Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-10

the Spirit" So, then. If we are deliberately
going on from day to day breaking Gods
laws and knowing that we are doing 30,
and making no effort to stop 1t, surely,
surely, we must be walking not after the
Spirit but after the flesh. We cannot be
in Christ Jesus and do. such things daily
and hourly and deliberately, with no inten-
ton of ceasing.
The first thing, therefore. is to realize
ones bad habits and to have a will to
break them. Your business then is 10
break them Not bit by bit. as some would
have us believe, making the fault little
less heinous day by day. That VIII not
be broken short of. The place II occupied
in your life must be cleansed and filled at
once with something better, 80 that 1t shall
have no chance ever again to grow. Sup,
pose, for instance, that one OF yaur bad
habits is to lie in bed late in the morning,
thus upsetting your whole days work, as
we'll as the tempers of all In the house.
The way to break up that habit Is to set
time for getting up and then get up, no
matter whether your eyes are open or
not no matter whether the room Ia cold
and the water icy, and five minutes more
would seen so good to you Give your
self no chance to daily with this habit.
Break 1t. Suppose you tried to cut 1t down
by getting up five minutes earlier every
morning. You would soon fall into the
old habit of lying as long as you chose:
sufficiently interesting and weighty Is
awaiting you. Then you will not find 1t so
hard to do. Once broken you Will have no
further trouble. but il you daily with any
habit 1t will hold you tighter than you
dream.
There are some habits whose shackles
cannot be thrown off so readily. They need
the help of Power greater than our own:
These too must be broken short on. COO
can give you the power though your own
strength is not equal to the task LOOK
how, in last Sundays lesson. the temple
was purged at once and entirely from all
marks Of idolatry. They did not take one
little idol down at a time and throw him
away. and then another, and another. grad
ually, so that the people wouldn't notice It,
No, they made the place holy at once. They
gave themselves up to purifying 1t. and
making 1t a fit place for the great and
pure God to meet with them. Neither
should we be utterly discouraged should
we fall after having tried to break habit.
God is able to make us free from II. Be-
gin again Just as hard. How many times
John g. Wooley made the attempt to give
up the slavery of intemperance before he
finally came to give himself fully into the
hands Of Christ and was saved from him
self and the power of his evil habit
There are good habits we can cultivate
in our lives which will make 1t easier for
us to root out the bad ones; just as plants
growing in a garden. watered and cared
for will occupy the ground that other
wise might be choked with weeds. and the
care given to the plants Will cause our at
weeds which threaten their growth. Just
so If the habits of prayer and Bible reading
be set up firmly in lives, bad habits will be
much more easily uprooted. Regular attend
ance at church. the habit of giving to the
Lord. the habit of honoring ones parents,
of being honest and kind. etc. All these
can as we'll be cultivated as their opposites
IL we have but the WILL 'if we walk in the
Spirit"
Applied Truth.
John B. Cough is a shining example of
man who gave up his bad habits and be-
came a new man in Christ Jesus.
1t is said that Admiral Farragut, the
youngest midshipman in the service of ting
United States navy before he h2d
reached the age of sixteen prided himself
on his profanity and the fact that he gould
drink with the strongest. One morning, on
recovering from debaucS, he reviewed the
situation, and saw what dangers Hrea tened
his life. Then and there he fell on his
knees and asked God to help him. From
that day on he gave up tobacco, liquor and
profanity, devoting himself TO the study of
his profession, and so became the greatest
sadmiral of modern times.
. How to Help the Leader.
Tell of some instance of the power of God
to help man change his habits. Speak of
some habit of your own which you are
going to give up. or some good hat which
you wish to FORM
Parallel Passages-Galatians. v:16.25; Ro-
mans, vii:2425; John, iii:6; Galatians Wis;
Romans. villa; Ephesians iv:1.20,24; Colos-
SLAMS, 10, 10.
Hints to the Leader.
Christian Endeavor hymns-6. 20. 40. o.,
"A, 49, 1873.
The Endeavor Hymnal-ss, 80. Al, AZ, 81,
d, ~.
There. is a simple blackboard exercise
often used by evangeiists which would not
be an,iss II put upon the blackboard for
this meeting. 1t consists of the simple