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: 1116 Published: 06 Mar 2023
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
SPIRITUALITY
Greek (Western) To the Western mind, life is dualistic, with a separation between the physical and emotional, and the spiritual.
Spirituality is otherworldly. The emphasis in both teaching and living is to go to heaven where all physical pain and the cares of the world will be left behind. The physical and emotional are regarded as evil, so physical and emotional self-denial is good. Initially, the monastic system grew out of this thinking while today escapism is reflected in the (false) rapture teachings.
Spirituality is considered to be of the mind. Therefore, those who have been trained in theology are considered to be more worthy than those who haven't. This has led to a division between clergy and people, starting with the Roman Catholic Church, and which, formally or informally, still remains today.
We separate the (bad) physical and emotional from the (good) spiritual. So we celebrate the spiritual in church for an hour or two then go back into the world and happily live an unspiritual life.
Eastern (Hebrew) In the Eastern way of thinking spirituality is earthly, not otherworldly.
Man was put on earth to look after it.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis1:27-8)
Mankind was given comprehensive instructions on how to look after earth, from planting crops, to celebration, to work, to rest, to handling money, and how to take care of the poor. For example.....
12 “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed. (Exodus 23:12)
Appropriate emotionalism was encouraged, along with the physical.....
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, (Ecclesiastes 3:4)
That the spiritual is a part of this world, is reflected in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. For example..
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9)
Jesus did not send His disciples to heaven, but into the world, to follow His example.....
18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. (John 17:18-19)
Marriage is perhaps considered to be the most spiritual thing one can do. Sex within marriage is regarded as particularly spiritual, just touching the surface of what our union with the Messiah is to be. We are to participate in the glorious marriage with the Lamb of God.....
7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) (Revelation 19:7-8)
When the Scriptures speak of 'the flesh', they are speaking of our worldly nature, our pre-Christ nature. As Paul said.....
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. (Philippians 3:4b-6)
Now, although no longer of the world, in our new nature, we are to remain in the world and to be its light. As Jesus said.....
14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.(Matthew 5:14-16)
May we build His kingdom upon the earth.....
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. To accept that the renewed physical and emotional within us is good, is to be celebrated, and not rejected as unspiritual.
2. Forget about the escapism of early rapture teaching. We will meet with Jesus in the sky upon His return, coming to His kingdom on earth with Him. (Matthew 24;30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
3. To understand that, (and behave like), we are part of His kingdom now being built upon the earth.
4. To live life to the full, spiritually, physically and emotionally, as worthy witnesses of our Lord Jesus in the here and now.
(Continued next week)
Find out more about us at the link below
FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
Sermon on the Mount(Matthew 5:1-7:29, Luke 6:17-49)
The primary ‘life teachings’ of Jesus.
Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can you make it salty again? It’s good for nothing, so it’s thrown out and trodden on. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill can’t be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bucket. No, it’s placed on a lamp-stand and it provides light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way you should let your light shine before everyone so they can see the good things you do and praise your heavenly Father.
Fulfillment of the Law (Matthew 5:17-20)
“Don’t think I came to abolish the law or the writings of the prophets. I didn’t come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18I assure you, until heaven and earth come to an end, not a single letter, not a single dot of the law will come to an end before everything is fulfilled. 19So whoever disregards the least important commandment, and teaches people to do so, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches the commandments will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20I tell you, unless your righteousness is more than that of the religious teachers and the Pharisees, you can never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder (Matthew 5:21-6, Luke 12:58-9)
“You’ve heard that the law said to the people of long ago: ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who commits murder will be condemned as guilty.’ But I tell you, anyone who is angry with his brother will be condemned as guilty. Whoever calls his brother an idiot has to answer to the council, and whoever insults people is liable to the fire of judgment.”
If you’re at the altar making an offering, and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering on the altar and go and make peace with him first, and afterwards come back and make your offering. While you’re on the way to court with your opponent, make sure you settle things quickly. Otherwise your opponent might hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the court official, and you will be thrown into jail. I tell you the truth: you won’t get out of there until you’ve paid every last penny.
(Continued next week)
Find out more about us at.....
***NOW***NINE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!!!
9 BOOKS are now available on Amazon (Kindle)!
All are available worldwide for electronic download on Amazon (Kindle) for $US0.99c . Unfortunately there has to be a charge in order to list.
