by John Carpenter | Sep 15, 2015 | Devotional
“And without controversy — great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh — justified in the Spirit — seen of angels — preached unto the Gentiles — believed on in the world — received up into glory” “And the Word was made flesh — and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory — the glory as of the only begotten of the Father — full of grace and truth” 1Ti.3:16; Jn.1:14
It is without a doubt, or any argument whatsoever, that absolutely the most mysterious divine truth of God’s wonderful grace is — first of all — how that the eternal almighty, all holy, all powerful, all just and all righteous Son of God — is manifested in fallen human flesh. He, the creator God, not only entered and became a part of our human history, but He has also forever changed it! There is no disputing this fact — as the eternal Son of God and the eternal Savior Son of man, He historically lived, He died, He was buried, He was raised again and He was received up into Godly glory and grandeur as the only triumphant and totally sovereign Savior/substitute — that there ever was, is, or forever will be. He became this for all His eternally loved and chosen ones! Praise His all glorious Name! This is the very substance of the gospel of the glory, only, of our Lord Jesus Christ!
This is what the Word of God descriptively declares throughout its holy scriptures. This is why it is that John refers to Jesus as being the living “Word” of God.
Jn.1:1-2 declares this: “In the beginning was the Word — and the Word was with God and the Word was God; the same was in the beginning with God!” Hence, it is most definitely true that by, the “Word”, John is here referencing Christ Jesus as being the incarnated eternal Son of God — of whom he, also (under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit) goes on to write from vs.3 that “All things — were made by Him — and without Him was not anything made that was made!” And then, we see from vs.14, as is stated above, that: “the Word was made flesh”. Oh, think about that! The “Maker” of all things in all of creation was, Himself, made flesh! It in fact declares that: “He was made flesh — and dwelt among us…”. The Spirit chosen word here for “dwelt” is the verbal form of the word, “tabernacle”. In other words, the gospel is here declaring that the living and eternal Word of God became human flesh and blood and “tabernacled” among us. Wow!
Therefore, this same gospel of the wonderful grace of Jesus is that which is being descriptively declared by type — by symbol — by representation — throughout the Holy Bible wherever the “Tabernacle” is mentioned, or referenced. How grand is that, my friends!? The very place in which the sovereign saving sacrifice was symbolically performed by the chosen people of God — is, in Christ, made to be real and actual! Jesus, the eternal and living “Word” of God, became the very same eternal and living and saving sacrificial “Lamb” of God — for all of His eternally loved and chosen ones. He is the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth!
For Christ’s Glory Only!
-John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Aug 19, 2015 | Ministry News
Well, dear ones, as we conclude, once again, another blessed summer session of Del-Haven camps – we can, and do, bear testimony after testimony of our Lord’s guiding us – providing for us – preserving and perfecting us – all along the way. And, it is obvious to us – that the reason this is true is due, in a large way, to the overall faithfulness demonstrated by all of you – in your praying for us and in your supporting us! We constantly thank and praise the Name of our Savior for all of you!
This summer has been filled with some wonderful experiences that we will be progressively sharing with you in the coming months. Experiences that have involved – not only the children – but many of the staff as well. All of this will be made plain in future newsletters. God has definitely used the ministry of His Word in a marvelous manner in all of the lives who have been blessed to be chosen to serve Him on the platform that He has made of Del-Haven camp sessions. Praise His holy Name!
Due to the fact that we always have some post camp tasks that need to be tended to, we have decided to resurrect the Saturday Work Day routine for this fall. This means that if you – or your church group – have some time to spend helping us, you all can come out on some good fall Saturday and spend some time helping us tackle and complete some of the many things that we need to get done. Please pray about this and let us know if this might be possible for some of you. We will kick this off on Sat. 08/29/2015.
Urgent Prayer Request: Dear friends, please be in prayer for our Board Member, Dan McElwain – he suffered a severe stroke just last week! Praise the Lord, they got him to the hospital within the one hour widow of time in order for him to receive the necessary medication that provides the greatest percentage for recovery. He is at home and is doing remarkably well – with only some residual numbness on the right side of his face. Nevertheless, he is not out of harm’s way. In their thorough examination of him they discovered a foreboding hole in his heart and plan to perform some procedure to correct that condition. Please remember, Dan, in your prayers as he faces some major life altering decisions and expenses.
Thank you all! We love you and thank and praise our Lord God for your prayers and faithful support.
by John Carpenter | Aug 19, 2015 | Devotional
“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2Th.1: 11-12
There is a copulative and cumulative connection that this text has with 2Th.1:7-10 that is right before it. It is a connection of great forcefulness in that there is described the truth and certainty of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ that is going to take place in judgment in eternity against all who do not truly know God, nor have genuinely obeyed the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ.
In reaching the point of the realization of this truth, which the apostle declares from vs.11-12, he is then motivated by the Holy Spirit into being busy in always praying for all those who have become the good recipients of his ministry. And, in this light there are five specifics that are given for which he and his companions do pray will be accomplished by God on their behalf:
1. That God “would count them worthy” — or, deem them entitled to, His effectual calling.
2. And next, that God would, in turn, then “fulfill in them all the good pleasure of His goodness” viz. His virtue and beneficence toward them.
