So what is sanctification? Well it is the cleansing that one goes through so that they can be presented as clean. We have all been soiled by the stain of sin. And 
this stain cannot be removed by the blood of bulls and turtle doves. Under the old covenant (OT), men used the blood of animals to atone for the sin committed over the period of a year. However, like all human being, once we are preoccupied with the issues of life, we soon forget the sin that we committed yesterday and repeat it ad infinitum. Because of this, God devised a new method to deal with this propensity to continually sin. He offered his one and only son as an eternal sacrifice and made provision for his blood to be continually applied to our consciences so that we can be cleansed on a daily basis rather than once every year. This is the process of sanctification. Therefore, Jesus tells his followers, you are clean by my words (John 15:3). Moreover, if we walk in the light of the word, then the blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:7). The process of sanctification is an ongoing one that requires a conscious effort on our part. So how are you doing? What portion of his word are you standing on today? Read Hebrews 9 and apply the blood of the paschal lamb, Jesus to every area of your Christian walk today.
as we clean up our minds with the blood of the lamb!
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Cleansing, Faith, Faithfulness, Grace, Justice, Power of the blood
as we hear the word of the Lord, apply it and find freedom!
As the prophet of the Lord, John outlines the next phase in the revelation of God to humanity. As we recall, the prophet Amos tells us that God does nothing 
without revealing his secrets to his prophets first (Amos 3:7). Therefore, the Lord tells John that he should go down to the river and baptise all those who hear the message of repentance and accept it. The Lord also tells him that ‘the one on whom he see the Spirit of the Lord descend on and remain is the one who will baptise his followers with Holy Spirit (v.33b). Having set out the major themes for the redemption of humanity, John identifies God among us as his bearded cousin from a small town on the outskirts of Galilee called Nazareth. John’s hearers were liberated from slavery over 2000 years before and from Babylonian captivity for over 400 years before. Yet they still disobeyed and disbelieved God and the people he sent to warm them to turn from wickedness. As john says, they were a stiff-necked lot who worked against each other rather than working together for the greater good.
John’s message is still relevant to our communities today. There are many among us who still exhibit the slavery mindset although we have accepted and responded to the message of repentance. There is more after repentance. We need to go through sanctification, which is done by the word and then the glorification stage, which is done by the Spirit.
So today, can I be free to be me? Yes but only through the work done by Jesus Christ on the cross! Read St John 1:35-51.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Belief, Grace, Hope, Prophecy, Repentance, Restoration
as we develop ourselves to reflect the unity that there is in diversity
The development of the self is a paradox that faces every Christian believer and it is one of the most important things for any individual to do. Although we recognise that, 
we are individuals, we are also part of a greater body, the body of Christ. In his gospel, John made some astonishing claims and observations. Although many of the themes and motifs are highlighted by other authors in the bible consider the following:
In his opening remarks, he tells his readers in no uncertain terms that the God he is talking about is an everlasting God whose existence is eternal, as the Father, Son and Spirit (vv. 1-4). This statement tells us that this triune God was active in the creation narrative and is revealed to us now so that we can have a personal relationship with him.
The second theme he introduces us to is that of the incarnation (vv. 10-14). God becoming like us so that he can expunge from us the thing that caused the separation way back in Eden, namely sin. The next theme he addresses is that of the potency of the prophetic word (v.15, 19). Here John is the prophet speaking as enabled by the Holy Spirit of things that he did not see until revealed by God. He reminds us that the period of law written on tablet of stones was over and the era of grace and truth was being ushered in (v.17).
However, although we are n Christ, that is, we are ‘saved’ by grave by putting our faith totally in the anointed one, Jesus. We still need to be delivered from our past and the issues that keeps us in bondage and stops us developing beyond salvation. Read St John 1:1-34.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Belief, discipline, Faith, Grace, Insight, Integrity, Justice, Maturity, Prophecy
as we underpin our words by our praxis, that is what we do!
