The Lord reiterated the necessity for his followers not to make idols to worship and place above him. It was always 
God’s intention to come to those who offered sacrifices and offerings to him and to bless them (Exodus 20:24). Once the first command is broken then this breaks all the others, so God implores Moses and by delegated authority, us, to obey the first commandment so that he can come into all of our circumstances. He instructs us not to build alters in the wrong places, for wherever an altar is built sacrifices will be offered there. God wants us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), but what does that mean? Do we commit suicide? Do we become ascetic and separate ourselves from society at large? No, we become perpetual worshippers! Like Moses we become so intimate with the Lord of glory that whatever we do we invite him to take the lead. Today, let us be encouraged to build our lives on the Lord, that is, on our knowledge and understanding of the word of God. Whether you make a physical or a spiritual altar, ensure that Yahweh is the only one who occupies it. You shall have no other gods before the Lord Jesus Christ, the king of the glory as expressed in the Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Spirit, amen!
as we place the lord on the altar of our hearts
as we consecrate ourselves and prepare to meet with God
One of the most poignant things that is missing from today’s follower of the Lord Jesus Christ is the notion of 
consecration. This seems to be an old concept and is seldom spoken about in churches up and down the country. However, when Moses and the Israelites prepared to meet up with God they had to ‘consecrate’ themselves. This meant abstaining from pleasures for three days, washing themselves thoroughly and making a declaration to obey the Lord.
To consecrate is to ‘set apart as holy’ or ‘to make or declare as sacred’ for religious purposes. We can do this by taking time out to be with God in fasting and prayer. When was the last time you did this? The Lord wanted his people to be a nation of Kings and Priest for him so that he could declare his glory on the earth as it is in heaven.
Today as a holy nation and a peculiar people separated unto God through faith in Jesus Christ, let us consecrate ourselves in our thoughts, our actions and in all the ways we honour Christ. In Moses’ time he was the only one God spoke to face to face. We have the opportunity to speak directly to God every day through the anointed one. Read Hebrews 1.
as we believe the words spoken directly to us by the Lord Himself
The Lord spoke to Moses and promised to appear to all the people if they kept the commandments of the Lord and lived as he willed. Then they would become a nation of kings and priests to the Lord and an example to all the world of what God can do (Exodus 19:5). The Israelites fluffed their lines and time and time again they disobeyed the Lord and ended up worshipping other God. Although we are living in the 21st century these principles still apply. As the people of God we are encouraged to listen to those he has chosen to speak to us and obey the words from the Lord. Like the Israelites, we are called to be examples to those around us. So how do we do this? Today, let us listen and learn from the example given us by Jesus, “I must do the will of him who is greater than me, that is, the father of all creation, Yahweh.” If we allow this to be our mantra then we will become the people God called out of spiritual Egypt and set on route towards the Promised Land.
as we listen to the words of the wise
The tendency to deal with every issue personally can be distracting and draining. As we move towards a place where we can develop intimacy with God, the incidences of distraction will increase exponentially. The plan of God is for all of us to know the plans that he has for us, however due to business and other unnecessary distractions we can subvert and delay our destiny.
This is where we can learn from the relationship between Moses and his father-in-law, Jethro (Exodus 18). Jethro visited Moses in the wilderness and notices that he was sitting from morning until evening judging minor and major disputes among the people. With a fresh pair of eyes he advised Moses to change the way he operated and so avoid burnout. Moses listened and set up a hierarchal judicial system that is still present with us today in Western Europe. This gave Moses the opportunity to spend quality time with God and to hear his heartbeat.
Today, what are your distractions, and what is keeping you from reaching your destiny?
Solution: de-clutter your life and listen to good advice. Wisdom is justified by her children Jesus said.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Godly Advice, Justice, Wisdom, Words of live
as we fight each battle on our way to the our destiny
After addressing the moaning and complaining, Moses had to navigate a way through territory occupied by people 
hostile to Yahweh and people who wanted to destroy them because they look disorganised and weak. It is at ones weakest point that the enemy tries to comes in. For Moses and the children of Israel, the Amalekites posed a specific threat. Their method of operation was to attack from the rear and pick off the weak, the young and those who lag behind. During this time however, Moses goes up to a high vantage point and assumes the worship posture. And every time he lifts his hands to heaven Joshua and his soldiers succeed, and every time his hands drop, they are pushed back.
Here Moses demonstrates to us the power of worship. To succeed in any battle you are engaged in, get into worship mode, irrespective of how difficult the task ahead seems. For as the Psalmist says “You Yahweh are Holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel” (Psalm 22:3 NKJV), and as we praise God in the midst of adversity he brings deliverance.
Today be aware that the Amalekite spirit is still around. It still seeks to attack those who are weak and who lag behind and those wavering in their faith. But we have the same weapon that Moses used and we also have the Holy Spirit to help us as we pass through enemy territory. Remember the ‘The Lord is Your Banner’ and offers divine protection. Have a read of Exodus 17:8-16.
as we look to the future!
