A MESSAGE TO US ALL FROM VIRGIE JUMAWID AND FAMILY

Dear Brother David and Sister Kathy,
Thanks for putting our new email address to your PGIM email list. I am always glad to read the PGIM newsletter. It encourages me in special ways and enable me to embrace God's promises for me especially at these moments of facing such a very difficult time in my life where I cry out to God and ask for His comfort and grace for me, my children and to those that love Tim. Thank you very much for the encouragements in your newsletter last June 21. We are praying that God will continue to use you in touching lives and that He will continue to bless you and your ministry.

I would like to say thank you also for everybody who have prayed for us and the church. Your prayers have blessed us so much. Thank you.

In Christ's love,
Virgie and Family

THE DREAM - 'GIFTS' & 'FRUIT'

Before I went to Africa, the Lord gave me a dream which I shared there often. It was powerful! Here is a brief outline.

Two people died and went to heaven. They knocked on the Pearly Gate and asked St Peter to let them in. (As you can see, this is not a theological presentation!) "Why should I let you in?", St Peter asked.

The first person was a beautifully dressed pastor. He replied, "I have had the largest church in town for 20 years. My people loved me as if I was God. I have seen 2,000 people saved and 4,000 people healed. I think I deserve to come in."

The second person was a cleaning lady, dressed in a dirty, plain blue smock. She explained, "Well, St Peter, I don't have any of the spiritual gifts the pastor had. I haven't done much for you at all, really. But I did clean out the church each week. And the toilets too, as no-one else would. And when my neighbour was sick, I looked after her children, and took her some meals. So please, may I come in."

St Peter then did something really strange. He said, "Take your clothes off! For your clothes represent your spiritual 'gifts' which now are to be returned to God. You had them on loan."

And when they took their clothes off, the Pastor was fat and flabby underneath. For he had relied upon his spiritual gifts to get him into the Kingdom. He had started off with a good relationship with Jesus, but over the years, as he got busier doing God's work, he had let his relationship slide. The cleaning lady however, had a beautiful, shapely, firm body, for she had been working out in the gymnasium of the 'fruit' of the Spirit.

The dream ended.

Remember, the Bible says, many times, that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first." And let's not forget Matthew 7:21-23. See 'From The Word', below.

Amazingly, when in Botswana, I stayed with Pastor Henry, who employed a cleaning lady in a blue smock, just like I saw in my dream. I spoke to her. Like most cleaning ladies, she didn't talk too much. But when it came time to go home, she took off the smock. Underneath she was wearing a tight top and blue jeans. What a transformation! She was a beautiful young lady! What a confirmation!

You see, as leaders, we can so easily rely upon our gifts to get us through. The genuine pastoral gift for instance, includes having a servant heart. So we can look to be a 'fine' Christian, even when we neglect our relationship with Jesus, and omit to grow 'fruit' in our life.

But it is the 'fruit', not the 'gifts', we take with us into eternity. Would you rather look good for a few years here on earth, or grow everlasting fruit lasting forever?

I've always had an eye for the best bargain! You too?

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FROM THE WORD

A TREE AND ITS FRUIT
"“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:15-23)

"Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." (Matthew 19:27-30)

"“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:12-14)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

4. The foolish man seeks pleasure on earth. A wise man builds treasure in heaven. But the godly man seeks to build heaven on earth.

5. Earthly possessions are perceived to be:
- Owned - by the foolish.
- Rented - by the wise.
- Administered - by the godly.

104. ‘Earthly Success’ is based upon achievement, ‘Godly Success’ upon relationship.

105. ‘To be, not to do, that is the answer.’ (with apologies to Shakespeare)

106. God desires our ‘being’ much more than our ‘doing’.

107. God prefers ‘ones self’ to ‘ones works’.

108. In God’s order ‘works’ should proceed, not precede, relationship.

111. Earthly achievement’s are fleeting, a heavenly investment eternal.

113. Nothing is less conspicuous than a famous man’s grave.

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A MESSAGE FROM ROY - Back From 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

Hello David,
Following on from yesterday's PGIM newsletter, and if you have the time, you may be interested to read the article 'Spiritual Warfare & The Ordinary Christian'. It covers some of the ground you touched on in the newsletter.

You can find it at http://www.helpforchristians.co.uk/ in the 'List of Articles' box. Then click the 'Go to Article' button.

Best Wishes,
Paul Richards.
Webmaster, HelpForChristians.Co.Uk

Hello again, David!
'[Lord bless this man in every way he needs it!']
...thoughts concerning the gifts of he Spirit in today's PGIM - when we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ a our Saviour the Holy Spirit came into our lives, bringing with Him all the qualities which were in our Lord when He walked this earth.

With that infilling, I believe, we have been given to exercise, use, and display all of the different qualities - i.e. love, peace, joy, patience etc., etc., we have no need
to pray for patience for example - WE HAVE IT! All we need to do is exercise it and develop it ourselves by using the last fruit in the list - self control. Our old nature
will try to override the new nature but by exercising and developing self-control our new nature will grow, increase in strength and we will gradually overcome the desire of
'the flesh / the old nature'.

Sadly, until we are removed from this world there will always be this battle between our spirit and our flesh - Paul described it so well in his letter. So, your friend
needs our prayers and our love. By the way, the list of fruit begins with LOVE and ends with self-control - like book-ends - each of the other segments of fruit need the 2
ends in order to work best.

... just a few thoughts -
Every blessing -
Mollie Allen

Dear Mr Tait
I can't even remember how I put myself on your mailing list. But I always like to recieve PGIM(although I can never remember what it stands for). My one criticism (inevetable, of course) is that in the word puzzle you include proper names (e.g. camino/monica). That's not fair or correct! Proper names are not found in the dictionary for scrabble and other popular word games, so why are they included in these puzzles?

Normally I wouldn't increase the amount of mail you recieve. However, this week's newsletter really struck a chord with me. Yesterday afternoon, I learned from a christian friend that he has decided that he is gay. It broke my heart to see him turn his back on God and literally 'fall into darkness'. Last night's bible study even included the very words you use in this week's newsletter "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality..." Then, when I read of how sometimes we cannot understand why God allows a thing to happen, I also related. In the past I have had great confidence in how God is working through to what seemed to be the worst of circumstances, but in this I found myself face to face with my own disbelief that God could allow this to happen for His good purpose.

Fortunately, we can take hope that our friends are "Once saved, always saved." God does not erase names from His book of life, from the palm of His hand, and only He knows what is in their hearts.

Finally, I just wanted to say that knowing another is sharing the same sort of pain lightens the load a little. Let's continue praying that our friends who now weigh so heavy on our hearts will return to their best and closest Friend, who understands them, their pain and their circumstances more completely than we.

I'll leave you to wade through the rest of your mail now. Thankyou so much.
Elizabeth, 18
Geraldine, New Zealand.

Hi David,
My husband is from South America and he learned in school that there are five continents. Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. (I'm not sure about
Antarctica). So, maybe the fifth circle of the olympic emblem stands for "America" rather than just North America?

I really appreciate receiving PGIM. God always gives me a message through it. This week I am pondering "to be" and "to do". Thank you for sharing this ministry.

Sherry Gutierrez
Washington, USA

Dear David,
I rather suspect that the rings stand for Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America. By Latin American and some other definitions there is only one continent of America, not two. The logic of this rather escapes me, but that is the way it is.

Shalom B'Yeshua HaMoshiach
Michael Joe Thannisch
mjthan@quik.com
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord.

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." ***

281. JONAH AND THE WHALE
After telling the story of Jonah and the whale to her Sunday school class, the teacher decided to quiz them. She asked, "Timmy, what is the moral of the story?"

Timmy thought for a minute, then said, "People make whales throw up."

280. CHURCH FUNNIES
*** I asked our six-year-old, "How did you like the service?" She said, "I liked the music, but I thought the commercial was too long."

*** Pastor, I've got some terrible news. Someone broke into our church last night and stole ninety thousand dollars worth of pledges.

