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: 385 Published: 09 Mar 2009
SERMON ON THE MOUNT - THE KINGDOM WAY
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)EXPOSITION
In human thought we so easily substitute a 'w' for the 'm', then reject this statement of Jesus!
Yet Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary puts a completely different slant upon it.
The meek are those who quietly submit themselves to God, to his word and to his rod, who follow his directions, and comply with his designs, and are gentle towards all men (Tit. 3:2).... which says;
2 to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. (Titus 2:3)
Interestingly this is virtually (in spite of what prosperity preachers preach!) the only express temporal promise in the New Testament. For the meek will inherit the earth. Amazing!
In essence though, this command of Jesus is similar to the ones that preceded it - be obedient to God and His will for our life. If we do so, then these behaviors will automatically develop, as they are of God.
TESTIMONY
As meekness is so easily confused with weakness, it is very hard to live out in the world, particularly for a person who is task motivated and success driven.
The first thing we have to learn is that we (me) are not the centre of the universe, round which everything else revolves. Leaders will always struggle with this, for they see their role is to lead, with others to follow. Living in peaceful harmony with others when things don't go our way is both difficult to accept and enact.
For most of us, this does get easier with age, when perhaps, in the natural, we become less driven and more accepting of others. However true meekness or humility has to come from God.
I have found over the years that as I get closer to God, He will change me, as I allow Him to. It is always a two way street. Submission must come before change happens.
This week has figuratively been 'a week from hell' as far as staffing at Seekers is concerned. We had a wedding involving a number of the staff, two funerals and a 'big' birthday to contend with, which meant that staff were away when we needed them most. To compound the problem, this has been a busy week, for me, of preparation for our new shop at Masterton, 300km away, that we are opening in 3 weeks. Everything that could go wrong did! A huge test for me! I so nearly lost it! Some staff were aware of my displeasure, but I didn't 'lose it' with any.
In the end, thanks so much to our dear friend Mihi, who arranged for a team of people to come and assist with painting 96 clothing racks, as well as looking after the shop when we were 'staffless', everything got done. Thank you so much Mihi, and also Graeme, for all your help too. Graeme even brought his friend Noel to do some painting on the morning of Noel's wedding day! That takes some beating as a pre-wedding experience!
Meekness often fails under pressure. Pressure tells us how much our lives have really changed round. I wasn't perfect, but much improved on what I would have been like, say 10 years ago.
How about you?
(To be continued next week.)
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FROM THE WORD
Doing What Is Good"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned." (Titus 3:1-11)
"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace." (Psalm 37:5-11)
Rest for the Weary
"At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.â€" (Matthew 11:25-30)
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
HUMILITY210. It's hard to be humble when you always win. So God doesn't let that happen!
211. Learning humility in defeat trains us to remain humble in success.
212. Boasting is of the human heart, but humility is God's heart for us.
396. True humility cannot be generated in the mind, for it comes from our spirit.
397. True humility arises when confidence in God overcomes confidence in ones self.
398. Humility is a positive attribute, not a weakness.
399. False humility reflects weakness, but true humility exudes godly strength.
400. The truest expression of a godly character is reflected in humility.
1306. True humility is 'putting Jesus first' in our life.
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CRANWELL'S CARTOON
THE CALLING OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,†Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.†20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22)
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
GOD AND MAN concludes..........as we complete our study, looking at the last 2 areas of holiness we need to consider.
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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." ***
23. THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT
A Sunday School teacher ask her class to draw a picture of their favourite Bible story.
All were beautiful, deep but understandable until she came to Johnny. For Johnny’s picture showed four people on an aeroplane.
"What’s that? she asked. "Oh, the flight to Egypt," Johnny replied.
"I see…. And that must be Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus," she said. "But who’s the fourth person?"
"Oh, that’s Pontius – the Pilot!"
22. HEAVENLY GUIDANCE
A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write his sermon. "How do you know what to say?" he asked.
"Why, God tells me."
"Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"
21. FEED MY COW
One Sunday a cowboy went to church. When he entered, he saw that he and the preacher were the only ones present. The preacher asked the cowboy if he wanted him to go ahead and preach.
The cowboy said, "I'm not too smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I'd feed him."
So the minister began his sermon.
One hour passed, then two hours, then two-and-a-half hours. The preacher finally finished and came down to ask the cowboy how he had liked the sermon.
The cowboy answered slowly, "Well, I'm not very smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn't feed him ALL the hay."
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES
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FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Why is the Dead Sea so salty?ANSWER: It's just like the bigger oceans. Water from rivers and streams
feeds into it but no water drains out of it. The only way water can leave is
through evaporation. And as the water evaporates, the salt is left behind.
(‘Sink or swim’ doesn’t apply here – for you can’t sink and it is difficult to
swim in because of the bouyancy.)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Why do fawns have spots?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS413. FOOT FOOD
A person who is lost in the woods and starving can obtain nourishment by chewing on his shoes. Leather has enough nutritional value to sustain life for a short time. (If you’re that hungry, you don’t worry about the foot odour flavouring.)
414. MUDDLING MEASUREMENTS AGAIN
The measurements of a mile on the ocean and a mile on land are different. On the ocean, a nautical mile is 6,080 feet. A land or statute mile is only 5,280 feet. (Must be why walking on water is so difficult!)
415. FLY HIGH
A jet powered aircraft uses more fuel flying at 25,000 feet than at 30,000 feet. The higher it flies the thinner the atmosphere and the less atmospheric resistance it encounters. (The Concord used too much at any height.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
CHAGRIN
Answer at the end of A David Musing
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can download the full version of our Trivia Book at TRULY TRIFFLING TRIVIA
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BIBLE QUESTION - HILLS AND MOUNTAINS
13) Luke quotes a prophecy concerning John the Baptist in which every mountain will be:A - A high place
B - Green
C - Exalted
D - Made low
Source: www.biblequizzes.com
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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""!!!!!!! To learn from your mistakes you have to admit you make them.
!!!!!! If you live long enough, something will kill you.
!!!!! Procrastination is the root of it's own boredom.
!!!! In a crowd the person with the loudest voice will be standing directly behind you.
!!! Bad breath is better than no breath at all.
!! "Intelligent" is a term used to describe someone who agrees with you.
! Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. - Kurt Vonnegut
100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...
JUST JOKES
283. BAD FOR YOUR HEALTHFirst, I got angina pectoris and then arteriosclerosis. Just as I was recovering from these, I got tuberculosis, double pneumonia and phthisis. Then they gave me hypodermics.
Appendicitis was followed by tonsillectomy. These gave way to aphasia and hypertrophic cirrhosis.
I completely lost my memory for a while. I know I had diabetes and acute ingestion, besides gastritis, rheumatism, lumbago and neuritis.
I don't know how I pulled through it.
It was the hardest spelling test I've ever had.
282. HAD IT!
The businessman dragged himself home and barely made it to his chair before he dropped, exhausted. His sympathetic wife was right there with a tall cool drink and a comforting
word. "My, you look tired," she said. "You must have had a hard day today. What happened to make you so exhausted?"
"It was terrible," her husband said, "The computer broke down and all of us had to do our
own thinking."
281. MY EXERCISE ROUTINE
Another exercise routine:
My doctor told me “physical exercise is good for you.†I know that I should do it, but my body is out of shape, so I have worked out this easy daily program I can do anywhere:
Monday: Beat around the bush. Jump to conclusions. Climb the walls. Wade through paperwork.
Tuesday: Drag my heels. Push my luck. Make mountains out of mole hills. Hit the nail on the head.
Wednesday: Bend over backwards. Jump on the band wagon. Balance the books. Run around in circles.
Thursday: Toot my own horn. Climb the ladder of success. Pull out the stops. Add fuel to the fire.
Friday: Open a can of worms. Put my foot in my mouth. Start the ball rolling. Go over the edge.
Saturday: Pick up the pieces. Whew! What a workout!
and on Sunday I rest !
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BIBLE TRIVIA
Jacob...... married two sisters, Leah and Rachel. He worked 7 years for Rachel, but was tricked by his father-in-law on his wedding night into marrying Leah, the older, less beautiful daughter. Laban then agreed to give him Rachel also, in exchange for a further 7 years service.
Adapted from: '1001 Surprising Things You Should Know About The Bible' MacGregor & Prys
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Chance to Win a Car and Get Saved
We had 3,207 people saved on www.ThreeMinuteStory.com in 2008 from all 50 states of USA and 29 countries!A 65 year old lady from Cumming, GA, USA won the Chrysler 300LX! God is good!!!
A new competition has started from Jan 25th 2009 with 5 more testimonies on it!
We are doing something this year even better! We will have a place on the website for churches to enter their info so they can follow up on people making decisions in their area. A church can go on our site, enter their Zip or Postal Code and any Zip Codes they are willing to follow up on. When someone comes to our site and enters the contest and wants to be contacted about their decision, a prayer request, or to know about a good church in their area, their info will automatically go to the church that has indicated they would like to follow up on them.
All ministers and their immediate family members are NOT eligible for the drawing.
Our goal is to get the gospel out to lost people, and this is not for Christians to be greedy and think about themselves. It is a tool for Christians to use to get the gospel to their friends and family that would not normally listen. Blast everyone you know with an email where they can sign up for free on our website! Your church can even set up a booth and use it at a county fair, a music festival, a block party, etc. You just go to our website, click resources at the top, order a training dvd (to train your people how to share their own story), order tickets, business cards, banners, etc for your booth. It is that easy! You can also get off our resource page a free electronic banner to put on your website!
For His Glory, Ronnie Hill Ministries
OK you budding internet evangelists, here’s an opportunity for you.
Go to the site www.ThreeMinuteStory.com and sign up your church or ministry as a follow up ministry for all those that get saved in your neighbourhood (using your zip / postal code)
Then Send this message by email to everyone you know that is not already a Christian. You can even do it from the website if you want.
I thought you might like a chance to win a new car, no tickets to buy, no cost, just watch an interesting 3 minute video on a changed life. Go on, Do it now!
www.ThreeMinuteStory.com
Via: The Outreach Files: January 09. beautifulfeettaskforce.injesus.com
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DAVID'S DOWNLOAD
REVELATION’S REVELATION†To him who overcomes†An exciting illumination of the promise made to those who are prepared to give their “all†to Christ.
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WAXING LYRICAL
We need to understand that even after coming to Jesus, we have both good and bad weeks. I hope this encourages you that you are not alone! After this week I need to read it myself!THIS WEEK
I would like to write good things about this week,
With a magnificent achievement of which to speak.
But reality is, the week's been hard!
Really, truly, caught me off guard!
Would love to have huge shop sales of which to skite,
But to be truthful, Kathy and I just had a fight!
It doesn't happen very often between her and me,
Been together for thirty-eight years, you see.
But all is now well, for we finally sorted things out.
After a slow week, on Saturday, sales turned about,
You see, all in all, I can't now complain,
Life wouldn't be life, without some pain.
If life was a bed of roses, from week to week,
My Jesus I would have, no real need to seek.
But life, like roses, does have thorns,
We all have, both good and bad morns.
So I do hope this little ditty may now encourage you,
That in tough times, light can still shine through.
For Jesus has come, not the perfect to save,
Nor the streets of earth, with gold to pave.
But to offer us comfort and support through life,
Also to correct us, when we argue with the wife!
For in Him, we have a friend in whom we can trust,
Until that day we too, go from 'dust to dust'.
Then we can be with Him in heaven, forever to reign,
No more worries, no more arguments, no more pain.
"But first Lord, establish Your kingdom here on earth,
So as a very human human, I may be of some worth."
This week I will again seek to become more like Him,
Spiritual sails, to His wind of wisdom, will I trim.
"Lord, please mould me in your image,
May I truly grow into your visage."
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A DAVID MUSING
Kathy has enjoyed her new job this week. Thanks to those who have prayed for her.I have not been the only busy one! Kathy has worked many more hours than contracted during the week, and this weekend also did 2 duties at her old operating theatre job, one of which was extended, because of an emergency. A feast or a famine.
As mentioned in the editorial, pressure shows more clearly what sort of person we are.
How do you react under pressure? It certainly is a barometer of how mature we have become in Jesus.
May we all learn from our mistakes, so that next time, for there always is a next time in life, we may react to pressure in the way Jesus did.
This week's challenge for us all - after a rest, that is!
Until next week...
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: ARCHING
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' ANSWER: D - Made low (Luke 3:4-5)
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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
7 Bull Street
Ahuriri
Napier
New Zealand
Phone: (06) 835 0567 International (+64) 6 835 0567
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