WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ETERNAL - 08816- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

With chaos in the earth and personal tragedies and triumphs of all kinds happening close to home; I've contemplated the temporal vs. the eternal - what's important vs. what is passing away. For Christians, this world is not our home. We believe because we've accepted Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, we have been given the gift of everlasting life and eternity in Heaven and not Hell, the place of eternal torment. The hymn reminds us, "Time is filled with swift transition. Naught of earth unmoved can stand. Build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God's unchanging hand. Trust in Him who will not leave you, whatsoever years may bring. If by earthly friends forsaken, still more closely to Him cling. Covet not this world's vain riches, that so rapidly decay. Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures. They will never pass away. Hold to his hand, God's unchanging hand." Profound truths.

ETERNAL means lasting or existing forever; without end; essential unchanging; of or relating to eternity - infinite or unending time; theologically, endless life after death. The hymn's author is Jennie B. Wilson. Her father died when she was an infant. At the age of four she was attacked with a spinal deformity that rendered her confined to a wheel-chair and bed until her death at age 51. This condition also allowed her to focus on music: writing 2,200 poems and hymns from her home - none of which included a hint of sadness. A God-ward and eternally focused perspective. Sometimes we just have annoyances and frustrations...not problems.

In Mark 10:17-31, a rich man approaches Jesus with this question, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus replies confirming his Deity, "Why are you calling me good? There is no one good but God." The man says he's observed the Commandments from his youth. "Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great possessions.  Jesus looked around and said to his disciples "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"  The disciples were astonished, if the rich can't get in, "Who then can be saved?" Isn't that like us? If we were God, only the richest, best and brightest would get our eternal graces. Jesus turns that on it's head, it's almost impossible for a wealthy person to inherit eternal life...but with God even that's possible!  Sometimes Jesus' love calls us to divest or exchange our possessions, positions, and popularity for His LIFE.

Peter, wanting to make sure he got in those pearly gates, reminds Jesus that the disciples have literally left their businesses and families, "We have left everything to follow You."  “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields-along with persecutions-and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”  Life choices. Ambitions. Success. Striving. The 'American Dream.' Are our hopes, aspirations and pursuits focused on the present or the eternal? Do we want to be first now and last in eternity? or vice versa?

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SAFE - Sadell Bradley 08/03/16 New Life Covenant Cincinnati

I recently joined the fabulous team at MORTAR, an exciting non-profit in our City dedicated to building disenfranchised communities through entrepreneurship. Last night MORTAR Indigo graduated a class of women entrepreneurs. These ladies are NOT playing it SAFE.  Safe means protected from or not exposed to danger or risk; cautious and unenterprising - not having or showing initiative or entrepreneurial ability. You can't play it safe and be an entrepreneur.  As I listened to these women's stories, passion, and willingness to lay everything down to achieve their goals; I was inspired.  Without guarantee of outcome, they're fighting through adverse circumstances, internal discomfort, and the words of nay-sayers to grab the future by the horns and do something some thought they never could. Congratulations Indigo! journey's blessings.


Shirley Hufstedler the first U.S. Secretary of Education, said, "If you play it safe in life you've decided that you don't want to grow anymore." T.S. Eliot added,"Only those who will risk going too far will possibly find out how far one can go." Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg affirms, "The biggest risk is not taking any risk...In a world that's changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks."  Take a look at the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 it's filled with risks of belief, location, reputation, relationship and even potential loss of life.

2 Kings 7 has an interesting account about taking risks. Elisha prophesies an end to a famine. The king's assistant doesn't believe him.  Elisha says, "It will happen. You'll see it, but you won't partake of it." (vs. 2) Some lepers outside the enemy Aramean camp decide whether they want to: 1) stay put, 2) risk going in to be captured, or 3) die in the famine:

"“Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.” (vs. 3-4, NLT)

These men moved out of paralysis to take a risk for the possibility of a better future, mercy and food from the enemy's camp. They didn't know God had fought for them! He'd already run their enemy off in a panic. The lepers and eventually the Israelite army plundered the Arameans. The people rushed out with their goods, and trampled the king's officer under their feet. Are YOU ready to stop playing it safe and take a risk for your life? God has already been where you're headed. Selah.






