10 March 2019
Two-Minute Features | 17 March 2019 | 03 March 2019

Suffering Enough for Sin Doesn't Make It Up (TMF:1085)

Friday, March 15, 2019
Peace to Live By: Suffering Enough for Sin Doesn't Make It Up (TMF:1085) - Daniel Litton
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       While it is true that we will mess up in our lives, we should not be thinking about our failures all the time, but rather our focus should be on good things. God’s mercy and grace wipes away our failures when we repent of them. Therefore, it makes no sense for us to go around with our head down and try to suffer enough in our grieving for our sin that we feel God is pleased and now accepts us again. That’s not the way it works. When we identify sin, or when the Holy Spirit points out our fault, we are to repent, and then move on. If we are living with guilt all the time for mistakes, we aren’t living like God wants us to. Remember what the Apostle Paul said? And it is a big verse. He said, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not according to the flesh (but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1, ESV). Well, if we have repented, we are not walking according to flesh, are we? We are walking according to the Spirit. And so, we should not walk around feeling condemned all the time. We are to make use of God’s grace when we fail.

God Wants Us to Live Holy Lives, Part 2 (TMF:1084)

Thursday, March 14, 2019
Peace to Live By: God Wants Us to Live Holy Lives, Part 2 (TMF:1084) - Daniel Litton
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       When we keep letting sin have it’s way in us, he gets upset. For one, it is because he is a holy and righteous God. Two, it is because he wants what is best for us. If we are sinning, we aren’t doing what is best, and we may be even preventing God from giving us the things he wants to give us because we are not mature enough. We are not displaying a mature character that he can count on. And in due course, we hurt ourselves by our sin. So God does discipline us for sin at times, just like a father and mother disciplines their child when the child misbehaves. The parents do this because they love the child and want what is best for him or her in the future. That’s why the discipline is occurring. And so it is with God. He disciplines us because he loves us. While it is true that we will mess up in our lives, we should not be thinking about our failures all the time, but rather our focus should be on good things. God’s mercy and grace wipes away our failures when we repent of them. Therefore, it makes no sense for us to go around with our head down and try to suffer enough in our grieving for our sin that we feel God is pleased and now accepts us again.

God Wants Us to Live Holy Lives, Part 1 (TMF:1083)

Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Peace to Live By: God Wants Us to Live Holy Lives, Part 1 (TMF:1083) - Daniel Litton
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       Our rejoicing in hope of the glory of God—our hope in Heaven—comes by God’s grace, and not by our works. We are to stand, to live, in grace, through grace, and not stand, or live by works or rules we have created in order to be accepted by God. It certainly is true that God does get upset by our sin in our lives, but he doesn’t then choose not to love us. He may get annoyed about sin that has blossomed and not been dealt with, but he is not against us personally. God does want us to live holy lives, striving to become more and more like Jesus. He wants us to identify sin in our thoughts, the things we say, and what we do, and he wants us to improve ourselves. When we keep letting sin have it’s way in us, he gets upset. For one, it is because he is a holy and righteous God. Two, it is because he wants what is best for us. If we are sinning, we aren’t doing what is best, and we may be even preventing God from giving us the things he wants to give us because we are not mature enough. We are not displaying a mature character that he can count on.

Is Life About Sacrifice & Suffering? Part 2 (TMF:1082)

Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Peace to Live By: Is Life About Sacrifice & Suffering? Part 2 (TMF:1082) - Daniel Litton
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       You see, we are to live by the freedom of the Spirit versus having a sacrifice/suffering mindset. These brothers and sisters need to learn that we live by the grace of God, and not by our works. Our works don’t make us right before God anymore than going out on the baseball field makes you a pro-baseball player. It is written in John, “"For from his fullness [Jesus’ fullness] we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:16, 17, ESV). We live in the new era of grace, and we are not to live by works anymore like those who lived during the times of the Old Testament. We live out our Christian lives in the true freedom that Christ has given to us, and we don’t only follow rules from the pages of Scripture. It says in Romans, “"Through him [Jesus] we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2, ESV).

Is Life About Sacrifice & Suffering? Part 1 (TMF:1081)

Monday, March 11, 2019
Peace to Live By: Is Life About Sacrifice & Suffering? Part 1 (TMF:1081) - Daniel Litton
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       Perhaps you’re one of those Christian individuals who feels that God wants you to enjoy life, to have a good life, but those around you are all about self-induced suffering. They may believe life is all about sacrifice and suffering, and there certainly is some of that in life. But if you don’t sacrifice and suffer as much as they do, or as much as they think you should, they tell you that you are living in a wrong way. They get jealous of you because you don’t live your life that way—you enjoy the life that God has given you, and you still keep the commands of God. A lot of times these pro-suffering brothers and sisters don’t follow all the motivational speeches that they themselves give for others. They get on emotional highs, wanting to sacrifice greatly for the kingdom of God, and they tell everyone listening that they should too. Then you go to their house the next night and find them watching the baseball game. This is unfortunate because surely they end up beating themselves up for not doing enough good, for not living up to their own personal standard—not God’s—and then they feel God doesn’t approve of them. But he never said they had to do all of those things they placed on themselves in the first place.