David CM Bell Leadership Blog

 Revelation 11 - Free Will and Wise Choices I’m increasingly certain that God created men and women in His image.  We’re flawed and imperfect; we’re sinners.  But we are precious to God.  We are His prized possession, the apple of His eye.  God loves you that much - more than we could hope or imagine.  God has a great plan for you and wants to encourage you today to hear and follow Him. God is so Sovereign that He gives you and me the ability to think, choose, and act.  We know that, but shockingly some are silent when the devil claims otherwise.  Because of God’s love for us, He created us with free will.  You have a mind, a conscience, an eternal soul, and a will.  Adam and Eve had free will - the ability to make moral choices.  So do you and I.  From creation, God is calling after all people to hear Him and enter into deep relationships with Him.  He’s calling us today to come to Him.  The Bible tells us that G...

 Revelation 7-11 - God's Church - His Pure Bride H. Hanegraaff provides a succinct and accurate summary of Revelation.  He says, "Revelation is the unveiling of a bride.  It commences with seven letters to a persecuted bride; continues with a sevenfold judgment against a prostituted bride, which was written on a seven-sealed scroll, announced by seven angels with seven trumpets, and depicted through seven plagues; and crescendos with the unveiling of a purified bride by a bridegroom described as having seven horns and seven eyes” (The Apocalypse Code, pp. 127-128).  In chapters seven through eleven John sees into the spiritual realm the judgment that has come upon Israel - the prostituted bride - for rejecting the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.  It is a description of what is happening in the spiritual realm as our High Priest, Jesus Christ waits and as He humbles his enemies and shows His glory as He grows His church (Hebrews 10). Each of us has a role to play ...

 Revelation 7 - Jesus’ Parable of the Farmers There's a lot to be said of a good farmer - that is who we are called to be.  Several questions are  posed and answered in chapters seven through eleven, but the first is crucial.  That is, to whom is God bringing the judgment that John sees?  And why is God bringing it?  Furthermore, who will not be harmed, but rather preserved through the tribulation (7:2-8).           Let’s step back for context and then move forward.  Every Christian knows that we are to never ever give up.  But don’t give up doing what, exactly?  As C.S. Lewis famously illustrated in Mere Christianity, if you find yourself on a wrong, dead, or dangerous road the wisest course of action is to turn around and get on the right one.  We know that each person will be judged according to what we do.  But how do we know just what we shall do?  The early church knew the answers to these ...

  Revelation 6 - God the Father, the Avenger and Defender We first aim to understand Scripture.  Through the Holy Spirit, we seek to apply Scripture to our lives to guide us and instruct us.  In that regard, Revelation is no different than Genesis or John. Christians know it is essential to remain in the Vine.  God prunes dead branches.  We are to abide in Christ.  The Apostle John tells us that the person who loves his brother abides in the Light.  Do not hate your brothers and sisters today.  Instead, love deeply and genuinely. (1 John 2:10-11).  The proof is in the pudding: they will know we are Christians by what we do, by how we love people (John 13:35). The Bible teaches us to be like our King Jesus.  We are not to emulate the world or the ruler of the world, Satan.  We shall never turn a blind eye to abuse or those oppressing others.  We are peacemakers - that means taking action against injustice.  The Devil ...

 Revelation 6 - Breaking Seals - Thy Will Be Done The whole point of the Bible is being prepared - abiding in Christ - so that at Jesus’ appearance, His final return to this earth we will have confidence (not shame) before God (1 John 2:28).  In this sixth chapter of Revelation we hear a familiar message.  That is, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is God over all the kingdoms of earth.  Christ is King.  He who created the heavens and the earth has the power and authority to govern, judge, protect, punish, and bless whomsoever He pleases (Isaiah 37:16). False teachers claim there are various ways to eternal life with God.  They claim God has various peoples and paths.  These modern-day prosperity preachers are quite confident they are especially anointed.  They are gluttons, hungry men with no end to their appetites.  They have no shame.  Venezuelan dictators have nothing on them.  Like Narcos, they lack nothing and don’t lose a wink ...

 Revelation 5 - The Lamb’s Men - A Kingdom of Priests Men, we are called to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision to gratify the lusts of the flesh” (Romans 13:14).  We “walk properly” and live above reproach because we are on a mission with God as He builds His Kingdom (His way and in His timing). God paid for our sins on the Cross for a reason.  We heard in Jesus’ message to the church in Thyatira that to all who hold tightly to faith in Christ and who persevere Jesus will give them authority over all the nations (Rev. 2:25-26).  And we hear the same thing in this marvelous chapter about the worthiness of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God.           God’s people are called to godliness.  Proper living is at the core of who Christians are.  Kingly power and authority may only be delegated by a real King.  The Apostles, after experiencing the resurrected Son of God had no doubt of His power ...

 Revelation 4 - A Glimpse at God’s Throne           Today we often hear, “Christ is King,” and that’s true.  But what does it mean?  How does it impact our lives, now and for eternity?  If we had even a glimpse of heaven - God’s throne - we too would lay our crowns at Jesus’ feet and fear the LORD.  Fear of the LORD is the beginning of understanding.  In chapter four Jesus is showing John so that John in turn can write down what is revealed in the spiritual realm.  It’s a message to the church in the first century.  And it is a message to the church for all time.  It is a message on the one hand to remind us not to worry - we can be confident in Christ.  But it is also a stern warning that the spiritual battle is real and that we must not only have faith in Christ but put it into action as faithful servants of the King.           John was told that he must trust in the Father (t...