by John Carpenter | Jan 7, 2023 | Devotional
(30) “And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son – and thou shalt call His Name, Jesus. (32) He shall be Great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest – and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father, David: (33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever – and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. (34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35)And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee – therefore also that Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” [Lk.1:30-35]
In the light of the dawning of a New Year – we shall consider the last four of Ten pure gospel descriptions that are unfolded in the angel, Gabriel’s announcement unto young Mary — who was chosen to be the mother of the Son of Man, Christ Jesus. Having last month looked at the first six of the ten descriptions – we are ready to consider the last four. Hence, the Seventh pure gospel description of Christ is found in vs.33, which says: “And He shall reign over the House of Jacob forever – and of His Kingdom there shall be no end.” Now Jacob represents all the individual persons whom God has loved from eternity! Jacob, also, has been — from the Word of God — depicted as being the sinner/child of the household of Isaac – the miracle son of Abraham and Sarah! Jacob proved to be the sneaky – lying – sinner that surreptitiously got what he wanted by trickery — in regards to Esau’s birthright and his father Isaac’s best blessing. And, God declared to Rebecca — before the twin boys were even born – that He loved Jacob and He hated Esau [see: Ro9:13]! Gabriel tells Mary that her Son will be the promised Seed through whom the Serpent, Satan, will be destroyed. And — He will also be the Sovereign Savior Substitute for all His people; His family; His Church; and His elect-to-eternal life. He will reign over the “Household of Jacob” forever — and His Kingdom shall have no end! These are obviously all of God’s chosen sinner/-children who will be eternally saved by God’s grace through the meritorious and vicarious person and work of His only-begotten, beloved Son! Praise His Name!
When Mary hears this news – she is beside herself in amazement and asks a most obvious question: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” To which Gabriel answers by delivering the Eighth pure gospel description of Christ! And this one comes from the first part of vs.35. He said to her, “the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee…”. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit was in charge of the performance and the success of absolutely everything that had to do with the incarnation of the eternal Son of God – and, as well, the creation of our world – and — the eternal Salvation of our souls! Therefore, the Holy Spirit’s presence and power is also absolutely necessary for the performance and success of all of us making it through this fallen world following Christ Jesus every step of the way – on into His (and consequently our) heavenly glory!
This brings us to the Ninth pure gospel description in this wonderful portion of scripture. The next thing that Gabriel is sent to tell Mary is: “…and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee…”. This obviously refers to God the Father! So, we have the presence and power of the whole Trinity at work in the performance of this most wonderful miracle of God’s grace in order to effectually save all the souls of His entire eternal family! The incarnation of the eternal Son of God was the supreme preternatural act of omnipotent divine intervention of God’s love and grace. It is completely unprecedented as far as God’s miracles are concerned! Glory to His Name!
The Tenth pure gospel description is that Mary’s son – will also be called the Son of God. Amen.
-For Christ’s Glory Only! John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Dec 11, 2022 | Miscellaneous
Well here we are — another year has grown old and passed away forever – and the beginning of a new year is right upon us. The history of the ministry of Camp Del-Haven continues to unfold. For this purpose, we continue to solicit your ever faithful prayers for our Lord’s continual provision and wise guidance and protection. Your prayers are the most valuable contribution to the sustainment and subsistence of this pure gospel endeavor.
Please remember to pray for our camper boys and girls. Pray for their protection from the Evil One – and their progress in the growth and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And, also pray for all the young men and women that continue to commit their time and attention to be on our frontline staff. All of our prayers – in accordance with the truth of God’s Word – are what He has willed to bring to pass His perfect will and good pleasure and glory in the midst of this fallen world (see Eph. 3:18-20).
We wish to thank all of you who continue to respond with such love to our informing you of our needs for additional help in meeting the rising costs where our expenses are concerned. We continue to lift you and all your needs up before our God as well. We truly do love you – we care about you all. Let us continue to trust in our Lord – together – for all our needs! He is the faithful Savior! Amen? Amen!
Well everyone have a wonderful and soul enriching time with your families – as you honor this special time of year celebrating His coming into the history of our fallen world – to save us from our sins. Have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas!
by John Carpenter | Dec 11, 2022 | Devotional
(30) “And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. (31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son – and thou shalt call His Name, Jesus. (32) He shall be Great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest – and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father, David: (33) And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever – and of His Kingdom there shall be no end. (34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? (35)And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee – therefore also that Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” [Lk.1:30-35]
This significant portion of scripture brings forward Ten descriptive pure gospel declarations that when — put altogether – comprises the true purpose and substance of the whole Bible. It’s all about Christ! “He is our all and in all!”[see: Col.3:11] Our history – truly does become His Story! Let us look this month at the first six of these pure gospel descriptives and the last four next month.
First of all, from vs.30 – the God of Peace bears witness with young Mary of Nazareth that – just like Noah [see:: Ge.6:8] — she is a true recipient of God’s eternally saving grace. This is what Gabriel means when he says unto her – “thou hast found favor with God”. And, it is in this same way that the Spirit of God deals with each one His chosen sinner/children [see: Ro.8:16-17]. #2> From vs.31 He reveals to her that she has been chosen to be the Woman through whom the prophecies of Ge.3:15 and Is.7:14 – concerning Jesus Christ – would be fulfilled! [See those two texts] #3> The Angel Gabriel also announces that the Name of the miracle Son that she will give birth to – will be, Jesus. It is from Mt.1:21 that we are told that this same truth was revealed unto Joseph. The text says that he was told — in advance: “And she shall bring forth a Son – and thou shalt call His Name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins!” The Name Jesus, of course, means: Savior.
From vs.32 we have three more identifying pure gospel descriptive declarations concerning the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ: #4> “He shall be Great”; #5> “and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and #6> “and the Lord God shall give unto Him – the Throne of His father David”! In regards to #4, the scripture from He 4:14 and 13:20 plainly says: “Seeing then that we have – a Great High Priest – that is passed into the heavens – Jesus, the Son of God – let us hold fast our profession (or, more lit. our confession)”; And, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus – that Great Shepherd of the sheep – (lit.) in the blood of the Everlasting Covenant…”.
And then — in regards to #5 and #6 – there is: Is.57:15 and Ps.132:11. As far as Jesus being described as the “Son of the Highest” – He is the Son of God the Father described in Is.57:15 which says: “For thus saith the High and Lofty One – that inhabiteth eternity – whose Name is Holy! I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” This describes the whole ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is none more exalted than He! God the Father is the One who declared of the incarnation of Christ from Ps.2:7> “Thou art my Son – this day have I begotten Thee.” And Jesus said from Jn.10:30> “I and my Father are One!” And #6, Ps.132:11-12 goes on to say: “The Lord has sworn in Truth unto David; He will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy Throne. (12) If thy children shall keep my Covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them – their children shall sit upon thy Throne for evermore!” In Christ – it has been forever done! Amen.
For Christ’s Glory Only! – John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Nov 24, 2022 | Camp News, Ministry News
We have come, once again, unto a most Blessed Time of the year: Thanksgiving! And, we from here at Del-Haven want to wish you all a wonderful and a Happy Thanksgiving.
This is a time of year, remember, that for many of our children that come from unusually adverse circumstances that they are not able to enjoy the more typical loving family environment that most of us are looking forward to. Therefore, please be in earnest prayer for all the boys and girls and many of our staff that are included among this particular group. Our Loving Lord God is, indeed, the “God of Peace” and the “God of all Comfort” – and He, alone, can communicate to His own exactly that no matter the adversities that they will have to face! Let us pray for all the children and young people that will face that experience – especially at this time of the year. Thank you in advance for doing so. We love you for being there with us at these times.
Also, please remember us in particular during this excessive inflationary time. The expenses that we are all facing are abnormally high. This is putting an extra strain upon us as a result. Please pray with us in regards to this reality. Your continued prayerful support is much appreciated!
by John Carpenter | Nov 24, 2022 | Devotional
“And whatsoever ye do – in word or (lit.) in work – do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus – giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.!” [Col.3:17]
“But God be thanked – that ye were the servants of sin – but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.” [Rom.6:17]
The verse right before the first one (Col.3:16) exhorts us as being God’s elect-to-eternal salvation to: “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”; or, “abundantly”! So much so (in accordance with 3:17) as to influence all our words and all our works! So that everything that we do – in the entirety of our beings — including all our thoughts, intents and motives – we do – we perform — as living proof that we are indeed the true children of the Christ, our God. And, this, in turn, brings forth the wonderful reality of that which is descriptively declared unto us from our second text, Rom.6:17! Which introduces to us something that we can truly be thankful to God alone for. Let us, therefore, examine this truly grand premise.
Rom.6:17 declares dogmatically that something fantastic has happened unto us by God’s grace! And, it is from Rom.6:18 that we have it clearly laid out what that something is. It says: “Being then made free from sin – ye became the servants of righteousness!” Wow! What exactly is this portion of scripture saying to us?
In order for us to get the full and actual impact of what God’s Word is declaring here we need to understand the language that it is really using here. When it says in its use of the word “servants” – it is literally meaning: “bondslaves”. A bondslave is always subject to the contextual reality of their actual circumstances. This is what they are bound (or, bonded) to. They are not truly free and independent contractors, or actors. They are the property of their taskmasters who have their entire being – and will — under their complete control – at all times!
When Jesus taught plainly and clearly from Jn.8, He said from vs.34: “Verily, verily, I say unto you whosoever committeth sin is the servant [or, lit., “the bondslave”] of sin.” This statement includes every single one of us – without exception! Who doesn’t commit sin?! So, who isn’t a bondslave of sin? Therefore, who in this fallen-in-sin world has a free will? No one – that’s who. Who isn’t a sinner? Again – No one – that’s who! “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God!” [Rom.3:23]. Rom.6:20-22 is extremely relevant to this premise – when it says: “For when ye were the servants [or, more lit., “the bondslaves”] of sin – ye were free from righteousness. (21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed(?) – for the end of those things is death. (22) But now – being made free from sin – and become servants [or again, more lit., “bondslaves”] to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness – and the end everlasting life!” Praise the Name of our Savior, God – the Lord Jesus Christ!
This brings us full circle back around to Col.3:17! “And whatsoever ye do in word or work – do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus – giving thanks to God and the Father – by Him!” And, Rom.6:17 “But God be thanked, that ye were the servants [or, “the bondslaves”] of sin – but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of Doctrine [lit.] whereunto ye were delivered.” In other words, the real truth of the matter is that God always delivers His true children over into the hearing and seeing and receiving and believing the pure truth of the gospel of the glory, only, of the Lord Jesus Christ! Hence, Jesus says: “And ye shall know the truth – and the truth shall make you free!” Jn.8:32
For Christ’s Glory Only! – John Carpnter
