Evening star., 1903-09-19
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR HOUR
Conducted by
GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL.
For September 20.

| IoDuucteu Dy
GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL.
For September 20
Topic-Why and how we should bear witness for
| Christ.-Acts 5:27-32
n. And when they had brought them
| they set them before the council and the
| high priest asked them,
| Is. Saying, Did not we straightly COM
mand you that ye should not teach in this
| name? and, behold, ye have filled Jersalem
! with your doctrine, and intend to bring this
| mans blood upon us.
-. Then Peter and the other apostles an
| swered and said, We ought to obey God
! rather than men.
30. The God of our fathers raised up
Jesus, whom We slew and hanged tree.
| 81. Him hath God exalted with his right
| hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to
give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness
| of sins.
81. And we are his witnesses of these
| things, and is also the Holy Ghost,
whom God hath given to them that obey
him.
The Lesson.
The apostles had been put in prison to
keep them from testifying for Christ. AL
ways the enemy gets ready a prison and
| seeks 10 lay hands on Christs witnesses
and bind them in a prison. The prison is
not always built of stone or iron nor
| guarded by soldiers. Oftenest nowadays
we find that its walls are formed merely of
| nicely fitted rules of etiquette, forms and
ceremonies and held together by custom,
| more firm than any mortar ever mixed,
| though sometimes the building is but made
of laugh or little trembling fear of
what people will say or think These all
| form Just as effectual walls any ever
| built of solid masonry. Shut within SO
| close prison what are we to do? How
witness for our Reaeemer? How gain a
| freedom to do so?
The world iS ha ~ t.
| says: You are not to speak of religious
| things. We want no solemn thoughts to
| dampen our gafety. 1t is not good form to
| bring your individual beliefs before others
| 1t makes them feel uncomfortable. Neither
| must you for conscience sake refuse to go
anywhere or do anything that others wish.
| because by so doing you are casting q
| silent rebuke at them.''
witnessing is done by acts as we'll as
| words. Sometimes mere passive smile
| for forms sake at an irreverent jest wit
nesses against Savior as truly as II
we had originated it. And words cannot
undo an act that places US with those who
| do not love Christ. To those who thus sub
nit to Imprisonment the angel of the Lord
opens, not the doors of the prison. but
! speaks from the prison room and the walls
| fall! You are free henceforth to say what
| you will You have broken through the
! prison by doing what II has been put about
| you to forbid. By the very fact that you
are free are you commanded by the angel
who opens the prison door. Go, stand, and
| speak to the people!
And Christ's witnesses will be arraigned
! today Just as of old. They will be called
1anaucs ana sneered at, perhaps, but all
honor to those servants of the Most High
| who have the courage to make reply: I'VE
| ought to obey God rather than men"
| The great reason for our witnessing for
| Christ is that we owe Him all. He gave
| Himself for us, shall we deny so great love?
| Would the loving child refuse to witness by
! every word and act that it's father is great
| and truef Yet we do often witness against
| Him And great is the rejoicing among the
| enemy when a witness can be won over
| from the very household of God. Oh the
! shame of 1t when members of Christ's
! blood-bought church sit with silent lips
when Jesus is on trial.
| Concerning the way of witnessing. There
are some TO whom the idea Of bearing per-
| sonal witness IN private talk is repugnant
| There are others who are so insistent in
| tesufying for Christ that they forget the
| wisdom of serpents' and the HARMLESS
ness of doves enjoined upon Christs fol-
| lowers, and testify for Him as did the
| severe old Christian butcher who asked
| one of his patrons In a solemn voice as he
| cut the meat with the great cleaver
| Madam. are you prepared to die?'
1t is perhaps such unwise ways of wit
| Messing THAI have held many good ana
| brave People from witnessing for Jesus in
| this personal way. And yet there are many
| who owe their salvation, under God to
| some quiet pleading word from a friend
| whose life is consistent with his word of
| speech.
While silence is often golden, there are
| times when to speak is an imperative duty.
| when merely to keep silence is coWardce.
The question of speaking in prayer meet
| ing must give the Christian Endeavcrer
| much thought as to how to do it to the
| very best advantage. 1t is rare that error
| is made here in the direction of speech.
| There is usually a surplus of golden
| silence" Some one has said that our
prayer meetings are often like Siberian
rivers-"froZen at the mouth"
There has been much ak about tho
| young people take part In their own meet
| ings. but 1t seems as II we had settled down
, at the present time to accept the fact that
most of them have either become constttu-
tiOnal verse repeaters or sit through the
meeting with sealed lips. Even many of
cur young leaders have fallen into the lazy
| habit of bringing some one of the numer-
! Gus helps on the topic and reading from
| 1t. seeming so to feel their duty fully done.
Now 1t may be true that the writer's Of
| those helps are much more competent by
| education and talent to edify that meeting
| than many of the young people who read
| from them but that does not make up for
! the loss of the personal testimony that
| should come from the young disciples own
! heart. Stumbling though 1t may be, one
! sentence of heart love to Christ expressed
| in the meeting is worth whole columns of
wise sayings and telling illustrations. God
misses His little human praise" He
would rather hear the trembling sentence
| II love Jesus" than to have the public
| duty of testimony discharged by reading
| 5nOtherS 5 WOrQS.4f
Applied Truth.
child playing by. an open fire fell in
| and was rescued by her mother but at The
| expense to the mother of a face scanned
| and SCARED for life. She worked hard to
| give her daughter an educa ton, and when
| the day of her graduation came took the
| journey to the town where she was at
school to see her take honors but as she
walked through the streets toward the
| seminary a company of girl students. her
| child among the number. saw her in the
| distance and began laughing calling at
| tentton to the SCARED face The daughter
| looked up, recognized her mother, turned
| coldly away and walked on laughing with
| her mates not acknowledging her mother.
| who had given up her beauty for her childs
| LIFE. Must not our silence and unwilling
| ness to testify for Jesus sometimes seem
| like this to Hmm
How to help the leader.-Read all or a
| Part of Robert Brownings poem, 1.-The Boy
| and the Angel"
Parallel passages.-John 15:28.N, Luke
| "a Arta Q.3C Arfa Act