Idaho Falls Prayer Requests

Charles Barnes sent out these prayer requests

  1. As Paul prayed for the church in Colossae, pray for the church in Idaho Falls – to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, that what we do will be worthy of our Lord. Pray for the leaders of your church and all the churches in Idaho Falls to be filled with the knowledge of His will.
  2. Praise God that He gives wisdom to those who ask (Prov. 2:6, James 1:5). Praise Him that all treasures of knowledge and understanding are hidden in Christ (Col. 2:3). Praise Him that He speaks to us through His creation, His written Word and His Spirit.
  3. Pray for the church in Idaho Falls to walk by faith, for spiritual eyes to see Jesus at work and for ears to hear all He is saying to us, and to discern the ways the enemy and our culture subvert our faith.
  4. Pray that the church in Idaho Falls blesses our community, producing fruit through abiding in Jesus (John 15:5).
  5. Pray that our knowledge of God will always be fresh and growing in depth.
  6. Pray that His life in us and our life in Him empowers all we do, renews our strength and gives us endurance in all that we face.
  7. Keep praying for Saeed Abedini. His mother was able to visit him last Wednesday; Saeed shared how news about the many prayer vigils on September 26 had reached Iranian media and even affected other prisoners.

Idaho Governor’s Debate – The City Club of Idaho Falls

Yesterday, upon the invitation of Jeff Thompson, I attended the luncheon and Governor’s Office debate between C.L.”Butch” Otter and AJ Balukoff.  Sponsored by The City Club of Idaho Falls, we met in the spacious Bennion Student Union Multipurpose Room of ISU located not too far from east bank of the Snake River running through the city.  Perfect spot.  Beautiful fall day in Idaho.

When I parked, I walked with Karole Honas of Local News 8 into the banquet room.  She is bright and cheery.  I think we were both eager to hear some of the opinions of the incumbent and challenger on the current issues of the day.  (more…)

Pagan Propitiation in Idaho Falls

For all those who watched Noah in Idaho Falls, didn’t Russell Crowe portray accurately what pagan propitiation is all about?

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Pagan propitiation is about appeasing the gods in their wrath with sacrifices and bribes.

Is that similar to the propitiation noted in I John 2:2?

I like how John Stott answers the question.

There can, therefore, be no question of human beings appeasing an angry deity by their gifts.  The Christian propitiation is quite different, not only in the character of the divine anger but in the means by which it is propitiated.  It is an appeasement of the wrath of God by the love of God through the gift of God.  The initiative is not taken by us, nor even by Christ, but by God himself in sheer unmerited love.  His wrath is averted not by any external gift, but by his own self-giving to die the death of sinners.  This is the means he has himself contrived by which to turn his own wrath away (Pss. 78:38, 85:2-3, 103:8-10, Mi. 7:18-19).

Reflections of My Jesus

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There I am, a reflection (oops) as I take a picture of Nelida’s beautiful photo, Reflections of My Jesus.  During this past Monday morning mens’ discussion on evangelism at the Villa Coffeeshop, one of the guys pointed this picture out to me hanging on the wall.

This is what Nelida has to say about this photo:

As I was sitting by the river bank one day, from a hard day at work and life- I meditated upon my life; the things I had done- good, bad, or not done at all. My regrets, my pain, and the lack of love in my heart. With tears of pain and broken dreams streaming down my face, I cried out in a loud voice for a sign that “I” would be ok. (My own sanity has always been somewhat of a concern to me) – letting out the pain and hurt pour out of me, I looked up at the beauty around me: the clear blue sky, the fresh air surrounded by enormous white boulders of rock, the glassy clear spring water flowing in the river, and the peace of the day surrounding my own mental battle and emotional chaos- and then my sign lay before me: As I looked upon this spring water with a new vision and clear mind, I saw in the water a reflection of my maker. The sign given to me as a reminder that “I am ok.”

High School AP English in I.F.

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Every year in Idaho Falls, high school juniors are exposed to a small slice of the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards.

The discussion then tends to gravitate toward the negative.

I read the full sermon today.

I would enjoy discussing with teenagers the Puritans and Jonathan Edwards.  By reading only The Scarlet Letter and a paragraph or two from the “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, I fear that our young people in the I-15 Corridor are not being exposed properly to the richness of a historical and literary depth in our American heritage.  When it comes to the Puritans and Jonathan Edwards, go further.  Go deeper.  I think you will be very surprised by what you find.

AP teachers ought to give the teens bonus points for reading The Admiral Conjunction of Diverse Excellencies in Christ Jesus by Edwards.  The title alone invokes a rhetorical analysis.  I chuckle.

What do you think?

At least, read what Edwards wrote as a late teenager:  70 resolutions (modern English).  Teens, by internalizing these resolutions by grace, you could be used to start a new movement in Idaho Falls.

LDS General Conference 2014 & Ben Carson

Today and tomorrow in Idaho Falls is when many are listening to the 184th Semiannual General Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

And guess who was talked about?  Ben Carson.

One reason that I like Ben is because of words that he shares about Jesus.  Deliverance comes through Jesus.  Strength comes from Jesus.