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: 22 Published: 25 Mar 2002
IN MEMORY OF ME!
I am a very ordinary fellow. Like you probably, my nature is made up of a series of contradictions. I have a quiet, retiring side, inherited mainly from my mother, and a self motivated, achievement orientated side per courtesy of my successful father. These two contradictory sides of my personality result in heaps of inner turmoil but in the end my father's inheritance usually prevails, albeit with difficulty.Since becoming a Christian though, I have found that there are another two sides to me. The 'worthy me' which I like, and the 'unworthy me' which I hate. As a new Christian it was clear that I needed to get rid of the 'unworthy me', for God obviously does not like that sinful side of my nature. Like you, I imagine, I struggle with this, for it is a part of the human condition, generated by the fall of man. But by allowing the Holy Spirit to work on and with me, together we are winning the war, although loosing a good few battles along the way.
But still, I had the 'worthy me.' The side oh so keen to help God and others. The 'good deeds' side. The side the Lord used to do lots of excellent things for Him. Using my natural talents and abilities to further His kingdom upon the earth. To build a financial provision for the family so I could afford to work fulltime for the Lord, to extend the good work He was already doing through me. My provision failed, and a year ago, I ended up in bankruptcy.
"Oh Lord, what are you trying to teach me!" I cried.
"David, I want you to give me the 'worthy me' too," was the reply.
"But Lord, that is all the good things I do for you to fulfil the ministry promises you have given me over the years!" I protested.
"I want all of you," was the gentle reply.
Over the past year, I have slowly learned to start letting go of the 'worthy me.' Believe it or not, this is far more difficult than letting go of our unworthiness, but is vital if we are to be the disciples the Lord desires us to be.
Surprisingly to me, as I have done this, He is opening up new and different opportunities, more than I could have ever imagined. Now it is by His grace, not through my own efforts. But you know - even that is not really important to me now. For whether He uses me or not, for big things, for little things, or not at all, is His choice not mine. I am simply required to give Him, all of me. My peace, my satisfaction, my life, is in the Lord. That is His heart's desire for you too.
PS: The inspiration to write this came at Tuesday lunchtime instead of the usual Sunday evening! Has to be the Lord's doing! Now I can experience His 'extra peace' for the rest of the week!
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FROM THE WORD
"You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body." (Ephesians 4:22-25)"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not only look to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:" (Philippians 2:3-5)
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
*** A foolish man needs wisdom, the wise man godliness, a godly man the character of Christ.*** A foolish man denies God; the wise man acknowledges God, but the godly man experiences his God.
*** The foolish man seeks pleasure on earth. A wise man builds treasure in heaven. But the godly man seeks to build heaven on earth.
There are around 250 David Doodling's 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!
GOD'S WAY OR MAN'S WAY - PART 1
By Frank Peretti
Frank Peretti, whose books have sold more than 9 million copies, is the author of the international bestsellers The Oath and This Present Darkness, as well as numerous children's books. The Oath (1995) has sold more than 860,000 copies and was awarded the 1996 ECPA Gold Medallion Award for best fiction. Though he is noted as an award-winning fiction writer, his first non-fiction work, The Wounded Spirit, released October 2000. Peretti lives with his wife Barbara in the Pacific Northwest. A non-fiction tape though!
Order your free tape or download your MP3 today at...
FACTS FOR FUN - INTERESTING BIBLE FACTS
LAST WEEKS QUESTION:1. What is the youngest book in the Old Testament?
2. What is the oldest book of the New Testament?
Answers:
1. The book of Malachi, written about 400 B.C.
2. Probably the book of James, written as early as A.D.45.
THIS WEEKS QUESTION: Which two books in the Bible do not mention God?
Answer next week.
COMMENT ON LAST WEEK'S FACT ABOUT CANONIZATION OF THE OLD TESTAMENT BEFORE CHRIST
Hm - the rabbis gathered at Jamnia c. 75 AD were still debating whether the Song of Songs and Qoholeth (Ecclesiastes) belonged in the canon ... and whether any or all of the deuterocanonical books (1 & 2 Macabees, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ben Sirach, Baruch, additions to Esther and Daniel) should be included. Some Jewish congregations also used books that today are not recognized as canonical by any group, such as Jubilees, 1 & 2 Enoch, 3 Macabees.
Some of those debates went on at least into the 2nd century CE. Nor were the books themselves fixed: Well into the Middle Ages different rabbis recognized anywhere between 145 and 153 psalms in the book of the same name (some of those disagreements involved how the psalms should be divided rather than different texts, however). Not until the
10th-century Masoretes, who canonized today's accepted Hebrew text - complete with marginal notes of alternate or preferred readings - could the content of Jewish scripture actually be called finalized.
