FOUNDATIONS FOR OUR LIVES

A resource designed for group or individual study as well as a counseling aid.

Foundations is UNIQUE on many levels.

1. There is nothing else like this available at any cost.

2. All materials are provided in print-ready formats at no cost and no ads!

3. It is topical, truth and application-focused. It is NOT just another Bible Study or Discipleship Class. In fact, it does not replace either.

4.  It is rich with Earthly Parallels to help the reader understand Spiritual Truths.

5. Assigning individual topics is very effective as a supplement to counseling.

6. The roughly 3-minute quick read of each main topic can result in life-changing paradigm shifts and includes a

• Foundational truth

• Earthly Parallel

• Application

• Biblical Basis

7. Those who wish to pursue one or more of the Foundations further will find much more:

Digging Deeper

Audio Supplements (Transcription into text is included)

Study Guides

THE QUICK TOUR

The Wide Angle Look includes a sample of all of the resources for two of the Foundations.

Select ,  , or below if you wish to view the full tour version of one of those topics.

A WIDE ANGLE LOOK AT FOUNDATIONS

1)      Knowledge without application is useless. One might even say it is counterproductive.  The more we know what is best for us and the less we put it into practice, the more conflicted we become and we can build a habit of ignoring truth. (More)

2)       THE foundation for our life is God's love and God's power. All of our problems stem from our not trusting in these two attributes. Nothing in this world has both. People can love others, but without power it is useless. (More)

3)       THE pathways Jesus gave us for our life are to love God and to love others.  Although difficult, it is simple. This word "love" is Agape love, which is doing what is best for the other person no matter how we feel.  (More)

4)     EVERYTHING in our lives is a gift including what we have worked for. Thankfulness, therefore, should be our primary response. As we embrace this truth, the result is humility. The most important gift anyone can receive is Salvation.   (More)

5)       ALL good and all love is from God. ALL that we receive and all that we give is God's love passed through people. The result of living in these truths is that we are humbled, knowing that all the good we do for others, and all of our good accomplishments are a result of God using us as His vessel. 

●    EARTHLY PARALLEL:  Our ability to survive on the earth is dependent on the sun.

●    APPLYING THE PARALLEL:   In the same way, all our success, what we receive, and what we are able to give others comes from the Son.  He created all things, holds them all together, and is THE source of love.

●    APPLICATION: Write out some of the ways you have been blessed by others.  Consider each one as that person is a vessel of the good, the love you received, and that love coming from God.  

   "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us..."

   "No one is good--except God alone." 

   We need to first look up and know how much we're loved by God

   Instead of looking for who's messing up and who's not loving me. Look for the little bit that you get.

   it's just us and God. And we interact with different people as we're going through.  

   He went to the cross, he did all this stuff. And I'm supposed to expect an easier life?

   4.     How does it change your view of God loving you through so many people throughout your life? ___

   7.     Consider that the good, the love, didn’t come from you, but came from God and through you.  How does that change your view of yourself? ___

6)       It is God's will that you get to know Him. J.I. Packer in Knowing God states: "Disregard the study of God... sentence yourself... no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you."(More)    

7)       Learn from the past, Glorify God in the present and Trust God for the Future. God is pleased with our direction in this moment rather than after we've accomplished a goal or completed a future task. (More)

8)       It is not about us, and our desired way; it is about God. Jesus IS the way. It is not about our desired way. It is about God getting the glory through our lives. (More)

9)       Difficulty in our lives comes from the fall. Adam's sin resulted in our sinfulness, others sinning, and the corruption of the physical world.  We should not have an expectation for an easy life.

10)     God often uses the consequences from the fall, to discipline us, to teach us about Him We must at that point remind ourselves that God is all loving and powerful so we can trust in His purpose. Knowing this changes our reaction to every difficult thing that comes into our lives. (More)

11)     Motives Matter. The houses built on rock and sand look the same. When we do what we do for God, living our lives for Him, we have built our lives on rock.  When we live for ourselves or to please others, we have built on sand. The house built on sand WILL ultimately fail. (More)

12)     Our only source for guaranteed truth is the Bible. Nothing and nobody in the world are fully trustworthy. Our only source for guaranteed truth is the Bible. (More)

13)     The deception in our lives most often comes from worldly thinking. God wants our primary focus to be on heaven, not this earth. This takes continual energy as virtually all of our experiences are related to this life. God provides us with many earthly parallels to teach us that long-term thinking is profitable.

●    EARTHLY PARALLEL:  Eating in an unhealthy manner or spending money on non-essentials is enjoyable. However if one lives only for today's pleasures, they pay for it in the future.  There's no way out of the pain. Either the pain is self-inflicted through discipline or becomes the consequence of an earlier lack of discipline.

●    APPLYING THE PARALLEL:   That same thinking process when applied to spiritual things puts us in line with God's desire for us. We follow God's will for our lives today because we do not just live for this life. We live for eternity. 

●    APPLICATION:  If you have short-term thinking, why do you think you haven't made past decisions giving thought to the future? How can you take time each day, throughout the day, to think about Heaven more? 

   God wants us to have eternal thinking.

   Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

   Everything we “have” does not belong to us.

   People who are poor typically spend a great deal of time thinking about money.

   making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

   we believe that we are in control of our future.

   "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag.

   We should do our best and leave the results in God’s hands.

   People who are poor typically spend a great deal of time thinking about money.

   we’re deceived into believing that a person has the power to reduce the value of our life.

   We have an identity as “a chosen people.” 

   The amount of peace you have will be in proportion to the amount you're trusting God.

   You can take care of your body and go to pieces. But when you're trusting God, you're going to have peace.

   we fight against the things that are actually making us stronger.

   we have this lie from the devil saying, "Your life should be easy."

   He's ordaining our life for His glory and for the purpose of us growing in Him.

   we go to the Father vertically with Jesus. And this is where, when our hearts and our minds are set here, nothing touches us. 

   And so where is the meaning? And the meaning is in our relationship with God and the love relationship with Him.

   If you keep looking in other places for it, you're going to continuously be disappointed.

7)    Go through each of the 6 assessments above and write out specific changes you believe God wants you to make. ___

12)  Look at those events with the lens of your real treasure, your eternal life, being in heaven. Take each event and write out what you are thinking and feeling would be if you were thinking of your life as eternal.  ___

14)     We naturally forget. We forget both people's unfaithfulness and God's faithfulness. We must put ongoing effort into remembering both God's attributes (like His love and power), and God's faithfulness in our lives. (More)

Digging Deeper TOUR

Audio Highlight TOUR