19 November 2023
Two-Minute Features | 26 November 2023 | 12 November 2023

Filtering Out Our Teachers, Part 1 (TMF:2230)

Friday, November 24, 2023
Peace to Live By: Filtering Out Our Teachers, Part 1 (TMF:2230) - Daniel Litton
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       Too many voices speaking to you won’t do you any good. We must choose which voices we allow ourselves to hear, to take in. In our day of great education, and especially Christian education, there are all kinds of teachers who are telling us different things. While, at first glance, this might seem like a good thing, and it is, it can also become a bad thing if we are not careful. If we allow too much council, too many opinions, then we will never arrive at a true opinion of anything. This reminds me of the people of Athens, during Paul’s day, when the Bible tells us all the liked to do was hear and tell of new things. We can become addicted to the thrill of learning new things. This is what I do personally. With all the vast variety of Bible teachers out there, I limit myself to six different ones who are allowed to speak to me. That’s right; only six. Any others by whom I happen to listen to, I will listen in what I call ‘observation mode.’ This means I am listening to what they are saying, but not necessarily accepting it word for word.

The Enemy's Tactics for Our Minds, Part 2 (TMF:2229)

Thursday, November 23, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Enemy's Tactics for Our Minds, Part 2 (TMF:2229) - Daniel Litton
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       What Dr. Burns had identified, I believe, is really the tactics by which our enemy (you know whom I’m talking about) strives to work against usIt is this spiritual warfare, to use a big label here, that can make our lives miserable if we let it. But then there is also the beloved chapter 14 which is about perfectionism. This has been an ongoing battle for me, though, I’ve definitely gotten better in this area over the years. However, I do, like many others, have a tendency to strive for absolute perfection. If you read that chapter from ‘Feeling Good,’ you’ll know what I’m talking about. There’s nothing wrong with doing a good job, but when you become enslaved to your work, and to trying to make everything just right, then, certainly, it is a problem. Besides, we cannot make anything perfect in this life anyway. There is nothing that is truly perfect, except God himself. And there would even be some that think he’s not perfect. The solution, the only real win in battling perfectionism, is to give it up.

The Enemy's Tactics for Our Minds, Part 1 (TMF:2228)

Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Peace to Live By: The Enemy's Tactics for Our Minds, Part 1 (TMF:2228) - Daniel Litton
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       The truth is, one of my favorite books of all time is titled ‘Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy’ by David D. Burns. In the book, psychologist Dr. Burns discusses the use of Cognitive Therapy, or CT for short. It is a method of treating bad thinking, particularly depression, in the psychology world without the use of medicine (though often the two are used at the same time). But I believe the principles Dr. Burns outlines are beneficial to all kinds of life situations, not just to the depressed mind. We want to have control of our thoughts. That’s first and foremost. But, secondly, we don’t want to be thinking about things that really aren’t true. We don’t want to be distorted inside our minds. It isn’t helpful for us when we are believing things about other people that aren’t true. Well, one way to break through all of this is by understanding Dr. Burn’s Cognitive Distortions. There are ten of them, and they are listed in chapter 3 of that book. What Dr. Burns had identified, I believe, is really the tactics by which our enemy (you know whom I’m talking about) strives to work against us.

Which 'Self' Will We Follow? (TMF:2227)

Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Peace to Live By: Which 'Self' Will We Follow? (TMF:2227) - Daniel Litton
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       I love to re-read books personally, just as people re-watch their favorite movies. You see a few things you missed the first time you read it. Plus, you’ll be reminded of all the good things you probably had forgotten about. Sometimes I think our old-self tricks us into to just wanting to sit around and do nothing. The old-self wants to do this because it wants to have time to focus on what it wants to think about, which is negativity of all kinds. Sometimes I think our old-self tricks us into to just wanting to sit around and do nothing. The old-self wants to do this because it wants to have time to focus on what it wants to think about, which is negativity of all kinds. It wants us to feel bad because it wants to be in control. The evil passions lurking inside our flesh want their time in the spotlight. Let’s be real here. And because we have a tendency to default to the negative, it is easier to think bad things than it is to think good things. So, we have to be disciplined in what we pay attention to. There are two forces within each one of us, the old-self and the new-self, and each generates its own hopes and desires. We have to pick which one we will follow.

Spending Too Much Idle Time, Part 2 (TMF:2226)

Monday, November 20, 2023
Peace to Live By: Spending Too Much Idle Time, Part 1 (TMF:2226) - Daniel Litton
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       One thing that can be done is to re-review whatever you studied in your morning devotion. Remind yourself of what you went over, and that will bring it more permanence in your mind. Another thing is that book. We all have books we have on our to do list to read. They are sitting there on your book-self. You tell yourself, “Sometime I’ll read that book.” But it’s been there a couple years. Because it isn’t ‘new,’ the desire to read it is less. However, just pick it up and start reading it. If it’s not that good, then you can stop (and you can get rid of it by giving it away since you aren’t going to read it). Or, of your favorite books on your shelf, re-read a book. I love to re-read books personally, just as people re-watch their favorite movies. You see a few things you missed the first time you read it. Plus, you’ll be reminded of all the good things you probably had forgotten about. Sometimes I think our old-self tricks us into to just wanting to sit around and do nothing. The old-self wants to do this because it wants to have time to focus on what it wants to think about, which is negativity of all kinds.