30 April 2023
Two-Minute Features | 07 May 2023

Surrendered vs. Selfish (TMF:2085)

Friday, May 05, 2023
Peace to Live By: Surrendered vs. Selfish (TMF:2085) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       It is true that we are free. It’s what I’ve been talking about with the Law of Liberty. God has given freedom to Christians to pick and choose many things. Interestingly enough, the way we really get what we want is be deciding on a goal beforehand, and then surrendering the feeling of wantingness for whatever it is. By surrendering the wantingness, by this act of Giving Up Control, we see that what we desire automatically comes into our life in due time. On the flip side, we can use selfish ambition to try to achieve these wants and goals in our lives. The problem is, is that we don’t need to have ambition to get what we want. That is a common misunderstanding for how things really work. Selfish ambition only makes things harder and more difficult. It causes us to do this and that, to try this method and that method, only to find that we are right back at the beginning where we started. No, we get what we want by choosing it first and then giving up the desire for it.

Jealousy & Selfish Ambition (TMF:2084)

Thursday, May 04, 2023
Peace to Live By: Jealousy & Selfish Ambition (TMF:2084) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       James brings up both jealously and selfish ambition. Why are these two particular sins so destructive? Let’s look at jealousy first. This is a sin that I think all of us suffer with from time to time, and it should be one that we are seeking to eliminate from our lives. Jealously is really a worldly thing. We are jealous of someone because either we want what they have or we don’t think they should have what they have. In the former case, we are already at a disadvantage because we are comparing ourselves with others. Why are we comparing? If we are comparing ourselves with others it is due to the fact that we want more in our life and are feeling inadequate. That being the case, we aren’t surrendered to an overall attitude of wantingness. We should be happy when people succeed in whatever it is, happy for them, and not jealous of whatever it is. If we are jealous, we truly display to others how selfish we really are. This is where selfish ambition comes into the picture.

What God Has Gifted Us With (TMF:2083)

Wednesday, May 03, 2023
Peace to Live By: What God Has Gifted Us With (TMF:2083) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       That comes from the worldly person, the person who doesn’t understand things pertaining to God and his giftings. The reality is, we should be thankful for all of God’s blessings toward us, again, whether they be natural or spiritual. This takes away the pressure that can come to us when we feel we need to be like someone else, or do what they do, or do as good a job as they do. We do what God has placed in our hearts to do, and we do it to the best of our ability. This is what makes God happy. Really, what we have been given are gifts, as they are called, and since they are gifts, we didn’t earn them. As the Apostle Paul has told us, if we earned something we would get to brag about it. Remember that? We, however, didn’t earn these gifts, but rather they were given to us by our loving Heavenly Father. God gives to each of us as he pleases, and each of us therefore has special areas were we excel. We should embrace those areas then with an awareness and mildness that they come from above.

Real Character or a Show? (TMF:2082)

Tuesday, May 02, 2023
Peace to Live By: Real Character or a Show? (TMF:2082) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       Nor is a person who is wise, meek, and not bragging defending the works they do. There is no need to uphold this or that because the goodness of the effort, again, shows forth automatically. People, deep down, know oftentimes whether a person is doing something from the heart or whether the person is just putting on a good show. Sometimes it can be harder to tell, but give it time and it will become obvious to all. Wasn’t this Lucifer’s problem? This was how he rebelled against God. The self-righteous attitude is demonic because self-righteousness is based on superficial things, and it is not grounded in the truth. We are all good because God has made us good in Jesus. We are all equal on that plane. Whatever our giftings are, whether they be natural in us (that is, inborn within us) or whether they be giftings by the Spirit, these things were given to us. Yes, we get to decide what to do with the gifts, but the gifts were given to us, so it is foolish for one to say that he or she is better than another as a result of the gifts. That comes from the worldly person.

How the Truly Meek Person Is (TMF:2081)

Monday, May 01, 2023
Peace to Live By: How the Truly Meek Person Is (TMF:2081) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       We see a move toward transparency in a lot of areas in our world. People want others to be more transparent. And the truth is, that the truly meek person does not fear the revealing of anything about his or her character or past. This is because the strong desire to be seen in a positive light by everyone in the world has been surrendered. In Giving Up Control in this area, the person has no fear of being outed about anything and therefore never is because their meekness has made itself apparent to others. The person who is truly humble has no need to brag about what he or she does. What they do will become manifest to others naturally. If a person is bragging, James points out to us that there must be something wrong. Surely the works for God are being done with a wrong motive. A person who brags about this or that accomplishment surely lacks the real thing. If the real thing were there, there would be no need to brag, right? I mean, it is common sense once you stop and think about it.