Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned but have not love, I gain nothing (1Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV).

All the gifts that we possess and all the talent we demonstrate are made redundant and futile if we do not have, use and develop the fruit of the spirit, love! This fruit does not belong to us. It is loaned to us so that we can develop into fully fledged human beings who reflect the Imago Deo (Image of God). The fruit is the fruit of the Spirit and the Spirit is God. He is not an active force, but is the Spirit of God who moved over the empty void at the dawn of creation (Genesis 1:1). So what does the Holy Spirit do and how does he do it?

 The early translators of the original biblical text used the term Holy Ghost to describe him.  This gave people the notion that he was like a ghoul who could be conjured up by those who had been initiated. Some even went as far as to say that he was a force that could be controlled and turned on and off at will. Other totally ignored him and either concentrated on the Father (Theology, which is the study of the word of God, which predominantly is about the father) or the son (Christology, where the focus is on Jesus). The Spirit was largely rejected until after the reformation, towards the end of the middle ages.  At this time people began to want to know more about this shy rather silent member of the Godhead. People like John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, Charles Parnham who is accredited as one of the pioneer in the holiness movement of the late 1800,  And the William J Seymour who led the Azusa Street revival in 1906 which spread Pentecostalism around the world.

 They believed that the Spirit still had power to reveal truths about Jesus; perform supernatural events and bring glory to the Father. He is the essence of love and since He raised Jesus from the dead then he must be treated with respect.

 Our quoted text highlights why we need a balanced view about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!  We can concentrate on one to the detriment of the other. So let us be like the angelic beings of Isaiah 6 and always cry Holy, Holy, Holy. To the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

 Today ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to love like Jesus so that He can work through you to bring Healing, Deliverance and Restoration to your communities.

 Read 1Corinthians 13 and express true love!