FROM 'CHAR'ISMA TO 'CHAR'ACTER

Every so often we receive news that shakes us to the very core. Today was such a day for me! One of my friends, surely one of the most effective missionaries in the world, influencing many nations, has fallen morally.

What a shock! And the sober realisation that if it could happen to one so greatly used of God, it could so easily happen to me - or to you. And once again, the level of the spiritual battle in which we are involved, is graphically brought home. For my friend is a good, highly effective man, yet the devil found and exploited a character weakness in order to stop, temporarily we pray, the spread of the gospel through him. What desperate times we live in! For the battle between good and evil is growing increasingly intense, as the Bible promises it will in the final days. Not just between the church and the world, but also, in the 'world' within each of us.

So the real question for each of us today is, "How can we avoid being seduced and exploited by the enemy?"

The answer is found in the difference between 'charisma' and 'character'. We need to look at dictionary definitions.

CHARISMA: Especially associated with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.... conferred upon individuals by the grace of God. (ie. SPIRITUAL GIFTS)

CHARACTER: Moral strength, backbone, good reputation, description of person's qualities, testimonial. (ie. SPIRITUAL FRUIT)

Over the last century, following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit power at Asuza Street in Los Angeles and the Welsh Revival of the early 1900's, the Pentecostal and latterly, the Charismatic churches, have majored on the revelation of the current day application of the gifts of the Spirit. These were first poured out upon the early church on the Day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus. Through these gifts, amazing things have transpired, and the church has grown and expanded throughout the world, if not in more recent times, in the West.

Unfortunately however, many have been deceived into believing that 'the gifts' are the complete answer to living the christian life. "Give me more gifts God, so that I may serve you better", is a common cry. An 'easy fix', taking the responsibility for godly living away from ourselves and placing it upon God. But the most important, yet often overlooked, 'gift' of the Spirit, is the power of the Holy Spirit living within us to transform our lives.

The Christian message has always had at its heart the development of a godly character. To grow the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. For it is the fruit that define what godly character truly is. As we develop bigger, riper fruit, so we will become the example to others that is so desperately needed in today's world. While at the same time, strengthening us against the attacks of the evil one.

I am going to stand by my friend, for he is a good man. And I know that it could so easily happen to me. But I am determined to do more to grow my fruit, to develop a godly character, so that I may better resist the devil's wiles. You too?

Find out more about us on…

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

FROM THE WORD

LIFE BY THE SPIRIT
"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." (Galatians 5:16-26)

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3-5)

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 22:2-5)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

1. A foolish man knows his strengths, a wise man acknowledges his weaknesses and makes allowances for them, while a godly man seeks to overcome them.

2. A foolish man needs wisdom, the wise man godliness, a godly man the character of Christ.

701. Man expects 'to do' in order 'to be', but God requires us 'to be' in order 'to do'.

702. In God's dictionary, 'doing' follows 'being'.

703. 'To do' is simply living out our 'to be'.

705. 'To be' a witness is 'to do' God's will.

706. We are first called 'to be', then 'to do'.

707. Too often we try 'to do' when God is simply calling us 'to be'.

709. To best know what 'to do', we must first learn how 'to be'.

710. If 'what to do' is your question, look to 'what to be' to find your answer.

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 - on Honeymoon!

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 expect your email inbox will be huge today. We felt we would like to send our sympathy to the dear folk in the Philippines. We are in our late 70s and have experienced the valleys and the heights and going along the road. At times it has been hard to know He is with us, but as He has promised, Our Lord Jesus has said, "I will be with you always". He doesn't promise no pain or difficulty, grief, but He has promised to be with us in it, through it. We do pray for this family as they come to terms with their grief, and know our Heavenly Father's comfort and strength.

Love in the Lord
Joyce and Clem
A couple of oldeies in NT Australia

Bro David,
Thanks for your wonderful ministry in NIGERIA. I join million others to keep on praying for your success.

Being a Nigerian pastoring a Baptist Church at Ivory-Coast,I followed your reports while in Nigeria. Though you tasted some of our problems like our bad roads, I quite appreciate your love for our people.

It was interesting that you coined the spiritual meaning of Jos town. That is "Jesus Our Saviour". That is wonderful to know. I have traveled to Jos many times but that have never occurred to me. May you be blessed the more. Thanks and keep on serving our Great God.

Yours,
Joel Aina(Rev).

Subject: RE: PGIM! A WEEKLY ENCOURAGEMENT FOR YOU - 21 Jun 2004

Hello David,
I was close enough to visit you in Taradale yesterday – was speaking at St Stephens Church, Onekawa. Will be back in the area next Sunday – doing a 15 minute slot at the Salvation Army in Tait Drive – any relation?

