# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1906_S69 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 69 The Deaf Churchgoer. Why did he come to service every Sunday, that old man, of whom every one knew that he was totally deaf? Was it a mere habit? Was it to see the people, was it mere curiosity? Oh, no! The old man with the quiet, solemn face looked neither right nor left. His eyes were generally turned up- wards, as if he saw something lovely there, as if he were conversing with a friend who was bringing him good tidings, and to whom he sent up thanks in return. Of course, this spiritual joy was not always expressed by his looks; sometimes he sat in his place with drooping head, as if very tired. On one occasion a friend came to him and wrote the following question on a slip of paper: “Do not the services fatigue you greatly, as you are not able to understand any- thing ?” His reply “Sometimes, yes; but, nevertheless, I should not like to miss one. I attend for three rea- sons: Tirst, because I can express my rever- ence towards God by my presence in His house; secondly, I can worship Him in spirit, even if my ear does not catch anything of the sermon — in spirit I can sing with the congregation, by repeat- ing the hymns I learned in my childhood; thirdly, even a deaf churchgoer, if he is faithful in heart, may influence another to attend services regularly.” How much we may learn of this deaf church- goer, to whom God had given such a fine spiritual ear! — Hachange. was: ——————_+e+——__—— Ir is simply impossible to combine these two things: Being a believing Christian and living ac- cording to the lust of the fiesh in sin and vices against the conscience. (1 Cor. 6, 9; Gal. 5, 19—21.) Luther. Grinding at the Mill. Grinding at the Mill. It is a very simple mill that is used in Palestine for the grinding of wheat. The mill simply con- sists of two round stones—one placed upon the other. In the upper stone a hole is drilled on one side, into which a wooden handle is driven, and another hole in the center, through which the grain passes and is ground, by turning the upper stone upon the lower. When at work with the mill, two women sit opposite each other on a mat, with a cloth spread under the mill, on which the flour falls. Both take hold of the handle by which the up- per is turned round on the “nether” or lower millstone, one of the women throwing in the grain, as occasion re- quires, through the hole in the upper stone. The turning of the hand mill is referred to at several places in the Bible. Matt. 24, Christ, speaking of the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the world and telling His Chris- tians to watch and be prepared for His sud- den and unexpected coming on the great day of judgment, says y. 41: “Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Eternal Life. God will not alter His record, “and this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” It is not because we do this or that, but “because He liveth, we shall live also.” Before one of Christ’s sheep can perish, one must be found more mighty than God. “I give unto them eternal life,” said Jesus, “and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.”