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: 299 Published: 16 Jul 2007
HOW LARGE IS YOUR GLASS?
Not being a fan of either tea (obviously not an Englishman) or coffee (neither an American), I drink a lot of water. Tell anyone who asks why, 'that it makes me pure', but not too many believe me!For a long time I had a 'handle', better known for holding beer, but which, for me, held 450ml of water. One sad day my handle smashed onto the floor. The start of a downwards spiral! I replaced it with a 225ml glass. Then, several days ago, my glass disappeared and I was forced to substitute a smaller, 150ml glass instead. What a miserable and difficult life I have!
Really though, my objective here is not to generate sympathy for my desperate situation - or to receive donations of glasses, nor water, for that matter.
For out of my personal hardship and tragedy, I have learned an new lesson in life! "It is an ill wind that blows no good" or "a cause is never lost when a glass breaks".
Instead, what I have learned is, the bigger the glass used, the more water drunk. Yes, it is easier to drink one handle of 450ml than 2 of 225, and much easier than 3 of 150. You see, when you have drunk one glass full, irrespective of size, you tick it off, or say 'finito' ( if you are Spanish). You have achieved your goal of emptying a glass, whatever the size. But, in reality, with either glass, you have only consumed one half or one third of the amount of water when compared to drinking from the handle.
This set me thinking - which can be dangerous!
The thought occurred to me that this is much like achieving our goals in life. When we set our goals low, we can readily achieve them. When we do, we are less likely to be motivated sufficiently to go on and do more. While this is true, it is very much looking at things from a human PMA (positive mental attitude) perspective. I have been there and done that. In the church situation, this is all part of the prosperity and excellence schools of teaching. The larger your glass, the greater your goals, the more likely you are to achieve more in God - and become wealthy at the same time!
However, God is calling us to move beyond this humanistic approach. He desires us to submit our will, our goals, 100% to Him. To give up on the glasses of ambition, whether they be large or small.
He wants us to break all our glasses, to give up everything in order to build a deeper relationship with Him, to make Him No. 1 in our lives. As we do so, he will supply us with a bottomless handle containing 'streams of living water', water that will take us up to the very throne of God. He rebuilds us in His image to fulfil His purposes (not what we think His purposes to be) on the earth. As Jesus Himself said:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.†39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37b-39a)
May we rest in the never ending, bottomless glass, of the water of His precious Holy Spirit today. Reality is, no glass ever made is large enough to contain water of the Spirit Jesus promised us. Let us drink more, and more, and more, of Him today.
Now, if anyone out there has a spare handle.......
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FROM THE WORD
"A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water." (Jeremiah 17:12-13)"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.) 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.†“Sir,†the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 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?†Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 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.â€" (John 4:9-14)
"I answered, “Sir, you know.†And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.â€" (Revelation 7:14-17)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
BELIEVERS v DISCIPLES236. A believer praises the Lord in good times, the disciple at all times.
237. The Holy Spirit resides in the believer but shines through the disciple.
238. A believer loves God with heart and mind while a disciple commits the will.
239. A believer loves God and others, but they are the disciple's life.
240. A believer lives in hope, but for the disciple, God's hope is certain.
241. A believer seeks forgiveness for sin but the disciple also determines not to walk that path again.
242. A believer has faith in God but the disciple's faith is tempered in the fire of testing.
243. A believer loves the Lord, but the disciple's love is unconditional.
244. The believer serves the Lord in strength, but the disciple is made perfect through weakness.
245. God is part of the believer's life, but the central focus of the disciple.
246. A believer forgives, but the disciple also forgets.
247. A believer communicates with God at their own convenience, but the disciple's heart is open to the Lord at all times.
430. A believer knows, but the disciple does.
1077. Believing is free, discipleship costs your life.
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CRANWELL'S CARTOON
6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what goodwill I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge
or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless
things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone
know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in
the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call,
who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you
speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know
what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.
10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet
none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the
meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker,
and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are
eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build
up the church. 13 For this reason anyone who speaks in a tongue
should pray that he may interpret what he says. 14 For if I pray
in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So
what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray
with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing
with my mind. 16 If you are praising God with your spirit, how
can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say
“Amen†to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are
saying? 17 You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man
is not edified. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than
all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five
intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in
a tongue. 20 Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to
evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. (1 Corinthians 14:6-20)
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
12 LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM ‘DIVIDING THE WATERS’ (Continued)Continuing our look at these 3 key occasions when the waters were divided, each signaled a new stage in the progress of the Jewish inheritance. From them, we can see parallels in the challenges facing the church and believers today, as we move on to a new stage in God, prior to the return of Jesus.
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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." ***
621. ALMOST RIGHT
A drunk man who smelled like a beer sat down on a subway seat next to a priest.
The man's tie was stained, his face was smeared with red lipstick, and a half empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket. He opened his newspaper and began to read. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked 'Say Father, what causes arthritis?' The priest replies 'My son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap wicked women, too much alcohol and contempt for your fellow man' 'Well I'll be darned' the drunk muttered, returning to his newspaper.
The priest thinking about what he said, nudged the drunk and apologised. 'I'm sorry to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?'
'I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does.'
620. THE CHURCH CAR
The minister of a well-attended, strong, and enthusiastic church often showed himself ready and able to deal with any situation that might come up.
One Sunday, just as the minister was reaching the climax of his sermon, his own young son entered the church, ran to the center aisle, started making loud beeps and brrrmms like a car without a muffler, then zoomed right toward him.
The minister stopped his sermon, pointed directly at his son, and commanded, "Jimmy, park the car immediately beside your mother on that bench (pointing), turn off the ignition, and hand her the keys."
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FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Why do pigs like to wallow in mud?ANSWER: It's not because they're dirty animals or like being dirty. Pigs
don't perspire and wallowing in mud simply helps them to cool off. (Do
mud baths improve their complexions too?)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the only bone in the body that does not
connect to other bones?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS326. A PIN UP BLOWN UP
A pin-up photo of film star Rita Hayworth adorned the first test bomb dropped on Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands in July 1946. (Was not half as explosive as Rita herself!)
327. RARE PROTECTION
The Aztec Indians of Mexico believed turquoise would protect them from physical harm, and so warriors used these green and blue stones to decorate their battle shields. (Do people now decorate themselves with them for the same reason?)
328. A MAN'S DISEASE
'Mageiricophobia’ is the intense fear of having to cook. (But what is an intense dislike of doing the dishes called? Kidphobia?)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
SCEPTERS
Answer at the end of A David Musing
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BIBLE QUESTION - PAUL
7) Paul was educated in the school of:A - Gamaliel
B - Hillel
C - Augustus
D - Herod
Source: www.biblequizzes.com
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""'A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!'
!!!!!!! Since light travels faster than sound, isn't that why some folks appear bright until you hear them speak.
!!!!!! Why do press harder on the remote control, when we know the battery is dead.
!!!!! Corduroy pillows are still leaving headlines.
!!!! Every take-off is optional; every landing is mandatory.
!!! You cannot get ahead, if you're too busy getting even.
!! Love looks through a telescope; envy through a microscope.
! A wishbone should not be where the backbone belongs.
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MORE BIBLE RIDDLES
Thought we had done all possible Bible riddles in our last, very popular series. However, I have now found some more for you to enjoy, courtesy of Frank Schaefer of javacasa.comQ. Why was Moses the most wicked man?
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A. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
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LAUGHING AT LIFE!
134.I SEEI was performing a complete physical, including the visual acuity test. I placed the patient twenty feet from the chart and began, "Cover your right eye with your
hand." He read the 20/20 line perfectly. "Now your left." Again, a flawless read. "Now both," I requested.
There was silence. He couldn't even read the large E on thetop line. I turned and discovered that he had done exactly what I had asked; he was standing there with both his eyes covered. I was laughing too hard to finish the exam.
135. NOT SAFE
It was in the early 1960's and spray deodorant, new to the market, was being advertised on television about six times a day. I was still living at home with my parents saving money for college. One afternoon after a hard day of construction and before dinner I took a nice hot shower.
After drying off I spotted a new spray can on the bathroom shelf. The label read "SafeGuard" and I was so surprised that my mom had bought some of that new deodorant so I sprayed a liberal amount under each arm.
When I entered the kitchen, where mom was fixing dinner, I thanked her for getting some new spray deodorant but also complained that it was pretty sticky and I didn't know if I really liked it yet.
Her response still rings in my ears.. "I didn't buy any spray deodorant, but I did buy some of that new bandage spray, SafeGuard!"
After shaving my arm pits in order to lift my arms and hours of laughing by my entire family I realized that RightGuard and SafeGuard were not the same thing.
