by John Carpenter | Jan 17, 2024 | Ministry News
It is indeed our prayer for you all – that you have experienced – and are experiencing – a truly Blessed New Year of 2024!
Our diligent seeking from God for a staff of awakened and quickened cabin and camp program leaders (both male and female) – ever continues. Please be in earnest prayer with us in this very important matter! We are living in not only spiritually oppressive times – but also financially trying times! The costs of living in this present economy have considerably increased the ongoing day to day burdens of food, fuel and utilities. All of which tends to make it more difficult for anyone of us to be able to pay attention to anything other than our being able to keep up with these particular personal needs. Nevertheless, our Great Shepherd – the Lord Jesus Christ – can lead us through these dark and difficult days victoriously! Let’s seek Him first – and follow Him each step of the way. Amen(?)…Amen!
The Word of God from the gospel of Isaiah declares to us the only circumstances where God, Himself, waits – for anything. Is.30:18 plainly says: “And therefore will the Lord wait – that He may be gracious unto you – and therefore will He be Exalted – that He may have mercy upon you! For the Lord is a God of Judgment. Blessed are all they – That Wait For Him!”
This is a profound portion of holy scripture! Our absolutely Sovereign God – is a God of Judgment! And, His Judgment can be either favorable or unfavorable. David wrote in Ps.119:20 “My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy Judgments at all times.” I hardly think that he confessed here that his soul longed for God’s unfavorable judgments at all times! No. His longing was for God’s sovereign providential good and favorable judgments. Circumstantial judgments of victory, peace and deliverance from the Evil One! Which judgments he experienced – as well as God’s unfavorable ones – in this fallen-in-sin world. And, beloved, so do we! We are the ones – in the here and now — that make up the Church Militant – still in this world; we look forward to becoming the Church Victorious – in heavenly glory! All praise and glory be unto God our Captain and Savior!
Until then – by God’s enabling grace – we have to continue to wait patiently for Him to unfold before us His leading us in that which is His will and good pleasure. Your continued prayerful support of us during this particular time is greatly appreciated! We love you all.
by John Carpenter | Dec 5, 2023 | Devotional
(5) “Wherefore – when He cometh into the world – saith He: ‘Sacrifice and offering – thou wouldest not – but a Body hast thou prepared me! (6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin – thou hast not had pleasure.’ (7) Then said I: ‘Lo, I come (in the volume of The Book – it is written of Me) to do thy will, O God.’
(8) Above when He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin – thou wouldest not – neither hadst pleasure therein – which are offered by the Law.’ (9) Then said He: ‘Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.’
He taketh away the first – that He may establish the second! (10) By the which will – we are sancti-fied through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ – once for all.” [He.10:5-10]
Whenever in this fallen-in-sin world – we chosen sinner/children of God are asked – “What is the one thing for which we are the most thankful unto God?” The answer to this question is purely and simply found in this exceedingly grand scriptural context! For this is an explicit explanation of why the gospel of the glory, only, of the Lord Jesus Christ is declared from Rev.14:6 to be “the Everlasting Gospel”! Praise His Name! For the context of this passage descriptively declares that the eternal salvation of all the souls of all the Seed of the only sovereign Savior substitute that there ever was – is – or ever will be – made it His purpose — and decreed – to come into our fallen-in-sin world – garbed in the likeness of our sinful flesh (see: Ro.8:1-3) – explicitly — to be our “Kinsman Redeemer”! And He – as being the Living Word of God and, as well, the Eternal Son of God – is the One in whom God placed us! All who are truly His sinner/children He placed “in Him before the foundation of the world” (see: Eph.1:3-4). He chose us and placed us in Him – for Him – to be our one and only Savior and Mediator to reconcile us sinners with holy, holy, holy God (see: 1Ti.2:5). Hence, He came into the age of our world of sin and death to justly and eternally set us free from our bondage to our sin and to save our souls from certain eternal death! The Lord Jesus Christ – is our eternal approval and acceptance with God – all to His glory and for His glory!
