WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RELEASE - 12/30/15 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati!

RELEASE means to allow or enable to escape from confinement; to set free . It also means to remove restrictions or obligations from someone so that they can be available for other activity. In media and communications, to release is to allow art or information to be made generally available. In legal or banking terms, release means to remit or discharge a debt, surrender a right, or make over property or money to another person or entity. As we close out 2015, there are things from which we need to be released, in order to release what God has placed inside of us!  
 
At the end of every seven years, the debts of all Israelites had to be canceled within their ranks. This was called "The Lord's Release" (KJV):            

“At the end of every seventh year you must cancel the debts of everyone who owes you money. This is how it must be done. Everyone must cancel the loans they have made to their fellow Israelites. They must not demand payment from their neighbors or relatives, for the Lord’s time of release has arrived. This release from debt, however, applies only to your fellow Israelites - not to the foreigners living among you. "There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. (Deuteronomy 15:1-4, NLT)

God did not want His people to be in debt or captivity to one another.  He desired His covenant blessing to be felt by everyone, from the greatest to the least. He wanted a spirit of generosity to extend even to the poor of the nation.  Indebtedness often included slavery or indentured servitude.  The Lord abolished indefinite indebtedness by commanding His people to release those whom they were holding hostage for other activity. Is there someone whom you're holding in a literal debt or figurative unforgiveness? Release them!

It is time for the Lord's release! Have you been holding yourself hostage, drudging up the failures of your past? RELEASE!  Been procrastinating and afraid to unveil to the world what God has given you to share? RELEASE! Whatever is holding you back, or you are holding back, RELEASE IT! 

 

 

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - EMMANUEL - 12/23/15 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Joseph is reeling because his fiancee Mary just told him she was pregnant by someone else...she claimed it was God Himself! He loved Mary, so he considered  divorcing her privately, so as not to disgrace her.  Joseph goes to sleep - I'm not quite sure how he did that under the circumstances! In a dream an angel appears and says, "Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what she's conceiving is from the Holy Spirit.  She'll give birth to a son and you're to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." (Matt. 1:18-21 - paraphrase) I know, crazy right?  All of this is supposed to be a fulfillment of a prophesy by Isaiah. Behold! a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matt. 1:22- 23) Though these swelling Words of prophetic declaration came directly from the Lord; the timing of this declaration was awful! and the answer to the key question, though true, was not desired.  Has that ever happened to you?  

Emmanuel, God is with us. I wonder if Joseph felt that way? The appearance of an angel is startling, and Joseph was so convinced that he obeyed.  He took Mary as his wife and did not consummate their marriage until after Jesus was born. (vs. 24-25) That's real conviction! Can you imagine the mix of emotions this prophecy and turn of events caused him? Public shame (you know there was talk), the piercing of his ego, the dashing of his hopes for how his marriage would be.

 

He had to walk all the way to Bethlehem to be taxed, plenty of time to think about this shame of a situation. He endured the frustration of being rejected in place after place when his wife's water is about to break. Then he had to watch his wife deliver a child that is not his! that is from who knows where...yes, I know...God! but think about Joseph at the time. Not quite the nativity scene you have in the yard, is it?

Sometimes miracles are happening that don't feel especially miraculous! Prophetic and life-changing experiences from God don't always bring the kinds of tingly feelings we desire and get from church services. God is moving and changing things dramatically right in the midst of tragedy, confusion, paralyzing fear, what seems like betrayal, when we feel awful, disappointed, rejected and humiliated. It brought Joseph and Mary into isolation but was meant to exercise their faith.  The miracle of Christmas is not just that Jesus was born in a manger...but that His parents were willing to hear and obey the Word of the Lord at all emotional, relational, reputational and financial cost to see it come to pass! Imagine their shock and awe when shepherds, angels and wise men came celebrating. Thousands of years later, we have no doubt that Emmanuel - God was with them! The whole world has changed.  The challenge is to believe Emmanuel - God is with US!...even when we don't sense or feel Him!

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SILENT - 12/15/15 Sadell Bradley -New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Silent means not making or accompanied by any sound; not speaking. The word is used in both positive and negative contexts: "The strong, silent type," is a person who is not prone to speak much. "Giving the silent treatment," is a stubborn refusal to talk to someone after a recent argument. Our words have power - whether spoken or unspoken. Ecclesiastes 3:7 states that there is "a time to keep silence and a time to speak."  We'd do well to distinguish between the two. Sometimes we don't know what to do or say, or what the best answer is. At other times we do, but it is better to keep our unsolicited opinions to ourselves. Our reputations are augmented by our ability to be tight-lipped. "Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues." (Proverbs 17:28)  Silence is golden.   
 

