Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

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!

Imago Dei (Image of God), Part Six - A Mother's Provision

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Isaiah 49:1, “Listen, O coastlands, to Me, And take heed, you peoples from afar! The Lord has called Me from the womb; From the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. 2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.” 3 “And He said to me, ‘You are My servant, O Israel, In whom I will be glorified.’”God's plan for helping us realize Imago Dei continues through the process of birth. Everybody is born of a woman, and everybody is created at birth in the image and likeness of God. Your mother is proof of your Imago Dei.Proverbs 30:11, There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.Hebrews 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.“A little lower than the “angels”In the Greek Hebrews 2:7, AngelosIn the Hebrew Psalms 8:5: Elōhîm (God)You are made a little lower than God!
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity (hostility) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”Her “Seed” would eventually lead to the birth of Jesus. Distorting or destroying the DNA and Imago Dei in women and men hinders the destiny of their children, and the human race.Mother’s Provision is Essential to Imago DeiJosiah was eight years old when he became king….His mother’s name was Jedidah (2 Kings 22:1,)Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 26:3)Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old….His mother’s name was Abijah(2 Chronicles 29:1)Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jerushah(2 Chronicles 27:1)Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king…His mother’s name was Jehoaddan (2 Chronicles 25:1)Paul spoke about the Imago Dei of Timothy’s mother & grandmother2 Timothy 1:5, When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Loisand your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.One of the first mandates and commands to God’s people related to preserving and maximizing Imago Dei“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12)
Reflection Questions:
1. What is the "matrix" of a mother?
2. What are your mother's special contribution to your DNA and Imago Dei?
3. Why is God so mindful of you and humanity?

Imago Dei (Image of God), Part Five - The Image of Love

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1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God uses many activities to prepare people to receive the Gospel of Christ. For example, we cannot preach the Gospel to hungry people until we feed people. We cannot preach the Gospel to persons who have experienced injustice without dealing with the forces of injustice. Whatever injures Imago Dei (Image of God) in people hinders the heart and mind from receiving the word of God.
What was impossible, the love of God made possible.
John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Romans 5:8, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
We carry that same love. Love awakens the Imago Dei by connecting us with the nature of God, which is love.
“As we begin to treat each other with more love and empathy, it will not only change the world around us; it will also change us. As I have taken steps to promote racial justice, I have developed more endurance, discovered untapped wells of creativity, and experienced more joy than I ever expected. The journey of racial justice is itself transformative." (Jemar Tisby, How to Fight Racism, p. 7).
This love helps us not to stumble, or help others not to stumble.
1 John 2:10, He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
Definition of stumble:
σκάνδαλον
Transliteration, skandalon - The Greek word for “stumble” means, “a trap, snare, a stumbling block, any impediment placed in the way and causing one to stumble or fall. Sounds like “scandal.” 
Think of the all the traps and snares that come when we don’t receive God’s love, or share His love with others.
Realizing Imago Dei within ourselves and helping others realize it, is a function of the love of God. 
First, it is that God loved us, followed by the truth that because He loved us that we can love one another.
Many believers have misunderstood that social work and social justice is also the work of God and a manifestation of love. 
Anything that restores Imago Dei in people is a work of God.

Imago Dei (Image of God) Part Four: Factors That Hinder Imago Dei

Part One: Who Am I?Part Two: Restoring Human Identity and PurposePart Three: Why Am I?Part Four: Factors That Hinder Imago DeiPart Five: The Image of LoveReaching Our CommunityRomans 9:1, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh…
Restoring Imago Dei in Community“And at the core of urban apologetics is a restoration of the Imago Dei . Racial injustice and inequity have created a complex need to affirm humanity while challenging human sinful pride. Scripture demands that we treat all people as bearers of God’s image.”– Eric Mason, Urban Apologetics (p. 32). 
Restoring Imago Dei in CommunityReligious and Ethnic Identity Groups confuse the image of God in people The Nation of Islam -  God is a man, Allah is the latestHebrew Israelites - Christianity is a white man’s religion Kemeticism - Egyptian religion called KemetBlack Conscious Community - Started in South AfricaBlack Atheism 
Factors Working Against Imago DeiPost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Mindsets not introduced by family and Kingdom of GodAnti-Christ forcesSelf-loathing, Self-hatredConfused and negative peopleFailure to glorify God
Failure to Glorify GodAppreciationAdorationAffectionSubjection
AppreciationTo glorify God is to set God highest in our thoughts, and, to have a venerable esteem of him. Psalm 92:8, But You, Lord, are on high forevermore.Psalm 97:9, For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
AdorationVery strong love or worship for someone Psalm 92:2, Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holinessPsalm 97:9, For You, Lord, are most high above all the earth;You are exalted far above all gods.
AffectionThis is part of the glory we give to God, who counts himself glorified when he is loved.  The heart is set upon God, as a man’s heart is set upon his treasure.Deuteronomy 6:5, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
SubjectionWhen we dedicate ourselves to God, and stand ready dressed for his service. We are devoted to his serviceDeuteronomy 6:5, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)Not suggesting or diagnosing here, only considering the effects of trauma at verious levels. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Most people who go through traumatic events may have temporary difficulty adjusting and coping, but with time and good self-care, they usually get better.
Effects of PTSDFrom Mayo Client: Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include: Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world Hopelessness about the future Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event Difficulty maintaining close relationshipsFrom Mayo Client: Symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood may include: Feeling detached from family and friends Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed Difficulty experiencing positive emotions Feeling emotionally numb Changes in physical and emotional reactions 

Imago Dei (The Image of God) - Part Three: Why Am I?

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
God’s image - Character
God’s likeness - Outward witness
Dominion - Responsibility, tasks, duty, service
Fruitful - Utilizing abilities and gifts
Multiply - Reproduce yourself, empower others 
Subdue - Create and maintain order
 
What is the imago Dei?
Imago Dei is the Latin term for “image of God.” 
 Knowing who you are is foundational to both a healthy self-image and a strong sense of purpose.
 
God’s Purpose for People
Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly,To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Isaiah 43:21,This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.
1 Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light
God’s Purpose for People
1 Corinthians 15:9, For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 
Imago Dei of God
Calls to Imago Dei in You
Psalm 42:7, Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. 8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me—A prayer to the God of my life.
Reaching Our Community
Romans 9:1, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh…
Factors Working Against Imago Dei
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Mindsets not introduced by family and Kingdom of God
Anti-Christ forces
Self-loathing, Self-hatred
Confused and negative people
Failure to worship God
Reflections 
Why was I born?
What place does Imago Dei have in my day-to-day life?
What is my role in the lives of others?

Imago Dei (The Image of God) - Part Two: Restoring Human Identity and Purpose

Psalm 19:7 NAS, The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
Psalm 86:10, For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. 11] Teach me Your way, O LORD;   I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.  12] I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. 
In today’s culture, people believe in a “God” who is made in their own image. He is a God who changes, adapts to whims and customs and permits whatever the majority of people want to believe. Their god has many names, multiple personalities, no exclusive holy book and cannot be grieved by any act of sin except “intolerance.” Evil has become a non-category. It is like a farmer who plants crops but cannot admit to the existence of weeds and insects. He thinks the solution is to pour on more fertilizer. Today, education is the fertilizer.
There are two Gods. There is the God that people generally believe in—A God who has to serve them. This God does not exist. But the God who people forget—the God whom we all have to serve—exists, and is the prime cause of our existence and of all that we perceive. God being God offends human pride. “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18) When the light of God is absent, the intellect become dysfunctional, trying to devise a truth that will be compatible with the basic falsehood that man is god. (Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines)
C. Indicators of the True God:
Is from everlasting to everlasting
Known to Adam, Abraham, Moses and the pagans of every generation
Has the power to create, destroy, heal and reform 
Passes final judgment
Knows the hearts of people
Knows the motivations of the heart
Has purpose that transcends the lifetime or sensual interests of people
Manifests His presence in the earth through the Holy Spirit
Has a son name Jesus Christ, who is God the Son
Thought: images, concepts, judgment; enables our will (or spirit) to range far beyond the immediate boundaries of our environment
Feeling: sensation, emotion; inclines us toward or away from things that come before our minds; involve a tone that is pleasant or unpleasant. Thoughts and feelings go together 
Choice: Will, decision, character; our choices produce our unique contribution to reality. Temptation is the thought plus the inclination to sin. We must very careful about the things we allow our minds to dwell upon or allow ourselves to feel. Human life does not run by will alone. It must be organized by the will if it is to be organized at all. People nearly always act on their feelings, and think it only right.
Body: Our primary source of energy and the place from which we live. The body cannot be understood apart from human relations, The re-formation of the body is one major part of the process of spiritual formation. Spiritual formation is also and essentially a bodily process. It cannot succeed unless the body is reformed.
Social Context: The human self requires rootedness in others—God first, then people

