Powered By Blogger
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts

Friday, July 22

NEW, Mini-Series Weekday 15 of 20

*Giving a boost to our day and life, with this 10-minute Weekday Blog*
Our 2nd Blog Mini-Series, each Weekday in JULY!

Thank you for joining us as we
continue this JOURNEY
...
digging in to the 2nd - 
3rd CHAPTERS of Keith's book,
“Keep the FAITH…Keep Your VISION”!

If you will read this book in its entirety, then you will be equipped to begin walking with the confidence and authority that Jesus Christ came and died to provide for us, in order that we may work *with* Him, be *fulfilled* in our work, lead a *successful life*, and...
      

Day #15 of 20-day Blog mini-series #2
Chapter THREE, "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"
    
"Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"
            In our conclusion that Scriptural confirmation of any doctrine is by illumination of The Person of The Holy Spirit through the witness of God's Word rightly divided, we also conclude that The Holy Scriptures are provided by inspiration of The Holy Spirit. Since the Bible was written by holy men of God who were moved by The Holy Ghost, it should be obvious that the meanings assigned to The Word of God can only be provided by The One who inspired the words in the first place! So how does The Holy Spirit witness to the truth of The Word of God? This is no mere incidental question. It is literally a matter of life and death.

Question to ponder:

Are you familiar with the way that a passage of Scripture that speaks to something you're going through at the very time you read it can, weeks later, speak to something completely different that you're going through at that later time?   _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

          "Anyone who has had the honor and privilege of meeting The Holy Spirit (in person) can attest to this fact that, wherever He goes, order and understanding are established. When you are standing with The Person of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of God flows through every fiber of your being! And, the best way to describe this is, when I was with Him, I was remembering so many Scriptures that I had read ever since I was a young boy, and was overcome with God's wonder as He began to impart to me the true meaning of each of those verses, simultaneously. I was very aware that I was being bathed in the understanding of exactly what God wanted me to understand at that moment. What I came away with amazed me beyond words! The definition of each verse I was seeing in my memory is compared to what I had heard preached and taught over the years. The truth is that God's ways are not just higher than our ways, but God's ways are higher than our ways times infinity, times infinity!  

          When I met The Person of The Holy Spirit, everything went straight into my spirit, with no attention paid to the physical body. In fact, the body was of no concern whatsoever while I was in the God's Presence. I was made keenly aware that my spirit is, in fact, who I am, and it was because my body was not there to hinder my ability to stand with Him that I was able to enjoy the most wonderful experience I have ever had in my life. When the word says joy unspeakable and full of Glory, there is no way we can truly understand that passage of Scripture until we stand with God Himself. And the "unspeakable" part is about, when you have experienced God, you're hit with the indescribably reality that the way we communicate here on earth cannot even begin to relay the WONDER that IS God. Even the word 'wonder' doesn't begin to describe Him!  

          'It was the joy that was set before Christ that He endured the cross...' In great part, that joy that filled Christ's heart was knowing, better than anyone could ever know, just how crucially important The Holy Spirit is to our coming to understand God, His Ways and the true meaning of His Word. Selah."  


Therefore take no thought do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? .... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  
(Matthew 6:31-33)



WE PRAY YOU HAVE A FUN WEEKEND...
... FILLED with fresh visions of God!
... FILLED with unfathomable joy in Christ Jesus!
... FILLED with wisdom that only the Person of The Holy Spirit brings!


*See you Monday, and invite your friends too! God bless and keep you!*
________________________________


Find this blog mini-series message, and more on the topic, in our book Keep the FAITH Keep Your VISION based on crucial, real-life matters for each of us. To ask questions, make a special donation, request a large quantity of books, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please click for e-mail, or write a letter and mail it to the address shown on our website, and as provided below.
We pray God bless you greatly as you have greatly blessed us and the entire Toward The Mark, Inc. Family!
Your friends & servants in Christ,
Keep PRESSIN' IN!



To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small… 
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith 35+ years ago to focus full-time on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc.  Keith and Brenda's prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that Keith recounts in our written and recorded products.  The complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. are made possible thanks to the faithful prayer and financial contributions of the TTM Support Family.  We'd like to invite you to join our family, and welcome you to become a special part of our regular sponsorship team TODAY!

We INVITE You ... to follow and share these resources that are also available, for helping build your faith in God, His Will, and His Ways: 

      

      

      

      

      

      
Keep PRESSIN' IN!


