DIG for Monday the 19th of February…..why split your life into different sections…..2 Corinthians 3 v 6

I’m just back from a Christian business conference and am working my through the vast amounts of notes I took.

For me one of the best points was the reinforcement that we are all in “full time ministry”.

Everything we do should be for the Lord and His glory, not just what we class as ministry.

I run a consultancy business, and before that I had a secular career; at the same time I was involved in ministry and pastoring, and I still pastor a church today.

For a long time I used to separate these activities into “secular” and “ministry” but what I am coming to realise is that they are both part of the same walk and same life.

I now understand that we do not need to separate or classify different parts of our lives, instead we should use all aspects to glorify God.

Whatever we do for a living and wherever we do this, we are in “ministry”.

We are all able ministers of the New Covenant according to Scripture (2 Corinthians 3 v 6).

This verse does not state it counts when we are doing “ministry” things; it means at all times.

I have a great friend who used to run a construction business and was often asked when he was going to go into “full time ministry”.

My friend replied, “I started full time ministry the second I was born again”.

This was a fantastic response and the same is true for all of us, no matter in what sphere we “work”.

Never let anyone make you feel like a second-class citizen if you “work” in the “secular” arena, you are also working in “full time ministry”.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you lord that you have made me an able minister of the New Covenant, and thank you that I am working in ministry wherever I am”.

2 Corinthians 3 v 6…..Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life

DIG for Tuesday the 13th of February…..you can choose to live in joy…..Galatians 5 v 22 and 23

Marking the assessments from our Bible School students is proving to be a great blessing.

Tonight I was reading an assessment about the fruit of the Spirit.

One of the students wrote this; “Joy has no root in our circumstances”.

I thought that was a wonderful comment, and one that I am in complete agreement with.

Joy should have its root in our salvation, in what Jesus has done for us and in who we are in Christ.

Joy is a choice, and it is a choice that is easier to make if our focus in on Jesus.

If our focus is on our circumstances and ourselves it is very hard to choose to live in joy.

But if our mind is on Him and what He was done for us, we can choose to live in joy.

You may be thinking, but Vic you do not know what is going on in my life, and that would be true.

But if you are a born again believer I know a lot about you!

You have been forgiven and reconciled to God, you have been made righteous, you have been adopted into the family of God and you have been healed and made prosperous.

So I think you can choose to rejoice, if you want to.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have given me so much to rejoice over “.

Galatians 5 v 22 and 23…..But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law

DIG for Monday the 12th of February…..we have His authority, don’t be afraid to use it…..Matthew 10 v 7 and 8

During worship yesterday I was reminded about being a distillery manager, and about the authority given to me in that job. The Senior Site Manager gave me authority to run the site, backing me in front of the operators even if I made a mistake.

If this happened we spoke about it in his office, but my authority at the site was never removed.

This made me think about the authority we have been given here on earth by God the Father.

We are His representatives here, His ambassadors, and we have been given His authority to deal with sickness and disease for example.

With authority comes the responsibility to act, and with that comes the possibility of making mistakes.

We all make mistakes, in many areas of our lives, including our walk with the Lord. Yet, even when we make mistakes the Lord does not take away His authority.

Through the Holy Spirit and through His Word He will guide us, council us, and enable us to yield His authority in a more appropriate manner.

Jesus gave His disciples His authority, and He has done the same for us.

Jesus went back to His Father so that the Holy Spirit could come and enable His disciples with power, and He has done the same for us.

 

You have been given the same power and authority that the disciples received; do not be afraid to use it.

The disciples made mistakes, and we make mistakes, but that does not mean we should be worried about using the authority given to us freely by the Lord.

We are His ambassadors here on earth, and He will not take away His authority. So use it, and make a difference; use the power and authority you have to change lives!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have given me Your power and Your authority to set people free”.

Matthew 10 v 7 and 8…..And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give

DIG for Thursday the 1st of February…..feeling condemned, well you have gone under law…..Romans 6 v 14

I was listening to some amazing teaching last night and heard a really interesting statement.

The teacher said that God cannot condemn us, the devil cannot condemn us and we even cannot condemn ourselves.

There is only one-way to receive condemnation, and that is to put ourselves under law!

If we are not under law there is nothing anyone can say or do so that can make us feel condemned.

If we feel condemnation we have, in one way or another, put ourselves back under law.

As born again believers living under the New Covenant we are now under grace, and not under law (Romans 6 v 14).

This can be a truth that can set us free if we truly realise its implications.

If we feel condemned we should attempt to find out what part of our lives is under law; what are we striving for and trying to achieve through our own strength.

We can then change this situation, remind ourselves that we are under grace and free ourselves from condemnation and guilt.

We can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ, putting ourselves back under grace.

Under grace there is no condemnation, EVER!

When we trust in Jesus and His finished work (that is live under grace) we are not relying upon our own efforts and strengths so there can never be any condemnation.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus and thank you that I live under grace”.

Romans 6 v 14…..For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace

DIG for Wednesday the 31st of January…..what are you allowing though the gates into your life…..Proverbs 23 v 7

I’ve been pondering another verse this morning that I’ve used in my teaching series on how our thoughts are very important, and this is the ‘signature’ verse for the series.

Proverbs 23 v 7 tells us that as a man thinketh so is he.

This is a fundamental spiritual and natural law put in place by God the Father.

He has given us power over our lives through our thought patterns.

If we think we are a loser we will fail, however if we think like a winner (and then believe and put in place appropriate actions) we will succeed.

The word ‘thinketh’ literally means gatekeeper in the Hebrew.

This is a wonderful picture of how our thoughts allow various things into our lives.

If we are pessimistic and think about sickness we will get sick; our thoughts will allow sickness to come in through the ‘gate’ and into our bodies.

This confirms the verse we looked at yesterday, that merry thoughts are like a medicine (Proverbs 17 v 22).

However if we are optimistic and think on the things of the Lord (such as healing Scriptures) we are far more likely to live in health.

In our spirit we have everything we need for health, prosperity and everything else associated with a life of abundance.

Our soul (mind, will and emotions) is the gate (or valve) through which this abundance can flow into our bodies and the physical world around us.

It is our thought patterns that allow us to work out this goodness; it is also our thought patterns that can keep this abundance shut away in our spirit.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you lord that I already have all I need for life in abundance in my born again spirit”.

Proverbs 23 v 7…..For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee

DIG for Tuesday the 30th of January…..want to be more healthy, be an optimist then…..Proverbs 17 v 22

I am really enjoying preaching at the moment as I am looking at how our thoughts direct our lives, and there are some wonderful verses to teach from!

Take Proverbs 17 v 22 for example.

Proverbs is stuffed full of advice as to how we should live our lives.

In this verse we are told that it is healthy to be an optimist.

If we have merry thoughts, if we are on optimist, this is like taking a medicine.

We take medicine to make us better, to bring us back into health, so this verse is saying merry thoughts can make us well!

You may think this is nonsense, but science is actually now proving this truth.

Studies have shown that optimists are sick less than pessimists.

Science is actually catching up with the Bible in this area!

What is your dominant thought pattern in this area, do you think like an optimist or a pessimist, do you look on the good in things or focus on the bad?

How you think can determine your levels of health!

So if we know this and alter or improve our thinking, we can improve our health; this is so exciting!

We can affect our lives through our thoughts; this is an amazing Biblical truth.

You can control your thoughts and you should!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can alter and improve my thoughts and as a result improve my life”

Proverbs 17 v 22…..A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones

DIG for Monday the 29th of January…..share some good news today…..Hebrews 10 v 24

We had an amazing time of testimony in church yesterday, with people sharing about how the Word has changed their lives.

This is wonderful to see as a pastor and teacher.

I know that the Word will change lives, and I know that good doctrine is what is required.

But it is wonderful to hear others say this after they have been changed themselves.

It is great to hear when people have had a success in their lives; it is great to hear when something has gone well.

A sister said this to me yesterday, “Maybe I should phone you when things have gone well, instead of just calling you when I need help”.

