What is Your Foundation?

I have been really enjoying writing and putting my thoughts out there. (Your feedback is welcome.) It seems we have a common theme going on with our identity. I think it is a bit ironic since I am still finding my blog identity. 

Each day is an opportunity to choose who we will be today. Even when we are just going about our day it can be a decision we are faced with. Paul said, "You’re like a straw blowing in the wind.” Meaning that whatever direction the wind is blowing that is the direction you are going in.

Will I be a child of the most high King today or will I be led by my own soul and my identity determined by the situation or environment around me? This is how your life and situations determine who you are. We can set a standard and choose to place a stake in the ground say this is where I am. This is who I am because I know whose I am. Be confident and stand strong.

I have had more than 1 conversation lately with young adults that are searching for their identity. One thing that stands out so very clearly is that to find out who we are we first need to determine what is the basis for our decisions. What things are going to be our foundation to base things on and compare them to. To know what we like and what we don’t, what we agree with and what we disagree with. These are our values and standards.

So, I guess that in that we should decide for ourselves do we believe in the Bible and that it is or is not, from God. Fallible or infallible according to where we choose to apply our faith. 

Joshua 24:14-15

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The Bible is a culmination of 66 books, divinely influenced by 40 different writers over a period of about 1600 years. It has a common theme throughout these years and writers of redemption and love. The Bible has been shown to be Scientifically accurate and helps us to understand the origin of the Universe, the earth, fossils, and life. It also happens to be where we get to see the life of Jesus through the stories.

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.

I am not going to discuss deeply whether the Bible is true due to how much time it would take. Through the years the Bible has been ridiculed, burned, refuted, and destroyed, but it lives on. 

I will say if you care to make this decision for yourself you can follow these steps to assist you.

1.     Do the research yourself and don’t base it on what someone else said.

2.    Read the Bible yourself and listen for God to speak.

3.    Look at the evidence the Bible gives to you regarding your personal life.

4.    Look at the prophecies of the Bible and keep in mind how long ago it was written, check accuracy.

5.    Ask God to show himself to you. (I promise you He will because He values you that much. No need to be afraid)

Once that decision is made, we will look at anything and everything in our lives and compare it to the foundation we choose to base our standards on. By doing this we find out what we believe in and what we don’t and develop our identity from that. It gives you a confidence and a freedom to make decisions that otherwise you would not be able to make because we know it is immovable. It is our Firm Foundation to stand on.

If we have nothing to base our standards and values on, then we are trying to stand on water or air and think we can hold our world or others up that way. It won’t happen. There is so much instability in the things of this world that when we attempt to place our trust or faith in anything from it we simply fall with it.

I encourage you to decide today what you will place your trust in and then follow through with it. Know this if you don’t choose for yourself then life will push you along and you will find that somehow these decisions were made for you…like a captive.

I have watched these young adults initially resist the Bible because it was inconvenient for them until they came to a series of difficulties in their lives. All the things and people they trusted in failed them, so they felt forced by circumstances to try God and found He was what they were looking for all this time. 
Finding value in the Word of God places value on you as His child. It gives you weapons against the enemy and changes your position from the underdog to the conqueror.

As a resource you can read Josh McDowells story here(https://www.cru.org/us/en/how-to-know-god/my-story-a-life-changed/my-story-josh-mcdowell.html)