Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Knowing God

STAY CONNECTED!










Something awful will happen if you are out of touch with the people who count.

NOTHING!

Face it we all need somebody. To make us somebody!

It’s Not What You Know It’s Who You Know……….

Be in touch! Make the right connections. Then, do whatever it takes to hold on to them!Maintaining alliances is one of the keys to your success. Staying connected is the essence of achievement! In Business matters. In Family relationships. In Spiritual issues.

Never take your personal or business relationships for granted.

What you take for granted disappears!

Keeping in touch is the antidote for taking for granted.

Staying connected is proof that the relationship is special!


(This is why you are supposed to leave a comment below!)

Staying connected takes some effort! It requires a follow- up plan for it to work! Plan to stay connected and you will stay connected! Connections last only as long as we continue to actively invest in them.

The number one reason salespeople fail is because they don't ask for the order. The number two reason salespeople fail is because they do not follow-up on what they get started! Create your own effective follow-up system for keeping connected.

"Love 'em and leave 'em!" doesn't work!

People will go places, do things and go out of their way to associate with people who make them feel important, cared for, worthwhile. Your challenge is to stay connected and provide those needs for the special people in your life.

Even The “Lone Ranger” had Tonto!!

Do you think we would have ever heard of Robin (the Boy Wonder) if he didn’t hang out with Batman!

Writing notes to friends, customers and clients is an excellent way to stay connected!

Use the telephone to stay in touch. Having a good reason to call is better than having lots of people to call. Before you pick up the phone, make a brief list of what you want to communicate.

Have a specific idea to discuss and be sure that the reason you call is important to the person called.

Keep it brief. Say hello, establish the relationship again, then get to the point, say what you want to say and get off of the phone! One reason people hesitate to use the phone is because they are afraid they will get hooked into a long, drawn-out conversation. If you know what you want to say, this won't happen. Respect their time and they will respect your time. A brief telephone connection is better than no connection at all!

Send a card or drop an email someone’s way, just to say hello, and leave an encouraging word. It may not seem like much at the moment, but you just might make their day!
Life is all about Connections and getting to KNOW the right people.

(Fabulous book by John Maxwell “25 Ways To Win with People.” Easy practical mentoring moments with application exercises at the end of each chapter. How to make others feel like a million bucks. 25 simple and specific skills that can help anyone improve in the arena of interpersonal relationships. If you don’t own this book get it Today! To purchase See Book recommendations link to right.)

Someone Is Always Observing You Who Is Capable Of Greatly Blessing You.

Getting to know you, Getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, Getting to hope you like me. Anna in The King & I

Listen, if we haven’t told you lately

It’s Great to have you as a part of our New Life Family!

Lots of new people coming to church….
Could we impose on you and ask you to leave your busy, tired, worn-out, grumpy, life has ripped me off, I’m only just making it myself, nobody cares about me, eeyore, attitude at home. Bring your Happy face mask and Connect with someone who just might need you to make them Somebody!

Remember attitudes are contagious, so you have to ask yourself is mine worth catching?

Deb & I Need You!

See You In Church

LEAVE A COMMENT !!!

Click The Title Below For a downloadable Bible Study … (Beware! This will take up some of your precious time and energy, but we think the pay-off is worth the effort.)

What Does It Mean to Know God?


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I believe we need to be connected but not yolked to the world.We need more fellowship with our "God loving" brothers and sisters with in the walls of our church.It is a shame that there are so many cardboard Christians that need to be a part of a church club instead of connecting with others.Is there anyone left that is real and just wants to hear and speak the truth without puffing themselves up or putting up a front or doing something for man to see? Stay connected to God and let him help you choose the right connection or you might short circuit like i just did!

Anonymous said...

WOW....what a brilliant word today pastor. Excellent words of wisdom in this post. You have said many many times "show me your check book and your calendar and I'll show you who is your God". Today's blog clearly shows how important is it to invest in the kingdom. To invest in relationships with our friends and family at church. Investment can be risky. It can fail. One can lose....we all have at some point along the way. However, God has proved over and over that when we invest in the kingdom, the dividends are so much greater than we could ever imagine. To continue to receive the payoff....we must keep investing. You're absolutely right...it's all about who you know, your connections. I'm so glad I know God, you & Deb, Your Mom & Dad, Lorna & Andy, and the list goes on. As far as the checkbook part goes.....God's economy never slumps. Heaven never takes a downturn. The God-Economy always pays the highest dividends to its investors regardless of Wall Street.

Thanx for the blog today pastor Mark. I am very thankful for the family I have at New Life and for the opportunities provided at New Life to invest. I have received more than I could have ever imagined.

Shane

Anonymous said...

This is so true. Most people probably have about 5 people in their lives that they can really call their friends. These are special relationships that are easy to take for granted sometimes. Do not let these people slip out of your lives. This is something that I have been trying to teach my son for the longest time. Thanks, great blog.

Mike Martini

Anonymous said...

Someone much smarter than I once said "saying hello only takes a few seconds, saying goodbye takes forever"

Now that I live so far from home, its hard to keep close to many of my friends (despite my attempts). So say hello to someone you haven't spoken to in a few day/weeks/ i hope not years... leave them a facebook comment, or send them a text. you might just make their day!

