Posted by: pastorapbell | March 6, 2012

as we seek out and find our true identity

Who am I? That is a pertinent question and not one to be taken lightly. The problem of identity is a huge one. It becomes even more pressing when a large majority of our youngsters are seeking to find their identity in gangs and possesses.  So the question we all need to address is, where do I belong and who am I?

The easiest way to destroy an individual is to isolate them and keep them ignorant of their heritage. This was the plan of the Amalekites during the biblical account of the journey of the people of God from the clutches of their tyrannical slave master, Pharaoh, towards the hill of the Lord. Like all those who are working for and carrying out the devils devices, their remit is to keep you enslaved. And one major ploy to do this is to rob you of knowing who you truly are.  As slaves, the people of God had no rights. They had no say in their socio-economic situation and no stake in the country they were helping to build up. Their only understanding of who they were, was through stories passed down to them, the rituals they participated in and the times they would get together and hear word pictures from elders of the community.  Having these pictures cemented in your mind enables you to connect with the past in such as way that you form an indelible link with those who have gone before. We must not worship those who have gone before, only honour their memory. The Willie Lynch theory was designed to break up the family unit of the slave community in the Caribbean and cause so much suspicion amongst them that they would fight against each other rather than the slave master.  For the Israelite slave community they kept their link with the past and somehow kept their identity whilst in enslavement. Over time, the Israelites forgot who they were and allowed the spirit of Amelek (latterly the Willie Lynch) spirit to infiltrate their community. So who am I? Once we confess Jesus Christ as Lord and saviour and are born again, we belong to Jesus and are a part of the new kingdom. Once I know who I am and exercise my delegated authority, then I am free to be me. Read Galatians 1.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 2, 2012

as we realise that remembering is what makes us fully human!

A significant part of being human is our ability to remember. Being fully human then is to have an autobiographical self, and not to be trapped in the present or the past, but to be able to draw on past experience in a myriad ways. A large amount of work has been done by neuroscientist who has examined many people with impaired brain function and as a result has learnt much about the circuitry that gives rise to normal waking consciousness and an autobiographical sense of self.

Memory is studied at different levels, from the molecular changes in synapses and neurons in the brain to the various types of cognitive processing of stored information and to the emotional dynamics of remembering.  There are a number of differing models of memory, but in broad terms memory comes in two forms—short-term memory and long-term memory. Long-term memory is sub-divided into several categories, such as procedural memory where we remember how to ride a bike, brush our teeth and so on.  The variety of remembering that we do, short-term and long-term, relies on lots of different neural circuitry and storage sites, all of which stack up together to make us fully human in our remembering, in our consciousness, in our self-awareness and identity. Without remembering we are deprived of the essentials of being human.

Other aspects of memory are further divided and sub-divided to define how we capture and retain life events.  All the various aspect of remembering gives us an indelible link and continuity with the past. This continuity with the past carries effects that are difficult to delete, even with skilled therapy. In terms of this life, these memories are forever. The Judeo-Christian narratives which are used as our paradigm for being a part of the kingdom of God are awash with signs, rituals, clothing that links its members with the past and hence gives them a sense of identity. To forget your building blocks is to forget your humanness and relinquish your connectivity with the created order of Yahweh. God wants us to live in a structured community so that no one is left isolated or left on the side to fend for themselves.  Read Deuteronomy 26.

 

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Posted by: pastorapbell | March 1, 2012

as we rmember not to forget!

Memory is a very important aspect of our lives. Without our memories it is difficult to know ourselves and to pass on the baton to those coming behind. In essence, it is difficult to be human.  And so in every culture, tribe and nation, individuals are given markers to help the process of remembering. A large part of being human is our ability to connect with the past and so when your history has been obliterated or deemed as meaningless, your very humanity is being challenged. The way memory works is very complex and intriguing. However, for us to remember significant event in our lives we place markers in time when those significant events occurred so that we can flag them up as and when needed. Once the people of God had left Egypt, they needed markers to remind them of where they were going, where they had come from and the reason why they were on this monumental journey. Similarly when we decide to follow Christ wholeheartedly, we constantly need to be reminded of the reasons why we do what we do and where our final destination is. Sadly for many of us, just like many of those people who came out of Egypt with Moses, our long term memory tends to become clouded by our short-term needs. And we forget about the bigger picture and concentrate on the here and now and the felt needs rather than long term real needs.

The sole purpose of slavery is to cause you to forget who you really are. The purpose of deliverance is to get you to remember whose you are and to whom you belong. To establish order in the people of God, Moses instituted a whole host of rituals, feasts and services. These were times when the people would re-enact the deliverance and relay stories about the mighty works of their God. Every individual needs to know about and to connect with their history. This knowledge allows us to order our lives by being able to reach forward with a sense of hope but be grounded by the realities of the past. So today refresh your memory of your recent historical past but lay the foundations for a monumental building in the future. Remember, if we forget who we are we cannot be a part of His Story! Read Exodus 19&20.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 27, 2012

as we leave a marker in the sand of time

When God called the people out of Egypt, not all of them heard the call and consequently a large proportion of them were constantly seeking to undermine the leadership of Moses. They had a point. Moses grew up in the comfortable surroundings of upper class Egypt. He wanted for nothing and had all his desires met without question. However, when he learnt about his true identity there was a passion to discover the real reason for his existence. Now God orchestrated it so that he had to leave Egypt for a period of time to really discover himself. And for many of us we need to leave our familiar surroundings for a period of time so that we can really discover who we are and what we are called to do. For Moses, this took forty years looking after sheep and tending cattle. For you it may only take months getting away from the familiar and hearing what God is saying about your destiny. For me this happened in 2002 after I went to Ellel ministries for some personal ministry. Prior to this I was prompted by the Lord to visit my sick mother in Jamaica. I arrived in Jamaica on the Monday 1st April to arrange helpers for her and she died on the Wednesday the same week. Those sequences of event changed my life and on returning to the UK about a month later my life was never the same again.  All that I now do and hope to achieve is dependent on what the Lord says. He prompted me to go and study his word full time for three years and provided the means to do so, even when things seemed impossible.

Later on in Moses life he received the Ten Commandments from the Lord for his people. To get them to remember them, he was instructed by God to get them to put blue fringes or tassel on end of their garments so that they would remember all the commandments (Numbers 15:37-41). One of the reasons we have the commandments is to remind us not to go back to Egypt again. It was this fringe that the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years touched on Jesus’ garment in Luke 8:43-48, that effected her healing. The foundation and order established by Moses, the physical deliverer, was built on and consolidated by Jesus the spiritual deliverer.

Today if you want to leave a marker in the sands of time, order you life on the principles of those whom God called, and anointed and appointed to be our cloud of witnesses. Read Exodus 14 and Hebrews 12 and remember the hardest part of your life is laying a strong foundation in the right order!

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 24, 2012

as we embrace the year of order and destiny

To order our personal lives dictates that we are open and honest with where we are and are willing to take instructions so that we can move on. There are several reasons we have enemies in our lives. Firstly it is to drive us towards the son. Jesus’ mission was packaged in redemption. That is how he came to give himself up for all those who are descendants of Adam. Adam was given the responsibility to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly before his God (Micah 6:8). However, he was deceived by the serpent, the devil, who was disguised as an angel of light and consequently chose to find his own path (see Genesis 3).  Secondly we have enemies so that we can see the roads to avoid. Some say that there are many paths up the mountain towards God, and that each individual must find their own path. Jesus says that there is only one way to get to the mountain, who is [Yahweh] God and that is through the atoning sacrifice that he has made for us on the cross at Calvary. So although there are many roads, all other roads are like the snakes and ladders game. Once you get to a certain point, you will end up back at square one. Thirdly we have enemies to deter us from ending up in the same place as their father the devil. There is a place allocated for the devil and his cohorts, namely hell. We tend to forget that we are on a journey towards a destination. We cannot avoid this destination unless we order our lives and are covered by the blood that was shed by the Lord Jesus Christ on that cursed piece of wood to break the curse of sin once and for all.  Read Luke 6:43-45.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 13, 2012

What are the building blocks that we need to ensure that we live a long and meaningful life?

Our hearts are saddened by the sudden and tragic death of the fantastic singer Whitney Houston. Our prayers and thoughts go out to the bereaving family and friends that remain. This is yet another superstar that has been cut down in their prime. Although they gave so much pleasure to so many people, many of those who are billed as stars had real problems in their private lives.  For me there is no dichotomy between the private and public sphere. How we operate inside must tally up with how we behave outside. This is why we cannot accommodate both the virtues and the vices in our lives and hope to demonstrate how to live a life that is pleasing to God and those we live to serve. Hence our private worlds must be ordered. Irrespective of our past, we are mandated to live lives that are pleasing to our God and father. So we are encouraged by the writer of Colossians 3:8 to jettison vices such as anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from our mouths. And put on and embrace and clothe ourselves with virtues such as: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, v.12.  Notice that the writer, Apostle Paul juxtaposes five vices against five virtues. And so we must juxtapose our public behaviour with what we do behind closed doors. In our church service yesterday a little lad was giving his testimony of how the Lord helped him overcome the fear to read in public and sandwiched between his words he kept saying “God is not asleep”, “God is not asleep.” For us to live a long and prosperous life, we need to remember:-

1God is not asleep

  1. Our steps should be ordered by the Lord
  2. This is only done when we allow the principles written in his word to permeate all areas of our lives, both private and public.

So live a life that is transparent and visible and a real example to those coming behind. Read Colossians 3.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 6, 2012

as we order our private lives (II)

Yahweh is a God of order as is seen in the creation narrative.  Firstly He created light and separated it from the darkness (Gen. 1:3). This indicates to me that for each and every one of us to get our personal worlds in an orderly fashion, we must come into the light so that all the darkness in us can disappear. Secondly, he separated what is above from what goes below and created the sky and the earth. It was only after these systems were in place that the vegetation, the fruit trees, plants and then animals were allowed to populate and cover the face of the earth. And finally humanity was created to manage, give oversight to and regulate the whole ecology of the earth. However for the created order to be maintained, each individual must first recognise that their own body is a microcosm of the entire system created by Yahweh. Unless we are able to manage our own physical, emotional and spiritual systems then how can we manage our own families, churches and communities.  Obviously once our children reach a certain age they are no longer our responsibilities. However we are called to put in place a system that will give them the necessary tool to carry and pass on the baton. So the apostle Paul asked the question, how can someone take care of the church of God if they cannot take care of their own family (1Tim 3:5)?  And how can you take care of your family if you cannot take care of your own body? Diet, exercise and copious amounts of rest, allows the body to renew and reconstitute its cells on a regular basis. Reading the word and about the word allows our minds to be renewed on a daily basis. Fasting, praying and worshipping the only God, Yahweh, through his only son Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit allows our spirits to awaken and come alive.  Order starts with getting my body fit for purpose. Today how is your health? Are all parts of you healthy? Start your exercise by reading 1Tim 2.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 3, 2012

as we re-order our private lives!

As we get ourselves in shape and re-order our lives and our priorities, we will experience new and exciting things this year. The initial push and pull and the effort that needs to be expended will eventually be rewarded. Initially it does not seem as if things are happening and we can get frustrated and give up on the vision given to us, but as we hold on and trust the Lord relentlessly we will see the great things promised to us come to pass. The weather system gives us an indication of what is to come. One minute it is cold and frosty, then suddenly the wind direction changes and warmer air is blown across our vista and everything takes on a different mood. As the Lord repositions us and re-orders our relationships, our associations and our finances, we are being pulled towards more and more reliance on him. In Previous years, if our hope was in our own abilities and our faith was in the things that could be seen, then this year will be a wake-up call for us. God is changing the fault lines.

What was seen will be done away with and what was unseen will become visible. We are encouraged to remember that without faith it is impossible to please God, and if you dare to come to him, you must do so by first believing that He is, and that He exists and that all things that are seen were spoken into being by Him. This can be a tall one to believe and a hard pill to swallow. However, if we are bold enough to believe this and brave enough to follow the leading of the Lord, then we will see great and wonderful things this year. It was in the spring of 1912 that Marcus Garvey arrived in England on a banana boat to see what life was like for people of colour, and amazingly 100 years on, issues surrounding racism are still uppermost in the media with the captain of the national football team allegedly calling the brother of his fellow defender unsavoury names.   But remember that this year will be a year of great transformation. The hearts of fathers will once again turn back to their children and as a nation Britain will once again call out to the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. So get yourself in order, re-order you private life and make the king of the universe your first port of call every day. If you dare, read Hebrews 1.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | February 1, 2012

as we construct the walls of our house of faith

As we start a New Year as with the start of anything new, it is imperative that we start by laying a good foundation. Not that we are again laying the foundation for our faith. This has already been laid by the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the chief corner stone of our faith. It is he who was rejected by the religious crowd of his day and it is he who became the foundation stone on which the gospel of salvation and truth is predicated. This year will be a momentous year for all of us. The world is changing as God’s order kicks in all over the globe. People in every part of the planet are facing the same or similar issues and the only release from these issues is to put our faith fully in Christ Jesus. The global financial meltdown reminds us that the writer of Psalm 118 got it right, viz; ‘it is better to trust the Lord than to put confidence in man’, KJV.  The schemes of humanity will fail you, but the word of the Lord is sure and will stand for ever. And be assured that forever is a very long time. So if I were to make a resolution for the coming eleven months it would be this: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths; an ancient sage and writer of Proverbs 3.   Your greatest days are ahead of you, stay focussed in 2012.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | December 30, 2011

as we prepare for the cross over

May the sovereign Lord, the God of the whole earth bless you. May he make His glorious face shine on you and your household. May He protect you with and by His great name that is above every name on earth and under heaven. May he remember all your offerings and regards with favour all the sacrifices you have made over the years. May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfil all your plans in 2012. And we who are looking on will shout for joy because of what the Lord has done and will say it is indeed marvellous in our sight.  May the LORD of host be with you throughout 2012 and may the God of Jacob be your refuge and strength and a very present help in times of trouble. And remember this: because you have made the most high your dwelling place no weapon formed against your will prosper this year, and every tongue that rises against you in judgement will be silenced.  The Blessing is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, may your inheritance mature in this coming year.

My household, my wife Marva and my children Bless you.

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