The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-10-22

gnawing at his heart for his denial OF
Jesus Christ 10 you not suppose ne
thought of that apostaSy day in and
day out? After your father died, did
there not for weeks and months and
years linger in your mind some act or
disobedience or some iutlful act that
YOU neglected to do: Fell me, do you
not suppose there were some people
Just tactless enough to remind Peter
Of his three 1enials? Yes" they sar-
castically said; ''if l were you, Peter,
I would cry good deal about Jesus
death. You always pretended you low
ed him so much. Oh, yes, you were
always going to be faithful! And yet
| YOU failed him when the test came.
Peter, l believe you are a hypocrite,
and you would deny him again if you
had the chance" And l can hear Pc
| ter say: Eyes, perhaps l would.
Christ, why have l been false to theeT
Then the next grief Juggling at Pc
ter's heart was the awful thought that
all Christ suffered for and lived for
and died for seemed to have gone for
naught. He felt that Christ's kingdom
which he was to establish upon earth
had now become a lost cause. Was
not Jesus dead? Was not his little
band of followers scattered? Was
not the hated sanhedrin triumphant
in it's merciless work? So Peter felt
that Christs blood was sacrificed in
vain. He felt that Christs death had
a. % hi Ii, ,frIn
How Christ Appeared.
Then upon the summit of these griefs
came the failure of his present effort.
Hour after hour those fishermen were
dragging at their nets. No fish, no
food, nothing to appease the hunger
of their dear ones. Yet in the early
dawn of the morning Christ appeared
unto Peter upon the shores of Galilee
And so, my friend, when the darkest
hours of your night Of trouble have
passed Christ will appear to you. Not
in the darkness Of your first trouble
will you get the blessed peace which
passeth all understanding, not even in
the second trouble, but in the third
trial or trouble Christ will appear as
he appeared to those disciples on the
crystal shore of Lake Gennesaret.
In personal life have had a most
dramatic Illustration of this pregnant
truth My fathers life was drawing
toward it's close. Thick and fast came
succession of terrific troubles. The
impenetrable darkness seemed to be
everywhere. First came the confagra-
ton which in few minutes swept
away his great tabernacle, where so
many Of his gospel triumphs had been
won. Every one of its stones had
been mortared by years Of self sacri-
fee and work. Then came the death of
my beloved mother, who to great
extent was the cause of his wonder
full success. Then came his removal
from Brooklyn to Washington and his
selling of the old homestead where he
had passed the greater part of his ac
tive ministerial life. That home to him
was the dearest place on earth. dc
} never felt at home anywhere else. He
was too old a tree to transplant and
take root again, as you would be II
you had to leave the home Of youl
children and the home from which
!, you had buried your dead. 1t was al
, this time that he prepared his sermon
entitled formulating Troubles" 1t was
from Chronicles, eleventh chapter anC
, twenty-secOnd verse, "Benaiah, the sol
of Jehoiada, the son of valiant man OF
!. Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he
slew two lionlike men of Moab; alst
he went down and slew a lion in Il pi
in snowy day
5 The whole purpose of that sermon
| was to prove that every man, like Be
: naiah, had three troubles to fight-frst
, q lion; second a dark cavern; third. {
: snowy day. A short time after thi:
my father came on to preach in m!
:, pulpit He brought this sermon along
5 He arose and gave out the text. Thel
suddenly his tongue became thick ant
his speech heavy. He was threatened
: with an apoplectic stroke. His life:
e work from that moment rapidly drew
t to it's close. All, yes he had his ''ac
: cumulating troubles" Church gone
r Old homestead gone. Health gone
! Three troubles like Benaiah-a lion. ;
pit and snowy day. So, 0 man, you
t shall have three troubles You arr
g like Benaiah and Peter. But God VIII
j reveal himself to you in your darkes
? troubles as he revealed himself to hi
s children Of old. Christ appeared II
;; Peter, walking upon the crystal pave
e ments of the sea of Galilee, i'll TIL
e fourth watch of the night. AS tn
S darkness settles Christ will appear It
:? you in his glorious love. soon, yer.
Y soon. Aye, he will appear to you now
:? If you will only love him and trus
It him you can see him at this very no
y ment
b Are we willing to open our eyes nov
and see Christ face to face? Chris
2? did not appear unto the repentan
l. apostle most wildly on great occa
d sion, but while he was at his humbi
Y duties, in the common walks of life
= When Jesus appears most wildly t