WEDNESDAY'S WORD - IMMORTALITY - 01/29/20 Sadell Bradley

   

"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do." - Kobe Bryant

A few days ago, one of the most iconic sports figures the world has ever known, Kobe Bryant, died tragically in a helicopter crash along with his daughter Gianna, 6 beautiful and talented friends and their pilot. It is a tragedy the world has been mourning ever since. My husband is a part of #LakerNation. He has been a fan since childhood. It hit him hard. People are saying that Kobe was like a superhero. His off the court persona was as awe-inspiring and intriguing as his Hall of Fame-worthy basketball career. Kobe never went to college but was a very learned man. He spoke several languages, had won an Oscar and an Emmy, and had seemingly shepherded and advised every notable male and female basketball figure, significant athlete, or well known...anyone. Stars have shared how he reached out to help them at significant times in their lives. He was not without flaw or fault, nor did he claim to be. After his significant fall, it seems he did the hard work of redemption with his wife and family, for whom we all are praying. 

IMMORTALITY is the ability to live forever; never dying or decaying; or deserving to be remembered forever.  A mere mortal is a human being that is subject to death and not Divine. We now know despite his iconic status in society, Kobe Bryant was a vulnerable member of the human race. This tragedy has given us all a greater awareness of the fragile nature of life here on earth, and of our own mortality. If someone as brilliant, young, dashing, gifted, handsome, wealthy and accomplished as Kobe Bryant succumbed to a death that was beyond his control; we must all consider how we're living our lives. David said, "Teach us to number our days...or Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." (Psalm 90:12) Admonitions to let go of grudges and tell our friends and family how much we love them abound. We will all die someday.

But what if we did live forever? What if we could choose where we'll spend eternity? What if our bodies are just a shell of our real essence? Paul wrote, "God will repay each person according to what they have done." To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger." (Rom2:6-8) Many Christians breathed a sigh of relief to find out that Kobe and Gianna had been to church right before the crash and that they attended church as much as a celebrity can. One article said he would sit in the back, so as not to take the spotlight off of Christ, the one they'd come to worship. An interview with sports commentator Stephen A. Smith had Kobe emphatically stating many times, "God is great!"  As we contemplate his level of influence, some pastors may wonder about his faith. What would happen if more superstars like him would be converted and share about eternal life and the immortality and heavenly home that awaits those who trust in Jesus for salvation? What if we preached the Gospel more? Christ-followers...consider how we can share not only the importance of legacy and destiny but of eternity and immortality. 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - PROPHECIES - 01/22/2020 Sadell Bradley

    

"If we bow down before the truth of Christ's prophetic ministry and then stand up on our feet ready to serve the Lord, something will happen."
- Pastor Alistair Begg

At work we were was asked to share about a conversation with someone that, "blew your mind." Folks talked about exchanges with famous people, or an intimate dialogue with significant family members. I shared about a few astonishing experiences I'd had with prophets who'd 'read my mail.' I believe in the spiritual gifts: prophetic utterances, words of wisdom and knowledge, healing, etc. that are found in 1st Corinthians 12. In Romans 12:6, Paul instructs, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith." Years ago, I was in a healing service where the Holy Spirit through Dr. Mark Chironna revealed a thought I had never shared with anyone and spoke about things that would occur in my future. On another more recent occasion, Dr. Matthew Stevenson did the same thing, unveiling things that had happened over a 20-year span, why they'd occurred, and what would happen going forward. I had never met either of these men. Their gifts were used to disclose God's intent for my life, build my faith, and help to direct my future. 

Some are not convinced these phenomena still take place. Most Christians are confident that Jesus' life was the fulfillment of over 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah. Many also trust in end-time Bible prophecy/eschatology. I am convinced God still speaks prophetically via foretelling and forth-telling. Why would God give us this kind of intel on the present and future state of our lives? The word intel means information of military or political value. Paul gives the answer to this question in 1 Timothy 1:18-19, "Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith." Prophecies are given so that we can fight the good fight of faith concerning present and future Kingdom realities. They keep us in line with the will of God despite the warfare we may be experiencing in the interim. That's why we would do well to follow Paul's advice to the Thessalonians, "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold fast to what is good, reject every kind of evil." (1 Thess.5:19-21)

WEDNESDAY'S WORD- PROGRESS - 1/15/2020 Sadell Bradley

    

"Overnight successes are generally years in the making. And most progress is made in isolation, far from the public eye."  - Andrew Yang 

American Poet T.S. Eliot said, "The progress of an artist is continual self-sacrificing, a continual extinction of personality. Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." I love the depiction above of this artist's development over a 12-year span. You can see the result of what probably was thousands of hours of painstaking and precise effort and learning; mostly done behind the scenes. I would imagine that only close friends and family members might have observed the stages of this actual PROGRESS - which is defined as the forward or onward movement toward a destination; advance or development toward a better, more complete, or more modern condition. Too often we are so consumed with destinations that we fail to celebrate progress. That is unfortunate for us because there is joy in the journey that we might be missing. 

In Ezra 5, is an account of a rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the house of God. The Governor, a man named Tattenai, sends a letter to king Darius reporting on the improvements that are being made in verse 8. "The king should know that we went to the district of Judah, to the temple of the great God. The people are building it with large stones and placing the timbers in the walls. The work is being carried on with diligence and is making rapid progress under their direction." He goes on to describe the historical background of the project, God's oversight of the goings-on, and how the LORD has used many rulers and servants to accomplish His work. He states, "From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished." (16b) 

This reminds me of the renovation project we are currently in the midst of in Over the Rhine at the former Nast Trinty Church on 1310 Race Street. For several months we have been working diligently to prepare the sanctuary of this church, which was built in the 1880s to inhabit the presence of the LORD and our church under the new name, The Warehouse. The transformation that is taking place at the location parallels what we believe God will do in lives. Our Maker will take raw materials and form and equip us for deployment and greater use. It has been a sometimes arduous process that has happened largely behind the scenes. It is not yet finished. Our re-launch is on April 12th, but we'd like to invite you this Friday night at 7:00 pm to celebrate the progress God has allowed us to make, and to intercede for the neighborhood and the work to which the LORD has called us for this season in this territory. Please join us this Friday at 7:00 pm