WEDNESDAY'S WORD - IMPUDENCE- Sadell Bradley 9/28/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD IMPUDENCE 9/28/2022 “There are seasons in every country where noise and impudence pass current for worth; and in popular commotions especially, the clamors of interested and factious men are often mistaken for patriotism.”—Alexander Hamilton  TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  FIT FOR THE KING @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube     Last night, we witnessed Lin Manuel's masterpiece, Hamilton. In 2016, the musical received a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations and won 11 awards, including Best Musical. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Hamilton recounts the story of a brilliant West-Indian orphan immigrant whose intellect, written and spoken eloquence, politicking, and bravery caused him to rise to become one of the founding fathers of this Nation. Alexander Hamilton was an interpreter of the U.S. Constitution. He founded the nation's financial system—serving as our first Secretary of the Treasury. He also founded the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. The musical's backdrops are the Revolutionary war and the Nation's founding. They reveal a factious, conflicting, political people who were not only trying to free themselves from the rule of the British, but were attempting to define true patriotism (sounds familiar). Hamilton breaks down race barriers by featuring people of color...but many founding fathers held slaves and were mainly interested in their own freedom. Cognitive dissonance is when your words and actions are contradictory, but you're not aware of it.  IMPUDENCE means not showing due respect for another person; marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others. Sadly, this word has described the reputation of US citizens across the world. But our countrymen are not the only impudent people in history. Scripture describes Israel this way as God talks to His prophet Ezekiel. "So I am sending you to those who are impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says:’ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.' (Eze. 2:4-5, NASB)  We're heading to Midterm elections and there will likely be impudence in the name of patriotism from both sides the aisle. I'm praying that prophetic Kingdom citizens will lift up their voices and speak the whole counsel of God...which is not entirely found in either party. To attempt to explore the nuances of complicated situations is more difficult than painting broad brushes, but we have been given God's grace to do so. It will be well worth it for us not to be impudent, but to listen first, discern, and if necessary lovingly disagree.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - PURGE- Sadell Bradley 09/21/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD PURGE 9/21/2022 “Up until the Depression, recession had a moral character. It was supposed to purge the body economic of the greed and excess that attends a business expansion.”—James Buchan - British Novelist TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  SERIES: OUT OF THIS WORLD LIGHT OF THE WORLD @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube     Some of you may have heard of the horror film series The Purge which debuted in 2013. I've never seen them. The films present a seemingly normal, crime-free America in the near-future. However, the country is a dystopia —an imagined society with great suffering that is totalitarian (has a dictator), or is post-apocalyptic (after a nuclear war or great tragedy). The US in these movies celebrates an annual national holiday known as The Purge," a day in which all crime, including murder, becomes decriminalized for a 12-hour period. To PURGE means to rid or free someone or something of an unwanted quality, condition, or feeling. We hear the word purge describing folks with body dysmorphia or bulimia who binge then purge themselves of food, or businesses that purge records for security purposes. The purging of criminal activity seems to be the movie's point. King David, after murdering his loyal soldier Uriah and sleeping with his wife Bathsheba, had remorse over his greed, violent plotting, and selfishness. He cried out to God for forgiveness, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7) Hyssop was a bitter mint used for medicinal purposes and for spiritual cleansing and purification. David not only wanted to rid himself of his iniquity, transgression, and sin, but of his bloodguilt and its most dire consequence—separation from God. He pleaded, "Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me." (vs.) David wanted to be purged of evil and restored to God's presence and the joy of His salvation.   Since the pandemic we've experienced record inflation, some believe it's led by corporate greed and mortgage rates. Financial gurus say that a recession—a period of economic decline during which trade and industrial activity is reduced, is necessary to stave off inflation, so the topical quote atop this blog warrants reflection. If a recession is supposed to hold moral character such that it is purposed to purge us of greed and excess... I wonder if it's working? I certainly hope so. In the 17th century the definition of recession was a temporary suspension of work or activity. That sounds like an economic Sabbath, a time of financial rest. What would that rest look like in your home, church, or business? We could use some holy purging.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD- COUNSELOR - Sadell Bradley - 9/14/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD COUNSELOR 9/14/2022 “Wise kings generally have wise counselors; and he must be a wise man himself who is capable of distinguishing one. ”—Diogenes TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  SERIES: OUT OF THIS WORLD The Spirit of This World @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube  RSVP HERE      In the military, in governments, and on Wolf Blitzer's CNN TV show—there is something called The Situation Room. In the White House it is known as the John F. Kennedy Conference room in the West Wing. This is where the President and his chief advisors monitor and deal with crises at home (domestic) and abroad (foreign). It is a secure location with advanced level communications that help the leader maintain command and control of US forces around the world. The mission of the Situation Room is to provide current intelligence, and to handle sensitive and classified information. Each day the President is given a Morning Book and goes through a Daily Brief with advisors. Watch Teams continually work to produce morning and evening reports. The US leader is not meant to act or decide alone...they have COUNSELORS - persons who are trained to give guidance or advice on specified subjects. Don't you wish you had a bunch of counselors to research all of the angles of a situation before you had to decide? I do.   Proverbs 11:14 AMP tells us, "Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm], but in the abundance of wise and godly counselors there is victory." Wisdom says triumph is more easily secured when we seek out, listen to, and heed the advice of good counselors. This is true of godly and discerning therapists, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, pastors, teachers, tutors, mentors, doctors, consultants, analysts, and friends. A wise person has counselors in almost every area to ensure they have a successful life. Because not only do you not know it ALL..you don't know MOST of it. "Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they are established and succeed." (Proverbs 15:22, AMP)  Maybe you're at an impasse in a 'situation.' Perhaps it's a knotty problem, an irreconcilable difference, or a matter of spiritual warfare. There are times when your prayer closet becomes a "Situation Room" and you hear from Jesus Christ, the 'Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6) through the Holy Spirit, or via messages from His angelic hosts. At other times God places human counselors, even a multitude of them, in your path. They can bless you with the kind of godly intelligence that will guide you out of difficulties safely and victoriously—if you choose to follow their counsel.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RECALIBRATE - Sadell Bradley 09/07/2022

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD RECALIBRATE 9/7/2022 “Once we reach a certain age, we tend to recalibrate our expectations. We expect less of the world once we've seen it up close.”— Marianne Williamson- American Author TONIGHT 7 PM WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY  SERIES: OUT OF THIS WORLD WORLDLY ATTACHMENT @warehouseOTR  Facebook, Youtube  RSVP HERE      CALIBRATE a mechanical term that means to correlate the readings of an instrument with those of a standard in order to check the instrument's accuracy; to carefully assess, set, or adjust taking external factors into account. Recalibrating is to reassess your readings and reset to a new standard.    Life changes and stages call for recalibration. What we could expect and what is expected of us differs as we move from childhood, through teenage years, into adulthood. Transitioning from singleness to marriage requires recalibration, as does adding children. Each job, promotion, or assignment we take on requires resetting and often forgetting what occurred in our previous place of employ. Moving, traveling, driving, retiring, and Covid 19 all require recalibrating. We have to recalibrate—to make adjustments and reset our expectations, behaviors, responses, and standards often— or we will lose our minds. How is it that the same quarter mile we used to run in under a minute now takes us 3 minutes? How do we change our expectations of our bodies when they've gained between .6 and 1.7 lbs each year since we were 30 years old? When external factors change especially in normal ways don't beat yourself up...just recalibrate.  "Recalibration of the mind means clearing our perceptions and recovering our capacity for pure observation." - Ilchi Lee, Brain Science guru This clearing entails both forgetting and being STILL without judging or acting. Isaiah 43:18-19 NLT says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."  We are not able to simultaneously hold onto the past and fully grasp the present. Our capacity for pure observation requires us being fully available to what is going on right now and not consumed with either the past or the future. Paul said in Phil 3:10 that the one thing he had apprehended or taken hold of was the ability to forget the past and reach for what was ahead. Jesus told His disciples."...don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." (Matt. 6:24, NLT) Things might be different for you now than they were in yesteryears. Perhaps your clothes no longer fit in size or style, or the ways in which you used to act, respond, or address life's situations is no longer appropriate for your age, stage or stature in life. If things are not adding up, maybe new things are required —recalibrate!