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Showing posts with label prayers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prayers. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30

THINK GOLD



If Americans are to survive the current tide of tyranny, the righteous must arise and establish "... gold tried in the fire ...(Revelation 3:18)."

       "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16)."

       As we look at America's dismal economy today, there is one thing that can certainly be blamed for what has led to the out-of-control spending and national debt that, without God's intervening, we will never dig our way out of. That one atrocious thing, which occurred in 1971, is when President Richard Nixon took our American economy "off" of "The Gold Standard". On a side note, there was a second defining atrocity committed by our own government just two years later: Roe vs. Wade was passed.

       So, what is "The Gold Standard" where a country's economy is concerned? The Gold Standard that a country's economy is based on is a currency measurement system that uses gold as a way to set the value of money. It ensures that currency under a gold-standard system can be exchanged for gold. The Gold Standard signifies an agreement between society and its monetary institutions where the currency they spend and earn is a stand-in for gold available to back it up. As long as our economy was kept in check by the country's gold reserves, politicians' spending was held in check. The amount of gold we had in our national reserves was used as the foundation of the economy.

       This subject has loads of history, variations, and political tentacles but, put simply, The Gold Standard, in a perfect world, is designed in part to keep the politicians honest and the taxpayers safe. Otherwise, we have what is occurring now... tyrannical abuses. "The Gold Standard forces the U.S. to live within its means", said investment strategist Mark Luschini. "Think of it as a person with a debit card rather than a credit card. The debit card holder can only spend what he or she has in the bank."

       There was a time in the early 1900s in America when paper money was backed by gold. It was referred to as "The Era of The Gold Standard". The story of why that era came to an end includes a nervous breakdown, a global panic, and a presidential adviser who was an expert on cows and chickens. The Gold Standard was a promise. If you had a dollar, you could take it to the government any time you wanted and trade it in for a fixed amount of gold. In the U.S. year after year, $20.67 got you an ounce of gold. In the early part of the 20th century, all the world's key economies were on The Gold Standard.

       Then in 1931, the system began to unravel in the most powerful country in the world at the time: England. When The Great Depression hit, the people in England panicked and started taking their paper money to the government to trade for gold. So many people had come to make the trade that The Bank of England was in danger of running out of their gold reserves.

       The thought of "running out of gold" was particularly terrifying for Montagu Norman, the head of The Bank of England. Norman was facing an impossible dilemma. As it was becoming increasingly difficult for England to remain on The Gold Standard, abandoning it was absolutely unthinkable for Norman and his contemporaries who came of age at a time when The Gold Standard was the unquestioned anchor of the global monetary system. This dilemma led Norman into a terrible dilemma of his own: a nervous breakdown. "The pressures of the job got to him, and he collapsed one day," says Liaquat Ahamed, author of the book Lords of Finance. "He thought that the future of Western Civilization was in his hands, and he basically couldn't function." Norman's doctor told him to leave the country and get some rest.

       While Montagu Norman was away, his colleagues at The Bank of England realized they were left with no choice because they were nearly out of their gold. So they decided to abandon The Gold Standard. It was like a bomb went off. People all over the world thought, if England can do it, anyone can. People all around the world began to turn their paper money in for gold, and countries' economies got worse and worse. Then, on March 12, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his first fireside chat just when the U.S. had done "the mother of all bank runs".

       "Because of undermined confidence on the part of the public, there was a general rush by a large portion of our population to turn bank deposits into currency or gold," Roosevelt said. When he gave this speech, Roosevelt knew The Gold Standard was a problem. But he wasn't sure what to do about it. In fact, his top economic advisers were telling him to stay on The Gold Standard. They felt the same as Montagu Norman; Gold backing held everything in check.

       But there was one guy advising FDR to leave The Gold Standard, an economist named George Warren. In the book "Lords of Finance", Ahamed describes Warren as "a crank" saying, "George Warren had helped FDR deal with some of his trees on his estate. He was an agricultural economist." Warren had written a book on dairy farming and also devised a system for getting chickens to lay more eggs. He had also done a lot of work studying the way The Gold Standard affected commodity prices and the economy. He told FDR that the country had to leave The Gold Standard, and Roosevelt took his advice.

       Ahamed said that, when FDR told his advisers about his decision, they all exploded. Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, resigned. Another adviser said it would be the end of Western Civilization. But it wasn't. Experts of the day were wrong about The Gold Standard.

