SUCCESSFUL SALESMANSHIP

+ ONE—Some products are successful simply because they are so good that they sell, regardless of the salesman or salesmanship.

+ TWO—Some products are successful because the salesmanship is just too good to pass it up.

+ THREE—Some products are successful because the salesmanship is just so relentlessly repetitive, that people believe it and repeat it and buy into it whether it’s true or not.

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Successful salesmanship apples to marketing physical products.

Successful salesmanship applies to marketing ideas and cultural values as well.

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++ ONE—‘The Old School’ was a package of information, values, skills, and beliefs that families and communities accepted as a given and committed to passing on intact to the next generation. Whether they had the best techniques or not (salesmanship), everyone involved would do their part to make sure children behaved and believed and grew up to maintain what mattered.

++ TWO—Cool and clever commercials work because they catch us and we remember them. People buy the products whether they live up to the commercials or not. Campaign slogans use tried and true phrases that win elections whether the truth was told or not. Some televangelists and prosperity preachers perfect the presentation of cool, and right or wrong, the money pours in.

++ THREE—The power of evil government officials and the ‘fourth branch of the government’, the media, combine to prove once again that if you tell a lie enough times, people believe it.

GLOBALISM AND THE CHURCH – or – GLOBALISM VS THE CHURCH

Rick Warren (labeled ‘America’s Pastor’) took the American church by storm with his runaway bestseller, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE.

Very few criticisms, if any.

And his church is the biggest in the Southern Baptist denomination.

I had reservations then, but he did include a lot of Bible verses.

Now, sadly, truth comes out, and reality crashes in all over the American church, including Rick Warren.

So many churches, leaders, ‘Christians’ are wavering and compromising with the culture in the country and the “reset” goal around the globe.

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Five minutes ago I heard a quote on American Family Radio (afr.net) on the program “Understanding The Times.”

“Globalism will only be possible if the American church goes along with it.”

Rick Warren said that at a recent meeting of the World Economic Forum—a speaker by invitation—a group organizing one-world government—a goal with one obstacle in their path, the Christian church.

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All I have to offer in return is this Bible verse:

“Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

(2) FATHER, SON, HOLY SPIRIT

Read and listen to everything God tells us about Himself.

Open your “. . . heart and mind and soul and spirit”* “to trust in the Lord with ALL your . . .”* as you read and listen.

Open mind—without “leaning on your own understanding”* (or someone else’s).

Practice not fitting in words that man has added, that try to explain God better than He explains Himself.

Then, “I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”*

*Combining the Bible verses: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and mind and soul and spirit, without leaning on anyone’s understanding, and God will show you stuff you need to know, and understand, and do.

ANTI-SLAVERY – – – TO – – – DEMONIC

Major change in America.

What happened?

What results?

– – –

+Slavery out

+Evolution in

+Bible out

+Ten Commandments out

+Prayer out

+Abortion in

+Crime in

+Leadership out

+Politicians in

+Statesmen out

+Morality out

+LGBT in

+Aimlessness in

What caused what in the above?

How did it get started?

Why didn’t the church—Christians—stop, prevent, all the mess of today?

Is there an unspoken, unidentified development that got us on this wrong road to disaster?

A few words of warning, explanation, from history—from the God of history—to His people Israel.

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.  Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God.  Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of slavery.”

“Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

– – –

That is the story of the American church, and American Christians. We have become rich and satisfied with God’s extraordinary blessings on this country. We have become proud of what we have, and have forgotten God. We have become focused on money and what it can buy. We have become servants of mammon, and don’t realize it.

It is the most impossible idolatry to repent of. It is impossible to be salt and light in the decaying and darkening culture. It is impossible to break free of total investment in “treasures on earth.”

FU – – – LU – – – SHU

They say there are Chinese gods you can buy—to get what everybody wants:

+FU—gods for Peace

+LU—gods for Success

+SHU—gods for Longevity

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I heard about this from Allister Begg on American Family Radio (afr.net)—“You can buy them on the airline, if you’re gullible enough to spend $150.”

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Would we be so naive to actually buy something so ridiculous?

Actually, yes, we would—we are.

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For Peace—People spend lots of money on insurance to ‘buy peace’ against loss of stuff.

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For Success—People earn lots of money and invest in portfolios to ‘show success.’

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For Longevity—People sacrifice to accumulate/save/stash/preserve for retirement, to somehow ‘enhance longevity.’

THE WORD IN SONG

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”—–Colossians 3:16

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That verse can be used well to direct and evaluate church music, and all corporate worship—in fact, everything we do in the “assembling of ourselves together.”

– – –

Study the verse above slowly and carefully.

It’s all about THE WORD in us so rich and so deep, that everything flows from and reveals our time spent in His Word.

– – –

Music is to “teach and admonish” from “the Word of Christ.”

– – –

In fact, the ONE ingredient, and measurement, of a Christian’s life, and a church’s life, is daily time in the Bible.

It is the universal ‘just do it’ for any Jesus follower.

OLD [NEW] YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Just a few comments, not necessarily profound, except for the one verse from His Book.

Words matter.

Words count.

Words can make us feel good, or bad.

Oldest cliche—doesn’t cut it, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

– – –

Words reveal what’s inside—good or bad.

“Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.”—–His Book

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Can our words change our heart?

Can our words change our actions?

– – –

Words are words.

Action is more.

Second oldest cliche, “Actions speak louder than words.”

– – –

Is New Years Day just another day, or a meaningful opportunity for what we need or want to be different?

New Year’s Resolutions—words we say to change our life.

Is it possible for a New Year’s Resolution to change our life?

– – –

Perhaps the value in New Year’s Resolutions is hope—commitment in anticipation of something better.

– – –

Consider your own words from day to day—when do they result in change—when do they waste time and energy?

I would like for this to be my New Year’s Resolution:

“I pledge to talk only about something I will do, today.”

THE FUSE IS LIT

The end is near—the end of the fuse, that is.

– – –

A fuse is designed—and a fuse is lit—to make something significant, something very noticeable, happen when the fuse burns to the end.

Most fuses are designed to burn fast.

Most fuses are not stopped once they are lit, even if they could be.

– – –

Some fuses ignite something harmless, for entertainment or celebration or inspiration.

Many fuses ignite something dangerous and destructive.

Most of these are secretive, with the element of surprise to increase the impact.

Sometimes the secret is discovered, and the fuse is de-fused.

– – –

And then there are times when the fuse is lit, and it is known, and it is also known where the fuse leads, and the inevitable, pending devastation can be known—and it could be stopped—and the clear warnings are ignored ! ! !

– – –

Wait a minute—how can this be—in what kind of world would ominous disaster intentionally be ignored?

Answer: In world where those in power, ostensibly there by the will of the people, orchestrate the very plan for destruction of everything good.

They themselves expect to survive.

How can that happen?

Answer: When all that is good is gone, only evil remains, and the evil people reveal their true identity.

– – –

– – –

And, this is happening now, in real time, right before our eyes, with historical outcome a certainty.

This fuse could have been stopped—could be stopped now.

But this fuse has branched and ignited unknown numbers of additional fuses.

No will exists to stop the fuse, by anyone who could.

It is very difficult, or impossible, to stop the additional fuses burning all over, and they are all getting very close to their detonation targets.

– – –

Question: Why isn’t anything blowing up yet?

Answer: Waiting for the maximum impact with the maximum number of targets.

– – –

– – –

Now, review all the above in the reality of the invasion at the U S border.

Re-read the above, and match the analogies between past history (nazism, communism, socialism) and present history playing out in reruns, RIGHT HERE !

TRINITY ? – – – BE HONEST, FOR ONCE

From now on, every time you hear a preacher or teacher mention or expound on ‘the trinity’, stop and honestly ask yourself this question:

“What did those words actually do for my faith and my relationship with God?”

– – –

Some followup questions:

+”Is it not perhaps true that ‘trinity’, and all the language that goes with it, does more for the theologian than the layman?”

+”Just exactly where did those comments come from?—from the Bible?”

+”Did the comments match Bible words, and make them more clear?”

+Ask the speaker, “Would you explain what you just said about ‘the trinity’?” (Then ask the above questions again, after the response.)

+”Have we ‘always done it (said it) this way’—really?—or maybe not, like not in the Bible?”

+”Have we gotten so ‘used to’ the ‘trinity’ wording that nobody ever questions it?”

+”What happens if anyone does question the universal use of ‘the trinity’?”

– – –

– – –

Danger—church teaching can become more sacred than Scripture.

PIONEERS AND US (8)

We are slaves to insurance and retirement portfolios.

We work harder to spend more money on intangibles—something that ‘might happen’, and someday that ‘might come’.

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Pioneers didn’t have these—they didn’t even think about it.

They worked hard to eat, and to buy things to use immediately to sustain life, and possibly make life better now.

‘Someday’ did not rob them of time for family, today.