BLESSED is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
May 2016 - Page 2 of 3 - GraceAndWorks
Do not love the world or things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
I WAITED patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth–Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.
When I was a sales manager, I taught different types of closing techniques. One of my favorites is Alternative of Choice. I want to relate a story to you to show what I mean.
Back in the 1970’s when I lived in Sidney, Ne., I had a friend that was a car salesman. Here’s what he did when a customer would walk in: He would greet them and visit with them enough to make them feel comfortable. Then he started asking Alternate of Choice questions. Do you want a full size, mid size or compact? Do you want a two door or a four door? Do you want a dark, medium or light color? Do you want vinyl or cloth interior? Do you want a V6 or a V8 engine? As you can see, the customer was making choices that were suggested by someone else. At no time was there a choice given to say they didn’t want the car. Once all the initial criteria was gathered, he would go get the keys to the car best suited to what the customer wanted. On the north side of Sidney, there was a butte that overlooked the city. He would hand the customer the keys to the car and have them drive to the top of the butte. There he would have them get out of the car and stand beside it. He then would take their picture overlooking the city with them standing by the new car. He would now have them drive back to the dealership and take them into his office. He would sit them down and put the picture on the desk between them and tell them how great they looked with their new car. (They were done at this point) Next he would put all the numbers together so they were pleased with the price. When it came to paying for the car, the first question was: Do you want to pay cash or do you want financing? If it was financing, Do you want 36, 48 or 60 months? Once again the choice being made was given by someone else and there was no place to say they didn’t want the car. That folks is the art of sales and using the Alternate of Choice technique to it’s fullest. Husband and wife are out shopping and she tries on two dresses, a blue one and a green one. Question to hubby–should I keep the blue one or the green one. (Alternate of Choice used again)
What about when it comes to God? Do we have choices we can make? Or is it all God’s way? YES we make choices–God created us so we can. Here’s what God wants: Repent and be baptized, believe and be baptized, obey my commands and I’ll prepare for you a place, love your brother, don’t forsake the assembly of saints, commune with Him every week, and list goes on. As you see God wants the best for us. Here’s some of what Satin wants: Murderers, adulterers, drunks, druggies, disobedience toward God, homosexuals, and the list goes on. We have a choice to make every day in life–do we do it God’s way or do we do it Satin’s way? This is the same as we talked about before–Alternate of Choice and no way to say we don’t want either one. The choice here is, are we going to choose Satin and spend eternity with him or do we choose God and spend eternity in Heaven with Him? It’s YOUR choice!! Make it a wise one.
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort. According to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I might live; For Your law is my delight.
My son, keep sound wisdom and discretion; let them not escape from your sight, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely and your foot will not stumble.
Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.
We have all been told “Good Luck” many times. Going for an interview for a new job–“Good Luck”, looking for a new house–“Good Luck”, getting married–“Good Luck” and it goes on and on. But what does it REALLY mean to have “Good Luck?” It’s been said luck is what you make of it.
Luck by definition: A force that brings good fortune or adversity. Being lucky means: Fortuitous, Having good luck, Happening by chance. So–What is “Good Luck?”
Opportunity by definition: Suitable or convenient for a particular occurrence. A favorable juncture of circumstances; a good chance for advancement or progress. Now draw a horizontal line on a piece of paper.
Prepare by definition: To make ready; to procure as suitable or necessary; PROVIDE; To get ready, to arrange things in readiness. Preparation is the action or process of making something ready for use or service. Now draw a vertical line on the paper, intersecting the horizontal line.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. the conviction of things not seen. For this article I want to narrow this to faith in oneself. You have the horizontal and vertical lines intersecting, now draw a circle around the intersection, we’ll call that a dome and that dome is faith in yourself.
Where opportunity intersects with preparation, we’ll call that “Good Luck.” You see, if you are prepared, and an opportunity shows itself, “Good Luck” is created. If you are not prepared, you can’t take advantage of an opportunity.
Now for “Luck is what you make of it”, let’s take that intersection of preparation and opportunity and put the dome over it, so now we have an all encompassing faith covering the opportunities we can take advantage of. The conclusion is, “Luck” had nothing to do with what happens to you, you have full control. Are you prepared and do you have the faith to take advantage of the opportunities of life?
I want to take a look at some examples God gives us to help make more sense of this. Jeremiah was summoned by God at an early age to give a speech later on in his life. He told God he was too young. God put the words, to be said, in Jeremiah’s mouth. God prepared him, so when the opportunity came to give the speech, Jeremiah had no problems. What really carried him was his overall faith in God. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self = Success.
God went to Noah to build an ark. God gave Noah the exact plan of what He wanted Noah to do. Noah had an opportunity and God prepared him, then Noah’s faith covered the rest. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self = Success.
When Christ’s church was established on the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the multitudes. God had prepared Peter on what to say and when the opportunity showed, Peter was able to succeed. The multitudes asked, “What shall we do?” Peter said, “Repent AND be Baptized’, and 3000 souls were saved that day. Preparation + Opportunity + Faith In Self = Success.
The whole point of this story is for you/me to always have Faith in ourselves and be prepared for what ever situation we find ourselves in and be able to take advantage of any opportunity. God will give us the Faith we need. God has given us His written Word to prepare us. Now we can take advantage of the opportunity, which is Heaven.
When someone says, “Good Luck” to you, you now know what it means!! Peter didn’t need it, Noah didn’t need it, Jeremiah didn’t need it and you certainly don’t need it.
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