Uncategorized

Tri-unity of God Conference at Berean Baptist Church – March 14-16, 2014
In less than four weeks away, March 14-16,  Berean Baptist Church will be hosting a conference on the nature of God’s tri-unity.  In essence, we seek together with you to study the scriptural declarations that there is only one God who is revealed specifically through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
 
People in Idaho Falls express quite a variety of different viewpoints on this subject:  atheistic, polytheistic (various forms), Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, evangelical, oneness Pentecostal, Messianic and orthodox Judaism, Unitarian, and Jehovah’s Witness. etc.  Perhaps, you might have questions related to biblical monotheism and the Trinity.  Maybe, you have been talking on this very subject with some of your extended family and/or friends.  We would encourage all of you to attend the five teaching sessions connected with this conference.  Let’s examine, learn, and grow together.  Investigate as a Berean.  Test everything that I would say with the scriptures.  There is no doubt in my mind that we will all come away with a new sense of awe over the presence of God in our midst in this city.
 
We will be intentionally designing Q & A and fellowship times into the discussions during this conference.  And for your interest, here are some suggestive titles for the five sessions in order to whet your appetite:  (1) YHWH and monotheism, (2) The plurality of God in the Tanach, (3) The Father, Son, and Spirit among the disciples and the charges of post-apostolic Greek corruption, (4) Creaturely analogies offered to explain God’s Tri-unity, and (5) The Tri-unity of God’s nature applied to our personal, family, and church life in the city.
 
I would ask you to do the following:
  • Pray for God in His grace and power to give us understanding as we seek to know Him more.  I read this morning in Proverbs, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Pray that His Holy Spirit will control all the details related to this conference.
  • Email me back if you are attending.  Share with me the number of people who might be coming with you.  This gives us an idea of the number of handouts that will need to be printed.  By the way, the conference is free admission.  We desire everyone to come and enjoy the time of study and worship. 
  • If you are excited about this extended time of focusing on God, spread the news to others in Idaho Falls and the surrounding area.
And I leave you with this triadic priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26,
 
“The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
 
Let Joshua A. and Misha G. sing it for you in this youtube video.  And then hear it once more with Mishna and her papa here.
 
desiring to magnify the name of the LORD,
Todd Wood

Jesus asks the city of Idaho Falls, “Who do you say that I am?”

Read Matthew 13-16

Two thousand years ago, Jesus was in Caesarea Philippi with his disciples, and He asked them a fundamental question:  “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15)

Who is Jesus? 

  • A great, moral teacher?
  • A radical revolutionary?
  • A world visionary martyred for his beliefs?
  • A servant to the poor?
  • A human god among a pantheon of gods?’
  • An imaginary friend of religious people?

I do know this.  Only God can reveal the real answer to the hearts of the young and old in Idaho Falls.  Thank God right now if He has opened your eyes and given understanding to your mind.  And let it be known that all the powers of hell could not stop what was started in Caesarea Philippi long ago.  And neither can the gates of hell stop the work of Jesus Christ today in Idaho Falls.

Jesus reinterprets Torah for disciples in Idaho Falls

Read Matthew 9:1-12:50

Some come to Jesus and say, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”  In response, the master Rabbi teaches the Jews how He, “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

I like what Michael Williams recently wrote in 2012, “Like Moses, Jesus came to deliver his people from their bondage to the law into a place of rich life.  That place is found in relationship with him.  And when the law is correctly understood, it points to the same thing.  Some Jews, at least, had missed the point.  They had focused so narrowly on the law that they hadn’t seen the expansive life to which it pointed.  They were like someone who stands too close to an impressionistic painting.  Near the painting all the dabs and strokes of paint seem to be a random jumble of unrelated color.  But as you back away, the larger coherence and purpose of all those details come into focus. . . . By quoting the Old Testament more than any other New Testament author, by repeatedly indicating that what was written in the Old Testament finds its realization in the life and ministry of Jesus, and by structuring his gospel around five key discourses (to parallel the five books of the Old Testament), Matthew makes his unique perspective clear:  Jesus fulfills the Old Testament.  He fulfills its demands, and he fulfills its intention.  He has not come to replace the Old Testament revelation with something different, but to cause the intent and purpose of the Old Testament to finally be realized.  ‘Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.’  Jesus fulfills the Torah, or law, of Moses.  But he fulfills its original intent, which was far different from what the teachers of the law understood it to be.  The Torah, as Jesus describes it, was not intended to be a fence to keep out life, but rather a fence to keep out death.  It was not intended to be an enemy of life, but rather a description of life.  Jesus reinterprets the law of Moses by stripping off the layers of paint that had been applied to it by the religious leaders and revealing its original beauty and character underneath.  When restored to its luster, the law emerges as a description of the deepest possible human experience of life with our Creator and with those who bear his image.  Because Jesus reveals that kind of life perfectly, and because He is the one who makes that kind of life possible for us, he is the fulfillment and focus of the entire Old Testament.  This is the good news worth exploring and experiencing!”

The Lord’s teaching for disciples in Idaho Falls
Read Matthew 5:1-8:34
 
Imagine that we hear the news in the Post Register that Jesus is sitting today on top of Taylor Mountain. Since there are thousands upon thousands in Idaho Falls who are no stranger to the name of Jesus, a mass multitude would be exiting the city limits to see and hear the Man.  Property owners at Mt. Taylor probably would grant permission to trek on their land. Slipping into our Klim snowmobile gear or grabbing our hunting jackets from Sportsman warehouse, we brave the freezing temperatures, drive to the base of Taylor, and slog up the hill in the snow.  Excitement and expectation mount in our hearts.
 
What would Jesus say to us in Idaho Falls? As we listen, His authoritative words completely turn upside down our cultural worldviews. He talks about the values of His Kingdom: poverty in spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, and persecution. He looks into our hearts, exposing our anger, sexual lusts, family divisions, swearing, and vengeful retaliation.   He repeatedly shows to us where we break down in loving Him and others as we ought. He exhorts us to stop making our religious actions a big, hypocritical show before others when inwardly we harbor pride, unforgiveness, worry, and false judgments.
 
He pinpoints where we treasure our idols above Him. It’s excruciating to listen to His message. When He states, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,” some shuffle their feet in the snow. Others nervously cough in the silence. Their warm breath can be seen in the cold air. Some tear themselves away from the King’s direct gaze and look down into the valley toward Idaho Falls.
 
Convicted by His words, choices confront us. Will we repent of our self-righteousness and cling solely in faith to His righteousness? Or we will head back with hard hearts to Idaho Falls, business as usual? He tells us that the storm is coming and that standing on the Rock is our only hope.
 

A new King and Kingdom in Idaho Falls

Read Matthew 1:1-4:25

Matthew is the first of the gospel writers to introduce us to the Messiah, a King whom the world has never seen before nor one whom any will surpass in the future.  His title is the Christ.  He comes to tell those of us in a fractured, decaying world about a new Kingdom.  It’s the Kingdom of heaven where perfect love, light, and unity flow from the three-Person’d eternal God.

In the opening chapters of Matthew, the world gets its first glimpse of the Trinity at the Jordan River:  Jesus is in the water, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice booms from heaven.  God in the Person of Jesus has come.  His birth is the sunrise of human history.  The light has dawned.  The King of the Jews is here, bringing hope to us rabble-raising, stubborn, struggling, independent Idahoans.

Just as Idaho Falls has bridges over lava rock and asphalt, joining eastern and western neighborhoods, Jesus is the Bridge, reconciling God to man, literally making it possible to have God among us.   “God with us” – this is the meaning of Emmanuel.

Your sins separate you, isolate you, strip you from the real party, beat you down, and leave you bleeding and deserted in the sagebrush.  But Jesus was born to save you from your sins.  Look to Him with eyes of faith.  Let go of trying to do it on your own.  Stop pursuing the idols of vain pleasure.  Believe the gospel of the Kingdom.  Be healed.  As the forerunner, John the Baptist preaches repentance.  And then Jesus enters our world and commands us to repent.  Look to Jesus and live.

Turn from your own masquerade of lies to His truth.  Turn from your darkness to His light.  Turn from your lusts to His love.  Give up rebellion.  Forsake sin.  Jesus is sovereign King.  And His kingdom will be the last to stand.

Conference in Idaho Falls on the topic of the Trinity

I was having a dream last night about being in a conference on the Trinity (funny thing is that both of my daughters are in a teen rally presently hearing about the Trinity).  Then I woke up at 2:38 am.  So I decided to do a little digging on the internet.

Here is what I found:

So this morning, I decided to make the Valley of Vision prayer to the Trinity . . . my prayer of joy and worship for today.

My desire is that Berean Baptist Church host a conference on the Trinity in March 2014.  Consider your own curiosity.  Come and take a step with me into the mystery and majesty of God.

 

Trail Life USA – Idahoan Introduction

I have been investigating the new boys’ adventure-character-leadership program, Trail Life USA. I highly favor the name and art design. As an Idahoan, the marketing concept sparks my desire to be on the trail.

This morning, I introduced the Woodlands Trail, Navigators, and Adventurers to around 20 men in the Berean church family. I passed out brochures, discussed some basic themes, and fielded general questions. Certainly, the possibilities are endless.

Just recently, I took a group of teens up the Bannock Trail in the Grand Targhee Ski Resort. With a full 15 passenger van, we left Idaho Falls and spent a perfect morning on the mountain. From the base of the ski lift, it is a 2,000’ elevation gain as you hike 3.1 miles to the top. On the summit of Fred’s Mountain (Elevation 9,862’), you ooh and aah over the breathtaking view of the Teton Mountain Range.

Wild flowers are everywhere. And for entertainment, the Golden-mantled ground squirrel will scurry and scamper about to nibble on the lunch crumbs you accidentally drop to your feet. God’s glory is all around you.
And here is an extra bonus: you get to ride down the Dreamcatcher (quad lift) for free if you hike up!

I highly recommend the hike for all ages.

Hope to see you all on the trail in future days.