Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

It would have been easy for the Israelites to get carried away with the wealth and the magnificence of Egypt.  Once the slaves were free, the problem that Moses their leader faced was trying to get their minds out of Egypt. Getting them out of Egypt was one thing getting Egypt out of them was another more difficult task. Although the exodus was spectacular and exciting, the journey into the unknown is a completely different ballgame. The mindset of the slave is this: to be told what to do, when to eat, when to sleep and so on. The mindset required to follow the Lord through the wilderness and into the unknown future, is one that is geared to trusting him totally. As we will see later in the story of the Exodus, not everyone wanted to leave Egypt and not everyone who left under the leadership of Moses wanted to obey him. It is sad that as the man who was hearing from God and through whom God was working mighty miracles would face such opposition from the very people he led out of bondage. Liberation theologians tell us that the hardest thing to change is the slave mentality. When we cannot see the future, the easiest thing to do is to slip back into the slavery mentality. In fact a famous Reggae liberation theologian, Bob Marley, encouraged his hearers to ‘emancipate themselves from metal slavery’ so that they could inherit what God had promised them.

Today our battlefield is in our minds. People can take your possession but they cannot take away your faith or your spirit. Once your mind is made up you can achieve anything that you put it to. So emulate Jesus and say like him, ‘my job is to do my father’s will, even if it means going to my cross’; for he knows the end from the beginning. Have a read of Exodus 14and meditate on 26-31.