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tHE CHRIStlAN NATION. Vol. 61.
Young People's Topic
FOR NOV. 1."..
By Rev. A. A. Johnston.
.Magnify the Christian Endeavor
Pledge. Eccl. 5:1-7.
Then we are called upon, "to support
my own church in every way,
Psalms: 22;2-!-:;7. No. 50; 6.5:l-.3,
Nn. 171 • Vi; :', R. \'n •ii)'' IT, I S. No especially by attending all her regular
Sabbath and mid-week services,
:!.-.t; 11:1-3, No. 21.
Paralells: Isaiah 1:12-17; 1 Sam. unless prevented by some reason
15:22; Prov. 15:9; Prov. 20:25; Ps. which I can conscientiously give to
5(1:14; 1 Chron. 1G:11; Col. 4:2; Ezek
22:l!U; 1 Pet. 4:7; 2 Kings 18:5-7;
Isaiah 50:10.
my Savior." I wonder what the reasons
are which we give to God Wednesday
night before we retire. The
The different young people's societies
prayerful member will feel no neces-
of our Church may not take city to hunt up excuses for God. Like
the Christian Endeavor pledge and seeks like and he will be found where
it is not essential that they should. It prayer is wont to be made.
is a dangerous thing to enter into a But the crux of the matter is this.
covenant with God rashly. "Bette-
is it that thou should'st not vow, than
that thou should'st vow and not pay."
A multiplication of vows may hinder
rather than be a help to our spiriiuality.
Yet it is well for us to have
a fixed purpose in our life and to do
all possible to he loyal to it. Resolutions
are necessary if there is co be
any direction to our work.
This pledge draws our attention to
the necessity for Bible study and
prayer. Without these,, no matter
what else you may do, your service
will be ineffectual. Wheels will not
turn, nor belts move unless there is
plenty of fire under the boiler. No
stream can be full and powerful without
bubbling springs at the source.
You may work hard on some committee,
you may attend the meetings regularly,
you may even take part, but
if you do not pray, you and others
will be conscious of a lack somewhere.
There will be no spontaneity,
no spiritual perfume. The dry bones
will not be clothed with living flesh.
The most important seat in every
young people's society is the prayer
seat. You may occupy the seat of
the irregular,, or the unbecoming, or
the critical. Again you may scorn
these and sit with the cordial and
helpful, but if you want to be a
great blessing, occupy the prayer
seat. Pray for the members of your
society by name, pray for the meetings
before you come, pray for any
work the society may be doing, pray
for the congregation and the pastor.
Prayer makes it possible for the arm
of God to work and if you occupy the
prayer seat (wonderful though it may
seem) you can occupy, at the same
time, the cordial seat and the helpful
and many more. Your work then
will be a pleasure and not a duty.
Others will catch the contagion until
your society is the pride of the pastor,
a burning center for service. If
you ever played "Going to Jerusalem"
you remember with what a feverish
haste you sat down on the firstchair
nearest you. We might well play
"Going to the Spiritual Jerusalem,"
and the firstseat nearest us is prayer.
We will do well to occupy it with
some of the same earnestness.
If we pray, the remaining duties
mentioned in the pledge will be
easily performed. We will be present
and take some part, aside from
singing, in every meeting. What a
wonderful meeting that would make
if everyone would come prepared to
do something! We could prepare easily
enough Sabbath afternoon and we
will, as soon as the zeal, lighted by
prayer, is burning at our heart.
"Trusting in the Lord Jesus for
strength." There is no other road
to purity and helpfulness.
Prayer Meeting Topic
FOR NOVEMBER 18.
Rev. J. M. Johnston.
"Temperate in all things." 1
Cor. 9:25.
1. In our thoughts.
is hard to recall words when once
2. In our words.
they are given wings. The time
3. In our lives.
to kill them is before they are
Passages: Hos. 4:11. Is. 5:11. Is. born, before they pass through the
5:22, 23, Joel 1:5. Nah. 1:10. Pro. doors of the heart. In James 3:2
23:29. 1 Tim. 3:2, 3. Tit. 1:8. 2 Tim. we read: "If any man offend not
1:13. 1 Tim. 6:3, 4. 1 Tim. 6:11, 12. in word, the same is a perfect
Tit. 2:1-6. 2 Peter 1:6. Tit. 3:1-4. man, and able also to bridle the
Psalms: 10:6-12. 26:1-7. 28:1-8. whole body." Words spoken with
121:1-4. 141:1-6. 119:5th part. evil intent are like the sting of
In this verse Paul describes an a bee the poison of which causes
athletic game in which those who soreness in the heart. In 2 Tim.
take part contest for a prize. Certain
conditions must be fulfilled if disease. They eat like a canker, or
2:17, Words are compared to a
the reward is to be ostained. The as the margin has it "gangrene."
same is true of a wrestling match. We can not fully comprehend the
There must not only be training evil effect of words spoken in the
and discipline but dieting must be spirit of malice and hate. We
regarded also as necessary for success
if one is to gain the mastery.
Contestants must restrain from
certain articles of food and liberties
they would use on other occasions.
Now if this is all true in
regard to athletic contests, if it
were so necessary for men to be
temperate in all things that they
might render their best service,
how much more is it true for the
believer in the Christian race to
be temperate in all things that he
might receive the Crown of Life.
1. In our thoughts. Thoughts
precede words. We think before
we speak. As the saying is "think
twice before you speak." The lips
reveal the thoughts of the heart.
We can not always tell what people
are thinking about and when
we do think we know it is only
guess, but when they speak we
are certain of the thought in the
heart. Our thoughts are the foundation
for words and acts in open
life. Since our thoughts may be
regarded as the source from which
our deeds spring therefore it is
absolutely necessary that we
should give some attention to how
we think. In Prov. we read, "For
as he thinketh in his heart, so is
he" (23:7). Again 1 Cor. 10:12,
"Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall."
2. In our words. Our thoughts
belong to self. Our words belong
to others. Our thoughts concern
ourselves, our words concern others.
We are affected by our
thoughts, others are affected by
our words. How often we have
heard people say, after some very
cutting and unkind remark about
another, "How I wish I had not
said it. I do not know what made
me say what I did. If I had taken
the second thought I surely would
not have made such a speech." It
should be temperate in our words.
3. In our lives. Thoughts,
words and deeds make up the
whole man. Our deeds is the life
we live before the world; our
thoughts put into action. We are
told that our lives are epistles
known and read of men. It is not
so much what we think and what
we say as what we can do that
counts. We have heard men make
a splendid temperance speech and
then we have seen them get drunk.
We have heard men in the Sabbath
school teach the Temperance
lesson and no sooner do they get
out of the church than they go
after the tobacco plug. Christ
says: "By their fruits ye shall know
them." Not by words. Words can
not reveal the condition of the
heart. They surely are an indication
of a bad heart but they can
not be depended upon as an indication
of a good heart. Many are
able to deceive by smooth words.
It is the life that tells. It is the
things we do that show up the
character. Let us be temperate in
our lives as well as in our thoughts
and words.
THINK HARD
It Pays to Think About Food.^
The unthinking life some people
lead often causes trouble and
sickness, illustrated in the experience
of a lady over in Wis.
"About four years ago I suffered
dreadfully from indigestion,
always having eaten whatever 1
liked, not thinking of the digestible
qualities. This indigestion
caused palpitation of the heart so
badly I could scarcely walk up a
flight of stairs without stopping
to regain breath and strength.
"I became alarmed and tried
dieting, wore my clothes very
loose, and used other remedies,
but found no relief.
"Hearing
of the virtues of
Grape-Nuts and Postum, I commenced
using them in place of my
usual breakfast of coffee, cakes or
hot biscuit, and in one week's time
I was relieved of sour stomach and
other ills attending
indigestion.
In a month's time my heart was
performing its functions naturally
and I could climb stairs and hills
and walk long distances.
"I gained ten pounds in this
short time, and my skin became
clear and I completely
regained
my health and strength. I continue
to use Grape-Nuts and Postum
for I feel that I owe my good
health entirely to their use.
"I like the delicious flavour of
Grape-Nuts and by making Postum
according to directions, it
tastes similar to mild high grade
coffee." Name given by Postum
Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
The most perfect food in the
world. Trial of Grape-Nuts and
cream 10 days proves. "There's
a Reason." «.
Look in pkgs. for the little book,
"The Road to Wellville."
Ever read the above letter A
new one appears from time to
time. They are genuine, true, and
full of human interest.