TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER

Before scrolling down and reading on, would you please take a moment to consider whom your spiritual leader is. It's not a trick question!
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So what is your answer?

If you are a church member, is it your pastor? If you're a pastor, is it your bishop, or equivalent?

Around our area I have heard several spiritual leaders saying recently, "You can tell if you are a leader by looking behind and seeing if people are following." A very sensible statement - when in a worldly situation.

But should Christian leaders really be seeking followers?

Immediately many will quote Hebrews 7:13-17 as a justification. Yes, even to justify a dictatorial leadership style! It is true that humans do seek leadership. Well, most do! But this same leadership passage in Hebrews points firstly to imitating another's behaviour, that of Jesus. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 7:8).

It is interesting too, that of the 200 references to leader and leaders in the Bible, only 12 are in the New Testament, and most of these refer to civilian authorities. There is little emphasis on leadership, much more on servanthood. (159 New Testament references for servant/s)

Jesus himself dealt with this issue when James and John's mother wanted positions of authority for her sons in Heaven. Jesus gave a reply that explained and turned commonly understood and accepted leadership ideas, then and now, on their head! Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

This week we have seen the 'Rev' leader of a fundamentalist Christian political party here in New Zealand, appear again in court, on further sex charges related to underage girls. These took place at the time he was publicly proclaiming the horrors of child molestation! We all know too, of situations where church leaders have fallen, for whatever reason, and many followers have never graced the inside of any church again. Not to mention TV evangelists, etc, etc.

The basic problem is that leadership often encourages people to follow themselves, rather than Jesus. Effectively reverting to the Old Testament order, where the Priesthood was an intermediary between man and God. However, in the New Testament, Jesus is our sole intermediary. We can only find God through Jesus, not a human leader, no matter how good, or how charismatic, one may appear to be.

The 'ideal' role of a leader is as an example and a trainer, to grow people's relationship with, and to teach how to serve, Jesus. This is clearly set out in the Job Description! "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."(Ephesians 4:11-12)

So for me, the answer to my first question is simple. Jesus is my leader. I will follow Him, with all I am and all I have. Is He your leader too?

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-5)

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FROM THE WORD

"Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12)

"Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them. We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." (Hebrews 13:7-17)

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”"(Matthew 16:21-8)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

156. In God, being led to lead is a calling. Leading when not led, guarantees an appalling mauling!

157. A Christian leader is but an ordinary person called to an extraordinary task. Both leaders and the led need to be reminded of this!

158. Worldly leadership builds up self, but godly leadership builds up others.

159. In God, understanding and sharing vulnerabilities is a sign of maturity and success, not an acknowledgement of failure.

160. In God, if you’re not led to lead, you’ll be bled to death.

161. To lead or be led? The difference is ‘a’ for attitude!

162. Only God has the required glue to attach ‘super’ to ‘natural’.

372. To be a leader in the world is difficult, in the church, impossible. However, with God's help, we can do the impossible.

373. God loves obedient leaders.

374. Leaders are not God - for only God is perfect.

375. Our leaders are not God substitutes. They too, make mistakes, just as we do.

376. Truly godly leaders are more precious than diamonds - and equally hard to find.

377. The Bible tells us that there is only one God. Some leaders need to be reminded of this fact.

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be
self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace
to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
14 As obedient children, do not conform to the
evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be
holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be
holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-15)







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FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU

Hi David:
Concerning your "Do You Know" feature about water, I think all three statements are false.
I could not find any reference to Pharaoh drowning with his army, except by implication in Ex. 14:28.
I also found 4 instances of God parting the water.
For Moses in Exodus 14 God parted the Red Sea
For Joshua in Joshua 3 God parted the Jordan River
For Elijah in I Kings 2:8 God parted the Jordan River
For Elisha in I Kings 2:14 God parted the Jordan River.

