WEDNESDAY'S WORD - PRESCIENCE - Sadell Bradley -4/29/2020

"The prescience of the founding fathers continues to astonish me. They were freedom fighters. They made America. They gave us this magical country. They were also slave owners - which is confusing to their legacy. How could such brilliant men have only secured freedom for themselves, but not their wives or their slaves?" - Andy Dunn - American Businessman   PRESCIENCE (pronounced 'preSHeans) is the fact of knowing something before it takes place or exists; foreknowledge. Some people would pronounce it 'pre-science' which is actually a good way to think about this word. Science is the intellectual and practical activity that studies, observes, and experiments with the structure or behavior of someone or something that exists. Prescience is the ability to know about something BEFORE it exists and can be studied. It is a divine element found in the spiritual gift of prophecy.     Romans 8:28 is a very familiar passage of Scripture. Before that verse, Paul speaks about our adoption as sons and daughters of God the Father. He discusses the fact that the earth is groaning and experiencing labor pains waiting for the revealing of the Sons of God. Did you know that world is waiting for us to show up? Though we experience suffering in the present; as we obediently walk in the ways of God and represent Christ in the earth, we can look forward to a future in Heaven with unspeakable glory. Paul reassures us that even when we're weak, in pain, or frustrated with life, the Holy Spirit will compensate for our weakness and intercede for us with groans that are too deep for words. We may not know what to pray, but He searches what's in our hearts. He knows the mind of the Father and will pray and make moves for us according to the will of God.        28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.      Prescience, this idea of God 'knowing us beforehand,' is best explained by the prophet's call in Jeremiah 1:5. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations"  God's foreknowledge applies both to people and to situations. Have you experienced the phenomenon of knowing what someone will do or say without interfering with their right or choice to do or say it, or knowing that something will take place  without meddling in the inevitable train of events? I have. Theologian Gleason Archer describes foreknowledge as, "God pre-knowing all choices - and doing so without predetermining    (requiring) them."  It is comforting to know that I am a person whom God knew beforehand, in a situation that God knew about beforehand. The circumstance might not feel good right now, but He is working everything together for my good because He loves me!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - BAND-AID -Sadell Bradley - 04/22/2020

   

"Whether it's mending a failing company, fighting corruption, tackling disease, or rebuilding a marriage, the hardest problems defy just add-water remedies. Indeed, slapping on a Band-Aid when surgery is needed usually just makes things worse." -Carl Honore - Canadian Journalist

 

I'm a solution-oriented person. I don't like to put Band-Aids on heart surgery. That just leaves space for greater problems to resurface. Are we willing to see beyond the superficial and get to the root of knotty problems and address them the hard way? Sometimes counseling is necessary when we're blocked and can't go deep enough or haven't had sufficient life experience to come to peace with our past or handle our present. Most of us didn't grow up learning how to handle finances. It's hard to go cold turkey on spending or incorporate the discipline necessary to avoid debt, or save enough for emergencies. We haven't learned how to do the hard work now to not suffer consequences later. Yes, as a pastor, I want to help people; to give them enough food for days/weeks. Some don't comprehend that I really want to offer folks a way out of negative cycles, if people are willing to take it. That's why our approaches address root causes and not just symptoms.    

 

A Band-Aid is an adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the center, used to cover minor wounds. Figuratively, it's a makeshift or temporary solution like the economic ones we're experiencing now. It seems obvious that a $1200 stimulus check that might come within 3 months, doesn't solve anything for a person who has been laid off and whose rent or mortgage due is $1200 per month. The census tells us that 90% of small businesses in America are single owner, mom and pop establishments that make just $50k-60k per year and don't employ anyone. So giving millions of dollars to moguls whose businesses make 100's of millions and have 50-500 employees but not to these lifestyle business owners, puts a lot of folks into immediate crisis.  40% of Americans don't have $400 for an emergency. They couldn't stockpile extra groceries if they wanted to unless they borrow for them. People were already living paycheck to paycheck. So the problem is much deeper than toilet paper handouts and grocery store gift-card giveaways. There are predictions of a great recession, homes lost, and more people unemployed and displaced.   

 

I've been asking God for prophetic answers like He gave Joseph to store grain when famine was coming to Egypt (Gen. 41). These solutions ensured that the nation he was leading and his family were secure. The best land was set aside for Israel in Goshen, which means to draw near, to cultivate. God is drawing us for preparation: to break up the soil of our hearts, and give us new territory to develop. In this season, we'll have to garner favor and new friendships and apply ourselves to improve in our areas of weakness. I believe there is a place of safety for Christ-followers as we put off presumption, and repent, seek the LORD, hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and obey the Word of God."We can make our own plans, but the LORD gives the right answer." (Prov. 16:1)

 

The next waves of the effects of this pandemic, as we begin to re-enter society, are going to be in areas like personal finance/economics, devastated relationships, educational disparities, and mental-health (grief, depression, PTSD, anxiety, fear). Some will try to seize this moment of crisis and use it for their own gain. The virus might surge again. The recovery may  take years for some. We'll need wisdom, patience, and a plan. In cities across the Nation, pastoral leaders will not just be focused on their churches, but their Cities. Like Jeremiah, we'll, "seek the peace (prosperity/welfare) of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace." (Jer. 29:7) Let's pray for more than Band-Aids; let's ask God for solutions.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - OVERAWED - 4/15/2020 -Sadell Bradley

"We are sometimes so overawed by flamboyance and machismo that we forget to ask ourselves how we treat others." -Vikrant Massey - Indian Actor   Being in quarantine leaves a lot of time for prayer and self-reflection. Having to move your church's launch team from a planned Easter Sunday opening in a new facility to online platforms within a matter of days is daunting. We have less of everything: time, planning, personnel, money and experience. How we can offer a quality worship experience?  I HATE video and the LORD was also asking me to sing. Though I love to sing, it has always had emotional ups and downs when I have to do it publicly, as I'm definitely not the best at it. As I was praying, the Holy Spirit spoke, "You cannot be intimidated."     I've been intimidated and bullied...a lot. I've not had much affirmation. A year before my mother died, she heard my aunt give me a compliment and reflected back to me that she, at 90, realized she hadn't really complimented me. It was both a sting and relieving, and made her saying, "You are a good kid," as she was declining, all the more valuable. The Holy Spirit was speaking beyond church changes or singing. These were root issues.    As an African-American woman, it's important not to be intimidated in rooms. In my 20's four men from different generations called me intimidating for four different reasons: because of my education, my looks, my spirituality, and my boldness to speak up without fear. I had to realize that because they perceived me as a strong woman, they were intimidated...even if I was not intimidating. I looked up the definition of intimidated and it said to frighten or OVERAWE someone. I'd never heard the word OVERAWE - to restrain or subdue by awe (reverential respect mixed fear or wonder); to impress someone so much that they become silent or inhibited.     I realized I have often been intimidated and overawed. I've been restrained and subdued, silenced and inhibited. I used to call it the 'Taming of the Shrew' syndrome (Shakespeare). One definition of shrew is an 'aggressively assertive woman.' Because I've experienced so much backlash just for being... I've attempted to counter it by becoming invisible and shying away from spotlights. I've never understood why I've always been fought while standing still. I've also made unhealthy comparisons to others, perceiving their abilities/resources as so much better and more worthy than my own...which has brought me to silence. It's a stunning revelation.   The obvious Biblical reference is how the spies of the children of Israel went into the land of promise and brought back a bad report. They said their enemies were huge and their cities were strong and fortified, "We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!" (Numbers 13:33) The way they assessed their situation, their adversaries and their own view of themselves, brought the people to tears. They lost heart because of the intimidation and overawe of their leaders. These overawed spies, Moses, and most of the Israelites did not enter into what God had promised a result. That's why the Holy Spirit is saying, "You cannot be intimidated," or overawed."

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SANITY - Sadell Bradley 04/08/2020

"I maintain my sanity by keeping my distance." -Luis Miguel -Mexican Musician   After several weeks of quarantine and negative news and social media, even the most stable of us are checking our SANITY - sound mental health; the ability to think and behave in a normal and rational manner. For some, weeks in the house with your family might seem to be driving you INSANE - a state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, or social interaction; a state of extreme annoyance or distraction. We're even seeing insane actions and policies that are extremely foolish, irrational and illogical.   Insanity comes from anxiety, while sanity corresponds with the absence of fear. In 1 Samuel 21, David is fleeing from his father-in-law Saul, who is trying to kill him. He runs to Ahimelech the priest and asks for bread. He gives Him the The Bread of God's Presence out of the Tabernacle. He also gives him the sword of Goliath, the Philistine whom David defeated as a young man. David then flees to the city of Gad and encounters king Achish and his officers who are threatened by David because of his notable exploits in war. The officers said, "Isn't this the one about whom the people danced and sang, "Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed ten thousands?" (vs.11) David, afraid of what king Achish might do, pretended to be insane and the king let him go. It's crazy when the person or thing you're afraid of is really afraid of you. You don't realize it, so in your own fear, you act out of character.        Paul told his protege Timothy to stir up the gift of God within him because God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:6-7) He reminded Timothy of the faith that was in him that had been passed to him by his mother and grandmother, and of his commission by the laying on of hands. Paul said it's not time to shrink back! Fan into flame and pursue what God has called you to do. Timidity and cowardice do not come from our LORD. God has given us the spirit of love, a dynamite-like  ability to accomplish His purposes, and SANITY - a sound mind, good mental health, self-discipline, self-control, and good judgment.      Below is a recent interview I did with therapist Pastor Cindy Robertson, MSW, LISW entitled, Keeping Your Mind - preserving your mental health during this crisis. Please view and share with anyone who might need practical ways to decrease stress, foster better relationships with family while being confined, or handle feelings of isolation, anxiety or grief. Blessings to you all!          Keeping Your Mind with Pastor Cindy Robertson, MSW, LISW