peace to live by

The Mystery of Christ in You, Part 2 (TMF:2875)

Friday, May 15, 2026
Peace to Live By: The Mystery of Christ in You, Part 2 (TMF:2875) - Daniel Litton
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       In Genesis 12, we see a small glimpse into this, when God says to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, ESV). This is merely the beginning of the whole foreshadowing. And it tell us, had Israel not rejected the Messiah, had things gone differently (for, again, God does not foreordain sin and individuals have freedom), if things had gone differently, God still would have blessed the Gentiles and included them. It shows the beautiful hand of God in the whole thing, how from the very beginnings he planned to bless everyone, to take care of everyone. But circumstances in the world are different from what God had planned, and from what the Apostle Paul himself even wanted, for Paul says he is “in prison” on account of the mystery. In prison? Wow, that doesn’t sound like things are going the direction they should. It’s particularly sad.

The Mystery of Christ in You, Part 1 (TMF:2874)

Thursday, May 14, 2026
Peace to Live By: The Mystery of Christ in You, Part 1 (TMF:2874) - Daniel Litton
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       “…that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison” (Colossians 4:3, ESV). What is this mystery of Christ that Paul wants, desires, to proclaim to others? If we recall, he discussed this in chapter 1. There he said, “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26, 27, ESV). So, the mystery is “Christ in you.” “Christ in you.” We talked about this at length in chapter 1. It’s not only the Jewish people, then, who can, do, and will have Christ live in them (through the Holy Spirit), but it also includes the Gentile peoples. Unquestionably, God prophesied this all the way back toward the beginning.

Asking for Prayer, Part 3 (TMF:2873)

Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Peace to Live By: Asking for Prayer, Part 3 (TMF:2873) - Daniel Litton
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       But he wants there to be opportunity. This is something that has to be brought before God. The implication then is that if the church doesn’t pray for this, that in not fulfilling Paul’s request he could actually be delayed, or that there could actually come no opportunity at all. Paul certainly believes that prayer affects the future in the way one wants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t ask the Colossians to pray. And we’ve already gone over the fact, early on in our study, that raising our petitions to God does produce a difference in our lives and in the lives of others, that we can genuinely sway God’s hand when it comes to things. It’s not that everything is already predetermined, or that God’s will is always done, or that what happens is automatically God’s will, as many, many will state. No, prayer can and does have an effect, and it matters whether or not we pray, and what we pray for.

Asking for Prayer, Part 2 (TMF:2872)

Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Peace to Live By: Asking for Prayer, Part 2 (TMF:2872) - Daniel Litton
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       In this case, Paul has asked that the church in Colossae pray that God would open a door. Specifically, a door that the Gospel may be spread. That seems best how to understand what the word “word” truly represents because it is what he has been talking about in this entire letter in one way or another. Thus, opportunity to evangelize is what he requested. Notice that the prayer is that God “open to us a door.” At the moment Paul is writing this, there apparently isn’t opportunity, but he wants there to be opportunity. This is something that has to be brought before God. The implication then is that if the church doesn’t pray for this, that in not fulfilling Paul’s request he could actually be delayed, or that there could actually come no opportunity at all. Paul certainly believes that prayer affects the future in the way one wants. Otherwise, he wouldn’t ask the Colossians to pray.

Asking for Prayer, Part 1 (TMF:2871)

Monday, May 11, 2026
Peace to Live By: Asking for Prayer, Part 1 (TMF:2871) - Daniel Litton
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       “At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word” (Colossians 4:3, ESV). Paul asks for prayer. Asking for prayer. An important element of the Christian life, and one which we seem to do a good job at practicing. That’s why we shouldn’t ever be alone. This is just one verse of many verses that can be pointed to establish that fact. How can a Christian ask other Christians to pray for him or her if they are living their life independent of a group of believers? Even if you can’t find a church you completely agree with (for who truly can?), one in which you at least half agree with is better than none at all. You don’t have to agree with everything a church states in order to go there, to attend there, to fellowship with other believers. So, we can and should pray for each other—pray for the needs that we have, those which we actually present to each other.

