WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RESIDUE - 04/27/16 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

 

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RESIDUE - is a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken, or used.  Ever try to get the price tag completely off of a new shoe? You scrape and add water, but you're no match for the stickiness of that stuff!  Your foot adheres to the shoe as you walk. The price tag is ostensibly gone (means apparently, but not actually). The drink is finished and it seems as if the glass is fully clean...but there's still residue. It's frustrating and annoying because something persists that should have been washed out.  Do you have residue from a past relationship or situation?  Do you carry just a little anxiety, distrust, frustration, or bitterness? Do you have faith but a tiny bit of doubt? Do you desire to move on... but there's just this one lingering issue. "I've almost entirely forgiven..." myself or someone else, but I've got a twinge of regret, or a bit of anger. We're moving to a new place but we can't shake the history of the old one.  Transitions require cleaning up residue to move forward to a NEW day!

It no longer matters what happened yesterday: how the place you used to be in treated you for good or bad; what you failed at, or could have done by now; what you did or didn't get from your parents, etc.  Paul said the thing that he focused on was "forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead." (Phil 3:13) He instructed the Ephesians not to grieve the Holy Spirit. To "Let ALL bitterness and wrath, and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with ALL malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:30-32)

Jesus told His disciples that their message would not be received well everywhere. "If any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them." (Mark 6:11) Residue happens when we just can't let it go...Freedom comes when we can and do! The book of Luke admonishes us to "Remember Lot's Wife." (Luke 17:32)  God had rescued her family, pulled them out of a terrible place that He was judging and instructed them not to look back.  Sadly, residue from the past drew her attention away from God's promised future. Looking back cost her life. She turned into a pillar of salt (Gen 19) and was left right there to forever stare at her former situation. Last week we said it's time to MOVE! Today we're all being urged to release ourselves from any residue and proceed forward into God's plan!

THIS SUNDAY, May 1st,  New Life Covenant is MOVING! You can read about it here.  We are honored to join forces with Pastor Edward Goode and the congregation at
the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming (PCW)  To the left is a photo of the Great Room where we will gather on Sundays at 11am.  We will have 9:30 AM Class in the Youth Room (lower level) and will have a Nursery available and lessons for small children.  PCW is graciously helping us 'nest' and grow to our next phase, and we are strategizing ways that we can serve and bring the Gospel the Cincinnati Region in partnership together! 
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SUNDAY as we embark upon this next leg in the journey!

New Life Covenant's LIFE Worship Team at   Fountain Square  520 Vine Street Downtown Cincinnati 45202 Urban Outreach's Hope at the Fountain Thursday, April 28th at 7:00 PM  Come out and bring your family, friends and neighbors!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - MOVING- 042016- Sadell Bradley- New Life Covenant Cincinnati

MOVING - is the process of changing one's place of residence or work. To move means to go in a specified direction or manner; to change position. It can also mean to change from one state, opinion, sphere, or activity to another.  When one moves, it is an action that is taken usually because we are moved - influenced or prompted to do something. Positive moves entail making progress, developing in a particular manner or direction. As an imperative command, MOVE! means get going! hurry up! come on! Stop being stagnant!  At times we must shift internally to have the gumption to make a move God is calling for. He has been requiring a move from some of us for some time. Moses and the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and were set toward the wilderness. They were circling around Mount Seir for a long time when the LORD spoke, "You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north..." Deut 2:3 Make a move! decide and act upon another direction leading to your goal. If you are just celebrating that you made it out of bondage in Egypt and got through the Red Sea, you'll get stuck there. If you stay murmuring and complaining in the wilderness, you'll never see your ultimate destination - the promised land. On Sunday, May 1st, New Life Covenant will be MOVING another step closer to our promise. For the past few years, Sherman and I have participated in a pastors consortium called Mosaix Cincinnati Network: a group of leaders who see the value in establishing and supporting multi-ethnic churches.  These pastors are considering or desire for their congregations to look like Heaven on Earth. We have discussed how beneficial it would be for our churches, most of which are currently mono-ethnic like 86% of US Congregations, to join forces in some way to experience worshiping Jesus and serving Him together. We are taking steps to bridge the racial divide and lovingly walk out One New Humanity like Paul described in Ephesians 2:14-15 between Jews and Gentiles: For He Himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace...This is so important for the credible witness of the Body of Christ in America and in our City/Region.  The identifying mark of Christians is the love we have for one another (John 13:34-35). The unity of believers nationwide and worldwide opens the way for pre-Christians to believe that God loves them and sent Jesus (John 17:20-23). We are honored to join forces with Pastor Edward Goode and the congregation at the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming (PCW), in MOVING together by taking a baby step toward the Kingdom Vision of One New Humanity. To the left is the Great Room, the space New Life Covenant will gather Sundays at 11am starting May 1st. PCW is graciously helping us 'nest' and grow to our next level, and we are strategizing ways that we can serve and bring the Gospel the Cincinnati Region in partnership together!  Please pray for our congregations and consider where you need to MOVE!! New Life Covenant's LIFE Worship Team will minister at Fountain Square Downtown at the the Hope at the Fountain event by Urban Outreach Thursday, April 28th at 7:00 PM - Come out and bring family, friends and neighbors!   New Life Covenant Cincinnati Sunday at 11:00 AM  OUR LAST SUNDAY AT Urban Artifact 1660 Blue Rock Street Cincinnati OH 45223 Visit Our Website

