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: 708 Published: 25 May 2015
AND THE GREATEST OF THESE IS - LOVE
What is at the heart of the end time, kingdom church?The answer is actually very simple in principle, if not so simple to activate! For the answer is found in one word - LOVE.
But what is love?
1. LOVE IS THE CHARACTER OF GOD
2. WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE GOD IN RETURN
3. THE ATTITUDE OF THE DENOMINATIONAL CHURCH
4. WE ARE ALSO COMMANDED TO LOVE OTHERS
5. CAN WE BECOME 'LOVE'LY BY OURSELVES?
6. GOOD WORKS AND LOVE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE SAME
Today.....
7. LOVE MUST CHANGE US
One of the big differences between Jewish (and other Middle Eastern) and Western cultures is the separation of what we say from what we do. Both Jews and Muslims look at the 'Western Christianity' and will conclude the we 'do not practice what we preach'. We talk about salvation, make mental assent by saying the (unbiblical) 'Sinners Prayer', and then go on living the same way as before and expect to live forever in perfect peace and happiness for eternity! Too good to be true? Yes! It isn't true, and most crusade 'converts' (round 95% it is believed) are not gracing a church 5 years later.
Eastern people's belief system is integrated into their lifestyle. It is the way of Jesus, for that is the understanding in which He taught and ministered.
Without being theological, put simply, God is love, Jesus is love in the image of His Father, and we are to be love, in the image of Jesus.
God made a covenant of love with His people, Israel.....
He said: “Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven or on earth—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. (2 Chronicles 6:14)
Ooops! As the highlighted words (mine) say, there is a condition of the covenant - we must love wholeheartedly, in order to receive god's love!
But that is Old Testament, David! Well..... no actually......
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)
It is clear. If we do not live a life of love, we are not real followers of Jesus.
It is hard word, a harsh reality, but it is the truth.
Until we develop genuine hearts of God (not human effort generated) love we will not be able to effectively witness to Jews and Muslims, for to them, as well as to others, 'actions speak louder than words'.
Something to think about - and seek the heart of God for?
(Continues next week)
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUSMay we hear what the Lord is saying to us.
Parables by the Lake (Matthew 13:1-35, Mark 4:1-34, Luke 8:4-18)
Told from a boat anchored away from the shore, out there because of the size of the crowd.
Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-29)
“As he was sowing, some of the seeds fell on the path. The birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on stony ground where there wasn’t much earth where they sprouted quickly. The sun rose and scorched them and they withered because they had no roots. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked them. Still other seeds fell on good soil. They produced a harvest—some one hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what had been planted. Anybody who has ears should be listening!
The disciples asked why he spoke in parables.
“You’re privileged to have revealed to you the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but they’re not given such insights,†“Those who already have will have more given to them, more than enough. But those who don’t have, whatever they have will be taken away from them. That’s why I speak to them in illustrations. For even though they see, they do not see; and even though they hear, they do not hear; nor do they understand.
“The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them: ‘Even though you hear, you won’t understand, and even though you see, you won’t perceive. They have a hard-hearted attitude, they don’t want to listen, and they’ve closed their eyes. If they didn’t they might be able to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand in their minds. Then they could return to me and I would heal them.’
“Your eyes are blessed, for they see. Your ears are blessed too, for they hear. I’m telling you, many prophets and good people longed to see what you’re seeing, but didn’t see it. They longed to hear what you’re hearing, but didn’t hear it.
“So listen to the story of the sower. When people hear the message about the kingdom, and don’t understand it, the evil one comes along and rips out what was sown in their heart. This is what happens to the seeds sown on the path. The seeds sown on stony ground are people who hear the message and happily accept it straight away. They last for a while, but because they don’t have roots, when problems and troubles come, they quickly fall away. The seeds sown among thorns are people who hear the message, but then life’s worries and the temptation of money choke the message so that they become fruitless. The seeds sown on good soil are people who hear the message, and understand it, and who produce a good harvest—some one hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.â€
Lamp on a Stand (Mark 4:21-5)
“Who puts a lamp under a bucket, or beneath a bed?†“No, you put a lamp up on a lampstand. Everything that is hidden will be revealed, and everything that is secret will be brought out into the open. 23If you have ears to hear, listen to what I’m saying! Pay attention to what you’re hearing,†“for you will be given according to how much you want to receive, measure for measure. More will be given to those who already have understanding, but those who don’t want to know will have what little understanding they have taken from them.
(Continued next week.)
You can download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
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'THE WORDS OF JESUS' NOW AVAILABLE FOR PDF DOWNLOAD
Join the many who have downloaded the 'The Words of Jesus'. I am sure you will be blessed by it, as I have been.One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.
You may be surprised by the different perspective this presentation gives you both in understanding of His life and ministry, and in achieving a closer relationship with Him.
Download the free PDF here.....
DAVID'S DOODLINGS
TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE473. Knowledge is a golden sceptre, appearing to be so powerful and beautiful to behold, yet it can be quickly disfigured by even the smallest diamond of truth.
