Posted by: pastorapbell | February 10, 2011

as we stay under the glory

The dramatic events leading up to the exodus out of Egypt must have had a significant impact on those involved in it. Imagine the trauma and the grief that occurred among the Egyptians and those who were disobedient to the orders of Moses. All their first born animals and children were mysteriously killed and their lives totally and irrevocably changed. Imagine also the impact this would have had on Pharaoh. However he made up his mind that the God of Moses was greater than him and he had lost so he let the people of God go and gave them gold, silver, jewels and valuable stuff to take with them. But on reflection Pharaoh went back to default mode and decided to take the Israelite back into slavery, for the rules of chattel slavery dictates that a slave is property and not a person. So Pharaoh having lost his son and heir decides to chase after the man of God with the view of capturing his property.

 The spiritual significance for us today is that once we are delivered from the clutches of satan and his minions, his avowed intent is to get us back. We were his slaves and therefore his property, now that we have been set free by the deliverer Jesus, he is after us again. Our intent is to remain under the covering of the blood and don’t give him an opportunity to sneak in. Once out of bondage allow the glory, or the presence of the Lord to guide you by night and by day! see Exodus 13:17-22.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 9, 2011

Words to live by for Wednesday 9th February 2011 as we continue with the preparation process

The exodus out of Egypt was one of the most dramatic stories in history. Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, that is, he could not bring himself to believe that any of his orders could be defied. He just could not or did not want to understand anything apart from what he knew.  After all, as far as he was concerned, he was god on earth and no one would or should defy him. Not only was the exodus a dramatic encounter, it was a war between the God of heaven, Yahweh, and the gods of Egypt.  Remember the story, whatever miracles Moses performed, the Egyptian magicians tried to copy or better it. However, they could not foresee the impending destruction that came to every household in Egypt, including theirs. Whilst the people were making preparation to leave Egypt, the heart of Pharaoh was being broken. Today, to be prepared is to know what God says about your particular situation. When we are ignorant of God’s purposes, our hearts will become hardened and we will do what we want to do. When we operate like this, like Pharaoh we will distance the God who created the universe from us and either serve ourselves or other gods.  Let us prepare our hearts [minds] and make room to receive the kings of glory. Who is the king of glory? The Lord almighty, the Lord strong in battle, he is the king of Glory (Psalm 24:7-10). Stand still and see the salvation of our God!  Moses (Exodus 14:13).

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 5, 2011

as we learn to speak the heavenly language

The currency of heaven is faith. It is by faith that we are able to do abundantly exceedingly above what we can think or imagine. Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. As we walk by faith we are using the currency of the kingdom. We develop the mindset to speak that which is unseen.  We learn to speak the word from God. So we declare that which moves God, which is his word. Today, become a person who makes declarations that line up with what God has said. So God says you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). If God said it, believe it and do not revoke what he has said by telling yourself how horrible you are. God said ‘you can do all thing through Christ who strengthens you’ (Philippians 4:13). You will fail when you try to do spiritual things in your own strength, do it through Christ, i.e. ask God, ‘What would Jesus do in this situation’ and do likewise. Speak the word of God to each and every situation and allow God to be the God of every situation you get into.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 4, 2011

as we do what we say we will do

One of the hardest things for an individual to do, it to do what they say they will do. Often we hear the term that talk is cheap. However I refute this statement since it is evidenced in scripture that our words are heavy. That is, what we say will have an impact on us now and will impact our offspring for generations to come. Sometimes we get so excited that we say the first thing that comes into our minds. This can have serious consequences for us and can sever our destiny. An example of this is the deal made by Jephthah to the Lord regarding victory over his enemy. In Judges 11:29-40 we read of Jephthah’s thoughtlessness. He said this; ‘if you give me success over my enemies, I will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of my house.’  The Lord gave him victory and when he arrived home his only daughter came our running to greet him and had to be sacrificed because of the pledge he had made.  Today remember that ‘loose lips costs lives’ so ensure that you meditate and think before you speak. Talk can be very costly!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 3, 2011

as we hide his word in our hearts

“Your words have I hid in my heart that I may not sin against you.” These are powerful words that can transform the life of an individual. How are they powerful? The word is the substance that comes from God. If we try to describe God in human terms, he opens his mouth and out comes the word to do exactly what he commanded it to do. That word was on his heart or was part of his thought process. Essentially that word was with him and was a part of him before he activated it. Because the word was invisible, as words are, it did not become apparent until it became cognisant to our five senses. So if the word/thought became a chair, we could touch it, smell it, see it, hear it and even smell it if we so desired. Similarly, God who is spirit became tangible. It became a ’HE’ a living breathing human being and lived among us. The word became a ‘HE’ and came and did everything He was sent to accomplish. And now he is in our spirits, in our hearts and in our minds.  As we meditate on him, he comes and reveals himself to us and invites us into that place of intimacy where he and his father and the eternal spirit have fellowship.

Today, hide the living word in your heart He is powerful (Psalm 119:11)!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 2, 2011

as we allow the power of the spoken word to bring forth life!

Everything that exists was spoken into existence by the creator. Unless you believe in another method of us coming into being, like the big bang theory, or the theory that we evolved for a simple single cell life form into a complex concoction of billions of cells. The bible is quite categorical about the arrival of humanity on planet earth. In the beginning God created. The postulation aside, we can never fathom the profoundness of this statement. It was God who began the process and it will be God who will end it. Try as we may, we can never create an intelligent being that has feelings or can be embarrassed or can make wrong choices and repent when they are pointed out to them. Every people group on planet earth believe in the creation narrative is some form or the other. Every people group believe that there is something out there greater than us; they just don’t know what it is. However, we believe that is God, not any god, but the God that is revealed in the bible, Yahweh. It was this God who created us by the spoken word and it is he who was in Christ reconciling the world after the great departure from relationship with him (2Corinthians 5:19). He spoke life and created, we disobeyed him and died. He then died on our behalf so that we may once again have everlasting life and be in fellowship with him! There is power in the spoken word and life in the living word, Jesus. Life and death is in the power of the tongue, an ancient Hebrew writer wrote in Proverbs 18:21. Today, speak life, live life and remain alive forever.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 1, 2011

as we speak those things that are not as though they are!

The words that we speak are powerful and effective. We get what we say and reap the benefits of what we sow into the atmosphere. It is from the abundance of what is in our hearts that we speak. Simply put, this is what we meditate on and what we put out into the world around us. Words are very important and can set us free or condemn us. James the first of England was beheaded because he said one thing and did another. Jesus was crucified because the people said he was their king and God and the Jews and Romans disagreed with them. True words are those which are sanctioned and underpinned by the almighty God. For example Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” If this is truth then every other way leads to nowhere, every other truth is deception and any other life leads to ruin.

David, an ancient Israelite king and a song writer said this; “let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you, O Lord my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). Today listen twice as much as you speak and meditate on a phrase or one word. How about “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 31, 2011

as we reflect on John’s reflection

John was passionate about Jesus. So much so that he discarded the preliminaries in his writings and delivered to us the main course about the unique humanity and supernatural divinity of this God of ours. He starts his reflection about his encounter by declaring that Jesus was pre-existent as the word which was with God the father, came among us as the miraculous child born of a virgin with the remit to bring grace and truth to us: up close and very personal (John 1:14-18). John presents a Jesus that is passionate about righteousness and Justice (2:13-25), compassionate to those on the margins (4:1-29 & 8:1-11) and had a real genuine love for those who entertained and cared for his physical needs (John 11:28-37 & 38-44 and 12:1-8). This Jesus was God in touching distance. He was not a god out there [transcendent], looking down ready to zap us if we put a foot wrong, but a God who cares, felt what we felt and was willing to forgive us time and time again if we repented and “sin no more”[immanent].

This God man that John introduces us to; walks on water but turns it into wine so that wedding guests would not be disappointed; Allows a woman to wash his feet with her hair then washes all his followers feet and dries them with his apron. Opens the eyes of a man born blind and castigates the religious leaders for being spiritually blind; and finally send his disciples into the world to find, feed and restore all God’s lost sheep. What a depiction of the only saviour of the whole world, Jesus. Thanks you John!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 29, 2011

as we share breakfast with Jesus

The disciples got back on track in that they once again listened and followed Jesus. By doing this their jobs became easier and whatever they did was successful. Jesus said to them, “Let’s have breakfast together?” (John 21:10). After this he asked Peter three times, “do you love me more than your job of catching and selling fish?” v.15. Essentially, Jesus was asking Peter, where are you priorities, and how are you going to fulfil the purposes for which I have called you?  Today we are faced with the same questions. What is the most important thing in our life and who or what are we living for? If it is for Jesus then we should do everything to the glory of God wherever we are positioned.  It could be working in the bank, the school, the factory or in the church. Our task is to demonstrate the workings of the kingdom of God wherever we are positioned.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 28, 2011

as we cast our nets on the other side

After the disciples went back to what they used to do, they toiled and toiled all night and caught nothing (John 21:1-3). They were expert fishermen and knew exactly where to cast their nets to catch fish. During their time travelling with Jesus, they had learned that Jesus could use a little that was blessed to provide for multitudes (John 6:1-15, Luke 9:10-17).  When we start the process of following Jesus, the onus is on us to continue even though we don’t understand where he is taking us or where we will end up. Let us have this in our minds though; going backwards should not be an option. The fact that Jesus is still there in the wings is comforting for us. When he turned up by the sea of Tiberias (John 21:1), seven of the disciples were back on the ‘tools’ trying to make thing happen by themselves with little success. He called out to them “have you caught anything?” “No” they replied. Jesus said, “cast your net on the other side” and when they did this, not only did they have a 153% increase, they had to invite others to help drag the catch to the shore.

Today, if we have been doing the same things over and over and over again, then let us push out into the deep and cast our ‘metaphorical’ net on the other side. Jesus will give us instructions. Going back to the old way of doing things should not be an option.

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