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Meet My Bible Chiropractor

Sword and Dagger
Sword and Dagger

Recently my church gave me a gift to get my bible rebound. I had researched this earlier in the year and had decided, due to expense, that I would likely just start looking for a new preaching bible. (I had already done the unthinkable and attempted to keep all the sections together with duct tape. Don’t do it. That solution worked for a few months but actually made things worse.)

After receiving that generous gift last week from Eastside Baptist Church, I did one more shot at researching to see if there was a local book binder. To my surprise, I found a story in the Times News of a book binder in Twin Falls.

I sent a text last night and he encouraged to bring my bible in today.

So, like loved ones getting ready to say good-bye for a few days, I said good-bye to my preaching bible. (I charged up my camera to be sure to take photos of our parting.) Not knowing how long it might be before we would see each other again, I removed all pieces of paper, notes, old bulletins, page markers, and everything personal. I also decided to take my travel bible that has seen better days to inquire of it being rebound.

Within a few moments of sitting in Darin Dodd’s living room, I was convinced that my sword and dagger were in good hands. Yes, right here in Twin Falls, Idaho, Renew Bookbinding is located in the basement of the Twin Falls Bible Missionary Church. And the pastor, Darin Dodd, is the master bookbinder who will be doing the work.

While there, pastor Darin Dodd took me to his office and rebinding shop. He is currently in the process of rebinding a first edition collection of sermons by Charles Wesley.

WOW…

and he let me hold them. I could have stayed for hours (as if the two I had already spent wasn’t enough.)

Here’s the plan: I’ll be without my sword and dagger for a few weeks, but when Darin is finished I’ll have completely rebound bibles ready for heavy use again. After the work of binding is complete he will re-cover both in the finest leather; Nigerian Goat Skin. I asked Darin if I could come by from time to time to check in on my bibles and he said “of course”.

I’ll keep you posted.

In the mean time, do you have a bible you’ve been wanting to get rebound? Contact my new friend Darin at Renew Bookbinding; 319-850-1421 or email him HERE. If you are from out of town (Twin Falls) and you want him to do some work for you, let me know and I’ll make arrangements for you. (I can even go visit your bible while he’s working on it.)

Open Letter to Pastors in the Magic Valley

RichardOwenRobertsDear pastor,

I am hopeful you are well. In just over one week Eastside Baptist Church is hosting a regional conference for pastors and church leaders (October 18-20). I have asked a faithful preacher of Scripture, Richard Owen Roberts, to be our keynote speaker. It is my hope that you will be able to attend all or at least some of these sessions.

Consider yourself invited and welcome.

“America has not known a large scale general revival for more than 100 years.”
Richard Owen Roberts

The conference is scheduled to begin on Sunday evening, October 18 and conclude at noon on October 20. The times of each session are listed below.

  • Session One: Sunday, October 18 – 6:30 pm (dinner provided at 5)
  • Session Two: Monday, October 19 – 9:30 am
  • Session Three: Monday, October 19 – 1:30 pm (lunch provided at noon)
  • Session Four: Tuesday, October 20 – 9:30 am

More information is available HERE

Location:
Eastside Baptist Church

204 Eastland Drive North
Twin Falls, Idaho
208.734.7041

Paul Thompson
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Chaplain John the Baptizer

I spent Saturday with Chaplain, Captain John Martinez from the 116th at the Battle Buddy Run. Here’s the day in pictures from our team photographer, Silas Thompson.

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the Battle Buddy run was a non-timed, team event; teams were “sent” into battle about 3 minutes apart.
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Razor wire and barbed wire.
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Do not follow my poor gun safety in real life.
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the foreground is a peaceful autumn picture, the drill Sargent making fun of my push up attempts was not so peaceful.
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Hard to breath through these gas masks standing still, but my battle buddy wouldn’t let me quit.
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At least I get a free shirt for doing this.
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The last time I ate an MRE was in a Haitian jail. “You’re gonna love the Mac. and Cheese.” spoken by the NBC reporter
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Who’s idea was this?
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1… 2… 3… lift!
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“Don’t shoot ’till you see the white of their eyes.”
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Safety First!
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“What happens if the rope snaps?”
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I’m going to sit down over here and cry for a moment.

