19 March 2023
Two-Minute Features | 26 March 2023 | 12 March 2023

The Importance of How We Speak (TMF:2055)

Friday, March 24, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Importance of How We Speak (TMF:2055) - Daniel Litton
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       Another problem here is that God never forces anyone to believe in him—at least, in this life. That is our current order of things. People have the ability to choose to reject God, to reject Jesus, to pass on the the Gospel message. That’s everyone’s choice. Whether you consider this instance in Luke, or whether you consider any instance afterwards in Christian history, it never turns out well when people by using God’s name try to force others to believe in God. It goes against our very human nature, and the nature order of things. It is no different than what Islamic extremists do today in our current world. They go around in some areas and kill those who refuse to convert to their religion, or perhaps they don’t even give them an opportunity to convert. Anyway, it doesn’t work, does it? People really aren’t joining the extremist group, that is, at least Jews or Christians. When we are sharing the Gospel then, as preachers and teachers of God’s Word, it is important how we speak. I think the best thing we can do is just speak about the Bible.

Thoughts Manifested into Speech, Part 2 (TMF:2054)

Thursday, March 23, 2023
Peace to Live By: Thoughts Manifested into Speech, Part 2 (TMF:2054) - Daniel Litton
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       So, the disciples of Jesus, all being Jewish, were upset that the unworthy Samaritans had the audacity to reject Jesus’ message. Since they believed the Samaritans were lesser people, and didn’t think they had the right to make such a rejection, but rather take orders. Herein, nonetheless, we get to see one human in the above state, namely Jesus, we get to see his reaction versus the disciples spoken reaction. Same situation, but two different kinds of humans with two different reactions. The disciples wanted instant judgment. They wanted the Samaritans to pay. What is wrong with this? Well, several things actually. For one, it assumes that the Samaritans will always believe what they believe today. It assumes that due to the initial rejection that there is no hope for them—hopelessness is displayed. It doesn’t consider that perhaps, just perhaps, if we give it time, maybe they’ll come around, which later, in the Book of Acts, we find that many of them did, perhaps even some who were in this very scene.

Thoughts Manifested into Speech, Part 1 (TMF:2053)

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Peace to Live By: Thoughts Manifested into Speech, Part 1 (TMF:2053) - Daniel Litton
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       Turn back to Luke chapter 9. Go to verse 51: “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village” (Luke 9:51-56, ESV). Ok, do you see what is going on here? Recall, the Samaritans and the Jews were arch enemies, and this was probably more due to the attitude of the Jews. They thought because Samaritans were only partly Jewish, that they really were not true Jews and therefore lesser people. So, the disciples of Jesus, all being Jewish, were upset that the unworthy Samaritans had the audacity to reject Jesus’ message. Since they believed the Samaritans were lesser people, and didn’t think they had the right to make such a rejection, but rather take orders.

The Christian's Freedom of Speech (TMF:2052)

Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Christian's Freedom of Speech (TMF:2052) - Daniel Litton
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       It should be noted right off the bat that we are allowed to speak in whatever manner we want to—for James said we have the will to decide what direction our speech is going to go. Sometimes we decide to speak about something, and sometimes we withhold our speech. It’s up to us. This is part of the Law of Liberty for us. God definitely has granted us freedom of speech, and to those who are gifted in speaking, it comes naturally. No effort really needs to be put forward. It is the gifting of the Spirit. This speech, however, produces strong winds, as James stated. So, that means that what we say can have a great impact of the negative as well as the positive. Again, it all comes down to a person’s level of inner-self. The person on the negative side of things, the people going against the current of life, are going to be more apt to say the wrong things, or to speak of things which aren’t clearly thought out. The reason for this is that the higher the level of consciousness of an individual, the more freedom from negativity they have which begets greater understanding in general.

Caring About the Quality of Our Speech (TMF:2051)

Monday, March 20, 2023
Peace to Live By: Caring About the Quality of Our Speech (TMF:2051) - Daniel Litton
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       So we come to verse 4 of James chapter 3. So, our text states: “Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.” As I just said, technically speaking, the context represented here in the beginning of James chapter 3 is still about the teachers of God’s Word, but really the concepts can be applied to the Christian population as a whole. I think strictly to limit this section to only deal with teachers of the Word of God would be to limit our understanding of it. All Christians, no matter what their status is, should care about the quality of the words that come from their speech. It should be noted right off the bat that we are allowed to speak in whatever manner we want to—for James said we have the will to decide what direction our speech is going to go. Sometimes we decide to speak about something, and sometimes we withhold our speech. It’s up to us. This is part of the Law of Liberty for us.