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

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DIG for Wednesday the 29th of November…..abundant life and eternal life is for right now…..John 10 v 10

I’ve just been listing to a song on Spotify called “I’ll Fly Away”, a song about a Christian looking forward to where they will go when they die.

This sentiment is something that I see often in the church and in my opinion is very wrong!

OK, it is fine to look forward to Heaven but when it is your focus that is not right.

Jesus died to bring us life in abundance, but not just in Heaven.

Jesus came to bring us eternal life, but that does not start when we die.

Abundant life and eternal life is for now while you are on earth.

I like the Christian Aid tagline that says, “We believe in life before death”.

Jesus wanted us to live in prosperity and health in this life, we are not meant to be just hanging on and scraping by until we get to Heaven.

Yes, Heaven will be great but your life on earth is supposed to be great as well.

I admit there will be difficulties and hardships at times however the Lord wants above all things that we live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

Do not believe the doom and gloom merchants who tell you that this life is supposed to be one of poverty and sickness; that is just not Biblical.

Jesus never made anyone sick and never made anyone poor, in fact He did just the opposite.

And what Jesus did for those in the Gospels He wants to do for you; He wants you to live well here n earth and enjoy your life before you head into Heaven.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the abundant life that you have provided for me here on earth”.

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

DIG for Tuesday the 28th of November…..what do you think about Jesus…..John 1 v 11

I carried on reading the start of the Gospel of John after writing my DIG yesterday.

It is a wonderful Gospel however I was saddened a little by one of the verses.

I am of course referring to John 1 v 11.

Jesus came for us, for all of us; He came for all mankind.

However a lot, maybe most men will reject Him.

We know it is God’s will that all men are saved (2 Peter 3 v 9) however we also know many will be lost.

It is sad that many will reject the free gift of salvation.

It is sad that the world tells people that there is no God and many believe this.

Jesus brought reconciliation and forgiveness for all men, and an acceptance of this will result in salvation and life in abundance.

Jesus is the only way into life, and what you do with Jesus is the most significant decision you can make on this earth.

I am hoping that as you are reading this DIG you have made the correct decision about Jesus.

If not you really need to!

He is Lord, Creator and Saviour, and whether we believe that or not has eternal consequences for us.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that Jesus came and dwelt among us and thank you that I have recognised Him as Saviour and Lord”.

John 1 v 11…..He came unto his own, and his own received him not

DIG for Wednesday the 25th of October…..we don’t need to shake that tree…..Ephesians 1 v 3

As I was driving down the road today I was listening to some music, and heard the following lyric –

“I’m gonna shake that tree until all the fruit comes down”.

I really love the sentiment of this song; it speaks of us having good things in life, and more than enough to live on.

The song I was listening to implied that we had to work and strive, shaking the tree, until we received all that we needed.

This for me describes what is known as an abundant life, but working and striving in our own strength is not how it works for the born again believer.

We have an abundant life because this is what Jesus wants for us (John 10 v 10).

The Lord wants us to live an abundant life of health and prosperity (3 John 2).

We already have all the blessings we need through Jesus (Ephesians 1 v 3).

We are not required to work to be blessed by God, to be provided with the abundance that Jesus died for.

Indeed, Jesus was once asked what work people had to do, and He told them simply to believe on Him (John 6 v 28 and 29).

Work is not required to be blessed, as we already are blessed through faith.

We are blessed, we just need to believe this and live as if we are blessed!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I already am blessed as a gift of grace through faith”.

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 10th of October…..how do I keep control of my emotions then…..John 14 v 1

Yesterday in DIG we looked at the words Jesus told His disciples as they went into a real crisis situation; He told them to keep control of their emotions.

He is also telling us the same today, and we can do it.

You may have read the DIG yesterday and thought, that is all well and done, but how can I keep control of my emotions.

Well, the good news is that Jesus also tells us this in John 14 v 1.

He says, “ye believe in God, believe also in me”.

The key to controlling your emotions is to focus on what Jesus has done, who He is and then to believe these truths.

Yes, it really is that simple; it may not be easy at times, but it is simple.

If we keep our mind focussed on the Lord we will stay in peace (Isaiah 26 v 3), in other words keep control of our emotions.

Letting our emotions run away with us is not living in peace.

Meditating on, focussing on and believing in Jesus and His finished work is key to staying in control of our emotions.

Fear, panic and worry are not in line with what Jesus has done for us.

Fear, panic and worry are not part of His plan for our lives, they play no part in life in abundance (John 10 v 10).

If we know and believe for example that we are healed and prosperous, when sickness and poverty try to come upon us we can tell them where to go.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ, and thank you for the abundant life He has provided for me”.

John 14 v 1…..Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me

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

DIG for Friday the 18th of August…..if health and life is always God’s will what about Ananias and Sapphira…..Acts 5 v 5

Another question that I often get asked as I preach about grace is about Ananias and Sapphira.

“If God is so loving and wants the best for all men, why did He kill Ananias and Sapphira?”

Well I would ask the question back, “Where does it say in the Bible that God killed them?”

If you look at the Word it does not tell us who killed them.

It actually only says that they “gave up the ghost”.

It does not say that God killed them!

Once again I would say do not make up things that are not in the Word.

Now, I wouldn’t mind if people said that they thought God killed them, but people cannot say this is explicitly said so in the Word.

There are other Scriptures that tell us about the true nature of God.

The truth is that He wants us all to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

The truth is that He wants us to live in abundance, and that is why Jesus came (John 10 v 10).

I cannot see any verse post-cross that would make me think that God kills people.

That is why I do not think God killed Ananias and Sapphira.

I have to be honest and say I am not sure what happened, but my understanding of Scripture points me to believe that it was not God.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that it is always your will that I live in health and prosperity, and thank you for this provision through the finished work of Jesus”.

Acts 5 v 5…..And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things

DIG for Wednesday the 16th of August…..oh no, not “if it is Your will” again…..3 John v 2

There are some words that I fear from Christians more than others; “if it is Your will Lord” and “if it is His will” are among the worst.

This may sound humble and may sound like a good sentiment however it displays an ignorance of the Word of God and of the true character of God.

Take healing for example.

When speaking out healing or praying for healing, the words “if it is Your will Lord” is a statement of doubt and unbelief.

The Word is pretty clear that it is always God’s will for us to be healed.

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

Jesus came so that we could live in life, and life in abundance (John 10 v 10).

In the Gospels we see on a number of occasions where Jesus heals all that came to Him.

Never in the Gospels do we see Jesus refusing to heal, and we never see Him putting sickness or disease on a person.

We also see in Scripture that if we see Jesus we see God; He is the express image of the Father and can only do what He does.

So if we see Jesus always healing, we know it is always God’s will that we are healed.

Asking God if it is His will to heal shows an ignorance of Scripture, and shows an ignorance of the true nature of God.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that it is always your will that I live in health, and thank you for this provision through the finished work of Jesus”.

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