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - BITE THE BULLET - 04/13/16 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Bite the Bullet - I know, it's a phrase...one that I have been saying a lot lately. It means to decide to do something difficult that one has been putting off or hesitating over. It is to endure a painful or otherwise unpleasant situation that seems unavoidable. The phrase was first recorded by Rudyard Kipling in his 1891 novel, "The Light that Failed." Historically, it derives from the means by which a patient coped with the extreme pain of a surgical procedure without anesthetic -by biting a bullet or a leather strap. The latter seems more feasible to me, but the former makes for great story telling! In philosophy, bite the bullet means to accept the unpleasant consequences of one's assumed beliefs...(Wikipedia) I know, that's deep! Sometimes our pain is really only as deep or excruciating as we imagine it to be. We think doing this thing, or having this conversation is just going to kill us...but that's only because we anticipate it.

Queen Esther bit the bullet- finally summoning up the courage to go before her husband, King Xerxes, to plead on behalf of her people.  She faced potential death for going without being called first. Esther's distress was so great that she asked all of the Jews in Susa to pray and fast for her for 3 days without eating or drinking. Then she said, "When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16, NIV) Now, thousands of years later, we read and celebrate Esther's courage, and the triumph
of the Jewish people over Haman and their enemies.  The evil forebodings and misgivings that were in her heart and mind prior, had caused her to procrastinate in her role as the deliverer. Her cowardice was confronted by her uncle Mordecai,  "Indeed, if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows but that you were brought to the kingdom for a time like this?"  (Esther 4:14, ISV) Esther's assumption that she would perish if she did the hard thing kept her stalled. She could not do what the Lord had called her to do, or become the deliverer she was meant to be until she bit the bullet. The outcome she thought would result, was really only a figment of her imagination. Not only did she NOT perish, but she has been celebrated as a heroine throughout all history ever since! Releasing control of the outcomes actually liberated Esther and her people!

There are times when God is requiring that we bite the bullet.  The negative ways that we have assumed that things will turn out may be emotionally charged fabrications. Sometimes the only way we'll know is to take that bite!

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ALWAYS - Sadell Bradley - 04/06/16- New Life Covenant Cincinnati

ALWAYS- means at all times; on all occasions. Sometimes it means throughout a long period of the past, "She had always loved him." In other cases it means for all future time; forever.  Always means repeatedly and at times annoyingly, "We always have broccoli for dinner!" Finally it is used to convey a last resort; failing all else, "We could always move if this doesn't work out."

I don't know about you, but in my marriage the use of the words ALWAYS and never are fighting words that automatically get push back! Even if 85 to 99.99% of the time we've done or said the thing we've been accused of (and we know it); we cling to that one time or that .01% and say, "I don't ALWAYS do or say that!!" Maybe that's why we're conditioned to devalue the positive impact and consistency of the word always...except when Walmart uses it, "Always low prices...Always, lol!"  The idea that we could constantly be good, loving, reliable, predictable, steady and unchanging is a bit unsettling.  ALWAYS seems impossible, maybe even compulsive...but it's Biblical! 

Rejoice in the Lord, ALWAYS, and again I say, Rejoice! (Phil 4:4) Come on! Seriously? I'm always supposed to be filled with joy? I'm always supposed to be so conscious of God's grace and favor toward me that it fills me up and I joy again?! Yes, Ma'am or Sir! ALWAYS - at all times, on all occasions, repeatedly and sometimes annoyingly to others. Lord, help ME!  Paul affirmed the Philippian church because they had, "always obeyed" whether he was present or absent from them, and urged that they continue to work out the
salvation of their souls. (Phil 2:12)  Always obeyed?!  Really? Peter told the saints to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that was in them. (1 Peter 3:15) The Corinthians were admonished to "be steadfast, un-moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58)  At the  NCAA Basketball Tournament this year, teams wore gear that said they were "ALWAYS Reppin!" representing their allegiance to their school. We're ALWAYS Reppin too! re-presenting Christ to the world.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ENTANGLED - 03/30/16 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Entangled means to cause to become twisted together or caught in. Figuratively, to involve someone in difficulties or complicated circumstances from which it is difficult to escape. An exasperating financial situation, a knotty life or career problem that is confusing, or a complex, perplexing relationship. We don't know what to do, where to turn or how to get out or even if we should. Could God be using this hard situation or person to develop or sift out a character issue in us?

After 400 years of bondage and 10 plagues that rocked Egypt, Pharaoh had finally agreed to God's command through Moses to let Israel go free. The Lord told Moses He would harden Pharaoh's heart and he would continue to pursue with his armies. "Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in." (Exodus 14:3) They're confused and wandering about aimlessly. They're hemmed in, so we're going to get our slaves back! This is the goal of the devil...to get his captives back! to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10), and to erase any progress we've made.  The Israelites were terrified
and blamed Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" (vs. 11) They were immature in their faith in God and their trust of His leader. They weren't convinced by the Word of the Lord that they would be freed or that Moses was their deliverer. The 10 plagues, the saving of their first born sons in the Passover, the pillar of cloud and fire didn't assure them. Their emotions took over and they were willing to throw away their freedom for their fear!  They weren't really in danger or hopeless...it just looked and felt that way. God's love and intent was the same.

The Lord's expressed objective was to 'get Himself honor' through Pharaoh and this difficult situation, so that the Egyptians and the Israelites would know for certain that He was the Lord. (vs. 4) HE had led them into that helpless and trapped position, so that when HE got them out...they would believe. He directly addressed their emotions, "Do not be afraid, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord with you. The Egyptians that you see to day you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." (vs.13-14) He asked Moses, "Why are you crying unto me? Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward." When we feel entangled and there seems to be no escape, the last thing we think we can do is keep going forward to see how GOD is going to work things out. Now we know that just at the point when they felt trapped, Moses lifted up his rod, and a miracle happened. So fight your fears and doubts and keep going forward.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - BIPARTISAN- 03/23/16- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Bipartisan means of or involving an agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each others policies. They cooperate by arriving at a compromise when deciding upon an issue.  Our teachers made us do that in elementary school. We were taught to settle our disputes and come to an agreement, often by making concessions. We learned that certain things were true regardless of what side we were on.  This type of compromise was hailed as a sign of maturity back then. Partisanship poses a stark contrast, an individual or party adheres only to their interests, and is unwilling to synergize for a greater effect in a particular cause.

I am struck by how easy it is to agree and cooperate for the sake of evil, both now and in Bible times. I'm reflecting on how the collaboration of opposing groups with differing agendas brought about Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus knew what was coming, "As you know the Passover is two days away-and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified." (Matt. 26:2)

The Chief Priests and Elders, led by Caiaphas, were plotting to arrest and kill Jesus secretly (vs.3-4) Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, was ready to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver. (vs. 14-16) This collusion, along with false accusations and a mistrial, (vs.57-67) was achieved through immoral and malevolent means by parties who came together on the surface...but whose motives were their own greed and revenge (sound familiar?) Peter and the other disciples
were unwitting accessories through their denial and abandonment of Jesus in crisis. (vs.69-75) Pontius Pilate and his soldiers were used to carry out the dirty work, though his wife plead for Jesus to be released because of His innocence (Matt. 27:11-26) Everyone knew what was and was not right. Everyone knew that Jesus was blameless. Yet the greatest good that was ever in the world was still slain! God knew what our sinful humanity would do, and in His wisdom would redeem us despite our wicked fraternization. I pray He does it again...and that we learn from this telling history.

Thank you! to all who participated in New Life Covenant's 3rd Anniversary Worship Night, Sunday Service, and 30 for $30 Campaign!!! If you forgot to donate you can still do so. DONATE HERE .