       "Most economists now agree that 90% of the reason why the U.S. got out of The Great Depression was the break with gold," Ahamed says. He continued, "Going off of The Gold Standard gave the government new tools to steer the economy. If you're not tied to gold, you can adjust the amount of money in the economy if you need to. You can adjust interest rates. Almost all economists agree, the system we have today is better than The Gold Standard. Not perfect, but much better."

       Per that last quote, I would like to quote a famous 1960's cartoon horse from The Quick Draw McGraw Show... "Hold on thar, Baba Looey!"

       Without The Gold Standard firmly in place, enforced, and adhered to by those leading the country, taxpayer money can, and will likely, be terribly misappropriated or abused! For proof of this, one does not have to look any further than what is occurring right now in our own America! On so many levels, our domestic enemies, traitors within our own government, are raping, pillaging, and plundering our own nation! Taking America off of The Gold Standard, in order for it to operate in the way our government needed it to back in 1933, first required a solid moral foundation in the lives of those who were tasked with the appropriations of taxpayer money. Sadly, that solid moral character that was prevalent in the lawmakers of 1933 has greatly eroded based on the lives of many who are ruling our nation today. With that being the fact, what the lawmakers did to balance our economy in 1933 is clearly impossible today. In order for an economy to function outside of The Gold Standard, those who are tasked with appropriating our taxpayer dollars must be of the highest moral character and standing. Even then, for the sake of keeping the lawmakers safe from temptation, The Gold Standard must be in place.

       Over the last 50-plus years, our American government has been gradually infiltrated by foreign and domestic enemies! Anti-American, one-world-order communists have been systematically working for years to destroy our Nation at every side, including using their efforts, by the way, to succeed in stealing the 2020 Presidential Election and, most recently, the majority of 2022 mid-term elections. We must fervently pray, and not just alone, but we must join forces. Together, we must do everything we can as Americans to see that this corruption and its cartels are removed from within our government, from the medical industry and media, and from all of the many large companies in the U.S. We must do every-thing we possibly can to see that the criminals, enemies of God who hate His people, His America, and His Creation, are arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced. Simultaneously, we must play our part to pray for the salvation of the lawless, the criminals, and the anti-Constitutionalists, and work to see that they are replaced with God-fearing men and women who love Christ Jesus and who will lead the American citizenry in the "Right" direction, by the passionate pursuit of God in Jesus Christ by the leading of The Holy Spirit first and foremost... hence, obtaining the most essential Gold Standard: The True Gold, oneness i-n Jesus Christ!

       In order to establish and enact this first and infinitely power-full Gold Standard for the saving of America, this Gold Standard (becoming one in Jesus Christ) must be the passion of us all. Jesus Christ reveals this Spiritual Gold Standard in the vital Scripture, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see (Revelation 3:18)." In order for The Gold Standard of the economy to work as it was designed to, we must handle it firmly, trusting its function to those in authority who have built their lives on the very Nature of Jesus Christ-The Gold Standard of The Spirit.

       It is our daily prayer that God will place America, and the other nations of the world, into the hands of those who love Jesus Christ, those God-fearing leaders and law-makers who are public "servants" first, those whose objective it is to lead America based on The 2 Gold Standards Americans need, simultaneously, for the protection and betterment of each and every individual in America and in every other country on the planet.

       We stand together, with you, praying, "Father God, please give to us Your leaders who love Your written Word, who listen for Your spoken Word, and who will, and already do, 'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).' And please, Lord, let them be those who will 'rightly divide' the American taxpayer's hard-earned money! In Christ Jesus we pray, Amen (let it be so!" And AMEN!
    
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 3:14)


Keep PRESSIN' IN!



We INVITE YOU...
 see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:

Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel















Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2005 - 2022 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply |
 Visit TowardTheMark's website |  Connect with TowardTheMark on e-mail.

Thursday, September 29

His-story in all of this miraculously answered prayer

Hi again, it's Bren. Greetings in Jesus Christ's Holy Name. I have got to tell you about the truly miraculous news just in! The Lord did what we actually knew only He could do. If you remember the 1st blog of our scary health encounter this summer, then the 2nd "update" blog after that, we took those opportunities to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everyone who stood in agreement with us in prayer through what has been a most difficult injury month for Keith, and for me. It all started four months ago, on 24 May, when Keith suffered a sudden, rapid onset of what his Orthopedic surgeon referred to as "severe nerve storm" in the base of his spine and out to his left hip, all from a weekend of annual lawn cleaning we have always enjoyed doing. This time resulted in much more than the expected sore muscles, but brought a sudden attack in Keith's low-back surgery site. It woke him up in the middle of the night and became a long-term rehabilitation for his entire body, including his major organs, especially a fight for balance through unrelenting crippling pain, even high blood pressure for the first time in his life. Keith ended up losing over fourteen pounds of body weight, just one symptom I've learned of a body in excruciating pain.

