DIG for Friday the 28th of November…..want to prosper in your life; prosper in your mind first……3 John 2

I don’t know about you but I want to prosper in life and I want to live in health, and the Lord tells us that this is what we can see in life (3 John 2).

Indeed this is how He wants us to live.

He also gave us a method (or model) to follow in order to see this health and prosperity manifest in our lives.

He says we will see it if we see it in our mind, will and emotions first (3 John 2).

This is what is meant by the phrase “even as thy soul prospereth”.

Our soul is our mind, will and emotions, so if we prosper there we will see this manifest in our bodies and our lives.

It is simple really; the Word says we are what we think (Proverbs 23 v 7).

3 John 2 confirms Proverbs 23 v 7.

If we think, believe and imagine that we are living in health and abundance we can see this in our lives.

If we do not think, believe and imagine this truth then we will not; it really is that simple.

Imagination and thoughts are very powerful; the Lord said man could have anything that he imagined, that nothing would be restrained from them if they thought about it (Genesis 11 v 6).

If we wish to see health and prosperity abound in our lives we have to first see it in our heads, we have to imagine it and think it first.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the revelation in your Word about the power of our thoughts, help me to think the truth today”.

3 John 2…..Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth

DIG for Thursday the 27th of November…..read the Word, don’t listen to the traditions…..Colossians 2 v 8

I’ve started studying for my series of Christmas messages and have been reminded about the importance of reading the Word rather than listening to the traditions of men.

The Word of God is His truth and this should form the basis of our belief system, however we have many other influences coming into our lives, and Paul describes these in Colossians 2 v 8.

He says that they are philosophy (thoughts of men), vain deceits (lies) and traditions (things men made up).

These are designed to steal us away from the truth and spoil us.

There are many examples of this in the body of Christ; Paul was aware of it back then and we should be aware of it now.

Ponder on the examples below.

There is no mention in the Word of God for us to examine ourselves for sin during communion, yet this was a tradition for many of us.

There is not one instance in the Word of God of Jesus putting illness on people (and He is an exact representation of the Father), yet many of us grew up with the tradition that God will use illness to humble us and make us “better” Christians.

There are uses of the words confession and repentance under the new covenant in the Word of God, yet many of us were taught the tradition of searching ourselves for sin then begging and pleading for God to forgive us, when the Word of God clearly says we have been already forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

Many of us have been told about the tradition of generational curses due to the “performance’ of our parents and grand-parents, when the Word of God clearly says Jesus died (past tense, so done and dusted) to remove us from the curse of performance (Galatians 3 v 13).

The Word of God tells us what is “after Christ” and this is what we should be focusing on and living our lives from, not from tradition, lies or philosophy.

The traditional account of the birth of Jesus is full of philosophy, vain deceits and traditions; if man has done this to the birth of Jesus they will have done it with many other areas of the Christian life.

Wake up to the fact that there are traditions, lies and thought systems of man out there designed to steal you away from the Word of God; refute these and get into His Word instead.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word, thank you for this incorruptible seed that I can plant into my life today”

Colossians 2 v 8…..Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ

DIG for Wednesday the 26th of November…..the payment was made once, you do not need to pay any more…..Hebrews 10 v 12

There seems to be a wonderful truth hidden from the majority of the body of Christ; the truth that all sin has been dealt with, and that the payment for sin has already been made.

It looks to me as if many people are still trying to achieve forgiveness, and pay for sin, through their own self-works and self-efforts.

This is not required.

The Word is very clear that all sin has been paid for already.

Jesus was the propitiation, or payment, for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2 v 2).

Jesus offered one sacrifice (Himself) for sin; and not just some sin, but ALL sin FOR EVER (Hebrews 10 v 12).

Jesus made one offering of Himself so that we could be free from the bondage of sin and death (Hebrews 10 v 14).

Jesus has dealt with sin and because of this God chooses to not even remember our sin any more (Hebrews 10 v 17).

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, in His rightful place of authority and exaltation, with His work finished.

His work is finished as sin has been dealt with, and in the context of sin and how God sees it our work is finished as well.

There is nothing more we can do, nothing extra we can add to the already finished and perfect work of Jesus.

All we can do is thank Him and enjoy living with that truth.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ, and thank you that He has already made the payment required for my sin to be removed”.

Hebrews 10 v 12…..But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God

DIG for Tuesday the 25th of November…..grace is what we produce “works” from…..1 Corinthians 15 v 10

Do this, do that, stop this and stop that; this is what church used to be for me and it was what I thought we needed in order to do “good works”.

Church was one long cycle of striving to do good works, followed by failure and condemnation, leading to me backing away from church and fellowship.

Then I heard the message of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I heard that the key to the Christian life was what Jesus had already done and not what I had to do.

The key word in my Christian life went from DO to DONE.

The key person in my Christian life went from ME to HIM.

The grace of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ became the dominant factor in my Christian life; and that changed my life.

And the same has been true or can be true for you!

It is the revelation of grace that leads to less sin and more “good works” in the life of a believer (Titus 2 v 11 and 12, 2 Peter 1 v 3 and 1 Corinthians 15 v 34).

We will only fail if we labour in our own strength, with our own talents and abilities; as believers we have the option to labour from HIS finished work and labour because of what HE has done (1 Corinthians 15 v 10).

It is good for a believer to want to do good works, that is part of what following Jesus should be all about.

But it has to flow from a love for Jesus and a revelation of what he has done for us through grace and not from a mindset of performance, legalism or law.

We can labour more abundantly if we do it through Him and what He has done; indeed through Him we can do all things (Philippians 4 v 13).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can do labour in abundance, but only through your strength and because of your grace”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 10…..But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me

DIG for Monday the 24th of November…..bad thoughts result in bad actions…..Romans 1 v 21

I’ve been meditation for a while now on the importance of our thoughts; I’ve known this for years however I have become more acutely aware of this as I have studied the science of thoughts.

Our thoughts are a powerful force in our lives and in the lives of those around us, remember you become what you think (Proverbs 23 v 7).

In his letter to the church in Rome Paul also talks about the importance of what a person thinks.

He says that there are repercussions of a person being “vain in their imaginations” (Romans 1 v 21).

This means to be foolish, wicked or idolatrous in what we think about.

This should not be what our thought life is life, we should be thinking on the good things of the Lord (Philippians 4 v 8).

Thinking on the “wrong things” results in our heart being darkened (Romans 1 v 21).

This means that their heart, their core innermost thoughts and being (that part of us that directs our actions), is in the dark and not in the light; and that is not good news.

Once a heart is darkened a person is led into various destructive and foolish actions, they are said to be foolish (Romans 1 v 22).

This in turn leads to a number of actions that is ungodly; see the list in Romans 1 v 29 to 31.

And all this starts from “vain imaginations’, from foolish, wicked and idolatrous thoughts.

All from thoughts!

How we think impacts directly on our lives and this is a fact that we must get to grips with and believe.

In this context it is a case of “mind over matter”; it matters what you think, as your thoughts affect the physical world you live in.

Think on Him, think on His truths and think about yourself in the way He thinks about you.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have the power in my imagination to affect my life and the lives of those around me”.

Romans 1 v 21…..Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened

DIG for Sunday the 23rd of November…..grace brings emotional stability……2 Thessalonians 2 v 16 and 17

I want to continue today looking at what grace brings and what grace gives; hopefully you will have noticed this is what I’ve been doing the last few DIGs.

2 Thessalonians 2 v 16 tells us what we have been given by the Lord through grace.

We have everlasting consolation and we have good hope, these are things we have already been given not something to look forward to in the future.

Everlasting consolation means eternal and never ending comfort and encouragement.

Good hope means a kind or good expectation or confidence, and literally it means we can anticipate with pleasure.

To me this means that we can be happy and encouraged about our present and our future; to me this talks of the ability to have emotional stability.

So many of us worry about what is going on and what will happen in the future.

This makes us move up and down in our emotional state; up and happy one minute yet down and low the next.

Grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, has brought us encouragement about the present and confidence about the future and if truly understood should see more emotional stability in our lives.

Verse 17 tells us what everlasting comfort and good hope should bring; it should bring comfort in your heart.

This is emotional stability or comfort in your thoughts and mind.

An understanding of what Jesus has already done for us (grace) will mean more emotional stability in your life; I’m sure every one of us would welcome that!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through Jesus I can be confident that my present and my future will both be good”.

2 Thessalonians 2 v 16 and 17…..Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work

DIG for Saturday the 22nd of November…..grace builds you up and provides an inheritance…..Acts 20 v 32

Paul commended, (placed near or placed with someone), the message of grace to the Ephesians when he was there in person.

He gives us a great lesson here in what the message of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ, can provide for the believer.

We know he is talking to believers here (and therefore us) as he says brethren at the start of the verse and calls them holy and saints (sanctified) at the end; so this verse is for you if you are born again.

Grace will build you up.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, the truth about our reconciliation, forgiveness and righteousness, will encourage us and build us up as we learn more about it.

Knowledge of what Jesus has done will mean we put less emphasis on what we do and what other men do, thus leading to less worry and fear.

Grace will provide you with an inheritance.

As a saint, trusting in Jesus and his finished work, you have been freely given a great inheritance.

You have been accepted by God and adopted into His family (Ephesians 1 v 5 and 6) and been given all spiritual gifts in heavenly places (Ephesians 1 v 3).

As a child of God, because of this free inheritance, you have been made a co-heir with Christ (Romans 8 v 16 and 17).

Grace is a free gift from God, designed to build you up with encouragement and to provide you with an awesome inheritance that you can enjoy RIGHT NOW!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through Jesus you have accepted me and adopted me into your family”.

Acts 20 v 32…..And now, brethren, I commend God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified

DIG for Friday the 21st of November…..grace is the vehicle for justification…..Romans 3 v 24

There is nothing that any man can do through their own works or efforts to set themselves free from sin.

Yet, Father God has declared us justified as a gift of grace.

Justified means to be rendered or declared innocent; it means to be set free from any punishment.

We are declared innocent by God as a gift of grace through faith (Romans 3 v 28) without any works or self-effort.

But faith in what?

Faith in Jesus according to Romans 3 v 24!

If we are “in Christ Jesus” that means that we believe in Jesus, trust in Jesus, have put our faith in Jesus.

Justification is given as a free gift because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Romans 3 v 24).

Redemption means deliverance and comes from the root words that literally mean paying a ransom in full.

When Jesus paid the price on the cross for the sin of mankind He paid in full; nothing was missed, everything was taken care of.

Because of this God can freely justify us as a gift of grace.

The payment has been paid in full and we can reap the benefits for free!

In the eyes of Father God every single one of us is innocent and free and righteous, as a free gift of grace thorough faith.

Believe this and start living like a free man; free from sin and free form the bondage of sin.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that right now, as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus, I am innocent and free in your eyes”.

Romans 3 v 24…..Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is Christ Jesus

DIG for Thursday the 20th of November…..grace is the vehicle to less sin in your life, not law or legalism…..1 Corinthians 15 v 56

As a new covenant people we now live under grace and not under law (Romans 6 v 14), and because of this sin need not have dominion over us.

We can live with less sin in our lives, we can live lives with more Godly actions.

We can do this through grace but not through law.

I don’t know about you, but my experience is that the church has got this round the wrong way; I agree that they speak grace in order to see people saved, but once saved the church tends to use law as a means to less sin and more godliness.

“Stop this and stop that, do this and do that, then God will love you, then you will be blessed and then you will be able to live holy and godly”.

That is wrong, and it is unbiblical.

Law will result in more sin in the life of a believer, and that is not me saying this, it is the Word.

Preaching law (do this, do that, stop this, stop that in order to be better) will raise sin up and result in more sin; this is exactly what Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth.

Go read 2 Corinthians 15 v 56 if you do not believe me!

Teaching people about grace, about the gospel of Jesus Christ, will see people live a more Godly life with less sin (2 Peter 1 v 3 and Titus 2 v 11 and 12).

One of the truths of grace, of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is that once saved a believer is made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

Paul says that in order to see less sin we should become aware of righteousness (2 Corinthians 5 v 34).

The way to less sin is through grace; grace is a licence from sin not a licence to sin.

Preaching law, and not grace, is the licence that brings people under and to sin!

As we read at the start of this DIG, we are now under grace and not law and therefore sin no longer has dominion over us.

Rest in grace and do not return to the bondage of the law, do not return to law and let yourself be put under that guilt and condemnation that will surely lead you into sin.

Stay under grace, learn about grace, and you will see less sin in your life.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the message of grace, for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and thank you that it is grace that will remove sin from my life”.

1 Corinthians 15 v 56…..The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law

DIG for Wednesday the 19th of November……grace is many things, but first it is a person…..John 1 v 14 and 17

I have often been accused (and yes I did mean to use the word accused) of preaching what people call the “grace message”.

One time a lady said, “You are the same as that Joseph Prince, you preach that grace message”.

I would have to reply, guilty as charged.

However I am happy to have that “accusation” leveled at me.

I am happy because as a preacher and teacher I always attempt to preach and teach about Jesus Christ and His finished work as I see in the Bible (another accusation is that I am a one message preacher, and again I am happy to reply, guilty as charged).

I do that as Jesus is grace, or grace is Jesus, whatever way around you wish to say it.

The true message of grace is the gospel of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1 v 6).

When Jesus became flesh and came to this earth He was full of grace and truth (John 1 v 14).

Indeed He was grace and truth; grace and truth came in the form of a person and that person was Jesus Christ (John 1 v 17).

So when I am accused of being a grace preacher I am happy to be guilty, as that makes me a preacher of Jesus.

I hope you are guilty of speaking out grace, I hope you to are happy to be accused of giving out the grace message.

I hope and pray that you too are happy to be guilty as charged!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that Jesus is the personification of grace and truth and help me to speak out this truth to a needy world”.

John 1 v 14…..And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth

John 1 v 17…..For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