Being Thankful in Prayer, Part 2 (TMF:2870)

Friday, May 08, 2026
Peace to Live By: Being Thankful in Prayer, Part 2 (TMF:2870) - Daniel Litton
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       If we are entitled, all we are thinking about is what we don’t have, and how God has greatly offended us because he hasn’t helped us with whatever it is. We may be bitter. We are stuck in our likes and dislikes, in that part of the mind that torments us. We don’t have a thankful attitude, and we not making a list of the whole host of things that we already have, the whole gamut of people, circumstances, and possessions which God has given us. It would take pages and pages to create the list, and yet, a lot of people don’t write it out. They don’t even recognize it. They are altogether stuck on getting the next thing. And when we do obtain what we desire, when we have asked righteously, and when God has been able to make things go our way, do we properly thank him for whatever it was? Coming to mind is the famous account of the ten lepers.

Being Thankful in Prayer, Part 1 (TMF:2869)

Thursday, May 07, 2026
Peace to Live By: Being Thankful in Prayer, Part 1 (TMF:2869) - Daniel Litton
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       Let’s not forget that last part of the verse, which says, “being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (ESV). So, thanksgiving. Let’s not forget thankfulness. While the conversation has been somewhat dreary at this point, though, at the same time hopefully encouraging and perhaps even enlightening, let’s not fail to remember that all of us, no matter who we are, have many things to be thankful for—an abundance of thankfulness in fact. So much we can’t even count it, and this really no matter where we find ourselves in our current lives, in whatever our life circumstances are. Of course, if we aren’t surrendered, we probably won’t see things this way. We probably won’t realize all there is that we have to be thankful for. If we are entitled, all we are thinking about is what we don’t have, and how God has greatly offended us because he hasn’t helped us with whatever it is. We may be bitter. We are stuck in our likes and dislikes, in that part of the mind that torments us.

Praying Surrendered, Part 5 (TMF:2868)

Wednesday, May 06, 2026
Peace to Live By: Praying Surrendered, Part 5 (TMF:2868) - Daniel Litton
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       We know him as Satan, and we know that he, with those beings who work under him, work and reap great havoc on the earth. That’s why he does what he does, because he can work to accomplish things that God does not want—he can work to destroy lives, and to destroy Christian’s lives. That’s one reason we are praying in the first place. And speaking of us, we through disobedience, through not following God’s out laid out prescription of how we are supposed to live, through following our own sinful selves instead, we too, in the same fashion as Satan, can reap havoc in our lives, and in the lives of others. That also is a factor. And finally, there is the element of the world just being the world, where the earth, because it is under the curse, causes bad things to happen from the natural order of things. Sometimes random events happen that nobody brought on.

Praying Surrendered, Part 4 (TMF:2867)

Tuesday, May 05, 2026
Peace to Live By: Praying Surrendered, Part 4 (TMF:2867) - Daniel Litton
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       In the same way as we, in our watchfulness in prayer, do not always get everything that we want, so God himself does not always get everything that he wants. There are theological systems that will lead you to believe he does—that will argue and say confidently that he does. There are Bible teachers that will paradoxically say he does. But, if we dive deep within ourselves, we certainly cannot believe that he does. Look at the totality of the evil on the earth. We know there are other beings in this world. One of those beings, the Bible calls the god of this world. We know him as Satan, and we know that he, with those beings who work under him, work and reap great havoc on the earth. That’s why he does what he does, because he can work to accomplish things that God does not want—he can work to destroy lives, and to destroy Christian’s lives. That’s one reason we are praying in the first place.

Praying Surrendered, Part 3 (TMF:2866)

Monday, May 04, 2026
Peace to Live By: Praying Surrendered, Part 3 (TMF:2866) - Daniel Litton
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       Can God just do anything even when he wants to? The Scripture tells us, for instance, that God wants all people to be saved—to come to a knowledge of the truth, all to choose him. Does this happen, though? We know it doesn’t. So, does God himself get everything he wants then? We would have to say, “No, I don’t think so.” So, why then should we expect to get ‘everything’ we desire, or even believe that God can indeed give us everything we desire? Going back to the earlier examples, can God just ‘make’ that guy or that girl to like you? Can he simply wave his hand, which changes their mind, and cause them to begin a relationship with you? Can God just wave his hand and make the people at the company you applied at give you the job? Or, do those people have free will, and are they considering numerous factors, and factors that might end up excluding you? You see, then, the folly in all this?