This is what it’s like to spend the day with the chaplain. It was clear throughout the day that I was with a man who cares for the soldiers and he’s respected by the soldiers… but most of all he knows how to end the day better than any chaplain I know…

BattleRunBaptism

JohnAndJohn

 

The Truth Is, They Are Not Telling You the Truth

Over the weekend I participated with over 100 other citizens from the Magic Valley in a nation wide movement to defund Planned Parenthood. I’m not one to quickly join protest without much information on the organizers and the intentions of all the participants.

IMG_20150822_103843-1 IMG_20150822_110023 IMG_20150822_124842

This was worth the risk for me.

I was pleased, it was largely a grassroots gathering, loosely organized and peacefully unified and respectful of all the participants. I did not participate with prayers to Mary and I didn’t require anyone to listen in on my Scripture reading and prayers. I was pleased to meet several people in the community with this common desire to see American tax payer funds stop going to Planned Parenthood, period.

My Letter to the Editor in the Twin Falls – Times News has generated mild traffic but heated emotion over the weekend. There is a lot of confusion over who’s statistics are accurate. Planned Parenthood argues that only 3% of their services includes abortions and the Susan B. Anthony foundation argues that it is really 94 – 97% of Planned Parenthood services include abortions. That’s quite a discrepancy and I don’t know which one is the more accurate. (My opinion is that it is indeed higher than 3%, but where is it factually? I have no idea.)

But this much I now know about the Twin Falls Planned Parenthood:

  • They are part of the Planned Parenthood of the North West (like all of Idaho’s Planned Parenthood clinics)
  • The Twin Falls Planned Parenthood clinic applied and was granted a direct grant, Title X. This is tax generated money for women’s health. It is a “competitive bid” process, meaning any women’s health organization is welcome to apply.
  • Twin Falls Planned Parenthood did receive Medicaid money for two murders (abortions) in Twin Falls between 2012-2014. (see chart below)
  • 203 unborn babies were murdered (aborted) in Twin Falls in 2011 (cited in previous posts)
  • Governor Otter has decided not to investigate Idaho Planned Parenthood clinics even though there are now 8 videos (as of Aug. 24, 2015) that show unethical activity is present within the organization of Planned Parenthood.

There is a better option for women’s health in the Magic Valley. Stanton Healthcare provides free healthcare for women regardless of income status. It is Christian based, but it is not required that you be a Christian to receive services. Help spread the word.

It takes work to get clear factual answers, but it can be done. Here is the truth about the state of Idaho and federal tax payer funding of murders (abortions) in Twin Falls, Idaho. This is money that is given directly to Twin Falls Health Center (Planned Parenthood). It is not a lot, but it is tax payer money (Idaho Medicaid) for the purpose of murder (abortion).

I do agree with the arguments being made that other tax payer money given to Planned Parenthood for “other services” frees other money to be spent for murdering (aborting) unborn babies. This is the reason for my opposition for any tax payer money being given to Planned Parenthood, period.

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NOTE: post was edited for spelling, grammar and photos by Paul Thompson at 1:59pm, August 24, 2015

There Is A Beast In the City

We’ve known this all along…

The murdering of babies is happening in our hometown.

There is a prayer vigil scheduled to happen: at 200 2nd Avenue N (Planned Parenthood), Twin Falls, Idaho Saturday, August 22 at 10:00AM.

Church, Planned Parenthood is murdering babies in your city.

Legally? Yes.

The selling of human organs and tissue may not be happening at 200 2nd Avenue North in Twin Falls, but babies are being murdered. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices. The Twin Falls Health Center (aka: Planned Parenthood) does receive state and federal tax money for services they provide. It is true that all funds given are for allowed women’s health services. And yes, this does free up other funds for abortions (over 200 in 2011)

The argument is that our tax dollars are not spent on abortions. This is not true. Yes, the argument is made that Planned Parenthood does not get direct money from tax payers to perform these abortions.

The truth is, that is not true.

The Twin Falls Health Center received both Idaho tax funds and federal tax funds money for two abortions over the past three years.

Two is two too many!

Grant it the funds were under $200.00 per abortion, but that’s $200.00 too much!

Now (take a deep breath), what must be done?

Church, repent of your laziness on this matter. Planned Parenthood is a monster and must be shut down completely. You and I can not make ourselves feel good about how good we are compared to the monsters we read about in the bible who participated in pagan, child sacrifices. We know this is happening today in our land.

If our elected officials will not aggressively put together a legal means to defund, and shut down all together, Planned Parenthood then we must call out, from among us, men and women who will allow us to elect them into public office.

Many say, “It can’t be done.”

It must be done. It must be done today.

By the grace of God, there have been faithful and courageous people and churches in the valley who have historically been active to speak out. We must continue.

NOTE: Planned Parenthood is scheduled to be open on Saturday from 10:00am – 2:00pm. It is important that you be respectful of the legal right that Planned Parenthood has to be open. It would be inappropriate to speak rudely, arrogantly, hateful to anyone. Our fight is not with flesh and blood. There is a devilish spirit behind the monster of Planned Parenthood whom we will humbly ask our God to deal with.

 

Defund Planned Parenthood

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time working on writing letters to elected public servants from county sheriff to local school board, from state government to national government.

When a person writes an elected public servant he feels like his concern it the most important matter and wants immediate attention given the the issue. It’s important to remind yourself that there are a lot of issues and serious matters that are being addressed and then when there are big issues that many people are writing in about that it takes time and the individual must be careful to listen to all his/her constituents and then give a logical and reasonable reply.

So far I’ve received a grand total of 5 replies. Three were automated and two personal. I’ll be patient.

In the mean time… have you written or called? Here is a starter list of who to contact and some samples of my letters HERE.

If you are writing letters, consider these helpful tips…

  • Keep Letters as short, yet informative, as possible. (three to four short paragraphs)
  • Be kind
  • Be respectful
  • Write your letter, get a second opinion, drink a tall glass of ice water (if your heart rate is still high, drink another glass of ice water), then re-read before sending
  • When you get a reply – be sure to repeat all of your previous steps and be sure to reply back and follow up on unanswered questions or new questions from the correspondence you receive.

Now, go be a responsible citizen.

Did You Know?

I’ve been doing some research on Planned Parenthood and thought I would share some bullet point facts and site the sources in hopes that you too will be motivated to take action. The fact is, we have grown rather comfortable that Planned Parenthood exist in our communities.

Planned Parenthood should not only cease to receive federal tax money of any kind for any “service” it does, it should be shut down completely and charges filed against every employee.

History:

  • Birth Control Federation of America founder, Margaret Sanger, opened first clinic in Brownsville (Brooklyn), NY, in a in 1916. (citation) Reading any primary documents by Margaret Sanger will convince you of her hatred of God, church, family, and blacks.
  •  Birth Control Federation of America changed its name to Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942 (citation)
  • There are currently 59 affiliates operating over 700 clinics across the United States. (citation).
  • There is one clinic in Twin Falls, Idaho (operated under Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and Hawaiian Islands, citation) that murdered 203 unborn children in 2011.

Let me get straight to the point. At a minimum I’m asking you to join me in the nation wide efforts to defund Planned Parenthood of federal, state and local tax funds. I’m also asking you who live in the Magic Valley of southern Idaho to help me in a movement to shut down the Twin Falls (Planned Parenthood) Health Center located in down town Twin Falls, at 200 Second Ave N.

It was reported that there were 203 abortions at the Twin Falls Health Center in 2011 (cdapress.com and spokesman.com)

Recently Governor Butch Otter has informed the state of Idaho that he will not launch an investigation at any Planned Parenthood clinics in spite of the recent discovery of Planned Parenthood’s unethical practice of selling tissue from murdered babies. (citation) This is unreasonable and irresponsible.

