Today, there is no way to claim simple ignorance on what’s going on when a baby is aborted from the womb. Anyone wanting to claim it is humane or kind to remove the living human from the womb before natural birth has deliberately chosen to ignore truth and has a seared conscience.
“You shall not murder.” God
(Exodus 20:13)
On behalf of all unborn who enter the city of Twin Falls and all children in the womb across the state of Idaho, on behalf of the silent child in great need today, on behalf of the child who has no way to flee his enemy, I am pleased to invite you to attend a special meeting on August 1, 2019. Join me as we prepare for the duty to interpose on behalf of our fellow Triune-God image bearing neighbors.
On August 1st, we will host a region wide gathering to educate, collaborate, and most importantly pray about moving forward to address abolishing abortion in Idaho. This will not be easy or make anyone popular.
Attend this meeting on August 1, at Eastside Baptist Church (204 Eastland Drive North) in Twin Falls. Not only will we discuss the proposed Idaho Abortion Human Rights Act legislation and meet the sponsors, Representative Heather Scott(District 1) and Representative John Green (District 2) along with Scott Herndon, we will also open our Bibles and hear what God would have us do in our day.
Come at 6 p.m. to meet the legislators and the Pastors Round Table team. The main event will begin at 7 p.m. Seating is limited, but we will do all we can to accommodate the seating needs of all who attempt to come. Parking will be limited so you may want to plan ahead and car pool from the Kmart parking lot with friends or park at Web Nursery.
For the glory of God, come and prepare to mobilize for the day.
July 14, at 6:30 p.m. one of our missionaries to Senegal, West Africa will update us of the ongoing gospel work. Matt is a former pastor of NorthRidge Fellowship in Jerome, ID. Matt and Gayle have 3 children.
Both opportunities will be of a blessing to you and your family.
The Bible is clear that the people of God ought to gather together to pray. Why then do so few of God’s people gather for prayer? I have some thoughts that may be real reasons why many don’t gather for prayer anymore, but none of them are excusable.
Here may be some reasons that people give…
They pray for the same things all the time.
They use the prayer time to gather and disperse gossip.
People will think less of me if they hear me pray for forgiveness of sins.
They pray with flowery words to impress others.
The prayer time is at a bad time.
My children think prayer is boring.
I keep falling asleep while others pray.
What they might as well be saying is…
I don’t think it’s that important.
I know better than God.
It doesn’t really matter if I pray or not, God is going to do whatever He wants to do.
I’m more righteous than those who gossip in their prayer.
The best T.V. of the week is on when the prayer time is scheduled.
I’m really not interested in the holy things of God.
I want to encourage the reader today to reconsider the corporate prayer gathering of God’s people. At Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, we devote the entire Wednesday evening gathering to prayer (6:30 p.m.). We strive to be a disciplined people, using careful words.
We read Scripture, which is God speaking to us. We pray under the influence of the Holy Spirit directing our time in the Scripture.
You often hear people saying that if we put prayer back in school we would see a change in the nation. I’m not opposed to prayer taking place at the schoolhouse, but until the churchhouse becomes a house of prayer again one can’t expect much to shift in our nation. A church that doesn’t pray together has little interest in the holy things of God and really doesn’t care about Godly things.
May the church repent of making the prayer gathering more about information sharing and humble herself and seek the face of God again for the glory of God.
Last week I met with local pastors in the Magic Valley from Burley to Hagerman, Jackpot to Twin Falls to prepare ourselves for a strategic plan to speak to the Twin Falls, City Council and prepare to engage God’s people to interact with state legislators concerning the abolishing of abortion in the state of Idaho.
As I Read Scripture and pray over this day with desire to remain focused on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as described by the Bible only I’m finding myself shocked at how little many expect from the church anymore.
Does anyone turn to the church to know about reaching children and youth? Maybe, but be sure of this, the church will turn to the para-church publishing house to train and program the methodology. What happened to a day when God’s people would turn to their Bible and seek God for the best way to reach the children?
Does anyone expect a leading voice from the church when it comes to feeding the poor? Likely the church is going to turn to the para-church food kitchen or food bank to regulate how to do this for them.
There was a day when the community would turn to the church to care for the orphan, sadly, today, the church has largely given this God ordained duty to the government.
