Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-12-03

But can stand up here and tell you
that you are going to hell and that
God Offers you salvation as a gift If
you will only take it; and you fools
sit there and try to argue me out of
the notion and say that / am not
telling you the truth.
God Provides Homes.
Imagine If you can, having no
home night like this. Suppose you
had to stand out in the cold all night
long and shiver and freeze. Listen
God not only offers you salvation but
offers you home eternal in heaven.
When death comes He has mansion
prepared for you. Heaven is place,
not mere state. 1t might be better
to be in hell in a heavenly state than
be In heaven in hellish state-but
heaven is place. not state.
"Therell be no blasphemers in
heaven; no libertines, no prostitutes,
no devil. no scoffers, no boozeflghters
there Great God, wouldn't Ottumwa
be a great place TO live in if some of
the people here would only die or get
converted? Think what place heav-
en- must be! It's free from everything
that mars this life here below-no sin
no poverty, want, death nor toil-none
of that in heaven. It's just one long
sweet rest for every man, woman and
child there. And God offers all that
to man If he will only give up sin
and live the ten commandments
Cities here crumble away. Where is
Rome, built on her seven hills? All
crumbled away. But that city on
high will last forever. In my Faith
er's house are many mansions; If
il were not so would have told YOU
Sunday in Heaven.
People often say to me, Mr.. Sun
day, who do you expect TO die first
you or your wife and children?' 1
don't know, probably I will. 1 don't
expect to be an old man. I work too
hard and am consuming my body
swiftly. I know that il wife and the
children die first that I'll be awful
lonely down here If die first
know they'll be lonely here. But
when die, if l go first, I'll ask to
sit in the gate Of heaven and watch
for wife and the children. They'll do
the same. Well wait for each other
at the gate.
Il don't like to think Of heaven as
big tenement house. ! don't know
where I'll live thehe-on the boulevard
or on the back alley--I'll be in heaven
and that's good enough for me. And
when I get there wife will be sitting
by the gate waiting for me; the kids
will be down by the river playing. I'll
say Hello wife, where are the kids?
and she'll tell me and I'll go and call
them and they'll come and climb on
my lap just as they do now. I'll ask for
Fred, and Pledger and Butler and Ack-
ler and Fischer and the men down
here footing their horns and the re-
porter over there at his table; they'll
all be there some place. Therell be
people from Ottumwa, Jacksonville,
Fairfield, Decatur and all over. Wen
| hold a grand reunion and sing the
been singing here.
After while I'd say to the kids, Run
away now children. l havnt seen your
| mother for a long time and / want to
tall. with her. I'd lay my head in her
/ lap and say. There's been lots Of peo-
pie dying down on earth since you
went away, where are some Of them?
Where's Mrs. N? She used to
come rolling up to church about fif-
teen minutes late every Sunday morn
ing in Chicago in her rich carriage
with prancing horses and sporty
coachman, wearing diamonds as big as
| cocoanuts.' She's not here wife will
say. I'll ask for Mr.. B., millionaire
know in Chicago. Not here Will be
the answer. Is old Auntie Walsh here"
She used to do our washing over in
Chicago, a dear old Scotch woman.
Yes, there she comes down the hill
with mother, arm in arm wife will
say. They're young as either Of US