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
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Issue No: 1005 Published: 18 Jan 2021
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ 'A DAVID MUSING'
It is vital to us all.
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW
LOGIC v FAITH
Greek (Western)
We attempt to explain and justify everything according to human understanding. We apply linear logic to understanding the Bible. This can be likened to lining up dominos on their edge in a line. Push the first one over and that pushes over the next, and so on down the line. Problems arise where a domino is missing (no knowledge), or is placed outside the line (an apparent contradiction in Scripture).
One example is the apparent contradiction of predestination and freewill.
God's order has been 'predestined'.....
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)
....but we have 'freewill', through prayer, to change God's mind.....
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8)
Hence we get a division in the church, and church theology, between those who major on predestination (Calvinism) and freewill (Armenianism) and all shades of opinion in between that divide people, and denominations, one from another! For we cannot accept, from our limited human understanding, that both can be, and are, correct!
Eastern (Hebrew)
Jews acknowledge that God's wisdom and knowledge is infinite, and is sometimes beyond human understanding. Therefore they accept that there can be apparent contradictions in our sight. They apply block logic. While all the facts within a given block are coherent, they accept that one block of facts might present paradoxes and apparent contradictions with another block. They accept the almighty understanding of God.....
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! (Romans 11:33)
.....that affirms that man's knowledge is finite, and limited. Solomon acknowledged this.....
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
An interesting example of this is seen in whether God is visible or not. Most Western Christians will automatically say God is invisible, quoting.....
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24)
Yet God appeared to Abraham in the form of 3 men.....
The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.....33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. (Genesis 18:1-2,33)
.... and to Moses and 73 others.....
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up 10 and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. (Exodus 24:9-10)
Now John would have been aware of the Old Testament Scriptures when he wrote his Gospel, but he didn't see a need to explain the difference between the scriptures, as we would have needed to do, looking with Western eyes. John knew that God, in His infinite wisdom, understood, even if John, in his human understanding, didn't. It simply wasn't an issue for John, as it is for us.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. We must understand that God is God, is God! He understands all, even where Scripture is not able to be understood by us. This is true, even when Scripture appears to contradict itself - through our limited eyes of understanding. (A premise that is particularly hard for theologians to accept!)
2. Unnecessary divisions have arisen in the church through different interpretations of Scriptures about which we do not have a full understanding. We all need to repent and reconcile!
3. We must base our theology on the whole of Scripture, not just limited selections of our favourite passages that justify our desired conclusion.
4. May we be gracious and humble enough to accept that we do not have all the answers, and be tolerant and understanding to those who hold to differing viewpoints to ours.
(Continues next week)
Acknowledgements: http://www.followtherabbi.com and http://hethathasanear.com and http://www.wildbranch.org
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Jesus Predicts His death to the Disciples (Matthew 20:17-19, Mark10:32-4, Luke 18:31-4)
On the road to Jerusalem.
“We’re going to Jerusalem,” he told them, “and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and religious teachers. They will condemn him to death and hand him over to the foreigners. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. But three days later he will rise again.”
Request From a Mother (Matthew 20:20-28, Mark10:35-45)
On behalf of her sons.
“So what do you want me to do for you?”
To sit beside Jesus on His throne.
You don’t know what you’re asking,” “Can you drink the cup I drink? Can you be baptized with the baptism of pain I will suffer?”
“You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the same baptism as me,” “But it’s not for me to grant who should sit on my right or on my left. These places are reserved for those for whom they have been prepared.”
Jesus now responds to all the disciples.
“You realize that those who claim to rule nations oppress their people. The rulers act like tyrants. But for you it’s not like this. Anyone of you who wants you to be a ruler must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be the slave of all of you For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Blind Men Receive Their Sight (Matthew 20:20-24, Mark10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)
Including Bartimaeus.
“Tell him to come here.”
“What do you want me to do for you?”
“You can go. Your trust in me has healed you.”
(Continued next week)
Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
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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.
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DAVID'S DOODLINGS
425. Desperation breeds faith or despair. We make the choice.
426. Comfort kills faith.
483. True faith is the ability to accept the truth, particularly when it conflicts with the understanding of our circumstances.
874. Genuine faith is reflected in heartfelt action.
875. Faith is not merely of the mind, but permeates our life.
876. What 'I believe' is confirmed by what 'I do'.
877. 'To believe' and 'to do' are twin branches of the same tree, nourished by the one root.
CARTOONS FROM TOON FEVER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
THIS WEEK:GOD AND MAN continues.....
as we look at why Moses missed out on the Promised Land.
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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. ***
499. Looking After Jesus
Kiersten, 5, was having a discussion with Destini, 6. Destini was insisting that Jesus is dead. Kiersten insisted that Jesus is alive.
They began to argue, so Kiersten's mother, Penny, interfered.
"Destini," Penny said, "Kiersten is right. Don't you know that's why we celebrate Easter? Easter is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. He was killed and they buried Him and three days later He arose from the dead."
Destini asked where they buried Him. Penny told her it was actually in a cave in Israel. "And after they put Him in the cave, they rolled a very, very, very big stone over the doorway," Penny said.
At that point Kiersten interrupted and added, "That was to keep Him warm!"
QWIK QWIP: “Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.”
