IN GOD'S SERVICE

In God's service, there are specific times when we are particularly vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy in our lives.

When taking a step out in faith, we generally realise that satan will try to tell us we are incapable, wasting our time and bound to fail! All of which are untrue, if our 'faith step' is in God's will. At this time though, we will likely recognise these machinations for what they are - the lies of the enemy sent to discourage us from carrying out God's purposes. For we have our goal set out in front of us, so recognise his work for what it really is - a mirage - and continue on with the task that God has given us.

However in my experience, the time when we are most vulnerable to attack, is at the successful completion of our task. For the adrenaline (or fear!) has dissipated, the excitement and satisfaction of completing our God given task fades into a memory, and once again, we must adjust to the routine of 'normal', day to day life. For the principle of taking a step of faith, by definition, requires that it be outside the norm. Of course God, nearly always, desires that our faith step become the new norm, an integral feature of our life. But satan's preference is that our victory in God should end right there and not become part of us.

So when we have a victory in Christ, we must be extra vigilant to ensure that it is retained. Neither does satan have to do all the work himself! Yes, some people may put us down. Unfortunately jealousy and personal insecurity is rife in the church, with many, including leaders, not wanting to see others succeed where they may have failed, have not been prepared to move, or simply, have not been required by God to go. As leaders, may that never be said of us!

Satan too though, will try and convince us we have overstepped the mark, or that it was a 'oncer' that could not possibly be repeated, or use a myriad of other reasons that sound entirely logical to us in our entirely natural state of 'post faith vulnerability.' Have been there and done that!

So may I encourage you, as I remind myself, to understand and recognise these attacks for what they are - the work of our spiritual enemy dedicated to the losing battle of destroying the effectiveness of God's people. Jesus won the victory on our behalf 2000 odd years ago at Calvary. We will not be overcome, for we are overcomers in Him!

Find out more about us on ...

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

FROM THE WORD

"This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 John 5:2-5)

"The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (Revelation 12:9-11)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

##### A foolish man knows his strengths, a wise man acknowledges his weaknesses and makes allowances for them, while a godly man seeks to overcome them.

##### FEAR is the inability to affect the unknown.

##### FAITH is the ability to prevent the unknown affecting you.

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

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

LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

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

While I was away I was forwarded these by Phil Anthony.

Written by Marge Schlitt:

SMILES FROM THE BIBLE
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married?
A. Ruthless.
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. What was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.
Q. Who is the greatest baby sitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.

Many more good sermon fillers at...

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

TAPE (MP3) OF THE WEEK

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

TAKING YOUR MOUNTAIN

BY: Dr Neal Patterson

Neal is a noted Bible teacher throughout Asia and the Pacific. A former pastor of my wife Kathy, Neal and Ruth are personal friends and encouragers in our lives. This outstanding tape is about climbing the mountains of life. Of course, when we get to the top of the mountain, we must descend before climbing another. Sound familiar? Good, practical stuff.

Also available for downloading in MP3 format.

Order your free tape today at ...

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

IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

!!!!! Life is 10% of what happens to you, and 90% of how you respond to it.

!!!!! Did it ever occur to you that nothing occurs to God?

!!!!! Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes you weep.

!!!!! Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.

!!!!! There are two things I've learned: There is a God. And, I'm not Him.

!!!!! Following the path of least resistance is what makes rivers and men crooked.

Ther are 100's of fun and meaningful sayings of others on ...

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

FACTS FOR FUN

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Is it possible for twins to have different fathers?

Answer Next Week.

***SOME FUN FACTS***
SPACE JUNK
The gold-plated 33-rpm record "Camelot" was left behind on the moon by the Apollo astronauts. Did they leave a player with it?

PINOCCHIO AND BIG EARS
A person's nose and ears continue to grow throughout his or her life. But our senses of smell and hearing decrease. It's not fair!

THE OLDEST.....
The oldest stained-glass window in the world is in the Cathedral of Augsburg, Germany, depicting the Prophets. It dates from the second half of the eleventh century. An extreme 'window of opportunity.'

A LANGUAGE OF FEW WORDS
The language of Taki, spoken in parts of French Guinea, consists of only 340 words. Makes spelling easier.

MR JULIET
All of the roles in Shakespeare's plays were originally acted by men and boys. In England at that time, it wasn't proper for females to appear on stage. Lord and Lord Macbeth?

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!

Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?

Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’

150 fun facts and trivial trivia at ...

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

CHURCHSPEAK

In the Bible many words have an underlying spiritual meaning, as well as the obvious natural one. Here are a few examples...

Colours

BLUE------Holy Spirit (Sky and Sea)

RED-------The Son (Blood)

YELLOW---The Father (Gold)

Metals

BRASS-------Judgement, Strength against sin

GOLD--------Deity (God), Faith

SILVER------Redemption, Atonement

Many more of these along with some simple definitions of religious terms can be found at...

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

IF YOU HAVE TIME YOU MIGHT LIKE TO TAKE A LOOK AT...

POINTOFVIEW316
Definitely not your ordinary tech support site. PointOfView316
provides information, tools, support & encouragement for computer users that want to use the internet to promote a positive message. Also provides access to a wide range of news stories and Bible devotions etc.

An interesting site that can be found at...

http://www.pointofview316.com

A DAVID MUSING

It's nice to be home amongst family and friends, catching up on what has happened here in New Zealand over the past two months.

Of course, my return has enabled New Zealand to beat Australia in two 'Tests' this weekend! In the national sport of New Zealand, Rugby Union, we beat Australia, which we always used to do but haven't so much lately, the "All Blacks" winning 12-6. Also New Zealand's "All Whites" (confusing isn't it!) beat the Australian soccer team 1-0 to qualify for the Confederation Cup Finals next year. I am sure that if I hadn't been here, these games would have been lost! We love you, our Aussie friends - particularly this weekend!

I must admit that I get a little amused and bemused when people on opposite sides pray for the sporting success of their national teams. For God is left with an impossible job, as only one team can win! I suspect that, in most cases, He doesn't mind too much which team wins and simply lets them fight it out. How do we know what to pray in God's will on such occasions?

Have been caught out on my assertion a couple of weeks ago that I feel 30! Not through feeling old inside, but facing the reality that our oldest son Andrew, turned 30 himself this week! Time moves rapidly on. Still, he does live in far away Scotland, so maybe I can continue to ignore it!

My special thanks to my friend David Harris, who has kindly looked after PGIM! while I have been away. Enjoy a few weeks off David, before the job starts again. For although it's nice to be home, the call to return to Africa is strong. Funny how God works, isn't it!

His servant and yours

David Tait

LINKS

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

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