WEDNESDAY'S WORD - INHERITANCE - Sadell Bradley- 12/12/18 - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day."  - Canadian Scientist, Orlando Aloyisius Battista    The Lion King is one of my all-time favorite movies. Disney is doing a live remake of this cartoon classic. I'm excited about another generation receiving strong revelatory images of fatherhood, family, destiny and leadership succession. To our delight James Earl Jones is still the voice of king Mufasa. One of the themes of the movie is INHERITANCE. In the photo above, Mufasa shows the entire kingdom, called the Prideland, to his son and heir Simba. He informs his successor, "All this will be yours." Simba is so excited that he dances around the other animals singing, "Oh, I just can't wait to be king!" Simba thinks he's going to inherit the kingdom and its power quickly. He doesn't realize that though he is entitled to all of his dad's inheritance, he's nowhere near ready to possess it. These are big paws to fill, Lol! Paul explained it this way in Galatians 4:1-2  "Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father."  We watch as Simba is prepared to lead via the trials and challenges of life and the schemes of others who would try to take the throne...until he is mature and equipped enough to rule. Selah.      "Today is the day of your inheritance." I was awakened yesterday to that strange phrase. I'm still not sure of its ultimate meaning. Today is an interesting word in Scripture. It does not just refer to chronological time, but to kairos (appointed or opportune) moments and seasons. "God again set a certain day, calling it Today...Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart..." (Hebrews 4:7) When the LORD says Today, it could be a literal time (in this case Tuesday), or a spiritual moment, i.e. God's NOW..."Now, is the acceptable time, Today is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)     Was God saying to me like Simba...now you're equipped enough to rule. For decades, I like some of you, have been in the LORD's training process in various places and positions under lots of leaders, enduring the trials of life and faith. God has allowed me over that time different spans of authority. He has challenged me with every one of them. Will you lead this group of 10, 50, 200..inter-generational, mutli-ethnic, multi-class, of varied educational backgrounds? Can you manage  in this business, non-profit, family, or ministry environment? I am introverted, generally surprised by, and usually shy away from leading roles. God and I often wrestle over my hesitance. Leading is hard. Still, He has confirmed over and over that for some strange reason He's chosen me to lead and to inherit what He has for me. Psalm 37:11 says that "The meek (humble and gentle) shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Jesus affirmed this in the beatitudes, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)  Is it possible that God wants you to lead, but He has to mature you first to make you more meek? Or could it be that the next level of leadership and your inheritance is ready for you to possess Today?

Worship Service Sundays at 10:00 AM through December 31st with the Church of the Living God 434 Forest Ave. Cincinnati OH 45229