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

 

 

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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 Thursday the 7th of December…..is your theology and doctrine from the Word or from your failed experience…..3 John 2

I heard an amazing quote in a teaching I was listening to last night; the teaching was by a chap called Lance Wallnau.

He said, “We have reduced our theology to the level of our failed experience”.

I agree completely with this statement, I just wish I could have put it as succinctly as Lance!

Take for example the doctrine or theology of healing.

Many in the church think that healing is not for us today; given that they see illness all around us and given that they do not see everyone being healed.

The Word says that by His stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24 and Isaiah 53 v 5).

The Word says that above all things the Lord wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

Scripture is clear that healing was provided (for everyone) at the cross of Christ, and the Word of God should be where we find our theology and doctrine.

Many believers however try and fit their theology and doctrine around their (failed) experience rather than the Word of God.

If we see that everyone is not healed, we believe that healing is not for everyone.

What we should be doing is trying to find out what is blocking the flow of this healing that Jesus has already provided for us.

Our theology should be increased up to the Word of God rather than reduced to our failed experience.

Speak this out today….”Thank you for the healing that I have already been provided with through the finished work of Jesus”.

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

DIG for Sunday the 22nd of October…..you don’t ask for a sandwich, so why ask for healing…..Ephesians 1 v 3

After our church service on a Sunday we always have lunch together as a fellowship.

People take along various items of food and leave them on the table at the back of the church, and then once the service is over we help ourselves.

Nunsy and myself normally take some rye bread sandwiches as our contribution.

Now after the service I don’t get people coming up to me begging and pleading for a rye bread sandwich; they know I have provided them as a gift to be used so they just take one.

It should be like this with what the Lord has freely provided for us.

Yet how many of us are still asking for healing, asking for acceptance, asking for forgiveness and asking for abundance?

God, through the finished work of Jesus, has freely provided all these things as a gift for us to take and use.

He does not require us to ask for them.

Take healing for example; Jesus told His disciples to go heal the sick, He did not tell them to pray for the sick or ask God the Father for healing for them.

As New Covenant believers healing has already been provided for us, we are required to believe and take that healing for ourselves.

The same is true for acceptance, wholeness and prosperity, among other things.

We have ALL spiritual blessings already, our task is to believe this and use them.

We should be thanking God for His bountiful provision instead of asking for what we already have!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for all that you have already provided through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

Ephesians 1 v 3…..Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

DIG for Tuesday the 19th of September…..stop thinking in the wrong way…..Proverbs 23 v 7

I want to share a funny, yet important, story about what happened to me yesterday; an account that highlights the great importance of how and what we think.

As I got out of the saddle for the first “climb” in my spinning class yesterday I felt a pain in my right knee. I’ve felt it a few times before but it was not significant.

I remember thinking, “this will get more sore the more I cycle out of the saddle “.

And of course it did!

It got worse until I thought, “Hold ion I am healed”, and the pain went away.

“As a man thinketh so is he” is a fundamental truth in the Word, and in this example we see it in action.

But the funnier thing happened later as I was shopping on the way home.

In the supermarket I saw knee braces, and they were at a reasonable price!

So I was checking them out, looking for the right size and actually thinking of buying one.

But them, thankfully, I remembered I was healed and did not buy one.

We need to be so careful in what we think.

In the supermarket I had once again “forgotten” about healing and was about to give in to my flesh.

I can guarantee you that if I bought that brace my knee would have got sore, as I was preparing for a sore knee.

What I need to do is thank Jesus for His finished work, and go to my spinning classes knowing that I have a perfect knee.

Are there any areas in your life where you need to stop thinking wrong and start thinking right?

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that we have been healed through the finished work of Jesus”.

Proverbs 23 v 7…..For as he thinketh in his heart so is he: eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee

DIG for Monday the 11th of September…..if you want tomatoes plant a tomato seed…..Matthew 13 v 31

I’ve written quite a bit in the recent past about seeds and how we can plant and then nourish them, in order to produce good fruit in our lives.

What we need to realise, as believers, is that this holds true for bad as well as good seeds, with the ability to produce bad or good fruit.

We know in the natural that if we want cress we plant cress seeds and if we want tomatoes we plant tomato seeds.

Yet sometimes as believers we expect to produce fruit in our lives without planting appropriate seeds.

Everything we read, watch and listen to are seeds that we are planting in our hearts.

If we require healing to be made manifest in our lives we need to plant seeds from the Word of God about healing.

If we plant seeds of doubt and negativity (and there are lots of sources of these available to us) we will reap something other than healing.

We know this principle of planting the correct seed works in the physical natural world and we need to realise the same principle works in the spiritual realm and in the Kingdom.

You would be a fool planting tomato seeds and then expect to harvest potatoes.

So we are also foolish if we are not planting the correct seeds for a good harvest in our Christian walk.

Take time in the Word tonight and plant some more good seeds in your heart, reading this DIG is a good start but not enough.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word, thank you for these incorruptible seeds that I can now plant in my heart”.

Matthew 13 v 31…..Another parable out he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field

DIG for Saturday the 9th of September…..is it for today and is it for me; yes and yes…..Matthew 8 v 2 and 3

Many Christians have the following questions when they think about physical healing; is it for today and is it for me?

