23 August 2026

Jesus Presented as the Jewish Messiah, Part 1 (TMF:2950)

Friday, August 28, 2026

Peace to Live By: Jesus Presented as the Jewish Messiah, Part 1 (TMF:2950) - Daniel Litton
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Our familiarity with the Scriptures, those which are called the Old Testament, remind us that the people written about therein, whom we know as God's original chosen people, they were waiting for a Messiah. The eyes were focused in the future toward the One who would arrive on the planet to, really, at the core essence, ultimately save them from their sins. The writings before this time had gone silent for approximately 400 years, as the last truly approved words were recorded by the prophet Malachi. We see a direct glimpse of what we are talking about in certain disciples of John the Baptist early on, in that they themselves were looking for this Person who was to come. And to step out for a moment in all of this, Jesus' disciple John, the writer of this Book we are considering, is in effect telling all who will listen, even today, in our time, that the Person he is writing about—that specific person—is indeed this Jewish Messiah. And the beautiful thing he goes on to show, is that this Jewish Messiah is actually the Messiah for the whole world.

John Focuses on Believing as Foundational (TMF:2949)

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Peace to Live By: John Focuses on Believing as Foundational (TMF:2949) - Daniel Litton
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The first point is a common one that we are going to see as we go throughout this book. That is, “believe.” “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” That’s the first thing John wants to emphasize for us. The belief being brought forth at this point constitutes the foundation to each one of our personal relationships with God. Invariably, we are aware that this then is fundamental to our salvation, and by that we mean the deliverance from all our sins cumulating throughout our lifetime. The two points lead to a third point, and it's now that John is setting it forth before us. That is the concept of having, obtaining, and actually experiencing "life," which we might think of as 'real life.' That's the journey as well as the end result of our personal relationship with God. It is a new life through God's regeneration of our spirits, through our born-again-is-ness. We don't have to stop at this point, but actually we can consider what is being discussed, at a further, or higher level. John said, “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.”

Intro to The Gospel According to John (TMF:2948)

Wednesday, August 26, 2026

Peace to Live By: Intro to The Gospel According to John (TMF:2948) - Daniel Litton
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Considering the history of the world, there have been a few moments in time when big events happen. What we are talking about here is God's coming into the world, and the whole mission of this first coming, if you will. John will give us insight into certain, unique perspectives at times, that among the other Gospel writers, only he will bring forward. He will also give us a closer look at Jesus' relationship with his disciples. It's good for us to start with an underlying definition of what the Gospel of John is all about. Thankfully, we already have that matter answered for us by the author himself. Indeed, it is stated in John 20:31: “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The first point is a common one that we are going to see as we go throughout this book. That is, “believe.” “That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ.” That’s the first thing John wants to emphasize for us.

One Problem with Calvinistic Beliefs (TMF:2947)

Tuesday, August 25, 2026

Peace to Live By: One Problem with Calvinistic Beliefs (TMF:2947) - Daniel Litton
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What has been noticed, and this point will close the message, is that Calvinism seems to work for people until bad things happen to ‘them.’ You see, Calvinism is very comfortable and makes life comfortable until something particularly bad happens to someone and they have to say it was supposed to happen. Often, people’s Calvinism gets shaken and rattled when really bad things happen. The minister will say, “Well, God has something for you to learn with your son dying.” And all one needs to ask the minister in response is, “And what did God have for the son to learn who is now dead?” Thus, the folly of such an answer presents itself. Calvinism is a well-structured and well thought-out system of theology, but people truly need to consider carefully what has been said here, and whether what they believe really, at the end of the day, lines up with what the Bible actually says.

Discussing Unanswered Prayer, Part 3 (TMF:2946)

Monday, August 24, 2026

Peace to Live By: Discussing Unanswered Prayer, Part 3 (TMF:2946) - Daniel Litton
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It’s for the three reasons just mentioned that sometimes it looks like prayer isn’t answered, but the truth is that often there is that time delay and often we don’t make the connection that God has done this or that because of prayer, due to the time-delay. But, if we stop and think about it, if Jesus told us to keep praying and never give up, there has to be good reason for that. It’s not some vain ritual that we are doing to make God happy, but there has to be real, true beneficial things that can happen from our continual prayer, whether that’s over weeks, months, years, or even decades. And we should note that the answer provided here surely isn’t Calvinism-friendly since, under a Calvinistic approach to prayer, it really can’t change God’s mind, as then, his foreknowledge would have changed. One could say he had foreknowledge he would change his mind, but then, he really didn’t change his mind. What has been noticed, and this point will close the message, is that Calvinism seems to work for people until bad things happen to ‘them.’