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: 1112 Published: 06 Feb 2023
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
THE RESURRECTION 'BODY'
Have you ever wondered why Jesus was resurrected with a physical body? Surely, if the kingdom is purely spiritual, way up there in the sky, a spiritual body would have been better, to show us what our own heavenly body would be like?
Greek (Western) In the Greek, the concept of God being interested in both our bodies and spirit is rejected.
We see God being only interested in the spiritual. We spiritualise Biblical prophecy eg. Inventing Replacement Theory, replacing the literal return of the Jews to Israel. (This became an initial, formal reality in 1948!)
We downgrade the physical to being bad; to be shunned or hidden, while the spiritual is elevated to the extreme.
The concept of the Holy Spirit coming to dwell in our physical bodies is a very difficult one for us to accept. (Today my body is wracked with diarrhoea, due to something I ate yesterday! I certainly find it difficult to understand that the Holy Spirit would want to live there! I don't want to today either! Can you see how we think?)
Continuing with the toilet humour, David Pawson relates how that mentions of a Jewish blessing for going to the toilet amuses Christian audiences – because of the Greek mindset that God is not interested in the proper working of our bodily functions, but a Jewish audience would not react because Jews see no separation between physical and spiritual. (Please may I think like a Jew, as today I have spent lots of time in there!)
Earth is bad, heaven is amazing. Lord rapture us (another false teaching in the escapist way it is taught) there quick!
Greek minds do not accept revelation; only reason. The Greek mind asks “Why must I do it?”
Eastern (Hebrew) In Hebrew thought, the interrelation of physical and spiritual is regarded as being natural.
Jesus explained it first.....
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-1)
After the resurrection, the Jewish believers, while surprised to see Jesus, expected and accepted a bodily resurrection, for the kingdom of God is to rule both the spiritual and the natural. How could Jesus rule on earth if He only had a spiritual body? Jesus was seen, touched and ate fish.....
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Paul understood the conundrum gentiles have.....
22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Corinthians 1:22-5)
Hebrew reliance is on God and His Torah. The Hebrew mind asks “What must I do?”
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. We must banish escapist theologies from our theology and teaching.
2. We must choose to live godly lives now, not to wait until we die and go to heaven
3. We must work out our free salvation through physical actions that cost us our life.
FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
Matthew the Tax Collector Called(Matthew9:9-13 , Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-31)\
“Follow me!”
“Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and discover what this means: ‘I want mercy, not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call those who do right—I came to call sinners.’”
Jesus Questioned About Not Fasting(Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39)
By John’s disciples who did fast.
“Do wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is with them?” “But the time is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a new patch on old clothes,
otherwise it will shrink and make the tear worse. No one puts new wine in old wineskins either, otherwise the wineskins will burst, spilling the wine and ruining the wineskins. No, new wine is put into new wineskins, and both last.
Healing at the Pool (John 5:1-15)
Of the man who could not reach the pool when it ‘stirred’.
“Do you want to be healed?”
“Stand up, pick up your mat, and start walking!”
“Look, now you’ve been healed. So stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.”
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(Continued next week)
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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
A MATTER OF TIME
329. In the battle of life, time wins and we lose. We rest more contentedly once we accept this inevitability.
330. By the time we appreciate that time is truly precious, most of it has already passed us by.
331. Time is a master of extremes; for 'African Time' is the curse of Africa, 'busyness,' that of the West.
332. Time is a great healer, but one not appreciated until it's soothing balm is experienced.
333. Work shared is time saved.
334. The greatest time saver in the world is the 'Off' button on the TV set.
335. Modern appliances save us time so that we may work the longer hours required to afford them!
336. Labour saving devices are amazing. The more labour we save, the busier we get!
337. Isn't it time we took control of time?
338. Mankind is more productive than at any previous time in history, yet somehow, we have even less time than ever to enjoy it!
339. Unfortunately, it takes time to gain the experience to save time. This is a compelling reason to learn more from the experience of others.
