The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-19
cramp collie variety will in ten years.

There must be something the matter
with their religion or their liver. The
devil can't laugh---poor devil! Some
people are just like him. Poor folks
, my goodness! One reason why you
don't weigh more for God, you talk
about religion as though it were qui-
nine. My! My, God likes to have a lit
I tie run, as seen by the fact that he
made the parrot. and the monkey and
the donkey and some OF you folks.
J Religion is Joy.
fsr,n and 4 sombs,oIs nnasr ne o, my
dragging a hearse--no. no! Religion
/ is JOY. JOY!
oh. laugh and the world laughs with
you.
Weep and you weep alone"
Ella Wheeler wilcox said:
IT is easy enough to look pleasant,
When life goes along like a song,
BUT the man worth while Is the man,
| who can smile,
| When everything goes dead wrong"
\ ness, out and out for God Sanctifi-
| cation. Whenever you begin to talk
| about somebody that is clean cut for
| Jesus Christ. cameo, you think
or some long haired riker with a pair
| OF celluloid collar and cuffs that
never shines his shoes or has his
clothes pressed. never went to a dem
tist, you don't think of somebody that
can get up and go for Jesus Christ
like a Twin Six. No, that's the great
trouble. Completeness. and when he
| went under the seventh time. I am
told his flesh became again as a little
child Why? Why, he did what God
told him. Now his first thought was:
What about the fellow tn at
brought this blessing to meT'
! -Seeo So back they hurried TO the
prophet OF God. old Elisha, and he
sends the servant in.
The servant enters and the old
prophet OF God. | can imagine seated
Up here with his pen He comes in
and says:
NaamRn Thankfui
Great and mighty Naaman. captain
OF the hosts OF the king of Syria has
become the recipient of the curative
power and of your blessing. He wants
/ to know how much Is the price and he
as brought nlenty OF jewelry.
clothes. frankicense, and myrrh. What
RS the price,
! The old prophet looked at him and
said. Nothing. I am not asking goods
from Syria Nothing at all"
| He couldn't understand II. They
went out. So they started back and
Gehaxi was a sort OF a private secre-
j tary for tho prophe. and he got his
1eye on all this and so as Naaman
started back home with his retinue OF
servants, he chased after him and
said:
: o General Naaman. wait min
ute!" He came painting IN and said ::
My master has changed hts mind.
He has sent me to tell you that he
would take a few of those wedges OF
gold and Babylenish garments. frank
incense and myrrh. Also a few OF
those bolts OF silk
/ iy. Give them down. Throw him
down another wedge Of gold. make
1t three. Come on! 7 am well My.
] feel so good!"
Naaman dumped a pile of It on the
ground, and mark this, the leprosy of
Naaman infected GehaA. He was the
first CRATER mentioned in the Bible
and he got his. Trying to put 1t over
on God. God said: You are q liar,
take THAR
So Naaman is going back home and
the report had reached there ahead
of him and / can see the old king
and old Mrs. Naaman and all the lit
tie Naamans coming out to meet Dad
dy. and he rides up and he leaps on
and runs into her arms and says:
Hello, wife. My that's a wonder
full God they've got down there in
Israel. Here we've been down here
and letting these fellows pun the
wool over our eyes. and those fellows
are wonderful. Don't you remem-
ber hnw sore Iswas- Now. took 4 here
Remember the great big sore l had
there? Fine. Oh. my muscles were
like big bicycle tires, feel OF II.
SO he said to Elisha, before he left:
Can I have two mules burden OF
earth"
They had mules and they had has
kets on them like the Indians out
West end he wanted enough dirt "a
All these two baskets. Two mules
burdens was ga much as two mules
could carry back and so when the
mules came staggering along they
say: What have you got in those
baskets"
Dirt from Israel
ooh. we've got better soil than
that, M here"
No" he said. That's gold dus,
and diamonds and ruhies and sap
phires and pearls ground up"
Dirt for Idols.
Why did he want the Dirt The
old king of Syria. Ben Hadad. was
an idoiater and the law was that the
commander-in-chi OF the army
tNaaman was the COMMUNICATIVE
chief had to go at his command.
Naaman wanted enough dirt 10 build
a little altar in the temple in front OF
this old Idols so when ne and the
king went in his daily worship he
could see It. He had lived there all
those years and the idol had done
him no good anu so he made a little
trip down to Israel and God had
cieansed him.
He wanted enough dirt to make an
altar to as Kipling says: Lest we
forget when he'd go in. he'd kneel
in front of this pile OF dirt and that
dirt would remind him that one time
he was a leper. Now he was cleansed
and that God down there had done
1t. Nobody up here loved God They
were NIL idolaters and so old Naarnan
had to hold true to himself alone
without help only the remembrance
OF the blessing. So he wanted enough
dirt to build an altar in the temple sc
he wouldn't forget God among the
heathens and that gang. Wasn't tina,
great?
preached In town in Iowa
Along toward the last of the meet