"But no man can tame the tongue," James 3:8 tells us, "it is restless and evil, full of deadly poison."  It blesses and worships God, then curses its fellow man. (vs. 9)  He calls the tongue a 'flame of fire" and a "world of wickedness" that is able to corrupt our entire body, set our lives on fire and end us up in Hell! (vs. 6) "Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way." (vs 2) Hmmm...maybe I've been directing my self-control goals and efforts in the wrong direction! What if our ability to overcome our appetites and sins could be directly impacted by controlling our tongues FIRST?!!   OH MY!!

 

I attended a Quaker School called Friends' Central in Merion, PA for 12 years. Each Wednesday, worship services called Quaker Meetings were held in complete silence unless someone was moved by God or their own revelation to share a thought that would benefit the group. Can you imagine an auditorium of children/teens sitting in silence for a whole period of 45 minutes?!  Well, we did! weekly. It was one of the BEST experiences of my life. The discipline of silence kick-started my ability to listen: to hear from God and others, and to reflect on my own thoughts - which has served me tremendously well. Here's an exercise: Turn everything around you off, still your mind and sit in total silence for 2 minutes with your hands on your knees.  See if you can do it, many adults cannot. Silence is a form or worship. "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before Him." (Habakkuk 2:20)

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ACQUIESCE - SADELL BRADLEY 12/07/15 New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Last Wednesday's Word was exposure - an encounter that brings light or reveals something.  Recently, I was exposed to several new, awesome and intimidating things. I journaled my thoughts, knowing that one day these things would be a part of my life. I had a lot of questions, and some anxiety. The Holy Spirit replied, "I just need you to acquiesce and agree."  My first thought was, "Isn't that the same thing?" Agree means that you will do, allow, or accept something that is suggested or requested by another person. Yet the Lord was deliberate in using the word acquiesce. He says weird words I don't normally use so I know it's Him and not me, lol! So, I looked it up. ACQUIESCE - means to accept, agree, or allow something to happen BY staying silent or BY not arguing. I couldn't put it any better than the Rock does in this meme.  God was saying, "I'm not asking you to do or question it.  Be quiet! Let Me accomplish it."

 

In Luke 1, Zacharias and his wife Elisabeth were barren, old, and had prayed for years for a child to no avail.  They were righteous people who loved God, but what they desired seemed unlikely, if not impossible. Zacharias was a priest, which made the delay even more public and shaming. The angel of the Lord appeared to Zacharias and said, "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth." (L uke 1:13-14) John would be a great prophet who would turn many people back to the Lord. (16-17) Zacharias, started in with the questions..."Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well-stricken in years." The angel Gabriel replied that he was sent to bring the glad tidings, then executed this judgment on Zacharias: "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." (Luke 1:20) What if God shut our mouths when we didn't believe?

Zacharias and Elisabeth in God's time, would be a part of the greatest story ever told.  The Messiah would be conceived by their cousin Mary, a virgin, and their reproach would be wiped away by the birth of His forerunner, John the Baptist.  "For with God nothing shall be impossible." (vs 37) Zacharias did not speak until after his son was born. The people tried to name him Zacharias Jr. but he wrote down, "His name is John." Immediately his mouth was opened again and his first words were praises to God and prophesy about what God would do through his son, this precious gift he'd received despite his questioning! (vs.59-80) Some of what God has promised, ONLY HE can bring to pass! Your job is to agree with God and ACQUIESCE - accept what He has said, allow Him to do it, know your role...and shut your mouth!!  

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - EXPOSURE- 12/2/15 - Sadell Bradley- New Life Covenant Cincinnati

EXPOSURE has several meanings including: the state of being in contact with something; the revelation of an identity or fact, especially one that is concealed.  In photography, exposure is the amount of light per unit area reaching a photographic film. To be underexposed means the film has had light for too short a time, and vice versa.  Whether in photography or in life; it is important for us to deal properly with exposure. How much light is in my life...and what is it revealing?

Jesus said that "everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."  (John 3:20-21) Paul warned the church at Ephesus..."there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." He goes on to say that these habitual behaviors revoke inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Then he admonishes them,  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible-and everything that is illuminated becomes a light." (Ephesians 5:3-13) Exposure is a serious thing!

Exposure has another, more positive light. When we are underexposed in life, we have not had enough experience in a certain arena.  Our information or access is limited and we need someone more knowledgeable to guide us. Some struggle if they're not the smartest person in the room, but if you are always that person...you need more exposure to grow!  People who have lived in poverty need exposure to another standard of living to change their status.  Those who have only experienced the US need  exposure to other countries to have a well-informed perspective of the world.  Spiritually, Elisha prayed during the battle that his servant's eyes would be opened to see that the army of the Lord with them was more than the enemies coming against them. (2 Kings 6:17) The servant had not been exposed to the concept of spiritual warring in the heavenlies. If you're stuck at a certain place in life...you might check to make sure you have the correct exposure!