        After Keith's years of pain and suffering since his college football career ended more than four decades ago, something we thought was well-managed turned out to have sudden, really terrible trouble yet to come! Keith has mostly avoided serious injury during yard work with rakes, shovels, bush trimmer, etc, until May 24th when it proved too much for Keith's back fusion and ongoing nerve damage associated with the fusion site. This time, through MRIs, X-rays, E.R. visits, desperate appointments for pain therapy injections and an epidural with his Neurosurgeon and Orthopedic surgeon, missing our travel for work and family reunions, and a divinely orchestrated appointment with a new pain management physician/specialist, we saw God's answers to our prayers by our being provided, not one but, two new naturalistic medical professionals, new treatment options we had not heard of before, and time to heal... all done the way only The Lord God can do! Halleluiah!.

        Looking back to the end of July, about half way into the marvelous healing work The Lord was performing in response to our prayers to this day, there was a brief time that I sadly allowed myself to listen to, even repeat in my own words to others, how the medical professionals were alarming us, almost like a curse in our days, warning us that the traumatic injury that happened 24 May, leading to all we just went through, could happen at any time again without notice. Both of Keith's surgeons explained to us that, with the disks that Keith does NOT have any more in the bottom half of his spine (due to complete deterioration), the primary nerves coming out of his spinal column are tense, and compressed, all the time. One surgeon referred what he has gone through all month as a "severe nerve storm".

        Christ Jesus has The Holy Spirit without measure! Realizing this, I chose to go to Him with prayer-full reminders of His promises, claiming them before Him as Truth, believing, and have been Pressing IN to Him ever since. We have been receiving the substance of His heavenly healing, very real particles of Him in the physical and in The Holy Spirit. Have you asked and received for yourself, too, and took a while to recognize it all?! (Selah)

     As I am writing to you, I am very grateful to proclaim now, and by faith for the near future, The Lord has used this trial to take us to a greater place in Him as Keith's pain is more under His control than ever. We are able to look back over "the long 4-month storm" and see, when we believe God there is no knowing where the blessing of our faith will end! These photos proclaim the substance of The Lord's anointing of Heaven on our prayers. We pressed INto Him believing the opposite of what we saw in terrible pain at the site of raw nerves in Keith's back, signs of unstoppable effects of the 20-year-old hardware in his lower spine, and instead of collapsing from worry and despair, despite the difficulties of it all, we remembered how our Lord was obviously working through every step we made, remembering we are designed by Him to be a unique part of His-story in all of our Life and in His Creation. The Holy Spirit ordered our steps, one after another, and presented us with opportunities, everywhere we went, to meet with and talk to so many beautiful people, many medical staff members, many who were suffering, and many that received our message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In direct proportion to Keith's suffering, we witnessed The Holy Spirit draw out of Keith a Word from our Lord that each of them needed at that moment in their lives. And yes, tears were shed.

        None of us, not one of us, knows our future on this earth nor the soon-coming return of Christ Jesus. Only our Heavenly Father knows. So, as we move forward in our wonder-full Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who is everywhere pouring His Holy Spirit on hungry hearts everywhere, we are hungry and will stay so. The next part of this process of researching help for healing and recovery options is in progress. Praise The Lord for news from a specialist at VCU, one that comes highly recommended by a dear sister in The Lord whose dad dealt with similar types of things and received help with success there. Like Keith, he had been told by other surgeons that his condition was "inoperable". So we too, with a heart of hope and gratitude, will take each day forward as an opportunity to offer our thanks-giving to The Lord for the good day on planet Earth and for The Great Hope we have in Him, no matter what!

        On countless days, since the beginning of this 4-month walk of faith, very often as Keith was grimacing from pain, he glances over at me and says, "What a target-rich environment The Holy Spirit has led us into today." I will admit, my faith has often waned during all of what we have just walked through, being the most stressful and fatiguing months of our fourteen years together. Yet, and miraculously, Keith's stayed steady as a plow-horse, constantly taking the lead to minister the Good News of Christ, by The Spirit's leading, without fail and above par, without pause, the entire time. He had to keep reminding me that having a lack of faith (trusting, resting, and waiting IN God through Jesus Christ) is like having panic in the face of adversity. For such a devastating injury as began this season on May 24th, we prayed believing Keith would be healed, by faith. Keith felt the healing Hands of God, still need to feel His healing, which has been ceaselessly leading each day to be part of the most fruitful season where our working with The Holy Spirit to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and loving Father are concerned.

        The timing when all of this hit, and the intensity of the physical pain that came with it, I believe was a spiritual attack as Keith was working on a most-pertinent message he was really looking forward to sharing with all of our followers here and on our BetweenTheLines TTM podcast channel. As he has been recuperating, getting plenty of rest and not too much exertion, he has gradually been able to work on finishing the message, "How Jesus Christ Made Me Free from the Curse of Hereditary Sin." On that note, I want to say thank you for standing in prayer with us and for us! We would also like to publicly thank our faith-full partners and ministry family who make it possible for us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel He preached the way we are able to. We are praying for each of you that our loving Father will reward you 100 times over for all you are, for all you mean to us, and for all you do that keeps us in our Father's final hour's harvest fields!

        The righteousness of The Holy Lord is made to shine in and through us as we are clean and filled by faith, so our spirit and soul and body is sanctified as holy in Him. Please stand with us as we pray, "Lord, let our faith be real and whole, clear to the end! Help us be as Mary, Christ Jesus' mother, to come in boldness claiming Your promise, asking You to bring it as You please. We are especially believing God for a speedy recovery, so we can travel more long distances in the car to take part in fellowship and ministering to and with wonder-full people who will benefit, with us, from the things that Jesus Christ has been showing us, and has so freely shown us over the years. Your love, friendship, and support mean more than you know!

        Wow, we are both humbled and grateful for God's call for us to not look behind but to press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14)! You likely can see, and agree, how thank-full we must be for the wonderfully fruitful opportunities The Person of The Holy Spirit blesses us with, for glorifying the Great Name of our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. These opportunities are ones we simply could not take advantage of if not for our bond and united passion with our wonder-full brothers and sisters in The Faith, to magnify Jesus Christ in this final hour's harvest! On behalf of Keith and me, and those we are reaching, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We thank you for your family-ship, friendship, and all you have done and are doing to encourage us and to help us reach this end time's generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ... and with the Gospel Jesus Christ preached!

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

        Your love and prayers mean more to us that you can know. And, for those of you who have called, come by, or sent special cards and emails, we pray that The Lord returns to you 100-fold reward for all of the kindness that you have poured out to us!


Your friends and servants 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 3:14)

Keep PRESSIN' IN!





We INVITE YOU...
 see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:

Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel












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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!

"Blessed be The LORD my Strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me (Psalm 144:1-2)."
Toward the Mark, Inc. © 2005 - 2022 | Privacy Policy and Terms of Use apply |
 Visit TowardTheMark.com website |  Connect with TowardTheMark on e-mail.




Sunday, August 28

Our War-Time Advantage Is ... The BATTLE BOARD!



On behalf of those we reach together with the Great Hope of Jesus Christ and the Truth He teaches... we are humbled and grateful beyond words for each one of our small handful of loving partners, and for their cherished family-ship, prayers, and financial support. We also want to thank you for your taking your time right now to join us for "Our War-Time Advantage Is ... The BATTLE BOARD!

       "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:16)."

       "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)."

       Ever since I (Keith) was a little guy, I have had a deep love for the art of aviation. I can tell you exactly when it started for me. The year was 1959 and I was just four years old. At the time I was an only child and our family was living in Richmond, Virginia. We had just finished eating dinner one evening when Mom asked Dad and I if we would go watch the television while she cleaned off the table. So Dad and I got up and made our way into the living room where I climbed up onto the couch while he turned the TV on so the picture tube could be warming up.

       As we were waiting for a TV picture to emerge, Dad picked up the newspaper and turned to the local TV listings for that evening. With anticipation I watched as he scanned down the page. Suddenly, Dad smiled and said, "Let's watch '12 O'clock High'". He then walked to the TV, reached for the channel selector knob, and rotated it around to Channel 3. He fiddled with the "rabbit ear antennas" trying to get the picture to focus until suddenly... there it was: The beginning of the show, and a view of a big, beautiful, U.S. Army Air Corps B-17 bomber!

       Dad used to say that, from the moment I saw that airplane show up on the screen, I barely moved a muscle until the end of the show. That was the night that my love for airplanes began. Twelve O'clock High was a classic 1950's TV series, with shows once a week. It was about a U.S. Army Air Corps bomber squadron based in the English country side during World War II. From that first night on, Dad and I rarely missed an episode.

       After several episodes, even at just 4 years old, I began noticing just how much was going on besides the excitement of watching the airplanes in flight. For instance, General Frank Savage (the Lead Bomber played by actor Robert Lansing) and the base commander would conduct a mandatory flight meeting for all pilots and their air crews before and after each bombing mission. Prior to the start of a mission, all of the pilots and crew members received orders to gather in what looked like a large conference room filled with chairs.

       When the flight crews entered the room, they would see the small stage at the far end with a covered chalkboard, or "battle board", on the far wall. At the front of the small stage to the far right was a large retractable map of Europe. It was in this room, during heavily guarded meetings, that General Savage would disclose the "Top Secret Mission" to the pilots and their crews. It was handed to him under the protection of armed guards from the Army's strategic war planners. General Savage was only authorized to open the sealed package of classified plans once his "second in command" was present with him. It was then that he and everyone there received their orders for the mission: the time of day or night; the altitude for their flight; when to look for enemy attackers; and, most importantly, the location of their targets.

       Once the bomber squadron completed the mission and returned to base, everyone involved would immediately meet back at the conference room for after-actions reporting which was just as important as the pre-mission meeting. The after-actions reports reviewed everything about the mission: What happened?; What went right?; What went wrong?; Why?; and What are the lessons learned? Detailed discussions included who of the ten-man crews were lost or didn't make it back to base, what the equipment failures were, how each pilot and crew performed, and how successful or not-so-accurate the mission's films revealed the bombing run to be.

       Just as before- and after-actions meetings were mandatory and crucial for the planning and execution of successful missions during World War II, before- and after-actions meetings are essential for running a successful business, or sporting event, or anything that requires planning and logistics for a set campaign goal or end result. These skills are among many wonderful qualities that I am eternally grateful to our Father for blessing my lovely wife Brenda with!

       God has a wonder-full sense of humor knowing my love of aviation and blessing me with a retired "U.S. Air Force bride". As you know, Brenda is a twenty-year veteran of our USAF. Having worked as a Bio-Environmental Engineer, a Personnel and Publicity Manager, vocal leader and dance performer with The Premiere USAF Showcase and The Chief's Own USAF Band and more, she understands authority, order, and the chain of command like The Roman Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10. And she is also, not only extremely well-versed in the crucial importance of pre- and post-mission meetings but, well-equipped with what it takes to execute the orders The Holy Spirit relays to us from our Supreme Commander, and King Jesus Christ.

       As for me, I had no formal upbringing in the church, aside from my family attending Church when I was a young boy between eight and ten years of age. However, having worked under disciplined leaders in organized sports, in business management, and professional music, I was blessed early on with understanding the crucial importance of strategic planning, and also of post-event reviews. When I gave my life to Jesus Christ and became a member of a local Church, what my new brothers and sisters in Christ referred to as "spending time in prayer" I saw as "strategic planning time" for me to receive my orders for the day from The Holy Spirit. My understanding of mandatory pre- and post-event meetings served as a kind-o' template for helping me better under-stand what "prayer" is and how it should be conducted. This has been the foundation for receiving my orders from God and fulfilling His "mission plans for my life" to this day.

       In order to insure that we are "on target" concerning our missions each day, Bren and I joyfully attend our mandatory meetings with The Holy Spirit for the purpose of pouring out our gratitude to Father God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit for "Who They are" first and foremost. After we have offered up our thanks, and relaxed together in The Lord, we then wait and listen for our Lord's wonder-full Voice of knowledge and instruction for the day. Then we wait again to make sure we don't leave His presence before He has uploaded to us everything He wants to say. Then, and only when we are sure that our King Jesus Christ has released us, we proceed to the next portion of our meeting, looking to the Toward The Mark "Battle Board".

