21 July 2024
Two-Minute Features | 28 July 2024 | 14 July 2024

Having Specific Prayer Days, Part 2 (TMF:2405)

Friday, July 26, 2024
Peace to Live By: Having Specific Prayer Days, Part 2 (TMF:2405) - Daniel Litton
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       One common one I do is praying for the leaders of my church. Let’s say I do that on Sunday’s. So, on Sunday’s after I complete my regular prayer time, I will spend, say five minutes, praying for the leaders of the church, the pastors, the elders, the deacons, and whoever else comes to mind. By doing this on Sundays, I know that every week when Sunday comes around, this is the group of people I will pray for. Another group I have often prayed for is government leaders. So, let’s say I do that on Thursdays. Again, after my normal prayer time, I will pray for Federal leaders, like the President, Vice President, House, Senate, and Supreme Court justices. I will also then pray for local leaders, like the Governor, Ohio justices, nearby government officials, and even local school boards. This way, again, these people get their proper prayer time on a weekly basis. Now, I’m not perfectionistic about this, but I think it is a good way to easily remember to pray for certain groups of people the Bible tells us to pray for.

Having Specific Prayer Days, Part 1 (TMF:2404)

Thursday, July 25, 2024
Peace to Live By: Having Specific Prayer Days, Part 1 (TMF:2404) - Daniel Litton
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       There’s no doubt that we all have a lot to pray for. People present us with prayers, when we are at church or Bible study. People tell us about things they need prayer for, whether we are talking with them on the phone or meeting them for coffee. And then there are the prayers that we ourselves need, which can be a vast variety of things. Perhaps we are praying for certain family members to come into personal relationship with God. Maybe we are hoping for help with a certain project we are facing in life, or perhaps a specific goal we wish to achieve on down the road. So, there are prayers for others and even prayers for ourselves. One thing I like to do is sometimes use specific prayer days, where, on this day, in addition to the regular stuff I prayer for, I will pray for a certain group of people. One common one I do is praying for the leaders of my church. Let’s say I do that on Sunday’s. So, on Sunday’s after I complete my regular prayer time, I will spend, say five minutes, praying for the leaders of the church, the pastors, the elders, the deacons, and whoever else comes to mind.

Watch TV; You Can Only Read So Much (TMF2403)

Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Peace to Live By: Watch TV; You Can Only Read So Much (TMF2403) - Daniel Litton
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       I love to learn. I love to read. I can spend a long time reading about this or that. I can read about American history for a couple hours. I spend quite a long time reading a Biblical commentary, or multiple commentaries consecutively. Non-fiction is great. There are so many subjects to consider. And, of course, there is self-development. That’s probably the most interesting to read of them for hope of discovering something new. It’s always fun to be on the hunt for that next realization, that next thing that can be implemented into our lives in order to try to make them better. All that being said, the truth is that I can only read so much. I get tired of reading because while it is fun, it does take a lot of mental energy. That’s because your eyes are moving across the pages constantly. If it’s something that you have never read before, you’re taking in new information. You’re downloading it to your brain. That requires energy. That requires thinking. And while it’s fun, I can only do it so much. Personally, after about two to three hours of reading something I am usually done. That’s about as far as I can get with whatever it is.

Understanding Happiness as a Choice, Part 3 (TMF:2402)

Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Peace to Live By: Understanding Happiness as a Choice, Part 3 (TMF:2402) - Daniel Litton
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       That can be possessions, our career, other people, how much money’s in the bank, whatever. Those things are all subject to change. What’s interesting about focusing on the external is that we know that no matter how rich we are, whether that is in possessions or friends, that that really doesn’t even guarantee our happiness, does it? Think of all the celebrities who’ve had all the possessions and friends, and yet ended up unhappy. The truth is that happiness is inside of us; that is where it belongs. And that happy feeling comes, again, from our knowing everything between us and God is good. This is made possible initially by what Jesus has accomplished for the world on the cross. His raising from the dead to new life means we can have new life. That’s really all we need, and really all that can give us access to the happiness we want. When we practice, when we live out our relationships with God, then we experience happiness. There is nothing like spending time with him, knowing everything is really okay, knowing that we don’t need anything besides him.

Understanding Happiness as a Choice, Part 2 (TMF:2401)

Monday, July 22, 2024
Peace to Live By: Understanding Happiness as a Choice, Part 2 (TMF:2401) - Daniel Litton
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       The very essence of the feeling of wanting, whatever it is that we want, means that things are incomplete right now. Deep down in the realm of how things really are, we know that’s not true. Like I said, what really matters is that we are in right relationship with God. If I want a girlfriend, a house, a new car, a new computer, more friends, closer friends, whatever it is, then I am looking to the future for my happiness. I am saying, “I can’t be happy right now because things are not as ‘I want’ them to be.” That’s a bad place to be in really, and yet that’s where there’s the tendency for us to live. When we live too focused on this earth, and what we see with our eyes, we find that we have based our happiness in many temporary things. That’s what the carnal person, to use a Scriptural term, does. That’s what our ‘sin-nature’ wants us to do. We can base our entire happiness on things that may not be in the near future.