Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Faith Refresher for 2023. Part Two: What is Hope?

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Hebrews 11:6, Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:1, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Colossians 1:26-27 (J.B. PHILLIPS)
They are those to whom God has planned to give a vision of the full wonder and splendor of his secret plan for the sons of men. And the secret is simply this: Christ in you! Yes, Christ in you bringing with him the hope of all glorious things to come.
 
We all benefit from the faith, hope, and actions of others. But we tend not to notice especially when our lives have become “normal.”
The key is to remember that there are people, perhaps people you know, whose lives are not “normal.”
Dr. King wrote in his letter from the Birmingham jail:
“We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America's destiny. Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of history, we were here.”
WHAT IS HOPE?
A picture of something good that can happen 
Confident expectation 
Anticipation of good
“Framing” or re-framing yourself and your circumstances
In the social sciences, framing is comprised of concepts and perspectives on how individuals, and groups organize, perceive, and communicate their view of reality.
Perception is often not reality.
Present yourself to God / in your frame, you belong to God
Do not be conformed / don’t accept a frame that does not belong to you 
Think soberly / you don't let everything into the frame of your mind
Walk in faith  / you trust what God can do more than anything else
 

“A Letter of Hope for Today” Commentary on Dr. King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail

This is my tribute to Dr. King on his holiday. Will share my thoughts from portions of his letter from the Birmingham Jail on how we may benefit from his wisdom in our day. 
Read his entire letter, originally published in The Atlantic, August 1963: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/
Content from Chapter Seven of my book: "Biblical & Social Justice: What Is it? An Everyday Person’s Guide to Understanding Justice And the Role of the Church in Our Society"
Available in print and Kindle editions on Amazon. Learn more at, https://biblicaljusticebook.com
TOPICS COVERED FROM REV. DR. KING'S LETTER FROM THE BIRMINGHAM JAIL
Preparing to RespondNot One Man, an Inevitable Force for ChangePrinciples of ActionA Network of MutualityPhilosophical FoundationWhy We Won’t WaitTwo Kinds of LawsUnjust Laws Damage the SoulDismantling Injustice ArgumentsGenuine Law and OrderExamples of Civil DisobedienceThe Sacrifices of Leaders Martin Luther King, the PastorUsing Christ to Hinder Fellow ChristiansLoss of Authenticity for the American ChurchLooking for the Church Within the ChurchOppression Cannot ContinueConfidence in the Promise of America Optimism in the Face of Despair

Belief vs. Faith - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for January 11, 2023

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Message from Sunday, January 8, 2023
"Crowned with Goodness! What is Faith? A Faith Refresher for 2023"
WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE TEACHING

Crowned with Goodness! What is Faith?

Crowned with Goodness! What is Faith?
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This teaching is a "faith refresher" at the beginning of 2023. God has crowned, or surrounded, your year. He has made great promises to you. Learn how to elevate beyond belief, and activate your faith through a growing relationship with God!
Psalm 65:11, You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.
These are great promises. But every promise of God requires us to have faith. Not only to believe, but to have active faith. Belief and Faith are two sides of the same coin.
The primary characteristics of faith in God:
1. It is belief that consistently takes action based on God’s word (obedience)
2. it is energized by our relationship with God.

Happy New Year!

Visit the New Covenant Church website!
www.NewCovenant.org
"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.” (Psalm 65:11)

Crowning the Year, Old & New – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for December 28, 2022

“You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.” (Psalm 65:11)In the Hebrew, the word crown means to surround. During 2022, God surrounded you with Himself and good things. In 2023 He wants to do the same and more...crown or surround the year and you with His goodness. He wants your paths to drip with the abundance of provision.This does not mean you did not face challenges in 2022 or avoid challenges and difficulties in 2023. The key is: He said that He will surround you.In the story of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6, the servant awoke to see that the two of them were surrounded by the armies of the enemy. But Elisha said, "There are more with us than with them." The servant thought Elisha had lost his mind until He prayed that the Lord would open his eyes that he may see.When his spiritual eyes were open, his natural eyes could see that God had crowned them or surrounded them with armies of Angels, who were more numerous and vastly more powerful than the armies of men.The biggest part of 2023 will be your perspective. What will you see? Will you believe that God has crowned the new year and surrounds you, or will you only stare at the problems, look for the negatives, and allow people and circumstances to sap your energy?Say this out loud: God has crowned my year with His goodness. My paths drip with abundance!Below, you'll find a video link to highlights from our Community Christmas Jesus Celebration and Outreach held at two churches December 10 & 17. You will notice that God helped us to crown or surround people with joy and gifts! Let us carry that generous and serving spirit into the new year.
LINK TO HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO
 
I trust you have been blessed by Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute this year! 
If you have, consider sowing a seed. God Bless!
 
