AN URGENT PRAYER REQUEST

One of the pastors with whom I stayed in the Philippines was a passenger on the ferry that sunk at the entrance to Manila Harbour, and is among the 180 people who are still missing.

He is Pastor Tim Jumawid, who leads a group of churches in and around Cagayan de Oro and is the brother in law of our Philippine organizer, Mario Canon. A copy of Marios email follows.

David,

I have a very urgent prayer request. It is very important. Pastor Tim Jumawid was one of the passengers of the boat that was burnt the other night. We did not hear anything from him for almost 48 hours now, we can't find his name of the survivors' list. I will be leaving for Manila tomorrow morning to check or help or whatever I can do. Please help us to pray.

Thanks for your prayers.

Mario

Please lift up Tim, that he might yet be found alive, and his wife Virgie and their family. Also Mario, Lulu and other members of the extended family.

A tragedy reported on the news is simply another sad story, until it involves those you know, then it becomes real.

Sadly, as in many countries, tragedy is never too far away in the Philippines.

Thank you for your prayers.

MISSING MIRACLES - A GUEST EDITORIAL

Shirley is a WWJ Prayer Partner. I have not met her in person. Will I have to wait until heaven? Even though NZ is a small country. not all Christians know each other! She wrote this letter containing so much wisdom, I felt to share it with you here.

...A couple or so weeks ago you were talking about how, in the west, we no longer see miracles performed while in places like Asia, Africa etc they occur regularly and posed the question as to why this might be. My pastor had just made the same remarks about the same time and it's been exercising my mind ever since. I wonder if my thoughts have any credibility?

We have been so anxious not to upset people in this pc age that we have humanised God to the extent that now He is just a warm fuzzy person. Someone who will always listen to us like Dad did/does but not someone who is necessarily going to or who will be able to do anything about what it is that ails us. He has become a sounding board, someone we can blame for the ills that beset us but don't expect Him to fix anything. Oh, yes, we make all the right noises about trusting Him and asking Him for forgiveness and doing His will but by and large, we go our own way only truly crying out to Him when life turns to custard. How often do we truly spend time with Him, truly listening for His voice and truly worshipping Him? I think that for a huge number of us we mostly go about our busy lives picking Him up now and again for a cuddle as a child would cuddle a teddy.

He has told us very plainly that unless we abide by His word and walk His path we will be in trouble but, because of our fallen humanity we keep wandering off the path and going down side roads until something horrendous pulls us up short. He is God, He is still the one and only omnipotent, omniscient God and His word is still immutable. Unless and until we accept that, nothing is going to change. Until we as individuals, as a country, not to mention a world, acknowledge Him as God Almighty we will continue to slide down the path of liberalism and so-called ease into the mud of non-belief and cynicism. As long as we continue to see Him as either a minor adjunct to our lives or a superstition and as long as the almighty dollar is worshipped in His place I guess nothing is going to change and we won't see the miracles so many of us long for, we won't see lives changed,
people healed etc.

Is that too simplistic? Perhaps, and yes I know plenty of people who are wonderful, wonderful christians who follow the Lord with apparent ease and have no trouble adhering to His precepts and His word while I stumble along trying to keep to the path and often falling off it. Perhaps my thoughts are just the ramblings of an ageing woman reminiscent of the old rhyme of David and Solomon.

King David and King Solomon lived merry, merry lives with many many wives. But as they grew older with many many qualms King Solomon wrote the proverbs and King David wrote the psalms!

May His blessings be yours and may you continue to serve Him with the faithfulness you have always have done.

Shirley Caspari
New Zealand

Now I know how a pastor feels with a visiting speaker. Don't have to prepare the sermon! Maybe we will have more......Thanks Shirley for sharing your experiences with us.

Find out more about us on...

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FROM THE WORD

TREASURES IN HEAVEN
"“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:19-24)

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (Hebrews 10:26-36)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

Last week, when I looked for some sayings about the centre of our faith, the Cross and the blood of Jesus, I had trouble finding any. Shame on me! So I asked God for some! Over the next 4 weeks I will share what He gave me.

THE CROSS AND THE BLOOD (Part 1 of 4)
715. I'm CROSS that the 'CROSS" has been CROSSED off by those CROSSING the CROSSROADS into deception!

716. Without His priceless love bought on the Cross, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

717. The Cross of Jesus points in all ways - up, down and around. There is no way of avoiding it!

718. To deny the Cross is to deny Christ.

719. The miracle of the Cross is that the very best could come out of the very worst.

720. The Cross of Jesus was designed to take life, but ironically served to give life to all who believe.

721. There is still no greater power working in the world today than that of the Cross of Jesus.

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 Bro. David,

Your remarks are right on concerning the suffering of our Lord on the cross.

I was asked to speak this Sunday, prior to communion, on the blood and body of the Lord. Our young people will have seen the film by then. I prefer to not see it until after I speak, so that I'm not unduly influenced by others. Please remember us in prayer, that we will have anointed words of utterance.

My one thought is that it takes more than pity or emotion to change one's heart. I trust that the graphic scenes in the movie will resonant in people's hearts concerning the awful price that was paid at Calvary, and that lasting changes will be effected.

Your friend,
Bro. Spooner

Blessings David,

Just received issue 122 - enjoyed it, as ever. Must take issue with the explanation about the zero score being "love" in tennis.

In fact, it comes from the French "l'oeuf", the egg, which would have been 15th century slang for the big round zero. It was, after all, the French who invented tennis.

Trevor, Milton Keynes, UK

David
Love in tennis.

I have heard a very different explanation. In the middle ages when tennis was being developed so was the the symbol 0 for zero. Previously this had not existed which made maths a little difficult. At this time the English aristocracy spoke French (after the Norman Conquest) and the symbol "0" reminded then of the shape of an egg, which of course is "l'oeuf" in French. In course of time people forgot the French origin and assumed it was the English word "love". Another French relique in the scoring of tennis is "Deuce" - Two (Deux) to play. Curiously when the game was re-exported to France in its modern form, the French temselves did not adopt these French terms!!!

Also I heard an additional explanation as to why the Americans in particular drive on the right. It goes back to the days of long wagons with four or more teams of horses pulling them across the prairie. The whip had to be long enough to reach the farthest horse. If the driver sat on the right (assuming he was right handed) when he drew the whip back it would foul the weels. So he would sit on the left and the whip would go over the top of the wagon. Since he was sitting on the left it was easier to pass on the right.

Thank you for your ministry.
God bless
Peter James

David

FYI Just a little comment about driving right or left...

I'd better declare an interest - I'm a Brit.

Driving on the right has one unforeseen result. The international 'rule of the road' which applies most everywhere is that you give-way to traffic approaching from your right. The result is that in countries that do it wrong (by driving on the right) then round-a-bouts don't really work properly.

As we do it; Driving on the left and giving way to the right means that traffic on a round-a-bout can get off.... it is incoming traffic that has to wait. But driving on the right and giving way to the right means that incoming traffic has the right of way and the round-a-bout fills up and sets solid.

Of course, the rule about 'giving way to traffic on your right' is invalid in France - they don't give way to anyone anyway!

John Barrs

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." ***

244. TOP 10 WAYS TO LOSE YOUR JOB IN YOUTH MINISTRY
If you're going to lose your job . . . lose it in one of the top 10 ways!

10. Play Peanut Butter Chubby Bunnies to see if kids really do choke.
9. Leave your Pastor's kid at an orphanage in Mexico on your annual mission trip.
8. Replace the grape juice with actual wine during communion (this would only really affect Baptists)
7. Teach girls how to smoke cigars and gamble their babysitting money in a game of poker at the girls junior high Bible Study (teaching them to tithe their winnings of course!)
6. Cut up the church's choir robes to make flags for a capture the flag game.
5. Give your Sr. Pastor a free subscription to the Victoria Secret Catalogue, sent to the church address!
4. Start a food fight at the annual church spaghetti feed!
3. Start a food fight during communion!
2. Finance the down payment of your new Mustang convertible through your youth petty cash fund.
1. Bring Dennis Rodman to speak at your True Love Waits rally.

243. SEND THE BILL
A man was brought to Mercy Hospital and taken in for coronary surgery. The operation went well and, as the groggy man regained consciousness, he was reassured by a Sister of Mercy, who was waiting by his bed. "Mr. Smith, you're going to be just fine," said the nun, gently patting his hand. "We do need to know, however, how you intend to pay for your stay here. Are you covered by insurance?" "No, I'm not," the man whispered hoarsely. "Can you pay in cash?" persisted the nun. "I'm afraid I cannot, Sister." "Well, do you have any close relatives?" the nun essayed. "Just my sister in New Mexico," he volunteered. "But she's a humble spinster nun." "Oh, I must correct you, Mr. Smith. Nuns are not 'spinsters.' They are married to God." "Wonderful," said Smith. "In that case, please send the bill to my brother-in-law!!"

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

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

FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Is it true we have about four pounds (2kg) of bacteria in our bodies?

ANSWER: Amazingly - yes! Every single human being is carting around several TRILLION bacteria of perhaps as many as 1000 different strains. Together, they can weigh as much as nearly 2kg. (Four pounds)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Is it true that we use only ten percent of our brains?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

831. A CAFFEINE FIX
Caffeine isn’t restricted to coffee. Many sodas (soft drinks) are heavily laced with the e worlds favourite stimulant too. Jolt has 72 milligrams of caffeine per serving. Mountain Dew, at 54 milligrams, is also rather high. Coca-Cola only has 46 milligrams, and Pepsi even less - 38 milligrams. The comparison to coffee? Coffee has between 50 and 200 milligrams of caffeine per cup. (Would the world survive as we know it without caffeine?)

832. A LOT OF WORK
The first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1884. (Did the word ‘dictionary’ exist before the first one was compiled?)

