Posted by: pastorapbell | April 14, 2010

As we embark on the process of restoration

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart” (Nehemiah 2:1-2 NIV)

Before any process of restoration can begin there must be acknowledgement that something has broken down. Once this is acknowledged, those who are interested in restoration must develop a concern. This concern may start by just gathering information about the situation or reading up about the problem.  By using Nehemiah as a model for our restoration we see from the outset in his writing that his concern was visible for all to see.  So much so that the king noticed what was going on and concluded that there was a heart problem.

The concern we develop must be genuine and heartfelt.  For us to begin to change anything, we must be filled with compassion and empathy so that we can work towards changing the situation. Nehemiah had a deep longing to see his beloved city where God resided rebuilt, but there was none of his fellow exiles who had the passion or the contact to begin the process.  However, God placed him in the right place with people of influence so that he could start the process to effect change.  God gave him favour so that he could receive benefits from the king. And because of his faithfulness in diligently serving him over the years he received all he needed. He was able to leave his Job for a period of time and go to Jerusalem to start the rebuilding process.

Today God sees and rewards faithfulness, but he is more concerned about our concern for rebuilding and restoring those in our communities who wandering away from him.  Let us develop a concern for others and not just focus on our own problems.

Read Nehemiah 2

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 13, 2010

As we humble ourselves and trust the lord

Jesus said to him, if you are able all things can be done for the one who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out, “I believe help my unbelief” (Mark 9:23-24 NRSV).

To trust God for something that seems impossible we have to develop a spirit of humility. It is alright to believe when everything is going great but when we are in a dry place or in a cul-de-sac we need to know who it is and what exactly we believe. In our passage today the man who cried out had a son who was demon possessed. This spirit would cause the boy to throw himself in the fire and to self-harm. The father was at his wits end when he came to Jesus. So Jesus asked him the question, do you believe that the boy can be cured?  Many of us believe that God can do it but we would rather seek medical advice as the first option. Perhaps the father had no other option, so he exclaims, Lord I believe, but help my unbelief! He humbled himself, trusted in the Lord for the deliverance of his son and received it.  Today you may have doubts, but humble yourself, tell the lord of your doubts and receive deliverance in the area of your faith-life that you struggle with!

Read Mark 9:14-29.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 12, 2010

As we learn to be contrite and humble

For this is what the high and lofty One says— he who lives forever, whose name is holy: “I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite (Isaiah 57:15 NIV).

Contrition is something that seems to be missing among those who call on the name of the Lord.  And although there are many broken-hearted people in our society they still try to fix their brokenness themselves. Here in our passage the prophet say that the Lord whose name is Jesus stays with those who are lowly.  Lowly can also be translated as humble; so for the lord to come to us we must become humble and develop a spirit of contrition. 

A contrite person can be defined as one who is repentant for the wrong they have done. Instead of being sorry for the wrong we do, many of us try to justify that wrong whilst still calling on the name of the lord. This is far from the holiness that God requires. When King David took his eyes off God and placed them on another man’s wife, he tried to cover up his wrongdoing. However when he was confronted with the facts, his response was: “Create in me a clean heart o lord, don’t take your Holy Spirit away from me. And a ‘broken spirit and a contrite heart you will not despise.” Psalm 51:16 Paraphrased. He was restored to his position because he humbled himself and allowed his brokenness to be fixed by the light of God’s word.

Today if you are broken-hearted or you are in a broken relationship, ask God in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to fix you and fix the situation for you.

Pray with me: Dear Jesus a broken heart and a contrite spirit you will not despise, I turn around today lord and receive your forgiveness, amen.

 Read Isaiah 57:14-21 and Psalm 51

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 11, 2010

As we built our relationship with each other and God on the principles of humility and discipline

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3NIV).

 In these last day that we are living, to be effective, we must be disciplined about our calling and be humble enough to allow God to change those to whom we minister. From our passage we can glean that as Christians we have to make great efforts to reveal the power of God to those around us. To display a life of discipline to our contemporaries, our action must align with our speech. Also we must demonstrate the love of God in humility.  Arrogance was never something Jesus displayed to us. In John 13, he demonstrated to us the type of humility we should display by washing his disciples feet. Are you willing to go so low today?  Jesus is calling his people back to be servants rather than the ones who know it all and have all the answers. He is asking us to be vulnerable so that we can win those in our circles to Christ.

So today remember that all virtues from God flow out of love.

 Read Ephesians 4

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 9, 2010

As we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1Peter 5:5-7 NIV)

What does it mean to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God? Generally, it certainly involves an attitude of deep reverence toward God and letting every conscious thought be in submission to His will, so that every word and deed might be pleasing to Him. It also means that when we fall short of this, we acknowledge it, repent and return to the right path, prompted by a conscience in tune with God’s will.

To be a Christian we must be dressed for that work. Many passages in scripture deal with attire that is appropriate for Christians see Colossians 3:12-14 as an example of this. Here in 1 Peter 5:5, we are told to be clothed with humility. When we see ourselves as we really are before God; when we measure ourselves and judge ourselves by the perfect standard of God, telling ourselves the truth about who and what we are, the attitude produced by that process is humility. Humility is not self-hatred; it does not involve a denial of our potential or our good choices and character. Humility is a true, an honest view of who and what we are. Colossians 3:12 says we must put on humility. And this passage says that we must gird ourselves or clothe and wrap ourselves in this attitude called humility. This is essential to placing ourselves under the mighty hand of God.

Humility is developed as we learn submission to God. So today learn to submit to those who are placed above you and allow God to exult you in due season.

Read 1Peter 5

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 8, 2010

As we make humility the pinnacle of all our virtues

 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
 and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8NIV).

