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: 154 Published: 04 Oct 2004
THE HEAD OR THE TAIL
Last week, the New Zealand Presbyterian Church National Synod passed a resolution banning people in same sex relationships, unmarried heterosexual couples and those known to be having an 'affair' from entering Ministry in the Church. It reversed a previous decision, and was passed by almost a 2:1 majority.This was simply following Biblical principles, applying God's standards to the whole area of morality within church leadership, not just 'gay bashing'.
Of real interest to me though, was the comment of our Prime Minister, Helen Clarke. She was brought up as a Presbyterian, attending Sunday School, even saying prayers, I think at a Presbyterian High School. She would not have graced the doors of the church many times since, however! The essence of her comment was, that it is sad how the Presbyterian Church could be so far out of touch with today's public opinion.
What a compliment she was inadvertently paying the Presbyterian Church! For being prepared to risk ridicule by standing up for Biblical principles in the area of sexual morality. Indirectly too, she revealed how far our society here has strayed from the moral principles upon which the Western World generally, was established.
Putting this aside, the even more revealing expectation was that both society and the government expects 'the church' to conform to its values, rather than those of Jesus. The church is to be the tail, not the head. Is she right? Is that how the church is to behave?
Or are we prepared to follow the standards of Jesus? To be different. To provide an alternative for a world that has walked away from Jesus. To show His love without compromising His principles.
It's not an easy walk. We will be criticized and ridiculed for it. But who is our master? Jesus or the world? What we decide today will affect the generations to come.......
Anyone for a game of 'Pin the tail on the Donkey!'
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FROM THE WORD
"“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?†Jesus replied: â€â€˜Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.†(Matthew 22:36-40)"“Are you still so dull?†Jesus asked them. “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’â€" (Matthew 15:16-20)
SEXUAL IMMORALITY
"“Everything is permissible for meâ€â€”but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for meâ€â€”but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for foodâ€â€”but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.†But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)
"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." (Hebrews 13:4)
"Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect." (1 Timothy 3:1-4)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
God has shown me that...... to go down is to go up.
... He can do it better than me.
... to strive is to ensure failure.
... to rest in Him brings success.
... it is better to give in to Him the first time.
... I need to be broken before being restored.
... repentance benefits me even more than the one I have
wronged.
... the nearer I get to Him, the further away I discover I really am.
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book of all David's Doodlings in PDF format at DAVID'S DOODLINGS
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 ...
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. RoyFROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU
Hi there.Todays jumbled word can also be "speedo"
Blessings.
Neil
Good morning David.
As usual, I appreciate your PGIM newsletter, but especially today, when you talked about taking a risk and doing something you feel God has led you to do.
You may remember my writing to you last winter about wanting to start a site where a new believer could go for encouragement - now it is online www.newbeliever.info
A new addition to that original vision is the New Life Birth Certificate - a free, immediate means to put down in writing the time and circumstances surrounding your acceptance of Christ and your baptism. The certificate can be folded and put into a Bible or framed.
The "Father's Love Letter" (link on home page) is a most excellent presentation for anyone, but especially for a new believer, who may not have heard all those Bible passages about how much God loves them.
The site was never envisioned to be a "mega" site, because many excellent information sites already exist. One of my links is to your site, for example.
Would you please look over the site and send me feedback on how I could make it better or what you liked. In particular, is there anything said that could be misinterpreted in another culture, like yours. My technical expertise is limited to using Front Page 2003 with a premade template, but for now, it gets the job done.
So as you said in your email, "this week, please step out and do something you have always wanted to do but have been afraid of." For me, that is launching this site worldwide, trusting the Holy Spirit that this site will encourage new believers.
Carol Freed,
Bend, Oregon USA
PS. We have a similar family background, as my husband, Roger, and I have been married 37 years and raised 3 sons, each of whom is blessed with a wife of great faith, and we have one grandson, with a second grandchild due in April.
Hi David
Thank you for your weekly email.
Does the 70 countries incude Ecuador? We are missionaries working in the jungle area of Ecuador and receive PGIM.
Your words of encouragement reach far and wide.
The Browns.
REPLY
Great to hear from the jungles of Ecuador. I am sure Ecuador can now be recorded along with Mongolia, where we have readers too.
Your comments to me or fellow readers are always welcomed at... david@wwj.org.nz
This is an opportunity for you to express your views, which may not be my views. But none of us have a mortgage on all the truth - except for Jesus!
TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: THE FIRST MIRACLE OF JESUS: Part 2 of 4Trust you are finding that when Jesus changed the water into wine, it meant much more than helping the hosts out and proving he was someone special. Check out what is to me the most incredible part of the meaning in this week's issue. You will be amazed - and your faith increased.
Mailed to subscriber's mailboxes tomorrow. If you are not on the mailing list you can register at tteach-on@wwj.org.nz
Previous teachings on the Book of Ruth and God's character can be viewed at...
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
305. SPEED READING
The parson had been disturbed by a person who was a fast reader. "We shall now read the Twenty-third Psalm in unison," he announced. "Will the lady who is always by 'the still waters' while the rest of us are in 'green pastures,' please wait a minute until we catch up?"
304. AMEN, PREACH!
"Amen, Preach!"
Preacher: "This church is just like a baby, and every baby has to learn to crawl."
The congregation shouts out, "Amen Preach, let her crawl.."
The Preacher continues: "But nobody stays a baby forever. After a while this church is going to stand and walk."
Congregation: "Amen, Preach it--Let her walk."
Preacher goes on: "And after a while this church is not just going to stand or walk, it's going to run!"
Congregation: "Amen Preach, let her run."
Preacher: "And in order for this Church to run it needs to give!"
Congregation: "Let her crawl Preach, Let her crawl"
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
Now one of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 670 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...
FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Can anything go faster than the speed of light?ANSWER: It was always thought the answer to that was a definite NO. However, scientists reported in 2000 that they had exceeded the cosmic speed limit. In a landmark experiment, they caused a light pulse to travel at many times the speed of light, so fast that the peak of the pulse exited a specially prepared test chamber before it even finished entering it. According to the scientists, the results are "not at odds with Einstein," though on the surface they appear to contradict his theory of relativity, which holds that the speed of light in a vacuum (about 186,000 miles per second) is the fastest anything can go. Said Lijun Wang, one of the scientists at the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, NJ, who conducted the experiment: "Our experiment does show that the generally held misconception that 'nothing can move faster than the speed of light' is wrong." Nothing with mass can exceed the light-speed limit. But physicists now believe that a pulse of light, which is a group of massless individual waves, can.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Which is not the correct name of a baby bird?
A. A duckling
B. A cheeper
C. A fledgling
D. A chicken
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS
768. HEAVENLY PLACE
After his death in 1937, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the wireless telegraph was honoured by broadcasters worldwide by letting the airwaves fall silent for two minutes in his memory. (Sadly, the inventor of TV has already died.)
769. THAT'S PROGRESS
Today, a chip of silicon a quarter-inch square has the capacity of the original 1949 ENIAC computer, which occupied a full city block. (Rarely in the endeavours of the human race has so much been achieved by so little - Apologies to Winston Churchill)
770. SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE
Results of a survey show that 76 percent of women make their bed every day, compared to only 46 percent of men. (But women make it better – so women tell me.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
ASTIGMAT
Answer at the end of A David Musing
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This week's free download is...
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - DO NOT MURDER
By: David Pawson
A series on the 10 Commandments by one of the worlds most respected Bible teachers.
If you have any problems downloading, please let me know at david@wwj.org.nz
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2. TOGETHER THROUGH THICK AND THIN: A multinational picture of long-term marriages
Sharlin, Kaslow and Hammerschmidt (2000) conducted a unique study of nonclinical couples from eight countries (United States, Canada, Israel, Chile, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and South Africa) who had been married (or living together in the case of Sweden) for at least 20 years. Apart from making cross-cultural comparisons, the researchers had a number of aims reflecting their family therapy orientation. These were: to identify which attributes of lasting marriages contribute to their capacity to weather the inevitable marital storms; to examine how various socio-demographic variables (such as ethnicity, religion, culture, and socio-economic status) influence couples; and to inform practitioners of ways in which marriages can be supported and improved.At least some aspects of creating and maintaining lasting and satisfactory marriages appear to be independent of culture or geography. Love, mutuality and sharing emerged as bases of the respondents' long-term marital satisfaction, and a number of qualities such as mutuality of trust, respect, support and give and take, sharing of values, beliefs (including religion), interests, philosophies, fun and humour, all arose consistently across cultures.
Motives for staying together at the time of their interview clearly revolved around commitment to the marital partnership and love for their spouse, whereas when times were tough staying together for the children and honouring the commitment to the lifelong partnership were prime motivators. In a further comparison of three of the motives (the reason for selecting these three in particular is not explained) it emerges that children play a role in warding off divorce when couples are unhappy, while lifestyle and love are less important. At the other end of the spectrum, extremely happy couples stay together out of their love for their partner; lifestyle and love are important for very happy couples; and children, lifestyle and love are salient motivators for happy couples.
An unassailable belief in and commitment to the institution of marriage and to their spouse was especially apparent with respect to why couples stayed together during difficult times, and in the majority of cases this commitment was underpinned by their religious affiliation and beliefs. In referring to very difficult times in their relationship, most couples, whether currently happy or unhappy, reported that honouring their commitment to a lifelong partnership and their sense of responsibility towards their children were the prime reasons for seeing the marriage or relationship through the stressful periods. Satisfied couples also cited the motivating power of their love for their spouse or partner, but for dissatisfied couples forces external to the couple such as children and religious beliefs exerted greater influence on their decision to remain in the marriage...........
Read more about this encouraging research at...
DO YOU KNOW?
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.
'TILL DEATH DO US PART'
115. A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCKManny was almost 29 years old. Most of his friends had already gotten married, and Manny just bounced from one relationship to the next.
Finally a friend asked him, "What's the matter, are you looking for the perfect woman? Are you THAT particular?
Can't you find anyone who suits you?"
"No," Manny replied. "I meet a lot of nice girls, but as soon as I bring them home to meet my parents, my mother doesn't like them. So I keep on looking!"
"Listen," his friend suggested, "Why don't you find a girl who's just like your dear ole Mother?"
Many weeks past before Manny and his friend got together again.
"So Manny. Did you find the perfect girl yet. One that's just like your Mother?"
Manny shrugged his shoulders, "Yes I found one just like Mom. My mother loved her, they became great friends."
"Excellent!!! So,.... Are you and this girl engaged, yet?"
"I'm afraid not. My Father can't stand her!"
116 SLOGANS!
A class professor was giving a lecture on company slogans and was asking his students if they were familiar with them.
"Joe," he asked, "which company has the slogan, 'come fly the friendly skies'?"
Joe answered the correct airline.
"Brenda, can you tell me which company has the slogan, "Don't leave home without it?"
Brenda answered the correct credit card company with no difficulty.
"Now John, Tell me which company bears the slogan, 'Just do it'?"
And John answered, "Mom...."
More humour to keep the smile in your marriage at...
INTERESTING WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE
A DROP IN THE BUCKETGenerally refers to a small or meaningless portion or amount. Comes from Isaiah 40:15 where it says, to the Lord, "the nations are a drop in the bucket."
Lot's more interesting God Facts at...
A MATTER OF TIME
Before Adam and Eve sinned, there was no need for time, for they had eternity. The tyranny of time is one of the costs of man's fall.Receive the message in timeless verse at...
A DAVID MUSING
Don't be in such a hurry - wait for God to catch up! He's always on time - never late!Listen to your own advice David!
Until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: STIGMATA
Today's 'Do You Know?' A. Ruth-less.
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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 websitewwj.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