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

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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

DIG for Sunday the 14th of January…..I need to practice what I preach…..Isaiah 40 v 31

“Practice what you preach Vic” is what I heard as I was struggling in my spinning class today.

It was 36 minutes into the session, and we were in the middle of a set involving standing and seated climbs (if you don’t do spinning these are very hard on the legs, heart and lungs).

Alec shouted we were about to do a 2-minute standing climb, and I heard myself thinking, “I can’t do that”.

I immediately remembered the message I had preached just yesterday, where I told the fellowship that “I can’t” is something we should not be saying as born again believers.

I then started thinking in a positive way, just as I had said in my preaching.

I thought, “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4 v 13).

I thought, “I can renew my strength, I can run and not faint, and I can rise up on wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40 v 31).

I thought, “I can do this, I am fit, I am lean and I am not a quitter”.

I told myself that I could do this and I did do it.

You should have seen me go! I pedalled like mad and finished the climb at a faster speed than I had done any climb previously in the session. I then finished the session by sprinting 20 rpm faster than earlier as well.

Alec even commented at the end about how I had completed the session very strongly.

Folks, we can think positive and speak positive and make changes in our bodies and the physical world; this stuff works!

Please listen to the message from yesterday and also the series to follow; it might just change your life. Here is the link if you have time to listen to the message…..The ABC to Success Lesson 01

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the laws you put in place that mean my thoughts and words have such an effect on my life”.

Isaiah 40 v 31…..But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint

DIG for Saturday the 13th of January…..still relevant today…..Proverbs 17 v 22

As I lover and student of the Word of God I have often been asked what is so special about the Bible, asked why I still study the Bible today.

Surely the Bible (written thousands of years ago) is no longer relevant to us today people will tell me.

I (obviously) completely disagree with this assessment.

Science is now telling us that our spoken words have creative power to influence our lives; the Bible told us that a long time ago (Proverbs 18 v 21).

Science is now telling us that our thoughts have creative power over our physical bodies; the Bible said that a long time ago (Proverbs 23 v 7).

Science is now telling us that optimistic and happy people suffer less illness and disease than negative and pessimistic people; the Bible told us that a long time ago (Proverbs 17 v 22).

God’s Word is the truth and as such is as relevant today as it has always been.

Truth is truth, no matter when it was written, and truth is still truth even if thousands of years have passed.

We can be assured that the Bible is still a relevant part of our lives today.

We need to read, study and meditate upon the Word, upon the truth inspired by the Living God.

Please don’t let anyone tell you that the Bible is old, out of date and irrelevant; it is in fact quite the opposite.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that your Word is as relevant today as it was when it was original written”.

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

DIG for Friday the 12th of January…..take a step of faith into your healing…..John 5 v 9

In my DIG yesterday I wrote about the account of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda.

I wrote of the need to take responsibility and ‘do something’ to help manifest our healing.

I think I need to clarify this a little; we need to take a step of faith, believing that we are healed.

In this account we see Jesus telling the man the following; to rise, to take up his bed and to walk (John 5 v 8).

In verse 9 we read something similar, however it is important to read this carefully, as sometimes what is missing from the Word is as important as what is there!

We read that he did take up his bed and he did walk, but we read nothing about his rising.

What we read is that he was made whole.

I believe that this tells us that he was healed as he was rising up!

He was healed as he took a step of faith and moved into his healing; he was healed as he was rising up.

Now this is only one model of healing that Jesus used, but it is a model where we see a step of faith involved in healing.

In a sense it is similar to the woman with the issue of blood where Jesus tells the woman that it was her faith that made her whole (Matthew 9 v 20 to 22).

In faith, she acted and took a step towards her healing.

At times I believe that we need to walk out in faith and ‘do something’ to aid the manifestation of our healing.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I see many models of healing in the Word and thank you that your will for my life is supernatural health”.

John 5 v 9…..And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath

 

 

DIG for Thursday the 11th of January….take some responsibility for your own life…..John 5 v 8

I’ve been thinking about the account where Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda, and also issues around personal responsibility that we can see in this account (John 5 v 1 to 9).

Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be healed; the man then made an excuse as to why he was not, blaming other people in fact.

Jesus then told him to do something, and it was at this point, when the man actually moved that he was healed.

Now, I am not saying that healing from Jesus is conditional; the Word says that by His stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24).

However we do have a responsibility over our actions to help make our healing manifest, and also to keep the healing we have received.

There are natural and spiritual laws that we are required to adhere to in this life.

Yes, we have been healed by the stripes of Jesus, however if we continue to think we are ill, speak out that we are ill, eat too much, drink too much and take no exercise our healing may not be made manifest.

Or we may see healing manifest but if we continue in our bad thinking and bad behaviours we may not see our healing manifest for long!

So, I hope you can see that I am not saying we have to perform or work to be healed, however we do have some responsibility to see our healing made manifest and stay.

In recent months I have recognised that my weight was a health issue.

So, I started telling myself that I was lean and fit, and that I did not need to eat so much, however I also required to take responsibility for my behaviour and actions.

Used together, my thinking, speaking and actions are making a difference in my life.

We all have personal responsibility for our thoughts, words and also actions; taking responsibility will help us immeasurably in our life.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you loved me enough to give me free will, and thank you that I can take responsibility for my own life”.

John 5 v 8…..Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk

DIG for Wednesday the 10th of January…..I’m sure it’s in there somewhere…..Galatians 5 v 22 and 23

As a man who reads and studies the Word quite a lot, I think I have an understanding of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5 v 22 and 23).

I know what they are and what each one means.

However at times, and you may feel the same, I just think some of them are not there!

I’ve just had a 30-minute call with my current insurance company, with 5 different people (on hold most of the time), to be told I cannot get a new quote.

And now my keyboard is ‘playing up’ so that I’m missing letters when I type this!

Now when I’ve read Galatians 5 v 22 and 23 before I was sure I saw longsuffering (or patience) in there.

I realise however that I do not need more patience, I need to work out the patience that I already have.

The Lord has placed in my born again spirit all the patience I will ever need (as well as all the love, joy, peace etc).

We are so fortunate to have all we need in our spirit; the key to life is working out (or manifesting) these things.

And the key to manifesting patience (and anything else from our spirit) is an understanding of Jesus and what He has done for us and to us.

Peter wrote that we have already been given all we need for life and godliness (including patience) through the knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 1 v 3).

So in order to display more patience we do not try to be patient, we gain more understanding about Jesus.

So, I’m now away to read my Bible for a while!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have already given me all I need for life and godliness”.

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