19 June 2022
Two-Minute Features | 26 June 2022 | 12 June 2022

Producing Steadfastness in Us (TMF:1880)

Friday, June 24, 2022
Peace to Live By: Producing Steadfastness in Us (TMF:1880) - Daniel Litton
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       What is our goal then? James tells us it is “steadfastness.” He said, “the testing of [our] faith produces steadfastness.” Let’s define what steadfastness means. When we’ve been through trials and come out on the other end, we learn that God is faithful. We can look back and recognize that he was with us. There was never a time, not even a moment, when we wasn’t by our side. He helped get us through whatever it was. He helped us to make the right choices. At least, all this being said, this is the way it is for the positive-minded person. What about the negative person? If we are negative, we don’t learn. We were too upset by the trial. We had our thoughts on ourself. That’s all we cared about. God was still faithful, but it took a lot longer of a time to get through it. We had not only the trial to deal with, but we had ourselves also. We may have found that we were the greater trial of the two.

Things Outside of Our Control (TMF:1879)

Thursday, June 23, 2022
Peace to Live By: Things Outside of Our Control (TMF:1879) - Daniel Litton
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        Finally, we have those things that come to us that our outside of our control. There it is. That’s the big word, control, and some of us have a dreadful thought when we imagine a loss of control. What are some things that can happen in this area? A health problem. Death of a loved one. Loss of a career. Trouble with the son or daughter. Money down the toilet. The unexpected repair. The car breaks down. The car has been wrecked. The person talking behind our backs. The false accusation. The subpoena to court. The lawsuit. Our spouse cheated on us. Our spouse left us. They have filed for divorce. The daughter has been found to be smoking pot. The son has been arrested. The dog or cat has died. We feel God has abandoned us. What is our goal then? James tells us it is “steadfastness.” He said, “the testing of [our] faith produces steadfastness.”

Then the Mistakes We Make (TMF:1878)

Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Peace to Live By: Then the Mistakes We Make (TMF:1878) - Daniel Litton
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       Then there are the mistakes we make. We make a wrong move. Originally, we thought we were making a right move. I mean, after all, all moves we make are based on a judgment, an evaluation, of what it is we decide to do. Sometimes we have tunnel vision, or we overlooked something, or we just didn’t consider all the things we should have. We’ve made a mistake. An accident has occurred, and it’s our fault. Depending on our level on inner-self, we react in different ways. We may get angry and upset, and be full of guilt. We say to ourselves, “I should have know better. If only I would have done that instead. If only I had waited and not done anything!” Or, if we are on the positive side we say, “Gee, I made a mistake. But I’m not going to blow this up out of proportion. Life is more than any one mistake, and I am too.” Finally, we have those things that come to us that our outside of our control. There it is. That’s the big word, control, and some of us have a dreadful thought when we imagine a loss of control.

What is the Self-Induced Trial? (TMF:1877)

Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Peace to Live By: What is the Self-Induced Trial? (TMF:1877) - Daniel Litton
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       What is the self-induced trial? Well, a good example of this is when a person enrolls in college to obtain a degree. The person enrolls knowing there is going to be hard work involved. There are going to be assignments. There will be papers. Late nights writing and studying. Tests and final exams to be taken. Classmates to work on projects with. Group meetings. At least in some of these things, there will be trialing events. That’s okay, though. The student knew that. Then there are the mistakes we make. We make a wrong move. Originally, we thought we were making a right move. I mean, after all, all moves we make are based on a judgment, an evaluation, of what it is we decide to do. Sometimes we have tunnel vision, or we overlooked something, or we just didn’t consider all the things we should have.

The 3 Kinds of Trials (TMF:1876)

Monday, June 20, 2022
Peace to Live By: The 3 Kinds of Trials (TMF:1876) - Daniel Litton
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       James chapter 1, re-reading verse 2 again: “Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds.” Basically, three kinds of trials can exist for us. Trials can be self-induced. That is, we deliberately put ourselves in the trial for good reasons. Trials can also be caused by an a mistake we have made. Still yet, trials can come to us without us having done anything. They are outside of any of our actions. Let’s go through these one-by-one. What is the self-induced trial? Well, a good example of this is when a person enrolls in college to obtain a degree. The person enrolls knowing there is going to be hard work involved. There are going to be assignments. There will be papers. Late nights writing and studying. Tests and final exams to be taken. Classmates to work on projects with. Group meetings. At least in some of these things, there will be trialing events. That’s okay, though. The student knew that.