Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

My child, keep my words and store up my commandments with you; bind them on your fingers and write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom you are my sister and call understanding your intimate friend that they may keep you from the loose woman from the adulteress with her smooth words, Proverbs (7:1, 3-5 NRSV).

Although our writer describes the seducer as a woman and an adulteress the underlying notion he is speaking about is the spirit behind someone who flirts with the people whose desire it is to follow God. As a Christian we ought to recognise that it is only after you have confessed Jesus with your mouth and given your vow/pledge to follow him for the rest of your life that certain people with whom you had relationships with in the past, be they tentative or intimate, comes out of the woodwork, so to speak. If they came to encourage your walk with the Lord it would not be too bad, but they come to get you to do everything and go everywhere that has nothing to do with your calling.

This is the spirit of adultery. It comes to distract you and to interrupt your walk. As a young Christian you are particularly susceptible to this spirit and so our sage warns us about him/her.

To guard against this spirit, the first thing you must do is store up the commandment of the Lord inside you. Simply put, it means to know the word of the lord, not just parrot fashion but ask the Lord to give you revelation so you understand the word in context.

This may require you to undergo a season of prayer and fasting [1/2 day, 1day, 3days, 21 or 40 days]. An example of this is Daniel; when confronted with the spirit death, he went into a time of prayer and fasting to know what to do (Dan 2:18, 22). And God revealed to him what he ought to do.

The most prevalent spirit seducing our young people today is the spirit of sexual immorality. Like in the time of our sage ‘she’ entices our young and gets them to commit themselves, after which they have nowhere to go except to run from what the Lord has called them to do.

Today let us listen to the Lord. Whenever you are faced with those who come with sweet words, have in the back of your mind that they may come with the seducing spirit. So, before agreeing to do anything, check to see if their words line up with what God has said. Even if it does, seek advice from your mentor or the person you are accountable to spiritually. They will then instruct you on the way you should go as the Lord leads. This is wisdom!

Read Proverbs 7