Quote of the day (31st August, 2015)

“Marketing is not something you do to people, it’s something you do for people. Marketing is the service of helping people make the best possible decision.” – George Silverman

A surefire way to avoid annoying your audience

Public speaking is, at its very essence, standing in front of a group and expecting them to silently listen to what you have to say. So you can see how an audience who is attempting to follow your every word might find certain tics annoying. Ziglar presents excellent advice for how to avoid annoying your audience during an interview with John Hayes, transcribed in Hayes’ book Successful Persuasion Through Public Speaking.

Click here to continue.

Credit – Ziglar Vault

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (31st August, 2015)

August 31, 2015

DON’T FORGET

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Deuteronomy 8:11-20

…and thou forget the L O R D … w h i c h brought thee forth…

God warned the children of Israel against forgetfulness.Christians fall away from Christ because they forget where they came from. They forget that their source is Christ. Don’t ever forget that it is Christ who brought you to your position, and blessed you.

Many of us have forgotten who we used to be. We have forgotten what it was like to have a hangover in the morning. We have forgotten what it was like to have your different girlfriends “clashing”. We have forgotten the fear of not knowing whether you have contracted gonorrhoea or AIDS.

Let us remember where the Lord brought us from. When we bought our first church building, we were all so excited.We marched from the Korle-Bu Hospital in Accra, to our new headquarters location, amidst singing and dancing. The building was an old cinema that we rebuilt into a beautiful cathedral. Indeed, we played before the Lord. Somebody who watched me later on video laughed and commented: “It seems that old cinema hall meant a lot to you.” I replied, “You don’t know where the Lord has brought me from. I have not forgotten, and I do not intend to forget.”

I always try to remember why I came into the ministry. Why did I leave the respected practice of medicine to come into the often controversial and ridiculed job of being a pastor? My original motivation was to win souls. I keep that at the forefront of my mind and I keep pressing on to win more souls.

Quote of the day (30th August, 2015)

“A goal should scare you a little, and excite you a lot.” – Dr. Joe Vitale

Moral lesson forever (30th August, 2015)

Let’s Not Jump To Conclusion Too Quickly

“My boss drove a luxury car everyday and it was my duty to greet him and to open the gates for him, as I worked as a watchman in his villa. But he never responded back to my greetings.
One day he saw me opening the garbage bags outside the villa in search for any leftover food. But, as usual he never even looked at me, it was like as if he never saw anything!
The very next day I saw a paper bag at the same place, but it was clean and the food inside was covered well. It was fresh and good food like someone had just brought it from the supermarket. I didn’t bother as to where it came from, I just took the paper bag and I was so happy about it.
Every day I found this paper bag at the same place with fresh vegetables and all that we needed for home. This became my daily routine. I was eating and sharing this food with my wife and kids. I was wondering who this fool could be?! To forget his paper bag full of fresh food everyday.
One day there was a big problem in the villa and I was told that my boss has died. There were too many guests coming to the villa that day and I didn’t get any food that day, so I thought that one of the guests must have taken it. But the same thing happened the 2nd day, the 3rd day and the 4th day.
It went on like this for a few weeks and I found it difficult to provide food for my family, so I decided to ask the wife of my boss for a raise in my salary or else I would quit my job as a watchman.
After I told her, she was shocked, and asked me, how come you never complained about your salary for the last 2 years? And why is this salary not enough for you now? I gave her so many excuses but she was never convinced!
Finally in the end, I decided to tell her the truth, I told her the entire story of the bag of groceries, and as to how it was my daily provision. She then asked me as to when this stopped? I told her after the death of her husband. And then I realized that I stopped seeing the paper bag immediately after the death of my boss. Why didn’t I ever think of this before? That it was my boss who was providing this for me? I guess it was because I never thought that a person who never replied to my greetings could ever be this generous!
His wife started to cry and I told her to please stop crying and that I’m really sorry that I asked for a raise, I didn’t know that it was your husband who was providing me with the meals, I’ll remain as a watchman and be happy to provide my service.
His wife told me, I’m crying because I’ve finally found the 7th person my husband was giving this bag full of food. I knew my husband was giving 7 people everyday, I had already found the 6 people, and all these days I was searching for the 7th person. And today I found out.
From that day onwards, I started to receive the bag full of food again, but this time his son was bringing it to my house and giving it to my hand. But whenever I thanked him, he never replied! Just like his dad!
One day, I told him THANK YOU in a very loud voice! He replied back to me to please not be offended when he doesn’t reply, because he has a hearing problem, just like his dad!”

Oh! We have been wrong so many times judging others without knowing the true story behind their actions. Be kind and courteous in dealing with others, for everyone is fighting a hard battle. Be careful, not everything is about you. Before you assume, there is this thing called ASKING.

Don’t just jump to conclusion, because that is truly not an exercise, it may cause you more harm at the end of the day. Many of our problems are caused by how we process what happens around us. Don’t judge a situation you have never been in. Be humble enough to learn. You do not know it all. Let’s change the way we feel about ourselves and others.

There are two sides to a story:
1. Don’t believe everything you hear.
2. Everyone you meet in life is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Dedicated to  Cindy

Bible Perspectives

I’m surprised we wrongly accept Christ.

Click here to read more

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (30th August, 2015)

August 30, 2015

REMEMBER!

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Deuteronomy 8:10-14

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness…

Deuteronomy 8:2

The Lord took the Israelites out of Egypt and warned them against forgetting all that He had done for them. It is important to remember your mother and your father. Remember the provision they made for you. You must remember who helped you to go to school and who put food on your plate for many years.

It is important to remember those who inspired, motivated and influenced you. Remember your teachers. One of the first tenets of the physicians’s oath enjoins doctors to remember their teachers. Remembrance is important in every sphere of life. A good leader remembers the one who believed in him when he was nothing. A good leader remembers the one who helped him financially, and advised him. When leaders forget, they often become rebellious. Pastors who have bad memories often do not preach well because they cannot give testimonies of what God has done.

A leader who has a bad memory lacks true compassion. He cannot remember where he came from. When he sees someone in the same state he had been in a few years before, he cannot relate with the person. This is unfortunate! The Bible teaches us that God brings us through situations so that we will be able to help others one day (2 Corinthians 1:6).

A dangerous feature of a leader with a bad memory is that he may mock those who once helped him. He may even despise those below him.

Quote of the day (29th August, 2015)

“Being a professional means doing your job on the days you don’t feel like doing it.” – David Halberstra

Your daily devotional by Dag Heward-Mills (29th August, 2015)

August 29, 2015

MAKE HASTE

Dag Heward-Mills

READ: Matthew 24:33-44

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Matthew 24:44

The world is truly amused when we say that Christ is coming soon. They think it is a theory cooked up by some deranged people.

On the other hand, some Christians know that Christ’s second coming is a reality, but they think that it won’t happen very soon. They forget that Christ’s coming will be a very unexpected event. “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Jesus compares His coming to that of a thief. No one expects a thief. The whole world will be very surprised when Jesus comes again.

A pregnant woman who is due, might be all right one moment, and the next moment, go into labour. Severe pain will strike her and a baby will be born. So will the coming of the Lord be. Everything will be all right one day and the next, total chaos in the world.

Many of you have taken God’s grace period of repentance for granted. The grace period has rather become more time to play the “fool”. This is how backsliders think. I have more time! I have much more time!!

You may be planning to have your grand wedding but it may never come on. Perhaps, those who are in school may never complete their courses. The trumpet will suddenly sound, and those of us who are washed in the blood of the Lamb, and ready for the Saviour would be caught up in the clouds to be with Him forever.

Quote of the day (28th August, 2015)

“The world is big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” – John Muir