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: 1126 Published: 15 May 2023
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
SUMMARY Part 2
3. LEARNING BY EXAMPLE - THE CALL TO CHRIST LIKENESS
The importance of following in the footsteps of godly ancestors is readily apparent throughout Jewish culture. Hence the importance placed on genealogy. In the Gospel primarily written for the Jews, it is the first thing discussed, indicating its huge importance.....
The Genealogy of Jesus
1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David...... (and so on - Matthew 1:1-17)
With our different cultural understanding, we tend to skip over these verses, as our ancestry is of far less significance to us.
The importance of the example of those who went before is seen in Hebrews, where the writer, when talking about the key element of faith, quoted the Patriarchs and forefathers as examples of faith in action to be admired, followed and improved upon, through the sacrifice of Jesus for us.....
By Faith
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (and so on - Hebrews 11:1-40)
Jewish rabbinical training, at the time of Jesus, was based on an extreme form of this principle. The student of the Rabbi would follow the behaviour of his Rabbi totally. If the Rabbi stood up, walked, and then sat down, so would his student. He would mimic the Rabbi's actions in their entirety. Of course, this was a 'religious behaviour', but the principle of 'following the Rabbi' was entrenched in their culture.
So, who is our Rabbi? Jesus, of course. And where is His behaviour modelled? It is found throughout all the New Testament, but specifically in the 4 Gospels.
Through the history of the church, a greater emphasis has been placed upon the Epistles of Paul and others, for it is primarily upon these that the theology of the church has been built. Our divided church is based upon the development of theological principles that are academic, are of the mind. Hence the importance placed on Seminaries, theological training and degrees, which are presumed to bring people closer to Jesus. Unfortunately, it has resulted in much knowledge about Jesus, but so often, a much reduced relationship with Him. Sad but true.
In the church today, a greater emphasis needs to be placed upon the Gospels, through which we can learn to become more like Jesus. It is a truism that married people eventually get to look like each other. (Sorry Kathy!) For we spend time together, meld our thoughts and ways, to become one, rather than two.
This is what Jesus wants of His Bride too. He wants us to become one with Him. How do we do that? By interacting with Him until we are moulded into His image. By copying His behaviour. By basing our lives on love of God and others, as Jesus did. Theology divides, love unites.
As Paul, the consummate theologian, witnessed.....
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)
May it be so in our lives too, as we grow, through marriage to the Lamb, to become more like Him.
Then we can look forward with confidence to this glorious day.....
The New Jerusalem
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS ”
Lamp on a Stand(Mark 4:21-5)
“Who puts a lamp under a bucket, or beneath a bed?” “No, you put a lamp up on a lampstand. Everything that is hidden will be revealed, and everything that is secret will be brought out into the open. 23If you have ears to hear, listen to what I’m saying! Pay attention to what you’re hearing,” “for you will be given according to how much you want to receive, measure for measure. More will be given to those who already have understanding, but those who don’t want to know will have what little understanding they have taken from them.
Parable of the Growing Seed(Mark 4:26-9)
“God’s kingdom is like a man sowing seed in the ground,” Jesus said. “He goes to bed and gets up, day after day, but the man has no knowledge of how the seeds sprout and grow. The earth produces a harvest by itself. First a shoot appears, then the heads of grain, and then the heads of grain ripen. When the grain is ripe, the farmer reaps it with a sickle, because the harvest is ready.
Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
“The kingdom of heaven is like a farmer who sowed good seeds in his field. But while his workers were sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weed seeds on top of the wheat. Then they left. So when the wheat grew and produced ears of grain, the weeds also grew up. The farmer’s workers came and asked him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seeds in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
“‘Some enemy has done this,’ he replied. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him.
‘No,’ he answered, ‘as you pull up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat too. Let them both grow until harvest, and then at harvest-time I’ll tell the reapers, “First gather the weeds, tie them up into bundles and burn them. Then gather the wheat and store it in my barn.”’”
(Continued next week)
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*DAVID"S DOODLINGS
Enjoy some of David's sayings here, plus 1300 more on the website at.....
'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
FAITH
282. 'Blind faith' is 'blindingly blind'!
