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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1922)
Xi ?"SF The Commoner 'fci.' .. ' 8 ..;VOL.-22,no,i s.. - .f r- -isjr!Bj-t--.iii---ehMfcjitfci. J'.V r'j.''-'V '-?' .. if H'K" W fe L "l 6s ' M S V ?' ' , , - v. ..;- ; W""WWPWPWMWWII" .. -dW ?:-nrrt- "f- y --ki ..W.M'V Mr. Bryan's Bible Ta 1M . ! "1 ' '" (."; ''i, & (-.!:. ..- .1 ...... ..... ...... wno' saa yiat' ne was Wllllngno admit .,,. ; 'fev'feWiHF W happy ritfitfutbelievlnl ft no "" 'Wle4&iW that he wMotmFn od - 'Heve tafsa merely t6 bahaas , thf at b5 ; ; I HAVE KEPT TflE FAlTlt By WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN 1 .-: , i , ' BIBLE TEXT -LESSON FOR DEC. 18 .' ' ' (il, Timothy 4:6-18) .' ' i, For 1 am now ready to bo ottered, and the Hnw of , my departure Is at hand. ..,. ' I, havo fought a good flgrht, I have finished my . ,cqtitto, H havo kept the faith. Henceforth thcro Is laid up for mo a crown of ' rlghtoouaneBB, which the Lord, the righteous Ji.dgo, shall give mo at that day: and not to me only, but unto, all them also that loVohls appearing. ' Dp thy dlllgcnco to come shortly unto Jno: For Dcmas hath forsaken mo, having loved this present world, and Is departed unto Thessalonlca; Cresccns to Galatla, Titus unto Dalmatla. Only Luko Is with me. Take Mark, and (brlng him With thee: for ho Is profitable to me for the min istry. - ' And Tychicus havo I sent' to Bnhcsus. i . The cloko thtit I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou.comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially tho parcihments. Alexander tho copper smith did mo much evil: tho Lord reward him according to his works: Of-wliom bo thou ware also; for ho hath greatly withstood our words. ., At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook mo: I pray God that It "may not bo laid, tol'thoir charge. .; .Notwithstanding tho Lord stood with mo, and strengthened me; that by mo the preaching might bo fully known, and that all" tho Ge'ntlles might hoar! and I was delivered out of the mouth of tho lion.. , i Arid tho Lord shall deliver me from every evil i work; and will preserve mo unto his heavenly klng 'dony. to whoin bo glory for over and over. Amen. m t ., : Ono. of the noblest nassatros In tho Rlhlfl Is the fourth chapter of Second Timothy. Every verse in it is in itself a guide to Christian living. There is enough in verses th,ree and four for -. BeYora,l Bible Talks. I hope that it will be ap- r prepriate at some future time to speak of those who cannot endure sound doctrine,. but who, as Paul writes from the dungeon of his second im-' nrisonmont in Rome to bin frlnnd Tlmnthv f Ephosus, in Asia Minor, "heap to themselves toadhers having itching ears" those who "turn away from the truth unto fable3." But for this week there is more than enough foxi our thought in the concluding words of a warrior as ho faces death. No greater cham pion of tho truth has ever lived than Paul; no. one. ever fought more bravely, contended more uncompromisingly, or faced death, more calm-, ly. He has given to every true Christian a model for a farewell address. , Forsaken by all at his first ansVer before his second trial before Caesar; knowing that .death by martyrdom was only a question of time, even though his preliminary defense to . the ' accusations brought against him had de livered him from being torn to pieces by lions; with no earthly hope or assistance for him any where, still he could pray that their desertion' ,be not. laid against those who had abandoned him to, his' fate; still he could think of others, as is seen in his messages of love sent, through Timothy; yet ho could say of himself as he looked back upon his life as a follower of Christ. ' y "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." WHAT IS A GOOD FIGHT? "I have fought a good fight." What satis faction has life that can compare with the con sciousness of duty done? The Christian life is a conflict f rorri the day it is ontered upon to the time of one's depar ture. It is a struggle against evil in every form not the kinds of evil or the forms of combat "that Paul had to meet, but evil in some form which must be overcome. Each life has its temptations; each individual has his "easily besetting sins." The foes. .within require con stant watchfulness, even when for a time there may be a lull in the attacks of foes from "with out, What kind of a fight may we call good? That which employs all- the energy and utilizies all tho opportunities to raise one's self to the maximum of efficiency