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

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      Cincinnati OH 45215

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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!

THANKS! to ALL our Sponsors, Vendors, Acts, Volunteers, Donors and Guests for HopeFest 2016!! It was an AMAZING day!      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 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!

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - RESENTMENT - 06/29/16- Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

RESENTMENT is being angry, upset, or having bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly. The French resentir means to feel aggrieved or distressed by. Another word for resent is RANKLE - a wound or sore that continues to be painful or fester until it becomes septic (infected with pus).  Resentment ensues when a negative feeling or problem becomes more intense especially through long-term neglect or indifference. It is a mixture of anger, disgust, disappointment, and sadness. Resentment can be triggered by an emotionally disturbing experience felt again or relived in the mind. This emotionally debilitating anguish may not be detected by casual acquaintances. Disillusionment, distrust and despair set in when the experience of our relationship fails to meet our expectations. But they're close, what do you do?    

 

David's resentment over his enemy's actions distressed him so; he cried out to God in Psalm 55. "I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted" (vs. 2) "My heart is in anguish within me." (vs. 4) The pain and fear was so great and overwhelming that he wanted to take flight. "I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest." He asked for God's intervention to fight on his behalf, but then makes an interesting statement: "For it was not an enemy who reproaches (slanders, defames) me, Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him.  But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my familiar friend; we who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God in the throng."(vs. 12-14) Scholars surmise that King David is referring to his close friend and counselor Ahithopel, who later turned against him in his son Absalom's coup attempt. Julius Caesar's above was shocked when his confidant Brutus conspired his assassination, "Et tu Brute?" You too, Brutus?

It takes a village to help someone courageous enough to admit they are struggling with bitterness and resentment. Paul instructed the Hebrews,
"Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." (Heb. 12:15) You or someone you know might have an infected heart. Jesus' healing love through you is part of the cure.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD - DESPISING PROPHECY - 06/22/16 Sadell Bradley - New Life Covenant Cincinnati

A few weeks ago we had a class on Discovering God's Will: the Providential will of God - what God has planned regardless; the Moral will of God - commands in His Word; and the Personal will of God - His direction for our individual lives.  We find His will through the Bible, by obtaining wise counsel, and through listening to the Spirit's guidance within us. John said, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and show us things to come (John 16:13). One way God reveals His will is through PROPHECY - the gift of communicating and enforcing revealed truth. Prophecy comes in two forms: prediction (foretelling) and assertion (forthtelling).  In foretelling, the phrase, "And it shall come to pass" is used to say, "God will surely do it!"

As is too often the case, Habakkuk's prayer to God begins with a complaint. "How long, Lord must I call for help but you do not listen?...Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? (Hab.1:1-3) He protests the evil Babylonians, whom he doesn't realize the Lord is raising up to execute judgment on the land and deal with Israel for her sins. We don't have a construct for the possibility that God will use our enemies to bring us to repentance. We, like Habakkuk ask, How does a Holy God who cannot look at sin use evil people to bring about righteous judgment? (vs.13) Then we wait, to see how God's gonna answer that challenge!  God tells Habakkuk, while I'm purifying Israel, I'm going to judge the Babylonians too. So write this vision down. It's going to go down EXACTLY as I say. If it takes a while, still wait.  Live this next part of your story by faith, be fully persuaded that what I've spoken will come to pass.

Do not quench/stifle the Spirit. Do not despise or treat prophecies with contempt, but test them all; hold to what is good. 1 Thess. 5:19-20

Two things will make us stifle the Spirit, despise God's assertions and predictions, and disregard or even oppose God's visions:

1. We don't like the content. Like Habakkuk, or Jonah, we disagree with what is being said.  We don't want to do it or don't want it to be done.
2. The waiting makes us despondent - we become dejected and lose confidence. The humiliation makes us give up and abandon the promise. 

Some of us have heard from God. He's given us a vision of what will take place. We may not like the content, and the wait that seems eternal...but we know the outcome. The Lord has given us instructions on what to do in the meantime. Some of us have discarded these directives due to hopelessness.  I encourage you to GO BACK to what was PROPHESIED or the VISION that was written. Drop your pride and walk it out by FAITH! (Hab. 2:4)  

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

Sadell Bradley | New Life Covenant Cincinnati | 513-212-1131 | Email | Website

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