influence

NEHEMIAH – GOD’S CALL TO BUILD THE WALL (Part 4)

(June 22, 2022) Hope Flinchbaugh shares some more thoughts about Nehemiah’s wall building journey, challenging us to know that God has a plan for us…’

It’s hard to leave our comfort zone! And that was the initial challenge Nehemiah faced in moving on from his comfort zone to fulfilling God’s plan for his life.

Being cupbearer to the king – a  noted position – meant Nehemiah was in and out of the king’s presence several times a day. He had money, a position that clothed him well and gave him personal honour, a position where he enjoyed a small realm of trust and influence before the king.

When he learned that the exiled survivors of Israel were living in appalling conditions, that the walls of Jerusalem were rubble and the gates of the city were in cinders and ashes, Nehemiah was deeply touched. He immediately fasted, prayed, wept, and was willing to move…  but what was the next step?

Waiting patiently
That must have felt so anticlimactic!

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INFLUENCING… AND THE NIGHT WITH A MOSQUITO!

(February 09, 2022) Richard Winter challenges…

History is in many ways a story of influence.

  • Leadership is about influence.
  • Everyone influences someone.
  • Therefore, in a sense, everyone is a leader.

Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted individual will influence 10,000 other people during his or her lifetime.

We all influence one another in all sorts of ways – from what to have for lunch and what films to watch, to more important matters of truth and ethics.

My life has been influenced by so many people – my parents, teachers, pastors, friends, and family. Just as I have been influenced by others, inevitably what I do and say will influence others for good or ill.

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As the African proverb puts it, ‘If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.’

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BILLY GRAHAM –THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PREACHER OF THE 20TH CENTURY DIES

(February 22, 2018) Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service, shares some very personal reminisces…

American evangelist Billy Graham – a confidant to presidents, a guiding light to generations of American Christians and a world-travelling preacher who saw millions give their lives to Christ, died today (Wednesday, February 21), at the age of 99.

Dr Graham, who was known as ‘America’s Pastor’ passed away at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

‘The skinny preacher with the booming voice evangelised to nearly 215 million people over six decades and prayed with US presidents from Harry Truman to Barack Obama,’ said CNN. ‘Several presidents, including Lyndon Johnson, George W Bush and Bill Clinton, relied closely on his spiritual counsel.’

 

 

 

 

 

A dynamic young Billy Graham preaching

 

 


Billy Graham was the reason I got into journalism
But on a personal side, it was 50 years ago in London, England, when I got my first job in journalism. It was with The Christian, an historic British newspaper that the Graham Association had bought and modernised. (more…)

THE TWO COMMANDMENTS OF THE NEW COVENANT

Mike ShreveMike Shreve shares good advice…

The ten commandments of the old covenant are a primary part of our spiritual foundation. Bible believers often display them in an effort to influence others toward righteousness. God himself proclaimed them from Mount Sinai in a fiery display, and engraved them on tablets of stone.

However, they are part of ‘the Law’: a system of religious, moral and lifestyle demands Paul later labelled ‘the ministry of condemnation’ and ‘the ministry of death’ (2 Cor. 3:7-9). (more…)

LEADERSHIP GLEANINGS

KEY: Leadership is not about doing what makes people comfortable, it’s about taking them to where they are supposed to go.
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PROMISES KEPT AND UNKEPT
Tim Jack

 

Tim Jack, Apostolic Church Australia National Leadership Team, challenges…

Most would know that keeping a promise is more difficult than making it.

Most would know that to be true, some having experienced it painlessly in the small things of life and others, painfully, in life’s larger issues. (more…)

A TRIBUTE TO MY CHILDHOOD SPIRITUAL MENTOR

Becky FischerBecky Fisher, Kids in Ministry International, shares about influence:

I want you to meet my very first godly, spiritual mentor (outside of my parents), someone special that I believe God put in my life. Her name was Violet Nichols. We called her ‘Sister Vi.’

She worked for JC Penney’s as a sales clerk. Divorced three times, Violet really needed Jesus in her life. One of the faithful members of our church who worked with her timidly invited her to church one day, and much to everyone’s surprise she got saved! (more…)

LEADERSHIP

INFLUENCE – THE PRIORITY OF TOUCHING OTHERS
Wayne Swift


Wayne Swift challenges:

In his book, Drucker and Me, Bob Buford writes about the relationship and influence Australian born ‘father of modern management’ Peter Drucker had on his life, business and ministry.

As Peter Drucker was nearing death, his wife Doris’ simple words -‘This time he’s not coming back’ – carried with them the enormousness of the person who was about to be lost to all. (more…)

INFLUENCING THE YOUNG

JESUS’ ATTITUDE
Matthew 18 reveals the heart of Jesus toward children…he warned that they shouldn’t be neglected but rather warmly accepted and encouraged.’ Verse 7 (Message) tells that he said, ‘Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse…’ (more…)

A Determined God of Love

Robert and Maureen McQuillan write:

Recently we attended the funeral of a friend who loved Jesus. Held in a local Uniting Church, we were impressed as the minister, Tony Johnson, shared from his heart.

Space doesn’t permit us to detail all that this soft-speaking Geelongite said but we’ll always recall the following– truths that are relevant to every Christian in their understanding of God, their following Jesus and living as he did. And in honouring God’s word and reaching out to everyone.

Tony’s welcome to the mixed gatherers – family, friends and those who were strangers to each other but had known the deceased through her lifetime daily exhibition of love, is a classic.

Quietly and simply but meaningfully, he said: ‘Welcome to all of you – to those who believe, those who do not believe, those who do not know what to believe and those who have been too hurt to believe anything.’ In his eulogy, Tony made it clear that God is the God of determination – that through Christ he showed that he is the God of reconciliation.

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