Anonymous said...

Scruffy beard... check

iPhone..... check

Very own website ... check

Being cooler than half the kids at Youth Group... at 3 times their age..........

PRICELESS!!!


All kidding aside, the page looks great and is really connecting the church in another way. Great job. Tell Luke I'm getting the ball rolling with the church soft ball team this year and we've all decided........ he's the coach.

Anonymous said...

Hi, it's me Eeyore. I'm TRYING! Thanks for the blog, another opportunity to practice being a little less judgmental, critical and suspicious. Would be nice to connect with somebody else but your own ego;-)

Anonymous said...

So hard to stay connected... so easy to be alone... no one to hurt you... no one to betray you...

Anonymous said...

WOW... wake up call! The "everyday" task have a quick and sometimes nasty way of creeping in and sometimes robbing me of these great truths. I'm glad our God is BIGGER than my mistakes... there have been many... I am finding out how important it is to find and maintain healthy friendships, ones that are exciting, rewarding and fulfilling. I am so extremely thankful for You and Debbie, you guys have been way more than a Pastor and friends, you have kept us connected as a young married couple and as part of our church body. THANK YOU BOTH!!!

Great things are happening between young couples at church. GOD IS WORKING...new friendships are taking place and we're so excited to be a part of it! We look forward to connecting with them all in this new year!

Thanks for the Blog, I love seeing it every Thursday!!!

Thanks so much
Nichole T

Anonymous said...

Good Morning Pastor Mark,
I was just reading your blog again this morning. I spent a long time just reading through all the different posts and comments left by people. WOW!!!! This forum is really touching and reaching people. I like the way people just ‘put it out there’…these are the very brave Christians. People are even talking to each other via the blog and sharing information….really cool stuff indeed!
I also like the new format for Selah. Great word again.

Anonymous said...

Very true, very encouraging! Thanks Pastor Mark! Keep 'em comin'!

Anonymous said...

To Know .....whew! That can be an uneasy thing. There are a lot of things I thought I knew. Things about people....business people. Turns out didn't know much.

It's important to have a feeling of "knowing". It's hard to really know about things in the world. You can certainly learn from successes and failures....we learn from our mistakes....we learn what makes people tick....then we begin to know a little something.

But thanks be to God I CAN KNOW my Father and Jesus. 2 Tim 1:12 ".....because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day." Job 19:25 "I know that my Redeemer lives,and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."

I know I love my new home at New Life. I know I have a new brother in Christ, whose name is Shane, who I can also call a new friend.

When I first came to Christ 30 years ago, I was so attached to my brothers and sisters in Christ. It really felt like as close to the first churches in Acts as you can get....we loved being together and we had a lot in common...we loved getting together in each other's homes for bible studies and fellowship. I was very close to the Pastors and Elders who reached out to me when I was just a visitor and focused on my salvation and studied with me like Phillip and the Eunuch until I accepted Christ (I was baptized at midnight after that one study that moved me over the edge). We "knew" one another and that enabled us to encourage and inspire one another whenever we met. I miss that.

Knowing is good....there's 852 verses with "know". When it comes to our Father, we CAN KNOW a lot.

Praise God!!!

\o/ I do like that Willie

Willie... said...

This is a little long, but please bear with me. :)

There's a wonderful old song, titled "People all over the world" by Farrell & Farrell. In the beginning of the song, it says,

"It's funny, but it seems this world's become a smaller place!
The wonders of technology connect the Human Race."

That song dates back to the mid 1980's. Look were we are, now! I love using technology for the Glory of God, and I thank Him for it often! :) (I truly miss working in Christian Radio!)

Things like this blog were unheard of when that song was written! Now, our opportunities to "stay connected" are NUMEROUS! We should take advantage of them! :)

One outstanding site to connect with fellow Believers, is called SHOUTLIFE.COM

They have strict policies against people posting offensive content, and they actively ban such users.

You see, it is an ufortunate fact that, with every invention of Man, comes a "dark side"... Yes, there are so many WONDERFUL things on the Internet, but there are also many VERY EVIL, twisted, and sick things! It behooves each and every one of us, in the Body of Christ, to "stay connected" to one another, pray for and watch out for one another, as well.

CONNECT... ask a trusted firend the "hard questions" and have them ask you, as well. (Accountability to one another AND to GOD.)

Falling into Satan's trap is all too easy, when the dangerous material is, quite literally, "just a click away"... and it's compounded by the fact that it's right there, in our home or hotel room, etc!

My heart breaks every time I hear of a Christian leader who has fallen victim to sinful online material, which often leads to physical sin in their lives.

Satan attacks all of us, but he especially attacks those in leadership!! Be it Pastors, musicians, teachers... all who are in places of leadership need to be covered in prayer!

A long time ago, God convicted me to make a covenant with Him about my eyes. (PSALM 101:3 "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; [it] shall not cleave to me.")

Everyone: Make it a covenant with God to never allow your eyes to seek the terrible things that can invade your online activity. Avoid sites with unwholesome content like the plague. (Myspace is full of unwholesome stuff, so I will NEVER go there, not even for a Christian's page, because of the offensive ads that are everywhere.)

