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: 17 Published: 18 Feb 2002
IN OR OUT OF THE WORLD?
This week I was asked by one of our readers about the desirability of withdrawing from the world, as a counter to the world's infiltration of the church.Separation can seemingly be justified by the 'selective selection' of scripture and has been used by numbers of sincere believers throughout church history to separate from the world into either monastic or Christian community environments.
But is this really the intention of scripture? I may be simple, but I feel that we too easily complicate our faith. Once we have made a decision for Christ, there would appear to be three basic precepts we are required to live by.
1. To live out the golden rule, the greatest commandment of Jesus: Loving God unconditionally and others as ourselves.
2. To fulfil the 'Great Commission' by taking the good news of Jesus to the entire world.
3. To emulate the life of Jesus.
Whether we like it or not, living each of these precepts requires us to mix with those in the world who don't know Jesus and who, in turn, are well capable of influencing us towards their worldly viewpoint.
This is the real challenge of our faith, as it has been down through the ages. To live a life of faith in the midst of an unbelieving world. In this day, it is up to each one of us to live our Christian life not simply a believer, open to the world's influences and distractions, but as a disciple fully committed to Jesus, and to encourage those we lead to do the same. For the heart of God is to 'grow believers into disciples, united in Christ, reflecting Jesus to the world.' Some things never change.
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FROM THE WORD
".... 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no greater commandment than these.' " (Mark 12:29-31)"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.' " (Matthew 28:18-20)
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God - even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1)
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
The foolish man seeks pleasure on earth. A wise man builds treasure in heaven. But the godly man seeks to build heaven on earth.Foolishness is of the flesh, wisdom of the mind, but godliness comes forom a heart right with God.
Don’t be seduced by the fleeting rainbow, but search for the eternal pot of gold.
There are more than 200 David sayings on the web at...
GOD FACTS
These encouraging statistics are taken from the 2001 edition of Patrick Johnstone's book, Operation World. The trends are more interesting and likely to be accurate than the absolutes, which are notoriously difficult to accumulate on a global basis.%%%%% EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS have grown from 300 million in 1990 to 420 million in 2000, an annual growth rate of 4.7%. This makes Evangelicals the fastest growing, major religious group in the world, during these 10 years. Evangelicals now make up approximately 7% of the world's population. This figure includes the 17 million Evangelicals in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.
%%%%% NON-WESTERN CHURCHES that are no longer a part of a Western denomination or organisation now account for 40% of all Evangelicals. However 80% of these churches are the result of Protestant missionary work over the past 200 years.
%%%%% A DARK SKINNED GLOBAL VILLAGE. In every 12 Evangelicals in the world, there are:
3 Africans
3 Asians
2 North Americans
2 South Americans
1 European
1 from Oceania
Sadly Europe is now the least evangelised continent with only 2.4% Evangelicals.
%%%%% MISSIONARY SENDINGS. From the 2900 mission agencies examined, missionaries grew in numbers from 76,120 (91% Western) in 1990 to 97,732 (79% Western) in 2000. Europe, in keeping with its low level of believers, experienced the greatest increase in missionaries - 5,000 over the 10 year period.
An appreciation of these trends is vital to our understanding of where the church is heading in the 21st Century.
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TAPE OF THE WEEK
In association with Inspirational Tapes Ministriesinspirational.org.nz
we are pleased to offer you this inspirational tape - absolutely free of charge!
THE CHRISTIAN AS SALT
By Judi Bradley
Judi was a highly gifted bible teacher, who sadly, died early at age 48. A dedicated wife and mother, her teaching illustrates the depth of her wisdom borne of experience and a close walk with Jesus. She told of the great riches in Christ available to all who would trust and believe in a way that exposed her own frailties and humanity. Living the Christian life as salt in an unbelieving world is a classic example of this.
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.***SOME FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS TO LAST WEEK"S QUESTION....
HOW MANY CHRISTIANS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHTBULB?
Q. "How many church members does it take to change a lightbulb?"
A. "Change?"
POWERFUL PRAYER!
The Wednesday-night church service coincided with the last day of hunting season.
Our pastor asked who had bagged a deer.
No one raised a hand.
Puzzled, the pastor said, "I don't get it. Last Sunday many of you said you were missing because of hunting season. I had the whole congregation pray for your deer."
One hunter groaned, "Well, it worked. They're all safe."
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
Some Godly sayings that arrived from several different sources this week. Some good billboard material here!!!!!! Give God what's right - not what's left.
!!!!! When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.
!!!!! Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.
!!!!! We don't change God's message - His message changes us.
!!!!! The church is prayer-conditioned.
26 new Godly one liners this week at...
FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEK'S QUESTION: Throughout the years, many Popes have been assassinated or have been the targets of assassinations. Who was the first Pope to be murdered? John Paul II, Leo X, John V, John VIII or Luke IV.Answer: John VIII (died 882) was the first Pope to be murdered. He was poisoned and then clubbed to death.
THIS WEEKS QUESTION: What percentage of its body weight can a pelican consume in a single meal? Answer next week.
A RIDDLE for you.
If you buy it - you won't use it!
If you use it - you won't know it!
What is it?
Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’
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IF YOU HAVE TIME YOU MIGHT LIKE TO READ... (Also Available as a PDF File Download)
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 for all of us.You can freely read or download it (the 1st item) from...
A DAVID MUSING
Kathy and I are sitting with our backs to each other, not because we are sick of the sight of each other, but simply because we are each tapping away on 'his' and 'her' computers. Kathy completing an assignment for the Theatre Nurses Course she is diligently doing, with considerable success, much to her surprise but not ours, while I am tapping out this musing to complete the week's newsletter. Next door two of our sons, Nigel and Cameron, are setting up a drum kit, so our tapping is frequently drowned out by the all pervasive melodic or painful sounds, depending on your viewpoint, generated by protesting drum skins being belted by unmerciful drum sticks.Drumming, a technology as old as time itself, mingled with the modern madness of computer science, enabling this message to be transported round the globe in an instant. The old and the new coming together to create the typical lifestyle in which most of us now live.
It reminds me that the old, old, never changing message of the Bible, to be relevant to the modern generation needs to be presented in ways that are relevant to them. While computers are 'new-fangled' machines to Kathy and I, they are a natural extension of the arms and brains of our family and yours. Neither good nor evil in themselves, but merely a tool that can be used for either good or evil. No matter how much effort it takes me to learn it, it is essential that I do, to communicate efficiently and effectively with the world. At times, drumming seems just so much easier!
Ironically, as I go to send this newsletter I find that because of a problem within the New Zealand telecommunications network, the entire internet system has been down for several hours. Maybe communicating by drums or smoke signals is still more reliable! Dreaming of the good old days! Must be getting old! But not quite that old, mind you, so as to remember these - although my family would think so!
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's Riddle: A coffin!
LINKS
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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
P O Box 5160
Mount Maunganui
New Zealand
Phone: (07) 575-7164 International (0064) 7575-7164
Fax: (07) 575-7124 International (0064) 7575-7124
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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david@wwj.org.nz
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