DOES THE HAT FIT?

The 'inspiration(!)' for today's word comes from last Friday's, final shooting of the introduction to our pilot 'Walking With Jesus' TV programme on the 'Fruit of the Spirit'. 'The first shall be last....' Very biblical!

To put you in the picture (bad pun!), I never wear hats. I don't like them really! But the Lord told me to wear them for TV! "Yes Lord. if you insist!" So I ended up as 'David, the man of many hats!' With 5 different hats to wear for the various segments of the programme. All except the teaching section, when we must be 'hat's off' before God.

As I came to write this, it just seemed to me that we are often like I was on Friday - the wearers of many hats. For example, as men, we have our father-family hat, our son-father and mother hat, our work 'hardhat', and maybe a hobby hat or two, etc.

Of course, not all the hats fit equally well. For me, my father-family hat (or my head!) frequently could do with some modification!

Then, those in church leadership have to wear a multitude of hats, seemingly all at once! To be preacher, office manager, counselor, motivator, and maybe even cleaner. It's an impossible task! For not all hats aren't going to sit easily on our heads. We cannot be everything to everyone, no matter how hard we try.

I want to encourage you today that - other than Jesus - there has never been anyone who could wear all hats with equal aplomb. The Bible is full of real life stories of people whom God used wonderfully. Yet, virtually without exception, all had their areas of weakness. Moses temper sometimes got the better of him. King David was not a great father. Peter was impulsive... So the list goes on. Yet God used these 'normal' human beings to achieve His purposes.

All the great men and women of God over the centuries since Jesus too, have had their faults, sometimes carefully hidden, as well as their virtues, which we so much admire. For none of us are perfect - not all the hats we wear fit snugly. Yet our gracious God still uses us - yes, you and me - to build His Kingdom.

What He is looking for is not our perfection, but our availability. So let's not be intimidated by the devils accusations that we aren't worthy, we're useless, that God can't use us!

In God, I am the brother or sister of Jesus (it will be much easier when we get to a genderless Heaven and don't have to be PC!). With His strength in me I become strong, and yes, He can use even me, to fulfil His purposes here on earth.

Sometimes too, we need to give away hats, delegating them to others whom they better fit. For, if you are like me and have but one head, we simply can't wear them all at once! Keeping too many hats in our cupboard leads to anxiety, frustration, and finally, burnout.

Yes, I have some hats I need to give to others. I have others distinctly needing repair by the great milliner (hatmaker) in the sky. But Jesus can take my hats and yours, imperfect though they be, place them on our heads, so making us 'salt and light' to the world.

Wonder if the same principles should have applied to Imelda Marcos's shoe collection?

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FROM THE WORD

"Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. The LORD said to Moses, “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:2-12)

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)


SALT AND LIGHT
" “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

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

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

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

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

### In God’s order ‘works’ should succeed, not precede, relationship.

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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 David,
Many thanks for your site and the many useful downloads it contains. I just thought that you may like to know that I am using the Walking With Jesus studies at the moment in my ministry amongst the homeless and streetpeople in the suburbs surrounding where I live in Melbourne Australia. Our study groups range in size from 2-3 to upwards of 60, at times we have had about 100 people all engaged in studies. It is awesome to see God working in the lives of these people, and although their circumstances do not change generally, their attitude does. Praise God.

I have attempted to download this week's tapes by right clicking on the link, however, I am presented with a message telling me that Internet Explorer cannot access this site and to contact the website manager. As you have said to contact you should there be any problems downloading, I am doing just that.

By the way, I think it is marvelous that a Church synod is finally once again recognising that heterosexual couples are engaged in sexually immoral acts if they are living together or engaging in sex outside of marriage. I have found, when confronted by those who are homosexuals asking why God (and therefore Christians) hates them when He made them, that by explaining that ANYONE even heterosexuals are sexual immoral if they engage in sexual activity is detested by God, it calms them long enough to then explain that God doesn't detest them per se, but He detests the act, and that redemption can be achieved by them desisting from the act. It does not mean that they have to immediately find a member of the opposite sex to marry, they are free to remain single should this be their want.

May God continue to bless you David,
Your sister,
Margaret Richardson

Dear David,
In "Together Through Thick and Thin" you wrote: "... 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...."

