DIG for Sunday the 30th of September…..what a wonderful plan and purpose He has for you…..Jeremiah 29 v 11

The Lord did not place you on this earth to bumble about and live out your existence without a plan or purpose.

The Lord has a purpose for you as an individual and as a corporate member of the body; you have your own purpose and you have the purpose that we all have.

As born again believers we are all ambassadors (2 Cor 5 v 20) and we are all ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5 v 18).

As born again believers we have been asked to carry out what is known as the great commission (Matthew 28 v 18 to 20 and Mark 16 v 15 to 18).

We also however have an individual plan and purpose; one designed exclusively for us by God.

There are many verses that show us this in scripture; Jeremiah 29:11 is one such verse.

God has a purpose for your life that He has thought over and contemplated and it is good.

What a wonderful verse; He knows where He expects you to be and what to do and it is good and full of peace. Good and full of peace as it is His plan and purpose.

Only good and perfect things from God so it must be a good plan (James 1 v 17).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have a peaceful and expected end for me”

Jeremiah 29 v 11…..For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end

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DIG for Saturday the 29th of September…..work out your own “sozo”; it is already within you…..Philippians 2 v 12

When you were born again you were made complete in Him (Colossians 2 v 10). You were given all you ever will require in terms of healing, joy, peace and prosperity into your born again spirit.

Your “job” now is to work out those goods things from your spirit into your mind and body.

Your salvation, in terms of your “sozo” package, is already inside you in your born again spirit; you do have all you ever need.

If you need healing you have this in your spirit.

If you require prosperity you have this in your spirit.

If you need joy and peace you have it in your spirit.

Knowledge of grace and Jesus will work out your salvation (Philemon v 6).

Your “job” is to study the Word and gain more knowledge about grace and Jesus; study to work out your own salvation.

Speak this out today…..” Thank you that I have all I need in my spirit already, help me Lord gain more knowledge and understanding to work this out”.

Philippians 2 v 12…..Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

DIG for Friday the 28th of September…..we can only have “sozo” because of Jesus…..2 Peter 1 v 1

Salvation is a wonderful gift from God, bringing with it not only our ticket into heaven but the whole sozo or atonement package; including healing and prosperity.

We can only gain this by trusting in and believing in the finished work of Jesus Christ and receiving it as a gift.

Jesus is our Saviour (2 Peter 1 v 1).

The Greek word from Saviour is “soter” and means deliverer. “Soter” comes from the root word “sozo”.

Jesus is the only way to “sozo”.

Jesus told us He was the only way to God and is therefore the only way to healing and wholeness, joy, prosperity and peace (John 14 v 6).

At the start of 2 Peter we are told that Jesus is not only Saviour but also that He is God; the Greek of this first verse indicates that the descriptors of God and Saviour are being placed on the name of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ finished work on the cross only worked because He was God.

God came in the flesh to deliver His righteousness to us as a gift of grace to allow us, through faith, to live an abundant “sozo” life (John 10 v 10).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Jesus that you are my Saviour, and through you I have an abundant life”

2 Peter v 1…..Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ

DIG for Thursday the 27th of September…..as you were saved so carry on in your walk…..Colossians 2 v 6

Were you able to do any works in your own strength in order to be saved?

The answer to that question is of course no.

As an unbeliever you were completely powerless to work your way into salvation.

You were saved by grace through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2 v 8).

In the same way then you cannot (and are not required to) do works in order to receive your healing and your prosperity.
We have seen that salvation is so much more than our ticket into heaven.

The Greek word “sozo” means much, much more and includes healing and prosperity.

As you received your salvation receive your healing and your prosperity; by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

As salvation is a gift from God for you to ask for and receive, so is healing and prosperity. Receive these gifts from God as the gift that He intended.

Take them and receive them; they are gifts from Him. Gifts appropriated for you by Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you that I am healed and prosperous and I receive this gift today”.

Colossians 2 v 6…..As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him

DIG for Wednesday the 26th of September…..and He provided prosperity for you as well…..2 Corinthians 8 v 9

Prosperity is a hot topic and problem area in the church. I don’t know why it is so controversial as scripture is clear that God wants believers to be prosperous.

Prosperity (or would you prefer if I say abundance) was provided by Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

Your prosperity was provided at the atonement; it is part of the “sozo” package.

The Greek word “sozo” also means to “do well”. To do well means to prosper and to be in abundance. But surely this is just in spiritual terms Vic?

2 Corinthians 8 v 9 talks of Jesus being made “poor so that we might be rich”. Rich is translated from the Greek word “plouteo”; this means to be or to become wealthy. Poor is from the Greek word “ptocheuo”; this means to be a beggar and to become poor.

This verse is talking about financial and material poverty and prosperity. Jesus died to destroy the power of poverty and to make you live in abundance.

Poverty was a curse and Jesus dealt with that curse when He hung on a tree (Galatians 3 v 13).

God wants you to prosper; He tells you this in 3 John v 2.

God provided prosperity as part of the “sozo/atonement package” through the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Speak this out today……”Thank You Jesus that Your finished work has made me prosperous”.

2 Corinthians 8 v 9…..For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

DIG for Tuesday the 25th of September…..believe that if you touch His garment you will be made whole (sozo)…..Matthew 9 v 21

What an amazing statement of faith; if I only touch His clothes I will be made whole.

This was said by a woman who had suffered from menstrual bleeding for 12 years (see Matthew 9 v 20 to 22 and Luke 8 v 43 to 48).

This poor woman must have been operating in wonderful faith before she would have attempted to touch Jesus. In the eyes of the religious establishment of the day she was unclean and as such deserved to be stoned and killed simply by coming into contact with the men.

She must have known in Jesus and fully believed in His power and authority before she would do such an act. And we see her being healed or as the translation says “made whole”.

“Sozo” also means to make whole; remember it is not just about salvation and your ticket into heaven.

This woman was despised and rejected by society; simply because of her “unclean” illness. As well as being saved and healed when you accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour you were also made whole.

That to me speaks of acceptance!

You are now accepted by God; you are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1 v 6).

In the case of this woman with the issue of blood she was healed, however she would also have been accepted back into her place in society.

What an amazing transformation; all enabled by meeting Jesus and having faith in Him.

Speak this out today…..”Thanks you Jesus that through my faith in You I have been made whole”

Matthew 9 v 21…..For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole

DIG for Monday the 24th of September…..please come and heal (sozo) my daughter…..Mark 5 v 23

Many people will tell you that healing is not for today; they say that this stopped with the apostles.

Just as salvation is for us today (and no-one argues that point) so healing is for us also.

“Sozo” is generally translated as saved however in this verse it is translated as healed.

Healing is part of the “sozo package” or “atonement package”; physical healing is part of what Jesus died for on the cross. Through His finished work on the cross you have had all your illness and disease dealt with.

Isaiah 53 v 4 and 5 promises this truth and 1 Peter 2 v 23 confirms the truth; by His finished work on the cross we can be healed as well as saved.

Healing is an integral part of the atonement; disease is a curse (see Deut 30) and Jesus was cursed when He was crucified (Galatians 3 v 13).

Jesus was cursed and dealt with illness and disease so that you could be healed and made whole.

3 John v 2 confirms this amazing truth that God wants you to be well, and the work of Jesus has provided it for you.

At the same time as you were saved you were healed and made whole. You believe that you have been saved, so believe that you have been healed.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been saved and also healed and made whole”

Mark 5:23  And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

DIG for Sunday the 23rd of September…..what does being “saved” mean to you?…..Ephesians 2 v 8

What does it mean to you to be saved? Have a think about that question for a moment.

To be saved now means a lot more to me than when I started my walk with the Lord.

For me being saved used to be my “ticket into heaven” and did not mean a lot to me in my everyday existence.

I was saved, I was going to heaven and I just had to hold out on earth until I ended up there.

What a pitiful existence I used to hope for; let me tell you that this is not my understanding now.

To be saved means so much more than having your “ticket into heaven”.

In this new week of DIGs I will take you through what God has for you once you are saved.

God has so much for you under the banner of your salvation; Jesus has done so much for you through His finished work on the cross.

Jesus has won for you what I call the “atonement package”; and this package can be summed up to a certain extent by the word saved.

The word commonly translated as saved is the Greek word “sozo”.

This is an amazing word that we will delve into this week; you will see as well as a ticket into heaven it means being healthy and made whole, being prosperous and doing well.

Salvation is about having an abundant life here on earth while you are still alive (John 10 v 10).

Salvation is meant to be a wonderful existence that started the second you were born again.

Ephesians 2 v 8…..For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

DIG for Saturday the 22nd of September…..His love for you is far more important than your love for Him…..Ephesians 3 v 19

I’ve been writing all week now about God’s love towards us and I hope that you have been blessed.

I heard a brother preach recently about the love of God, and he started by saying that how much you love God is not important.

That got our attention and then he went on to say that the important thing is how much God loves you.

Once you have this revelation you will then love God in return without even trying. You will love Him out of gratitude.

The man of law and religion talks of his love for God, while the man of grace talks of God’s love for him (quote stolen from my friend and brother Dave Feldman).

It is the love of God that you need revelation of. It is His love for you that is important. It is your understanding of His love for you that will move you forward on your Christian journey.

Small words are very important in the bible; Eph 3 v 19 says “love OF Christ” not “love FOR Christ”.

Your focus needs to be on His love for you, and your love for Him will grow from that.

Please do not focus on your love for Him trying to love Him more and more. Please do not boast of how much you love Him. Boast of His love for you.

For the last time this week; speak this out today….”GOD REALLY LOVES ME”

Ephesians 3 v 19…..and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God

DIG for Friday the 21st of September…..I love you; so please believe Me…..1 John 4 v 10

We have been going something different in our mid week meetings recently instead of bible study.

We have been calling our meetings “Practicing Being in the Presence of God”.

We pray and listen to gently worship music and all listen to what God wants to say to us. We then share words and pictures, or whatever else we feel God has said to us.

Tonight I asked God for a word for me and I then started to write what came flowing into my mind.

I want to share this as an encouragement as I believe it is a word in season for us all……

“You are writing about love. My love for you is the most important truth you have to believe. You must have a deep revelation of my love. I love you so much. I love you more than you can truly fathom. I created the universe for you. I gave Jesus for you. You are my special treasure and I truly love you. I deeply love you; please believe me. You are mine and I covet you. I love you”

God does not have favourites; He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10 v 34). What holds for me holds for all other believers.

I believe that this is a word from the Lord for each of us; thank you Lord.

Speak this out today…..”God truly loves me”.

1 John 4 v 10…..Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins