The deck of my house is perhaps 12 feet from my neighbors’ deck. Often, when sitting on my deck or taking my dog out for a run, I’d glimpse an old man next door, reading a Bible. Sometimes after an hour or two he was still reading it.

For the most part I was moved and impressed by this. However, I had a rogue thought pop into my brain along the lines of, “This man is in his mid-90s. Hasn’t he really gleaned all from the Bible he is going to glean?”

If you knew Kenneth G. Smith, the answer to that question would spring immediately to mind. He was re-reading a love letter from his Savior and Friend. He was examining his thoughts and concerns and infirmities in light of God’s changeless truths. And yes, he was still learning about his Lord in preparation for soon communing with Him face to face.

The Witness discussed Ken Smith’s long life and ministry in the June 2014 and other issues, which you can read on RPWitness.org. Since Ken’s passing it has been a joy to read testimonies of his profound effect on many individuals, and I’m sure those stories will continue.

A few years ago I stopped by Ken’s house to assure that several facts about his life and ministry were being accurately stated for an upcoming publication. He quickly responded to factual questions, but he showed no interest in tweaking how he was portrayed, seeming not to care whether he was mentioned at all or how he would be remembered in history. He did care, however, whether Christ was exalted and whether people were being brought into union with Him.

“You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor. 3:2-3).

New Feature

This quote sounds like a plea from the 2020 pandemic: “If you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” It was spoken 2,000 years earlier, but you could say that it is the hope of the hearers every time a leader gets up to speak.

When the Apostle Paul and his friends received this request from the synagogue leaders at Antioch in Pisidia, they made the most of it. Paul stood up and gave the people the good news of Jesus Christ, planted firmly in historical context. This wasn’t sugarcoated news, but it was life and light, the most encouraging news they would ever hear.

In the new feature that will appear in the Witness, Encouraging Word, we’ll be hearing from various leaders who will be responding to that very question: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” We are grateful to have Dr. Joel Beeke write the first article.