       Just as General Savage in Twelve O'clock High had his squadron's chalk board and map, Bren and I have our TTM office Battle Board. The Battle Board is a 2' x 4' white, dry-erase board that stands on an easel in our office. There is where we can always be reminded, at a glance, of various needs of our partners, family, and friends. Often, The Holy Spirit will have us write down and pray for things in the life of others that only They, The Trinity, know of.

       The Battle Board is incredibly effective for us. We use it to insure that, much like pre-mission meetings for the military, we start our workday addressing the prayer needs we have been informed of, and also to be a constant reminder to pray, generally, as a steadfast part of our daily mission. Our remittance envelopes were specially designed to work hand-in-hand with the office Battle Board. The prayer requests or praises we receive, written on the inside flap of each remittance envelope, gets written on the board, apart from any "Confidential" requests. We keep every specially private request in a hidden file where only The Holy Trinity is privileged to them along with us. It's our three-fold system: 1-Remittance Envelopes; 2-Confidential Prayers file; and 3-the Battle Board.

       When it comes to our praying for the specific needs of partners, friends, and acquaintances in our social circles, we've got three most strategic pieces of communication equipment: TTM Remittance Envelopes, the Battle Board, and the Confidential Prayers file. Our family, soldiers in God's Army, of faith stands under our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's command. The only difference between us and the uniformed soldiers fighting in the natural, in earthly campaigns, is we aren't able to shake the Hand of our Commander and King... at least not for now, that is.

       This is where our being disciplined is crucial and mandatory, which is something that, before I stepped out to minister Jesus Christ on a full-time basis, I had to make sure that I was ready to commit to. Both pre- and post-mission meetings with our Commander and King Jesus Christ happen throughout each and every day. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish (Luke 14:28-30)."

       A truly wonder-full benefit of the Battle Board is one that provides us the privilege and honor of witnessing the natural and spiritual needs and desires of our partners go from being the initial requests to God's working through them, stage by stage, until He fulfill the needs and desires of all of our hearts as we stand together in prayer. And this is something that builds our faith, as a team and family, in many beautiful ways. So please remember, not only are we (Bren and I) praying every day, we are also standing as advocates and prayer warriors to our partners, current and future. All we ask is that our partners take a moment and jot down, on the inside flap of a remittance envelope, whatever it is they would like for us to take before our Father God's throne on their behalf. Once we receive the request(s), we begin lifting them up before The Father (yours and ours), before your and our Lord Jesus Christ... believing! Jesus says, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive (Matthew 21:22)."

       We couldn't do any of the work we do without our regular financial/prayer partners sowing into this ministry, working together for a harvest of souls for The Kingdom, and working to increase our eternal inheritance with The Trinity - all of which are parts that we play together and are eternally grateful for. Whether it is being able to witness our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit answering the prayers we collectively pray together, or getting to receive responses from our many social media campaigns, podcasts, blogs, special posts, conversations and the like, we simply could not take advantage of it if not for our partners prayerfully and financially sending us into this final hour's harvest field! On behalf of Brenda, those we are reaching, and myself, we love you, appreciate you, and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done, or will be doing, to make it possible for us, together with The Holy Trinity, to reach this end times generation with The Gospel of Jesus Christ... and with The Gospel Jesus Christ preaches!
    
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 3:14)


Keep PRESSIN' IN!



We INVITE YOU...
 see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:

Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel










Thursday, July 7

Our Father Hears Our Prayers! UPDATE...

Hi, it's Bren. Greetings in Jesus Christ's Holy Name. I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing in prayer with us through what has been a most difficult six weeks for Keith, and for me. About a month-and-a-half ago, on 24 May, Keith suffered a sudden, rapid onset of what his Orthopedic surgeon referred to as a "severe nerve storm" in the base of his spine and out to his left hip, all from a weekend of annual lawn cleaning he has always enjoyed doing. This time brought more than sore muscles, it brought a sudden attack that woke him up in the middle of the night and stayed, leaving his left hip numb, his major organs in a fight for balance, a continuous fever in the fight through unrelenting pain, and even high blood pressure for the first time in his life, plus the loss of fourteen pounds in just three week's time. I've learned a whole lot more about how the brain works in the body's fight to overcome the effects of excruciating pain. I pray that I never have to watch it happen again.