I don't believe religious beliefs can properly be called external to the couple. As I understand it, at least, the "knowledge of God" that Hosea speaks of, and the "mind of Christ" that Paul assures us we have, reflect Jeremiah's new covenant written on our hearts. It's an intimate experience of God, an encounter with Christ that changes us
irrevocably, and not a list of rules imposed from the outside.

Instead of saying that religious beliefs are external, I'd suggest that marriage - or, in the case of the Swedes, committed long-term relationship - is itself a covenant with God as witness, guarantor, and partner. God's presence in the marriage provides an intrinsic
foundation of rock far stronger than the sandy foundation of the most determined human will.

Grace and peace
Phil Anthony.
Coordinator, Salem Quarterly Meeting
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
P.O. Box 55, Woodstown, N.J. 08098, U.S.A.
856-769-0066 (voice) - 856-769-1416 (fax)
salemqtr@rcn.com - http://www.pym.org/salem-qm/

Well done for your article about homosexual clergy. And well done to the Church in New Zealand. It's a shame The Church of England Synod do not follow Biblical Teachings as
closely.

God bless,
Dave

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 3 of 4

Trust 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. I want to encourage those who have not yet read these revelations on the first miracle to do so. You will truly find them hugely beneficial.

A couple of testimonies follow...

Blessings David,
Thank you for you diligence in forwarding teachings ..

I was so moved in the spirit when I meditated the wine revelation I sat there weeping in the Spirit. Wow what a cleansing feeling I felt.

May you be greatly blessed in your teachings

May the Lord Jesus enlighten you and us much more for many of us are hungry for revelation of His word.

Blessings
Richard Ware

David
I just wanted to let you know what a blessing your teachings are to me and how you are
showing me new things all the time although I've been reading the Bible for many, many years. But then God is like that isn't He? We are constantly being surprised by Him. Or is it only me? Perhaps I'm just a bit less intelligent than most people so perhaps it takes me a bit longer than most to see what He's saying but no matter how many times I read the Word I keep finding things that I haven't noticed before. Keep having those "Wow! Why didn't I see that before" moments.

Anyway thank you, thank you, thank you and bless you for your teachings which I really look forward to.

Shirley Caspari

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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." ***

307. LIL JOHNY
One Sunday morning the Pastor noticed little Johnny was standing staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. The young man of seven had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up and stood beside him and gazing up at the plaque he said quietly, "Good morning son."

"Good morning Pastor" replied the young man not taking his eyes off the plaque. "Sir, what is this?" Johnny asked.

"Well son, these are all the people who have died in the service," replied the pastor. Soberly, they stood together staring up at the large plaque.

Little Johnny's voice barely broke the silence when he asked quietly, "Which one Sir, the 8:30 or the 10:30?"

306. JESUS WEPT!
Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathered them around Him and taught them saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Blessed are the meek,
Blessed are they that mourn,
Blessed are the merciful,
Blessed are they that thirst after righteousness.
Blessed are you when persecuted, Blessed are you when you suffer, Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in Heaven."
Then Simon Peter said, "Are we supposed to know all this?"
And Andrew said, "So we have to write all this down?"
And James said, "Will we have a test on this?"
And Phillip said, "I don't have any paper."
And Judas said, " How much credit does this give me?"
And Matthew said, "May I go to the bathroom?"
And Bathelomew said, "Do we have to turn this in?"
And Simon said, "May I borrow a pencil?"
And Judas Iscariot said, "What does this have to do with real life?"
And James the Lesser said, "Now what was that again?"
Then one of the Pharisees, who was present, asked to see Jesus' lesson plan and inquired of Jesus, "Where are your anticipatory set and objectives in the cognitive domain?"

AND JESUS WEPT !!!!

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Which is not the correct name of a baby bird?
A. A duckling
B. A cheeper
C. A fledgling
D. A chicken

ANSWER: D. A chicken
For some very strange reason, baby turtles are called chickens, while baby chickens are called chicks! The other three baby names are for the duck, the partridge, and the penguin.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Is it true that one shouldn't swim for at least an hour after eating?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
765. THE BUSY BEE
A queen bee may lay as many as 3,000 eggs in a single day. (Like the world is becoming. Men all working for a woman.)

766. THE ULTIMATE FLAPPER
A bumblebee flaps its wings an incredible 160 beats per second. (Yet according to physics it shouldn’t be able to fly! Of course, the bumblebee doesn’t know that.)

767. WRONG - AND ALWAYS WRONG
An ordinary TNT bomb involves atomic reaction, and should really be called an atomic bomb. What we call an A-bomb involves nuclear reactions and should therefore be called a nuclear bomb. (And should never be used.)

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

GLIBNESS

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS - DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY

By: David Pawson

A series on the 10 Commandments by one of the worlds most respected Bible teachers.

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AN INTERESTING NEW ZEALAND ARTICLE ON SCHOOL TEACHING

TEACHERS HIT THE PANIC BUTTON
School discipline is a hot topic in education in the western world. Two-thirds of a small sample of secondary teachers who answered a recent website poll by the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers Association wanted panic buttons in classrooms because of their concern about increasing verbal and physical attacks. Panic alarms were trialled at several British schools last year, along with closed-circuit television, and door locks protected by swipe cards, in a bid to protect staff and property from vandals and trespassers.

In a survey just released, a US think tank, Public Agenda, says rowdiness, disrespect, bullying, talking out, lateness and loutishness are poisoning the learning atmosphere in many American public schools, causing frustration to teachers and worry to parents. 4 in 10 teachers said that in their schools, teachers spend more time trying to keep order in the classroom than actually teaching.

Since 2000, there has been a 30 percent increase in assault on teachers in New Zealand schools, a 23 percent rise in sexual misconduct, a 39 percent rise in vandalism and a 43 percent increase in possession of weapons. Last year 23,656 school students were suspended or expelled. Almost every teacher experienced bullying of some kind and 14 percent experienced physical assault.

Two obvious questions arise: why are pupils more undisciplined? And how can it be addressed? Some principals suggest that setting high expectations and standards makes a significant difference. Unless teachers have control over the atmosphere of their classrooms, it makes teaching a difficult task.

Something for you to comment upon to other readers. Write to me with your views at david@wwj.org.nz

DO YOU KNOW?

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT...

THE TRUE MEANING OF CAR NAMES
AUDI - Always Unsafe Designs Implemented
BMW - Bought My Wife
BUICK - Big Ugly Indestructible Car Killer
CHEVROLET - Cheap, Hardly Efficient, Virtually Runs On Luck Every Time
DODGE - Drips Oil, Drops Grease Everywhere
FIAT - Fix It All the Time
FORD - First On Rust and Deterioration
GM - General Maintenance
GMC - Got A Mechanic Coming?
HONDA - Had One Never Did Again
HYUNDAI - Hope You Understand Nothing's Driveable And Inexpensive
MAZDA - Most Always Zipping Dangerously Along
OLDSMOBILE - Overpriced, Leisurely Driven Sedan Made Of Buick's Irregular Leftover Equipment
SAAB - Swedish Automobiles Always Breakdown
TOYOTA - Too Often Yanks Overprice This Auto
VOLVO - Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object
VW - Virtually Worthless

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INTERESTING WORDS AND PHRASES FROM THE BIBLE

HOLIER THAN THOU

Currently used to describe a self-righteous person. User in the same way in Isaiah 65:5 by the Lord to criticize those who thought themselves better than others.

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THE COURSE MENTIONED BY MARGARET RICHARDSON IN 'FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU'

‘WALKING WITH JESUS’ COURSE
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A DAVID MUSING

This week I am attending the Annual Conference of the church grouping we are affiliated with in New Zealand, the New Life Churches of NZ. My friend from India, Glory dhas, is coming too.

What is unusual for me, is that I am more used to speaking at such gatherings, rather than receiving. But we all need to receive in order to give out more. So I am really looking forward to it - and to being with my friend Glory again.

It is being held at the venue where I met my wife Kathy, 37 odd years ago! And I have only been back once since, so Kathy says! I can't remember having been back at all! Wonder why not? Better not say any more or I will be in trouble - again!

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: BLESSING

Today's 'Do You Know?'
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury.
A. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land.
A. Honda--because the apostles were all in one Accord.
A. 2 Corinthians 4:8 describes going out in service in a Volkswagen Beetle: "We are pressed in every way, but not cramped beyond movement."

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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!

For comments upon and contributions to this service, please contact
david@wwj.org.nz