The continual recounting of your past mistakes makes them as real today as when they first happened. The difficulty everyone faces is how to balance holding on to the memory of the past without living in the past. Memories are precious and should be cherished, however dwelling on and reliving them should be avoided. We are to learn from the past and use these experiences for the progress of the next generation. The effects of slavery take many generations to overcome. It took the Israelites over a generation (40years) to get out of the wilderness because of their constant looking back towards what they knew, bondage. Before we achieve anything or aspire to anything, we must be able to visualise it. Develop a word picture of where you want to go and what you want to be. Write it down and recite it. Once you do this it will come to pass and the past will be there for reference but will not be somewhere where you live.
Today change your address and live in hope of a better, not a bitter future. In the wilderness the Israelites moaned and complained to God about everything, they died in the wilderness. The few that crossed over into the promised believed that God would lead and guide them to a place flowing with milk and honey. He did and today the descendants of Abraham are among the most prosperous people group on the planet! Read Exodus 17.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Hope, Learning, Looking Back, Promises, The Future
as we deal with the past
Isn’t it funny how quickly we forget certain things and how things that have irked us remain with us for many years? It 
is almost as if we never wake up from our dreams. R T Kendall says “there are three things you probably already know about sleep;
- we don’t know we are asleep until we wake up;
- we do things in our dreams we would not do wide awake; and
- we hate the sound of an alarm.”
Trying to erase the pain of the past from our psyche is a difficult task. Essentially it is not necessary to erase the pain but the psychological scars from the pain must be dealt with. It is the ‘dealing with’ aspect that is difficult. If it is not dealt with then it becomes easy to flop back into the old mindset and return, in your thought life and dreams, to bondage. The dream then becomes the nightmare. Like the Israelites travelling through the wilderness, the temptation was to look back to life in Egypt, particularly when times got tough and the food ran out. It took them only two months after they had escaped from the tyrannical rule of Pharaoh to start the moaning process. We should have stayed in Egypt at least we had food! We are going to die in this wilderness, how long will it take to get out of here? And so on….Moses told them that their complaining and grumbling was not against him but against God. Today, rather than complain about your situation, thank God that you are alive and praise him for the opportunities he will provide for you. Wake up and smell the coffee. See Exodus 16 and Acts 13:16-41.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Dreams, Hope, Nightmares, Pain, Past, Psyche, Remebering
as we record our dreams knowing that they will come to pass!
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Eccl. 3:11). The ability to dream is a given to everyone, however, not everyone remembers their dreams or are conscious that they have dreams. 
Dreams occur in our unconscious state. For those who have been in bondage, the ability to dream is vital. Dreaming gives the individual hope and a sense of relief from the present struggles they face. It is the ability to dream that causes people to achieve great things. Moses saw the Promised Land long before he went to Pharaoh to ask him to release God’s people. Martin Luther dreamt of a time when people would have their own encounter with the word of God for themselves and Martin Luther King saw the emancipation of his people and the end of segregation long before it occurred. It is said that Rosa Parks sat so that Martin could walk; and Martin walked so that Barak could fly. Today let us have the faith to believe that we will live our dreams and fulfil the promises of God in our lifetime. To do this let us develop an attitude of gratitude and like Miriam learn to dance before God for present and future victories. See Exodus 15:20-21.
as we trust and obey the one who loves us
The major problem with retaining a slavery mentality is that we easily forget the great things we have heard about and benefits that are in store for us. In effect we forget the ability to dream. Mental slavery is a state which is learned. 
After 430 years of being whipped, abused and castigated it is little wonder that the Israelites developed and continued the attitude of complaining. After all the miracles they saw, the experiences they went through and the utter miraculous defeat of their enemies, they still had the mindset to complain. They crossed over, went through the red sea and were now on their journey towards the Promised Land.
It is as the start of any great journey that we face our greatest challenges. And it is after a time of praise and worship that the enemy sows discord and doubt among the people. When you are about to achieve greatness the enemy always shows up to discourage you. “We’ve been travelling for days now and we need water to drink”, (Exodus 15:22). And when they found water at Marah it was bitter. What are we going to drink? Why have we left Egypt [slavery] to suffer here? Three days without water, we’re going to die of thirst”. Today let us learn to trust God and follow his advice. Trusting him in all things is vital for our success. We may not be able to see the end, but God knows it and if he knows it that good enough for me. This is the mindset that we need to develop. One that trust even when we cannot see a way out or we don’t understand what is going on! Trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding. And don’t complain, just praise him for everything. Meditate and read Romans 12:1-2 and pray this: “Lord, help me to renew my mind daily.”
as we keep our mindset in preparation mode
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.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Dreaming, Emancipation, Faith, Freedom, Glory, Hope, Imagination, Liberation, The Mind
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 