The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-10-08

! &FM - the burdens, and
N ~ encouraging them
wv # + In the places OF
darkness and encouragement. Not
working alone. but the Lord working
with them. l remember as boy that
the heaviest task seemed easy and de-
.lightful when father turned In and
helped. The moment he began work.
ing with me, that moment knew the
task was going to be accomplished, and
disbursement and WEAKNESS van
ished. One instance in particular comes
to my mind. A ton Of coal had been de-
livered to our next-door neighbor and
dumped In front of the house. There
was no one to carry 1t into the wood
shed, and my brother and were ambi-
tious to undertake the task and earn a
bit of spending money. With the vision
before our eyes of the good things we
were going to buy with that money, the
pile of coal did not look very big, and
we went brayely at 1t. But II was a
pretty big task for two such little chaps
ay we were, for brother was not yet ten
and / was two years his junior, and so
after the first few scuttlefuls had been
carried in, the coal pile looked bigger
than ever. Every time we came back
with the empty bucket it seemed as
though the pile had mysteriously grown
in our absence. The more we carried in
the more 1t seemed that we would never
be able to finish the task. The after
noon dragged itself out and our trips
from the coal pile to[ the woodshed be-
carne less and less frequent, until as
Wright began to fall we were ready to
give up our task. Father came home
just at this time and, quickly grasping
the situation, encouraged us to keep on,
saying he would come and help us. That
promise put new life into our tired lit
tie bodies, and by the time he came out
We were hard at 1t again. And with
father working with us. how much
smaller that pile OF coal looked. There
was no more doubt that the task would
be completed, and there was new in
terest in the work. for father was there
to encourage and help. Father work.
ing with us made all the difference be-
tween encouragement and failure and
encouragement and success. And this
illustrates in part at least what II means
when Scripture declares that the dis
ciples went everywhere preaching, "the
Lord working with them"
a ND where this was true in the case
to-day. and has been so all through
the centuries which have interviewed.
Scripture presents some striking con-
trasts, but there Is none more striking
and remarkable than that which we
find in the account OIL the disciples i'm
mediately following Jesus crucifixion
and up to the day of Pentecost, and
that following that day when they were
endued with power by the descent OF
do we see? The few doubling. trem-
bling disciples gathered In the upper
room behind locked doors or else eau
tiously and with great fear moving
through the streets and seeking to es-
cape notice and trying to hide their
identity But after the day of Pente-
cost. how striking Is the contrast! No
longer hiding in the upper room. no
longer fearing the Jewish rulers, no
longer seeking to avoid the multitudes
In the streets. they come forth and
boldly preach their message.
no YOU not recall the words Of
III Jesus wherein He told His dis
tiples and wherein He tells you and me
That without Me we can do nothing"
land the very last promise which Heleft
with His disciples was 10. am with
kyou always, even unto the end Of the
tage." II 1t Is true that without Jesus
we can do nothing in His service that
counts for anything in His estimation;
II II is true that Jesus Is with His dis
ciples always, then 1t must follow that
Jesus Is really and truly present with
His disciples and is working with
them. This Is the declaration OF our
text, and II explains the fearlessness
Of the disciples, their faithfulness. their
untiring zeal, their wonderful success.
Nothing Is more destructive of efficient
and persistent effort than the thought
that one Is utterly alone in great I'M
dertaking. The army, leaderless and
with its brave general dead upon the
field OF battle, is disheartened and dis
couraged and at the mercy of the on
rushing enemy. And the Christian
without the realization OF the presence
of the Great Captain, the Conquering
King. Is hopelessly weak and ineffect-
ual az q soldier OF the cross Of Jesus
Christ. But II he feels and knows that
Mis- Lord Is at his side ready to strike
when he strikes, ready, TO press for
ward when he presses forward, ready
TO encourage when he falters, ready to
lift UP when he falls, ready to succor
and heal when the poison darts Of the
enemy infiict their cruel wounds-when'
the disciple realizes all this then he 10
able to tight the good fight of~faith.
then he is able to run the race success
fully.
URELY, II was not the win or pur-
- poye OF Jesus Christ that such
should be the case. The tremendous