LISTEN TO THE LORD

As I come to write this article, quite frankly, I am bereft of ideas and inspiration! Normally I start writing here, but this time I have written the rest of the newsletter first. So what can I write about to scintillate you today, my dear reader?

I could write about the weather, for that is a subject we all have views upon. I could tell you that I am going to the Philippines to cool down, for we are in the middle of a heatwave here. And I could tell you that the sun is more powerful in Hawkes Bay than in virtually any other part of the earth, burning very easily, mainly because of the very thin ozone layer over New Zealand and ironically, our unpolluted atmosphere. But that would not be very exciting to you would it?

And like the pastors amongst you, who have to preach every Sunday, I am expected to perform no mater how I feel, or what level of inspiration I have, this week! I must! I have to! Or I will let my readers down! I will let God down! I can't let anyone see my weakness and humanity! My BP's sky-high! Lord, what can I do?

And the still, small voice of my Holy Spirit mentor, my guide and friend comes to me in the middle of my frustration and says, "David, admit your humanity to your people." "But surely Lord, that would be letting everyone down?" is my immediate response, pride coming rapidly to the fore. "David, I have said it, you just need to do it." "Yes Lord, I bow to your wisdom, again."

You know, I have found, both personally, and with others, that it is the times we dare to expose our humanity, that we have the most profound impact. So often as pastor, priest, minister, boss or even newsletter writer, we feel we have to portray an image rather than present reality. Yet we live in a real world. Our parishioners, our readers, our workmates, are real people, living real lives. And it is by being real ourselves, we can best reach them. No one can continue to live up to an 'image', long-term. Image brings with it inevitable, crunching, disheartening, disappointment and failure.

The God I try to share with you each week, has not yet clicked his fingers and made me perfect. But together, we are working on it, and I can honestly say that I am a greatly different person to the one I was a year ago. But I still have a long way to go. How true is the saying that, 'the closer you get to God, the further away you realize you really are!'

Nobody but our prideful selves expects us to be perfect. To pretend we have nearly made it, to have all the answers, is the surest sign we haven't. But I have a God who is working with me to help me through my ups and downs, to slowly remold me into His image. We are a team.

Are you on His team too?

And remarkably, this article (and newsletter) is written - in record time too! Amazing what a little listening does!

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FROM THE WORD

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)

"Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall." (Proverbs 16:18)

"A man’s pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor." (Proverbs 29:23)

"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:1-7)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

361. Earthly success is an aphrodisiac, while heavenly success requires fertilisation, labour pains and new birth.

362. We live in an instant society where sadly, momentary success is preferred to eternal glory.

363. Earthly success is like instant coffee. Quick and easy to make but lacking the aroma, taste and satisfaction of the real thing.

364. Earthly success is elusive and fleeting, heavenly glory, certain and everlasting.

365. Success in life after death has more appeal than success in life, for tombstones tell me it is longer lasting!

366. Death is the greatest leveller of human achievement.

367. Inevitably, human success results in - death!

There are 700+ David sayings for you to view at ...

http:// www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php

A MESSAGE FROM ROY

Although this PGIM! e-letter is sent free, some readers have decided to support this Ministry one or more times a year by sponsoring a week's PGIM! @ USD $50.00. Can I ask you to consider sponsoring a specified week/s? You will get an acknowledgement on your particular week/s of sponsorship (unless you do not want it). If you are interested to help this very informative & helpful newsletter, please email me, Roy McGreevy, as it is God who authored this idea through me in the USA. roy@kscbtv.com. I look forward to hearing from you... thanks. Roy

FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU

Dear David,
I had to chuckle about the line asking why the preachers kids were the meanest ones in the church. Perhaps, it is because they spent too much time with the "saints" kids?
It also brought a incident to remembrance: back around 1948 - I was 12 years old - my father sent me over to the store front church he had just opened, in a rather rough part of town, to wait for a coal delivery.
I ended up in a fist fight with two of the local kids in the front of the church, no less.
Sounds disastrous, but we ended up with a pretty good Sunday School and my two opponents were regular attendants.
God Bless,
Don Spooner

Your comments to me or fellow readers are always welcomed at... david@wwj.org.nz

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." ***

230. MEMORANDUM
TO: Jesus, Son of Joseph.Woodcrafters shop. Nazereth.

From: Jordan Management Consultants. Jerusalem.

