Vol 81 Issue 05

Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michigan.   Evangelism Activities   Our churches, as heirs of the Reformation, have the privilege annually to celebrate the great work of God that we call the Reformation. Many of our churches sponsored lectures around the end of October or in early November to do just that. The Extension Committee of the Lynden, WA PRC sponsored a lecture October 29 at their church. Rev. Ron Hanko, their pastor, spoke on the theme, “Reformation and Christian Living.” During this lecture Rev. Hanko looked at three important questions: How did...

Truth For Life: A Devotional Commentary on the Epistle of James, by John Blanchard. Webster, New York: Evangelical Press USA, 2003. Pp. vii – 404. $16.99 (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. Robert D. Decker.]   In many ways this is a fine commentary on the Epistle of James. The author’s title accurately states that this is a devotional commentary. The author’s writing style is pleasing, nicely worded, and easy to read. The style is not at all cluttered with the technical language of Hermeneutics (rules for Bible exposition). This means that the commentary, though the author works from the Greek, can...

Reprinted from When Thou Sittest In Thine House, by Abraham Kuyper, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1929. Used by permission of Eerdmans Publishing Co.   The Housewife   Our translators do not speak in Proverbs 31:10 of the “virtuous” but of the “real” housewife, and there is some difference here. In our times at least, one thinks of a “virtuous” housewife as one who is reliable, good-natured, and home-loving; but he who speaks of a real housewife means not merely an honest and good person, but one who is truly meritorious as a housewife. And such was the meaning...

Mr. Lotterman, a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church (Walker), is the retired secretary of the RFPA. “Publishing the Reformed Truth since 1924.” So states the recently printed catalog of RFPA published materials. Not satisfied with publishing the spiritual fluff widely available today, the Reformed Free Publishing Association dedicatesitself to the publication of material that faithfully and boldly witnesses to the truth as it is developed and expressed in the Reformed tradition. By the grace of God it has done so for eighty years. May He be pleased to continue to bless our labor. By way of this report the...

Mr. Minderhoud is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan. Our God has created the wind such that it has a marvelous ability, when understood in the light of Scripture, to speak to us in so many different ways and with so many different voices. And yet, as always, it is the speech of God, who uses and directs the wind to serve His purposes. So it has been since the early days of the creation. One need only to get out his Bible and go through the many, many...

Rev. Hanko is pastor in the Protestant Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington.   The Second Prophecy (cont.)   6. For thus saith the Lord of hosts; yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7. And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. Christ is this Desire of the nations of whom Haggai prophesies. He is desirable, as the one described in Psalm 45:2: Thou art fairer...

George Ophoff was Professor of Old Testament Studies in the Protestant Reformed Seminary in its early days. Reprinted here, in edited form, are articles which Ophoff wrote at that time for the Standard Bearer. Previous article in this series: February 1, 2003, p. 210. In a previous article, attention was called to the fact that the typical-symbolical materials of the old dispensation are not confined within the boundaries of the ceremonial law. The utterances of the prophets and the apostles indicate that events and persons other than those covered by the precepts of the ceremonial law were designed by God...

Rev. DeVries is pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church in Wingham, Ontario, Canada.   We Have Met the Enemy   The cover article of the September 22, 2004 issue of Christian Renewal is entitled “The Present State of Unions—How we got here; where we’re likely going,” by Barbara Curtis. It is an article well worth reading in its entirety. She aptly points out that we are in the present battle against the legitimizing and legalization of same-sex marriage not only because the homosexual community has been busily and successfully advancing its agenda. She correctly asserts, I believe, that much of...

Jehovah, who calls the death of His saints precious, called Rev. George Lanting home to his eternal reward on Monday morning, October 18, 2004. Rev. Lanting, at 82 years of age, was, from an earthly perspective, in good heath. He did not even have a regular physician. But our sovereign Lord, who determines all things, determined that Rev. Lanting’s earthly pilgrimage was finished. By means of a massive heart attack, while taking care of his regular Monday morning chores, he was given the victory described in Psalter #32, stanza 4: “When I in righteousness at last Thy glorious face shall...

Thanks I would like to express my thanks to our Lord for the truths of our beloved Reformed faith that I find in the Standard Bearer. It is a great blessing to me, my grown sons, and two native pastor friends of mine in India and Myanmar, two Seminary students in Jackson, Mississippi, and the pastor of our independent Reformed church for whom I have purchased gift subscriptions. We look forward to each issue. The articles about Covenantal Universalism have been especially helpful. May the Lord continue to bless you for the sake of His church in this world. Dave...