If we rightly divide the Word we can answer these questions as “yes” and “yes”.

In the account of the cleansing of the leper (Matthew 8 v 1 to 3), Jesus was asked if he was willing to heal the man and He said he was.

He then of course went on to heal the man of his leprosy, leaving him clean and whole.

If we read this along with a few other Scriptures (if we rightly divide the Word) we can see the awesome truth that Jesus wants us all to live in health.

In Acts 10 v 34 we can read that the Lord is “no respecter of persons” i.e. He has no favourites and what He has done for one He will do for all.

In Hebrews 13 v 8 we can read that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever or in other words He has not changed, so if He healed then He heals now.

In 3 John v 2 we can read that above all things the Lord wants all of us to live in health and prosperity.

So by rightly dividing the Word we can answer the questions that many have about physical healing.

Yes, it is for today and yes, it is for you!

In order for you not to believe this you need to look in the Word for scriptures that tell you healing is not for you and healing is not for today.

Let me save you time; you will not find them!

Healing is for all (including you) and healing is for today; above all things the Lord wants you to live in health (and prosperity), the Word is clear on that.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that above all things you want me to live in health and prosperity, and thank you that this has been provided through the finished work of Jesus”.

Matthew 8 v 2 and 3…..And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying I, will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed

DIG for Wednesday the 6th of September…..don’t say those words…..John 5 v 19

I think I may have written about this before but maybe not recently (or I hope).

There are certain words that a believer should not say, and I am not talking about swear words and profanity, I am talking about these words; “if it be God’s will”.

Contrary to popular belief God does not move in mysterious ways.

We can know the character of God by looking in His Word and also by looking at the example of Jesus.

Jesus was the express image of the Father and could only do what the Father does, so if we look to Jesus we can “see” God the Father.

Take for example healing; Jesus never refused to heal anyone or put conditions upon healing.

Yet when many believers pray for or ask for healing they pray like this; “Father if it be your will please heal me” or “Send your healing power Lord if it be your will”.

These are statements that show ignorance of the Word and ignorance of the true nature of God the Father.

It is always God’s will to heal; that is what the Word says.

Jesus came to bring us life in abundance and that includes healing (John 10 v 10).

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and that includes sickness and disease (1 John 3 v 8).

Above all things God wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

Jesus always healed so you do not need to ask God if it is His will to heal; that is simply ignorance or doubt and unbelief.

So you see, we should never really need to hear a Christian say “if it be God’s will”.

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that we can look to Jesus to see your true character an nature”.

John 5 v 19…..Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise

DIG for Sunday the 27th of August…..health is better than a miraculous healing…..3 John 2

In the message at church this morning Nunsy gave a great teaching from the start of Joshua.

However it was what she said about the difference between healing and being in health that really took my notice.

When the people were in the wilderness for forty years the Lord miraculously provided manna for them.

However in the Promised Land the country was “flowing with milk and honey”, or in other words there was a ‘supernaturally natural’ abundance waiting for them.

God’s best was in the provision already waiting in the Promised Land rather than miracle after miracle in providing manna.

This got me thinking and I am going to make a rather controversial statement here.

If you are always looking for miracles and are more interested in God’s miracles than His provision you are in the wilderness!

Chasing miracles is not God’s best; living in the ‘supernaturally natural’ provision through your understanding of the finished work of Jesus is His best.

It is better to live in health than to have a miraculous healing.

God’s best is for us to live in health, it is not for us to have to be healed with a miracle (3 John 2).

Yes, God has provided for our healing as and when we need it, but His best is for us to live in ‘supernaturally natural’ health.

It was better for the people to live in the Promised Land than with miracles in the wilderness.

What do you prefer? What are you looking for? Miracles or ‘supernaturally natural’ provision?

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have provided for my health and prosperity through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

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

DIG for Saturday the 26th of August…..the ultimate aim of sickness is to steal, kill and destroy…..John 10 v 10

There is an erroneous teaching in the body of Christ that says sickness can come from God in order to teach us a lesson or make us humble (see what people say about Paul’s thorn in the flesh).

This however is wrong teaching; sickness is not from God, in fact sickness originated at the fall along with death.

What people fail to realise is that sickness is a form of death.

Sickness is death in progress.

Not many in the church will now say that God will kill us however that is the ultimate aim of sickness.

Sickness is a killer, so how can we associate it with God?

It is the enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10 v 10).

Jesus came to bring us life and life in abundance.

Sickness is trying to steal from you, kill you and destroy you; sickness is never about life and life in abundance.

That is why we should always resist sickness and fight it (James 4 v 7).

When people who teach that sickness can be from God I always ask them the same question; “why do you go to the doctor then?”

If sickness was a good thing and from God you should stay sick and learn your lesson, even if it kills you.

But deep down even people who teach this nonsense know that sickness is inherently evil so try to get rid of it.

Sickness is of the devil and needs to be be resisted with all our strength.

We should submit to the truths in the Word of God and thank God for the healing that has been provided through the finished work of Jesus.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have already provided all the healing I will ever need”.

John 10 v 10…..The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly