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
A FREE service, currently connecting with Christian leaders from 3,000 denominations and ministries, in 70 countries.
Issue No: 1103 Published: 05 Dec 2022
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
DIVISION WITHIN UNITY
Greek (Western)
Logically, there can only be one truth, so those who disagree with us are automatically wrong. Divisions within the church result.
In Western, scientific based thought, there can only be one truth. Of course, that is the truth and understanding that we have, built upon the theology in which we believe! Therefore that 'church down the road' that has some different beliefs to us cannot, at best, be as good as ours or, at worst, are regarded as heretics and not part of the kingdom of God. We are intolerant of the views of others for, in our mindset, there can only be one truth - ours!
This is very different to the Eastern way of thinking.
Eastern (Hebrew)
Jewish thinking allows for differences of opinion, without putting aside the greater picture of the good of the nation.
While in Jesus time, and since, there has been plenty of robust discussion and disagreement between groups with differing beliefs about Scripture and life, e.g. the Pharisees and Sadducees, (broadly speaking, conservative and liberal in our terminology), they still regarded each other as being a true part of the kingdom of Israel, for the greater good of the nation was bigger than their differences with each other. Difference was tolerated without causing complete separation.
Paul exhibited this way of thinking when discussing divisions that were arising in the early Roman church.....
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: ”‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” (Romans 14:5-11)
There should be even greater unity in the church than in the world! We are not to follow particular men (or theologies), only God. To the Corinthians he said..
Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? 5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:1-9)
Jesus too, was strong about this.....
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:8-12)
The ministry role is to bring about unity, not division.....
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)
May the Lord have mercy upon us as we continue to lift one man above another and pursue policies that divide rather than unite the body of Christ.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. We need to learn that only God has all the answers - and that we are not God!
2. We need to understand and accept that others may have different ideas to us in disputable areas of theology.
3. We need to put the overall good of the body of Christ above the self interest of our own denomination, grouping, (or non-grouping!).
4. We need to take active steps to reconcile with those we have rejected
FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
Paul’s Vision and Thorn (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)
Paul asks for his ‘thorn’ to be taken away.
“My grace is all you will need, for my power is effective in weakness.”
Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches (Revelation 1:1-3:21)
Through the apostle John.
“I am the Beginning and the End,”
“Write down in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
“Don’t be afraid, I am the first and the last, the Living One. I was dead, but look! Now I am alive for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and the grave.
“So write down what you’ve seen—what’s happening in the present and what will happen in the future.
The meaning of the seven stars that you saw me holding in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.
To the Church in Ephesus
“Write this to the angel of the Ephesus church: This is what the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks among the seven golden candlesticks: I know what you’ve accomplished, your hard work and perseverance. I know you can’t tolerate evil people, and how you investigated those who claimed to be apostles but are not, and discovered they were frauds. I know about your patience, and what you endured for my sake—and that you didn’t give up!
“But I have something against you: you have neglected your first love. So remember how far you’ve fallen—repent and go back to what you were doing at first. Otherwise I’ll come to you and I will remove your candlestick from where it is—unless you repent. However you do have this to your credit: you hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give to those who are victorious the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the Paradise of God.
(Continued next week)
OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE IN NEW ZEALAND
We are still enjoying ourselves greatly, as people are so kind to us.
But sorry, no photos this week.
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Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.
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
THE FOOLISH, THE WISE AND THE GODLY ('Kingdom' Thoughts)
11. The lips of the foolish blaspheme God, those of the wise honour God, while the godly ones' lips glorify their God.
12. The foolish love pleasure, the wise find pleasure in love, but to the godly, pleasure is love.
13. Unity of fellowship is spurned by the foolish, acknowledged by the wise, but sought by the godly.
14. Foolishness is effortless, wisdom a gift, but godliness requires submission.
15. Satan loves the foolish, attacks the wise, but fears the godly.
16. Wisdom is easily read, takes time to acquire, but needs to be applied over a lifetime.
17. Fools believe they have all wisdom, the wise are prepared to learn from others, while the godly one's teacher is the Holy Spirit.
18. The foolish heart seeks only God's blessings, the wise heart seeks to bless others, while the godly heart first blesses God.
175. The foolish keep all they have for themselves. The wise gives expecting the blessing to be returned. But the godly gives simply to bless God.
205. Foolishness is of the flesh, wisdom of the mind, but godliness comes from a heart right with God.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
A REVELATON OF....... THE 3 PRIESTHOODS continues
...... as we commence our look at the priesthood of Jesus.
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
QWIK QWIP: “Nobody talks so consistently about God as those who insist that there is no God.”
278. The Dog Who Could Walk on Water.
Fred took his newfound friend John duck-hunting one day. Soon a shot found it's mark and a duck plummeted to the lake. Fred whistled for his dog and the dog padded across the top of the water, retrieved the duck and trotted back on top of the water to drop the duck at his master's feet. His friend John was amazed and immediately asked him "Can I buy that dog?".
Fred said "Sure, I've got another one like him anyways".
John couldn't wait to show off his new dog to his friend Wilbur and finally the day came when they were duck-hunting that John had to send the dog across the water to get the fallen duck. As the dog trotted back John waited for Wilbur's look of amazement but instead Wilbur scowled. Finally John blurted out " Well Wilbur, what do you think of my dog?" Wilbur scowled again and mumbled "hmmm, can't swim, can he!"
QWIK QWIP: “Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away." -Tom Brokaw
279. The Barber
The Barber After twenty years of shaving himself every morning, a man in a small Southern town decided he had had enough. He told his wife that he intended to let the local barber shave him each day. He put on his hat and coat and went to the barber shop, which was owned by the pastor of the town's Baptist Church.
The barber's wife, Grace, was working that day, so she performed the task. Grace shaved him and sprayed him with lilac water, and said, "That will be $20." The man thought the price was a bit high, but he paid the bill and went to work.
The next morning the man looked in the mirror, and his face was as smooth as it had been when he left the barber shop the day before. Not bad, he thought. At least I don't need to get a shave every day. The next morning, the man's face was still smooth. Two weeks later, the man was still unable to find any trace of whiskers on his face.
It was more than he could take, so he returned to the barbershop. "I thought $20 was high for a shave", he told the barber's wife, "But you must have done a great job. It's been two weeks and my whiskers still haven't started growing back."
Expecting his comment, the expression on her face didn't even change. She responded, "You were shaved by Grace. Once shaved, always shaved."
280. Church Funnies
*** I asked our six-year-old, "How did you like the service?" She said, "I liked the music, but I thought the commercial was too long."
*** Pastor, I've got some terrible news. Someone broke into our church last night and stole ninety thousand dollars worth of pledges.
***Does a good beginning and a good ending make a good sermon? Yes, if they're close enough together.
*** A new pastor preached a stirring sermon on "Gossip" but then made a fatal error by closing the service by singing "I Love to Tell the Story."
*** Sunday school teacher: "Cleanliness is next to what?" Little boy answers, "Next to impossible."
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
Or read even more online at.....
A DAVID MUSING
There is a saying, "When the things get tough, the tough get going.'
This is the way of our humanistic world.
But for me, and maybe you, when things get tough, I go To God.
To have God with us to support us in our life, takes away a lot of the pressure from the difficulties we face.
Why not take your issues to God today? It really makes a difference!
Until next time
His servant and yours
David Tait
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ABOUT US
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
wwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
P O Box 2
Webuye 50205
Kenya
Email: enquiries@wwj.org.nz
Web: wwj.org.nz
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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