Volu 102 Issue 04

And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And…there shall be showers of blessing…. And I will raise up for them a plant...

INTRODUCTION How thankful we must be for the schools God has given us! They are the implication of marvelous truths of Scripture, the fruit of conviction worked into the hearts of many who have gone before us, the outcome of great sacrifice through both years of lean and of plenty. God forbid we take them for granted! How thankful we must be for our teachers! They sacrifice themselves for the sake of the covenant seed. They strive to develop what has been placed in that seed along the lines of antithetical living to God’s glory in all aspects of life....

And when James and Cephas [Peter] and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me [Paul], they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision—Galatians 2:9   The basis of true Christian fellowship among God’s people is fellowship with the Father and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore, there is fellowship among believers in the church of Christ. The apostle John understood true fellowship when he wrote, That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that...

THE WRITER The Lord used the same man, Luke, to write both the book of Luke and the book of Acts. This is clear from a comparison of Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1. The opening verses of these books point to a close connection between them, with Acts being essentially a continuation of the book of Luke. The Lord prepared and used Luke as a man who was knowledgeable in medicine. He was a medical doctor, described by Paul as “Luke, the beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). He possessed a good understanding of medical matters, as is evident from the medical...

“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon” (1 Cor. 15:41). The greater light God made to rule the day. The sun blazes with intense glory. Nothing is hidden from its heat (Ps. 19:6). God ordained a lesser light to rule the night. The moon presides with a gentler radiance, yet a splendor all its own (Gen. 1:14). The moon mellows the light it borrows from the sun and imbues a cool silver glow into the darkness. The moonlight, like the sunlight, shows forth the manifold glory of the living God, our Creator and our...

THE MEANING OF VICARIOUS One very important word in connection with the death of Jesus Christ is the word imputation. In the previous article in this rubric, we examined the biblical teaching concerning imputation (see July 2025, pp. 372). Another equally important word is vicarious. Jesus’ death was a vicarious death. That means that Christ’s death was in the place of and as the substitute for others. Christ did not die for His own sins, but He died on account of the sins of others. He did not pay the penalty for any of His own wrongdoing, but He suffered...

Previous article in this series: October 1, 2025, p. 24   REFOCUS A phrase that molds our consideration of the last stage of re-entry from a field of mission labor and into a new and different field of labor is found in “The Form for the Ordination (Or Installation) of Missionaries.” The phrase is worded thus: “…until it pleases the Lord to lead [the missionary] along a lawful way to a different field of labor.”1 This phrase helps the minister of the Word, released from his mission labor and going back to his home churches, with an edifying reminder about...

In a previous article we began a study of the calling of God’s Word in Titus 2:4–5 to older Christian women: teach the younger women both in word and by example the duties that are ours. We noted that the category “older” is a flexible one and that the “good things” that we are to teach are good works that adorn the doctrine of God our Savior (v. 10), silence those who would blaspheme God’s Word (v. 5), and of which we must zealous (v. 14). Finally, we considered the first of the good things listed in the passage: sobriety....

How much do you know about locusts? Let’s go over some facts. Locusts are a kind of insect. More technically, locusts are acridids in the Acrididae family in the Orthoptera order. Locusts have hind legs for jumping and wings for flying. Adult locusts can grow to around two and a half inches long. The creature can be found all around the world. The Bible has much to say about locusts. Scripture especially points out the ability of locusts to gather together in a large group and leave widespread destruction in their path. Exodus 10:14-15 record the plague of locusts that...

Previous article in this series: June 2025, p. 349.   Sowing a seed in the expectation of an eventual harvest is a fundamental principle of gardening that we considered in a previous article. But this is not the only principle pictured in gardening. God’s sovereign use of means—a core principle of earthly life (both physically and spiritually)—is pictured in gardening. For example, plants need various nutrients in order to grow and develop. These nutrients and how they are provided to the plant are means that God uses for plant development. Means are the things of this life that God uses...