This He did by the sacrifice of His Body – His Blood – and even His own eternal Soul! This is said clearly and accurately by God – through His Word – from Is.53:11-12 when He describes what really happened with Christ – for us – at the cross. He tells us: “He shall see the travail of His Soul – and shall be satisfied! By His knowledge (or, more lit. “by the knowledge of Him”) shall my Righteous Servant justify many – for He shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide Him a portion among the great – and He shall divide the spoil among the strong – because He poured out His Soul unto death! And, He was numbered with the transgressors. He bare the sins of many – and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Hence, is the Person of Christ and His eternally accomplished works — so aptly described from He.2:11-14: “For both He that sanctifieth – and they who are sanctified – are all of One! For which cause – He is not ashamed to call them brethren, (12) saying, I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren! In the midst of the Church – will I sing praise unto Thee! (13) I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold – I and the children which God hath given me. (14) Forasmuch then – as the children are partakers of flesh and blood – He also Himself – (lit.) in like manner – took part of the same – that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death – that is the devil.”
Therefore, dear ones, Christ Jesus truly is the Kinsman Redeemer! Thank you, Heavenly Father, for sending us your Eternal Son – to be — our Eternal Savior!
by John Carpenter | Dec 5, 2023 | Camp News
Well, dear friends and family in Christ – as we continue to seek the Savior for the staff that we need to fill the positions of cabin and camp program leaders for our summer camp season – we must not lose heart and become faint. I truly hope that you also are in league with us in searching for – and from – the Lord in this regard. It may very well be the hardest thing for us — whom He has from His “Word of the truth of the gospel” – awakened and quickened – regenerated by the Holy Spirit – to have to simply stand and wait for His leading and provision. Our sovereign Savior is still the One who sits in His all governing control over all things that are presently happening in our circumstances. And, He tells us to trust Him – and Him alone – through all of our walk through the desolate wilderness of this present world. He has not left us to fend for ourselves.
From Jn.14:18 Jesus has told us: “I will not leave you comfortless (or, more lit. “I will not leave you as orphans”) I will come to you”! His Word of Truth tells us plainly from Jer.29:12-14a: “Then shall ye call upon me – and ye shall go and pray unto me – and I will hearken unto you. (13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (14) And I will be found of you – saith the Lord.
Do you see something out of the ordinary concerning what the Lord tells us about ourselves in the context of what is written here in Jer. 29? Is any sinner in this fallen-in-sin world a true seeker after God? No – not really. Look what God says about all of us in Ps.14:1-2: “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand – and seek after God. (3) They are all gone aside. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good – no – not one!” This same sentiment – this same divine diatribe concerning fallen human depravity — is repeated by the Holy Spirit from Ro.3:11: “There is none that understandeth – there is none that seeketh after God.”
So, what are we to conclude? Scripture interprets scripture…and the Lord Jesus tells us from Jn.15:5, “For without ME – you can do nothing!” Therefore, in the Light of the Truth of His own Word – we can conclusively believe and expect – that the Will of the Lord – will unfold exactly according to that which He has sovereignly willed to take place! Praise His all knowing – His all present – His all powerful – and His all Holy Person and Eternally Accomplished Work! So, let us unite in the Faith of Jesus Christ and lay hold to that which the Lord, Himself, tells us about Himself – that when we call out to Him – and go and pray unto Him – we can expect that His Will – will be accomplished – all for His Glory! We love you – and thank the Lord for you – and we pray for you!
“And an highway shall be there, and a way,
and it shall be called the Way of Holiness!
The unclean shall not pass over it – but it shall be for those.
The wayfaring men – though fools – shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon – it shall not be found there –
but the Kinsman Redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting Joy and Gladness –and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
[Is.35:8-10]
by John Carpenter | Nov 7, 2023 | Devotional
(12) “Giving thanks unto the Father – which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. (13) Who – delivered us from the power of darkness – and translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son (14) in whom we have redemption through His blood – the forgiveness of sins.” [Col.1:12-14]
“For I know that my Redeemer liveth – and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth! (26) And after my skin worms destroy this body – yet in my flesh – shall I see God.” [Job 19:25]
Here’s something wonderful for us to be thankful for around the scheduled holiday (holy day) feast for this month. i.e. our redemption through the person and work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! The reality is – we should be celebrating this truth every day of every month that we are being led by His Holy Spirit through this whole age of “sin and death” right into the glory of His heavenly Presence!
The fact is – the Word of God explicitly declares – that Christ Jesus – the only true Redeemer – our only true Redeemer – according to Heb.9:11-12 – is, indeed, our Eternal Redeemer! These verses describe His eternal person – and His eternal work – in this way: “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come – by a greater and more perfect tabernacle – not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building (or, more accurately, “not of this creation”) (12) neither by the blood of goats and calves (which are “Types” of “blood sacrifices”) – but by His own blood – He entered in – Once – into the holy place – having obtained Eternal Redemption!”