Donate to New Covenant Church: https://cash.app/$newcovenantindy
Sow seed to Pastor Bryan Hudson, https://cash.app/$BryanIndy
God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
 
 

Jesus, Born to Leave & Empower

John 16:7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you
Did you know that Jesus was born to leave? 
During the Christmas season we focus on and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For those of us who are Christ followers, we are sensitive to the neglect of Christ during Christmas in our culture. 
After the birth of Jesus in the manger, which was an animal feeding place, the scene shifts to an angel announcing the birth of Jesus to shepherds tending sheep in a field. While Jesus was born in a noisy place, the announcement of his birth was made in a quiet place. God still wants to speak to you and quiet places.
Luke 2:10 forward to the words of the angel, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!"
Verse 13 reads, "Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying  Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
In all of the joy of Jesus' birth, we keep our focus on the reason for His birth. He came to bring great joy to all people. He came to glorify God and bring peace on earth, dwell in the hearts of people, and goodwill towards all.
We know that joy, peace, and goodwill are achieved only with a change of heart. These are virtues we are not born with and that we cannot produce on our own. Not even the productive and holy life that Jesus lived was enough to change the hearts of people. Jesus had to die, be buried, leave the earth, and send back the Holy Spirit to bring His promises to pass.
This is why Jesus said it was to our advantage that he would go away. As a man, even a Divine Man, Jesus was limited to being at one place at one time. Through the Holy Spirit, God causes the Spirit of Christ to dwell within those who have received him as Lord, and do works that bring joy, peace, and goodwill to all.
So during this Christmas, celebrate Christ birth, but don't forget to live in the reality of why Jesus came, lived, died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. 
He was born to leave, but for the greater purpose of sending God's power into your life.

JESUS: Our Helper

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John 16:7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus was born to help and save. 
He came to depart for a greater purpose. 
He sent The Great Helper. The Holy Spirit.
The Helper that Jesus promised is not like most help that is limited and fails to empower. 
People tend to overrate their ability to help us.
People also tend to underrate what God can do.
Whatever fails to empower people too often enables them
Don’t Get HELPING and ENABLING Twisted
An enabler is a person who, by their actions, makes it easier for another person to continue their non-productive or self-destructive behavior.
Jesus refused to be an enabler. 
After feeding the multitudes. Look at what Jesus said to the people the next day…
John 6:24, When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
Jesus does not come to ENABLE people.
Jesus came to EMPOWER people.
The Holy Spirit EMPOWERS people!

What is Christmas? – Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for December14, 2022

2 Corinthians 1:3,  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
The Christmas holiday is a wonderful time of the year.
It is also a time of challenge for many. We remember loved ones who are not with us this year. We may have experienced changes in our family such as children growing up and moving away. Some may spend Christmas day alone. Some may be concerned about how they going to pay for Christmas gifts or not be on the receiving end of gifts.
All of this is a matter of perspective. The old cliché is still true, "Jesus is the reason for the season."
In our text, the Apostle Paul wrote about our Heavenly Father is a God of compassion and comfort. The word comfort is mentioned four times in these two verses. The idea is not about being comfortable as sitting in an easy chair or on a sofa.
The word comfort here is best defined as: A calling to one’s side, encouragement, consolation, that which affords refreshment.
What the Lord wants to do for you is come to your side, encourage, console, and refresh you. Then Paul wrote: "So that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
Christmas is first a time of receiving, not only gifts from people, but compassion and comfort, or help, from the Lord. This is why Jesus came. He is God's gift to humanity.
Christmas is also a time of giving, not of just material things, but of the things that money cannot buy. As the angels said to the shepherds in the field on the night Jesus was born, 
The Gospel of Luke 11:10 reads,  “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem...13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying 14 Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
That is the perspective we want to have.
God bless, have a great day, and be encouraged!
 

Baptize Your Thinking -– Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for December 7, 2022

Isaiah 8:11  (NLT)The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. 12  “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.13 Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.14 He will keep you safe.
How do you think affects how you feel, how you act, and your outlook on life. Through the prophet Isaiah, God told His people back then (and us today), "Not to think like everyone else does."
The key to good thinking, is being intentional about how, where, and when to focus your mind. Rather than being worried about what NOT to think, focus your heart and mind upon the "Lord of Heaven's armies" or upon God's resources. When one's mind is not submitted to God, conspiracies become attractive and fear drives out hope and faith.
When I studied Spanish, we reached a level where we mostly only spoke Spanish during the class. Immersion is the very best way to master a new language, or any skilled task. Immersing (or baptizing) your mind with God's presence and becoming renewed in your mind through His word, will make the biggest difference in your life!
God bless, have a great day, and be encouraged!