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

Advertisement

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 Thursday the 8th of December…..do you want to know what really annoys me……Luke 2 v 14

My church fellowship know that there are a few things that get me annoyed; teaching that suggests we should ask for forgiveness, dredging up sin during communion and asking God to heal us to name but a few.

Another “biggie” for me is Christmas cards that say “Peace on earth”.

Jesus did not come to bring peace on earth as men normally think (read Matthew 10 v 34 if you don’t believe me).

If Jesus came to bring peace on earth He failed!

Jesus came to bring peace to earth; He brought goodwill from God to men (Luke 2 v 14).

He brought reconciliation between man and God (2 Corinthians 5 v 18).

Jesus coming to this earth was nothing to do with peace between men (although if we truly understand His love peace will become a fruit of this understanding).

Jesus coming was all about peace between God and man.

The reconciliation of man (and subsequent forgiveness through the blood of Jesus) made it possible for all men to come into salvation and righteousness.

The Word becoming flesh was the start of the process of the possibility of us coming back into a true and meaningful relationship with God the Father.

In this context this is possibly the most important event in human history and it disturbs me that believers can get it so wrong with regards to its true meaning.

Please do me a favour this Christmas, do not send any cards that say “Peace on earth”!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for Jesus and thank you for the reconciliation that came through Him”.

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

DIG for Tuesday the 5th of April…..the God of bountiful provision…..Ephesians 1 v 3

In preparation for my next sermon I was directed to this verse in Ephesians, the verse that talks about the bountiful provision of God.

Many may think that this is not talking about our life on earth, but a future existence in Heaven, but that is not the case.

“In heavenly places” means in our spirit realm, and indeed God has already placed (if we are born again) all that we will ever need into our born again spirit.

This includes peace and joy, healing and prosperity.

The key is getting this spiritual provision out and into our physical existence.

We can have peace and joy in this life, just as we can have healing and prosperity; indeed health and prosperity is what He wants for us above all things (3 John 2).

This is achieved through knowledge of Jesus (same message as DIG yesterday).

We have already been given all we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 1 v 3).

The key to both these verse (2 Peter 1 v 3 and Ephesians 1 v 3) is the word “hath”; this is a word in the past tense.

We have already been given all we need; God has already given it to us.

It is now down to us to believe, understand and receive.

Do you need to see more peace and joy, health and abundance in your life this morning?

Well, get into His Word and increase your knowledge!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can see more peace and joy, health and prosperity in my life and thank you for your Word”.

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 Monday the 4th of April……lacking peace, then gain more knowledge…..2 Peter 1 v 2

The Bible is full of advice for the born again believer (in fact it is full of advice for all people, if they would just read it).

In the past I’ve heard believers praying and asking God for peace; if only they had read this verse they would see that this is not how peace is made manifest in their lives.

Peace, as it says in this verse, comes through knowledge of God and of Jesus (2 Peter 1 v 2).

This is a wonderful bit of advice that many of us could do with.

I think nearly every one of us would admit that we could do with more peace in our lives; we lead busy and hectic lives that do not seem filled with peace.

But this verse tells us exactly what to do in order to see more peace in our lives.

If peace comes through knowledge, then more peace must be made manifest through more knowledge.

Knowledge about God and Jesus comes from the Bible, it comes from reading, meditating and studying on His Word.

So, we can deduce (you can see I am a mathematician at heart) that more peace can come from reading, meditating and studying the Bible.

Peace does not come through God sovereignly laying it upon you.

Peace does not come from someone else laying hands upon you, it may feel more peaceful at the time but I can assure you that it will not be permanent.

Permanent and lasting peace comes through renewing your mind (gaining more knowledge) with the truths in the Word of God.

This is the mechanism for peace in your live.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I can see more peace in my life and thank you for your Word”.

2 Peter 1 v 2…..Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord

DIG for Saturday the 5th of March…..check the tense of the verse you are reading…..Ephesians 1 v 3

When reading any passage of writing you have to look at the words as a whole, including the tense, in order to gain understanding.

Take for example Ephesians 1 v 3.

Paul is talking about spiritual blessings that we as born again believers receive from Father God, through the work of Jesus.

These blessings are received from God because of Jesus, and that is very important, but it is also important when they are received.

Look at the tens of this verse when it is describing the spiritual blessings.

The verse says, “who hath blessed us”; this is past tense, this is something that has already happened.

The verse does not say “will bless’ or “is going to bless”, no, it says hath blessed.

So when are we blessed with all these spiritual blessings such as health, peace, joy, abundance and prosperity?

We are blessed when we become “in Christ Jesus”, or to put it another way, when we come to salvation and are born again.

When we are born again our spirit is created new (2 Corinthians 5 v 17) and that spirit is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

At that point in time you were blessed with all spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.

At that point you were healed, given peace and provided with abundance and prosperity.

The rest of you Christian life is then to be spent “working them out” into your physical life.

You do not have to wait to be blessed, you do not have to ask God to bless you; you have already been blessed.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have already blessed me with all spiritual blessing through Jesus and His finished work”.

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 Thursday the 3rd of March…..do you want more grace and peace in your life…..Ephesians 1 v 2

People are always looking for more “stuff” in their lives, be it love, money, power etc.

Paul writes to the Ephesians ( and he writes to you) offering some different “stuff”.

Paul offers us grace and peace.

Grace can be defined as unmerited favour and peace is the absence of strife, but also has the implication of prosperity.

Thanks Paul, I for one will have more of those please!

Paul also tells us where to find this; it can only be found in God and Christ.

Grace and peace do not come from works, religious performance or from putting your self under legalism.

Grace and peace are a gift from God and are received through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus is actually described as being grace personified (John 1 v 17).

Peace (and mercy)comes from walking in the Spirit with the Lord and is a by-product of this (Galatians 6 v 16).

Do you want grace and peace in your life this afternoon?

Spend time with the Lord, meditate upon His Word and learn more about the finished work of Jesus Christ, and this will see grace and peace (including prosperity) flow through all aspects of your life.

This is what God wants for your life, He wants His grace and peace to flow through you so that you can live in health and prosperity (3 John 2 ).

He wants you to live and abundant life and has provided for this through the finished work of Jesus (John 10 v 10).

All you have to do is believe and receive!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus and thank you for your grace and peace”.

Ephesians 1 v 2…..Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ

DIG for Thursday the 28th of January…..Vic, you are choosing how you feel…..Philippians 4 v 4 to 7

In our bible study last night the Lord clearly spoke to me about my attitude and the way I was thinking, but I think what He said will help us all, so I am going to share this in my DIG today.

As a group we spent time meditating over Philippians 4 v 4 to 7 and then shared what we though the Lord was saying about it.

For me the Lord said that this passage was all about choice; we could choose to rejoice, choose to be moderate, choose to stop worrying and choose to be thankful (Philippians 4 v 4 to 6).

In this way we would see peace flowing in our lives (Philippians 4 v 7).

He said, “Vic, you are choosing to feel sad, you are choosing to feel low”.

Now, I do not get up in the morning and think, “I’m choosing to feel a bit down this morning”.

However, everything we do is a choice; we choose what to read, what to listen to, who to speak to, where to go and what to do.

The Lord said to me, “You cannot choose to be at peace, but you can choose so that you will be at peace”.

This is true and this is what this passage in Philippians is all about; we can choose to do certain things or not, and dependant upon this we will raise or lower the levels of peace that we operate under.

Yes, we cannot choose peace, but we can choose to do things that will allow His peace to be made manifest in our lives.

In a similar way Isaiah reminds us that if we want perfect peace we need to keep our minds stayed upon God.

This “list” in Philippians is an example of keeping your mind stayed upon the Lord; if we are focussing on Him and His goodness we will not worry and we will be thankful for example.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that you have set in place a way for me to see peace in my life”.

Philippians 4 v 4 to 7…..Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

DIG for Wednesday the 21st of October…..the key is to focus, to keep thinking, on Him…..Isaiah 26 v 3

 

I’ve often written about this verse in DIG, but I felt led to use it again after hearing it in some teaching from the conference I am attending.

I also talk a lot about the fact that what we think is important, having a direct impact on our lives.

This verse points out that if we want peace we need to focus on, to think on, to keep our mind stayed on the Lord.

Now this is not a “once in the morning” or “once in the evening” process; this is a daylong thing.

I’m not against devotional times, however for many Christians their daily devotional is their only interaction with the Lord.

This is not enough for peace to reign in your life; your mind needs to be stayed on God all day for this to happen.

But how can I keep my mind on God all day you may be asking, epically if you have a job or are at school or have a family to look after.

Let me ask you a question?

If you are having relationship issues or financial problems can you worry about them all day while going about your usual business?

I’m sure the answer is yes.

If you can worry all day (or keep your mind stayed) about your problems you can do the same with the Lord.

You can meditate on things on the Lord (a worship song, a verse of Scripture, a Biblical principle) as you go about your daily business.

Worry is negative meditation, and we all seem to be good at that; we can turn it around and meditate in a positive way, that is keeping your mind stayed on God.

Listen to worship music or a sermon as you drive to and from work instead of tuning in to the bad news of the world; that is keeping your mind stayed on God.

Focussing on Him all day long will bring you peace, that is guaranteed as that is what the word of God says.

If you are not in peace this morning then you mind is not focussed on the things of the Lord, and must be focussed on something of the world; it is that simple!

Get your mind onto the Lord and keep it on the Lord and peace will reign in your life.

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord for your peace that can reign in my life, thank you for your Word and the Holy Spirit here to help me keep my mind stayed on you”

Isaiah 26 v 3…..Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee

DIG for Thursday the 15th of October…..turn your eyes upon Jesus…..2 Peter 1 v 3

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

I’ve just been singing this song as I get ready for the guys to arrive for the Bible study; it is one of my favourite choruses, and it is one I can seldom sing without getting a bit weepy.

It is a wonderful wee song and so true!

As we look to Jesus and take our eyes off the things around us (as we think spiritually instead of carnally) we will move into His blessings (Romans 8 v 6).

As we focus on Him, gaining knowledge of Him, we will see manifest in our lives all the things we need for life (God’s kind of life) and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

As we trust and think on the Lord we will see peace in our lives (Isaiah 26 v 3).

As Jesus becomes more important to us the things of the earth become less important.

Now of course Jesus wants us to have a good life, He died for us to live in abundance, however this comes upon us as we focus on Him, learning more and gaining in knowledge about Him.

If we strive to know Him, blessings and abundance will crash upon us like waves upon the beach.

The amazing truth is that if we focus on Him and not worry about things of life, we get the things required for life; that is good news.

So tonight take my advice (well, actually take the advice of the Word of God) and turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look to Him, the first and last, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning, middle and end of our faith.

Look to the King of Kings and Lord of Lord, the Creator of the universe.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for Jesus, our Saviour and King, our friend and helper”.

2 Peter 1 v 3…..According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue