DIG for Thursday the 25th of May…..we can trust in him and not live in fear…..Psalm 56 v 4

 

I quite often get replies to my DIGs and it is good to sometimes build on these replies.

Yesterday a brother read the DIG and replied, “I also like Psalm 56 v 4”, so I had a look at this verse and it adds an extra dimension to what I wrote yesterday.

At the same time as we trust God we must not fear men (Psalm 56 v 4).

We are living in a troubled world, a world where evil men are continually doing vile and wicked things to innocent people.

This is truly a time when we should be putting our trust in God.

It is also a time however when we should not fear what men can do to us.

You may be thinking that this is not so easy to do, especially with what we see on the internet, on our tv screens and what we read in the newspapers.

However if you value his Word and praise His Word, and at the same time take a view of our life in eternal terms, we can put Psalm 56 v 4 ‘into operation’.

Fear can incapacitate us, fear can stop us doing what we want to do, and this is exactly what the evil men want.

We can trust our God if we understand His love, mercy and compassion for us.

An understanding of His Word will lead us into trust.

Remember that perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4 v 18).

So, what is my advice to you in these troubled times?

Get into His Word, learn how much He loves you and trust Him, and of course carry on with your life as if these evil me do not exist!

Speak this out…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and your love, and thank you that we can trust in you”.

Psalm 56 v 4…..In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me

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DIG for Tuesday the 23rd of August…..we need to think on spiritual terms not physical terms…..John 3 v 4

A lot of people alive today think that this physical world is all that there is to existence; they do not realise that there is a spiritual dimension to life and the universe.

Nicodemus was like these people in that he just did not see the spiritual side of what Jesus was talking about.

When Jesus spoke about being born again he asked if he had to return to his mother’s womb (John 3 v 3 and 4).

This was a ridiculous thing to say, absolutely idiotic to be honest.

However if you are not aware of the spiritual dimension this is how you think!

Jesus was obviously talking in a spiritual sense when He spoke about being born again, and much of what Jesus spoke about was spiritual.

If you think only in the natural and physical much of what Jesus talks about will be nonsense to you.

People have a spiritual part therefore they must think in spiritual terms as well.

Our spiritual part is our true identity and it is this part of us that God relates to.

So we have to be aware of this spiritual identity and understand it in order to function properly.

The spiritual should be as import as the physical for us, in fact it should be more important.

When we feel sick in the physical we need to know that in the spiritual we are healed.

When in the physical we are poor we need to know that in the spiritual we are rich.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that in my born again spirit I am holy and righteous, perfect and pure”.

John 3 v 4…..Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

DIG for Saturday the 13th of August…..there is no other way to the Father….John 14 v 6

There seems to be an increasing instance on social media of what we know as universalism.

This is the doctrine that says everyone, no matter what they believe and say, are already saved.

This sounds good however it is a dangerous doctrine.

The Bible and Jesus are very clear about this matter; you simply need to read what Jesus says in John 14 v 6 to see this.

Jesus did not say he was a way to the Father, He said he was the way, the only way.

Christianity in its true form (faith and trust in Jesus) is not another religion; indeed it is not even a religion.

Jesus, the express image of the Father, is the only way to the Father.

Faith in Jesus means an eternity with God the Father.

A lack of trust and faith in Jesus, no matter what the Universalists may tell you will result in a lost eternity.

Don’t be take in by a “dodgy” doctrine, make sure you trust in and have faith in Jesus.

He is the only way to come to the Father and ensure your eternal destiny.

He is the only way to truth and life in abundance, the only way.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

John 14 v 6…..Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me

 

DIG for Wednesday the 13th of April…..husband and wife, like Christ and His church…..Ephesians 5 v 25

And today we have the last in Sean’s series on love, thanks Sean!

This is the final day that I will look at the love of God (agape).

Yesterday we looked at 1 Corinthians 13 which many couples use in wedding ceremonies though in context this is not what 1 Corinthians 13 is about.

However husbands and wives are important because they act out the analogy of the love between God and humanity.

One of the clearest and most distinct passages that show how a husband is to love a wife is found in Ephesians 5.I don’t know about you folk but up here religious men will keep wives “in check” by always bringing up the passage:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord (Ephesians 5:22).

Mostly they forget what the rest of the passage says:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones (Ephesians 5:26-30).

The husband is to put his wife first loving her as himself, serving and being willing to die for her.

As they say about the a bodyguard and security, a husband must be willing to take ‘a bullet’ for his wife

That simple means a husband must be willing to totally give himself to his wife as Christ Jesus gave Himself for the Church.

But this also means that a wife is to respect her husband, to be there and let him cherish and love her.

Now I’m not saying a wife has to accept abuse, lying and perversion but what I am saying is that if a marriage is well balanced then this passage in Ephesians is possible (I know this works for my wife and I).

Love, love, love; it is the answer to all ills and the love of God is prime.

Yes, the spiritual side is a mystery to us but like all mysteries this can be solved.

And as I sign off, love and grace to each and every one of you.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for loving me and thank you that I can love others as you love me”.

Ephesians 5 v 25…..Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it

DIG for Monday the 14th of December….it does not mean peace on earth, that is not what is written…..Luke 2 v 14

I have to write about this one verse again: I do every year and I think I have done so already this year, but this is such a misunderstood verse we need to keep proclaiming the truth.

The heavenly host proclaimed to the shepherds on that night that the Saviour had been born (Luke 2 v 11).

They did say “and on earth peace” but they did not say peace on earth.

They went on to explain what this peace on earth meant; it was good will toward men.

We know that Jesus was God in the flesh and He was Father God’s gift to mankind, so this good will toward men was from God.

Good will towards man from God, or in other words peace between man and God.

There had been an issue you see, this thing called sin, but Jesus had come to deal with the sin of the whole world and came to bring reconciliation.

He reconciled man to God by removing the sin issue.

This is the peace that the heavenly host were singing about and proclaiming.

Jesus brought reconciliation between man and God, His mission was not to bring peace between man and man.

Now, if you listen to the message of Jesus and believe in Him, this should bring love between men and lead to reconciliation, but this was not His primary role.

The primary role, the role that the heavenly host proclaimed, was the work to being man back into relationship with Father God.

And in that mission He was successful.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have been reconciled to you through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

Luke 2 v 14…..Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men

DIG for Monday the 16th of November…..the Word in flesh…..John 1 v 14

 

Jesus Christ was the Son of God and at the same time God also, and He was also called the Word.

We read all this from the start of the gospel of John.

He was the Word and He was with God and He was God (John 1 v 1).

Scripture is very clear in telling us that Jesus was and is God, and all Biblical scholars agree that when the Greek for the Word (or logos) is used at the start of John we are talking about Jesus.

This is a very important truth and one that is fundamental to our faith.

John continues to explain Who Jesus is and this culminates in verse 14.

We read that He became flesh i.e. became a man; a man full of grace and truth.

In earlier DIGs I wrote about how we can say the truth about Jesus equals the gospel which equals the grace message.

John confirms this truth in verse 14, saying Jesus was grace and truth.

The gospel is the message of grace and is the message of Jesus.

Anything other than the truth about Jesus is not the gospel; righteousness through works for example is not the gospel.

Anything “extra” to the finished work of Jesus Christ is not grace and is not the gospel.

This “extra” is religion and legalism and is not the good news of the grace of Jesus Christ.

The good news is that Jesus became a man and dwelt among us, coming to deal with the sin issue to bring forgiveness and reconciliation and making salvation and righteousness possible for every man.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the truth that we read about Jesus, that His finished work is the gospel and is the message of grace”.

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

DIG for Thursday the 5th of November…..God has chosen not to remember our sins and iniquities….Hebrews 10 v 17

Chapter 10 of Hebrews is a wonderful description of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

He has dealt with all sin for ever once and for all (Hebrews 10 v 12).

There is no longer any requirement for sacrifices for sin: Jesus has paid the ultimate sacrifice.

There has been remission for sin, so for God sin is not longer an issue (Hebrews 10 v 18).

The amazing truth is that God has made a conscious decision, because of the work of His Son, to forget about your sin and my sin.

This is what verse 17 says; He will not remember your sin any more!

Now this is not an excuse for you to go out and sin, as there are still earthly consequences for sin.

This is a chance for you to thank God and to praise Him for dealing with your sin.

It is a chance to love Him, and learn more about Him, so that the sin that He has forgotten about becomes less and less in your life.

The way to a more holy life (or less sin) is to recognise that Jesus has dealt with your sin and move on.

The key is to now have no more conscience of sin (Hebrews 10 v 2).

The key is to focus so much on Jesus that He enlarges in your mind and sin no longer gets a look in.

Get your mind off your sin and onto Jesus, that is the key to living a holy and sinless life.

Looking at your sin, dragging up sin, focusing in sin is not the way.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that Jesus dealt with my sin once and for all, and thank you that I should have o more conscience of sin”.

Hebrews 10 v 17…..And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more

DIG for Friday the 23rd of October…..we all need fathers in the faith…..1 Timothy 1 v 2

I was led to read from the start of 1 Timothy this morning and stopped when I read verse 2.

Paul spoke about Timothy being his son in the faith and that led me back to a conversation I had at conference recently.

A dear sister I met there was talking about the need for people to have a “father in the faith”.

Now you may be thinking, “But Vic, we have a Father; Father God”, and that is true but I am talking about father as in the way Paul was writing.

He said Timothy was his son in the faith, and that implies that he was his father.

As a pastor I have been challenged the last couple of days about being more of a father to those believers who will keep hearing what I preach and teach.

I have also been greatly encouraged in the last few days by those that I believe to be my fathers in the faith.

We all need fathers and many of us can be fathers; we can be a son and father at the same time.

We are all on a journey in this Christian life, all at different stages in the understanding and expression of our faith, and those “older” than us can encourage us and at the same time we can be an encouragement to “younger” saints.

I thank God for my fathers in the faith, and I also hope and pray that I can be a better father to those I have been commissioned to lead.

Have you thanked God for your fathers lately?

Have you looked for the opportunity to be a father in the faith?

One of our roles in church is to encourage and exhort, that sounds like the role of a father in the faith (Hebrews 10 v 24 and 25).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for my fathers in the faith and thank you for the opportunity to encourage and exhort others”.

1 Timothy 1 v 2…..Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our God