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: 944 Published: 25 Nov 2019
THINKING GREEK OR HEBREW?
PRAYER
Greek (Western)
Our prayer is primarily help and request orientated.
In Greek life, prayer was not a consistent everyday event, the gods being called upon when something was wrong or someone had a need. In times of celebration in the great arenas, the gods would be called upon to make the event successful, by leaders praying lengthy and colourful prayers on behalf of the people. The success or failure of the prayer was judged by the results. If fine weather was requested and it rained, the gods were displeased.
Many elements of these early Greek attitudes to prayer remain with us today in our prayer lives. For example, in most services, the minister will pray on behalf of the people. And we will simply agree, by saying 'Amen' (So be it.)
Eastern (Hebrew)
Hebrew prayer is short, frequent, at set times, and oriented towards thankfulness for what God has done thus building faith for what He will do.
Prayer is regarded as a communal activity even when the people are apart, as they are praying at similar times. Moslems apply a similar principle in their 5 daily prayers facing towards Mecca. It can be communal or individual, but even in the communal, the people pray individually.
This personal communal element is illustrated in the Lord's Prayer which starts not 'my' but 'our', and which is normally said together, more reflecting the Eastern pattern.....
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
”‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (Matthew 6:9)
Adoration of God is the preamble to most Jewish blessings.....
"Baruch atah YHVH Elohenu melech haolam"
or "Blessed art thou O YHVH OUR Elohiym, King of the Universe ..."
The result of thankfulness given for past victories and blessings provides the faith to face present battles in life. This was literally so here.....
When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. (Deuteronomy 20:1)
Of course, supplication, that is personal requests, have a role in Eastern prayers, but do not assume the place of dominance they do in our own. Most of the Psalms emphasize God's glory and great deeds, even when making requests of Him.....
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help. (Psalm 22:19-24)
The major problem, for Jews and Gentiles alike, is we are keener on talking than listening in our prayers. The more disobedient and self-centred we become the less likely we are to listen to what God wants to say to us. For genuine prayer is a two way interaction, us speaking to God, and God speaking to us.....
In the Old Testament.....
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. (Isaiah 55:1-3)
…..and in the New.....
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
(John 10:3-4)
May we learn to become as one with our Master and Lord.
SOME SPIRITUAL IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY
1. Prayer is a participatory, not a spectator, activity, even when done in groups.
2. Prayer is to be an ongoing regular, and spontaneous, part of our daily lives.
3. Prayer is not a religious exercise, cased in flowery words, but a simple two way conversation between us and God.
4. We need to adore, confess, and give thanks to God, as well as make our requests known to Him.
5. We need to listen to, and obey Him, when He speaks to us.
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FROM THE WORD
THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....
Testimonies of Jesus (John 5:31-47)
If I were to make claims about myself, such claims wouldn’t be valid; but someone else gives evidence about me, and I know what he says about me is true. You asked John about me, and he told the truth, 34but I don’t need any human endorsement. I’m explaining this to you so you can be saved. John was like a brightly-burning light, and you were willing to enjoy his light for a while. But the evidence I’m giving is greater than John’s. For I am doing the work that the Father gave me to do, and this is the proof that the Father sent me. The Father who sent me, he himself speaks on my behalf. You’ve never heard his voice, and you’ve never seen what he looks like, and you don’t accept what he says, because you don’t trust in the one he sent.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that through them you’ll gain eternal life. But the evidence they give is in support of me! And yet you don’t want to come to me so that you might live. I’m not looking for human approval —I know you, and that you don’t have God’s love in you. For I’ve come to represent my Father, and you won’t accept me; but if someone comes representing themselves, then you accept them! How can you trust in me when you look for praise from one another and yet you don’t look for praise from the one true God? But don’t think I will be making accusations about you to the Father. It’s Moses who is accusing you, the one in whom you place such confidence. For if you really trusted Moses you would trust in me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t trust what he said, why would you trust what I say?”
The Lord of the Sabbath(Matthew 12:1-14, Mark 2:23-3:6, Luke 6:1-11)
Jesus criticized for picking grain on the Sabbath.
Haven’t you read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath but are not considered guilty? However I tell you that someone is here who is greater than the temple! 7If you’d known the meaning of this Scripture, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned an innocent man. For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
And again for healing a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue.
“Suppose you have a sheep and it falls into a hole in the ground on the Sabbath. Don’t you grab hold of it and pull it out?” “Don’t you think a human being is worth much more than a sheep? So yes, you are allowed to do good on the Sabbath.”
“Hold out your hand.”
(Continued next week)
Download the complete 'Words of Jesus' here.
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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
1042. Religion resists change while revelation requires it!
1043. Revelation formalised soon becomes religion institutionalised.
1044. God's kingdom breeds revelation, religion, rules.
1045. Religion is man's adaptation of God's revelation.
1046. When religion fails you, turn to God.
1047. So often the church attempts to compete with God's kingdom rather than promoting it.
1048. God's vision is our mission.
1049. Religion is the eager repository of yesterday's revelation.
1050. Revelation is eternal truth meeting today's circumstances.
1051. Revelation is from God's heart, religion, a product of the heart of man.
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TUESDAY TEACHINGS
NEXT WEEK: POS’ FULFILLED BY JESUS (To be Experientially fulfilled, that is Embraced, by the Church)
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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. ***
344. Job Description For The Pastor
As nearly everyone knows, the Pastor has practically nothing to do except -
* Decide what is to be done;
* Tell somebody to do it;
* Listen to reasons why it should not be done;
* Listen to reasons why it should be done by someone else;
* Listen to reasons why it should be done in a different way;
* Follow up to see if the thing has been done;
* Discover that it has not;
* Inquire why;
* Listen to excuses from the person who should have done it;
* Follow up again to see if the thing has been done, only to
* Discover that it has been done incorrectly;
* Point out how it should have been done;
* Conclude that as long as it has been done, though incorrectly, it may as well be left as it is;
* Wonder if it is not time to get rid of the person who cannot do a thing right;
* Reflect that certainly any successor would be just as bad, or even maybe worse;
* Consider how much simpler and better the thing would have been done if one had done it himself in the first place;
* Reflect sadly that one could have done it right in twenty minutes, and as things turned out, one has to spend two days to find out why it has taken three weeks for somebody else to do it wrong.
QWIK QWIP: “Funny how a $10.00 bill looks so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to the market.”
345. Business Is Business
After watching sales falling off for three straight months at Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Colonel calls up the Pope and asks for a favour.
The Pope says, "What can I do? "The Colonel says, "I need you to change the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken'. If you do it, I'll donate 10 Million Dollars to the Vatican."
The Pope replies, "I am sorry. That is the Lord's prayer and I can not change the words." So the Colonel hangs up.
After another month of dismal sales, the Colonel panics, and calls again. "Listen your Excellency. I really need your help. I'll donate $50 million dollars if you change the words of the daily prayer from 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken.'" And the Pope responds, "It is very tempting, Colonel Sanders. The church could do a lot of good with that much money. It would help us to support many charities. But, again, I must decline. It is the Lord's prayer, and I can't change the words."
So the Colonel gives up again. After two more months of terrible sales, the Colonel gets desperate. "This is my final offer, your Excellency. If you change the words of the daily prayer from, 'Give us this day our daily bread' to 'Give us this day our daily chicken' I will donate $100 million to the Vatican." The Pope replies, "Let me get back to you."
So the next day, the Pope calls together all of his bishops and he says, "I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that KFC is going to donate $100 million to the Vatican."
The bishops rejoice at the news.
Then one asks about the bad news. The Pope replies, "The bad news is that we lost the Wonder Bread account."
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
Modern technology can do amazing things, even here in Kenya.
Currently there is drone buzzing round overhead, filming our hospital and the surrounding country for a hospital documantary we are preparing. An amazing overview that you could not easily get any other way.
In our church services too, more emphasis is being placed on electronic gismos to brighten up the presentation, whether in worship or speaking.
Sadly though, the presentation is overtaking the substance.
To build a personal relationship with someone, whether in the natural or the spiritual, takes time. There is simply no substitute.
Whether with our boyfriend or girlfriend, our spouse, or God, time is the essence of a successful relationship.
Sound bites simply do not hack it in relationship.
Spending time with God involves reading His Word, contemplation and prayer. A two way process, letting Him speak to us as we well as we speak to Him. In fact, listening is the most important.
Have you allocated time to spend with Him today?
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 websitewwj.org.nz or by contacting us as follows.
Walking With Jesus Ministries
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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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