THE TEST OF 'INCONVENIENCE'

So often God gives inspiration at the most inconvenient of times!

Last week I was busy when it came time to write this editorial. I just wanted to do something quick and easy, to get finished quickly.

Having decided on the subject (after deep spiritual contemplation - of course! Well - maybe!) I then heard the dreaded words, "Once upon a time", come into my head! While generally liking the subsequent results, experience has taught me that 'fairy stories' take longer to write than most editorials.

So I had a choice. I could either ignore the voice in my head, proceed with what I had in mind to write, or listen to the Spirit and do what He wanted me too - slowly! I trust you found the 'Turtle and The Snake' helpful. Yes, my other work, and desire for an early night after a hard day, had to take second place.

Many people want to serve the Lord at a time of their convenience. "Once the family has grown up, Lord." "Once I am financially independent." "When I am secure in my day job." Amongst many others! But, in the end, we rarely end up doing it, for there always seems to be another reason to wait a little longer.

The reality is, we endeavour to manipulate and control God to fit into our own timetable our well-planned, life pattern. Believe me, it just doesn't work!

For God tests us to see whether our true heart is to obey Him, whatever the inconvenience or cost, or to follow the carnal desires of our human nature. It is a choice that every Christian, serious about following God's will, is constantly called to face. Are we prepared to give up everything for Him?

Jesus literally laid down His life for the Father's will. Our call today, is no different, at the very least, spiritually. God's question of us always is "Are you prepared to pay the price of submission and obedience?"

Am I? Are you? That is the question.

"Yes Lord, but after the cricket is finished on the TV." (Good excuse this one - for a match can take up to 5 days!) "No David. I want you now" "But Lord....... Okay then, I am Yours now! For You are my Lord, not cricket."

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FROM THE WORD

"Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:36-39)

"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 John 5:1)

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us." (1 John 3:21-24)

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DAVID'S DOODLINGS

SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE

915. Obedience to God's will for you life is the highest call.

916. Belief is of the mind, worship of the heart, but obedience is of the will.

917. The greatest change we can make is from gratifying our own will to obeying God's will for our life.

918. Obedience to God's will and ways is the very core of the Gospel.

919. Christian maturity develops as we submit to the will of God for our life.

920. In the world, submission is weakness, in God, strength.

921. In the world, submission comes from without, in God, from within.

922. I obey my master. The question is, "who is your master?"

923. Disobedience comes from Adam and Eve. Obedience is modelled by Jesus. Whom will we follow?

924. Disobedience is selfish, Godly obedience, selfless!

925. Obedience and suffering are common bedfellows.

926. Obedience is refined in the fire of testing.

927. If we obey those we respect, it begs the question, "Do we respect ourselves more than Jesus?"

928. If God knows more than me, shouldn't I take His advice?

929. As God grows in me, there is less and less room for me myself!

930. Heaven is reached through obedience to God's will, not simply the recitation of a 'Sinners Prayer'.

931. Godly obedience is the present outworking of belief and faith.

932. I cannot truly say I'm a believer if I'm not prepared to follow the path of the one in whom I believe.

933. Freewill is a choice, obedience the choice of freewill.

934. Doing what God wants us to do when it differs from what we want to do is our true test of obedience.

935. "I will obey You", is the ultimate form of worship.

936. The path of obedience takes a different route to that of our natural understanding.

937. To do what we don't understand, because God said it, is the ultimate test of obedience.

938. It may be easier to die as a martyr, than to die to one's self!

939. As I die, so God grows in me. There is only room for one of us!

940. In God, submission is a sign of success, not one of failure.

Please feel free to quote these quotes. Acknowledgement of David Tait as the author would be appreciated. There are now well over 1000 David sayings for you to view at ...

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FROM YOU - TO ME -TO YOU

David
Kindly clarify more on the God centred prayer, are there examples in the bible of such prayers? (Editorial 2 weeks ago. DJT)

Regards
Robert

Hi Robert

The classic examples of this type of prayers of worship is the rejoicing around the throne in Revelation.

It is the best New Testament picture we have of the Holy of Holies of the Old. While it is our future inheritance, it is a realm we proceed towards as we get deeper into God and more committed to Him.

Hope this helps.

Blessings

David

Dear David,
Your lesson is a great Advent Lesson.

Thank you for the wonderful and inspiring Lesson of "ZECHARIAH, ELIZABETH AND
JOHN THE BAPTIST" during this very Holy time of the year, a time to be blessed with God's Goodness through the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

And the Angel came to Mary and said......"And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS." Luke 1:31

Advent is upon us, it is a time to prepare for the true meaning of Christmas, a time to reflect upon the coming of the birth of the Christ Child, Jesus, through the Virgin Mary and under the protection of Joseph. God chose Mary and Joseph to be His parents here on earth, just as your lesson teaches us how He chose Zechariah and Elizabeth to be John's parents in order to bring him into the world to... "prepare the way for Jesus, proclaiming key principles of the ministry to follow."

David, in your lesson you told us, John's message to the people was "Repentance for forgiveness of sins and baptism (Luke3:3); proclamation of the "Lords imminent arrival (Luke 3:4-6) and godly living(Luke 3:8-9)." Your lesson of John's message fits perfect with on set of the Advent season.

In the dictionary the meaning of Advent is: "a period beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, observed by many Christians as a season of prayer, fasting, and penitence in preparation for Christmas." Oh! So true!

In preparing oneself during the Advent Season and getting in touch with the true meaning of Christmas fills one heart and soul with the love of Jesus, the Christ Child. I do give thanks to God for His glorious gift of the Holy Family on that Holy night, the first Christmas in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.

God Bless you and the WWJ Family around the World,

With love and kindness,
Marie and Jack Shea, Wheatfield, NY, USA
www.sheaministries.org
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David
I shared some of this weeks newsletter with our bible class last
evening! Excellent material. I like the turtle.

Blessings!
Dr Bernie Wade
INTERNATIONAL CIRCLE OF FAITH (ICOF)
http://www.icof.net

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

This is an opportunity for you to express your views, which may not be my views. But none of us have a mortgage on all the truth - except for Jesus!

CRANWELL'S CARTOON

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. 2 Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky. 3 The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, 4 and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. 5 The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible.
6 After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7 and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. 8 Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. 9 But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. 10 He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. 11 When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. 12 He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him. (Genesis 8:1-12)

TO READ THIS CARTOON AND SEE THE OTHER
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

A REVELATION OF……. 3 MIRACULOUS CONCEPTIONS

POINTING THE WAY TO THE ROLE OF JESUS
PART 4 of 4
THE FUFILMENT IN JESUS

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! That is what the Bible is all about. Pictures and plans for His coming, His life experience, His death and resurrection, our response to it and finally, His return.

An amazing story, so improbable from a human perspective, yet impossible to be just chance!

Let's see now how Jesus fulfilled all the promises.

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Previous teachings on this subject, the First Miracle of Jesus, the Book of Ruth, God's Character and Servanthood and Leadership, the Parable of the Sower, The Two Marathoners, The 3 Rivers of God The Spring Feasts, The Power of 3 in God & the Church, A Layman's History of the Times of the Feasts, The Autumn Feats, Revelation 12:11 and The Way of Holiness can be viewed 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." ***

438. 7 REASONS WHY THE AVERAGE CHRISTIAN CAN'T PLAY BASEBALL
### Doesn't practice all week, but expects to start on game day.
### Gets upset when every ball that's hit doesn't come directly to him.
### Never swings at a pitch because, "This pitcher doesn't throw like the last pitcher. The game's just not the same since he left."
### Wants to run home before going to first base.
### Chatters in order to keep his own teammates from hitting the ball.
### Doesn't come to the game unless the coach personally calls him on the phone, each week, and invites him to show up.
### Worries the game will last so long, that the concession stand will be closed before it's over.

437. DIAL - A ?
They have Dial-a-Prayer for atheists now. You can call up and it rings and rings but nobody answers.

FREE DOWNLOAD: You can now download the book 'Laughing At Ourselves' in PDF format at LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

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FACTS FOR FUN

LAST WEEKS QUESTION: Who drew the original Mickey Mouse in his first short cartoon?

ANSWER: Not Walt Disney, as is commonly believed. All of the sketching and animation was done by Ub Iwerks, Disney's chief animator in the early days of Disney Studios. Walt Disney had largely abandoned drawing animated characters to concentrate on the commercial side of business. However Walt did come up with the idea for Mickey and established his personality. He also supplied the voice. (And banked the money!)

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What do cats, camels, and giraffes have in common?

Answer Next Week.

SOME FUN FACTS

576. WAKE UP WITH AN APPLE
Apples are more efficient than caffeine in keeping people awake in the mornings! (There goes that excuse!)

577. THE BONE FACTS
You are born with 300 bones, but when you get to be an adult, you only have 206! One quarter of all these are in your feet. Your thighbone is stronger than concrete! (Bone up on it all!)

578. ARE YOU HUNGRY?
The starfish is one of the few animals that can turn its stomach inside out! (Fortunately!)

A WORD PUZZLE FOR YOU

Make another word from this word using all the letters.

TARRIED

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...

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DO YOU KNOW? (About Relationships)

How are Philip and Nathanael related?

a. Brothers
b. Disciples
c. One & the Same

Answer at the end of A DAVID MUSING.

Heaps more fun and serious 'God Facts' are found at...

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IF ONLY I'D THOUGHT OF IT!

"""OTHER'S SAYINGS TO ENLIGHTEN, AMUSE, OR BEMUSE"""

!!!!!!! If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

!!!!!! Letting the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n putting it back.

!!!!! You will always pull the wrong shoelace first.

!!!! Just when you get really good at something, you won't need to do it anymore.

!!! All people have at least ten faults. Pick ten you can live with.

!! Think positive. If you fall in the creek, check your pockets for fish.

! For every problem there's a simple solution. Unfortunately it's usually wrong.

100'S MORE TO BE FOUND AT...

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BIBLE RIDDLE

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
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A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.

Find out more Bible Facts at...

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'TIL DEATH DO US PART

PERSPECTIVE!
A mother and a daughter are shopping in the mall, when the mother eyes an expensive fur coat. "This year," she says, "I think that I will buy my present instead of making you and dad shop for me." The daughter nods in agreement. "And I think this fur coat would be perfect too."

The daughter protests, "But mom, some helpless, poor creature has to suffer so that you can have this."

"Don't worry honey," says the mother, "your father won't get the bill for a couple of weeks."

A SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY
There is this couple celebrating their 20th anniversary. The husband decides to do something special for his wife. So he gets up early to make her breakfast in bed.

When the wife wakes up, she is totally amazed. "Oh John, thank you so much. I didn't expect this!" The husband than tells her that he has another surprise, but for that she must wear a blindfold. So the woman is blindfolded and the man leads her the way.

Twelve hours later John tells his wife to take off the blindfold.

She takes it off and is totally stunned and very excited she shouts: "Oh John!!!! We are in Paris, aren't we ??!! This is the best gift you could ever give me! What can I expect when we have our 40th anniversary?!!"

"Well that's quite simple," John answers. "That's when I come to pick you up again!"

FLOWERS
A man walks into a flower shop "I'd like some flowers please."

"Certainly, Sir. What did you have in mind?"

He shrugs "Well I'm not sure, I uh, I uh, I uh..."

"Perhaps I could help. What exactly have you done!"

GOOD AND BAD NEWS
Woman phones up her husband at work for a chat.

Husband: "I'm sorry dear, but I'm up to my neck in work today."

Wife: "But I've got some good news and some bad news for you, dear."

Husband: "Okay, darling, but as I've got very little time now, so just give me the good news."

Wife: "Well, the air bag works."

Much more marriage humour at...

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MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN BIBLICAL LANDS

ROOF
The roof of an Arab's house, then and now, was used for lots of purposes. For storage, (Joshua 2:6), to sleep, (1 Samuel 9:26), to look down on the streets, (Isaiah 22:1), for public proclamations, (Matthew 10:27), worship and prayer, (Acts 10:9), and to escape danger. (Luke 17:31)

Lots more 'God Facts' are found at...

http://www.wwj.org.nz/gfacts.php

HOW PEOPLE IN ORAL CULTURES RETAIN INFORMATION

American anthropologist Paul Hiebert points out four aspects important in
organising, retaining and communicating information in oral cultures:

- memories: poems, songs, riddles, proverbs
- symbols: colours, art, images, carvings
- stories: storytelling, drama, dramatic dance
- rituals: basic creed and ideas as theatre

Traditional evangelistic concepts such as tracts and Bible studies have little
effect, because many people in tribal societies and villages are illiterate;
written information has very little value for them. The evangelists were
trained to use stories, songs and metaphors to communicate the Gospel. In five
years, over 1,000 church planters have been trained, who are leading thousands
of people to Christ, and planting new churches.

Some of the characteristics of the church planters

80% are Biharis, 20% missionaries from other Indian cultures
60% are full-time church planters, 40% part-time
80% are directly involved in church planting, 20% in social ministry
80% are less than 30 years old

Source: www.dawnministries.org

Many more 'God Facts' here...

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CHECK OUT THE 'REVELATION' TEACHING SERIES

A series of 14 booklets on various aspects of the Bible as the Lord has revealed to me. Not your usual Bible School stuff.

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A DAVID MUSING

Thanks to those who prayed for Ray during the week. He is now much better, having been diagnosed with a huge stomach ulcer, which is now being treated. His shadow has reappeared along with a new-found appetite!

Work is continuing here on a CD and DVD recording of 42 comfort Psalms. Hope to have the CD completed this week. Am really looking forward to the final result. Hopefully can even make me sound good! And the background flute music, played in the Spirit by Melanie Yoeman, is superb.

So until next week...

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD.

His servant and yours

David Tait

Today's 'Word Puzzle' Answer: TARDIER

TODAY'S 'DO YOU KNOW?' ANSWER: b. Disciples: Nathanael — given or gift of God, one of our Lord’s disciples, “of Cana in Galilee” (John 21:2). He was “an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile” (1:47, 48). His name occurs only in the Gospel of John, who in his list of the disciples never mentions Bartholomew, with whom he has consequently been identified. He was one of those to whom the Lord showed himself alive after his resurrection, at the Sea of Tiberias. (Easton, M. G., M. A. D. D., Easton’s Bible Dictionary, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1996.)

REPRODUCTION OF NEWSLETTER CONTENT

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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
290 Flaxmere Avenue
Flaxmere
Hastings
New Zealand

Phone: (06) 8799 911 International (+64) 6 8799 911
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