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

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TORCHES FOR TRUTH The far-reaching influence of a faithful life is seldom seen in as clear.a light as .111 the case of the three Hebrew saints of Daniel 3. The fiery furnace episode was the means of spreading their influence over most of the then known world. The Scripture tells us that Nebuchadnezzar called the leaders of the provincesfrom h1S entire kingdom together to the dedication of an image erected by him. It was this group that witnessed the refusal of these. three Hebrew saints to bow to that heathen image. It was this group that witnessed the power of God in delivering them from the fire. Doubtless, the account of their loyalty and resulting deliverance was a subject of para- mount interest on their return to the various provinces. This was likely accented by the king's decree telling of the incident and de- manding worship before the God of Heaven. God used this incident to call the atten- tion of the world to Himself. He is doing the same today with individuals that are re- fusing to fit into the mold of a godless society. An undying loyalty and a willing- ness to be counted for God, even on issues seemingly small, is the key to unlocking a ministry of usefulness for God, the scope of which is staggering. Let us be faithful so our lives will be torches for truth, torches that have the potential of reaching even to the ends of the earth. -GLENN M. SENSENIG GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS In the midst of his lamentations, Jeremiah bursts out with the great truth. It was born out of a realization that were it not for the faithfulness of God, things would be a lot worse. He rejoiced that the mercies of God which are new every morning kept them from being consumed. God's faithfulness provides a tremendous anchor for the soul. The values reach into every area of life. It equips the Christian to face life realistically and victoriously. Knowing that God has never failed any of His promises enables us to exercise faith in Him. The challenge then is not to God's faith- fulness but rather to our faithfulness to Him. Jeremiah concludes that it is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth, 5 Not that older folks shouldnit, but because there is no better time to begin. F aithfulness to a faithful God promises a rewarding life both now and forever. -DAVID BURKHOLDER BONDAGE TODAY Independence is a vital part of religious freedom today. The Jews of Jesus' day ex- pressed this when they responded to him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, ye shall be made free? Let us view this blind boast of these people as an expression of the carnal mind. The truth of the realms of light and darkness is obscured, if not altogether hidden from them. Jesus has just spoken to the believing Jews, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeedg And ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free. From our vantage point, we recognize that our Lord spoke of spiritual liberty. As the discourse continued, Jesus said, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeedf' As we find this freedom in Christ, we recognize the establishment of new ties to Christ. Jesus is now Lord of our lives. Notice I Corinthians 7:22. For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's free man: Likewise also he that is called being free, is Christ's servant. Our adversary is not ignorant of this fact and would endeavor to bring us again under his bondage. God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Let us consider two prongs of our adversary's attack, false doctrine and false brethren. Satan delights in half truths and he uses false brethren to promote them. Paul cap- tures the satanic purpose of these men in Galatians 2 :4, writing that they might bring us into bondage. Paul says in verse five they gave no room for these brethren, not even for an hourg that the Truth of the gospel might continue. To this end we invoke God's blessing on the Numidia Bible School students that ye may be free indeed and that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. I Bondage indeed, but what a glorious rela- tionshipg liberty indeed, but what gracious confines. -EDWARD KER L,- .Uv ln hom? 50Oll5f its 02' thing. ins I0 '1 mm. I will bf is to 34:1 tree he C. . ' I I7- bllzlrv cite: you ple. Ltini L Qf Ili. ... YOUU iii . ..-.. tlJ'l'r'i' ' sLii...4.L I .. l. Ines :- USS OEET '- with GQC Hi' r 5 Nfl: WC 'f i . . A..-U , Qu' .,.. l0.:., T lfllfll' :ff Wifi 55 iii R33-,' il lim: Lf. . x lv Yfvigl-. I J-Y.. ' h Lg, . ra- ' AN ixj. .OWS l w 1' DL- uf 'iff Q . X .- s w i. . , - .jx - 5, n .. 5 , -.. in ' 't-1:

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FACULTY ESAU'S PLEA Bless me, even me also, oh my father, were the plaintive words coming from the lips of Esau as he came to realize that his father had given the choicest blessing to his brother. It is ,interesting to see how much he wanted the blessing now and, yet, he had so lightly esteemed the birthright when his bod- ily appetites ran high. We do not excuse J acob's and his motherls craft whereby they secured the blessing for Jacob that Isaac intended for Esau. But one is reminded again of Esau and his choice as we see young men and women barter away their birthright and the choicest priv- ileges of the posterity for a mess of worldly pottage. Those who sell their birthright as did Esau often wish and long for the blessing which the birthright represents but are not able to obtain it. Had Esau been willing to weep for his folly as he wept for the lost blessing, God might have yet richly blessed his life. May God endow us with wisdom so we will have the vision to see the value of re- taining our integrity in the hour of carnal desire. Then one will not need to beg and long for God's blessing but rather they will be showered upon those who value them as God wants them to be valued. -JESSE NEUENSCHWANDER ,-il. QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT God in His divine wisdom and power has given the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to the church here on earth. Given to fill us with comfort and peace, the Spirit of Truth dwells within these temples of clay. Our challenge and calling is to walk in the Spirit, to bear the fruit of the Spirit, to be of one Spirit and to heed that inner voice as He guides and directs in various areas of life. God gives solemn warnings in the Bible regarding our grieving, quenching and blaspheming the Spirit in our lives. This can be done in many ways. It can be done by our attitudes toward authority, the Bible, our parents, or that which is right. The Spirit can be quenched by sensual, selfish or world- ly thoughts. We can quench the Spirit by disobedience, immodesty, or by simply refus- ing to follow His leading. May we ever use the grace God gives us and never stifle the moving of the Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. -DAVID N. WADEL MESSAGES J EALOUS The scripture tells us that God's name is Jealous. His zealous care for and His exclu- sive devotion to His people prove Him to be true to this Holy Name. The history of the Israelites in the wilder- ness proves to us that he was jealous for them in that he provided a leader in the great, but humble man, Moses. He took them out of Egypt, fed them in the wilderness, brought them to Canaan, and showed mercy and longsuffering, while they many times re- belled against Him. He wanted them to worship Him as their one and only God. God is also jealous over His workmanship that he has created in Christ Jesus and wants us to be pure and fully separated from our former affections. We should be exceeding- ly thankful that He has made us a new man and accepted us into the beloved. Therefore let us never betray this Jealous God or spoil His workmanship by doing anything con- trary to His will. Let us pledge ourselves to be true to our Jealous God in all of life so that we can be presented to the bridegroom as a pure, chaste virgin and enjoy the ceaseless ages with Him in Glory. -SIDNEY GINGRICH L.li -- CHANNELS FOR GOD And all things are of God, who hath re- conciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconcilia- tion. II Corinthians 5:18. It is a marvelous thought to think that an Holy God would call men who are unlove- able and sinful by nature to be used in His program, the Church. He seeks those who are willing to yield their wills to His will, and who are ready to render obedience, submission, and unerring loyalty to His Word. He seeks such who will not be ashamed of Christ and His Word, but who allow the teachings of the Word to find practical expression in every day living. The question comes then, Are you this kind of a person? Are you the quality of vessel that God is pleased to work through? Are you a channel God can use to pour out His blessings on others because of your faith- fulness? Channels only, blessed Master, But with all thy wondrous power Flowing thro' us, Thou canst use us Every day and every hour. -BOYD Y. CAMPBELL 4

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EVIL DAYS,' In my teen-age years an aged man, known as a roadwalker, was hit by a car near our home. We walked up to him and found him lying crippled along the roadside. As we tried to help him, his first reaction was, Let me alone, will yalw He was like what some- one said about the truth taught in Ecclesiastes 12: 1. Old age seems to have a peculiar in- capacity for improvement, the old tree will sooner break than bend. Old age too has its own temptations. It is prone to fear every- thing, and to doubt everything, but not will- ing to learn anything. It has a weariness that cannot bear disturbance, though every- thing important is at stakef' It naturally seeks rest. Let me alonef' cries the old man. Let me die as I am. IfI am wrong, I will be wrong. I am too old to learn. It is to late to think of anything new. If the tree be crooked, it must remain crooked, and as it falls, so it must lie. Young people, when- ever you observe these evil days of old peo- ple, think of the words of Ecclesiastes 12:1. The aging years of an unsaved man's life soon narrows down to the evil daysn of declining interest in change for the better. Those evil days remind us of the need to use our vital youthful energy to go deeper with God. We must exercise ourselves in His service, and wait before Him daily that we may experience the promise of Isaiah 40:31, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall Walk, and not faint. It is possible to grow older and in a spiritual sense be younger. Though our outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Now is the time to start avoiding those evil daysn of Ecclesiastes 12: 1. -ISAAC K. SENSENIG NONESIMUSH : USEFULNESS vs USELESSNESS In Philemon VII we read that Onesimus was in time past unprofitable, but now IS profitable. This means that his former use- lessness had given way to a present useful- ness. The reason for this marked change in his life is implied in verse ten where One- simus had experienced a new beginning. Use- lessness is a result and by-product of sm. Therefore the only way to enter into useful- ness, is to accept God's plan for deliverence from sin. The usefulness of this Bible character was greatly extended because: 1. He had no selfish reservations, evi- denced by a willingness to return to his former master. 2. He was willing to take up Christian service right where he was, as seen in his ministering to the Apostle Paul's needs. 3. He identified with a scriptural group, as seen by Paul calling him a brother beloved? This implies his identifica- tion with the nucleus of believers at Rome. Our usefulness is also enhanced when we decide that: 1. No price is too high for total peace. 2. We will be willing to do that which is at hand to do. 3. We will blend our personal abilities for group interest in the scriptural body of the church. The challenge to be useful to the Lord in time is properly understood when we recognize that our present degree of useful- ness will eventually issue into itls eternal counterpart. -DONALD NOLT ASSURANCE For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. I Thessalonians 1:5. Assurance is a vital part of our Christian experience. First of all, to have assurance we must confess our sins, and allow God to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Any one who is living in sin and rebellion toward God cannot claim assurance. Another test of assurance is whether or not we keep his commandments. Jesus said if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. To claim assurance, we must also love our brethren for God is love. We are glad to know that all the require- ments for being a child of God do not need to be achieved in our own strength, for then we would all fail. We thank God for the resurrection power made available for us today, that we can live victorious lives, and be assured of a joyous end in Christ Jesus. -AARON Z. WEAVER 6