Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-02
Christian Endeavor Hour
Conducted by Grace Livingston Hill-Lutz.

For Sunday, March g. 1907.
Topic Being Honest With Yourself and God"
(Consecration Meeting) Luke, xii:1-3; Joshua,
xxiv:14.
Luke, Kill. In the meantime, when there
were gathered together an innumerable
multitude Of people, insomuch that they
trode one upon another, he began to say
unto his disciples first Of all, beware We
of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is
hypocrisy.
.. For there is nothing covered that
shall not be revealed; neither hid that shall
not be known.
). Therefore whatsoever We have spok-
en- in darkness shall be heard in the light
and that which ye have spoken in the ear
in closets shall be proclaimed upon the
housetopS.
Joshua, xxiv:14 Now therefore fear the
Lord and serve him in sincerity and in
truth and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the
| flood and in Egypt, and serve ye the
Lord.
The Lesson.
The other day in Christian household
the telephone bell rang. There was a call
for another member of the family who was
not in the room. The receiver was laid
upon the table to await the coming of
that one, and meantime the conversation
in the room continued: "Who was it call
ed?' they asked. Caroline Root" said
the one who had answered the phone,
Fastening down stairs to call the absent
one. The two who We're left in the room
| with the open telephone knew nothing Of
the ways OF that instrument, as they had
recently come into the household for a
| visit. They talked on. Caroline Root!'
| said one in vehement dismay. 1T will be
| just our luck if she has pitched upon to-
| day to come and spend the afternoonl
And we shall either have to take her with
| US or stay at home.'
Take her with us! How could We"
, exclaimed the other. "She would spoil the
! whole afternoon. She fuses so about
| just an intolerable nuisance. If it were not
| for her handsome carriage and the beauti-
I>ful presents she gives at Christmas I
| should wish l had never known her. She
| is a bore and that's the whole of it!'
"Hush!" said the absent one appearing
and taking up the receiver, 'the line is
| open and you can be heard. Hello! Is
/ that you. Cousin Caroline? Yes. Oh! Com
| ing here this afternoon? You were! How
| delightful! Not coming? What? 1 do
| not understand Reason? Changed your
mind? Why, I'm sure you are mistaken
Cousin Caroline! We do not feel that way
Really, now, don't talk SO! There must
be some explanation, wait-Cousin Caro-
line, neutrality-suspicious.! Hello! Hello!'
Then the one at the telephone hung up
the receiver in dismay and turned wildly
about-"Girls, what did you say? She
heard it all! Now, what shall we do?'
froze the hearts Of the two who had been
talking about an eccentric wealthy rela-
tive, never dreaming she could hear them
Some one has prophesied that one Of
these days there will be an instrument in
vented by which we shall be enabled to
listen to one another's thoughts. What
then shall be our refuge? Where shall we
hide the evil thoughts against one another
which allowed n have fin MI
even in many a so-called Christians heart?
There Is nothing covered that shall not
be revealed, neither hid that shall not be
known" How We shall shrink from some
of our own thoughts and words and actions
in that great day.
But it is not always the things we think
and say about other people that we shall
have to be ashamed about There are
deeper hid things than these; secrets of
the soul, SO deep that we do not often find
them out ourselves. For instance we may
move on for years surrounded by an i'm
preston that our own lives are on the
whole quite well pleasing to the Lord, and
we may spend hours in prayer for others
whose outward sins are many, and with
whom we have cause again and again to
feel what we call righteous indignation"
and yet down deep In our souls. hid from
even ourselves, we have sins that in Gods
sight may be just as bad. Do we ever
face our own sins as we would have our
friends and enemies face theirs? Do we
these secret corners dark and cobwebby
where we have hid from ourselves our own
precious faults, binding our eyes when we
go near them, lest perchance we shall see
their blackness and be troubled? We need
to turn the searchlight of Gods word
upon ourselves every little while, and try
to understand just how We look to God
For instance, take the one little sin of
impatience How we let it go on from day
to day, saying, indeed, Il am sorry" when
the flame of anger for the moment is past
but thinking no further of the serious grow
ing fault, which is spelling the character
God would have us build. Take the sin
OF evil-thinking and evil-speaking against
our neighbors. How we carefully cultivate
this habit, and then hide it from ourselves
when our conscences begin to speak. How
unloving We are toward those whom we do
not understand. Beware! The leaven of
the Pharisees Is everywhere, and 1t will be
strange If at least little of 1t is not work.
ing in your heart and mine. We need to
look straight into our own faces, to shake
off our conceit. and to be honest with our
selves and God. Somebody else may be
worse sinner than you or l. Very well,
we've nothing to do with that. 1t lies be-
tween somebody and God, and is not for us
you. that makes you no better, and God
would have you take as much pains and
trouble about the repentance over your
own deviations from His will as you do
about somebody's crimes. And in the re-
vealing day, after all, shall not you and I
just because of our purpose to live right
lives, and to dictate rules for our neigh
bors, have more cause for shame at our
own faults than those we criticise?
1T was a first command and counsel Of
my earliest youth always to do what my
conscience told me to be a duty, and leave
the consequence to God."-Lord Erskine
Applied Truth.
A slave master in the days of slavery,
said: "Pompey. I hear you are a great
preacher" Yes, massa, de Lord do help
me powerful sometimes" WELL" said the
master, "Pompey, don't you think the
| negroes steal little things on the planta-
tion?" Use mighty 'fraid dey does
massa." Then. Pompey, I want you to
preach sermon to the negroes against
stealing" Pompey looked troubled and re-
piled: We'll. you see. massa, dat wouldn't
nevvah do, cause 'twould trow such q
corness over de meetin'." We shrink from
| letting our own personal sins be touched
| by any friend even, for just as surely as
| they dare to bring to our minds some Of
our pet sins II throws "a coldness over the
| meeting" Is that right?
81 have been twice at the point of death
/ was drowning once, and just as l was
going down the third time / was rescued
| In the twinkling Of an eye my whole life
| came flashing across my mind. 1 cannot