DIG for Wednesday the 31st of May…..replace the lies with truths and renew your mind…..Romans 12 v 2

Have you ever had negative things spoken over your life?

I think we all probably have at different times in our lives.

Have you been told that you are worthless, that your life will amount to nothing?

Do you still believe these lies?

Well, I have some Biblical truths that can set you free tonight.

According to the Bible you are now a son or daughter of the Living God, having been adopted into His family (Ephesians 1 v 5).

According to the Bible you are have been completely accepted by God (Ephesians 1 v 6).

According to the Bible God knew you before time or creation and created you in awe and wonder (Psalm 139 v 14).

According to the Bible God wants you to live in abundant life, living in health and prosperity (John 10 v 10 and 3 John 2).

According to the Bible you already have all you need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

In other words, God knows you, loves you, has a plan for you to be a success and has equipped you for this success.

You are not a failure and you are not worthless; the Lord God Almighty has a plan and purpose for your life.

You can speak these truths out over your life and make a real difference.

If you believe these truths (renew your mind) your life will be changed for the better (transformed) (Romans 12 v 2).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you created me with a plan and purpose, thank you that you created me for success”.

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

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DIG for Wednesday the 16th of November…..do you really want the preacher to be honest at your funeral…..Proverbs 22 v 1

I was really challenged this morning as I listened to some wonderful teaching from a man called Greg Mohr.

He said, “Live in such a way that the preacher does not have to lie at your funeral”.

Oh boy, though got me thinking!

I have been at many funerals when I thought the person sounded perfect but I knew that they were not.

I want the preacher to be truly honest at my funeral, so I need to live my life so that this happens.

I recognised (from listen to Greg) that in order for this to happen I need to be a man of character.

So how does this come about, well it is not something you can try and do or will yourself to be.

My testimony is that as my understanding of the Word increased my character has improved.

And this is what the Word says; we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12 v 2).

I think our character is a reflection of our true nature as it is allowed to influence our mind.

And this is done through mind renewal!

Are you interested in what the preacher may say about you at your funeral?

Are you interested in the legacy that you will leave behind?

If like me you are very interested in this I suggest you get into the Word and increase the rate of mind renewal; that is what I intend to do!

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

Proverbs 22 v 1…..A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold

DIG for Friday the 28th of October…..the Word will endure for ever…..1 Peter 1 v 24 and 25

Listening to the radio this morning I was reminded of the fragility of life.

It was ‘thought for the day’ and the chap was talking about the poppy; how fragile it was yet how it could sprout forth from the worst of ground.

This did remind me of life; it is fragile but it can also bring forth the most wonderful results from difficult circumstances.

But wherever it comes from and however successful it is, life (in terms of the physical on earth) is not for ever.

Life can indeed be snuffed out like a candle, we see this ever day if we watch the news and read the papers.

There is something that lasts forever, the Word of God.

And the good news is that while we are on earth for this short time the Word can facilitate us having a wonderful and abundant life, a life full of blessings and provision.

The Word of God teaches us about Jesus and His finished work, and it is knowledge of Jesus that leads us into an abundant and godly life (2 Peter 1 v 3).

We can renew our minds through the Word of God and see transformation (positive and permanent change) in our soul (mind, will and emotions) and body (Romans 12 v 1 and 2).

The Word is eternal and cannot be corrupted and it is the agent for positive and lasting change in our lives.

Let the Word do what it was designed for, to change you!

Speak this out today….”Thank you for the Word of God and thank you that it is the agent for change in my life”.

1 Peter 1 v 24 and 25…..For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; But the word of the Lord endurerth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you

DIG for Tuesday the 25th of October…..do not be formed by a con, be transformed by the truth…..Romans 12 v 2

Romans 12 v 2 is a foundational truth for every born again believer; it is the verse that describes how we can be changed (or transformed) for the better.

We are transformed by the renewing of our mind.

The verse however also gives us a warning, telling us not to be conformed to this world, not to be molded or shaped by the natural and physical things around us.

Whenever we take in information through hearing, seeing etc. we are taking the opportunity to be either conformed or transformed.

Things of the world can conform us and things of the Lord can transform us.

We decide what we input into our minds, we decide the process that we take part in.

We decide whether to listen to the truth or to lies.

In church the other day I was preaching on this, about being conformed or being transformed and a friend had a real insight; she said, being conformed is when we are ‘formed’ by a ‘con’.

