THANKS TO THIS WEEK'S SPONSOR

Congratulations Denise on another birthday on the 23rd! Dal and Denise Ferneyhough lead St Lukes Church in Georgetown, Pennsylvania, USA, and are great encouragers and supporters of WWJ Ministries.

We all wish you a very happy birthday Denise, and many more of them.

SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND STATE

This is a controversial area, highlighted in recent days by the horrific terrorist atrocities in various parts of the world. Mostly it seems, perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists wishing to see their religion become preeminent in the world. In their minds, the end justifies the means. While this principle is embraced by many in the Moslem world, using the Koran as their justification, there are many others who do not support such actions, again justifying their position through their Holy Book.

Of course, it is easy for Christians to say, "That wouldn't happen with us!" However history does not show this to be the reality - as the Moslems and Jews keep reminding us! Terrible acts have been perpetrated on these communities worldwide in the name of Christianity.

But why? I would suggest that when religion, any religion, becomes an integral part of the 'state', we get problems. So from the time the Roman Emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of Rome and made converts by force, through the Crusades, even down to the present day, the combination of state and church has been a disaster. For the reality is that national leaders use religion to justify their very human desires and actions.

This is at least partially understandable within the Jewish and Islam religions, which are primarily external, outward, works based religions. They don't, to a greater or lesser degree, clearly differentiate between the church and the state. But the same cannot be said for Jesus.

For Jesus came to bring a new way! No longer needing to find God through the external actions of sacrifice or works, but rather, through an internal revolution of the heart. Now we cannot find God through priestly sacrifice or ceremony, but only through an individual, personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

May many followers of Jesus get into politics and apply godly principles to the governance of our nations. But let's not repeat the mistakes of the past by trying to impose our will upon others through force in the name of religion - any religion. For Jesus made it clear that the real battle is for mankind's hearts, not our physical bodies.

Yes, the ways of Jesus are different to those of the world. We are to serve, not be served. The first will be the last and the last first. In our humanness it seems impossible. Yet it is still a 'true truism' that real Christianity grows fastest under persecution. Just as it was in the time of the New Testament Christians, so it is in China, and other countries, today.

God's army is arising. Not an army with bazookas and machine guns, but an army armed with the Word and the Spirit of our God. For finally, it is only through the power of the Word and the Spirit that the powers of darkness, of the world, will be overcome.

And they're free too! Even if they do cost us everything! Now make human sense of that!

Find out more about us on...

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

FROM THE WORD

"“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”" (John 14:1-7)

"“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”" (Isaiah 55:8-13)

"So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent." (Luke 20:21-26)

DAVID’S DOODLINGS

THE CROSS AND THE BLOOD
Earlier, 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 these 4 weeks I am sharing what He gave me. Last week's missing ones are included this week! Sorry.

THE CROSS AND THE BLOOD (Part 3 & 4 of 4)
727. Most people dislike the sight of blood more than that of sin. But sin is so ugly that Jesus shed all His blood to cover it!

728. Blood represents life - both natural and spiritual. Give me more of the blood!

729. Without blood, there is no life. Without sacrifice, there is no blood. A sacrificial life is bathed in the blood of Jesus.

730. The Cross cost Jesus His all. How much of our all are we prepared to give back to Him?

732. Colours in God's sight! Blood is red. Sin is black. White is purity. Red over black is white.

733. Jesus' Blood is the stain remover of life.

734. Man's blood spilled, is to be feared. Jesus' blood spilled, to be revered.

735. The Days of Grace in which we now live have not reduced the awe-fullness of the Cross, but oftentimes have hidden its bloodiness beneath the shroud of love.

736. It's relatively easy to spill our blood as a martyr. Yet, it's extremely hard to submit ourselves to the ongoing blood transforming transfusions necessary for His life to live within us.

737. Blood is life. Sin is death. Help me to love your blood more and more each day, Lord.

738. Human blood grows, flows and goes. But Jesus' blood never fails.Please feel free to quote these quotes.

Acknowledgement of David Tait as the author would be appreciated. There are now more than 800 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

Hi Dear Folks,
Just to reply and say Pastor Emmanuel Lubuulwa's prophecy was timely and a blessing/encouragement. I will send info on our trip to Uganda etc. Bishop Sadiki has just phoned in his arrival with news of many tears in Kigali to greet him. I go Uganda with princess Evelyn next Sunday. Anyone with time to pray for us will get a gold bar in Heaven! (Probably walk on it!)
Love to New Zealand,
Pastor Colin

David
Delilah was a seductress, Jezebel a queen

Now I know you are a colonial and reject royal authority but as a loyal Brit I must say that statement is a bit over the top

Keep up the good work!
John Barrs:

Hi John
It is difficult to be over the top when you live at the bottom of the world - I think!
Cheers
David

Hello David,
We haven't met, but I enjoy reading this each week. I work for The Lepropsy Mission, responsible for promoting the mission in the lower half of the North Island. (New Zealand)

2 things in today's piece fascinated me - first the section on oral tradition - it obviously refers to India because of the reference to Biharis. I was in Bihar in November visiting our hospital in Muzaffarpur. Christian activity there is very limited, so I would be fascinated to know a bit more about where all these Biharis are working.

Yes, getting visas for Developing world people to come here is awful, and somewhat embarrassing at times. Is your friend Asher going to be anywhere near the Manawatu doing public meetings? Perhaps you could send me a schedule of his meetings. Thanks.

The prophesy from Uganda is great - God go with you as you do this trip. >From my own experience, the sense of 'God with you' on a trip like this is sometimes quite overwhelming. The thing I noticed markedly during 4 weeks in India at the end of last year was that, over there, peoples' spirituality - of whatever variety! - is right up there at the top of their consciousness, unlike here, where it is buried so deep down in non-Christian people as to be almost totally nonexistent!

I look forward to hearing from you.

God bless and keep you as you travel and minister - the needs in Africa are so great (my sole experience is 2 weeks in Tanzania in 1998)
Ric Foxley
Ashhurst (NZ)

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." ***

250. ONE STUDENT'S PRAYER
"Now I lay me down to rest,
And hope to pass tomorrow's test.
If I should die before I wake,
That's one less test I have to take."

249. LETTER FROM GOD
One day God sent one of His angels to earth to see how things were going. The angel came back and reported to God that things were very bad and very few people seemed to even want to live a godly life. God decided he had better send another angel for a second opinion. After a short time that angel came back with the same report.

So God decided that he would send a letter to each of the people that he felt were truly willing to serve Him and encourage them to keep the faith and continue to strive in the midst of evil.

Do you know what was in that letter?

No? Oh sorry, I guess you didn't get one.

Now one of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 670 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...

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

BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

This amazing New Zealand resource has over 4,000 messages ranging from old classics to the latest revelation and teaching. A number of free MP3 downloads are available or you can order tapes and CD’s from the site for worldwide delivery at a most reasonable cost. Our free weekly MP3 download selections will be available again from mid-June.

Visit the library now at…

http://www.inspirational.org.nz

FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: How many teeth do sharks have?

ANSWER: Sharks can have as many as 3,000 teeth at one time! The teeth are arranged in rows, in as many as five rows at a time. Most sharks don't do much chewing, though, preferring to swallow their prey in large chunks. Sharks don't have to worry about losing teeth, either. When one tooth is damaged or lost, it is replaced by another.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
822. A SWEET DISCOVERY
Two German doctors, Oskar Minkowski and Joseph von Mering, who noticed that removing the pancreas caused diabetes in animals, discovered insulin in 1889. The actual hormone, which regulates the level of sugar in the body, was not actually isolated and used to treat diabetic patients until 1922. (Now we are making ever more use of it by multiplying the disease through our bad eating habits.)

823. DELAYED EXECUTION
Certain kinds of insects can live for as long as a year after having their head severed! And incredibly, they can still react to stimuli, such as light and temperature. (More than we do on the beach, getting a suntan!)

