Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson
2015-02
Episodes
Monday Feb 23, 2015
From Cope to Hope | Part 5, "Mirror Mirror, What Do I See?"
Monday Feb 23, 2015
Monday Feb 23, 2015
Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Psalm 139:13-14, For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Matt. 6:26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matt 12:11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
How you see yourself determines, in large part, how you live and treat others. Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." We can't live or love in a significant way beyond our ability to recognize life and love within ourselves.
The concepts of self-image and self-esteem is something that Bible writers did not consider in the same way that we consider it today. The Bible does address self-value, personal responsibility, and understanding how and why God made us. Self-Image is how you see yourself. Self-esteem is your sense of value.
When we face challenges, it is our inner image that reacts or responds. Reactions come from that untrained or ill-trained part of us. Response comes from training and a positive self-image.
Monday Feb 16, 2015
From Cope to Hope | Part 4, "Five Secrets to Happiness"
Monday Feb 16, 2015
Monday Feb 16, 2015
Nehemiah encouraged the people in his day, "This day is holy to our Lord.... for the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Neh. 8:10) Learn how to make every day "holy" (special) and let joy be your strength.
Sunday Feb 08, 2015
Sunday Feb 08, 2015
Fear distracts and dominates the lives of too many people. The Bible says that "Fear has torment..."
We have no need to fear lack, and every reason to have faith, when God has promised to provide access to a limitless resource. Jesus said, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
Fear is defined as "expectation of danger or harm." Faith attracts God's favor, blessings, and overcomes all fear!
Watch Video: “Fear vs. Anxiety” https://www.dropbox.com/s/009a9wzt2ghuu4h/FEAR%20VS%20ANXIETY.mov?dl=0
Watch Video: “No Fear, Sound Mind” https://www.dropbox.com/s/falbuza12kndr78/No%20Fear%20Sound%20Mind.mov?dl=0
Here is a story that in that illustrates how fear distracts and torments when faith could have resolved the problem:
Matthew 8:23 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. 24 And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. 25 Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”26 But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus asked His disciples (and us): "Why are you fearful?"
The disciples woke up (who are sound asleep during a storm!) Jesus to ask Him to do something they should have done. Jesus was resting in the boat after a long day of ministry. A sudden storm made the disciples afraid. They allowed their fear to interfere with their faith and forget that Jesus was on the boat with them! Because of this, Jesus called the disciples' faith “ little.” He expected much more from men who had been trained first hand.
When storms come, or big opportunities are presented, let your faith rise, not your fears.
Phobias and fears arise when a lifestyle and mindset of faith are absent. If we claim to be Christians and disciples, Jesus FULLY expects us to trust Him. When you feel like you have respond with fear, remember that the Miracle Worker is with you.
People are tormented by fear because of the absence of God, who is love, dwelling in them. Torment is the negative thought, the scenario, or the drama that plays out in our minds over and over again.
Perfect love, that is God’s perfect love that is in you, will cast out all fear. If there are things you need to do, but that you are afraid to do, God’s love and presence will remove all those fears. Rather than expecting something bad to happen, you expect something good to happen because your "Father” is right there with you!
There is a real emotion of fear generated by imminent danger that requires action. However, most fears are imagined and therefore not real and best summarized by the acrostic:
F-alse
E-evidence
A-ppearing
R-eal
For believers in Christ, there is an overarching reality to embrace summarized by this text:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Sunday Feb 01, 2015
Sunday Feb 01, 2015
Jesus promises peace. Life brings storms such as conflicts in relationships and in our circumstances. The peace that Christ brings to your life is stronger than the difficulties.