THE KINGDOM - A PLACE OF ZEST OR REST?

Once upon a time, as all good fairy tales begin, there was a man called Christian. Now Christian was a keen, new Jesus follower, eagerly desiring to serve his Lord. "Lord, I will serve you with all I have. What must I do to enter your kingdom?"

Not knowing the answer, being but a young believer, Christian went along to his pastor and asked, "How do I enter the kingdom?" His pastor was full of ideas. "We need a new Sunday School teacher. We need someone to host a home group in your area. We need s volunteer to mow the lawns of the elderly and attend to the sick. We need to rebuild the church bus - right up your alley as a mechanic! You need to attend our Discipleship class. You need to join the Men's Group. And the Outreach Team."

Christian went away full of zest for what he was going to do for Jesus, in order to enter His kingdom. He accepted wholeheartedly his pastor's vision to double both the size of the congregation, and naturally, the church building.

Christian worked hard for the church, giving everything his best zest! He was out every night of the week. Christian was so willing, but there were always more needs to be met. He worked harder and harder as the needs multiplied. "Lord, I am doing this for you. Give me strength!" Christian cried. He was on a treadmill! He could see no end!

One day, his efforts simply got too much! All this work! Yet the kingdom seemed further away than ever! Christian cried out to the Lord in anguish and despair, "Lord, is this really the way into your kingdom?"

"I have been waiting for you to ask me," replied the Lord gently, fully understanding Christian's heart. "Matthew 11:28-30"

"Pardon!" said Christian, surprised to receive an audible reply! "Matthew 11:28-30."

Well, Christian had been so busy trying to enter the kingdom that his Bible had been put to one side - except, of course, to take to meetings, and to go to church - twice on Sundays!

As he read, Christian received a revelation. He discovered the kingdom was not to be found through 'zest' but rather, in 'rest'! What a different and radical idea! "Not at all what I thought!" Christian mused.

Christian decided to research the Scriptures further. Drawn to the book of Hebrews, he discovered that to enter the rest of the kingdom he needed to put aside works generated in the heart of man, good though they may seem to be, and submit fully to the Lord's will for him. Suddenly, Christian realised that it is not what he could do for God that was important. His Lord simply wanted him - Christian. All of him! Wanted him to be a man without personal ambition, a man fully submitted in will, one prepared to do anything his Lord desired, for the Lord's glory, not his own. Be it big, small - or sometimes, nothing at all!

Christian finally found the key to the kingdom. He rested in his Jesus. He was still busy, but now, working for the heavenly boss, Christian coped with the load. As long as he unquestionably obeyed the boss's instructions, Christian did well. He now understood that the 'Disciples Prayer' actually relates to today!

”‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

As in all good fairy tales, Christian, resting in God's will, lived happily ever after - throughout eternity! Yes, he had found the secret to entering the kingdom.

But of course, this is only a fairy tale - isn't it?

Lord, I put aside my own dreams, aspirations and desires in order to do your will, whatever it be, whatever the cost, as you did your Father's will.

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FROM THE WORD

"“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”"(Matthew 11:28-30)

A SABBATH-REST FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:1-13)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

GOD'S REST
20. God’s rest is a gift, but resting in God a way of life.

21. God’s rest is learned, not earned.

22. God’s rest is free, not earned. Rest in God is also free, but learned.

23. Gods rest is freely given, but rest in God must be freely learned.

24. A believer receives God’s rest, but a disciple rests in God.

309. Man seeks to strive for God. God wants us to rest in Him. Couldn't be easier, couldn't be harder!

310. God's rest is to be sought not only in death, but firstly in life!

311. Lord, teach me not to strive!

312. At work we seek rest. In God we strive to work. Something is wrong here!

313. Resting in God seems too easy to be religious. It is! And it isn't!

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CRANWELL'S CARTOON

15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the
man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but
you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.
I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts
of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to
the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man
called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man
gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all
the beasts of the field. (Genesis 2:15-20)

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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

A REVELATION OF... REVELATION 12:11 WALKING WITH JESUS
Part 4 of 7 THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY - 1

The next step in our walk with Jesus, having first experienced the saving grace of the blood of Jesus, is to seek the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as an everyday spiritual reality in our life. For we need to release His power in order that He might truly be our comforter, guide and friend on a daily basis.

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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, A Layman's History of the Times of the Feasts and The Autumn Feats, 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." ***

405. APPROPRIATE?
The Announcement: 'A new loudspeaker system has been installed in the church. It was given by one of our members in memory of his wife.'

404. MY JESUS
When Bonnie's daughter was four, they attended an Easter pageant about the death and Resurrection of Christ. The play was beautiful with magnificent costumes and scenery.

Bonnie made sure Robyn had an aisle seat so that she wouldn't miss a thing. Jesus came staggering down the aisle carrying the Cross. Big Roman soldiers pushed and shoved him.

Robyn watched with wide eyes. At the reception following the performance, one of the actors who played a Roman soldier came over to Robyn, kneeled down and quietly asked her, "Did you enjoy the play?"

Robyn wagged her finger at him and said, "You BAD man! Bad! Bad man! You hurt my Jesus!"

403. TOO TRUE
Faith, 3, went to Good Friday services. That night she prayed, "Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the Cross. And thank You we didn't have to watch!"

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Is there really such a thing as a flea circus?

ANSWER: Yes, flea circuses first appeared in Europe in the 1820s and featured such spectacular diversions as the re-enactment of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo. They – but not their fleas - died out sometime in the middle of the last century. Trainers use the fleas' natural responses to stimuli to encourage them to jump and move around and even pull props. Of course, the performers are tiny, so a magnifying glass is necessary for a good view. (‘Flea bitten’ trainers?)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Do sword swallowers really swallow the sword?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

624. FLAG-RANT
In case you can’t find it, Cypress has a map on its flag. (Fortunately, Cypress is not much larger than its flag.)

625. APPROPRIATE
The founder of the famous retailer, J C Penny, had the surname ‘Cash’. (Cash by name, cash collector by nature.)

626. HOLY TIMBER
Kerimeski Church in Finland, is the world’s largest wooden church. (Do they have padding on the pews?)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

GYRATED

Answer at the end of A David Musing

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DO YOU KNOW? (About Relationships)

How are Naomi and Ruth related?

a. Mother/Daughter
b. Twin Sisters
c. Mother-in Law/Daughter-in-Law

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""

!!!!!!! Never miss a good chance to shut up.

!!!!!! Always drink upstream from the herd.

!!!!! If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

!!!! The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back
in your pocket.

!!! Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.

!! If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

! Letting the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n putting it back.

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BIBLE RIDDLE

Q. Who was the best baby sitter in the Bible?
>
>
>
>
>
A. David, because he rocked Goliath to sleep.

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LIFE'S A LAUGH

MARINES IN TROUBLE
Soon after being transferred to a new duty station, my Marine husband called home to tell me he would be late - again. He went on to say that dirty magazines had been discovered in
the platoon's quarters and they had to discipline the whole squad. I launched into a tirade, arguing that many men had pictures hanging in their quarters at our previous post, so his new platoon should not be penalized for something trivial.

My husband calmly listened to my gripes and then explained, "Honey, dirty magazines: the clips from their rifles had not been cleaned."

RIPE OLD AGE!
A DJ on a local Christian radio station was introducing a record. "This next one," he said, "is for Charlotte Burke, who is a hundred and eleven. Hey, Charlotte, congratulations on a ripe old age!"

There was a short pause and then the DJ said in a somewhat subdued and apologetic voice,

"I'm sorry, I got it wrong. This next one is for Charlotte, who is ill."

ON Again, OFF Again MOWER
I was trying to mow the lawn before my husband got home from work, but our electric lawn mower refused to co-operate. It would run fine for a few seconds, then cut off, run again, cut off. Finally, I gave up and waited for my husband.

He had a good laugh when he diagnosed the problem. Instead of plugging in the mower using a three-prong adapter, I had hooked up the cord through the Christmas-tree light blinker that had been left attached to the socket.

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MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN BIBLICAL LANDS

JEWS ALWAYS WORE A TURBAN IN PUBLIC

In Israel, in certain seasons, it was dangerous to expose the head to the sun. So a turban was worn, made of thick material that was wound several times round the head. Both Job (Job 29:14) and the prophet Isaiah mention the use of the turban as a headdress.

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WAXING LYRICAL

One of my favourites. It’s self explanatory.

TO BEARD OR NOT TO 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.

Why not, I said to myself, with great bravado,
Willing to be squelched - an over ripe tomato.
If I don’t give it a try, I’ll never know,
Whether or not my beard will grow.

Read of the result at...

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

WORTH A THOUGHT!

20,000 'NEO-APOSTOLICS'
While researching his soon to be published book 'Apostolic Genius', Alan Hirsch, author of 'The Shaping of Things to Come' "stumbled upon some extremely notable, even astonishing, discoveries by important observers of the global Christian scene." Already in 2001, Professor David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson mentioned that there were already 111 million Christians without a traditional local church. Barrett highlights particularly the development of the so-called 'Neo-Apostolic' networks and movements, of which there are already over 20,000 around the world, numbering around 394 million Christians. According to Barrett, these Christians reject historical denominationalism and all restrictive central authority, and attempt to lead a life of following Jesus, seeking a more effective missionary lifestyle. They are the fastest-growing Christian movements in the world. Barrett estimates that by the year 2025, these movements will have around 581 million members, 120 million more than all Protestant movements together. Hirsh confirms the trend from his own experience, and believes that these new Christian movements "are simply under the radar of traditional Christianity", at least as long as it holds on to the classical Constantine church structure (pastor + building + programme = church).

Source: Alan Hirsch, www.forge.org.au

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A DAVID MUSING

Isn't it amazing how most of us work better under some pressure! Godly pressure, of course! Pressure in rest! But it is a reality that getting the adrenaline running boosts our productivity!

Last week we made the shift to our new location, here in Hastings. All went well and very smoothly, thanks to the help of our friends. Thank you so much, if you are reading this!

Knowing that time would be at a premium, last week's PGIM was produced several days early. Just as well, as the one problem we did have after the shift, were flames spewing out of the back of the computer when it was switched back on. Fortunately, only a new power pack was required. But it meant delays in getting the system running again.

By the end of this week however, we were able to relax, fully unpacked and looking like we had been in the place for years! So, once again, PGIM got left until Sunday to write! And then, after an unexpected appointment for 5 hours, I'm left burning the candle at both ends.

Well, maybe this week next I will learn my lesson. But maybe not! We are such creatures of habit, aren't we? In God too! No wonder He too has to stretch us in order to get us to change! It's called 'trials and testings'! Oh for a dose of spiritual adrenaline! In rest, of course!

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: TRAGEDY

TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?' ANSWER: c. Mother-in Law/Daughter-in-Law When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. (Ruth 1:1)

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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