Posted by: pastorapbell | April 16, 2012

as we look beyond the cross of Christ!

After the pain of Passover and the brutal killing of our Lord Jesus, let us reflect on some of the truths that have been hidden about the death of Jesus before we start to reflect on his resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

After the humiliation on the Thursday night; he was beaten, spat upon and ridiculed, Jesus was required to carry his own cross beam to an ignominious place outside Jerusalem to be killed. Usually thousands of criminals, political activists, and enemies of the state were crucified and left to die along the roads leading into major cities. The crucifixion was a humiliating way to die. The person being crucified was nailed to a stake through the wrists and the back of the ankles and left to die there over a number of days without a stitch of clothes on them.  Jesus’ crucifixion was no different, only that he was placed on a hill with two other criminals. Having carried his cross beam a short distance, he was so exhausted from the beatings of the previous night that a man of colour was compelled to carry it up to the place of the skull.  The Roman soldiers drove the four six inches long nails through his wrists and through the back of his ankles and stripped him naked. They even cast lots for his seamless clothes they took off him.

Whilst he hung there, to maintain and extend his life, he would push his body up by straightening his knees so that his diaphragm could expand to receive air into his lungs.  However, as time went by and he became exhausted, the weight of his body would cause him to sag so breathing would become difficult and eventually he would suffocate. In the case of Jesus, he was placed on the cross just before noon and died between noon and three in the afternoon, at the same time that the Passover lambs would be slaughtered on that very day before Shabat. So Jesus dies but not of suffocation but of a broken heart, is buried in a borrowed tomb and Pontus Pilate believes that was that.  We know better and we know that whilst he was in the grave he was still at work in the spiritual realm, conquering death and hell and setting all those who were held captive by the evil one, free. Thank you for the cross Jesus!   Read Dr Luke’s account in chapter 23:26-56.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | April 5, 2012

as we count down to Passover!

Imagine that you only had seven days left to live, how would you spend those last seven days of your life on earth? This was the situation Jesus was in as he prepared to celebrate the last Passover meal with his disciples. During the last week of his physical life, Jesus prepared himself for the ordeal of the cross, not by moping about and feeling sorry for himself but by doing the things that had characterised his ministry over the preceding three and a half years. Firstly he goes and visits a friend in his house (Simon the leper or previously a leper) where one of his followers, a woman, takes an alabaster box full of expensive perfume and pour’s it on his head and uses her hair to dry his feet (Matt 26:6-13).  After this instead of avoiding the attendance at the feat of Passover, Jesus goes up to Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey to fulfil all that was prophesied about him by Zachariah (Zachariah 9:9).  He then drives out the merchandisers from the outer court of the temple, declaring that his house should be a house of prayer, but they by trading there, they were turning it into a den of thieves (Luke 19:45ff). Incidentally, by coming to the place of worship prior to the feast of Passover on the 10th of the month, he was presenting himself as the lamb to the community, the one that would be slaughtered and whose blood would be used to avert the angel of death, or in his case conquer death (see Exodus 12 for reference). The slaughter would not take place until the 14th of the month when the one year old male lambs would be sacrificed between noon and three pm, the exact time when Jesus was crucified.  With one week to go before the second cup of the Passover, the cup of deliverance was to be drunk, Jesus spends his time going between Bethany, the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem. And whilst on his travels he was still healing the sick, giving sight to the blind and inviting people into his kingdom (see Luke 18 & 19). What would you be doing if you only had one week left to live? During the last few days, Jesus would eat the Passover meal with his disciples in an upper room. Here he would wash their feet and dip his bitter herbs into the salt water at the same time as his chief guest, Judas. For as we will learn as we look into the protocol of the Passover meal, the head of the house dips his bitter herbs at the same time as his most honoured guest. And so a full two days before the day of Passover, on the 12th of the month Jesus eats the meal with his friends and followers and tells them that it is body that will be broken for them and his blood that would be shed for them.  He drinks the first cup of sanctification before the meal and the third cup of redemption after supper. So the last week of Jesus’ life was spent fulfilling the various prophetic words spoken about him, See Daniel 9:20-27 and Isaiah 53 as example,  and making a way for you and I to go straight to the father without going through rites and ceremonies instituted by Priests and religion. As we get ready to celebrate the Passover, please join with me to say a ‘big thanks you’ to Jesus! Please read the scriptures highlighted in the text.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 26, 2012

