WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CONFIDENCE - 01/30/19 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence you have won before you have started."  - Marcus Garvey  

 

At work today, we were asked, "If you were stranded on an island, what one movie would you have with you?" My answer was The Sound of Music, a favorite for many reasons, not the least of which is the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Classics like My Favorite Things, Do-Re-Mi, and Climb Every Mountain, evoke all kinds of emotions and introspection. I've been humming "I Have Confidence," which chronicles the lead character Maria's (Julie Andrews) journey moving from her calling as a nun to that of a nanny of the Von Trapp Children. As she walks the road to her new destiny she has mixed feelings of energy, excitement, fear and doubt. Maria's voice crescendos as she sings and dances with bravado into the chorus, "All I trust I leave my heart to, All I trust becomes my own! I have confidence in confidence alone! Besides which you see, I have confidence in me!"

        

I wish I had more CONFIDENCE - the feeling or belief that you can rely on someone or something; a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities. I want to have full trust in God and my abilities, yet I find myself too often in self-doubt. It's an internal struggle with - Am I good enough? Do I measure up? Having confidence in the LORD is one thing. Scripture says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose confidence is in the LORD." (Jer. 17:7) Having confidence in yourself is quite another. Joshua and Caleb made a confident statement as they shared with fearful Israel about the promised land, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:30)

 

The things God wants to do in the earth require human participation. If we are insecure and lack confidence, we'll never even attempt what God is asking for. We'll be like the other 10 spies who looked at a good land but were too chicken to go and conquer it. Your very first battlefield is in your own mind. It's your negative self-perception, and comparisons to others that God wants to heal. The folks Israel feared were terrified of them! Caleb and Joshua weren't being prideful, they were confident and courageous. The presence and power of the LORD was with them, so they were not weak or limited. The enemy wants you to think you're going it alone. He wants you to believe that everyone else is better and you don't belong in the greatness to which the LORD has called you. I'm glad that the accuser is NOT the decision maker. Let's say like Paul, "Now all glory to God, who is able through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20) Intimidated? Say, I choose today have CONFIDENCE in God and in me.    

Join us! Services Sunday at 10:00 AM with the Church of the Living God 434 Forest Ave. Cincinnati OH 45229

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - OVERWHELM - 1/23/19 -Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"Too many choices can overwhelm us and cause us not to choose at all. For businesses, this means that if they offer us too many choices, we may not buy anything."  - Sheena Iyengar - American Educator     Guided-selling.org named 2018 The Year of the Overwhelmed Customer. They reported that information overload was the cause of the problem, and suggested that simplicity was the remedy. Businesses should devise marketing methods that make 'yes decisions' easier. I don't think I've associated having too much information and multiple choices as a source of OVERWHELM. I've tended to think of overwhelm as the result of trying circumstances or not enough time to finish tasks. All of these sources are also real, but sometimes overwhelm doesn't have a negative root. I just have many choices and don't know which to take, or I want to do them simultaneously. I felt this overwhelm on Monday, a rare day off, while attempting to accomplish everything in a day. OVERWHELM means to bury or drown beneath a huge mass; to give too much of a thing to someone; to have a strong emotional effect on; to overpower. Customers are overwhelmed by the number of potential purchasing options. My attempt to tackle my entire to-do list all at once overwhelmed me. Maybe we need simplicity to overcome our overwhelm, settle our emotions, regain our confidence, and make uncomplicated 'yes' decisions.      I'm sure there have been moments, days or seasons that you've felt overwhelmed. We experience pressure from all sides: work, home, church, extended family relationships, finances, and internal stressors like worry over impending decisions. Sometimes it feels like everyone is pulling on us to have all the answers. King David felt this angst and poured out his soul to God:       Hear my cry, O God; Attend to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah 5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. 6 You will prolong the king's life, His years as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him! 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may daily perform my vows. (Psalm 61, NKJV)    David wasn't just overwhelmed in the moment,   he was concerned about his lifespan and ultimately his legacy. Though I'm certainly no king David, I've shared similar concerns. How much time do I have left? I haven't completed all God wants me to, but I want to finish it all. David had to sing this psalm to reassure himself that God, his Rock, had historically ensured every step of his life. God held David's times in his hands (Psalm 31:15), so the king declares that God will prolong his life and safeguard his legacy. What a bold statement! David also asked for mercy and truth to preserve him. He committed to worship the LORD and to DAILY perform his vows. Each day he would do what the LORD was calling him to and allow God to determine his lifespan, his efficacy, and his legacy. We'd be wise to let go of our overwhelm and do the same.

Join us! Services Sunday at 10:00 AM with the Church of the Living God 434 Forest Ave. Cincinnati OH 45229

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - OVERBOARD - 01/16/19 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"You are overboard in deep open water without a PFD (personal flotation device), or at least that is what your instructor is yelling. Sink or swim, plebe."  - David Robinson - Former American Athlete & Naval Officer     OVERBOARD - means from a ship into the water; figuratively it is to be very enthusiastic; or to react in an immoderate way. To throw something or someone overboard means to abandon or discard it or them. All of us have had situations where our response was overboard due to anxiety, disappointment or some other emotion. I was listening to this powerful message MERCY OVER JUDGMENT by Pastor William McDowell. In it, he referenced the familiar story of Jonah, an Israeli prophet whom God instructed to go to a city called Nineveh, which was at that time wicked and he believed should be God-forsaken. Jonah's emotional response was overboard. He did not want to preach repentance to Nineveh because he knew that God would forgive and bless them if they turned from their wickedness. He wanted God to judge them. So instead of going toward his assignment to preach salvation, he went the other way, "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me." 3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord..." (Jonah 1:1-3a) Pastor William asked, "Do we choose to withhold the Gospel from people because we want God to judge them while God wants to show them His goodness and mercy?"        Jonah didn't realize that in disobeying God's command, he was not only running away from the Ninevites, but from the LORD's presence as well. He gets on this boat and a storm so powerful arises that the ship and it's passengers are in grave danger. Jonah is asleep in the bottom of the ship. The captain wakes him up saying ""What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish." (vs. 6) The passengers cast lots to see who is the cause of the trouble. They hear that Jonah has been fleeing from the presence of the LORD. He tells them, "Throw me overboard. Then the sea will become calm. I know that I'm responsible for this violent storm."  (vs. 12, GWT) Is it possible that you're on the ship of life with someone whose disobedience has you almost shipwrecked? Is YOUR disobedience  causing trouble or delay in the lives of others? Most of us know that God mercifully provided a way to make Jonah repent - three days in the belly of a great fish. Once the fish spit him out...he was ready to go to Nineveh. What's it going to take for you to obey? Even the fish threw Jonah overboard! Lol!     Unfortunately, Jonah end up reluctantly preaching to Nineveh's citizens. He was still mad at God for offering them His mercy and making him the vehicle. Jonah really wanted the LORD to give them the smack down. He didn't desire the same second chance he was receiving to be extended to them...they were obviously more wicked than he. God had to take Jonah through some more dealings. I'm glad that sometimes God let's us be thrown overboard to save US when we didn't even know we needed to be saved.

Join us! Services Sunday at 10:00 AM with the Church of the Living God 434 Forest Ave. Cincinnati OH 45229

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CONSECRATE - 01/09/19 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"It does not take great men to do great things; it only takes consecrated men."  - Phillips Brooks - American Clergyman    The lyrics of the Hymn, "I Am Thine, O Lord" are ringing in my Spirit today:   "I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice  and it taught Thy love to me,   But I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to Thee.      Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord to the Cross where Thou hast died.   Draw me nearer, nearer blessed Lord, to Thy precious, bleeding side.  Consecrate me now to Thy service, LORD  By the power of grace divine Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope And my will be lost in Thine   CONSECRATE means to make something sacred; to dedicate formally for a Divine purpose. Churches set aside times of consecration - services with prayer, fasting and worship. Some people retreat for a time apart to commune with God in silence and solitude. With so many distractions, our inward ambitions, and cravings for entertainment; it can be a challenge to consecrate ourselves to the LORD. Consecration, the separation of our lives to God for His purposes, was not ever intended to be a segmented period of time, but a way of being. The LORD commanded the Levites, "Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 20:7) Consecration was not just for the clergy. Before entering the land of promise, "Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.'" (Joshua 3:5)    Perhaps Fanny J. Crosby, the writer of "I Am Thine, O Lord," was able to connect more closely to God because she was blinded at 6 weeks of age. Crosby became a teacher, an important advocate for the blind, and a friend of several presidents. The power of God's grace did indeed help her to flourish. Her consecration caused her to bear much fruit, writing over 8,500 gospel songs from age 6 to her death. She and her collaborator, William Doane, talked about the nearness of God in their lives. Stanza three exclaims, "When I kneel in prayer, and with thee, my God, I commune as friend with friend!"     The Scriptural reference for "I Am Thine, O Lord" is found in Hebrews 10:    "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."  (Hebrews 10:19-23)    How would your life look different if it was consecrated to the LORD? What would you do more of, or not do at all? What would you focus on, or not watch at all? How would your thoughts, attitudes and speech differ? How would you treat your body? or your decisions? How would you treat others? A consecrated life is a gift to God, a response to His loving gift of Jesus.

Join us! Services Sunday at 10:00 AM with the Church of the Living God 434 Forest Ave. Cincinnati OH 45229

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SHEPHERD - 01/02/2019 -Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

   

"When we are fearful and worried all the time, we are living as if we don't believe that we have a strong and able Shepherd who is tenderhearted toward us, who only leads us to good places, who protects us and lovingly watches over us. "  - Joseph Prince 

 

"The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:1-4) Almost every Christian has memorized this entire Psalm.  A SHEPHERD is a person who tends and rears sheep. This word is also used to describe a member of the clergy who provides spiritual care and guidance for a congregation. Jesus described Himself in John 10 as "The Good Shepherd." He describes His characteristics:

• His sheep listen to Him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He goes ahead of them and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. They will never follow the voice of a stranger, because they don't recognize a stranger's voice (vs. 4-5)
• He will lay down His life for His sheep. He cares for the sheep and will not abandon them in trouble.
• His sheep know Him, just as the Father knows His Son, Jesus. 

I am struck by where the LORD as Shepherd leads His flock and what He makes us do. David said, "He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters." Phillip Kellers seminal book, "A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23" reveals:

   

"The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very makeup it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. 1) Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear. 2) Because of the social behavior within a flock, sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. 3) If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax. 4) Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger. It is significant that to be at rest there must be a definite sense of freedom from fear, tension, aggravations, and hunger.  

 

The unique aspect of the picture is that it is only the sheepman himself who can provide release from these anxieties. It all depends upon the diligence of the owner whether or not his flock is free of disturbing influences. It is actually he who makes it possible for them to lie down, to rest, to relax, to be content and quiet and flourishing. A flock that is restless, discontented, always agitated and disturbed never does well. And the same is true of people."  Selah...

   

In 20 9, as one of the LORD's sheep and as an under-shepherd, I'm glad to know that I can apply this Scripture to better trust God's care and discern His guidance.  As I make decisions the LORD reminds me of the reputation of His name, Jehovah Rohi - God my Shepherd. I look forward to a great New Year!    

 

Join us!

Services Sunday at 10:00 AM

with the Church of the Living God

434 Forest Ave.

Cincinnati OH 45229