Give God Your Heart 'N Dreams for 2018!

"Get ready, relax, and really see God show Himself 'BIG' in 2018."
--Keith, Brenda, and the TTM Team

Invite Jesus Christ into your heart to be your Lord and Savior, right there where you are, by praying this prayer to God, then relax and watch what God does...
... "Dear Father God, in the precious Name of Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of all lords, I lay my life at Your Feet. I come before You, confessing that I am a sinner, and I ask for You to forgive me of all my sins - those that I know I have committed, as well as those that I am not even aware of.  I ask that You come into my heart and be my Lord. I lay my life, and everything in it, at Your Feet, and ask that You please take me and begin to change me to be like YOU. I ask that You redeem the time that has passed, and allow me the opportunity to become exactly what You have predestined me to be, from before the foundation of the earth. I commit my life to You now, and thank You for receiving me as Your own. In the wonderful Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, I pray, Amen."  And AMEN!!!

            WELCOME HOME!

            If you have just prayed this prayer, we want to congratulate you for making the greatest decision that you'll ever make! By accepting Jesus Christ, or rededicating your life to Him, as your personal Lord and Savior, you have begun the wonder-full process of being grafted into the family of God, and we welcome you "Home" to God's Family. We would also like to invite you to contact us so that we can send you information that will help you begin growing in your relationship and daily walk with God. We would encourage you to begin attending a Holy-Spirit-filled, Bible-believing church right away.

            We advise you to begin reading The Holy Bible daily, whether you understand it or not. Always remember, God's written Word in The Holy Bible is like no other book that has ever been written! When we rendezvous with The Person of The Holy Spirit as we read what God has written there, it becomes stored in our heart for The Holy Spirit to access it to bring to our remembrance.  You will find that the Scriptures will become applicable to whatever you are going through, at any given time!

            There are wonderful Bible teachers on television and on the radio that can, especially early in your walk with God, help you to begin receiving good teaching, and encouragement, right away. Although very informative, these programs are never to be a substitute for close relationships with people who love and serve God. At times, the transformation process that you have now begun will be difficult, and you will be tempted to go back to your old ways of living your old life. It will be during times like these that hanging out with strong Christian friends and mentors will be crucially important. There really IS strength in numbers!

"CONGRATULATIONS"

      We would like to be among the first to welcome you into the Family of God... right where you belong, now and always! (Selah)!!!

      And, remember, no matter what, KEEP PRESSIN' IN... learnin', and growin' w-i-t-h our Lord and Savior.

      You might consider using Keith and Brenda Shealy's book XII SMOOTH STONES, the special collection of 12 life-changing teaching titles:

No Matter What!	The Magnetic Mantle or Why Cats... Have Kitties;
Fire, Pressure, and Them Slithery... Snakes	The Ultimate Home Gym
Vampires In The Church	STOP...
The Great Deception	The Invisible Man
God Is So Much Bigger Than You Think!	Die Empty!
Building Godly Friendships	The Secret To A Happy Life

      This collection of twelve teachings,
when taken to heart,
will help you emerge triumphant over seemingly impossible situations...
"XII Smooth Stones"
available at
TowardTheMark online.

We pray God uses this message, and all of our resources, to fan the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, His wonder-full Ways, and His Plan and Purpose for you in this life. If you have any questions about our work, or if you would like to make a special tax-deductible donation, place a special order for any of our books, magazines, or CDs, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please  e-mail us. Also feel free to write a letter and mail it to TOWARD THE MARK, P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.

May God bless you greatly as you carry this truth in your heart. We are eternally grateful for our loving Toward The Mark Family of sponsors who make this blog, and all of our resources, possible by their faithful prayer and monthly financial support!

Your friends and servants in Christ,
         

    

To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small… 
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus 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.

We couldn't do this without the help of our friends!
This blog message, along with the complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other Bible-based resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Sponsorship Family. We'd like to invite you to come on-board, to become a part of the TTM Family as well, by becoming a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our God-given calling to help provide effective, contemporary outreach tools that are available to everyone, the churched and un-churched alike, who desire to know more of 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)

Keep PRESSIN' IN!

