03 September 2023
Two-Minute Features | 10 September 2023

The True Character of God & How He Deals (TMF:2175)

Friday, September 08, 2023
Peace to Live By: The True Character of God & How He Deals (TMF:2175) - Daniel Litton
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       Yes, it rings true. Steadfastness is our goal. No matter what happens to us, or to those we love, this is our goal. True commitment to the Lord. As James concludes for us today (reading it again), “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Yes, it rings true. Steadfastness is our goal. No matter what happens to us, or to those we love, this is our goal. True commitment to the Lord. Notice the contrast between God and Satan. James says God is compassionate and merciful. Quite a contrast. This is because God, again, isn’t the one who is causing the harm. That is Satan. God is on the other end. He is wanting to help us, to heal us. What is compassionate? Compassionate means benevolent, charitable, sympathetic, pitying, humane, tender, kindhearted, all heart. Let’s define merciful: forgiving, gracious, lenient, easygoing, gentle, forbearing, generous, softhearted, and mild. Yes, these are the characteristics of our loving Heavenly Father. God is on our side, no matter what. He is now, and he always will be.

In Surrender, Enjoyment can be Found Again (TMF:2174)

Thursday, September 07, 2023
Peace to Live By: In Surrender, Enjoyment can be Found Again (TMF:2174) - Daniel Litton
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       If a person transcends based upon murder, and enters Jesus’ presence and their new home of living is in Heaven—if that happens, the person, from their perspective, really hasn’t lost anything, have they? We, who are still back here on the earth, have in that now we have to wait a while perhaps to see them again. But, they and we will see each other again, we will be reunited, at some point in the future. There is temporary loss of enjoying our time with that individual, but it’s not permanent loss. And, if we are surrendered, we can find enjoyment again, we can find happiness again, without their presence because “All that matters is God.” As James concludes for us today (reading it again), “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” Yes, it rings true. Steadfastness is our goal. No matter what happens to us, or to those we love, this is our goal. True commitment to the Lord.

Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 7 (TMF:2173)

Wednesday, September 06, 2023
Peace to Live By: Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 7 (TMF:2173) - Daniel Litton
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       Number three is that after the whole thing was over, God restored everything Job had lost, and restored it many times over (I know, I’m jumping ahead here). But this is where some people get lost, on this last point, and say, “That’s not always true. God doesn’t always restore what a person loses. Some people just get screwed.” They say, “What about a person who is murdered. How does he or she get back what was lost. What about their family members; it is a permanent loss.” Well, that’s really not true. Yes, unfortunately, the lower we are on the consciousness levels the more our response is going to sound like this. The more we haven’t Given Up Control, the more we haven’t surrendered, the more our response will be in this manner. If a person transcends based upon murder, and enters Jesus’ presence and their new home of living is in Heaven—if that happens, the person, from their perspective, really hasn’t lost anything, have they? We, who are still back here on the earth, have in that now we have to wait a while perhaps to see them again.

Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 6 (TMF:2172)

Tuesday, September 05, 2023
Peace to Live By: Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 6 (TMF:2172) - Daniel Litton
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       Satan really, at the end of the day, couldn’t do anything to Job that would make him truly lose. This is a hard teaching. But it is what I have been saying all along. The lower a person is the levels of consciousness, the harder it is to bear. The higher a person is, the greater the understanding of God and how things work, so the greater the endurance we will see. For some encouragement, let’s consider some positive points in the midst of this. Number one, note that Satan was the one who caused the destruction, not God. That’s important because the enemy can often try to get us to point the finger at God. We say, “God could have prevented this, and he didn’t. So, he is at fault.” But, remember, God is on our side. He’s not a perverted Father, as his often taught, and he doesn’t want to see us suffer. Number two, God hadn’t cut off Job. He hadn’t gone anywhere. He may have been quiet for a while, but he was there watching the whole thing. Number three is that after the whole thing was over, God restored everything Job had lost, and restored it many times over (I know, I’m jumping ahead here).

Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 5 (TMF:2171)

Monday, September 04, 2023
Peace to Live By: Suffering & the Example of Job, Part 5 (TMF:2171) - Daniel Litton
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       So, yes, this is about the most extreme example we can find in the Bible of human suffering. James cuts to the chase. This seems to bring up the point that I introduced at the beginning of our study here. That is, “All that matters is God.” That phrase certainly fits in well here. It’s the only way that Job could survive his ordeal. This is because if Job had valued all the other things too much, then he would have really lost. He would have really lost because there would have been things that were of a permanent loss, and what I mean is an unrecoverable loss. But because all that mattered was God, Satan really, at the end of the day, couldn’t do anything to Job that would make him truly lose. This is a hard teaching. But it is what I have been saying all along. The lower a person is the levels of consciousness, the harder it is to bear. The higher a person is, the greater the understanding of God and how things work, so the greater the endurance we will see.