 

SUNDAY WORSHIP 11:00 AM
The Great RoomSUNDAY CLASSES 9:30 AM
Youth Room

225 Wyoming Ave

      Cincinnati OH 45215

(Presbyterian Church of Wyoming)

513-212-1131

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SUSTAIN - Sadell Bradley - 07/27/16 -New Life Covenant Cincinnati

The word SUSTAIN has several meanings: to strengthen or support physically or mentally; to cause to continue or be prolonged for an extended period or without interruption; to bear the weight of without breaking or falling; to undergo or suffer something unpleasant, especially an injury; to uphold, affirm or confirm the justice or validity of. A sustain in music is an effect on a keyboard whereby a note is held long after the key is released through the touching of a pedal. When the sustain pedal breaks, it leaves the sound and atmosphere abrupt and disjointed, versus flowing, calm and filling. Have you ever prayed that the Lord would sustain you through a season of stress or strain? Once we release ourselves to Him, He can keep us going in His strength, not ours!

David, was in the throws of anxiety because Ahitophel his close counselor, deserted him when his son Absalom attempted a coup on his throne. At the end of a long soliloquy expressing his anguish, David sings, "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." In times of great suffering and distress, He is our vindicator, and will bring about justice on our behalf. David knew that because it had happened for his ancestors, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz.

Naomi thought that her life was over after her husband and sons died. She was so distraught she asked everyone to start calling her Mara, which means bitter. Life had dealt her a bad hand. She thought there was no way she was going to recover. God had another idea in mind. He would use her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth, and a near-kinsman Boaz to redeem a hopeless situation and restore not only her, but their whole family tree. 

"The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left
you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth." (Ruth 4:14-15)  Isaiah reiterates this truth to Israel, "Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." (Isaiah 46:4)

Weary? Out of gas? In distress? Ask the Lord to sustain you...and He will.

SUNDAY WORSHIP 11:00 AM
The Great RoomSUNDAY CLASSES 9:30 AM
Youth Room

225 Wyoming Ave

      Cincinnati OH 45215

(Presbyterian Church of Wyoming)

513-212-1131

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - WHITEWASH - Sadell Bradley - 07/20/16 New Life Covenant Cincinnati

A WHITEWASH is a solution of lime and water or of whiting, size and water used for painting walls to make them white.  Figuratively, whitewashing is a deliberate concealment of someone's mistakes or faults in order to clear their name. My church upbringing has been in African-American congregations. For the last decade or so, God has called me to multi-ethnic situations, which is great but has its positives and negatives. One thing that disturbs me is when churches are multi-ethnic (visually from different groups), but not multi-cultural in expression. They mostly reflect the style, social mores, and practices of the dominant culture. Maybe this is because most multi-ethnic churches are led by Caucasian men, or that we in the US have implicit bias. Still, it's like we're saying, "We want this smorgasbord to look great, but let's have all the food taste like cheeseburgers." As African-American leaders of a multi-ethnic church, what has to be yielded to truly reflect multi-culturalism is challenging, and sadly the culture that suffers most is ours.  

I read an interesting pop culture article on Hollywood whitewashing. "It's a kind of casting where film studios have placed white actors in lead roles under the assumption that the majority of Americans would rather see a white face than a non-white one-despite what the role calls for." (e.g. Jake Gyllenhaal playing a Persian, John Wayne playing Genghis Khan, or Liz Taylor playing Cleopatra) The author, Tanya Ghahremani goes on to say, "The major problem with race-bending and whitewashing-aside from, you know, it being deeply offensive-is that it takes roles from actors who actually are of that ethnicity/race. In turn, they get stuck with minor roles that only serve to supplement the story of the white lead, or with stereotyped roles. For instance: If you're Middle Eastern, you'll be cast as a terrorist." I am concerned that the same thing is happening in our churches. Are those of color an integral part, or are we just supplementing the white lead? Is it possible that a particular song should be sung or statement made by a person of color?

There is great debate over what the multi-national and tribal expression of the Church Like Heaven in Revelation 7:9 actually looks like today: 

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

The beauty of cultural identity was somehow important enough for John to mention in this context.  Multi-ethnicity should not turn into mono-ethnicity. If a particular culture must dominate over all others no matter the side, then the higher question is... Is Jesus really playing the lead role?

   

 

SUNDAY WORSHIP 11:00 AM
The Great RoomSUNDAY CLASSES 9:30 AM
Youth Room

225 Wyoming Ave

      Cincinnati OH 45215

(Presbyterian Church of Wyoming)

513-212-1131

 

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - MONOLITHIC - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

A MONOLITH is a large single upright block of stone, especially one shaped into or serving as a monument or pillar. Figuratively, it is a large and impersonal political, corporate or social structure regarded as intractably indivisible and uniform. Webster defines MONOLITHIC as: constituting a massive undifferentiated and often rigid whole <a monolithic society; exhibiting or characterized by often rigidly fixed uniformity<monolithic party unity. In holding racial reconciliation conversations, I have made it a point to state that:

The African-American community is NOT a monolith. I nor anyone can speak on behalf of ALL Black people. No one asks a Caucasian person, "What do all white people think about..." There are too many individuals, unique feelings, experiences and thoughts. This freedom of personal expression is one of the things we've fought for. It has taken many voices to get there: Dubois AND Washington; MLK AND Malcolm X; Carson AND Sharpton; Condoleeza AND Oprah, etc. Surely Jackie Robinson, Angela Davis, the Black Panthers, Ali, Beyonce and Spike Lee have all moved the needle. Racism as an issue is so dire that leaders on platforms, legal officers, freedom riders, boycotters, analysts, artists, martyrs and quiet dissenters are all needed to expel its injustice. 

 

Walter Lippman, an American writer, reporter and political commentator, coined the word 'stereotype' -a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person. Sweeping generalizations of people often disagree with God's truth. In Acts 10, the Apostle Peter had been indoctrinated that certain foods and all Gentile people were unclean and to be avoided. He felt justified in his stance until it was challenged by the Lord,

"Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." (vs. 15) Peter had to be told 3 times that his conditioning was not God's truth. He then had to come into community with the very people he was devoted to shunning, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean." (vs. 28)  It wasn't just Peter, all the Jews believed this. Christ's cause to make One New Humanity, (Eph. 2) was higher than Peter's ideologies and self-interest. Peter had to accept and unify with Cornelius and the other Gentiles who were vastly different in background and upbringing than he. UNITY is not the same as UNIFORMITY. If I have to lose the core of who I am to join with you, to be relevant and heard, that's not unity or harmony.   

 

This monolithic concept is also an issue with class, gender and even Christianity.  All poor, middle class or wealthy people don't think the same, nor do all women or all Christian leaders. In fact, we address issues of injustice and disenfranchisement very differently, and often do not agree on methods or statements. However, Christ followers have the opportunity/responsibility to agree on Jesus Christ as the Answer to all the 'ism's' root cause - SIN and evil. He is the Way to reconcile with God and heal divisions. (2 Cor 5)

According to Wikipedia,
 a monolithic church or a rock -hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such churches are usually hewn or cut into the ground or into the side of a mountain. Reminds me of Isaiah's admonition, "Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance--all who seek the LORD! Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined."  (Isa. 51:1) The uniform New Testament revelation we all DO have is... that ROCK is JESUS!

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD ON FRIDAY - ATROCITIES - 07/08/16 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES do not diminish in the face of ATROCITIES - extremely cruel acts, typically involving physical violence or injury- in fact, they intensify.  The injustices and reprehensible behavior we have seen in the senseless executions of unarmed African-American men, AND in retaliation against innocent police have us all in shock, anger, disbelief and grief. However, holding the truths we believe, even at potential loss of life is what Christ followers around the world have exemplified for centuries. They believe steadfastly that Jesus is enough, and are armed with these truths:

