REMEMBERING OUR JESUS

Easter has came and gone for another year - or has it? For when really, should the death and resurrection of our Savior be remembered and celebrated?

There is little doubt that our current Easter celebrations come from a pagan festival adapted to Christianity, as is Christmas, although there is some disagreement over its precise origins. So we have Easter bunnies and Father Christmas's which, while conveying some scriptural principles (once upon a time!) have nothing to do with the reality of Scripture.

The Church, through most of the past 2000 years, has separated itself from its Jewish roots, traditionally blaming and persecuting the Jews for killing Jesus. Of course, it was actually the Romans who crucified Him, as the Jews were not allowed to administer this form of capital punishment, although done at the Jew's request.

As we are currently looking in more detail at the Jewish 'Feasts of the Lord' in 'Tuesday Teachings' it would seem to be a good time to summarise a few of the things that Jesus fulfilled during the Passover and the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost.

On the 10th day of Nissan the Jews selected their Passover lamb. On this day (Palm Sunday) God's lamb entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The people inspected their lambs for 4 days and then slayed them at about 3 pm on Nisan 14th. At 3 pm on Nisan the 14th, 1975 years ago, the Lamb of God bled to death on a cross at Calvary in Jerusalem. This would likely have been a Thursday (though some believe Wednesday), not Friday, as we celebrate. The 'special sabbath' was Passover, not the normal Saturday sabbath. In this way Jesus could spend 3 days and 3 nights in the grave before the resurrection which took place on the day of the Feast of Firstfruits, Jesus being the firstfruit of many believers.

Fifty days after the resurrection, on the Day of the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Holy Spirit came in power and 3,000 people were added to the church. This restored the 3,000 killed on the day the law was given to Moses on Mt Sinai (the first Feast of Weeks) when the Levites ran rampant through the camp at Moses instruction, after Aaron had made the golden calf at the people's request. Isn't God amazing!

In light of all these 'coincidences', it would perhaps seem that Passover would be a more appropriate time to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. This year, Passover falls on 23 April.

Of course, we understand that these feasts have now been fulfilled. As well, it would be more than difficult to change the way things have been done for nearly 2,000 years. And that, as with Easter, the date changes from year to year, in line with 1 of 2 Jewish calendars! Confusing, isn't it! All problems to our ordered Western mindset.

But individually, we can be conscious of the history we are a part of. And remember Passover with the bread and the wine, and a meal with others.

Worth thinking about, isn't it?

Should be popular with Christians everywhere, as it's yet another excuse to eat!

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FROM THE WORD

"Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

"Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover." (John 18:28)

"When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:14-20)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

716. Without His priceless love bought on the Cross, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

717. The Cross of Jesus points in all ways - up, down and around. There is no way of avoiding it!

718. To deny the Cross is to deny Christ.

719. The miracle of the Cross is that the very best could come out of the very worst.

720. The Cross of Jesus was designed to take life, but ironically served to give life to all who believe.

721. There is still no greater power working in the world today than that of the Cross of Jesus.

722. The devil takes, the Cross gives.

723. Pilate's charge, THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS was both the present truth and a prophecy yet to be fulfilled.

724. Don't cross the Cross. It will cost you your life!

725. Jesus freely gave His life for us on the Cross. He invites us to freely give our lives back to Him in return.

727. Most people dislike the sight of blood more than that of sin. But sin is so ugly that Jesus shed all His blood to cover it!

728. Blood represents life - both natural and spiritual. Give me more of the blood!

733. Jesus' Blood is the stain remover of life.

734. Man's blood spilled, is to be feared. Jesus' blood spilled, to be revered.

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A NEW FEATURE THIS WEEK - CRANWELL'S CARTOONS!

As mentioned last week, God has brought us a cartoonist, John Cranwell. Fantastic! We will now be featuring one of his excellent creations each week. Some are very subtle and will test your scriptural understanding. But we will help where we can.

John Cranwell comes from Gisborne, New Zealand, where he basks in the sunshine, supposedly in well earned retirement. Aged 65, and a Christian for 31 years, he is married with 5 adult children and 4 grandchildren - so far.

John's passion is souls and missions, both local and overseas. An evangelist, he enjoys getting out and sharing the Good News of Jesus on the street corner, which is not easy to do in New Zealand!

as to his artistic talent, let me quote him. "I have drawn virtually all my life. My artistic styles have changed over the years from serious to cartooning. The bible offers unlimited scope for humour. Last year I travelled to the Philippines on a short-term mission via the sale of my cartoon booklet entitled "A time to laugh". I am reprinting this booklet with the addition of extra cartoons as a means of fund raising for another short term mission next year 2006, God willing."

If you have any ideas of humorous subjects while reading the Bible, or funny church situations, (always a great source of humour!) please let us know and we will pass them on.

