07 April 2019
Two-Minute Features | 14 April 2019 | 31 March 2019

Stop Bad Thoughts Before They Take Root (TMF:1105)

Friday, April 12, 2019
Peace to Live By: Stop Bad Thoughts Before They Take Root (TMF:1105) - Daniel Litton
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       If we have given our minds over to something and are trapped by a certain, reoccurring thought, then we may have to work very hard at getting rid of that bad pattern of thinking, that bad habit in our minds. Many of you are probably familiar with Thomas à Kempis, the old medieval Christian author, who said, “If we did a little violence to ourselves at the start, we should afterwards be able to do all things with ease and joy. It is hard to break old habits, but harder still to go against our will” (Imitation of Christ, 2003, p. 9). It is good to stop a reoccurring thought before it gets rooted down in our minds. If we stop it early, there is no danger of it becoming a serious problem. Like the Apostle Peter, again, said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV). We need to start our resistance right away, and not wait until we have a problem that is out of control.

Reference

Kempis, Thomas à. (2003). Imitation of Christ. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Inc.

What Does It Mean to be Sober-Minded? (TMF:1104)

Thursday, April 11, 2019
Peace to Live By: What Does It Mean to be Sober-Minded? (TMF:1104) - Daniel Litton
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       The Apostle Peter has taught us, “"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:13, ESV). We have learned how to prepare our minds, we’ve just been discussing that. Now, what does it mean to be sober-minded? That means we haven’t given our minds over to anything that becomes the central theme or focus of our minds. If we let a thought get out of control, it can dominate our thinking and create a channel in our minds into which all other thoughts will flow. We can create inappropriate obsessions in our minds, constantly considering a problem we have, hoping to somehow arrive at a reasonable explanation. We can think about things we shouldn’t be thinking about, and become ‘drunk,’ so to speak, with a problem we have. That’s why it’s important to eliminate thinking about something too much, to cast an unsettled problem to God, and let him deal with it. We exercise faith that he will deal with it for us.

Knowing Our Bibles Improves Our Thoughts (TMF:1103)

Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Peace to Live By: Knowing Our Bibles Improves Our Thoughts (TMF:1103) - Daniel Litton
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       So we understand that, ““Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools” (Proverbs 14:33, ESV). If we fill our minds full of God’s Word, and teachings from God’s Word, we can make ourselves wise. Indeed, it is true that wisdom is something that can be learned. It’s not that there is a wise person and a foolish person by blood. A person wasn’t born that way. A person becomes wise from careful study of the Bible. So, if we know God’s thoughts, we can improve our own thoughts. God’s Word is the filter over our mind that allows us to choose carefully what we are thinking about. We know what God thinks is good, and what he thinks is evil. And we can align our thoughts accordingly so that they are pleasing and acceptable to him. And it is good for us because it will cause us to enjoy our lives more, and to feel happier and have a better time. We won’t constantly be downtrodden with guilt and shame because we won’t be thinking about things that cause those types of feelings.

We Can Cast Our Care to God (TMF:1102)

Tuesday, April 09, 2019
Peace to Live By: We Can Cast Our Care to God (TMF:1102) - Daniel Litton
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       Another thing we can do to control the thoughts in our minds is when we are having a problem we don’t know how to deal with, or what to do, we can cast the care to God and then wait until he solves the problem for us, or shows us what to do. The Apostle Peter told us to cast all our anxieties on God, because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7, ESV). That’s a good thing for us to remember that God does care about our problems. He wants to help us with whatever issue it is, and doesn’t want us to be walking around worrying about our problems. It is important for us to believe that God does indeed care about whatever it is that is bothering us. When we don’t believe that God cares, and we don’t bring the situation to his attention, it prevents him from being able to help us with it. Often we will go to God in prayer, and tell him about our issue, but then we will walk away from the prayer believing that God really isn’t going to help us. And then he doesn’t help us because we didn’t believe he would in the first place. So we understand that, ““Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding, but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools” (Proverbs 14:33, ESV).

We Need to Make Decisions in Our Minds (TMF:1101)

Monday, April 08, 2019
Peace to Live By: We Need to Make Decisions in Our Minds (TMF:1101) - Daniel Litton
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       We need to make decisions in our minds about certain things we are wondering about or what we are going to do about something. Living in indecision and double-mindedness will make us unsettled and even miserable over time. But making a decision is the key. Often I say use the guess and check method. If it’s something small that we are deciding, or something more insignificant, we need to make a decision and see if we are correct in our decision. Often we don’t know what is right and wrong in deciding something until we try different things. If something doesn’t work, we can reevaluate and try something else. Or, we can move on to something else. But often we need to guess at something, using wisdom, and then check to see if we were correct in our decision. Now being afraid causes us not to make decisions. Yes, there is a chance we will be wrong with what we decide, but there is the equal chance we will in fact be right. Another thing we can do to control the thoughts in our minds is when we are having a problem we don’t know how to deal with, or what to do, we can cast the care to God and then wait until he solves the problem for us, or shows us what to do.