“Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. Delight thyself also in the LORD; And He will give thee the desires of thy heart.” (Psalm 37:3-4)

Have you ever been in one of those places where “worry” eats you up? I have. Not too proud of that, but it’s true nonetheless.  Worry is fed by fear and fear is something we are admonished over and over again to shun. But worry would disappear if we wouldn’t feed it. We feed our worries by meditating on those things that threaten us. We think about the unpaid bills, what will happen if they shut this or that down, etc.

We need to feed our faith and starve our unbelief! Take your thoughts in the opposite direction. Feed on His faithfulness and build yourself up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 1:20) Stop right now from giving anymore time to anxiety! Get out your bible and read the Scriptures aloud to yourself. I have been known to get my bible, go into the bathroom and preach to myself in the mirror! (Sometimes you just have to encourage yourself!)

I know that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach that keeps you awake at night. I know what it feels like to have creditors begin to surround you like wolves around wounded prey and there seems no way out. But there is always a way out. Just because you don’t know it, doesn’t mean there isn’t one. I believe the best way to position yourself to see the way out, is to choose to feed on His faithfulness. When you’re feeding on His faithfulness, it’s hard to feed on doubt, fear and unbelief too.

The answer may not appear immediately, but you will likely never see it as long as you are bound by worry and fear. You must lose the fear and worry first so you can see the way out and the best way I know to do that is to feed on His faithfulness.

“Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove from here to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. But this kind goes not out but by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17:19-21)

Get the picture. A man brings his convulsing son to the disciples for healing, but they could not heal him. Jesus rebukes the demon and the child is cured immediately. The disciples were puzzled. They were sure they had faith to heal the lad, but it didn’t work. Sometime earlier, Jesus had sent out the 70 and they came back with testimonies of healing and deliverance. They knew “this stuff worked”. But it didn’t this time.

How was it possible that men who had been walking with Jesus for some time now, who had seen miracles mass produced and on a frequent basis and had faith for this, would end up disappointed? If the story were to stop there, or be something that happened in your church, you might well hear that obviously it wasn’t God’s will for the child to be healed or God would have healed him. You might have heard that somehow the child who was often thrown into the fire or into water to destroy him was suffering these horrors to teach him or his parents something. How cruel and damning to suggest that! Or perhaps you might hear that the child wasn’t healed because of sin, either his or his parents. Tell me, who did Jesus ever heal that was sinless?

Fortunately, the story doesn’t stop there. We know exactly why the child was not healed, because the disciples asked Jesus directly and He responded with “Because of your unbelief”. You can have faith and unbelief at the same time. Unbelief neutralizes faith. In fact, your unbelief can neutralize the faith that Jesus has. (“And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Matt 13:58)
Now some would argue that because the child was demonized by a particularly tenacious demon that the only way it could be cast out was by prayer and fasting. I don’t think so. Jesus didn’t reply with, “The reason the child wasn’t healed was because you haven’t been praying and fasting enough.” He told them flatly it was because of their unbelief. Period.

So how do you get rid of unbelief? With prayer and fasting. And may I suggest that you not only fast food, but also everything that feeds your unbelief. That might be the fear based news media. It could be the info you get on the internet or in conversations with negative people. Fast whatever it is that feeds your unbelief. It will lose its power and your faith will have effect. To be continued…

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

I am going to confess something to you which I am not proud of. It happened 23 ½ years ago, back in February of 1986. It was my first full month in sales for a Nashville copier company. I wanted to make a good impression on my new employer and coworkers and I wanted to be a good representative of my faith in Christ. Too often, slovenly, unsuccessful, undisciplined people try to witness for Christ, but their exterior betrays them. What is on the inside usually manifests on the outside. To be completely accurate, what we firmly believe at our core is precisely what we manifest on the outside. But I digress…

In the copier business, they would have been happy with 1 or 2 sales my first month and not the least bit upset with zero sales. Once you got established by your third month, your quota was 4 units per month thereafter. I went to God and asked Him for a number of sales I could make my first month with His help that would be high enough to amaze my coworkers and give me a platform for Him, yet low enough that I could believe it possible. Yes, I believe God could arrange for someone to order 1000 copiers for delivery in some multinational company, but I didn’t for a second believe He would.  The number God and I came up with was 10 units my first full month.

By 2:00 PM on the last day of the month, I had only 8 sales. Yes, it was easily 400% of the best they had hoped for, but it was 2 sales shy of what I believed for. My wife tried to encourage me by telling me I had already set a record and suggested that I not put myself under that kind of pressure to secure two more sales in just three hours without a single prospect on the horizon. I lovingly and politely told her that I could not allow her to speak such words to me and I hung up.

Shortly after that call, a man drove by our office, pulled in and by 5:00 purchased a copier I sold him from one of my customers, who in turn had to buy a replacement, giving me a total of 10 copier sales by the end of that day. I am totally convinced that my absolute and unshakeable belief that somehow against overwhelming odds and with no prospects on the horizon, I would hit my target of 10 sales, is what triggered the events that led to the outcome and realization of that goal. It also gave me the platform where others sought out my testimony and over the next two years, led several of my coworkers to Christ.

What I am not so proud of is just how rare this kind of thing is in my life. Yes, I do have lots of stories, many of which would be thought of as miraculous, but that kind of thing is not nearly as commonplace in my life as it should be. If I don’t need a miracle, I’m probably working in the wrong field. If I do need the miraculous to accomplish the goal, but am not seeing it, I am probably not believing it will happen; only that it can happen. There’s a big difference. I am about to embark on a big expansion in my faith and I invite you to join me on my journey.

In my next posting I will explain how it’s possible to have faith and confidence in God and still not see the results you are believing for. Have a blessed day my friends.

“If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

Okay, you probably guessed it. The common denominator was faith. We’ve got to stop excusing and explaining away the bold statements Jesus made on this topic. Was He lying in Mark 9:23? Was He exaggerating? Did He really mean something else than what it clearly says?

If we can answer in the affirmative to those questions, then we are off the hook, but I can’t answer “yes” to those questions. So if the problem is not with God, then maybe the problem is with us. Oh horror of horrors. Say it’s not so Joe! But it is and the sooner we come to terms with that, the sooner we will begin to walk in the authority we know deep down inside is ours. We rationalize it away, content to live below, way below what Christ died to give us.

I am not speaking of assets here. Christ didn’t live and die to give us assets. Assets may come, but they are temporal. What does the Scripture say? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” (Eph 1:3) What exactly are those spiritual blessings? No doubt there are many, but not the least of which is the blessing of faith, which measure God has dealt to every one. (Rom 12:3)

The problem as I see it is twofold… First of all, our faith, like our muscles, rarely gets used and therefore, remains undeveloped and weak. Secondly, our faith is often mixed with unbelief (Mark 9:24). That’s like mixing dog doo doo in with a brownie. It doesn’t take much to ruin the brownie! More to come.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Phil 1:6)

I thank God that we are no surprise to Him today. He knew what He was getting when He formed us, called us, and ordained us for good works prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Eph 2:10) He knew we would not walk perfectly before Him despite our promises to the contrary. He knew exactly what He was getting when He chose us. We need to get on with it.

We tend to live such a performance oriented acceptance paradigm that makes us feel we have to earn His blessings and favor. That somehow if we kicked the dog, argued with our spouse or otherwise fell short of the mark, we would not receive His blessings. What tends to happen when we blow it is that our heart condemns us (1 John 3:20-21) and we deny ourselves the privileges God has provided. It’s not that God is holding back on us. We hold back on ourselves because we count ourselves unworthy.

To which of the people Jesus healed did He first require some proof of performance? Some proof of worthiness? Do you think the thousands of people He healed in those three and a half years were all spiritually mature and walking out their lives in an unblemished way? Of course not. There was one common denominator though. And that is the one we shall spend some time on in the coming blogs. Stay tuned tomorrow…

Today’s message is a guest entry from my good friend, David G. Johnson, founder of Epiphany Marketing.

Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” (Proverbs 22:29 AMP)

You may be one of the many skeptics who has yet to see the promotional power of social media. If so, I want to be the first to commend you: you’ve probably seen many fads come and go, and you may have even wasted significant time or money once or twice before on something that was going to be the, “next big thing.”

On the other hand, there comes a time when something has actually caught on. Radio and television were once the target of similar detractors, not to mention the “online services” that morphed into our utter dependence upon e-mail and the World Wide Web.

Is it possible to jump in too early and not see the return on your investment you’ve hoped for? Absolutely. On the other hand, with the help of someone who’s paid the price to learn how to make things work, you can avoid the expensive tuition of the school of hard knocks.

Two of my favorite examples from among my own clients who have begun to dominate their marketplace using social media are Christian parenting author, Rick Osborne, and Tom Ziglar, son of Zig Ziglar and President of Ziglar, Inc. Rick, who is worth following on Twitter and “friending” on Facebook, went through our 21st-Century marketing training program and was kind enough to pioneer translating our methods to Twitter (where he dragged me kicking and screaming). Tom Ziglar, who executed a now-famous Twitter strategy after our consulting engagement about 8 months ago, now has a consistent audience of 21,000 and counting!

“But I’m Not A Bestselling Author and My Last Name Isn’t Ziglar!”

True enough. But when you break apart the essence of the strategies that are working for them and for local businesses like the now-famous LA taco truck, there’s no reason you can’t grow your revenues, build relationships, and increase exposure for your business.

Let me assure you: this “passing fad” has become the new PR, advertising and marketing outlet of choice for those looking to achieve “bang for the buck.” The key is understanding how these environments work and how to sustainably and effectively engage them. I look forward to sharing these crucial components with you tonight!

Special Note from Michael Pink: You’re invited to join David and me tonight (Thursday, August 13th) at 9PM Eastern for “How to Dominate Your Marketplace Using Social Media.” This special educational webinar will help all of us learn how social media can be used to grow your business, and advance your message. Click here to reserve your spot right now!  Can’t make the time? Please register anyway… if a recording becomes available, you’ll be the first to find out!

Today’s message is a guest entry from my good friend, David G. Johnson, founder of Epiphany Marketing.

“In a multitude of words transgression is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is prudent.” (Proverbs 10:19 AMP)

On Monday, we introduced a topic that we can’t afford to ignore: how your business is being rated on public websites and social media environments. This is definitely an area where ignorance can be very expensive.

But it raises another important subject. Because social media is such a new phenomenon, many small businesses have stumbled into Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other similar environments without a well-developed strategy. Perhaps you’ve already begun to reap a taste of the huge potential benefits of these media — increased exposure, better communication, and certainly: bigger revenues.

But if you haven’t developed a strategy that addresses some of the potential pitfalls of social media, you or perhaps someone from your team may be setting you up for trouble. This could be anything from wasted time due to a poorly-constructed (or missing) time management strategy all the way up to lost profits or even legal liability because of a flawed (or again: missing) content strategy.

Don’t misunderstand me: I’m a huge believer in utilizing every tool that makes sense for your business in order to help you get the word out. But as with any marketing or public relations medium, a little strategic planning goes a long way and can mean the difference between huge success and huge failure.

Special Note from Michael Pink: For more help developing and honing your 21st-Century marketing strategy, join David and me tomorrow evening (Thursday, August 13th) at 9PM Eastern for “How to Dominate Your Marketplace Using Social Media.” This special educational webinar will help all of us learn how social media can be used to grow your business, and advance your message. Click here to reserve your spot right now!  Can’t make the time? Please register anyway… if a recording becomes available, you’ll be the first to find out!

Chances are, if you recognize the title of this message as being a play on Jackie Gleason’s famous line, “How sweet it is!,” then you probably feel like me that you are not the least bit interested in Tweeting or wasting your time in some kind of social media seminar.

So why are we having this event on Thursday night at 9:00 PM Eastern?  For the same reason that I got an email account when I didn’t want to do email. For the same reason that I built my first website when I really didn’t want a website.

We are doing this webinar because it is possibly the most explosive new form of reaching an audience, building a following and doing real time market research ever unleashed on mankind. And those things are absolutely essential in building any business.

Sure, most people twitter away their time, sending out worthless messages to mindless followers, but there are a growing number of established enterprises that recognize the incredible value and force that tools like Twitter and others provide. Twitter works faster than any other form of media. It is instant. It is accurate. And it is compelling.

To learn what we are doing and how you can join me as we go down this social media road, I invite you to join me and my guest, David Johnson, Thursday night at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Click here to register.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Blessings,

Michael

P.S. Reserve your spot right away… they won’t last long!

Today’s message is a guest entry from my good friend, David G. Johnson, founder of Epiphany Marketing.

“Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.” (Ecclesiastes 10:20 NKJV)

In today’s consumer-oriented, buyer-driven marketplace, many businesses still live under the illusion that they have control of their own marketing. What about yours?

Don’t misunderstand me. If you (or someone in your company) doesn’t take the initiative to develop an understanding of your marketplace, hone an effective message, and actively get that message out, it’s not going to happen by itself.

But you’re still not in control… your customer is.

Why? Because the world of today is heavily weighted in favor of the individual. Your customers and prospects choose when and where they will tolerate hearing from or about you and your business. Understanding them and their preferences and offering the right options is now more crucial than ever before.

But perhaps just as significantly: they are publishing their thoughts. And their thoughts are arguably just as likely to be heard as yours are, if not more so, particularly where it counts: where your other prospects and customers will hear about it. They “tweet,” write web-based reviews, update their “friends” on Facebook, and participate in online discussion forums.

This is why large corporations today employ teams of “brand management” people who monitor blogs and other Web 2.0 sites like YouTube, Twitter, and local search sites to proactively find out what’s being said about them so that they can address it.

Of course this means that we — whether we serve consumers or other businesses — must be as on guard as ever about what kind of service we’re providing to our customers. But it’s also why small businesses have a tremendous advantage over big companies: we can participate directly. If, that is, we know what to do, where to look, and what tools to use.

To Be Continued…

Special Note from Michael Pink: Watch your inbox and mark your calendar for this Thursday evening, August 13th… I’ve invited David to join me in a special educational webinar to help all of us learn how social media can be used to grow your business, and advance your message! You won’t want to miss it…  I’ll be sending your invitation soon!

Today’s message is a guest entry from my good friend, David G. Johnson, founder of Epiphany Marketing.

“Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors….” (Proverbs 8:1-3 NKJV)

One thing I love about this Proverb is the fact that Wisdom (personified) has a message to get out. Since that’s true, She goes to where the people are… where her voice can be heard… where she’ll have an impact.

Do You Have a Message to Get Out?

In business - regardless of whether you’re the owner, a salesperson, or someone with another job function - we cannot thrive if the message regarding our products and services doesn’t get out. Not only will we not be effective, but we won’t be profitable. And unprofitable businesses - just like unprofitable servants in the parables of Jesus - don’t last.

When you’re called to business, if you’re not effective and profitable, you will not fulfill your calling.

One of the most common questions I get asked by the businesses I work with today is whether or not social media makes sense for them. If you’re from a generation that is used to the “good old days” before the web and before e-mail, social media can be a bewildering phenomenon. It can seem like some passing fad. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, even MySpace or LinkedIn can seem like time-wasters that grab lots of attention on the news, but whose business usefulness seems dubious.

So the question becomes… what about your business? Serving your customers? Is it worthwhile to consider investing time and energy into social media?

You might be surprised to learn that these sites are quickly becoming the new communication methods of today. And while there is no “one size fits all” answer for each and every business, many companies have learned that properly utilizing social networks can have a profound impact on the bottom line. If you haven’t already done so, you need to take a serious look at how to get your message out in this new world in which we live.

The fact of the matter is that regardless of whether you’re looking to spread the gospel, impact culture, or grow your business, we must be wise in the effective communication methods of today. At the same time, of course, we must be diligent stewards of our time and resources.

I’m looking forward to sharing with you over the next few days more about social media and how you can have a bigger impact and fulfill your calling! In the meantime… if you’re already onboard, follow me on Twitter!

Special Note from Michael Pink: Mark your calendar now for next Thursday evening, August 13th… I’ve invited David to join me in a special educational webinar to help all of us learn how social media can be used to grow your business, and advance your message! You won’t want to miss it…  I’ll be sending you an invite soon!