Water is mighty important out West in the high desert region we call home. Water = life. Irrigation brought life to lifeless areas in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada. On a recent family trip, we stopped in Ontario, Oregon to visit a museum which emphasized the importance of irrigation for farming in this area known as the Treasure Valley.
There are amazing displays of water in our area—hot springs throughout the Sawtooth mountain range. The Snake River Plain Aquifer creeps through an area of several thousand square miles under southern Idaho’s porous volcanic rock before emerging from the springs in the cliffs of the Snake River Canyon. In the Malad Gorge, an abundance of natural springs gush from the steep canyon walls and cascade into the river below. This “Thousand Springs” area is an amazing display of waterfalls as you drive through the scenic byway.
Our church group decided to go for the greatest waterfall in the region: The mighty Shoshone Falls just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho. The rain and sleet when we first arrived were concerning, yet soon gave way to a lovely, warm, sunny afternoon. We enjoyed our time taking in the amazing scenery, the rainbow, and a great picnic. We thanked God in prayer for the wondrous sights of his creation, and a safe trip for our six car-loads of people there and back.
Water was certainly on the minds of the Sons of Korah, who God inspired to record Psalm 42:
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my souls pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and meet with God? . . . Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls . . .”
Water = life. It is true in the high desert region of the Western U.S. The Living Water which Jesus gives also is life—bubbling up in the arid hearts of people from every culture. The same mighty God who separated water from water, then land from water, lovingly gives the living water, becoming in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
God bless you as you call to mind the tremendous gift of eternal life the Lord has given to you!
Prayer idea: Please pray for the three individuals preparing to receive the outpouring of blessing through Baptism this Sunday at our church.
--Pastor Dan
(below is our group picture from the Shoshone Falls outing--it was a great time!)
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or feedback, please e-mail me: peaceinjesus@clearwire.net
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pastor@peaceinjesus4vietnamese.org