Just a comment on the sad news about Pastor Tim’s death. When I was in India late last year visiting Leprosy projects, I also spent time with a friend, an Indian Baptist Pastor, who was awaiting a major heart operation in Bangalore, something which we had helped to fund from here. He was duly operated on, was recovering fine, but then, suddenly, while I was actually visiting with some of his children in Orissa, he up and died! Total shock, especially after God had worked so many miracles in this man’s life, during our association of about 8 years. He leaves a widow and 5 dependent children.
At a time like this one is faced with the question ‘Is God actually God, or is he no god?’
If He is God, then we have to believe that He knows what He is about, and even if it takes every ounce of courage, faith, whatever, we have no choice but to say ‘Thy will be done’. The alternative is to walk away from our Christian faith, to actually deny that God is God. Tough country, but either we believe and trust Him, or we don’t. That belief will probably be tested time and again throughout our lives, and we grow as we respond to these testings.

Life is tough, it often ‘isn’t fair’, and yet God is still God, and we need to walk with Him through these awful times. Mystery and unknowing are part of our faith journey, and some questions will not be answered until we get to Heaven.

Your comments about the most religious nations were interesting. Something I experienced in India was that peoples’ spirituality (be they Christian, Hindu, or Moslem) was right up there at the top of their consciousness, as it were, unlike the West, where general levels of spirituality seem sometimes to be buried so deep down in people as to be almost unreachable. Is the constant conflict in Nigeria because both Moslems and Christians are so serious about their faiths, or is it more to do with tribalism and land?

God bless you,
Ric Foxley
Ashhurst, New Zealand

David - you ask:-
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Which is the only planet to have an orbit that crosses that of another planet?

...but of course, it "takes two to tango" - so the answer is Pluto AND Neptune - who is to say which one of them crosses the other's orbit? The crossover is mutual!

Pluto "crossed" Neptune's orbit on January 21, 1979, and temporarily became the 8th planet from the sun. They crossed orbits again on Feb. 11, 1999, so Pluto has resumed its place as the ninth planet from the sun for the next 228 years.

Despite the fact that Pluto and Neptune temporarily change places in their distance from the sun, they will never collide. Pluto's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by 17 degrees. So even though we say their orbits "cross", Pluto is actually quite a distance "above" Neptune.

regards,
Paul Stokes

David
I must take issue with the logic of your question this week. "Which is the only planet to have an orbit that crosses that of another planet?"

There can't be only one planet. If planet a has an orbit that crosses the orbit of planet b, then it follows that planet's b orbit crosses that of planet a!!!!!

I presume you are thinking of Pluto!

Seriously, many thanks for PGIM. It's a great inspiration.

God bless
Peter

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." ***

279. THE BARBER
After twenty years of shaving himself every morning, a man in a small Southern town decided he had had enough. He told his wife that he intended to let the local barber shave him each day. He put on his hat and coat and went to the barber shop, which was owned by the pastor of the town's Baptist Church.

The barber's wife, Grace, was working that day, so she performed the task. Grace shaved him and sprayed him with lilac water, and said, "That will be $20." The man thought the price was a bit high, but he paid the bill and went to work.

The next morning the man looked in the mirror, and his face was as smooth as it had been when he left the barber shop the day before. Not bad, he thought. At least I don't need to get a shave every day. The next morning, the man's face was still smooth. Two weeks later, the man was still unable to find any trace of whiskers on his face.

It was more than he could take, so he returned to the barber shop. "I thought $20 was high for a shave", he told the barber's wife, "But you must have done a great job. It's been two weeks and my whiskers still haven't started growing back."

Expecting his comment, the expression on her face didn't even change. She responded, "You were shaved by Grace. Once shaved, always shaved."

278. THE DOG WHO COULD WALK ON WATER
Fred took his newfound friend John duck-hunting one day. Soon a shot found it's mark and a duck plummeted to the lake. Fred whistled for his dog and the dog padded across the top of the water, retrieved the duck and trotted back on top of the water to drop the duck at his master's feet. His friend John was amazed and immediately asked him "Can I buy that dog?".

Fred said "Sure, I've got another one like him anyways".

John couldn't wait to show off his new dog to his friend Wilbur and finally the day came when they were duck-hunting that John had to send the dog across the water to get the fallen duck. As the dog trotted back John waited for Wilbur's look of amazement but instead Wilbur scowled. Finally John blurted out " Well Wilbur, what do you think of my dog?" Wilbur scowled again and mumbled "hmmm, can't swim, can he!"

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

A KENYAN'S TESTIMONY

Dear Apostle David Tait,
Choice Christian greetings and blessings to you in the Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thanks to our Heavenly Father for taking care of you throughout your missionary trips. Thanks to you to continually remembering us and praying for us.

