Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1915-07-03

lS9sx&A "a ft2t&ss8&Nl thhh ~ $500
him Now PRISON
walls confine him and prison chains
restrain him
There ne sits in his narrow cell
chained to a Roman guard writing q
letter to Timothy "Be not ashamed
he writes, "of the testimony OF or
Lord nor of RE his prisoner 'Yta
Timothy. all that will live godly IA
Chrift Jesus shall suffer persecution
And as the dampness of the Gel
causes him TO shiver: When thpt
contest bring the cloak ! left a
Troas. and the words of our tex
"Demas hath forsaken
The significance of this statement
Is realized when seen In the tight o..
the circumstances which called Il
forth Demas a Christian. a friend
of Paul with him during his FRS
Imprisonment at Rome. has abandoned
the apostle He stood by him wher
everything was favorable. but whep
Imminent peril threatened Pau Of
cause OF his loyalty to Christ, the con
temptible coward fed for his life He
could not stand the test, and IT this
was the forerunner of many Demases
of today who profess to be legal to
Christ receiving all the good things
that come from him. and who shout
aloud tLeir hallelujahs and amens. but
when the testing time comes lack ths
grit and grace to endure hardness as
good soldiers OF Jesus Christ" II is
one thing to shout at Fourth of July
celebration: ii Is another thing TO
shoulder a gun and march to the
front
1t is easy to shout .'hallelujah"
When everyones saying Amen"
It's another thing to stand by him
When they curse him again and again
You may have wondered why many
who profess loyalty to Christ sadly
fail him when the testing time comes
Paul acquaints Timothy with the rea
son. "Demas hath forsaken ne. hav
Ing loved this present world " That
is it; the owe of the world causes dis
when he said No man can serve two
masters, for either he will hate the
one. and love the other; or else he
will hold to one and despise tue 9th
er Ye cannot serve Coo and Nam
mon," Matt 6:24) Does this mean
If we are to be loyal to Christ we must
give up everything in the world? That
depends upon what is meant by every
thing Surely. anything that comes
in between Christ and US must be
given up. And if we are loyal to hin
we will surrender all, that he may in
turn give US richly all things to en-
10y AS those who love him end re
wise, we will weigh the things of time
IN the balance of eternity, Just as he
gold hunter in the river bottom
washes the dirt that he may fnd ms
pure metal, so we should careiuliN
sift the things of the world thar We
may find the good and true The
builder of the world that we may fine
the good and true The builder wnt
rears the skyscraper tests every biz o.
material that goes into the structure
how much more important it is for uf
not to permit anything to enter oui
lite that will weaken any part ane
cause US. when the stress and strai
come to be disloyal to Christ
John Conlon walking on the ral
way caught his foot in frog
where two tracks crossed. He laughe'
at first but when he tried to extricai
his foot. he found himself held fasf
He heard locomotive coming arouuf
the curve and redoubled his efforts
but without avail. and the merciless
monster crushed him to death One
thing. only one. held John Conlon bu'
it neld him as securely as If he were
bounoNto the track by legion OF So
diers II may be lust one thing oniN
one that holds US from being 'oya'
to Christ. and this one thing as II
the case of John Conlon. may prove
fatak
TOW shall we give Up the things ot
II eari aNfrh afa u ~ ii'st q
lis not by giving UP bat by getiuE
that a wrong love is displaced u me
love of Christ is permitted to How into
our hearts IN all ITS. fullness u viii
displace the love Of the wnrlu y
any man love the world. the love OF
the father is not in him This IS
evident for two opposite loves can
not occupy the heart at the same time
The love given the right of way VIII
crowd the other love out
Let Christ IN ard The love OF the
world win be dis placed