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: 21 Published: 18 Mar 2002
BELIEVERS v DISCIPLES
Two weeks ago I printed a list of 'doodlings' the Lord had given me about discipleship while I was relaxing in the "Hot Pools" (Hot mineral water from under the ground!) at the New Zealand tourist resort of Taupo. (Home of the largest volcanic crater lake and largest trout in the world!)These doodlings created a fair bit of interest, for the principles of discipleship are currently being placed on many people's hearts, minds, and most importantly, wills.
That wasn't all though! But more than enough for you to read in one day! This next series follows on from the first and considers some of the differences between the one who believes and the one who walks the path of discipleship. I trust that you will find them both helpful and challenging.
*** A believer praises the Lord in good times, the disciple at all times.
*** The Holy Spirit resides in the believer but shines through the disciple.
*** A believer loves God with heart and mind, while a disciple commits the will.
*** A believer loves God and others, but they are the disciple's life.
*** A believer lives in hope, but for the disciple, God's hope is certain.
*** A believer seeks forgiveness for sin, but the disciple also determines not to walk that path again.
*** A believer has faith in God but the disciple's faith is tempered in the fire of testing.
*** A believer loves the Lord, but the disciple's love is unconditional.
*** The believer serves the Lord in strength, but the disciple is made perfect through weakness.
*** God is part of the believer's life, but the central focus of the disciple.
*** A believer forgives, but the disciple also forgets.
*** A believer communicates with God at their own convenience, but the disciple's heart is open to the Lord at all times.
While none of us can lay claim to living up to all these principles, all of the time - for we have not yet reached perfection - they can remind us of the direction in which we are to go. But let's try our hardest to make our words and actions mirror images of each other.
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FROM THE WORD
" "You Acted foolishly," Samuel said. (speaking of King Saul) "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command." " (1 Samuel 13:13-14)"After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: "I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do." From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised." (Acts 13:22-23)
FACTS FOR FUN - INTERESTING BIBLE FACTS
WHEN WAS THE BIBLE CANONIZED?The entire New Testament as we know it today, was canonized before the year 375 A.D. The Old Testament had previously been canonized long before the advent of Christ.
WHAT DOES 'CANON' MEAN?
‘Canon’ is derived front the Greek word ‘Kanon,’ signifying a measuring rod. Thus, to have the Bible ‘canonized’ meant that it had been measured by the standard or test of divine inspiration and authority. It became the collection of books or writings accepted by the apostles and leadership of the early Christian church as a basis for Christian belief. It is the standard by which all Christians throughout the ages live and worship.
WHEN WAS THE FIRST TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE INTO ENGLISH?
1382 A.D., by John Wycliff.
WHEN WAS THE BIBLE FIRST PRINTED?
The Bible was printed in 1454 A.D. by Johannes Gutenberg who invented the ‘type mould’ for the printing press. It was the first book ever printed.
WHAT IS THE OLDEST ALMOST-COMPLETE MANUSCRIPT OF THE BIBLE NOW IN EXISTENCE?
The Codex Vaticanus, which dates from the first half of the fourth Century. It is located in the library of the Vatican in Rome. There are older fragments of the Bible that are still preserved however-- the oldest being a tiny scrap of the Gospel of John was found in Egypt, dating back to the beginning of the second century. (It is currently in the Rylands Library in Manchester, England).
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What did Chester Greenwood invent in 1873?
David,
Chester Greenwood invented the earmuffs in 1878. He lived in
Farmington Maine, USA and every year they hold a parade and winter
carnival called "Chester Greenwood Day". Everyone shows off their varied
and colorful (and often silly) earmuffs.
Bill Young
Gardiner, Maine USA
Many thanks Bill. Your answer is better than mine!
THIS WEEKS QUESTIONS:
1. What is the youngest book in the Old Testament?
2. What is the oldest book of the New Testament?
Answers next week.
A WORD PUZZLE for you.
A
FRIENDS miss FRIENDS
understanding
Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’
Many more interesting God Facts on...
INTRODUCTION OF MP3'S
This has been a huge success with 2-3 times more people downloading than would normally request tapes. We certainly live in an instant society! (Unfortunately when it comes to the understanding and application of Christian discipleship though!) It also saves Inspirational Tapes considerable money too, so everyone wins! It is so simple too! Even I can do it!When I downloaded last week's tape it just seemed to stop in the middle. That was because it was meant to! Part 2 of this very interesting testimony is available for download or delivery this week.