as we dream of a brighter future

The inability to have long term vision will blight the future of an individual or of a community. This is why it is so important for any individual to be able to dream. This is the ability to see yourself in a situation of honour and importance even though you may currently be in the throes of despair and regret. By jettisoning the though process that came with double consciousness and by knowing who you are and where you are going, the individual is able to live a full and purposeful life. Let me highlight this a little. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Only became a civil rights leader when he stood up and spoke out against the Jim Crow laws that blighted his people. He preached and argued for equality of opportunity for all human beings, not just for those whose skin tone was of a paler hue. It was in his famous speech delivered on the 28th August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial that Dr King exemplified the need for all oppressed people to dream. Dreams become reality as we have witnessed in our lifetime with the emergence and succession to the White House of Barack Obama, a present day civil rights campaigner (Barak in Hebrew means bless). We forget too easily that it was the Jin Crow law that gave us ‘take away’ dinners, now widely used by McDonalds and others, because restaurants and public eating places would not allow Black people to sit and eat in them. And it was the African America slaves and ex-slaves who invented a vast majority of the implements we use today to make their plight of working long hard days easier.

As Christians we too can live the dream. We are called to be true to ourselves by knowing who we are and by being able to work together for the benefit of the wider community.  We need to continue to dream of a time when we will be able to live our lives free from the dichotomy that double consciousness and Jim Crow brought. At this time we will celebrate our elders, nurture our youngsters and train our people. And those who are a part of the ‘New Liberated Community’ will learn to live for others, just as our model Jesus Christ did. For now please read Colossians 3 and reflect on the road to Golgotha and freedom that is ahead of us.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 23, 2012

as we jettison the harsh reality of Double Consciousness

Living in a world where you are not recognised or affirmed can lead to a position of confusion about yourself. This inability to know who you are and to be able to participate in your community effectively can leave the individual isolated and living in a hedonistic manner. This was the situation the Negro found himself in, during the twentieth century. He was liberated from slavery, but lived in a world where in one community he was affirmed and had status and in the other he was vilified. Were he to be in the wrong place at the right time, would lose his life [refer to the unarmed 17 year old young Black man, Trayvon Martin, killed in Florida on 27th February 2012 whilst coming from a 7-11 shop]. This dichotomy is called Double Consciousness and was coined by W.E.B. Dubois who was a 20th Century scholar. Although chattel slavery was abolished in the previous century (1834) the dehumanising effects were and are to a great extent still affecting the descendants of former slaves. This living in two worlds is typified by those who were given authority in their community and particularly in the church. For example; take someone who occupies the position of pastor in his church. This position carries authority, prestige and respect among his peers. However, because he has to work, in his secular job he works in a factory or does a labour intensive job. At his job he is ordered around and has little influence over the direction that the company is going in or the decision management take. In this world he has no authority; no influence; no say and is just another worker. So from Monday to Friday and on some Saturdays he is told what to do and how to do it.  On Sunday however, the boot is on the other foot. He is in the driving seat and can tell people what to do and how to do it. His hearers hang on his every word and seek his advice on a wide variety of topics. He has to navigate a path between these two worlds or else how he operates in one will spill over into the other. And more often than not it does spill over. The person who has little authority in one sphere can and does abuse the authority he has in the other and can cause major confusion and chaos. Many of us have witnessed this as people who are defined by others as a menial worker in the ‘world’ abuses their authority in the church.

How then do we overcome this problem of Double Consciousness?

Firstly we need to be delivered, and this deliverance only occurs by starting with our minds. Since we are saved [our spirits and consciences are connected to the eternal Spirit] and we look after our bodies, it is our minds that need to be renewed. This can only occur by the imbibing and by the impartation of knowledge.

This is how the apostle Paul puts it: “do not be conformed to this world. You must [this is an imperative] be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what the perfect, good and acceptable will of the Lord is for your life.” My prayer is that we become so conscientised that we can move beyond the barrier of Double Consciousness and be totally Christ conscious, starting from today. Read Romans 12 and start the deliverance process.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 21, 2012

as we learn to give double honour to those who watch over our souls

Wherever there is chaos there will always be confusion. And where confusion reigns, people will always revert to the natural instinct to survive. The basic instinct of flight or fight kicks in. The breakup of the family unit during the days of slavery set in motion a pattern that has continued for many generations from then. This is indeed the curse of slavery or the sin of slavery. As descendants of slaves, the propensity to disrespect authority and authority figures is still prevalent among us. This occurs at all levels and we see this happening from a young age among our children. I believe that this is a direct product of the Willie Lynch theory which goes against the biblical model of honour and respect for the elders. Among the generations of Christians who are supposed to be ‘in Christ’ there are many who still operate out of the state of confusion that the ‘sin of slavery’ has implemented. My contention is this: although these people are ‘saved’ and are in positions of authority, they have never been delivered by having their minds renewed. This undelivered mindset causes untold trouble for them and the fellowship they belong to as they are unable to work in harmony with most people.

This is how it works. They start off well and are very helpful, usually they are very talented people, but after a little while they initiate some confusion. This confusion is usually over trivia since their disrespect for authority or authority figures kicks in. So they complain, moan and get other undelivered people on their side to cause factions. Like the opponents of Moses during the Exodus, they always see the glass half empty, always have a better plan and are always willing to let the leadership know that they are hearing from God also. This spirit of rebellion is still prevalent among us and particularly so among those people whose ancestors justifiably rebelled against the slavers and institutional forms of racism that is still around today.

However, as people of God, we need to walk in the fact that Christ became the curse for us (Gal 3:13) so that we no longer need to operate under the curse and become slaves to sin. We can start the process of deliverance by repenting; repentance involves a change of mind, so that we can respect the leaders whom God has placed over us in the church and also in the community in spite of their character flaws.  Today, read 1Peter 2 to see how this new generation of Royal Priests should operate.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 17, 2012

as we reconstruct the created order

The purpose of being part of a family and part of a community is to be able to make a contribution to that family and community. This is the whole purpose of living. We should live for others and not exclusively for ourselves. If we do the latter we will end up lonely, bitter and isolated. This is a huge problem from many indigenous octogenarians today, many of whom end up in a care system that takes their money and offer little care in return. The recognised order is that grandfather teaches father who in turn teaches son and so on. If the father is absent or has not been taught himself there is nothing to pass on and the son has to work things out for himself by trial and error. Many of us fail to realise this principle from an early age and because of the inherent propensity to disrespect authority which has been passed down to us through the generational lineage, we end up ‘dissing’ the very people who should be passing the baton on to us. This is tantamount to the Wasp and the Bee scenario, viz. The Bee was teaching the Wasp to make honey. By the time the Bee taught him to make the honeycomb, the Wasp stung him believing that he did not need him any longer. And so today the Bee still makes honey and the Wasp can only make the honeycomb.

How did we come to the point of abhorring authority so much? The institution of the Willie Lynch theory dictates that we act against each other; betray each other; discriminates against each other because of skin shade and perpetuate this contention. From our roots and from the biblical narrative we are taught to respect our elders, care for those who are aged and learn from them. It is better to learn from someone else’s mistake than to keep on making the mistake from generation to generation. So today let us celebrate our elders and help those who are dissenters to reconnect with the community. Read 1Thimothy 5 and implement an honour system.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 16, 2012

as we learn our roles to play the part!

Although I am an individual I am still part of a bigger picture. It is this knowledge that enables me to think through my very existence and to reflect on the purpose for me being here. We are all passing through as the old song goes, none of us are here permanently and so at a particular point in the performance we take centre stage. Before we can do this however we have to learn our pats. This is the essence of putting in a good performance, learn your part well. The problems we face are that many of our men have not been given the script and so they just try to make it up as they go along. Being impetuous is great, but at really important points in the play we have to know what to do. And so birth, marriage and death and three very important points in this play called life. I am aware that although we are all born and we all die, not all of us ‘get’ married. Our faith and community should cater for this situation. This learning from those who are ahead of us in the game or the play is vital. Once inducted into the community any young person needs to follow in the footsteps of an older person. Today we call this mentoring. Other names used for this role are: Guru, Elder, Tutor, Supporter, Guide, Counsellor and Advisor. In the past our fathers were all of these. For my community, the Caribbean Diaspora, this position was circumvented and the father was taken away from the family and emasculated. The consequence of this is that we have generation after generation of men who procreate, but cannot father. They would beat and abuse their children rather than affirm them and take them through the various roles of this vast production. The pain of the past must be broken and this can only be achieved by our men being ‘born again’. The pain of separation, abuse and ill-treatment can and will be overcome, but those of us who are now at centre stage must play our parts and play them well. Read the writings of 1Peter, chapter 2 for some nuggets of wisdom.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 15, 2012

as we reconnect to the covenant connector, its the ‘rite’ thing to do!

I remember that it was on birthday on a particular day because of those who have nurtured and reared me. My existence is dependent on what I have taken on board from what I was taught as a youngster. Unfortunately the effects of separation and loss from an early age dictates that an individual  loses the ability to catch or to receive by osmosis the salient things that are required to go from child to boy to man. If this loss is perpetuated from father to son and so on, then a dis-connect with the past will occur and the information that should be filtered down is circumvented at some distant point in the past. The purpose of a rite of passage ceremony is to enable the giver and the receiver to establish a link with the past and continuity with the future. By this link being broken we are condemned to ‘short-termism’ which dictates that we live for the moment without plans or provisions for the future. In many instance we forget who we actually are and act and behave in ways that has been determined by others. William Dubois calls this notion of living in two worlds disconnected from each other, but conjoined like Siamese twins, ‘Double Consciousness’. From the moment I was born I was given all the pre-requisites to become a father. However this’ becoming’ was destined for sometime in the future and my gathering of information over the period of time from birth to my cross-over time, gives me the tools and the connectivity to safely navigate this journey.

The problems we face today, in our homes, in society and in the church of the living God stems from people who are adult chronologically, but still children in their thinking and therefore their actions.  I contend that many people, particularly those who were subjected to ravages of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, have never been taught or given the tools to ‘Cross-Over’. And many people leave this planet without fulfilling their roles of passing on the baton in a clear concise and effective manner. I further contend that, because of the ‘disconnect’, we cannot cross over unless we assume a new identity. This identity can only be found in Jesus Christ, whereby we are able to circumvent the ravages of the Slave Trade and re-connect with the father of creation, Yahweh. Having celebrated by birthday yesterday, I now re-celebrate it today knowing that my real birth occurred when I severed the link with the sin of slavery and plugged into the blessing that is promised to all those who are connected to Abraham. Read Numbers 6:22-27, Psalm 103:1-5.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 8, 2012

as we endeavour to ‘re-rite’ the wrongs of the past!

If I chose to forget who I am then I will act as someone without responsibility and direction. Without hope we act irresponsibly with short term goals. Short-termism is a methodology that allows us only to live for today and suffer the consequences of tomorrow when they arrive. This operation is a long way away from what Jesus taught his followers and goes against the grain of what was practiced by the ancestors of those taken to the Caribbean as slaves. For each male child to become a man and enter into the clan of adulthood, they had to go through a rite of passage. This would involve an initiation ceremony and briefing about what is required to maintain the legacy that is being passed on to them.  The whole community is involved in this process and so the person undertaking the ‘rite of passage’ is beholding to that community. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade demolished this and caused countless numbers of young people to grow up without a sense of belonging or an understanding of who they really are. The problem is compounded by these youngsters progenating and bringing children into the world without the necessary tools to navigate through to adulthood.  We need to reverse this trend and take our youngsters through this process so that they know and realise who they actually are. I chose to accept Jesus as my model and saviour. This gave me the spiritual connectivity with the past that I needed to establish myself as ‘saint’ whose destination is fixed. However, I still need to locate myself and my cultural identity. So I need to know about my mother and father and grandmother and grandfather so that I can understand where I am coming from. This knowledge gives me hope, a sense of belonging and the responsibility to know that one day I will be passing my baton to my progeny and will be influencing at least the next three generations to come, even though some are not yet born.  So rather than just living for now, let me
live for those who will be around in a hundred years time. Let me construct a story that will convey the essence of who I am and the truths of what I have committed my life to. And so I chose to remember that I am: African-Caribbean, Black, Christian, male, a father, a son, a husband, a brother and someone who carries an enormous amount of potentiality. The Israelite slave community knew who they were and was able to pass this information on from generation to generation until they reached their Promised Land.  Today, let us not forget who were are, and neither whose we are also. Read Deuteronomy 1:11.

Leave a Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Posted by: pastorapbell | March 7, 2012

as we reach back to move forward

As we trace our generational lineage we will find that there are certain issues that keep recurring among us that were prevalent among our ancestors. The typical example of this is when you go to the doctor for a check up. To determine what the likely cause of your problem is the doctor will ask a few pertinent questions, such as: is there any sort of illness that runs in your family? Did you dad or anyone in your family suffer from that ailment? And so on. Now if even those who are using natural means to bring healing recognise that issues pass from one generation to another, how much more should those who are dealing with the whole individual be aware of this? The need to remember our past is vital to be able to deal with issues of the past. An example of this is the prevalence among people from Caribbean heritage who chose not to get married but will live together for many years as a couple. Back in the eighteenth century in the Caribbean slavery was the order of the day. One theory which was employed to keep the slave impoverished and totally disjointed was to forbid them marry and to systematically take the men from plantation to plantation to ‘breed’ with other women just like prize stallions. This instituted the curse of illegitimacy which is still very prevalent among people from the Caribbean today.  After slavery was abolished in 1834 and slaves would now legally be married to their chosen partners, the propensity to do so was seldom taken up. More people chose to co-habit that to get legally married. The incident of men going about from woman to woman fathering children was still prevalent. What was instituted 300 years before was very hard to eradicate from the psyche.  Sadly today the situation is no different. I know a man who has ten children with as many different women and he feels no way about it. And sadly some of his off-springs will undoubtedly carry on the same pattern unless the curse is broken. The Willie Lynch curse was instituted to break up the community, the blood of Jesus was shed to bring us back into community and break the curse! Today let us chose the latter so that we can eradicate the former.  Read 1John 3.

 

1 Comment

Posted in God's Order | Tags: , , , , ,

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Categories