WHAT IS ‘NORMAL’?

Coming to Africa and experiencing another, completely different culture to those I have been exposed to in the past, has been an exciting and invigorating experience. What has been particularly interesting to me though has been the rapidity with which I have adapted to, and developed an admiration for, these beautiful people.

While it is difficult to get used to ‘African Time’, where a watch is an item of adornment designed to tell you the time but not control you, there are so many aspects of their various cultures that are exciting, stimulating and yes, godly. After 3 weeks of rarely seeing a white face, black has become the new norm. At times I have had to look in the mirror to realise that I am still white.

For normal is what we are used to. It does not mean ‘better’ or ‘worse’. Unfortunately however, we so often do not look at ‘normality’ in that way. We confuse our normality with acceptability, and become fearful or derisory about those who are different to our self. Add the physical differences of skin colour, facial features and cultural characteristics and we have a potentially explosive cocktail that sets man against man, for no other reason than that he sits outside our comfortable definition of normality.

As we move further into God’s end time age, He is calling us to look beyond the superficial, even to look beyond culture, to see the things that bond us to Him and in Him, so that the impossible dream of a church, unified in purpose in His will, may become a reality. That is the only norm we should seek.

Find out more about us on...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/about.html

AN AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

In Africa, wherever you go, you are introduced as ‘Reverend’. It seems to be more of a title of honour rather than one acquired through a theological qualification. After initial efforts to correct the situation, for there is no one less of a ‘reverend’ than me, I have learned to accept the compliment graciously and with humour. For it would be so easy to take yourself too seriously here.

However I was bemused by the first poster I saw, advertising our meetings. For the ‘Rev Davide’, was accorded the qualification ‘JPG’, as was my associate, the Rev Anthony Richardson JPG. For some time we mused over our mysterious and honourable qualifications until someone worked out what it was. We had sent our pictures by email to be used for the poster in a ‘jpeg’ file format! David Tait.JPG! The mystery of our very impressive qualifications was solved! Simply a series of positive and negative electrical charges on a computer! Suitably humbled! An African experience to savour.

FROM THE WORD

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:13-14)

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” (Matthew 25:34-36)

DAVID’S DOODLINGS

### A foolish man denies God; the wise man acknowledges God, but the godly man experiences his God.

### The 3 ‘H’s’ of our walk in God – Holiness, ‘Helps’ and Harvest.

### Salvation yields a 30 fold harvest, the Spirit a 60 fold harvest, but obedience a 100 fold harvest of that which was sown.

There are over 250 David Doodling's at...

http://ww.wwj.org.nz/dd.php

TAPE (MP3) OF THE WEEK

In association with Inspirational Tapes Ministries
inspirational.org.nz
we are pleased to offer you this inspirational tape or MP3 download - absolutely free of charge!

"Discover Yourself in God's Mirror" - Part 1 (Part 2 Next Week)

By Derek Prince

Derek, a rare Doctor of Philosophy in philosophy, is a truly international Christian leader. Born in India in 1915, a Fellow of Kings College, Cambridge, England, he now lives in the USA and Israel. Undoubtably New Zealand's favourite Bible teacher over many years, Derek is well known and respected around the world.

Order your free tape or download your MP3 today at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/tape.php

LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused***

EARLY TO CHURCH!
Ever notice that you have to get to church pretty early to find a seat in the back row?
DIVINE WISDOM
A local priest and pastor were fishing on the side of the road.

They thoughtfully made a sign saying, "The End is Near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to each passing car.

One driver that drove by didn't appreciate the sign and shouted at them: "Leave us alone you religious nuts!"

All of a sudden they heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the priest said to the pastor .....

"You think we should just put up a sign that says 'bridge out' instead?"

There are now 100 ways to laugh at ourselves on. .

http://www.wwj.org.nz/laugh.php

LIFE’S A LAUGH

PRAYING ON DUTY
The new Army recruit was given guard duty at 2 a.m. He did his best for a while, but about 4 a.m. his head fell forward and he went to sleep.

