A Weekly World Wide Word of Encouragement to those in the Ministry
PRAISE GOD IT’S MONDAY!
A WEEKLY ‘WWW (world-wide word) OF ENCOURAGEMENT’
TO THOSE IN MINISTRY
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Issue No: 1006 Published: 25 Jan 2021
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
FAITH AND WORKS
Greek (Western)
Greek thinkers centre on faith. We give pre-eminence to verses such as....
17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
and.....
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
As we have mentioned before, our faith is primarily intellectual. If we 'believe' in our minds we are 'saved', that is all that is required of us to inherit eternal life.
Eastern (Hebrew)
Jewish thinking, down through the millennia, has been focused on faith, shown to be real through works, by living a lifestyle that reflects what they believe intellectually. We tend to skip verse 10 of the passage quoted above from Ephesians, but it is integral to the whole.....
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
James, ever the practical person, was even more definite when he said.....
14 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)
He understood the Greek based thinking, arguing.....
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James 2:18-19)
and countered with the examples of Abraham.....
20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:20-24)
and Rahab.....
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:25-6)
Most of the parables of Jesus illustrate both faith and action. Of course, the most famous is the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It concludes.....
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36:7)
The Parable of the Sower makes this point too. We are to 'produce crops', not just intellectually believe.....
23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
Again, there is to be a change in our character as a result of our conversion, referred to as developing the 'fruit of the Spirit'.....
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22-3)
Yes, our faith is to be reflected in action, resulting in a changed life.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. Conversion needs to be accompanied by discipling of new believers.
2. Works are to be a reflection of the God within us to the outside world. To achieve this, they need to be done in the community, not just within the church environment.
3. Our teaching and beliefs about evangelism need to be changed to emphasise the need for a changed life, rather than just being an intellectual decision.
(Continues next week)
Acknowledgements: http://www.followtherabbi.com and http://hethathasanear.com and http://www.wildbranch.org
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Zacchaeus the Tax Collector ( Luke 19:1-10)
Climbed a tree to see Jesus.
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly! I need to stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus repents.
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man has shown he is a son of Abraham too. For The Son of man came to search for and save those who are lost.”
Parable of the Wicked Servant ( Luke 19:11-27)
Given to people expecting the immediate appearance of the kingdom.
“Once there was a nobleman who left home to go to a distant country to be crowned king there, and then to return. He called ten of his servants, divided money equally among them, and told them, ‘Invest this money until I return.’ But his people hated him, and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We won’t have this man as king over us.” After he had been crowned king he returned. He ordered his servants brought to him. He wanted to know what profit they had made by investing the money he had given them. The first servant came in and said, ‘Lord, your money has earned ten times as much.’
“‘Well done! You’re a good servant,’ said the king. ‘Since you proved yourself trustworthy in a very small matter, I’m placing you in charge of ten cities.’
“The second servant came in and said, ‘Lord, your money has earned five times as much.’
“‘I’m placing you in charge of five cities,’ said the king.
“Another servant came in and said, ‘Lord, look, here’s your money back. I kept it safe, wrapped up in a cloth. I was afraid of you because you’re a hard man. You take what doesn’t belong to you, and you harvest what you didn’t plant.’
“‘I’ll judge you by your own words,’ the king replied. ‘You know I’m a hard man, “who takes what doesn’t belong to me, and I harvest what I didn’t plant.” Why then didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have had my money with interest?’
“The king told those who were standing beside him, ‘Take the money away from him, and give it to the one who made ten times as much.’
“‘But master, he already has ten times as much,’ they replied.
“The king replied, ‘I tell you, to those who have, more will be given; but those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away from them. And as for my enemies who didn’t want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”
Mary Anoints Jesus (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, John 12:3-8)
Criticized by Judas Iscariot.
“She did this in preparation for the day of my burial. You’ll always have the poor here with you, but you won’t always have me here.”
And to others there, including the remaining disciples.
“Why are you upset with this woman? She’s done something wonderful for me! You’ll always have the poor with you, but you won’t always have me. By pouring this perfume on my body she’s prepared me for burial. I tell you the truth: wherever in the world this good news is spread, the story of what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”
(Continued next week)
Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
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One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
157. A Christian leader is but an ordinary person called to an extraordinary task. Both leaders and the led need to be reminded of this!
158. Worldly leadership builds up self, but godly leadership builds up others.
159. In God, understanding and sharing vulnerabilities is a sign of maturity and success, not an acknowledgement of failure.
160. In God, if you're not led to lead, you'll be bled to death.
161. To lead or be led? The difference is 'a' for attitude!
162. Only God has the required glue to attach 'super' to 'natural'.
372. To be a leader in the world is difficult, in the church, impossible. However, with God's help, we can do the impossible.
373. God loves obedient leaders.
374. Leaders are not God - for only God is perfect.
375. Our leaders are not God substitutes. They too, make mistakes, just as we do.
376. Truly godly leaders are more precious than diamonds - and equally hard to find.
377. The Bible tells us that there is only one God. Some leaders need to be reminded of this fact.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK:GOD AND MAN continues.....
as we look at the spiritual significance of Moses' sin.
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
*** Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. ***
2. Sunday Savings
Johnny (It’s okay all you Johnny’s – don’t be offended - John is my second name too!) came skipping into the house with a big ‘all day sucker’ in his mouth. "Where did you get it? his mother asked."
"I bought it with the dollar you gave me."
"But the dollar I gave you was for Sunday School!"
"I know mum, but the minister met me at the door and let me in for free!"
QWIK QWIP: “I'm as broke as the Ten Commandments. “
3. The Best Intentions of Ministers and Men…..
The noted Evangelist arrived in the city to conduct a series of crusades. At his Press Conference the day before the first meeting, he asked the reporters not to report the examples he quoted to them, as he wished to use them in his meetings.
The next day’s paper came out with a fine story on the meetings to start that very day and concluded, “The Evangelist also told a number of stories that cannot be repeated!” (One way of ensuring a good attendance! DJT)
4. Trumped!
There were two rich brothers who looked great on the outside, even attending church regularly, but whose hearts were evil.
A new, more astute pastor arrived at the church. The congregation grew and a fund raising campaign was started to extend the church.
All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The day before the funeral the remaining brother sidled up to the pastor and gave him a cheque for the full amount needed to complete the extensions. “Just one condition,” he said. At the funeral you must say that my brother was a saint.”
The pastor gave him his word and deposited the cheque.
The next day, at the funeral, the pastor let it all go. “He was an evil man,” he said, hard on his wife and family, corrupt in business,” and on and on. He concluded, “but, compared to his brother, he was a saint.”
Download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES One of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 800 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ..... https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj18p47.pdf
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A DAVID MUSING
Until next time.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God's people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ's return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord's direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our website
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Walking With Jesus Ministries
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Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "... so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole - and have a smile while doing it!
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