25 June 2023
Two-Minute Features | 02 July 2023 | 18 June 2023

The Identification of Sin, Part 4 (TMF:2125)

Friday, June 30, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Identification of Sin, Part 4 (TMF:2125) - Daniel Litton
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       They feel good; we feel good. We are blessed by their new way of living, their new life. We are excited to be a part of it. I knew a girl once who was the happiest I think she’d ever been when she decided to put her life back on track. She’d was graduated from college now, but back at college, she’d been living with her boyfriend for some time and was living the party life. She told me how it went. She said when she first went to college, that everything was fine the first year or so. But then some of her friends got her to go to a party one night, and things started to go down hill from there. One party turned to two. And you know the rest of the story. She met a guy and she ended up living with him. This girl had entered college a born-again Christian, but by the time graduation was coming around, she’d gone the total opposite direction. But she realized the error of her ways and was able to put her life back on track. She got rid of the boyfriend, came back home, and began a new life. She was on fire for God. She was able to draw close to him.

The Identification of Sin, Part 3 (TMF:2124)

Thursday, June 29, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Identification of Sin, Part 3 (TMF:2124) - Daniel Litton
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       The good times, the laughter has to be turned to bad times of reflection, bad times of mourning. The joyful times in the past must become gloomy before they can become better. It is then, and only really then, that we can move close to God. When we can actually move close to God, James tells us that God will move close to us. What a tremendous thing. What an awesome thing. It is always great when you meet a brother or sister who has just gone through this process. They have left a life behind that wasn’t working for them—one that only brought them death at the end of day. And they have made the transition out of their situation and into a more holy life in which now they feel they can in fact draw near to God. And they are liberated, they are happy. They have a new life. Things are moving in right direction. They feel good; we feel good. We are blessed by their new way of living, their new life. We are excited to be a part of it.

The Identification of Sin, Part 2 (TMF:2123)

Wednesday, June 28, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Identification of Sin, Part 2 (TMF:2123) - Daniel Litton
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       There has to be an identification where, and really this is the whole point of our study here in the Book of James, there has to be that identification of ways in which we are living, conducting our lives, that are really hurting us. The negative person, for instance, must realize he or she is negative in the first place before he or she can do anything about their negativity. Common sense, right? The person living with their boyfriend or girlfriend right now outside of marriage, but in the same breath realizes they want to become closer to God and more pleasing to him, has to go through the hard process of realizing that what they are doing right now isn’t working for them. It’s not God best, and it won’t work victory in the long run. The good times, the laughter has to be turned to bad times of reflection, bad times of mourning. The joyful times in the past must become gloomy before they can become better. It is then, and only really then, that we can move close to God. When we can actually move close to God, James tells us that God will move close to us.

The Identification of Sin, Part 1 (TMF:2122)

Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Identification of Sin, Part 1 (TMF:2122) - Daniel Litton
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       There has to be that cleaning, that purification, that recognition of what sin is, and really what it is not, so that we can then, in turn, draw near to God. Double-mindedness is a serious problem for us. We are double-minded in that, on the one hand, we desire to do what God wants us to do, and then, on the other hand, we desire to live in a way that isn’t God approved. Yes, we are in serious trouble in this case. We cannot be close to God. And, we are in the process of becoming less like we really want to be. We are moving less and less toward the character we really want to exemplify. We are in the process of unbecoming. It is my belief, unquestionably so, that one has be “Be wretched and mourn and weep” in recognition of the ways one identifies in his or her life that are not moving them toward God. This is an important and necessary process. There has to be an identification where, and really this is the whole point of our study here in the Book of James.

Resisting the Devil, Part 4 (TMF:2121)

Monday, June 26, 2023
Peace to Live By: Resisting the Devil, Part 4 (TMF:2121) - Daniel Litton
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       But this power over the enemy is available to anyone. Those who suffer just don’t think they can be like these ‘positive’ people. Really, though, anyone has power within themselves to respond correctly. Isn’t that right? Why would James tell us to “Resist” if it wasn’t in our capacity to resist? Once we have learned to resist, we can follow the next part of James’ passage here: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom” (James 4:8-9, ESV). If we haven’t resisted Satan, we can’t draw near to God. It’s just a statement of fact. This can be in one particular life situation, or it can be that we have a bad habit in general of not resisting Satan. In this latter case, indeed, we have a lot of problems because we haven’t followed God’s truth in our lives. There has to be that cleaning, that purification, that recognition of what sin is, and really what it is not.