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: 

~  "Keith Shealy's Toward The Mark" on Facebook 

~   "TTM Singing Sergeant" on Twitter 

~   "Between The Lines PODCAST" on TTM's Libsyn Channel
     Play 1st: "Between The Lines 1st-ever Podcast...Count The Cost: New Year's Resolution!"

Blog TESTIMONY Feature...

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 or money order made out to:
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!

"See flipcard titles"

          Take me back to the top of this post.

          Take me to "Aristo & God fulfilled their 3rd military deployment!" post.

          Take me to "Leave it ALL on the Field!" post.

          Take me to "Happy THANKS-GIVING IS EVERYTHING Day!" post.

          Take me to "BEST Keith Shealy Quotes, Recent Most-Requested" post.

          Take me to "Being IN True Faith; OUT of Sin & Doubt" post.

          Take me to "Wine, Deception, and... JESUS" post.

          Take me to "NEW Windows of Opportunity" post.

          Take me to "Defeat the Giant in the Way of your Promotion" post.

          Take me to "What is GOLD STAR MOTHER'S DAY in September?!" post.

          Take me to "NEW Breed of Leader!" post.

          Take me to "God shows Himself BIG in small things too" post.

          Take me to "What do you mean, take up the Cross?" post.

          Take me to "Smite God's Shepherd; Scatter the Sheep!" post.

          Take me to "Bite Your Tongue!" post.

          Take me to "Are You Ready to be Offered?" post.

          Take me to "Bring God a Sacrifice of praise" post.

          Take me to "God, why am I here?" post.

          Take me to "Murder by words?" post.

          Take me to "The BEST Fruit on the Limb" post.

          Take me to "We've Got to Let 'Stuff' Go" post.

          Take me to "Don't Take Your Gifts to the Grave" post.

          Take me to "Salvation is Every-Day Life" post.

          Take me to "Emergency Warning to Professing Witches" post.

          Take me to "Passionate Pursuit of Singleness" post.

          Take me to "We'll Miss You, Dad Shealy" post.

          Take me to "75 Years Ago: Pearl Harbor & Fleet Admiral Nimitz" post.

          Take me to "Our Military Vets Out of Sight...Out of Mind?" post.

          Take me to "Where to RUN When Trials Come" post.

          Take me to "Caught Up With Jesus" post.

          Take me to "True Leaders Speak Life" post.

          Take me to "Greatest Hindrance to Significance" post.

          Take me to Keith's MINI-Series of *Keep the FAITH* book, Chapter TWO.

          Take me to "Rattlesnake Revelation" post.

          Take me to "Gold Star Families Gave ALL" post.

          Take me to "Love of GOD" post.

          Take me to "My Broken Vessel's Fiery Trials" post.

          Take me to "Magnetic Mantle...Why Cats Should Have Kitties" post.

          Take me to "Run TO the Roar!" post.

          Take me to "Overcoming Intimidation" post.

          Take me to "The Invisible Man" post.

          Take me to "The Abomination of Misrepresentation" post.

          Take me to "Living Among Thorns" post.

          Take me to Keith's Journey through Chapter ONE of *Keep the FAITH*.

Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2005 - 2018 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply | (757)251-2440 TowardTheMark.com | Keith@TowardTheMark.com

Get TWO STEPS You'll Need so You Can Be "Made Free" from a Terrible "RUT" Where You're STUCK

Are you stuck in a "RUT"? Get the TWO STEPS you need to BECOME FREED.

    I once heard it said that, "A 'rut' is a coffin with both ends kicked out." Because the person is stuck but still "kickin'", the coffin is left "open-ended". While the person's life, goals and dreams are trapped and contained, there is life that awaits them when they are able to become free, and begin making their way forward again.

