Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

Having faith is one thing but having the right attitude and acting in the right manner is a completely different matter. As we have been discussing how we reposition ourselves this month, it is quite evident that for us to truly get in line with what God is doing at this time in our localities requires a total re-evaluation of what we do and how we do it.  This re-evaluation may require us to take drastic decisions about how we operate and with whom we associate in the future. 

For Joshua and the Israelite, their drastic decision was evidenced by all the fighting men agreeing to be circumcised. This indicated that they were willing to be a part of the original covenant that God made with their forefathers and were willing to re-consecrate themselves to be active participants of this covenant again.

Today we have a better covenant but we still need to be active participants of this covenant. We do this not by being physically circumcised but by circumcising our hearts. This is where the confusion arises, namely how do I circumcise my heart?

We are reminded in scripture that the heart of humanity is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). This wickedness is not according to today’s jargon but that as a general rule humanity tends to be in rebellion against God. The question is how do we avert this rebellion?

According to what we have been saying this month, it can only be done when we have a Gilgal experience. That is, we undergo ‘heart’ surgery and pour in the ‘oil’ and ‘wine’ of the word to bring about healing and restoration. We will actually develop a ‘spirit’ of hope and start to see things from a completely different perspective.

So let us ask the Lord to perform heart surgery on us and replace our hearts of stone with one of flesh that is sensitive to his touch.

Read 1Sam 16:6-13; Jeremiah 17:5-13 and Ezekiel 36:26.