The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-08

much difference where we sleep. We
! open our camp cots at any position.
Bit when we are in the woods far
away from tie nearest railroad sta
/ ton when we HE away to the lair Of
! the bear and the trSachcrOus wildcat,
/ then we hug close to the campfire and
/ have the MAGAZINES OF our guns well
filed with cartridges for there is dan
ger lurking on every hand. Now. in
this journey of life we must meet our
moral and spiritual dangers. In our
| first hating place away from home do
we find ourselves prepared to resist
those dangers? If not, then had we
not better go back where we can sup
ply our spiritual Deficiencies?
Study the life of your father and
mother How did your father meet
the awful troubles and trials and
temptations which came to him? When
he told you some years ago of some
of his struggles and how he had been
unjustly treated and how sin in its
most enticing form came to him you
said: Father | don't see how you
withstood those troubles and tempta-
! tons. Why, father, if that temptation
had come to me | surely would have
| fallen" SO you would If you had to
meet those temptations as you are.
! But you would not fall if you had the
divine strength which was given to
him. When you think of your father
now, you cannot remember one mo-
ment when he did not impress you
with the fact that he had a supelnat
ural strength given to him with which
| to meet the tempta tons of life. My
! brother, you have the same tempta-
tons to meet as he had Do you not
| crave the same divine strength with
which to fight those moral and spir-
! itual dangers? If your dear father
| was to rise from his grave, would he
not be speaking to you as | anu doing
| now? 1t is not too late to go back to
| Jerusalem and at the altar of Calvary
! supply your spiritual deficiencies. Re
member you are still at your first
| spiritual camping place. 1t is not too
| late to take Christ along with you on
your journey of life.
The Destination.
But there is another fact we must
| settle before we start upon the journey
of life, and that is our destination. If
! you We're to go to one of the old from
tier towns of 1850. you would find
many people assembling there from all
| the different parts of the United
States Some of those trains of ''prai
RE schooners' would be planning TO 20
to Oregon and Washington territories
| Some would be seeking the gold fields
Of California. Some would be seeking
western farms. Each of those emf
grants was planning to go to some
definite region, and he would lay his
plans and map out his course before he
started. 1t is of vital Importance 70,
a man to know in what direction he is
to travel before he leaves the home
city After we have been travelling Oh
day after day it is almost impossible
for us to turn back and start out with
| another party of emigrants. If you
We're to enter the camp tonight il.
which Joseph and Mary were travelling
you would find there was no doubt i'll
their minds in which direction they
were going to travel. Let us ask .Jo-
seph and have him tell us how be came
to join this caravan.
Here he is now by the campfire.
Mary and he are worrying about theii
absent boy. Hello Joseph, is thai
you? You say you left Jesus behind
How could any loving father an6
mother do as YOU have done:" well.
answers Joseph Il will tell you. VIZ
went down to Jerusalem to attend The
Passover feast. After the national
festivity was over | began to looi
around to find out when the first part:
Of travellers was going north to N,
home town of Nazareth. Every da.
the people were leaving, but they were
all going in directions we did not wiSl
to travel Last night l heard that
party of men would start for the Zeb
ulon hills OF course both Mary and
myself had to do a lot of preparation
in order to get off at such quick notice
In the excitement Of getting our things
together we did not look as carefully
after our boy as we ought. This is the
only party of travellers who are going
to Nazareth for two weeks. We had
to join this party or not go at all. This
Is the reason why Jesus was forgotten
Ia the rush of getting off, Yes ii
would have been very silly for Joseph
and Mary to travel toward Machpclah
in the hope of somehow getting around
to Nazareth 1t is very foolish move
for some of us to start the journey of
life when we do not know or care to
what destination we are heading. @
man, are you travelling toward heaven:
Are you journeying toward the cross?
Sinful Companions.
But there is still another warning
which l want you to heed we'll in yon'
Journey of life-that is the moral and
the spiritual character of the men anG
the women with whom you are bound
to be brought in daily association
This warning is no joke in reference
to those with whom we go forth into