In scripture we are told that the Lord sees the proud in the distance (Psalm 138:6). Therefore we are encouraged to develop a humble and willing spirit so that we can do what we were designed to do. So what were we designed to do? Micah who lived about 700 years before the birth of Jesus gives us an insight from his writings.

The Lord requires us to act justly, that is, all our dealings and our actions must be in alignment with our words. This word justly has its roots in righteousness which is not just a religious state, but includes being fair in every aspect of our conduct.

Next we are encouraged to love mercy.  This is a very important trait to develop. Jesus reminded us that the way to wholeness is through forgiveness. When Peter asked him how often he should forgive someone who sinned against him, Jesus said not just seven times but more than seventy times seven times (Matt 18:21). We must constantly show mercy by being a forgiving person.

By living in this manner, we then can walk humbly with our God and our fellow men/women.

So today develop a forgiving heart so that you may walk in humility and please God the father.

Read Psalm 51 and develop a humble spirit like our brother David.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 7, 2010

As we become humble custodians of the Earth

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed (Romans 8:19 NIV).

Humility is not a trait that seems to abound in our society today. Everyone wants to be the top dog, drive the flashiest car or be the person others look up to. Words that describe the state of a humble person are; meekness, lowliness, self-abasement, modesty, servility and diffidence. The opposite to these are; pride, snobbishness, pretentiousness, pomposity, superiority, arrogance and disdain.

Not everyone regards humility as a virtue since when one displays a humble spirit it may be mistaken for weakness and then that person may be taken advantage of. Nevertheless, we are told by Jesus that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matt 5:5). But which earth was Jesus talking about? Was it planet earth or the New Jerusalem, the new heaven and earth to come? Or was this another metaphor about the attitude we must develop to be a part of the kingdom of God?

For me he was referring to the current earth. As humanity learn to humble themselves then we can work together to be better custodians of the earth and to all the creatures that rely on it for sustenance, food and shelter. The earth and creation itself is groaning in anticipation for the revelation of the children of God (Romans 8:19ff).

Let us who are called by God humble ourselves and develop a sense of being part of the bigger picture so that not only we can reduce our carbon footprint but we will also be able to help rejuvenate the earth.

Read Romans 8:18-26

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 6, 2010

As live in humility before our God

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1John 2:15-17 NKJV).

Jesus came, obeyed the father’s will, fulfilled his task and is now seated on the throne with God the father.  We are encouraged by John the beloved not to love the world or the things of the world. All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1John 2:16). Pride can be defined as allowing our desire for approval and self validation to become more important than that of God’s approval. So pride can be seen as a declaration of independence from God. This occurs when we trust in what we have rather than who we need to have. Pride will eventually lead to death as with many biblical characters who thought they could operate on their own, see 1Samuel 15 and Judges 13-16.

Lust is defined as an overwhelming desire or craving for something or someone. It is akin to love but is about pleasing me, rather than others. So the lust of the eyes is seeing something and wanting to have it [in Caribbean parlance this is called RED EYE]. Similarly the lust of the flesh is seeing someone and wanting to have them.

John warns us against these things and informs us that this is the lot from the world. When we go down this road, we will eventually end up on our own. The pride of life, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes can only be averted by us being humble and saturated with love. 

I often heard that prayer was the key to most things, but the Lord revealed to me that prayer is the door to the things of God and love is the key that unlocks that door and this must be done in humility. So today let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt us in due season, Right Simon Peter!

Read 1John 2

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 5, 2010

As we examine the authenticity of the resurrection

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25 &26 NIV).

In Jesus’ time many people doubted that people could be resurrected back to life. One such group was called the Sadducees. They were a Jewish sect who had political influential and sought to exercise this with those in power. Their main rivals were the Pharisees who wanted religious purity for the Jews. The major distinction between them was their belief system. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead while the Pharisees did. During one of his teaching session they posed Jesus a very interesting question (Matt 22:23-32), which I will paraphrase here; ‘if we follow the Jewish tradition of a brother marrying his sister-in-law when his brother dies, and if this occurs six time to the same widow, if there was a resurrection whose wife would she be, seeing that she married each brother?’ Jesus pounces on this question to confound the Sadducees by explaining that in heaven people do not marry since they will be like Angels and as for the resurrection of the dead, those who die and believed in God and in his Christ are alive for all eternity. So Jesus quotes the Old Testament scripture where God say ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’ (Exodus 3:14) and reiterates these ‘I AM’ saying at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:25). Lazarus eventually died and was buried, but there is still an empty tomb in Jerusalem to prove that Jesus lives!

The apostle Paul wrote that Jesus appeared to over five hundred people (1Corinthians 15:6) after his resurrection and he is still appearing to people today.

So you may be wondering what will happen to me when I die? Jesus would say to you put your trust in me and enjoy life to the full and when you die physically you will live with me eternally! What a promise, what a future for those who are in God in Christ!

Read John 11:17-44

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 4, 2010

As we live on because he has risen!

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said (Matthew 28:5&6a NIV).

After the trauma of the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus, the whole of Judaism and the known world thought that was that. Jesus was a good man and all good things must come to an end. However, God had other ideas. Because it was God’s idea in the first place to die for Adams fallen race, he had other plans about the body of Jesus. Matthew tells us that an angel of the Lord came from heaven and rolled away the stone that sealed Jesus’ tomb.  And so the story continues, Jesus of Nazareth finished his task of redemption so that all who put their trust in him can be restored and be in relationship with God their father.

Today we can say like those first followers of Jesus, He is Risen, He has risen indeed. Hallelujah! And because he lives I can face the future knowing that I also can live, amen.

Read Matthew 28

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