Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The Lord is gracious and allows us his children to make mistakes after mistake before he pulls the plug on us (Psalm 145:8). So it was with Ahab. Although the prophets of the Lord warned him, his soul tie with Jezebel meant that he kept on being defiant (see 1kings 21). He knew how to repent though (1kings 21:27-29) and therefore averted the angel of death on many occasions. However, the prophetic word from the Lord will always come and when it does God’s purposes will be fulfilled.  Ahab fluctuated between the Lord God of Israel and the gods of Baal. As a worshipper of Baal, Jezebel was instrumental in exercising control over Ahab. So when Ahab wanted a vineyard right beside his palace he went to the owner and wanted to purchase it from him. The owner Naboth refused and this caused Ahab to become down-hearted and depressed. When his controlling wife saw his demeanour she wrote letters, put his seal on it and invited the citizen’s of Naboth town to conspire to bring false witness against him so that he could be stoned to death. This sort of conspiracy really irks God and he is quick to react against it. Today we must remember that God is outside of our time and whatever we do he makes a record of it until or unless we repent. Ahab was full of pride and we know that God sees the proud a long way off (Psalm 138:6). Today remember that all those who scheme and plan to avert the plan of God will be brought to book and will reap whatever they have sown. God sent his prophet Elijah to tell Ahab the king that he had signed his death warrant by being complicit in the death of Naboth.  If we scheme and plot against people, please remember that there is a God is heaven who see and knows everything we do and say. So let the words of our mouths and the meditation of hearts, be acceptable in his sight at all times (Psalm 19:14).