833. CAT NAP
There are more than 500 million domestic cats in the world, with 33 different breeds. (Officially! Lots of others round our place!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

S--T--O--R--Y>>>>>stry

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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

Or view all 1200 online at...

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

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!

TESTIMONY AND MIRACLES

By: Marcus Ardern

Marcus, a New Zealander, has a "Paul-like" testimony of his conversion during the 60’s when he became a prominent speaker in the Jesus marches of that time. Since then God has increasingly used Marcus to minister across the Body of Christ both here and overseas. He is a gifted apostolic and prophetic speaker.

Download your free MP3 today at ...

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

MARRIAGE AND FAMILIES

As part of our Sunday morning service this week, pour church celebrated a marriage between 2 couples on the 'second time round'. It was both a realistic, yet moving experience of repentance, God's love, and the power of the 'second chance' that God extends to us.

Marriage is the foundation stone of God's society, yet is being challenged in so many ways around the world today. Our theologies very, our experiences differ, yet God's will for a society based on marriage never changes.

PARENTS' TEN COMMANDMENTS
--1. Teach them using God's word. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

--2. Tell them what's right and wrong. (1 Kings 1:6)

--3. See them as gifts from God. (Psalms 127:3)

--4. Guide them in Godly ways. (Proverbs 22:6)

--5. Discipline them. (Proverbs 29:17)

--6. Love them unconditionally. (Luke 15:11-32)

--7. Do not provoke them to wrath. (Ephesians 6:4)

--8. Earn their respect by example. (1 Timothy 3:4)

--9. Provide for their physical needs. (1 Timothy 5:8)

--10. Pass your faith along to them. (2 Timothy 1:5)

There are many more facts, figures and comment on marriage to challenge and consider, available at ...

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

TILL DEATH DO US PART

A vital requirement of successful marriages and families is a sense of humour! Things do go wrong! We can either laugh or cry.

GOODBYE MOTHER!
A couple were going out for the evening. After getting ready, they put the cat out on their way out of the house to get in the taxi.

The cat, however, had a different idea and scampered back inside before they could get out. They don't want the cat shut in the house, so the wife went on out to the taxi while the husband went back in to chase the cat out. The wife, not wanting it known that the house will be empty, explained to the taxi driver "My husband will be here in just a moment. He's just going upstairs to say goodbye to my mother."

A few minutes later, the husband got into the cab. "Sorry I took so long" he explained, "Stupid old thing was hiding under the bed and I had to poke her with a coat hanger to get her to come out!"

WHOSE KID?
Late one Saturday evening, I was awakened by the ringing of my phone. In a sleepy, grumpy voice I said hello. The party on the other end of the line paused for a moment before rushing breathlessly into a lengthy speech.

"Mum, this is Susan and I'm sorry I woke you up, but I had to call because I'm going to be a little late getting home. See, Dad's car has a flat but it's not my fault. Honest! I don't know what happened. The tire just went flat while we were inside the theater. Please don't be mad, okay?"

Since I don't have any daughters, I knew the person had dialed my number by mistake. "I'm sorry dear," I replied, "but you've reached the wrong number. I don't have a daughter named Susan."

"Wow, Mum," the young woman's voice replied, "I didn't think you'd be this mad."

Heaps of humour to enjoy - or offend - at...

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

FAMOUS WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE

EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY

A phrase coined by Jesus in Luke 12 when talking about the rich fool who thought he was set for the rest of his life. Of course, he didn't realise he was going to die that night! Hope he enjoyed his last meal!

The phrase is usually used in a sarcastic sense.

Many more interesting Bible facts at...

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

A PERSONAL NEED

In order to efficiently continue doing the increasing volume of writing, travel, and shortly, internet teaching, being requested of me, I need to more effectively utilize my time when travelling.

To achieve this, I require a new or late second hand, lightweight model, Laptop Computer. (Notepad) Modern and lightweight, because of the need to carry it far and often!

Such a new machine costs approximately $US1,100-1,200 in New Zealand at the present time, due to the current fall in value of the US dollar.

I would much appreciate your prayers for this need, and if the Lord prompts you to assist, that would be hugely appreciated.

Regular readers will know how reluctant I am to ask!

For further information, or to assist, please email me at david@wwj.org.nz Thank you.

A DAVID MUSING

We have good weeks - and let's be honest - we have bad ones. Such is the ebb and flow of life here in this world. Without the bad, we wouldn't appreciate the good! Or so I try to convince myself sometimes!

But the past week has been one of the good ones. Thank you Lord - and thank you to all those people who made it that way.

Yet when you analyze what really made it happy, it was not so much people being nice to me (although that was nice - please don't stop!) but the satisfaction gained from being able to help others.

In our self centred world, it takes a long time to truly learn this 'secret' of happiness. Yet the Bible talks about it throughout and provides the ultimate role model in Jesus.

Lord Jesus, help me to be more like you.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's Word Puzzle Answer: Long story made short.

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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DONATIONS

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if you prefer to paste the address into your browser. Thanks.

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