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Tupu Whakarangi
EE
Official Magazine Of
Maori Postal Aotearoa
Testimony page 12
maoripostal.co.nz Box 10 Whanganui Issue 222
06 343 7957
info@maoripostal.co.nz
In this Edition 3 Salvation
18 Church History
7 Pastor's Musings
19 Good Reads
11 What's A Father To Do? 20 Kai Time! 12 Testimony
21 1 Timoti 4:8
16 Marriage Matters
22 Teen Space
Cover by Erana Pound
23 Tamariki
Nau mai haere mai Editor
Graham Batson
Associate Editor
Tony Ahie
We pray this edition of Tupu Whakarangi is a blessing to you, your friends and your whanau.
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena tatou katoa!
If you only read one thing this year, please make this article it.
-- It's that important -Let me ask you something, if you sat on a seat up the front of a packed out cinema, facing everybody with a spotlight on you, then someone projected every single evil thought you have ever had in your entire life onto the giant picture screen behind you, would everyone in the picture theatre see how sinful you are? Or what if every thought you think is broadcasted live on You Tube for the whole world to see? When we know how evil humans really are and how Holy God is and how much He despises sin, we can then have a greater appreciation for the greatest display of love ever known to mankind in all of history. The death and resurrection of the Lord Christ Jesus. He died for you, that’s loving!
Therefore if we’ve broken His perfect law the only adequate sentence for sinful mankind is eternal separation from Him and punishment in Hell. Hard to hear I know, but I care enough about you to tell you the truth. Every follower of false religions will be judged on what they did with Jesus Christ, whether they trusted Christ for their salvation or not. Those who have only followed after other religions and religious leaders will, when they die spend forever in hell. Those who claim to be atheist or have followed only Maoridom, Muhammad, Buddha, Mormonism, The Jehovah Witness, all New Age spiritual practices and everyone else who has only followed every other religious leader and spiritual practice except the true Biblical Jesus Christ will be summoned and they will stand before the Lord and be cast into the lake of eternal fire!
The one true God, the God of the Bible is Holy, 100% perfect, fair and loving. He has bestowed His love onto people that hate Him. Think about this, God says, “Do not lie.” Have you ever lied? Yes! So you have broken 1 of God's Holy laws and that’s just 1. Everyone has sinned, we have all missed Gods perfect standard.
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me.”
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There’s not several roads that lead to heaven and Christianity is but one of those roads. Some people may say, “you just have to be sincere and get on one of these religious roads that will take you to heaven.” That’s a lie! There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There is salvation in no other name. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. There is only one way to heaven, not many ways. It’s only through Jesus. This is the good news. God is a fair judge and He has made a way that we can be reconciled to Him. For God so loved you that He gave His one and only Son that if you believe in Him you shall not perish but have eternal life. God has bridged the gap between sinful, evil mankind and His own Holiness. This is lovingly seen in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. I te timatanga te Kupu, I te Atua te Kupu, Ko te Atua ano te Kupu. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word spoken of here is Jesus Christ. Jesus is God. Jesus Christ is Lord of all. God became man, born to a virgin via the Holy Spirit, lived a sinless, pure, perfect and Holy life and didn’t sin once, not even
in thought (like us). The sinless Lamb of God, the sinless loving One, became a pure sacrifice for my sin and yours. He shed His own blood as an atonement for our sin so we could be free. Now that’s loving! I don’t know about you but I don’t know if I’d die for someone that hated me. Jesus did. He died for you. He loved you so much that He got whipped over 30 times, had a crown of thorns whacked on His head, was nailed to a dirty old cross, hung there and bore the full wrath of God which we deserved. Then He died and rose again from the dead 3 days later and in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. He loves you that much! When the world hates you (and it will), remember Christ loves you. When your friends or family are being horrible to you, remember what Christ went through for you. Christ’s death and resurrection make it possible for you to be united with our loving Heavenly Father, but without Christ there’s no way and we would all perish in Hell for ever. Do you see how important Jesus Christ is? There’s a way made for you to be accepted into heaven and it's only by grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone, Soli deo Gloria, to the glory of God alone. Jesus Christ is the door to eternal life in heaven.
When you're a Christian, a born again believer, you have a God who loves you so much that I can’t even begin to describe it. God will never turn His back on the ones He loves. When life throws curve balls at you and life gets tough and you’re feeling down and out, know this: God loves you and He will never, ever let you go. You belong to Him and you are His forever. That’s good news and it's possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
Christ will spend eternity in torment. My brother in law crashed his car at high speed into a horse then a power pole and lived to tell the story. He didn't think his day was going to end like that when he woke up that morning. You see, life can change in the blink of an eye! And please don’t think, “Oh, but, my parents are Christian” or “I go to church on Sundays so I’m saved.” That’s a lie! There’s one way to be saved and that’s through faith in Jesus.
If you don’t know the one true God, please think about what you have just read.
Some people profess to know Christ but they do not in reality possess Christ.
Repent and abandon everything else you trust, turn to and trust fully in Jesus Christ. Cry out to Him to save you. Don’t procrastinate, don’t put it off and say, “Maybe one day when I get out of college." "One day when I get married." "One day when we have children." "One day when my career gets going." "One day when I retire." Or, "One day when I’m on my death bed, then I will finally give my life to Christ.” That ‘One Day’ may never come. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Today is the day of salvation. Procrastinators who die without
Please don’t think that the Gospel is just for the criminal or the prostitute or the alcoholics and drug dealers or just for the old people or only for the kids or mum and dad, but not for you because you think you're too good for them dorky Christians, or that you're better or cooler than others and God will accept you because you're awesome. The truth is that we have all sinned and we all fall short of the glory of God and we will all be brought to stand in the day of judgement before a Holy, righteous, all knowing, all powerful God. Turn from your sin and trust in Jesus. -T Ahie.
The gift of life. By Joseph Hurley
Himona Te Huna
I have been blessed and am loving it! All thanks to my loving heavenly Father. I have lived a life of sin for a long time and ended up poisoning my mind, body and soul with evil. I have hurt many people and have caused great havoc with my family and am not proud of what I have done, especially to my parents. I ended up losing many friends and I’ve been down and out for who knows how long. I was unfaithful and am embarrassed of my stupidity. I read the testimony of Angel Taylor. I asked her how I ask for forgiveness, as I didn’t know how to pray. She answered all my questions, and was willing to help me, so we prayed a karakia together, asking Jesus to forgive and save me. I have now found Jesus! Jesus is in my life and am gonna walk with Him and all the rest of God’s children for as long as I live. My life has changed, all the bad things I used to love I now hate. I have never felt free, when I mean free I mean free from all bad things I had inside. Thank you Jesus!
God is an awesome God! He is everything that is good, A miraculous Spirit of the living, Showing us many things He could, His heart flawless without sin, Wanting what is best for us all, No matter how many mistakes we make, For all men will slip and fall. Not one person can say they are perfect, Or live a sin free way of life, For we all fall short of God's glory. And often we find ourselves in strife, God will remain at our side always. If we only let our heavenly father in, Then we can allow God to work in us, And the spiritual war he will win. Give your heart to the Lord and in God confide. The greatest gift God gave man is the spirit of life and living. So what my friend will you give back? After all we should be giving. So take your heart and give it to the Lord, And all good things will come, Let Him guide you on lifes journey, All the beautiful things God has done.
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As you survey the nation
from the bottom of the South Island to the top of the North Island — it becomes apparent that there is a famine in the land. Not of food nor water, for we are a people of abundance, but a famine of hearing the word of God. People everywhere, Christians all over, are spiritually anemic and spiritually malnourished. It seems that the church of Jesus Christ in New Zealand has fallen asleep. The only remedy I see is that there must be a pivotal shift in the pulpits around our land by a return to passionate and powerful preaching of the full counsel of God's word. Only this, along with a new found passion for holy living, will awaken us from this slumber.
Matthew Johnston serves as Assistant Pastor at Riverbend Bible Church in Havelock North, is a graduate of The Master's Seminary and a lecturer at The Shepherds' Bible College. Matthew is married to Lisa and they have three beautiful children together. 5 7
defend the rights of the afflicted and needy Proverbs 31:9
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thecultureofgrace.wordpress.com
Christian
thoughts and started selling drugs to make a profit. He had a nice car, a lot of money and so called 'friends', but still felt empty. God saved him. Now Forgiven is another one of the billions who have been born again by the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Music
Forgiven
Go to 'Maori Postal' then 'Rap' on:
Dylan James Guidroz, better known as "Forgiven", grew up with parents who were divorced. He was forced to be a father figure to his younger brother. With his mum not really being around growing up, he had one goal and that was to not live that life! Being 6'3 and 220lbs he was following more the sports dream. Then things changed. His dreams were taken away by an injury. He then started going out every weekend and drinking to hide his
Anthony Evans
Forgiven
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"We do not sit in authority over the Scripture, the Scripture sits in authority over us"
Mark Watson serves as Senior Pastor at the New Plymouth Bible Chapel and is a graduate of The Master's Seminary. Mark is married to Denise and have two beautiful daughters.
The Trials of Life
“When will this trial be over?” This is a very normal question to ask when things in life don’t go our way, or when we experience hardship and sadness. But as we read in James 1:2-4, we should expect trials and hardship, because it is through these very experiences that God causes us to grow in our faith in Him, and to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. So, if trials are inevitable in our life, how can we deal with them? Well, first, we need to know the purpose of our trials, and to be joyful in that knowledge. In other words, James reminds us that through our trials, God is making us stronger Christians, and He is also fashioning us into something much more precious than gold and silver – He is making us into strong Christians that have strong faith in Jesus Christ. Second, God promises us the wisdom that we need (James 1:5-8) to see the trials from God’s point of view, and see what God is doing in our lives. Third, and most importantly, God had promised us a reward at this end of this life, the most amazing reward that we can ever dream of – eternal life. As you go through trials, be reminded of the purpose of our trials and take joy in that. Know that God has promised us all the wisdom that we need to endure each trial, and that He has also promised us the reward of eternal life for each person who endures to the end. Remember also that Jesus went through the ultimate trial, which was a horrible death on a cross in order to pay for our sin, but through that trial, He paid the price of our sin in full. The next time you enter a trial, remember the trial that Jesus went through so that you can enjoy that wonderful reward of eternal life with Him. - M Watson.
Thabiti Anyabwile
e
What's a father to do? With all the bombardment from the world in the form of media, internet, magazines, tv programs, music, books, signs and people, it can be very difficult to navigate through the garbage to find something of real, lasting value to pass onto our precious children. If you're anything like me, the main thing you want for your kids is that they be saved. God is in charge of the saving, but we must do the sharing. Sharing of what? The Gospel! We are the main people in our kids lives and have the largest influence on them from a young age. It is our responsibility as fathers to teach our kids the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is up to us as their Dad to share the Gospel with them over and over again and to train them in the way of the Lord. Don't leave it up to the church or your wife to do it. You do it. You're their father. If you're not teaching them you gotta step up! The church and your wife are there to assist but it is your duty, your calling and your responsibility to point your babies to the cross of Christ. They need a man that they can depend on, that they can trust. They need a man with strong shoulders to take the weight of this evil world when they can't stand by themselves. They need a man to stand strong in the face of adversity. They need a man who isn't afraid to say no to negative influences. They need a man who will stand up for good and shun what is wrong. They need a Dad that knows Jesus and knows Christ's glorious Gospel and they need a father who is willing to do whatever it takes to get this saving message to his children's ears. You may come home from work tired. I understand, I do too but try this, before you get out of the car, pray for more strength to fulfill your duty, then endure until you put your children to bed, then pray with them. Once they are tucked up cosy in their bed, pray for even more strength! Why? Because your wife needs you too. Shepherd the hearts of your family, do it consistently, lovingly and patiently. Rely upon the Lord's strength and do the very best you can every single day, so that every night when your head hits the pillow, you can look back over the day and know that you did all you could to lead your family to the cross of Christ. We will never get it perfectly right all the time but I want to encourage you to never give up! Persevere when it gets hard. Derive your strength from the Lord & give it all you've got!
Picture this little girl trying to climb all the way up this big hill by herself, getting tired and defeated. Now picture her loving father coming along beside her, picking her up and helping her to the top. Life for kids can get hard, don't give up on them!
Testimony to the power of
Christ Jesus
Chance and Racheal Church
selfish world unable to see the effects I had on other people, especially my parents. I had no respect for myself or anyone else. My friends were my life and I held them higher than my own family. I thought I was happy. I had my first baby at the age of 15, Jade, which stopped a some of the things I was into, not all. I was still selfish. At 15 I thought I was more capable than what I really was.
Hi, my name is Racheal Church and here is my story.. I was raised in an average New Zealand household, we never had the finest things but we were always cared for and loved. I was a happy child who loved my family. My parents divorced when I was 9, and I grew into a troubled teen and have done many bad and disgraceful things. I lived in a
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I met my husband Chance not long after we had both turned 19. He was confident, handsome and before long I was pregnant with my 2nd baby, Cash. Our relationship had no love and was
Eventually we got back together and I became pregnant with our 4th baby, Wolf. We went to counselling, it didn’t help.
violent and abusive. We were not capable. We did not have the right knowledge or tools to be together. At 20, Chance went to jail for a year. We continued our relationship and I would take the kids to visit him every weekend. When he was released we moved to a farm and carried on with life and our toxic relationship which was full of violent arguments, jealousy, envy, and competition. We had another baby, Trey.
Chance had met a Christian man, Peter, who introduced him to the world of Christianity. We started going to church and learned a bit about God and we got married on the 4th May 2013. Unfortunately we had still not learned what love, marriage and what being a Christian meant. Our marriage started to crumble. We again separated, but we never lost our bond. I still loved Chance and wanted to be married to him, but I did not know how our relationship would ever work.
Our kids would see our fighting and would often be the ones trying to stop us. We ended up breaking up for about a year. During that time I questioned life and started to explore my spirituality.
"I never stopped loving Chance"
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" Our love for God has made our family strong."
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Chance met another Christian man, Calvyn Jonker, a pastor at Wanganui East Baptist Church. Chance had given his heart to the Lord and had asked me to come and meet with Calvyn. He spent some time with us and helped our marriage by giving us the knowledge and tools of how to make it work. During this time I learnt what love actually means. Time went by and looking back I can see where God was working in our lives. I decided to truly give my heart to the Lord on the 1st July 2015. I could feel the truth of the Word.
My life has changed since that day, through all the trials, I have never felt alone. I love my husband and my children and thank God for bringing them into my life. Our marriage is not perfect, we still argue about silly things though it doesn’t turn to violence anymore, our relationship is nothing of how it used to be. Before we knew God our relationship was 90% bad and 10% good, now its 90% good and 10% bad, that I can live with.Our love for God has made our family strong.
Got A Story? Contact Maori Postal 06 343 7957 - info@maoripostal.co.nz
Did you know the following people have professed faith in Christ? Chris Tucker Mr T Hulk Hogan Carrie Underwood Faith Hill George Foreman Chuck Norris Patricia Heaton Olivia Newton-John Kirk Cameron Garth Brooks Denzel Washington Alice Cooper R Kelly Tim McGraw Evander Holyfield Mel Gibson And Billions More....
Marriage I've Got It Sussed!
Do you think you have this whole marriage thing all sorted? Some people say they do, but did you know that the whanau relationship has always been the very center of all human civilization? That’s the way God designed it to be. If the whanau collapses as the foundation, all of civilization will crumble along with it. Over the years we have all seen to some extent the destructive process of family breakdowns, at times right before our very eyes. It almost seems that contemporary, secular society has declared war on the whanau as a whole, what's up with that? Casual sex is accepted as normal, and in many cases encouraged and expected, even in kids! Some say, ‘why buy the whole cow when you can get the milk for free’ or ‘try before you buy.’ Sexual immorality is glorified in our society and is claimed to be something one should be proud of, what a load of B S that is, (Bible Severing). Divorce is at an all time high, marriage itself is declining, people are living together without making a covenant or formally constituting a family and some sleep with whoever they want or have ‘friends with benefits’. Abortion is a nationwide plague, the number of ‘troubled youth’ is sky rocketing and many parents have quit their role in their whanau saying, ‘it’s just too hard, I can’t cope.’ What is going on? It's B S! That's what's going on! People are rejecting the Bible and going their own way.
Visit gracebooks.co.nz for helpful marriage resources! For fast and friendly service call or email!
0800 55GRACE orders@gracebooks.co.nz 16
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Matters Child bashing is going up, same sex marriage is accepted and the internet is the new parent and baby sitter. These are all attacks on the whanau unit. We need to make war on this B S mentality! The Bible is the authority in marriage and the first thing we need to be clear on is that our culture does not define our roles. God does. Just because your friends are living a certain way within their marriage relationship doesn't mean that you automatically should live that way too, especially if it's contrary to what God has revealed in His Word. Once we know the truth we must obey it. In war, as soldiers approach enemy lines, they keep low and quiet. If they hear a twig snap, a rustling of leaves, or a cough they’re in attack mode! We must be just as vigilant, alert, watchful and ruthless towards anything that raises itself up against the Word of God. We must kill it and have no mercy! We are to do the severing! Severing from this evil world system, it's lusts and ideas. Severing from the world not the Word! But how do we know what to adopt and what to sever? We must study the Bible to find out. Get a good study Bible and a Christian marriage study guide then get into it! Get into God’s Word with your spouse because your marriage and your whanau are worth it. Gracebooks has a wide variety to choose from. Get started today!!!
!
Study the Bible, together.
Church History
Recommended Resource Church History - Timothy Jones
THE AGE OF PROGRESS 1789 – 1914 The French Revolution unleashed new hopes for the common man just as science raised new questions for traditional Christians. Power seemed to be within the reach of the masses. For Christianity this meant that new social unrest was added to the challenge of intellectual doubts. How are Christians supposed to meet the needs of the urban masses? Was man simply a product of evolutionary forces? Christians were seriously divided over ways to face these problems.
Without the traditional support of the state many Protestants turned to voluntary societies to minister to the poor and the oppressed, as well as to carry the gospel to foreign lands. “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon 18
Good Reads For years, the spiritual lives of countless men and women all over the world have been strengthened with the help of The MacArthur Study Bible. This all in one spiritual library contains Dr. MacArthur’s personal study notes below the full length Bible text. Virtually every Scripture has a matching study note with detailed information, explanation, and helpful insight. The notes are based on Dr. MacArthur’s verse by verse approach to the Bible and nearly forty years of careful study. His goal is to let the Bible speak for itself, nothing more, nothing less. This MacArthur Study Bible is available in the English Standard Version (ESV), which is an essentially literal translation. The ESV Bible combines word for word accuracy with readability, literary excellence and depth of meaning. The ESV MacArthur Study Bible is an essential resource for growing Christians. It can transform your personal time in God’s Word by clarifying difficult passages, bringing unseen cultural and historical details to life and helping you understand and apply biblical truth. It features the complete ESV Bible text, nearly 25,000 explanatory notes and more than 140 two colour maps, charts, time lines and illustrations. Plus, complete introductions to each Bible book, concise articles on how we got the Bible, how to study the Bible and an introduction to the Bible. Plus, 80,000 cross-references, an extensive concordance, Bible reading plans, index to key Bible doctrines, outline of systematic theology, presentation page, family record section, center column references, time line of Old Testament kings and prophets, time line of New Testament chronology, harmony of the Gospels and much, much more!
