NEW, Mini-Series Weekday 13 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 #13 of 20-day Blog mini-series #2
Chapter THREE, "Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"

    
"Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth"
            Given the testimony of these (1 Corinthians 2:9-14) verses, we conclude that Scriptural confirmation of any doctrine is by illumination of The Holy Spirit through the witness of God's Word rightly divided, "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost: and these three are One. " (1 John 5:7) The phrase "bear record" translates from the Greek word "martureo". This word comes from martus, from which the English word "martyr" is derived. God The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost are the three witnesses in Heaven. They are The Holy Trinity and are always in agreement. Thus, for instance, the testimony of The Spirit of Truth will always agree with the testimony of The Word of God. We can trust The Person of The Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth regarding God's Word, as we apply ourselves under His tutelage to reading, studying, and meditating upon it.

Question to ponder:

How does it make you feel to know that, as a committed follower of Christ Jesus, you can read, hear, and be fulfilled by The Word of God, from beginning to end of every single day ... for eternity?   _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

          "Isn't it interesting how we can watch a kid get pushed around by others without feeling obligated to intervene, UNTIL that kid is one of our family members? When it's our own brother, sister, son, or daughter getting pushed around, it changes things in the way we feel and tend to respond to the 'bully or bullies' in the situation. Protecting and defending them is a reaction that comes, really, by nature of our bond. It reminds me of the phrase 'blood is thicker than water' that refers to the strong 'blood bond' that runs through those who are members of the same family.  

          If you've read or listened to many of my messages over the years, you've likely heard me explain God as being 'The Consummate Family Man' that He is. You see, everything that God does, and has ever done, is for the purpose of taking care of His Family. In fact, God so loves His Children that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to make a way for every one of us to receive Him as Lord and Savior of our life, and to then be grafted into The Family of God, as His Family Member.  

          When you're in God's Family, you have the most wonderful benefit of enjoying the most loving and protective 'Big Brother' in the entire universe! Simply put, the devil knows, better than anyone else does, that picking on those who belong to God and His Family is, in fact, picking on God Himself. Rest assured, there will be a reckoning! Similar to this quote from my little brother to the new guy to our high school bus stop who I had 'confronted and corrected' for bullying him one day, 'Boy, if you EVER pick on me again, you're NOT gonna like how my big brother'll deal with you!!' When we are received as the Child of our wonderful Father God, Jesus Christ, and The Person of The Holy Spirit, it is a bond, and eternal celebration that we will find to be, greater beyond any that we could ever enjoy, or even imagine, here in this life. Only when we are standing with God will we truly bask in 'love', 'joy', 'fun', and 'family' that is everything our Creator intended for us ... from the very second He created love, joy, fun, and family. Selah."  


For there are three that bear record in Heaven, The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost: and these three are One.  (1 John 5:7)

*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 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)

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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!

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Remembering and Celebrating mentor and friend Dr. Myles Munroe

I can't begin to relay to you just how sore my heart has been since the 9th of this month (Nov 2014) when I learned that my mentor and friend of 30 years, Dr. Myles Munroe, died in a terrible plane crash on his way to a convention in the Bahamas. With him were also his wife Ruth and 7 members of their ministry team. When God blessed the world with this prophetically anointed pastor, mentor, and devoted family man, nobody but God could have possibly imagined how he would impact the world in so many ways!  As for my cherished experience knowing this remarkable man of God, below is a brief account of how our relationship began.

In the fall of 1985 at Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Bishop John Meares sponsored a large, city-wide conference for singles.  Bishop Meares founded the 4,000-member mega-church, and son Don Meares was the pastor.  I was the youth pastor for The Community Church in Sterling, Virginia, and the founding senior Pastor Arlie Whitlow who was brought up under the mentorship of Bishop Meares. 

The majority of young people I was responsible for at the time were in their late teen’s to late 20s, many of whom were not married.  As you might imagine, leading a considerable number of young, unmarried people, I was always seeking God for answers to the questions I was being asked.  Many questions were similar to ones like, “Does God have a mate for me?  How can I prepare myself to meet my future mate?...”  Answers to these questions were about to be answered, and in a way I did not expect, but rejoice over still today.

During this time in 1985, at the same time while ministering at Pastor Arlie’s church, I was wearing a number of other hats in the church, as well as working as an outside sales representative for a local graphics firm.  One of my graphic printing accounts at the time included handling all of the design and printing of Bishop Meares’ quarterly magazine entitled “Bridgebuilder Magazine.”  The Director of Publications for Bishop Meares and I had become close friends as a result of the work I had been doing there.  Shortly after the single’s conference had finished, I received a phone call from my friend, who worked under Bishop Meares, asking me if I could stop by the cathedral that day.  He said he had something important that he would like to give me.  I said I would, without knowing what was in store for me there.

While I was running work errands that day, I went by my friend's office.  As soon as he saw me coming through the door, I could tell that, whatever he had asked me to stop by for was very important.  He began by telling me that, during the previous weekend, during the single’s conference, he heard a message like none he had ever heard before, and it was taught by the Keynote speaker at that conference, Dr. Myles Munroe.  He said, "I have never heard anything like it in my life!  As soon as that evening's message was finished, I contacted our audio director to ask him to make a tape recorded copy of that service for me.  This is a tape copy that is the reason I asked you to come by.  You have got to hear this!"  I thanked him and headed off to continue my errands.

As I got back in my car to leave, I started playing the tape in my car, and listened to what started a process taking place in me that I had never experienced before that time.  With each word that Pastor Myles spoke, it felt as if I had been in a desert for the previous years of my life.  Hearing the anointing and speaking authority God had placed on Pastor Myles was like a cool glass of water in the desert, as I had never heard anyone with that level of anointing and authority in wisdom speak before. 

The best way I know how to express the impact Dr. Myles had on my life through that tape that day, is by sharing the statement my friend made after he heard The Myth of Singleness the following day, “Keith, this isn’t simply a tape; THIS is a piece of 'solid gold'!”  Each time I drove in my car, from that day forward, I would be listening to the tape over and over again, each time feeling more and more like a metamorphosis was taking place in my life.  With each revelation I heard Pastor Myles speak, a new level of understanding of God’s Word would come.  There were things that I had always craved to know in my heart that, until that time, I had not been able to experience.  If I had to guess, I probably listened to that tape more than 100 times.  With each time listening through, something else I didn’t hear in the previous times listening would come.  I could compare my experience to that of a well that I continued to drink from that never ran dry. 

After about 3 weeks of listening over and over, I called Evangel Cathedral and asked the head of the TV department to please make me a video copy of that service message, which he kindly obliged.  With each time I listened to the message, my heart caught fire as I began to share with others what God had done in my life through the message.  I literally wore the tape out that it wouldn’t play any longer.  Once I received the video copy of The Myth of Singleness, I approached the unmarried guys and girls in the church, one by one, letting them know I was going to have a special meeting at the church one night, just to show the video. 

After several groups and classes of youth and singles watched the video in our meetings together, the room where I had been showing it was getting overly crowded.  So, for the next weekend showing, I moved the group into the main sanctuary, and opened it up to the entire church.  The video service that time was full and, what began such an incredible transformation in my heart, was beginning to enact change in the hearts of many who I had been showing it to as well.  As time went on, I would share the video with many congregations, single’s meetings, and youth programs. 

A short while later, I would have the opportunity to personally meet Pastor Myles at a conference where he would be speaking in Washington DC.  It was at that meeting where we started a friendship that I have cherished down through the years.  In memory of Dr. Myles Munroe, I would like to share with you one of the most profound quotes he spoke at the conference where we met in 1985.  Addressing the single guys and girls, he said, “You don’t get married because you need to.  You get married because you want to.  And you won’t get the want-to until you don’t have the need to.”

You can find this quote, and many others, in Pastor Munroe’s teaching “The Myth of Singleness.”  I would encourage everyone, whether married or not, but especially those who have yet to be married, listen to Dr. Myles Munroe as many times as you need to in order to truly understand "The Myth of Singleness"! 

For more of my personal testimony from singleness to meeting my bride, check out our blog Prepare for the Mate You're Praying For.

God bless the loved ones, members of his ministry families, and all of the friends of my mentor and friend, Dr. Myles Munroe (April 20, 1954 - November 9, 2014)!  

I would like to add something that my beloved wife shared with friends, from her heart, on social media.  On November 10th, 2014, the day after the passing of Dr. Munroe, Brenda's facebook post said, "Within just weeks of our dating, Keith introduced me to the teachings of this remarkable friend and mentor of his from 30 years, Dr. Myles Munroe.  God bless and comfort the family and ministry team of Pastor Myles and Ruth Ann Munroe.  What a blessing to continue listening to just one of his life-changing messages, one we have and share frequently on DVD, 'The Myth of Singleness!'"

This photo represents one of the enjoyable moments we shared, years after we met.  When Pastor Myles dropped by our Toward The Mark booth at a Worship Conference in Richmond, Virginia, we were able to catch up on the things God was doing in our lives.  Having his endorsement of my ministry products has always been a real blessing and honor, and always will be.

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