12 June 2022
Two-Minute Features | 19 June 2022 | 05 June 2022

Reacting to a Trial (TMF:1875)

Friday, June 17, 2022
Peace to Live By: Reacting to a Trial (TMF:1875) - Daniel Litton
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       How does James say we are to react? What is our response? He says, “Count it all joy.” The higher we are on the thinking, inner-self scale, the greater our faith. On the low end, we have no faith. This is not only bad for us personally, as psychologically we are miserable, but it is also bad for us spiritually. Not only are we full of gross mental distortions and defeating emotions, but because we have no faith we have no power. We have no power to help ourselves and God’s power is non-existent in this state. We don’t believe. We don’t have any positive energy. God’s hands are tied. He can’t help us. When we are positive, we see the bright side of things. The presence of a trial is not an end-all. We know it can be navigated easily. We have some level of patience to endure, and we take positive action—if there is any action we need to take. We are confident within ourselves, and we are confident in God’s ability.

What is a Trial? Part 2 (TMF:1874)

Thursday, June 16, 2022
Peace to Live By: What is a Trial? Part 2 (TMF:1874) - Daniel Litton
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       Trouble. Hassle. Affliction. Thorn in my side. A cross to bear. A burden to bear. Pain. Trying time. Nightmare. Hardship. Adversity. Tragedy. Trauma. Bad luck. Bad hand dealt. I think this gives us an idea of what we’re dealing with when we talk about a trial. There are words here we can relate to that elaborate on James’ phrase of “various kinds.” Trials—we all have had them, and we will have more in our life before we enter the next life. Yes, it is a statement of fact in our sin-affected world. It is the way it works right now. Many afflictions are small, easy to deal with, and go away pretty quickly. Others are more cumbersome. Still others have a great weight, and may last longer than we would like. We all react in different ways. We can get depressed, have a lighter, negative reaction, or we can react positively, or even rise above the trial altogether.

What is a Trial? Part 1 (TMF:1873)

Wednesday, June 15, 2022
Peace to Live By: What is a Trial? Part 1 (TMF:1873) - Daniel Litton
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       James 1:1-4 state: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (ESV). First, I want to start by asking the question, what is a trial? Let’s think of some different words we could use to place here. Test. Problem. Ordeal. Inconvenience. Bother. Difficulty. Setback. Worry. Irritant. Misfortune. Trouble. Hassle. Affliction. Thorn in my side. A cross to bear. A burden to bear. Pain. Trying time. Nightmare. Hardship. Adversity. Tragedy. Trauma. Bad luck. Bad hand dealt.

Who was The Book of James Addressed To? (TMF:1872)

Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Peace to Live By: Who was The Book of James Addressed To? (TMF:1872) - Daniel Litton
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       This being the case, James wrote the letter from the city of Jerusalem then. And, also, let us note that he had his Jewish brothers and sisters in mind when he wrote this—for he wrote it to them (that is, Jewish believers in Jesus). He starts the letter by addressing it “to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1, ESV). So, he is referring to the Twelve Tribes of Israel which had been scattered about, and he is pinpointing it to the Christians within the twelve tribes. At that time, the Jewish people had become scattered throughout the different parts of the world there in the middle-east. How people believed outside of Jerusalem, your guess is as good as mine. I do not want us to get focused on the fact this letter was written to Jewish Christians in this study. Obviously, this information being presented to us in the New Testament, it is relevant to all Christians, whether we have any kind of Jewish background or not. That’s a great truth about God’s Word. It is always profitable to us, no matter what the passage. And I believe that we are going to find great riches here as we study this book from our Lord’s half-brother.

Introduction to The Book of James, Part 2 (TMF:1871)

Monday, June 13, 2022
Peace to Live By: Introduction to The Book of James, Part 2 (TMF:1871) - Daniel Litton
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       Like Thomas is so famously recorded for, James here, who like I said was Jesus’ half-brother (having been a son of Joseph and Mary; remember, Jesus’ real father was God himself), he did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah that was to come to Israel, God’s original chosen people. Recall, John recorded for us in John 7:5: “For not even his brothers believed in him” (ESV). Obviously, James here had a change in his ways. He was such a faithful and true brother in Christ that he eventually became one of the chief leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem (see Galatians 2). This being the case, James wrote the letter from the city of Jerusalem then. And, also, let us note that he had his Jewish brothers and sisters in mind when he wrote this—for he wrote it to them (that is, Jewish believers in Jesus). He starts the letter by addressing it “to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion” (1:1, ESV). So, he is referring to the Twelve Tribes of Israel which had been scattered about, and he is pinpointing it to the Christians within the twelve tribes.