This is truly a valuable resource and it’s available free! Be the first to tell us why you want it and it's yours! Box 10 Whanganui
06 343 19 7957
info@maoripostal.co.nz
KaiTime By Erana Pound
Lasagne Rolls
sugar and let it simmer until it's reduced to a thick sauce.
Step 2: Put spinach and mushroom mixture into one bowl, add the ricotta and stir. You can also add some pine nuts.
Ingredients:
1/2 red onion Diced mushroom 2 cups chopped spinach leaves 1/2 tub ricotta Fresh lasagne sheets 100ml Cream
Step 4: Top with your favourite pasta or
Method:
tomato sauce, then sprinkle mozzarella on top. Bake for about 25mins on 180 degrees.
mushrooms and spinach until spinach wilts a bit. Add the cream and a pinch of brown
Box 10 Whanganui - info@maoripostal.co.nz
Step 1: Fry the onion in butter, add
Share your recipes
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Photo: thecultureofgrace.wordpress.com
Step 3: Get out your fresh lasagne sheets and cut in half length ways and then across so you get 4 strips. Place a little over a tablespoon of the mixture in each one and smooth on with a spoon. Roll the lasagne sheet up and place in an oven proof dish. Continue until you run out of sheets.
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- ko te ngakau He pai iti nei to- te whakamahi i te tinana; tena karakia e pai ano mo- nga- - hoki kei te haere mai. mea katoa, kei reira hoki nga korero mo te ora inaianei, mo tera
Old Skool vs New skool
Do Some Tagging
Take on the kids by setting up an obstacle course in the yard, have a sprint off, have a bike race or play copycat on the tramp!
Not with a spray can, with your kids! Get up, tag them then run, really see if you can keep away from them, try 2 minutes.
Parkin' It Pad Work House work not boxing pad work although that's pretty tough too! Try to maximize the housework you do by scrubbing, moping, vacuuming and doing lawns super fast! Put some muscle into it and keep it going for a squeaky clean yet sweaty workout!
Not your self on the couch, train at the park! The park is an outdoor gym just waiting to happen! Kids play, you train. Push with your arms when your child sits on the seesaw, push them on the swings, push them on the roundabout, charge up the slide stairs then slide down the other side, good times!
Please remember to seek the advice of your health care professional before venturing into a new exercise routine.
Teen
Space
Brian Welch - Saved
real issues - real answers This months topic:
Saved We hear a lot about church, Bible, Jesus, God, getting saved, being a Christian or accepting Jesus but what does this all mean? More importantly what does it mean to you? Jesus came to save. Save who? You! Save you from what? Hell! You may think 'well I don't believe in hell,' ok try this, what if you didn't believe in gravity and you jumped off a roof? It doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, you're going to hit the ground. Same thing with hell. Doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, it's still true, it's still there and it lasts for ever.
How do I be saved from hell? BELIEVE that Jesus died for you and that God can forgive you for all the bad things you have ever done. Believe that Jesus' death was enough to pay for all your sins. Believe that He came back to life.
RECEIVE Jesus as your Saviour. The perfect One who was punished on the cross for the sinful things you do. Tell Him you are sorry for the bad things you have ever done. Turn from your bad ways and everything else you trust, put all your faith in Jesus and turn to Jesus as the only one who can save you. Tell Jesus you want Him to forgive you!
Talk To A Christian You Know Before It's To Late maori postal
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YAY - C O L O U R - I N
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TAMARIKI God Loves ME Who died on one of these?
A. Donald Duck B. Spiderman C. Jesus
Who should you pray to? 1. Teddy 2. Your Teacher Read 3. Buddha about 4. Jesus what a Rainbow is in the Bible at Genesis 9:13-17
J_S_S
Which book did
God
write?
L _V E _
A
M_
B
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C
Do
Tena Koutou Katoa
n’ t M Th Gi ag A row ve wa Th It is Aw y... ay !
Anei Nga Korero Pai
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