PRESSIN' IN *Toward The Mark* with Keith Shealy and Team

Thursday, June 6

Honoring D-Day Warriors, Families, and our Military Heritage!

Remember...
we are called by God to stand in the gap on the behalf of our armed forces and their families.
Remember...
be thankful for everything they bravely fought to protect and defend, and even died to preserve for all of us.
Remember...
before any of our troops ever took the military oath of service, each of them was a kid... growing up playing with neighbors and friends every day, going to school, learning to ride a bicycle, to build a fort, to play games, sports, and music ...just like us.
Remember...
each life story matters, all they had to go through to get to the place they are now, or all of what they went through that led to the place where they made the ultimate sacrifice. 'THEY' are 'US'!

As we remember D-Day and America’s military troops and allies who invaded Normandy that day, we are taking time and this opportunity to pray for the spiritual and psychological well-being of our military men, women, and families. Whether they served 75 years ago on D-Day, June 6th, 1944, or at a time since then, our military men and women, and their families, make up a big, uniquely tight-knit family to whom all Americans owe a debt of gratitude! We are praying for God’s hand of blessing to touch them, their families, and all that they touched. We want to take this opportunity we have to personally reach out and say “Thank you for serving and sacrificing so much for us”, like we witness as we watch in the D-Day Anniversary video of President Trump in Normandy (special event footage here).

Let’s all pray for each of our brave warriors who have served our blessed Country in uniform, and remember their family members that also served from the home-front. We would ask that you stop for a moment to remember that our countrymen are much more than warriors. On this 75th anniversary of D-Day, we honor the 9,388 service members who died on “Omaha Beach” just as we honor every one of our guys who survived there, on June 6th, 1944! Remember that before they ever took the military oath of service, each one was once a kid...just like you and me. Each one of these brave men and women are "us".

We need to remember the value of each and every life. And remember what they had to go through to get to where they are now, or to the place they were when they made the ultimate sacrifice. THEY ARE “US”!

Remember also, no matter what, KEEP PRESSIN' IN!

You might consider using our XII SMOOTH STONES book, a special collection of 12 of our most-requested teaching titles:

No Matter What!	The Magnetic Mantle or Why Cats...Have Kitties;
Fire, Pressure, and Them Slithery...Snakes	The Ultimate Home Gym
Vampires In The Church	STOP...
The Great Deception	The Invisible Man
God Is So Much Bigger Than You Think!	Die Empty!
Building Godly Friendships	The Secret To A Happy Life

This collection of twelve teachings, when taken to heart, will help you emerge triumphant over seemingly impossible situations... "XII Smooth Stones" available at TowardTheMark online.

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 "XII Smooth Stones" 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…
sums up the reason Keith stepped out in faith to focus on reaching the lost and strengthening believers everywhere, through Toward The Mark, Inc. We are praying for you to be encouraged and edified by our written and recorded product accounts from The Gospel that Jesus Christ preached in our written and recorded products.

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The blog message you have just read, along with each of our original podcast, music, and video recordings, CDs, books, magazines, and other resources in our ministry collection is made possible by the faithful prayer and financial support of the TTM Family. If you would like to become a part of the TTM Family, your monthly financial support of any amount will help fulfilling God's call on our lives to make Holy-Bible-based messages available to the churched and un-churched alike. You are invited to partner with us in working with God to fulfill His desire for everybody to know Christ Jesus, The Way, The Truth, and The Life...personally. We "... press Toward The Mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14) Would you consider helping us expand our outreach capabilities by becoming a monthly financial partner? Your support will go toward helping to provide effective, practical outreach tools for ministering the love, truth, and salvation of Jesus Christ.

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Thank you in advance for sowing your financial seed into the vision and mission God has given to this ministry! We pray God bless you with a 100-fold return for your generosity!

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

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In Pursuit of God...No Matter What!

Full Speed Ahead!

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Take me to last month's "Out of the Shadows" post.

Take me to "You are not alone...God's view of abortion and you" post.

Toward The Mark INC with KeithAndBrendaLee Shealy

Keith Shealy and TowardTheMark, Inc has been serving God and His Church since 1980. For anyone who wants to partner with us, to show GOD Big in a world that sees Him small, we welcome you... Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account (Philippians 4:17). ...The LORD gave the word: great was the company of those that published it (Psalm 68:11)

Friday, May 31

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

"The Word of God says, 'Believe!' But how? Make up your mind: fear or Faith; fear or Freedom. We all choose to believe in something. If you 'fear', it's like a disease that is both preventable and curable."

"But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us." 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9....

Our senior pastor, Pastor Clay Davis, now 80-something years young (our best estimate from nearly 40 years of clues we've gathered), is also our friend and mentor for how to walk in restful faith with The Triune God. He is a tremendous example of how we can reach to the very heart of the matter of fear and overcome it. We asked Pastor Clay to tell us how he would explain is the best way to deal with fear that comes to rob us of life, and what advice he would offer others, no matter if they are in the church or un-churched. We enjoy listening to our beloved elder and family pastor as the "preacher in the church pulpit" though he now shares his wisdom with us from his living room recliner.

Pastor Clay told us how he had received a certain birthday greeting card, with a tractor on the front, that said, "I wouldn't say you are old but..." (inside) "if you were a tractor tire you would be lying on your side, full of petunias." Then, there was another "friendly" expression, when he said he was told that he lied so much about his age that someone would have to cut him in half and count the rings in order to know just how ole he really is! In Pastor Clay's wonderful way of expressing how he really feels about his age he said, "God blessed me with a lifelong marriage to my (late) God-fearing wife, with four successful children, twelve incredible grandchildren, retirement, good friends around me, and many other blessings; I am not afraid of growing older."

Many folks, Pastor Clay explains to us, consider "the 'O' word", OLD, to be almost worse than "the 'F' word", FEAR! Those are people who can't see tomorrow or what it may hold. They begin to conjure up the unknown things that foster fear. And fear ushers us right into the shadows of worry and stress. Webster says that a "shadow" is something that only allows partial illuminations because of some opaque (unclear) object. Shadows or clouds around us keep the "Son" from shining, leaving way for a fear of the unknown.

Jesus said to the ruler of the Synagogue, in Mark 5:36, "Be not afraid and only believe." This is all-inclusive, regardless of money, man, sickness, sorrow, ....
... Jesus says, "Fear not!"
... God says, "Fear Not!"
... The Holy Spirit says not to yield to evil spirit imaginations.
As Pastor Clay would say, "That scores three to one; GOD WINS. The Word of God says, 'Believe!' But how? Make up your mind: fear or Faith; fear or Freedom. We all choose to believe in something. If you 'fear', it's like a disease that is both preventable and curable."

Let's follow that thought for a moment because there are many people we know suffering through fear, growing older being just one of their reasons. There are folks who fear what was said yesterday that they cannot take back today. Then, perhaps, some have fallen into fear from making a mistake today that will lead them to "face the music" tomorrow. Fear, worry, and undue concerns cause high blood pressure, ulcers, and all kinds of other problems in our body that also come to erode our mind! Pastor Clay gives a perfect example of this, by telling this story:

I am reminded of one of my favorite characters in the Bible, the man with the withered hand. Let's call him 'Clay'. He was a basket-case, hiding behind his clothes while he was engulfed (in the spirit) in the shadows. He was deformed, sickly, an introvert, inwardly ugly, feeling unimportant, somewhat abandoned, and was nearing the end of any hope of ever being accepted by others and considered 'normal'. In the third chapter of Mark where Jesus went into the Synagogue, the Pharisees were waiting, as always, to trap Him in something He would say or do that could be considered unlawful on the Sabbath day. Jesus ignored them and, in compassion, called out to the man in the shadows, 'Come out. Come on, I see you hiding there.'

Jesus seized the opportunity to reveal His Love to those who would choose to accuse Him, even if He knew they would not accept it. Jesus already knew the heart and dilemma of the shadow-man's broken soul before Him. Jesus simply said to the man, 'Come out of the shadows and stretch out your arm.' Wow! Can you imagine the silence and the anticipation? The man could perhaps stretch out a good hand, or perhaps even a leg. But, no, not this ugliness that has never been useful or even able to be moved. But the man had to feel the Love and Authority in the Voice of The Master. In that instant of God-given faith, the man reached out to Jesus. And Jesus reached out to the man and made his arm WHOLE!

In a split second, a new man stood before the crowd. If the man had said 'no' or walked away, or said, 'not now, maybe later', none of the freedom or anything would have come to happen. Jesus was really saying, 'Stretch forth your shortcoming, your illness, your troubled finances, your doubts, your fears, your ...(whatevers)!' Jesus asks us daily to step forth and walk in His Word. Does that mean we won't have problems or situations? Absolutely not! Will He take our hands and walk with us every step of the way? Absolutely, yes! He will! This is a promise He has never broken in the past, and He will never break ever.

In October of 1970, I stepped out of the shadows when I heard His Voice in my heart saying, 'come to Me.' I have never looked back! I heard the call from Matthew 11. 'Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and I will give you rest.'

Are you born again? Then rest in Jesus. Are you unsaved? Step out of the shadows and rest in Him. How, you ask? Tell Him you love Him, repent of the sins in your life, commit yourself to Him, and He will do the rest.

Until we take our last breath and we hear our heart beat for the last time, we must make up our mind that we will overcome fear and become one with God in Christ. If we will repent for our sins and accept the greatest sacrifice and gift that was paid by God's Only Son, Jesus Christ, then we move "out of the shadows" and into "The Light of the world" and to ultimate freedom for eternity with our loving Father in Heaven.

We pray God bless you greatly in carrying this message in your heart. Our thanks for taking part in this, and all that is made possible by the faithful support of our loving Toward The Mark, Inc. Family of sponsors!

Your friends & servants in Christ,

Thank you for joining together with us for this message from our hearts! We have posted it to help fan the flame in your heart for Christ Jesus, His wonder-full ways, and His plan and purpose for us in this life. To ask questions about our work and organization, to make a special tax-deductible donation to help in this work, to place a special order for our special offer of "Keep the FAITH, Keep Your VISION" or another Keith Shealy and Toward The Mark book or CD, or to share a testimony or prayer request with us, please click here to e-mail us, or write a letter and mail it to the address on our website, which is also provided below.

CLICK HERE to make a tax-deductible contribution securely by PayPal.

Every gift is appreciated and helps.

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!

We INVITE YOU...
see and hear, follow and share, more from TowardTheMark:

~ "Keith Shealy & Toward The Mark" on Facebook

~ "TTM SingingSgt" on Twitter

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

Full Speed Ahead!

~ "Sharing with you the Secrets God Whispers to us" teachings on our website

"See sidebar Pressin'IN Blog titles"

Take me back to the top of this post.

Take me to "You are not alone...God's view of abortion and you" post.

Toward The Mark INC with KeithAndBrendaLee Shealy

Tuesday, April 30

What is the Abundant Life...really?

Christ wants to build Himself IN you;
All you have to do is w-a-n-t Him, too!

          Have you ever wondered about God's desire to fulfill your heart's deepest desires? If so, then you are not alone. I believe that most professing Christians struggle with believing that God loves them enough to bring to pass the dreams that they hold so dear. The reason is simple: many who claim to personally know God, really don't! While they may profess otherwise, they view Him in their hearts as small, ineffective, and distant. The bottom line is this: living the abundant life is the fruit of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, period. Jesus said it this way, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

What do you want most? What do you seek most? What do you want from God? What do you want God to do for you? Whatever those things may be and however much you may desire them, you should be seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Now, let us turn those questions around -- what is God seeking? What does He want? Consider this passage: "For the eyes of The LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." (II Chronicles 16:9)

God is seeking those whose heart is perfect towards Him. Let's make that more personal -- God is seeking you, to show Himself strong to you. If you doubt the greatness and power of God, He is waiting, ready and wants to show Himself strong in your behalf. All we have to do is have a heart that is perfect toward Him. That is, we need to have a heart that, first and foremost, seeks the King of our domain, God -before anything else- and His righteousness. We cannot do this, however, if we do not trust God.