Your support would be appreciated and they could well change your life!
Many more online at https://www.wwj.org.nz/more-free-downloads
They are all found at this link.....
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=david+tait+books/
***DAILY EZINE!*** 'DAVID'S DAILY DOODLINGS' Subscribe Today
Receive one or more of David's sayings in your mailbox each day to inspire, challenge or maybe, amuse. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe link dd-on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done! If you have an Irish heritage, you will love the background coloring!
Subscription and back issue link is.....
'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
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.
Download the free PDF here.....
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
SUCCESS
104. 'Earthly Success' is based upon achievement, 'Godly Success' upon relationship.
105. 'To be, not to do, that is the answer.' (with apologies to Shakespeare)
106. God desires our 'being' much more than our 'doing'.
107. God prefers 'ones self' to 'ones works'.
108. In God's order 'works' should proceed, not precede, relationship.
109. On earth favours lead to friendship, while with God, friendship leads to blessings.
110. Money is slippery ' hard to grasp and even harder to hold on to.
111. Earthly achievement's are fleeting, a heavenly investment eternal.
112. Being a Christian is both to give and to for-give.
113. Nothing is less conspicuous than a famous man's grave
Many more at.....
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
Check it out at...
TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: WAIT AND SEE!
*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today
As Christians, if we can't laugh at ourselves, others will! A fun way to start your day. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe link lao--on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done!
THIS WEEKS TUESDAY TEACHING.....
A REVELATION OF... REVELATION 12:11WALKING WITH JESUS continues
Next Tuesday we are investigating the underlying meaning of blood and why its shedding is necessary in order that we return to relationship with God.
As well, we are going to see why, in reality, we haven't made it to perfection yet.
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
317. Constipation
Q: Where is constipation mentioned three times in the Bible?
: (1) Satan is bound. (2) Elijah said, "Nothing will move me." (3) Moses took 2 tablets.
QWIK QWIP: “In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma - but never let him be the full stop. (period)”
318. What Now?
The young priest rushed into his superior's office. "Father Murphy," he exclaimed. "Come quick! Our Saviour is in our church!"
The two clerics rushed into the church and sure enough, there was the Lord Jesus praying at the Altar.
"What should we do?" whispered young Father McLaughlin.
"Try to look busy!" answered the older priest.
319. More Kids Letters To God
DEAR GOD:
If you give me a genie lamp like Aladdin, I will give you anything you want except my money or my chess set. Ralph
Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year. Peter
I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. Sam
Of all the people who work for You, I like Noah and David the best. Rob
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
I love worship!
But my quetion today is, "Do we live out the words we sing"?
A classic song, written by Judson W. Van DeVenter, in America around the turn of the 19th to 20th Centuries, "I Surrender All", ,is one many of us have sung over the years.
The first verse and refrain is.....
1 All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain:
I surrender all, I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
We so easily sing the words, but do we indeed, surrender all to Jesus?
Let's be honest.
No has to be the answer, doesn't it!
We shouldn't sing worship words if we don't mean to live them out, should we?
We may be held to account one day.
Worth thinking about? And acting on!
PS: Kathy has her arm out of plaster and is now doing exercizes to get the wrist and fingers working again.
Until next time
His servant and yours
David Tait
Visit us here.....
CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS? NEWSLETTER STOPS COMING?
Each week we can lose up to 2% of our readers when they change email addresses without letting us know. Or sometimes, by your server acting strangely and just cutting us off! If you are about to change your address, please advise us of both your old and new addresses here atenquiries@wwj.org.nz and we will happily change our records to ensure ongoing delivery. Thanks.
Please also keep our address in your address book, as sometimes servers will automatically delete your address if there is even a one off problem in delivery. If your newsletter doesn't arrive, please let us know and we will reinstate you.
REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT
Most weeks we get enquiries about reproducing, in electronic or print form, articles contained in 'PGIM!' We welcome and encourage you to utilize this material. Freely received, freely given. We would ask though, that the source be acknowledged as an encouragement to others to subscribe to this newsletter also.
LINKS
If you would like to link your web site to ours, and ours to yours, please advise us onlinks@wwj.org.nz
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!
For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz