Turning The Tide Of Imitation And Lies LIVING OUT The Gospel Of JESUS CHRIST

Raising The Bar To God's Word Of Truth To Fulfil His Will In All We Say And Do  

        Each one of us, individually, must exercise ourselves unto godliness, raising the standard of God's Word, Christ's Nature, in our own lives; and we must remind ourselves that, in these trying times, we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness, and that the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God.

Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven (Matthew 5:13-16)."

How can each of us accomplish any of this? To begin with, we must recognize that we can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do all things through the Spirit of The Lord. Then, as we follow The Holy Spirit of Truth as He leads us in-to absolute all Truth, we can increasingly enter into the living power and knowledge of God's Word; for it is His Word that makes us free! "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)."

Through the Word of God, we must submit unto the true fulfillment found only in Christ Jesus. Then, through the truth of the Word of God, we can expose the imitations offered by the world for the lies that they are, and reveal the true fulfillment of Jesus Christ through our personal testimony, witness, and example.

As Jesus said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me (John 12:32)." What did He mean by that? When Jesus referred to being lifted up, He was not only speaking of the type of death that He would suffer on the cross at Calvary. He was also referring to the truth that if we are baptized- that is, saturated- in Him, and live His righteousness daily, He will draw all men to Himself through us.

The enemy offers imitations of the flesh, through his willing models of the flesh; but as partners with God, we are meant to offer the true fulfillment of Jesus Christ, through being a willing model of His life!

So, how do we get more "Clues to a Fruit-full Life" in The LORD?

LISTEN NOW:

"The LORD gave the word: great was the company of those that published it (Psalm 68:11)."

Your friends, servants, and TTM Family in Christ Jesus,

    

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 channel, 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 3:13-14)

 

Keep PRESSIN' IN!

"See flipcard titles"

We INVITE YOU TO...
 see and hear, follow and share, more from our TTM team:

~ Keith and Brenda "Becoming God's End Time Executives" on Keith Shealy's Between The Lines Podcast Channel

...ADVANCING GOD'S WORD ... At Home, In Our Schools, And On The Job!

~ Special "CELEBRATING FREEDOM" Video on our Rumble Channel

~ The Shealys and Toward The Mark Videos on Vimeo

~ From our 1st-ever Audio Book "LETTERS FROM THE FRONT"

~ "GAB with The Shealys & Toward The Mark INC"

~ "MeWe with KeithAndBrendaLee Toward The Mark"

~ "TTM SingingSgt" on Twitter

~ "Sharing with you the Secrets God Whispers to us" revelations on Keith Shealy's Between The Lines Podcast 

        Take me back to the top of this post.

        Take me back to "Satan's 'Party Night' (vs.) ... Jesus Christ" post.

        Take me back to "Calling Every Christian..." post.

        Take me to "Nothing Can Separate Us From GOD's Love" post.

        Take me back to "Becoming A Love Letter..." post.

        Take me back to "A Little Guy with God..." post.

~We invite you to "KeithAndBrendaLee Shealy's BetweenTheLines Podcast" Channel.

Special Featured Podcast... I was overwhelmed by the enormity of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us!

CLICK to give a tax-deductible gift securely by:

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. 
We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!

  To help you further your fight to victory through the battles that confront every one of us in these turbulent times we live in, get your copy of our book, " LETTERS FROM THE FRONT." In this collection of 12 letters written from the front lines of battle fought in the spiritual, natural, and theater of the mind, Keith's Scripture messages will build your faith and help you reach God's full potential for your life.
"LETTERS FROM THE FRONT"
available now... Send e-mail request.

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. 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! 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.

Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2005 - 2024 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply |
 Visit TowardTheMark.com website |  Connect with TowardTheMark on e-mail

"See flipcard titles"

NEW, Mini-Series Weekday 16 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 #16 of 20-day Blog mini-series #2
Chapter THREE, "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"

    
"Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"
            In the passage cited earlier from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, we read the words, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Combining this passage with John 16:13, we find that, when the Spirit of truth is come, we must receive Him. Once we have received Him, He will lead us into all truth "that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

Question to ponder:

What is God's vision for the believer who sets out to enjoy the journey into oneness with Him through The Person of The Holy Spirit?   _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

          "Important to mention is that our walk with The Lord is a process of learning how to gain our balance in the spirit, soul, and body. As a youth pastor for ten years, I have had the privilege of leading many young people to Christ, and mentoring countless youth. Just as growing babies, in the natural body, awkwardly work at gaining their balance to learn to stand and walk, young believers can also prove rather awkward in finding their footing, so to speak, where spiritual matters are concerned. As you might imagine, helping young believers strike this most important balance between spirit, soul, and body is crucial. I learned early on that satan gets undue credit for tormenting and attacking young Christians, when over-exuberance attending functions at the church (like prayer meetings, Bible studies, and group fellowships) is the actual cause for concern. It's very true that there is little else as beautiful to a pastor than when young folks, who are truly passionate about salvation, give their hearts to the Lord, and become involved with the youth group, and give everything they are and have to growing in Christ. However, a young believer needs to be nurtured by leaders and spiritually mature believers in the fellowship, just as a newborn babe requires physical care, attention, and rearing by the mother and dad. It goes to reason that the tendency of the newborn babe in Christ is to get so caught up in learning and growing in the things of The Lord that, if they are not careful, they can get swept away in an imbalance in their life, and neglect necessary care for keeping the physical body healthy.  
          The important thing to ponder is that we'll not enjoy all that God has given us to enjoy if we don't take care of our physical body. I must admit, the first few times that I found myself in intense spiritual battles, I came to realize that there wasn't a demon spirit within 100 miles of me; the truth was that I had become so involved in the church and my daily work schedule that I fell into a trap of eating on the run, not getting enough sleep, and, when I did take time for a meal, it was fast food with little to no nutritional value to be gained. Hence, there was also no joy to be found. Praise God that He makes our life balanced, orderly, and filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory... as long as we don't neglect proper maintenance of this three-fold vessel He provided for us to enjoy, as well! Selah."  


My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.  (John 10:27-29)

*See you tomorrow, and please make sure to invite your friends who are lost or who just need encouragement too! God bless 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!

           Take me back to the top of this post.

           Take me to *DAY 15* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 14* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 13* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 12* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 11* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 10* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 9* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 8* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 7* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 6* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 5* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 4* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 3* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 2* of this 20-day mini-series.

           Take me to *DAY 1* of this 20-day mini-series.

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

           Take me to the LAST DAY of Keith's Journey through *Chapter ONE*.

           Take me to "Rattlesnake Revelation" post.

           Take me to "Honoring Gold Star Patriots" post.

           Take me to "Dear Mom, Grandmother, Proverbs 31 Woman" post.

           Take me to "The Love of God" post.

           Take me to "Fiery Trials of My Broken Vessel" post.

           Take me to "Magnetic Mantle...Why cats..." post.

           Take me to "Valentine's 5-Step Prep" post.

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

           Take me to "Overcoming Intimidation" post.

           Take me to "The Heart of Thanksgiving" post.

           Take me to "The Invisible Man" post.

           Take me to "The Abomination of Misrepresentation" post.

           Take me to "Living Among Thorns" post.

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: 

~  "Keith Shealy & Wisdom for Weekdays"  on Facebook  

      

~  "TTM Singing Sergeant"  on Twitter  

      

~  "Between The Lines Podcast"  by Keith and Brenda Shealy  

      

~  "VIDEO Versions of Between The Lines Podcast"  on Vimeo  

      

~  "NEW TowardTheMark MINUTE Podcast"  on our Libsyn Channel  

      

~  "Sharing with you Secrets God Whispers to Us"  on the website  

      

~  "I want to help TTM, Inc."  by giving a tax-deductible donation here:  

      

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

Day 11, Paragraph 11 of Weekday Blog #1

*Starting our morning and day off great with the 10-minute Weekday Blog*

Our first DAILY blog for each Weekday in JUNE!

Thank you for joining us for this
ground-breaking JOURNEY...
through the 1st CHAPTER 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 ELEVEN,
Paragraph ELEVEN:

    
The backwards way of thinking is certainly the way most career-minded people function in today's world, where the pursuit of food, clothing, shelter, wealth, and social standing come well before the pursuit of godliness. Observe that, although not placed in priority observance above the spirit and soul perspective, none of these should be construed as being of no importance to God, or be thought as though He does not care about our physical well-being. After all, He designed the human body, and the Scripture declares that God gives us richly all things to enjoy.

Question to ponder:

What is God's vision for the new or young believer as they set out to enjoy their new journey and begin fighting for balance between their spirit, soul, and body?  _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

"To downplay the importance of our physical bodies would be a terrible mistake.  After all, it is our physical body that gives us legal access to move about the planet in the physical realm.  Over my many years in the church, I have watched many young believers strike imbalances in this matter, in many different ways.  Important to mention is that our walk with the Lord is a process of learning how to gain our balance in the spirit, soul, and body. Where striking the proper balance between our spirit, soul, and body is concerned, focusing solely on the spirit and the soul, omitting the importance of the body, is dangerous, to say the least.  As a youth pastor for ten years, I have had the privilege of leading many young people to Christ, and mentoring countless more.  Just as growing babies in the natural body awkwardly work at gaining their balance in learning to stand and walk, young believers can also prove rather awkward in finding their footing, so to speak, where spiritual matters, being in harmony with focus on physical matters, are concerned. As you might imagine, helping young believers strike this most important balance between spirit, soul, and body is crucial.  I learned early on that satan gets undue credit for tormenting and attacking young Christians when, instead of it being to his credit, it is more often overexhuberance in attending functions at the church (like prayer meetings, Bible studies, and group fellowships) at the expense of providing sufficient care, maintenance and nutrients, to the physical body as necessary. While it's very true that there is little else as beautiful to a pastor than when young folks, who are truly passionate about salvation, give their hearts to the Lord, become involved with the youth group, and give everything they are and have to growing in Christ. However, a young believer needs to be nurtured by leaders and mentors in the flock and fellowship, just as a newborn babe requires care, attention, and rearing by the mature adult caregivers of the household.  It goes to reason that the tendency of the newborn babe in Christ is to get so caught up in learning and growing in the things of the Lord that, if they are not careful, they can get swept away in an imbalance in their life, and end up neglecting necessary care for the physical body and health. The important thing to ponder is that we'll not enjoy all that God has given us to enjoy, if we don't take proper care of our physical body, striking that proper stewardship balance between the three: spirit, soul, and body.  I must admit, the first few times that I found myself in intense spiritual battles, I came to realize that there wasn't a demon spirit within 100 miles of me;  so the truth was actually legions of demons turned out to be my own body beginning to shut down on me.  I had become so involved in the church and in my daily work schedule that I fell into a trap of eating on the run, not getting enough sleep, and, when I did take time for a quick meal, it was fast food that contained little to no nutritional value to be gained. Hence, there was also no joy to be found. Praise God that He makes our life balanced, orderly, filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory... as long as we don't neglect proper maintenance of this physical vessel, in balance with our spirit and soul, all provided for us to enjoy, as we work all things together, in harmony!"

"Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, not trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."  (1 Timothy 6:17)


*See you tomorrow, and please make sure to invite your friends too! God bless and keep you!*

_____________________________

This book is based on real-life matters that are crucial for each one of us to embrace in our life. To ask questions, make a special donation for a large quantity of books, or if you would like 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,

Take me back to the top of this post.

Take me to the first post of last week, *DAY 6*.

Take me to the last post of last week, *DAY 10*.

Take me to the very beginning, *DAY 1*.

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.  The complete collection of original podcasts, music, blogs, books, CDs, and other resources of Toward The Mark, Inc. are made possible by the prayer and financial contributions of the TTM Support Family.  We'd like to welcome you onboard TODAY!

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

~    "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 this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!