by John Carpenter | Jun 25, 2019 | Devotional
“Then shall we know, (if) we follow on – to know the Lord – His going forth is prepared as the morning…and He shall come unto us as the rain – as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” [Hos.6:3]
The catalyst behind all the genuine followers – all the true disciples – of Jesus Christ the Lord is none other than the Lord, Himself. He is the alpha and omega of all that pertains to an eternally saving relationship with Him. Hence it connects: “His going forth” – to the phrase, “we follow on to know the Lord” (remember the word “if” is not in the original Hebrew). We who are genuine followers of the Lord Jesus Christ – from the time that we genuinely came to know Him personally as our Lord and Savior – we began a life-long journey in this life of following, growing and getting to know Him more and more. We find ourselves among all those chosen and “peculiar people” who “have received the love of the Truth, that they might be saved”! [1Pe.2:9; 2Th.2:10]
It is the Lord who has eternally purposed for this to be the Way for us to be saved and go to heaven. Therefore, it says: “His going forth – is prepared…”. All of this takes place in perfect accordance with the perfectly established preparation of our sovereign, all-governing Lord God.
The Holy Spirit through Hosea puts all this in direct context with the daily realization of a new morning. The scripture exhorts us by saying: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy wherunto we would do well to take heed – as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in our hearts.” This verse also looks to the perfect preparation of our Lord and Creator – in the dawn of every new morning.
Our Hosea text describes where we are right now in what we know of our Lord Jesus – and our following on to know Him even more; to love Him even more (and to know more of His love for us). 2Pe.3:18 goes on and exhorts us to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. This echoes our following on “to know the Lord”.
Our Lord’s perfect “preparation” is always in line with the perfect Way of His perfect work which will be performed according to His perfect timing. Therefore does the text mention that: “He shall come unto us – as the rain – as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” Here, once again, is emphasized the certainty of God’s grace unto us! From what I understand, in Palestine there were typically just two seasons in the year when rain would occur. It would first come at the end of September, or the beginning of October. This was the beginning of the civil year of the Jews. This rain was regarded as the former or early rain. It came regularly right after the seed was planted so as to soak the soil and aid – or prepare – the seed for its germination. Then, by the end of March and on throughout April there would come what was regarded as the latter rain which would in turn complete the process – or prepare the crop — for the harvest. These two seasons had their own particular purpose to fulfill in God’s perfectly designed decree and plan. Without them there would only be famine and ultimately death. Spiritual growth in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ works out in just the same precise manner. The Word of the Lord says: “For as the rain cometh down – and the snow – from heaven – and returneth not thither – but watereth the earth and maketh it to bring forth and bud – that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater: so shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void – but it shall accomplish that which I please – and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” [Is.55:10-11] Praise His Wonderful Loving and Gracious Name!! Amen.
-For Christ’s Glory Only!
John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | May 27, 2019 | Camp News
Well my dear friends, it’s hard to believe that our 67th season of Del-Haven camps will be kicking off next month. Wow! Praise the Lord for His great faithfulness! And, He has appointed and ordained that all of you who are moved by His Spirit-of-grace to remember Del-Haven in your prayers have been a big, big part of this reality! We thank you – and we thank the Lord for you.
In keeping with that thought, we need your prayers once again for the Lord to provide both male and female staff help for this year so we may be able to accommodate all the children that want to come to camp. Remember we do not want more than a 1 to 4 or 5 ratio at the max between staff members and campers. So, if we have 30 children that want to come to camp – we need at least 6 staff members. This would fill up 3 of our 4 cabins. Please keep this in your praying with us (and for us) concerning these things. Remember – God’s Word tells us: “Except the Lord build the house – they labor in vain that build it!” [Ps.127:1]
Dear friends, please remember Jeff and Leslie Hall in your prayers. They have been completely moved into their home – but there is still some problem that they are having with their furnace and air conditioning unit. This needs to be fixed for the environmental conditions of their home. Although we are now out of the real cold temperatures, the extremely warm weather can be very uncomfortable as well. This is a real concern for them in regards to the continual care of their precious – yet severely handicapped — son, Nathaniel. Please pray with us for the leading of the Lord in the fixing of this special problem for them. Thank you – in advance – for doing so.
The Spring storms have been active this year. Just recently we experienced strong winds which knocked down a tree , brought limbs down all over the campground and some which were hung up in the tops of the trees. The panels under the trailers were also blown out. Praise God, He delivered us from any real damage! All the panels on the trailers we easily put back into place. The tree that fell behind the cabin laid down in the woods right behind it. And, the Lord sent a good friend, Jeff B. to bring equipment to help trim the trees that were damaged so the area will be safe when the children arrive in a couple of weeks.
A couple of people have asked about extra expense items we have in the summer months that you can especially donate towards as the Lord may lead you. We have listed a few expense items, other than higher utilities, groceries, and insurance in the summer. We are so thankful to the Lord and to those of you who have prayed with us and even given toward meeting the needs we had last year.
- Van Rental to transport campers from Kansas City ($200/week x 6) = $1,200
- Chemicals for the swimming pool ($100-100/week x 10) = $1000-$2,000
- Recreation/Craft/Program Supplies = $400
- Shower Curtains ($9 X 17) = $153
by John Carpenter | May 27, 2019 | Devotional
[Hos.6:3] “Then shall we know – (if) we follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning – and He shall come unto us as the rain – as the latter and former rain unto the earth”
That which we are examining now is the blessing this 3rd verse descriptively declares and the certainty of it being bestowed that is bound up with it. The verses that precede this third verse deliver to us the context that explicitly builds up to what is here being stated. Vs.1-2 says (lit.), “Come and let us return to the Lord – for He hath torn – but He will heal us – He hath smitten – but He will bind us up (2) He will revive us after two days; in the third day He will lift us up – and we shall live before Him.” Obviously this was the message given by our Lord unto Hosea for him to declare to His people. It is typical of the message that is needing to be declared unto God’s people today. It continues to be so amazing how relevant the Word of God is to the true people of God – in every generation. The healing balm of God’s grace of repentance serves to successfully steer us time and time again directly into the merciful, forgiving and restoring presence of our loving Lord. That’s what makes Hos.6:3 such a wonderful gospel text unto us! We need to be reminded of the gospel message of this verse over and over and over again as we sojourn through this fallen and sinful world! Hos.6:1-3 descriptively declares the Lord’s great faithfulness unto us even when we (like Israel) have been, at times, grossly unfaithful to Him and His Word.
From the very beginning verse 3 declares: “Then shall we know”. This is a declaration of the sovereign certainty of God’s grace unto us! According to the immediate context of vs.1-2 – after our Savior tears and heals us – after He smites and binds us up – He then leads us down the very same path that He, Himself, had to walk, in His eternally saving us just so we, (lit.) before His face, shall eternally live! “Then” – as the Word of His grace says (in vs.3) – “shall we know”.
That which is also very interesting is the fact that the word “if” that starts the next phrase is not in the original Hebrew. In our English, whenever we read a descriptive statement with an “if” clause – it most often means that the declared description is conditioned on the occurrence of the “if” clause. But, that is not what’s being said here. This passage is not conditional at all upon a response from a fallen sinner human being! What is being declared is an absolute certainty to take place — in a genuinely Christ-cleansed and a Holy Spirit-of-grace converted sinner-saved-by-grace true child of God. You know your Lord – and you follow on to know the Lord even more! When God begins to bestow His grace and mercy upon you – He will go on bestowing His grace and mercy upon you. That makes these words a genuine motivation for you to turn to Him as the context of this passage encourages you to do. Praise His wonderful Name!
It’s the Lord’s going forth on our behalf that brings these wonderful things to pass. Hence the text says that His going forth is “prepared”. This word means that His going forth is (lit.) causatively appointed and rendered sure by God, Himself. The Word says that the Lord’s going forth is appointed and rendered as sure to take place – “as the morning”. As sure as there is a setting of the Sun in this world – there is also a rising! God has fixed this to be certain to happen. And, here He says that His going forth on behalf of His people is equally as certain. In fact, He says that “He shall come unto us – as the rain…”. What does that mean? We will get into that certainty in our next newsletter. Until then – may the Lord richly bless you. Amen.
-For Christ’s Glory Only!
John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Apr 27, 2019 | Camp News
Thanks to Andrew and a group of students he works with from his church. He challenged them to “live their faith” and take time to serve. They stayed through the entire work day and raked leaves and cleaned gutters on the cabins. The day ended with a basketball challenge where the losers had to sweep the dining hall floor before they left. They worked hard throughout the day! We enjoyed working alongside this group of young believers and fellowshipping with them. May the Lord use the time they spent at Del-Haven to minister to them and to encourage them.
by John Carpenter | Apr 27, 2019 | Camp News
Praise the Lord!, dear friends, Spring is Here! The birds are singing – and what a wonderful thing it is to hear them when the dawn of a new day is breaking! Praise the Name of the Lord!
This time of year is always a busy, busy time. There is much that needs to be done just to be ready. The campgrounds need to be cleaned up. Dead trees need to be cleared. Repairs need to be done on the cabins, the craft building and the dormitory – all before the first campers arrive. Every camp season it is the same old routine…and, this will mark our 67th season! As always, please pray for us that all the proper preparation gets done.
More than that, however, we need your continual prayers for the Spirit of the Lord to be preparing the hearts and minds of all the youngsters that He will send to Del-Haven to hear the pure saving truth of the gospel of the glory, only, of our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ!
This naturally means also praying for each of us that will be announcing the “Good News” unto them. We covet your continual prayers for the Lord to send us well-prepared staff members (both male and female) to serve on the front line for the Lord during each of our camp sessions. The ministry of Del-Haven is as much focused upon them as it is to the children. To God be the glory!
Our first work day (April 6th) will have already happened by the time this prayer/newsletter reaches you. Every Saturday beginning with the month of April is an open invitation to any and all whom the Spirit of God motivates to want to help us get things accomplished and ready for the summer. If you as an individual or with a group want to give a few hours of your time to help us – give us a call [816-690-8465] and come on out. We welcome the fellowship and the help!