Thanks Phil.
SOME QUICK BIBLE FACTS (KJV)
^^^ Number of Authors - 40
^^^ The Garden verse of the scripture - Numbers 11:5
^^^ The Metal verse of the scripture - Ezekiel 22:19
^^^ The word "God" occurs - 4,370 times
^^^ The word "Jehovah" occurs - 6,855 times
^^^ The word "Lord" occurs - 7,736 times
A WORD PUZZLE for you.
RASINGINGIN
Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’
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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.***YOU'VE HAD TO WAIT A WEEK FOR IT! THE NO.1 SIGN YOU'RE IN FOR A LONG SUNDAY SERMON...
The minister says, "You'll be out in time to watch the super bowl" but it's only July!
TRUMPED!
There were two rich brothers who looked great on the outside, even attending church regularly, but whose hearts were evil.
A new, more astute pastor arrived at the church. The congregation grew and a fund raising campaign was started to extend the church.
All of a sudden, one of the brothers died. The day before the funeral the remaining brother sidled up to the pastor and gave him a cheque for the full amount needed to complete the extensions. “Just one condition,” he said. At the funeral you must say that my brother was a saint.”
The pastor gave him his word and deposited the cheque.
The next day, at the funeral, the pastor let it all go. “He was an evil man,” he said, hard on his wife and family, corrupt in business,” and on and on. He concluded, “but, compared to his brother, he was a saint.”
More gems of Christian humour at ...
LIFE'S A LAUGH
***The best humour is found in life itself***NOT SO 'GOOD FRIDAY'
Here's a true story that happened to a friend's father: He was standing in line at the bank when there was a commotion at the counter. A woman was distressed, exclaiming, "Where will I put my money?! I have all my money and my mortgage here!! What will happen to my mortgage?!"
It turned out that she had misunderstood a small sign on the counter. The sign read, WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD FRIDAY. I guess Easter was not uppermost in her thoughts, because she thought that the bank was going to close "for good" that coming Friday.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
About a year ago my sister, who lives in Virginia, was talking with her four year old son, Brent. He was asking her why all their relatives from Wisconsin talk funny and
sound like their noses are plugged up.
"They think we have an accent," she replied.
"But they have an accent, right?" Brent asked. "They talk funny."
"Everybody talks in different ways" she tried to explain. "To them, we sound like we talk very slow and all our words are d-r-a-w-n out."
His eyes got big, and he whispered seriously, "Oh, no. You mean they hear funny too?"
More humorous, real life stories at...
A VERY PROFESSIONAL WEB EVANGELISM PRESENTATION FROM AUSTRALIA
CHRISTIANITYWORKS.COM is an Australian based ministry of Back To the Bible International, a Bible teaching ministry who, in partnership a with Sydney based advertising agency Pilgrim Communications, have developed the site.Their vision is to help people discover God, come into, and then grow in their relationship with Him. An interdenominational group, their beliefs fit in with the main stream churches but they are not owned or run by any one church.
Well worth a look at...
IF YOU HAVE THE TIME TAKE A LOOK AT ...
"The Path" A poem about right and wrong choices in life. Tells the story of an actual walk along the beach and the spiritual meaning of it. I guess you, like me, have made numerous wrong choices along life's way. But there is an answer!Find out at...
A DAVID MUSING
Money! Money!! Money!!! Wouldn't it be great if a few of the "cattle on a thousand hills" could be sold so that I could do all that I am sure that the Lord wants me to do! But in a moment of sober refection though, I realise that the sale of all the world's cattle still wouldn't generate sufficient funds to meet the "wish lists" of all those in ministry around the world. The sale as well though, of New Zealand's 40 million sheep (amongst less than 4 million people!) would help a little, especially at current market prices!The reality though, is that there will always be scarce resources until the greatest miracle of all occurs - that every Christian becomes a tither! Such dreams!
Yet, in spite of this, have you noticed how the Lord manages to provide the funds for the projects He, as opposed to we, really wants to see happen? Sometimes immediately, as has been the case with the fares for our trip to Africa, but more often it seems, at the last minute!
We currently have the opportunity to have 'PGIM!' translated into an Indian language and distributed to 2,000 pastors and leaders monthly, along with other teaching materials, all for the cost of $US600 ($NZ1500) per month. A relatively small amount of money, except when you haven't got it! But rather than being disappointed I am excited, for if the Lord wishes the project to proceed, He will provide the funds - probably in a most unexpected way. Yes, living life by faith is certainly never dull! Isn't that great! Well..... most of the time!
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's Word Puzzle Answer: Singing in the Rain.
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