A 'PROSPEROUS' NEW YEAR TO YOU?

During the 'busy' week before Christmas, trying to catch up on things before the holiday season, the Lord upset my well-laid plans by asking me to read the complete New Testament during that week! For me, this took up to 3 hours a day, allowing for the times I fell asleep or was distracted (temporarily) when reading it! Not that I found it boring - in fact the very opposite. It was an enlightening experience! But it happens, doesn't it! For whatever reason.

This has encouraged me to do the same with Old Testament too. Not in a week - or PGIM wouldn't get written, but in daily chunks for however long it takes. Reading in such a fashion gives a different perspective - an overall picture of what the Bible is on about.

My main conclusion so far, has been the striking difference in the measurement of 'spiritual success' between the two testaments.

In The Old Testament, success is primarily defined through 'prosperity', highlighted by the reign of King Solomon over an extended kingdom, symbolised spiritually by the glorious Temple in Jerusalem.

The New Testament, on the other hand, is all about 'sacrifice'. Symbolised by a tragic, simple, yet glorious cross made from a simple tree trunk, erected on a lonely hill outside the city where the mighty (although diminished) Temple stood.

The contrast could not be greater. Between the physical glory and wealth of Solomon's Temple and kingdom and the stark simplicity of the cross and the Kingdom represented by Jesus.

As we read through the New Testament, the change from the Old becomes readily apparent. No longer do we need a physical temple. For our body is the temple in which God's glory lives. Perfectly illustrated in the person of Jesus. No longer are we to store up riches of gold and silver, but are to be content with the provision of 'our daily bread'. Put simply, earthly riches are to be replaced by heavenly ones.

So as we come into another new year, my wish for us both is that we will build up eternal prosperity in heaven, treasure we wont be forced to leave behind the day our overworked hearts stop beating!

Wonder what the interest rate on ‘heavenly deposits’ might be!

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FROM THE WORD

OLD TESTAMENT
“He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 30:5-10)

NEW TESTAMENT
“ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Matthew 6:19-24)

“This, then, is how you should pray: ”‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:9-15)

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

PROSPERITY
177. Earthly prosperity is 'just a little more'. But heavenly prosperity is learning to be content with what the Lord has given.

382. There is no absolute measure of prosperity for our perception of it relates to what we see others have. I wonder what God sees?

383. The problem with prosperity is that we all want to own God's 'cattle on a thousand hills' personally.

385. It is a sad fact that if the rich gave all they had to the poor, poverty would merely be delayed, not allayed.

811. In the Old Testament, success is measured by prosperity, in the New, by sacrifice. Many believers prefer to live in the past!

812. May I learn to rest content with my 'daily bread'.

813. There is no problem with prosperity, only our definition of it.

814. In the Old Testament, prosperity is provision for the future, in the New, sufficiency for today.

815. Worldly provision comes through people, godly provision through the Provider, for whom people are but one resource.

816. Jesus redefined prosperity from future to present provision.

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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

TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THIS WEEK: THE TWO MARATHONERS (An Allegory): Part 2 of 3

One thing you quickly find out when you run is that insufficient training leads to a painful and underachievement in the subsequent race. This week we will find out how our intrepid marathoners get on with their training programmes. The spiritual application for us may just become apparent too!

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Previous teachings on this subject, the First Miracle of Jesus, the Book of Ruth, God's Character and Servanthood and Leadership and the Parable of the Sower can be viewed at...

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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." ***

333. MAKE OVER
A middle aged woman has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience. During that experience she sees God and asks if this is it. God says no, and explains that she has another 30-40 years to live.
Upon her recovery she decides to just stay in the hospital and have a face lift, liposuction, breast augmentation, tummy tuck, etc. She even has someone come in and change her hair color. She figures since she's got another 30 or 40 years she might as well make the most of it.

She walks out the hospital after the last operation and is killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital. She arrives in front of God and asks, "I thought you said I had another 30-40 years?"

God replies, "I didn't recognize you."

332. SUNDAY SCHOOL BLOOPERS
Some bloopers of biblical proportions written by Sunday School students.

* In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.
* Adam & Eve were created from an apple tree.
* Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark.
* Noah built the ark, which the animals came on in pears.
* Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
* Sampson slated the Philistines with the axe of apostles.
* Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients.
* The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.
* Afterward, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the Ten Amendments.
* The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.
* The Fifth Commandment is humor thy mother and father.
* The Seventh Commandment is thou shalt not ADMIT adultery.
* Moses died before he ever reached the UK. Then, Joshua led the Hebrews in the Battle of Geritol.
* The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him.
* David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finkelsteins, a race of people who lived in the biblical times.
* Solomon, one of David's sons, has 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
* When Mary heard she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.
* When the three wise guys from the East Side arrived, they found Jesus and the manager.
* St. John, the Blacksmith, dumped water on his head.
* Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you.
* He also explained, "Man doth not live by sweat alone."
* The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.
* The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
* One of the opossums was St. Matthew, who was by profession a taximan.
* St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
* A Christian should have only one wife. This is called monotony.

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Do people really shrink as they grow older?

ANSWER: Yes, people shrink as they age, but not by much - just a few centimetres on average. The loss of height is due in part to our bones pressing more closely together. Osteoporosis, of course, will cause additional shrinkage.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What animal is the largest land animal?

Answer Next Week.

726. A 'NOT SO FRIENDLY' SPARKLE
Did you know that you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider? (Life is dangerous in the fast lane!)

727. IT COMES NATURALLY
You can't kill yourself by holding your breath. (If at first you don’t succeed, don’t try again.)

728. WATCH OUT FOR DONKEYS
More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes. (Donkey rides are dangerous – ask Jesus!)

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

SETTINGS

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

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WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SUFFERING?

By: Murray Robertson

A very appropriate message for this week as the death toll from the Asian Tsunami continues to mount up. Murray is a highly respected Baptist minister, here in New Zealand.

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DO YOU KNOW?

Q. How do we know that Job went to a chiropractor?

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

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BIBLICAL SPIRITUAL MEANINGS OF WORDS FROM NATURE

ROCK---------Jesus

SAND---------People

STARS--------Holy Spirit, Christians

STONES------Christians

SUN----------God the Father

THUNDER-----Voice of God

WATER-------Cleansing, Purification

WIND---------Holy Spirit

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REAL LIFE HUMOUR

TTHE TRICK
Little Tony was so happy to see his grandmother that he ran up and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so happy to see you, grandma. Now daddy will have to do that trick he's been promising to do!"

His grandmother was curious. "What trick is that, sweetie?"

The little guy smiled at her, "I heard daddy tell mommy that he would climb the walls if you came to visit us again!"

GETTING FRIENDLY
One caller to our answering service gave me his name, number and message and then said, "You know my name. What's yours?"

"4136," I replied, since we were allowed only to give our operator numbers.

Sounding disappointed, he said, "May I call you by your first digit, or would that be too personal?"

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BIBLE BITS

The four gospels at the beginning of the New Testament closely follow in the tradition of the books of history from the Old Testament, describing words spoken and deeds done. Little of the inner thoughts of the people in the stories or the authors is included. This changes in later books where we get to know more of the individuals concerned, particularly Paul.

Lots more Godfacts are found at...

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FOR THOSE WHO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH 'NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS'!

New Year resolutions are filled with good intentions, but normally noted by a distinct lack of performance. It gets really bad though, when you can't even get the inspiration to think of one, let alone carry it out!

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A DAVID MUSING

As the full extent of the tragedy in Asia continues to unfold, we see the usual question being asked, "How could a loving God let this happen?" Mainly, interestingly, by non-believers! All too often as a justification not to believe!

During the week, I saw figures on the results of other tragedies during the 20th Century. Some details follow.

On December 28, 1908 123,000 were killed in an earthquake in Italy. December 16, 1920 in Gansu, China 200,000 people were killed by an 8.6 earthquake. On September 1,1923 one third of Tokyo and most of Yokohama Japan was destroyed as 140,000 people died in an 8.3 magnitude temblor. An earthquake hit Xining China on May 22, 1927 killing 200,000. Over 110,000 were killed in Turkmenistan on October 5, 1948, by a 7.3 earthquake. 60,000 people lost their lives in Peru on May 31, 1970, when an earthquake reaching a magnitude of 7.9 struck the South American country. A cyclone hit Bangladesh and killed at least 300,000 on November 13, 1970. On July 28, 1976 China was hit by an earthquake that left more than 240,000 dead in Tangshan. As recent as last year on the same day as this most recent tsunami, December 26, 2003 26,000 were killed when an earthquake struck the ancient city of Bam in Iran.

People will interpret these statistics in differing ways to suit their worldview. Whatever our explanation though, it is obvious that unexpected tragedy forms a prominent part of human experience. Whether in an earthquake, tsunami, in a road accident or a simple fall, not one of us knows when our time here on earth will be up. When the time will come to go meet our maker.

How prepared am I? How prepared are you?

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: TESTINGS

Today's 'Do You Know?' A. Because in Job 16:12 we read, "I had come to be at ease, but he proceeded to shake me up and he grabbed me by the back of the neck and proceeded to smash me."

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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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) 6 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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