If you want to influence city, county, state, or national issues with a moral base you will be hard pressed to find a church anywhere willing to engage. There was a day when all would look to the moral buttress, the church, the pillar of truth. The danger today is that the church has abdicated this off to the para-church lobbyist. We’ve been encouraging God’s people to contribute to the para-church so that the para-church can represent our values. The problem today is that many of the para-church lobbyist are not held accountable to the church and the church assumes they are the experts. It is time for the church to not only continue pressing the government to defund Planned Parenthood, it may as well be time to defund the para-church.
It is time, church, we must not leave our post as an abandoned post.
We are told (we even tell ourselves) “you can’t legislate morality.” We seem to have forgotten that that is part of the work of the government, to legislate moral and just laws. We also must know that a government does not have the capacity to be moral or remain moral if an imputed righteous people remain silent.
It is a more true statement that you can’t legislate righteousness. Righteousness is something that only God deposits upon an unrighteous person because of his depravity, inability to be righteous.
But, because the church has largely stepped out of the conversation on the topic of humanity and decided to hire the “experts” to speak for us we are now in communities that are not that interested in what we have to say about morality, or righteousness on any matter. Our communities look at the “right to life” groups and pregnancy centers as the “experts” on matters of life and they view the church more as the “experts” on summer daycare extravaganzas and free cotton candy.
This is for sure, if morality is not legislated, and that from a position of absolute truth, it will not be long before the immoral community begins to legislate immorality.
Welcome to today.
Church, return to your post in the community as a pillar and buttress of truth. From this place don’t forget your need to proclaim the gospel and call all people, everywhere, to believe and repent.
Please send this link on to every God fearing pastor you know in the Magic Valley. This is an open letter to pastors in the Magic Valley of South Central Idaho
Dear Brother Pastor,
Please consider joining me on July 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Eastside Baptist Church to discuss the issue of the sanctity of life in the city of Twin Falls for the glory of God. Gather with other pastors at Eastside Baptist Church (204 Eastland Drive North) as we band together to address the issue at an upcoming Twin Falls City Council meeting (TBA). It will be important to have a strategic plan and have a clear and undeniable request to members of the Twin Falls City Council. We are planning, but are pleased for God Almighty to direct each step for His own glory. Please join us on July 2 at 7:00 p.m.
For more information contact Eastside Baptist Church: 204 Eastland Drive North, Twin Falls, Idaho 208.734.7041
The following dates and actions will be explained with time for Q/A.
Important Dates:
July 2, 7:00 p.m. – A Symposium Concerning the Unborn for the Glory of God. A meeting with pastors throughout the Magic Valley. Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, Idaho
August 1, 6:00 p.m. – A regional gathering of God fearing citizens to discuss why and how we can impact state legislators on the issue of life for the glory of God. Rep. John Green and Rep. Heather Scott will be present to discuss the issue for the coming year. Eastside Baptist Church, Twin Falls, Idaho
TBA: a date to introduce ordinance code for city council consideration.
NOTE: At this time this information is not for public distribution. Thank you for not sharing this page on any public formats. I will have information ready soon for public distribution.
Thank you for taking the time to hear my invitation to join me and other pastors in the Magic Valley to partner together in requesting the city council of Twin Falls to adopt code language to not allow any one or any organization to perform induced abortions within the city. We will need to do the same for the county and surrounding counties soon if this is adopted.
After watching this video invitation would you consider joining me in person to discuss this proposal with a Q/A time that can equip us to best prepare God’s people for what may be before us in our community and the need to not get distracted from the main duty before us of the display of the glory of God and the spread of the Gospel?
If so…
…please join me on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 204 Eastland Drive North (Eastside Baptist Church) at 7:00 p.m. I hope to see you. Please feel free to contact me at 208-410-2529 or paul@esbcTwinFalls.com if you have any questions.
May God bless you, may God bless your family, may God bless His name and pour out His mercy upon our region with a revived church and an awakened valley.
The actual draft code is not available yet. What I do have ready for your consideration is an introduction explaining reasons why I will be asking the city to adopt such code. It is still a draft form and not ready for distribution. You can read the draft below, but please do not distribute it at this time.
—-This is a working draft. This is not ready for print or distribution. —-
WHEREAS, The Bible reveals that all human life is created in the image of God, and therefore every person is valuable to our Creator (Genesis 1:27; 9:6); and
WHEREAS, The Bible affirms that the unborn child is a person, bearing the image of God, from the moment of conception (Psalm 139:13– 16; Luke 1:44); and
WHEREAS, Idaho code (Title 32 – chapter 1) Identifies the unborn child conceived, but not yet born, is to be deemed an existing person so far as may be necessary for its interest, in the event of its subsequent birth from the moment of fertilization, and Idaho code (Title 18 – chapter 40) defines a human being including, but not limited to, a human embryo or fetus.
WHEREAS, Citizens of the Magic Valley of South Central Idaho are pleased to live independent and respectful lives with each other; and
WHEREAS, There were 258 procedures reported to terminate pregnancies without a live birth on innocent, unborn persons in the city of Twin Falls in 2017; and
WHEREAS, since 2008, 1,914 human babies have been aborted in the city of Twin Falls. That’s equivalent to the population of the cities of Hansen, Eden, and Castleford.
WHEREAS, According to the Bible, all persons have an unrighteous nature and are spiritually bankrupt of being righteous and in need of a sufficient redeemer.
Let it therefore be
RESOLVED, According to the Bible, Jesus is the only sufficient redeemer by which persons can be saved from the judgment of God; and
RESOLVED, That we, the God fearing citizens of the Magic Valley, repent of our collective silence before God and man of this heinous act against humanity that has been allowed to carry on in our city; and
RESOLVED, That we, the God fearing citizens of the Magic Valley appeal to you, the city council of Twin Falls, Idaho to hear our voice for the human population that have no opportunity to stand before you and appeal to your conscience to enact this fair and just law that forbids any person or organization to ever again, from this day forward, perform induced abortions upon another fellow person in our city; and
RESOLVED, That we mourn recent lack of action by our state legislators and local representation of our constitutional republic who ignored our appeal of a just and fair bill presented before them to abolish abortion in the state of Idaho; and
RESOLVED, That we make our homes available as suitable sanctuaries for every unwanted child; and
RESOLVED, That we declare the human baby in the womb precious and valuable and a welcome neighbor in our community, so help us God.
This is an invitation to men in churches in the Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada region. This is a gathering for pastors and young men to gather for a day of prayer, Biblical exhortation from several pastors in the region.
Join me at First Baptist Church in Brigham City, UT on July 12.
Each year the National Center for Family Integrated Churches (NCFIC) convenes gatherings of church leaders in various parts of the US. They bring men together for fellowship, teaching, prayer and singing for one purpose, “to take heed,” and to continue to cry out to God for awakening. As the shepherds go, so goes the church. Therefore, it is critical that we hold to Paul’s admonition to Timothy, “take heed to yourself and your doctrine,” 1 Timothy 4:16.
To that end, the NCFIC would like to invite you to a luncheon for prayer, mutual encouragement, fellowship, and exhortation to be held on Friday, July 12, 2019, in Bringham City, UT.
Following is my response to a proclamation read by the mayor of Twin Falls on June 3, 2019 at the weekly city council meeting. It is nothing new for any mayor to make non binding proclamations. It’s normal and even sought out by individuals and organizations who are looking for grant money, public recognition of achievements, or a call to action from the mayor to the citizens.
Usually a proclamation is made that the community at large will have little disagreement over. Somewhat of a politically safe statement. However, sometimes a proclamation is a misleading statement by a politician to use smoke and mirrors to distract a people from the eternal risk of their actions.
most want to simplify the list of titles with the acronym LGBTQ. I think this is intentional; not to simplify and save time, but rather to not hear those titles spoken every time because the actual titles are perversions of all things natural and righteous. One can hear the term “LGBT” all day long and not have to really think about what it represents, abominations before God.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride month is nothing new to Twin Falls.
Our neighbors requesting the proclamation should be treated with humanitarian dignity. It would be unthinkable to walk by a burning building and think those living there are not worth rescuing. Our response should be one of compassion and honesty.
Following is my letter to the mayor. I disclosed to him that I would be posting this as a public response to his public proclamation. It is my intent to always speak forthright while attempting to be respectful and kind. Not always easy to accomplish. It wouldn’t hurt for you to draft a letter to him expressing your opinion on this matter too.
____________________
Dear Mr. Mayor,
I just want to follow up with you in regard to your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Proclamation yesterday. I want you to know I pray for you every week and I think you fairly govern the council meetings. I have witnessed your fairness and kindness to all who stand before the council, even when there is clear disagreement. For this I’m thankful.
I wish to communicate with you that I take issue with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Proclamation signed on May 20, 2019 and read in public on June 3, 2019. Within the proclamation, I notice some inconsistencies and likely unintentional discrimination against others in our community.
I understand the nature of a proclamation and that it is more ceremonial and not binding law. With this understanding I wish to communicate my disagreement concerning the need for such a proclamation. I also want you to be sure you are aware that I will be publicly responding to the proclamation in my personal blog page where I communicate on a broad array of topics.
This public proclamation requires a public response. My intent is not to be disrespectful, only to point out how many times in an effort to show fairness; unfairness is exposed.
The first two-thirds of the proclamation was a fair attempt to acknowledge the diversity in our community. I take issue with three parts of the proclamation.
First: I don’t think this kind of proclamation is needed in a community like ours. The citizens are generally fair to their neighbors and where there are shortcomings in this we already have laws that govern how we are to treat each other.
Second: The proclamation was about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride month, not about all the other classifications mentioned. Why bring age into the proclamation if you are not going to defend my neighbor in the womb of a pregnant woman who will seek to murder that human in an abortion clinic? And you make no mention of the natural birth sex, only “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” no mention of “male” or “female”. This was either intentional or a mistake, in either case both are noticeably missing.
Finally: As the proclamation gets clearer and to the point, it does two things. 1) It misrepresents the population base in the city. To claim that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community are a “vital part of all fields and professions and contribute to a stronger community” is misleading. Are they valued because of their humanity and their skill or because of their sexual activity? I do not think it can be a supported truth that every field and every profession in our city has lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer workers in it, and it implies that every field or profession is not contributing to a stronger community unless there are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer workers in that field. Do you mean to communicate that an employer would be better to have a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer employee than an honest, hard working, loyal workforce regardless of their sexual status? This is actually a discriminating point against those who contribute to our community who are not lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. I don’t think that’s what the intent is, but it is unclear by the use of the words. And words are so important. 2) The best thing we can give our youth is truth. To live out a lifestyle that is a perversion of everything natural and righteous is not loving. It helps no one in the community to promote this kind of perversion. The community is not better, the community is at risk. We are not a stronger community when we promote that which is opposed to truth.
I will communicate my disagreement publicly but I want you to know I mean no disrespect to you. I do strongly disagree with this proclamation. Where I disagree with this proclamation I will continue to be kind to all of my neighbors.
The intent of my writing was to communicate my disagreement with the need for such a proclamation and to communicate with clarity that the promotion and approval of sinful activity puts all citizens in danger.
Thank you for reading this with understanding of my intent.
This past Lord’s Day I began preaching through the 40th chapter of Isaiah (40:1-2). Over the next several weeks I will work on memorizing the entire chapter.
Consider memorizing it with me.
There are many methods of memorizing Scripture and I encourage you to utilize that method to meditate and put this treasured word in your heart.
The method I use to memorize longer passages is disciplined repetition while attempting to meditate and focus on words and phrases.
There are 31 verses in chapter 40. If all goes as planned, at the end of 31 days I should have Isaiah 40 memorized.
Day one: Read Isaiah 40:1 ten times, out loud. Then say verse one ten times without looking, only looking to move me on if I get stuck. That’s all I do on day one.
Day two: recite verse 1 from memory ten times, looking only to move along if needed. Next, read Isaiah 40:2 ten times, out loud. Then say verse two ten times without looking, only looking to move me on if I get stuck. That’s all I do on day two.
Day three: recite verse 2 from memory ten times, looking only to move along if needed. Then recite verses 1 and 2 together one time. Next, I read verse 3 ten times, out loud. Then recite verse 3 ten times without looking, only looking to move along if I get stuck. That’s it for day three.
Day four – Day thirty-one: repeat the pattern every day. Obviously it will take a bit longer each day. Don’t give up. Press along. It is better for you to meditate on the Word of God than to give up because it’s too hard.
May God bless you as you put His word in your heart.
You might find it helpful to hear it read out loud several times too. Here is a recording of Chapter 40 to help if wanted.
