"On The Road Again..."

"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again...". Those may have been the words to an old Willie Nelson song, but they are also an accurate description of what awaits me tomorrow night (Friday the 26th). I have about 625 miles of driving to do between Daytona Beach and New Orleans to take the RAVEN Bus to drop it off in preparation for the Mardi Gras Outreach coming up in just (3) short weeks.

I'll be spending most of Thursday loading up all the outreach equipment into the bus, changing the oil, and getting it ready for about a (12) hour drive through the night. Sound fun :) we'll maybe not fun---but certainly just part of doing the work of the ministry.

I'll be making this trip alone--Kayla has an important school-related event on Saturday and it would be too expensive to fly the three of us home anyway (I was blessed to get a one way ticket home for just about $100---Praise the Lord)

Please pray for traveling mercies so that there will be no mechanical problems with the bus (its a 1987 bus, but its in good shape) and that the Holy Ghost will keep me awake and alert as I drive this big fella down the highway!!

Also---we could sure use some assistance financially in getting it there. A brother in the Lord sent $100 the other day for fuel and its going to cost about $300 total for gas to get it there. I am believing for the other $200 to come in soon---I'm pulling out on Friday night regardless!! He has caused my gas tank to not run out before (I'll share that amazing testimony another time) and I know He can do it again.

If you want to help in any way---you can click on the "Make A Donation" button on the right hand side and give securely through PayPal by either a credit card, debit card, or electronic check. You gift would be highly appreciated as we take this 'Harvest Hauler' to New Orleans!!!

Also---I am so EXCITED---the day that I take off is my 40th Birthday!! This may sound crazy to some---but I have looked forward to 40 for about 10 years!! There were times in the past ten years that I truly wondered if I would actually even make it to 40---but praise God for His mercy! Now I feel as though I am "just getting started" in regards to the ministry that Jesus has called me to!

Blessings,

Pastor Troy

P R A Y E R B L A S T

Leigh Prathaftakis (pictured above) is the wife of Pastor Lance Prathaftakis of Raven Midwest. Her mother was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit last night and suffered a heart attack today. They have scheduled her for surgery this weekend. Please pray for God to move miraculously in this situation. Jesus paid the price on the Cross!

The Coat off of Your Back...

In the Gospel of Luke 6:29-30, Jesus says, "If someone ask you for your coat, don't stop them from taking it...give to everyone who asks..."

This is precisely the heart of the message that Pastor Jim Brown of Grace Community Church in Goshen, Indiana preached this past Sunday morning to their three worship services. He asked the question of his congregation, "Would you be willing to give the coat off of your own back to someone that needed it?"

The Church responded and people began to carry their coats to the front of the church and deposit them on the altar! By the close of the Sunday services there were over 400 nice coats left there for the needy! Praise the Lord!

The Church had heard about the work that was being done through Pastor Terry Shuff and the Raven Midwest Team in South Bend, Goshen, Elkhart and into Chicago, Illinois and knew that they would be the ones to take the coat to where they were most needed.

Pastor Terry took the Raven Van and trailer to Grace Community yesterday and literally had to stuff the trailer and the van full of the dontated coats! He wasted not time in getting them to the needy either as he began to hit the streets and blessing those having to endure the bone-chilling cold in South Bend this week.

The team will be traveling to a desperate housing development in Chicago this weekend with the load of coats, food and most of all---the Good News of Salvation!

These are some of our awesome "models" who were thrilled and so thankful to recieve some of the coats today! One of the men was suprised to find that someone had also left a $10 gift card to Burger King in the coat pocket as well! God is Good!

Would you do me a favor? Take a minute to email Pastor Jim at Grace Community and thank he and the Church Family there for there love and obedience to Jesus in this gracious gesture and sacrifce. His personal email address is jbrown@gracecommunity-church.com

THERE IS STILL TIME TO JOIN US

IN THE HARVEST FIELDS!

When the Lord brought back his exiles to Zion,
We were like MEN WHO DREAMED.
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy! Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they
RETURN WITH THE HARVEST.
Psalm 126

As a grade school student I always loved the stories about the heroic actions of those who fought for the freedom of those held in slavery. I was often amazed that I knew more about Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman than most of my African-American classmates—and I am obviously a anglo.

To hear about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad always brought such vivid imagery to my young mind as I read how she would often have to coax freed slaves to run by pointing her revolver at them! Sojourner Truth, a former slave, came to Christ after fleeing and taking up residence with a Quaker family.

One of my favorite stories is of Rosa Parks making a stand in not relinquishing her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama that is credited with being the start of the modern day civil-rights movement.

The above mentioned people all stood for something when very few others were willing to take a stand. They were criticized, ostracized and demonized—and that was just the response by their own people! You would think that those claiming the same heritage or suffering the same atrocities would also share in the commitment to making a difference.

Frederick Douglas, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Tubman all lived in the 1800’s—which was obviously long before I was even thought of—but they left a legacy that transcended generations and even skin color. They were people of extreme character and extreme resolve. They were the real deal regardless of whether you liked them or agreed with them or not.

Even though Rosa Parks lived during my lifetime (she passed away in 2005), the events that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott occurred in December of 1955 (I was born in 1967) so that event seemed like ancient history to a young man attending elementary school in the 1970’s.

This past week our Nation remembered the most widely recognized individual of the civil-rights movement: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. While Dr. King was assassinated just over a year after I was born (April 4, 1968), his legacy and contribution was such that it carries on still to this day.

Maybe it was the way he spoke with the cadence of a Southern preacher, or how his leadership forged relationships and commanded cooperation for the cause at hand, but I have always been intrigued and inspired by his life and influence on those he was called to lead at such an important time in history.

Of the many speeches that this gifted orator delivered, the most recognizable and most often quoted is the one he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. before a crowd of over 200,000 people on August 23, 1968.

“I have a dream…”, was the phrase that he repeated eight times as he sought to present a picture of a unified society of American people. Few could have imagined that his personal dream of seeing this come to pass would end just five years later as his life was claimed by the assassin James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee.

Even though Dr. King died, his dream has survived. While there is still much work to be accomplished in relationship to civil-rights, racism and equality of all Americans-- the cause has been adopted by people of all races, ages, and political affiliations. No longer are there signs on water fountains and seating restrictions on public transportation. Their hated has been forced underground and is no longer accepted in the mainstream as it was fifty years ago.

As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I very much associate with the struggle faced by both the abolitionists of the 1800’s and the activists of the 1960’s. Reflecting on the issues that brought forth such vicious responses and served to polarize a nation—I could not help but see the eerie similarities faced by those who would dare make a stand for righteousness and truth in these last days.

Genuine Christians are today’s most discriminated against people group! I have to use the term genuine because there is much that calls itself Christian that looks, speaks and acts nothing like the “Christ” whose very blood laid its foundation.

Today’s “Churches” have been overrun by a Psuedo-Christianity called “seeker sensitivity” that has resulted in a total insensitivity to the Holy Spirit! These purveyors of prosperity and positive thinking have endeavored to castrate the Christians and sterilize the Bride of Christ.

Slick showmen, untouchable superstars and Mr. Rogers-esque sweet-talking hirelings have endeavored to silence the voice of truth and paint those who would dare stand for the holiness and obedience to the unchanging Word of the Living God as kooks, troublemakers, and fringe-fanatics! Does this sound familiar!

Just as Douglas, Truth, Tubman, Parks and King faced the ridicule of those willing to stay ensnared in the yoke of bondage—we too face the snide remarks, segregation and ostracizing antics of a those who fear men and crave success rather than fearing God and hungering for righteousness.

“I Have A Dream…”, that one day the Body of Christ will “humble themselves, and pray, and seek (His) face, and turn from their wicked ways; then (He) will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chr 7:14)

“I Have A Dream…”, that those blinded by this deceit will “repent…and turn to God, so that (their) sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

“I Have A Dream…”, that people would wake up and realize that “…we ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

“I Have A Dream…”, that an urgency would come upon the people of God so that they would “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)

“I Have A Dream…”, that a generation would rise up that would “…be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, so that they would no longer deceive themselves.” (James 1:22)

Even now assassins are being sent out to silence this dream! Their target is the truth and anyone who would dare herald its uncompromising voice. Their weapon of destruction is religious rhetoric, carnal Christianity, and ear-tickling indifference. They are bound and blinded by “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) and “their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame and their mind is on earthly things.” (Phil 3:19)

Many true believers have been struck by their insidious onslaught. They have been voted out, they have been starved out, they have been forced out, phased out, and called out. But, they never sold out or ran out because they know who brought them out!

“What does God say about it? I have reserved for Myself…men who have not bowed their knee to Baal. At this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Rom 11:4-5)

“I Have A Dream…”

But how do we return to the dream or how do we get the dream if we have never personally known it?

“When the Lord brought back his exiles to Zion,
We were like MEN WHO DREAMED.
We were filled with laughter, and we sang for joy And the other nations said, “What amazing things the Lord has done for them.” Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy! Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.
They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they
RETURN WITH THE HARVEST.”
Psalm 126

Here it is! When the people of Israel where in Babylonian captivity they hung their harps upon the willow trees. The harp was not only a tool for celebration but it also served as a vehicle for prophetic declaration! (The Book of Psalms represents 149 examples of such) While the harps hung upon the willow trees they were silent and ineffective and served as a reminder of the bondage that disobedience and idolatry had brought upon them.

