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 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 Monday the 8th of January…..God wants you to have a very good year…..3 John 2

Happy New Year everyone: I trust and pray that you will be in health and prosperous in 2018.

I can say this as that is precisely what God the Father wants for you!

I’ve just come back from India, and had the good fortunate to preach on numerous occasions, and one of the verses that I used many times was 3 John 2.

3 John 2 is very good news for everyone, and the people I preached for in India were blessed by this message.

No matter where you are in the world, no matter what sex you are and no matter how much money you have (or don’t have), God the Father wants you to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

This is the message of the Gospel, the message of Jesus.

He came to bring us life in abundance, and healing and prosperity are both included in abundance (John 10 v10).

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and his works include sickness and poverty (1 John 3 v 8).

God the Father sent Jesus for every one of us, so in a real sense He sent health and prosperity to us all at the same time.

Jesus came for all men, so healing and prosperity is for all men, and that includes you.

Do not exclude yourself from His abundance, please do not forget any of His benefits (Psalm 103 v 2).

Health and prosperity are gifts from God, gifts that each one of us can receive, open and enjoy.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you lord that above all things you want me to live in health and prosperity”.

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

DIG for Tuesday the 26th of September…..internal not external, that is what counts…..Ephesians 1 v 3

I had a very interesting conversation at the supermarket checkout this morning.

I realised I had been whistling while doing my shopping, and was still doing this as I stood waiting my turn.

A lady turned round and said, “You are happy today”, to which I replied, “Oh, I’m always happy”.

She said, “Even with all this rain?” and then she left.

The trouble with most people today is that their happiness, joy and peace are based upon external circumstances.

If only the weather was better, if only I had more money, if only people liked me more, and it goes on and on.

The unfortunate truth is that many Christians are the same!

It is external circumstances that appear to be important to some believers.

What a Christian needs to realise is that it is what is inside of us that should be used to “develop” happiness, joy and peace.

If we understand and believe that inside we are righteous, holy and perfect we will manifest joy.

If we understand and believe that we are truly forgiven we will manifest joy.

If we know that in our born again spirits we have all we every need, for health and prosperity (among other things) we will manifest joy.

Our joy, peace and happiness comes from inside, and should never be dependent upon the weather, other people or even football results!!

Our joy, peace and happiness should be dependent upon who we are through Christ and what we have in Christ, i.e. what we have inside us in our spirit.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for everything that I have in Christ and through Christ, thank you for all I have inside of me”

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 Friday the 15th of September…..He did not send the storm, He calmed it…..Mark 4 v 39

At the end of Mark 4 we see Jesus and His disciples crossing the sea to go to the other side.

This is what Jesus had commanded and this is what He intended.

However a storm arose, making the disciples fear for their lives, but when Jesus woke up He calmed the storm.

This is a picture showing us that Jesus can calm storms; He does not send them.

Jesus is the solution to deal with a storm; He is not the sender of storms.

This is contrary to much of what we hear in church today, but it is the truth.

Yes, we are told there will be trials and temptations (or storms) in our lives.

But it is a tradition of men and a lie of the enemy that these storms are sent by God.

When Jesus got into the boat the plan was to go to the other side; why would He (or God) send a storm to try and stop this?

He did not send the storm then and He does not send the storms now.

Above all else God wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2); storms are trying to remove these good things from us.

God is not schizophrenic or perverse; that is what He would need to be in order to send storms and then help clear them up.

God sending storms is a religious nonsense, spread by people who are not rightly dividing the Word of God.

A true understanding of the Word leads us to know that God is s good God and can only send us good things (James 1 v 17).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you are a good God and thank you that I can know the storms of this life are not orchestrated by You”.

Mark 4 v 39…..And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm

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