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Running Into the Strong Tower

Meditation
By Rev. Rodney Miersma

Sample:
With this issue we are once again at the beginning of a new year. Many thousands will greet each other with a “Happy New Year.” Many of these will do so thoughtlessly, not realizing the implications of their words. Others may do it out of habit, not caring whether that happiness is realized or not. Some say it with doubt or fear, not knowing whether that happiness will be theirs or not. In all of this there is an element of wistful vanity. For what blessing can we bestow upon another if the blessing of God is not upon us? What real happiness is it that does not have its source in the eternal city that hath
foundations, but instead in the temporary earth that is surrounded by death?
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The Need for Excellent School Teachers

Editorial
By Prof. Russell Dykstra

Sample:
Good Christian schools are required of Reformed believers according to the Church Order of Dordrecht, Article 21. Good Christian schools need good Christian school teachers. The eighteen Protestant Reformed schools will continue to seek these high quality teachers. The training of covenant youth demands excellence from every point of view. School boards must be seeking
teachers with “high marks” for their ability to teach well, effectively and
interestingly. Schools must have teachers with doctrinal understanding
of and zeal for the (Protestant) Reformed faith.
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The Normal Christian Life

Believing and Confessing
By Rev. Rodney Kleyn

Sample:
How does the Bible describe a true Christian? Is one a Christian simply because he believes that the Bible is true? Is a believer defined by what and how much he knows? Is she a Christian because she does not do, say, or watch certain things that are accepted behaviors in the world? She doesn’t drink,
swear, or watch movies—does this make her a Christian? Is the Christian a person who no longer sins, one who has overcome all evil desire?

On the flip-side, is one not a Christian because his theological understanding of Scripture is not complete? Is she not a believer who is tempted by lust? Does his notorious sin mean that he is no longer or perhaps never was a Christian?
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“The Truth Never Begs”: The Necessary Voice of the Reformed Free Publishing Association

RFPA Annual Report
By Josh Hoekstra

Sample:
In 1953 Herman Hoeksema penned an editorial titled “Why We Should Read the Standard Bearer.” He stated:
Mark you well, the Standard Bearer is not begging for
subscriptions. The truth never begs. And the Standard
Bearer represents the truth. If many of us are not
interested in the Protestant Reformed truth anymore,
something which I am still loath to believe, the truth of
God nevertheless stands and marches on, even without
them. Besides, I do not want mere subscribers, but readers
that will make careful study of our paper and read it
from cover to cover.