DIG for Tuesday the 3rd of October…….our Armour of Thinking is our powerful defence……Ephesians 6:11

The Lord has given us tremendous armour against the enemy.

It’s not armour like Saul’s, the one that David rejected for his battle with Goliath
(1 Samuel 17 v38 and 39).

Our armour is not one that we wear on the outside of our bodies (2 Corinthians 10 v 4).

Paul uses the picture of a soldier’s armour to describe the defensive properties of knowledge.

It’s a protection that comes from within us.

As we grow more and more in knowledge, the more we will be able to stand and fight and win!

A soldier’s armour gives him protection from his enemy’s weapons.

The knowledge and understanding that we have of Jesus’ finished work, and of all that we are in Him, will protect us and defend us from the lies and deceptions of the enemy.

Paul says to ‘put on’ and ‘take unto you’ the ‘whole armour of God’.

This is not physical armour – it is the armour of knowledge.

Speak this out today…..’Thank you Lord for the power that I have through the knowledge of Your Word’.

Ephesians 6:11…..Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil

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DIG for Monday the 4th of September…..once planted things will take time…..Mark 4 v 28

As a maltster I used to process barley seeds to make malt, this then went on to be used in the distilling industry.

The process takes about 8 days in total, but for the first couple of days nothing seems to happen.

Or rather, it looks from the outside that nothing is happening.

But inside the barley seed there is a lot going on with water being taken in and hormones and enzymes being released, working away breaking down various compounds inside the seed.

After a couple of days roots appear, then a shoot, and if left to its own devices it would form a new plant and produce more barley.

It is like this when we plant the seed of God’s Word in our hearts.

It may seem like nothing is happening, from the outside everything about us may look the same.

But the Word is working away on the inside and if not pulled out or uprooted it will eventually produce fruit.

Seeds take time to grow into plants and produce fruit.

The Word of God takes time to produce change in our lives.

If we leave a plant in the ground it will grow, and if we leave the Word in our heart and not throw it away through doubt and unbelief it will generate change.

We need patience, for both natural seeds and the supernatural incorruptible seed of the Word (1 Peter 1 v 23).

My advice to you tonight, if you think you are not seeing change, is to wait and be patient and let the Word do its work.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that your Word is the agent for lasting and permanent change in my life”.

Mark 4 v 28…..For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear

DIG for Tuesday the 22nd of August…..football as important as the Bible, really…..2 Timothy 3 v 16 and 17

I was listening to some football commentary on the radio last night and heard the most amazing comment.

The guy said, “Those two goals were of Biblical proportions”.

Now, I love football (I have the honour of being the chaplain for the local team that I have supported man and boy), but I don’t think the game comes near the Word.

Yes, it is quite important but unlike many people, I do not think football is a matter of life and death.

What we read about in the Bible has eternal consequences, while football is just a game!

The Bible is filled with truths that if we understand, will change our life for the better.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God.

The Bible tells us about the love, compassion and mercy of Jesus Christ, and explains to us the significance of His finished work.

Even as a lover of the “beautiful game” I can see it comes nowhere near as important or significant as the Word of God, and to compare the two is ridiculous.

I actually started laughing when I heard that comment last night, but I really should not have done so, as I know people who think football is more important in their life than the Word of God!

I thank the Lord that my priorities have changed over the years, and that my life is heading in a better direction for it.

The Word of God, not a game, needs to be foremost in our minds and in our lives.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that your Word is the agent for lasting and permanent change in my life”.

2 Timothy 3 v 16 and 17…..All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works

DIG for Friday the 4th of August…..you can actually receive through living by law…..Romans 6 v 14

The Bible is clear in that we receive all we need as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus.

We are forgiven through His blood (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

We are made righteous as a gift of grace through faith (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

We have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1 v 3) and have all we need for life and godliness through knowledge of Him, His finished work and of grace (2 Peter 1 v3).

We receive by grace through faith, not through our own works, through law.

We can however receive a couple of things if we want to and try to live by law.

If we seem to be successful for a while (this will not last) this will lead to pride.

If we fail (which will always happen eventually) this will lead to condemnation.

So, try and live by law if you wish, it will always lead to either pride and condemnation or both.

Grace does not involve your works or your efforts, so there is no such thing as your success or your failure, so living by grace cannot result in pride or condemnation.

If there is any pride or condemnation in your life there must be some area of your life that you are letting law in.

Living by grace is not about your successes or your failures; it is all about the amazing success of Jesus.

Living by grace removes pride and condemnation form your life, and as it is dependent upon the performance of Jesus can only result in blessings.

So, I strongly suggest you live by grace and not law!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under grace and not under law and thank you that I can live my life free from pride and condemnation”.

Romans 6 v 14…..For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace

DIG for Friday the 30th of June…..indoctrination and brain washing can be a good thing…..Romans 12 v 2

Doctrine seems to be a word that has a ‘bad’ reputation in the world and in the church.

It conjures up images of indoctrination and brain washing, and this of course has happened over the years many times in a negative way.

However, as I said in church last week, indoctrination can be a good thing.

It is a good thing if Biblical doctrine, i.e. the truth, is being used.

When we are born again our spirit is made perfect, however our soul (mind, will and emotions) is not.

This needs to be renewed; in a sense you could say we need our ‘brain washed’ to remove the nonsense and filth of the world.

Mind renewal (or washing our brain of nonsense and replacing with the truth) is a Biblical truth and an essential process for growth (Romans 12 v 2).

Indeed this is the only process that guarantees lasting and permanent change for the believer.

Doctrine is not a bad thing; it is simply the teaching of a teacher.

And when this teaching is Biblical truth from a teacher rightly dividing the Word of God it is powerful.

Good sound doctrine can change your life.

Good sound doctrine will change your life if you let it.

But you need to remember bad doctrine can have the opposite effect, so take car in what you listen to and what you read and watch.

Speak this out today……”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that this should be the basis of our doctrine”.

Romans 12 v 2…..And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of GOD

DIG for Wednesday the 18th of January….. so what do you have against Jesus…..John 3 v 16

In a Bible teaching today I heard the preacher talking about people having an issue with religion but not an issue with Jesus, and this made me ponder on that statement.

Many people have a problem with the church and Christians; they speak of hypocrisy, they speak of evil deeds done in the name of the church.

And I have a degree of sympathy with this view, having seen much hypocrisy in my time in the church.

However when you look at the life and teachings of Jesus there is not a lot to get annoyed about.

He was a man of compassion, mercy and love; He was a man who was for the “little” person saving His biting comments for the religious establishment.

Jesus did not have an ounce of hypocrisy or evil in His body.

There is nothing in His teachings to merit the evil deeds that we see throughout the history of the church.

Men, down through the ages and even today, have taken the words and deeds of Jesus and used them for their own ends; this is unfortunately the effect of religion.

I am not surprised many men have serious issues with “false” Christianity and the church.

But there is nothing to hold against Jesus.

Jesus is what we need to tell proclaim, what He did and who He was.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ and thank you for all that I receive as a gift of grace through faith in Him”.

John 3 v 16…..For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

DIG for Tuesday the 17th of January…..I am so glad to be a whosoever…..John 3 v 16

Yesterday we looked at John 3 v 16 together and there is one word that has always jumped out at me from this verse.

I love the word “whosoever”.

This is a word that speaks to me of the inclusivity of the Kingdom.

Jesus is for everyone and anyone; Jesus is for whosoever will choose to accept Him and His finished work.

Men have been created with free will, with the will to choose what they believe and trust upon.

God the Father sent His Son to be the propitiation for the sin of all men.

Through His finished work all men have been reconciled and forgiven.

However men need to choose to trust in Jesus and His finished work.

When they choose they become a “whosoever”.

Once we trust in Jesus we are saved for an eternity with God the Father; we become a “whosoever” with regards to John 3 v 16.

Every man can be saved as the provision has been made through Jesus but every man needs to decide for himself to become a “whosoever”.

I hope you are glad to be a whosoever.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ and thank you that have been saved as a gift of grace through faith in this work”

John 3 v 16…..For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

 

 

DIG for Sunday the 15th of January…..we have complete and unconditional acceptance from God…..Ephesians 1 v 6

We all know that in order to be accepted by others we have to conform and perform, this is the way of the world.

We conform to be accepted by our circle of friends.

We perform in order to be accepted by our schoolteachers or managers at work.

In this world we have to do things to be accepted by others.

This is not the case in the Kingdom of God.

We have to be made accepted in order to have acceptance from God.

There is nothing we can do to be accepted and there is then nothing we can do to be rejected once living in this acceptance.

This is exactly what we read at the start of the epistle to the Ephesians.

Paul writes and says that, ”he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1 v 6)

God accepts us after being made something.

Once we are saved, as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus we are made righteous and holy (2 Corinthians 5 v 21 and Ephesians 4 v 24), and this is why we are then acceptable to God.

We are not accepted because of our goodness or our religious performance; we are accepted because of our trust in the performance of Jesus.

In the sae way we cannot “sin away” this acceptance.

We are now always acceptable to God, unconditionally and completely.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus I have complete and unconditional acceptance from you”.

Ephesians 1 v 6…..To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved

DIG for Saturday the 14th of January…..the key is being content, not rich or poor but content…..1 Timothy 6 v 8

You’ll not be surprised to know that I am still meditating over the many experiences I had in India recently.

One of the main things that have impacted on me is the contentment of the believers that we met.

Paul writes to Timothy (and us) telling him to be content with what he has (1 Timothy 6 v 8).

This is not saying that Timothy (or us) has to live in poverty and need.

What Paul is saying is that whatever state you find your self in be content.

If you are rich be content and if you are poor you are also to be content.

If you live in plenty or live in need be content.

The Word never says we should live in poverty or need, contrary to what religion may teach you.

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

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

Jesus came and was made poor so that we might be rich (2 Corinthians 8 v9).

We are not meant to live in poverty or need however if we are ever in that state, and as we endeavour to come out from that, we are even then to be content.

In India I saw many people wanting to receive a better education, get a better job and make a better life for themselves and their families however at the same time they were content.

They were living out 1 Timothy 6 v 8 as they moved into living out John 10 v10, 2 Corinthians 8 v 9 and 3 John 2.

There is a lot we in the West can learn from these contented brothers and sisters.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you do indeed want us all to live in abundance and prosperity, and thank you for tat provision you made through the finished work of Jesus”.

1 Timothy 6 v 8…..And having food and raiment let us be therewith content

DIG for Friday the 13th of January…..cleansing the temple, another nail in the coffin for religion…..John 2 v 15

On Wednesday I wrote about Jesus turning water into wine and said that it was showing us that He came to end religion.

If we read on in John chapter 2 we see more of the same.

In this section of the Word we see Jesus throwing out the sellers and moneychangers from the temple (John 2 v 14 to 16).

These people were an essential part of the business of religion; without these people the Jews could not partake in the religious ceremonies and practices that were required.

They could no loner “do their religion” without these people.

Once again Jesus was saying that this is the end of religion; this is the end of man-made practices and traditions being used to reach out to God.

Jesus came to replace religion with a relationship with Him; now that He was here religion was no longer required.

The ‘cleansing of the temple’ is another picture; another piece of typology, showing us that religion is done away with through Jesus.

The only way to the Father is through Jesus; religion is not necessary, indeed religion is now a waste of time!

No man can work (or be religious) to come to God.

Man can only come to God through Jesus (John 14 v 6).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord the Jesus replaced religion with relationship, and thank you that I can now come to you through Jesus”.

John 2 v 15…..And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out eh changers’ money, and overthrew the tables