DIG for Tuesday the 26th of April…..quality and not just abundance…..John 2 v 10

LOL….I forgot to post yesterday’s DIG!!!!….

When I write or preach on the first miracle of Jesus I tend to focus on this as a picture of abundance.

We see Jesus ‘producing’ a ridiculously huge volume of wine at the wedding at Cana, more wine than could ever have been required.

This is clearly a picture of the abundant provision that He has supplied to every one of us through His finished work on the cross.

When reading this account again this morning a thought popped into my head, saying “this is also about the quality of His provision”.

In the passage about this miracle the ruler of the feast commented on how good the wine was that Jesus had made (John 2 v 10).

Normally once men had ‘numbed’ their palate with a few drinks the wine went down in quality, but the wine Jesus made was better than the first.

Of course, this is a picture about law and grace, the old and the new covenant, however it is also a picture of the quality of His provision.

Jesus only gives us the best; He gives us health, prosperity, joy and peace, He gives us things that generate a good life.

Jesus has provided only good things through the cross.

The provision made by Jesus has the stamp of quality on it.

In this world we have to pay for quality, the more quality a product has generally the more expensive it is.

The good news is that the ‘quality products’ we can have from Jesus are free.

We can receive all that Jesus has done for us as a gift of grace through faith; there are no works (or payments) involved.

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus and thank you for all the marvellous things I have received because of it”.

John 2 v 10…..And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set down good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now

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DIG for Wednesday the 27th of April…..quantity as well as quality…..Matthew 14 v 20 and 21

Yesterday I wrote about the quality of the provision of Jesus, looking at the wine at the wedding in Cana as our example.

Here we also see that His provision is abundant, and there is another account that confirms this.

In what is known as feeding the five thousand, Jesus uses five loaves and two fishes to provide a filling meal for about ten to fifteen thousand people.

There were five thousand men, and there were women and children and they all ate until they were satisfied (Matthew 14 v 20).

Even after this there was plenty left, twelve baskets full to be precise.

You see, when Jesus provides for us He over-provides.

Jesus never gives us just enough; He provides for abundance.

In John 10 v 10 He says He came to give us life and life in abundance.

In 3 John 2 we read that above all things He wants us to live in prosperity (that is abundance), and also in health.

When He was feeding the people in this account He didn’t just give them a small piece of food, He provide more than enough for everybody with lots to spare.

It is like that in what He provides for us; there is more than enough for all of us and plenty to spare.

So grab everything that he has provided for you; with regards to the things of Jesus I suggest that you are greedy!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the bountiful provision that you have provided for us through the finished work of Jesus”.

Matthew 14 v 20 and 21…..And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children

DIG for Monday the 25th of April…..compassion and mercy before concern over sin…..John 8 v 11

In the DIG yesterday I wrote about the woman at the well and told you how this account highlighted the compassion of Jesus.

His encounter with a second woman also shows us how compassionate Jesus is.

In the Gospel of John we see Jesus having a woman taken in the act of adultery thrown at His feet; this was a trap trying to snare Jesus (John 8 v 3 to 4).

Jesus however is only interested in the woman at His feet, being filled with compassion for her.

Jesus did not care about her ‘crime’ and He did not even seem concerned about her sin.

After confronting the crowd He asked the woman if any man condemned her.

She said no and then Jesus spoke out some of the greatest words of compassion that He uttered in His time on earth.

He said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8 v 11).

Jesus recognised that sin was not good for her, yet He forgave her and accepted her before He said anything about sin.

He showed her compassion and mercy and then spoke about sin; the order we see in this verse is very important.

Jesus is more concerned in showing us mercy and compassion than He is in our sin.

In this He is similar to God, who has in fact chosen to remember our sin and iniquity no more (Hebrews 10 v 17).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus, and thank you that this changes lives”.

John 8 v 11…..She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more

DIG for Sunday the 24th of April…..the height of compassion…..John 4 v 25 and 26

Yesterday I wrote about Jesus being our shepherd, a role He wanted due to His mercy and compassion for us.

The compassion of Jesus can be seen throughout the whole of the Gospels however for me his encounters with two ladies of “ill repute” shows His compassion at its best.

Jesus said He had to go through Samaria, this is because He wanted to meet the woman at the well (John 4 v 4).

He met her there in the heat of the day, when she was out for water when no one else would be there.

She was a fornicator, an adulteress, a Samaritan and a woman; a person as low as you could get!

Yet Jesus went there to meet her and tell her about whom He was.

Yes, He told her about the sin she was living in, yet He did not hold this against her, He just stated the truth about her and about Himself.

He showed her great compassion by even talking to her, let alone sharing about whom He was.

And the amazing thing is that after being showered with love and compassion, and with the truth, she went into the city and became an evangelist.

The love and compassion of Jesus changes lives, it is that powerful!

Jesus was the great shepherd, full of compassion for all sheep.

And what about the second lady, well that’s the DIG for tomorrow!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you lord for the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus, and thank you that this changes lives”.

John 4 v 25 and 26…..The woman saith, unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: and when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he

DIG for Saturday the 23rd of April…..Psalm 23 is all about you…..Psalm 23 v 1

I preached from Psalm 23 in the message today; I am writing this a day behind!

This is a wonderful Psalm of encouragement for the believer, however I hope that what I got across today is that this is a very personal Psalm as well.

David wrote it of course, and he talks of the good things God has done for him.

God is no respecter of person, He has no favourites so what David writes about is also what God will do for you.

He will provide for you and keep you in safety (Psalm 23 v 2).

He will keep you from evil (Psalm 23 v 4).

He will ensure that you live a prosperous life and that your cup will always be running over (Psalm 23 v 5).

He will ensure that goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life (Psalm 23 v 6).

He will provide a place for you in Heaven to spend eternity with Him (Psalm 23 v 6).

In short the Lord wants to be your shepherd (Psalm 23 v 1).

When Jesus saw the multitudes He had compassion on them and wanted them to have a shepherd (Matthew 9 v 36).

He said that He came to be the good shepherd so that we could have an abundant life (John 10 v 10 and 11).

Jesus wants you to experience all that David wrote about in Psalm 23 and this has been provided for you through Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

He is the great shepherd (Hebrews 13 v 20), he is my shepherd and He is your shepherd.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have provided for my provision and protection, thank you that you want to be my shepherd”.

Psalm 23 v 1…..The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want

DIG for Friday the 22nd of April…..you can get rid of that problem in our life…..Philippians 4 v 13

Last night in our Bible study I had a vivid picture of a huge rock.

A person was on top of this and I saw them drop a very small piece of dynamite into a hole in the rock.

As the person went away the dynamite exploded and the rock disappeared.

I think the Lord was showing me that the rock was a big problem and the dynamite was the power inside us, saying we can remove and overcome any problem in our path.

As born again believers we have the powerful Spirit of God inside us, at our disposal.

We can do all things through this power (Philippians 4 v 13).

We can be more than conquerors in all areas of life through Jesus (Romans 8 v 37).

We can be overcomers in all things in this life on earth.

The Lord was showing me that if we use the power that He has given us we could do anything!

We have the power, but we are required to use it.

It is like having electricity but not putting on the light switch, until it is turned on it is useless.

There is no problem in this life that cannot be sorted with “a little piece of God”.

God’s power is bigger than any problem we have and God is not surprised by our problems; He was equipped us in such a way that we can defeat anything that comes across our path.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the awesome power that you have put on the inside of me”.

Philippians 4 v 13…..I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me

DIG for Thursday the 21st of April…..classic picture of forgiveness…..Luke 15 v 22 and 23

The account of the return of the prodigal son to his father is one of the best pictures on forgiveness that we have in Scripture.

In this account the son comes to his senses and decides to return home to his father.

At the same time he works out what he is going to say (Luke 15 v 18).

As we saw yesterday his father greeted him in a loving way (Luke 15 v 20).

The son then tried to say sorry and ask for forgiveness, but the father ignores him and instead just says, “let’s start the party’ (Luke 15 v 21 to 23).

This happened as the father had already forgiven his son, and just wanted him to return.

This is a picture of our Heavenly Father and how He has already forgiven us.

Every man has already been forgiven and reconciled through the shed blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

Now, this means not everyone has been save, but everyone has been forgiven.

Every man needs to make his own choice and come to the Lord to receive salvation.

As we come to God He wants to celebrate, He does not want to hear us asking for forgiveness.

It is silly to ask for forgiveness as we have already received this; I would suggest that you thank Him for forgiveness, but do not ask for it.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been forgiven for all sin (past, present and future) through the shed blood of Jesus”.

Luke 15 v 22 and 23…..But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry

DIG for Wednesday the 20th of April…..He wants you to come back so much…..Luke 15 v 20

Every few months I return to the account of the prodigal son, or as I prefer to call it the account of the prodigal’s Father.

It is an account that you can come back to again and again yet still find something new.

I especially like to read the part where the son comes back to his father.

The Word says the father saw the son coming; he saw him as he was watching for him.

I imagine the father looking into the distance every day hoping to see his son coming home.

And when eventually he did see his son he was overjoyed, filled with compassion and ran to meet him.

He hugs him with violence (that is what fell on his neck means) and kissed him, a genuine show of affection for his son.

This of course is a wonderful picture of God the Father, and of us.

We are the son, coming to God for the first time or coming back after a period away from Him.

He was looking for us, wanting us to come to Him; you see He wants every man to come to repentance (change their mind) and return to him (2 Peter 3 v 9).

And Father God is overjoyed as his sons return to Him; every one of us is welcomed into His family and showered with His blessings (read the DIG tomorrow for more on this).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you are a loving Father, wanting every single man to come to you”.

Luke 15 v 20…..And he arose, and came back to his father. But when he was a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him

DIG for Tuesday the 19th of April…..we are overcomers…..1 John 5 v 5

Do you have troubles that are bothering you this morning?

Do you have problems that need to be overcome for you to live a more full life?

Well, I have an answer for you this morning, or rather the Bible has an answer.

Believing that Jesus is the Son of God is your key to a more fruitful, peaceful and abundant life, where all your troubles can be overcome.

That is what 1 John 5 v 5 says.

If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and all that this entails, we will overcomer the world.

Believing all that this entails is the key phrase here.

Yes, Jesus was the Son of God, but in this role He was Creator, a pre-existent entity of the Godhead, our Saviour.

We need to understand about what He has done as well as who He is; He dealt with all sin and sickness on the cross for example.

Overcoming the world will lead to a full and abundant life, a life of Godliness; this comes about through knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1 v 3).

We can overcome anything through knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done; that is what the Word of God says (1 John 5 v 5 and 2 Peter 1 v 3).

So the Word of God is the key to becoming an overcomer in this world.

I cannot force you to “get into” the Word, but I highly recommend it.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that it is the key to overcoming the world”.

1 John 5 v 5…..Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God

DIG for Monday the 18th of April…..no longer slaves, or are we…..Galatians 5 v 1

Prior to salvation all men are slaves to sin, in bondage to things of this earth and things of the enemy.

Once save we have of course been removed from slavery.

Or have we?

I like to think that once a man gives his life to the Lord he is removed from one form of slavery into another.

He becomes a slave to righteousness; he cannot escape from the fact that he now has right standing with God.

He becomes a slave to the love, mercy and compassion of God, from which he can never escape.

Instead of being a slave to sin and the enemy he becomes a slave to Christ.

If we are in slavery someone owns us, someone has responsibility over us.

Once saved we still have a lord and master, however this new Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, has a love, mercy and compassion for us.

Our new Lord and Master wants the best for us; He wants us to become slaves to healing, prosperity and abundance.

I don’t know about you but I am glad to be a slave; I am also eternally grateful that my new Lord and Master is Jesus Christ.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have moved from one form of slavery into another, and thank you that my new Lord and Master is Jesus Christ”.

Galatians 5 v 1…..Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage