Happy "Giving-Thanks Day" Every Day

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A heart filled with gratitude to GOD for Who HE IS more than for what He can do for us unlocks the gates that lead into oneness with Him... He is beyond worthy of our continuous and eternal thanks.

A pastor friend once asked me this question, "If you were to prescribe just one thing that, if taken to heart, would immediately produce a profound change in the lives of those who practice it, what would it be?" Without hesitating I said "Gratitude!" He responded, "Why gratitude?" I went on to share with him how the Holy Spirit once revealed to me that a heart full of gratitude for Who God IS unlocks the "gates" that lead into oneness with Him as noted in Psalms 100:4, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful (filled with thanks always) unto Him, and bless His Name."

When our heart is filled with thanks for God, for Who He is more than for what He can do for us, God can most certainly smell it. For God, a gratitude-filled heart is sweet in His nostrils. When God is our passion, so much so that we are continually grateful to Him, for Him, the contents of our hearts rise up before His Throne like a sort of invisible smoke, or a sweet-smelling savor, that is Holy, acceptable, and pleasing to Him. This sweet-smelling savor, or fragrance, is the praise mentioned in the Psalms 100:4 verse.

God is the Consummate Family Man, and nothing makes Him happier than when His children love, and want, Him more than they want their own lives, or His "stuff" for that matter. "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God (the Kingdom that IS God), and His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33).”

People we meet often ask us, "What is your mission statement, or what exactly do you do?" When we get asked this question, our answer is always the same. We aim to show God BIG in the eyes of those who see Him small, and to bridge the gap between God and His beloved children.

Every morning, we wake up to the vision of what it would be like if everyone we knew and met was truly and wholeheartedly grateful. They would exude gratitude to God for Who He IS, and also to others for who they are. They would have and display a level of uncommon respect for others. They would be quick to speak life. They would be selfless and always looking to help others in whatever way they can. They would be looking to see others through God's eyes, and would always be looking to see, and call out, the gifts that God has placed in them. They would fan the flame in the heart of others for completing the work God has wired them to full-fill. And every one of them would love God wholeheartedly, pursue "oneness" with Him, and tell everyone what He means to them. They would be more keenly aware of the times we are living in, and would do everything possible to lift up the Lord's Name and glorify God in the eyes of others, not because they are told they have to, but because of their unquenchable passion for Him.

During this Thanksgiving, and always, for everyone we meet, we aim to ignite a diligent pursuit for Who God IS more than for what He does, or can do! This is our goal and it's our every-day VISION that drives us! Will you join us?

We will be praying, and eternally grateful, for your decision to help us ignite an unquenchable passion in the hearts of others to thank God, continually, for Who He is more than for what he can do!

Your friends and servants in Christ Jesus,

     ...and the entire Team of Toward The Mark, Inc.

This blog message, and each of our full-Bible tools and resources, is made possible by the support of our faithful partners. If you would like to be part of helping us expand our outreach, we would like to invite you to become a monthly financial partner. Your support will go toward fulfilling our calling to provide effective, contemporary, ongoing outreach tools for the churched and un-churched alike 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. We thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the fertile soil of this ministry, and we pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!

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

Sharing practical and effective ways for knowing and showing the Love and Truth of the Gospel that Jesus Christ preached... Living a victorious life during turbulent times in a lost and dying world.

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          Take me back to the top of this post.

          Take me to "Prayer and Our Vote..." post.

          Take me to "STOP..." post.

          Take me to "Is Your Nest Becoming Unfeathered?" post.

          Take me to "Love Letter from FATHER" post.

          Take me to "Out From Under His Wings" post.

          Take me to "Gold Star Tribute for Memorial Day" post.

          Take me to "Special Tribute to Godly Moms" post.

          Take me to "New CHURCH Leader Prophetic Word" post.

          Take me to "'Rein In' our Runaway Brain" post.

          Take me to "Celebrating 'SINGLEness'" post.

