20 August 2023
Two-Minute Features | 27 August 2023 | 13 August 2023

Disagreements- The Truth Lies in the Middle (TMF:2165)

Friday, August 25, 2023
Peace to Live By: Disagreements- The Truth Lies in the Middle (TMF:2165) - Daniel Litton
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       Notice the self-evaluation that needs to occur here. Instead of looking at and focusing on others, Jesus points us to look at ourselves. This one is tuff. It requires us to surrender our own self-righteousness. We obviously want to think that we are right in whatever belief it is that we hold. We want to believe that the other person is totally wrong. A lot of times it is in between in that we are right, but also the other person is right. I know, that hurts. It’s just the simple truth that, due to our varying perspectives, we are not always completely right and the other person completely wrong. And besides all of this, sometimes we are not in a position to judge in the first place. We are upset with a brother or sister over something that, if we would just take a look at ourselves in the mirror, we find that we do all the time, or do something like it all the time. We are upset with others for things that we do ourselves. This really is pathetic. Regardless, we don’t want God upset with us because we are too strong in our disagreement with another that we cannot let it go.

Treating Our Fellow Christians Right, Part 2 (TMF:2164)

Thursday, August 24, 2023
Peace to Live By: Treating Our Fellow Christians Right, Part 2 (TMF:2164) - Daniel Litton
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       A lot of times we are just going to have to look the other way. We are going to have to bite our tongue and move on, letting that difference of opinion go. We are going to have to bite our tongue and move on, letting that difference of opinion go. The higher we are on our own consciousness level, the higher we’ve moved up in our own, personal character development, the easier this will be. Notice James tells us that if we do decide to grumble against one another that we could in fact find ourselves being judged. Not by others, though, that may happen too. But the idea here is that we may be judged by God himself, by Jesus. We are judged because, remember, he said, “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37, ESV). Or, a little bit later in the same passage, he said, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?” (Luke 6:41-42a, ESV).

Treating Our Fellow Christians Right, Part 1 (TMF:2163)

Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Peace to Live By: Treating Our Fellow Christians Right, Part 1 (TMF:2163) - Daniel Litton
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       Our interactions with each other, are supposed to stand out so that those who don’t know God see that we really treat each other well. Of course, we certainly don’t always live up to this, unfortunately, but can rather, on the other hand, be even more divisive than many of those living without God. What does it mean to grumble? We should probably define that so that we don’t find ourselves doing it. The idea behind grumble here in James, when comparing this verse here in the ESV with other Bible translations, seems to be the idea of complaining. So, we could say we are not to complain, find fault, fight, argue, scold, or reprimand another. That’s the idea here. The point is that we, as Christians, as believers in Jesus, are to be treating our fellow brothers and sisters with kindness and praise. Even when we disagree, and those times are certainly going to happen every now and then, a lot of times we are just going to have to look the other way. We are going to have to bite our tongue and move on, letting that difference of opinion go.

Our Attitudes While We are Waiting, Part 4 (TMF:2162)

Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Peace to Live By: Our Attitudes While We are Waiting, Part 4 (TMF:2162) - Daniel Litton
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       We want to actually transcend, to rise above, and not descend, or go up with our heads hanging in shame or disappointment. That’s no fun. We don’t want Jesus to feel ashamed to receive us. We don’t want him to have negative emotions about our coming because we weren’t ready. Next, we read, “Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.” There is a great cross-reference verse here, and I want to consider it. This is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, when he said, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14-15, ESV). So, this action of not grumbling from both James and Paul shows that we are a people in God acting in a way that is supposed to show better behavior than others—those who don’t reverence God.

Our Attitudes While We are Waiting, Part 3 (TMF:2161)

Monday, August 21, 2023
Peace to Live By: Our Attitudes While We are Waiting, Part 3 (TMF:2161) - Daniel Litton
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       This leads James to say, “You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” Notice that the call from James to us is to make sure that we are ready to go. We do that by establishing our hearts. What does establish mean? We could say establish means to erect, build, station, ring in, organize, practice, or settle. The point is that we come to a conclusion, we come to a settlement, a place in our hearts where we are firmly established in the Lord so that we are then ready if he in fact he does come in our lifetimes. This begets true freedom for us, as Christians, and allows us to live within the Law of Liberty in our lives, actually making truly good choices for ourselves. Besides, even if Jesus doesn’t return in our lifetimes, this is still a good practice due to the fact that we don’t know when our number will be called, and we then transcend this life. We want to actually transcend, to rise above, and not descend, or go up with our heads hanging in shame or disappointment.