and then. uses the entire strength for the advancement of that which is 'highest and best ' When one looks back over life, it Is usually easy to see where sPmething less than all the energy has been employed; when some' of the opportunities havo been neglected, and times when even an impaired, efficiency has not been. , entirely consecrated to the work, or whn the end fell something short of the highest idealism. The memory of shortcomings, rob.s the hours of retrospect of some of the consolation's that were crowded into the closing moments lot -the great. Apostle's life. At such a time one jriust be im pressed; by tho littleness of. life's vanities the , size of; one's accumulations Whether in gpi.d or fame.hThe "good fight" is the only one that counts? in the final calculation. . '''..' "I AM 'READY" . .'n "I have finished my course." 'It is everything to be ready when the end comes. Paul, reviewed his career; events passed in panorama before him; ho saw in memory faces that once beamed'1 with love, glowed with enthusiasm and tfiW turned away, "Denrns hath t forsaken me," he tells Timothy. Demas was pne who's "loved this present world" his heart was like the' stony' placCB, jn which tho seed sprang un quickly but soon withered. ?. All .forsook him at jiis first defense and yet, though left alone, his. heart, like the heart of the Sayiour, laid it not to their account. , If they did not rely upon the strength that the Lord gave j to Paul,, his gratitude to the Heavenly Father for his own strength restrained him. from' reproaching those whd were weahf in, the hour o; trial. u ( ! PauT did not quarrel with fate. He wpuld not have shortened his life-by a day as long as God had any work for hinii to do, and hie would not lengthen it by an hour when, his task was done, t , There must be satisfaction in auch an .attitude. The mind cannot reason put a problem so intri cate as that which death presents;! the heart, with its keener perception cuts its way through mystejhies of life and feels the truth that th.Q reason cannot grasp. It is some,, recompense for. Iif6's struggles and trials if at, the end.ene can stand in the presence . of eternity' . andi say, without a tremor of fear, "I am .ready." m THE SECRET OF STRENGTH AND COURAGE "I have kept the faith." That explains it. As. the heart forces the blood throughout the body arid gives nourishment to every part, so "the faith" infused strength and courage into Paul's entire being. As before Agrippa he vowed that he had not been 'disobedient unto the heavenly vision," so as his i eyes closed upon the scenes of earth ho found pleasure in the conviction that he had kept all that was intrusted to him. He had never lowered the banner of the Cross since he re S?riyd iJ &Dm the hands of the Master Himself, WIth L1"6 pride of m army's standard bearer he held it aloft, and now he was ready tp return it without a stain upon it into the hands of Hirii whom he served. He kept the faith' delivered to the saints. - i Our banners vary in' size, but they are alike: themalf Faith" is lrscrbed Pn We do not choose faith in proportion to the work we have to do; the work is rather propor tionate to the faith that we have; we never know how big a work we can do until we have a faith bigjenough to undertake it. Opportunities 2 1 v, ino?f J7110 are readv f04 em; in spirit X $?K .li" ?? : .Amines5 the r -"" w,o, i.ui wuiuu we are nued. - , , Paul had a faith in "The Faith" that oualifW mm to piay a gigantic part. God made him a chosen, vessel to carry His name not only to the Gentiles but to all the generations of men? w! BhayTl21.eS.ilj;?a1 'That is my' work!, o h ' "". 7"" ,r.n,ou. "ave me to do?" ation of n. VfeWrrl rnha nWlrti' A .u exPecU A reword' for righteousness is not only w, mate and proper, but it is 'ani indispenaahii I UI of God's plan. How cpuld a righteous God lart alize -righteousness? - IC the Heavenh ? Sn?i8n" is moto willing to give good gifts to His chff' than an earthly parent,; how could Hen! virtue and rdward vice? ,,.; e punlsl1 Even-Satah cannot .faU.toisee a connect! MWdG1li0bS pr08pqrityl.aiid;hte righteoUencgg although ho mistook cause fdr effect. HaS "Dot; Job- fPar Godfp(rnpught:? Hast nOU' not. made an hedge about .him, and about H 'house, arid, ojbPUt all that he hath on every aide? Thou ho.sb blessed the work of his hands, and I his substance i increased, in the land.' Job V npt upright because he was.prp9perous-he nnw pered because he was upright. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in thn counsel of the ungodly,. nor standeth in the wav of sinners, nor 'sitteth in the .'seat of the scorn. Jul." "And he .shall be ..lke .a jree planted 1 by the rivers pf water, that bdngeth forth his fruit in his season:, his leaf ailsorshalj' not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shal). prosper." : l.n THOUGH-T OF- OTHERS Whenrdid Paul think pf himself only? He sent, tender messages to those whom he had learned Jp love and who. had,' justified his confi dence, , and he claimed the.rew;ard of righteous nessi for all those who sh'ared his love for God and, fprHis crucified Spn,.. " When one reads such a, Biblical passage aa Paul's farewell message and calculates its in estimable value in strengthening; the fibre of one's, purpose and in infusing .zeal into his life, he can' scarcely estimate' the importance of Bible readingiand teaching and .the , services of those who week ;after week,, in fchurch an(j in Sunday School, feet before us tlieBread of Life. Pew otherf passages are so fuiV pf npurishment for our spiritual bodies, bvfi ,thore is enough in each to reward us'abundantly'fpr.the time which tney rediire for reading: and stiidy.: ' - '' 'U4b''' ' " CHRISTMAS ( 1 ' v5y WIuAam jenntngs' hryan .. , . r7-r--. 'AT TEXT ORfinw t?ot nwn or 4 . "- m l A WAfc J-'XV W ) . (Matthew 11:1-12) TYITSn ,Jesu8 was born in Bethlehem of i.yt2Kthe das Hcjroa.tho klncr, behold, their came wb men from the east to Jerusalem, TionrL'Where Is he that ls horn King of the 2ws?.f$LW0 naVo seen his star in the east, and are coniKlto worship him. TVhentHerpd the Jdn had heard these things, ho Was trOUBled. and fill .TArnnnlnm tM h lilm And when ho had frn.fhnrVr oil fhn nlilAf nrlosta and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them wbjjre Christ should be born. And they said unto him, Jn.Bothle'hem of Judaea: for thus , It is written by the Urophet. And t:hou Bethlehem, fn the land of Juda, art not the least among: the princes of Juda: for out of thee shll. come a Governor, that shall rule my peo plo Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time tho star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search .diligently. for the young child: and when ye have foimd him, bring mo word again, that I may com aiidx, worship him alsoi . When they had heard tho king, they departed: and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood where tho young dhild was. When., they saw the star, they rejoiced with ex ceeding great joy. . And when thev wcn mmo nin tho house, they ' 5a,w ,thL yuner child with Mary his mother, and - fell ddwh. and worshipped him;-and when they had ,efts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. , t And "being warned of Go.d in a dream that they should fcot return to Herod, ' thoy departed into tnelr own country another way. lemmas apprpacnes? with the cniid it i luo ought of gifts that it will receive. Christmas ises ' a vision of good things hanging on a THE QUESTION OF REWARD Pon mntrm Volui"es of harmless fiction have been wrU- EOUSNESS iOrHT . ton about the Uerson of Santa Claus his is tw Paul, was not ashamed to claim th .'",' m?8t fainiJ,ar face the little. onea know. Tje that he earned. m tne rwar.df. reindeer bulk large about this time and tho huow is. expected tp fall accommodatingly and then pray, as Paul did, for a divine di.' 'What: thought is uppermost in ypur mind as tion and for a strength equal to the neodo & Christmas approaches? With the child it is the each hour. v "uub ,o,i thought of criftn thnt a win rorivA nhristmas Whether much or little is required of nii aj8?8 $ yislon of Sod things hanging on a whether great opportunities or small onPR nr . OhrlutxHaa tree or filling the stocking at the improved; whether the circle of our infliinn ',nanteJ The promise of things desired regulates is extended, or limited, one glorious eniS ' t.he conuct fpr weeks befpre the happy day. 5!" J1?? a11 ho'do thfeir best "I have W ' lJust before Christmas I'm as good as I can the faith." vo e?1 ho. vnencerortn thArA laiintri - . - ' . . . -- .-T-. "- ,uw iur mo n vrvm. ill. rientficii RtiAHct .toil iT iv. t j . r.vvim ' wier man unriRtmna ivo judge shall give me at that day; and fnof fn J!S ' lWhGn X was a ch,ld x thought as a child" only but unto all them also that lovo hL m6; nd who would hav- t Ptherwiee? The ears pearing.'.' . luat love his Pr. . that listen tor the tinkling of the eloign bells I received a letter from an atheist laRt r ; ?'? e' things more important later, but bui- umeist last spring , flcieut uhto;the day are the problems that com 4k ?!' - ;;li