            Whenever we are confronted with issues that could potentially pin us down to the ground, we must know the right choices to make by following the Biblical point of view on the issue. Any choice we make apart from the Biblical mandate will have consequences that abound to the choice. In the circumstances we deal with to become "free" or unstuck from the rut, we can rest assured that it'll be worth it to pursue all that gives our life real meaning!

            You probably well-know what it is that got you stuck in the rut, but now you need to know what it will take for you to get out. What doesn't really matter is whether the consequences abound from your own poor choices, or from the poor choices of others. Either way, there are two liberating steps we are about to share with you that are absolutely guaranteed to help get you on your way to becoming "free". However, before you go any further, it is crucial that you first meet one foundational requirement. Without possessing this one most important and pressing need, there's simply no way you'll be able to succeed. You n-e-e-d to have "the want-to"! Have you got the all-important "want-to" you need for the pursuit of the way to being freed? If not, you need to get it, or this is as far as you are effectively able to go.

            I'm glad to see that you have decided to continue on this journey with us. Having "the want-to" for being free makes the pursuit worth paying almost any price that comes with it! As much as we would rather find ourselves "set" free from our issues and struggles, that is not the way God works. We must respect time, and remember that it is "time" that plays the biggest part in God's law of process. God chooses to gradually work things out from within us, 99.9% of the time. Instead of our being "set" free, it is His Word that "makes" us free. Jesus teaches us,  "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) In other words, if we truly want to be free to "live" the life of fulfillment that God intends for us, we must be prepared to be "made" free over time. Ready to get started? Okay! Here we go...

            1st) STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS... the more we talk about a problem, the more we breathe life into it, and the bigger it grows! On the other hand, STOP discussing things that keep it alive (how bad it is, what might happen to make it worse, the ifs, ands, and buts about what caused it, etc.) and watch it become smaller and smaller, and soon come to "die"! It's really that simple! So, the next time you're about to pick up the phone and talk to a friend, go, instead, to the ONE Who is waiting with your problem's solution; go directly to Jesus Christ. When you look to the Scriptures, there you will find, the Lord Jesus resides "between the lines".

            2nd) GO INTO YOUR PRAYER CLOSET... ask the Person of the Holy Spirit to help you clear out any un-forgiveness in your life. There are three parts to this, each of which IS A MUST! First, pray for Holy Spirit to bring to mind anyone in your life that may have been offended by you in any way. Secondly, pray to forgive anyone in your life who has done you wrong or offended you in any way. Thirdly, and vitally important to getting unstuck from a rut, pray to be able to forgive yourself! When we talk about forgiveness, we so often overlook the importance of forgiving ourselves. And it's quite often that, what put us in the rut we find ourselves in is, a decision we made by our own poor choosing. We MUST learn how to forgive ourselves, just as well as we learn to forgive others. NOTE: Be prepared for this part to be difficult, or challenging to say the least, because we will be forced to confront our pride and subdue our ego. Dropping your pride is crucial to going back to those you have offended, and also to those who have offended you. We can't emphasize enough how crucial this is! Un-forgiveness is like a wall that separates us from God and others. Un-forgiveness keeps us isolated, unproductive, and incapable of moving forward to fulfill what God is waiting for us to fulfill with Him. Un-forgiveness will serve to keep you down, and in a pit of lifeless existence. We must realize, and always remember, that the "rope" God throw to us, to deliver us from out of our ruts, is the Person of Jesus Christ. Trust me, once you have cleared out all of the un-forgiveness in all three parts of your life, you will experience a newness in your ability to move about "freely"! The air will smell fresher! Colors will seem brighter! Even your steak will taste better! By the way, if you look to the Scriptures, then you will find, the Lord Jesus resides there "between the lines".

            We pray that this blog message helps fan, into flames, your passion for loving, trusting, believing, and following God wholeheartedly. We especially pray that you will become "unstuck" from any rut you may be in now, and that you will also learn what you need to remain "freed" from "ruts" to begin with. If you will constantly seek direction from the Person of the Holy Spirit, your life will be ever better; I guarantee it!

Keep PRESSIN' IN!.

            "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32)

            "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)

________________________________

           We thank you for joining together with us for this message! We hope this, and each of our blog posts, helps fan the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, His wonder-full ways, plan, and purpose for you in this life. To ask questions about our work and organization, to make a special tax-deductible donation to help in this work, to place an order for our special "Keep the FAITH, Keep Your VISION" book offer, get another Keith Shealy & Toward The Mark book or CD, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please click here to e-mail us. If you prefer to write a letter, mail it to the address found below & on our website.

We pray God bless you greatly in carrying this message in your heart. Thank you for taking part in this blog, and in each of our blog posts, made possible by the faithful support of our loving Toward The Mark, Inc. Family of sponsors!

Your friends & servants in Christ,

Take me back to the top of this post.

Take me to the previous post.

Take me to the Journey through Chapter ONE of Keith's book, *Keep the FAITH*.

To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small… 
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc.  Our constant prayer is that you will be encouraged and edified by the Secrets from God's Word that we 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. has been made possible by the prayer and financial contributions of the faithful family of Toward The Mark, Inc. We'd like to welcome you on-board, as a family member also!  Join TODAY!

We INVITE You ... to follow and share these tools and resources as well:

~  "Keith Shealy & Wisdom Wednesday" on Facebook 

      

~  "TTM Singing Sergeant" on Twitter
~  "Sharing Messages God Whispers" on the website
~  "Between The Lines TTM Podcast" by Keith Shealy 

      

This blog message, 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 TTM, Inc.! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!

Die Empty--Discover What God Wired You To Do

Jesus said, “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”  (Matthew 7:14)

The Path of Life is exceedingly difficult to find and, unless we are on the Path of Life, we cannot fulfill God’s purpose for us." - Keith

Have you ever wondered why you were put on the Earth? If you have, then you are certainly not alone.  Millions of people have asked that very same question. Sadly, the vast majority have never found the answer, and instead have sought purpose and fulfillment in all the wrong ways, finding only confusion and hopelessness.  Why is this so?

The majority of individuals today are not taught that they were designed by God for a unique, important role that they, alone, can fulfill in God's great plan. Indeed, much sadness, frustration, confusion, depression, and all manner of discontentment have been wrought in the lives of individuals who have sought purpose and fulfillment that they can never find in jobs, accomplishments, or any other activity.

When we have not seen the vision of what God has wired us to do, then we will indeed perish.  What do I mean by this?  When we do not function in our God-given calling, we can never truly be fulfilled.  This leads to the reason our prisons are overloaded, prescription drug use for depression and anxiety sky-rocketing, and, as is in our country today, unfulfilled people searching for a false sense of fulfillment that end up indebted to loan companies and agents.  When people are not functioning in the fulfilling things God set in their lives, they search for what they can only receive in God in things that lead to exorbitant debt from bigger houses they can't afford, nicer cars than they need, exotic appliances, and other things that cannot replace the satisfaction and fulfillment of truly being in the will of God.

So, see, it is true that without a vision of God's plan and purpose for your life, you will most certainly be destroyed, and perish.  Because the vast majority of people today have never experienced the fulfillment that comes with walking in God's plan for their lives, they stumble into places where they believe they will fall into the happiness they seek, everywhere but at the feet of God.  What satan does is set out to get us on a course that leads us into bondage... to jobs we don't like, to a need for finances, and to some self-destructive spiral that leads us to destruction.  God created each individual person to do something great, unique, and fulfilling in their lives.

In my 30+ years of ministry I have answered countless questions and, perhaps, the most often asked question is, "How do I know what God has called me to do?" Before I share with you the answer to that question, I need to make a point very clear.  Only God knows what He has wired you to do.  This may come as a surprise to you, but, not even your pastor knows what God has wired you to do.  So, before we get started, you need to know that only the maker of a thing truly knows what he made the thing to do.  The same is true of us as being made, or created, by our Maker.  So, if you want to know truly what you were made to do when you were put here on this earth, you need to ask your Maker.  Having said that, you need to know that, despite how we may feel about ourselves at times, God has never made a mistake.  As I have told countless people who question their existence, "If you're here on this earth, that means that God spent time fashioning you, and wiring you, to fulfill a certain existence."  God is the God of Purpose, and everything and everybody He has created, He specifically designed and created to fulfill a vital part in His very specific, over-all plan of His Creation.

Now, the question is, "How do I discover what God has wired me to do?"  First off, let's look at the word "discover."  The word "discover" is opposite of the word "cover."  The word "cover" means "to conceal" a thing, where the word "discover" means "to UNcover, or to reveal" a thing.  To do this, God has given us a way to begin uncovering, or to begin revealing, what He has wired us to do.  Though satan and his minions love to take the simple things and make them complicated, what I am about to ask you may sound almost too simple, or too easy.  After all, shouldn't discovering what God wired us to do take years of intense prayer and fasting, and, well, ... all that?!  The fact of the matter is, no it doesn't.  And, to let you know just how easy God makes it for us to begin to discover, and walk in, what He wired us to do, I ask you a few questions.

What do you like doing?  Again, contrary to what satan would have you believe, it's all really that simple.  You see, God will never call you to do what you do NOT like doing.  Why?  Because, if you don't like what you do, and enjoy what you do, you will never be passionate about what you do.  Why is being passionate so important?  Because God is passionate.  God is fun.  And, if you are not enjoying and fulfilled in what you are doing, you will not be able to reflect the LIFE of God in your work.  You see, God did not give us work for pay.  He gave us work for fulfillment, and joy.  Ask yourself the question, "When was the last time I wanted to be somebody that hated what they do for work?"  Being a Christian, as the majority of the population claim to be, your being fulfilled is a prerequisite for properly representing the Nature of Christ to those who do not know Him.

What did you dream about becoming when you were just a child?  For some, this may take a bit more concentration than it does for others.  Our advice is to get alone with God, wherever it is you might call your "prayer closet."  Make sure that place has no distractions.  It needs to be well-lit, because this phase of your discovering what God has wired you to do requires that you read the Scriptures.  The Scriptures, God's written Word, is where we go to meet with the Person of the Holy Spirit Who tutors us in the things of God, including things like uncovering the part that God has wired us to fulfill with Him.  So, concerning this, n-o-w answer the question, "What did you dream about, and s-e-e yourself doing when you were a child?"  You see, when God gives you a "vision", especially as a young child, what He is in effect doing is showing you what He intends you to pursue.  So, if we have s-e-e-n what we like to do, then all we have to do is go toward that thing we s-e-e. Doing something is what gives you the "vision" to go toward that thing.  In essence, what God does is show us the end, or the fulfillment of what He has wired us to do, then He backs us up and starts us toward the fulfillment of what he showed us.  Are you familiar with the Scripture about how, without a vision, people perish?  This verse holds no truer than where God's calling, His vision for our life, is concerned.  By showing us, early on, what He has wired us to do, He is helping to ensure that we stay on course toward the fulfillment of His vision.  How does this make that sure?  If we get discourage along the way, all we have to do is look again at, and refocus on, what He showed us in the beginning, which will take us back to the vision of the end of what He showed us.

When I was a child, I was passionate about football, music, and boats.  Though these may not sound like what you might consider as legitimate opportunities for "ministry",  that's exactly what they were, and are to this day.  Because God had wired me to pursue them, I was passionate about these 3 things that started as my childhood dreams, and they became a part of my every-day pursuits and, naturally led me to excel in my life in these different fields.  Then, as I grew more skillful in each of these areas of my life, they also naturally brought me joy.  It was the joy that was obvious to others who saw me while I participated in these things that then, naturally, afforded me favor with countless people over the years who I was able to lead to Christ, many of whom I can guarantee would never grace the doors of a church.  Having said that, it's crucial to note that you do not allow yourself to fall in to satan's trap of trying to convince Christians that "real ministry only takes place inside the 4 walls of the church building."  The church and its leadership, biblically speaking, is to be a gift to us from God to teach us how to go outside the 4 walls of the church and effectively affect the lost, the hurting, the poor, the hungry, the naked, the homeless, and the like with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ.  This leads us to the next question.

What is that “something” deep in your heart that you have always wanted to do but have yet to accomplish? Perhaps you have actually started working on it, but for whatever reason, it has fallen to the bottom of your priority list.

What is your passion? You know what I am talking about. What is that God-given vision that burns in your heart so hot that, it is what you think about when you go to bed at night and it is what is on your mind when you wake up in the morning? It is that thing that is even more real to you than the life you are living. So much so, that when you are at school or on your job, it is all you seem to think about and work towards, often making your studies or work-related assignments a bit of a mental tug of war. That, my friend, is how God lets us know what He has put us on this Earth to do.

How do you get started doing what you believe is God’s call for your life? The way I did it was this: I prayed and asked God to lead me to someone that was truly anointed at doing what I felt God was calling me to do. I then went to that person and asked them if they would show me the ropes, so to speak. In my case, I wanted to start my own outreach ministry. So, I committed to serving a pastor who was truly called by God to pastor His people. I then sat under his teaching and did whatever he needed me to do for a number of years.

Perhaps God has called you to start a Christian bookstore. The same principle applies: the best way to learn the business would be to work in an established bookstore until you have gathered enough information from your employer or managers to start your own store.

I know several guys who believed that God had called them to open an automotive repair shop. That was their ministry. They worked for several years at an established garage until such time as they felt ready to start their own. That is how it is done.

We encourage you, whatever that “something” is that has been burning in your heart, ignore it no longer! Get with God and do whatever it takes to get it “out there” so that it can be doing what God intended for it to do: Glorify His name and fulfill your deepest longings!

I once had a very sobering revelation of what it would be like to stand before the loving Almighty God without having completed the things that He had put me here on Earth to do. All I can say is, it crushed my heart! There I was, standing before God, Love Himself, with nothing to lay at His feet. I can remember being overwhelmed with grief, not a fear of being yelled at by Him, but a deep sorrow the likes of which I had never known: wishing that I could have one more chance to go back and bring forth the things that He had placed in me. I can tell you right now, that is not going to happen to me, and I encourage you with all of my strength to not let it happen to you either! It is time you stop procrastinating and get it done!

Get the things that God has placed in your heart out of you and into the hands and hearts of others who need what He has so richly deposited in your life.

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26)

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:10-11)

From this time forth we encourage you to make it your life’s passion to pursue ALL of what you were wired by God to be and to do so, when your life is finished, you DIE EMPTY.

THANK YOU for following the Blog of TTM, Inc. and God bless you,

We INVITE YOU to...  take advantage of our other Scripture-based tools to help as “We Press Toward the Mark…” of becoming "one" with our Heavenly Father:

~ "Keith Shealy's Toward The Mark" on Facebook

~ "TTM SingingSgt" on Twitter

~  Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" TTM Podcast on Libsyn

~ "Sharing with you the Secrets God Whispers to us" teachings on our website 

CLICK HERE to make a secure tax-deductible contribution to help Toward The Mark, Inc.

*Every gift you send helps, and we thank you for it!

Mail tax-deductible gift checks made out to "Toward The Mark, Inc.", P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.

        Take me back to the top of this post.

Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2005 - 2019 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply |
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Keith's 1st Terrifying Encounter -- with an Angel

From all-consuming FEAR - begging Him to leave my room -
to PEACE that consumed me!

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures for ever.” (Psalms 111:10)

Today's blog is helping folks achieve at least these 3 things:

 

1.) Create in you an unquenchable desire to seek God with your whole heart, mind, body, and soul!

2.) Encourage you that, if you have not yet experienced anything like what I am about to share with you today, God will reveal Himself to you in His time and His way!  God shows Himself big to us in various ways, including in the small matters of our lives: 

·     getting a much-needed check in the mail just as a bill comes due;

·     getting an encouraging phone call when we need it most; or

·     hearing His soft and gentle whisper in our spirit that builds our faith like nothing else can.

3.) Tell you why NOT to be afraid of God, as in "earthly fear."  In fact, as a result of the following testimony, I have come to define the fear of the Lord as being, "a personal knowledge of the All- consuming Awesome Power of Almighty God!" 

The encounter that I am talking about took place around 4:00 AM on September 13th, 1985.  That morning I experienced something that, up to that point in my life, I had only heard of or read about, but had never witnessed for myself.  It all started out as a dream that I had that was set in what appeared to be the ruins of an old stucco-style village, like the kind that would have been in Jerusalem during the time that our Lord physically walked the earth.

Appearing before me was the figure of a man whose face I never saw because he had his back to me the whole time and was wearing what seemed to be an oversized, full-length, hooded robe.  From the moment the dream began I heard what sounded like thousands upon thousands of angels singing the song that Jack Hayford wrote entitled “Majesty.” 

As I heard this chorus being sung in awesome beauty, I saw the robed man kneel down at the base of one of the stucco structures next to me.  As he knelt, I leaned over his shoulder and watched him take both of his hands and reach into the wall of the structure, as if it were transparent, and pull out a toy-sized figure of a horse; and on the horse was the figure of a rider.  The horse was about ten inches in length, and the rider on its back seemed to be a small, invisible man made visible only by very loosely-wrapped strips of cotton cloth that were wound around his body. 

During the entire time that I was watching this take place, the consuming praises of God were being sung by voices that, all the while, were growing greater in volume and power.  As I continued looking over the shoulder of the man at the figure of the horse and its rider, the voices of what seemed to be legions upon legions of angels began to suddenly increase in even greater volume and power, like a mighty rushing wind, not harsh to my ears, but with an all-consuming beauty that forced me to look straight up over my head. 

When I looked up, I saw, faster than the human eye can follow, an angel descending down upon me from straight up above.  It seemed as if it was going to land right on top of me but, instead, suddenly stopped and slapped the tips of its wings together, about three inches from my face.  With the clash of its wings together, I awoke from the dream. 

I awoke to find my spirit hovering about two feet over my body, which was laying flat on its back in the bed.  The first thing I realized was that I had been stripped from my will and was totally subject to whatever God wanted to do with me at that point!  The fear I felt cannot be relayed with words! 

Shortly after, I experienced my spirit slowly settling back down into my body.  Once back in my body, I fought to get my hands up over my face in hopes that it would somehow shield or protect me from seeing God, or Jesus Himself, and being consumed like a Kleenex tissue in a raging bonfire. The terrifying fear was indescribable to say the very least! 

By this time, the power of God was so all-consuming, that I could not so much as move or speak.  The only thing that I could think to do was to try to praise God, but by this point I couldn’t even move my hands away from my face, still in fear of what I might see.  The fear was like nothing I had ever experienced, seen, or even heard of before!  It rendered me powerless to move, as if I had been turned to stone.  It was only by the grace of God that I was able to cover my face with my hands.  I was totally subject to whatever God wanted to do with me!  It was also at that time that I learned, much better than I wanted to at that moment, just how frail our physical bodies are in the presence of God.  For example, I was totally amazed that my heart didn’t actually burst.  It sure felt like it was going to. 

After about an hour had passed, the fear began to subside enough to where I started to regain the use of my faculties.  I remember the first thing to come out of my mouth were pleas for Jesus to leave my room!  Even the thought of seeing Him gripped my heart with a fear that can’t be explained with mere words.  As the  horrifying, all-consuming fear continued to subside, I began to notice that it was now being replaced by an all-consuming peace.  The peace was also like nothing that I had ever experienced or even heard of before.  Just like the fear, the peace was indescribable.  Within just a few short hours the Lord had taken me from one extreme to the other.  The peace of God that settled in my room, (since there are no words that can ever come close to describing it) was “like” a dew or mist that fell on everything around me.

“Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.  And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.” (Daniel 10:18-19) 

As the all-consuming peace of Lord began to subside, I was then and only then, able to sit up in my bed and begin worshipping Him.  Believe me, I worshipped Him with every fiber of my being for, as best as I can recall, abount three hours.  I can vividly remember the muscles in my throat feeling as if they were on fire.  My eyes had run out of tears after just the first thirty minutes or so, and my voice was literally worn out from singing praises. 

It was during that time that I realized that it is only because God enables us that we can even participate in the wonderful privilege of worshipping His Holy Name! 

Another amazing thing I learned, while in His presence, was that there are literally no words that can even begin to describe Him!  As a matter of fact, even the names “King of kings” and “Lords of lords” didn’t come close to describing who He is. 

As His peace continued to settle in my room, I was only then able to ask God what was meant by the dream, and what the significance was of the horse and its rider that He had shown me early in the dream.  He said, “The horse and its rider that I showed you represent satan and his hoards of unclean spirits.  The reason I showed them to you at the size that I did was to relay the insignificance and powerlessness they have against you while you walk in Christ.” 

Then He spoke something that left me speechless yet again.  He asked me, “Remember how you were totally consumed with indescribable fear by what you thought was my presence?  Do you remember how you were terrified beyond measure by what you thought was Jesus himself standing in your room?  Do you recall losing the complete use of your body to what you just knew were legions upon legions of angels?  Keith, the truth is, I never did come anywhere near you; My precious Son never even stepped so much as one foot into your room; and what you thought were legions upon legions of angels was only one angel.” 

Not only was I once again totally amazed, but I also immediately remembered and understood fully the account in Matthew where he records what took place at the tomb just after Jesus rose from the dead.  Matthew writes, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.  And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.  His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.  And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.” (Matthew 28:1-4) 

Then the Lord said to me, “So, if you were totally consumed by the presence of just one angel, then how much greater things will I do with the legions that I have set at your side (and at the side of all who love Me) to destroy the things that separate My children from Me!” 

He then said, “All of the demons of hell ride a horse named ‘Deception'!”  He concluded by saying, “Get your pen and paper, and document exactly what you have both seen and heard.” 

At that, I reached into my night-stand, grabbed my pen and notepad, and began the difficult task of trying to put into words the things I had seen and heard in the spirit.  And, if I might add, this brief account of what took place does in no way begin to describe the awesomeness of what had taken place.  In that brief period of time in 1985, I received an understanding of "the fear of the Lord" that I had never known before.  It was this new understanding that enabled me to adopt as my own personal definition of the fear of the Lord, “a personal knowledge of the all-consuming, awesome power of almighty God!” 

Although what I experienced that morning was terrifying beyond description, I found it to be something that never turned me against, or drove me away from, God, but one that endeared me to Him in a profound way. 

What took place firmly set my affections on God and established in my heart a love for Him that, until then, I did not think was even possible. 

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:26-27 ) 

Unlike the damaging “fleshly fear” that is experienced by a child who is exposed to an abusive parent, experiencing the awesome presence of God, hence the fear of the Lord, establishes a reverence and awe of God which opens the doorway to understanding like nothing else can. 

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: to understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.  My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.” (Proverbs 1:5-9) 

Where the fear of the Lord is absent in the life of a Christian, lifeless religion will prevail! 

If you desire for the Lord to show Himself to you in a great way, then you must seek Him diligently! 

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) 

If you noticed, Paul did not say that God is a Rewarder of them who “merely” seek Him.  He said that God is a Rewarder of them that “diligently” seek Him! 

This walk with God is an “all in or all out” endeavor!  God wants nothing more than to draw close to us, but the one thing that hinders Him from doing so is our own lack of desire to first draw close to Him! 

“Draw nigh to God, and (then) he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:8)

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::

~ "Keith Shealy & Toward The Mark" on Facebook
~ Keith's "Between The Lines" Podcast on Libsyn and

~ "TTM Singing Sergeant" on Twitter

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