WEDNESDAY's WORD - TUNNEL VISION - 03/16/16 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

Tunnel Vision is constriction of the visual field resulting in loss of peripheral vision.  It is a medical condition in which you can see things that are straight ahead of you, but not to the side. Figuratively, tunnel vision is extreme narrowness of viewpoint (narrow-mindedness), a tendency to think only about one thing and to ignore everything else that it affects. One might think single-minded focus on one objective would be a positive trait.  However, tunnel vision is actually a defect in sight that is limiting. To be narrow-minded means that you are unwilling to accept opinions, beliefs or behaviors that are unusual or different from your own; that you... "can't see the forest for the trees."

Both Paul and Peter were completely socialized in Jewish customs and traditions before Jesus got a hold of them. On the road to Damascus in Acts 9, Saul had previously been threatening and murdering Christ's disciples for heresy. His extreme narrowness of viewpoint was challenged and changed by Jesus: "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?...Who are you, Lord? Saul asked, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, he replied." (vs. 4-5) Never in a million years would Saul have thought his viewpoint was anything less than absolutely right...much less that he was hurting the God he'd given his life to serve. He thought he was protecting the Lord's reputation when he was ruining it. He had a call to love and minister to the very people he'd rejected.  

In Acts 10, Peter's tunnel vision was confronted. God spoke simultaneously to him and to an Italian named Cornelius that they were to meet despite the fact that this association across racial and religious lines was forbidden. Upon the group's arrival Peter said, "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate or visit with a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean." (vs. 28) "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." (vs.34-35) Peter preached Christ to those he had previously shunned. While he was still speaking the Holy Spirit came upon them all, (vs. 44) they were baptized and filled with God's Spirit.  Are you open to God challenging and changing your tunnel vision about something/someone if it fails to agree with His Kingdom purposes?

New Life Covenant's Annual 30 for $30 Campaign ENDS on SUNDAY, our 3rd Anniversary. We are asking friends and family to support our local missions projects for 2016 with a donation of $30 or more.  CLICK HERE TO DONATE

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WEDNESDAY'S WORD - ASSIGNMENT - 3/9/16 - Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

An ASSIGNMENT is a task or piece of work appointed or designated to someone as a part of a job or a course of study.  We were given homework assignments to help to track our retention of the material.  Some assignments were individual. The responsibility rested solely on us. In group assignments we received a grade based on the full participation of each group member. If one person lagged in the assignment, the others suffered. Ever had an assignment from the Lord that you didn't want and wished to transfer? or been affected when others failed to do their part?  Assignments involve God's choice, not ours. Jesus told His disciples, "You did not choose me, I chose you..." (John 15:16) God assigned the Levites charge of the music in the tabernacle. (1 Chron. 6:31-32) Paul and Silas were set apart by the Holy Spirit for their missions and apostolic work. (Acts 13:2) Jesus's earthly assignment from the Father was to destroy the devil's work and bring liberty to sin-oppressed captives. (Acts 10:38; Luke 4:18-19).  Spiritual soldiers do not control the location, timing or object of God's assignment. They just obey. Sometimes we reject assignments for various, we believe legitimate, reasons. Moses felt inadequate to fulfill God's assignment because of his birth history, criminal record, and speech impediment. (Exodus 3-4)  Jeremiah disqualified himself because of his youth. (Jeremiah 1) Jonah hated the people God called him to. He didn't want to see them saved.  He tried to avoid his assignment and jeopardized his and others lives in the process. (Jonah 1-3) The Apostles in great peril were assigned to establish the New Testament Church. Through threat of imminent torture and death they completed their assignment. The Lord's assignments require a deep relationship of trust, courage and perseverance. They cause us to be found in the most uncomfortable situations with unfamiliar people in uncharted territory - often behind enemy lines. God's assigned work calls for vulnerability, humility and sometimes anonymity. Because it is the Lord's work, He is in charge of outcomes, and He is to receive all the glory, honor and praise. In this season, you may be facing the challenge of an assignment that only YOU and CHRIST can accomplish. All He wants is a YES.   New Life Covenant's Annual 30 for $30 Campaign is starting!  For the next 30 days up to our 3rd Anniversary, we are asking friends and family to support our local missions projects for 2016 with a donation of $30 or more. CLICK HERE TO DONATE  At CAIN (Churches Active In Northside)  Ministry, we served 117 people 191 meals including carry out and seconds!

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