Numidia Mennonite Bible School - Reflector Yearbook (Numidia, PA)

Page 8 text:

PRINCIPALS' MESSAGES PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE Dear Students, I D Together we have embarked ag?-111 111130 the sea of intensive Bible study- IH Splte of the many waves of despair - lack of ability to search out deeper truths and to concentrate on study at hand - there are the many surges of blessed new truths that strengthen f o r further research. Along with these are the frequent buoys we can spot along safe channels which lead us away from mental and spiritual distractions. How gracious our heavenly Father is in guiding us into all truth and in guarding us from evil allurements. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able. - My prayer is that each of you will take advantage of the guides and benefit by the safeguards. For we do look for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God . As we make our voyage, let us be clear REFLECTORS of Him. -Ernest J. Bontrager Dear Youth, and all fellow travellers with me to the judgement bar of God: I Let this mind be in you, Which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5. Our Lord was ever humble, loving, pa- tient, kind. His very food was to do the will of His Father and to finish His work. He regarded no sacrifice too great, no humiliation too painful, in accomplishing His redeeming work, and finally, after a- life of full submission to His Father's will, He was able to cry out, It is Finished . To have the mind of Christ is not only to do what we think He would do, but to cultivate the spirit and disposition which He revealed. His moral temper and His humble, unselfish devotion command our full submission to His will. May each of us determine, that by the grace of God, we will walk worthy of the vocation where- w1th we've been called, that we might be made like unto Him in all things. This is God's plan for each one of us. , .Christ has redeemed us from all iniq- u1ty, so that we may be His peculiar people, zealous of good works, and be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless, at the appearing of the Great God, and our Savious Jesus Christ. -Benj amin C. Eslfbach FINDING MY PLACE IN HIS WILL I PROVERBS 3:6 Many ask: how can I ind my place in life? How can I know God's will for my life? No one can live a Christian life and be truly happy, without being in the will of God. To find His will for us, there are some facts to realize. There must be a change of heart before we can be conformed to His will. ' There must be an honest desire to do the will of God. A self-willed person is con-- stantly getting himself into difliculty. A yielded will is a will that is easily directed. Many people say they want the will of God for their life, but when they come face to face with God's will, they rebel. Ephesians 5:15,16 admonishes us to walk circumspectly, redeeming the time. Walking curcumspectly means that in all life we will be watchful, that nothing hinders us from exercising a deep spirit- ual life. If we are not trustworthy in the little things of life, we may not expect to be given greater responsibilities. What We do here and now, is an index of our worth tomorrow. We must learn to withstand evil. Sin makes us incapable of effective Christian service. Joseph proved his integ- rity of character by refusing sin, though it took him to prison, but the prison was only a stepping stone to the throne. Worship and devotion precede service and activity. A vital devotional life is essential. We must learn to sense the privilege of value of prayer, before we can expect to find God's will for our life. If we do not know how to pray, we cannot know how to serve. Feelings alone are not a safe guide. There is great danger of confusing feeling with the will of God. It is possible to m1s- judge our own qualifications. To have a sincere desire to do His will is absolutely essential. To live a consistent life is to walk worthy of the Lord, step- ping into doors as He opens them, and doing what we can, in the power of the Spirit. We need to maintain strong con- victions against sin, and strengthen our devotional life and loyalty to God. We 92111 evaluate our convictions by c0unSGl1I1g with older spiritual leaders. -Paul Ebersole -3-

Page 7 text:

