Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Stop the Drift

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Hebrews 2:1. Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away

God’s Method for Your Success – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for March 8, 2023

Listen to Full Message from Sunday, March 5, 2023
Kingdom Leverage: How to Gain it and Use It
 
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How to Gain and Use Kingdom Leverage

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Matthew 6:10, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
What Jesus instructed His disciples to pray was not a wish, it was a method for getting things done in a way that glorifies God.
We live within systems of our society.
We are also citizens of God's kingdom.
We have advantages that are not available to civil kingdoms.
The kingdom of God is the alternative to the kingdom of this world.
An “alternative” simply means there is another way.
We are not limited by the choices this world offers us.

The Leverage of Love – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for March 1, 2023

Listen to Full Message from Sunday, February 26, 2023
LEVERAGE: Importing & Exporting Breakthrough, Part One
 
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LEVERAGE: Importing & Exporting Breakthrough, Part One

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2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
Micah 2:13, He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head.
God provides what we need to IMPORT, to breakthrough in our lives.God also gives us grace to EXPORT breakthrough for others.
HISTORY IS HIS-TORYWhat is your history?What has been imported?
YOUR HISTORY IS HIS-STORY
Your ancestors & predecessors 
Your family
Your spiritual lineage
Your education
Your experiences
Your nation
 
YOUR HISTORY IS HIS-STORY
Your life and work today 
are the result of history
GRACE IS LEVERAGE
2 Corinthians 9:8, God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
 
 

FINAL DAY 21 – Daily Bread is More Than We Realize | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:11, Give us this day our daily breadGod is a God of provision and detail. Jesus stated that the hairs on our head (or lack thereof!) are numbered (Luke 12:7). This is a saying meant to convey God’s deep concern for His children.This part of Jesus’ instruction to His disciples on prayer was very simple, but there is profound truth behind it. Some of explanations of this text include (From William Barclay’s Commentary on the New Testament):1. The bread has been identified with the bread of the Lord's Supper.2. The bread has been identified with the spiritual food of the word of God. Taken to be a prayer for the true teaching, the true doctrine, the essential truth as our food.3. The bread has been taken to stand for Jesus Himself. Jesus called himself the bread of life (John 6:33-35)4. The bread has been taken to be the bread of the heavenly kingdom. Luke tells how someone said to Jesus: “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (Luke 14:15).“Daily” Bread Has a Special MeaningThe Greek word “daily” is only used here and in Luke’s Gospel of the same prayer: ἐπιούσιος – epiousiosIn the early part of the 20th Century a papyrus fragment (a material which people used for writing) was found with the Greek word, ἐπιούσιος, on it. The papyrus fragment was actually a shopping list! It was a note to remind the person to buy supplies of a certain food for the coming day.From this context, the literal meaning of “daily bread” is: “Give me the things we need to eat for this coming day.”This simple prayer for our everyday needs reveals FIVE truths:1. We understand that God cares for our bodies. Jesus showed us that; he spent so much time healing men's diseases and satisfying their physical hunger.2. We understand to live one day at a time, and not to worry and be anxious about the distant and unknown future.3. Praying for daily provision puts God His proper place in our lives.4. This pray reminds us of how prayer works.5. Jesus did not teach us to pray: “Give ME my daily bread.” He taught us to pray: “Give US our daily bread.”The problem of hunger in our world is not a lack of provision. There is enough to go around. The problem is a lack of distribution. This prayer teaches us never to be selfish in our prayers. 
 
It is a prayer that we can help answer by being obedient to God and showing the same level of concern/detail for the needs of others as for ourselves. This prayer is not only a prayer that we may receive our daily bread; it is also a prayer that we may share daily bread with others.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
 
How has your understanding of Give us this day our daily bread been expanded? What will it change in your lifestyle?
________________
 
Here is the link to ALL 21 LESSONS from the Devotional
 
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DAY 20 – Your Kingdom Come. Your Will Be Done. | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