He awakened to see the feet of the officer of the day standing before him. Remembering the heavy penalty for being asleep on guard duty, this smart young man kept his head bowed for another moment, then slowly raising his head he reverently said, "A-a-amen!"

There are now 70 humorous, real life stories to be found at. .

http://www.wwj.org.nz/lifelaugh.php

FACTS FOR FUN

NAVIGATE BY THE BIRDS!
The Vikings would release ravens as they sailed. They knew that the direction the birds flew would lead them to land. Bird watch.

UNSENTIMENTAL
A female magpie whose mate has died is courted immediately by other males who assemble promptly near the body of the dead magpie. Victory to the swift!

INSECT TRAP
The plant Pinguicala vulgaris, catches insects by imprisoning them with its leaves. Can't 'leaf' them alone.

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!
A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?

Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’

150 fun facts and trivial trivia at. .

http://www.wwj.org.nz/facts.php

IF ONLY I’D THOUGHT OF IT!

!!! It is better to keep your mouth shut and look like a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

!!! If you ever quit being a kid at heart, you'll get old.

!!! I Love You because . . . you only sneak neat stuff into the grocery cart.

!!! It is always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem
worthwhile.

!!! "People and things" do not upset us. Rather we upset ourselves by believing that
they can up upset us.

Hundreds of fun and thoughtful sayings at..

http://www.wwj.org.nz/thought.php

BEFORE PREPARING YOUR NEXT SERMON TRY VISITING…

REVIVAL LIBRARY
A Recommendation. "First of all, let me tell you how impressed I am with your page. I stumbled across it a few months ago while doing research on a sermon on revival. You've got an incredible wealth of information that the Christian community vitally needs to re-connect with." (I agree - David)

Find this excellent site at..

http://www.revival-library.org

A FURTHER AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

Before we left New Zealand, we had a double opinion of Nigeria. A negative one in the natural, acknowledged as the home of scams and a hotbed of both criminal and political/religious violence. On the other side, it is one of, if not the foremost country in the world in terms of Christian conversions and hunger for God. A country of contrasts – the good and the bad!

We were even warned by the Nigerian High Commission in Australia not to travel to Jos, (stands for ‘Jesus Our Saviour’) as there have been riots here recently and there is a curfew from 11pm until 6am. But the reality has been quite different. For since the restoration of democracy 3 years ago things have improved greatly and Nigeria can now be regarded as a safe and friendly country to visit.

In the spiritual, all that has been said is true and more. The people are both open and hungry for more of God. The Holy Spirit honours His people’s fervour with a very powerful presence. For me it has been a time of restoration. Thank you Nigeria. An African experience I will never forget.

A DAVID MUSING

There are occasional times in life when real miracles occur. Not big, major things like raising people from the dead, but other, to us equally unlikely occurrences. Such an experience happened to me last night.

We were at a meeting enjoying a Holy Spirit night, where the Holy Spirit came down powerfully upon the meeting and we just enjoyed His presence. Far better than my preaching! However, the miracle was not that I didn’t preach a long sermon, although some who know me may think it was, but rather what happened when I finally passed the meeting back to the Pastor of the church. For he asked me to go on longer! I was shocked! I am sure not too many preachers have had that experience! However I quickly managed to overcome my surprise and we had a further powerful time of unity together.

Africa and the Holy Spirit are just so full of surprises!

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today’s Challenge Answer: The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her
husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry.

LINKS

If you would like to link your web site to ours, and ours to yours, please advise us on
links@wwj.org.nz http://

DID THIS EMAIL HAVE A BLUE BACKGROUND & RED HEADINGS?

YES - Great!
NO - Your web browser needs to be set to 'Rich Text'. If you have an older 'Text Only' browser, this email may also be viewed on our web site at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/wwword.php

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
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 http://