500. A Small Boy's Prayer
"Dear God, I hope you take care of yourself. 'Cause if anything happens to you, we would all be in a terrible mess."
1. Modern Day Religion
A teacher asked her students to draw a picture of their favourite Old Testament story. Moving around the class she saw many beautiful and moving drawings. Then she came to Johnny (why is it always Johnny?) and saw his picture of a man driving an old car.
"It’s a lovely picture Johnny, but what is the story?"
It’s simple, Miss, "Doesn’t it say in the Bible that God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden!"
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
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A DAVID MUSING
With the end of the Trump Presidency we are clearly seeing, yet again, another, extreme example of Christians being taken in by a leader who is manipulating them for his own advantage.
Even though they will deny it many, especially those of Pentecostal/Charismatic persuasion, who have placed President Trump next to God, primarily because he has supported many of the causes they are passionately interested in eg. abortion, support of Israel - and no gun control, although it has nothing to do with Christianity.
By taking a conservative Christian viewpoint on these and many other issues, He was proclaimed as being from God, whom would certainly give him two terms. Many Christians idolized him and can’t believe that he could be beaten, other than by fraud.
This has been amplified by the likelihood of the Biden/Harris policies being seen as ungodly, which many of them are. For many then, their objections are more related to fear of the incoming team’s policies, rather than the election itself.
The supposed ‘Christian Prophets’ had almost unanimously, out of a human spirit, prophesied Trump’s return, as a matter of course, from their prospective, for the good things he had done.
Here is an example of one, and the harsh reaction to him, who has now repented of his error…..
Evangelical prophet Jeremiah Johnson said he’s now getting death threats from Christians after apologizing to his followers Thursday for “inaccurately prophesying” that President Donald Trump would win a second term.
The most telling part however, has been the reactions of many Christians to his admission……
Johnson, who also called out Christians for their idolatry of the outgoing president, revealed in a statement on Facebook Sunday that the attacks have shown him that “parts of the prophetic/charismatic movement are far SICKER than I could have ever dreamed of.”
“Over the last 72 hours, I have received multiple death threats and thousands upon thousands of emails from Christians saying the nastiest and most vulgar things I have ever heard toward my family and ministry. I have been labeled a coward, sellout, a traitor to the Holy Spirit, and cussed out at least 500 times. We have lost ministry partners every hour and counting,” said the leader of Jeremiah Johnson Ministries.
“I have been flabbergasted at the barrage of continued conspiracy theories being sent every minute our way and the pure hatred being unleashed. To my great heartache, I’m convinced parts of the prophetic/charismatic movement are far SICKER than I could have ever dreamed of,” he explained. “I truthfully never realized how absolutely triggered and ballistic thousands and thousands of saints get about Donald Trump. It’s terrifying! It’s full of idolatry! If I helped to prop up this ideology concerning him, I will need to repent again and stir up even more hell.”
His solution…..
“Revival is never dependent upon who sits in the White House but rather who sits on the Throne in Heaven. I will continue to preach the Cross and the power of the resurrection. I will continue to help prepare the Bride to meet our Bridegroom,” he noted. “As we head into 2021, expect me to be more committed to the gospel and making disciples than ever before. By God’s grace I will walk in a greater measure of humility and repentance than ever before. I will learn from my mistakes and seek correction from Godly leaders always.”
There are many other examples of where Christian parties have ended disastrously, and the reputation of Christians as a whole, has suffered immensely. In my home country of New Zealand, in more recent times, 2 Christian parties have formed and both have collapsed due to the sexual wrongdoings of the leader.
The problem is, power corrupts – and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
In Kenya, where we now live, a large proportion of the population attends church, or the mosque, in the case of Muslim minority. Sadly the churches are being used by politicians to further their causes as they are given the opportunity to speak during the services.
Voting however, particularly in the past, has been more along tribal lines, but that is breaking down with younger people migrating to the cities, away from tribal influence of their forefathers.
Kenya is a highly political country. The day after the President is elected, campaigning commences for the next election! As the church is so strong, it is seen as a rallying place by the politicians. This is wrong also.
Jesus was a radical. His teachings were radical, and against the established ‘church’ of the day. Should He come back now, little will have changed.
Jesus also, was not a politician. The people thought he was going to be the one to release them from the tyranny of the Roman conquerors. When they found out that was not His intention, they deserted Him, and were responsible for Him being hung on the Cross, by releasing Barabbas.
Jesus was not a politician. His request, before going back to His Father was…..
The Great Commission
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Jesus is the only one we are to lift up! The greater the godly person is the greater servant he or she should be. Politicians raise themselves up. Never the twain shall meet.
It is not really about policies. President Trump had conservative policies, but that did not make him a Christian, as we have seen over recent times. His true character has come through since his election loss.
Christians are only true Christians if they put Jesus first and display the ‘fruit of the Spirit in their lives…..
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Christians should enter politics, if that is their conviction, to influence policies close to their heart. But it as an individual, belonging to a party that is pulled many ways, for politics is the art of the compromise.
It is not Gods way. Jesus desires us to become His disciples, His followers, living a life in line with His, bringing others to Him. That is all.
No politician today is designated by God to rule. May President Trump’s demise be a lesson to us all.
Until next time.....
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD
His servant and yours
David Tait
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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
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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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