***Does a good beginning and a good ending make a good sermon? Yes, if they're close enough together.

*** A new pastor preached a stirring sermon on "Gossip" but then made a fatal error by closing the service by singing "I Love to Tell the Story."

*** Sunday school teacher: "Cleanliness is next to what?" Little boy answers, "Next to impossible."

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Missing. Another proof I haven't reached perfection yet! But I'm working on it! Like a good cheese, it takes time. A lifetime+?!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
777. LONG MEMORIES
In 1950, Scottish Nationalists stole (reclaimed?) the "Stone of Destiny" from Westminster Abbey. This was Scotland's Coronation Stone, taken by the English in 1296. Traditionally, all British monarchs have to be crowned while sitting on it. It was eventually recovered from Arbroath Abbey, although some claimed this was a copy, and the original remained in Scotland. But Where? In 1996, the "Stone of Destiny" was returned from London to Edinburgh Castle, exactly 700 years after being stolen by Edward I. (Will all future coronations have to be in Scotland so that succeeding monarch can be ‘stoned to be throned'.)

778. NOTHING'S NEW
Colonel Waring, the New York City Street Cleaning Commissioner, was responsible for organising the first rubbish recycling plant in the United States way back in 1898. (No longer to be ‘just a load of rubbish’.)

779. A JAPANESE HAMBURGER?
Okonomiyaki consists of a potpourri of grilled vegetables, noodles, and meat or seafood, between two pancake-like layers of fried batter. (Healthy as well as delicious.)

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

DOSAGE

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

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UTILITARIAN VIEW ON MARRIAGE

Over the past 2 weeks our government in New Zealand has been introducing legislation to effectively water down the institution of marriage. They should read this!

Utilitarians argue that the high divorce rate and soaring rate of out of wedlock births have a detrimental effect on society. Studies have shown that illegitimate children tend to have lower verbal cognitive development, lower educational aspirations, and a greater likelihood of becoming teenage parents. A 1988 study at the University of Illinois on adults born outside of marriage found that the longer a child spends in a single-parent family, the less education the child attains. Other studies have shown that fifty percent of girls who have a baby out of wedlock before age 18 will become long term welfare recipients. Eighty percent of them will go on welfare at some time in their life.

In terms of crime, a state by state analysis shows that in general, a ten percent increase in the number of children living in single parent homes (including divorces) accompanies a seventeen percent increase in juvenile crime. And finally, married people have consistently lower death rates from disease, suicide, and accident mortality than divorced people. Overall, the premature death rate is four times higher among divorced white men than among their counterparts. A study at the University of Oregon found the impact of divorce on a woman's health and well-being is more serious than the impact of being fired from a job. Another study showed that divorced or separated people are three times more likely to commit suicide than married people.

Based on these statistics, it would seem the new sexual ethic of personal freedom and self-expression actually has incurred a great cost on our society. We have ended up with more poorly educated youth, higher juvenile crime rates, increases in the welfare rolls, and less physically and mentally healthy people. And so, strengthening the institution of marriage is not just a matter of religious piety, but a necessity for the health of society.

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

!!! Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.

!!! If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging.

!!! When you've raised your children, stop raising them.

!!! Need rain? Wash and wax the car.

!!! If someone offers a breath mint, take it.

!!! People seldom think alike until it comes to buying wedding presents.

!!! Many people think they are broad-minded just because they are to lazy to form an opinion.

!!! A recount is when the chairman can't believe his Ayes.

!!! Every time he opens his mouth he puts his feats in.

!!! Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need more.

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A DAVID MUSING

Finally, this week I got round to having a run again. It is winter here, not cold by most standards, but cold enough for me - particularly after Africa.

Unsurprisingly, after spending 4 months of the last six in places where it is either too hot to run, the people think you are mad, or both, my first time was my slowest ever for 5km. It improved a little later in the week.

Added to that is the fact that I was born on American Independence Day (Very appropriate says my wife, Kathy!), so I have just added another unit to my age.

All very depressing from a worldly point of view! But I am trying to console myself that I am building treasures in heaven and getting another year closer to claiming them!

Am I convincing myself? Well.......

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's Word Puzzle Answer: SEADOG

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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) 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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