Bondage to Freedom Part 1

Posted on January 14, 2015 by eternalpioneer

The World’s Freedom Brings Bondage

The world says, “It is not good to be restrained, all things are permissible, there is no right or wrong, no one should judge you.” This is their “freedom” from the limitations of

Unrestrained free spirits

righteousness. However, this kind of freedom brings bondage to all those “permissible” things.

Romans 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness

This says that when we were slaves of sin, we were free. This is what the term “In Bondage to Freedom” means. The people in this picture certainly think they are free. The so-called freedom of breaking away from limitations and constraints that God puts on us feels good and makes us think we are “free spirits”. However, the compulsion to reject all things that would restrain us makes us bound to do the opposite – be unrestrained and uninhibited.

The underlying power behind “bondage” and “slavery” is law – the concept of an outside

A controlling force

force compelling you to do something – whatever it is. To be a slave of sin would therefore mean that sin somehow is a force of law that compels you to behave a certain way. The compulsion is more subtle than that, however. A sinful perspective on life directs every thought and attitude – not just isolated sinful acts.

While the average person may not think they are in bondage to anything, the test comes when an alternative is presented. Do you do the righteous thing and refrain from doing such and so, or does your sense of “freedom” tell you to go ahead and do it anyway? This is when “freedom” becomes the force that compels you to do something you should not do.

Romans 7:19-20 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Coming Next: The Cadet and the Water Fountain

New Beginnings 2015 – Walking in Eternity

Posted on January 3, 2015 by eternalpioneer

2015 New Beginnings – Walking in Eternity

2 Corinthians 4:16 – 5:2

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,

In a New Year, we like to put away the old and look forward to the new. We usually think of what will be new in our earthly lives, but God wants us to see a new beginning as to how we can walk in his eternal life. He wants us to “earnestly desire to be clothed with our habitation from heaven.”

Mansion in Heaven

This does not mean waiting for our mansion in the sky – as if it is some tangible thing in heaven that we get to inherit. The phrase, “a house becomes a home” is about all the house represents and exemplifies. The memories, the victories, the emotions, the love, the decorations that set the tone. The same is true for our heavenly home.

Strangers and Pilgrims

Hebrews 11:13-16

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

To earnestly desire our habitation from heaven is to desire less out habitation here. The first requirement is to change our perspective to see with eyes of faith that we have a city prepared for us. Our job is to transform our earthly lives so that the ways of the heavenly country become our ways on earth.

My grandparents came into this country through Ellis Island from France. When they set up residence, they made themselves “strangers and pilgrims” as far as France was

Ellis Island

concerned. They no longer acted as though they were from there. They stopped speaking French and doing French things, would not teach them to their kids, and put all their soul into living like Americans.

Press Toward the Goal

This is not to say we should disavow our ancestors, or our good earthly upbringing, but it is an analogy to show that while we are walking on this earth as representatives of Christ, we should do all we can to shun the ways of the world and put on the character qualities of Jesus. He laid hold of us to live His life through us. We are to press on to make that happen on a daily basis.

May He give all of us the wisdom and power to do this in this coming year.

Philippians 3:7-14

7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus

Pioneers: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Posted on December 18, 2014 by eternalpioneer

How The 7 Qualities of a Pioneer can be used for good or for bad

Take into account that good visions, which produce noble actions, which result in grandiose achievements, can be switched to another track simply by a change in perspective. It all depends on the “lens” you see life through, and that lens is molded and developed in each of us by the influences in our lives. For Morgan, his lens became tainted, his perspective redirected, his exuberant pioneer spirit deformed until it took on a much different mold.

The wheels and pulleys of his life began to form the “lens” of his soul, which would take

Book excerpt – click image for free sample

his lust for adventure and put beads and flowers on it….

There weren’t any wagon trains anymore, but the West was still out there, and it still beckoned with the promise of wild exploits and untold opportunities.

The Good

Columbus

Christopher Columbus has got to rank as one of the top Pioneers of all time.

He dared to dream against all the conventional wisdom of the day. Based on the idea that the world was round instead of flat, he reasoned that he could end up in the east by going west.
He was willing to leave the known civilized world behind to discover unknown lands
Columbus the Pioneer
He was not content to remain in the Old Country with his old life, transporting goods around the Mediterranean Sea
He saw the doubters and nay-sayers as limitations that would prevent him from realizing the future opportunities.
He knew the risks – the odds were great that he and his whole crew would die at sea.
He refused to let caution and fear triumph over his dreams of glory. What he found changed the world forever, and resulted in the Land of the Free and the Home of the
Space Pioneers

Brave.

In the Twentieth and Twenty First Centuries, that same Pioneer Spirit has taken us into the frontier of space, reaping untold riches and advancements for mankind.

The Bad

Highway Pioneers

Looking at these two images conjures up a variety of emotions. Most people probably recoil in irritation at the thought of being stuck in a traffic jam on a freeway, navigating the flow of high speed traffic, or breathing smog.

Wagon Pioneers

On the other hand, how would you rather go to work – at 70 mph in an air conditioned car, or 20 miles a day in a covered wagon?

In this sense, the rewards of the Pioneer Spirit can be mixed. We have undisputed benefits from the efforts of those who went before us, but not without some side effects.

The Ugly

Adolph Hitler had a dream – It just wasn’t seen through the right “lens”. There is such a

Deranged Pioneer

thing as evil. There is right and wrong.

He was willing to do whatever he needed to do to fulfill that dream. He was determined to eliminate all limitations and opposition. He knew the risks, but he went ahead anyway. What has always puzzled me is how he was willing to sacrifice his own countrymen and ultimately take his own life when it didn’t work out.

Deranged results

The only way to stop him was with a greater opposing, liberating force. The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun.

Moral of the story: A Pioneer Spirit is a powerful force. Use if for good, and you can change the life of your family or a country.

From Woodstock to Eternity is here!!!

Posted on October 7, 2014 by eternalpioneer

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From Woodstock to Eternity is here!! A story of hope and deliverance! Free Look Inside!

Why is a story about hippies important? What’s the big deal?

A lot of people need hope and deliverance in this day.
We all struggle with the inward spiritual battle between right and wrong – between knowing what we ought to do and what we want to do.

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