        We have thankfully worked through an Emergency Room visit, something Keith mostly avoids at all cost, and through MRIs, X-rays, appointments with his Neurosurgeon, an epidural by his Orthopedic surgeon, and a divinely orchestrated appointment with a new pain management physician/specialist. The storm in Keith's pain-stricken body is finally starting to slowly subside... Praise God Almighty! To be totally forthright, I have been very concerned with his pain levels, having been so high for so long, possibly causing more problems as his body was showing the signs of breaking down. Seeing him only able to accumulate two maybe three hours of restless sleep each night, suffering fatigue for weeks... to say I've been frightened is an understatement.

        They have been warning us that the episode that happened 24 May, leading to all he just went through, could happen again without notice. Both surgeons explained to us that, with the disks that Keith does NOT have any more in the bottom half of his spine (due to complete deterioration), the primary nerves coming out of his spinal column are compressed all the time. One surgeon referred what he has gone through all month as a "severe nerve storm".

      Now however, as I am writing to you, we are very grateful to announce that the pain is more under control now and we are able to look back over "the storm" and see, despite the difficulties of it all, our Lord was working through every step we made. The Holy Spirit ordered our steps, one after another, and presented us with opportunities, everywhere we went, to meet with and talk to so many beautiful people, many medical staff members, many who were suffering, and many that received our message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In direct proportion to Keith's suffering, we witnessed The Holy Spirit draw out of Keith a Word from our Lord that each of them needed at that moment in their lives. And yes, tears were shed.

        The next part of this process of searching for help and recovery options is in progress. We are now getting set up by our family doctor to get another opinion on Keith's case. Praise The Lord for news from a specialist at VCU, one that comes highly recommended by a dear sister in The Lord whose dad dealt with the same type of thing and received help with success there. He had been told by a number of other surgeons that his condition was "inoperable" just like we have been told from a number of surgeons about Keith's spine.

        At one point, as Keith was grimacing from pain, he glanced over at me and said, "What a target-rich environment The Holy Spirit has led us into today." I will admit, what we have just walked through has been perhaps the most stressful and fatiguing month-and-a-half of our fourteen years together. Yet, and miraculously, it has been one of the most fruitful where our working with The Holy Spirit to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ and loving Father are concerned.

        The timing when all of this hit, and the intensity of the physical pain that came with it, I believe was a spiritual attack as Keith was working on a most-pertinent message he was really looking forward to sharing in a new blogpost last month. As he is slowly recuperating, he is gradually able to work on finishing the message, "How Jesus Christ Made Me Free from the Curse of Hereditary Sin." On that note, I want to say thank you for standing in prayer with us and for us! We would also like to publicly thank our faith-full partners and ministry family who make it possible for us to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Gospel He preached the way we are able to. We are praying for each of you that our loving Father will reward you 100 times over for all you are, for all you mean to us, and for all you do that keeps us in our Father's final hour's harvest fields!

        Would you stand with us in prayer as we are seeking God daily for His complete healing? We are especially believing God for a speedy recovery, so we can travel some long distances in the car to see wonderful people who we get to share the things that Jesus Christ has been showing us and has so freely shown us over the years. Your love, friendship, and support mean more than you know!

        Personally, as I war in the spirit realm against wicked forces that sometimes feel like they are going to defeat me/us, The Holy Spirit is faithful to bring back to my mind experiences when I have fought through to victory. We get stronger with each hit we take in the spirit realm, being presented with another opportunity to have built in us, by the steady Hand of the Great Physician Jesus Christ, His strength and endurance that will, in turn, better equip us for the assignments to come on the spiritual field of battle.

        Wow, we are both humbled and grateful for the wonderfully fruitful opportunities The Person of The Holy Spirit is blessing us with, to glorify the Great Name of our Father and Lord Jesus Christ. These opportunities are ones we simply could not take advantage of if not for our bond and united passion with our wonder-full partners to magnify Jesus Christ in this final hour's harvest! On behalf of Keith and me, and those we are reaching, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We thank you for your family-ship, friendship, and all you have done and are doing to encourage us and to help us reach this end time's generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ... and with the Gospel Jesus Christ preached!

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

        Your love and prayers mean more to us that you can know. And, for those of you who have called, come by, or sent special cards and emails, we pray that The Lord returns to you 100-fold reward for all of the kindness that you have poured out to us!

Your friends and servants 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 3:14)

Keep PRESSIN' IN!





We INVITE YOU...
 see and hear, follow and share, more from Toward The Mark, Inc.:

Keith and Brenda "Between The Lines" Podcast on TTM's Libsyn Channel












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"Blessed be The LORD my Strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me (Psalm 144:1-2)."
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