Personal development starts in the mind. If you want to become something you must first visualise yourself in that role doing that 
thing. It was Paulo Freire who stated; “action without reflection is mere activism, that is, acting without thinking; and reflection without action is verbalism.” If we act without thinking about how and what we are doing, then our achievement will be severely limited. On the contrary, if we talk a lot and do nothing then we are just full of hot air. Verbalism is an empty word, word without action, and transformation cannot happen with action. Transformation is also impossible with activism, because without reflection, there can be no commitment to transformation, it is empty action. With action and reflection you get praxis, which enables transformation to take place.
We develop by going through the cycle of action and reflection. Doing and thinking about what we have done and then thinking through how we can do it better next time. This approach allows us to develop and grow up into what we were designed to be.
The apostle Paul puts it like this: “And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins. In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God].
But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:1-8 edited and abridged Amplified Version.
To develop is to be delivered so that our words and actions can reflect the image of the invisible God.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Deliverance, Faithfulness, Grace, Hope, Knowledge, Mental slavery, Restoration, Truth
as we look at personal and professional development
At the heart of every leader should be the desire to see people develop. Personal development is ‘part and parcel’ of the move from 
ordinary to extra-ordinary, from fear to faith and from a follower to a great leader. Let us take a look at the apostle Peter. Prior to Pentecost, he was an angry, violent man who was subject to fits of rage and petulance. He also proved that he was disrespectful of authority and when the chips were down, he was a coward at heart (see Matt 26).
Although he was a good businessman who provided for his family, he had never been delivered from the traits handed down to him. However, he left the fishing business he ran and went back to school with Jesus the master prophet/teacher for three years. After graduation, he still had flaws in his character that needed attention. He experienced the Pentecostal outpouring and gave a speech on the morning after the night before that has gone down in the annals of biblical history. The fisherman who was to become a fisher of men and one of the pillars of the New Testament church, still had flaws. He was still legalistic with a religious spirit (see Acts 10). He was also a prejudiced Jew with a superiority complex (see Galatians 2) who needed further deliverance after almost twenty years in church leadership.
Peter’s continued professional development is a model for all those whose desire it is to lead others. He got it wrong on several occasions. He opened his mouth and sometimes the wrong words came out. However, because of the grace of God at work in him, he was able to take correction from a junior apostle, Paul in Galatians 2, wrote two fantastic books and was at the start of a movement that now encompasses 1/3 of the world’s population of 7 billion. So you want to be a leader eh, then you will need CPD, continued personal deliverance! Start yours today. Ask Jesus to reveal to you the areas in your life that needs attention.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Deliverance, Growing, Integrity, Openness, Transparancy, Wisdom
as we examine why the body works!
Every body needs a head. Without leadership, it is impossible to function. For us as Christians, Christ is the head of the 
church (Colossians 1:18) and it is he who causes the body to function. The functionality dictates that all the constituent parts operate in synergy, working together for the greater good and not trying to function on their own. This ‘body’ metaphor is a ‘really good one’, as it sets out our interdependence and connectedness. The strategy of anyone who wants to stop the body from functioning is to disable the head. Satan thought he had achieved this with Jesus’ crucifixion at Calvary. But he got it wrong. The slavers succeeded to some degree with their aggressive methodology of ‘breeding’ Negros to fulfil their economic desire by emasculating the Black male.
Today we need men who can unashamedly declare that they are the head of their house without the need to apologise or compromise. Men do not have to be misogynists, dictators or tyrants. They can be the leading figure in their home, churches and communities and support those women who are also gifted leaders. By doing so, men will once again be operating and displaying the father heart of God. That is they will be loving and giving, firm in their dealings but fair. As part of the Caribbean Diaspora I want to engage with strong Godly men who can be real fathers and good role models for the next and future generations. Please read Colossians 1:15-23.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Body, Dictators, Headship, Leaders, Masculinity, Misogynists, Role Models, Tyrants
as we look in to try to work out!
