The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1913, Page 34

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34

were gathered in the large upper room of a house
‘in Jerusalem, when a mighty roaring as of a strong
wind was suddenly heard. It seemed to come from
heaven, and filled the house where the disciples
were gathered. Upon the head of each disciple ap-
peared a cloven flame as of fire, and all were filled
with the Holy Ghost. ‘The presence and indwelling
of the Holy Ghost immediately manifested itself,
for the disciples at once went ont and began to
preach the wonderful deeds of God unto our sal-
vation in many tongues to the people drawn to-
gether by the tempest-like noise they had heard.

A wonderful change had taken place in these
followers of Jesus. The circumstances attending
the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon them most
beautifully symbolizes the change which had been
wrought in them: the wind, the sweeping away of
old prejudices and wrong ideas which had clung to
them despite all the teachings of Jesus; the cloyen
tongues, the ability to proclaim the blessed Gospel
of Jesus without hesitancy and fear; the fire, the
light of spiritual knowledge which now filled their
hearts, and the burning zeal for Christ which now
enabled them to overcome all fear and all obstacles.
Yes, a marvelous change had taken place here, in-
deed. The.unlearned fishermen had become en-
lightened and eloquent witnesses of the truth; the
timid and cowardly peasants had become lion-
hearted and fearless warriors of the Cross; before
so weak in faith, they had now become strong and
mighty in the Spirit of the Lord; mean selfishness
had been swept out of their hearts and given place
to a most sublime unselfishness, that was ready to
give up all and suffer all for the Lord’s sake; their
old slothfulness had been burned out by the Spirit

and had given place to a holy zeal for God and.

His kingdom.

Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ascension Day
celebrate past events, events that occurred once and
never will occur again; but Pentecost celebrates an
event that is to happen and does happen again and
again. Of course, the miraculous circumstances that
attended the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the
first Pentecost are not to be repeated, and their
repetition is not needed, neither is the coming of
the Holy Ghost in our day to be followed by the
gift of tongues, as it was in the case of the disciples;
yet when ye celebrate the descent of the Holy Ghost
on the disciples, we recall to mind an event that is
happening day after day by the indwelling of the
Holy Ghost in our hearts. .

Whenever a child is born again by the water of

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Holy Baptism, the Holy Ghost descends and makes
its heart His temple; whenever a person accepts
the Gospel, the Spirit of God cleanses, enlightens,
and fills the heart with a new life. When we with
Luther confess: “The Holy Ghost has called me
by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sancti-
fied and kept me in the true faith,” we testif y to
the fact that we have also experienced this blessed
Pentecost in our lives.

Thou holy Fire, Source of rest,

Grant that, with joy and hope possessed,

We always in Thy service stay,

And trouble drive us not away.

Lord, by Thy power prepare each heart,

To our weak nature strength impart,

That firmly here we be contending,

Through life and death to Thee ascending.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

eo >

Wanted — Help. -

The prosperity and success of many commercial
establishments depend solely on the personal in-
terest felt by cach individual member or employce
in the welfare of the institution they serve. Noth-
ing can resist the advance of a body of men moved
by a single purpose and bending every sinew in
united effort toward the coveted goal. Employers
of men are constantly on the lookout for those who
will take hold of any task entrusted to them with
the same enthusiasm with which they pursue their
own personal interests. They have no patience with
the drone in the bechive of business. ‘There is scant
courtesy for him who, though on the pay-roll,, is
content with the mere dull routine of his position
and virtually stands by idly looking on while others
are doing the work that really counts.

The world moves, and the world is looking for
men who will move. The man who moves only
when he is pushed, and stops when the pushing
ceases, is soon left behind and abandoned to his fate.

There is no institution more essentially necessary
to the welfare of humanity here and hereafter than
the: Church of Christ on earth. And nowhere is
personal and united zeal more in demand than in
the Church. The progress of the Church in the
various endeavors coming within the sphere of its
activity depends on the personal effort of each in-
dividual member. That is the divine system.

It is said: “Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it? But the Lord

has ever given His blessings in proportion to the

measure of the zeal that animated His servants.
The times when “the multitude of them that be-