Southwestern Union Record
Official Organ of the Southwestern Union Conference oy Seventh day Adventists.
VOLUME XXVI
KEENE, TEXAS, TUESDAY,
MARCH
- oy pn
1927 NO 9
WESLEY’S COUNSEL TO
A PREACHER
“Your talent in preaching does not
increase. It is just the same as it was
seven years ago. Itis lively, but not
deep. Thereis little variety; there is
no compass of thought. Reading only
can supply this, with daily meditation
and daily prayer. You wrong yourself
greatly by omitting this. You can nev-
er be a deep preacher without it, any
more than a thorough Christian. Oh,
begin! Fix some part of every day for
private exercises. You may acquire the
taste which you have not. What is te-
dious at first will afterwards be pleas-
ant. Whether you like it or not, read
and pray daily. It is for your life!
There is no other way; else you will be
a trifler all your days, and a pretty su-
perficial preacher. Do justice to your
own soul; give it time and means to
grow; do not starve yourself any long-
er.”
This excellent adviceis found onpage
210 of the book entitled ‘Wesley and
His Century,”” which is a part of the
Ministerial Reading Course for the pres-
ent year. Its application is timely, and
should be effective in influencing all
ministers and conference workers who
have thus far delayed in joining the
Reading Course study circle to apply
for the registration card and secure the
four books which have been carefully
and wisely chosen by a representative
committee. The combined volumes fur-
nish a four square field of investigation:
First, Devotional Study: ‘*‘The
Crises of the Christ™’
Second, Inspirational: ‘‘Thoughts
from the Mount of Blessing’
Third, Historical and Biographical:
“Wesley and His Century”’
Fourth, Consecrational: “The
Glories of the Cross”
Perhaps you have said, and are say-
ing, ‘‘But I have no time for study!”
A book has been written by Arnold
Bennett, entitled ‘‘How to Live on
Twenty-four Hours a Day,’’ in which he
makes the assertion, which must be ad-
mitted as true, that “We never shall
have any more time.” We have, and
we have always had, all the time there
is. It is not ‘‘more time’’ but a system-
atic budgeting of the day’s time, which
is called for. Think of }™=_engineer
whose train is behind sehel ngeds
every possible second. But™ ba
in his tank is low. Does he “Tle.
heedless? No! He takes time, Pa
thereby gains time as he stops to refill
his water tank. Or, there is a surgeon
with an emergency case requiring im-
mediate operative measures. Every
minute counts. Does he dispense with
needed antiseptie preparation? O no!
He takes time to serub up and to dis-
infect to avoid infection and make re-
covery favorable. We must make time
for study. It pays—spiritually, mentally
and in dollars and cents.
THE MINISTERIAL ASSOCIA-
TION, Takoma Park,
Washington, D. C.
ARISE UP QUICKLY
‘‘Peter was sleeping between two
soldiers, bound with two chains”, and
sixteen soldiers stood gaurd on the out-
side. From a human viewpoint his sit-
uation was hopeless. The Lord had
commanded him to preach the gospel
and ‘“Lo I am with you'’ was the prom-
ise. And the mighty angel sent from
heaven said to Peter, ‘‘Arise up quick-
ly’’ and the chains fell as he obeyed. Be
orderly, but make haste and follow me
were the instructions. Peter obeyed and
was led out of his difficulties to victory.
We are entering another year of col-
porieur ministry. The weeks are com-
ing and going rapidly. The command
is ‘‘Arise up quickly and follow me,”’
and with obedience and faith come suc-
cess and victory.
Indications are that a large book work
will be done this year in the south by
our great army of colporteurs, but it is
an individual matter. Peter obeyed
quickly and was led to victory.
A paragraph of an article in ‘‘The
Magazine of Wall Street,’’ dated Janu-
ary 29th says: ‘‘The food and feed re-
quirements of the South should even
more largely be supplied by home-grown
products, but the uninformed adviser
must disabuse his mind of the idea
that there is no diversification in the
South. Less than forty per cent of the
cultivated area in the Southeastern cot-
tonstates is devoted to this crop, (cot-
ton). Approximately forty-three per
RN
cent is planted to corn, and abouttwen-
ty per cent to miscellaneous crops. In
spite of this, almost sixty-one per cent
~ the total erop value was due to cot-
-¢hile less than nineteen per cent
wo. NG ~utable to corn.
Re Le %0 ‘mers of the South in the
serion Fn 1922 to 1924 produced $707
worth of their home requirements on
their own farms; while the farmer of
New England produced only $656 worth
of the goods used on the farm. Theav-
erage for the entire country was ap-
proximately $684 a year.’
You will observe that the Southern
farmer produces more for his home re-
quirements than the average for the
entire United States and considerably
more than the New England farmer.
And, dear fellow.workers, these condi-
tions are improving rapidly. Let us all
resolve to put in full time and do bigger -
things in the South than ever before,
aside from the peak war-time years.
We at the home office work forty-four
hours a week. Why not the entire pub-
lishing family do that? And let us
‘“Arise up quiekly,”” make haste and
follow Him to victory. M. F. KNOX
DIGEST QUOTES SIGNS.
In the Literary Digest of January 29,
1927, under the title ‘The Pope's Ap-
peal to Men to Reform Women’s
Dress,” is found a symposium of the
comments of a ‘‘number of the leading
religious journals’’ on the pope’s recent
pronouncement against immodest dress.
In the forefront of this group of ‘‘lead-
ing’’ journals is the Signs of the Times.
An editorial from the penof Elder A. L.
Baker is quoted at length, and is de-
scribed by the Digest editor as a ‘‘pas-
sionate protest” against the modern
trend of women’s fashions. Further-
more, the reader is specifically informed
that the Signs is a Seventh-day Adven-
tist paper.
Is it not fortunate that in these days
of moral and spiritual crises, when
many religious journals and many de-
nominations are sounding an uncer-
tain note, the Seventh-day Adventist
‘denomination, throughits great medium
to the world, should be able to pour
forth a “passionate protest’ against
the influences undermining society?
And is itnot also fortunate that this