3. And, even more so, that He would fulfill in them His divine “work of faith with power”!
4. To the end that the “Name” — that is, the very authority and character — of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in them —
5. And, they in Him.
All of these grand things are accomplished in accordance with the bestowal, by
God, of His grace upon us. This text plainly demonstrates how the blessing of God’s grace is indeed an edifying work that culminates in our bringing glory to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is indeed noteworthy that, according to Ro.8:28-29, we – who are His true children — are predestined to be conformed to His image.
But even more than this, this text tells us that we, being His eternally saved ones, are also the very substance of the glory of God in Him! Dear ones, this is, indeed, a very incredible thing! It’s easy to see how that He — as our Savior — is also obviously our glory, but the fact that we become His glory emphasizes the exceeding riches of His mercy and grace. These are the things that comprise the ministry of the gospel.
For Christ’s Glory Only!
-John Carpenter
by John Carpenter | Jul 10, 2015 | Ministry News
Well, dear friends and family in Christ, the 2015 Del-Haven camp season is officially under way and we have had two great camps to bear testimony — once again — that our Lord God — is indeed — our Lord God. The much needed repairs for our tractor have been met, and I can once again use it to knock down the everlasting growth of all the grass in the rougher and most hard to reach places on the campground. Thank you for your prayers — and thank you to all that could give of your substance as well — in order to meet this special need. God uses your prayers — and your gifts — in the accomplishment of His will and good pleasure. Bless His Name!
We also want to give a special thanks to a special man who literally rebuilt the patio roof (plus other areas) so that we should not have anymore leaks in that part of the dining hall. Literally, for years — we have been in prayer that the Lord would provide us with someone who would know just what needs to be done to stop all the problems that we have had with this. And, though Jack Chaffee — we came into contact with Russ Gaston — a professional roofer — and between the two of them — we have a whole new patio and utility room for our dining hall. We Praise and Thank the Lord for His using these men! Pray for both these men — that God will richly bless them for labors.
Most of all, dear ones, please continue to lift up to the Lord everyone on our staff who persevere for Christ on the front line where the rigors of the camp operation are concerned. They need your prayerful support for the wisdom and the patience that only the abiding, guiding presence of the Holy Spirit can provide. More and more of our campers are coming to the age of enrolling in our “Learning To Serve” program so they can continue to be a part of the Del-Haven Camp event. This provides a great plan for spiritual follow-up and growth for the children that manifest Christ in their lives. What great staff members they make, but they need our prayers!
Also, as always, pray for all the children that our Lord sends out to us to go to camp. Pray that they are, each one, being prepared by the Holy Spirit — drawn by the Father – unto the Son. There is no other way to truly come to Jesus [Jn.6:44-45]. Thank you for all your love and support.
by John Carpenter | Jul 10, 2015 | Devotional
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ — he is a new creature — old things pass away; behold — all things become new.” “Create in me a clean heart, O, God, and renew a right spirit within me.” “A new heart also will I give you — and a new Spirit will I put within you…And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.” “For it is God that worketh in you — both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
[2Co.5:17;Ps.51:10;Ez.36:25-27;Phil.2:13]
These descriptive texts tell of the work of God’s great grace in the personal life and experience of each of His eternally loved and chosen and placed in Christ saved ones — from before the foundation of the world — according to the everlasting gospel of the Everlasting Covenant. [Jer.31:3; 2Ti.2:19; Eph.1:3-4; Rev.14:6; He.13:20-21]
That it is the heart and spirit of the sinner that is totally transformed by being born from above by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God is obvious by virtue of all the scriptural references cited above that specifically mention them. Besides — it is the heart that is Biblically stated to be the most deceitful thing about any fallen sinner. Jer.17:9 plainly syas this about the heart of any fallen sinner: “The heart is deceitful — above all things — and desperately wicked — Who can know it?”
And just who is a fallen sinner? The Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, answers this question from Jn.8:34> “Verily, verily, I say unto you — Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (lit., the bond-slave) of sin.” If we’ve ever sinned, then we’re its slaves.
The only hope of any sinner being made free from sin and all of its consequences is through their receiving the grace of repentance and the grace of faith in accordance with the pure gospel truth of the God’s Word — and the genuine regeneration of the Holy Spirit of Christ! “Of His own will — begat He us with the Word of truth!” [Jas.1:18] The Lord Jesus also rightly said: “…If ye continue in my Word — then are ye my disciples indeed — and ye shall know the truth — and the truth shall make you free.” “If the Son, therefore, make you free — ye shall be free, indeed!” [Jn.8:31-32,36]
A new heart along with the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is the only remedy for the fallen sinner’s natural innate obstinate obdurateness to spiritual things. And, this can only be provided by our saving Lord! He must seek us out and save us — or else we be lost! If we believe that anything is left up to us in Christ’s eternal purpose and plan for the salvation of our souls — we come dangerously close to what the Word describes of our being “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin”. May God have mercy and deliver us from this! But, that’s just it! This is the wonderful truth about the eternally saving person and work of Christ Jesus the Lord…He, Himself, declared from Lk.19:10 “For the Son of man is come — to seek and to save that which was lost.” Praise His loving and gracious Name — along with His great and mighty power — to save us forevermore!
For Christ’s Glory Only!
-John Carpenter
