Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson
Insight and inspiration for You!
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Sunday Feb 06, 2022
Sunday Feb 06, 2022
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Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV, Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG, 18 Forget about what's happened; don't keep going over old history. 19 Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new. It's bursting out! Don't you see it? There it is! I'm making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands
Isaiah 43:18 GNT, But the Lord says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.
Enduring Word Commentary:As Isaiah wrote prophetically to Israel, they were mired in the desperate circumstances of captivity and exile. God wanted to put their eyes on the new work He would do, so He began with a reminder to not remember the former things. If they were stuck in the failure and sin and discouragement of the past, they would never go forward to the new thing God had for them.
“God wanted to put their eyes on the new work He would do…”
Often, when God makes a promise, we worry about the details or the obstacles for the fulfillment of the promise. God replies to us, “Don’t worry about it at all. I will even make a road in the wilderness. I have resources and plans you don’t know about. Leave those problems to Me.”
Moving forward and upward requires both natural and supernatural intervention
Roads speaks of the natural—Things you can do with God’s help
Rivers speak of the supernatural — Things only God can do.
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Thursday Feb 03, 2022
Joshua 4:6
that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.”
When you have leverage, you hold the advantage in a situation or the stronger position in a task, physical or otherwise.
Leverage is like a lever that helps you move something heavy
The work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and the great number of people he represented including the “hidden figures,” created postive social legacy for African Americans and for all Americans.
What is legacy?
Let’s think about LEGACY as something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor.
We also think of legacy as something provided to work with and build on.
It is our responsibility to identify the value of legacy, live the lessons, and build the future on it.
That creates our leverage.
The alternative is starting from scratch without resources.
The leverage of legacy is carried forward by learning and teaching our children and others how to love and serve God by remembering all He has done.
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
Tuesday Feb 01, 2022
We know the word hope. Having hope is a choice that we make.The Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27, To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.J.B. Phillips translation reads: “...Christ in you, the hope of all glorious things to come.” Hope with Christ and hope without Christ are not the same thing. The word glory has to do with fulfillment because of God’s presence. Every hope that God has put in your heart will have a glorious outcome, because of the presence of God in your hope. The key to realizing the “hope of glory” is to know that Jesus lives inside of you and wants to express Himself in fulfillment of every hope. Hope is not based on circumstances, but on your interpretation of the outcome of circumstances. For example, there was a story in the Book of Numbers Chapter 13 about Israel in which 12 leaders were instructed to go look at the land God had promised---He already told them it was “very good.” Ten of the leaders lost hope because of their bad interpretation of the circumstance of giant beings in the land deemed as too big of an obstacle to overcome.You either interpret the “giants” you encounter as stronger than you, or you interpret that you are “well able to overcome,” (In Caleb’s words) with God's help, giant-sized obstacles. This is an example of “Christ in you, the hope of all glorious things to come.”Hope is a choice. Choose well!
God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
Sunday Jan 30, 2022
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Psalms 18:28 NIV, You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
1 John 1:5, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Some Keys about Light and Darkness
People spend too much time talking about and dealing with things of darkness.
“Darkness is not a thing, it is a result.” ~ T.D. Jakes
When you turn up the light you did not have to tell the darkness to leave.
You cannot turn up darkness, you can only turn up light. Light is your superpower
Philippians 2:14, Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
1 John 2:9, He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022
Psalms 18:28 NIV, You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.The word darkness makes one think of bad things. Things we don't want. As Christ followers, we are sensitive to spiritual darkness and we are concerned about people we know and loveI agree with T.D. Jakes who stated in a recent sermon, “Darkness is not a thing. It is a result.” In nature and in life, darkness is the absence of light or the absence of God, because God is light. No one can turn up darkness, but light can be turned on and turned up. The Bible has a lot to say about darkness, but mainly in the context of our response and responsibility to people who are in darkness --- again, which is the absence of light. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 2:19, “We are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.”
You and I are called to bring light, which dispels darkness. Jesus said to His disciples, “You are the light of the world.”Paul also addressed believers in Christ who had allowed their light to grow dim, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:12)The good news is that we don't have live under the burden of making light shine. We only have to stay in relationship with God. Again, as David wrote, “You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
Sunday Jan 23, 2022
Sunday Jan 23, 2022
DOWNLOAD KEYNOTE SLIDES
Psalms 18:28 NIV, You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
1 John 1:5, This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Some Keys about Light and Darkness
People spend too much time talking about and dealing with things of darkness.
“Darkness is not a thing, it is a result.” ~ T.D. Jakes
When you turn up the light you did not have to tell the darkness to leave.
You cannot turn up darkness, you can only turn up light. Light is your superpower
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
("Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute" is a weekly encouragement sent by text on Wednesdays to supporters of New Covenant Church and Dr. Bryan Hudson. Subscribe to this blog to get connected.)
All of what we hope for tomorrow, begins today. Joshua prepared Israel to cross the Jordan River. This was the second time they faced a barrier of water. First was the Red Sea after their exodus from Egypt. They miraculously crossed over with great joy, but they soon fell into bad habits. By the time Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy, which was the last of his five books called the Pentateuch, he was very aware of Israel's failure after the Red Sea miracle.
In that last book, Moses wrote about people focusing on God and doing His will "today" over 160 times. Looking back, I think Moses realized that the people's hope for tomorrow was not met with preparation today. After Moses died, God raised up Joshua. As Israeli faced their second barrier of water, the Jordan River, we find Joshua giving them instructions today, before crossing over the next day. Joshua said, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5)God has prepared you for every challenge and opportunity in front of you. Today is your tomorrow because what you do today determines your success tomorrow.
God Bless and Be Encouraged!~ Bryan Hudson
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
Tuesday Jan 18, 2022
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Watch video presentation and read text of entire Letter From the Birmingham Jail
In April 1963, Martin Luther King was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, after he defied a state court’s injunction and led a march of Black protesters without a permit, urging an Easter boycott of white-owned stores. A statement published in The Birmingham News, written by eight moderate white clergymen, criticized the march and other demonstrations.
This prompted King to write a lengthy response, begun in the margins of the newspaper. He smuggled it out with the help of his lawyer, and the nearly 7,000 words were transcribed.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Tuesday Jan 11, 2022
Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for January 12, 2022
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Bryan Hudson, D.Min.,
Pastor, New Covenant Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Sunday Jan 09, 2022
Sunday Jan 09, 2022
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Joshua 3:8, You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
John 14:5, Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
When Jesus says you KNOW something, that knowledge is never wrapped inside of your knowledge and personal experience. When you KNOW Jesus, You know the way.
Joshua 3:3, And they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Key #1 - Live in Resurrection Power RelationshipKey #2 - Small Things MatterKey #3 - God has Prepared You For Every Challenge and Opportunity in Front of youKey #4 - Pay AttentionKey #5 - Stand in the WaterKey #6 - When You Change, Your Circumstances will ChangeKey #7 - You Don’t Have to See or Understand Everything That Helps You Reflection Questions:
1. What is your New Normal?2. In what small things are you faithful?3. How has God prepared you?4. In what ways do you need to pay attention?5. In what do you need to stand right now?