"I
think confrontation is healthy because it clears the air very quickly.
Nowadays, if you're afraid of confrontation, you're not going to do very
well."
- Bill Parcells - NFL Coach
"Those who avoid confrontation at all cost are preserving the very problems they wish would go away." - Unknown
I embrace confronting problems. I do it on global issues like racism,
sexism and class disparities. I don't shy away from it in personal, work
or church situations. I do it in this blog. Some say it's a prophetic
mantle, but every Believer is called to speak the truth in love and grow
up. (Eph. 4:15) Every Christian is required to confront an offender
when a wrong has occurred. (Matt. 18:15-17) When speaking of problems or
difficulties, CONFRONT means to present, face up to, and deal with the situation.
It means to face a challenge with the determination to overcome it
versus avoid it. By the way, confrontations are best done in person.
The Gospel itself confronts the sinful state of our prior lifestyles.
It's a battle over our future, life and legacy. If the Word and the
Holy Spirit did not challenge, check, convict and convince us that where
we were positioned was wrong, we would not be saved and would still be
in our sin. We all have blind spots: places of denial we've lived with
for years. People around us know about them. They might even talk about
us. We know that someone really cares for us when they're willing to
take the risk to confront the things that might be injuring or killing
us. There is beauty in confrontation from someone who loves us. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." (Prov. 27:6) Chuck Swindoll said, "If we confront someone, we should have one goal in mind: restoration - not embarrassment." We confront because we love and we desire transformation.
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CONFRONTATION - Sadell Bradley 11/29/17 New Life Covenant Cincinnati
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
WEDNESDAY'S WORD - BLESSINGS - Sadell Bradley - 11/23/17 New Life Covenant Cincinnati
"Gratitude
can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into
joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." - William Arthur Ward
I remember the old church song we used to sing, "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done." That
is one of the joys of Thanksgiving. We get to count our blessings, not
our problems. Unfortunately, the busyness of the Holiday Season, the
somewhat gloomy change in the weather, the arduous travel, and for some -
strained relationships with families, can cause us to be distracted
from giving the LORD thanks. The practice of appreciation, especially to God, is a spiritual discipline. We don't ever have to worry if expressing gratitude is out of God's will. "In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
So check your discontentment at the door. There is too much to be thankful for. The
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Wednesday, November 15, 2017
WEDNESDAY'S WORD - REPAY - 11/15/17 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati
"Men are more willing to repay an injury than a benefit
because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure." - Tacticus
Have you ever loaned someone money and it took them longer than agreed upon to REPAY? How did you feel? What kind of straits did their lack of ability to pay back the loan, debt or sum of money,
have on your life and your relationship? Was it awkward when you saw
them? If you owed the money, did you feel a sense of guilt and shame?
The Bible says, "The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers." (Psalm 37:21, NLT) Lending money to someone causes an awkward master/slave relationship, even among friends because ...the borrower is servant to the lender. (Prov. 22:7) Repaying, or being repaid brings freedom to both parties to get past the debt and restore right relationship.
When you've been waiting for any kind of debt to be repaid, one of the collateral losses is time. The time you spent depressed. The time regretting dreams you could have accomplished. The
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Wednesday, November 8, 2017
WEDNESDAY'S WORD - YES- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati
"Never say 'no' to adventures. Always say 'yes,'
otherwise you'll lead a very dull life."
-Ian Fleming
YES is a simple word that holds a lot of power. YES is an affirmative response."Do you understand?" "Yes." YES can express agreement with a positive statement, "Wasn't it a great event?" "Yes, it was." Or it can contradict a negative statement, "You didn't want to go out to dinner." "Yes, I did." We
use YES when someone wants to attract our attention, or to encourage
people to continue speaking. We use YES to express delight, to commit ourselves to projects, to people, "She said, YES!" and to GOD. YES is an affirmative answer in decision making. We used to sing a song, "My soul says, Yes! Yes! Yes! my LORD. My soul says Yes! Yes! Yes!" indicating surrender to God's will. The African-American Church of God in Christ denomination has an anthem that just says, "YES!"
Try saying 'Yes,' then say, 'No.' Don't you find that the atmosphere of those two words isn't the same? Pastor William McDowell said, "The thing about saying 'YES' to God is that you're saying 'YES' to an unknown future." You're agreeing without knowing exactly what you're saying 'YES' to. You're announcing, "Whatever happens after this, I'm going to commit to the 'YES' I said to God." Mary said her YES, "Be it unto me according to your word."
(Luke 1:38) The disciples' 'YES' didn't have any words. They just
pulled over their boats, left their families and businesses, and
followed Jesus. (Luke 5:11) When they said 'YES,' they didn't know the
marvels and wonders they would see, nor the guilt associated with
betraying Him. Their 'YES' would open the door to the Holy Spirit's
miraculous power inside them to heal others. Their 'YES' would catapult
their world-wide mission. Their 'YES' would ultimately lead to
persecution, stripes, imprisonment and martyrdom. Their 'YES' would make them some of the greatest men the world has ever known.
In prayer, we were given an invitation to say an unrestricted, 'YES'
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