Although we are one body, we are composed of constituent parts. These parts are connected together to function as one so that we can 
be classified as fully human. If we were to use the Greco –Roman motif to try to describe the make-up of the body, we could easily forget that the different parts of the body, work together to function as a whole and not as individuals. Let me explain this further. We may say that the body is made-up of spirit, soul and flesh. Moreover, these constituent parts work together to make the whole. This means that although the individual parts are individual, they cannot be individual on their own and must exist in unison with the other part or else they cannot function. This Greco-Roman model is useful but can be confusing is taken on its own to describe the functionality and make-up of the human being. On the other hand, the Jewish motif sees the whole body and one. Therefore, when they use language to describe the functionality of the body, they are describing the entire body and not just the part that they are speaking about at that particular time. For instance, when the Psalmist says “Lord I praise you with my whole heart” (Psa. 138:1), he does not mean that his organ that pumps the blood around his body is praising God, his whole person is involved in praising God and not just his lips which utters the words. Bearing this is mind we can say that for the Greco-Roman perspective the human being is body, soul and spirit.
Using terms as tri-partite does not convey the whole essence of how we are ‘made’ and is too simplistic a model to describe the complexity of human. Each section is a motif to describe the functionality on a micro and then a macro level. On a micro level, the body consists of bones, flesh and blood. The bones give the body structure, whilst the flesh gives it mobility and flexibility and the blood give it life. Similarly, the soul of the individual can be defined as, the mind, the will and the emotion. The mind is the major part of the person while the will determine how the mind functions and the emotions are the outworking of the functionality. Finally, we can define the spirit of an individual as comprising; the conscience, connectivity to God and the intuition. Again, the conscience is the major part, whilst the connectivity to God and the intuition determines how the conscience functions.
If any part of the human make-up is damaged then the body will suffer and will not function properly. By pronouncing that an individual is a slave, their soul is the first part that is affected. This drastically reduces their will to live. This in turn affects their spirit and then eventually their body. The whole purpose of the slaver is to break or damage the will of the individual. This has the knock on effect of altering their conscience (spirit) and changing then forever.
To change the way we behave towards each other, the first thing that must happen in us is that our minds are completely renewed. By doing this we enliven our consciences and rejuvenate our bodies. We hear sports coaches telling us that ‘the game is won in the minds of the individuals’ before a ball in kicked or a bat wielded. For us as Christian, once we win the micro battle, the macro one is a fore gone conclusion.
Question, are you body, soul and spirit or all heart?
Read Romans 12 for a synopsis for what I am talking about.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Insight, Integrity, Knowledge, Listening, Maturity, Rebuilding, Renewal, Understanding, Vision
as we navigate a path towards a common destination
One of the purposes of removing the slavery mindset from our people is to re-constitute order among the community. The lack of respect for authority, the dishonour that is 
meted out to those who the Lord places above us and the inability to work effectively together makes for a difficult journey towards our promised place. Although our ancestors used the methodology of working behind the scenes as a survival mechanism, we as the inheritors of the new covenant and the blessing that goes with that, should now know better. However, unless we are delivered, that is our minds are renewed, we will perpetuate the propensity to challenge anyone in authority or seen as an authority figure.
Our forefathers developed the Ananci technique as a survival mechanism for dealing with the ravages that occurred under slavery. However, by introducing and releasing this Ananci spirit we enable it to permeate from generation to generation. What then are the main characteristics of this spirit? The individual operating under this aegis always tries to be cute. They are like double agents who tell their listeners what they want to hear. For example, they would gossip about their friends to you and vice versa, but would be all nice when all parties are together. This spirit causes confusion and only fuels bad blood. Once the individual is delivered, they will be taught that all those who are called to lead must do so from a position of service. The servant leader model is the model sanctioned and demonstrated by our Lord Jesus. And it is this spirit that Jesus wants to release among us.
We all must remember that most double agents get destroyed or killed. When people are working behind the scenes, scripture informs us that their deeds will eventually come to the light. So we have a decision to make, either we can continue to perpetuate the Ananci spirit or we can ask Jesus to fill us to over flowing with the precious Holy Spirit! The choice is yours. Read 2Timthy 3.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Aananci spirit, Against the grain, Authority, Holy Spirit, Spiritual Discipline, Spiritual Warfare
as we ask the question; who is the daddy and who is the real father?
Some of the issues we face as men are universal. However, some of these issues are specifically related to our shared history. Let me explain. The 
inability to express one’s feelings will cause the individual to internalise those feelings. When they are internalised they will result in bitterness, anger, rage and feelings of worthlessness and a sense of having no purpose in life. A man, who is not in touch with his feelings, is a man who does not know himself. So how can he reflect the image of a caring loving father if he has never had one or had the opportunity to learn from one?
This is the plight of many men and in particular, those from the African Diaspora. Many of our men have bought into the theory of forming transient relationships and living large for ‘the now’. Still many father children and then leave the women to raise the children on their own. Others just go from women to women perpetuating the curse and the original plan of the slavers. This behaviour perpetuates the rage, anger and callousness, beaten into our men when they arrived in the West over 400 years ago.
The beatings, the branding, the castrations, the inability to chose your life partner or to live where you desired were all contributing factors to the way men from the African Diaspora grew up. For example, there are many of us whose fathers left the home when we were very young to go abroad to earn money to give their children a better life. This in itself caused myriad internal issues, many of which have never been dealt with. These issues and those from generations past are still affecting us today.
In this year of jubilee and celebrations, we need reparation from the Queen as the head of an empire, all be it a declining empire, that was complicit in demasculating the African male. We also need healing and deliverance from the rage, anger and fatherlessness that became our portion. We do not need Million men marches anymore, we do not need protest marches, we need the deliverance and restoration of the African Diasporan male. How do we go about it, watch this space…..read St John 14.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Anger, Bitterness, Branding, Faithfulness, Fatherhood, Hope, Procreation, Rage, Slave
Words to live by for as we declare that; “This is the year of Jubilee and much more.”
How can I be a real man who reflects the true image of the creator? There are many theories today about the origin of humanity, 
however I believe these theories reign in confusion rather than create certainty in the minds of those adhering to these theories. Firstly, the fact that we are here on the planet living and breathing is a fact. We only have the capacity to be sure about a fraction of our antecedents. If the records conveyed to us are skewed, then we will be totally lost. One of the most debilitating things about the trans-Atlantic slave trade was the total ‘air-brushing’ out of the contribution to pre-modern and modern history by the descendants from Africa. The demasculation of the African male has lead to the disease of fatherlessness perpetuating from generation to generation for the past 400 years or so. This year is significant for several reasons.
- Those from the African Diaspora have the opportunity to model real fatherhood to those potential fathers who are coming behind us.
- We can reverse and even circumvent the Willie Lynch methodology by working together and supporting each other.
- We can be real men of God by displaying and reflecting his characteristics.
To do this though, we all need deliverance. This deliverance comes about by each individual receiving healing into those areas that have lain dormant for generations. This is where the precious Holy Spirit alone operates. It is he who will reveal to us the areas that needs healing. Indeed my colleague reported to me that whilst she was receiving prayer ministry against the ravages of slavery that she felt an intense heat on her back and the Holy Spirit whispered to her ‘branding’. This was the trauma that her fore-parents were subject to which has never been broached. As we are being delivered and healed we can become the visionaries that will transform nations and bring about the salvation of millions. Read Psalm 119:130 and Matthew 6:9-15.
Posted in God's Order | Tags: Development, Integrity, Justice, Learning, Order, Restoration, Understanding, unity, Vision
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 