The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1911, Page 62

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‘he Lutheran Pioneer.

The Heathen Punishing Their Idols.

In a Chinese village, during a time of drought,
Q missionary saw a row of idols put in the hottest
and dustiest part of the road. He asked for the
reason of this, and the natives replied, “We prayed
our gods to send us rain, and they won’t, so we
put them out to see how they like the heat and
dryness.” ;

A missionary in India writes: “The Hindus had
hired Brahmin priests to keep up their noisy wor-
ship before the village idols, and fully expected
abundant rain as the result of their worship. But
after waiting for days and weeks, they resolved to
punish the gods, who had received costly offerings
without bringing them the looked-for blessing in
return. In some places they besmeared their idols
with mud, and closed the entrance to the temples
with thorns. In other places they brought water
into the temples, put their idols into the water, and
blocked the doors, so that their gods may shiver in
the cold water as a punishment for keeping their
fields dry.”

The gods of the poor heathen are dead idols, the
work of men’s hands. “They have mouths, but they
speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they
have ears, but they hear not; noses have they, but
they smell not; they have hands, but they handle
not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither
speak they through their throat. They that make
them are like unto them; so is every one that
trusteth in them,” Ps. 115, 4—8. It is only by
the power of the Gospel that the heathen are turned
from the worship of dumb idols to the living God.

“A Strange Man.”

When Missionary Wakefield came to the Gallas
in Africa to labor among them, they were much
amused at his appearance.

“ow many toes have you?” they asked.

“Just as many as you have,” he answered.

‘Will you pull that off and let us see?” they
said, pointing at his boot and shaking their heads
dubiously. J

When he had done s0, they all laughed; for on
account of his stockings they could not even now
- see his toes.

At last one of them exclaimed, “What a strange
man this is to put his foot in a bag! We never
heard of a man putting his foot in a bag!”

Jesus Comes to Our House.

A little girl went with her mother, a woman in
lowly circumstances, as she had occasion to call on
a wealthy lady in a neighboring city. The lady felt
quite an interest in the child, and took her all over
the house to show her all the beauties and wonders
of her comfortable home. Much surprised at all she
saw, the little thing exclaimed, “Why, how beau-
tiful! I am sure Jesus must love to come here, it
is so pleasant. Doesn't He come here very often?
He comes to our house, and we have no carpet at
home. Oh, how Jesus must love to come here!”
The hostess made no reply, and her visitor asked
again: “Doesn’t Jesus come here very often?”
Then, with much emotion, the lady replied: “I am
afraid not.” That was too much for the child; she
hastened to her mother and begged to be taken
home, for she was afraid to stay in a house where
Jesus did not come. ‘That night the lady related to
her husband the whole circumstance, and the ques-
tion of the child went to the hearts of both husband
and wife, and it was not long before Jesus was made
a guest in their house.

From a Missionary’s Journal.

Augustin Johnson, after having labored about
two years as missionary among the freed African
slaves, who formed a colony at that place, wrote in
his Journal under date of October 6, 1818: —

“Yesterday evening we, as usual, had a mis-
sionary meeting. After service contributions were
given. - This morning, at family prayers, some paid
in advance for next month. I asked one man why
he did so. He replied, ‘I might be sick next month
and not be able to pay; therefore I pay now, to be
sure of my gift for mission.” Some women came
and paid a penny for each of their children besides
their own contributions.” At a later service these
poor, but cheerful givers brought about $25.00 for
the mission cause. “God loveth a cheerful giver,”
2 Cor. 9, 7.

Good Works.

Good works do not make a Christian; but one
must be a Christian to do good works. ‘The tree
brings forth the fruit, not the fruit the tree. None
is made a Christian by works, but by Christ; and
being in Christ, he brings forth fruit for Him.

Inther.