474. Faith grows through a conviction of the truth rather than in the understanding of knowledge.
475. Knowledge enhances a faith already secure in the truth.
476. God’s truth is constant, but knowledge is defined by our circumstances.
477. God’s truth is progressively revealed to those with a heart willing to embrace it.
478. Faith is built by embracing God’s truth, enabling further truths to be revealed.
479. Faith and truth are heavenly lovers.
480. Faith and truth is a marriage made in heaven.
481. Genuine faith revels in godly truth, but human faith is dependent upon earthly knowledge.
482. It is so easy to be beguiled by the complexity of knowledge when seeking the simplicity of true faith.
Please feel free to quote these quotes. Acknowledgement of David Tait as the author would be appreciated. There are now over 1300 David sayings for you to view at ...
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com TO READ THIS CARTOON AND SEE THE OTHER PICTURES IN THIS EMAIL YOU NEED TO BE ONLINE. Check it out at...
TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK: TRANSFORMATION OF THE CHURCH: 3. FROM KINGS TO KINGDOM continues..... with a look at the relationship between God and the church.
Check out all the available teachings at...
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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. ***
182. BEST PAID?
Three boys are in the schoolyard bragging about their fathers.
The first boy says, "My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50."
The second boy says, "That's nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give him $100."
The third boy says, "I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon. And it takes eight people to collect all the money!"
181. THE FINAL WORD
The sermon went on and on. Finally the minister paused and asked, “What more can I say, my friends, what more can I say?â€
From the back of the congregation came a voice that elicited a ripple of snickers. “Amen.†it suggested.
180. CHURCH MARQUEE SIGNS
"The best vitamin for a Christian is B1"
"Under same management for over 2000 years"
"Soul food served here"
"Tithe if you love Jesus! Anyone can honk!"
"The wages of sin is death. Repent before payday"
"Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive"
"Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday!"
"Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church"
"FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES One of the most comprehensive sources of Christian Humour on the Net with 800 sermon fillers for your entertainment and use at ...
FACTS FOR FUN
LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Is it true that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile?ANSWER: Yes. Seventeen muscles to smile and 43 to frown is an oft-repeated figure, especially all over the Internet (and, yes, at university-related sites too) as well as in the popular press. But it's nowhere to be found in any text devoted to anatomy (especially of the head), surgery (esp. maxillofacial or reconstructive), neurology, or the analysis of human facial expressions.
In fact, Paul Ekman -- an authority on human facial expression tells me that he has no idea where this notion originated. It takes as few as two muscles to produce a universally recognisable smile and as few as three to produce a frown. There is simply no confirmation of the saying ‘it takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown’ in any medical text. (‘Two smile or not three frown!’ With apologies to the Bard.)
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Why do scientists describe cancer cells as ‘immortal’?
Answer Next Week.
SOME FUN FACTS 555. NO BULL!
Bulls are colour blind, therefore will usually charge at a matador's waving cape no matter what colour it is - be it red or even black! (Hold that cape still next time you are being charged by a bull!)
556. PERFECTLY MADE
The giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch (52cm) tongue! (Does it become ‘tongue tied’ though?)
557. TONGUE PRINT
Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different! (Ideal for identifying the resting place of stolen food? Only if regurgitated like the housefly.)
A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU
Make another word from this word using all the letters.
ASPIRES
Answer at the end of A David Musing
FREE DOWNLOAD: You can download the full version of our Trivia Book at TRULY TRIFFLING TRIVIA Or view all 1232 online at...
WHICH BOOK?
4: …records the great flood in the time of Noah?a. Psalms
b. Genesis
c. Ezekiel
d. Exodus
Source: http://biblequizzes.org.uk
Heaps more fun and serious 'God Facts' are found at...
IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!
"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""More of "MURPHY'S OTHER LAWS"
!!!!!!! It is hard to understand how a cemetery can raise its burial costs and blame it on the higher cost of living.
!!!!!! It is said that if you line up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try and pass them.
!!!!! Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.
!!!! The shin bone is a device for finding furniture.
!!! A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
!! Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
! Diamonds are a girl's best friends. Dogs are man's best friend. So which is more intelligent ?
100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...
LIFE'S A LAUGH
12. NOT SO 'GOOD FRIDAY'Here's a true story that happened to a friend's father: He was standing in line at the bank when there was a commotion at the counter. A woman was distressed, exclaiming, "Where will I put my money?! I have all my money and my mortgage here!! What will happen to my mortgage?!"
It turned out that she had misunderstood a small sign on the counter. The sign read, WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD FRIDAY. I guess Easter was not uppermost in her thoughts, because she thought that the bank was going to close "for good" that coming Friday.
13. WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
About a year ago my sister, who lives in Virginia, was talking with her four year old son, Brent. He was asking her why all their relatives from Wisconsin talk funny and
sound like their noses are plugged up.
