05 May 2024
Two-Minute Features | 12 May 2024

Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 4 (TMF:2350)

Friday, May 10, 2024
Peace to Live By: Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 4 (TMF:2350) - Daniel Litton
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       Jesus certainly taught us that the externals are subject to change. It’s what our internals are built upon that matters. One way we could look at this is to understand that we are all like pillars of light. Imagine with me, for a second, that we all emit light out from us. The difference between us is how much light we emit. Now, let’s imagine that not only do we emit light, but that light can have a positive influence on those whom it is shined upon. In view of that, that would mean that if we aren’t shining any light, we cannot have a positive effect on our environment. If we are shinning at half power, our lives will probably be mediocre. I think this is where a lot of people are. But, if we are shining our lights at a higher power, a higher brightness, then others are affected in the most positive way because of it. The good thing with that is that if we brighten up others, they will feel better, which will cause them to shine at a brighter level, until soon all around us is everyone shining brightly. It benefits us in the end.

Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 3 (TMF:2349)

Thursday, May 09, 2024
Peace to Live By: Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 3 (TMF:2349) - Daniel Litton
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       In reality, no external ‘thing’ can make us happy. Sure, good things can make us ‘happier,’ but they cannot truly become our foundation of happiness. We can lay a foundation in ‘things,’ and a lot of us do, but those things are subject to change. The clouds pass by. The sun rises and sets. The world goes round and round. Things change. Setting our happiness in externals is like building our house on the sand. Remember that illustration? We don’t want to do that. We want our happiness built on something firm, something that, no matter what happens ‘externally,’ the house still stands. Jesus certainly taught us that the externals are subject to change. It’s what our internals are built upon that matters.  One way we could look at this is to understand that we are all like pillars of light. Imagine with me, for a second, that we all emit light out from us. The difference between us is how much light we emit. Now, let’s imagine that not only do we emit light, but that light can have a positive influence on those whom it is shined upon.

Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 2 (TMF:2348)

Wednesday, May 08, 2024
Peace to Live By: Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 2 (TMF:2348) - Daniel Litton
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       A lot of people believe that happiness comes from your external circumstances. Yes, I do believe that’s what the majority of people think. And yet, not everyone reacts the same way to similar events. A person can be imprisoned in a concentration camp for several years, and decide to live the rest of their life very bitter and unhappy. And, a person can have the same experience and yet decide to forgive and move past it. We must remember that no matter what kind of negative life experience is gone through, there is always someone who has gone through a similar or even worse experience. And that person we are talking about has decided to handle it positively. So, if they could handle it positively, then can’t we? Are they a better human than us, or are they just like us? In reality, no external ‘thing’ can make us happy. Sure, good things can make us ‘happier,’ but they cannot truly become our foundation of happiness. We can lay a foundation in ‘things,’ and a lot of us do, but those things are subject to change.

Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 1 (TMF:2347)

Tuesday, May 07, 2024
Peace to Live By: Happiness Comes from the Inside, Part 1 (TMF:2347) - Daniel Litton
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       A simple, basic, and yet profound truth is that we choose our own happiness on the inside. Yup, that’s the way it really works. I know we’ve heard that before. I know people have told us that, but, before you go off dismissing it again, really consider it. It’s all in how we view things. We can choose to enjoy our jobs, or we can choose to hate them. We can decide we love our spouse no matter what (till death do us part), or we can decide after several years that we no longer like the person—that we are no longer happy with them. We can decide to work toward a forgiving attitude toward others in everything, or can choose to instead harbor our anger and resentment. We can choose happiness, or we can choose unhappiness. A lot of people believe that happiness comes from your external circumstances. Yes, I do believe that’s what the majority of people think. And yet, not everyone reacts the same way to similar events. A person can be imprisoned in a concentration camp for several years, and decide to live the rest of their life very bitter and unhappy.

Viewing Forgiveness as a Gift, Part 3 (TMF:2346)

Monday, May 06, 2024
Peace to Live By: Viewing Forgiveness as a Gift, Part 3 (TMF:2346) - Daniel Litton
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       It’s like when Peter talked about the husband’s prayers being blocked when he is mad at his wife. Well, it’s no different in our fellowship with God and unforgivness. The truth is that no one on the face of the earth deserves our forgiveness. Did you ever think about that? Likewise, no one on the face of the earth should, in reality, have to forgive us. That being said, we know that because of the world we currently live in, offense is going to occur. We know that we each have accumulated a huge deficit in front of God. We have offended God greatly, in many ways. Yet, we know that God has decided to forgive us completely and entirely. So, in view of that, we can follow his example. We, in the same way, can forgive our fellow person and do it as a ‘gift.’ The person doesn’t deserve it, and yet we can choose to bestow our kindness upon him or her just as if we were giving them a present, free of charge. This, I believe, eases the mind.