Imago Dei (The Image of God) - Part One: Who Am I?

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Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
This is an instance where a biblical worldview is helpful. A Christian worldview only applies to Christians, but a biblical worldview is for everyone.
What is the imago Dei?
Imago Dei is the Latin term for “image of God.” The term is used because it is distinctive and beautiful sounding. Knowing who you are is foundational to both a healthy self-image and a strong sense of purpose. (Watch this video)
Humankind was created to be an image bearer of the Creator. This ideal state was to be a representation of who God is and what He is like. Of course, humanity is far from this ideal state.
“The imago Dei is not a quality possessed by man; it is a condition in which man lives, a condition of confrontation established and maintained by the Creator. … The imago Dei is that in man which constitutes him as him-whom-God-loves.” –John Piper
The imago Dei was the outcome of being created by God. No other creature was made in the image of God, not even Angels. 
Look at the words image and likeness  in Genesis chapter 1
Image
Hebrew צֶלֶם - ṣelem (Pronounced tseh’-lem) 
From an unused root meaning a representative figure or image
Stong’s Dictionary word (#H6754) is used in the old testament as image (16x) and vain shew (1x).
It is used mostly to denote objects of false worship such as idols. It is interesting that this is the word used to describe people being made in the image of God. It shows that this word is only understood by the context in which it is used.
It is best understood as representing the character of something or someone. 
For example, my father is technically inclined, a problem solver, and a hard worker. I have my father’s or character IMAGE in me. My mother loved people, served people, and had great compassion. I possess that particular image or character of my mother. 
Likeness
Hebrew דְּמוּתd - demût, (pronounced, dem-ooth’)
Stong’s dictionary word (#H1819); means, resemblance; shape; like (-ness), manner, similitude.
This is best understood as representing the likeness or appearance of something or someone. For example: I RESEMBLE both my mother and my father.
Is the image of God something only belongs to Christians? Did sin remove the image of God?
No. Man’s fall into sin didn’t destroy or remove the image of God. Sin obscured the Imago Dei. Sin always darkens and distorts reality.
The apostle James confirms that God’s image i when he states that all people, not only Christ followers, 
James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude [or likeness] of God
So, what was the effect of sin when it comes to the image of God in man? 
Adam’s disobedience to God, severed fellowship with God, which led to physical and spiritual death. Adam, representing all humankind, became an image without the substance of God. They were expelled from the garden of Eden.
Example: Like a wax sculpture that looks like the person, but has no life. It is appearance without spirit and substance. Like a corpse.
People maintain the image of God — even in a broken or distorted form — that they are redeemable and worth redeeming. Without it, God would have had no reason to send His Son to die on our behalf.
Maximizing Imago Dei
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God’s image - Character
God’s likeness - Outward actions
Dominion - Responsibility, tasks, duty, service
Fruitful - Utilizing abilities an gifts
Multiply - Reproduce yourself, empower others 
Subdue - Create and maintain order