Firm Foundation with Bryan Hudson

Matthew 6:22 (NLT), Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.

Welcome to the year of our Lord 2020AD and to a new decade!

The interaction between God and Jeremiah provides a great lesson for us:

1 God’s Purpose
Jeremiah 1:4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

2 Your Excuse
Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

3 God’s Empowerment
Jeremiah 1:9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

4 Your Mission
Jeremiah 1:10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant.”

5 God’s Vision Test
Jeremiah 1:11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

6 Your Release
Jeremiah 1:12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

Everything fruitful thing we want do for God this year depends on “seeing well.” This is often the determining factor in God performing His word.

It’s not the God needs us, it is that He intends to work through us, and that can’t happen if we don’t see and act on what God is showing us. If we don’t see it. Why would God do it?
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Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. (Matthew 6:22 NLT)

Welcome to 2020, a new year and a new decade!

Jesus talked about having a “good” or “healthy” eye. He was talking about perception or how we see things and about “light” following good perception. Even while living in a world full of heartbreak and evil, we need to maintain a healthy and faith-filled outlook. Bad circumstances come not only to make your life difficult, but to break you by damaging your perception of self, your purpose, diminishing key people in your life, and reducing your faith in God.

A new year is an opportunity to reset and renew!

Last week, while thinking about the new year, I had some thoughts or “R-eflections” (“R” words).

R-eflections in preparation for 2020:

1. Reduce inefficiency – Do things better to redeem the time and make the most of opportunities.

2. Remove clutter, environmentally, mentally, relationally, financially – Clutter is defined, “Things lying around in an untidy mess.”

3. Renew and strengthen vital relationships – “Vital” represents that which gives you life. We are aware of both life-giving and life-draining relationships (such as aspects of your job). You should not necessarily cut off a life-draining relationship because there is a purpose to be served in helping others. Life-giving relationships help to renew your strength.

4. Retire outdated methods, equipment, and processes – There comes a time to cease doing or using some things. In the last season, were you the last person using cassette tapes or keeping a land line?

5. Refresh in the presence of God daily – There is nothing more important than your devotional time with the Lord. Plan it and protect it.

6. Respond less to unwelcome items – Be a good steward of your energy and time. You might find yourself to be an “unwelcome item” to others. Be prepared to remove yourself.

7. Read to lead and learn – Soundbites or getting bits of information here and there is no way to learn, grow, or lead. As the saying goes, some folks just know enough to be dangerous. Reading the Bible and good books/ebooks/resources remain the best means to gain truth and substantive information. I would suggest also using text-to-speech technology.

8. Rest well – The perils of a lack of rest are well documented and understood by all of us!

9. Reach out to embrace new opportunities – An opportunity is not everything that crosses your path. A genuine opportunity is something suited to your purpose and fits the desire of your heart.

These are some of my thoughts. Take some time to develop your own insights for 2020. A “healthy eye” can be cultivated. We all need the “light” of having good perceptions and strong faith in God!

~ Bryan Hudson

Avoid The Innkeeper's Mistake

Luke 2:6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Joseph and his pregnant wife, Mary, at the inn. A manger was a stone or wooden container for feeding animals. Travelers know that if the innkeeper wanted to accommodate a VIP, he would have found room in his inn. As it was, he was too crowded for Christ and too busy for a blessing.

The innkeeper symbolizes the condition of the hearts of people. Too often, we fail to recognize the importance of God's purposes. When Christ should be treated as a VIP and welcomed at the inn of our hearts, He is relegated to the "manger" of our lesser priorities.

The innkeeper was a busy man, probably enjoying the best business he had seen in years because of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. People had to return to their home towns to be counted. It was like getting a hotel room during the NCAA Final Four or the Indy 500 when rates are higher and VIPs get preferential treatment.

If being too busy dulls our sensitivity to God, we might miss the significance of God's purposes and make the same mistake as the innkeeper. For this Christmas season and at all times, make room at the inn of your heart for Christ!

Merry Christmas from Pastor Bryan & Patricia Hudson and family!

Exodus 14:13, And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14]The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." 15] And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16] But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

Forward defined: To cause to proceed or progress toward a goal. To cause to go or be taken from one place, person, or condition to another.

Forward is a place to which God leads people of purpose and destiny. Forward is a place that stretches your faith and exercises your prayer life. Forward is the place and the direction that vision takes you.

F.O.R.W.A.R.D. is...

F - Follow instructions. Face your God given responsibilities. Stop complaining and do something! Carry your weight. Be an effective part of the body of Christ.

O - Open your heart to God. Turn to Him and not to fear. “Do not be afraid. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” Love people enough to touch them (for ways to touch)

R - Remember your covenants with family, leaders, and brothers and sisters in Christ. “Remember” is a covenant word. Remember the people that helped moved you forward. Thank God for the circumstances that moved you forward, even though that did not appear to be the case at the time.

W - Walk by faith, not by sight. Don’t trust your feelings or your carnal mind. Only through prayer will you be sensitive to what God is doing and saying. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Activate spiritual principles.

A - Act on the Word. Act on spiritual principles. Be doers of the Word, so you won’t deceive yourself. (James 1:22, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.) Mrs. Lot deceived herself. Be faithful, supportive, and obedient.

R - Roll with the punches, and then punch back

D - Dream big and get to Work! Work on and invest into your dreams.

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Luke 8:38 Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

This is a dramatic story. Many of us have heard that story many times. The most impactful part of the story is when Jesus told the man to go back home and tell what great things Jesus has done for him. It is easy to focus on the tragic part of stories, but it is more helpful to others to share what God has done to bring you out.

Your testimony is your story to God's glory. What God has done for you is the greatest evidence of his presence and power. There is nothing anyone can say to contradict an authentic experience with the Lord. As we say, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

Your testimony is the story of God's glory and grace in your life!

• A testimony is the statement of your faith in God.

• A testimony is an explanation of what Jesus has done for you.

• A testimony represents your chosen lifestyle, not only what circumstances have forced upon you.

• A testimony encompasses your purpose and predicts your future actions.

• Your testimony of faith and expectation also completes the circle of your prayers, even before you see the answer.

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