"They think we have an accent," she replied.
"But they have an accent, right?" Brent asked. "They talk funny."
"Everybody talks in different ways" she tried to explain. "To them, we sound like we talk very slow and all our words are d-r-a-w-n out."
His eyes got big, and he whispered seriously, "Oh, no. You mean they hear funny too?"
14. CHARACTERISED?
My kids love going to the Web, and they keep track of their passwords by writing them on Post-it notes. I noticed their Disney password was "MickeyMinnieGoofyPluto," and so I asked why it was so long.
"Because," my son explained, "they say it has to have at least four characters."
15. REVENGE!
Early one evening a gentleman scuttled out to his garage and pulled the lawn furniture out onto the driveway. Shortly after followed the lawnmower, a few gardening tools and a bicycle.
A curious neighbour wandered over and asked if he was going to have a garage sale.
"No," replied the gentleman, "my son just bought his first car and right now he's getting ready for a big date."
"So what's with all the stuff?" asked the neighbour.
"Well, after years of moving tricycles, toys and sports equipment out of the way every time I came home from work I wanted to make sure the driveway was ready for him."
Laugh (or cry) at life here.....
Workers building sewer line discover ancient Jerusalem aqueduct
(JNS.org) Workers have discovered a part of Jerusalem’s Lower Aqueduct, which had supplied water to the city more than 2,000 years ago.The aqueduct was discovered in the Umm Tuba quarter near the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa while Gihon Company workers were building a sewer line in the area. The finding was then examined by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).
“The Lower Aqueduct to Jerusalem, which the Hasmonean kings constructed more than two thousand years ago in order to provide water to Jerusalem, operated intermittently until about one hundred years ago," Ya’akov Billig, director of the aqueduct excavation for IAA, said Thursday. "The aqueduct begins at the ‘Ein Eitam’ spring, near Solomon’s Pools south of Bethlehem, and is approximately 21 kilometers (13 miles) long. Despite its length, it flows along a very gentle downward slope whereby the water level falls just one meter per kilometer of distance. At first, the water was conveyed inside an open channel and about 500 years ago, during the Ottoman period, a terra cotta pipe was installed inside the channel in order to better protect the water.â€
The aqueduct was preserved for nearly 2,000 years by various city rulers because it was Jerusalem’s main source of water. But in the early 20th century, the city began to rely on a modern electric water-supply system.
Source: http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art.html?ID=16003
DAVID'S DOWNLOADS
TRANSITION FROM ‘THE CHURCH’ TO ‘THE KINGOM’The more I grow in Jesus, the more I study history, and the more revelation the Lord gives me, the more I see differences between where we are as 'the church' and where we should be as integral members of 'the kingdom' of God.
Surely the two are the same? Yes, they are meant to be. But the reality is that they are not. For over the 2000 odd years since Jesus, the church has become an 'institution', with a life of its own, rather than being an 'instrument' to build God's kingdom.
Please don't get me wrong! The church does many good things. It has spread the Good News of Jesus around most of the earth. It is the leading supplier of social services worldwide. It has influenced society and history over the last 2000 years more than any other institution. One third of the world's population is Christian, or nominally so. Considerable milestones have been achieved.
Yet, is the church today truly ushering in the kingdom of God? Do we really mean, or believe it, when we pray.....
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Sadly, the reality is, in much of the church, God's kingdom has become man's kingdom, where the protection and promotion of the individual church, denomination or grouping, has become more important in men's minds than building the kingdom of God. We have moved from a single church kingdom in the 1st century to over 30,000 church kingdoms now! .........
Download your free PDF Files here.....
WAXING LYRICAL
Sometimes there is more to do than time available. Know the feeling?TIME IS LATE
The time is late, mate,
Work does not rate.
Must go home to the wife,
And get myself a life!
PGIM is now done,
Tis time for fun.
All work and no play,
Been the diet today.
A sleep to be had,
So not all is bad.
Then the sun will shine
And joy again, be mine!
Goodnight..... (or morning)
More of David's poetry here.....
A DAVID MUSING
It is funny (or not so funny) how sometimes, the seemingly simplest and even most desirable things in God, are the hardest to do.God and I play a game when it comes to saving my work when writing PGIM on a different platform, for a group I am involved with. Articles can be written but will not be saved until the SAVE button is pushed. Work can easily be lost if not saved.
So each week I ask God how often I should press the SAVE button. Often it is every 3, 4, 5 or six articles. The greater the number, the greater the faith required, for I do not want to lose my work!
Last week however, He told me to save every second article. That is easy, for it is the even numbers. And even if you do lose information, it is not a big deal. Just what I wanted!
Yet, it proved to be a problem of actually remembering to do it so often! What I thought desirable and easy to do turned out to be more difficult than the greater faith required to save less often! LOL!
There has to be a lesson there..... A number actually! Leave you to work them out for your life!
So until next week.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: PRAISES
TODAY'S 'BIBLE QUESTION' b. Genesis
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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