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Consider the past. A time when we were prosperous and growing?

Consider the past, when God added to the church daily, such as needed to be saved.

Consider the past, when many were healed and redeemed, many were set free from captivity, oppression and delivered.

Consider the past, when, where there was a problem, we all met it head on and it was overcome.

The Lord says consider it.

Consider the Present. The European Union is getting Stronger.

Consider the Present. Iraq signs military pact with Iran.

Consider the Present. Russia signs accord with China and India.

Consider the Present. US voices fears over Chinese military build-up.

Consider the Present. Prayer, The Ten Commandments, unlawful in Schools and Government Buildings.

Consider the Present. Gay Marriage, Gay priest, Women Deacons.

Consider the Present. Uzbekistan Christians Detained and Tortured for Their Faith.

Consider the Present. Council members in a South Carolina town can no longer mention the name of Jesus Christ or another specific deity in their prayers during meetings.

Consider the Present. A massive, international “gay pride” event previously held in Rome, at the doorstep of the Vatican, has chosen Jerusalem as its next venue.

Consider the Present. More than a third of Church of Scotland ministers do not believe in the virgin birth of Christ.

The Lord says consider it.

The Lord says consider this;
Hag 2:11-18, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean.

Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. Very strong words from Haggai.

A nation cannot be clean, before God, if it handles the unclean thing. When are we going to realize that the unclean thing is anything that is an abomination to God? “So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.” God will not be part of uncleanly-ness or unrighteousness. A nation of reprobate people cannot stand before God and then desire that their prayers be answered.

Look at the things that God asked us to consider.

1. Prayer, The Ten Commandments, unlawful in Schools and Government Buildings.

2. Gay Marriage, Gay priest, Women Deacons.

3. A massive, international “gay pride” event previously held in Rome, at the doorstep of the Vatican, has chosen Jerusalem as its next venue.

Jerusalem the Pride of God, the Holy City. Blassfeamers,adulterers, double minded hypocrites. Where is your since of right and wrong, good and evil? Haven’t you been chastised by God enough, what will it take? And these are just a few. Doesn’t this appear to be a double minded man ? [Speaking as a Nation]

Jam 1:6-8 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

2Pe 2:10-16. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbade the madness of the prophet.

And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD: Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

Cannot the people see the chastisement of God upon them, cannot they see that God is willing to bless, but He will not bless the unclean thing.

Consider now, how one woman took prayer from school, consider now, that one group is introducing gay books to children, consider now, how a hand full of people can change the life of Gods children by introducing acceptance training for gays and lesbians.

Compromise, compromise, the down fall of humanity and righteousness in our land of plenty. This land we call home will become as Sodom and Gomorrha, a land of want and famine.

Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid, consider it. “So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean.”

Consider the past, Consider the present and Consider your future?

From the time they enter a negotiating room the world’s best negotiators know what they expect out of a negotiation and whether, under proposed terms and conditions required of them by their counter-parties, it is at all possible to meet those expectations. Because they have prepared beforehand they know if certain terms are required by their counter-party that they can not accept, the negotiation will be hopelessly deadlocked and they had better close off the bargaining process, pack up and go home. Otherwise, if they stay and continue negotiating under such adverse conditions they surely will negotiate an outcome that is unsatisfactory to themselves.

If a term or condition that is utterly unacceptable to the negotiator is absolutely a bottom line requirement for the counter-party, there is an impasse. The best negotiator will ask the counter-party whether the term is unconditionally indispensable. If it is, the negotiator will pack up and go home. For a top negotiator it frequently is better to have no negotiation that to have a bad one.

Negotiators routinely determine, often in minute detail, before they meet with their counter-parties what the parameters of success will be for their negotiations. Likewise a smart negotiator will set forth any likely terms or conditions their counter-party could insist on which, from the negotiator’s stand point, would take the negotiation to an impasse, a point beyond which they had better not travel.

It is often difficult to know exactly what elements the counter-party will throw into the negotiation. This is especially true if the negotiator has not spent a great deal of time with the counter-party before or does not know the true objectives of the counter-party. If this is the situation it is essential that the negotiator follow certain steps to overcome this problem. The wise negotiator will think about these steps and try to outline a procedure to follow in case any such surprise elements are introduced into the negotiations.

When the parties first meet, the negotiator must probe into the thought processes of the counter-party. The easiest way to do this is to ask questions of the counter-party and listen intently to the answers. The negotiator should observe the facial and other body language responses given. The negotiator should determine what are the true objectives of the counter-party? Often the counter-party will state certain opinions or facts that will turn out to be false or misleading. Sometimes a counter-party will state that certain requirements absolutely must be included in the terms agreed upon but later these terms will vanish and the counter-party will not require them.

The skilled negotiator will seek to determine whether there are bottom-line objectives that are hidden from the agenda stated by the counter-party? Maybe there are psychological pressures that the counter-party himself does not consciously know about. A seasoned negotiator will not take statements at face value all the time and will try to establish a reliable test to determine whether to believe what is said.

In the Health Care Summit negotiations that recently concluded in the U.S., the winner was… nobody, or was it? In a negotiation, positioning plays a key role in the manner by which negotiators negotiate. Positioning partly entails establishing the image, style of negotiations, and attitudes you’ll display and project throughout the negotiations.

In observing some of the negotiations that occurred at the Health Care Summit, it appeared that the whole event was a melodrama, cloaked as a staged optical illusion, disguised as ‘getting something done’ for the American people.

This article highlights negotiation strategies that you can employ, based on the manner in which the participants engaged one another at the Summit.

Seating:

· The Democrats and Republicans could have arranged the seating so that its members were interspersed with one another. Had they done so, both parties would have agreed to the arrangement before hand, and the stage would have been set for less hostility. Subliminally, it could have promoted more camaraderie.

When you negotiate, consider the seating arrangement. Adjust it to suit your purpose for the negotiation.

Talking Points:

· Neither party strayed far from their talking points. The Democrats said things like, “the bill had a lot of agreements that the Republicans put forth, we’re not that far apart, we’re close, the bill is not that radical, let’s find common ground”. The Republicans said things like, “start over, start with a clean sheet of paper, scrap this bill, go step by step, the bill was ‘painted’ as having been created in the back room without the Republicans participation”.

When you infuse a negotiation with such rhetoric, you preset mindsets not to seek common ground. In addition, such resounding rhetoric creates a hypnotic mental state for one to maintain his perspective, making him less open to alternatives.

Optics:

· Politicians have to be very mindful of the image they project. The cliché, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is probably truer in politics than any other profession. That being the case, the politicians in attendance at the Summit were very concerned with their ‘appearance’ and how it would ‘play’ back home.

During a negotiation, consider how you might be advantaged or disadvantaged from ‘the way things look’. In some situations, you may acquire value, or be devalued, based on who’s in attendance. Case in point from a political perspective, one of the attendees from the Republican Party is facing a tough primary fight in his home state. If he was in a picture with the president, appearing to be very ‘chummy’, an opponent could use the picture against that politician. His opponent could use the picuture to depict ‘how close’ the politician’s views are to the president. Mind you, his views could be the opposite of the president, but the picture could ‘pose’, or create, a different perception.

Body Language:

· From a body language standpoint, depending upon which party was speaking, the participants from the other party conveyed signs of stiffness, constant evaluation, skepticism, and total disagreement in some cases.

If you maintain a rigid body position, your mental state of mind will convey your thoughts. You’ll also be less likely to possess an open mind, when it comes to the possibility of alternate solutions. If you want to maintain a free lane for alternate thoughts to flow in your negotiations, loosen up.

Name Calling:

· At the Summit, the president referred to most attendees by their first name. In so doing, psychologically he marginalized them. In return, they had to call him Mr. President, out of respect for the office he holds.

As you negotiate, observe situations in which you can enhance your esteem. By doing so, you’ll increase your persona and have more sway over the other negotiator. You’ll also reduce the possible insolence he might display.

Use these strategies in your next negotiation. In so doing, you’ll be rewarded by achieving more of what you seek from a negotiation… and everything will be right with the world.

The Negotiation Tips Are…

· Consider the ‘optics’ of how your offer and your point of view will be perceived.

· In the positioning planning process, consider how you might ‘reframe’ (present differently) your position, to make it more appealing.

· Before negotiating, consider incentives you might use to entice the other negotiator to move in a specific direction.

For additional insight, click on the link below and watch my comments on the Neil Cavuto show.