# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1897_S43 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 43 “Except Joe Whitbread.” A few days afterward he fell asleep, prais- ing the name of Him who is the friend of sin- ners, and who said, ‘‘I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ the sentinel’s question: ‘‘Who’s there?’’ with ‘‘Massachusetts,”” and then added: ‘My friend, to-day you have asked me the pass- word a second time; there is a day coming, when all shall appear before the judgment seat of God, and there every one will be asked the password only once. Do you know the password for heaven?’’ “Yes, Mr. Stuart,’’ answered the young soldier, ‘‘and if 1 have warned you a little while ago and permitted you to return un- harmed, it was done because I recognized your voice and because I once learned the password for heaven out of your own mouth in Sunday-school. It is as follows: ‘‘The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sins.’’ (Tr.) A lady went to the home of a sick man, whose name was Joe Whitbread. She found him very ill. After speaking with him for a few minutes concerning his health, she turned the conver- sation to his state before God. He unhesitat- ingly declared that in that respect he was all right, as he had never injured any one in his life, and was not afraid to die, altogether show- ing his state to be one of stubborn self-right- eousness. Having heard all that he had to say without making much answer, the lady proposed to read to him a little from the Bible. He made no objection, and she accordingly opened her Bible at Rom. 3, 9, reading it as follows, very slowly: : “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin’— except Joe Whitbread.’”’ ‘**As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one’ — except Joe Whitbread.”’ ~ *¢There is none that understandeth, there is none that seekcth after God’ —except Joe Whitbread.”’ ““«They are gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one’—except Joe Whitbread.” ““*Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God’ —except Joe Whitbread.”’ ‘“«Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight’ —ex- cept Joe Whitbread.’’ ‘“*But now the righteousness of God with- out the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteous- ness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference’—except Joe Whit- bread.”” — ‘**¥or all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ —except Joe Whitbread.’’ When the lady came to the last of these verses, Joe cried out in distress, ‘‘Oh, stop, stop, ma’am!?’ She, affecting surprise, asked what was the matter, remarking, ‘‘I am only putting to- gether what God says and what you say. God Says ‘all have sinned;’ and you say you have not; so that must be ‘except Joe Whitbread.’’’ Only a few more words passed, and the lady left. The next time she saw him, his face lighted up with joy as he expressed his longing to see her, that he might tell her how the word she Tead to him opened his eyes to see his con- dition as a sinner in the sight of God, and to Accept Jesus as his only Sayiour from sin. “Joy and peace,” said he, ‘have filled my heart since the hour I trusted in Jesus.” a A Story of a Bell. A very pretty story is told of the way in which a church bell was paid for. The bell hangs in the church tower of the little town of Grosslasnitz, in the north of Germany. On it is engraved its history, a bas-relief repre- senting a six-eared stalk of wheat, and the date, October 15, 1729. The bell was wanted in the village, because the one already there was so low of tone that it could not be heard at the end of the town. But the people were poor, and where was the money to come from? Every one offered to give what he could, but the united offerings did not amount to nearly enough. One Sunday, when the school-master, Gott- fried Habn, was going to church, he noticed growing out of the church-yard wall a flourish- ing green stalk of wheat, the seed of which must have been dropped by some passing bird. The idea struck him that perhaps this one stalk of wheat could be made the means of pro- ducing the second bell they wanted so much. He waited till the wheat was ripe and then plucked the six ears on it and sowed them in his own garden. The next year he gathered the little crop thus produced and sowed it again and again, till at last he had not enough room to do so longer. Then he divided the seed among a certain number of farmers, who went on sowing it until, in the eighth year, the crop was so large that when it was put together and sold, they found that they had money enough to buy a beautiful bell. And there it hangs, with its story and its birthday engraved upon it, and above the legend a cast of the wheat stalk to which the bell owes its existence. —_e A Rich Man. A tax collector one day came to a poor minister in order to assess the value of his property and to determine the amount of taxes. The minister asked the man to be seated, which he did. Then the latter took out his book and asked, ‘‘How much property do you possess?”’ “‘T am a rich man,’’ answered the minister. The official quickly sharpened his pencil and asked intently, ‘‘ Well, what do you own?”’ The pastor replied, ‘‘I am the possessor of a Saviour who earned for me life everlasting, and who has prepared a place for us in the Eternal City.’’ ‘What else?’’ “T have a brave, pious wife. And Solomon says, Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.’’ “What else?’’ ‘Healthy and obedient children.’’ “What else?”’ ‘A merry heart, which enables me to pass through life joyfully.”’ “What else?’’ “That is all,’’ replied the minister. The oflicial closed his book, arose, took his hat, and said: ‘You are indeed a rich man, sir, but your property is not subject to taxation.’” _—_ so or oe The Password. _ In the late war between the North and the South a young doctor, by the name of Stuart, entered the Federal army as volunteer. One evening he was to perform an errand outside of the camp, and asking for the password at headquarters, received the answer‘ ‘Chicago.’ Riding past the first sentinel he answered the question, ‘‘Who’s there?” with ‘‘Chicago.”” The sentinel stopped him and said in a sub- dued tone of voice: ‘Mr. Stuart, you have not told me the password and I might shoot you. Return immediately and ask for the password of to-day.” In no little agitation of mind the physician turned his horse and rode back to the colonel, who with horror discovered that by mistake he had told him the password for the preced- ing day. Stuart now returned and answered _——s +o or oo Be kind to the Living. A dear mother lay dying, and her oldest son, a3 he knelt by her bedside, cried, ‘‘You have been a good mother to us.’’ The dying woman opened her eyes, and with a feeble smile whispered, ‘‘ You never said so before, John,’ and she was gone. If we have kind words to speak, let us speak them now, while our loved ones are yet with us. If we have loving deeds to do, let them be done to-day. Flowers on coflin lids and epitaphs on tomb- stones, bring no cheer to the living. And how often they but contrast the more strongly with the absence of the gifts and the kind words while our dear ones lived. —¥. Y. EZ.