This podcast episode focuses on three foundational truths for life, emphasizing the importance of having a correct belief system. I begin by discussing God's sovereignty, highlighting that He has the absolute right to do as He pleases, and that our understanding of His control can profoundly impact our spiritual lives. Next, I address the misconception of a transactional relationship with God, clarifying that our faith should not be based on expectations of rewards for good behavior. Finally, I explore the complexities of the spiritual world, reminding listeners that while we may not always understand our suffering, God is always present with us. These truths serve as a guide for navigating our spiritual journey and understanding our relationship with the divine.

Takeaways:

• Understanding foundational truths is essential for a meaningful spiritual life and growth.
• God's sovereignty means He has the absolute right to govern all aspects of existence.
• Our relationship with God is not transactional; we cannot dictate terms to Him.
• There are deeper spiritual realities at play that we may not fully comprehend or see.
• Trusting God amidst suffering is crucial, as demonstrated through Job's unwavering faith.
• The answers to life's big questions are found in the Bible, particularly in Genesis and Job.

Links referenced in this episode:

• www.bible805.com

Welcome to the Hobo Soul Podcast of Road Advice from the Bible and from me, Yvonne Prehn, someone who's a little further down the road of life.

I'll talk to you every Tuesday and Thursday for about 10 minutes, and if you'd like more in depth information on walking with Jesus, you can find that at my www.bible805.com website. For now, let's get started on our topic for today, which is

Episode number 59, Three of the most foundational truths for life.

(Note, sometimes the program for the transcript does odd things and this is one of them--the content is all here, though oddly broken up--I apologize and I don't know how to fix it).

Here's our verse that goes along with.

The topic for today.

It's from job 384 and it's in today's living Bible where God is speaking to Job and he says to him, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Tell me if you know so much.

If we have an incorrect foundation in any belief system about anything, all the things that we assume and act on concerning that area of life are going to be faulty.

For example, if you think your car doesn't need routine maintenance or regular oil changes, you won't do anything to maintain it, and it won't run as well or last as long as it could have if you had the correct foundational belief system that it needed regular care. Our spiritual lives work the same way, though. The consequences of what we believe and act on are far more serious than.

Just a car that doesn't last as.

Long as we'd like, not just for our daily lives now, but for where we will spend our eternity.

You can look at the whole schedule, what classes will be when, what resources will be available to you in a new and reorganized format on the www.bible805.com website.

But I really wanted to share with my Hobo Soul audience three of the most important foundational truths for life that come from the first series of lessons that I'm doing, and they're entitled Answers to the Big Questions of Life as Found in Genesis and Job. I'll share what those questions are at the end of the podcast.

But first there are three foundational truths along with a brief application of each one that the lessons are founded on. Here's Foundational Truth Number one God has an absolute right to do whatever he wants to do.

He is in control over all things in heaven and on earth, people, Satan, his demons, everything. This right is also known as his sovereignty. He is king. Now, there's a few brief application thoughts on this, though this may seem indisputable.

I mean, we know that he's that, but do we truly live as if God were sovereign? Or do we tell God what we think is best, what we want to do, what we think is right or.

Wrong, and without even pausing to ask.

His opinion or to humbly submit to what he's doing in our lives? God's response to this way of thinking is expressed with the verse that I.

Open with, where, in answer to Job's question, Job, assuming that he knew what was best, what was going on, et cetera, God says to him, what? Where were you when I created the world? And the unspoken continuing thought is, if you can't answer that, I, God, do not need to answer you.

Now, it might seem harsh, but that is reality. God does not owe us explanations.

He doesn't always give them.

And he never told Job why. What happened to him happened to him. But he showed up for Job, and He always shows up for us.

He's with us in the fire. He promised never to leave us, and.

He promised us his peace.

His presence is enough. His answers are not guaranteed.

Foundational truth number two.

Our relationship with him is not a.

Transactional one where we can put expectations and demands on God, on what we think we we want or what we deserve. Now, this is so big, and it's the whole point of much of the dialogue in the book of Job.

In summary, what happens there is that God has tested Job by taking away.

His wealth, his children, and his health.

His three friends come to comfort him, but as Job says, they're miserable comforters.

And their messages, which go on and on and on, can be summarized along the lines of if you do good things, God will reward you, and if you are bad, you will be punished.

Though we may not put this belief in really as eloquent a terms as Job's friends do in some of the passages, this idea that people have a transactional relationship with God, where if they do good, God owes them blessings, when they do badly, he's going to zap them right away, is a default belief many people, us included, oftentimes have today. But though it may be widespread and popular, it isn't true. It simply isn't true.

And at the end of the book, and the reason why you should say the whole thing, here's God's conclusion on this way of thinking and on all the things that Job's friends said. And here's what it says in Job 42:7 after the Lord had finished speaking with Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, he was one of the three friends.

I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not been right in what you've said about me as my servant Job was. In other words, your transactional way of thinking about me is wrong. See Foundational Truth number one. Remember, God is sovereign.

We don't force him to do anything. We cannot just because we do this, expect God to do that. That is not how it works.

Foundational Truth Number three There's a lot more going on in the spiritual world than we are aware of. In ways both terrifying and ultimately comforting.

The reason Job suffered as he did was that God was using Job as a witness to the host of heaven and to Satan himself. That Job would trust and believe in God even when everything was taken from him. Job never knew what was going on. God did not tell him.

In his time on earth, we're not told that this was a one time situation. We have no idea why. What happens to us happens to us or how God will use what we go through.

All we know for certain is that like he was with Job, God will always be with us. This has been just a little sample of some of the foundational truths we'll cover in this upcoming lesson series.

Please listen to the Bible805 podcast for answers to the questions in the series, which is entitled Answers to the Big Questions of Life as Found in Genesis and Job. And I'll tell you the questions in just a couple of minutes.

The whole series will be in podcast, video, written format, all of those different things and materials for you to teach them. So you won't be just listening for yourself. I will make it available that you can teach all of these to other people.

So here are the lessons that we'll be going over. Number one how did we get here? Number two, what went wrong? And a sub question who is Satan and what power does he have?

Number three Is there life after death? Number four what about people who've never heard of Jesus? Number five, why do innocent people suffer?

And number six, how can we help people are suffering.

The answers to these seemingly tough questions really, really aren't difficult to understand because all the answers are clearly spelled out for us in Genesis and Job, which are the earliest books in our Bible. Take time for these lessons. I promise you it will give you the solid foundation that you need.

That's all for this podcast for transcripts links to related material, and much more to help you learn to know, trust, apply and teach the bible. Go to www.bible805.com for now, let me end with this benediction and prayer.

May you walk each day surrounded by the gracious love of the Father, guided by the gentle wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and conscious of the astoundingly real.

Presence of Jesus, who will walk with.

You until you're no more a hobo soul, no more a transient wandering heart, but at home in the kingdom prepared for you with your God forever. Amen.