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BIBLE TRIVIA
Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys
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FROM A READER - HEAD COVERINGS
Dear David,As always I enjoy your insights. You can add something about head coverings. As you know, modern Jewish men usually wear a head covering, especially during prayer. The traditional one is a skullcap which is called a “kippah†in Hebrew (as was the mercy seat and a related verb talks about covering sin with blood etc) or “yarmulke†in Yiddish. Both words mean covering. Anyway, according to my studies, fairly early on, (maybe the fourth century) rabbis began to mandate that men keep their heads covered during prayer, so as to differentiate themselves from Christians, who per St. Paul, always prayed with their heads uncovered, as pre time of Christ Jews did. At a similar time period the church picked up the skull cap (zucchetto), and as the Jews did, justified it as being a symbol of being under the authority of the Bishop, or for Cardinals and Bishops, the Pope, and in the Pope’s case under the authority of God. I personally think the main reason that the church picked up on it for clergy, was at that time all western clergy were tonsured (had a circle shaved on their head) and that in cool Europe, the skull cap kept their heads warm.
Shalom b'Yeshua haMoshiach,
+Michael Joe Thannisch
MONEY CAN'T BUY YOU HAPPINESS, SURVEY FINDS - FAMILY CAN!
Herald Sun (Australia) July 02, 2007
CHILDREN, friends and pets are more likely to make us smile than a big wad of cash, according to a new survey. The ACNielsen survey for Centro Properties Group, which runs the Smile with Centro survey in conjunction with a photographic competition, polled 1471 Australians to find out what made them smile. The saying that "money can't buy happiness" was confirmed in the survey which revealed 94 per cent of Australians rated factors other than money as things that make them smile most, Centro Properties Group spokeswoman Lisa Charter said.
The survey found that children and babies made 33 per cent of people smile, followed by family and friends (28 per cent), then pets and animals (22 per cent), nature (8 per cent), while money only made 6 per cent of Australians smile, she said. Dr Timothy Sharp from the Happiness Institute said the results indicated people gained more happiness from relationships. "It (smiling) is a natural human expression that elevates the senses and boosts the level of serotonin in the brain," Dr Sharp said. "The findings support my theory that happy people have more and better quality relationships than those who don't smile, because it is an important non-verbal sign we give to others as a way of sharing and eliciting positive emotions," he said.
READ MORE - http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22002315-662,00.html
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DAVID'S DOWNLOAD
A REVELATION OF... THE CHARACTER OF GODUnderstanding God takes more than a lifetime! Through into eternity. Even then, I suspect he may come up with a surprise or two! But this simple revelation may help you understand Him better, as it has helped me.
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WAXING LYRICAL
The inspiration for the first two parts of this poem came from a cross-island trek Kathyand I went on when we were staying on the beautiful Island of Rarotonga, in the Cook
Islands. For those who don’t know, The Cooks are situated around the Tropic of Capricorn
in the Pacific Ocean. A great place to visit! The last part is based loosely on the book
of Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22, the biblical promise of what is to come. Hope it is
both enjoyable and challenging to you. Of course it is just verse, so is not all strictly
theologically accurate! Called poetic licence! My longest poem too, so will print it in small bits!
VICTORY! (Part 9)
RIDING THE RIVER OF LIFE
“What is this I do hear?†the Spirit said,
“New words appearing, inside your head.
They are the ones I have been longing to hear,
So you my son, in a new direction, I can steer.â€
“For I must explain,†the Spirit then told me,
“To move on, your decision only, must it be,
For to do the will of our Father is the highest call,
To attain this goal, you must sacrifice your all.â€
“I can show you the way, point out the bends,
But the success of this journey, on you depends,
For this step involves 100% commitment,
Your own desires, being substituted for atonement.â€
“Sounds good to me†I said, after some deep thought,
For giving up dreams is not what I had been taught
As being the real way to be successful in life.
But pursuing them, had only brought me strife.
“So how do we proceed?†I asked the Spirit,
“’Tis easyâ€, he said, “if you really want to do it.
Look over to the far side of the pool,
See there, the river starts, it’s so cool!â€
To be continued over the weeks ahead.
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A DAVID MUSING
When sitting in church listening to a sermon, it is amazing how one small point grabs your attention. Generally not the one the preacher is hoping either!We had a visiting speaker this week. He mentioned, when illustrating a point that there were only 8,760 hours in a normal year - plus 24 more in a Leap year.
I love statistics, but this is one that had escaped me previously!
I leaned over to Kathy and commented, "No wonder the year passes so fast if that is all the hours there are in it!" If you take off sleep and hours spent watching TV, how many are left?
A timely reminder of just how short life is!
Now, what did the preacher really speak about? Just joking! It was, 'decisions determine destiny'.
I must make the decision to finish this now and spend some more time with my wife!
Until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: RESPECTS
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION': Gamaliel (Acts 22:3)
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ABOUT US
WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, 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
290 Flaxmere Avenue
Flaxmere
Hastings
New Zealand
Phone: (06) 8799 911 International (+64) 6 8799 911
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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