Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

NAVIGATE. How to Successfully Journey Through Life & These Times - Part One

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Navigate is the best word I have found to characterize living and working in this interesting and sometimes perilous season. Looking at people and circumstances both within my circle and within our local and national community, we see challenges related to navigating life. We have seen both successful voyages and shipwrecks. 
Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
We can’t make sense of things that happen. We don’t dwell on bad things because “things” don’t define us. 
We are defined by our LOVE for God and fulfilling His PURPOSE— which causes the puzzle of things to work for our good.
What I mean by the word NAVIGATE:
1) Plan and direct the route or course of a ship, aircraft, or other form of transportation, especially by using instruments or maps.
2) To sail or travel over (a stretch of water or terrain), especially carefully or with difficulty.
3) Successful navigation or travel is based on fixed points of reference
Navigation Requires Fixed Points (coordinates)
#1 Jesus Christ 
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 )
#2 The Word of God 
#3 Objective Truth and Facts
We have to recognize truth at two levels: 
Biblical truth and, 
Objective truth. Believers who over spiritualize completely miss the importance of objective truth. Something which the Bible supports

Remember. Don't Look Back.

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One of the great challenges in life is dealing with circumstances in the present time that have roots in the past. Obviously, we are all products of our past. It’s important to separate out the negative and ungodly memories from the past and focus on the good. This is easy to say, but sometimes hard to do. Some people have lived through nightmares in their past lives.  In Christ, you are a new person!
Luke 9:59, Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." 61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
2 Corinthians 5:17, (NLT)This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Beware of the lure of lesser things.1. When given an opportunity to move forward in the purpose of God. Lesser things usually come from the past to hinder you from your future.2. When Jesus calls you, don’t make any excuses. An excuse is usually an attachment to lesser things.
Philippians 3:13, Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 
What lesson can we learn from Lot’s wife?
Luke 17:32, Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Remember and Don’t Look Back1. Make the commitment, “This One Thing I Do.”2. Forgetting the things that are behind. Don’t look back.3. Reach forward to the things that are ahead.4. Do it today!

Hope – What Is It? How Does It Come?

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Colossians 1:26 (NKJV)The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 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. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.…
Colossians 1:26-27 (PHILLIPS)They are those to whom God has planned to give a vision of the full wonder and splendour 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.
WHAT IS HOPE?1. A picture of something good that can happen 2. Confident expectation 3. Anticipation of good4. Belief that something is obtainable
WHERE DOES HOPE COME FROM?1. From God - Imago Dei (Image of God) 
Psalm 119:49, “Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope”2. From Your Parents3. From Significant Others in Your Life

Source vs. Resource: How to Receive the Things You Need

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Philippians 4:11-13, Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Cause & Effect: God's Promises and Mercy at Work

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Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
”Cause and Effect" is a relationship between events or things, where one is the result of the other or others. This is a combination of action and reaction. Something happens (a cause) that leads to an effect. 
Five things are true:
1. We have everything to do with outcomes.
2. We have much to do with outcomes.
3. We have nothing to do with outcomes.
4. Things are not always as they appear. Losing is winning.
5. We need MERCY & FAVOR
It is important to keep yourself in a healthy perspective. 
Being diligent is essential, but understand that you are not the “master of your fate” or the “captain of your soul.”
Your are neither helpless nor all powerful
Mercy is the gift before and after faith. We think we’re “working it,” but the mercy of God is helping us more than we realize!
Favor is a product of mercy
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Imago Dei: Qualities of a Man and Father

1 Corinthians 16:12, (TLB), I begged Apollos to visit you along with the others, but he thought that it was not at all God’s will for him to go now; he will be seeing you later on when he has the opportunity. 13 Keep your eyes open for spiritual danger; stand true to the Lord; act like men; be strong; 14 and whatever you do, do it with kindness and love 
1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (KJV) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. 14 Let all your things be done with charity.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14, (NKJV) Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.
Paul presents something common to his culture. Men were often idealized. We’ve seen this in our culture with television shows long ago such as, “Father Knows Best.”
That said, children raised in a home with a loving and caring father also have an idealized view of their father. This is an authentic reflection of Imago Dei, the image of God. Children from these homes will children most likely see God in a better light. How parents live and treat their children and others is the strongest witness to the living God.
Imago Dei is the image of God. It is not the image of self.
The thing that looks like a weakness is a doorway into strength. Paul discovered the principle:
2 Corinthians 12:10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul was not trying to do “mind over matter” or trying to drum up PMA, “A Positive Mental Attitude.’  He had already learned from God: 
2 Corinthians 12, And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Encouragement for Men and Fathers
Meet Every Need (M.E.N.) - Be willing, God will give strength
Pray and expect good and God
Provide the best example, even when you make a mistake
Love your wife and children with everything inside you and in your hand
Instill confidence that anything is possible
Only accept the best according to ability
Don’t expect anyone to give you anything, be prepared to earn it
Give more than you receive
Always bring your “A" game, even when you are the only one who sees it
Benefit your family before all others
Give space to flourish, fail, and recover
odel how to recover from failure and disappointment 
Surround your children with the values that you value
Remember that love is unconditional

