The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-04-02

Saviour" mean 10 til" 'Tyaa.ol. .iItal
heart. OH. th, sins uf tine mind. Ga
the awful results of wrong thinking t.
the human heart, This ia"dtal fog !,
like any other kind of da.Ecniu@ mist
If YOU have cvc. crossed the Atlantic
YOU know we'll what | II an. Wh2A
you come q the banks If N"Wfound
land. the fo~5 settle about you So
thick that YOU cannot SO the PROV OF
the ship from the stern Then the boat
slows ND, ana the deep throated fos
horn begins II call. Every time that
hOarsc noye goes rolling over the wa
tiers it seems to he calling, oh, ships
and fishing SmacAs. where arc youE'
Then off in the distance you will hear
a faint answer calling: Here am |,
Beware. Beware. Beware" so IN
the mental fogs of doubt AMI mysti-
cism. in the fo@s of skepticism which
envelop every human heart there is
but one right course Slow w. Sen
forth thy cry for guidance. Call AM
keep calling: Jesus, where art thou:
Jesus. where art tIlou?" Then amid
the deepest denscSt Gloom of life thDU
Wilt hear the Saviour's answer: Here
am q, Come to me, Come to met
Oh, may the mental fogs which have
enyeloped so many Of us today be lift
ed by tile sunshine of Gods love. Our
mental doubts and &kCpticism are no
worse than those which have been lift
ed from hundreds of b'cipuded minds.
There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man"
Temptations From Without.
Eut there are temptations from with
out as we'll as temptations from with
in There are temptations which come
to Us from other men, rs we'll as temp
tatons yelling up in onr own hearts
There are temptations socia! and com
mercal as we'll as spiritual The proph
ct of Old described himself as a little
terror stricken bird. with Il great flock
of ang'y sparrows cnc:rci;ng it trying
to peck ii to death. Thus, when we SEQ
all the temptations which svoop down
upon us from without. can We not cry
out: Mine heritage is unto ne rs q
speclilcd bird The birds about are
against her Come We. assemble all the
beasts of the field come to dcyour?'
For truly wherever we 20 into the out
side world Satan is ready TO greet Us
with fierce temptations.
Don't You remember the old nursery
fable where the spider stands at the
door of his palace trying to get the ~
to come in and banquet with hiMt
Well, that is the way Satan stands at
the door of the commercial and the
social world begging his victims to
come in and sup with him. He looks
at us and smiles ard says: Come. join
our social club. Come and learn how
to drink wine and to gamble with US!
Come and join our dancing cOtillon.
OF course many of these entertain
ments may conflict with your OLD fash
toned ideas. but never mind: YOU can
still be member of the church and be
just like hundreds and thousands Of
Christians who profess their religion
and do not practice It," Or Satan
sends acqrantanceS, who say. Come.
let us use in wildcat speculatiOns some
of the moneys which have been left lS
In trust for the widow ana the orphan.
And though the average man would
not be dishonest if left to himself. YET
when some of these worldly tempta
tons come to him from without he
yields because other men about him are
accustomed to sin in the same way.
Breaking the Circuit.
always look upon the infectiousness
of sin a great deal as | do upon the
transmitting power Of an electric cur
rent When we were young | had
classmate who owned an electric bat
terry Then he used to stand uS boys
around in circle We would all clasp
hands. and the end men would take
hold of the handles Of the electric bat
terry. Then my ciasSmate would tyrA
on the current and this current would
go running from hand to hand ana
from hand to hand until it had mad"
the complete circuit. If two Of those
men would unclasp their hands. in.
stantly the circuit would he broken
and the current stopped: SO | believe
Satan sends the currents Of tempta
tons through the hearts and the minds
and the souls of men. He arrangcs Us
about in circles. Then he gets us all t.
clasp hands. Then because men by our
| side sin we sin, and because we si.,
other men sin.
| But. though there is a pernicious com
panionship of sin. there is Il saving
| companionshp in Jesus Christ. When
you clasp hands with loose men. With
evil men, with sinful men. the currents
of spiritual death leap through your
soul. When you clasp hands with COOL
men, with God fearing men. with
| Christian men, the currents of spiritual
| life will 60 coursing through your
| minds and hearts and souls.
Now. my brother. the question fo'
you to decide today is not whether you
are tempted worse than any othGg1lnan
has been tempted. Your spiritual temp
| tations are such as have always been
common - man. The great question
| for you to decide is whether you are