I encourage all to sign up for Shoutlife. It is a SAFE Social Networking site, with a vast majority of Christians using it. (it's open to all, so it isn't 100% Christian, but it is patrolled and kept clean.) I have a blog there, if anyone's interested. (Pastor Mark's is MUCH better, tho!!!)

http://www.shoutlife.com/willie

God bless you all!! Thank you for "connecting" here and especially at New Life! That's as REAL as it gets! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Long time "listener" of your show, first time "blogger"...Really do love this venue and love the fact that it is catching on quickly. This blog got inside me today and made me remember what we have heard time and again..."You are who you hang with." Never ever take your friends and even family for granted. Enjoy them! One thing I am learning is, once God puts those friends and people in your life, cultivate that relationship or it will dry up fast. It is great to stay in touch via email, phone, chat, facebook, and even the casual conversation in the church lobby. But nothing will ever replace a good laugh or a good conversation face to face. We really need that! Opening your home to people is an invite to who you really are outside the church walls. No hiding there! God is so good to us and He is about to do some great things in our lives as a church. Let's bond and build each other up as a church even more this year and watch what the Lord can do through us when we are "connected" and of one mind, spirit, and vision! Thanks Pastor Mark for making this possible. Feels like testimony time every week !

Anonymous said...

Hey Pastor Mark,

Just wanted to tell you I thought that was the coolest thing, what you did for Lisa last night. Pretty cool to be a part of something like that; thanks for involving us. You’ve said from the pulpit many times that you’re a good “preacher” but not that good of a “pastor”; I have to tell you that I know many people who disagree with you on that, I certainly am one of them. One request though…can we make it to number three next week??? Ha, just kidding…no really, can we? lol.
I really enjoy our bible studies and have grown so much through what I learn on Thursday nights; getting all that while belly laughing is such a plus.

Have a great day my friend and thank you for being so sensitive to the people you lead. You’re a blessing to all of us.

Jay

Anonymous said...

Hi Pastor Mark,
Thank you, thank you!!!...for your leadership, wisdom and guidance. Jay and I were just talking about the friendships that we have been blessed with here at New Life and how we need to re-connect with some of them. You are continuously challenging us to be more...it is impossible to be idle! I cannot tell you the countless times we give thanks for our church and the leadership in it. We love you and we love being a part of God's daily work.

Anonymous said...

Hey Pastor Mark,

You know what I "know" ? I know that I have come to appreciate you, your Dad and Jason more each and every week as the three of you, with the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit disect, break down and deliver the nuggets of gold in the word of God, through your preaching and songs of praise. I look forward to Sunday mornings with more anticipation than you can imagine.

I, my wife Ana, Banildo & Nora enjoyed having lunch with your Mom and Dad a couple of weeks ago. It was great; It was relaxing; it was thoroughly enjoyable to break a little bread. I could probably sit and talk with your Dad for hours about God's word and the basic experiences of life.....I never had a Dad that I could just talk about life with let alone have it seasoned with the wisdom of God's word. It was great. I can't remember a single moment of my life when I was able to do that with my father. You are so blessed with the parents you have....I "know" you "know" this.

I would hope one day, Ana and I could call you all more than just our Pastor's, but our brothers, our friends. Being in White Plains has its disadvantages, we still feel a little like just visitors, but one day we hope we can be more than that couple from White Plains...we want to connect. We know everyone is very busy, but maybe one day before the church gets toooo big, we can get to know one another a little more. We don't want to be just the couple from White Plains, but Bob and Ana of New Life.

May God truly bless you guys in the furtherance of His Kingdom....I "know" .."All the Saints (the people of God here) salute you (three). The grace(favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it) 2 Cor: 13:13-14.

Anonymous said...

What I am Thankful for....
My health, my family's health and my job. But most of all I am thankful for the peace God has given me. Before coming to New Life in December 08 I was sad. Sad for loosing a good relationship due to an affair, sad for a way ward daughter, sad for my grandchildren who suffer for their moms mistakes, sad from recovering from cancer and dealing with all of the above alone, but most of all sad because I didn't know God. I am so grateful to an aquantance who suggested going to New Life. I never thought that one 'ok, I'll go' would change my life and bring me God's love and grace. Thank you New Life for your smiles, your hand shakes on Sunday mornings and genuine concern for me. Thank you Pastor Mark and Pastor Evans for being 'you', Thank You Jason for bringing me to tears over and over with your ability to move me in song and worship in a way I have never experienced before. I Love you all.....

Anonymous said...

I am so thankful for my family and friends. I have the best husband, the best children, the best job, and the best friends ever. Life couldn't possibly get any better and yet it does. God is so good!

I am so thankful to be able to work with the teenagers in our church. I have worked in the youth group for 12 years, the last 4 my own children have been in Crossfire/Creed. God has been so good. I absolutely love our teenagers...they are not perfect but God has Blessed me tremendously through them. I am sure they have taught me more than I managed to ever teach them...all in all....GOOD TIMES!!!!!