26 February 2017
Two-Minute Features | 05 March 2017 | 19 February 2017

Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 5 (TMF:595)

Friday, March 03, 2017
Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 5 (TMF:595) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       The way we combat Satan in the face of fear is by reminding ourselves of what God has said in his Word, of what is true. Again, Satan will try to fill our minds with lies. He will often attack us when we have too little going on, when we're bored, or when we have too much going on, when we are overwhelmed. He can get us when we're overwhelmed because all our capacities are being used for something else. He will present worries to us, possible situations or perceived notions about what others think. But it is our job to block Satan's constant attacks at us with our shield of faith, which Paul talked about in Ephesians chapter 6. We have to repeat the truth to ourselves, both in our minds and sometimes even out loud to ourselves, when we are alone. This helps us combat Satan's warfare against us. Remember? James tells us “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7, ESV). God is not going to allow Satan to press us so hard we can't win. If we will fight him, God promises that he will leave us alone to come back at a more opportune time.

Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 4 (TMF:594)

Thursday, March 02, 2017
Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 4 (TMF:594) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       Fear is a killer toward positive progress, but God wants us to have 'faith' and move forward toward where he is leading us. And fear really all comes down to our trust in God. We have one of two choices, really. We can choose to follow Satan's way and be held-back by fear, too afraid to be anybody or make any good, positive decisions. Or, we can chose to follow God's way, knowing that he is on our side and will give us the ability to do whatever it is that he's wanting us to do. It may be something small, or may be something big. Now, often trust doesn't just involve a mental agreement in your mind with what God has said is true. No, trust also involves taking a step of faith in our situation when God wants us to. We may pray to God and he may lead us to move forward, do nothing, or wait on his timing. But, when he tells us to move forward, we need to be willing to move forward, and not be too afraid because God is with us. We can choose to either listen to God, or to listen to Satan. Sometimes we hardly ever see progress in our lives because when God wants to do something we good, we have run off ten miles in the other direction.

Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 3 (TMF:593)

Wednesday, March 01, 2017
Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 3 (TMF:593) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       A good way we could define fear is to be lacking in faith, or not having faith at all. I think a good, basic illustration of this comes to us in Matthew chapter 14. If you'll remember, Jesus and the disciples had just finished with a crowd, and Jesus went up on a mountain to pray while the disciples got an early start out to sea. And a storm rose up, and the storm was giving the disciples a hard time at navigating the boat. Then Jesus came to them walking on the sea. And we read that after they had mistook him for a ghost, that Peter said to him, ““Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased” (28-33, ESV). Often we can have the same response as Peter. We see a situation in life, and God is encouraging us to do something. But we feel we can't do it because we are afraid. Satan gets us to be afraid of what others will think, or he gets us to imagine the worst possible outcome, and we believe that is what is going to happen.

Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 2 (TMF:592)

Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 2 (TMF:592) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       But how does fear work? What is Satan really doing to us by getting us to bow the knee to fear? Well, Satan uses fear to make us think that God is against us, or that we are not free in Christ to follow God’s will. He can make us oversensitive, making us fearful that God is hard to please and that we are out of his will unless we perform to perfection in our day-to-day walk. He gives us fear through cultivating a wrong view of God in our minds. If we don’t see God correctly, as we should, then Satan can have a heyday with our thoughts. Our view of God in our minds must be aligned with what God says about himself in his Word. But Satan may get us to focus on the judgment aspects of God, especially from the Old Testament, before the time of Grace, and get us to think that God is really judgmental and probably is against us. But if we have a correct understanding of God, a good understanding, then we realize that God is in fact for us, loves us, and wants to give us his goodness. He is a loving father, not a harsh, neglecting, negative, mean, or legalistic God. Remember what Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, ESV). Was Jesus hard to be around?

Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 1 (TMF:591)

Monday, February 27, 2017
Peace to Live By: Wrong Attitudes- A Fearful Mindset, Part 1 (TMF:591) - Daniel Litton
(Tap or right-click link to download two-minute feature)

       So, now that we can see that we should never give up but have hope, let us move next to talking about have a fearful attitude. First, I must admit that this is probably been one of the greatest battles in my own life, but one that I’ve seen tremendous victory in but still can work toward improvement in some areas. I am pretty familiar with fear, and I am sure that many of you are as well. The disciples—that is, the Twelve—were also acquainted with fear, as Jesus talked about in the Gospels. Remember? He told them in John chapter 14, right as he was about to go to the cross, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27c, ESV). Now, right before he said this, he told them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27ab, ESV). You see, the people of the world are full of fear, but we, as believers, can let peace rule in our hearts (see Colossians 3:15).