LIFE'S NET CURTAIN

On Tuesday morning after coming back from my run, I had a shower and walked 'clothesless' into our bedroom. Standing near the window, I noticed out the corner of my eye, someone walking down the street. I could see him, but fortunately for him, he could not see me! Why? Because the window was covered with a white, woven net curtain. I saw him through the holes, as I was close, but he couldn't see me through the weave, for he was far away.

The Lord then showed me how much this is like life.

When we look at each other from a distance we see the whiteness of the weave, but as we get closer to one another, the holes in our lives become more readily apparent. Ask your spouse! If you are only engaged to be married, don't ask - as you have yet to find out!

So often when in ministry, we try and present our 'distant view' to the world around us. The solid white mirage of a life fully under control, a life of purity and victory, an example for all to follow. Then we go home and kick the cat in frustration with our failure to be the person we represent ourselves to be. Or even worse, we believe our 'perfect' lie and acquire the air of arrogance of imperfect perfectionism.

The truth is, we all struggle with life, with the world, and with sin. The perfect church would of course become imperfect upon acquiring its first member. It is not something to be either ashamed about or proud of, but recognised as life's reality. In God's economy it brings us not to self pity, but rather, to humility. For we are to find strength in our weakness. Oh, how our strengths so rapidly become weaknesses as we pursue progress in our own power. I can't understand it from a human perspective, but can see the results in both those who have, or haven't yet, found this most precious way.

You know, when we are honest with ourselves and with others, life takes on a new dimension. No longer do we have to pretend to be the 'saint' we really 'aint'! No longer do have to worry about covering our footprints behind us. No longer do we need to live a double life. And our ministry becomes so much more effective as we are able to meet people's problems from where we are at, not from where we think others might suppose us to be.

There is another net curtain picture too. Imagine the net curtain of our life's reality hanging between us and God. The further we stand back from the curtain and from God, the better our life looks. Almost solid white! Yet as we approach, draw nearer to our God, so we start to see the holes in our curtain that weren't apparent from a distance. For our puny purity pales into insignificance compared to His majestic glory! As we approach still closer, we see even more clearly. And there is Jesus. His nail pierced hands are held out, offering the sacrifice of forgiveness to each and every one of us. Yes, it is only now that we can truly start to appreciate the reality of what He has done for us, to begin to understand how we really do receive His strength in our weakness.

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FROM THE WORD

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

"This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you." (2 Corinthians 13:1-4)

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

351. The more I discover about God the more I realise there is to know.

352. The closer I get to God, the more I realise how big He is and how small I am.

353. While God graciously accepts me as I am, His desire is for me to become more like Him.

354. When God moves, the results are beyond our imagination. Why then do we try and do His work ourselves?

570. For down to be up, up must first be down.

571. A ‘servant leader’ is beyond the world’s comprehension. And many Christians too!

580. To go down to go up is logical. Ask a bouncy ball!

Please feel free to quote these quotes. Acknowledgement of David Tait as the author would be appreciated. There are now 700 David sayings for you to view at ...

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FROM YOU - TO ME - TO YOU

Tea (not the other stuff) drinkers

..........and then, for what its worth,
there's the probably factual history (as borne out by my own maternal grandfather) who had big bushy mo', who in order to avoid tea stains on this precious attribute, poured his into the saucer to achieve this .. In fact there is abundant evidence to verify this apparent "need", in various museums around this country, on which pottery drinking mugs and cups used by many generously endowed bushmen etc. had a ceramic "separation piece" across the top with a small gap just outside its point of normal contact with upper lip to retain the mo' hair from otherwise dipping into the brew and thereby either staining the whiskers, and subsequently dripping on the shirt, or even perhaps to preserve the brew from being contaminated by the remnants of previous meal(s)!
Greetings, from a progressively less hairy, and increasingly aged, one!

Dave Roke (NZ)

Hi David,

Thanks for the ministry.

A couple of things you inspired me to share:

On the subject of the Bible and alcohol, I agree with your stance. A pastor preached that message several years ago and it was the first message on abstinence that really made sense. It really helped while I was in Africa (Angola) earlier this year to respect the beliefs of my hosts and set an example that is good for them. However, a few years ago when I was pastoring a church, a couple of members got married and had a champagne toast at their reception. I toasted and sipped the champagne out of respect for them and their custom.

When church people start preaching, judging and condemning on alcohol, I always like to send them to Proverbs 31: 1-9. We always start reading that chapter at verse 10 when we want to tell our wives how they should be . . . :-), but I've never heard the first nine verses preached or read in any church. It does present an interesting perspective on alcohol.

