The record-union., 1898-04-04

the soul VIII at one time demand Its
right for salvation through Christ, she
thinks | begrudge her fun and would
spoil the pleasures of her life.
You know, dear friends, that there is
a good deal of counterfeit money in
circulation, but there is also a great
amount of counterfeit religion.
counterfeit as commonly understood is
an imitation of coin, made of in
ferior metal, or an imitation of bank
note. 1t almost looks as money of real
value, but only the eyes Of the ignorant
and inexperienced are deceived by it.
Only the most valuable and precious
things are being counterfeited. Do not
be deceived by bogus religion, neither
of the hypocrites nor of Mr.. Worldly
Wise-M THE devil is a skillful
coiner of religion. and many are the
souls that are betrayed by him.
will tell you of some of his counterfeits,
that you may recognize them and be-
ware of them. One of them is: To be
an honest man who never sat in prison,
to have good name and reputation is
quite enough. Another: Thou art
moral character; why, then, believe
in Christ antitrust in him for saliva
ton? And still another: Eat and
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we
are dead. viii you be deceived by
him? But, alas, I hear some one say,
what is it. then, to be Christian? To
be buried in the solitude and seclusion
of the monastery, where even smile
is forbidden and laughter is unknown?
To walk in a desert where no flowers
bloom, and where no birds are singing?
Dear friends, such as say so have never
yet tasted the blessed companionship
of Christ. Religion means joy-and
everlasting joy-on earth and in heaven
forever; it means smiles and laughter
and singing, as the Psalmist says: In
thy presence there is fullness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures
for evermore." That religion which
breaches a long face and a sad counte-
nance is surely wrong. The peace of
Christ in your heart must shine from
your eyes and speak from your lips.
Yes, with Christ alone is true joy and
pleasure, for true enjoyment is only
there, where remorse. the sting of sin,
is not left in the heart. And now, dear
friends, are you ready to give the de-
ciSive answer upon the question:
WHITTIER now?'' Let it be the one
Peter gave when the Lord asked his
disciples: 'Will ye go away also?"
Lord, to whom shall We go? Thou
hast words Of everlasting life" Con-
firmation as well as conversion is not
the ending of your Christian life but
rather the beginning. There is no
merit in having performed certain reh-
gious works and duties if you do not
live up to your promises and faithfully
attend to them. You have promised no
more than any man owes to God and
his Savior. l hope and pray to God
that His holy spirit will dwell within
you, leading you from truth to truth,
from blessing to blessing There are
vast and holy treasures in this holy
book, the Bible, still unknown to you
You must now pursue the road to Zion;
more Jealous should you be in your
daily prayers, groging in piety and
in the grace of God. You should now
be as ever regular in church and Sun
dayschool, and take an active part in
the Young Peoples Society. Lord, to
whom shall we go? Thou hast words
of everlasting life"
If you would reach the highest aim of
manhood and womanhood you must
take the Lord Jesus as your pattern
and copy him. You must grow in him,
and he in you. Perhaps some of you
know something about that favorite
art of amateur photography. When
you expose a sensitized plate to a scene
or a person and take it into the dark
room you can see no impression on it
whatever. But when you develop the
plate gradually the image comes up,
till at last itastands forth in perfect
~
it fade again, and retouch it to cover
imperfections. Do you know that God
made a camera long before man ever
thought of photography? Your eye is
not only the smallest, bGt in healthy
condition, also the most perfect camera
in existence. You look at things, and
in the twinkling of the eye the image
is impressed upon your mind To at
tain perfect Christian character and
likeness Of Christ you must look at
Christ, the perfect man, your Savior
Look at Him then as He walked upon
the EARTH helping the sick, comforting
the distressed and saving the lost.
Look at Him in Gethsemane conquer
ing Himself to do the will of the Father;
look at Him at the cross, wounded and
bleeding for you, faithful and obedient
precious image has impressed itself
upon your soul; develop it with Gods
grace until it stands forth in nearest
likeness. Then fix it that Christ may
never fade in you and though you may
still be overcome by imperfections and
sins against your own will. you may
retouch these and blot them out by
daily sorrow and repentance. Thus you
shall be acceptable to God and man
Then abide in Him and learn from Him
What will he teach you?
"Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."
Mammon is the world with its riches
and pleasures. Do not become slaves of
sinful joys and pleasures. These are
the most unhappy creatures upon earth
W hen the dream is dreamt and reality
stares you in the face, then you find
that you have lost everything and
gained nothing. Let no impure thoughts
or desires enter your hearts to defile the
living temple of God. The pictures upon
the street corners reveal to us what
the present day theater is coming to-
Keep your hearts clean that your love
TO God may be as that of little children
to their parents.
DO not become slaves of money and
possession. I have not met a single
rich man who told me that his riches
made him happy The greedy miser
Is poorer man than the poor laborer
who eats his dry crust with a thankful
spirit and without care. Christ tells
you how to become rich; seek We first
the kingdom of God and his righteous
ness and all these things shall be ad-