THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW?

ULTIMATE TRUTH  

Greek (Western) 

We view the ultimate in truth as being scientific and rational. We focus on how things are done, both in Scripture and in life. We come to believe in truth as we think things logically through.    

In the natural, arguments such as creation versus evolution are hugely important to us. Logic and reason are generally the foundation of our faith.       

We also analyse revival. When it occurs we work out what God is doing and proceed do it for Him! The revival dies.    

Men are particularly susceptible to the tyranny of logic.    

Eastern (Hebrew) 

Hebrews see the ultimate in truth as being religious and experiential. When looking at Scripture they focus on what was done and who did it. They come to believe truth as they experience it.    

Hence the great interest and importance the Jewish people place on history and inheritance, on genealogy. Matthew, as a Jew understood this and included the genealogy of Jesus in his Epistle, which was primarily targeted to the Jewish people. It was so important that it was the first thing he wrote about..... 

The Genealogy of Jesus  

1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:1-16)       

Jesus quoted the sins and unrighteous deeds of their forefathers in His teachings. For example.....      

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also.” 46 Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. 47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’ 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. (Luke 11:45-51)      

Faith is enhanced by the experience of the great men of yesteryear.....     

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones. 23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. (Hebrews 11:17-24)   

And events that occurred in the past.....

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. (Hebrews 11:29-30)

A TESTIMONY FROM DAVID As the people experience truth, so their faith is built up. I remember a time in Uganda when a lame man got up his bed and walked. I can't understand it logically. But I did experience God's power moving through my hands and into him. It certainly increased my faith in a greater way than any than any theological belief I have ever had!

SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY   

1. Just do it! We can spend a lot of time learning about Jesus but real faith is built through experiencing the power of Jesus in our lives.  

2. We are not to get so entranced by minor points of theology that we miss the point of truly 'walking with Jesus'.     

3. We must let Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, lead and guide us in our daily walk, growing in faith as we experience more of Him in our life.    

4. Do not try to outthink God! 

 

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FROM THE WORD

THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....  

 

Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches (Revelation 1:1-3:21)

Through the apostle John. 

“I am the Beginning and the End,”

“Write down in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

“Don’t be afraid, I am the first and the last, the Living One. I was dead, but look! Now I am alive for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and the grave.

“So write down what you’ve seen—what’s happening in the present and what will happen in the future.

The meaning of the seven stars that you saw me holding in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.

 

To the Church in Ephesus

“Write this to the angel of the Ephesus church: This is what the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand says, the one who walks among the seven golden candlesticks: I know what you’ve accomplished, your hard work and perseverance. I know you can’t tolerate evil people, and how you investigated those who claimed to be apostles but are not, and discovered they were frauds. I know about your patience, and what you endured for my sake—and that you didn’t give up!

“But I have something against you: you have neglected your first love. So remember how far you’ve fallen—repent and go back to what you were doing at first. Otherwise I’ll come to you and I will remove your candlestick from where it is—unless you repent. However you do have this to your credit: you hate the actions of the Nicolaitans, just as I do. If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. I will give to those who are victorious the privilege of eating from the tree of life, which stands in the Paradise of God.

 

To the Church in Smyrna

“Write this to the angel of the Smyrna church: This is what the first and last says, the One who was dead and came back to life: I know the troubles you are going through, and how poor you are (but you are rich), and the abuse from those who say they are Jews but are not, but belong to Satan’s synagogue. Don’t be afraid about what you are going to suffer. Yes, the devil will throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Just remain faithful, even if it means death, and I will give you the crown of life! If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit is telling the churches. The second death will not harm those who are victorious.

(Continued next week)  

 

Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.

https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj46p39.pdf

A MUZUNGU’S (White Man’s) THOUGHT - Issue 9

A MUZUNGU’S (White Man’s) THOUGHT – Issue 8

What does prayer mean to you?

For most of us, prayer is a shopping list of favours we would like from God. A daily, weekly, monthly, or when we are in danger or desperation, wish list from our Father Christmas in the sky!

God bless me, my family, and give me a zillion dollars, is perhaps a fair summary.

Alright, I am perhaps exaggerating to make a point, but I am sure most of us will understand what I am saying.

But reality is, Father Christmas comes but once a year, and we, his elves, have to him out. This is fantasy, just as are so many of our prayers. I am not exempt, for I have been there and done that! So I can talk from practical experience!

But true prayer is a relationship, a relationship between us and our God.

Like any relationship, it grows through time and by a mutual sharing on both sides. Think of courting. If a man or a woman only talks about themselves and their needs, the silent partner is likely to depart in disappointment and sadness for it was all about him, or her, and surely not a solid foundation upon which to build a permanent partnership.

Similarly, with God. We need to spend time with him and let Him speak to us, as well as us speak to Him. He is forgiving and loving, absorbing a lot of rubbish from us, but for our relationship with Him to truly grow, it takes both time and  a listening ear.

My own experience, as I get closer to Him, is that I will pray more for what He wants me to pray for and listen more to Him sharing His heart with me.

How about you?

Shukrani

(Thank You)

OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

FOR MORE DETAILED AND REGULAR UPDATES, VISIT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE 

AN EYE 4 Africa -  https://www.facebook.com/aneye4africa/

 

 

YEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!

YEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
Wow! We now have an operational EYE OPERATING MICROSCOPE!
We can truly become an Eye Hospital as we are not only able to diagnose problems and prescribe and supply glasses, but now we can operate on the eye as well. Particularly cataracts, of course, which are the cause of blindness in many, many 1,000's of people in our wider area.

Please celebrate with us!

Kathy testing out the light. that illuminates your eye.

'Once I was blind, but now I can see.' A modern day miracle bringing sight and new life to the blind.

Can;t wait to bring stories of en-light-ened patients to you!

 

 

WORK IS WELL UNDERWAY AGAIN ON THE EYE HOSPITAL - THANKS TO CBM AND OUR WORKERS!

CBM are partnering with us to build this beautiful building. Thank you so much to the good people of CBM New Zealand and Kenya for all your assistance in this vital project that will service millions of people in Western Kenya, right up to and including, part of Uganda.

Putting up the ceiling batons.

 

 

Finishing the floor. Both walls and floors are now finished, waiting for painting and tiles respectively.

***NOW***NINE BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!!!

9 BOOKS are now available on Amazon (Kindle)!

All are available worldwide for electronic download on Amazon (Kindle) for $US0.99c . Unfortunately there has to be a charge in order to list.

Your support would be appreciated and they could well change your life!

They are all found at this link.....

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=david+tait+books/

***DAILY EZINE!*** 'DAVID'S DAILY DOODLINGS' Subscribe Today

Receive one of David's sayings in your mailbox each day to inspire, challenge or maybe, amuse. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe  link dd-on@wwj.org.nz (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done! If you have an Irish heritage, you will love the background coloring! 

Subscription and back issue link is.....

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'THE WORDS OF JESUS' REMAIN 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.....

https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj46p39.pdf

DAVID'S DOODLINGS

https://www.wwj.org.nz/davids-doodlings

CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER

Visit the Toon Fever website for more cartoon fun..... http://www.toonfever.com

Check it out at...

https://www.wwj.org.nz/newsletter

TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THIS WEEK: A REVELATION OF... GOD'S CALL TO HIS CHURCH continues 

We will take a look at 2 'sacred cows' of the current church

https://www.wwj.org.nz/tuesday-teachings

*** ANOTHER DAILY EZINE FROM WWJ!*** 'LAUGHING AT OURSELVES' Subscribe Today

As Christians, if we can't laugh at ourselves, others will! A fun way to start your day. To register today, go down to the bottom of the page link below, click on the subscribe  link lao--on@wwj.org.nz  (or paste the address in an email yourself and send) Then it's done! 

https://www.wwj.org.nz/laughing-at-ourselves-ezine

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. ***    

312. Gardening God's Way 

Plant three rows of peas: 

ï‚· Peace of mind 

ï‚· Peace of heart 

ï‚· Peace of soul  

 

Plant four rows of squash: 

ï‚· Squash gossip 

ï‚· Squash indifference 

ï‚· Squash grumbling 

ï‚· Squash selfishness  

 

Plant four rows of lettuce: 

ï‚· Lettuce be faithful 

ï‚· Lettuce be kind 

ï‚· Lettuce be obedient 

ï‚· Lettuce really love one another 

 

No garden without turnips: 

ï‚· Turnip for meetings 

ï‚· Turnip for service 

ï‚· Turnip to help one another 

 

To conclude our garden we must have thyme: 

ï‚· Thyme for God 

ï‚· Thyme for study 

ï‚· Thyme for prayer 

 

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love.

There will be much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow. 

 

QWIK QWIP: “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.” 

 

313. Tradition

During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregation stood up and half remained sitting.

The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up.

The rabbi, learned as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested that he consult a housebound 98-year-old man, who was one of the original founders of their temple. The rabbi hoped the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual temple tradition was, so he went to the nursing home with a representative of each faction of the congregation.

The one whose followers stood during Shema said to the old man, "Is the tradition to stand during this prayer?"

The old man answered, "No, that is not our tradition."

The one whose followers sat asked, "Is the tradition to sit during Shema?"

The old man answered, "No, that is not our tradition."

Then the rabbi said to the old man, "Please help us! The congregation fight all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand."

The old man interrupted, exclaiming, "THAT is our tradition!"

 

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 ..... https://www.wwj.org.nz/content/wwj18p47.pdf

Or read them all online at..... 

https://www.wwj.org.nz/laughing-at-ourselves

A DAVID MUSING

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS 2!

This week we finally had assembled Eye Operating Microscope, which is used for cataract surgery and other eye operations. It has only taken a year since it was ordered from China, to ship, (short time), get through customs (very long time) and then assemble (very, very, short time).

Finally we are ready to get into action! All glory to God!

Taking so long has been really stressful, emotionally and financially. 

But it has been a learning experience that has taught Kathy and I patience, and great thankfulness when it was ready to go.

It has taught us more about ourselves and taken us closer to God. Adversity breeds strength when it is overcome.

Thank you Lord for bringing us out the end of the tunnel into the light and for the lessons learned along the way. 

Until next week.....                                                                                   

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD

His servant and yours 

David Tait

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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 website
wwj.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!

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