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

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DIG for Monday the 8th of May…..we have another job along with the ministry of reconciliation…..2 Corinthians 5 v 20

We have seen recently that Paul talks about us, as born again believers, having the ministry of reconciliation.

We all have this ministry.

He carries on in this passage by telling us about another “job” that we all have.

We are all ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5 v 20).

An ambassador is the representative of a king or government in a foreign country.

They have the authority to speak and act on behalf of their sovereign or nation.

So in this world we speak for Christ and his Kingdom.

We are the representatives of Christ here on earth.

We have His authority and should be acting and speaking on his behalf.

We should be doing what we saw our King doing when He was on earth.

And indeed this is what Christ told His disciples (and us) while He was on earth.

We are to do greater things than He did, is what Jesus said!

The church (you and me) is the hands and mouths of Jesus on the earth.

Through the enabling of the Holy Spirit we can lay hands on the sick and see them healed, we can cast out demons and yes, we can raise the dead.

We can do all these things, as we are His ambassadors!

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord that you have empowered us with your Holy Spirit to allow us to be your ambassadors here on earth”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 20…..Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God

DIG for Sunday the 7th of May…..He’s doing what with our sins…..2 Corinthians 5 v 19

Yesterday we saw that God has already reconciled us to Himself through no work of our own but through the finished work of Jesus.

This has huge implications for us, not least of how God sees our sin.

Yes, we have all fallen short of the glory of God and indeed were all born sinners.

Yes, we are all still prone to falling and doing stupid things in our current lives.

We all had sin on our lives that separated us from God the Father.

However through the finished work of Jesus all our sin (indeed the sin of the whole world) has been paid for and dealt with.

God is not holding our sin against us any more.

This is what the word imputing means; He is not counting our sin against us, He is not looking for any further payment for sin.

He has chosen to forget about our sin; the Word says He will remember our sins and iniquities no more (Hebrews 10 v 17).

Many think that if we sin we need to ask for forgiveness, we need to get that sin “under the blood”.

This is not a Biblical attitude, as all sin (past, present and future) has already been dealt with on the cross and forgiveness and reconciliation has already been provided.

God is no longer imputing any sin against any man.

Now that is not an excuse to sin; if you think like that you really have not grasped the significance of your forgiveness and reconciliation.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you are not imputing any sin against me now thanks to the finished work of Jesus”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 19…..To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them: and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation

DIG for Saturday the 6th of May…..we have all been given the same ministry…..2 Corinthians 5 v 18

In this verse we as born again believers are all given the same ministry.

Now, we may all have different ministries in other areas but with regards to reconciliation we all have the same ministry.

And this ministry is to tell people they have already been reconciled through the finished work of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5 v 18).

How often do we hear people being shouted at in the street by an “evangelist”?

How often do we hear people being told to repent and turn from their wicked ways?

This should not be happening.

It is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.

Men should be told the good news about the finished work of Jesus; the good news that they have already been reconciled and forgiven.

The good news is that only faith is required (and not works) to benefit from this reconciliation and forgiveness.

The good news is that reconciliation has already been delivered.

Reconciliation was a work of Jesus and is not a work required from man.

This came as a gift of grace from Jesus.

Jesus brought peace and goodwill from God and completed His work on the cross.

Our job (or our ministry) as believers is to tell people this good news!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that all men has been reconciled to you through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 18…..And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation

DIG for Friday the 5th of May…..we have been reconciled and we did nothing…..2 Corinthians 5 v 18

The thing that makes true Christianity unique is the fact that God Himself reached out to mankind.

In every religion around the world we see mankind reaching out to God through rituals and traditions, trying to receive His blessings and forgiveness.

Every religion recognises the shortcomings of man and tries to make up for this with their own works and efforts.

This does not work and will never work.

However this is not necessary.

Yes, all men have come short of the glory of God and require something to be done to bring them back into favour and relationship with God.

But this “thing” has already been done.

God Himself, through the finished work of Jesus Christ, has provided the reconciliation required.

At the cross Jesus took our place and dealt with the sin issue once and for all.

Sin is no longer an issue for God, and forgiveness and reconciliation have been given.

Yes, given, given as a gift.

Now all mankind can reap the benefits of this with the simple act of faith.

We do not require to do anything to be reconciled to God, He has done this already through Jesus(2 Corinthians 5 v 18).

We now use faith in Jesus and we receive the benefits of this reconciliation.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I have already been reconciled to you through the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 18…..And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation

DIG for Thursday the 4th of May…..we are now just like God…..2 Corinthians 5 v 18

We are now just like God; doesn’t that sound like a proud and arrogant statement?

It may sound that way, but if you are a born again believer it is true.

We have spoken in the last couple of days about our newly created born again spirit.

This was created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

We may not have changed in our soul or body but our spirit was radically changed.

The change was so radical that our spirit is now perfect and sinless, just like Jesus.

Indeed, when God now looks at us as spirit to spirit He sees Jesus.

The Word says that as He is so are we in this present world, and this is talking about Jesus (1 John 4 v 17).

It says we are just like Jesus right now.

I know this is not talking about my soul (mind, will and emotions) or my body so it must be talking about my spirit.

My spirit and yours is of God; that is what the start of 2 Corinthians 5 v 18 is saying.

It is not prideful or arrogant to see that in our spirit we are like God, it is a Biblical truth.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that my spirit is sinless and perfect, just like Jesus”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 18…..And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation

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 Saturday the 29th of October…..being thankful is important…..1 Thessalonians 5 v 18

In our bible study tonight my wife started praying and I thought it was really powerful.

It was not a fancy prayer, or a loud shouting prayer; it was simply a prayer of thankfulness.

I cannot remember all the things she was thanking God for but it really spoke to me in a powerful way, and got me thinking about being thankful.

There are lots for us all to be thankful for, even in the many varied circumstances that we live under

We can all thank God for the finished work of Jesus Christ.

We can all thank God for our reconciliation and forgiveness (2 Corinthians 5 v 18 and Ephesians 1 v 7).

We can all thank God for our salvation.

We can all thank God that we have been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

If you are born again you may be having difficulties and problems in this life.

There may be things that you cannot thank God for right now, however there are plenty of things you can be thankful for; I have just listed a number of them!

Even in hard times we can be thankful; this is what we read in 1 Thessalonians 5 v 18.

We are to give thanks in all things, and God would not ask us to do this if it were not possible.

You have plenty of things to be thankful for, it is your responsibility to recognise this.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for all that I have been given as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus”.

1 Thessalonians 5 v 18…..In every thing give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you

DIG for Saturday the 16th of July…..we need to know there was a then and there is a now…..Romans 6 v 14

One of the things we must understand as a believer is that “things change” as we go through the Bible.

To steal a phrase that I heard Barry Bennett say recently, “we need to know that there was a then and there is a now”.

For instance there was a then when people lived under the old covenant and now we live under the new covenant.

There was a then when people lived under law and now we live under grace (Romans 6 v 14).

There was a then when the Holy Spirit came and went but now He has come and has never left.

There was a then when revelation was drip fed to prophets and now we live in a time when the full revelation through Jesus Christ has been revealed (Hebrews 1 v 1 and 2).

God Himself has not changed however how He deals with mankind has changed, and it changed at the cross.

Before the cross, then, sin was an issue but now after the finished work of Jesus Christ sin is no longer an issue; our sin has been dealt with once and for all (Hebrews 10 v 12 and 14) and we have been forgiven (Ephesians 1 v 7) and reconciled (2 Corinthians 5 v 18 and 19).

There was a then and there is a now, and it went from then to now at the cross.

As Jesus said, “It is finished” everything changed and the world entered a new era, under a new covenant, under grace.

I thank the Lord that we live now, in a time that David sang of saying, “Blessed is he whose transgressions is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity”.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under the new covenant, under grace”.

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

DIG for Tuesday the 12th of July…..we are also in a covenant relationship with God…..Romans 6 v 15

At our men’s Bible study last night we were discussing the life of David, looking at how as men we could use him as an example.

David was an incredible man, a man of great power yet a man with his difficulties, a man said to be after God’s own heart (Acts 13 v 22).

What really impacted me was that David knew God loved him and would provide for him even knowing what he had done and what he was capable of.

He knew he was a murderer and adulterer yet he could write some of the most beautiful Psalms, such as Psalm 23.

He knew God would provide for him, would look after him, and would lead him to safety even after all the bad that he had done.

David knew he was in a covenant relationship with God and that this was not dependent upon his performance.

This is important!

The same is true for us today; we are in a covenant relationship (the New Covenant) with God and this is not dependent upon our performance.

We are forgiven and reconciled to God because of the performance of Jesus and because of this every man can, as a gift of grace through faith, be saved and made righteous.

Living under the New Covenant (under grace and not law) is not a license to sin; it is a license from sin.

Realising that God loves you and sent His Son for you makes you run from sin not run to sin.

However when we fall, like David, it is reassuring to know that this will not affect our covenant relationship with God.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I live under the New Covenant, under grace, and thank you for your forgiveness and reconciliation”.

Romans 6 v 15…..What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid