The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1914, Page 11

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

11

Our Treasures.

When tears of pain drop from our cyes,
It is so helpful, good, and wise
To view our treasures which we prize:

Our Savior’s grace, our Father’s love,
The presence of the Holy Dove,
And our inheritance above.

How ‘fleeting is our earthly woe!
We're only wanderers here below,
To our beloved home we go.
c H. Osternus.

>

Sweeping Out the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1824, a great flood swept in upon the town
of Sidmouth, England. ‘The tide rose to a very
great height; the waves rushed in upon the houses,
and everything was threatened with destruction. In
the midst of this terrible storm, an old lady who
lived upon the beach was seen at the door of her
house with mop and broom, trundling her mop
and vigorously using her broom, doing her utmost
to push away the Atlantic Ocean.

‘This is a picture of those who are trying to sweep
- away the Gospel of Christ, and who fight against the
conquering march of the Lord’s Anointed. Dame
Partington could more easily and successfully keep
out the Atlantic Ocean. ‘The more they oppose,
the faster the Gospel will spread. In vain did
priests and scribes battle against Jesus; in vain
did the Roman Empire and all its might oppose the
Gospel; in vain did they slay the confessors by
thousands. ‘The blood of martyrs has ever proved
to be the seed of the Church. The days of greatest
opposition and bloodiest persecution have always
been the days of strongest growth for the Church.
In such days of bitterest enmity the truth of the
prophecy has always been most apparent: “I shall
give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

—————»-e-

What is the Bible Worth to You?

Dr. John G. Paton, the heroic missionary to
the New Hebrides, tells how the natives planted
and sold arrowroot for fifteen years, raising the
sum of $6000 to pay for the printing of the Bible
in their language. When it was printed, Dr. Paton
read a part of the Book to an old chief. When he
heard the words, the old man fairly shouted for
joy. “It speaks!” the old chief cried. “It speaks
my own language, too! Oh, give it to me!”

The Example of the Church at Antioch.

Antioch, in Syria, was the seat of a small and
struggling Christian congregation. “The members
were few in number and, probably, not rich in this
world’s goods. And yet they did not hesitate to
send out Paul and Barnabas upon their mission
of bringing the blessed Gospel of Christ to those
who had not yet heard the glad tidings. Humanly
speaking, this congregation of Christians were tak-
ing a great responsibility upon themselves. Let
us also remember that, in sending Paul and Bar-
nabas, they were sending their two strongest men,
their leaders. Well they might have asked, “How
can we, a small mission congregation, support two
missionaries in the field, and how can we spare our
two best men for mission work? We are in sore
need of them ourselves.” But they put all hesi-
tation aside and sent them. And in giving them
up, the Christians of ‘Antioch did not impoverish
themselves, neither did they grow weaker. On the
contrary, they learned that in not keeping, but giv-
ing away, they were enriched and strengthened.
In sending their best members and largest gifts
out into the needy world, they grew more happy
and prosperous at home. Let:our modern churches
and us modern Christians learn a lesson from these
early Christians of Antioch.

—oo>—____

The Debit and Credit Sides.

An old legend is told of a dying man to whom
Satan brought a closely written parchment roll, a
list of the sick man’s sins through all his life: every
idle word he had ever spoken, all of his angry words,
his unthaste words, his false words and profane
words. ‘The man’s actions were all pictured on
another part of the roll. Satan held the scroll up
before the man, saying, “Where are your virtues
among so many sins? What chances have you
on Judgment Day?” ‘The dying man answered:
“That is all true, Satan; but you have not kept
the full account. That is the debit side. ‘There
is a credit side. Down opposite to your dark picture
of my actions you should have painted the cross,
and down opposite that long list of sinful words
you should have written this: “The blood of Jesus
Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin’” At
the mention of these words, Satan vanished.

Apart from Thee all gain is loss,
All labor vainly done;
The solemn shadow of Thy cross
Is better than the sun.

x

Sel.