The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1899, Page 34

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Sea of Galilee.

This is a beautiful lake. It is situated in
the northern part of Palestine. Frequently

mentioned in the New Testament, it is familiar |

to readers of the Bible. It is also known as

the lake of Gennesaret and the sea of Tiberias. |
It is twelve or thirteen miles in length and}

about six miles wide.

On the beautiful shores of this lake Jesus
frequently taught the people. Sometimes He
would enter into a boat and teach the mul-
titude which stood on the beach. Here He
spoke the parables of the sower and of the
tares. These parables, it has been remarked,
“twere taken from the commonest details of

daily life. The Lord’s hearers might see them |
Perhaps they were |

any day at sowing-time.
to be seen at that very moment. It may well

| His disciples.
jin the sea, and the boat was covered with the
|waves; but Jesus was asleep.
came to Him and awoke Him, saying, ‘‘Save,
Lord, we perish.”’

ciples were toiling hard, rowing against the

boat. But when they were in the midst of
the sea in great distress, Jesus came to them
walking upon the waters. When He entered |
into the boat, the winds ceased, and the dis-
ciples were safe. — Olive Leaf.
2+ o~<as »

Lodgery.

By this I mean the whole movement which

be that the Lord, sitting on the raised prow!
of the boat, could see the corn-
land descending, as we are told it
does, to the water’s edge. He saw,
it may be, the sower as he went
forth to sow. He could see the
hard-trodden pathway running
through the midst, with no fence
to prevent the seed from falling
onit. He could see the countless
birds hovering over the rich plain
of Gennesaret. He could see the
rocky ground of the hillside pro-
truding here and there through
the cornfield. He could see the
large bushes of thorns springing
up, as they do now, in the midst
of the wheat. He could see the
good rich soil, which distinguishes
the whole of that plain and its
neighborhood from the bare hills
elsewhere descending into the lake,
and which, where there is no inter-
ruption, produces one vast mass of corn. And
He saw in these common sights a happy illus-
tration of the varied effects of that Word of
everlasting life which He came to preach.’”’
The water of the sea of Galilee is very clear
and sweet and contains in great abundance
various kinds of excellent fish. Several of the
apostles were fishermen of this Jake. Here
Jesus saw Simon and his brother Andrew,
casting a net into the sea. And He said unto
them, ‘‘Come ye after me, and I will make
you fishers of men.”” And straightway they
left the nets and followed Him. Passing on
farther along the lake, Jesus saw two other
brethren, James and John, the sons of Zeb-
edee, in the boat with their father, mending
their nets. And Hecalled them; and straight-
way they left the boat and their father and
followed Him. After His resurrection Jesus
manifested Himself to some of His disciples
who were fishing on the lake. On that occa-
sion He questioned Peter, ‘‘Simon, son of
John, lovest thou me?’
le sea of Galilee is remarkable for the
suddenness and violence of its storms. On

bands men, and also sometimes women, to-

The Sea of Galilee.

gether for social, financial and moral purposes.
The number of orders or lodges is almost in-
numerable. They claim to aim at the moral
elevation of its members. Their aim is to
give mana religion. It is true, some mem-
bers deny this. It is, however, equally true
that the constitutions and rituals, as well as
the names of their officers, plainly show this
fact. If they have no religion, why have a
chaplain? Why have prayers? Why have
a burial service? :

But what religion have they? Is it the re-
ligion of Jesus? No, itisnot. Itisa religion
taught by nature, not by revelation. It isa
religion which Jew and Mohammedan can well
accept, though the one would to-day yet cru-
cify Jesus, if he had the opportunity, and the
other will acknowledge Jesus only as a mere
man, a teacher and nothing more.

These orders are making efforts to gain as
many ~young men as possible. They show
their pretty swords and feathers. ‘They send
their missionaries to young and inexperienced
persons. They paint in glowing terms the
advantages of belonging to such an order.

}one occasion Jesus entered into a boat with
And there arose a great storm |

Then they |
And Jesus arose and re-|
buked the winds and the sea; and there was |

a great calm. On another occasion the dis- |

wind; and Jesus was not with them in the}

They coax and urge and promise until they
have gained consent. Now, what? They have
|gained a member. Yes, they have, and, in
only too many cases, the Church has lost a
member and heaven has lost a soul. Why?
Because the lodges are the church, and the
principles of the lodge the creed of very, very
many.

It is not an uncommon thing to hear people
say: ‘'The lodge is as good as the Church.’
Others declare: ‘If a man lives up to our
rules, he is all right.’’ If this means any-
thing at all, it means that they find in the
| teachings of the lodge a way of salvation.
Just here is the danger. Everyone of you
| knows that there is salvation in Christ alone.

No amount of good works will be suflicient
to merit eternal life for us. Anything and
everything, therefore, which leads away from
Christ, or which may have a tendency to lead
away is dangerous. As you value
heaven, hold fast to Jesus. As you
rejoice in the forgiveness of sins,
hold fast to Jesus. To this end I
must urge you to a prayerful study
of God’s Word.— Christian Youth.

——+~+ ome +

Three Wishes.

I asked a scholar which three
things he loved best, and he re-
plied: ‘‘Give me books, health,
and rest; that is all I desire.’’

I asked a miser, and he ex-
claimed: “Money, money, money!”

I asked a beggar, and he whis-
pered; ‘‘Bread, bread, bread!’’

I asked a drunkard, and he de-
sired only strong drink.

I asked many others, and they
cried out: ‘‘Wealth, honor, and
pleasure !’’

I asked a poor man, who, however, was &
tried and true Christian, and he replied:
“Three things I most earnestly desire; first,
to be found in Jesus; secondly, to be like
Jesus; and thirdly, to be with Jesus. In
Jesus all my wishes are fulfilled!’’ What
are your wishes, dear reader?— JZ. It.

——+>~+ oo

A Strong Congregation.

“Ts there a strong congregation here?”
asked a man in passing a certain church.
“Yes, sir,’ was the reply. “How many mem-
bers has it?’ ‘‘Seventy-six.’’ ‘‘Are they
rich?’? ‘‘No, they are poor.’”? ‘‘How then
can you call it a strong congregation?” uy
call it strong,’’ was the answer, ‘‘because its
members are in earnest about their profession
of Christianity, regular in attending worship,
manifesting true piety and godliness; they
are bound together in love and peace, snd
endeavor harmoniously to carry on the work.
of the Lord. Such a congregation is strong,
whether it contains five members or five
hundred. 4