Gratitude IS Literally The Key!

Remember...
           In Matthew 6:33, Jesus gives us the starting place where it all must begin, "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."

Remember...
           God gives us, in Psalm 100:4, the KEY to ONEness, saying, "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His Name."Just before Jesus was arrested, here is John's account of what Jesus prayed.... just as we also pray:

           "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be ONE; as Thou, Father, art IN Me, and I IN Thee, that they also may be ONE IN Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. And the glory which Thou gave Me I have given them; that they may be ONE, even as We are ONE: I IN them, and Thou IN Me, that they may be made perfect IN ONE; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My Glory, which Thou has given Me: for Thou loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto them Thy Name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be... IN them, and I IN them (John 17:20-26)."

     We cannot enter in-to ONEness with Jesus Christ, as He prayed in the garden just before He was arrested, without first having obtained a heart filled with GRATITUDE to God for who He is more than for what He can do for us. Gratitude is the KEY that unlocks His gates... that provides the way for those who WANT Him to begin their journey toward becoming One IN God, One IN Jesus Christ, and One IN The Person of The Holy Spirit

           We so enjoy watching the lives of truly grateful people. When you are with someone who is exceedingly grateful to God for Who He is, they will also be grateful for those around them. They will have and display a remarkable level of uncommon respect for others. They are quick to speak life. They are selfless and are always looking for ways to help others in any and every way they can. They look to see others through God's eyes, being ready and willing to help others to recognize and call out the gifts that God has placed in them. They fan the flame in the heart of others to complete the work God has wired them to full-fill. And, lastly, people who know and love God wholeheartedly are truly grateful to Him for Who He is and can't help but tell everyone about Him. Everyone can see how they live life being more keenly aware of the times we are living in, willing to do whatever they are called to do for lifting up our Heavenly Father to be glorified in the eyes of as many people as possible. And the work they do and life they live comes from their passion for God, not their need for approval.

           We encourage you to ask the Person of The Holy Spirit to meet with you in the pages of God's written Word. There is where, if we will ask Him, and wait on Him, He will bring to light all of those times when He has answered our prayers along the way, in turn, making it possible for us to recall and reflect on all of the wonder-full things He has done for us throughout our lives. In turn, our hearts will become filled with gratitude that compels us to offer up thanksgiving to Him, for Him and for everything He IS and everything He does. Satan knows full well that, if he can deceive us into critically condemning others with our words, then he can steal our joy that comes with being IN ONEness with our Father, with Jesus Christ, and with the Person of The Holy Spirit in your life.

           "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body; and be ye thankful." Colossians 3:15

           Our sincerest hope is that you have found some encouragement in this blog. We want you to know that there is even more notes to encourage you, and your friends and family members, in our most-requested book of Toward The Mark, "Letters From The Front." We want to personally invite you to get a copy for yourself, just click here to e-mail us.

           The rarest and most fun people in the world have a heart that is filled with gratitude to God for WHO HE IS more than for what He can do for them! You are invited to join us in always remembering to, no matter what, KEEP PRESSIN' IN!

           Consider using our  LETTERS FROM THE FRONT book, a special collection of 12 of our most-requested teaching titles:

Sin Makes Ya Stewpit	The Cart's Before The Horse;
The Crisis of Eroding Integrity	The Fruit's at the End of the Limb
Too Quick to Compromise	The Rarest of All Breeds
Please...Stop Stinkin'	3 Keys to God-Pleasing Faith
Let It Go!	Understanding the Fear of The Lord
Into The Secret Place	Give to Give!

    This collection of twelve teachings, when taken to heart, will help you emerge triumphant over seemingly impossible situations...
"LETTERS From The FRONT" available by request, please click here to e-mail us.

Would you write and let us know how this message has fanned the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, His Ways, and for God's Plan for your life? If you would like to request a special order of our book "LETTERS From The FRONT" or any product from Keith Shealy and Toward The Mark, or if you have questions about our work, resources, or giving tax-deductible donations, please click here to e-mail us. We welcome you to also feel free to write us a letter and mail it to TOWARD THE MARK, P.O. Box 1152, Yorktown, VA 23692-1152.

May you be greatly blessed as God writes this message in your heart. We praise Him, with eternal gratitude, for our loving Toward The Mark Family without whose help and support this work would not be possible!

Your friends and servants in Christ,
         

    

To Show GOD BIG in a world that Sees Him small… 
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He Ran to God When All Was Lost

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"This we have learned, as you can see is the basis of many of our posts and podcasts, 'No matter what trials we are up against, we are NOT gonna let the little devil distract us from the HUGE GOD Who can resolve whatever we go through and even redeem it to our advantage... but we must run to Him when those trials of life come'." Keith & Brenda

Keith first had the privilege of meeting Pastor Steven Sebyala about 10 years ago. Being from Uganda, Africa, Pastor Steven was part of a speaking tour of the United States and had come for a visit with the Bethel Temple church family.  Pastor Ron Johnson of Bethel Temple asked Keith to come to a luncheon along with Pastor Sebyala and his wife, Sarah.

During their fellowship time, it became rapidly apparent that this was God’s appointed time to bring together these two ministries, Africa Harvest Mission, Inc. (AHM) and Toward The Mark, Inc. (TTM), for more than casual talk.  Steven began sharing the needs of his ministry in Africa, including much-needed sound equipment for the growing outdoor crusades.  

Just months prior, rebels invaded a crusade that Pastor Steven was holding and drove their trucks over all of his ministry’s sound, lighting and stage equipment.  He was literally left with nothing to continue his outreach efforts.

At that time, TTM was in the early stages of building the ministry’s sound system.  However, being mindful of the Lord’s promise to bless the cheerful giver, Keith recognized this as God providing an opportunity to sow into His Kingdom by supporting a ministry in another part of the world.  

It has been said that you should give out of your need, and this was the time to do just that.  So, at that lunch, Keith made a mental review of the sound gear TTM had acquired to that point in order to determine what could be given to Pastor Sebyala for his ministry.

At the top of the list were a pair of JBL Professional Festival Series speaker cabinets.  These were the best we had to offer, because they were the best we had.  While still at the lunch table, Keith began to tell Pastor Steven about those cabinets, and he replied, "Those are exactly what I have been praying for."

With the hard work and generous help of Eric Fox, Joe Gaita, Steve Lyzenga, and a few more local friends in Christ, Keith assembled the speaker cabinets, amplifiers, and the rest of the needed musical equipment and gear, to prepare a complete sound system large enough to reach crowds of up to 300,000 people.  And, once the Holy Spirit started the ball rolling, the shipment set to go to Kampala, Uganda increased to include, along with the complete sound system, suits for the men, dresses for the women, bikes and toys for the children, kitchen appliances, and more.  The miracle that began here, with those who gave of the best they had, increased and blessed thousands in Africa.

The message of this story is not about the generosity or donated things TTM was able to sow into Steven's stunted ministry of AHM. It's about how, when the rebels destroyed all of Steven's equipment, gear that he had worked for and built over years of acquiring it, he had to choose to NOT quit or give up. He could have decided that the devil had won in that painful and devastating trial, believing the devil's lies that the effort and funding would be all-but-impossible to find so he and his team could to get back to where they and God had left off. Imagine... Every man, woman, and child - multitudes - continue coming to "hear loud and clear" Pastor Steven preach the Gospel that Jesus Christ preached, because Pastor Sebyala ran INto God.  Our rejecting the lies of the devil and running INto God enables God to do miracles in our lives that are tremendous! When everything came crashing down, and it looked like AHMs crusades were through, Steven ran toward God... first.

For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.  But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.  My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.  Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.   (Psalms 31:13-16)

 Before God moved on Keith's heart, introducing him to Steven, who came all the way here to America, Keith thought the top-of-the-line speakers and gear he had been gathering was for a ministry sound system TTM needed. God had other plans. What the African rebels had destroyed turned into something better than Steven could've imagined, but not until Keith was willing to choose to let it all go. Keith did let it go, and he released it quickly, knowing God wanted to use what He had generously provided to begin with to bless our brother in Christ, and he released it quickly. One of the greatest truths Keith had learned through walking in oneness with God is this, "When you release to God what is in your hand, you open the door for God to release what is in His Hands."  The scripture says it best...

Blessed is the man that trusts in The Lord, and whose hope The Lord is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.   (Jeremiah 17:7-8)

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