The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1933, Page 78

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18

THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

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A Mohammedan Missionary Converted.— From
South Africa comes the report of the conversion of
a Mohammedan missionary. This missionary was
working for Islam in Johannesburg. He is a very
highly educated man and speaks English very
fluently. Some months ago he approached a young
native who had become a convert to Christianity.
The native brought his Bible to his new teacher and
was about to destroy it, when the Mohammedan mis-
sionary asked that it be given him. He took the
Bible home with him and began to read it carefully.
The Word of God so gripped him that he locked
himself up in his rooms for days to study it. His
wife noticed his strange absorption, and one day,
when he was called out unexpectedly and in his
haste forgot to hide the Bible, she went into his
room, found the Bible, and also began to read it.
Thus for weeks each was secretly reading the Bible.
When the man could no longer keep silence, he one
day told his wife of his new faith and asked her
whether she would now leave him. To his unspeak-
able surprise and joy his wife told him that she
also had become a follower of Jesus and that she
was willing to follow him wherever he might go.
This former Mohammedan missionary has been bap-
tized and now bears the Christian name John Hope.

. Africa and the Gospel. — A returned missionary
writes: “The Africans are responsive to the Gospel.
Their souls are hungry. I have seen them crowd
their churches to overflowing as early as 5.30 in the
morning. I believe in the original missionary
method for Africa: First evangelize; then educate
the evangelized. To put education first is a mistake;
education is bound to come if evangelism is properly
carried out. Evangelism teaches them the simple
foundation truths —sin and grace, contrition and
faith, faith and works. Witch doctors and supersti-
tion have kept them in bondage and darkness so
long, and have so harassed them, that the Gospel
is indeed good news to them, new hope, and
new life.”

God’s Way of Working.— The angel sent to
Philip could himself have done the work for the
eunuch from Ethiopia, but this is not God’s way of
working. It is His plan that men are to work for
their fellow-men.

Women as Workers. — From the earliest days
of the Christian era faithful women have united
their efforts for the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom.
A group of Galilean women accompanied Him and
His disciples to minister to them as they went from
place to place. Our faithful women do a similar

work when they band themselves together in so-
cieties within their congregations to study missions,
to sew for mission-fields, and to gather funds to sup-
port missionary enterprises.

Which ?— Christ says: “Go ye into all the world
and preach the Gospel to every creature.” A mod-
ernistic church council’s report declares: “We must
not insult other races by going to them with the
Gospel.” Which?

Mission-Work a Divine Service. — Mission-
work, sublime and transfigured, stands far above all
earthly values and tasks. It is an enterprise that
should be looked upon, and treated, only with
reverence. So we should also treat it and speak of
it when we recommend it to others. Then it will
become and remain a sacred affair of the heart, one
that will not easily be effaced.

“Hilarious Giving.” — Such was the giving of
the little girl I recently read about, really “hila-
rious,” cheerful, giving. A little girl, so the story
goes, had ten pennies given her—ten bright
pennies. “This,” she said, laying aside one, “is for
Jesus, and this is for you, Mother, and this for
Father, and so on to the last one. “And this is for
Jesus,” she said. “But,” said her mother, “you have
already given one to Jesus.” “Yes,” said the child,
“but that belonged to Him; this is a present.” Do
you catch the “hilarity” of the child’s giving?

Lutheran Indian Students.— Pastor W. W.
Stoeppelwerth of Immanuel Lutheran Church,
Lawrence, Kansas, reports in his parish-bulletin
that he has in his audience on Sunday evenings an
average of twenty-five students from Haskell Indian
Institute. During Lent, Pastor Stoeppelwerth met
with this Haskell group every Friday evening, ex-
cept the first Friday in the month. The number of
Lutheran students in attendance at Haskell is larger
this year than ever before.

Read and Ponder!—A German missionary
periodical brings the astounding news that the
Soviet of Russia is spending more than four times
as much money for the destruction of religion than
is expended by all the combined missionary societies
of the world for the spreading of the Gospel. Dear
reader, what about Christ’s command to you and to
me to teach all nations and preach the Gospel to
every creature? Are we seriously trying to obey
Him whom we claim to be our Lord and Master?
Are we loyal to Him and His cause?

“SATAN often seeks to change the words of sound
doctrine or to use the words. with changed meaning.”