The second thing: on church marquees. There was a Baptist church halfway between my hometown and the county seat. I worked in the county seat, so I passed this church on a daily basis. The pastor loved to use the marquee to share words of wisdom and wit. Many were uplifting and inspiring. A few really made me think. One message, however, caused a county-wide uproar. It made the front page of the county newspaper and had churches throughout the area trying to deal with the message. When I first read it, I was somewhat puzzled. But on deeper reflection, I knew the pastor was absolutely right . . .

The message? "Cheer up. You'll be dead soon."

<><
Mike Wacht
Director, Florida United Methodist Communications

Dear David,
It was interesting to read the article about the way various people in different cultures look at drinking. I don't think we should be influenced by the society and the culture. But we should be influenced by the Scriptures.

Read about the terrible sin Noah's daughters committed on account of his drunkness! A fine example for us to refrain from drinking. Our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. By drinking we are destroying our body where the Holy Spirit should take residence!
Based on the above two lessons from the Scriptures, a believer SHOULD NOT DRINK!!!

Sincerely in Him,
John Ishmael
Revival Literature Fellowship,
India

Dear David,
I have been a weekly reader of your fine newsletter for almost a year now. I look forward to it appearing every Sunday evening.

I am an Episcopalian in New Jersey, USA. We, of course, use wine as a symbol of Christ's Blood at our Eucharist. We also allow wine to served at social functions as long as there is an equal amount of non-alcoholic beverage. It seems in keeping with the scriptures and it doesn't ever seem like a big deal. We have very little abuse that I know of among our believers and members.

I love the Episcopal Church because although we adhere to the beautiful liturgies and classical church music, there are very few declarations that some from "the church" and so we are free to interpret and find meaning in the scriptures and doctrine as best helps us live our lives to the Glory of God.

I also appreciate the global ministry that my Church as well as WWJ and many others bring outside the walls of our church buildings, immediate communities and national borders. I have found your letters about Africa wonderful. Keep up the good work and may God bless you in ministry.
Jan (US)

Greetings mate (in reference to your mate comments of last week). I am sure the people in this story will not mind the repeating of it here.

Yesterday I attended a small community Church on Campus at Bethlehem College in Bethlehem (NZ). I was a few minutes late and took a seat near the back.

My reason for attending was to meet with a small team of people about to travel to Samoa to build a Habitat for Humanity house (fale in Samoa). I am the only 'outsider' from this Church who is in the team, although most of the team members have been well known to me for a number of years.

Shortly after taking my seat a rather lovely young lady and her daughter sat in the only two remaining sets beside me. It was a lovely service. At the conclusion, over a cup of tea/coffee (with no saucers) the Minister spoke to me of his shock & horror to see me sitting next to the lovely young lady during the service. He had struggled during the service with thoughts based on information he had gathered in a phone conversation with the lady during the week. The Minister was rather relieved to find his thoughts and assumptions were totally wrong.

Let me tell you the full story as it was related to me. The good news (great news) is that this young lady had given her heart to out Lord early in the week. In a phone discussion with the Minister of this Church she had mentioned that she had a new boarder living in her home and he was prone to drink alcohol rather heavily .

When the Minister looked down the back early on in the service on Sunday he was rather shocked to see this young lady seated next to myself.

The Minister shared the story again over a midday meal the 'Samoan Team' was having together after the Church Service. It was all laughed off and no harm was done.
Keep up the great work David.
Your mate,
Murray (NZ)

Your comments to me or fellow readers are always welcomed at... david@wwj.org.nz

FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK

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MAINTAINING THE FATHER HEART OF GOD

By: John and Paula Sandford

John and Paula Sandford are Christian counselors in the team ministry of Elijah House. They are well-known around the world for their contributions of teaching, counseling, writing and leading in the fields of family living, inner healing, prophecy, social concerns, human behaviour and theology.

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: What do these words have in common: age, blame, curb, dance, evidence, fence, gleam, harm, interest, jam, kiss, latch, motion, nest, order, part, quiz, rest, signal, trust, use, view, win, x-ray, yield, zone?

ANSWER: They all are commonly used as both nouns and verbs.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What exactly does "Homo sapiens" mean?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

927. NO CONQUESTS
India hasn’t invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history. (Others haven’t been so kind to her though.)

928. FIRST IN CYBERSPACE
The first domain name ever registered was Symbolics.com. The domain name was registered on March 15, 1985, by Symbolics Technology, Inc. Seven of the first ten domain names registered went to Universities. (Was symbolic of the future then and symbiotic today.)