I’m asking you to help me do four things right now:

  1. Pray. Repenting of this shameful behavior of our nation. Ask God to raise up courageous men and women willing to finally speak up for the unborn.
  2. Join me in a letter writing campaign, both electronic and physical letters to Governor Otter. Requesting him to reconsider his decision to not investigate Idaho Planned Parenthood clinics.
  3.  Join me in a letter writing campaign, both electronic and physical letters to Twin Falls County Sheriff, Tom Carter. Requesting him to investigate and arrest employees of the Twin Falls Health Center (Planned Parenthood) for murder and/or assistance in the murder of unborn babies.
  4. Share this blog post on all your social media accounts, email to your friends, and share with your church/Sunday School class/small group.

Contact information:


Letter to Governor Butch Otter:
Online contact: http://gov.idaho.gov/ourgov/contact.html
e-mail address: Governor@gov.idaho.gov
Physical Address

Office of the Governor
State Capitol
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83720

Dear Governor Otter,

I urge you to reconsider your decision not to investigate Planned Parenthood in the state of Idaho. According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,

Paul Thompson


Letter to Sheriff Tom Carter:
mailing address: P.O. Box 146, Twin Falls, Idaho, 83303
e-mail address: twinfallscoso@co.twin-falls.id.us

Dear Sheriff Carter,

I have a matters of concern I would like you to hear and give response to;

First, I assume you are aware of Governor Otter’s decision to not call for an investigation of local Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state. I would like to ask and plead with you to do an investigation on behalf of the citizens of Twin Falls County.

According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

Second, would you be willing to do an investigation of the content on Planned Parenthood’s website (http://www.plannedparenthood.org)? There is questionable content not suitable for minors. The content intended for teens (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/teens) is inappropriate.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Will you stand courageously in this day? It appears no one else is willing to take on the giant, Planned Parenthood. Please give consideration to what you are able to do for the life of all citizens in Twin Falls County.

Sincerely,

 


Letter to Twin Falls School District
Superintendent Dr. Willey Dobbs
e-mail: dobbswi@tfsd.edu

Dear Superintendent Dr. Dobbs,

I have a matter of concern I would like you to hear and give response to;

I’m aware that various organizations have influence on the students at our public funded schools in the Twin Falls School District. I respect the enormous responsibility upon you and all the staff of the TFSD.

Would you be willing to do an investigation of the content on Planned Parenthood’s website (http://www.plannedparenthood.org)? There is questionable content not suitable for minors. The content intended for teens (http://www.plannedparenthood.org/teens) is inappropriate.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn and treat sexuality with such silliness as the Planned Parenthood link for teens.

Does Planned Parenthood have access to the students in our school district?

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to protect the youth in our community and keep them safe from the foolish behavior of Planned Parenthood. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,

 


State of Idaho Representatives

Idaho State Representatives: HERE
Local District: HERE

Idaho State Senators: HERE

All members of the State Affairs Committee: one e-mail for the entire committee HERE  (hstaf@house.idaho.gov)
Chair Thomas F. Loertscher, Vice Chair Gayle L. Batt, Ken Andrus, Lynn M. Luker, Brent J. Crane, Joe Palmer, Kathleen Sims, Vito Barbieri, James Holtzclaw, Shannon McMillan, Linden B. Bateman, Don Cheatham, Pete Nielsen, Elaine Smith, Paulette Jordan, John McCrostie,  Melissa Wintrow

Dear State Affairs Committee,

According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,

This will take quite some time. I sent a letter (basically the same, but personalized) to every member of the Idaho legislature. There may be a quicker, more convenient way to do this but this is all I knew.


Letter to U.S. Representative Mike Simpson:
Online Contact Form: http://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP=83301&Submit=FIND+YOUR+REP+BY+ZIP

Dear Representative Simpson,

According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,


Letter to U.S. Senators: Idaho

Senator Mike Crapo
Physical address: 239 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
online contact: http://www.crapo.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm

Dear Senator Crapo,

According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,

Senator Jim Risch
Physical address: 483 Russell Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
Online contact: http://www.risch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Dear Senator Risch,

According to its 2013-2014 national annual report, Planned Parenthood performed 327,653 abortions. In the city where I live, Twin Falls, over 200 abortions were performed in 2011. It is unreasonable to think that an organization willing to make a business out of murdering unborn children is not also capable of other unethical practices.

There are other organizations that offer women’s health without involving themselves in the destruction of life in the womb. Women in Twin Falls will not go without good considerate care in absence of Planned Parenthood.

I refuse to sit idle on this matter as long as our federal, state, and local governments financially participate in the genocide of the unborn.

I am not interested in idle chit-chat on this matter; I want to know what you intend to do to defund and close down the murderous activity of abortion in our state. If you are unable to give this kind of direction for me, I will begin looking for a man or woman courageous enough to stop this shameful activity in our land and convince my fellow countrymen to elect them into office at the next available moment.

Sincerely,

We Stand Ready to Preach This Gospel

Dear Twin Falls and the Magic Valley,

The born-again, repenters of unspeakable sins, who gather at 204 Eastland Drive North in Twin Falls, Idaho cried out to Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians  1:10) and found a solid ground to stand upon.

By the grace of God we found a solid place to stand, a firm foundation that did not disappoint.

This was not a place filled with romance that never delivered on its false promises.

We, too, were once slipping down a slippery slope to certain disaster, accumulating false teachers and creating false doctrines to justify our fleshly cravings when a faithful soul, standing on a firm foundation, gave a clear warning; We didn’t even know we were sinners at the time. That faithful follower of the Lord Jesus spoke of a righteous God who would justly judge all sinners and find us guilty and already condemned.

This righteous, loving God invited us to respond to His holiness and repent. By His grace, we were rescued, in faith, by the satisfying requirement of the necessary death of a perfect life. Jesus Christ, this redeemer of sinners took our place, and appeased the wrath of God on our behalf. What a Savior.

Like us, when you discover that helpless estate of pride, selfishness, and unbelief, cry out to God in the name of Jesus the Christ, described by the bible, repent and be saved.

May He plant your feet on a firm foundation, on Christ the Solid Rock. Where “all other ground is sinking sand, may you in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.”

We stood ready to preach this gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ when it was popular; and now, when it’s not, with great patience and instruction, we ask God for strength to endure. We will not, by the grace of God, abandon our post in the city. We will steadfastly engage in the advancement of the gospel.

We strive to speak with compassion, as those before us, so as to call all sinners unto repentance.

To compromise our message is to compromise our duty. To abandon our duty is of unimaginable hatred.

We remain steadfast as ever, willing to endure hardship for payment. Come, all who deserve God’s wrath, come, come, to Jesus. He stands able and ready to redeem all repenting sinners.

Paul Thompson
Eastside Baptist Church
Twin Falls, Idaho

An Update About New Horizon Home

It is past time for an update on the ministry of Eastside Baptist Church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti at our girls home. A lot of things have been happening. Let me give a brief update with short testimony and a few pictures.

The faithful at Eastside Baptist Church continue steadfastly praying for all the needs to be met. We don’t put out pleas for help from others (we don’t oppose those who do). We take all of our request to God and trust Him to provide as He moves His people. We never turn down an opportunity to share about the work with those who ask and we don’t shy away from informing organization offering support upon requests nor from sharing with our church family how God answers our plea.

Here are some recent ways God answers those prayers:11649288_847866965301385_995787616_o

  • First of all: Meet Jean Alexander Veillard, born Tuesday morning to Alex and Johanne Veillard. Alex is the director of New Horizon Home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
  • There is not a week that goes by that God does not prompt someone to give to the ongoing ministry work of New Horizon International. Faithful giving of people every week at Eastside Baptist Church. Faithful giving of strangers we’ve never met. Faithful giving of churches from around the country. Faithful giving of children collecting pocket change. Faithful giving of widows on fixed income. Faithful giving of businessmen, labor workers, work-from-home moms, etc. The mail man has little idea of the kind of blessings from God he delivers regularly. May the Lord bless His people at the following churches… Second Baptist Church, Amarillo, TX. The Church at Quail Creek, Amarillo, TX. Bear River Valley Baptist Church, Tremonton, UT. Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, ID. Berean Baptist Church, Wendell, ID. Magic Valley Baptist Association. Treasure Valley Baptist Association. The River, Twin Falls, ID.
  • In a few weeks a group of 8 college students from Boise State University will travel with me to do some bed 11638738_847357865352295_398248739_oconstruction (funds for the beds are provided by The Church at Quail Creek in Amarillo, TX), general care to the home, ministry in a local hospital, English school, and local Baptist Church. Work on our own water well has been going on since my last visit back in January. Until now we did not have our own water source. By the grace of God, we are nearing completion of our water well at New Horizon Home. Alex, our director at the home, is very careful with all money and understands that we can only buy and pay the workers with what God gives us. New Horizon Home continues to receive high inspection marks and Alex is told by officials that New Horizon Home is unlike most homes in the city; clean, efficient, happy. We count this a blessing from God.
  • We have received word that we now have about 10 acres of agriculture land to begin using. I don’t know how we received it, who gave it to us, or anything about it. On my upcoming trip I will discover all these details and bring report back to the Lord’s people at Eastside. Wow.
  • About one year ago I was asked to preach in Tremonton, UT at Bear River Valley Baptist Church on a Sunday morning. By the kindness of Eastside Baptist Church, Renee and I left early one hot July Sunday morning and drove to Tremonton to gather with the Lord’s people. We shared at the Lord’s Table together, sang and opened the word of God together. Through conversation with Nancy Nicholas after the service and later at lunch with Jim and Annette Williams I was able to share some of our gospel work God has called Eastside Baptist to in Haiti, they asked if they could begin collecting school supplies for our school.

    Yesterday, I received a phone call from Jim, an elder at Bear River Valley Baptist Church, asking if they could bring me the supplies they have for our upcoming trip. Of course I said “sure, thank you.”

    Here is a picture of Jim, his wife Annette, and a deacon Jerry today (June 25, 2015). Jim called me at about 11:30am this morning asking if we could meet them at the airport for lunch. I picked Renee up for lunch and to get the supplies. May the Lord bless His kind people at Bear River Valley Baptist Church.

    GE
    Annette, Jim, Jerry

 

The Plague of the Christian Celebrity Culture

There may be a plague in the land. Consider this…

  • If I were to secure a popular Christian musician to be present at a Wednesday night at Eastside Baptist Church (the going price to do so is a minimum of $10,000.00) I suspect we would have to rent a facility to house the number of people who would come.
  • If I were to secure a popular Christian athlete to be present at a Wednesday night prayer meeting at Eastside Baptist Church, I suspect we would have to turn people away.
  • If I were to secure a popular Christian actor to be present at a Wednesday night gathering, I suspect we would gather more than just Christians.
  • If I were to secure a popular preacher we could fill the Lord’s house and would talk about that gathering for months to come.

thus showing us at least two problems…

  • The current atmosphere among the “Christian” community is plagued with an attraction for the popular, the rich, the talented, the attractive, the comfortable and is completely naive of the opportunity that is before them to be in the manifest presence of Holy God.
  • What pastor’s (myself included) are calling “worship services”, “prayer meetings”, “bible study” etc, may not be genuinely Christian in nature and more a product of his imagination.

It is my observation that both may be part of the problem. Christian, you have before you an opportunity to gather with the Lord’s people for perhaps the most uniquely compelling reason you could imagine. Can you imagine a worship service where the presence of the Lord God Almighty is so obviously present? Can you imagine a prayer meeting where those present experienced a pouring out of the Holy Spirit that all present were radically changed?

  • Put that moment up against the last episode of American Idol or Dancing with the Stars.
  • Put that gathering up against the opening night of the long anticipated movie blockbuster.
  • Put that time of prayer up against a date night with your spouse.

Our casual approach to worship, prayer, bible study exposes a serious issue. And pastor (I’m preaching to me again) your casual approach to preparing shows you have little knowledge as to who you are representing.

There is no celebrity guest appearance showing up at 204 Eastland Drive North in Twin Falls, Idaho, tonight. There is no celebrity interesting enough to take the stage as the opener. We will humbly ask for the Lord’s manifest presence to be present. May He visit us tonight.

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