The Scripture commands us: "ascribe ye greatness unto our God." (Deuteronomy 32:3) That is, in faith we must view God to be great. We do not have to imagine Him to be that, it is simply what He already is. Consider the following scriptures, which describe the greatness and power of God:

"The LORD hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet." (Nahum 1:3)

"For, lo, he that forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares unto man what is His thought, that makes the morning darkness, and treads upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is His Name." (Amos 4:13)

"He divides the sea with His power, and by His understanding he smites through the proud. By His Spirit He hath garnished the heavens; His Hand hath formed the crooked serpent. Lo, these are parts of His ways: but how little a portion is heard of Him? but the thunder of His power who can understand?" (Job 26:12-14)

"Great is The LORD, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honor of Thy majesty, and of Thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of Thy terrible acts: and I will declare Thy greatness." (Psalm 145:3-6)

"Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and Thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; Thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, Thou preserves man and beast." (Psalm 36:5-6)

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Is anything too hard for The LORD? (Genesis 18:14) No! Yet some might say, "Sure, God is strong enough, but I don't think He cares enough about me personally to fulfill my deepest desires." Is that true? Consider these scriptures:

"But God commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)

"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:11)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." (John 16:23-24)

God desires greatly to give all He has to us, and God is looking for people who will receive what He has to give. So, what prevents us from receiving of God? James puts it this way: "Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:2-3)

God will not fulfill the desires of the flesh for us, for those are only counterfeit desires, and they cannot truly satisfy. So, when we come to the Cross, we must give up our old nature with its counterfeit desires that cannot be fulfilled, so that we might receive the new nature with the real desires that God will fulfill. In order to receive what God has, we must give up our self, and we cannot do this on our own, for that will only result in the counterfeit of giving up outward things while holding on to our old selves in our hearts. We must do this in partnership with God, as the Holy Spirit of truth leads us into the truth which makes us free indeed.

That is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, for the kingdom of God is within us, as Jesus said: "The kingdom of God comes not with observation:        Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." (Luke 17:20-21)

The kingdom of God is not to be found in our old nature; it must therefore be in our new nature, and it is the gift of God: "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32)

We must therefore submit to being given the kingdom, as Mary did, who sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His word. It's all too easy, however, to bury ourselves as Martha did in being "cumbered about with much serving." Many of our Churches today preach doing over being, a practice that runs contrary to our Lord's teachings. That is the error of attempting to make our old nature look like the new one, and it comes from not submitting to the gift of God's nature and righteousness: "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." (Romans 10:3)

To receive the gift of God's righteousness we must humble ourselves as little children: "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receives me." (Matthew 18:1-5)

Notice how humbling ourselves as little children is essential to receiving the kingdom of heaven in our heart. Contrary to popular thinking, walking with God and experiencing the fullness of His love does not come through being perceived as a spiritual giant or as a servant in our church, but through humbling ourselves as little children in the eyes of God. That must be our goal in this life! Yet when we do so, we will find that God is putting His greatness within us.

God is looking for faith on the earth; He is looking for those who will believe Him as little children, so that He might show Himself strong in their behalf. As Jesus said, "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:7-8)

Jesus made it abundantly clear in Luke 10:42 that if we want to experience the fullness of what God has for us, we must, as Mary did, choose "that good part." We must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. It follows that we must then diligently seek Him! We must delight ourselves in knowing God and His word intimately and not in busying ourselves with making our old nature look good. We must give up our old self and humbly submit as little children to the gift of the kingdom of God in the new nature. We must ask of God in faith out of our new nature, nothing wavering. Only then will God give us that which we request, only then will the deepest desires of our heart be fulfilled, only then will we see the greatness and power of God, and only then will the peaceable fruit of righteousness follow us all the days of our lives. "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men." (Romans 14:17-18)

That is the service that is pleasing to God, which He will reward. God would much rather be believed and known and obeyed than served in appearance and not in heart! "And Samuel said, Hath The LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of The LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22) "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."(Hosea 6:6)

True service to God and His people can only come from a pure heart that loves and believes Him, that is, from the heart of the new nature. Serving others in any other way is a snare, and God does not count it as service to Him. God is looking for those who will serve and worship Him from the new nature and not from the counterfeit of the old. "But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him." (John 4:23)

God is looking for you! God wants to give you great and mighty things that the natural mind cannot begin to comprehend. God wants to fill you with joy and glory and power unlike anything the natural man can begin to know. The desires of the flesh are nothing next to the real desires that God will fulfill! God is looking for you. Will you let Him give you these things, or will you count yourself out? "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."(Jeremiah 33:3) "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (I Corinthians 2:9-10)

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