929. A BATH FIRST
In the 1500’s Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May (beginning of summer) and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were by then starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. (Kids of every generation since have tried to re-introduce this custom)

A CHALLENGE FOR YOU

David, I thoroughly enjoy your PGIM which I receive on Sunday night. I am forwarding you something I received from another bro-in the Lord that you can possibly use sometime. Even if you can't use it I think you will enjoy the puzzle.
Have a good and Godly Day,
Jim Baker
West Virginia

A PUZZLE
There are 30 books of the Bible in this paragraph. Can you find them? This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends...One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo, Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless.

No Answer given. Sorry!

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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?”

From the back of the congregation came a voice that elicited a ripple of snickers. “Amen.” it suggested.

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IS THE END APPROACHING?

A very interesting article sourced from the 'Friday Fax'. I have often wondered whether the apparent increase in disasters was real or not. This is fascinating.

DISASTERS:
"Beginning of birthpains" in insurance language. In Matthew 24:5-8, Jesus describes wars, famines, plagues and earthquakes signifying the "beginning of birthpains". The Munich Re, a major insurance company, recently published a report about the unusual concentration of extreme storms and floods in 2002. Their statistics of natural disasters compares the decade from 1993-2002 with the 1960s; the number of 'major events' around the globe increased to 2.6 times as many (from 27 to 70), and the economic damage - accounting for inflation - to 7.3 times as much, from US$75.5 billion to US$550.9 billion.

Natural disasters across the decades
1950s: 20 disasters = US$42.1 billion damage
1960s: 27 disasters = US$75.5 billion damage
1970s: 47 disasters = US$138.4 billion damage
1980s: 63 disasters = US$213.9 billion damage
1990s: 91 disasters = US$659.9 billion damage

Natural disasters are considered 'major' when they significantly exceed the region's ability to cope, requiring inter-regional or international assistance. One of the main reasons is the growing concentration of people and valuables in endangered cities or urban areas, according to the report. Source: Munich Re, http://www.munichre.com

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JUST JOKES

DOUBLE LOGIC
A college professor asked his class a question.

"If Philadelphia is 100 miles from New York and Chicago is 1000 miles from Philadelphia and Los Angles is 2000 miles from Chicago, how old am I?"

One student in the back of the class raised his hand and when Called upon aid, "Professor you're 44.."

The Professor said, "You're absolutely correct, but tell me, how did you arrive at the answer so quickly?"

The student said, "You see professor, I have a brother; he's 22, and he's only half crazy."

THE BILL
Weary of constantly picking clothes up from the floor of her son's room, a mother finally laid down the law: each item of clothing she had to pick up would cost her son 25 cents.

By the end of the week, he owed her $1.50. She received the money promptly, along with a 50 cent tip and a note that read,

"Thanks, Mom; keep up the good work!"

211clean jokes for you to enjoy at...

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A SITE TO VISIT

REVIVAL LITERATURE FELLOWSHIP is dedicated to preach and teach Bible Prophecy preparing people to meet the soon Coming Lord in the Clouds through literature and conferences. RLF is also dedicated to reach the unreached people of the largest democratic nation of the world by sending the native missionaries into the remote parts of India. Visit my friend John Ishmael at...

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A DAVID MUSING

Have had some better runs this week, which has pleased me greatly. Tuesday to Thursday went really well - times improved and felt good. However on Friday, I felt tired and it was hard work. So much slower I thought to myself, until I looked at my watch. For the time was similar to those of the previous days.

How it reminded me of my Jesus walk! Some days I feel good - everything is going well and the walk is a breeze, to mix metaphors! Other days however, we struggle into strong headwinds all the way! No progress, seemingly sometimes even getting blown backwards. But it is not what we feel, but what we do, that counts. To take the steps, even when we are feeling exhausted and suppose we're getting nowhere. These are the days in which we truly display the reality of our faith.

To be happy is wonderful, but to be joyful, godly. For we can all be happy on the good days, but to be joyful when all about us is 'turning to custard' as the old saying goes, displays the fruit of the Spirit maturing in our life.

May the Son shine on my fruit so it ripens, so it matures more quickly. On my head, to remain positive, on my heart and lungs to provide energy and on my battered legs to get me home before time runs out! Some Sonshine for you too?

His servant and yours

David Tait

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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LINKS

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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: (06) 878-9330 International (0064) 6878-9330
Fax: (06) 878-9330 International (0064) 6878-9330
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