, during the Roman Empire, a Roman solider could, by law, require someone to carry his gear for approximately one mile. This was the law of the day during the time of Jesus. Here, then, Jesus is telling his followers that if a Roman soldier pointed them out and said they needed to help him carry his gear of a mile, that he should say, “Hey, I can carry it for two miles if you would like.” We are to be generous to those who need it, but even when they may be demanding it of us in a way that, inside, we don’t particularly like. I know, this one is hard. I wonder how many times Jesus carried the gear of Roman soldiers during his day? He most likely did multiple times.

Making the Wrong Right (TMF:1426)

Monday, August 03, 2020
Peace to Live By: Making the Wrong Right (TMF:1426) - Daniel Litton
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       Next, Jesus said, “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” I believe the idea here, in what Jesus is saying, is that if we have done an unbeliever wrong, that is, we have sinned against the person, and the person takes us to court for it, we are not to try to weasel our way out of the suit or even to fight against it. It is exactly the opposite that Jesus wants. He wants us to be willing to make the wrong right. During the times of Jesus, in a Jewish court the judge would take whatever possessions a person had to give to the person who sued. If the person had no possessions of value, then the person who sued was out of business. However, a person could offer his outer garment, his coat as we would call it, as payment to the individual. And Jesus is telling us to do that. Even if we don’t have anything to give, we are to give what we possibly can to show we are sorry for doing the person wrong. This shows a good, Christian attitude.