11 June 2017
Two-Minute Features | 18 June 2017 | 04 June 2017

Peace Taker #2- Past Better than Present? Part 1 (TMF:670)

Friday, June 16, 2017
Peace to Live By: Peace Taker #2- Past Better than Present? Part 1 (TMF:670) - Daniel Litton
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       Number two: Thinking the past was better than the present. “Don’t long for “the good old days,” for you don’t know whether they were any better than these!” (Ecclesiastes 7:10, TLB). King Solomon’s advice here is key, that from glancing in the rear-view-mirror, things do look better in the past. When we do think about good periods of time or things we did from our past, they always look better than they actually were. But just take a vacation as an example. Think of the last time you took a trip. If you think about that vacation (considering it was a good one), you’re probably only going to mostly remember that good things about it. That’s what pictures do, right? The pictures we take are the highlights of the good places we went and the cool things that we saw. The pictures don’t show us the bad times, like the times we couldn’t find a hotel to spend the night at, or was longing for the next rest area to come. Or the poor service we got at that restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We should enjoy the present time—our current ‘now’ time. There are always troubles in any given day, but we need to enjoy life the best we can.

Peace Taker #1- Continually Speculating, Part 2 (TMF:669)

Thursday, June 15, 2017
Peace to Live By: Peace Taker #1- Continually Speculating, Part 2 (TMF:669) - Daniel Litton
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       We should remember too that, “What is wrong cannot be righted; it is water over the dam; and there is no use thinking of what might have been” (Ecclesiastes 1:14, 15, TLB). It’s not possible to go back in time and redo the past—though all of us have things we would like to have a ‘redo’ on. We all make mistakes in life, as none of us are perfect in all our actions. My point is that it doesn’t do us any good to sit around and wonder what would have happened if we’d of done this or that, or made that choice or this choice. That kind of contemplation of the past won’t change it. Those kind of thoughts just take away our peace and leave us upset and full of regret. Thankfully, when we’ve sinned against God or others in the past, we have the blood of Jesus to cleanse us of those wrongs. And we need to move on and not think about those things any more.

Peace Taker #1- Continually Speculating, Part 1 (TMF:668)

Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Peace to Live By: Peace Taker #1- Continually Speculating, Part 1 (TMF:668) - Daniel Litton
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       Number one: Continually speculating about what might have been. “The man who speculates is soon back to where he began—with nothing. This, as I said, is a very serious problem, for all his hard work has been for nothing; he has been working for the wind. It is all swept away. All the rest of his life he is under a cloud—gloomy, discouraged, frustrated, and angry” (Ecclesiastes 5:15-17, TLB). It is true that we can go ‘round and ‘round in circles trying to figure out why things have happened they way they have in our lives, or why something didn’t happen. This kind of reasoning—constantly speculating about the past in our minds—will definitely take away our peace of mind. The reality is, sometimes we just don’t know why some things happen the way they happen. And when this is the case, we need to trust in God that he knows best, and that he’s going to work good out of the situation, whatever it is. Indeed, God has promised us that he works all things together for our good, and this fact alone will give us peace (see Romans 8:28).

Peace of Mind is Very Important for the Christian (TMF:667)

Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Peace to Live By: Peace of Mind is Very Important for the Christian (TMF:667) - Daniel Litton
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       As we live each day of our lives, there are so many things that can work against us in order to try and take our peace. Having peace of mind is probably the most important thing we can have, as Christians. Peace of mind allows us to live our lives to the fullest extent. We cannot always control what happens in our lives, but we can control how we respond to those varying situations. We can decide what to think about in our minds, and we can choose to have peace in our minds that is not dependent upon our circumstances. The Apostle Paul said to the Ephesians, ”...until finally we all believe alike about our salvation and about our Savior, God’s Son, and all become full-grown in the Lord—yes, to the point of being filled full with Christ. Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times—speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly—and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of his body, the Church” (Ephesians 4:13-15, TLB).

You Can Gain Life Now & Forever for the Future (TMF:666)

Monday, June 12, 2017
Peace to Live By: You Can Gain Life Now & Forever for the Future (TMF:666) - Daniel Litton
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       It is written in Romans, “Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins. For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath” (3:23-25, TLB). If you would like to believe in Jesus today, gain life now and eternal life forever for the future, then follow my lead in this simple prayer: God, I am currently separated from you today. But I realize that you love me and want to be in relationship with me. And, I today, have decided that I want to be in relationship with you and to live my life the right way. I do accept Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for all of my sins against you, believing he died for me and rose from the dead, and now is in Heaven with you. Father, I want to turn from following this world today and follow your way instead. Please start a change in me, making me become more like you want me to be, more like Jesus. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.