A QUESTION OF BALANCE

I have been thinking - and that can be dangerous! Not because my thoughts are necessarily bad. In fact I have fewer bad thoughts than I used to. Thank you Lord. But usually when I think, the Lord gets at me to change something in my life! Perhaps you have had a similar experience.

This week the Lord has had me thinking about 'balance'. Of balance in nature - of balance in life. Living in the province of New Zealand called the Bay of Plenty, where we get sufficient rain well spread throughout the year, where it is rarely uncomfortably hot or very cold, nature is hugely bountiful. Hence the province's name. Our area is best known as the 'Kiwifruit capital of the world' for it was from here that the 'Chinese gooseberry' was hybridised, improved and marketed to the world. Now, even in the villages in Africa, you can buy fruit juice that has kiwifruit as one of its constituents. The Lord has blessed us with fertile volcanic soils, which together with a balanced climate produce much fruit.

In life it is much the same. We spend our time trying to balance work and play, personal family needs with those of earning sufficient money to enable the family to physically survive, church and home, and many more. The more life speeds up, and this is a worldwide phenomenon though in some places coming from a lower base, the more difficulty we have with competing priorities for our time. Our success or otherwise in balancing these pressing priorities of life is an important determinant in our general levels of happiness and wellbeing. As with nature, as we bring things into balance, we will find, often to our surprise, that we get more done than by excessively concentrating on one particular area.

So it is with God. There are two primary areas where the challenge of balance, for maximum spiritual effectiveness, is of particular importance. First of all faith and works challenge us. Faith cannot be found through works, yet without works, our faith is meaningless. Christians have battled with this problem since the time of Jesus. There are no simple, universal answers. If there were, we wouldn't have the problem! But the Lord does ask us from time to time, to take stock of where we are at, and to seek His guidance as to whether we have these twin elements of our Walk in the right proportions to achieve maximum fruitfulness.

Finally, although we live in the dispensation of God's love and grace, we must remember that God has a balanced character, one consisting of both love and judgement. Hence, if we are to be of maximum fruitfulness in sharing the Word with others, we must tell of both sides of His character. His love is to be emphasised, but the consequences of His judgement are not to be omitted, if our witnessing is bear maximum fruit. This is the particular message the Lord is giving me today. Just maybe, He is saying the same to you?

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FROM THE WORD

"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” "
(Romans 1:17)

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
(James 2:17)

"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)

"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience." (2 Corinthians 5:10-11)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

##### A foolish man speaks before he thinks, a wise man thinks before he speaks, but a godly man lets his life speak for him.

##### We know in life, that all good things come to an end. How is it then, that we continue to believe that the current age of God’s grace and mercy will go on forever?

##### God's gracious gift of grace is the reason to walk in truth, not an excuse to continue in sin.

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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!

THE GOD WHO CARES FOR THE WEAK

BY: Ian Coker

A copy (with permission) of a radio broadcast, from Toowoomba Australia. The radio programme is "The 11th Hour" and is presented by local Pastor and Christian Apologetic Ian Coker as he presents "A Critical Approach to the Bible". The title speaks for itself. Excellently presented.

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LIFE'S A LAUGH

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
The passengers were leaving the plane after landing, and one smiling, satisfied passenger paused to congratulate the flight attendant.

"Stewardess," he said happily, "I want to compliment you and the crew and especially the captain for getting here right on time. It's not often that an airline gets to where it's going exactly when they claim it will. I'm going to call your home office and let them know how pleased I am."

"Why, thank you, sir," the flight attendant answered, "but I think you should know - this is yesterday's flight." (Someone else has travelled in Africa too!)

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FACTS FOR FUN

FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Why do we call twins who are attached to each other physically, "Siamese twins"?

ANSWER: We call physically-attached twins "Siamese twins" because of a famous pair of twins in the 1800s who were actually from Siam. Chang and Eng, brothers attached at the chest, were brought to the US by famous circus promoter P.T. Barnum. They eventually
married Sarah and Adelaide, unattached sisters, and had 22 children between them. They died in 1874, within hours of each other. If they had lived in the twentieth century instead of the nineteenth, they might have been surgically separated.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Who invented Khaki military uniforms?

