Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Janaary 9, 1902 THE LOTH BRAN VISITOR BIBLE STUDY IH THE WESTERN COLLEGES. BY L W. 8IFFEBD With fflw exceptions the collrgea of the west pride themselves in maintaining flourishing Christian associations. The association is the most vital of coilege organize tions and receives its due promi nence. Next to the regular routine work of .he texts the association work receives especial emphasis. The association field overlaps that of athletics, aud by.corning in con tact with association influences the popular sports are lifted to a higher and cleaner sphere In fact these good influences are curried into the football aud baseball sports and it very rarely happens that a rough word is used in auy game, either local or inter collegia's. The character of the outdoor sports of our colleges are being evolutiouiz d and pnrified It is inspiring to see the stalwart Christian leaders of a college figure conspicuously on the athletic field. Wittenberg’s most ffflcient mis sionaries have been men who have won laurels in athletic contests. Onr point is that Christianity and the popular college sports can go hand in hand A tighter hold is secured np n the mdiff. rent ele ment of the college; and men in this way are readied and helped spiritually. What is said of onr association here is troe, generally speaking, of all the colleges of tin middle west. Almost every man who enters the institntion is uplifted by contact with the association. List year every young man in the dormitory was enlisted in its work, and at present, with but one ex ception, every man is enlisted aud a member of the church. The strength of the association is the Bible st'.dy department, aud we believe that the Bible study constitutes the pivotal department of the whole college work Aside from the Bible work of the curriculum the association aims to enlist every student in one of the four courses prepared by the international committee. These courses which cover the period of one’s college life embrace prac tically the whole Bible. In the freshman year “The Life of Christ” is studied; “The History of the Apostolic Church” in the sopho more ; “Old Testament Characters” in the junior, and “Teachings of Jeans and His Apostles” in the senior year. Each college class is organized into a distinct Bible class and meets weekly in a conference, or heart to heart stndy. It has been found wise to have each class pur sue its work under the leadership of a student, and in order that they become as efficient as possible the association each summer sends its next year’s Bible leaders to the student conference which is held at Lake Ueneva, Wincousin. Here they come in contact with the authors of the respective Bible ^ courses and learn their methods of Bible study. Our association, then, has little difficulty in enrolling a a large percent of the students in the classes, and daily systematic Bible study is encouraged. The etning Christian men our colleges tin ii are teeiimouiuls of the value i>* Bible worn. Tbe evils which flock about college life in nur modern cities have to a great • xteut no influence in the life of I be student body. Through the « sample of a few strong Christian men the entire association force usually is led to see the helptuluess of Scripture- siudy. The hour set apart for this work is the earliest one in the morning before one meets the carerf of the day. Imagine the greater part of a college force of four or five hundred students spending the first hour of the day in quiet, meditative Bible study. What an influence in their lives aud in the institntion. One’s coilege life is a critical period, surrounded by so many temptations and vices. And in wbat measure he allows God to give him His strength, is he able to resist evil. The Bible crowds sin out of our lives or sin pushes aside the Bible. If is the custom of our colleges to hold annually a Bible institute. We hold ours this year January 17th-19tb. Last year it was very helpful and attractive. The re sults were a deeper devotion to Bible work, n manifestation of bet ter Christian lives, aud the volun teering of some half doziu men for the foreign mission field. We are looking forward to this year’s in stitute with great pleasure. Our volunteer band numbers . nine, and we are working for at least six more by the end of the session. We will get our number. It is a singular fact that at the student conference at Lake Geneva last summer the hundred and fifty volunteers for the foreign field were the strongest physically and mentally and the happiest of the representatives of the colleges of the middle and far west. This is nniversally^true. We will have at onr institute Drs. Bosworth of Oberlin, Kyle of Zenia, Hume of Springfield, also Miss Belle Brain, the well-known author and missionary worker, A. B Williams, international sec retary for Canada and the east, Rev. Howard of Louisville, and Mr. Sinclair of Dayton With so strong a team in the lead we are anticipating a rare feast. The returned missionary Dr. Harpster, who is spending the winter in Philadelphia, has also promised to present India’s claims to us before he returns. Mrs. Howard Taylor, who is now travel ing in the interest of missions among onr sonttern colleges, will possibly be here in the spring. Missions, we might add, is a dromineut feature of the associa tion work. Our aim is to develop a missionary spirit in the yonng men and women of the college and to enlist their sympathies for mis sions. Aside from the work of t he regu lar missionary class the volunteer band meets weekly and considers ftae needs of the missionary and makes special preparation for the foreign work Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. THE SPIRIT’S HELP WE NEED. BY REV. II C HA1THCOX, D D. God is God in universal relation, Creator of all things, upholder of all by the word of his power, and preserver of all by his inworking spirit. The Father Almighty is God in his paternal relation. The Son is God in his revealed relation. The Spirit is God in his operation within his creatures, brooding over the waters to give light and order, striving with men to enlighten and guide them into all truth and to sanctify them by the truth. The Spirit is the personal imminence of God, umpiring, quickening man into life with his Creator, to renew man after the image of him who created him. The Holy Spirit is God commnnicating himself to man in regenerating and sanctifying power. The longing of God’s love finds expression in Christ the only revealer'of the Father. The long ing of God’s love' to impart itself find its way by the Spirit’s incom ing and indwelling and infilling. And all this means that the Spirit is not an object of worship, bnt the inspirer of worship and the en lightener of how to worship God. God is Spirit, and, they .that wor ship him most worship him in spirit and in truth The Spirit dwelling in ns takes of the things of Jesns and showeth them nnto ns. He gnides into all troth— yes, all troth, material and spirit ual, working in us to will and to do of God’s good pleasure. En lightened and gnided by the Spirit, we come into right relation to God and to one another, and worship God > n the beauty of holiness. Thns onr lives are tnned to the heavenly harmonies. Thtfs God’s altar has on it grateful offerings— • the fruits of our lips and the in gathering of onr hands, even as the Lord hath prospered. Yes, my brother, onr great need is the Spirit’s help so that we may know the things written better— the words ana works of Christ. Then we shall have more of his mind, aud give ourselves more like he gave himself for us. To do bis will, to suffer with him, and to pour out our life through all its avenues of service for onr fellow- men, will be oar delight. To give help where most needed will be onr concern. To give help where highest, longest, best service will be rendered, will be onr choice. To direct the material forces at onr command in form of money or other wealth so as to serve the highest uses of man, will be onr desire. Sometimes it will be to relieve the distress of the body, bnt the ultimate motive will be the help of the spirit of man. Bnt where can material wealth serve a higher purpose with longer blessed consequences than in a school where teachers and learners sit at the feet of Him in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge! Without man wealth is of no value. When wealth goes into sonl development it enhances the highest of all values, for it ap preciates the value of man and glorifies the Son of God. And of the Spirit Jesus said, “He shall glorify me.” Columbia City, Ind. God never has built a Christian strong enough to stand the strain of present duties and all the tons of tomorrow’s duties and suffering piled np on the top of them.