283. Doubt is to faith as butter is to bread.
284. Faith involves seeing the goal before it is achieved. Therefore, 'blind faith', by definition, must be a contradiction in terms.
285. A Christian without faith is like a newly beheaded chicken. Running round aimlessly flapping its wings, before collapsing in a heap - 100% dead.
288. Faith brings life. Without faith, we die in the Spirit.
289. We can have the faith of the sparrow, the dove or the eagle. Our choice determines the height to which we can soar.
290. Exercising faith releases further faith. (These sayings - good or bad - are an example of it!)
291. Dreams are centred in hope, accomplishments in faith.
Many more at.....
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
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'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
Another laugh or three for you today
Many more on our website below. Also many, may, many more under these categories on our website, wwj,org,nz Look under the heading MAINLY LAUGHS. Choose from.....
THIS WEEKS TUESDAY TEACHING.....
THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF...THE SEVEN REVELATIONS OF THE LAMB Part 5
The coming of the 'Lamb of God' Himself was, and remains, the pivotal point in history.
Without the death and resurrection of Jesus we would be completely without comfort in a human centred world.
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
349. Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark if it happened today:
And the Lord spoke to Noah and said, "In six months I'm going to make it rain until the whole Earth is covered with water and all evil people are destroyed. But I want to save a few good people, and two of every kind of living thing on the planet. I am commanding you to build an Ark." And in a flash of lightning, He delivered the specifications for an Ark.
"Okay," said Noah, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints.
"Six months and it starts to rain," thundered the Lord. "You'd better have the Ark completed, or learn to swim for a very long time."
Six months passed, the skies clouded up and rain began to fall. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard, weeping....and there was no Ark. "Noah," shouted the Lord, "Where is the Ark?"
"Lord, please forgive me!" begged Noah. "I did my best. But there were big problems. First, I had to get a building permit for the Ark construction project, and your plans didn't meet code. So I had to hire an engineer to redraw the plans. Then I got into a big fight over whether or not the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system. Then my neighbor objected, claiming I was violating zoning by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission." "Then I had problems getting enough wood for the Ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the Spotted Owl. I had to convince the Fish and Wildlife that I need the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch any owls. So, no owls." "The carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or hammer. Now we have 16 carpenters on board, and still no owls." "Then I started gathering up animals, and got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me taking only two of each kind. Just when I got the suit dismissed, EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood. They didn't take kindly to the idea that they had no jurisdiction over the conduct of a Supreme Being. Then the Army Corp of Engineers wanted a map of the new flood plain. I sent them a globe." "Right now, I'm trying to resolve a complaint from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over how many Croatians I'm supposed to hire. The IRS has seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to avoid taxes by leaving the country. And I just got a notice from the state about owing them some kind of use tax. I really don't think I can finish the Ark for at least another 5 years."
Then the sky began to clear. The sun began to shine. A rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up, "You mean you're not going to destroy the earth?" he asked hopefully.
"No," the Lord said sadly. "The government already has."
QWIK QWIP: “Funny how people think that they can get more ccomplished
in a lifetime without God than in an hour with him.”
350. Backward Christian Soldiers
Backward Christian Soldiers, Fleeing from the Fight
With The cross of Jesus nearly out of sight
Christ our rightful Master stands against the foe
But forward into battle we are loathe to go
Like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God
Brothers we are treading where we've often trod
We are much divided many bodies we,
Having different doctrines not much charity
Backward Christian soldiers fleeing from the fight
With the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight!
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
The King of England's coronati0on has come and gone, with pagentry that no other country can do as well. Steeped in history, the coaches, bands soldiers and the service itself, were majestic displays, to give a country that is going through so many challenges, something to distract them for a short time.
The country has changed so much from the time of Queen Elizabeth's coronation 70+ years ago. At that time the country was primarily Anglo-Saxon, while now it is a multi-cultural society, with many races and religions immigrating there.
While the coronation service in Westminster Abbey was Anglican based through and through, the new King said that he was there to serve all the races and religions of those now living there.
That was a huge change from Queen Elizabeth who, at least in her later years, was a sold out Christian.
As migration around the world increases greatly, we need to be able to retain our personal faith in Jesus, in more challenging times.
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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