E-Trade, GEICO Insurance, Verizon Wireless, and many other companies are making huge impacts in their markets because they have mastered marketing themselves to America through a well crafted message. They have an audience for their products and services because they have the ears and eyes of their audience. People want to see and hear their commercials because they are quirky and memorable. They have the basic substance of what they do yet a catchy idea that they revolve their services and product information around to let the audience know how it’s relative to them.

When I think of Verizon Wireless I see a guy with black glasses standing in the middle of a tunnel saying, “Can you hear me now?” This has effectively signed up customers to use their wireless services because this guy went to every place in the world where cell phone service is bad and with Verizon can talk clearly without dropping calls.

When I think of GEICO Insurance I know if I wanted to change to them it would be easy because, “It’s so easy, even a caveman can do it.” I know that I have a chance of saving 15% or more by switching from my current provider to GEICO insurance. You know why I know this? Because a green Gecko Lizard told me!

When I think of E-Trade I see the baby in the high chair talking about trades, stocks and investments. I know that if I want to trade stocks easily then I can go to E-Trade. Why? Because they have a baby as the spokesperson! This says it’s so easy a baby can even do it. “Next time try reading the rules shankapotomus!”

I don’t have any vested interest in any of these companies yet I know there slogans and services because they have created well crafted messages informing their audience of who they are and what they can do for them. I bring this up because the business world is doing a great job communicating their message to their audiences yet the church world is failing in communicating their message to their audiences!

Businesses are utilizing humor, quirky campaigns, spokespeople, imaginative characters, slogans, catchy phrases, and memorable jingles all for the sole purpose to burn their brand image into the eyes, ears and hearts of their audience. They are successfully exposing the need of the consumer and providing the solutions through their services. Now their services may not be the best in their industry. They may have a lesser quality product, a sloppier process and weaker benefits but they are gaining new clients everyday over companies that have better quality, a smoother process and stronger benefits simply because they have mastered marketing their message effectively.

These businesses asked themselves these simple questions in order to discover the needs of there potential client base.

• What is the message we want people to hear?
• Why would you want to do business with us?
• What do we have that you want or need?
• What do we offer that you won’t get anywhere else?

Once they had these answers they then creatively answered these questions through brilliant yet simple marketing.

As a church, ministry or any non-profit Christ centered organization we hold within our hands the greatest potential, the most relative message and the most common solution to all of humanities needs, yet we struggle to market the message effectively. As the CEO, Pastor or Leader of your organization, ministry or church ask yourselves these simple questions to re-evaluate whether you’re still aiming your efforts, programs, outreaches and messages to the needs of your potential client base.

• What is the message we want people to hear?
• Why would you want to partner, support or become a member with us?
• What do we have that you want or need?
• What do we offer that you won’t get anywhere else?

Once you have these answers, now creatively market your message to focus on meeting these needs.

Too many times we come up with ideas, projects, dreams and goals and we get ready to go after them, we aim our sights at life including them and we continue to aim, and we get ready some more and we aim again, and we get ready a little more, we prepare and aim, but we never FIRE!

One of the biggest troubles with following after your ideas, projects, desires, goals and dreams is pulling the trigger to step out and fire.

“Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” — Frederick Wilcox

We will have to take the step forward if we ever want to make forward progress!

A moving vehicle will make it to the exit. If we are pulled over to the shoulder and we see the exit we want to get off at but we never accelerate and move forward we’ll never reach the destination we intend to get to. Step out in faith and go after your dreams!

The Spirit of Faith

1 Thessalonians 5:23 (New Living Translation)

²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

We are a spirit we possess a soul and live in a body!

“We’re not just human beings having a temporary spiritual experience. But we’re spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.”
- Teilhard de Chardin, French Priest

We live in a natural world which our natural bodies constantly and overwhelmingly contact at all times.

Due to the constant contact that we have with it we can be very consumed and distracted from the reality of the spiritual world.

Your flesh is continually starving for attention!

It wants to be fed, noticed, and pampered!

It wants to look in shape and not like a shape!

It wants nice hair, with streaks, highlights and tips.

Your flesh wants food and it wants it now.

Your flesh is selfish and only wants to satisfy itself.

It’s lazy and if you live life being led by the cravings of your flesh you are destined to destruction!

Galatians 5:19-21 (The Message)

 ^19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

These are the results of life after the flesh.

Naturally we have a physical father.

However, we are children of GOD. He Is our Heavenly Father.

Heb 12:9

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

KJV

We are Spirit beings!!!

John 3:5-6

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

KJV    

The spirit of God comes and makes his residence on the inside of us.

1 Cor 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

NKJV

John 4:23-24

23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

KJV

We need to remind ourselves that we are spirit beings. Conscious of the spirit and fully aware of the eternal spiritual world that in reality is the source of this temporary world.

You are a three part being you are a spirit, you live in a body and you possess a soul.

The real you is your spirit being.

The things of the spirit are more real than the things of this natural realm.

The more conscious you are of God, His Holy Spirit and your human spirit, the more sensitive you will be to allow His spirit to lead you.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (King James Version)

 ⁹But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

 ¹⁰But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

 ¹¹For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

 ¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

John 6:63-64

63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. NKJV

We have been set free from the spiritual chains of prison. God gave us the freedom to be who we really are on the inside.

We’ve been set free. And who the son has set free, spiritually, is free in deed physically!!!!!

 Galatians 5:13, 16 (King James Version)

 ¹³For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

We are spiritually alive. We have the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the faith to believe all that the spirit of God has for us.

Ephesians tells us that we who were once dead (spiritually) in our sins and trespasses have been made alive (spiritually) in Christ!!!

Our spirits are the source and vitality of our Christian Lives!!!!

They are the batteries that charge our lives with unseen, unlimited, total power and strength!

Proverbs 18:14 (King James Version)

 ¹⁴The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?

Proverbs 18:14 (The Message)

¹⁴ A healthy spirit conquers adversity,
   but what can you do when the spirit is crushed?

Proverbs 18:14 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁴ The strong spirit of a man sustains him in bodily pain or trouble, but a weak and broken spirit who can raise up or bear?

With all this being said, this is why our faith has nothing to do with this natural world.

Our faith is supernatural. It is something that is spiritual and changes the natural world we live in.

2 Corinthians 4:13 (King James Version)

¹³We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

The same spirit of Faith!!!!

That Moses had when he led Israel and trusted God to provide the deliverance for them.

That Abraham had when he took Isaac to the top of the mountain to offer him to the Lord and God provided a ram in the thicket.

That David had when he took on the Giant and defeated him publicly!

That Paul had when he traveled through out the many regions preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

That Peter had the day He preached to 3,000 on the day of Pentecost!

That Jesus had as he walked on this earth and performed every miracle and healed every sickness he came in contact with!

We have this same spirit of faith to empower us to live our lives as a believer in Christ on this earth, with our families, in our businesses and to the world!

Walk in confidence today knowing that He who is in us is Greater than he who is in the world!

We got something on the inside that we need to allow to start working more and more on the outside to show and tell this world that our God is Alive, ready and willing to make a difference in their lives today! Amen!!!!

1 John 4:19 (King James Version) 

¹⁹We love him, because he first loved us. 

The very motive of God, the very purpose of God, the exact substance and make up of God is LOVE. Everything he has and everything he is contains love, because that is what he is! 

 1 John 4:16 (King James Version) ¹⁶And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 

This is WHO HE IS! God is Love 

This is incredible! It doesn’t say anywhere in the bible that God is POWER, God is FAITH, or God is HOPE! No God is Love!!!! This is the very motivating quality and characteristic that determines every action of Almighty God. His Mercy! His Grace! His Salvation! His Way of doing things! His judgment! Everything is motivated by the overwhelming consistency and source of God’s Love.  This is why He loves us soooooooooo much! 

His Love is Equal!  There are no favorites with Him. Everyone is His child and everyone will have fair treatment and access to the presence, truth and realities f God! Numerous Scriptures testify to the fact that God is not a respecter of persons.  God loves you as much as any person that has ever lived!  There is a tendency to think that God loves others more, but He loves you with an everlasting love!  I like what one person wrote: 

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. 

If God had a wallet, your photo would be in it. 

If God had a computer your picture would be the wallpaper. 

God sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. 

When you want to talk, He’ll listen. 

He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. 

And that Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem? What a gift! 

Face it friend, He’s crazy about you. 

He loves you and cares for you in every way! He saw your end and realized the gravity and terrible consequence of your sin that he made sure he would protect you and save you through providing a way of salvation and safety for everyone of us to live life in. He saw our condition and temporary frailties and made a decision, followed up with it and prescribed an action of love for the cure! 

John 3:16 (King James Version) ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

John 3:16 (The Message) ^16-18“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. 

The love that God shows is so much deeper than empty words and fake “I love Yous!” He provided the greatest sacrifice of love for us to be saved! 

A MOST BEAUTIFUL MOTHER  

One day as a little girl watched her mother working around the house she asked, “Why do you have a scar across your face the other mothers I know don’t?” 

Her mother answered with this story. “One day when you were very little a neighbor called me over to her house to answer a phone call. I left you in your crib because I knew I would be back soon. The phone call lasted longer than I had thought and when I returned there was smoke pouring out of the house. A fire started because of a short circuit in the breaker panel. The people that were there tried to keep me from going inside but I broke away from them. I ran into your bedroom, wrapped a blanket around you and rushed for the outside. Just as I got to the door a blazing timber fell and struck me across the face. That’s how my face came to be this way.” 

With that the little girl threw her arms around her mother, gave her a big hug and kissed her. “Mommy, you are the most beautiful mother in the whole world. I’m so glad you are my mother.” 

Jesus Christ while on Calvary’s hill rushed into the fires of Hell and rescued you from Hell. How can you not say, “Jesus, you are the most beautiful of all. I’m so glad you are my Lord.” 

He loved us while we were yet sinners! Enemies! Haters of God! 

Romans 5:6-10 ⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. ⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. ¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

This love is not like the worlds love. This is an unselfish love. This is not a selfish, what’s in it for me and what can I get out of this love! This love is unconditional! There is nothing you can to do make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love you less! His love is Unconditional, Impartial, Everlasting, Infinite, Perfect! This love is merciful, forgiving, never keeping any record of wrong towards us or any else! This love is supernatural and available for us to receive right now. 

The motive of something or someone one is: something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc. It is the goal or object of a person’s actions. It is the answer to why the act is being acted on. 

What motivates God to love us? So we could love Him back in truth and in action as well as in word! 

1 John 4:19 (King James Version) ¹⁹We love him, because he first loved us. 

How good does that make you feel? God is on our side! He loves us far greater than any person, any pet and any thing can! 

He came to us where we are to save us! We are freely given this new life in Christ through faith in Him and the work that was completed on Calvary for us! 

He never changes His mind towards us either! His love stabilizes and anchors His goodness and forgiveness towards every one of us.  

“Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.” 

C.S. Lewis  

“God’s Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. God’s Love still stands when all else has fallen.” 

It will never fail! When you truly allow His love to reach you! To breakthrough every or any wall around you and your life, you will be drastically changed for good! He is love and He always loves no matter how bad, disobedient and ungrateful we may be! His love is so faithful! It’s his love that allows the rain to fall on the just and the unjust! It’s his love that holds this world together! It’s His love that shapes us, forms us and impacts us!   

“God loves us the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us the way He found us” 

The motive of love is you! You are why he loves! You are why he sent Christ to pay the ultimate price for all humanity!  

Walk in this same love: 

Ephesians 5:1-2 (King James Version) ¹Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 

²And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 

1 John 4:20-21 (The Message) ^20-21If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. 

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

The same stuff that He has and He is, is now in us, in me, in you. It is natural to love them that love us, but it is supernatural to love them that hate us. 

Start stirring it up through action! Use it. Be it. Live it! Make a difference! This love is the ultimate difference maker in anyone’s life it touches! 

Be selfless! Sacrifice your will and your way to help add value, and give someone else the advantage whether it benefits you or not! Allow what God has changed you with to be the very thing that changes your friends, your family, your youth group, your church, your school, your town, your state, your country and your world! The motive of God’s love is YOU! The Motive of God’s love is them!

Carson did in fact use the joke in a monologue stating, “You know what’s disappearing from the supermarket shelves? Toilet paper. There’s an acute shortage of toilet paper in the United States.” 

Much to the amazement of not only the show but of toilet paper factories across America, 20 million people that watched the Carson show that evening ran out in the morning and bought as much toilet paper as they could carry. By noon on December 20, 1973, practically every store in America was out of stock. Many of the stores tried to ration this valuable paper but they could not keep up with the demand no matter what they did.

A few nights later, Johnny Carson explained there was no shortage and he apologized to his viewers. However, this did not help with the scare. As soon as people noticed the empty shelves, they wanted this paper even more.

It took a total of three long and grueling weeks to get the shelves stocked again and finally the shortage was over.

What’s the point of this story? THE MEDIA AND EVERYTHING WE SEE ON TV, THE INTERENT AND EVERY OTHER SOURCE OF MEDIA MOVES US INTO ACTION! Whether it’s because of fear or for good, TV, the internet and many other media sources move the public into action. With that being the case let’s start to use this truth as a tool to help move people into action for the good of our fellow brothers and sisters in this world.

What would be a good statement to make to get this done? How can we move people into action through different sources of media?

Not only that, but for all the people who hoarded all the Toilet Paper, did they really think they were gonna go to the bathroom that much? What if they bought their share and helped others who needed Toilet paper too? What are your thoughts on this? Does the media influence the world? Is there a way we can leverage every media source to influence people for good and for the purpose and will of GOD?