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 12, Paragraph 12 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 TWELVE,
Paragraph TWELVE:

    
God designed the human body, and He gave us all things to enjoy, however, all things belong in their proper place and perspective.  There is a Scripture verse in the first chapter of 3rd John that states this fact quite succinctly in telling God's order of thought regarding prosperity and health, saying, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Question to ponder:

How does the word 'even' make a difference in the verse compared to the meaning of the verse without it?  _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

"Each time I read this Scripture verse, along with those around it, what jumps out at me is the word 'even'. Consider what the writer means by 'I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health'.  What he is saying is that he wishes that we, the saints back then as well as the saints of today, would prosper in direct proportion to the prosperity that results in our souls, because of our pursuing God and His Word, His will, and His ways. In other words, in direct proportion to our love for Christ Jesus, our dedication to Him, and our pursuing this journey of being transformed by His Word, we prosper. I like reading this with the great scientist Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in mind: 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.' So, what 3 John 1:2 is saying is that our transformation in the way we conduct our lives each day is one that he wishes to prosper along with our soul prospering in Christ. And, with the vast majority of us as believers, herein lies life's battles - walking away from the worldly flesh, to walk toward being wholly transformed into the Nature of Christ. With this, the word 'even' is used by  the writer to say that he wishes or hopes for us that, above all things, our physical body and life will prosper 'in equal part' or 'in direct proportion' to our soul prospering. Selah."

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."  (3 John 1:2)


*See you tomorrow, and please invite your friends too! God bless you and yours!*

_____________________________

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 yesterday's post.

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!

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!