WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CANDOR - Sadell Bradley - 2/23/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD CANDOR 2/23/2022 "Candor is the key to collaborating effectively. Lack of candor leads to dysfunctional environments." - Edwin Catmull - American Scientist The Gathering is back in OTR! March 9, 2022, at 6 pm, we will come together as a community, share a free amazing meal, our stories, and God’s Word. Afterward, comedian Gibran Arnold of Hold Your Side Entertainment, perform. We hope to see you there! Please RSVP by March 6, 2022. RSVP HERE You might remember the game show To Tell the Truth. Celebrity panelists are challenged to guess which of three contestants is the person with a very unique story or profession. Two of the contestants are impostors. The celebrities ask a series of questions to each of the contestants. The impostors can lie or fabricate their story to cause the celebrities to believe they are the person in question. The other is contestant is the real person, and must answer all questions with CANDOR - the quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness. Walt Whitman once said, "All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candor," but candor is a difficult character quality to find these days. It's come to the point where it is difficult to trust the words of others, because words are no longer our bond. Sometimes it's even hard to trust ourselves too. If we know that we've not been honest, how can we expect candor from others? Did you know that two of the seven things described as detestable or an abomination to the LORD in Proverbs 6 are a lying tongue (vs.17) and a false witness that pours out lies? (vs. 19) Jesus in John 14:6 referred to Himself as the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life. He called the devil in the father of lies.(John 8:44) Integrity is important to God. Paul wrote that speaking the truth in love is a characteristic of maturity in Ephesians 4:15. Verse 25 says, "Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another." Truth is key to good relationships. Antonyms for candor are guardedness, evasiveness, and insincerity. That means that you can lie or be lied to without words. Candor means that even our expressions are frank: open, sincere, and undisguised. Are you offering candor to others? It's time to tell the truth.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - CHERISH - Sadell Bradley - 2/16/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD CHERISH 2/16/2022 "It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower is to bloom."  - Alice Walker - Author WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: PEOPLE FIRST TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org This past weekend Cincinnati celebrated their NFL team, The Cincinnati Bengals, going to the Super Bowl. Getting to a Super Bowl is no small feat. Four NFL teams have never been, twelve teams have never won the championship. For eight teams, it's been over twenty-five years since they've won. The community was electric with celebration. Folk's countenance was as bright as the fully-lit City landscape. Public schools were closed on Monday so families could watch the late-night game together. Some even invested time and money to travel to Los Angeles to view the game in person. Tickets were over $5,000 a piece. It was for many an event of a lifetime, something to be CHERISHED - held dear, protected and cared for with love, and kept with hope on one's mind. We cherish people. We cherish experiences, and we cherish time. It's hard to believe it's been almost two years since beloved actor Chadwick Boseman passed away at age 43 of colon cancer. The world watched in disbelief as the versatile thespian, known for his character portrayals of such great African-Americans as Jackie Robinson, James Brown, and Thurgood Marshall—and for embodying the Marvel Comic superhero The Black Panther, began to weaken before our eyes. People speculated as to what was wrong with Boseman, some ridiculed him. No one knew he had been fighting for his life and preparing for his death for 4 years. For Boseman, time was precious. He knew how long he had left and made seven movies while battling cancer. He said, "You have to cherish things in a different way when you know the clock is ticking." The clock is ticking for all of us. That's why the prayer of Psalm 90:12 is, "Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." None of us knows how long we, or those we love, will be with us. On Monday we celebrated Valentine's day, a time when we appreciate and nurture love. 1 Cor 13:13 says that faith, hope, and love are the three things that abide forever, but the greatest of these is love. If you've ever grieved the loss of someone you love by any means...you understand that love is to be cherished. R&B Legends Kool and the Gang's song "Cherish the Love," gives us a great admonition through its lyrics, "Let's cherish every moment we have been given, the time is passing by...Cherish the love we have, we should cherish the life we live, cherish the love, cherish the life, cherish the love."

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - OMISSION - Sadell Bradley- 2/9/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD OMISSION 2/9/2022 "Lies can be verbal or nonverbal, kindhearted or self-serving, devious or bald-faced; they can be lies of omission or lies of commission; they can be lies that undermine national security or lies that make a child feel better." Robin Marantz Henig -Writer WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: COME AS YOU ARE TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org February is a very interesting month. I could do without the snow storms, but I'm excited that the Cincinnati Bengals are going to Superbowl! WHO DEY! This time of year, my social media feed is filled with Black History Month articles, photos, and thoughts. I love to celebrate our history. Black history should be honored all year long. For instance, did you know that Duke University's Chapel, and 30 other buildings on its campus were designed by a Black architect named Julian F. Abele? (left) Abele designed buildings that he was not even allowed to enter, including the LORD's house. A disturbing development is going on in Texas—books are being proposed to be banned by renowned African-American authors from Toni Morrison's classic, "The Bluest Eye," and Walter Mosely's "47" to contemporary justice resources like Ibram X Kendi's "How to be an Anti-Racist." This month, I've watch many African-Americans offer post after post on the contributions of Black leaders to our society, hoping desperately that our immense worth and value will be acknowledged. Opponents to the truth intend not only to redact, or re-tell accounts of the horrific sin of America's disenfranchisement of people of color, but also seek to erase hundreds of years of our historical contributions to every facet of US society. This is a sad time in America...ultimately for all of us. Christians are familiar with the word OMISSION— the act of excluding or leaving out someone or something; or a failure to do something, especially something that one has a moral or legal obligation to do. We classify our sins as those of commission (things we intentionally do that defy God's Word) and those of omission (what we leave out that we should have done). The United States has both of these types of sin. Greek Philosopher Plutarch said,"The omission of good is no less reprehensible than the commission of evil."  In Isaiah 59, the prophet states that Israel's sin was so great that they were separated from God. He had hidden His face from them and would not hear. Their hands were defiled with blood, their lips had spoken lies, and their tongues muttered perversity. (Isaiah 59:1-3) Their sin had societal implications,"No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak likes. They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity." Israel cried out and looked for light but found only darkness, "Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey." (vs. 14-15) Sounds eerily familiar. The next verses say that the LORD saw it, and was displeased that there was no justice. He looked and wondered that there was no intercessor. That's also what we as African-Americans often wonder—who will stand for us? Isaiah offers hope in God. Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him...When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him." (vs. 15-19) The Good News is this—the LORD will fight for us. The LORD will redeem us. He will restore those who turn to and trust in Him.

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SPURIOUS - Sadell Bradley 2/2/2022

WEDNESDAY'S WORD SPURIOUS 2/2/2022   "We live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, political groups. I ask, in my writing, ‘What is real?’ Because unceasingly we are bombarded with pseudo realities manufactured by very sophisticated people using very sophisticated electronic mechanisms."―Philip K. Dick-Science Fiction Writer WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY GOOD CHURCH: EMPATHY TONIGHT 7:00 pm EST LIVE ON @warehouseOTR on Facebook or YouTube thewarehousechurch.org SPURIOUS means not being what it purports to be; false or fake: counterfeit. It means apparently, but not actually valid. Counterfeiters are a lot more sophisticated now than the photo to your left! Counterfeit means made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud; a forgery. Bank tellers were trained to identify counterfeit bills by handling hundreds of real bills. Their hands would easily detect spurious notes. Lies nowadays are so subtle and layered, they are almost undetectable. Wouldn't it be great if we had an internal lie-detector to help us discern the bogus from the real? Glad we have the Word and the Spirit! In John 8, Jesus forgives and releases an adulterous woman after none of her accusers was qualified to inflict a punishment of death by stoning because they had all also sinned themselves. Jesus then testified about Himself, revealing He was the light of the world, God was His Father, and that He would be crucified for the sins of humankind. Some believed in Him, but others disputed His words and His identity. "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) We cling to false or old views from the past because they're familiar. These Jews resisted the Truth that their Messiah had come, by holding on to their historical connection to Abraham. Jesus stuns them when he says, "Before Abraham was, I AM," (vs.58) showing both His infinite wisdom and self-existence. The Truth was right before them, but they chose a lesser counterfeit. (We do that too.) He excoriates them in verses 39-44, “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. As it is, you are looking for a way to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.” “We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Sometimes we object, believing we are on the LORD's side, not realizing we're really batting for the other team. 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own; God sent me. 43Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Every day we have the opportunity to side with Truth over lies, with Jesus or the devil - diabolos- the one who slanders, falsely accuses, unjustly criticizes, condemns, severs relationships, and makes charges that tear down and destroy—like they'd done to this woman. With our words we can kill or we can save—which will you do?