Everybody here, cherishes the great ministry God put in you. We remember all your teachings and the illustrations of the Gospel.

We pray for and that God willing you may come to us again next year 2005. Most of may other pastors we work together have asked me to make this request.

The Church I serve, my wife and children send their Love to you. From the teachings, the church membership is increased, and we want to be your neighbours and your friends.

God bless.
Rev. Kellam & Rose.

FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Which is the only planet to have an orbit that crosses that of another planet?

ANSWER: Pluto, usually the farthest planet from the sun in our solar system, crosses Neptune's orbit. Pluto is a tiny planet, smaller than Earth's moon, and its elliptical orbit takes 248 years and carries it as close as 2.8 billion miles from the sun and as far as 4.6 billion miles away from the sun. In 1979, Pluto crossed Neptune's orbit on its way closer to the sun, making Neptune the farthest planet for most of the 1980s. Pluto recrossed Neptune's orbit again in 1999 as it headed away from the sun and once again became the most distant planet. (See 'From you - to me - to you' for the controversy this question rightly caused.)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
780. SMOKIN' DOLLAR
The Cree Indians used smoking pipes as their currency. (Our dollars go up in a puff of smoke also!)

781. NOT QUITE RIGHT
Mae West never actually said, "Come up and see me some time" in a movie. What she did say was "Why don't you come up some time and see me." (Did she really mean it?)

782. ONE MISSING
The five interlocking rings making up the Olympic Symbol stand for the five continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North America. (Are South Americans unable to compete?)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Another answer to last week's word CAMINO from my friend, Neil Adams.....

For your information CAMINO not only can be rearranged to MONICA but also to MANIOC (the flour produced from the Cassava or tapioca plant). Keeps you on your toes.

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

PULPER

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

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 soon.

Visit the library now at…

http://www.inspirational.org.nz

CHURCHSPEAK

In church, we use lots of terms that are exclusive to us. We need to be careful not to use them when speaking about Jesus to non-believers!

There are also many things in the Bible which have underlying spiritual meanings. Here are a few from nature.....

CLAY---------Man

DARKNESS----Sin, Satan

DEW----------Devotion

DROUGHT-----Judgement

DUST---------Natural man

FIRE----------Judgement, Testing, Purification (Sometimes Holy Spirit)

FLOOD--------Judgement

LIGHT---------God, Personal revelation we have received of God

For much more 'churchspeak', have a look at.....

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

'TIL DEATH DO US PART!

Marriage gives rise to all sorts of 'different' situations! We have the choice to laugh or cry. Generally, it is better for our health - and relationship - to laugh!

CELL PHONE
A young man, wanted to get his beautiful young wife something nice for their first wedding anniversary. So, he decides to buy her a cell phone. She is all excited and she loves her phone. He shows her and explains to her all the features on the phone.
The next day she goes shopping. Her phone rings and it's her husband. "Hi hon," he says, "How do you like your new phone?"

"I just love it, it's so small and your voice is clear as a bell. But there's one thing I don't understand. How did you know I was at the beauty parlour?"

PREGNANCY CALL
A man spoke frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart!" "Is this her first child?" the doctor asked. "No!" the man shouted, "This is her husband!"

Much more humour on marriage at.....

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

MUSING ABOUT MUSING!

I am always amazed about how the page of, to my mind, pretty poor poetry, continues to be the most read page on our web site!

One week I even poetically mused in my 'A David Musing'!

You can check out this, and other nonsense, at.....

http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php?poemId=00029

A DAVID MUSING

As life settles back into routine, you soon realise how little, unimportant things, can assume oversized importance, when they affect our normal daily life.

Does it really matter if dinner is a few minutes late and you miss the first item on the National News? Now, this is not a criticism of Kathy, but self-criticism, for I do most of the cooking when Kathy is working to pay for the food we eat!

When one is away, you learn to be flexible - particularly in Africa! Yet, when you return home, old ways and habits quickly creep up on you again.

But God is a God of change. He wants us to be flexible in our lives. In the sermon at church this morning, our pastor, Steve Carney, used the example that when we are young and have nothing, it is easy to serve God, for we have nothing to lose. But as we get older and accumulate 'stuff', our flexibility disappears!

Just maybe that is why God has blessed us with bankruptcy and nothing! Yet in reality we have everything! For to see peoples lives changed is a gift beyond measure. And when God calls us to travel, we don't have to be too concerned about what will happen to our worldly possessions while we are away! Amazing the way God works.....

His servant and yours

David Tait

Word Puzzle Answer: PURPLE (For royalty. Spiritually represents God the Father.)

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