07 June 2026

Traveling Ministers, Part 1 (TMF:2895)

Friday, June 12, 2026

Peace to Live By: Traveling Ministers, Part 1 (TMF:2895) - Daniel Litton
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Back in the time of Paul, Tychicus had to physically travel to Colossae to talk with the church, to physically tell them how Paul and his companions were doing. This would bring encouragement to their hearts. There was no social media feed they could jump on to see instantaneously how Paul and his fellow ministers were doing. That’s probably a good thing, for then Tychicus would have never traveled to the church in the first place. But it’s nice that Paul was able to send a real life person to actually commune with them, one of which had been with him, to actually encourage them face to face. It always gives a high quality appearance when churches can have a minister who in actuality travels to it from another body of believers, one of which is far away, and learn how that other church is doing. There is nothing like having a visiting minister who is physically present, and can literally communicate to the members what has actually been going on in the life of the other church.

Being Overly Connected to People (TMF:2894)

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Peace to Live By: Being Overly Connected to People (TMF:2894) - Daniel Litton
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Verse 8: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (ESV). We have to remember that back in those days, some 2,000 years ago, that the spreading of information was surely limited. We are so used to having any information we want (well, almost) at our fingertips, easily assessable through the Internet via social media. We can know so much nowadays, and likely too much. For often it seems that we know of circumstances and events that we shouldn’t know, that we follow persons we probably shouldn’t follow because they are no longer part of our lives. If our attention is spread out too far and wide, we find that our relationships might be miles wide but only an inch deep. God never intended for us to keep contact with so many individuals, to be so interconnected with seemingly everybody. Back in the time of Paul, Tychicus had to physically travel to Colossae to talk with the church, to physically tell them how Paul and his companions were doing.

Tychicus- Brother & Minister, Part 2 (TMF:2893)

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Peace to Live By: Tychicus- Brother & Minister, Part 2 (TMF:2893) - Daniel Litton
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Nevertheless, in this case, in addition to delivering the letter, he is tasked with informing the church of everything Paul has been up to, not just what is contained within the letter. This certainly had to be an encouragement to the Colossians, for they were receiving someone who had literally been with Paul, right alongside him. And, Tychicus, of course, didn’t know the Colossians, for Paul explains to them that he is “a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.” We would expect this in someone working alongside Paul. But the description nonetheless gives us a model of something to aim for, of what we would want spoken about us, if we are a minister of the Lord—that we are loved by the church, that we are faithful in our work, and that we are serving as we should be. Verse 8: “I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts” (ESV). We have to remember that back in those days, some 2,000 years ago, that the spreading of information was surely limited.

Tychicus- Brother & Minister, Part 1 (TMF:2892)

Tuesday, June 09, 2026

Peace to Live By: Tychicus- Brother & Minister, Part 1 (TMF:2892) - Daniel Litton
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“Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord” (Colossians 4:7, ESV). Tychicus is set up to be the letter deliver to the Colossian church; he is going to be the one that brings them this writing from Paul. In fact, he also did so for Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, as well as the epistle to Philemon. This minister of God also had a cameo appearance in the Book of Acts, in chapter 20 specifically, when he is named with many other brothers that accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, going ahead of him, when he was leaving behind the city of Philippi, in Greece. Nevertheless, in this case, in addition to delivering the letter, he is tasked with informing the church of everything Paul has been up to, not just what is contained within the letter. This certainly had to be an encouragement to the Colossians, for they were receiving someone who had literally been with Paul, right alongside him.

Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 5 (TMF:2891)

Monday, June 08, 2026

Peace to Live By: Good Words Before Outsiders, Part 5 (TMF:2891) - Daniel Litton
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To call out sin for what it is, as in the case of delivering a sermon—that should be done. That is necessary and definitely needed. But what we are discussing are one-on-one interactions in the outside world. If we are trying to get or make non-believers to act like Christians we are going to find ourselves in real trouble. And this may be more of a temptation for those who are recent coverts, as, for the speaker, it definitely was in the year or two after becoming saved. There was that temptation to tell people what was known was written in the Bible, and to try to correct them in order to get them to believe. That was the approach that was often taken in telling others about God. Yet, Paul says that our speech is to always be gracious, to be seasoned with salt. If we are in the habit of telling people how they are wrong, this verse from Paul is will be found to be pretty hard to keep. People probably aren’t even going to want to be around us all that much. So, we need to be careful.