Indeed, this eternal redemption He did precisely “For Us”, which is a grand truth brought forward from verse 24, which says: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands (lit.) the figures of the true – but into heaven itself, now, to appear in the presence (and that is the “omnipresence”) of God – For Us!”
Praise the Lord! What a Wonderful Descriptive Declaration!
There is yet something else that is radiantly glorious about all of the grand eternal works of our Savior. Something that is there – and being brought out from Job 19:25-26. When Job – from the very midst of his trial of great suffering and adversity – declares: “For I know that my Redeemer liveth – and that He shall Stand (or lit.: “He shall Rise”) at the latter day – upon the earth (or lit., the dust) (26) And after my skin (worms) destroy this (body) – yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
Job with confidence and boldness declared that which God allowed to be included in all the testing and trial that Satan did unto him – down to a certain point! God let Job be tried with the loss of all his worldly possessions – with the loss of the living and loving presence of all of his children – with the loss of his physical health and comfort – with the loss of his loving consolation of his own wife – and, as well as with all the unfavorable judgment of those whom he thought were his true and faithful friends. But, God never let the devil have his most dearest possession – his eternal soul. Job – in and throughout all he had to endure in this, and through this, temporary world — never once doubted – the Absolute Sovereign Control of his Lord and Savior God!!
And besides that – the Hebrew word for “Redeemer” – is a word that is used throughout the Old Testament – 98 times! And this may be the very first time that it shows up in the holy inspired text of God’s Word! And, it explicitly describes our Redeemer as being our “Kinsman Redeemer”!
We will further explore this teaching of the Kinsman Redeemer in our next installment for December.
by John Carpenter | Nov 7, 2023 | Camp News
Well, dear ones, it is once again November – the next to the last month of another year. When people say, “The times – they are a’changing” – that seems to mean – especially for God’s true believers: “The times in this fallen world continue to manifest more and more oppressive trials and troubles – as this fallen-in-sin world continues to pass away — right before our very eyes.”
This is why through it all – we must keep our hearts and our minds and our eyes upon Christ our God. He – is our Peace (see: Eph.4:17). Jn.14:27 is where the Lord Jesus tells us: “Peace I leave with you, my Peace I give unto you – not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” Then He goes on and says: “Let not your heart be troubled – neither let it be afraid.” Two chapters later, He says from Jn.16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you – that in me ye might have Peace. In the world (in the lost and fallen-in-sin world) ye shall have tribulation – but be of good cheer – I have overcome the world.” Praise His Name!
Oh, dear family in Christ – do not look – or focus – i.e. judge things in this world according to how they appear to be – but judge – or discern the things that happen in this world according to to God’s righteous and trustworthy and sovereign control. Rest in Him! He never has – and He never will – let His children down! And they that know Him – know that this is the truth!
PRAISES AND PRAYERS
Within this context of the changing times, please continue to be in prayer for Del-Haven as we seek His leading – His Great Shepherding of this – His ministry – in fulfilling the provision of a truly quickened and spiritually awakened staff to be effectually used by His Holy Spirit as both cabin and camp program leaders. Bottom line – we need male and female bond-servants of the Lord who have been born from above by the Spirit and the Word – and who love the Lord and His Pure Gospel Truth.
This is the character qualifications – this – along with a genuine love for the souls of children. We need this in order to be able to conduct our typical daily camp activities. Please – Seek the Lord in prayer with us for His filling of this great need. We thank you in advance for doing so.
We love you and thank you for your continued prayerful support. Go through our website and remind yourselves of our camp history — both recent and over the years from our past seven decades. See and read and remember what the Lord has done through and with Del-Haven in the lives of children – and, most of all – we pray that you, too, will be spiritually moved to pray with us – and for us – unto the glory, only, of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank our Lord for you. We love you…and we love hearing from you!
“Hear the Word of the Lord, O ye nations – and declare it in the
isles afar off – and say: He that scattered Israel will gather him
and will keep him – as a Shepherd doth His flock.
For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob
and ransomed him (as His Kinsman Redeemer)
from the hand of him that was stronger than he.” [Jer.31:10-11]
