WEDNESDAY'S WORD - MERCIFUL - 07/31/19 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"Our Heavenly Father is far more merciful, infinitely more charitable, than even the best of His servants, and the Everlasting Gospel is mightier in power to save than our narrow, finite minds can comprehend." - Rev. Orson F. Whitney     "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." - (Matt 5:7) That means God will extend His grace, benefits and advantages to the person who is MERCIFUL - full of pity and compassion, who acts in accordance with God's covenant-love and loyalty. Mercy means we don't get the punishment we deserve. Grace and mercy combined replace penalties with undeserved favor. MERCY is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm; an event to be grateful for, especially because its occurrence prevents something unpleasant  or provides relief from suffering.     One compelling parable on mercy is the Prodigal Son in Luke 15. The son requests that his father give him his inheritance early. Then he foolishly and selfishly squanders his inheritance on a promiscuous and luxuriant lifestyle. He returns ashamed to his father, thinking he would be better off as a servant than to suffer the repercussions of his choices. To his surprise, his father welcomes him back, not as a servant, but as his son. He celebrates his return and restores his position and fortunes, canceling the consequences of his egocentric choices in a jaw dropping display of compassion and love. We've all experienced God's abundant leniency.     GOD's mercy is usually not in question...OURS is. We only have a demonstration opportunity when someone is at our mercy.  In Matthew 18, Peter asks Jesus, ""LORD, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you not not until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.""(vs. 21-22) He goes on to tell the story of the unmerciful servant who owed his master 10,000 talents (10+ billion dollars). He was about to be sold, along with his wife and children, into slavery but was forgiven. Later, the same servant was owed one hundred denarii (100 days wages, or about $10,000) by a brother, but would not have patience with him and threw him into prison. Jesus told His disciples, "32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." Jesus commanded us, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:36)

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - INSTITUTIONAL - 07/24/19 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"The times when black women have been successful in confronting and overcoming the structural and institutional sexism and racism that persists in our society have been when we are thoughtful and strategic about speaking up. It's when we've done what it takes to introduce and implement our ideas and our plans to make things better." - Marcia Fudge - U.S. Representative for Ohio's 11th Congressional District      On Sunday, I watched the fascinating yet disturbing HBO docu-drama, "Too Big To Fail." It's about the housing and banking economic crisis of 2008 and how it was 'solved' by the US Treasury Department, Banks, some   74th US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Fortune 50 Corporations and Investment Companies. Here's a Trailer  I believe every American should witness this. You will get a glimpse into the high-level greed, corruption and INSTITUTIONAL decision-making that happens behind closed doors, but affects us all.  INSTITUTIONAL means of, in, or like an INSTITUTION - an established official organization having an important role in the life of a country, such as a church, legislature, or in this case banks involved in financial trading. There are folks in rooms right now making decisions about which you are completely unaware that will positively or negatively affect your life, your family, your workplace, your City, State and Nation. They're not personal decisions; they're INSTITUTIONAL decisions that bring sweeping impact... like Flint's water.      The movie depicts a recent time where government and business leaders of the most influential companies and countries jockeyed and jostled for financial and political survival in a crisis that crippled many everyday Americans. Most of us never see or experience this kind of institutional power until it affects: gas prices like in the 70's, home mortgages in 2008-12, or our ever-looming doubt about Social Security and Medicare. When INSTITUTIONAL issues hit the pockets of middle class Caucasian Americans, they spur an uproar and groups like Occupy Wall Street rise up in protest.     As an African-American woman, I'm all too familiar with the affects of INSTITUTIONAL economic injustices, sexism, racism, and the like. There are laws in the US that still impede women's freedoms. Slavery was not just a racial issue, but an INSTITUTIONAL economic engine that upheld the wealth of the Southern States... no, of the entire Country for centuries. In the Netflix Documentaries "13th," 13th Trailer and "When They See Us," When They See Us Trailer, Director Ava DuVernay masterfully navigates the travesty of Mass Incarceration, a modern day slavery of economic terrorism and brutality. If you watch 13th, you'll see the INSTITUTIONAL decisions made by representatives, judges, and presidents from both Democratic and Republican parties that created and sustain preschool to prison pipelines and the money grab of prison privatization. Your jaw will drop when you see these documentaries. I hope you'll dare to watch them.          Into this INSTITUTIONAL landscape that primarily affects African-American young boys and men in Cincinnati strode local advocate Judge Tracie Hunter, a pastor whom I've known for 20+ years. Though marred by controversy, she is a strong woman of faith and a champion for black youth. We watched her fight voter suppression in 2010 to have discarded provisional ballots counted in order to prove that she indeed was the first African-American voted in to the Juvenile Court. She waited 2 years to assume that post. Judge Hunter introduced legislation that made it illegal to show minor's faces and names from Juvenile court in the news. She also introduced legislation to keep children from being handcuffed coming into the courtroom. She attempted to find alternatives for these children to escape the aforementioned prison pipeline. Judge Hunter challenged the status quo and has withstood scrutiny and pressure under which most of us would break. For 9 years she faced this opposition as 8 charges levied against her were dropped. The one that 'stuck' had jury members state not guilty was their verdict, but were denied their right to be polled openly in court. It's complicated and convoluted. I'm sure there is a lot we don't know - as there are always 3 sides to every story. She attempted to share her account of the facts, but it was withheld by the press.       I don't claim to have the answers, but I do know that African-Americans have seen INSTITUTIONAL and personal injustices in many forms in these 'United States.' There are good reasons why INSTITUTIONAL trust from our community is so low: Jim Crow, Redlining, Gentrification, Housing and Wage Discrimination, to name a few. We've endured as false accusers like Carolyn Bryant, the woman who lied and had Emmett Till brutally attacked and murdered, got away scott-free. We've watched Dylan Roof, who killed the Charleston 9 in cold blood at their church, live and be treated to hamburgers by local police. We've seen countless Caucasians who commit heinous crimes go free or have minimal sentences, while innocent Black boys with toy guns are shot dead, and grown men are choked out, or serve sentences for half their lives for crimes they didn't commit. So no matter what you believe about the current case, you can understand why we might be skeptical about our government's INSTITUTIONS. I hope Christ followers will take time to consider what might be layers of truth more deeply. Isaiah shared this about the times:      14 Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed. 15Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The LORD looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.16He was amazed to see that no one intervened to help the oppressed. So he himself stepped in to save them with his strong arm, and his justice sustained him.17He put on righteousness as his body armor and placed the helmet of salvation on his head. He clothed himself with a robe of vengeance and wrapped himself in a cloak of divine passion. 18He will repay his enemies for their evil deeds. His fury will fall on his foes. He will pay them back even to the ends of the earth.19In the west, people will respect the name of the LORD; in the east, they will glorify him. For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD." (Isaiah 59:14-19, NLT)

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - TRUSTEE- 07/10/19 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

"Every generation inherits a world it never made; and, as it does so, it automatically becomes the trustee of that world for those who come after. In due course, each generation makes its own accounting to its children." - Robert Kennedy    I've been teaching on what the Bible says about financial stability, freedom and stewardship - things I was not taught as a youth. The statistics are scary: 46% of Americans say they can't cover a $400 emergency. The richest 1% holds 40% of the Nation's wealth (Washington Post). 32% of Americans have only saved between $1 and $74,999 for retirement. 15% say they've saved nothing at all (MSN).  Only 41% of Americans say they live on a budget (US Bank). In Cincinnati where I live, the poverty level is 28.7%. One out of every 3.5 people lives in poverty. This is a dire situation! I don't know if many pastors address these things or find them relevant, but the Bible goes into a lot of detail on the importance of stewardship. God has entrusted us with this earth, with children, with work, with our time, with relationships, with His possessions, with finances, with gifts and callings, and with His mysteries.    TRUSTEES in a church are a group of folks, ostensibly business people with whom the direction of the financial and sometimes operational life of a church is entrusted. Trustees are also found outside of churches. A TRUSTEE is a person who is given control or powers of administration of property in trust with a legal obligation to administer it solely for the purposes specified. You and I are really trustees of what God owns. We are to steward these things as He specifies. In the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19:11-27, Jesus tells of a master who calls together his servants, gives them each ten minas (about 3 months wages) and tells them to 'occupy til I come,' which means do business, put this money work until I return. (13) This nobleman wanted to receive a return on his investment (ROI). The servant's response to this command was not unlike ours when God taps on our shoulders with commands about stewardship, soul winning, obedience or accountability, "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' (14)     The servants who took their trusteeship seriously and gained a return were given levels of responsibility over cities. The one who did not, was called wicked and unprofitable. His minas were taken from him and given to the most profitable person. This seems unfair and not something God would do, but Jesus had already told His disciples, "10Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11If, then, you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own? (Luke16:10-12)  Fortune Magazine reported that Millennials are the first generation to believe that they will grow up to be financially worse off than their parents. But the trust we have received is not solely financial. We also have a spiritual trust. What kind of TRUSTEE have you been? Will the next generation be better because you've properly managed what's been entrusted to you?

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SELF CONTROL- 07/30/19 Sadell Bradley New Life Covenant

   

"God is waiting eagerly to respond with new strength to each little act of self-control, small disciplines of prayer, feeble searching after Him, And His children shall be filled if they will only hunger and thirst after what He offers." - Richard Holloway - Writer  

 

16So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions...

19When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

 

22But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:16-23, NLT) 

   

SELF-CONTROL is the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations.  The ability to control yourself, particularly in trials, is a fruit or manifestation of God's Spirit living within you. The inability to do so, reflects that your flesh and it's appetites are really what's ruling your behavior. You've made your body, your passions, or your emotions an idol...a god that steers your decisions and directions. This is not just a natural propensity that runs in your family, nor do you get a pass because you're going through something really hard right now. If your flesh is producing ungodly behaviors (gluttony, lies, pornography, greed/spending, excessive anger...) God might be pushing His maturity button on the area of self-control. You might need to repent.    

 

That was pretty direct, but that's just how we need to deal with our lack of self-control. If we view our propensity to allow the cravings of our flesh to rule as just a nuisance, we will not ask God's Spirit to grace us with the strength we need to please Him fully in holiness. Sometimes my body is running the show. Paul said, "...I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:27) As hard as it is, we have to make our flesh obey God's Spirit within. "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:15) When you look at what's going in and out of your life gates (your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your thoughts) who or what is ruling? Is it God's Spirit? If not, self-control is what you need.