Roy Grant
Global Recordings Network Canada
(Language Recordings Int'l)
#6-120 Lancing Drive
Hamilton, ON L8W 3A1
Website: www.LRICanada.ca

Hi Roy
Good points. Guess it is a matter of interpretation. I see the Elijah/Elisha partings as being part of one event rather than two. You are right about Pharaoh being by implication.
The question came from somewhere else - without the answer! It is actually a very good, if tricky question. Thanks for the input. You are onto it!

Cheers
David
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David

>>THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: How did trivia (such as this), get its name? <<

It was the kind of meaningless or pointless conversation one would have at a cross-roads (tri-via) but also the lower three (of seven) subjects taught in the mediaeval schools (grammar, logic and rhetoric) therefore not only less important (than the other 4)
but the ones wherein the practice consisted of the repetition of meaningless examples.
I suspect the latter is the derivation of the modern meaning for I cannot see why a random meeting at a cross-roads would *necessarily* lead to a meaningless or pointless conversation - except of course in England where the only topic of conversation is
the weather and that conversation is always pointless - for no one knows where the wind blows.

Regards,
John Barrs

PS. I heard a wonderful bit of serendipity re our weatherforecasters in my local post-office "them weatherforecasters be feak and weeble; them allus gets un wrong"
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DAVID"S DAILY DOODLING
God's graciously given grace gift gallantly galvanizes garrulous, grateful gentiles.

Love it!

David's deft delivery delights dozens daily.

Shirley
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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

THE PROPHETIC FEASTS OF THE LORD - Series 2 - THE AUTUMN FEASTS
Part 5 of 10 - THE PATTERN OF THINGS TO COME
Jesus dying on the cross was amazing in itself. But what is even more amazing is how He perfectly fulfilled the principles of the Day of Atonement.

No, it wasn't just chance, but planned from the beginning of time, given in 'type' in the Day of Atonement, and turned into reality when Jesus fulfilled the Father's will, giving His life for you and for me.

I trust you will be as amazed as I am!

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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, the Parable of the Sower, The Two Marathoners, The 3 Rivers of God The Spring Feasts, The Power of 3 in God & the Church and A Layman's History of the Times of the Feasts 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." ***

382. MORE LETTERS TO GOD
DEAR GOD:

If you give me a genie lamp like Aladdin, I will give you anything you want except my money or my chess set. Ralph

Please send Dennis Clark to a different camp this year. Peter

I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. Sam

Of all the people who work for You, I like Noah and David the best. Rob

381. GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE
Matt, Kimo, and Ken are killed in a car accident and end up at St. Peter's gates. Matt is told by St. Peter that a wife has been chosen for him for eternity. St. Peter then introduces Matt to his new mate, who is ugly and not to the Matt's liking. Matt says "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter answers, "You killed 10 birds in your lifetime, and this is the eternal result."

Kimo is then introduced to his eternal wife who is even uglier than Matt's wife. Kimo grumbles, "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter replies, "While you lived, you killed 20 birds, and this is the eternal result."

Ken nervously approaches St. Peter but is overjoyed to meet his new wife, a beautiful woman any man would be thrilled to have. Kimo asks "What did I do to deserve this?" St. Peter responds, "You? It was her...she killed 30 birds!"

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: How did trivia (such as this), get its name?

ANSWER: It is a merging of the Latin words 'tri' (three) and 'via' (road). To educate the public, news and information was posted on boards at crossroads (where three roads met) and so the word 'trivialis' was applied to the snippets of un-related information. The word trivial is derived from this ‘Trivia' as a word on its own dates to about 1920. (Trivial by name, triffling by nature!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: From where does the saying ‘Hobson's Choice’ originate?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

660. BALDY
When Julius Caesar noticed the hair thinning on the pate, he took to wearing a laurel reef to cover his baldness. (Vanity is not a only a modern disease.)

661. A LITTLE TITTLE
The dot over the letter ‘i’ is called a tittle. (You can ‘tittle tattle’ to your friends about this.)

662. A LEG FOR BREAKFAST
Australian scientists have discovered that some spiders bite off their mother’s limbs and feast on them over a period of weeks, presumably stopping them eating each other. (Australians tend to do this to their politicians too!)

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

TACIT

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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THE JOY OF TOATAL SURRENDER

By: Corrie Ten Boom

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DO YOU KNOW? (About Water)

According to Jesus in the book of John, from where do rivers of living waters flow?

The great white throne of judgement
Within those who believe in Jesus
From fountains in heaven
From Jesus' mouth

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

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HOW PEOPLE IN ORAL CULTURES RETAIN INFORMATION

American anthropologist Paul Hiebert points out four aspects important in organising, retaining and communicating information in oral cultures:

- memories: poems, songs, riddles, proverbs
- symbols: colours, art, images, carvings
- stories: storytelling, drama, dramatic dance
- rituals: basic creed and ideas as theatre

Traditional evangelistic concepts such as tracts and Bible studies have little effect, because many people in tribal societies and villages are illiterate; written information has very little value for them. The evangelists were trained to use stories, songs and metaphors to communicate the Gospel. In five years, over 1,000 church planters have been trained, who are leading thousands of people to Christ, and planting new churches.

Some of the characteristics of the church planters
80% are Biharis, 20% missionaries from other Indian cultures
60% are full-time church planters, 40% part-time
80% are directly involved in church planting, 20% in social ministry
80% are less than 30 years old

Source: www.dawnministries.org

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IT'S PUN TIME!

MUSIC TASTE
Driving home from church one Sunday, the father tuned the radio to a country and western station.

"How can you stand that stuff?" complained his 16-year-old son. "It's all about lonesome cowboys, gunfights and broken hearts."

Knowing he preferred rock 'n' roll, the dad asked, "Well, what's your music about?"

"That's the beauty of it," the son said. "You just don't know!"

CRISIS
As my wife and I were sitting on the front porch, our oldest daughter, Amy, came out of the house looking discouraged. It seems all her classmates knew their life's calling, but she didn't have a clue as to her own. "I don't know where to go to college," she moaned.
"And even if I did, my grades probably aren't good enough."

Her mother and I were searching for the right words of reassurance when Amy suddenly smiled. "Golly," she said, "I'm having a pre-life crisis!"

NO VACATIONS
A young lady applied for a job and when she returned home, her mother asked how the interview went. She said, "Pretty good, but if I get the job, I won't get a vacation unless I'm married."

Her mother had never heard of such a thing and asked, "Is that what they told you?"

The young lady replied, "No, they didn't tell me that, but on the application it said that vacation time is not available until after your first anniversary."

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BIBLE BITS (The 'Minor' Prophets)

ZECHARIAH

Haggai's co-worker, also mentioned in the book of Ezra. His writings though are longer and more complex than Haggai's. His book is split into 4 sections, of which 3 are dated. He described his visions, which are as complex as those found in Daniel and Ezekiel.

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WALKING WITH JESUS POSTER

Quoting 1 John 2:1-6, six of the most thought provoking and important verses in scripture for walking with Jesus today. A4 size.

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A DAVID MUSING

At the moment, our country is being visited by the 'British and Irish Lions' Rugby Union team. This team is chosen from the best players in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Eire. Many times the number of players and much more money backing them than 'wee New Zealand' has. Really, there is no way that we should be competitive.

But we make up for our numerical and financial deficiencies with 'passion'. The pride of putting on the 'New Zealand All Blacks' jersey motivates our players to feats beyond the norm. This weekend a team drawn only from our native Maori people turned the Lions into pussycats. It has taken them 75 years and 10 encounters to do it though!

The application to the spiritual is obvious. If we have sufficient commitment, we can overcome the world! Worth thinking about, isn't it?

I will keep you in touch with results over the next month. If we keep winning that is! Not a problem!

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ATTIC

TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?' ANSWER: Within those who believe in Jesus. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

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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
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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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