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]
by John Carpenter | Sep 16, 2023 | Devotional
“For Jacob, my servant’s sake – and Israel, mine elect – I have even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee – though thou hast not known me. (5) I am the Lord – and there is none else – there is no God beside me! I girded thee – though thou hast not known me. (6) That they may know from the rising of the sun – and from the west – that there is none beside me! I am the Lord – and there is none else. (7) I form the light – and create darkness. I make peace – and create evil. I the Lord do all these things!” [Is.45:4-7]
“Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. (37) He answered and said unto them – He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. (38) The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the Kingdom – but the tares are the children of the wicked one. (39) The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world – and the reapers are the angels. (40) As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire – so shall it be in the end of the world. (41) The Son of man shall send forth His angels and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity (42) and shall cast them into a furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (43) Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear – let him hear.” [Mt.13:36-43]
The Lord God, Himself, declares His absolute sovereign control over all things without exception! And this is especially true where His elect-to-eternal salvation is concerned. The Isaiah passage is a true and powerfully profound portion of holy scripture! Our omniscient God has known – and loved – His elect before they have ever come – via the Word of the Truth of the gospel of His glory only — to know and love Him as being their Savior. When He says, “I girded thee, though thou hast not known me” – the Hebrew word used for “girded” is referring specifically of having our loins girt about with a belt. This points us directly to the Truth of the Word of God concerning our Lord Jesus Christ (see: Eph.6:14). When the quickening and awakening of our regeneration occurs and we – by the Holy Spirit of grace – “come unto the knowledge of the Truth”, then we know without a shadow of a doubt – from the rising to the setting of the sun – that He, and He alone is our Lord God! And, literally everything – even in and throughout our whole lives – is under His total control! Through every adversity and trial that this fallen-in-sin world may send into our lives – the Spirit of the Lord of our life continues to communicate unto us that our soul’s eternal salvation is being safely kept and secured under His almighty and sovereign care.
Why? Even because we are the – “Seed” – “the children” of His eternal Kingdom! And, through His Word and His Spirit – He continually communicates with us – i.e. bears witness with our spirit – that this is indeed true! He planted us in this world for Him to be sent here to rescue us from the hopeless captivity to our sin – which He has done! Praise His all glorious Name!
The truth concerning Jacob being God’s elect from the womb (see: Rom.9:10-13) – is the truth concerning all of God’s elect-unto-eternal salvation. God in His grace has known us – and loved us (see: Jer.31:3) – and girded us in this Truth (which is Christ Jesus) before we have ever even come to know and realize it. For it is in the communication (by the Holy Spirit through the Holy Word of Truth of the report of the pure gospel message) that comes the creation of the event of finally hearing with saving understanding this gospel report and personal announcement. Rom.10:17> “So then – faith cometh by hearing – and hearing by the Word of God.”
For Christ’s Glory Only!
John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Sep 16, 2023 | Camp News
Well once again we enter into autumn – a most pleasant season of the year! The time of the turning of the colors of the leaves of the trees. The cooling down of the daily temperatures from the hot torrid summer nights and days. The campground looks just beautiful! What a wonderful artist our sovereign Lord, the Creator, truly is!
Dear ones, the Lord has been – and is — unfolding before us historical truths concerning the mystery of iniquity that has been going on behind the scenes – out of our sight – for centuries! The world of the Wicked One (see: 2 Co.4:4) filled with his horrible deeds is being exposed for what it truly is by the holy Light of our Lord God. The appalling evil hatred of Satan towards children has been throughout the whole history of fallen-in-sin humanity always active and present in every generation! This truth has become obvious! We need to be in earnest prayer for the boys and girls of our present day and time! Please continue to be faithful to – not forget – to pray for Del-Haven. Pray for our sovereign Lord God to lead us – to be our “Great Shepherd” – and protect us (and all the children He has sent – or will send – through our camp program) from “the wiles of the devil” – as only He can do! Praise His Wonderful Name!
In these perilous days — cell phones, computers, and Artificial Intelligence – have been weaponized to bombard everyone – adults and children — with mind controlling – thought shaping – and character developing sinful affectations! Our children are more than ever in need of a safe environment that is saturated with the love of God and the gracious influence of His Holy Spirit and hearing the proclamation of the pure truth of the Gospel of the Glory, only, of the Lord Jesus Christ! Please prayerfully seek – with us – from the Lord – for this to come to pass! Praise His Name – He has written from Ps.37:4-5> “Delight thyself also in the Lord – and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (5) Commit thy way unto the Lord – Trust also in Him – and He shall bring it to pass.”
May God richly bless you for your faithful, prayerful support! We love and pray for you.
“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin,
but ye obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
unto which ye were delivered.
Being then made free from sin —
ye became the servants of righteousness.”
— Romans 6:17-18