Thank you John for joining the WWJ, PGIM! team.

CRANWELL'S CARTOON

1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.
4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.
9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua 5:1-9)

FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU

David,
British politicians are notorious for hedging their bets and not answering the question. Do I sense a touch of the same disease in your FACTS FOR FUN when you ask...
QUESTION: Does anything live in the Dead Sea?
ANSWER: "...very little life is found in the waters - it truly is a dead sea."

Now if there is a little life, then it's not dead. And if it's dead, then there is not even a little life present! The facts were fun, but the question was eluded - so which answer do you really mean?

Of course, if there are living organisms in the waters that flow into the Dead Sea, then strictly speaking it is not completely dead and the answer to your question is "yes, but not much."

Please keep the fun facts coming!
Paul Stokes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you.

Today has not been good. I appreciated the words you sent.

I'm also glad you pointed out that Roman Catholics and Orthodox denominations. One thing that has bothered me about many protestant denominations is their insistence that these denominations are non-Christian. This is kind of hard to support because of the fact that they were all there was of Christianity until fairly recently.

Sincerely,
John

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 PROPHETIC FEASTS OF THE LORD - Series 1 - THE SPRING FEASTS
Part 6 of 7

Come and celebrate the wheat harvest with the Jewish people in the Feast of Pentecost. And celebrate even more the coming of the Holy Spirit in the first Pentecost after the death of Jesus!

Once again, God revealed His plans in advance, as we will see.

Check it out in your letterbox tomorrow. If you aren't on the mailing list, you can register now at... tteach-on@wwj.org.nz

Previous teachings on this subject, the First Miracle of Jesus, the Book of Ruth, God's Character and Servanthood and Leadership, the Parable of the Sower, The Two Marathoners and The 3 Rivers of God can be viewed at...

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*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today

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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." ***

354. GOD'S ANSWERING MACHINE
I have learned to live with the answering machine as a necessary part of modernization. But I have often wondered - What if God decided to install an automated answering machine?

Imagine praying and hearing this - "Thank you for calling My Father's House. Please select one of the following four options: Press 1 for requests. Press 2 for a thanksgiving. Press 3 for complaints. For all other inquiries, press 4.

What if God used the familiar excuse: "All the Angels are helping other customers right now. Please stay on the line. Your call will be answered in the order it was received."
Can you imagine getting these kinds of responses as you call on God in prayer? "If you'd like to speak with Gabriel, press 1. For Michael, press 2. For any other Angel, press 3." "If you'd like King David to sing a psalm for you, press 6." To find out if your relative is here, enter his/her date of death and listen for the list that follows." For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of the earth, and where Noah's ark is, wait 'till you get here!" "Our computers show that you have called once today already. Please hang up immediately." "This office is closed for the weekend. Please call again Monday."

THANK GOD YOU CAN'T CALL HIM TOO OFTEN! YOU ONLY NEED TO RING ONCE, AND GOD HEARS YOU. BECAUSE OF JESUS, YOU NEVER GET A BUSY SIGNAL. GOD TAKES EACH CALL AND KNOW EACH CALLER PERSONALLY.

"Then you will call and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: Here am I." Isaiah 58:9 NTV

353. A LITTLE BIBLE STUDY PROPHETS EVERYONE!
The following are some insights young Sunday school students turned in to their teachers:

Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree.
Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day and a ball of fire by night.
Noah's wife was Joan of Ark.
Samson slew the Philistines with the axe of the apostles.
Moses went to the top of Mt. Cyanide to get the 10 Commandments.
The Seventh Commandment is "Thou shalt not admit adultery."
Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
Solomon had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
The people who followed Jesus were called the 12 decibels.
The Epistles were the wives of the Apostles.
Paul preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
A Christian should have only one wife. This is called monotony.
Parables mean there is more than one bull.

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What animal has rectangular pupils?

ANSWER: Yes, several animals, including goats and sheep, have rectangular pupils! It is thought that the strange pupil shape allows them greater peripheral (side) vision, so that predators can be seen more clearly at night while they are feeding.

Photo: World famous 'New Zealand Lamb'

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the most popular month for births in the US?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS
693. FLYING HIGH
‘Delag’, the world’s first airline, was established on October 16, 1909, to carry passengers between German cities by Zeppelin airships. Up to November 1913, more than 34,000 people had used the service! (Slow, and finally, not so sure.)

694. A BIG SHAKEUP
The world experiences more than 50,000 earthquakes each and every year! (Hold on – you might fall off!)

695. SUPER SEVEN
The opposite sides of a dice always add up to seven! (Seven is the number of ‘completion’ in the Bible.)

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

NAGGED

Answer at the end of A David Musing

FREE DOWNLOAD: You can download the full version of our Trivia Book at TRULY TRIFFLING TRIVIA

Or view all 1232 online at...

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BE INSPIRED WITH A MESSAGE FROM INSPIRATIONAL TAPES

In conjunction with Inspirational Tapes
inspirational.org.nz we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to download the following message in MP3 format, free of charge. Inspirational Tapes offers a range of over 4,000 Audio Cassette Tapes, CD's and Videos to members worldwide, for hire, download or purchase.

This week's free download is...

BAPTISM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

By: Bill Subritzky

New Zealand's leading evangelist for many years. First of a series of 3.

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DO YOU KNOW? (The Death & Resurrection of Jesus)

Who asked Pilate for the body of Jesus for burial?

Nicodemus
Simon of Cyrene
Joseph of Arimathea
Mary, His mother

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

Heaps more fun and serious 'God Facts' are found at...

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10 EMPIRICAL FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT GLOBAL CHRISTIANITY

Drawn from "World Christian Trends", a collection of trends and observations of global Christianity published by American missions statistician Prof. David Barrett and Todd Johnson. (sourced from ICOF) Here are some excerpts:

1. Every year the churches hold a megacensus costing $1.1 billion, sending out 10 million questionnaires in 3,000 languages, which covers 180 major religious subjects.
2. At a steady rate over the last 20 centuries, and in all 238 countries, 70 million Christians have been martyred -killed, executed, murdered -for Christ.
3. The 5 most dangerous of all Christian vocations (over 3% murder rates) are: bishops, evangelists, catechists, colporteurs, foreign missionaries.
4. Books primarily about Jesus in today’s libraries number 175,000 different titles in 500 languages, increasing by 4 newly published every day.
5. Emboldened by lax procedures, trusted church treasurers are embezzling each year $16 billion out of church funds,but only 5% ever get found out.
6. Christians spend more on the annual audits of their churches and agencies ($810 million) than on all their workers in the non-Christian world.
7. The total cost of Christian outreach averages $330,000 for each and every newly baptized person.
8. Despite Christ’s command to evangelize,67% of all humans from AD 30 to the present day have never even heard of his name.
9. 648 million Christians today (called Great Commission Christians)are active in Christ’s world mission; 1,352 million Christians ignore this mission.
10. Organized Christianity has total contact with 3,590 religions but no contact at all with 353 other religions and their over 500 million adherents.

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QUICK LAUGHS (Well Maybe!)

ANT-ICIPATE
Jill: “An ant just crawled right over my foot.”
Joan: “Which one?”
Jill: “I don’t know. All ants look the same to me!”

DISCRETION - THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR
John: “Do you think we should take some fast track flying lessons?”
Jim: “No thanks John, I don’t believe in crash courses!”

HARD OF MEMORY
Jill: “Joan, please help me! I’m losing my memory!”
Joan: “When did you first notice the problem?”
Jill: “What problem?”

DOCTORED ADVICE
David: “Doctor, Doctor, I’m shrinking!”
Doctor: “Now, now David, be a little patient.”

CAVEMAN TALK
Jim: “John, I’m going to invent the wheel.”
John: “That will cause a revolution, Jim.”

SUBJECT MATTER
A robber went into a bank, pointed a gun at the teller, and said, "Give me all your money, or you'll be geography!"

The teller said, "Don't you mean history?"

The robber snapped back, "Don't change the subject!"

Many more (and better!) jokes at...

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BIBLE BITS

The longest verse in the Bible (KJV) is Esther 8:9 with 90 words. The shortest, John 11:35 has only 2! "Jesus wept!" (My sort of memory verse!)

Lots more 'God Facts' are found at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/gfacts.php

TO BEARD OR NOT TOO BEARD?

To beard or not to beard?
That’s the hairy question.
For thirty years I’ve always feared.
This subject - never to mention.

For you see my friend, I am not hirsute,
To grow me a beard, too great a pursuit.
Until the Christmas of ninety- nine, you know,
When I plucked up the courage to give it a go.

Read on at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/waxing.php?poemId=00004

A DAVID MUSING

Hope you like the addition of pictures to PGIM! When you keep on, week after week, year after year, doing the same thing, it's actually quite hard to change! You get so used to doing what you are doing, that it becomes automatic.

Unfortunately life's a lot like this in our dealings with God also. So every now and again, we must do something different, something new to freshen up our relationship.

What shall it be?

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: GANGED

TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?' ANSWER: Joseph of Arimathea. "57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away." (Matthew 27:57-60)

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

Most weeks we get enquiries about reproducing, in electronic or print form, articles contained in 'PGIM!' We welcome and encourage you to utilize this material. Freely received, freely given. We would ask though, that the source be acknowledged as an encouragement to others to subscribe to this newsletter also.

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DONATIONS

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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 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!

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