Answer Next Week.

***SOME FUN FACTS***

HAVING A BALL! Ballroom dancing is a major at Brigham Young University. (Mr Fox trotted in with Miss Gay Gordon.)

SWEET KISSES Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt. (Who would have thought that even ‘kissing’ could be mechanised!)

HORSE SENSE If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. (However we don’t know the fate of the horse!)

THE DOGFIGHT The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the Pacific. When arming their aeroplanes on the ground, the .50 calibre machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards." (Unfortunately most ended up 6 feet {2 yards} under.)

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!

This one is a real challenge!

What is the missing number in this grid?

16 36 148

25 50 ?

4 9 37

Answer at the end of ‘A David Musing’

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A SOURCE OF FUN AND INSPIRATION

Take a visit to PEGGIE'S PLACE! A fun 'n faith home with daily devotions, daily humor and inspiration, and many delightful rooms filled with Christian and family-friendly resources! A site after my own heart!

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EXTENSIVE EXPLANATIONS

SOCCER COMMENTARIES
Match commentaries designed to inspire and enthuse. Could be any sport. Who would be a commentator!

!!! Well. Its Liverpool two, Ipswich nil, and if the score stays this way, I’ve got to fancy Liverpool for the win.

!!! He had an eternity to play that ball, but took too long.

!!! And so they have not been able to improve on their 100% record.

!!! With the last kick of the game, he scored with a header.

!!! Well, it’s a fabulous kaleidoscope of colour; almost all the Brazilians are wearing yellow shirts.

!!! If that had gone on , it would definitely have been a goal.

!!! Their manager, Howard Wilkinson, isn’t here today, which strongly suggests that he may be somewhere else.

!!! I am a firm believer that if a team scores a goal, the other needs to score two to win.

!!! If a team scores early on it often takes an early lead.

!!! You cannot possibly have counted the number of passes made, but there were eight.

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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

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

I BAPTISE YOU!
The young son of a Baptist minister was in church one morning when he saw for the first time baptism by immersion. He was greatly interested in it, and the next morning proceeded to baptize... you guessed it... his three cats in the bathtub.

The youngest kitten bore it very well, and so did the younger cat, but the old family tom cat rebelled.

The old feline struggled with the boy, clawed and tore his skin, and finally got away. With considerable effort the boy caught the old tom again and proceeded with the "ceremony."

But the cat acted worse than ever, clawing and spitting, and scratching the boy's face.

Finally, after barely getting the cat splattered with water, he dropped him on the floor in disgust and said:

"Fine, be a Methodist if you want to!"

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A DAVID MUSING

In business, in these days, when cost control is all important, a method of stock ordering called 'Just in Time' has been introduced. The simple principal behind this is, don't order an item into stock until just before your customer comes to buy it. This is fine in theory, but if you get it wrong and are slightly late in reordering, the customer misses out and may well go elsewhere.

Set me musing about God. For He invented this 'Just in Time' method of provision well before accountants were even thought of! And because God is God, his provision is never late, but in accordance with faith building, seldom early either! For invariably, God's provision comes just when we need it, not a moment before. Frustrating isn't it - until we get used to how the system works.

Kathy and I are off to Uganda in 2 1/2 weeks time. It is a very expensive trip as we live on the bottom right hand edge of the world when you look at the map. Uganda is a 24 long hours of 'aeroplane anointing' away, not exactly being on the main, budget tourist route. We do not have the money yet to pay for the trip, but know through experience, that the Lord will provide - for He always does - just in time! This 'faith ride' is a bit of a roller coaster though! Ups and downs! But as you get used to it, you start to enjoy the ride. For your stomach starts moving in motion with God, rather than down in anticipation of what is to come when grinding up, then up, as we experience the gut wrenching descent of the roller coaster of life. Life is so much fun, isn't it!

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's Challenge Answer: Challenge Answer: In each column, divide the top number by 4 to get the bottom number. Then add 5 to the sum of the top and bottom numbers to get the middle number.

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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 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!

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