824. THE ULTIMATE IN NATURAL SELECTION
A mother dogfish originally starts out with about 3 foetus sharks inside her, but as they grow, a fight for survival takes over. The sharks attack each other. The one that is the biggest and strongest soon kills and consumes the other two. This third shark, when big enough, is then the one that is born. (It’s a ‘dogfish eat dogfish world'.)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
CREATION

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

TIPS TO BETTER HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF YOUR BIBLE

Many words in the Bible have implied spiritual meanings as well as literal ones. For instance, numbers in Hebrew have an underlying meaning as well as a numeric value. e.g. the number 7 speaks of completion or perfection. Other words have a spiritual significance as well as a literal meaning. e.g. when scripture talks of a ‘lamb’ it is usually a type of Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God’ (John 1:29)

I trust that this list will help you better understand some of the amazing spiritual truths hidden in the pages of God’s Word, the Bible. Do be careful however, to apply these types and pictures sensibly. The relevance of their application must be considered in the context in which the words are used in the passage being studied and in the Bible as a whole.

UNDERLYING SPIRITUAL MEANING OF NUMBERS
1-----God

2-----Witness

3-----The Godhead

To see the spiritual meanings of many more words, go to…

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

WEBSITES FOLLOWING UP 'THE PASSION'

Take time to check out and use the resources on these two great sites from Campus Crusade for Christ, Canada.

The first one, is an evangelistic site related to The Passion movie itself.

There is also a site which is designed for churches and individual Christians to take advantage of TheLife and includes ideas and resources for your use. You can find it at...

http://www.sharethelife.com

IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

Never leave your wife's anniversary present in a Wal-Mart bag.

The person who pays for the pizza gets the toppings that fall off in the box.

Definition of a will: It's a dead giveaway.

I don't need beauty sleep, I need a coma.

When you breathe, you inspire. When you do not breathe, you expire.

A skeptic is a person who when he sees the handwriting on the wall claims it's a forgery.

It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill - just add a little dirt.

Enjoy 100's of fun and often insightful sayings at…

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

WALKING THE ROAD WITH JESUS

An illumination of Gods desire for our Christian walk as revealed in
Revelations 12:11 Both a challenge and a hope.

A free PDF download at…

http://www.wwj.org.nz/pdf/bk1.pdf

FAMOUS WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE

THE SALT OF THE EARTH

A valuable or important person, such as was salt - the preferred means of payment in the days of Jesus. He described his disciples this way in Matthew 5:13.

Many more God Facts at...

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

A DAVID MUSING

As the Autumn sun streams in through the window I have had to pull across the curtain so that I can see the mistakes I type on the computer screen.

A lot like life really! When the light of the Son seeks out those areas in our life where we need to change, we pull across the curtain of justification, of tradition, of our comfort zone.

In a few days time I will be off to Africa where the sun, and the Son, are really hot! A Continent of tragedy and suffering, yet in many places, the one where the Holy Spirit is seemingly working more powerfully than anywhere on earth. Yes God's ways are certainly different to ours - well mine anyway!

Please remember me, and those whose lives the Lord will touch, in your prayers for the next 9 weeks. For that is where the spiritual battle is fought and won.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Word Puzzle Answer: REACTION

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.

Subscription opportunities are available here Subscribe Here

at the bottom of each newsletter or at...
https://www.macnet.co.nz/wwjesus/pay.html

DONATIONS

Each month, because of the size and nature of our web site and maintenance of our sophisticated emailing system, it costs over $200 in provider fees to bring this ministry to you. If you are able to help us meet this expense your credit card donation would be very much welcomed at Make Donations Here as a live connection or at https://www.macnet.co.nz/wwjesus/pay.php
if you prefer to paste the address into your browser. Thanks.

CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS - OR IF THE NEWSLETTER STOPS COMING

Each week we can lose up to 1% of our readers when they change email addresses without letting us know. If you are about to change your address, please advise us of both your old and new addresses here at
enquiries@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.

LINKS

If you would like to link your web site to ours, and ours to yours, please advise us on
links@wwj.org.nz

DID THIS EMAIL HAVE A BLUE BACKGROUND AND RED HEADINGS?

YES - Great!
NO - Your web browser needs to be set to 'Rich Text'. If you have an older 'Text Only' browser, this email may also be viewed on our web site at ...

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

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) 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