A New Way: From Pandemic to Promise

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John 14:5Thomas 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.
Philippians 4:8Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
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.”
There are lessons to learn from the story of Israel under the leadership of Joshua as they faced another barrier of water, this time the Jordan River. There's was a pandemic, not in a medical sense, but the whole nation experienced a hardship together. And together they overcame it. That's the key word, “together.”
Key #1  |  Operate in Truth at Every LevelKey #2  |  Faithfulness to Small Things Leads to GreatnessKey #3  |  Prepare Well for Every Opportunity and ChallengeKey #4  |  Listen to LearnKey #5  |  “Stand in the Water.” Put Yourself in Position ActKey #6  |  When You Change, Your Circumstances Will ChangeKey #7  | You Don’t Need to See or Understand Everything That Helps You
Application Questions:1. What is your New Normal?2. In what small things are you faithful?3. What preparation do you need?4. In what ways do you need to listen to learn?5. What commitment(s) have you avoided?

Principles of Insight | Firm Foundation Bible Study

Firm Foundation Bible Study
Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
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2 Timothy 2:3, You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. 7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Insight definedThe power or act of seeing into a situationThe act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitivelyThe capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.A clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation:
Insight is inherently subjective.
Insight comes from one's own knowledge and lived experience. We only learn the value of an insight after we have time to reflect on it and view the outcomes
The Danger of Blindness
John 9:24, A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
Religious authoritarianism (“because I said so”)Go from bad to worse (continue to dig when in a hole)Blind to God while talking about God  (religious arrogance)Unwilling to acknowledge the obvious, empirical works of JesusDisrespecting people who won’t “fall in line”Tone deaf (won’t “listen” to others)Hanging on to dead people and old things

A Place Called Forward: Commence & Invoke

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This is the season for graduation and commencement. It is also the time to honor educators who taught and nurtured students to prepare them for the next level of their education.
God has a lot to say about beginnings, new beginnings, dedications, commencements and invocations.
Graduation and commencement are the beginning of a new era or season for your life. We most often recognize this with graduation from high school and college. This truth is also connected to Imago Dei, the image of God within you. Only people, who are made in the image and likeness of God, have the power to commence, begin, or invoke.
We also have commencements, beginnings, and new beginnings in items such as marriage, new jobs, relocation, military training, becoming a registered voter, ministry licensing and ordination, and many other milestones that change your trajectory.
Commence and Invoke
1. Stand in your space. Earn and demand respect
1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
2. Commit Yourself to God 
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”
3. Trust the Lord more than your own understanding. Honor the Lord
Proverbs 3:5-10 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
4. Work for God, not only for people
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
5. You were built for purpose
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
2021 College Graduates - Congratulations!
 
Your college degree is evidence of knowledge, personal organization for learning (no one FORCED YOU to do anything), as well as a commitment to inquiry, excellence, and lifelong learning. Your degree is neither a shortcut in life nor an emblem of privilege. You still have to become skillful in your field and earn the professional respect of people who know and do more than you.Don’t settle. #GoForward
To high school graduates: Good job, but THEY MADE you do it! You've just finished learning how to learn. Don't settle. #GoForward

A Place Called Forward: From Crisis to Courage

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There comes a time in any challenging situation, crisis, or pandemic, when you must choose courage over fear, wisdom over feelings, and facts over fantasies.
Israel faced that moment at the Red Sea which blocked their physical advance. In this moment, God instructed Moses to tell the people to, "Go forward!"
This remains God's instruction for us today!