EDITORIALS BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT Matthew 5 :48 tells us: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. But, you say, how can we be perfect as long as we are here in this sinful world, with all the temptations of the devil and the lusts of our flesh to contend with? Christ is here exhorting us to be complete and without want, in God, who supplies us with this completeness. It is because of Christ that we as Christians can have our needs fully sup- plied. Philippians 4:19 tells us that God shall supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. The weakness we have within ourselves is an essential for the perfection of God's grace in our lives. When Paul asked the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh , God re- plied that His grace is made perfect in weakness. There is, however, a condition we must first meet to have access to God's store- house of sufficient grace. We must have our hearts set on things above, not on things on the earth. Then as we ask of God, he will make us perfect and entire, wanting nothing . ' When we are perfect in the provisions of God, we have everything necessary to live a victorious Christian life. II Timothy 3:16 speaks of the man of God who is perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works . Let us therefore recognize the abundant provisions of God for us and claim them for our very own, that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro , but that we may grow up into him in all things . --Eldon Detweiler THE JUSTICE OF GOD When we look out into the world today and consider for a moment the way men drink strong drink, we see that they dilute it with water, soft drink, or a fruit juice. If they drank it unmixed, they would burn out their stomachs. . The sad thing is that they do not think of the wine of the wrath of God , which will be upon them if they doinot turn to God. Revelation 14 :10: The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tor- mented with' Hre and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. In the days of the Children of Israel when they murmured against Moses and Aaron on different occasions, God's Wrath was kindled against them, but it was with mixture. When they spake against God and Moses in the wilderness on the matter of having no bread or water, the Lo-rd sent fiery serpents among them which bit them, that they died. Here we see the Lord gave them the opportunity for repentance, as in many other instances that are re- corded. We today are living in the day of grace. Why don't you heed His call? We are promised, If .we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- ness . I John 1:9. If we don't heed this call, we will drink of the wine of the wrath of God without mixture in torment forever and ever in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. l -Stanley J. Shenk ...2..

Page 9 text:

in Y nd ill I rg -ore the on-- A ed. L 1:22 to me. . .all ung irit- the t to 3 we Jrth and :tive lteg- mugh was fvice e is the E C311 f We IDOW uide. sling mis- will stent step' and f the con- , our 3 C811 eling .rgole MATRONS A MATRON'S PRAYER Father in heaven, would you look down on earth where I am with a fmaily of seventy? I have things to say about them. Not tattle-tale things. Not complaints. Not flattery. Things like thanks and concerns and - and - maybe a little righteous jealousy over them. I know they have their faults, but they know this too. Some- times they get noisy when they should be studying. Usually they don't mean to, they just forget. They have so many other things to talk and laugh about. They enjoy each other so much. Youth should, should- n't they? Also they should learn when to be quiet, shouldn't they? They 'are so full of life, Lord. They should be, shouldn't they? Is it all right for me to enjoy their fun the way I do -- if I know when to direct them back to study and worship and quiet? Some come to me with their prob- lems - a headache, a cut finger, a sore throat, a rust stain, a rip, a knotty lesson, a hurt, a troubled conscience. Help me to offer love along with the needed pill, band- aid, needle and thread, lesson explanation, sympathy,listening ear, guidance. Some need reprimands now and then. Let me pronounce these firmly yet kindly, bring- ing remedy instead of hurt. Some deserve praise. I want to express this at the right time, in the right place, to the right per- son. All of them need guidance. May I, having walked the road a little farther than they, know enough to lead, care enough to point out pitfalls, and love enough to draw them patiently along. I want every one to make life's journey safely. Well, I've done a lot of asking and not much thanking. I am deeply thankful, though. I'll have to go now. There's a knock on my door. It may be Henry need- ing a new band-aid for his cut finger. Thank you for listening. And thank you for Jesus, in whose name I've done all this asking. Amen. --Ida B. Bontrager M E S S A G E S OUR MASTER'S STEPS We hunger and thirst for the word of the Lord. So we gather together to study His Word, And learn how to use and to wield the Sword, As we travel the path that our Saviour trod. But now our paths leave the mountain top To serve our Master at home or the shop. We know that Satan will tell us to stop, But we want the path that our Saviour trod. y ' -Anna W. Eshbach HIS SERVANTS I appreciated working, sharing, fellow- shipping and studying God's Word and praying with the young people. It has been an encouragement to me, to see the many young folks that desire to do God's will, and obey His commandments. These words express my prayer and desire for each student: Are you serving Jesus with your might? Are you making sunshine chase the night? Are you spreading gladness as you go? Are you leading others Christ to know? Are you preaching Jesus by your life? Are you helping others in the strife? Are you gladly giving all your days? Are you teaching others Christ to praise? Are you doing ever Christ-like deeds? Are you scattering gladness, just like seeds, Soon to bud and blossom, sweet and fair, And to pour their fragrance everywhere? Serving Jesus all along the way, Serving Jesus, faithful night and day, Serving your Master as you onward go, Lift this ensign high. Ever faithful, let there come what mayg Always ready any price to pay 3 Loving your Master as you onward go, Serve Him, faithful till the end. -Luella H. Ebersole -4-