18 February 2024
Two-Minute Features | 25 February 2024 | 11 February 2024

Cutting the Grass in Your Head, Part 1 (TMF:2295)

Friday, February 23, 2024
Peace to Live By: Cutting the Grass in Your Head, Part 1 (TMF:2295) - Daniel Litton
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       Every reoccurring thought that remerges in our minds has a root. That’s the simple truth. Nevertheless, we often deal with our thoughts by pushing them aside and not confronting them head on. That’s why the thought is reoccurring in the first place. It’s like your dog when you don’t feed him. He’ll ask for lunch, and you may just ignore him for the time being. Then a little while later he’ll ask again, and he’ll keep on asking until we feed him. Well, that’s what happens when we don’t properly deal with a thought in our heads that we don’t want there. We all have things that crop up inside our minds that we would prefer to get rid of. The good news is that this is actually possible. Now, if I have a reoccurring thought about someone who has said something against me, for instance, how should I deal with this? Well, every time the though comes to my mind I could just push it out of the way by thinking about something else. It may work for a few minutes, but odds are the thought is going to come back. That’s because I didn’t feed the dog, I didn’t deal with the thought. And like the dog, the thought comes back wanting attention.

What People Are Going Through, Part 2 (TMF:2294)

Thursday, February 22, 2024
Peace to Live By: What People Are Going Through, Part 2 (TMF:2294) - Daniel Litton
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       So, understanding that the person we strike up a casual conversation in the coffee shop may indeed be going through a really difficult time, I think it’s good practice to treat everyone kindly. Why, the Apostle Paul mentioned kindness as one of the Fruits of the Spirit. Remember? He also said we should be gentle. It could be that our kindness and gentleness actually is what brightens someone’s day and encourages them to keep moving forward. That little spark from us could be the fuel that they ever so needed. Another thing too is we don’t know when someone is on the verge of giving up. It has been noted in psychology discussions that sometimes people who commit suicide showed no previous signs of any type of problem. When this is the case, the family members and friends are shocked. No one knew the person was suffering mentally, on the verge of giving up. Again, this is just another reason to treat others well. Our gracious speech, or an encouragement, no matter how simple, may be the very thing that God wants us to give to the other person.

What People Are Going Through, Part 1 (TMF:2293)

Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Peace to Live By: What People Are Going Through, Part 1 (TMF:2293) - Daniel Litton
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       We all meet people in passing on a daily basis. Sometimes things seem okay for people, and occasionally it is obvious that something is wrong. But even for the many who appear to be okay, we don’t really know for sure. People can actually be going through quite a lot, and yet, unless they tell us, we have no idea. Life carries along for everyone, and as we know from our own lives, there are better times and there are times that aren’t as good. If we know that is true for us, it probably is true for others. That being the case, perhaps we should keep this understanding in our awareness if don’t already. So, understanding that the person we strike up a casual conversation in the coffee shop may indeed be going through a really difficult time, I think it’s good practice to treat everyone kindly. Why, the Apostle Paul mentioned kindness as one of the Fruits of the Spirit. Remember? He also said we should be gentle. It could be that our kindness and gentleness actually is what brightens someone’s day and encourages them to keep moving forward.

Love with No Strings Attached, Part 3 (TMF:2292)

Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Peace to Live By: Love with No Strings Attached, Part 3 (TMF:2292) - Daniel Litton
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       That said, again, we love to have good, supporting people in our lives. At the end of the day, though, we don’t ‘have to have’ any of them there in order to feel whole. It’s nice for them to be there when they are there, but our new personhood doesn’t lack if they leave. This may even require giving up jealousy because the sin of jealousy shows us where we are too attached to people. Finally, you have probably guessed it at this point, and that is that we know that “All that matters is God.” Because he is all that truly matters, we are totally complete in him, by him, and for him. In our relationships with him we truly don’t ‘have to have’ anything else. We can survive perfectly fine if God is all that we have. This truth brings tremendous freedom for us. It means in our lives that we are not dependent upon any ‘human’ person for our happiness besides Jesus. Our happiness is found completely and entirely in our relationship with God, in our love for Jesus.

Love with No Strings Attached, Part 2 (TMF:2291)

Monday, February 19, 2024
Peace to Live By: Love with No Strings Attached, Part 2 (TMF:2291) - Daniel Litton
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       One of the reasons for this lack of attachment is because every person is responsible for him or herself. You and I cannot be held responsible for the actions of others. Unless we have deliberately lead them astray, or done something against them, we cannot blame ourselves if they make choices that we don’t want them to make. Truly, everyone is independent to themselves. We desire for people, especially those we love, to make the right choices. But we should never be in a place where we suffer prolonged grief because someone has made a bad choice. We might be sad for a short time. That is only normal. But, they are ultimately responsible for themselves. Another reason is that we are secure in and of ourselves. This means that we don’t need anyone in our lives to make us complete. Our completeness comes from our redeemed nature in Jesus, our born-again personhood.