Have a look at the 4000+ tapes from 100's of speakers on the Inspirational Tapes site at...
TAPE (MP3) OF THE WEEK
In association with Inspirational Tapes Ministriesinspirational.org.nz
we are pleased to offer you this inspirational tape or MP3 download - absolutely free of charge!
MEMORIES OF WIGGLESWORTH PART 2
As told by Mollie Cressey
The second part of a fascinating testimony of Mollies walk with the Lord the Lord and her conversion at a Smith Wigglesworth Crusade in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, 70 odd years ago. I too, can remember my Great Auntie Ina talking about that same crusade and the effect that it had on her own and so many peoples lives in New Zealand at the time. A unique walk back into history to get a glimpse of one of the most powerful evangelists of all times. Now instantly available as an MP3 download too!
Order your free tape or download your MP3 today at...
LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.***THE TOP TEN SIGNS YOU'RE IN FOR A LONG SUNDAY SERMON!
10. There's a case of bottled water beside the pulpit in a cooler.
9. The pews have camper hookups.
8. You overhear the pastor telling the sound man to have a few (dozen!) extra tapes on hand to record today's sermon.
7. The preacher has brought a snack to the pulpit.
6. The preacher breaks for an intermission.
5. The bulletins have pizza delivery menus.
4. When the preacher asks the deacon to bring in his notes, he rolls in a filing cabinet.
3. The choir loft is furnished with La-Z-Boys.
2. Instead of taking off his watch and laying it on the pulpit, the preacher turns up a four-foot hour-glass.
More gems of Christian humour at ...
WHY?
***Some of life's most interesting unanswered questions***??? Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
??? If ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers’, where did he find a pickled pepper bush?
??? How do you get off a non-stop flight?
??? How come that no-one is listening until you make a mistake?
??? Why is it that the colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required on it?
??? Why are credit cards always in debit?
Forty more puzzling questions to ponder on...
FREE - YOUR OWN WEB EVANGELISM RESOURCE!
The Web Evangelism Guide now offers you the chance to incorporate over 30 pages of detailed resource material directly into your site - just by adding a few lines of code to one of your pages. The pages are completely integrated - they match the appearance of other pages on your site. The material helps Christians to understand the issues involved in effective online communication. It also includes a customized poster and news releasewhich help to bring visitors back to your site. Ideal for any sort of Christian site - church, teens, women, encouragement, teaching, or Christian portal. An excellent resource.
Check out the link at...
IF YOU HAVE THE TIME TAKE A LOOK AT ...
"GRUTS!"A very private matter. All is revealed!
You can find it at...
A DAVID MUSING
There is a saying that 'a week is a long time in politics.' So too can it be in God! In good ways as well as bad! All of a sudden, arrangements for our African trip have fallen into place like 'one, two, three.' And the Lord sent us another real blessing too in the form of Paul. Answering an urgent plea to provide temporary accommodation for 'a friend of a friend' who had been let down by others, we discovered when Paul arrived to do a computer engineering course, that he was also was a Sound Engineer. Just by chance(!), we have had for some time, a need for a Sound Engineer to convert our Walking With Jesus course audio tapes to a digital format, so that we can load them on the website as MP3 files. This involves 40 hours or so work, which Paul is enthusiastic about doing in the evenings, and has already made a start. His enthusiasm is such that we have to tell him to leave enough time to do his engineering homework!This provision of the Lord wouldn't have happened had we not been prepared to have Paul in our home, as an act of showing compassion to someone who needed help. Kathy, Cameron (our youngest son) and myself are busy people who enjoy each other's company, so having a boarder is an unusual experience for us. But if we had not been prepared to help, we would not have received the blessing that Paul is. Amazing how God trains us, isn't it!
His servant and yours
David Tait
Word Puzzle Answer: A little misunderstanding between friends.
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 websitewwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
P O Box 5160
Mount Maunganui
New Zealand
Phone: (07) 575-7164 International (0064) 7575-7164
Fax: (07) 575-7124 International (0064) 7575-7124
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