Subject: Staff Aptitude Test.

Date :May 22/30

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer but also have arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contact in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and innovative. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right hand man. All other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

229. THREE RELIGIOUS TRUTHS
There are three Religious Truths:
1. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
2. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian faith.
3. Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store.

Now one of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 600 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What is the sport of "gouging"?

ANSWER: In the Ohio River Valley area of the US in the early 19th century, "gouging" was a popular frontier sport. The object of the game: to gouge your opponent's eye out with your thumbnail. Now we, metaphorically, at least most of the time, leave this sport to the politicians.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Why do we call faces "mugs"?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
852. MILK IS DANGEROUS
Abraham Lincoln’s mother unfortunately died after drinking milk from the family cow that had recently eaten poison mushrooms. (The cow’s fate is unknown.)

853. EVER HOPEFUL
Many Japanese golfers carry ‘hole-in-one’ insurance, as the traditional gift giving to celebrate your luck is so expensive. (Premiums wouldn’t need to be very high, though!)

854. BANANA HIGHWAY
The longest banana split ever was over 7 kilometres long! (What did they do with the skins?)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
(Test your computer skills)

B B B B B BBBB
B B B B B B
BBBBBB B B B BBBB
B B B B B B
B B B B BBBB

Answer at the end of A David Musing

You can download a 250 item sample Trivia Book at Truly Trifling Trivia

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FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK

In association with Inspirational Tapes Ministries
inspirational.org.nz
we are pleased to offer you this inspirational MP3 download - absolutely free of charge!

THINGS GOD WANTS US TO KNOW

By: Brother Andrew

Superb insights in Christian living from one of the world's best known and loved followers of Jesus.

Download your free MP3 today at ...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/tape.php

THE TWO MARATHONERS

A thought provoking and entertaining allegory about our journey through life. Given to me by God the day after he initially asked me to base a ministry on Revelation 12:11 over 10 years ago, I found that the 3 parts of the story complemented each part of the verse and the Walking With Jesus Course I wrote on this verse. God never ceases to amaze!

How will we run our race?

http://www.wwj.org.nz/pdf/bk4.pdf

WILL YOUR NEW YEAR BE LIKE THIS?

BEST BUDDIES
Mary announced that she was going to start a diet to lose some pounds she had put on recently.

"Great," Sue exclaimed. "I'm ready to start a diet too. We can be dieting buddies and help each other out. And when I feel the urge to drive out and get a burger and fries, I'll call you first."

"Wonderful," Mary replied. "I'll go with you."

THE FINAL QUESTION
An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics. The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk and wrote on the board: "Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."

Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in furious fashion. Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair. One member of the class however, was up and finished in less than a minute.

Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an A when he had barely written anything at all. His answer consisted of two words: "What chair?"

Much more humour just for a laugh at Just Jokes...

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FAMOUS WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE

A DROP IN THE BUCKET!

Generally used to mean a very small amount, this phrase is taken directly from Isaiah 40:15 where it says that to the Lord, 'the nations are a drop in the bucket.'

Many more interesting Bible facts at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/gfacts.php

A DAVID MUSING

By the time you receive this Kathy and I will be finishing a 3-day, 'long weekend', back in our previous hometown of Tauranga. We will visit old friends and have a good catch-up.

The main reason for going, though, is to visit our friends Jeanette and David, for Jeanette has recently been diagnosed with bowel cancer. If you could add her, and David, to your prayer list, that would be greatly appreciated.

There is a well known saying that, 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' While this one does not originate from the word - at least I don't know of any 'Jacks' in the Bible - it is nevertheless very true. Although some of my less charitable friends say that my life is one continual holiday, we all do need 'time out' to keep us fresh for our daily work.

So I will shortly take time out in the Philippines..... Africa..... Japan..... But that is work really. Really it is! You don't believe me!

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's Word Puzzle Answer: BEE HIVE

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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DONATIONS

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CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS - OR IF THE NEWSLETTER STOPS COMING

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LINKS

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ABOUT US

WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Mount Maunganui, 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
3 Hetley Crescent
Taradale
Napier 4001
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 8449-377 International (+64) 8449-377
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)

For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz