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: 183 Published: 25 Apr 2005
WHOM WILL YOU SERVE?
Once upon a time, God wanted a job done. So He sat at the control panel of His purpose built, fluffy white cloud, and looked up the 'Lambs Book of Life'. It had recently been computerised, in the name of efficiency. Looking at the menu, He selected the 'Available For Work' page. Scrolling down, He found 'David John Tait' was next on the list.So He got out His Heavenly Hotline cellphone, and rang David's number.
"Buzz-buzz. Buzz-buzz. Buzz-buzz. This phone is switched off or outside the calling area. Please try again later," intoned the angelically recorded message. "Oh well", thought God, "I've still time. It's not hugely urgent. I'll ring back tomorrow."
Today was Saturday. But not just any Saturday! It was the local football Grand Final Day! David had been looking forward to it all season. For his favourite team, the Dandy Dodgers, had reached the final for the first time in more than a decade! It truly was a great day. Getting up, he quickly scanned his daily devotion - today on prayer. Didn't really take it in, for he was preoccupied with more important things. A few beers with the boys first, to lubricate the throat, then off to the football. His Heavenly Hotline mobile was left, switched off, by the side of his bed.
On Sunday morning, as He does daily, God called up Microsoft Outlook Dairy and saw that He had to ring David again about the job He had for him. "Great things, these computers," He thought, "save the brain. But of course, if the hard drive fails, I still have my eternal memory backup available. Bill Gates can't match that!"
David was tired. A little hung over, but exhilarated! "I know", he thought. "I will stay in bed and listen to today's church service on my Heavenly Hotline. A new service the church offers to keep up with the play. Still plenty of battery left as I switched off yesterday for the football."
God rang. "You have reached David. Sorry I am not available at the moment but I am attending to the Lord's work. Please leave a message and I will ring you back when I have finished."
"This is God. Please ring me back on my personal prayer line. You know the number. Thank you."
The pastor preached a great sermon. Inspiring! "Follow me. We will take the world for Jesus through the cellphone!"David, immediately hopped out of bed, rang his friends, full of enthusiasm. Then made a call to the pastor, apologised for missing the service but assured him, he was fully sold out to his vision. So that very afternoon, they all got together, and learned the spiel. "Guaranteed to work with 21.9% of people called," the Pastor enthused. "It's a proven programme"
So for the next week, David decided to spend all his time on his Heavenly Hotline mobile, converting the unsaved. A great thing for to do for God! And it would help assuage a little of the guilt he felt for having a few too many celebratory beers after the Dandy Dodgers demolished the opposition on Saturday.
God rang again. And again!
David was so busy ringing others with the 'Good News' that he didn't even have the time to check his messages, let alone answer them. The pastor was so pleased with him. "Soon, we will have all these new people in the church! Mine will be the fastest growing church in town. Will be able to build the biggest church in town. All for the glory of God!"
God rang another number.
The next Sunday, the pastor and David turned up at church, all excited to see how many new people would be there. 10 o'clock! Not one. Well, maybe they will come at Christian Standard Time. 10:15. Still nobody new. The pastor and his team were deflated. All that work but no response.At 10:30 the door opened. In came a member of the congregation pushing a man in a wheelchair. "Can I give a testimony," he asked, hot but happy. "It's amazing. This morning when I was praying, God prompted me to go and visit this man and mow his lawns. David's neighbour actually. My new friend told me he had asked God to send him someone to help him within 10 days, and if He did, he would believe and come to church. That's why I'm late! The lawns were large. But we're here now. Oh, yes! God told me too, he had asked someone else, but he hadn't heard back. Waited as long as He could..."
David sat up with a start. He got out his Heavenly Hotline and checked his messages.
David wept.
Whom will you serve?
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FROM THE WORD
"You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else." (1 Thessalonians 2:1-6a)"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:2-5)
"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.†After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." (Acts 16:6-10)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
SERVANTHOOOD561. It is better to be ‘led’ by God than ’bled’ by life.
562. In God, to obey is the better way.
563. Our Christian walk in a ‘t’ – from rust to trust!
564. To serve is to…
… love the unlovely
… help the helpless
… befriend the lonely
… rebuild the brokenhearted
… soothe the sick
… bless the poor
… raise up the downtrodden
… seek the lost
… comfort the dying
565. True servants add their own desires to the end of the queue.
566. Pride demolishes, while servanthood builds.
567. Leaders of character understand the twin character difference between serve and slave.
568. To serve is God initiated, to slave, human imposed.
569. A servant serves by choice, a slave through fear.
570. For down to be up, up must first be down.
571. A ‘servant leader’ is beyond the world’s comprehension. And many Christians too!
572. To serve is a privilege, to abuse the server, a sacrilege.
573. Show me a true servant and I will show you one whom God truly loves.
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 ...
CRANWELL'S CARTOON
32Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him,she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou
hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33When Jesus
therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which
came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
34And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him,
Lord, come and see. 35Jesus wept. 36Then said the Jews,
Behold how he loved him! 37And some of them said, Could
not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have
caused that even this man should not have died? 38Jesus
therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave.
It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39Jesus said,
Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that
was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh:
for he hath been dead four days. 40Jesus saith unto her,
Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe,
thou shouldest see the glory of God? 41Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. (John 11:32-34)
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
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FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU
DavidLook up covering or kaphar in the Hebrew strongs
03722. rpk kaphar, kaw-far' Search for 03722 in KJV
a primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:-- appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).
God does not forget in the strict sense as we use the word but obscures our sin from view with the promise never to let it be seen again at all by anyone in His presence.
We must allow the same grace to others. What is forgiven becomes something never to be repeated by us or mentioned again.
Love
Paul
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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
A REVELATION OF... THE POWER OF THREE IN GOD AND THE CHURCH - Part 3 of 3In walking further with Jesus, I increasingly appreciate that this particular revelation of 'threes in God' has been hugely important in developing my understanding of God and how He works both in the church and in our lives.
It matters not whether you are a 'oneness', 'twoness', or 'trinitarian' believer. The concept still applies. For we're all very good at putting God in a box, limited to the walls of our theology and understanding. But, one day, we will know all the truth of the great mystery of God.
In the meantime, if you can grasp this simple, yet profound concept, I'm sure it will open up new realms of understanding for you too about God and His plans for His people in these end days.
It certainly developed my faith tremendously, being able to grasp more of God's mighty plan for me. And for you too!
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, The 3 Rivers of God and The Spring Feasts can be viewed at...
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
364. MULTIPLE OUTLETS
On vacation with her family in Montana, a mother drove her van past a church in a small town and pointing to it, told the children that it was St. Francis' Church.
"It must be a franchise," her eight-year-old son said. "We've got one of those in our town too."
363. COME OUT
Our children's Sunday School classes were presenting their end of the year program for the congregation - telling about the life of Jesus.
When it came to the part about Jesus' miracles, one little boy said, "Yes, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead!" The teacher urged him to tell us more.
He said, "Well, Jesus told them to open the tomb, and then He said, 'Lazarus, come out!' And it's a good thing he didn't just say 'Come out!' because there would have been a stampede of dead guys."
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
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FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What is black light? A black light trap?ANSWER: Black light is invisible ultraviolet light. (Unspiritual! Or satan before he fell!)A black light trap is a trap for insects that uses a form of black light that will attract particular bugs.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: If you cut an earthworm in half, will it grow into two new worms?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS681. DADDY AGAIN AND AGAIN AND...
Starbuck, a Canadian bull sired 200,000 dairy cows and equal number of bulls in his life, earning an estimated $25 million before he died in 1998. After his death, his frozen semen was still selling for $250 a dose. (Coffee to follow? Similar price soon?)
682. PEAS PLEASE
In the 1500’s the lady of the house cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day the fire was lit and things added to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start all over again the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while - hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.†(Save on washing pots and pans.)
683. THE POWER OF TELEVISION
Coach Denny Crum, suffering from the flu, was able to use the telephone to coach his Louisville basketball team in 1986 while watching the game on TV. The Louisville Cardinals won 92-71 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. (The ball ‘flu’ into the goal repeatedly.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
SIDEMAN
Answer at the end of A David Musing
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THE SECOND COMING
By: Corrie Ten Boom
The views of a mother of the faith.
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DO YOU KNOW? (On Water)
In which town did Jesus ask a woman by a well for a drink of water?Sychar
Capernaum
Galilee
Jerusalem
Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.
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THE BIBLE IN 50 WORDS
God madeAdam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.
More facts about the Bible and evangelism at...
REAL LIFE HUMOUR IS THE FUNNIEST
BE PREPAREDIn England a gang hired a man to drive their getaway car for a series of bank robberies. As the gang came fleeing out of bank with the loot the man panicked and caused the car to stall.
It was later revealed that not only did the man not have a driver's license, he had never operated a vehicle.
NO STAIRS
An old lady, who lived on the third floor of a boardinghouse, broke her leg. As the doctor put a cast on it, he warned her not to climb any stairs.
Several months later, the doctor took off the cast.
"Can I climb stairs now?" asked the little old lady.
"Yes," he replied.
"Thank goodness!" she said. "I'm sick and tired of shinnying up and down that drainpipe!"
Much, much more of this at...
BIBLE BITS (The 'Minor' Prophets)
AMOSAmos, a shepherder in Judea, prophesied at a similar time to Hosea and Joel. Leaving behind his flock, he denounced the sins of the people of Israel during a period of prosperity, in the time of King Jeroboam.(786-744BC) Yet, although a shepherd, he used some of the purest and most classical Hebrew found in the Old Testament! Using satire, he prophesied destruction on the people for the oppression of the poor by the rich and the empty 'religious' practices they followed.
Lots more 'God Facts' are found at...
LIFE’S A LAWNMOWER, MATE!
When all else fails, we have our family! Or we should. When our family fails, they are still our family! Or they should be. Our family is our greatest source of both pleasure and frustration. They know us best. We cannot fool them. So here is a little about our family. Since the poem was written Andrew and Catriona have produced our baby Eva, our first grandchild. Still waiting for the twins to come. Definitely in the next few days! But 20,000km away in Scotland! Thankyou Lord for emails!Uptown, I heard a new saying - life’s a lawnmower mate?
Like us, in a range of models, whose features we debate.
Mechanical and manual, rotary and reel,
Push types and ride-ons, all made of steel.
Being sold with a promise, yes, so sparkling and new,
But we know they mean work, before we’re all through!
Oh yes, life’s a lawnmower, mate!
Read all about it at...
A DAVID MUSING
Patience is a virtue. A godly trait. A Fruit of the Spirit.Our pilot TV programme is about the Fruit of the Spirit! More practical lessons this week! But we are getting closer. God really does have a sense of humour, as He trains us!
Another 'God characteristic' is giving inspiration when you are in a hurry! What is mot important? Such as with today's first article! We are going away for the weekend, as it is a holiday one for us here in New Zealand and Australia, as we remember those who have given their lives for our respective countries. Monday is ANZAC Day. (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps)
I do hope you both enjoy the fairy tale and get the moral(s).
Just to add to it, after writing half the article, I hit the wrong button and lost it all! Jesus saves, I don't! Wrote it better but later, the second time.
Now, maybe we can go...
So until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: MAIDENS
TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?' ANSWER: SYCHAR: "4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?â€"
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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) 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