30 December 2018
Two-Minute Features | 06 January 2019 | 23 December 2018

Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 3 (TMF:1035)

Friday, January 04, 2019
Peace to Live By: Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 3 (TMF:1035) - Daniel Litton
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       Personally, I only charge things on my credit card that I know I will be able to pay off when the statement comes. We should not racking up credit card debt, as Christians. Remember, we are supposed to examples to those around us, both saved and unsaved, in regard to self-control and our finances. If we are setting a bad example by spending too much, we are making Jesus look bad and hurting our witness. Even unbelievers may see us doing things that aren’t good, and they will think we are no different than them or anybody else. Paul told Timothy that in these last days that people would be without self-control (see 2 Timothy 3:1, 2, ESV). So, though many around us don’t have it, we should. I would also like to mention that God wants us to obviously be exercising self-control in regard to our own personal purity in our lives. Again, we are not to live like the people of this world, just doing whatever we ‘feel’ we want to do in regard to our sexuality.

Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 2 (TMF:1034)

Thursday, January 03, 2019
Peace to Live By: Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 2 (TMF:1034) - Daniel Litton
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       For folks who feel they cannot handle a credit card, they should not have one. A lack of self-control and wise decision-making can lead to pain and unnecessary burden down the road. You don’t have to have a large house just because all your friends do. If renting is better for you due to your financial situation, you should rent. You don’t have to have a new car just because a lot of other people buy new cars. We should not keep our spending at a proper level with what we can afford. Personally, I only charge things on my credit card that I know I will be able to pay off when the statement comes. We should not racking up credit card debt, as Christians. Remember, we are supposed to examples to those around us, both saved and unsaved, in regard to self-control and our finances. If we are setting a bad example by spending too much, we are making Jesus look bad and hurting our witness. Even unbelievers may see us doing things that aren’t good, and they will think we are no different than them or anybody else.

Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 1 (TMF:1033)

Wednesday, January 02, 2019
Peace to Live By: Dealing with Money & Self-Control, Part 1 (TMF:1033) - Daniel Litton
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       In discussing self-control, as James just mentioned, money is often a big problem for certain people. A lot of people have trouble keeping proper boundaries and restrictions on how much they spend. They will see others with things and want the same things. People often too want to ‘keep up’ with others, as if they were competing in a competition with them. These people have not learned proper discipline in regard to money and spending it, and it has resulted in big problems for them in their lives. For instance, some folks just cannot handle credit cards. They just want to keep buying things, charging them on their credit card, without taking into account how much they are spending over time. Some people don’t properly calculate the cost of paying a mortgage for a large house they want to buy, and don’t properly calculate the costs associated with living in that large home, or in that area of town. Jesus wants us to be wise in these types of decisions, and wants us to exercise self-control in regard to our finances.

Feelings & Self-Control Go Hand-in-Hand (TMF:1032)

Tuesday, January 01, 2019
Peace to Live By: Feelings & Self-Control Go Hand-in-Hand (TMF:1032) - Daniel Litton
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       Feelings and self-control often go hand-in-hand. When we let our feelings make decisions for us, we make incorrect decisions. However, when we follow what we know is right according to God’s Word and according to our hearts, we go the right way, and we have successes in life. We all know, at least if you’ll stop and think about it, that your emotions within you change frequently. You can be feeling a certain way about a specific thing, and then two-hours later be feeling a totally different way about it. So, we have to be careful not to follow our ‘feelings’ but stay firm on steady ground. James has told us the following: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:1-4, ESV). We are to follow what we know is right and not sinful passions within us.

Our Faith Tested Develops Our Self-Control (TMF:1031)

Monday, December 31, 2018
Peace to Live By: Our Faith Tested Develops Our Self-Control (TMF:1031) - Daniel Litton
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       However, just because a difficulty or trial may have entered into your life, this does not mean God is punishing you. Quite the opposite. We have to have our faith put to the test so that we will further develop our self-control. If nothing bad or nothing challenging ever happened, we would not grow, but really we would regress backwards in our Christian character. We cannot just have easy lives all the time. There will be times when things are easy for us and exactly the way we want them to be, but there will also be times when that is not true. James has taught us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4, ESV). Steadfastness relates to self-control. We cannot be firm in our beliefs and stand firm if we don’t have faith and exercise self-control in our thoughts and emotions.