Discipleship Essentials Archives | Page 4 of 17

Is It Reasonable to Believe as a Child?

Posted January 15, 2026May 15, 2026
by petebeck3

The longer I live, the more convinced I am that God wants us to receive and believe the words of the Bible with the simplicity of a child. Jesus said operating in such humility is the only way to know God.

At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Matthew 11:25 (NASB95)

Wisdom and intelligence are wonderful attributes, but, if we rely upon them instead of the revelation provided by the Holy Spirit, we will fall short of God’s glory and purpose.

Strengths become weaknesses when we elevate them above what God intended, which is idolatry.

Why would God hide truth from the wise and intelligent, and why would Jesus give thanks for his doing so? This may seem rather confusing unless we realize our Lord spoke of those who are wise in their own eyes but lack the humility to receive from God as a child.

Children simply believe what we tell them, unless we have poisoned their hearts by lying to them in the past.

But God never lies; so, we have no reason not to believe his words.

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NASB95)

Refusing to trust God as a child is a sin comparable to Adam’s and Eve’s in the garden. Why is it then that we sometimes feel comfortable in assuming that God did not mean what he said in the Bible?

Could it be that our Lord sometimes utters words that he knows we will not believe unless we humble ourselves in simple, childlike obedience? It seems so.

As adults, we hate when someone deceives us, especially when money is involved. We never want to be anybody’s fool. Since we live in a world full of deception, we learn to sift through the information coming our way to try to separate what is true from what is not. We do our best to protect ourselves from human and satanic trickery, which is good and necessary, but the unfortunate fallout is that we may decide to approach the Scriptures that way, too, oddly thinking that God’s Word requires something beyond childlike faith and obedience.

And it is impossible to please God without faith... Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Such simple faith was something Abraham possessed. Paul wrote about him.

In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Romans 4:18–22 (NASB95)

God asked this man, and us, to simply believe what was promised. In his case it was that God would give him a son, in spite of the fact that he and Sarah were past the age to have children. For a long time Abraham clung to God’s promise, waiting patiently for it to come to pass, but eventually he grew weary and reasoned that God expected him to do something to help the promise along. Resorting to human reason, wisdom, and intelligence produced an Ishmael. Simple faith later received an Isaac, the child of promise.

During the long years of waiting, Abraham’s faith had nothing to lean upon except God’s impeccable character. That is all anyone needs.

God named him “father of a multitude” when he was childless. People must have thought he was an utter fool until Isaac was born.

God does not mind placing his people in a position of being thought foolish or being misunderstood as a test of our loyalty to him. He wants to know if we will trust him with childlike simplicity.

Being willing to embrace the scorn and contradiction of unbelievers is part of the cost of having this kind of faith. It is a price we are expected to pay as Christ’s disciples.

Historians say the Age of Reason extended from the late 17th century through the 18th. This period profoundly influenced the world, including the founders of the United States, and continues to do so. The main characteristics of this era are summarized below.

Primacy of reason and empiricism — Knowledge derived from observation, experimentation, and rational analysis, rather than from faith or authority.
Skepticism toward tradition — Questioning religious dogma, superstition, absolute monarchy, and inherited privileges.
Ideals of liberty, equality, and progress — Advocacy for individual rights, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state.
Optimism about human potential — Belief in education, science, and reform to create a better society.
Secularism and deism — Many favored a non-interventionist God or natural religion over organized doctrine.

During this age, trust in human reason skyrocketed, often at the expense of faith in God and the Bible. Elevating reason in this way is as old as Eden.

The serpent convinced Eve that his words were more reasonable than God’s.

The Lord gave us the ability to reason, but it is only beneficial when it is submitted to God and his Word. God has ordained that certain important matters elude our power of reason and must be apprehended spiritually with the faith of a child.

Paul wrote about this.

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)

We have been taught from childhood to lean upon our wits. As a consequence, many of us also learned how to dismiss God’s Word when it seems unreasonable to us, just as Eve did. We also may think it is okay to reinterpret the words of the Bible to suit our reasonable understanding of things.

This is the error of eisegesis – reading our preconceived notions into God’s Word making it mean something God never intended.

The Pharisees knew the Bible better than anyone. As part of their education, they memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. Not surprisingly, they often looked down on others who had less knowledge. Tragically, however, their great knowledge did not translate into revelation or faith. They failed to recognize their Messiah when he stood in front of them. Instead, they put him to death. They despised the simple faith of the uneducated who recognized Jesus for who he is.

If our study and knowledge of the Bible does not produce humility and childlike faith, we have wasted our time and sentenced ourselves to a stricter judgment (James 3:1). The more we know, the greater our responsibility.

Lest we come down too hard on the Pharisees, we need to understand that this human tendency goes back to the garden and infects us all. It is humbling for us to realize that we cannot figure out things on our own or save ourselves. May God mercifully provide us all with the faith and humility of a child that we might simply believe what God has said. In a world full of deception, this is our firm anchor.

Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 (NASB9)

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2026: Will the Church Finally Ditch Her Pagan Boyfriend?

Posted December 29, 2025June 7, 2026
by petebeck3

2024 was a year of surprise for me. Imagine having your entire frame of reference for understanding the world in which we live turned upside down! Quite unexpectedly that happened to me and many others. As a result, I asked the Lord Jesus to forgive me for believing a major satanic lie for 72 years. This was necessary because believing that lie came at the expense of my disbelieving parts of the Bible. For someone supposedly committed to teaching God’s Word, this was a serious transgression. As a result, I have a new and growing love for the Bible and an even greater appreciation for its truth. I take every word quite seriously now and refuse to “shrug away” difficult verses and passages.

God wants us to believe what he says even if the world thinks his Word is quite unbelievable.

The Greek word for repentance is metanoeo and essentially means to change how we think. I had been thinking incorrectly about the world in which we live for almost my whole life. This was not really my fault because, from a child, I had been trained by our education system, the media, and adults who were likewise deluded to think within a false paradigm. Master manipulators, like magicians, understand how to direct our minds to think in a certain way. (An excellent documentary on how this was done can be accessed by clicking here.)

The brainwashing to which I had been subjected worked so well that I had no idea that my way of seeing reality directly contradicted what the Bible says.

I was so convinced that the framework for understanding the universe that had been pounded into my brain was true that I refused to consider that it could be incorrect. Contradictory information was conveniently filed as “too hard for me to figure out,” “leave that to the experts,” or “save for later.” As a result, I more or less glossed over certain Bible passages, such as Genesis Chapter One, Joshua 10, Psalm 19, and many, many others, because they seemed to contradict my ingrained version of reality. I reasoned that “God can do anything” and some things are just too mysterious for me to understand and went merrily on my way, not realizing that I was missing the obvious.

Nevertheless, like many others who are victims of this high level of brainwashing, I still said that I believed that the Bible is 100% true. Trying to juggle this apparent contradiction in my mind required that I either interpret some scriptures as mere poetry or metaphor or simply put them on “the back burner,” accepting that for the time being I simply did not understand how to think about them.

Like countless others, I thought I believed the entire Bible while at the same time holding a belief that flatly contradicted Scripture at a most fundamental level.

But God…! But God saw fit to remedy this awkward situation and deliver me from this great deception. When the Lord finally opened my spiritual eyes, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I clearly saw that for over seventy years I had not truly believed what the Bible says about cosmology the study of the heavens and earth.

Like most people, I thought that, when it came to the origins and nature of the heavens and earth, the Bible was written by people with a pre-scientific understanding and has no “scientific” merit. In other words, to put it bluntly, it was not true. Therefore, its words had to be properly “interpreted” to fit into “scientific truth.”

I had been duped by the devil into accepting what I now realize is a pagan version of the universe designed to hide God’s glory and lead people to believe there is no God, or, if there is, he is distant and quite unknowable.

After the Lord opened my eyes, as a Bible teacher, it became my unwelcome responsibility to warn others, especially the church, which is the future bride of Christ, that it is time for us to awaken to this mind-numbing deception. Sadly, most of the church is not open to this warning and strongly opposes it.

Most people believe that the commonly accepted cosmology is intellectually unassailable, not understanding that it is a house of cards waiting for the wind of the Spirit to bring it down.

We have been brainwashed to so revere the “religion of science” that we believe it transcends the words of the Bible, forcing us to twist the meaning of the Scriptures into saying something quite different than its authors intended. We are so in love with our current views on astrophysics that anyone who dares to oppose is deemed to be crazy, unstable, deceived, or, worst of all, that modern overused pejorative, a “conspiracy theorist.” Having endured such contradiction for the last year and a half, and knowing full well how much the church loves her pagan astrophysics, I ask you to nevertheless consider what follows. Don’t kill the messenger! Here we go….

the cosmic boyfriend — Satan (Helios, Apollo) – The Cosmic Boyfriend. If you want to learn more about the occult origins of heliocentrism, click here.

The church, which is Christ’s future bride, has surrendered part of her soul to a pagan boyfriend.

We do not realize we have done this and will fight “tooth and nail” anyone who so accuses us. We think this boyfriend is benign, having good intentions. We think he is truthful and quite helpful in our pursuit of knowledge. Little do we realize that this imposter is cleverly working to undermine our relationship with Jesus and destroy our credibility in the world’s eyes.

This cosmic liar has successfully seduced Christ’s intended into rejecting the Bible’s words regarding God’s creation.

He has so thoroughly deceived us that we stridently defend his pagan cosmology, all the while professing an unreserved love for the Scriptures. This detestable being is Satan himself, dressed up in a lab coat, posing as teacher of confirmed scientific truth. Only he could befuddle us into such self-contradiction and lead us down a path that has resulted in our bowing down to the globe idol and worshiping him, Helios, the sun god, without realizing what we are doing. (I am choosing my words carefully and not resorting to hyperbole. If you take the time to click on the various links and read the associated articles, you will understand in more detail why I think as I do.)

We largely have underestimated the powerful attraction of Satan’s lies and the exhilarating allure of the tree of knowledge.

In addition, we have failed to appreciate mankind’s propensity to be led astray.

God created us to believe him and his Words. If we reject them, we will believe a lie. We must believe something. Contrary to the claims of “proven” science, most of life is still a mystery that only God can unravel for us.

Even with the safeguards of God’s written Word and the indwelling Holy Spirit, most of us have embraced this cunning cosmological lie. Once we realize this, it produces humility and serves to strip away the arrogant pride so common among the highly educated.

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 1:27–29 (NLT)

The apostle Paul warned us, Christ’s intended – the church, against being beguiled by Satan’s craftiness and drawn away from a simple devotion to our future groom, the Lord Jesus, and his holy Word.

For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2–3 (NASB95)

Using the same strategy as he used with Eve in the Garden, Satan has succeeded in convincing many of God’s people that the words of the Bible cannot be fully trusted.

He convinces us, as he did Eve, that God did not mean what he appeared to say. He tricks us into believing that we are smarter than the authors of the Bible and are able to figure out origins and cosmology for ourselves, thanks to modern science. The old heresy of Gnosticism, salvation through higher knowledge, takes many shapes. Today’s Gnostic mantra is “Trust the Science.” Science has become the religion of choice for many. When it comes to cosmology, a large portion of Christ’s bride has concluded that the Bible, especially Genesis, is a simplistic document written by a primitive “pre-scientific” people.

We think we have been enlightened enough to realize that God never meant us to actually believe his words in Genesis Chapter One. Now we understand he only meant for us to glean spiritual meaning from that book. This is a dangerous precedent, however, because it begs the question, “When, then, does the Bible become literally true, and who decides?.”

We have adopted the satanic sophistry of believing that God communicates truth while being untruthful.

The devil wants us to imagine that coming to such a conclusion makes us “deep” thinkers, when in reality it converts us into fools.

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. Romans 1:22 (NLT)

The simple truth is that God never lies. He says what he means and means what he says.

God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NKJV)

Either Genesis Chapter One is absolutely true, or we should not trust the Bible at all.

We cannot have it both ways, which Satan knows, but he has deceived the bride-to-be into thinking we can eat our cosmological cake and still stick to our pure diet of God’s Word. Like Saul of old, we have not fully obeyed God while insisting we have. God might ask his church, what is the meaning of this heliocentrism? Who told you the earth revolves around the sun? God did not.

How did Christ’s intended fall from its noble position of defending the integrity of the words of her beloved at any cost during the Protestant Reformation? Why did we scrap “Sola Scriptura” for “Sola Scientia?” This radical shift resulted from the introduction of a mesmerizing new cosmology at the inception of what historians call the Scientific Revolution. Placing the sun (Helios – Satan) at the center of creation is a diabolical lie, which emerged to counterattack the newfound reliance on the Scriptures fostered by the Protestant Reformation. (The documentary entitled Heliosorcery lays this out brilliantly.)

Just when the Bible’s truth was being restored to preeminence, Satan introduced a reverence for “science” to undermine our confidence in God’s Word.

Copernicus did not regard the scriptures as sacred. He, therefore, had no qualms about proposing a radical anti-biblical idea that the earth moves around the sun, which became the center of what is now called the “solar system.” Making the sun the center, instead of the earth, accomplished several things for the devil.

It refuted the truthfulness of the Bible.
It established the sun, Helios or Satan, as the controlling influence over the earth, rather than God.
It reduced the earth to being one of the “wandering stars” (Greek: planetes), the rest of which were named after false gods (fallen angels?).
It destabilized creation by saying that the earth moves rather than the sun, moon, and stars.
It removed heaven, the abode of God, from the picture and gave rise to the even worse errors of evolution and the Big Bang, fostering hopelessness and atheism.
It led to what has become known as the Copernican Principle, that there is nothing special about the earth and humanity, contradicting the Bible.
The fear of the Lord has been diminished because people no longer believe that God is nearby, sitting on his throne atop the firmament, watching everything we do.

At first, the church resolutely rejected these cosmological lies, but over time, as the stalwart defenders of truth died out, the future bride of Christ was eventually swept off her feet by this handsome imposter’s lies.

Today most of the church thinks that the biblical cosmology of Genesis Chapter One is ridiculous. (Selah…let that sink in.)

We imagine that the Bible cannot compete with the wonderful explanations and theories of modern science. Sadly, this reveals that we think the Creator does not understand his own creation or perhaps lied about it because he thought we could not handle the truth.

We try to cover up our betrayal by telling an observant world that we have learned how to properly understand the embarrassing words of our intended by reinterpreting them as poetry or allegory, while at the same time affirming complete faith in the Bible. The world rightly laughs at our duplicity.

This is nothing short of two-timing our intended groom. Jesus knows about our “stepping out” with our “more exciting” cosmic boyfriend who blasphemes Jesus by calling him a liar. We have been so duped that we don’t even trying to hide our unfaithfulness! We think Jesus doesn’t mind at all, not realizing that every time we embrace Satan’s lie, we commit idolatry against the one called the Truth.

The globe is most likely the most prolific idol in history, appearing in classrooms, homes, movies, etc. as a constant reinforcement of our false belief. Christians routinely use the words “planet” and “globe” to describe God’s creation, the earth, without realizing that such language is an insult to the Creator and a public renunciation of Genesis Chapter One. We have accepted our cosmic boyfriend’s accusation that Jesus is an ignorant rube whose words embarrasses us when we are with our highly educated “friends.” Don’t get me wrong, Jesus is definitely the one whom we want to marry and spend eternity, but our “space boyfriend” is way more fun and “affirming” right now.

We have become so mesmerized with our pagan boyfriend’s cosmology that many of us cannot bear to think that Star Wars and other versions of space fiction are bold-faced lies about God’s creation designed to engender in us a desire to abandon our assigned habitation and venture into what the Bible calls “outer darkness,” the realm of the lost. We teach our children to believe this pagan cosmology while also teaching them to believe the Bible is completely true. I imagine it all becomes a little confusing.

It appears to be too humbling for us to concede that we live in a kind of giant terrarium under the watchful eye of the Creator. For some reason we find it more ennobling and God-glorifying to imagine that the earth is an insignificant spinning ball of water hurtling through an infinitely expanding universe. If this lying version of God’s creation, which is a kind of cosmological pornography, brings so much glory to him, why then are so many astrophysicists brazen atheists? Do we think that Scripture gives us a version of heaven and earth that is too small after listening to our cosmic boyfriend? Do we really prefer Satan’s lie over God’s truth?

The true heavens and earth are what bring God glory, not the false version. It is time for us to repent for embracing Satan’s lie!

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

We have paraded our devotion to a pagan cosmology at the expense of our witness to God’s truth before the world.

Many evangelicals shy away from the topic of cosmology, thinking it is a distraction from the gospel. But if are embarrassed about what the Bible says about origins, why should we think that will make the gospel more believable? Why should we expect people to accept our proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and now rules from heaven as Lord of lords? What heaven? Where is it? How can we prove any of this is true? The Bible challenges us to believe many things that run counter to accepted “science” – Adam and Eve, Noah’s flood, Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna in the wilderness, Joshua stopping the sun, David and Goliath, etc.

Why is believing the literal truth of Genesis Chapter One such a “no go?” Is it because we love our pagan cosmic boyfriend too much? Is it because we don’t want our scientific friends to think ill of us? Is it because we don’t really believe the Bible after all?

We have been unfaithful to the Bible and its author regarding cosmology for about 500 years now. Enough is enough! It is time for us to come to our senses and unashamedly return to God’s pure wisdom. My prayer is that 2026 will be the year when multitudes of Christians return to a simple devotion to God and his Word, including Genesis Chapter One. Let us steel ourselves against the ridicule of the world and shamelessly embrace God’s Word. He will be rightly pleased with us if we make this stand!

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26 (NASB95

Prayer

Lord Jesus, forgive me for falling for the devil’s lies. Forgive me for doubting your Word! Forgive me for being embarrassed to let other people know that I firmly believe the truth of all the words of the Bible, not just those that are socially acceptable. Give me strength to stand for your truth, even if I must suffer for it. Holy Spirit, open the eyes and hearts of other believers who still cannot see the truth. Let your bride-to-be repent for her unfaithfulness and become more fully devoted to you. Amen.

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Does Calling God a Liar Make the Truth More Acceptable?

Posted December 18, 2025June 7, 2026
by petebeck3

A great many Christians believe it is necessary to call God a liar to make the gospel more acceptable. We claim to believe every word of the Bible, while at the same time refusing to accept the biblical cosmology stated in Genesis Chapter One. Why do we reject so many errors that are commonly accepted by the world, such as biological evolution and transgenderism, but cling to heliocentrism, when Genesis Chapter One eliminates that as a possibility?

One criticism that has been leveled against me for embracing a biblical cosmology is that it undermines our efforts to win the lost by making us look foolish in the world’s eyes. Is this a valid criticism or an accommodation the world? Can we make the gospel more palatable by calling God a liar?

What would Jesus do? Would he lie to make us believe in him?

It is evident that Jesus believed in the literal truth of Genesis. It was not an issue in his day. Today, however, what is called “science” claims to have disproved the Bible. Now we “know” that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around as the Bible teaches. Most Christians believe that such “science” is unassailable and reinterpret Genesis accordingly. This is in spite of the admission that geocentrism provides an accurate way to account for the movement of the heavenly bodies.

“So which is real, the Ptolemaic or Copernican system? Although it is not uncommon for people to say that Copernicus proved Ptolemy wrong, that is not true…one can use either picture as a model of the universe, for our observations of the heavens can be explained by assuming either the earth or the sun to be at rest.”- Physicist, Stephen Hawking

Does mixing in a cosmological lie make the gospel more believable, or does it undermine its message at the core?

Blending a lie with the truth is comparable to putting a little bit of poop in an otherwise delicious dessert. It may not ruin its taste, but, to those who understand, it is disgusting. Below is a scene in the movie, The Help, that gives us an example of this. (If a bit of vulgar language offends you, you might not want to watch.)

The devil doesn’t seem to mind if we take a stand against other lies as long as we bow the knee to heliocentrism. He knows that this little bit of poop disgusts God and undermines the entire Bible. We do not understand that it is a form of idolatry and blasphemy because it calls God a liar and elevates the false god, Helios, to center stage. This little bit of poop should disgust us, too.

If Genesis Chapter One cannot be taken literally, when does the Bible become factually true? Chapter 2, 3,4, 5, 6… or maybe 12 when Abraham’s story becomes the focus? Or perhaps we need to wait until Exodus? Joshua? No, that is where he commands the sun to stand still! Judges? Samuel? Kings? No that is where God gave Hezekiah the sign of the shadow on the sundial going backward ten degrees! (2 Kings 20:9-11)

Exactly what parts of the Bible do we have to throw out to make the gospel more acceptable?

Are Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven more believable than Genesis Chapter One? How foolish we are to think we have to lie to get people to accept the truth!

Would it not rather make our gospel message more attractive if we boldly declare that we believe every single word of the Bible is true, not just the parts we think are acceptable?

Does not the world laugh at our duplicity when we proclaim the resurrection is literally true, but not Genesis?

If Jesus wrote a letter to the church today, might not it say something like the following?

I applaud your stand against evolution and sexual perversion, but I have this against you. You tolerate heliocentrism, which teaches people not to take my words seriously. Repent, therefore, and cease to be ashamed of my words. Don’t be afraid of looking foolish to the world. Be afraid of calling me a liar! Be strong and proclaim the whole truth!

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Is Heliocentrism Blasphemy?

Posted December 17, 2025December 21, 2025
by petebeck3

According to Webster, blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God or something sacred. Jesus was accused of blasphemy for identifying himself as the divine Son of Man prophesied by Daniel. (Matthew 26:63-65) Paul said that the Jews cause Gentiles to blaspheme by failing to keep God’s law. (Romans 2:23-24) Another important occasion of blasphemy was when Jesus called out the Jewish leaders for ascribing the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil. (Matthew 12:31-32)

From these verses, we understand that blasphemy is connected to being a false witness regarding God whether in word or action.

