Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

As our minds are locked into what God wants to do, we will endeavour to continue the dressing process. And so we come to the putting on of our shoes. It is interesting that spreading of the good news firstly requires that we gird up our loins with truth; that is, we submit our whole lives to the pursuit of truth and ask the one who is truth and life to teach, lead and guide us. Secondly we recognise that the message is not about us or the methodology we enlist to convey the message, but it is about our father the creator of all of us and His son Jesus Christ. So our minds are renewed now (Romans 12:1-2), we are living and operating justly and ethically and so we can now gossip about our life experiences.

We will not be able to convince anyone unless we have had a personal real encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. If we were to survey the scriptures we will find that all the authors are writing from an experiential encounter. The apostle Peter could talk about the man who sat at the gate beautiful for years until he spoke to his spirit (Acts 3:1ff), he could also speak about the time he walked on water (Matt 14:22-33). Dr Luke could speak about the lepers he saw cleansed (Luke 5:12), the paralytics who were cured without conventional medicines (Luke 5:17ff) and the three thousand souls who were added to the kingdom of God and baptised in Holy Spirit when the name of Jesus was exalted (Acts 2:41).

The apostle Paul had so many encounters so much so that he ended up writing 2/3rds of the New Testament.

So what experience have you had to share? It is this sharing of experiences that will draw people into the kingdomof God. We put on the shoes by sharing our experiences with those who are lost and without hope. John Knox of Scotland was quoted as saying “Lord give me Scotland or else I die” because the zeal of the reformers and the power of the Holy Spirit encountered him.

Today, put on your walking shoes and get out of your comfort zone. Read Isaiah 55