As we look forward to advent, that is the coming to our world of Jesus the God-man, we must be aware of a few things. Jesus 
coming to us was God’s idea and not ours. He came with a specific mandate and that was to save his people from their sins (Matt 1:21b), by binding up the broken hearted and releasing those held captive from the prison bars of Satan (Isa 61:1). The Old Testament is replete with prophecies about the coming Messiah and each of these prophetic utterances was fulfilled to the letter. There are over 300 OT prophecies fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus of Nazareth and two eminent American scientists (Professors Peter W. Stoner & Robert C. Newman) have calculated the odds of fulfilling just eight of them as 1 in 1017 which is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. When Jesus arrived on earth, it was not with the fanfare of trumpets, fireworks and royal pageantry, but in a disused shed surrounded by animals and smelly shepherds who were invited to attend by a host of angelic beings. The whole host of heaven had lined up to welcome the Messiah, with the brightest star pointing anyone who cared to take notice to the exact position of the new king of glory. Today, Christmas is just another festival when people give presents, others get drunk and still others use it as a time for spending what they do not have. For those who have seen the light, just as the wise men did, Jesus beckons you to come away from the hype and the hustle and bustle and seek him out. For all those who seek will find him and all those who are bound will be set free and then the real purpose for the season will become the reality in your life. Ream Matthew 2.
as we embrace the prophetic!
Posted in Restoration | Tags: Advent, gifts, Heavently Hosts, Hype, Prophecy, Reality, Stars
as we utter life from our mouths!
You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28 ESV. Your ability to affect your future is evident for all to see, however many believers never attain what God wants for them because they circumvent it by the words that they declare. An example of this is telling yourself that you can’t do this or that and you have not tried. It is better to try and fail than never to try in the first place. As his friend said to Job, you shall declare a thing and it will come to pass! Today declare God’s word over yourself and your family and wait for it to come to pass! Read Psalm 119:11.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Circumvent, Declaration, Understanding
as we contemplate before we annunciate!
The words that emanates from our mouths have the ability to create and to destroy. Words lead to the faith which dictates what 
you believe and what you do. This is called praxis, which has the ability to cure or to kill. Several ancient writers tell us to be very careful regarding what comes out of our mouths, they knew what they were talking about, viz; “let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord my rock and my redeemer.” David, King of Israel. They also reminds us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue”, Solomon a King of Israel; and finally that “faith comes from hearing the word of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Apostle Paul a disciple of Jesus. Today weigh your words and live or speak without first assessing the situation and repent at leisure or die. Psalm 19:14; Proverbs 18:21 & Romans 10:17.
as we learn that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth to the LORD.
The Psalmist tells us that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years so although it may seem that God is taking a long time to 
fulfil his promises we need to wait for him. He is a miracle working God and so we must wait for him. Remember this, He is never late! The waiting process can be daunting but invariably it is humbling. This is what the Lord said to the Israelites when they were about to access their prosperity promised to them. “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the LORD promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you” (Deut. 8:1-5). The natural thing to do is to run ahead of God and do your own thing. It took the people of God forty years to get the system of Egypt out of them and to learn again to lean of the God of the universe. How long will it take us to accomplish this? Today trusting God is a learning process and part of this process is the discipline to trust God implicitly, no matter how things look. If he says it, he will do it. Read Deuteronomy 8.
Posted in Spiritual Development | Tags: discipline, Humility, Hunger, Manna, Prosperity, Training
as we get ready to live the dream, YES WE CAN!
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”, George Bernard Shaw, Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist, 1856-1950. The ability to think outside the box gives that individual the edge in life. For 
our dreams to be realised we need to guard them and develop the ability to wait. The psalmist gives us many insights into the way to operate. “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of mine enemies. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:11-14. Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Psa. 37:7. The ability to wait coupled with that to dream enables you to live in hope whilst having your feet firmly rooted to the ground. So when you dream, and you will, write it down, pin it on your fridge door and read it every day. David the writer of many of the psalms had visions of a great temple built to celebrate and host the presence of the Lord. He had a plan which was completed by his son and heir Solomon. Today as you dream, be aware that God is in the business of acceleration and he will turn your dream into reality before you have time to catch your breath. Read and meditate of Psalm 130
Posted in Spiritual Development | Tags: Acceleration, Dreams, Hope, Insight, Visions, Waiting
as we live the dream!
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, “all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:23-4.
Fear causes us to jettison our dreams and compromise what God explicitly spoke to us in the first place. The major problem we 
face is who do we share our deepest secrets with and who do we entrust with our future? We often forget that we are more powerful than we realise and more resourceful than we first imagine. Consider Joseph son of Jacob. He had everything going for him. He was handsome, loved by his father and mother and belonged to a people who were beneficiaries of the blessing of the Lord God of the universe. However, by sharing his dreams at the wrong stage in his development, he was led down a path that was life threatening and fraught with many dangers, including being put in an unregulated Egyptian jail. I know that some will say that it was character forming going through all the struggles he experienced, but I am not convinced. I believe that a lot of his woes could have been avoided if like Mary (Luke 2:19), he pondered the things of God in his heart rather than blabbing off his mouth to his brothers. Sometimes we speak because we just want to be heard. At other times we speak because we lack self-control. And still at other times we speak because we get excited and cannot contain ourselves. When God speaks to you, and he will, be extremely careful who you share your encounter with and above all be very careful when you release it. As we enter review mode we should always be mindful that for God timing is everything. An ancient writer says this: ‘let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you O God, my rock and my redeemer.’ Let me not pre-release or leak what you have placed in my heart to do! And teach me to ponder more and speak less. Read Mark 23&24.
Posted in Spiritual Development | Tags: Belief, Dreams, Encounter, Faith, Fear, Mentorship, Possibilities
as we get ready to take over
There are only thirty days left in 2011 and so let us reflect on the past eleven months to see what have learnt? Firstly, we 
understand that time goes quickly and whatever it is that you are mandated to do, DO IT. Secondly we must understand that we are in a battle which is fought on many levels, and we are called to fight. As disciples of Jesus Christ we sometime forget that when we go from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, we are declaring war on the rulers of the darkness and the evil minions who work to cause confusion and separation among us. It is his will that we institute the ‘Willie lynch’ theory among us and thus highlight our differences rather than focussing on our similarities. This year saw the uprising of ordinary people across the Muslim world who, as one people are fighting for the democratisation of their nations and for political freedom. We have seen the once great nation of Egypt burn with incandescent flames as the people who gave us the pyramids and the first international university of repute, not only have they lost their way but has descended to the pitiful state where 50% of the population are illiterate! Remember that the author of the biblical narrative that forms the Pentateuch, the first five books of the bible and the torah was written by Moses who was educated in Egypt as also was the apostle Paul’s physician and fellow traveller, Dr Luke. And finally this last eleven months has seen a dramatic shifting among the believers of Jesus. Many of us have had life changing situation to deal with this year. And many have had major moves in their Jobs, ministries and homes. These changes are designed by God to take us to another level as we see the day approaching. We are being stretched and extended so that God can use us mightily in the coming year to take over. Yes that’s right, God wants his people to be advisors and mentors to governments and nations. So the word for today is this, get ready for 2012 as this will be the year when we will be established in what God wants us to be! Read Genesis 37 and dream of big things.
Posted in Progressive Leadership | Tags: Confusion, Darkness, Dominion, Dreams, Foresight, Illiteracy, Light, Reflectivity, Uprising
as we feed our faith and pull the curtains down on our fears!
As the autumn season sets in and nights get dark, it is easy to become complacent and forget the benefits and promises of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Since we quickly forget the promises of the Lord, there is the propensity to do the wrong thing and to justify the wrong and call it right. From the original mandate given to humanity we are supposed to take authority over everything including evil spirits. The darkness presents and encourages the spirit of fear and it is this fear that stops us dead in our tracks. The well documented acronym for fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. It is the appearance of the ‘real’ that stumps us and circumvents our destinies. Our mandate is to: pass on the blessing, prosper, look after the bit of earth that we possess and rule over it. However the advent of fear or the appearance of evil dictates that many of us abandon the original and embrace the fake. When the original carrier of the blessing failed, the task was given to God’s special people. They also failed and it was left to God’s son Jesus Christ [the anointed one] to defeat the evil one and thwart his plans. Today as followers of the Son, many of us are still under the influence of the evil one. This is not possession but oppression. We believe his lies, we are afraid of our own shadows, and above all we keep un-forgiveness in our hearts. The sole purpose of the Son’s coming is to restore us back to the father and the original mandate. The darkness which comes with the changing seasons is a transient mist that is designed to throw us of our track. My recommendation to all those who confess Jesus as the Lord is this, do not allow the fear factor to get to you. Fear is the enemy of faith. But faith is the food of the spirit. So go ahead and feed your spirit. Read Romans 8:18-39.
as we re-member that we are part of the body!
Lest we forget, this is the mantra of those who fought in the 20th century’s great wars. In the First World War over 35million 
people were killed, with over 60million perishing in the Second World War. Although so many people perished we continue to see uprisings and vicious killings all over the world. Could it be that a spirit of murder was released on humanity and we have forgotten about the devastating effects of war? How many more people will die if there is a Third World War? Ever since Adam was deceived by the serpent in his domain, the Garden of Eden, the whole of humanity is on a downward spiral toward annihilation. We tend to forget that we were created to have fellowship with our creator. We tend to forget that we are our brother’s and sister’s keeper and that we are responsible for our actions and for the actions of those we have influence over. Adam forgot his mandate from God, and as a consequence we display the same traits, even when we write them down. Every human being is mandated to do the following:
- Carry the blessing and pass it on the next generation (Gen 1:28)
- Be fruitful and multiply, add to the family rather than subtract from it
- Subdue the earth, cultivate your patch of the planet
- Take dominion over the whole of creation, oversee but preserve life.
- Eat the fruit and seeds of the fruit bearing trees for strength and sustenance
I would like to suggest that we revisit the original script and re-establish the fellowship that humanity once had with the creator. All of us have the access code. It is the intention of God that none of his creation should perish, but that all should come to repentance and acknowledge his sovereignty (2 Peter 3:9). This can only be accessed through what his son Jesus Christ did on the cross. Jesus was murdered so that we would not have to face murder. He died so that we should not be carriers of death but carriers of life. He was broken in pieces so that we can become members of his body. Essentially when we re-member him, i.e. we put his broken body back together we are forgetting the evils of death and destruction. So today, let us forget the evils of the past and become pointers to a brave new world where life is promoted and death is defeated. Read Romans 3.
Posted in Progressive Leadership | Tags: Annihilation, Blessing, Deception, Dominion, Forgetting, Fruit, Mandate, multiplication, Murder
as we remember not to forget the blessing that God has in store for us!
The people of God have a propensity to easily forget and this anointing of forgetting can have disastrous consequences. Having 
been created and called by God the onus is on us to maintain our relationship with God and to develop and expand that relationship. When we are called we are given a specific time-bound conditional mandate. For Adam is was:- take care of the environment you are in, be ecologically aware (Gen 2:8); occupy all the earth but replenish and recycle everything, that is, be environmentally friendly (Gen 1:28). Take dominion over the animal kingdom; ensure that they are not driven to extinction by senseless disregard for them. Be a protector and a provider, provide covering for those who you have authority over and protect those who are in your circle of influence. The final command to the first person singular was this: all the food you need is right there in your vicinity. Eat what you want. You may juice it, cook it, boil it or bake it, but it is all there for you to enjoy. You may even foment it and drink the juice but do not get drunk on it, for it can be potent. There is only one condition, do not eat of that tree, yes that one right there in the middle of your domain. Don’t even touch it. For the day that you eat of it, you will think that you are a god and can do everything for yourself and you will try, trust me. However, that day will be the starting point of the downhill journey towards the pit, and you will think that you know best for your eternal survival!
After hearing all these instructions Adam obeyed and enjoyed the fruit of God’s labour. However, when physical Eve came on the scene and after a protracted period of time, things began to change. A member of the created order chose to hanker after God’s throne. And since this was not possible, he was ejected to the earth. Whilst there he made his way into the garden, he obviously got through the gate, and worked on Eve. It is interesting that this mode of operation, of using food as the starting point of deception, is still our Achilles heel today. Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and gave some to Adam to eat also (Gen 3:6).
Humanity forgot that everything they needed was there for them. Their basic, intermediate and advanced needs were all being met. But the propensity to forget and to do the opposite of what God commanded us to do is an ever present threat. And so from generation to generation God’s people kept on forgetting. They went into slavery because they forgot God (Exo 1), were subsequently delivered by God after months of fighting with the god of Egypt (EX 12), but went back into slavery several hundreds of years later as they forgot God again (see Daniel & Ezekiel’s work).
Today let us ask the Lord to help us to remember and count our days, since the propensity to forget is so strong, write down the salient things commanded by Yahweh and keep them on your wall, and pray the prayer of Moses in Psalm 90. Oh yes, remember to read it through, Psalm 90 that is!
Posted in Progressive Leadership | Tags: Care, Covering, Dominion, Ecology, Environment, Forgetfulness, Gatekeeper, God, Occupy, Provider, Yahweh
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 