This blog mini-series, along with the rest of our inventory of Bible-based resources, is made possible by the support of our faithful monthly partners. Would you consider helping us expand our outreach capabilities by becoming a monthly financial partner? Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools, available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, for getting to know the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to partner with us as we "press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)

CLICK HERE to make a tax-deductible contribution securely by PayPal.
Every gift is tax-deductible and helps, and we thank you for it!

Mail tax-deductible contributions by check to the order of:
Toward The Mark, Inc., P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152. 

Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!


Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2016 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply | (757)251-2440 TowardTheMark.com | Resources@TowardTheMark.com

Thursday, August 28

No Matter WHAT... THANK GOD!


No Matter WHAT... THANK GOD!
Rather than being "under-goers", we must be O
vercomers!


 "The trials in our life are meant to reveal the contents of our heart. So, God is not as interested in what we did DURING the trials, as He is in what we do about what was revealed about us THROUGH those trials." - Keith


No matter what happens, we must come to grips with the guilty party: ourselves. Having our hearts continually filled with praise and thankfulness to God means that we will be able to give thanks in ALL things when the trials do come.  "And He {Jesus} said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

Find this complete message, and more, in our book, "XII Smooth Stones" available on the
TTM WEBSITE.  Also LISTEN to our Podcast, "Three ways to Get the Most Out of Your Time of Suffering Through Adversity 

The offering of praise and giving of thanks to God in all situations and circumstances is one area where many Christians fail to experience the victory of the Abundant Life. It is easy, of course, to give thanks when things are going well, but what about those disconcerting times when we find ourselves consumed in the flames of a painful trial? How do we conduct ourselves then? Do we pitch childish little fits in our hearts when things get tough or do we do the mature thing and consider the fact that God loves us and has something much better in mind, if we will trust in Him and wait on Him to perform it?

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.” (Hebrews 10:23)
       What makes it so difficult for us to offer up thanksgiving to God when things are not going the way we want them to? Exactly what is that powerful unseen force that inhibits our ability to freely praise our Heavenly Father in difficult situations?
The answer may surprise you! It is actually our flesh nature, and not only does it hinder praise and thanksgiving, it also is the cause of most of our pain. So if you have ever wondered about the problems in the American Church, you need look no further than the stinking decay of human nature!
As much as we would not like to believe it, only a very small percentage of people who commit their lives to Jesus Christ really apply the effort needed to kill the old man, or sinful human nature, in their lives. When times are easy, or at least easier, most of us give in to the temptation to slack off; so when a trial comes along, we are not prepared and are easily overwhelmed. Rather than being Overcomers, we are under-goers. Instead of acknowledging our responsibility for not seeking God, we look for a scapegoat; we want someone or something to blame other than looking in the mirror and declaring, “Thou art the man!”
Now, as crucial as it is to face the reality of the sin that lurks in our hearts, it is equally as important to realize that God does not want us to wallow in guilt for mistakes and misdeeds. Jesus died on the Cross so that we could receive forgiveness, both eternal and temporal, and cleansing from our sins in this life and in the life to come. The trials in our life are meant to reveal the contents of our heart, so God is not as interested in what we did during the trials, as He is in what we do about what was revealed about us through those trials. This includes the words that come out of our mouths, because our words reveal what is in our hearts. For “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
Having our hearts continually filled with praise and thankfulness to God means that we will be able to give thanks in all things when the trials do come. A full sponge when squeezed gives up whatever it has been saturated with. A dry sponge when squeezed gives up little to nothing. Furthermore, a sponge does not soak up anything while it is being squeezed. Likewise, when you saturate your soul with the Word of God during the easier times, then that is what will come out when you are placed under the pressure of a trial, during the hard times. Hence, the time to put on the mindset of thankfulness is BEFORE the trials begin.
So, before we can come to the place where we can offer up praise and thanksgiving to God, no matter what happens, we must come to grips with the guilty party: ourselves. God has a simple prescription to solve the problem: our old man (or “flesh” nature) must die! “And He {Jesus} said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) This is not just a wonderful passage of scripture, it is a prerequisite to a life of victory in Christ Jesus!

For the rest of this message, and many others, get your copy of our book "XII Smooth Stones" and also see "TTM Teaching Index" on our website, TowardTheMark.com.
     WOULD YOU PARTNER WITH US TODAY?
    



Closing:  For more Scripture-based truths to help as you Press toward "one-ness" with our Heavenly Father, we also have available: