Posted by: pastorapbell | June 28, 2011

as we ask the question, what sort of God do you serve?

It was when Jonah disobeyed the instructions given by the Lord that He (the Lord God) hurled a great wind on the route that he had chosen for his escape. And even when he was discarded by his fellow travellers because of the raging winds and storms that besieged the ship it was the same Lord who provided a path for his rescue. Like the father of the prodigal son, the Lord restored Jonah and gave him another chance, but only after he had come to his senses and repented. It took the wrath of God to overcome the spirit of disobedience which is the default mode for most individuals. Although God is a merciful God who is full of love and slow to anger, God is also a God of wrath. This wrath of God is finely balanced with his love. From scripture we see the He is prepared to forgive us and to give us chance after chance. However, there comes a point when God will act and do so without fear or favour. We serve a God who is loving and kind, but he is also a God of justice and fairness. Our God is not a namby-pamby benign God who cannot see or hear. Our God sees, hears and understand how we feel. Jonah felt both the love and the wrath of God and so will anyone who walks in disobedience. Today remember that God is a God of love but he is also a God of wrath!

Read Romans 1:18-32

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 27, 2011

Words to live by for Monday 27th June 2011 as we learn to navigate the storms of life

When the storms of life starts to rage what will you do? It is in the stormy seasons that our true characteristics come through. Growing up in the tropics we knew that there was a rainy season and that during this time there was the possibility of storms, flooding and unsecured buildings being washed away. In 1988 hurricane Gilbert was so severe in Jamaica that lyricists wrote many songs about the ravages of Gilbert and the fact that he came unexpectedly and took away people’s satellite dishes and removed their roofs of their houses to leave them exposed. My mother used to say to us, ‘yu don’t know what is in fish belly ‘till you step on im’. It is not until an individual is placed in a position of high pressure that you see their true character. Some will wilt under pressure and others will strive. The greatness of Winston Churchill did not emerge until Britain was facing certain defeat by the Nazi during the Second World War. When the storms hit the ship where Jonah was hiding, he was fast asleep. He was in the hold in a deep sleep unaware of what was going on around him. It seems to me that there are many people who are followers of Jesus but are unaware of what is going on around them. Today we have many of our young people who are succumbing to the prevalent culture by dropping out of school, having children they can’t care for and ending up at the mercy of the welfare system. Like Jonah these are the people who cannot weather the storms of live. Whilst they are going through the storms they are totally unaware of the real after effects. It was to these people that Jonah was sent. These People who did not know their right hand from their left hand, they were effectively walking around like zombies. Do we operate like Jonah, go to sleep and be completely oblivious to what is going on around us? or do we allow the Lord Jesus to walk through the storm with us? This choice should be a no-brainer!  We will face storms, we will face challenges but when we invite Christ in all our circumstances, we can face any and every storm with confidence.

Read Luke 8:22-25.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 24, 2011

as we hear the message Loud and clear, ‘don’t ‘diss’ me if you don’t know me!

Isn’t it interesting that Jonah knew he done wrong when the ship he boarded at Joppa was threatened by a raging storm but was reticent about the fact that God would save the Ninevites from total annihilation. When he was questioned by his fellow travellers he quickly owned up that he was the cause of the storm and that the only way to solve the problem was to jettison him. At no point in his story does Jonah display that he has a change of heart. It is not until circumstances force his hand that Jonah responds. It is against this sort of mindset that Jesus appeals. The eye for an eye brigade who always wants to see their enemies destroyed. Imagine how awed Jesus hearers must have been when faced with fact that their oppressors for years would be destroyed by the coming Messiah. However, this Jesus whom they now accepted as the Messiah was telling them to turn the other cheek, give to those who take from you and love those who despitefully use you (Matthew 5:38ff). The Jonah mindset is still prevalent among us. They follow the Messiah but cannot live next door to someone who is different from them. This religious stance is exemplified by Philip Yancy in his book ‘what so amazing about grace’. Here is relays that fact that as a Southern Baptist in America in the 60s, the fellowship he belonged to were sending  missionaries to Africa but would not allow Black people to become a part of their fellowship. We can be religious followers of the Messiah without being able to understand the full extent of his message. We can ask to be sacrificed like Jonah to save our fellow travellers but still have hatred in our hearts for those who have wronged our people over the years. Today we still have people from the Black community who are still blaming their failings on the ‘white man’. They will never fulfil their potential until they recognise that all men have the image of God as part of their innate make up.  It is a fact that all people group have as part of their history a creation narrative.  Imbedded in all of us is seeds of justice and righteousness, but for this to grow we must learn to become fully human. That is to become a person who works against systems and not people; someone who embraces their own identity without undermining others; Someone who love others because they have learned to first love themselves.  It was because of God’s grace that Jonah was allowed to live to tell his story, and similarly we have the ability to be carriers of His glory, because of His Grace. That is, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Read Matthew 6.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 22, 2011

as we overcome evil with love

Hatred causes the feud to continue as generation after generation seeks retribution and a sense of justice. Jonah typifies the reaction to God’s redeeming, transforming and restorative love. He wanted self gratification and the notoriety that can boast about the 120,000 people that “I” destroyed. On the other hand Jesus teaches us to die to self and forgive those who despitefully use us, love those who plot against us and keep on loving even in the face of a wall of hatred. There is no mileage in continued hatred it only ends when we confront it with perfect love. Loving those who hate you is hard, but this is the love that God showed us. It was unconditional, uncompromising love that looks beyond the faults of the individual and sees their need. This was the kind of love that Jesus spoke about, loving someone because deep down in their spirit they bear the image of God. This is how martin Luther King Junior put it: “When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy that is the time which you must not do it. There will come a time, in many instances, when the person who hates you most, the person who has misused you most, the person who has gossiped about you most, the person who has spread false rumours about you most, there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to defeat that person. It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job; it might be in terms of helping that person to make some move in life. That’s the time you must not do it. That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the system.” There are people today who will die so that love can have the opportunity to continue to transform and re-order lives. So today try to see the God in those who hate you rather than seeking to get even with them.  Unlike Jonah, don’t cry that your enemies didn’t get zapped; rejoice that they will be saved!

Read the beautiful attitude in Matthew 5

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 21, 2011

as we love sinner and hate the sin

The Assyrians were fierce enemies of Israel and Jonah knew this. The capital of the Assyrian empire was Nineveh and it was to this city that Jonah was sent to warn to people and encourage them to repent. It was no wonder that Jonah ended up going in the direction towards Tarshish so that God could deal with the people who were a constant threat to the Israelites. Jonah’s actions were quite typical. The average person would want to see their enemy destroyed and Jonah was no different. Like all the Israelites, he hated the Assyrians. They were powerful and ruthless and would eventually make Israel a vassal state of theirs. So when he received the call to warn them about the impending destruction he was understandably in a quandary about what to do. How do you react when you are told to face your enemies to try to bring restoration to a situation? How far should we go in trying to be peace makers? Jonah got it woefully wrong. Although he eventually went to Nineveh to warn the people, he was very sad that they repented and were not destroyed. Jesus tells us that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:43-48). This is very difficult in reality and shows great spiritual maturity when we are able to do this. Recently the President of the United States of America ordered his special agents to kill the renowned terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Osama was a thorn in the side of America for well over a decade and was apparently responsible for blowing up the twin towers. So when the news was released that he was dead, people went onto the streets in America and celebrated.  I believe Jonah would have celebrated like those people from America, but what would Jesus have done? Jesus went on to say in Matthew 5:45 “the father makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust” and so he will enact judgement in his time. So although it may be difficult, pray for your enemies, bless them and allow God to exact his judgement.

Read Matthew 5:38-48 and allow love to overcome hatred.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 17, 2011

as we chose to juxtapose our knowing against the all knowing!

Today I want to explore the emotions we go through when we are placed in difficult situations. Whilst Jonah was going about his daily life we heard nothing of him nor did we know that he was called of God. So why is his short story placed in the canon of the bible? It would appear that it is there to teach us some very important lessons.

Firstly we are not to be defined by our feelings and sometimes we have to experience the feelings of total abandonment for our faith level to rise above the ordinary.  Secondly because God is outside of time, however long it takes for the penny to drop, he will wait for us. Because God is patient, longsuffering and gracious, we can sometime take liberties. For Jonah this meant going completely against what he was commanded to do. Although we know that our God is all knowing and all seeing we still try to act smart and pretend that we don’t know what time of day it is. Jonah was instructed to ‘go at once to Nineveh and warn the people.’  He knew that Yahweh is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding is steadfast love (Psalm 145:8), so he felt that he had time on his hands. He may have been anxious about the whole situation and in his anxiety felt that he could not deliver the message of destruction to ignorant people. Perhaps mingled with this anxiety was fear, trepidation and grave sadness that the whole inhabitants of Nineveh would be destroyed. His actions are very typical of an un-regenerated person. His emotions were leading him and as a consequence his faith went out of the window along with his knowledge of the greatness of Yahweh. When we are being led by how we feel, we seldom make the right decisions or chose the right path. Emotions have no intelligence and as such will always allow us to make the wrong decisions.

Our feelings are subject to our environment, so if the weather is nice and sun is shining, we tend to be upbeat. Whereas if the sky is overcast and it is raining, we typically feel a bit down in the dumps.

Jonah’s wake-up call was him dying to his selfishness. Spending three days and nights in the belly of a fish allowed him time to reflect and to refocus on who he really was. Perhaps all of us need some time away from our familiar surroundings to get in touch with out true selves so that we can reconnect with the all-knowing all-seeing all-powerful God who called and equipped us to relay his message of hope to our dying generation. What would you do? How do you react when you hear the call?  It is easy to feel anxious, angry, sad, elated or non-plus but allow you faith in the one who is above all our emotions to rise and you will see the great things that he will do.

Read Proverbs 21 and allow the Lord to weigh your heart.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 15, 2011

as we answer the call

All of us face storms in our lives and we can either go through them or succumb to them. When Jonah faced his storm he knew the reason why it came. He was mandated by God to do a task but chose to go in the opposite direction. This act of defiance and disobedience almost led to the destruction of all those who were associated with him. Sometimes we are unaware of the impact the decision we take have on those around us. We can make plans and do things for selfish reasons with scant regard for the feelings and safety of those around us. And so it was with Jonah. When he boarded the ship he had no idea that he was putting the lives of all those on board in jeopardy. He was just looking out for himself and looking after his own interest. When we act selfishly, we often put on blinkers and tend to push ahead regardless of what we are hearing to the contrary. With this mindset we can walk into storms without realising it and end up being the catalyst for potential destruction.  How can we mitigate against this seemingly selfish trait? Like Jonah I believe we need to be open and honest. Who is the real you? What are you mandated to do? And how are you going about doing what you have been called to do?

These are hard questions but require honest reflective answers. So today if you want to avoid the storms of life, find out from God what he is asking you to do and do it. He will provide the right people and resources to help you to fulfil your destined call.  Read Isaiah 65

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 9, 2011

as we wait and reflect and receive God’s grace to change deceptive habits!

It should be during this period of seeming inactivity that we are able to reflect and to develop a plan that will enable us to change some of our habits. It is so easy to become deceptive and the deception usually starts with you believing a lie. For Jonah, the fear of facing the Ninevites, caused him to run in the opposite direction. It was only when he was questioned by the sailors on the boat facing certain destruction that Jonah started to tell the truth. Truth telling is a cathartic process. It enables the teller to come to terms and face up to reality. When you live in a dream world, you will eventually have to wake up and face the music. Jonah literally woke up and faced up to his past when all of his new found colleagues were about to perish. Imagine the panic in the voices of the sailors as they bombarded him with questions. Why has this calamity befallen us? What do you do for a living? Where are you from? Who are you?  Jonah snapped out of his malaise and started the process of restoration. He told them that he was a servant of the God of heaven, Yahweh and that he had run away from the presence of the Lord and was acting in rebellion. Therefore the only solution to the problem was to sacrifice his life to save theirs. Not only was this confession cathartic for Jonah, it was music to God’s ears.  For us today let us learn from the experience of Jonah and like an old ditty I learned as a youth, let us “speak the truth and speak it ever cost it what it will. For he who hides the wrong he does will do the wrong thing still.” Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. It comes when we start the process of deception. Today let us all stop, think, reflect and repent of the lies we have allowed to skew how we see things and what we say. Healing starts with facing up to problem not running away from it! for today read Proverbs 6.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 8, 2011

as we learn to wait without yielding to temptation

To effect transformation we need to learn the art of waiting. It is during this time that revelation will come. Revelation is given to change the way we operate and modify the way we think. It was our strange thought process that got us into a mess in the first place. Jonah thought that he could hide from God and as a consequence went in the opposite direction from where God sent him. Many times we also think that we can hide from God and do things in secret that we would not even countenance were we in the presence of others. In the normal scheme of things the Psalmist David would never countenance adultery. He knew the commandments and the mercy of God.  But when left to his own devices with the children at school, the wife out at work and his personal advisor on other duties, something on the big screen caught his eye. And rather than turning around or switching off he kept on looking. In the normal scheme of things he would have walked away, but curiosity got the better of him and he followed his feelings rather than what he knew to be right. There are many people today who follow their feelings. And like Jonah they end up in a mess with little or no means of escape. How then do we avoid these situations? Well, let us take a leaf out of Jesus’ book. He too was tempted to turn, but he recognised that it was a trap and rebuked satan. And instead of staring at the temptation he told satan to get behind him with it so that it is not in his line of sight. Today, whatever is presented to you, be it a false relationship, a dodgy present or something you saw whilst flicking through the channels, tell it and whoever is bringing it to you to get behind you. As a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ you must guard your entry points and trust the Lord to lead you into all righteousness, that is, the right ways of thinking and operating. Read Matthew 16:13-23.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | June 7, 2011

as we reflect on the sign of Jonah part II!

Although Jonah was anointed he still disobeyed God. Within all of us there is the propensity to challenge the authority figure in our lives and to do things our own way. This is not always the best way of operation, but like the forgiving father in Luke 15 God allows us enough rope for us to eventually come to our senses when we reach the end of the line or to hang ourselves. Jesus uses this situation to teach his hearers about obedience and trust. Who is better, the son who hears the instruction from his father says he is going to do the job but goes in a completely opposite direction or the son who hears the instruction from his father, insists that he is not going to do what he was told to do, but on reflection repents and goes and does it (Matt 21:28-32).  Jonah heard the word and disobeyed whereas Jesus obeyed the command of his father and went to the cross, through the pain and anguish of torture to bring redemption to Adam’s fallen race. For today the sign of Jonah is one of obedience. Samuel said to another anointed person, king Saul, it is better to obey [the Lord] that to offer sacrifices in disobedience (1Samuel 15:22). We may not understand the full picture, however since God knows the end from the beginning, please obey and trust him, he will lead us into paths of righteousness for his name sake! Read Luke 15:11-32.

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