          Take me to "Worship God with sacrifices of Praise" post.

          Take me to "MONEY is not the root of all EVIL" post.

          Take me to "The BEST New Year's Resolution" 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.

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          Take me to "Celebrate Difference; Honoring MLK, Jr." post.

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          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*.

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!

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PAIN is a GOOD Thing??

This is a motivating story that Keith shares to explain why we must welcome the "pain" that comes with growing spiritually.  When we give our heart and life to Jesus Christ, we begin to make changes in our lifestyle.  We give up our old habits that are counterproductive, and develop new habits that will grow our relationship, and our faith, IN our Lord and Savior.  If, like me, you identify with the painful experiences of this young believer Keith led to the Lord, you'll be blessed by realizing how, clearly, "PAIN is a GOOD thing."  Selah. 

Keith received a phone call from a young, and rather popular, guy in his youth group who, just a few weeks before, had given his heart and life to the Lord.  He asked Keith if he could meet with him to talk about a decision he had made and was struggling with.  Hearing frustration in this young man's voice, Keith made it a point to meet with him asap.  When they met and sat down to talk, with a stressed voice, the young believer asked, "Why do non-believers seem to have it easier than Christians do?  Why does it seem that, ever since I started going to church, and stopped hanging out with my old friends I used to party with before I made my commitment to Jesus Christ, my life seems to be falling apart?  I see my old friends having a good time, while I feel like I've been in an endless string of trials and tribulations.  Keith... is there something wrong with me?"  

Understanding how it feels to be harshly criticized, hurt, and rejected by old friends who don't know God, Keith replied, "What I hear you saying is actually really good news.  It tells me you are right where you need to be.  You see, the fiery trials and struggles are coming your way because God loves you.  I know that may sound a bit different than what you may have heard before, but let me explain what I'm saying.  Next to God sending His precious Son, the Person of the Holy Spirit, and His written Word for us, providing for our trials is His most valuable gift to us.  The fiery trials in life, for believers, is of utmost importance for our development into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.  Much like it takes intense heat to purify gold, and tons of immense pressure, and time, to turn a piece of coal into a priceless diamond, it takes fiery trials and pressures to burn away our old, stinking, flesh nature and purify us.  Only after that can our life become a sweet-smelling fragrance to God."  

Jesus fore-warned us that this would happen and, to encourage us to resist running from our difficulties and to stand firm through the trials that come, He said, "And ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Mark 13:13)  The apostle Paul knew this first-hand, telling how he actually cherished his times in the fiery trials, saying, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

When the young believer asked, "Does it ever get easier?"  Keith replied, "No, it gets better!  You see, the more we submit to the trials when they come, and hold fast to them, the clearer God's voice becomes to us.  Believe me, when you begin to hear God's voice, all of the trials you have gone through immediately become inexplicably small compared to the awesome privilege of experiencing even one word from God's own mouth.  It is an experience for which there are no words to even begin to explain!  Jesus makes this point best when He says, 'A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.' (John 16:21)"

I encourage you, when the fiery trials of this life come, and they will, do not be so quick to try and escape them.  => Resist the temptation to run.  => Linger in them for a while.  => Let their perfect work be done in you.  => And watch what God will do.

 

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Make sure to follow our "Keith Shealy & Toward The Mark" Facebook page  and "TTMSingingSgt" Twitter page as well.  Also, *NEW* this month, for more of what the devil DOESN'T want you to find, we invite you to listen in to "Keith Shealy's Between The Lines", fresh weekly podcasts for a full 52 weeks (an entire year) of uplifting messages at your findertips.

This blog message, along with the rest of our inventory of resources, is made possible by the support of our faithful prayer and financial support partners. Would you help us expand our outreach capabilities, and begin to provide a regular financial contribution each month? Your support will go toward fulfilling God's call on this ministry - to help provide effective, contemporary, outreach tools to everyone who seeks to know the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ. We invite you to take part, 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 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 100-fold for your generosity!