In the first instance, Jesus was accused of insulting God by identifying himself as a divine being. In the second case, the failure of the Jews to keep God’s laws indicated that they did not take God seriously. Their behavior undermined their claims about God, giving unbelievers a reason for disregarding God and his Word. The blasphemy of the Spirit is saying that something God did was done by the devil. The reverse could also be true in cases when we say that something the devil did was done by God. Blasphemy, therefore, occurs when we defame God by bearing false witness against him, his Word, or his actions. We can personally blaspheme or cause others to do so.

Heliocentrism can be called blasphemy on three counts.

Heliocentrism bears false witness against God by saying he created something he did not, thus identifying a satanic lie as the work of God.
Heliocentrism calls God a liar or an ignoramus. Heliocentrists infer or declare that God and the Bible are “out of their depth” regarding scientific matters. God either did not mean what he said in Genesis Chapter One and other relevant passages or he deliberately lied to us.
Heliocentrism causes unbelievers to blaspheme God by indicating either that he does not exist or that he and the Bible, including the gospel, are false and untrustworthy.

Christians who claim to believe the Bible as God’s inerrant and true Word cannot at the same time insist that something that contradicts his Word is true.

The term Christian heliocentrist, therefore, is an oxymoron.

The Bible teaches that the sun runs a “circuit” or circular path above the earth (Psalm 19:6), rather than the earth describing an elliptical orbit around the sun. The Bible says that Joshua commanded the sun to stop for about a day, which God did on his behalf. The earth did not stop rotating, or everyone would have been killed. The sun stopped in its circuit, as did the moon.

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.” 13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. Joshua 10:12–13 (NASB95) —

Martin Luther considered this passage alone refuted Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism because he believed the Bible is 100% true, unlike the majority of modern Christians. People like to claim that “God can do anything” to explain away the discrepancy between the biblical account and the heliocentric model, but that is dishonest. The question that must be answered is, “What does the text of the Bible say?”

When we claim that Genesis Chapter One, Psalm 19:6, Joshua 10:12-13, and other relevant passages do not mean what they say, we commit blasphemy by calling God a liar and insisting that the Bible cannot be trusted in matters of so-called science. We thus undermine the gospel’s credibility by revealing that we do not really believe that the Bible is true, except in “spiritual” matters. It is either all true or should be rejected as untrustworthy. In so doing, we bow down before the idols of science and reason and reject any part of Scripture that we deem to be unreasonable or unscientific, reinterpreting and twisting God’s words to mean something they do not say.

It is time for the church to repent this blasphemy and begin to once again hold God’s Word in the highest esteem. It is time we stand against the lies of men instead of calling God a liar.

May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.” Romans 3:4 (NASB95)

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Mind Numbing Deception

Posted November 8, 2025
by petebeck3

The Bible tells us that deception and sin can eventually destroy our ability to think critically. Some call this brainwashing. Paul called it becoming a fool.

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, Romans 1:21–22 (NASB95)

The root of deception is the denial of the truth of God’s Word. Anything we believe that is contrary to biblical truth numbs the mind and corrupts our ability to think.

Below is a quote by Martin Luther, who faced enormous levels of deception and contradiction in his day from the Roman Catholic Church and the embryonic stage of the heliocentric deception. Writing about deception in general, he said:

“For such lies and errors numb the mind and the senses, so that one can no longer distinguish truth from falsehood, but instead accepts everything as good that the devil spreads through his prophets. Therefore, it is necessary that we hold fast to the clear Word of God and not allow ourselves to be led astray by human dreams and visions. For where the Scripture is abandoned, there follows nothing but confusion, blindness, and spiritual death.”

(Luther’s Works, American Edition, Vol. 40: Church and Ministry II, p. 189 — slightly modernized for clarity)

The proliferation of such deception has increased by stages over the centuries to the point where now society in general has embraced destructive lies on a terrifying scale.

Even many Christians, who acknowledge the Bible is true, have been profoundly impacted by some of the most foundational lies of the devil.

One such foundational error is heliocentrism.

Herbert Butterfield, a British historian, argued that the Scientific Revolution—sparked by Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric theory in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543)—had a greater historical impact than the Renaissance. In his 1949 book The Origins of Modern Science, he wrote that it “outshines everything since the rise of Christianity and reduces the Renaissance and Reformation to the rank of mere episodes, mere internal displacements within the system of medieval Christendom.” (Grok)

Sigmund Freud made the connection between Copernican heliocentrism and what he called the “shattering [of] anthropocentric illusions” central to traditional Christian cosmology, in which the Earth was God’s privileged creation at the universe’s heart, thus undermining faith’s foundation and paving the way for later “death of God” theology. (Grok) The Copernican Principle, as it eventually came to be called, is the scientific rejection of “cosmic favoritism.” Earth is just one ordinary planet in an ordinary galaxy in a vast, average universe.

The Copernican Principle means that mankind is insignificant in relationship to the grand scope of universe, or, perhaps, multiverse, if string theory is accepted. The Bible teaches that man and woman were the crowning touches of his creation, for whom the earth was made as a habitation, which imparts to us great significance.

It is not hard to see how heliocentrism and the Copernican Principle gave rise to Darwin’s theory of biological evolution and later the Big Bang Theory of cosmic evolution. Both of these unproven and unprovable theories defy what is written in the Bible. For the Christian, this by itself is grounds for immediate rejection as utter falsehood.

Look to God’s instructions and teachings! People who contradict his word are completely in the dark. Isaiah 8:20 (NLT)

Nevertheless, Satan has used these lies to drive countless people away from God and into an eternity of loss, pain, and sorrow, missing out on what could have been theirs had they believed God and accepted the promises of the gospel. Satan is miserable, and he loves company.

Martin Luther, contemporary of Copernicus, recognized this evil for what it was very early. In a conversation which was written down, he said:

“There was mention of a certain new astrologer [astronomer] who wanted to prove that the earth moves and not the sky, the sun, and the moon. This would be as if somebody were riding on a cart or in a ship and imagined that he was standing still while the earth and the trees were moving. [Exactly Einstein’s point of view in his faux theory of special relativity.]

‘So it goes now. Whoever wants to be clever must agree with nothing that others esteem. He must do something of his own. This is what that fellow does who wishes to turn the whole of astronomy upside down. Even in these things that are thrown into disorder I believe the Holy Scriptures, for Joshua commanded the sun to stand still and not the earth.’”

(Luther’s Works, Vol. 54: Table Talk (ed. Theodore G. Tappert, Fortress Press, 1967, pp. 358–359). Original in Weimarer Ausgabe (WA TR 4, No. 4638).

Heliocentrism contradicts God’s truth revealed in Scripture and numbs the mind to prevent our correctly perceiving reality.

The brainwashing convinces us to ignore the input of our senses and the results of critical thinking and to accept that which defies reason and contradicts what we observe. A recent example with which we are all familiar is the craziness that accompanies transgenderism. We were asked (forced) to recognize multiple genders even though we know and observe that there are only male and female. Those who maintained some common sense and had some not so common courage declined.

Consider that heliocentrism requires us to contradict the input from our senses which tell us that the earth does not move. We are told to believe that we are rotating at an astounding 1040 mph at the equator, or about 750 mph at the latitude where I live. In addition, we are told that we revolve around the sun at in incredible speed of 66,600 mph. The combination of these two speeds and corresponding force vectors would require us to experience a continual change of acceleration, since the spin of the earth both adds to and subtracts from the speed of our revolution each 24 hours.

On top of those two speeds, we are told that we our entire solar system is galloping through the Milky Way galaxy at a mind-numbing speed of around 500,000 mph. But wait! There is more! The galaxy is moving at 1 to 2 million miles per hour (It seems to change!) away from the epicenter of the Big Bang explosion! Imagine. We are traveling in four directions at once at incomprehensible speeds, but we do not feel any of it. If you believe that, you have been brainwashed.

And if the earth is rotating at 1040 mph at the equator, how is it that we do not feel super-hurricane like winds? We are told it is because the earth’s atmosphere rotates, too. If that is the case, why do we feel air currents traveling in multiple directions. Why do we have wind currents such as the jet stream, which independently travels their routes?

And if the earth is rotating, how do airplanes land on the ground that is moving beneath them?

And if the earth is curved, as heliocentrists tell us, why do airplanes fly straight and level according to their gyroscopes?

If the earth were a globe, airplanes would be constantly descending to avoid flying off into “outer space.”

And if the earth is speeding through the universe at 2 million miles per hour, why have the stars remained in the same positions? Why are we able to photograph the stars making concentric circles around Polaris?

The fact of the matter is that none of these things make any sense at all to the rational mind, but we have been taught to accept what the experts tell us, rather than to think critically.

Our indoctrination begins at a young age, when all our adult authority figures tell us that we live on a globe zooming through space. Over our lifetimes, we are shown endless images of this globe. We have been tantalized by space movies that have created in us a desire to explore beyond the limitations of this earth, the habitation God assigned to us. We are told that the earth is dying and our hope is somewhere “out there,” perhaps Mars. All of this is lie, but we bought it hook, line, and sinker.

How shall we recover from such deception? The Word of God can set us free, if we believe, receive, and act upon it.

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31–32 (NASB95)

Lies enslave. The truth sets us free.

If we accept the cosmology taught in the Bible, it will loose us from Satan’s web of deception. We will be able to see creation’s wonder and beauty with new eyes! When we look up, we will understand that God’s throne rests atop the dome of the firmament, just as the Bible says.

One day, God will roll back the firmament like a scroll to reveal our glorious Lord Jesus to the entire earth at once, something that can only happen on the earth the Bible describes.

Below is a documentary I recommend to anyone who is open to exploring this deception in greater depth. Please notice Google’s mandatory disclaimer. Consider that they only provide this regarding subject matter that threatens to expose their lies. Other topics, such as New Age, witchcraft, transgenderism, etc. get a free pass. They are not concerned with suppressing lies, but the truth.

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Are We Smarter than Jesus?

Posted November 4, 2025June 7, 2026
by petebeck3

I feel sure that none of my Christian friends would ever claim to be smarter than Jesus; however, we sometimes act and speak as if we think so.

One of the greatest lies of our time is that the highest and most certain form of knowledge comes from the scientific realm.

Because we have probed some of the mysteries of biology and physics and have more advanced technologies, we may believe that we are smarter than our ancestors, some of whom we might describe as being “pre-scientific.” To our great loss, we may denigrate other forms of knowledge and wisdom given to us by God, even that found in the Bible.

Jesus taught that God’s Word is absolute truth, of which he is the embodiment.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 17:17 (NASB95)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 (NASB95)

The Bible warns us to never add to or subtract from God’s Word. (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, and Revelation 22:18-19)

Those who reject God’s Word in favor of some other source of knowledge or “truth” are guilty of suppressing God’s truth, which dishonors the Creator and hides his glory.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 1:18–23 (NASB95)

God’s wrath in the form of a descent into lust and perversion always follows the suppression of truth about his creation and his person. I believe that is where we are today as a direct result of our suppressing God’s truth about creation. We have abandoned the Genesis Chapter One account of creation and cosmology in favor of modern atheistic astrophysics.

All creation testifies to the glory of God, if it is rightly understood.

I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. Psalm 119:99–100 (NASB95)

If we measure all other forms of supposed truth against the benchmark of God’s Word, we will have more understanding than those who abandon God’s Word because they think other sources of knowledge are more reliable.

As a result of elevating supposed scientific knowledge and men’s theories above God’s Word, many interpret the opening chapter of Genesis as a poetic phenomenological description of origins which God never intended for us to regard as factual. But has God authorized us to do that? Is there anywhere in the Bible that we are plainly told that we should interpret Genesis metaphorically?

These same Christian friends who feel compelled to interpret Genesis Chapter One phenomenologically would undoubtedly affirm that Jesus is the eternal Logos (Word) who became flesh through his miraculous conception in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit. They would also stand behind John’s claim that Jesus, as the pre-incarnate eternal Logos, created all things.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1–3 (NASB95)

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB95)

As the incarnate eternal Logos (Word) walking upon the earth, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit without measure. He had more wisdom and understanding than any person who ever lived. Being the very embodiment of God’s Word of truth, he had and has the greatest understanding of its meaning. After all, the author of a book knows better what he intended to say than any reader.

Now here is where it gets very interesting. When Jesus walked on the earth, he understood Genesis to be literally true.

In fact, he taught his disciples that God’s Word cannot be “broken.” (John 10:35) The Greek word “luo” means to loose, untie, or release. Bible scholars extend that meaning to include to annul, break, or destroy. In other words, we cannot release God’s words from the original meaning and interpret them any way we like. God’s Word carries the force of what it actually says, rather than what we might wish it said.

Therefore, are we not guilty of “breaking” God’s Word if we interpret Genesis Chapter One as less than factually true?

In Matthew 19:4-6, Jesus taught that Adam and Eve were created male and female “at the beginning” , a direct quote from Genesis 1:27.

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? Matthew 19:4–5 (NKJV)

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them...God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.Genesis 1:27, 31 (NKJV)

Jesus believed and knew Adam and Eve were and are real people whom God (he) created on the sixth day of creation. Mark 10:6 also puts their creation at the “beginning,” thus eliminating old earth accommodations to evolutionary dogma and affirming the six-days of creation. Jesus also believed that Abel was an historical figure. The same is true of Noah, Moses, and Jonah. Jesus does not allow us to relegate any of them to allegory or myth.

Neither do we have permission to relegate the six days of creation to mere poetry that is not scientifically and factually true.

The only reason people began to do this is because we fell for the lie that scientific knowledge is more accurate and reliable than God’s Word. We believed the ungodly occult theory that the earth rotates and revolves around the sun. We accepted anti-biblical theories of evolution and the Big Bang that are required if we accept heliocentrism. Now, after 500 years, the heliocentric lie and Newtonian astrophysics seem more reasonable than the truth of God’s Word. We are victims of the greatest indoctrination scheme of all time, which is designed to hide the truth about creation and obscure God’s glory.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 (NKJV)

Should we not heed the warning of John Calvin, who was Copernicus’ contemporary?

Is it not time for the church to repent of idolizing men’s words above God’s and to admit that we are not smarter than Jesus?

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A Father’s Reward

Posted September 21, 2025September 21, 2025
by petebeck3

Jesus came to restore us to a right relationship with Abba Father, for which obedience to his Father in heaven he received eternal reward.

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, Philippians 2:8–9 (NASB95)

Jesus’ mission was to save and restore us in order to bring his Father glory and honor. By turning our hearts back toward Abba Father, he made it possible for earthly Dads and their children to be in right relationship, too.

Proper relationships between fathers and sons and fathers and daughters is a means to experience tremendous blessings from God. An absent or broken father – child connection opens the door to many negative consequences.

“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD arrives. ⁶ His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6 (NLT)

Much of the trouble we see in our nation and around the world goes back to a break of the relationship between fathers and their children, which ultimately goes back to the absence of a relationship between us and Abba. When we men get our relationship with Abba right, restored relationships with our children can more easily follow.

Fathers who have been reconciled to Abba can help their own children grow up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ³ “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ⁴ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4 (ESV)

A father’s joy is seeing his children do well.

Children who dishonor parents because of a broken father-child relationship will not do well in life. It is paramount for us dads to work diligently to repair our relationship with our children, for our sake and theirs, not mention, God’s.

Solomon said that a wise son makes a glad father. (Proverbs 10:1) Conversely, having a foolish son or daughter is a heavy load for any parent to bear. Ultimately, our children must make their own way in life: we cannot pass that test for them. A parent’s role is to give them the love, affirmation, blessings, and other tools they will need to succeed, but all of us must make their own choices.

Perfect parenting does not guarantee perfect results. Neither does poor parenting guarantee that children will fail.

When dads miss the mark, our heavenly Abba can supply what is missing to our children. When dads hurt their children, Abba can bring healing. When parents did their best, but children nevertheless go down a wrong path, Abba can comfort the parents and correct the children. Where we parents realize we failed, there is forgiveness and hope for the future. We do our best, hopefully, but all of us make plenty of mistakes as a parent and as a child.

For those of us who do not have our own natural children, there are lots of opportunities to be a “father” to those who are natural or spiritual orphans.

Adoption is one of the important themes of the Bible. Moses was adopted. So was Jesus. Every born again follower of Christ is God’s child through adoption. For those of us whose children are now grown, we can now invest in however many others God brings our way, who need a fatherly touch.

One day we will receive the reward for our labors, but even now we can rejoice as we watch our proteges learn to successfully navigate life using the skills and blessings we passed on to them.

A father’s reward comes from pouring out his life into his children and watching them succeed and go farther than he ever did.

The blessing continues as we watch our children pass the blessing forward to their own offspring. And when we ultimately stand before God’s throne at the judgment, we will hear him say, “Well done!” Hallelujah!

After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! ²⁰ Yes, you are our pride and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 (NLT)

Click here to see entire series.

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Leaving a Legacy

Posted September 20, 2025November 7, 2025
by petebeck3

Every father will leave a legacy, whether it be good, bad, or indifferent. If we ask him, God will help us to live a life that honors God, inspires those who follow, and generally elevates the family.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 (NASB)

The godly walk with integrity; blessed are their children after them. Proverbs 20:7 (NLT)

We may have received a wonderful gift from God-fearing ancestors, or our family may have provided us with much to overcome. In the spirit, every born again person is a brand new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), but when it comes to the soul (the mind, will, and emotions), each of us starts our personal faith journey at a line set by those who came before us. This is one reason it is quite impossible to properly judge a life. We do not always understand a person’s faith journey starting point.

For example, if my family has a history of verbal abuse and alcoholism, I may have developed a very dysfunctional way of coping with life. In contrast, if my family was loving, communicated well, and encouraged me regularly, I have been handed a healthier way of relating to people and have received other tools for success. This does not mean that the child of the alcoholic cannot do wonderfully in life, nor does it imply that the child from a healthier family will not fail. It merely means to one has a head start over the other, if he or she chooses to use it.

Our families’ pasts influences us, but it need not define our lives or legacy.

Regardless of where we begin our life journey, God wants us to live in such a way that those who follow us will have an easier time of it. We can leave a godly and good legacy for our descendants. This is what I call the generational aspect of salvation. Perhaps we can be the generation that enables our families to break free from sin and bondage that has held us captive for generations!

Knowing a little about our family history may help us to better understand how we can move our family forward in God. My own genealogical research has produced some great information. I found godly men and women in my family tree, about whom I knew nothing previously and from whom I am no doubt a benefactor of their passing down spiritual blessings to me and others. Not surprisingly, I also found the opposite, which helps me to know better how to pray and stand by faith.

Alcoholism was prevalent on both sides of my family tree, but my Dad and Mom responded to God’s grace and made decisions that helped to nullify that generational sin’s power to enslave family members. The same can be said for many other families which have their own heroes who stood against longstanding family bondage and sin, making it far easier for those who follow to walk in freedom.

Over my years as a pastor, I worked with many whose family inheritance was atrocious – everything from criminal activity, abandonment, addiction, violence, and abuse of various kinds.

Men who come from these sorts of families have an obvious disadvantage. Those who attempt to be godly husbands and fathers, without ever having experienced or even seen positive examples at home, are heroes in my book.

When the Allies assaulted the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, many men in the first wave gave their lives to make it possible for those who followed to have safe access to the landing areas. Someone had to make the initial assault, and they were chosen. Those who came later in the day benefited immensely from the sacrifices of their predecessors. Establishing a legacy of godliness can compare to what those brave men did.

If we are making a stand to undo generations of family devastation, it is important for us to realize that we will have to fight a pitched battle for our gains. At the end of our life, what we accomplish on behalf of our families may seem less than what some achieved in their lifetimes. But, we should not compare ourselves to others who may have inherited a far better legacy from their ancestors. We should simply be the best spiritual warrior and legacy builder we can be. The progress we make during our lifetimes will help our children and grandchildren go far beyond anything we may accomplish. That will be our reward. Our sons and daughters will carry the banner forward in their time. That’s how godly legacies are begun and passed down. Of course, all of this can only be accomplished by God’s grace!

We can ask ourselves, “What price am I willing to pay to bless my children and grand children with a godly legacy?”

That is between us and God, but whatever we decide and do will be felt by many, many others over time. Future generations may not know to whom they owe a debt of gratitude, but God knows, and so will we. Whatever the price, I believe it will be worth it.

Here are some of the ways we can develop a godly legacy. It is never too early to start, which is why I listed each stage of life. Spiritually speaking, we may be in the childhood stage, even though we are an adult.

The Childhood Stage – Building Strong Foundations

Study God’s Word. Even children can hunger to know more of God’s Word for themselves. When our children were small, we played cassette tapes for them on which characters sang the scriptures. It worked very well to instill the Bible into their hearts.
Learn to pray and make it a part of our lives. True humility knows that it cannot do this thing called life without God’s help.
Be a worshiper and share our faith with others.
Exercise our faith. Don’t merely affirm doctrine. Trust God.
Aspire to live in true holiness and purity without becoming legalistic. Devote ourselves to God’s purposes for our lives. If we do not know what they are yet, keep seeking. We can always simply tell Jesus that we are his to direct and command.
Be accountable. Find a mentor (our natural father or a godly man) who will disciple and encourage us along the way.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more of the Father’s love to us.
Be faithful in the small things. Serve those who are in leadership.
Be careful to stay properly related to the authority people in our lives.

The Young Man Stage – Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles

Find true freedom by believing in the finished work of Christ and by learning to walk in the Spirit.
Learn to exercise the authority we have in Christ to share the Gospel, pray for people, engage in spiritual warfare, and respond to faith challenges.
Be willing to take on new responsibilities. Let God stretch us by doing things outside our “comfort zones.” Refuse to limit ourselves by what we think we can do. Trust God to help us accomplish his will.
Continue to be a man who is under authority while learning to lead.
Be faithful in whatever we do.
Act as a protector of others.
Continue the discipleship journey and begin to disciple others.

The Fatherhood Stage – Building for the Future

Transition from primarily focusing on our own lives and goals to helping others discover and fulfill their potential.
Invest heavily in the younger generation.
Pass the leadership or ministry baton when appropriate and allow our disciples to try their wings. They may naturally defer to us, which is good, but encourage them to learn to operate as the lead person with you on the sidelines acting as cheerleader and coach. Act as friend, counselor, and supporter in our new role as Dads of adult children.
If our own children are grown and have left the nest, we can use our newfound freedom and time to expand our ministry horizons, which can also open up opportunities for those we mentor and lead.
Stay connected in accountable relationships.

Concluding Thoughts

Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. 4 Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)

We will not always be in the picture. Let’s make good use of our time.
God often saves the best for last.
Make it our aim to be faithful in every stage of life.
Prepare now to enjoy life and be fruitful in our latter years.

Click here to access all articles in this series.

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Fathers Represent Abba to Their Children

Posted September 19, 2025September 19, 2025
by petebeck3

As if accurately modeling Christ’s love to our wives were not daunting enough, fathers are charged to be representatives of Father God to their children, too.

Good fathers provide their children with a first idea of Abba’s character and love.

Jesus perfectly represented his Father to us, and we must do the best we can for our children.

Because of the poor job done by many human fathers, our heavenly Father has a public relations problem. I remember praying with one woman who had experienced terrible things at the hands of an abusive step-father. When she contemplated praying directly to Father God, it scared her. She had a very poor impression of a God who would allow such things to happen to her. That poisonous image of her loving Abba etched in her heart by a man who failed in his charge of properly representing Father God kept her from having a loving relationship with Abba for many years. Thankfully, Jesus set her free from all that, and she eventually came to trust her Abba. Conversely, when a father properly models Father’s heart to his children, it gives them a tremendous advantage.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 (NASB95)

Knowing Abba is our ultimate quest and modeling Abba as a good father is perhaps the greatest role available to a man.

Below I have listed some ways we can properly represent Abba to our children. But first, let’s meditate on the following passage from Ephesians.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 (ESV)

Fathers lavish kindness and love on their children and delight in them.

The “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is a great example. Many think that story should be entitled “The Parable of the Prodigal Father” instead. To be prodigal means to spend lavishly or wastefully. We learn from this parable that…

Fathers are to lavish love and attention on their children, even when they do not respond in kind. In other words, a Father’s love is unconditional.

Abba loved us even when we were his enemies. If we did not receive this kind of love from our own dads, we must ask Abba to teach us how to give away to our children what we did not receive.

In order to love like this, we must first receive Abba’s love.

One of the worst things we can do is to model to our children the idea that Father God is indifferent and distant from us. We must choose to properly give away a father’s love so that children gain the proper idea that God wants them around and is vitally interested in the details of their lives. Perhaps the proper word to describe all this is “delight.”

One of the great revelations in life is when we find out that Abba actually likes us, as well as loves us.

Children know when they are merely tolerated. When parents show more affection for one child than another, it communicates a rather covert form of rejection. This was true in the case of Joseph and his brothers. Jacob’s obvious preference for Joseph stirred them to jealousy and hatred. It is only natural for a fathers to get along better with some children due to personalities, but we should be careful to do our best to delight in each child. We will not be able to do this for our children if we have not come to understand that Abba delights in us.

We can only give away what we have received.

This puts a burden on every father to seek God for what we need to be for our children.

Abba spoke words of affirmation and delight over his Son.

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.” Matthew 17:5 (NLT)

Delight does more to affirm our children than perhaps anything else we can do for them.

Every child hopes and longs for his or her father’s approval. Do not withhold it. The withholding of delight is powerfully negative. Children know the difference between the words, “I love you,” and genuine delight.

Sometimes a father’s love is not returned, at least for a while, if his son or daughter is self-centered and determined to learn life’s lessons the hard way. Abba-like fathers will be there for their children when they finally come to their senses.

Fathers bless their children and provide a secure and safe environment for growth and expression.

Earthly fathers are responsible to provide a safe and secure environment in which their children can grow and thrive.

The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. ² He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. Psalm 23:1-2 (NLT)

An important aspect of a father’s protection is shielding his children from undue criticism or rejection. Little children do not have adult abilities to discern what is true and what is mere opinion or a lie. Whatever a father tells his child will be believed when children are young.

If fathers speak words of affirmation and encouragement, it will build the child on the inside. Fathers who tear down their children with negative hurtful words impact those little lives in the wrong direction.

Children need to know they are protected from outside dangers and that the one they trust will never betray them. This is how ABBA is. It is how we fathers must be, too.

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17 (NLT)

Abba is the source of all blessings, and he designed things so that blessings should flow from him through earthly fathers to their families, if everything is working as it should.

If an earthly father is serving the devil, demonic anti-blessings (curses) may be passed down.

Fathers need to realize that they are part of a long relay race coming down through the generations. Every child inherits good and bad things from previous generations of fathers. Good decisions made by previous fathers often provide residual blessings for generations to come. Conversely sins and poor life decisions made by previous generations of fathers can negatively impact children, grandchildren, etc. We are not responsible for the sins of our ancestors, but we may reap some consequences of their sins. This called the law of sowing and reaping. (Galatians 6:7) Only Jesus can set us free from this vicious cycle. (If you want to read more about how this works, click here.)

One of the great things any father can do for his children is consciously and deliberately speak blessings aloud over them.

It may be done at a special blessing event when the child arrives at a milestone in life, such as an 18th birthday. It also can and should be done informally on a continual basis. A father’s blessing carries great weight and goes a long way to insuring success. A father’s “curse,” hurtful words spoken in anger and spite, go into the heart and soul of the child, guaranteeing future problems, unless that child is set free by Jesus.

Good fathers carefully guard their words to their children, knowing that what they say shapes their lives.

Fathers teach their children how to be successful in life.

When children are small, they need love and watchful care. As they mature, they must be prepared for the coming day when they will be thrust into the world as self-governing adults, who will need to provide for their own families. Fathers are charged to teach their children a wide variety of life skills, including a love for the truth, a fear of God, a devotion to Jesus, love for family, loyalty to friends, obedience to authority, and faithfulness in performing responsibilities. Fathers have the ability to intuitively know in what areas each of their children have talent and can gently guide them into appropriate fields of work. Fathers should model how to be a good husband and father and teach their sons and daughters how to select a spouse.

Fathers discipline their children.

For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:12 (NLT)

Loving fathers discipline their children. The opposite is also true, disinterested fathers fail in this area. Discipline is difficult. It requires loving firmness and consistency. When parents get lazy, they tend to let their children get away with things until things reach a point that the parents get angry and react sometimes inappropriately harshly. Proper discipline is done with love and restraint with the ultimate good of the child in mind. We are preparing children for life, not simply trying to make things easy for ourselves as parents.

Fathers release their children into adulthood.

Godly fathers get more pleasure in seeing their sons and daughters excel than in succeeding themselves.

They are able to hand off the baton and get out of the way as soon as possible and advisable. Fathers want their children to grow up and be able to make wise decisions; so, they provide opportunities to make some choices while they still under their watchful supervision. While children are very small, they must be led with a strong hand, but as they grow older, parents must learn to give them room to develop, mature, and “spread their wings.” We should encourage our children that they are able to survive and thrive in the “adult” world.

If we succeed in adequately representing ABBA to our children and others we may mentor, we lay a foundation for their spiritual and practical growth that is incalculable.

If we misrepresent God in these areas, we can do enormous damage. Where there has been abuse or abandonment, children will need to overcome deeply embedded lies about who Abba is and what his attitude toward them is. Where there has been a failure to protect, children may have difficulty in trusting God. Where there has been criticism, children may fear expressing their true opinions and personalities or even attempting new things.

We dads have enormous shoes to fill, but God’s grace is sufficient.

It may be that you will need significant healing and breakthroughs in accepting God’s love and truth in your own life before you can be an effective father. If that is the case, please do not delay in getting the help you need. There is no sense in passing on our dysfunction to another generation. Perhaps the challenge of being a good father will be just the motivation we need to finally come to know our heavenly Father as he desires. It may well be the greatest thing to ever happen to you.

I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning...  1 John 2:13 (NASB)

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Husbands Represent Christ to Their Wives

Posted September 1, 2025September 2, 2025
by petebeck3

Two significant gender specific roles men may play over a lifetime are husbands and fathers.

Both are weighty and beyond our natural ability requiring us to rely on God’s help. If we get these two roles right, we will be a huge blessing to those we love. If we fail through ignorance, neglect, or sinful rebellion, we will damage those we should be protecting and blessing. First, we will look at how husbands represent Christ to their wives.

The following passage written by Paul to the church in Ephesus is often used to teach husband their responsibilities with regard to their wives.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. Ephesians 5:25-28 (ESV)

Unfortunately, men often focus more on what Paul wrote to wives regarding obeying their husbands, instead of on what God says to us men. Scripture was never meant to be used as a means to nag others into conformity. Rather, God uses it to bring each of us to repentance and obedience in our own right. When men learn to love their wives properly, their wives will be encouraged to lovingly and biblically relate to their husbands.

God has made us husbands responsible to love our wives as Christ loves the church. There could hardly be a more challenging and humbling role.

Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd. Husbands are shepherds to their families, representing the Chief Shepherd in various ways. We husbands are to model Christ to our wives and families in attitude, word, and deed. We will only be able to get this right with the help of God’s Spirit. It is no small thing to be Christ’s representative in the home. We will greatly influence our wives and children either positively or negatively, depending how well we do this.

God charges every husband with the duty to love his wife sacrificially, provide for her, protect, teach, develop her as a person and disciple, and provide godly leadership.

Many young men come into marriage with a very selfish perspective, which is the opposite of Christ. Young men are selfish sexually and in their use of time and money. The wife is often more naturally nurturing and unselfish and can be deeply hurt by her immature self-centered husband over and over again during these early years. Husbands are told to be gentle with their wives. Harshness undermines our role as Christ’s representative.

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 (NLT)

God works in men through marriage to make us more other-centered and unselfish.

This is part of our preparation for dynamic fatherhood. Let’s take a look at some specific aspects of our responsibilities as husbands.

Husbands model Christ’s unselfish love through serving.

Shepherds exist to care for the sheep. If you are a man who thinks that your wife and children are supposed to wait on you because you work so hard all day, you do not yet understand Christ’s relationship to the church. Jesus literally sacrificed his life for his church, his bride. He washed his disciples’ feet. He served them in countless ways while at the same time having oversight and authority. Despite clearly understanding his role as Lord, he did not “lord it over” them.

Husbands should view themselves as the family’s chief servant who models Christ.

Sacrificially loving our wives means we put their needs and desires in front of our own, which is not easy for us to do. This means we cannot do everything we want to do as young men. As Jesus put it: we are not here to serve ourselves, but others.

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. ⁴³ But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45 (NLT)

Husbands are providers.

As shepherds of their families, an important way that men serve is by providing for them.

Some men feel overwhelmed by this responsibility, but that is only because they have not learned that Abba Father is fully committed to provide for them.

As husbands and fathers grow in their relationship with Abba, it helps them properly represent Christ. In years past, men were expected to be the sole breadwinners. Today the husband and wife often share this burden, and in some cases the wife may be the primary earner. There is nothing inherently wrong with this set up. It may simply reflect the wife’s greater abilities and opportunities. It can go wrong, however, if the husband begins to think less of himself because of his wife’s success, or if the wife begins to despise her husband as a result. Regardless of who makes the most money for the family, the husband can never abdicate his responsibility carry the primary spiritual weight of being the provider. Nor is he allowed to slip into a despondent or passive attitude, thereby thrusting the weight of the role of provider onto the shoulders of his wife.

The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. ² He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. Psalm 23:1-2 (NLT)

Husbands are protectors of the family.

Shepherds protect their flocks from outside attack and from bullies inside the flock. This protection includes financial, spiritual, relational, and physical aspects.

Husbands are called to be the “point men” who directly confront the enemy and stand in the gap for their families.

A husband who is introverted and less bold should never press his wife to do the hard and and uncomfortable things so he can avoid his responsibilities. Any woman who does this for her husband becomes an enabler. The husband is supposed to take the initiative to ensure that the forces of darkness are kept at bay. He should close all known doors of temptation and demonic oppression through personal repentance, careful watching, and using Christ’s authority appropriately.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Psalm 23:4-5 (NLT)

Husbands are teachers.

Many adults were never taught the great truths of the Bible or how to do even the simplest things by their parents. Husbands should take the lead in seeking the Lord with their wives and helping them grow in the Lord. We should be humble enough to draw upon whatever knowledge and wisdom our wives possess. Wives may come into the marriage far ahead of us in spiritual matters, but this is no excuse for our not taking responsibility. There is an “anointing” upon the husband to lead and teach. God will help us “catch up” if we are behind.

We cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated in spiritual matters. This puts a responsibility on husbands to study and grow spiritually.

Many men are lazy when it comes to spiritual things and, as a result, have little to offer, which is a great travesty and robs the wife and family of what God would have provided for them.

Husbands are leaders.

Leading does not mean that husbands get their way exclusively or have permission to “lord it over” their wives and children. It does mean that we must seek God and work with our wives to arrive at wise and godly decisions.

Even if a husband delegates some of the decision making to his wife, he is ultimately responsible before God.

Modeling leadership is one of the most effective ways to lead. The husband models what it means to be a servant leader. His wife and children benefit from the way he pours himself out in loving service to them.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. Psalm 23:2 (NLT)

Husbands are developers.

One of the goals of a godly husband is to help his wife become all God intends, thereby enabling her to reach her full potential. Wives were never intended to be passive doormats. They complement their husbands and often have tremendous callings and abilities that need to be developed and flourish. The amazing woman in Proverbs 31 is our model.

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Third Peter

Category: Discipleship Essentials

Is It Reasonable to Believe as a Child?

2026: Will the Church Finally Ditch Her Pagan Boyfriend?

Prayer

Does Calling God a Liar Make the Truth More Acceptable?

Is Heliocentrism Blasphemy?

Mind Numbing Deception

Are We Smarter than Jesus?

A Father’s Reward

Click here to see entire series.

Leaving a Legacy

The Childhood Stage – Building Strong Foundations

The Young Man Stage – Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles

The Fatherhood Stage – Building for the Future

Concluding Thoughts

Click here to access all articles in this series.

Fathers Represent Abba to Their Children

Fathers lavish kindness and love on their children and delight in them.

Fathers bless their children and provide a secure and safe environment for growth and expression.

Fathers teach their children how to be successful in life.

Fathers discipline their children.

Fathers release their children into adulthood.

Click here to access all articles in this series.

Husbands Represent Christ to Their Wives

Husbands model Christ’s unselfish love through serving.

Husbands are providers.

Husbands are protectors of the family.

Husbands are teachers.

Husbands are leaders.

Husbands are developers.

Click here to access all articles in this series.