# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1885_S27 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. Grandma Stevens. A STORY TO OUR PICTURE. She was knitting as hard as she could. ‘Grandma could knit about as fast as she could think. Little Nell was fidgeting about the room, asking questions. She could ask ques- tions faster than grandma could think. “Oh, come!’’ she said at last; ‘‘you’ve asked questions enough to last all day; get the book and read a little to grandma; I’ve had no reading since morning.’’ “Well,” said Nell, with a very bright face, “T will,’ and she scampered after ‘‘ the book’’ —she knew very well what book she meant. “Now, grandma, where shall I read?” ‘Well, dear, your brother commenced on the fourteenth chapter of Matthew, and he read to where Jesus sent His disciples away in aship and He went up into a mountain to pray; then the bell rang and he had to run.’’ “‘T see the place, grandma,’ and Nellie’s clear little voice read: ‘‘‘But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary: And in the fourth watch of the night— “What time was that, grandma?”’ ‘‘About four o’clock, I think, dear.’’ ‘“««Jesus went unto them walking on the sea.’ “Oh, my! just to think, walking right on the water; I dont see how He could have done it.” «««And when the disciples. saw Him walking on the sea they were troubled— “T should have thought they would be. Wouldn’t you have been afraid, grandma?— ‘saying, It is a spirit, and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; itis I; be not afraid.’ “‘Oh, mustn’t they have been glad to hear His voice? But I think after all they were very stupid people. I should think they might have known that it was Jesus. Grandma, the next is about Peter. “«¢And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.’”’ ‘How like Peter that is,’’ grandma said, knitting away. ‘‘He always wanted to do some queer thing or other; he never was content to act like other ‘people. Well, let’s hear what Jesus said to him.’’ ‘©¢And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down of the ship he walked on the water to go to Jesus.’ ‘¢Grandma, wasn’t it nice in Jesus to call him and let him go walking on the water like what nobody else could do? I would just have liked that.’’ “‘T dare say you would,” grandma said, smiling. ‘And I think it’s very likely you would have acted just as Peter did.’’ ; ‘*How did he act? Oh, Isee! Why, grandma, he was afraid after Jesus had called him! How silly to be afraid! I wouldn’t have been; ‘I would have walked right straight on.’” “Yes, that’s just exactly the way Peter used to talk; he never was afraid of anything until he had to go through it.’ “But, grandma, do you think I could be so foolish, if Jesus had really told me I might walk on the water to Him?”’ ‘Did you ever hear of a little girl who was so foolish as to be afraid to go up stairs in the dark to bed, after Jesus had told her that He had given His angels charge over her?’’ Nell blushed, and kicked one of her kid toes against the hearth as she said: “©Oh, well, that is different!’’ “Yes,” said grandma, quietly; ‘‘it isn’t the sea in a storm; it’s only your nice pleasant room; that might make a difference.”’ Miss Nell read on: ‘‘‘ But when he saw the wind boisterous he was afraid; and, beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.’” little faith, you know. To think of the times and times that Jesus has spoken to you. Why you couldn’t begin to count them.’’ “Oh, but, grandma, I don’t mean that way! I mean real truly speak to me, so I can hear Him with my ears, just as Peter did.’”’ “Oh, well, He will one of these days; maybe in a very few days! I don’t know how soon. He will hold out his hand and say, ‘Come, ye blessed of my father,’ or else He will say: ‘Depart from me.’ Don’t you let it be that last, Nellie. Grandma wants her little girl with her up there.’’—T. P. —— —— oe 0 - ee - The Sailor and the Psalm. A chaplain to seamen at an American port was called in the course of his duty to visit a sailor who appeared to be near death. He spoke kindly to the man upon the state of his soul, and told him to cast himself on Jesus, the Saviour of sinners. With an oat the sick man bade him be gone. The chaplain then told him he must stay with him, for if he died thus he would be lost. The man grew sullen and silent, and pre- tended to fall asleep. The chaplain visited him again and again. At last the chaplain repeated a verse of a Psalm which he hoped the man might have learned in his youth. This is the verse: Such pity as the father hath Unto his children dear, Like pity shows the Lord to such As worship Him in fear. Tears started in the sailor’s eyes as he listened to these words. The chaplain asked him if he had not had a pious mother. The man broke in tears of grief. ‘‘Yes; my mother taught me those words, and knelt beside me in prayer.” Since then he had wandered over sea and land, and had grown very wicked. But his memory is now awakened, and the lessons: of former years are called up. He then listened to all the chaplain had to say. His life was spared, and he lived to prove his sincerity. Parents, are you so teaching your children, by word and example, that their minds will be stored with wholesome truths? The good ~ seed may lay for years, but sometime it will sprout and grow and perhaps bear fruit for time and for eternity. . ‘‘That’s sensible in Peter anyhow,” said grandma, beginning to. ‘toe off’’ her stocking. “T think much better of him than I did; it isn’t every one who has brains to cry to the Lord to come and take care of him; if he couldn’t possibly have sense enough to trust Jesus in the first place, why, the next best thing to do was to cry to Him for help. I sup- pose he got it without any doubt?”’ ‘‘Grandma, what if the next verse should read: ‘But Jesus walked right on and let Peter sink—,”” “Tt won’t read so,’’, said grandma decid- edly; ‘‘because .you see nobody ever cried, ‘Lord, save me,’ really wanting to be saved, that Jesus didn’t attend to him right away.” “Well, He did this time. It says: ‘And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’’’- “Didn't I tell ‘you? ‘Immediately’ He took care of him, just the minute Peter wanted Him to; that’s always the way.’’ ‘‘Grandma,” said Nell, soberly, ‘I should like to have Jesus speak to me.’’ “Why ??? said grandma. ‘‘It makes me smile to see how, like Peter you are; he had dreadful A Boy’s Faith. Two little boys were talking together about the story of Elijah’s going to heaven in a chariot of fire, which their mamma had lately told them. “T say, Charlie,’” said George, ‘‘but wouldn’t you be afraid to ride on a chariot of fire?” “Why, no,” said Charlie, “I shouldn’t be afraid if I knew the Lord was driving it!” te pe SLANDER would very. soon starve and die of itself if no one took it in and gave it lodging.