The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-27

Your Religion Into Practicable Crate
full For Gods Common blessings
Revenue of Spiritual Strength.
WASHINGTON, D. Gin this discourse
Dir. Talmage advises us to do our best IN
the spheres where we are placed and not
wait to serve God in Tesoundlng position;
text, Corinthians Y, 81, "Whether, there
fore, we eat or drink or whatsoever ye do,
do all to the glary OF God"
When the apostle in this text sets forth
the idea that SO common an action as the
| taking of food and drink is to be conduct
ed to the glory of God, he proclaims the
Importance of religion in the ordinary af-
fairs Of our life. In all ages of the world
there has been tendency to set apart GER
tain days, places and occasions for wor-
ship, and to think those were the chief
realms in which religion was to act. Now,
holy days and holy places have their i'm
portance. They give opportunity for spe-
cial performance of Christian duty and for
regaIing of the religious appetite, but they
cannot take the place of continuous exer-
else OF faith and prayer. In other words,
man cannot be so much of Christian on
Sunday that he can afford to be world
| ling all the rest of the week. If steamer
| put out for Southampton and go one day
, in that direction and the other six days in
other directions, how long before the steam
er will get to Southampton? 1t will never
get there. And, though a man may seem
| to be voyaging heavenward during the holy
Sabbath day, if during the following six
days of the week he is going toward the
world and toward the flesh and toward the
devil how long will it take him to reach
, the peaceful harbor Of heaven. You can
not eat SO much at the Sabbath banquet
that you can afford religious abstinence
! the other six days. Heroism and princely
| behavior on great occasions are no apology
for lack Of right demeanor in circumstances
insignificant and inconspicuous. The gem
| uine Christian life is not spasrnodic; does
not go by fits and starts. 1t tolls on
through heat and cold, up steep mount
aims and along dangerous declivities, its
| the castles of the blessed [ propose to
plead for an everyday religion. ~-a,'.l '->-s.."
! In the first place we want to bring the
religion of Christ into our conversation.
When dam breaks and two or three vii
lagos are overwhelmed or an earthquake
in South America swallows whole city,
then peopte begin TO talk about the uncer-
tainty of life, and they imagine that they
are engaged in positively religious CONVEX
sation. No. You may talk about these
things and have no gtacc of God at all in
your heart we ought every day to be
talking religion. If there is anything glad
about it, anything beautiful about it, any
thing important ABOUT it, we ought to be
continuously discussing. ..g'Esl-Elasss ; ii''''
i have noticed that men just in proper
ton as their Christian experience Is shall
low talk about funerals and gra7eyards and
tombstones and deathbeds. The real, gen
uine Christian man talks chiefly about this
life and the great eternity beyond and rot
so much about the insignificant pass be-
i tween these two residences.
I And vet how few circles there are where
the religion of Jesus Christ is welcome
Go into a circle even OF Christian people,
where they are full OF Joy and hilarity, and
talk about Christ or heaven and everything
is immediately slenced. As on q summer
day when the forests are full of life, chat
ter, chirrup and Garcia mighty chorus of
bird harmony, every tree branch an orches-
tra--if a hawk appear in the sky, every
voice stops and the forests are still.
Just so l have seen lively religious cir
Gle silenced on the appearance OF anything
like religious conversation. NO one had
+ anything to say gave perhaps some old pa
triarch in the corner of the room, who
really thinks that something ought to be
said under the circumstances; so he puts
one foot over the other and heaves long
sigh and says, ooh, yes; that's so, that's
sol"
Ny friends, the religion of Jesus Christ
/ is something to talk about with glad
heart. 1t is brighter than the sunshine.
Do not go around groaning about your re-
lgion when you ought to be singing It It or
talking it in cheerful tones OF voice. How
often it is that we find men whose lives
are utterly inconsistent who attempt to
talk religion and always make failure OF
| it! My friends, we must live religion or
we cannot talk it. If q man is cranky and
cross and uncongenial and hard in his deal
ings and then begins to talk abous Christ
! and heaven, everybody is repealed by it.,
! Yet | have heard such men say in whining
tones. eve are miserable sinners" The
Lord bless you" "Ihe Lord have mercy on
you," their conversation interiarded with
such expressions which mean nothing but
canting, and canting is the worst form or
/ hypocrisy If we have really felt the re-
! hgion of Christ in our hearts, let US talk
! it, and talk it with an Illuminated couute-
nance, remembering that when two Chris
tan people talk God gives special atten-
| ton and writes down what they say; Ma
lachi iii, l6, Then they that feared the
! Lord spoke often one to another, and the
! Lord hearkened and heard it. and book
of remembrance was written"
Again, fremark, we must bring the reli,
gion of Christ into our employments. oh,
you say, that is very well II man handle
tensive traffic, but In the humble work III
life that am called to the sphere is too
small for the action of such grand, heaven
! 1y principles" Who told you 80? Do you
not know that God watches the faded leaf
on the brooks surface as certainly as He
does the path of q blazing SUM-. And the
moss that creeps up the side Of the rock
makes as much impression upon Gods
mind as the waving tops of Oregon pine
and Lebanon cedar, and the alder, crack,
! ling under the cows hoof, sounds % loud
in Gods ear IS the snap of worlds con
| fagration. When you have anything to do
! in life, however humble it may seem to be,
God is always there to help you to do it.
! If your work is that of fisherman, then
God will help you, as He helped Simon
when He dragged Gennesaret. II your
work IS drawing water then He will help
you,, as when He talked at the well curb
to the Samaritan woman. If you are en-.
gagged in the custom house, He will lead
you as He led Matthew sitting at the re-
ceipt of customs.
4 religion that is not good in one place
is not worth anything in another place
The man who has only days wages in his
pocket as certainly needs the guidance. OF
rehrion "a ha who rst+lae the l-aVs of q