This is very true, as the things of this world are contrary to the Word of God and are therefore lies or cons.

The Word of God is the truth and it is the knowledge of this that will see our minds renewed and see us transformed.

If we know the truth we will be made free (John 8 v 32).

It is knowledge of Jesus that will lead us into life and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

It is the understanding of Scripture that will lead us towards perfection in our mind, will, emotions and body (2 Timothy 3 v 16 and 17).

Feed your self with truth today and not the lies of this world; reading this DIG is a good start!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and for the marvellous truths held within”.

Romans 12 v 2…..And be ye not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind

DIG for Monday the 12th of September…..change your attitude, choices and priorities…..Romans 12 v 2

I was reading a section of a Derek Prince book this afternoon and it made me think about the results of mind renewal.

I often write about renewing the mind, after all it is the way to lasting and permanent change in the life of a believer.

This ties in with what I’ve been learning from another teacher recently that mind renewal is more than just understanding the Word of God.

That is where the process starts; we need to renew our mind through God’s Word, as that is where we find truth after all.

So mind renewal is more than gaining knowledge and understanding, although this has to happen for the process to reach its conclusion.

With knowledge and with understanding there must come a change in thinking, there needs to be an improvement in attitude and the way we think.

Mind renewal brings a change in priorities and it brings a change in values.

For mind renewal to take place there must be a practical use of knowledge, we must ‘do something’ with that knowledge.

Mind renewal includes putting into place and ‘practicing what we preach’.

Those around us should see the evidence of our mind renewal.

They should see us behaving differently, with renewed priorities and improved choices.

It does however all start with getting into the Word and gaining knowledge.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you that I can be transformed through the renewing of my mind”.

Romans 12 v 2……And be ye 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 Thursday the 24th of March…..the Word can change you…..Romans 12 v 2

Now, I am not writing this DIG to show how spiritual I am or to show how good I am, I am writing it as encouragement to show you how the Word can renew your mind so that you can see transformation in your life.

I have not always been as caring and compassionate as I would like, I would have to be honest and say compassion never was my strongest point (and it still probably is not).

But, I met a sister in the Lord today who has spoken out against me in the past; indeed she stood up in a service one time and berated me prior to walking out.

Speaking honestly again I did not have much care, love or compassion for her at that point and indeed going forward.

But once again being honest I felt nothing but care, love and compassion for her when we met this morning.

What she had said and done had not changed, yet I had changed.

My attitude and thoughts were so different and this was due to the fact that my mind had been renewed through the Word over the period of time that had elapsed since we last met.

My heart went out to her and I offered help and prayer if required.

The Word had transformed me for the better; this is my testimony.

Yes, it has taken time and I do still need more compassion in my life, however I have changed for the better and know more transformation is on the way as I further renew my mind to how caring, loving and compassionate the Lord has been to me.

As we renew our minds about the goodness, love, mercy and compassion of the Lord we will see our thoughts, actions and lives transformed for the better; this is a Biblical truth and cannot fail to happen.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you for the process of mind renewal and transformation”.

Romans 12 v 2…..And be not conformed to this world: and 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 Saturday the 26th of September…..you can be beautiful too…..Romans 12 v 2

While out walking this afternoon I was fortunate enough to see a couple of butterflies (I think they were Peacock butterflies) and they were stunningly beautiful.

Their wings seemed to glisten and shimmer in the sun, and the different colours on their wings were wonderful.

I though how beautiful they were, and my mind was then drawn back to the DIG yesterday.

This butterfly used to be a caterpillar but then through the process of metamorphosis it was changed, or transformed, to its winged version.

So instead of a caterpillar foraging on the ground munching on leaves it became a butterfly free to fly wherever it wanted sipping on the abundance that is sweet nectar.

What a marvellous picture of what can happen to us if we renew our minds through the Word of God.

We may have areas of our lives that are not very pretty at the moment, but if we were to be transformed we could end up soaring and flying, becoming beautiful in that area.

Transformation comes as we renew our mind through the Word of God (Romans 12 v 2).

For every dark and ugly situation in our lives at the moment we can find something in the Word that will renew our mind and see us transformed.

Ugly and horrid situations can be transformed into something of beauty, something of abundance, something that will glorify God.

Don’t give up today, whatever situation you find yourself in.

Instead of this, find the truth in the Word of God and renew your mind; be transformed.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word, and thank you that I can renew my mind”.

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 Friday the 25th of September…..we can be changed, we can be transformed…..Romans 12 v 2

Romans 12 v 2 is one of my favourite verses of Scripture.

This verse gives us THE model of change that God has ordained.

We cannot change through our own self-efforts; we cannot will ourselves to change for the better.

I am sure that there is something in each of our lives that we want to change.

Let me tell you that striving and trying to stop a damaging habit will not work.

If we keep focussing on something trying to stop we will enlarge that in our mind to the extent that we will keep doing it (remember as a man thinketh so is he).

Instead we should focus on the Lord and His Word so that we renew )or change our mind) in that area.

As we renew our mind we will be transformed, that is what the Word of God says (Romans 12 v 2).

Transformed comes from the Greek word “metamorfoo”, and means a complete change as in metamorphosis.

As we renew our mind to what the Word says about us (i.e. that we are righteous, healed, prosperous and at peace for example) we will be changed.

As we change our mind we change our life; that is the model for permanent change that we need to adhere to.

Will power, striving and trying will not see permanent change in our lives; mind renewal is the only thing that is guaranteed to being about lasting and permanent change.

And understanding, believing and trusting God’s Word is what brings about mind renewal.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you for the process of mind renewal that means I can bring about change in my life”.

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 Thursday the 20th of March…..our sin for His righteousness; one of the greatest truths in Scripture…..2 Corinthians 5 v 21

As I’ve written already 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 to 21 is one of my favourite passages of Scripture, but 2 Corinthians 5 v 21 is my favourite verse in the whole of God’s Word.

2 Corinthians 5 v 21 is the verse of Scripture that changed my life; it was the understanding of this verse that has brought about my greatest transformation.

We read that we are transformed (or changed) by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12 v 2); understanding this verse completely changed my understanding of who I was and what I had (it renewed my mind), and that changed my life for the better.

Righteousness is all about right standing, about being right with God; if we are righteous we are right with God, we are accepted by Him.

This verse says that our righteousness (how God sees us) has nothing to do with us and nothing to do with our actions or performance.

This is in contrast to what most of the body of Christ believes today!

This verse talks about us having been made righteous (notice this is past tense) and does not mention a process of moving into righteousness or becoming more righteous.

This is in contrast to what most of the body of Christ believes today!

If you are a born again believer (or in Christ) you HAVE BEEN MADE righteous; you were made righteous the second you became born again.

The real part of you, your spirit man, the part of you that this verse is talking about, is already righteous.

In fact it is as righteous as God, yes you did read that correctly; right now in your spirit you are as righteous as God, that is what verse 21 says!

What an amazing truth; that because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, where He took your sin, you get His righteousness as a gift of grace thorough faith.

Once you understand that truth you will never be the same again.

Renew your mind to that truth and you will be changed.

That is my testimony, and it can be yours.

Speak this out today….”Thank you Lord that I have been made righteous in your eyes as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ”.

2 Corinthians 5 v 21…..For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him

DIG for Saturday the 21st of December……repent, repent, repent; but not in the traditional religious way…..Romans 12 v 2

Repent, repent, repent!

Yes, I think that every single Christian should be in the process of repentance every day of their life; however the true Biblical understanding of repentance is different from that of religion and of traditional Christianity.

When religion speaks of repentance (what I have heard in the past and what I am hearing presently from the main body of the church) it speaks of seeking the Lord, saying sorry for our sins and begging and pleading for forgiveness.

This is not true repentance!

Jesus, through His finished work on the cross, has dealt with the issue of sin (1 John 2 v 2).

Through His blood we have already been forgiven (Ephesians 1 v 7 and Colossians 1 v 14).

New Covenant repentance is not asking for forgiveness and pleading with God.

To repent under a New Covenant context simply means to “change one’s mind”; it comes from the Greek word metanoeo.

To change one’s mind; that should put a whole new slant on what it means to repent.

To repent means to change your mind from your old, worldly way of thinking and to renew your mind to what God says and thinks.

Repentance in this way is a life style and process that will continue until we go to be with the Lord in eternity.

Repentance does not take place on your knees begging for forgiveness; it takes place as you read the Word, as you mediate on His grace, mercy and goodness, as you listen to teaching, as you discuss the things of eternity with your brother in Christ, as you ponder on Him in whatever situation you are.

Yes, you do need to repent this morning; you need to renew your mind so that you will be transformed (Romans 12 v 2).

Speak this out…..”Thank you Lord that I can be transformed by the renewing of my mind”.

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