Posted by: pastorapbell | January 16, 2011

as we re-align ourselves with the greater plan

Peter was introduced to Jesus by his younger brother Andrew. He was so passionate about finding the Messiah that he put his business on hold and spent three and a half years learning from the master. At the most pivotal point in Jesus’ ministry Peter felt lost and isolated. Jesus was arrested and would be sentenced to death and Peter’s whole world which was now constructed around the ‘New Messiah’ and the rebuilding of Jerusalem with a righteous king like David, was in ruins. So what does Peter do? He reverts to ‘his plan’. He denies that he ever knew Jesus three times (John 18: 17, 25 & 27).  And Mark records that he began to swear and curse when asked if he was a follower of Jesus (Mark 14:71). 

In times when trials and grief press us, it is easy to look to other sources for comfort and deny that we know the king of the universe, the one who produced the original plan for our lives. But although we sometimes ‘mess up’ remember that our God is a God of forgiveness and restoration. In the end Peter was forgiven by Jesus although he went back to resurrect his lucrative fishing business (John 21:15-19) and sent to do the greater works the Jesus taught his about in the early days. Peter became the linchpin among the people that turned Jerusalem upside-down and was instrumental in establishing the kingdom of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. How does this affect us? We sometimes shelf the plan the God designed for us and deny him. But today, allow him to restore you so that he can use you, warts and all, because it is in the plan!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 15, 2011

as we apply another principle of the plan; consult the architect!

Jesus allowed his opponents to arrest him so that he could fulfil the plans and purposes of God. The same officers who were driven back by the power that came from Jesus, were now able to bind, spit on him, ridicule him and take him to judgement (John 18:12-14). They were told that it would be better if one person died for the people than for all the people to suffer (v.14). Jesus knew that was his mandate and irrespective of how it came about it had to be so.

There are events in our lives that must happen in a particular way. There are some things that we just cannot circumvent and there are others that we can prevent from happening. Today, ask the lord to reveal to you the things that he allows to happen and the things that you allow because of lack of consultation with him!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 14, 2011

as we stay under the cloud, it’s in the plan!

the 'glory'

The glory is the aura that emanates from those who are in Christ (en ‘Christo’) and are therefore protected by his shed blood. Because many followers of Jesus never realise the power they have they leave metaphorical ‘doors and windows’ open for the enemy to steal their glory and wreak havoc in their lives. This power of the presence of God is revealed in John 18:6 when the temple guards and soldiers came to arrest Jesus. The minute he opened his mouth and responded to their question they fell to the ground and were rendered completely powerless. It was Jesus who offered up himself to them rather than them arresting him.  The glory of God was so strong that his accusers were not able to come against it. For us as his followers this is what we must realise. We are in a war and so long as we are in Christ, we are protected by his glory. When we do our own thing, go our own ways and use our own mouths on God’s people, we remove ourselves from the protection of His glory. The analogy in the Old Testament is that of the children of Israel wandering in the desert and having a large cloud over them by day and a pillar of fire by night. This was the glory covering them. Today, stay under the protection of his glory! And if perchance you move away, please come back quickly and repent in prayer.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 13, 2011

as we learn another basic ingredient of the plan

the glory is here

It was and still is Jesus’ desire that all those you dare to follow him into His Kingdom, into a different way of doing things, would see and share in his glory. He says this plainly in John 17:24; “Father, I desire that those also whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”  For us to be with Jesus we must be led to him by his Spirit. He said that no one can come to him unless they are drawn by the father (John 6:44). And no one can come to the father unless they go through him (John 14:6). He is the only way!

The idea is that by living in love and making decision to do things ethically, openly and above board, we automatically attract the glory of God in Christ Jesus. The glory is a presence that stays with the individual irrespective of where they are or who they’re with. It is the glory that causes people to comment on how radiant you look! Or how well you are keeping for your chronological age! Or have you heard people say, ‘there is something different about you!

It is all because of the glory, which is the manifest presence of the triune God inside, outside and among us.

Today, let us fulfil Jesus’ desire and attract his glory so that we can shine like stars in this dark world of ours! Meditate of John 17:24 and read 18:1-11.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 12, 2011

as we clean up our act!

Jesus praying for you

Jesus prayed that his followers will be sanctified by the truth as they are sent into the world (John 17:17). It is the truth that sets us free, not our eloquence nor our academic prowess. It is the truth of the gospel that is revealed to us who walk by faith and not by sight. The gospel is good news to all those who develop a spiritual ear to hear. To build up your most holy faith we are called to drop off all the bad habits and vices that we acquire from life experiences. We are encouraged by the apostle who reminds us with the following: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). Today as we drop off an old habit put on a spirit of excellence in Christ and strive for unity and peace with all men. Meditate on John 17:20-26.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 11, 2011

as we learn that the foundation starts with unity

love and unity

Four times in chapter 17 John tells us that Jesus prayed that his followers would become one (v.11, 21, 22 & 23) as he and the father are one. This is the corner stone and the building block for authentic lasting relationships. Jesus knew that the plan of the enemy was to engender disunity and separate the fellowship from each other using whatever tactic he could use. We see this tactic in full swing in the church at Corinth. The more eloquent the person was the more esteem they were given, 1Corinthians 1:10-17; 2:1-16. One person blatantly caused disruption by having unhealthy relations with his mother-in-law (5:1ff). And then certain people in the church were promoting one gift of the Spirit over and above the others 12:1-31, assuming that the more gifted you were the more spiritual you would be and the closer you were to God.  Gifting in not equal to integrity!

In Jesus’ prayer in john 17 he did not say that we will be one, which is an imperative. He prayed that we may be one, that is, we could be together or we could be apart. But the cry from his heart was that we operate in unity, not in uniformity but in unity. Paul picks this up in 1cor 13 when he tell the church of Corinth that there is a more excellent way. This was built on the building block of love, not gifting, or spiritedness, but love. So let us put Jesus’ prayer into action and say like the apostle Paul: love is patient, love is kind, love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends. so build your Christian life on love which always promotes unity.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 10, 2011

as we dig a bit deeper to lay the foundations

In john 17 after Jesus told his followers that ‘he had conquered the world’(16:33b) he said this: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”  

The only way to know the only wise God and his plan for your life is to read the will that he wrote specifically for you. However, having written the will it still needed to be executed. No one can benefit from a will unless the testator, the person who proposed the will, dies. It is only when death occurs that the benefactors can get what was bequeathed to them in the will.  Today recognise that the plans for our inheritance is in the last will and testament written by men with help of the Spirit and signed in the blood of Jesus the anointed on that pivotal day in spring just under 2000 years ago. The plan is still valid, the testator has died, and in dying he conquered and removed the sting of death so that all those who are in him can die but still live and live and never die!

Now let us build on this foundation and from there grow into the person God wanted us to be!

So let all of us read the will, it’s been executed!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 9, 2011

as lay on the foundation stones of the plan

At the foundation of the plan for our lives there must be a realisation that we are not here forever. We have things that are assigned to us to complete before we pass. And these things must be done so that we can leave our mark in the sands of time. Moses reminds us that we should ask the Lord to teach us to count or number our days so that we may gain wisdom in how we operate (Psalm 90:12). There are approximately 8760 hours in a year and we have to account to God for every minute of every hour that we waste.  As we build our lives on the word, that is Jesus, and as we listen to His Spirit, we will be guided to people who have been sent by God to be a part of our continual development into what we were designed to be. Failure to do this can result in the curtailing of our assignment by the enemy of our souls.

So today let us be like the disciples who John writes about in John 16:29-30; “Yes, now you are speaking to us plainly, not is figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things!”

Jesus knows everything and for us to know his plan for our lives, we just need to ask him. When we forget, ask again and again until the penny drops.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 8, 2011

as we unravel and personalise the plan

The gospels are the places where we can learn about and develop the personal plan that God has mapped out for us. We are told by the prophet Jeremiah that God knows the plan he has for us, they are plans for our welfare and not for our harm and are designed to give us a real hope for the future  (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased). The personal plan dictates that we are led by the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:25), we are baptised in the Spirit by Jesus (Matt 3:11) which is evidenced by the speaking in other tongues (Acts 2:4), and we are taught and comforted by the Spirit who acts as our advocate in all our wrangling with the enemy. Let us be very clear here, the enemy is determined to derail the plan God has for us and to cause us to do our own thing and sort out life our selves. We then lean only on our own understanding and trust ourselves in all our ways. For us to fulfil the plan that is specifically and individually designed for each one of us, we need to listen to the word from the Lord situated at the centre of the Bible: it is better to trust in the Lord than to put your confidence in humans (Psalm 118:8).

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Posted by: pastorapbell | January 7, 2011

as we continue to stick to the plan

The plan is expansive

Jesus told his disciples that there are several things that they must be aware of. Part of the plan of God is to bring restoration to the relationship that was severed when Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened and they thought they knew how to direct their lives better that God. The opening of the eyes suggests that they were able to choose who they listened to, and unfortunately for us they chose wrong. And so the plan for complete restoration was set out in Genesis 3:15: ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head and you will strike his heel.’ So according to the plan, he the devil would strike the heel of the redeemer Jesus, by having him crucified on the cross; whose headship Jesus would remove from pole position on the earth by ushering the kingdom of God.

Therefore, when John reminds us that the world would hate us who are citizens of this new kingdom (John 15:18), he is repeating the plan. They hated Jesus without a cause (Psalm 69:4) so they will hate you once you decide to stick to the plan. Sin blinds us to the virtues of the plan but the blood of Jesus removed the scale from our eyes so that we can walk by faith! Meditate on John 15: 23-27.

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