1. This world is not our home, we are temporary residents and foreigners who represent a Heavenly Kingdom, and are held to a code of conduct. (1 Peter 2:11-12) We also have inside information. Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, nations/ethnic groups rising against each other, and darkness covering the earth, are all signs of the end times. (Matt. 24:7-14; Isa. 60:1-3) Our job is to preach the Good News about Jesus to the world, (Mark 16:15) and to wear our identifying mark: love for each other. (John 13:34-35) We have a credibility issue here, because we lack the UNITY that Jesus prayed for (John 17:20-23), and Sunday at 11AM is the most segregated hour in the US. Our light on the racism topic is sadly not shining as brightly as it could (Mat 5:14-16)
2. OUR STRUGGLE, the war we're really waging is NOT with PEOPLE, but with EVIL: the powers, principalities and rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph. 6: 12-18)  We're fighting ideologies, arguments, attitudes, philosophies, and spirits. One such is the spirit of fear, terror or timidity, which God did NOT give us. (2 Tim 1:7)  Fear can only be cast out by mature, perfected love (1John 4:18), not by protests, retaliations or even social media posts. Christ followers use spiritual weaponry to combat what's going on in this time, appropriately called the 'evil day.' We stand, watch and pray to model Christ's way of living. If our enemies are hungry or thirsty, we are to help them and not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. (Rom. 12:20-21) Those are statutes of the Kingdom of God.
3. Jesus is our example. He loved us in our sinful condition. (Rom 5:8) We hated Him, rejected and disavowed His worth and value. (Isa 53:3) He responded not only by forgiving and accepting us, but by healing our diseases, delivering us from the power of darkness, loving our children and meeting our needs, and He taught us what to do in times like these:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matt. 5:43-45) Jesus gives us a counter-cultural, no vengeance, yet winning strategy.

 

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:32-36) I can hear the push back on this as I'm writing...but I didn't say it...

I am an African-American woman with a husband, a son and two grandsons whose lives DEFINITELY matter to me! I also have friends whom I love in law enforcement, government and the military. I pray for their protection, and my emotions have swung the pendulum.  Historically, I've marched and protested injustice more than the average person. I've also had more racial reconciliation discussions than most. When I devoted my life to Christ and was baptized, I began a NEW LIFE and immersed myself in Kingdom Culture.  My first allegiance and priority (even over ethnicity, class or gender) is following Christ. (Gal. 3:28) In pressure-filled times like these, I might not like what the LORD directs me to do in His Word. Sometimes I rebel, or I'm hesitant to obey, but God's ways are ALWAYS right. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:18)

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - DISCARD - 07/06/16- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

DISCARD means to reject and get rid of something no longer useful or desirable; to throw something away because it is useless or unwanted. A Brazilian baby was buried alive in eight inches of soil by his distraught mother in 2006. Neighbors retrieved him with his placenta when a dog started digging around. They took him to the hospital where he was fed, bathed and placed in an orphanage. They said he fared remarkably well, despite being discarded. In my search, there were other more graphic images of babies covered with feces from being left in toilets, or dead in swaddling clothes. Many more children are rejected and abandoned yearly in the US and around the world in circumstances not quite so dire. I happen to have been one of them, and occasionally I feel some residue. The origin of discard is 'rejecting a playing card.'  In bridge, whist, spades or similar games, a card is 'thrown off' which is neither of the suit led nor a trump and thus has no value. I've found solace in Psalm 27:10 "My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in." (MSG) My valueless card has great worth to God!

You don't have be an orphan to have felt discarded. This sense of being cast aside or thrown away can happen when scorned by a lover, in illness, when dismissed from a job, or as we age. In my prayer time, the Lord revealed some internal issues He wanted to heal that I wasn't aware of. It's not just due to not knowing my biological family, but other painful, rejecting incidences over the years that have caused me to withdraw. I offered excuse...REASONS, "I'm just glad to be anywhere!" "I don't think of myself too much." "I'm a simple, child-like person." "Trying to stay under the radar," undetectable, unnoticed and out of trouble. He asked, "How do you feel about having been discarded?" That was a loaded question! and it stung.

Isaiah writes prophetically of Jesus, "He was despised and rejected--a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised and we did not care." (Isa. 53:3, NLT) How do I feel? On occasion I'll feel a gut-wrenching knot, an indescribable emptiness, grief or vacancy.  I know it's not Christian cache to admit it nowadays, but experiences like these allow us in part to know Christ and experience the fellowship of His sufferings. (Phil 3:10) We get what it's like to be betrayed, to no longer fit in, to lose relationships and feel great sorrow. It turns our stony-self-centered hearts into hearts of flesh. We feel compassion because we've been there. We can run toward trouble. Being discarded is great fertilizer for ministry. It brings authenticity and a genuineness that results in a more credible witness. How do I feel about being discarded? I feel more real. I'm doing remarkably well despite it, and I'm grateful!