For these final two days of our 21-day devotional, we're going to look at a couple of statements from the “Disciple’s prayer,” that we mistakenly call the “Lord’s prayer.” This was the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray.
Today, we will consider Matthew 6:10, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In our final lesson, we will consider Matthew 6:11: Give us this day our daily bread.
Throughout His time on the earth it was evident that the Kingdom of God was central to the message of Jesus. 
Jesus said, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43)
To be in the Kingdom is to obey the will of God. The Kingdom is in fact the most personal thing in the world. The Kingdom demands the submission of my will, my heart, my life. It is only when each one of us makes his personal decision and submission that the Kingdom comes. (Barclay)
Given this understanding, it certainly makes sense that part of our daily prayer would be for God to make his kingdom present and active among Christ followers. We live within systems of our society, such as our economic systems, political systems, and educational systems. We are also citizens of God's kingdom which affords advantages that are not available to civil kingdoms. This would include righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 14:17-18).
What does this mean? Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Contrary to the false ideas and idolatry of Christian nationalism, that seeks to integrate their views of the Bible into every aspect of government and society, Kingdom living is mostly a matter of our devotion to God and behavior toward others. People who try to insert the Bible into civil laws and culture neglect the reality that unsaved people cannot obey the Scriptures––something only possible by the help of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:17) It seems that some people wish to impose a Christian form of Muslim sharia law. God’s kingdom is not of this world, though we are salt and light to the world.
I suggest that God’s will being done “on earth” must first happen in “earthen vessels”–– you and me. There are those who believe that God’s will being done on earth is essentially advocating a Christian “take over” of systems of this world. 
The truth is this: Everything in this present order will be destroyed, not preserved and presented to Jesus when He returns:
“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13)
Jesus did not advocate a “take over.” He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom which is God’s love, righteousness, joy, Christ-like character, and good works infused in our lives and lifestyle. 
I believe this is the more biblical understanding of “Your Kingdom Come. Your Will Be Done.”
Reflection Questions:
1. How is kingdom living different than a desire to “take over” systems of this world?
2. What does doing God’s will “on earth” look like to you?

Salt & Light = Influence & Help | Message by Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

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The Salt Principle
Matthew 5:13 , "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.”
There were four uses for salt
1. To Purify: Indicated by is brightness, ability to soften hard water and remove toxic metals
2. To Offer: As currency, and something required with offerings by the ancient Hebrews
3. To Preserve: As a chemical that retards decay in meat, allowing storage without refrigeration
4. To Flavor: As an enhancement to the taste of food
Leviticus 2:13, God gave a command to the Hebrews that included the use of salt; “And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.”
Mark 9:50, “Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”
You Are Light - Designed to Help
Matthew 5:14-15 , You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

DAY 19 – Make It Plain. Add Nothing To It. | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:33-37, You have heard that it was said by the people of the old days: You shall not take an oath falsely, but you shall pay your oath in full to the Lord. But I say to you: Do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King, nor by your head, for you cannot make one hair black or white. When you say, Yes, let it be yes; and when you say, No, let it be no. Anything which goes beyond that has its source in evil.
We live in a world where people have used the phrase "alternative facts” or attempt to justify their actions with a phrase like, “Well, the depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is.” A more recent response on the part of George Santos now famously lying about being a Jew: “I didn’t say I was Jewish, I said I was Jew-ish.”  We live in a world where you can go into an electronics store and ask for something, only to be told, "Yes we have it…what does it look like?” Rather than say, "I don't know,” many would rather create an illusion of knowledge. 
The other side of that coin is when people discover that someone was faking knowledge, all credibility is lost. When this happens at an institutional level, institutions become untrusted.
As people, we have surprising little actual power. We can mix things together, like the ingredients for a cake, but we don’t actually invent things like wheat to make flour or chickens that provide eggs.
It is far better to “under-promise and over-deliver” than “over-promise and under-deliver.” Swearing to (or committing to) actions that require powers we do not possess is foolish, not to mention doomed to fail. Jesus taught His disciples and others listening in to “make it plain.” Let “yes” be yes and “no” be no. 
I am amused by people who offer me something to which I may say “No, thank you,” followed by the response, “Are your sure?” Sometimes my response is, “I already answered the question.” We live in a world where people are conditioned not to accept your answer because are not clear with our answers.
There is also this worthless response to an invitation, to which some people respond, “I will try” or my favorite, “I might try.” Just say, “no,” if that is your intention. 
It is interesting that in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus dealt with these matters which seem quite trivial. But the reality is that small things in life, added together, become the sum total of our lives. 
So, make it plain and add nothing to it.
Reflection Question:
What vague and evasive behaviors or habits do you need to stop and replace with brief, honest responses?

DAY 18 – The Day Religion Died | 21-Day Devotional on Jesus’ Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount

The Day Religion Died
Matthew 5:17-20, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Over the history of humanity, among people who claim to follow God, there has been a tension between what and who is right or wrong. 
There have always been religious leaders who have placed themselves over people as the standard for all others and doing so while claiming God’s permission and a superior station in life. But those people, like the Pharisees, have always been the wrong ones.
This became clear when Jesus entered the religious scene of his day. He made a distinction between God’s intended purpose, and what religious leaders were actually doing. Yes, God did give the Ten Commandments and other statutes to Moses on Mount Sinai and they were designed to be understood, and followed by God’s people. However, we know from Paul’s writings that the Law was intended to reveal the futility of trying to obey the Law in one’s own strength (Rom. 8:3–4) as well as point the people to Christ. (Galatians 3:24)
Paul wrote, “The Law is good” (1 Timothy 1:8), but the problem was the sin nature and weakness of humanity as revealed in their (and our) inability to consistently do what God wanted. We know in history that religious leaders added 600+ lesser rules and man-made “commandments.” In all of this, religious leaders gave (and still give) people a false sense of security, that if they do what was told them, they would be “right with God.”
During Jesus’ time on earth religious leaders imposed rules such as “Sabbath ay’s journey” in which now now was allowed to travel more than 2/3 mile, or mandating practices such as ritual hand washings, and much more.
What is noteworthy is that Jesus routinely broke their laws, while always being true to Moses’ and God's law. One day He healed a man on the Sabbath and told him to pick up his bed and walk, which was “work”  and forbidden on the Sabbath. Think about it: To be critical of a man being healed a significant disability because it was done on the WRONG DAY!
On another occasion, Jesus and his disciples were condemned for eating without doing ceremonial washing of their hands––something related to man made rules, not God’s law.
As I write this during Black history month, I'm reminded of the civil disobedience of the people of Rev. Dr. King’s era. They sat at lunch counters that were “whites only,” thus breaking laws. Dr. King said, “It is just to obey a just law and it is unjust to obey an unjust law.” We see that Jesus practiced a form of religious civil disobedience. You could say, He protested religious injustice. 
Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus undermined religious systems while paving the way for hearts to be changed by the Holy Spirit though something called the “New Birth.” (born of the Spirit) There are spiritual disciplines, things we do such as regular prayer and serving others, which may be considered as “pure religion” (James 1:27), but nothing we do is for the purpose of gaining God’s favor and “earning” His righteousness.
A highly education, respected, and religious-establishment man named Nicodemus received a lesson from Jesus about a new reality:
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
During his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus forever changed the paradigm for what it means to be righteous and to walk with God, but religious leaders wanted to hang onto the old ways, maintain control over people, and present themselves as gateways to God. Sadly, we see this same behavior until this day. 
As a pastor, I am a spiritual (or “religious”) leader, but I know better than to present my righteousness above the righteousness of God as revealed in Christ. We don't need to follow the example of “Pharisees,” when we have Jesus, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. Our job today is to lead people to Christ, then “shepherd” them in their relationship with God and understanding of the Word. We are are all equal in God’s sight. Our purpose and roles differ, but the Body of Christ is designed to edify, or “build up,” one another.
Reflection Questions:
1. How did religion die when Jesus presented a new reality with His Sermon on the Mount.
2. Why is trying to live by man-made rules ineffective as compared to the being “born again" and following Christ?
3. Why is the righteousness of trying to keep manmade rules lesser than the righteousness of God of Christ
 
 
 
Matt. 5:17-20 
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
At a first reading it might well be held that this is the most astonishing statement that Jesus made in the whole Sermon on the Mount. In this statement Jesus lays down the eternal character of the Law; and yet Paul can say, "Christ is the end of the Law" (Rom.10:4). 
Again and again Jesus broke what the Jews called the Law. He did not observe the handwashings that the Law laid down; he healed sick people on the Sabbath, although the Law forbade such healings; he was in fact condemned and crucified as a law-breaker; and yet here he seems to speak of the Law with a veneration and a reverence that no Rabbi or Pharisee could exceed