Posted by: pastorapbell | May 23, 2012

as we ask the question, ‘What does it mean to be created in the image of God?’

Over the years and certainly during the pre-modern and modern ear, western philosophers have tended to create God in their image. The icons, images and frescos have all tended to portray a God that looks like the prevailing culture. This type of attitude not only breaks the first commandment given by Yahweh (Ex. 20:4), it denigrates anyone else who does not look like what is being portrayed. So there is a need to revisit the imago Dei to determine what Yahweh actually meant when he stated that man was created in his image.

From the western mindset, image means likeness. So my children look like me to a certain extent, since they all carry my DNA. However, for the Jewish mindset, image conjures up a more wholesome connotation. Image is not just about what is on the surface, but goes much deeper than that. So let me consider my children again. On the surface they may or may not have all of my features, however on closer examination and by spending time with me and then time with them, you will notice that our mannerisms, gestures, terminology and inquisitiveness are all in sync. And so whether they look like me on the surface or not you can tell that they belong to me by the attributes they display.

When the writer of Genesis states that we were created in the image of God and that there was a gender specific model [each gender has specific attributes for their particular gender], this is what I believe he is saying. Every human being has the characteristics of the creator. And these characteristics are not surface deep. They are embedded deep in the psyche and soul of the individual. The problem we face in coming to God and recognising him as father is trying to figure out what he looks like. So when Jesus told Philip that when he looked at him he will see the father, our reading of this passage is to say, well if Jesus had a beard, then the father must have one. If Jesus is olive skinned then the father must be olive skinned also, and so on (John 14:8-9).

Well Philip, this is what the father looks like. And this is what we are to aspire to. The father is loving and kind, slow to anger and abounding is steadfast love (Psa. 145:8). The father is patient and forgiving and is waiting to restore those who have gone astray (Luke 15:11-32). The father bears fruit of righteousness which has been deposited in all of his creation (Gal. 5:22). And finally the father is prepared to sacrifice his only son so that we can be fully human again (John 3:16; 19:30). So the question I would like to ask my readers today, whether you are Black, White or Asiatic, is this, when I look at you can I see the father?  Endeavour to become the wisdom of God and read Proverbs 8.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 11, 2012

as we understand what it takes for real men to stand up!

There are many views about the role of men in society. In years gone by men were seen as the hunter gatherer and the leader in the home. With the advent of modernity, post modernity, generation X and post generation X, the role of the male has become somewhat blurred and non plus. What do I mean by this? The promotion and push for equality has taken precedence over the construction and reconstruction of the created order. This in no way means that I am advocating male domination or encouraging people to be misogynists.  On the contrary I am advocating a biblical approach to the pivotal role that the male plays in the ordering, disciplining and development within the home first. As the father it is the responsibility of the man to organise the worship in the home, i.e. he must operate as the priest in the home. It is also his responsibility to organise the discipline in the home. Contrary to our post-colonial understanding of discipline, this about training and teaching, in particular boys and adolescents to become men.   The role of the modern man is neither of these. Similarly the role of those men, who were emasculated during the period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, is totally confused.

The effects of slavery on our Black men is an ongoing cause for concern, as generation to generation continue to perpetuate the curse that the English horse breeder, Willie Lynch put on us. let us look at some of the effects of this.

A large number of Black men are still producing off-springs with several women.

Many fail to see the need to have monogamous relationships

Many fail to understand their mandate

Many have bought into the ‘short-term’ live for now tomorrow we die mantra

Still many do not leave any sort of legacy for the children they produce

The curse of illegitimacy is perpetuated as boys progenate without having the tools to deal with the outcome.

The only way to break this curse and deal with the fallout, is to be delivered by coming under the umbrella that is Jesus and embarking on a programme that flushes out old notions of manhood, insignificance, worthlessness and short-termism, from the minds of those affected. The process can only be started when we make ourselves vulnerable as the apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians in chapter 2:1-11. Please read this and meditate on it.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | May 1, 2012

as we ask the question, when will men take their rightful position?

When we look seriously at the statics, it is surprising how many of our young men end up not fulfilling their enormous potential because the sin of the fathers. The emasculation of black male under colonialism has taken its toll on the rest of the family. And so today we have many families that are headed up by females. Do we think this is strange? Let us look at what the slavers did to bring about this situation!

They destroyed the language of the slave.

They treated the male of the race as a stud and took him from plantation to plantation to ‘breed’.

They beat the young men to the point of death, to make them weak. This engendered in them anger and rage that was seldom dealt with.  Also a mistrust and antagonism against authority figures.

They introduced the curse of incest. So we end up with situations where some children have the same father and grandfather.

They instituted fear and distrust among the community. The result is that we still work against each other as the default rather than the exception.

 

Although the slave trade and slavery was abolished in the Caribbean in the 19th century, the legacy of rage, anger, illegitimacy, incest, worthlessness, pity and blame are still very much at the forefront of our psyche. So how do we move forward?

We need to deal with the past. Blessing and curses are a reality. Someone needs to draw a line for your generation, your family and your community, so why not let it be you.  Other ethnic groups have their stuff to deal with too. But the African Caribbean community need to endeavour to re-construct the building blocks for growth. This starts with fundamental structure, the family. The man needs to get in his rightful position as the head and priest of the house. It is he who should call his family to worship and instruct them in righteousness. We have the biblical narratives that teaches us about God’s people who were trapped in slavery for over 400 years but were delivered and set free to become a nation of kings and priest to him (see 1 Peter 1:9ff).  And so using this model, we are precious to God our father.  It is He who has delivered us from the curse. So let us not be ignorant. Let us remove the scales that blur our vision and causes us to work against each other and put on Christ.  Read 1Peter 2 and focus on verse 9&10.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 26, 2012

as we continue to look steadfastly to the cross!

We underestimate the enormity of the task undertaken and achieved by Jesus on the cross. If like me you are a descendant from the Caribbean, through no fault of our own, we have inherited the effects of the curse put on our forefathers by the Willie Lynch practices. This is so pervasive that 178 years after the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean, we are still reeling from the effects of it. Let us look at a few of these lasting effects. There are many men of Caribbean descent who think it is ‘cool’ to father as many children as they can with as many women as they can. Little do they know that this behaviour, of fathering a child and then taking no active part in that child’s upbringing was an integral part of the Willie Lynch theory of ‘breeding’ slave workers who would not challenge the status quo. Indeed, the male slave was so emasculated that he was treated as a stallion and then taken from plantation to plantation, to produce strong off-springs to work on the sugar, coffee and banana plantations.  Although we believe in Jesus’ finished work on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit, there are many, even among those who profess to be Christians, who are still behaving in this manner. Another trait that is still prevalent in many with a Caribbean heritage is the pent up rage from the trauma of slavery put on our forefathers. This ‘post traumatic slavery syndrome’ means that the pain from the past which was never dealt with or allowed to be dealt with is being exhibited among our young people in the streets of Britain today. We have ‘Post Code’ killings, gang wars, drive by shootings and so on. These are all the products of untreated pain of the past. Since the slaves were not allowed to express or deal with their anger, it was taken out on those closest to them, namely their helpless children. These children would grow up thinking that beatings and violence was the norm and so perpetuate it.  And so today, in their search for identity and belonging, many youngsters turn to gangs who feed their desire to release the pain of the past and the pain of the ‘absent dad’ syndrome.

The inhumane treatment that Jesus went through prior to being humiliated and shamed by hanging in public naked has made a way for those of all us who unwittingly inherit this curse to jettison it. He has now become the ‘curse’ so that we might walk in his blessing. Our pain has become his pain. As slaves we lost our dignity. By dying naked on a cross so did He. And because of his shed blood we are released from the curse of slavery and from the rage that so easily beset us. What the abolition of slavery (1834) and the slave trade (1807) could not do, Jesus did. How enormous was that! Read Galatians 3:1-18.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | April 24, 2012

as we think about how His-story was unravelled!

The next day – The day after the Jews made inquiry whether he was the Christ. John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him and shouted out, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”St. John 1:29.

Behold the Lamb of God – A “lamb,” among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, Exodus 12:3-11. A lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship, Exodus 29:38-39. The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for humanity, Isaiah 53:7. A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness, and gentleness. On all these accounts, rather than on any one of them alone, Jesus was called “the Lamb.” He was innocent 1 Peter 2:23-25; he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice Luke 23:44-46; and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger (wrath)of God, and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death, 1 Corinthians 5:7. Jesus knew his destiny as he said to Pilate, “for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice,” John 18:37b. Jesus was born that man no more should die; he was born to give all us the second birth, but only when we put our trust in him! What a saviour, what a man, the Lamb of God.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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