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: 1163 Published: 18 Mar 2024
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
This series was written for PGIM in 2013 and has been repeaated once.
Am repeating it again because of its ongoing importance to believers in Jesus, everywhere.
David
INTRODUCTION
One of the major causes of the church not truly walking in the ways of Jesus is that we don't truly understand what the ways of Jesus were, and are!
How can you say that, David? Surely we have learned theologians to research and teach, pastors who diligently study and preach the Word, day after day, week after week, year after year. We can have knowledge coming out of our ears from spending time hearing, reading or watching the gospel being expounded in so many different ways.
Yet we continue to miss the point, to misinterpret, to misunderstand, what the walk with Jesus is truly all about. How terrible. How sad. For me, and for you.
How do our misunderstandings arise then?
It is because we come from a Greek rather than a Jewish mindset. And the two are poles apart. In reality, for 2000 years now we have assumed Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Peter, Paul and all, thought in the same way, but with different conclusions, to the many famous Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Plato, those who are responsible for the thought processes underpinning our educational system, and Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, to name but a very few. The Old Testament was translated into Greek in the 3rd century before Jesus, while the New Testament was written in Greek. Unfortunately, much of the intrinsic meaning and understanding of the Jewish culture in which Jesus lived and ministered, was lost in the Greek translation, in the way of thinking of those of us in a Greek thought pattern, dominated world.
Put simply, if we start out on the wrong road, we are most likely to arrive at the wrong destination.
Over the centuries, some people have had truths revealed through revelation from the Holy Spirit, but generally, these ones have been rejected by the established church, which has preferred to continue in intellectual, religious ways, leading to division and even hatred between believers through different, man-made, interpretations of Scripture. "Jesus still weeps!"
In more recent times however, in particular since the re-establishment of the State of Israel, a greater understanding of historical Jewish ways is starting to emerge, being available to those with a desire to seek out truths that have been lost or ignored for the past 2 millennia of the Christian church.
Here, we will look at some of these cultural differences and see how they impact our understanding of what Jesus really was all about. It should be life changing!
We need to learn to understand and think in an Eastern (Hebrew), rather than in our traditional and typical Greek (Western), way. The Gospels, being about the life of Jesus, are written from an Eastern, Jewish perspective while the writings, particularly of Paul, have much more of a Western perspective, as he was writing to a primarily European audience of Gentiles.
Let us begin……
(Continued next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE BEAUTIFUL WORDS OF JESUS
Cursing the Fig Tree ( Mark 11:12-14)
That had no fruit out of season.
“May no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
Second Temple Cleansing (Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-6)
Throwing out the merchants.
“Doesn’t Scripture say, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?
But you have turned it into a den of thieves!”
Religious Leaders Look For Way to Kill Jesus (Matthew 21:15-16, Mark 11:18, Luke 19:47-8)
As the children responded enthusiastically to Him.
“Yes,” “Haven’t you ever read the Scripture that says, ‘You arranged for children and infants
to give you perfect praise’?”
The Fig Tree Has Withered (Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:20-25)
By the next morning, amazing the disciples.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “If you really trust in God, and don’t doubt him, you could not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even more. If you said to this mountain, ‘Get up and throw yourself into the sea,’ it would happen! You will receive everything you ask for in prayer, as long as you trust in God.”
(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.....
Available on Amazon at $1 at Author name - David Tait
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
... character outscores performance every time.
... 'to be' is infinitely better than 'to do'.
... we cannot put Him into a box, no matter how big we make it.
... sin caused man and God's thought patterns to become diametrically opposed.
... He reveals himself to us when we least expect it.
... revelation is given in His timing - which generally isn't ours.
... we learn more about Him in the hard times than the good.
... He can turn our failure into His success.
... when we put others first in this world, He does the same for us in His.
... in the end, He always wins.
... in Him, to die is to live.
... when there is less of me there is room for more of Him.
... salvation is a privilege, not a right.
... He can change me if I let Him.
... while salvation is free, the walk with Jesus is to cost us everything we have.
... our love for Him is reflected through our service to others.
Many more at.....
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com
Check it out at...
'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... DIVIDING THE WATERS - FROM MOSES TO JOSHUA.
Remarkably, God repeated the pattern He established with Moses and Joshua, with Elijah and Elisha.
We have an amazing God!
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***
458. The Virgin Mary
Little Kiana, under the tutelage of her grandfather, was becoming quite knowledgeable about the Bible.
Then one day Kiana floored her grandfather by asking, "Which virgin was the mother of Jesus? The virgin Mary or the King James Virgin?"
459. Which Way?
Epitaph
The following caption was found written on a gravestone...
"As I am now, you soon shall be, so be content to follow me."
Graffiti
Someone had scrawled the following note on that gravestone...
"To follow you I'm not content, until I know which way you went!"
460. What should a good sermon be about?
About Jesus...and about 10 minutes.
461. Modern Moses
God called down to Moses and said, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that I've chosen you to deliver my people from bondage. There will be plagues of locusts and frogs and incredible devastation upon the land. Pharaoh's armies will chase you as you try to leave, but do not fear because I will part the waters of the Red Sea to aid you."
"And the bad news?" Moses inquired.
"You have to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement," God replied.
QWIK QWIP: “The measure of a man's intelligence is inversely proportional to the amount of time he keeps his mouth open.”
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
Here in New Zealand, it is coming into Autumn.
The temperatures are starting to drop, but the leaves are not changing colour yet, as our Autumns are relatively warm compared to many places.
In the tropics, most trees are evergreen, so it is not so noticeable there.
Seasons are important, and Jewish life, along with those of other agricultural countries, base their years around the seasons.
We all have seasons in our life with Christ too. Times of success when all is going well, times where nothing seems to happen, plus others where we are growing in our Lord plus times of trial and testing.
We need to understand the seasons in our lives . Not all times will be good, and on the other hands, the hard times will one day end, with times of change in between.
What season are you in?
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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