Fathers Hearts to Children

Posted on August 29, 2015 by eternalpioneer

God’s Perspective on Children

Psalm 127:3-5 Behold, children are a blessing from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is His reward.

The first note in the workbook for the Basic Seminar by the Institute in Basic Life Principles is the definition of wisdom.

“Wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective.”

This includes when His perspective is not what you want to hear. This conflict is particularly evident when it comes to the issue of children. I actually heard a speaker say from the pulpit, “God, please don’t bless me that way, I’ve already got my three, and they are more than I can handle.”

When it comes to having and caring for children, God’s Perspective is diametrically opposed to man’s perspective.

Man’s Perspective: Try to limit the number of children
God’s Perspective: Try to have more children – More blessings
Man’s Perspective: Children are a burden. Get in the way of fun, career, etc.
God’s Perspective: Godly offspring is your purpose in life. They are His reward

Every year I hear jokes about how glad parents are when school starts, because the kids are going to be gone. How do you think this makes the kids feel? How would you like someone to say they will be happy when you are gone? God’s attitude is to enjoy them when they are around, and be sorry when they leave. Of course, they are more of a joy to have around when you impose God’s perspective of discipline on them.

Nothing worse than a house full of spoiled kids!

Is It God or Is It The Devil?

Posted on August 17, 2015 by eternalpioneer

3 Temptations of the Devil

Matthew 4:1-10

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. …

Temptation 1: To rely on earthly Provision and Solutions apart from the

direction of faith.

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that

these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is

written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

Temptation 2: Think you can do anything you want, and God will still protect you. Twist Scripture to justify your own wants.

5 Then the devil …said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not 1 tempt the LORD your God.’ ”

Temptation 3: Abandon God’s will for your life to pursue the world’s dreams and goals

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, 2 “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

Pioneers: Leaving It All Behind

Posted on August 1, 2015 by eternalpioneer

The Mark of a Pioneer: Forsaking the known for the unknown

The pioneer is willing to leave behind all known quantities of his present reality because he

From Woodstock To Eternity

sees them as limitations. And, those limitations are like chains to him. He might as well be in leg irons in a dungeon with one little window where he can watch the world outside change and grow while he is forced to tolerate an eternal hell of sameness.

From Woodstock to Eternity excerpt from the chapter “How the West Was Won”

The mark of a Pioneer is what separates successful people from unsuccessful people. Many work in mundane situations their whole life and never attempt to change it. Like factory workers who get so used to their job that they can’t imagine doing anything else. A Pioneer would feel bound and limited in an environment like this, and would make every attempt to escape.

Bakery Plant Line Workers

Sometimes, we are forced by circumstances to leave our present reality. Recently, a major plant in our town closed, and many of the workers took the opportunity to go back to Junior College to learn a skill. They were forced to leave their “known reality” of the guaranteed work and go in a direction they had never dreamed of. After they became nurses and technicians, they looked back on their time in the plant as a distant memory of a routine existence. They had changed their lives.

Many get caught up in this mentality, and don’t have the foresight or the courage to step out “into the unknown”, but a Pioneer will take the challenge with glee. My son worked

Welding Shop

odd jobs in high school and got a welding certificate at the local college. For him, that was all he could see, and thought the best he could do was open a welding shop. A friend of the family convinced him that the only way to get ahead in the world was to get a Bachelor’s Degree.

He was hesitant at first, because his known reality was only welding. It was a limitation to him, but he took the challenge and left it behind. He launched into a Construction Engineering program. Now, doors are opening up to him everywhere, and he will enter a life far beyond a sheet metal welding shop.

Treasure in Heaven

The same is true of a journey into Eternity. When we are confronted with the Gospel message and the Christian Life, it requires a turning from our know existence. Just like Jesus said, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:22

Following Christ is a leap into the unknown, a departure from the way we have been living in the past to a new life according to heavenly ways. We are supposed to become a “new creation in Christ” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Many are eager to do this, and some are not so sure.

For those who make the transition from the old life to the new life – who make it “to the other side”, I have a title

ETERNAL PIONEERS