Preparing for the Storm...

LATEST HURRICANE GUSTAV PROJECTIONS

RAVENRELIEFTEAM

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, the National Weather Service has issued warnings for residence along the Gulf Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Gustav making landfall early next week. The most recent news regarding this storm says:

“Data from an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft indicated that Gustav's maximum winds have increased to close to 145 mph, making the already-deadly storm an extremely hazardous Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.

The advisory was issued about 2 p.m. EDT to modify an earlier warning.
Gustav could strengthen even further to a Category 5 hurricane just before or shortly after it passes over Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center.”

In the past couple of hours I have been on the telephone with our team there in New Orleans in order to get updates on the evacuation plans and to prepare for our course of action in Gustav’s aftermath.

The first thing that we are asking of you is to PRAY. The City of New Orleans (people!) have suffered much in the past three years following Hurricane Katrina’s unprecedented destruction. Another serious storm could undo the past several years of rebuilding and crush the hopes and dreams of many good people there in the Crescent City.

Please pray for the safe evacuation of the 350,000 residents of New Orleans the many more thousands who live along the coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even East Texas as well.

The second thing we are asking from you is for assistance. Melanie and I and our team here are making preparations to immediately head to the City following the storms passage. We will be taking our cooking tents, trailer and equipment to be able to feed thousands of meals to both those who have had to seek refuge and to those who will be there offering immediate assistance to the effected communities.

We are asking our friends and supporters to stand with us for the people in the Gulf Coast during this potentially devastating time. Would you make your very best missions/relief offering today so that we can get the necessary supplies together in advance so that we will be ready to roll on a moments notice?

We will be taking (among other things): Gasoline for generators, water, food and cooking supplies, new socks and t-shirts, first aid items, and various other first-responders needs.

OUR PLAN: is to set up an immediate mobile cooking and hot meal station. We will prepare and serve meals to the first-responders to the disaster including – utility workers, law enforcement personnel, relief workers and displaced residents.

Anything that you can do will be of enormous help. We will keep you advised as to our plan of action. Remember to keep the residents in your prayers and our local team as well. They consist of: Pastor Don & Sabrina, Pastor Thomas & Doree (and kids), Bob & Bonnie, Lenny & Marci, Billy & Rose, Ben & Bethany, Mercedes and others…

Thank you in advance!

Pastor Troy D. Bohn
Raven Ministries International, Inc.
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Florida 32115
(504)202-0939

***YOU CAN DONATE SECURELY ONLINE BY CLICKING THE "DONATE" BOTTON TO THE RIGHT OR BY GOING TO WWW.BIGGRACE.COM AND CLICKING ON "YOU CAN HELP"

GUSTAV = "THE ROD OF GOD"

Most of you have already seen the weather reports concerning the sorm brewing in the Caribbean named, "Gustav." Just as many did with Hurricane Katrina, no doubt many will look to see the meaning of the name if any significant damage occurs in New Orleans. I'll save you some time: Gustav means The Rod of God!

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Because of the meaning of Gustav, many will then look for a corresponding Bible verse to tie it do the divine judgment of God. My guess is that this one will be a favorite:

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"Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood." Exodus 7:17

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I for one do not believe that Hurricane Katrina (Cleansing) or Hurricane Gustav (The rod of God) are attempts by the Lord to reign down judgment upon the Crescent City. Storms, earthquakes, forest fires, floods etc. are not the result of God unleashing His vengeance through what your insurance company calls "Acts of God", but rather the 6,000 year old consequence of man's fall and the subsequent effect on all that he was given dominion over.

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Having lived in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and having just been back to the city last week doing ministry, I can tell you that this is indeed a place wrought with sin and debauchery! There are still thousands packing Bourbon Street. There are still psychics and fortune tellers lining Jackson Square. But there are also many faithful believers praying, seeking the face of God, and taking the message of salvation to the streets of the Big Easy.

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More so than at any time that I have personally been aware of people and churches are coming together to truly impact New Orleans for the sake of the Gospel. Prayer walks and city-wide meetings are taking place and (Praise God) more local than ever have taken to the streets of the French Quarter to proclaim the message of the Cross.

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While we saw tremendous times of ministry occur following Hurricane Katrina, the last thing New Orleans needs right now is another catastrophic disaster. For one, the infrastructure of the City just could not handle it. Secondly, many good people (Jesus-loving people) would be faced with overwhelming hardships.

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The National Weather Service has released models that say Gustav could make landfall near New Orleans as a major (category 3 or higher) by Monday afternoon. We have a team that is working diligently there in New Orleans and we have many friends and family there as well. IN short, our prayers is for Gustav to dissipate and to not be a threat to any of the Gulf States.

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While some may be hoing for Exodus 7:17, we are standing on Job 21:9 "Their homes are safe and free from fear; the rod of God is not upon them."

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If it so happens that this storm reaches New Orleans and there is a significant amount of damage, you can be assured that we will be there on the ground afterwards assisting in every way possible. Our prayer though is that we will be thanking God and breating a sigh of relief late Monday that "His Rod" was withheld from a place we now call the "Big Grace!"

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6

What is the first thing that you see when someone turns off the lights in the room that you are in? The answer is easy: You see darkness.

What about after two or three minutes of standing in the darkness? What do you see now? Do things appear as dark as they initially were when the lights were first turned off?

What happens is that the longer that you are in the darkness, the more that you will adjust to the absence of light. It will appear as though things are lighter or brighter but in reality they are just as dark as they were to begin with.

I am deeply concerned for the Body of Christ. My heart breaks as I see so many individuals and so many churches adjusting to the darkness around them while sincerely believing that they are walking in the light.

What was unacceptable behavior a few years ago is now seen as common place in the ranks of the modern church. Instead of desiring to be “Holy as He is Holy” we have instead adjusted and adapted to the darkness of sin and compromise in the name of being relevant.

Somehow the idea has slipped in that we need to imitate the world in order to win them to Jesus. What happened to imitating Jesus in order to win them to Jesus?

The “Seeker Sensitive” movement has really become the “Sin Sensitive” movement as people have learned to walk in the dark and think that they are in the light. They have adjusted to the darkness and are under the delusion that God is pleased with their carnality!

The Apostle John was dealing with a group of Christian who had been convinced that their lukewarm version of Christianity was an acceptable form of faith. John quickly and sharply addressed this issue and called it like he saw it, “If we say that we have fellowship with (Jesus) and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

The fellowship that he spoke of was the koinonia or intimate communion that the faithful believer should expect to enjoy. This intimacy can only be attained and maintained when there is a constant fidelity to the Lord.

But if we “claim” to have that type of life-transforming and righteousness producing fellowship—but have adjusted to the darkness –then the Word of God calls our claim into question.
What does it mean to “walk in darkness” anyway? The Greek word that John uses here is the word skotos and Thayer’s defines it as such:

1.Used of night darkness
2.Used of darkened eyesight or blindness
3.Used of ignorance in regards to the human duty towards divine things, which is then accompanied by immorality and ungodliness resulting in the eternal misery of hell.

Wow! That should chill anyone to the bone who is not in the desperate pursuit of the will of God.
Continued On Next Page

Almost every single person that I meet and minister to on the streets of this Nation lay claim to some type of salvation experience.

They say things like, “Go talk to someone that really needs it, I am already going to heaven.” All the while they are looking and acting exactly like the world that Jesus died to save us from!

Someone, somewhere gave them a version of the Word that had been adjusted to the darkness. A mother, or aunt or preacher or Sunday school teacher convinced them that the only thing that God required out of them for salvation was a meaningless, and fruitless prayer that neither changed them nor saved them!

They have believed the lie and as a result they have become liars! They failed to give them the full counsel of God and instead have reduced the CRIMSON BLOOD OF JESUS to a more palatable PASTEL PINK!

They have “cherry picked” a few scriptures out of context that appeal to the flesh, but do absolutely nothing in regards to transforming the spirit! They just “adjust to the darkness.” What about the next verse in 1st John Chapter 1

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light...the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

What if we don’t walk in the light then? Simple—the Blood of Jesus will not cleanse us from all sins!

You can join any church that you want to join! You can get yourself dipped, dunked, sprinkled, confirmed and blessed. You can do the Walk to Emmaus, the Purpose Driven Life, or do three Hail Mary’s and five Our Father’s —but if your life is not reflective of the Glorious, Transforming, and Holy Word of the LIVING GOD—then you are a LIAR and you do not know the TRUTH!

When the Apostles of Old penned the words that we call the Bible under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, they did so with the expectancy that those who read these sacred writings would see, live and experience the same type of walk that they did.

They PREACHED a message of HOLINESS because they LIVED the message of HOLINESS.
They PREACHED a message with POWER because they LIVED a message of POWER!
They PREACHED a message of BOLDNESS because they LIVED a message of BOLDNESS!

What message are you living? Or have you just simply stepped out of the light and “adjusted to the darkness?”

The thing about “adjusting to the darkness” is that you are able to convince yourself that you can still see!

Sure, the detail is lacking and you may have to squint to make out something, but at least you are not totally blind! Sin is okay with allowing you to live the illusion of light just as long as you never step into the light!

I am asking all of you who are reading this to ask yourself the same thing that I am having to ask myself every single day as I expose myself to the light of God’s Word: “Holy Spirit please have mercy upon me and reveal to me any area where I have adjusted to the darkness.”

Job 34:21-22 declares, “His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step. There is no dark place, no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide.”

It is time to raise the standard and walk in the measure of Light that the Lord Jesus has revealed to us through His death, burial and resurrection and cease from the deceitful snare of “adjusting to the darkness.”

The FIRE IS SPREADING! Many are seeing the urgency of the hour and the ever-increasing need to get into the Word of God like never before! I have been so blessed at the responses to our SEVENTYHOURCHALLENGE to read through the entire Bible over the course of the next three months by committing (70) hours to doing so.

The list of those grows as the Word spreads and people join together to know Jesus in a more intimate way through exposing their hearts and minds to His unchanging and life-giving Word. Just in the past couple of days more have joined the challenge!

1. Pastor Brandon
2. Catherine
3. Hope
4. John
5. Pastor Alex
6. Holly
7. Judah
8. Josiah
9. Hope
10. Sue
11. Yvonne
12. Joey
13. Connie
14. Merrie
15. Tonie
16. Jean
17. Ed
18. Wanda
19. Vera
20. Sonya
21. Pastor Don
22. Sabrina
23. Elva
24. Diane
25. Deena

WILL YOU JOIN US IN THE CHALLENGE?

Email us to let us know: Raven@BigGrace.com

UPDATE

There is an obvious hunger for the Word and an urgency to know Jesus in a deeper and more intimate way. We have been inundated with emails from people all across the world saying, "Count me in for the seventy hour challenge."
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Here are quotes from some of the email that we have received in the past few days upon issuing the challenge.

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"THANK YOU! I am going to get my pastor to announce it at church this week."

TEXAS

"Our whole family will be reading the Word together an hour each day."

FLORIDA

"I need this in a HUGE way."

ENGLAND

"Sign me up."

NEW YORK

"I'm in on the challenge"

NEW MEXICO

"This challenge may be the very thing to keep me motivated."

OHIO

"Count me in on this journey"

GEORGIA

"Count me in Pastor Troy"

CALIFORNIA

"We are going to do the 70 hour challenge"

CANADA

"We are in!"

LOUISIANA

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There has been so much talk and discussion lately about a "revival" that tickles the ears and stimulates the senses-but is not firmly established upon the Word of God. I believe the true and genuine REVIVAL is birthed out of a foundation in the Word of God.

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"Upon this rock (The Word) I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

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If we are going to see an unrelenting and genuine reviving take place in the Body of Christ, it must be firmly established upon that which never changes or wavers to the whims or wishes of cultural or social demands. We must remain steadfast and dependant upon the TRUTH that sets free and serves as the TRUE discerner and intents of a man's heart.
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Thank you all who have already emailed me to say "Count me in" and the many others who are joining this MOVE to become saturated with His Word over the next (90) days during the SEVENTY HOUR CHALLENGE.
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You can still join in! We are taking between now and October 31st to read through the entire Bible. It takes approximately (70) hours for the average readers to get through the Old and New Testaments. That is less than (1) hour per day for the next (3) months.
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Here is something that may help some of you that are standing together in this challenge.
Melanie, Kayla and I are reading from the beginning (Genesis) on our own and each night we will come together for an hour and read through the New Testament (beginning with the Gospel of Matthew) together. You may want to try this with you family or a friend as well.
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ALSO, I want to connect some of you TOGETHER who may or may not know each other in this. I think that it will provide both encouragement and accountability through the challenge.
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If you are open to me putting you with a "challenge partner" from somewhere else in the World to email your progress and prayer needs through this challenge-please email me at PastorTroy@BigGrace.come and say, "I am in and would love to stand with another brother or sister in Christ through this challenge."
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I will also be posting your experiences and testimonies on my blog www.ravenoutreach.blogspot.com as they come in.
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Many blessings,
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Pastor Troy D. Bohn
Raven Ministires International, Inc.
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Florida 32115
1-Go-Zap-Souls (24 hour phone number)

Ps 119:11 "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Dear Friends,

As individuals and as a ministry, the Lord has truly been challenging us to dive into the Word of God in a deeper and more deliberate degree over the next few months. I feel that the Holy Spirit is really challenging us to saturate ourselves with the Truth so that we can be exposed to the Word of God on a whole new level.

The Word is full of warnings and admonitions regarding the last days and the devices in which the adversary will utilize to deceive God’s people. For example:

2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.”

What I encounter all across this Nation is an overall lack of knowledge of the Word of God from people who profess to know and love Jesus. This is disturbing because you can immediately see the fruit of this lack manifesting itself in their lives!

They see no problem with living in sexual immorality—because they do not know what God says about the subject.

They see no problem with drinking and partying right along with the world—because they do not know what God says about the subject.

They see no problem with looking and acting like the world—because they do not know what God says about the subject.

The list goes on because people are truly ignorant of what God thinks because they have never taken the time to see what God says by reading His Word.

I am a firm believer that if you will expose yourself to the Word of God that you will be transformed by it. I have said for years, “Get into God’s Word and God’s Word will get into you.” You will never really have an intimate relationship with Jesus apart from a dedication to seeking Him in His Word.


Hebrews 4:12-13 declares, “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

Raven Ministries International is issuing a CHALLENGE to all who would desire a closer walk with Christ and a deeper understanding of the Word of God. We are calling it the:

SeventyHourChallenge

It takes the average reader just (70) hours to read the ENTIRE BIBLE from cover to cover. Many people have never read the complete New Testament, let alone the whole Bible in their life times!

We are inviting you to join us in committing (70) hours of your time over the next (3) months to meeting the SeventyHourChallenge joining with other believers from around the world in saturating our hearts and lives with the Word of God in a very intense season of revelation. We will have people from ALL OVER THE WORLD reading the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation at the same time!

The SeventyHourChallenge begins today and will end on October 31st. I will send out weekly updates as to where people are in the scriptures and some of the things that the Lord is speaking to individuals through this journey in the Word of God.

Email me (Pastor Troy) Raven@BigGrace.com and let me know that you are going to be participating with us!

Here are a few of those who have already committed following our announcement on the Raven Nation Live this past Tuesday Night.

1. Pastor Sam
2. Lucy
3. Meghan
4. Deb
5. Melanie
6. Pastor Troy
7. Robin
8. Donna
9. Mercedes
10. Pastor Brian
11. Bobbi
12. Nicole
13. Lori
14. Maddie
15. Cece
16. Rich
17. Karen
18. Josiah
19. Natalie
20. Zachary
21. Lynde
GET ON THE LIST FOR THE
SeventyHourChallenge

Ps 119:11 "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you"


Blessings,

Pastor Troy D. Bohn
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Fl 32115