They had been exiled or expelled from their place of promise. “Zion” represented their Kingdom! It was the place that had been carved out for them specifically by the hand and will of God. That was where they were the most powerful and effective. That was where their adversaries had to think twice about challenging them.

While they experienced great numerical growth and financial remuneration during their captivity—this success brought with it a deadly consequence: Idolatry! Why would I call their growth, success, and monetary gain idolatry? Because it took their focus away from “Zion” or the Kingdom and instead placed their focus upon what they “saw” rather than what God had “said.”

Abraham was called out by God to be the one who would carry the covenant—yet with all of his blessings, with all of his wealth, and with all of his reputation—he found himself being a liar because of the fear of man!

David---this man after the heart of God. He was a killer of bears, lions and giants—yet he erred in thinking that his victories had something to do with the number of men in his army so he took a census to assess his strength and it resulted in many thousands of deaths.

When you abandon the unseen reality of your God-given “dreams” for the manifested deception of your temporal “understanding” you will find yourself turning away from that which keeps and compels you beyond the limits of your own comprehension and understanding.

Much of what is seen today in the success-driven “church” of North America is not the product or result of God’s approval, but rather the “moth eaten, rust corrupted, thievery” (Matt 6:20-21) of religious-wrapped ambition. These things neither represent not glorify the humility, sacrifice or Kingdom focused purpose established by Christ’s vicarious death upon the Cross of Calvary.

“Bigger”, “Safer”, “More Luxurious”, “More Inviting”, “State of the Art” and “Culturally Relevant” are the new buzz words used to describe these new “Celebration Centers” and “Mall-Like Meccas” where the multitudes throng (Matt 7:13) to discover “How To Have Their Best Life Now” or “How To Be A Christians Without Having an Agenda to See People Saved From Hell” (See- Velvet Elvis).

“I Have A Dream…”, that one day “The fear of the Lord (will once again be) the beginning of wisdom…” Prov 9:10

“I Have A Dream…”, that the people of God would realize that “without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Heb 12:14

“I Have A Dream…”, that men and women of God would “Set (their) minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col 3:2

“I Have A Dream…”, that the church of the Lord Jesus will cease to be a building and instead return to being believers so that “He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” Eph 5:27

Until the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ breaks from the captivity and returns to Zion they will remain exiled from the true presence and promises of God! We have got to reject the Sardis church once and for all!

Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write…you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

There has risen into religious prominence a “white washed tomb” and “clouds without rain” imposter-gospel that looks good on the surface but in reality is empty and dead!

Just as men were judged and even killed because of their outward appearance and the color of their skin, so a generation of 60-minute pew-sitters seeks to silence the “voice of the dream” that is now being heralded in these last days. This dream is a threat to their visible kingdoms and serves to expose it for what it really is!

2 Cor 4:18 “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Otherwise…if we do not return break free from this captivity and return our focus on the Kingdom of God and once again occupy the harvest fields of souls which have been irrigated by our own tears…

“They will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: (or this is the only solution)

Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, His treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery…” Deut 7:4-8

When you are “turned back to Zion” or when you began to get “Kingdom Minded” you will be like men who dreamed!

“I have a dream…” but the only way that I can keep and maintain that dream is to keep and maintain my commitment to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” otherwise what was once a dream will become a nightmare of:

Disappointment, depression, deviation, and disaster!

It is time to reach into the drooping branches of your weeping willow and retrieve your harp! There is a prophetic declaration of destiny that has not originated in our short-sighted and self-absorbed understanding of eternity—but it is a declaration that has originated in Heaven—and it is waiting for you to grab that spiritual harp and began to sing in pitch-perfect harmony with the Word of God!

We have got to “break down the altars” that have been erected for us to mourn and lament the disappointment in failing at our man-made ministries, our lukewarm churches, and our pabulum peddling preachers.

We have got to “smash the sacred stones” that have provided Golden Calf gratification and suck the very resources from the Kingdom and squander them on monuments to men and creature comforts to wide-gate religious wannabe’s.

We have got to “cut down their Asherah poles” of the latest book or the latest seminar or the latest Christian television program that provide a sinister substitute for the a genuine faith-filled, fruit-producing relationship with Jesus.

We have got to “burn their idols with fire” by saying walking in the fulfillment of the Word of God to be “baptized in the Holy Ghost and with fire!”

He has declared that “we are a people holy to the Lord” and even though we may seem “few in numbers” He has still yet set His affections upon us with the declaration that we have been “redeemed from the land of slavery!”

“In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17

“I Have A Dream….Do You?”


Pastor Troy D. Bohn
Raven Ministries
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, FL 32115

Join Us LIVE Tonight @ 9:00 PM (EST)

Melanie and I invite you to join us tonight for the weeky "RAVEN NATION" live webcast. The broadcast will begin at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time) for an hour of prayer, testimonies and a message from the Word of God! The program is "interactive" if you sign in and join those participating from around the world each week!

We look forward to having you join us tonight for a time of strategizing for the Kingdom of God! If you have any prayer request that we could stand in prayer with you about--email them to me at PastorTroy@BigGrace.com and we'll have our international intercessory prayer team join with you in believing Jesus for your miracle!

Mardi Gras 2007: We Need YOU!

This Week Has Been AWESOME!

We have had an amazing week of prayer, fasting and just getting before the Throne of Grace and Mercy! WOW---as we have had "Live" Prayer, Teaching, and Testimonies here on RAVEN TV at 7:00 AM (EST) and agaon at 9:00 PM (EST) we have just had a PROGRESSIVE GLORY being poured out!

Our turnout has also been amazing as we have had prayer warriors join us for the morning prayer from coast-to-coast! That would mean those who have faithfully been joining us each day on the West Coast have gotten up at 4:00 AM to pray with us for an hour! (You KNOW it is a God thing when people rise up at 4:00 AM to seek His face!)

Tonight as we closed out prayer it turned into a "Live" Holy Ghost Party as be pumped in Praise & Worship music and rejoiced in the Lord for an hour after the conclusion of the prayer time! It was incredible! Hallelujah!! God is so good!

Our final LIVE Prayer Service will be this Sunday evening at 9:00 PM (EST) as I will bring a Word and we'll close out this time of fasting and consecration with a time of sharing the vision for the New Year---you will want to be a part of this exciting Night! We will also take testimonies from those who have seen a miracle or a breakthough this past week!

Please continue to pray for the healings, deliverance, salvation and financial breakthroughs that we have been taking to Jesus this week. I am excited and expectant as to the things of God!

Blessings,

Pastor Troy

Dear Friends & Servants of Jesus,

What a year! That is the best way for me to describe the year 2006 as we prepare for and expect even greater things concerning the Kingdom of God in the coming year. As we enter into to a brand-new year of spiritual opportunities the one thing that I sense within my own heart and mind is a greater Kingdom Motivation.

The difference in having a Kingdom Motivation verses some other type of motivation—is that when you are Kingdom Minded or Kingdom Motivated, everything that you do for Jesus is done with your eyes squarely fixed upon eternity. In the success and excess driven culture of modern Christianity, much of what is done is motivated by temporal goals: Bigger buildings, Grander programs, Loftier Reputations, and More people than the congregation down the street.

I believe that we are standing on the threshold of eternity, and that the things that so many resources are being squandered and wasted on, will soon be consumed. To be Kingdom Motivated is to focus on the things that are eternal: Souls. Raven Ministries International and our teams across this nation have one goal in mind for the coming year– Win More To Heaven in 2007!

Never before in the eleven year history of this ministry have we seen such clear manifestation of our purpose to “Restore A Vision & Evangelize Nations”. On any given week there will be multiple teams out in the streets of cities from coast to coast; feeding the hungry and ministering to the homeless, sharing the Gospel with people of all ages, races and social status, impacting neighborhoods, and training and discipling others to do the same.

Oftentimes in the ministry we finish out years with regret concerning things that went undone or not feeling a sense of accomplishment in the task that had been set before us. But, I must say that 2006 (while very tough at times) was a year that I can look back upon with great delight in all that we were able to see Jesus do in Raven.

I am blessed to be able to give you this type of year-end and New Year report. Your prayers, encouragement, and financial support have not failed to bear fruit. We have raised up many new leaders, planted ministry in sever new cities, seen tens of thousands fed and ministered to, and have witnessed the mercy and grace of Christ save the souls of thousands. We have taken the Gospel into other countries and continents with spectacular results!

You have been a HUGE part of all of this and our expectations for the New Year of opportunity the Holy Spirit has given us is off the charts! May God bless, strengthen, and anoint you mightily in His service in 2007. You have invested in eternity and the Lord has seen your sacrifice.

2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Let’s Get Busy for the Kingdom of God in 2007!
Much Love & Blessings,

Pastor Troy & The Dream Team!

JANUARY: Pastor Troy & the New Orleans Team hit the streets of the Big Easy in what appears to be the largest non-Mardi Gras crowd they have ever seen in the French Quarter. The run into “Kelly” who quickly runs up to Pastor Troy and declares that she has given up tarot card reading and is now working in a restaurant in the area. (They had been ministering to her for years to be set free) Pastor Troy & Pastor Terry join Pastor Rudy and the West Coast Team in Santa Rosa, California where the team has been ministering weekly in a gang and drug infested neighborhood. Pastor Terry & Pastor Russ Clifford (The Living Well) lead three young me to Jesus that day: Jose, Edgar, and Sergio. These young men had been involved in local gang activity. Pastor Troy & Pastor Alex visit and minister in Churches in: California, Texas, and Louisiana in preparation for the upcoming Mardi Gras Outreach

FEBRUARY: Pastor Troy joins Pastor Terry in Indiana to minister at area churches and to promote the Mardi Gras Outreach. Raven Street Church begins conducting services under a tent at a local outreach center where Pastor Troy & Pastor Todd minister each Sunday morning and various other times during the week. Teams continue to hit the streets with Raven West Coast, Raven Mid West, and Raven New Orleans each weekend. Mardi Gras Outreach brings together over 120 Raven Team Members to New Orleans for the first Mardi Gras following Hurricane Katrina. They stay in a converted warehouse in the devastated eastern New Orleans. On Saturday of the outreach the teams distributes food and supplies to thousands of local residence who have lined up as far as the eye can see. All are given food, water and needed supplies and many come to know Christ as well

MARCH: Pastor Alex launches Raven Austin and begins working with local churches and leading streets teams into such places as the famous 6th Street. Pastor Troy visits Pastor Meredith in Texas and the preliminary plans for Raven Fairfield are birthed. Pastor Rudy continues leading teams into the Tenderloin area of San Francisco which is the home to thousands of homeless and heroin addicts. Pastor Troy, Pastor Todd, Pastor Don, Pastor Thomas & Billy McInroy continue their spiritual assault on the French Quarter and Bourbon Street in New Orleans seeing phenomenal harvest out in the streets. Raven West Coast ups their weekly food distribution to 500 families in the Papago Court and Apple Valley neighborhoods and Toni continues ministry to the homeless and drug addicted in the Gurneville area as well. Raven Midwest takes teams into Chicago regularly and ministers in the Lower Whacker section under the city.

APRIL: Pastor Troy and Melanie make preliminary prayer trip to Daytona Beach and immediately see harvest as they pray for and minister to “Dewey” as he falls to his knees and begins to weep as the Spirit of God falls upon him. The Raven Southwest chapter is launched in Albuquerque under the leadership of Pastor Brandon Romero. Detroit, Michigan becomes the next major US city impacted by our teams commitment to take the Gospel to the streets of the Nation as Pastor Terry and the Midwest team invade a local housing project.

MAY: Pastor Bobby Chance of Streetwise Ministry joins Pastor Troy in leading the first annual Boot Camp in the Big Apple outreach to New York City. Pastor Terry & Eileen make trip to join Pastor Rudy and the West Coast Team for outreach where they have added the Roseland neighborhood and are now taking preparing 700 bags of groceries! The Raven Midwest Team is blessed with a much needed 15 passenger van. Pastor Troy visits Pastor Sam Croghan in Pennsylvania where plans for Raven East Coast are made and they make a ministry trip into Baltimore.

JUNE: Pastor Troy and Melanie relocate ministry headquarters to Daytona Beach. Pastor Todd assumes responsibilities of Raven Street Church in New Orleans, ministering each Sunday at the tent and Pastor Don Eskine assumes leadership of Raven New Orleans team. Myrza Tow, Pastor Troy’s grandmother, celebrates her 100th Birthday. She was born during the Asuza Street Revival of 1906. Pastor Troy joins the Raven West Coast team and Streetwise Ministry for an outreach to Los Angeles’ Skid Row– where 25,000 homeless reside each night. Pastor Troy joins Pastor Russ Clifford at the Living Well Church in Santa Rosa, CA for the Raven School of Evangelism. Pastor Troy baptizes Pastor Rudy in the frigid and shark infested waters just north of San Francisco. The BEACH REACH to Daytona Beach begins.

JULY: Beach Reach with Pastor Frank Gresham and the Jesus Centre is in full swing over the 4th of July holiday as a team of fifty hits the sand and the streets. Pastor Troy is joined by his daughter, Kayla, as they minister at the Pepsi 400 where over 200,000 people have gathered for this NASCAR event. Pastor Troy and Melanie travel to join Pastor Terry of Midwest and minister on the streets of Chicago, the Washington Garden Housing Projects in Elkhart, Indiana and preach at Word of Truth Church and The Crossing in Goshen, Indiana with Pastor Mike Lechlitner while in town. Raven West Coast now ministering to 1,000 families each week—having begin a year earlier with less than 20 bags of groceries from their own cupboards!

AUGUST: Pastor Todd & Christy leave New Orleans to plant RAVEN POST (Texas). Pastor Alex joins Pastor Troy in New Orleans for the Bourbon Street Blitz Outreach and Pastor Troy preaches at Faith Christian with friend, Pastor Steven Smith and also conducts tent service while in New Orleans. The official launch of Raven East Coast. Pastor Troy travels to Amsterdam, Holland and ministers for a week in the infamous Red Light District, seeing God move mightily. Jose Ayala, one of the teenagers that Pastor Terry led to Christ in January 2006, is murdered in his Northern California neighborhood. He was only sixteen years old. Pastor Don Eskine assumes the responsibility of the Raven Street Church under the tent in New Orleans. He and Pastor Thomas continue leading teams into the French Quarter. Pastor Terry & Eileen visit Daytona Beach and assist in starting the Saturday Night Food & Faith Ministry that attracts dozens of youth and college aged kids each week for food, prayer and ministry.

SEPTEMBER: Raven East Coast conducts first major outreach in York, Pennsylvania. Pastor Sam & Lucy are joined by Pastor Alex (Raven Austin), and Pastor Terry and a team from Raven Midwest. Pastor Rudy conducts weekly Raven Gathering Services in his home for Raven West Coast. They also announce that over 150,000 pounds of food have been distributed in Sonoma County over the Summer! The team travels to Los Angeles’ for their second Skid Row outreach of the year. Pastor Meredith Lindsey and Bro Jim Snead join Pastor Troy & Mel for a week of mentoring and outreach in Daytona Beach. Raven Fairfield (Tx) prepares to officially launch. Pastor Alex & Holly begin work with Horizon Church in Austin, leading teams into the streets of the city for evangelism.

OCTOBER: The First International Gathering of RAVEN’s is held in Amarillo, Texas will members from coast to coast participating. The opening night banquet saw over 225 in attendance! Five men are ordained into the ministry during the conference: Pastor Lance Prathaftakis (who is also named to replace Pastor Terry as MidWest director upon his move), Pastor Johnnie Thomason (Dir. Of Raven Amarillo), Pastor Brandon Romero (Dir. Raven Southwest), Pastor Rudy Gonzalez (Dir. Raven West Coast), Pastor Meredith Lindsey (Dir. Raven Fairfield). Pastor Meredith also hosts a ground-breaking, multi-racial outreach in Fairfield. Pastor Don & Sabrina stand against the New Orleans VooDoo Fest, Pastor Sam & Lucy ministered at the “Back to the Future” outreach in Westminister, and MidWest reached Benton Harbor, MI for Jesus.

NOVEMBER: Pastor Todd & Christy of Raven Post began training and dsicipling local team for ministry and graduate first class in early December. Pastor Troy & Pastor Terry travel to Ontario, Canada to minister at the Accelerated Impact Conference on Evangelism and lead street teams in outreach near Western Ontario University in London, Ontario. The RAVEN NATION live webcast begins airing each Tuesday night at 9:00 PM (EST). Pastor Johnnie Thomason hosts his first Raven Amarillo meeting at Amarillo Christian Fellowship to bring the local bodies together to promote unity in reaching their City for Jesus. Pastor Troy ministers at two of the Crossing alternative schools in Goshen, and South Bend, Indiana. Pastor Meredith host a City-Wide Thanksgiving Outreach in Fairfield, before flying to NYC where he is met by a team led by Pastor Sam (East Coast) to witness and hand out Bibles in Times Square on Black Friday.

DECEMBER: Pastor Rudy joined Pastor Bobby Chance and a team of over 100 for the Happy Birthday Jesus outreach in Tijuana, Mexico where they distributed over 4,000 toys to needy children in the city and those who live in the local dump. 3,000 of the toys were gathered by Maddie and CeCe Gonzales of raven West Coast! Other teams conducting outreaches during the Christmas holidays were: Raven East Coast, Raven Post, and Raven Mid West. These teams everything from toys, to clothes and food for the homeless, to ministry to needy family—to lots of Jesus! Pastor Troy joined Pastor Alex in Austin for a weekend of ministry at Horizon Church and we were blessed to be able to raise the funds to purchase a bus for the Raven Texas teams that will be utilized to transport their teams to New Orleans in February.

This has been an incredible year---yet 2007 promises to be an even more glorious year for the Kingdom of God! While we rejoice greatly in the events and testimonies of 2006, they are thousands more awaiting us in this New Year!

With the mandate to “Take His Gospel to all the World” there are financial challenges and goals that must be met. We are dependant upon the Holy Spirit to speak into the hearts of friends, family & the Body of Christ to stand with us in this area. Would you consider doing one of two things today? 1) Make a sacrificial gift to enable the ministry to reach into the places that God has called us to 2) Consider becoming a monthly supporter of Raven Ministries’ ongoing mission to share the love and transforming power of Christ around the Nation...and beyond.

We’re needing a miracle in regards to several areas of ministry right now (including) another van. The two that we are currently using have tons of miles (both are going on 10 years old) and are just wearing out. I’ll leave it at that and just ask you to pray and consider what you might feel led to do in this glorious New Year!

Blessing,

Pastor Troy

YOU CAN GIVE SECURELY ONLINE BY CLICKING THE DONATION ICON ON THIS WEBSITE

Langinappe: A Little Extra Mercy!

Let’s Take The Time To Look for Mercy!

Living in the City of New Orleans for about three years, I would hear and see the term langinappe (pronounced lon-yop) regularly. I soon asked, and found out that it was a Cajun word meaning, “a little something extra.”

I want to deposit a little something extra in you today from the Word of God as we spend the next week seeking Him, His will, fresh vision, anointing and the miraculous for 2007.

I kind of see the Book of Jude as “a little something extra” as it relates to the Word of God. Here we have just short letter (only one chapter and twenty-five verses comprise this epistle) that is so rich (like good Cajun food) and truly serves to cause me to “lick my spiritual lips” as I “taste and see that He is good.” (Ps 34:8)

Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

I want to give you a quick little word study that, hopefully, you will find both interesting and useful to your walk with the Lord and in your life of seeking and serving Jesus daily.

Jude writes in verse (21) of this letter to “Keep yourself” in the love of God. I find this interesting in light of other verses of scripture that say things like:

Romans 8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If I am told to keep myself in the love of God, then how is it that Paul told the Church at Rome that none of these things could remove or separate us from this love? Is it my responsibility to keep and maintain my position in His love? Is being in the love of God contingent upon something that I can say or do? Well, the answer to that is, “Yes & No.”

While the love of God has been extended to all (John 3:16), even the lost and unregenerate, and the love of God is “shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5)—what Jude is talking about here is not the positional agape love, but rather the relational agape love. These are very similar and sometimes indistinguishable from one another, but within each aspect of these manifestations of “love” is a uniquely valuable truth and application that the other does not as readily display.

Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God…”

This keep is the Greek word tereo which means “to attend to, carefully guard, and to keep oneself in the state of.”

So, Jude is saying, “Listen to me! You have got to come to the place where you carefully stand guard over the love of God in your life. Be attentive! Don’t grow cold or lazy in it. You have got to endeavor to keep yourself in the state of being that He brought you to in faith.”

How many times have you found yourself guilty of the same indictment levied against the Church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4 “I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”

It could be rendered: “You have not guarded it! You have not maintained a careful attentiveness over the place that I have graciously brought you to! I have this against you.”

That forsaken is used elsewhere in the New Testament to describe divorce! Have you filed for spiritual divorce from the Bridegroom (Jesus)? Or maybe you have just considered it legal separation!

Have you found yourself lazy, complacent or altogether reckless in regards to your relationship with God? Has this reckless and precarious attitude affected your prayer life; your dedication to the study of God’s Word or your responsibility to share your faith with others?

If so, then you have got to “get yourself back on guard” and this is the time and season to do just that! While your actions will not change the positional status of God’s unfailing love towards you—it will adversely impact your relational status with Him.

Now, having said that, look at this admonition to “Keep yourselves in the love of God” in comparison to what Jude says just three verses later:

Jude 1:24 “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”

What is this? First he instructs us to “keep ourselves” and now he says that “(Jesus) is able to keep you from falling.” If these seem contradictory to you on the surface—then let’s peel back the veneer to look a little deeper into what he is telling them in this letter. Langinappe

In verse (21) he is speaking of the tereo type of “keeping” (to attend to, carefully guard, and to keep oneself in the state of), but in verse (24) he utilizes a different word altogether. This “keep” is the Greek word phulasso which means:

“To protect or to preserve another from being impaired by something”

Because we have entered into covenant with Christ through the New Birth—we have become partners in this relationship. Throughout the Word of God, the marriage covenant is utilized as a type of relationship that we have with Jesus as believers.

As we, His bride, submit ourselves to Him (Eph 5:22) through the tereo or guarding of that relationship, we experience the benefit of the phulasso or being guarded by Him in the relationship!

John 15:10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.”

To “abide” is to “have relational expectancy” not “positional expectancy.” When I am obedient to this covenant relationship with Jesus then I reap the inherent benefit of being kept in His love!

Because we are spiritually married to the Lord, we (by virtue of that covenant) are “in His house”, this is the positional place. But if that is the extent of our relationship with Him—then it becomes like living in a house and being in a marriage where there is absolutely no reciprocating love towards one another.

It becomes a “you live your life and I will live my life” and we’ll just stay together for the “sake of the children” type of relationship. THAT is not what He intended for His bride (you and I). We must endeavor to abide in this relational expectancy that accompanies the tereo “keep(ing) of ourselves in the love of God.”

My “keeping” - “to attending to, carefully guarding, and to keeping myself in the state of” ensures the full benefit of His “keeping” - “To protect or to preserve another from being impaired by something.”

Seasons of fasting, prayer, intercession and consecration unto the Lord should get us refocused and recommitted to our relationship with Jesus. Think of these times like “renewing your vows” to the Lord!

Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

Once I get the revelation and make the application of what it means and what it takes to “keep myself in His love” then I have positioned or established myself to:

“look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus.”

Several years ago, while I was still pastoring in Texas, I found myself praying and seeking God in my study. This was a time not unlike any other time of prayer and preparation.

I spent a time of worship and adoration. I asked Him to examine my heart. I did an inventory of my thoughts or attitudes towards others and asked the Lord Jesus to forgive me as I forgave others. For all intents and purposes, things were very typical and ordinary…until the Holy Spirit spoke something to my heart the truly changed the way that I thought!

This may seem simple or even elementary to you, but for me, it became the catalyst for the way that I see and do the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He very gently said to me, “On the day of judgment, would you be willing to receive from Me, only as much mercy as you have demonstrated to others?”

Immediately, Matthew 5:7 came to mind, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

He was revealing to me, that mercy is measured back, commensurate to how it is meted out!

Luke 6:36-38 “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful…give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

We have all heard people use this scripture (out of context) in relationship to finances, but seldom (if ever) in the proper context of love and mercy!

He isn’t asking us to do mercy, He is asking us to be mercy! I don’t want it to be a passing activity that I engage myself in. I want it to be the outflow of the person of Christ made manifest through my life because I have established myself and kept myself (relationally) in His love!

I want to measure out a full measure of mercy-- that a full measure might be measured out to me on that day. I want to find myself in the tireless pursuit of the mercy of God!

There are two questions that must be asked in regards to this:

1) What is mercy?
2) What is the means of obtaining it?

Mercy, by definition, is to have or to demonstrate compassion towards someone else. This compassion takes on various looks and manifestations in relationship to the need of the recipient.

Mercy for the hungry is something to eat.
Mercy for the homeless is a place to sleep.
Mercy for the broken is to be comforted.
Mercy for the bound and oppressed is deliverance.

Regardless of how mercy is manifested, there is one thing for certain; It is this mercy or compassion that moves Jesus!

Matthew 9:36 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”

If I want God to “move on my behalf” during my times of prayer and fasting and seeking His face—then I have got to learn to move in the realm that moves Him! That realm is mercy!

Now for the second question: How is mercy released into the life of the believer?

Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

Another translation reads,

“He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

If you are “looking for mercy” then you look no further than the other side of repentance! During this season of consecration, we have many (including ourselves) that are crying out to God to move beyond the “missed marks” (sin) and find victory over every bondage, weakness, infirmity, stronghold, and struggle.

We know that taking these things to Him with a sincere and repentant heart is part of our tereo or means “to attend to, carefully guard, and to keep oneself in the state of” relational love and benefit of the Lord Jesus.

Our confession and subsequent forsaking of the things that would serve to impede the progress of our relationship with Him and the ensuing victory are the keys to finding the mercy of God that we have been looking for!

Humility is the measuring cup for the merciful.

Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Conclusion: Saints, lets stand guard and be found carefully attending to our relationship with Jesus so that we can rest in the assurance that another (Jesus) will protect and preserve us from being impeded by anything (or anyone) that would keep us from the mercy of God that causes Him to move on our behalf for every need and situation that we may find ourselves in.

Langinappe, a little something extra!

Blessings,

Pastor Troy D. Bohn

Psalm 63:1-41 "O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name."

Happy New Year Everyone!! What a great morning we have already had in Jesus! David certainly understood the heart of God when he penned the above Psalm and wrote "early will I seek you." As we had our early morning prayer today (7:00 AM EST) I felt the presence and refreshing of the Holy Spirit come into the room.

Thank you Deb (Raven West Coast) for standing with us this morning in prayer and intercession through the LIVE prayer Webcast. You are awesome and I appreciate your sacrifice (it was 4:00 AM where whe was at!) Who will be there tomorrow?

Matt 18:19 "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

Matt 21:22 "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

Also---don't forget that Melanie and I will be LIVE tonight at 9:00 PM (EST) for prayer and intercession all week long during the time of fasting, prayer and consecration before the Lord. We'd love to have you join us as well.

Blessings,

Pastor Troy