Fifteen Foundations for Your Life

The house had major cracks running up the gable wall. The family were worried, upset and had to move out from their end terrace home. We discovered this when we lived in our first house nearby. They told us that a subterranean river had destroyed the foundations of their home.

Foundations are crucial for a building. Good foundations are also vital for our lives. A faulty or missing base in our lives gives us painful ongoing problems day by day.

The first book of the Bible is called Genesis and is a book of foundations. It has been called the ‘the seed plot of the Bible’ because it contains almost all the great truths that are taught later more fully. This book of beginnings can help us fix faults in the core of who we are and how we live.

Foundation 1: God

He is revealed as our creator. We see Him as a promise maker who always keeps His word. He can do this because He is almighty and the owner of everything and everyone.

Foundation 2: Humankind

God made us and the first man and women were perfect. They were made in the image of God. Sadly, they chose to rebel against Him. This brought in all the problems and pains we face. It also exposed us to disease and death.

Foundation 3: Satan

We see that we have an arch enemy who wants to steal from us and destroy us. He forsook God and is on an insane path of destruction. He wants to ruin our lives as well.

Foundation 4: God Chooses

In Genesis, God elects to save people from the destructive path they are on. He calls Abraham to leave Ur and blesses him making Abraham the father of many nations. Again, and again God chooses to help those who rejected Him.

Foundation 5: God Saves

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were naked and ashamed. They failed to clothe themselves with leaves. God clothed them with animal skins which meant an animal had to die and its blood poured out when sacrificed. The word for cover is ‘atone’.

This gives us our first glimpse of what Jesus has done for us. Spiritually we are all naked and ashamed. Our best efforts do not deal with the problem we have with wrongdoing. Jesus came and died upon the cross, His blood being shed. Spiritually we can be covered since He died and rose again making atonement for us.

Foundation 6: Faith

Faith simply means to believe. God made many promises to Abraham in the book of Genesis. He chose to believe what God said. This faith in God meant God forgave Abrahams sin (Genesis 15:6)¹6 He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.. We also can be made right with God by believing in Jesus.

Foundation 7: Safety

This fallen world is a dangerous place. In Genesis we see people who loved God being protected by Him. Noah lived through a major cataclysm which reduced the world population to eight. Abraham and his family lived as immigrants in a very hostile land. God also can keep us safe in a sinful world as we follow Him.

Foundation 8: Separation

Enoch lived in a society that was so violent and evil that God chose to destroy most of the people. He walked with God despite the temptation and hostility all around him. It is possible to live differently in this world. The key to this is to walk with God as both Enoch and Noah did.

Foundation 9: Correction

Jacob was a man who longed to be blessed by God but who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. He lied and cheated his own brother out of his inheritance. God did bless Jacob, but part of this process required Jacob learning some hard lessons. Laban cheated and lied to Jacob for over twenty years. God used this to correct Jacob and ultimately bless him. God disciplines those He loves. There are times when God will correct us as His children.

Foundation 10: Prayer

Prayer is necessary for our lives. Abimelech’s family were saved when Abraham prayed for them (Genesis 20:17)²7 Now therefore, restore the man’s wife. For he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. If you don’t restore her, know for sure that you will die, you, and all who are yours.”. Isaac found his wife when Abraham’s servant prayed (Genesis 24:12)³12 He said, “Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.. Isaac’s wife only had children though prayer (Genesis 25:21)⁴21 Isaac entreated Yahweh for his wife, because she was barren. Yahweh was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife conceived..

Foundation 11: Hope

Enoch walked with God and there came a point when God took him to Heaven. He physically was translated from Earth to Heaven. There will come a day when every Christian will be translated from Earth to meet Jesus in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17)⁵17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever.. This promise fills us with great hope as we live our lives.

Foundation 12: The Coming of Jesus

On the day Adam and Eve rebelled against God, He promised that Jesus would come and destroy Satan. The promise was that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15)⁶15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”. The fact that Jesus was described as the seed of the woman also indicates His virgin birth. Jesus was not referred to as the seed of man.

Foundation 13: Resurrection

Death and resurrection are demonstrated symbolically in the first book of the Bible. At the start of the flood Noah and his family escaped into the ark. After the flood had subsided they came out into a new world. When Abraham placed his son on an altar to sacrifice him God gave him a ram to take the place of Isaac. We are to live our lives on the basis that one day we will die but also we will be resurrected.

Foundation 14: Jesus will Reign

The story of Joseph coming out of Pharaoh’s prison and being made prime minister of Egypt symbolically revealed how Jesus would be humiliated on the cross but one day will return as ruler of the World.

Foundation 15: Jesus as Priest and King

Melchizedek was both a priest and king who ruled at Jerusalem. He brought out bread and wine to Abraham when Abraham defeated some foreign invaders. This foreshadowed Jesus who is both priest and king. As a priest He continually prays for us (Hebrews 7:25)⁷25 Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them..

There are many other foundations in the book of Genesis for our lives. It is therefore well worth the effort to read this book and put its lessons into practice.

Questions

1. Can you think of other foundations in the book of Genesis?
2. How have these foundations helped you in your life?
3. Do you feel you lack any of these foundations?