This was a real sign of maturity, with this sister recognising that we can encourage and build each other up with our good news.

I’ve often said that this life is impossible without interaction with others.

We are here to help each other and build each other up; that is what church should be all about.

We are supposed to provoke each other unto love and good works (Hebrews 10 v 24), and we cannot do this if we spend our time alone.

We should be spending time with people, and preferably giving them some good news.

What good news have you got to share this evening?

And have you told anyone yet?

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for all the good things you have given me and thank you for your love, mercy and compassion”.

Hebrews 10 v 24…..And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works

DIG for Friday the 19th of January…..it is the Word that will change you…..2 Peter 1 v 3

It was a delight tonight to have our final teaching session for the first set of students at Moray Bible School.

We ate together before our final discussion of the Word as a group at the School.

It has been wonderful (as a teacher and pastor) to see the growth in knowledge of the students.

This has coincided with a growth in terms of Christian maturity and assurance in their faith.

This of course should be expected, as it is an understanding of the Word and therefore Jesus that leads to permanent change and growth.

We are told that it is through knowledge of Jesus that we can manifest all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

We are told that it is the Word that can move us towards perfection (2 Timothy 3 v 16 and 17).

There is a process to go through in order to see this positive change; we have to conceive it in our mind, believe it and speak it out.

It all starts however with the Word; it is the truths in the Word we should be thinking about and speaking out over our lives, it is the truth that we should believe.

I have seen the Word change my life, and I have now seen the Word change the lives of the Bible School students.

Yes, it takes hard work and effort, but it is worth the effort; just ask the students!

I would encourage you to get into the way of studying the Word, of rightly dividing the Word.

I assure you this will change your life and be worth the time, energy, work and effort.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that it is the agent of change in my life”.

2 Peter 1 v 3…..According as his divine power that given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge, of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

DIG for Tuesday the 16th of January…..it is the Word that causes the change…..2 Peter 1 v 3

I happened to watch a documentary today about Martin Luther.

It was a fascinating program, but one quote in particular has stuck with me.

He said, “But I, I did nothing, the Word did everything”.

This is an amazing comment, given how the man changed the face of the church and indeed changed the world with his ideas and actions.

He was however stating a truth that is still important today.

The Word is the final authority in truth and the Word is the agent of change in our lives.

It is through understanding of the Word that we can use to implement permanent change in our lives.

Through and understanding of the Word we can gain all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

It is the Word that we use to renew our minds and see real transformation (Romans 12 v 2).

Luther recognised the importance of the Word and was influential in getting it translated into German.

He knew the importance of letting everyone read the Word for himself or herself, and this is of course very true today.

We are required to take responsibility for our own bible study in order to get eh best from it.

We should be thankful for the pioneers who enabled the Bible to be translated into our mother tongue.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word, and thank you that it is the agent for change in my life”.

2 Peter 1 v 3…..According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

DIG for Monday the 15th of January…..why the constant negativity…..Proverbs 18 v 21

Yesterday I wrote about the importance of what we think, and this also counts for what we say.

It is also very important what we listen to, as we are influenced greatly by what we take in to our hearts and minds.

I have stopped listening to a number of radio programs and stations due to the constant negativity being spoken out.

I was listening to one of the “better” programs today and even they were becoming too negative for me!

They were reporting about a tennis tournament where a British player had done really well winning 6-3 6-1.

This in anyone’s definition is a good result and a result to be celebrated.

However the first thing the newsreader asked the reporter was this, “So is there any evidence of the hip injury we think she has?”

No mention of the score, or how well the player had done or any sense of celebration about the success of the British player.

No, straight in to a negative comment about a potential problem!

Everyone is affected by the words they speak out and the words spoken out over them.

We know that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18 v 21); important for our own lives and important for those we speak about.

I would encourage you to be more positive and less negative; I can assure that this will improve your life and improve the lives of those around you.

Take the challenge and think about the words you are speaking out!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I know death and life are in the power of my tongue, and thank you that I am capable of making more positive remarks”.

Proverbs 18 v 21…..Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof