Steinbach Bible Institute - Star Yearbook (Steinbach, Manitoba Canada)

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REV. ARCHIE PENNER THEOLOGY, GREEK, EXEGESIS, ANABAPTIST AND CHURCH HISTORY Because these things are fact, there ex¬ ists the basic need of man for an inner and outer regeneration. This, thank God, is the very purpose of Christ’s death and God’s demand of repentance and faith; is¬ suing in personal regeneration. A. F. Fenner God is JVhat We Make Him The statement in this title may seem somewhat shocking to some of us. Indeed, it is not a true statement when considered from the standpoint of What or Who God is in himself. God is the unchangeable, eter¬ nal, all-knowing, all-wise and all-power¬ ful God. He is immutable in His love, in His righteousness and ‘in His justice. No power can change Him. However, this statement — God is what you make Him — is completely true when looked at from man’s side and his response to God. The type and measure of our obedience, as well as our decisions and surrender — or the absence of these — are that which makes God what He is to us. A story is told of a schoolboy who was asked what he thought God was like. He replied ' that as far as he could make out God was the sort of person who ' is always snooping around to see if anyone is en¬ joying himself and then trying to stop it. This was what he made of God for him¬ self. Contrast this with a testimony from one who in humble faith walks with his Saviour. If you would ask th ' is Christian what he thought God was like, he would, no doubt, answer that God is a person who knows all things best. He knows What is best for him and in His great concern He is at his side, ever guarding jealously over him for God’s glory and his good. God has created man in His own image. But now man ' in his unbelief is returning the compliment and is creating gods in his own image. This is so dramatically stated by Paul in Romans, chaper one. It is also clearly written across the pages of human history. The Refiners Fire He sat by the fire of seven-fold heat, As He watched by the precious ore, And closer He bent with a searching gaze As He heated it more and more. He knew He had ore that could stand the test, And He wanted the finest gold To mould as a crown for the King to wear, Set with gems of a price untold. So He laid our gold in the burning fire, Though we fain would have said Him “Nay.” And He watched the dross that we had not seen, And it melted and passed away. And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright, But our eyes were dim with tears, We saw but the fire — not the Master’s hand, And questioned with anxious fears. Yet our gold shone out w ' ith a richer glow, As it mirrored a Form above, That bent o’er the fire, though unseen by us, With a look of ineffable love. Can we think that it pleased His loving heart To cause us a moment’s pain ? Ah, no! but He sees through -the present cross The bliss of eternal gain. So He waited there with a watchful eye, With a love that is strong and sure, And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat, Than was needed to make it pure. 12

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MR. EDWARD REIMER DEAN GEOGRAPHY X, ENGLISH, NOVEL AND COMPOSITION The Garden of Youth Youth, with its freshness, beauty, and charm, is indeed very much like a garden. What k ' ind of a garden would you like your youth to be? No garden is complete without a few flower beds. As we plan our gardens let us be sure to give the “Lily of the Valley,” the symbol of the purity of Christ, a very prominent place. The fragrance of the “Rose of Sharon” (the beauty of Christ) Should emanate from our lives. Every garden has at least one or two paths, often winding and wide. But the paths in the garden of our youth must be “straight” (Heb. 12:13) and “narrow” if we want our lives to be successful, if we want God to be our Guide. The paths must be paved with cobble-stones of “righte¬ ousness”. (Psalm 23:3). A garden is not only a place of loveli¬ ness, but also a place of quietness, a place of peace and rest, a place of refuge. The most important place in our garden is a bower, covered by the luxuriant foliage of a broad-leaved vine, in the cool shade of which we can daily withdraw from the ac¬ tivities of the day and the heat of the sun, for a time of refreshing, alone with the Master Gardener. In the fertile soil of youth, weeds will flourish in profusion if given half a chance; hence, be diligent, be viligant young man, young woman, lest “youthful lusts” (11 Tim. 2:22) sprout a “root of bitterness” (Heb. 12:15) and grow into a “gall of bit¬ terness” (Acts 8:23) that may ruin your own life as well as the l ' ives of others for time and eternity. Watch those weeds! The Master Gardener’s Guide Book is ever at your disposal. Do not neglect it. Never! A garden is not merely a luxury, how¬ ever. It is more than a place of loveliness, and a place of quietness. A garden, to be complete, must have a practical function. Even so, youth has a practical function in the Kingdom of God. Youth is the ‘ideal time to bring forth fruit for the Master. (1 Tim. 4:12) In fact, Christian youth be¬ comes a full experience only as it is lived for Christ and others. “And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul . . . thou shalt be like a watered garden . . .” (Isa. 58:10,11). With the coming of autumn the flowers fade, wilt, and are gone; the stems wither and die; only bouquets picked for others and the fruit garnered in the granaries of heaven will retain fragrance and beauty for all eternity. Edward Reimer Believe the Bible “Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them.” Psa. 119:165. There are some who believe the Bible, And some who believe in part, And some who trust with a reservation, And some with all their heart. But I know that its every promise Is firm and true always; It is tried as the precious silver, And it means just what it says. It ‘is strange we trust each other And only doubt our Lord; We will take the word of mortals, And yet distruct His word; But, oh, what light and glory Would shine o’er all our days If we always would remember That He means just what He says. Rev. A. B. Simpson, D. D. 11

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REV. H. G. REMPEL. EXEGESIS That we are living in a time of world crisis is apparent. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, great prophetic confe¬ rences were held in North America. One of the last of this series was sponsored by the Moody Bible Institute. Men like Dr. C. I. Scofield, Dr. James M. Gray, Dr. W. H. Griffith Thomas, and Dr. Robert Me Watty Russel poured out their hearts as the Holy Spirit opened to them the fact that this world is heading for a crisis. We are told of those days how the local news paper and even religious journals, ridiculed the sober statements made by these humble Spirit-enlightened men. Today not only Spiritual leaders, but men in high position of world affairs tell us that we are not only entering dark and gloomy days, but that w e are right in a world crisis. We are living in days which Isaiah 24:20,21 is being realized to a great extent. “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage, and the transgression there¬ of shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.” In such times as these the solemn ques¬ tion arises in every earnest heart, how can we with our children be a light ' in such a dark night, into which we have been ush¬ ered? It will take nothing short of whole¬ hearted submission to Jesus Christ. Even as Jesus in the wilderness faced the Devil with the written Word, so we and our child¬ ren Will need to appropriate in a practical way, the written word as the standard of Christian living and the power of God to defeat the enemy, and to give portions to those who do not have this precious trea¬ sure. Our Bible Institute is dedicated to this essential task of learning from God, how to live the Christian life in this dark day and how to impart Christ to others in these trying times. Will you pray with us for a clear vision in the knowledge of His will and a submission to Christ as Lord? Rev. H. G. Rempel A Challenge to You! W e are easily influenced by circumstanc¬ es, by others, by evil reports, etc., so that we may leave off “following the Lord wholly.” This quoted statement reminds us, of course, of one, Caleb, of whom it is said more than once, that he “wholly followed the Lord.” (Num. 14:24;32:12;Deut 1:38 Josh. 14:14). How all inclusive this statement is re¬ lative to Christian living! We often wonder whether ' it is possible for us today to wholly follow the Lord as Caleb did. Let us look at Caleb for a moment and view some of Continued on page 42 REV. SAM EPP BIBLE EXPOSITION. EXEGESIS 13