Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Sharpen the Saw: Getting Your Edge Back On - Continued

SELF-ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET
Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NJKV), If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom produces success.”
(NLT), Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.
(NIV), If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the saw.” ~ Attributed to Abraham Lincoln
From a knife sharpening guide: 
“Maintaining Your Edge”
A properly maintained knife is sharp. A dull knife can be dangerous because you will apply much more pressure than you would with a sharp knife and your hand will be much more likely to slip.
A honing tool will realign the edge and also bring to the surface the carbon molecules that provide most of the cutting action. Frequent honing is essential and will keep your knife cutting like new for months.
Use your honing tool virtually every time you use your knives.
KEY WORDS
Ax (Saw) – The instrument of service; our lifestyle
Edge – The cutting edge; the action edge; What we actually do; our gifts and unique contribution to God’s purpose
Wisdom - Ability to make proper choices and reach proper conclusions and decisions; Shrewdly aware and subtly resourceful; Using the proper means and procedures in attaining an end; Knowing how to restore and maintain your edge.
Sharpen: Raising the level of your skill and effectiveness through RENEWAL
Tools That Sharpen 
Doers of the Word: Eccl. 10:18, Laziness leads to a sagging roof; idleness leads to a leaky house
Prayer & Worship: Individual, corporate, John 4:23
Simplicity/Declutter Life: 2 Cor. 11:3 NLT, But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
Fellowship: (“Iron sharpens iron”) Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 2:7
Personal Preparation: 2 Tim. 2:15, Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Accountability: Hebrews 13:7, Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. account.
Faith: 2 Cor. 5:7, Prov. 11:4, He who observes the wind shall not sow...”
Teaching & Training: Sermons, Bible Study - Acts 2:42, They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Why Your Season Never Fails - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for March 2, 2022

In the first Psalm, David described the blessed person who knows that seasons never fail. He wrote. “They shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”Your season never fails because a season does not depend on you. Your season depends where you are planted.Trees, like our lives, that are planted by rivers of water have a steady supply of nourishment contributing to steady growth. Having served in ministry for more than 40 years, I have seen the difference between people who are planted by rivers of water, such as planted in churches that teach the Word, who honor Jesus, and those who are not well planted. When you are well planted, your leaf does not wither, and you prosper, even when you don't feel like it. God is faithful, even when we struggle— especially when we struggle!Again, your season never fails because it does not depend on you. Are you well planted?Thank God for the streams that nourish you –– Streams of a faithful church, caring pastors, and loving people in your life.
God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.
 
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You Are A Masterpiece - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for February 23, 2022

Ephesians 2:10 NLT, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”Did you know that you are a masterpiece?A masterpiece is the greatest work of an artist, author, architect, composer, or other practitioner. Perhaps, you've heard about the The Last Supper painting by Leonardo Da Vinci, or the book Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, seen acting work by the late, great Sidney Poitier. There are masterpiece buildings like the Sidney Opera House in Australia.You are God's masterpiece! People are God's greatest work. We are Imago Dei, which is a latin term meaning "The Image of God", which is what he said when he made the first person, Adam. That is something not said about any other created thing or animal. Not even Angels are made in the image of GodA lot of forces in this world and sometimes your mind fight against the Imago Dei inside you. We live in a negative world, but you have a positive image inside you. And it is never too late to accept God's version of reality and His design for your life.An oppressed man named Gideon was found threshing wheat in a wine press because he was hiding from his enemies. A wine press is for pressing grapes. In that place, God found Gideon hiding in that place and said, “I am with you, you mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12) God doesn't only see your circumstances, He sees you.Is there anything out of place in your life because of negative circumstances? The answer and solution begins with believing what God said about you. You are HIs best work. 
 
You are a masterpiece. And God is with you!
 
God Bless and Be Encouraged!
Bryan Hudson, D.Min

Renewal: The Best Version of You - Part Two

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2 Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
How to Be Renewed
R - Rest & Repent
E - Experience Fullness
N - Never cease prayer
E -  Endure: Cast Cares on the Lord
W - Wait on exchange of strength
 

Are You At Rest? - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for February 16, 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.)
 
Hebrews 4:9-10 reads, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”Here is a good question: What does it mean to rest in the Lord?The best answer comes from today’s Scripture, “He who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” When God finished creation as described in the book of Genesis, He rested. God did not rest because he was tired, He rested because He was finished.In like manner, we rest when we finish something, or deem it as finished. Open ended and incomplete items in our lives prevent us from entering into a sense of rest. There are some matters you need to close so that you can experience rest.Here's another perspective: To rest in the Lord is to use the power of another. If you wanted to go to a grocery store a mile away, you could walk or jog there. Or, you could allow someone to drive you there. The latter would be an example of using the “power of Another.”We all value good effort, but sometimes we should rely on and use the power of the Lord. This is not the day to wear yourself down. This is the day to be energized and preserve your energy for tasks that fit your purpose. Even with things we do, we should use the power of another, the grace of God, to make our efforts more fruitful and enjoyable.
God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

RENEWAL: The Best Version of You

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2 Corinthians 4:16, Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
Renewed Defined
ἀνακαινόω (anakainoō)
“ana”  to cause to grow up
“neos”  to make new
New strength and vigor given 
To be changed into a new kind of life as opposed to the former corrupt state
Renovate
How to Be Renewed
R - Rest & Repent
E - Experience Fullness
N - Never cease prayer
E -  Endure: Cast Cares on the Lord
W - Wait on exchange of strength

”Two Kinds of Joy” - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for February 9, 2022

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”Today's Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute has special significance.On last Friday, February 4, for my wife and I, our third grandchild was born to our son and daughter-in-law. Baby and mother are doing very well. When we held our granddaughter, we experienced overwhelming joy at another miracle of life. Two days later, we were standing around the hospital bed of my wife's 90 year old father, and my father-in-law. We were present with other family members. I had the privilege of praying over him as he transitioned into the presence of the Lord. 
 
It was a different kind of joy, mixed with a growing sorrow of soon missing a man who was such a significant father, husband, grandfather, brother, uncle, and much more to many. We shed tears, but make no mistake, we had the joy of knowing that we had experienced a loss, but also knowing that no one was lost---because we know where he went and where he is.Joy is not one thing in one place. Joy is everything in every place because joy comes directly from the Lord. Joy is infused and diffused within those who know and love the Lord. Do you know Jesus? Do you love God?He is only source of true joy anytime and in any place.God Bless and Be Encouraged!
~ Pastor Bryan Hudson, D.Min.

Roads & Rivers: How God Carries You Forward

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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. 

The Leverage of Legacy

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.

”Hope is a Choice. Choose Well!” - Firm Foundation Inspiration Minute for February 2, 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.