The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1920-02-14
"Time to Awake"
Says DR.. Rees
Continued from page one)

force and power of that organiza-
ton.
Tell me, friends, what kind of a
church members will he be who fol-
lows your example? Will he have a
family altar, attend prayer meeting,
inspire the pastor with regular pre-
sence at church service. Will he be
a power in the Sunday school, inter-
ested in Missions, telling others the
good news about Jesus Christ, and
building up all that is clean, strong
and helpful in the Community?
1t means much to be a disciple of
Christ He never made it easy to
follow Him. To Nicodemus he said,
aye must be born again. and to
others, "any man who will come af
ter me he must deny himself take
up his cross daily, and follow me-" o,
that as a consuming fire, every one
here would be led to cry out '1ord
what wilt Thou have me to do, =
and then go out and do it.
Only when we are awake and ire
mendously in earnest do we succeed
in any department of activity. This
is true politically, men are not asham-
ed to carry banners, march in the
mud, stand out in the rain, talk on
street corners-for political party.
1t is true commcrciaAly,-for when
business men want to build up an
enterprise, they seek to insure en-
ployees with a spirit of victorious
purpose, that will makethemfearless,
intrepid, persistent in winning men to
buy goods.
1t is true socially, since the Ar
mistce there has been. social re-
vival in this country, until it is
dance mad" and people have sought
pleasure and been prodigal in waste
full extravaganza until there is gam
der of a financial panic. So ever,
earnestness, enthusiasm, purpose are
contagious. SO it is with religion,
When Christians awake, others Will
be won. A contractor, converted in
one of our meetings, was asked what
brought him first to a meeting, and
he replied "when ten of my friends in
one day asked me to come, could
not refuse they were so insistent.
But not only church members
are asleep; in even a deeper sleep
are those who never think of re-
lipion, who have no God in their
thoughts and lives, who are so abb
sorbed in money getting, in pleasure,
in. self-aggrandisement, that reli-
gon is a vague, far-away thing, good
for death beds, perhaps, but not
practical" even perhaps "detrimen-
tai" to success. There are multi
tudes who are like the prodigal, un-
til he "came to himself" They are
in "far country" They have been
rocked to sleep by his majesty, the
devil, who the successful nurse-girl,
for sleeping souls; they are in the
cradle of baseless hopes for the flu
ture in the cradle Of a self-sufficient.
"morality-as good as the average" IN
the cradle of sentimental and nerve
less conception of the Glove of God,
which would make him like foolish
father, too soft-hearted to correct his
child, thus letting him destroy HIM
self. But when the Prodigal came to
himself he said II have sinned
against heaven, and in thy sight" A
"sin against heaven" must be settled
with God not with man. You can
not "drift into heaven" you must
"strive,' that is, "agonize," even as
the athlete, to enter in. This means
that there is TRIBE danger. The
word "lost" must not be dropped
from our vocabulary, for it it prom
inent in Christ's teaching. Now is
the time-right here in st. Johnsbury
for both christians and non-Chris-
tians-to awake out of sleep"
NOTES OF THE REEFS
MEETINGS
A large number Of children gather
ed in the Methodist church Friday
afternoon and listened to a very in
teresting talk by DR.. Rees on "Hab-
it's" A similar meeting will be held
next Friday.
The notices for Sunday meetings
are contained in an advertisement in
A al,