340. True love is magnified by the passage of time.
405. The world's greatest motivator has always been, and remains, the 'last minute.'
406. The curse of time came into being as the result of the sin of Adam. It remains with us today.
407. Man has conquered space but never, the curse of time.
431. We may plan for the future, but can only live in the present.
432. It is amazing how quickly our tomorrows become yesterdays.
433. The one event we can't control in our lives, is the moment the first becomes the last!.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: ‘THE RAPTURE’ - SATAN’S PLAN OF DECEPTION WITHIN TODAY’S CHURCH .....
..... will continue as we we look at the HISTORY OF RAPTURE THEORY
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
305. Hell in Hell
The Pope, Billy Graham, and a Television Evangelist (who shall remain nameless) were among the passengers on a trans-Atlantic flight. The plane crashed in the ocean and all passengers died.
When the three men of God arrived at the gates of heaven, St. Peter threw up his hands in dismay.
"Oh my," groaned St. Peter. "Your arrival is completely unexpected so your quarters aren't ready just yet."
Thinking hard, St. Peter got an idea. He quickly pressed the "Hell" button on his intercom, then said, "Hi Lucifer, I need a favor. You see, I've got these three fellows up here. They're ours, but they weren't expected right now so we need to fix the place up for them. If you could put them up for a while, I'll owe you one."
Reluctantly, the Devil agreed.
The next day, St. Peter's intercom buzzes. "Hey Pete, this is Lucifer. Man, you have to come get these three men outta here RIGHT NOW! The Pope is forgiving everybody. Billy Graham is saving everybody. Worst of all, that Television Evangelist has raised enough money to install central air conditioning!"
QWIK QWIP: “Too much of the Christian faith has become trimming on the dress of life instead of part of the fabric."
306. The Cannibal and the Priest
A cannibal ate a priest and got very sick. Upon visiting the witch doctor and telling of his symptoms, the witch doctor asked how he had cooked the priest. The cannibal replied that he had broiled him.
Hearing this the witch doctor exclaimed, "Well no wonder you're sick! He was a Friar!"
307. One For You, One For Me
There was a huge pecan tree in the cemetery, just a short ways from the fence. One day two boys sneaked into the cemetery and filled up a bucket with pecans. The bucket was so full that several pecans rolled away and came to a rest against the cemetery fence.
The two boys then sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts between them.
"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy.
Cycling down the road near the cemetery came a third boy named Joey. As Joey passed the graveyard, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery and slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, Joey heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
Joey immediately knew what was going on. "Oh wow!" he shuddered. "It's Satan and St. Peter dividing the souls at the cemetery!"
Joey sped down the road and found old Mr. Finch with a cane, limping slowly along.
"Come quick!" Joey shouted. "You won't believe what I heard! Satan and St. Peter are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls!"
Mr. Finch scowled and yelled, "Shoo you brat! Can't ya see I'm finding it hard to walk as it is?"
After Joey made several more urgent pleas, Mr. Finch reluctantly hobbled to the cemetery and heard, "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me."
"Boy, you've been tellin' the truth!" Mr. Finch exclaimed in a whisper. "Let's get closer and maybe we'll get to see the Devil himself."
Shivering with fear, Joey and Mr. Finch edged toward the fence, still unable to see the source of the voices.
Then they heard, "One for you, one for me. And here's another for you and another for me. There, that's the last of them. Now, let's go get those nuts by the fence, and we'll be done."
QWIK QWIP: “A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.”
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
Finally, after 4 months of rain and clouds, we have a day of clear blue skies and hot weather!
I love it! More Kenya like! But for some of the locals, it is very hot!
We have a few days of this coming up.
Beautiful!
Our walk in God is very similar. We keep going through tough times which never seem to end. But one day the sunshine in our life will come!
Let us live, not in despair, but with expectation that the good days will come - in His time.
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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