May 2008 Archives

Reverend Richard A. (Dad) Casteel passed into the presence of the Lord on Sunday, May 25, 2008, surrounded by his family, in Tucson, AZ. Rev. Casteel was born on July 6, 1912, in Kemmerer, WY. He served in the civil service for many years in Utah and California before answering the call to missions. Rev. Casteel served as a missionary with his family in Cuba, the Bahamas, and Mexico. He was preceded in death by his wife, and mother of his children, Phebe, and is survived by his 2nd wife, Louise; three sons, Robert (Carolyn), John (Marguerite), and Richard (Becky); two daughters, Micki (Carroll) and Patty (Les); his niece, raised as a daughter, LeRae; as well as 22 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed as the Patriarch of Faith by his adoring family but also by all those who lovingly called him "Dad" Casteel. A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, May 30, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at Grace to the Nations, 6180 E Pima, Tucson, AZ 85712. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the "Dad Casteel Memorial Fund" c/o Grace to the Nations, 6180 E Pima, Tucson, AZ 85712.

Visit the online guestbook

Listen to a sermon celebrating "Dad" Casteel's legacy

I moved to Flagstaff in the mid-ninties to start (and end) my radio career. Before moving there I went up and scoped out the town. I wanted to make sure that it had all of my basic needs (Jack in the Box, Slurpee, Record Store, Guitar Shop). I decided that I would have the basics covered and made the move.
What I found out quickly is that I don't like living on just what I need. Who does? There is more to life than just the basics.
In addition to basics of life, such as protection, provision, and love, our Heavenly Father has given us other necessities. Those are all more than I deserve. However He still provides hope, peace, purpose, and joy. Thank you, Jesus!

C

Go deeper! Listen to my podcast on this subject on iTunes or at our podcast page for TruthCast.

Also, see my main blog at CnotesOnline.com

From John Piper's sermon, Conversion to Christ: The Making of a Christian Hedonist

The most terrifying news in the world is that we have fallen under the condemnation of our Creator and that he is bound by his own righteous character to preserve the worth of his glory by pouring out his wrath on the sin of our ingratitude. But there is a fourth great truth that no one can ever learn from nature or from their own consciences, a truth which has to be told to neighbors and preached in churches and carried by missionaries: namely, the good news that God has decreed a way to satisfy the demands of his righteousness without condemning the whole human race. He has taken it upon himself apart from any merit in us to accomplish our salvation. The wisdom of God has ordained a way for the love of God to deliver us from the wrath of God without compromising the righteousness of God. And what is this wisdom?

And in a sentence:

Jesus Christ, the Son of God crucified, is the Wisdom of God, by which the love of God can save sinners from the wrath of God, and all the while uphold and demonstrate the righteousness of God.

(found at Pure Church)

The vision of Grace Chapel is that we would be missionaries to the world we live in. If we are willing, God is able to open great doors of influence to us. Ken and Laura Sharp have been active members of Grace Chapel for years and a year ago Ken decided to confront one of the serious issues in our community - driving under the influence. Ken started a radio show, www.duiradioshow.com, on KFNX AM 1100, to inspire people to change their behavior and ultimately save lives. His show has won national awards and is having a positive impact on our world. Way to go, Ken!

Here is the information that Ken sent me; I wanted to share it with you so that we could all raise our expectations as to how God can use us in unexpected and wonderful ways. This week, in a special show, Ken will focus on the Carrollton school bus accident and he will speak with survivors from that tragic accident. You will want to tune in!

Pastor Richard

---------------------------------------------------------

Pastor Richard,
 
June 1 will mark the one-year anniversary for Ridin' Dirty. Ridin' Dirty is the only radio show in America dedicated to the issues of drinking and driving. It is designed to inspire and motivate people to learn and practice new behavior when it comes to their alcohol use. Eradicating drinking and driving behavior, as we've known it, is the biggest social change of this generation. The show has been nominated for both local and national awards for its content and method of delivery.
 
On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13 and 14, I will be hosting two important shows.
 
                                             REMEMBERING CARROLLTON
                                                   Twenty Years Later
 
The Carrollton Bus Crash remains the worst death and injury drunk driving crash in United States history. A school bus rented by the Radcliff, KY Assembly of God, carrying young people from a day trip to King's Island, was struck by an alcohol-impaired driver at 10:55 pm. The bus's gas tank was ruptured and 24 children and 3 adults were burned to death. We will take a historical look at this event and hear from the people who were there.
 
Ridin' Dirty can be heard live Monday through Friday, from noon to 1pm on 50,000 watt KFNX am1100 or at our website www.duiradioshow.com and through the portal to KFNX.
 
Thanks,
Ken Sharp

Foursquare Missions: Presidential News Brief
May 12, 2008

Over the weekend Cyclone Nargis struck the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar--also known as Burma--with 120 mph winds and caused widespread devastation. The cyclone may have claimed the lives of 100,000 people. More than 70,000 are still missing and 1 million are now homeless. This disaster is already being compared to the 2004 tsunami that hit south Asia. The most recent report received states that 15 churches (some of which are not Foursquare) were destroyed as a result of the cyclone. Many Foursquare family members are among those who are homeless. The urgent needs are for drinking water, food and shelter.

The Foursquare Church in concert with a few other non governmental organizations (NGOs) has begun a relief effort to help meet the needs of the people. Due to the great difficulty in reaching the areas most affected by the cyclone (because of travel restrictions placed on foreigners by the government of Myanmar) Thailand has been chosen as the staging area for this relief effort. Teams of people are in the process of securing and shipping solar water purifiers and PACP (Personal Assistance Care Packages) units to the team that will soon be in place in Thailand.

Intercession is requested by the Foursquare family for the relief response action plan to be effective. Please pray along these lines:

• Ask the God of comfort and peace to minister to victims in the midst of the confusion.
• Ask God to move on the hearts of the members of the Myanmar government and that in response they will issue visas to our relief team members and other aid workers.
• Pray that the provision and resources sent will reach the people who are in need. Pray specifically that the government will allow aid from the U.S., U.N. and many other relief organizations that currently have been blocked from assisting in this disaster.
• Ask the Lord to continue to give our Foursquare leaders wisdom in how to respond and advance His kingdom.

If you would like to give financially to assist in this Foursquare relief effort, please send contributions to Foursquare Missions International. Make your check out to ICFG, and write "Relief Fund" on the memo line. Mail checks to:

Foursquare Missions
ATTN: Paulette McCammon
P.O. Box 26902
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Two small tributes to our hard-working and selfless mothers.

How We Kept Mother's Day

The Lanyard

I was praying a couple of weeks ago about Grace Chapel and what God wanted to do in us and through us as a church in this season of ministry. I began to hear this word over and over in my heart: "Cast out your nets, again. Cast out your nets, again."

I remember well the story of how, in Luke 5:4-10, Jesus instructed the disciples to do that very thing after a long night of fishing that had left their nets empty. Jesus had been ministering to the people and after he finished, he told his disciples, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch". Peter responded by explaining to Jesus, probably with some frustration and weariness, how they had been fishing all night and had not caught anything.

This is a lot like where I am; I feel like I have already been "fishing," or ministering, for a long time without any great results. And, as I have prayed, I have asked God for new and exciting strategies for reaching more and better disciples. Yet, here He is saying to me, like he did to the disciples, "Cast out your nets, again". Why would we do what we have already been doing and expect any different results?

Peter, though, did have enough sense to submit to Jesus' instruction out of obedience. He ultimately replied, "But because you say so, I will let down the nets". Of course, once they obeyed Jesus and cast out their nets again, their nets were filled beyond capacity!

I now understand God's gentle instruction to me to "cast out our nets, again" as a promise that He will add new power and effectiveness to our weary acts of ministry. Many of us have ministry ideas, experience, and strategies but have become discouraged in doing them. We are disappointed in the lack of results.

Yet, the Holy Spirit is breathing new life into those acts of service and ministry, which will bring new results. His "fresh anointing" will revive the old and proven basic strategies of the church to reach the lost. If you let Him encourage you to renew your willingness to obey Him and do what you already know to do, you will see a new harvest. So, lets all "cast our nets, again".

Pastor Richard

Foursquare News Service #332

Over the weekend Cyclone Nargis struck the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar—also known as Burma—with 120 mph winds and caused widespread devastation. As of Wednesday, the death toll may exceed 100,000 people, with more than 70,000 missing and 1 million homeless. This disaster is already being compared to the 2004 tsunami that hit south Asia.

Foursquare global connect coordinator, Tom Hinton, is assessing the situation with the help of Regional Representative George Butron and National Leader Philip Ahone. Together they are initiating a relief response action plan. Foursquare Myanmar has 112 churches in this predominately Buddhist nation and is involved in evangelizing and training church planters to reach the harvest.

George Butron writes: "Pastor Philip contacted me to say that the roofing was blown off our Bible college there, as well as several leaders' homes and several church buildings. There is no power or drinking water. Food, fuel and other essentials have tripled in price overnight. Large numbers of people are at risk in the days ahead."

Jonathan Hall, director of Foursquare Missions has noted three prayer points for the Foursquare family:

• Ask the God of comfort and peace to minister to victims in the midst of the confusion
• Pray for provision and resources to help meet people's immediate needs for food and shelter.
• Ask the Lord to give our Foursquare leaders wisdom in how to respond and advance His kingdom.

If you would like to give financially to assist in this Foursquare relief effort, please send contributions to Foursquare Missions International. Make your check out to ICFG, and write "Relief Fund" on the memo line. Mail checks to:

Foursquare Missions
ATTN: Paulette McCammon
P.O. Box 26902
Los Angeles, CA 90026

By Pastor John Piper

As the carnage from Cyclone Nargis moves toward 50,000 dead and beyond, there is a way to pray and act:

1. Be softened to the pain nearby...

2. Pray for the followers of Christ in Myanmar...

3. Pray for the millions of unbelievers near the calamity and far from it...

4. Pray for those of us who live in the seeming security and prosperity of America...

5. Give money to replenish the coffers of compassion “since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:3).

6. Muster a team from your church, and when the doors are open, be ready to go...

Read the entire article.

Aside from allowing us to spend eternity in Heaven with Him, Jesus described "Eternal Life" in John 17:3 as "...knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent." That is the key to all lasting peace and joy. 

We must know who God is AND what he is like.

C

Go deeper! Listen to my podcast on this subject on iTunes or at our podcast page for TruthCast. Also, see my main blog at CnotesOnline.com

Here are some quotes from Prayer: Rebelling Against the Status Quo, by David Wells, that Pastor Richard posted about on Saturday.

I want to argue that our feeble and irregular prayer, especially in its petitionary aspect, is too frequently addressed in the wrong way. When confronting this failing, we are inclined to flagellate ourselves for our weak wills, our insipid desires, our ineffective technique and our wandering minds. We keep thinking that somehow our practice is awry and we rack our brains to see if we can discover where. I suggest that the problem lies in a misunderstanding of prayer’s nature and our practice will never have that widow’s persistence until our outlook has her clarity

Against all of this, it must be asserted that petitionary prayer only flourishes where there is a twofold belief: first, that God’s name is hallowed too irregularly, his kingdom has come too little, and his will is done too infrequently; second, that God himself can change this situation. Petitionary prayer, therefore, is the expression of the hope that life as we meet it, on the one hand, can be otherwise and, on the other hand, that it ought to be otherwise. It is therefore impossible to seek to live in God’s world on his terms, doing his work in a way that is consistent with who he is, without engaging in regular prayer.

To pray declares that God and his world are at cross-purposes; to “sleep,” or “faint,” or “lose heart” is to act as if they are not. Why, then, do we pray so little for our local church? Is it really that our technique is bad, our wills weak, or our imaginations listless? I don’t believe so. There is plenty of strong-willed and lively discussion—which in part or in whole may be justified—about the mediocrity of the preaching, the emptiness of the worship, the superficiality of the fellowship, and the ineffectiveness of the evangelism. So, why, then, don’t we pray as persistently as we talk? The answer, quite simply, is that we don’t believe it will make any difference. We accept, however despairingly, that the situation is unchangeable, that what is will always be. This is not a problem about the practice of prayer, but rather about its nature. Or, more precisely, it is about the nature of God and his relationship to this world.

By the way, David Wells has a new book called The Courage to be Protestant, that is getting good reviews.

Missionary John Rusk sent me this article on prayer today. I was very encouraged when I read it because it brings a fresh perspective on why we pray. Petitioning prayer is rebelling against the status quo, a refusal to accept what a fallen world dictates life should be like. I can press God's agenda on life's situation though prayer. I can boldly ask the Father for what ought to be, regardless of how impossible it may seem. That is our right as His children. I hope it encourages you to ask boldly for what ought to be, rather than just accepting what already is.

Prayer: Rebelling Against the Status Quo, by David Wells

Francis Chan explains the most amazing truth in the world.

Learn more at JustStopandThink.com. View a higher quality video here.

(found at challies.com)