Day 15, Paragraph 15 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 FIFTEEN,
Paragraph FIFTEEN:

    
Consider what the enemies of God said to those who were reviving the wall of Jerusalem in obedience to the great calling of God. God had put the calling into the heart of His servant Nehemiah as he described in chapter 2, verse 12, "And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast with me, save the beast that I rode upon." Then, observe the import of the lying words of the enemies of God in Nehemiah 4 (scripture in bold below). "The thing is too great for you!" they said. Nehemiah and those with him were seen as small and despised in the eyes of their enemies. What is not so evident is this: because God was with Nehemiah and the builders, their enemies were actually saying that the thing was too great for God. Hence, God was small and despised in their eyes, and all of their words of condemnation applied directly to the Lord God, as Scripture says in Romans 15:3, "For even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on Me."

Question to ponder:

What are some of the lying words that are aborting the gifts and callings of God in the lives of people today?  _________________________________________

Keith's "Comments from the Author":

"One of the most important lessons, among many, that we can learn from Christ Jesus and His making His way to the cross, is that He 'finished.' I can remember when I managed an RV dealership, there was a young man who needed help to get back on his feet and I hired him to help out in our service department. After his first week on the payroll, I learned about a disturbing pattern in his work habits. One day the manager of our service department came to my office and asked me to step outside where she had something she felt that I needed to see. She led me to the service area, pointed at two of the motor homes, and asked me what I saw wrong with that picture. After taking a moment to look around, I answered her saying, 'Judging from the parts and tools laying on the ground around those two coaches, they look to still need to get finished. Is that what you are referring to?' She said, 'Exactly! The coaches are NOT finished because the young man you hired talks like he knows what he's doing, but, after he gets a good start on a job, he drops what he's doing and moves on to something else or another job.' She was telling me that the young man did not know how to 'finish' what he starts. Luke chapter 14 addresses the importance of counting the cost of a task, and making sure to be equipped to finish what we start, '...which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?' (Luke 14:28) Counting the cost includes measuring the resistance that we will likely have leveled against us, both by people around us and by satan's wicked spirits working against us in word and deed. It is crucial that we understand that, when we start to do something, if we don't 'finish', it discredits us and God in the eyes of those watching. Our unfinished project gives satan an occasion to accuse God of not being able to fulfill His promise in the lives of those people who observed our lack of following through and 'finishing'. The young guy I hired, in the eyes of those watching his incomplete work, was discredited, and I was discredited as the hiring manager. Additionally, in the eyes of the customers we were serving, who didn't receive the product we promised them, the entire company was discredited. Opposite of the example of the young service department worker, Jesus set the example for us to count the cost, and to 'finish'! So, my word of advice is: If you believe that God has called you to do something, put your hands to the task, press through the resistance and criticism of those who come trying to defeat you and abort your calling, cross the 'finish' line just as you were called by God to do, and watch God be glorified! The calling fulfilled will be something that you 'finished', working together with God - you IN Him, Him IN you, the two of you in ONEness. Selah."

"But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they receive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall."  (Nehemiah 4:1-3)


WE PRAY YOU HAVE A FUN WEEKEND...
... FILLED with fresh visions of God!
... FILLED with unfathomable joy in Christ Jesus!
... FILLED with wisdom that only the Person of The Holy Spirit brings!

*See you Monday, and pass a personal invitation to your friends! God bless and keep you!*

_____________________________

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Your friends & servants in Christ,

Take me back to the top of this post.

Take me to yesterday's post, *Day 14*.

Take me to the first post of this week, *DAY 11*.

Take me to the first post of last week, *DAY 6*.

Take me to the beginning, *DAY 1* of this Blog.

To Show GOD BIG in a World that Sees Him small… 
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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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