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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



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clay after another, I am astonished again. 

 My faith seems to be continually settling 

 back, notwithstanding all these Victories. 

 And this is why I so cling and hold on to 

 this beautiful, bright little text of mine — 

 " O thou of little faith I wherefore didst 

 thou doubt?" And now, dear friends, in all 

 this talk — in fact, in most of my talk for 

 months back, I have been trying to impress 

 the thought that there is help torsinvers; 

 there is help through Christ Jesus for those 

 who feel themselves to be helpless sinners. 

 A letter j List at hand illustrates more fully 

 what I mean. It comes from away down in 

 Texas ; but notwithstanding, it echoes the 

 thought of many other poor souls scattered 

 far and wide throughout the world. Please 

 read : 



Mr. Rixit:— I used to keep bees, and was once a 

 reader of Gleanings. I was a good man once; but 

 since my wife died I have become a drunkard. I 

 have made promises, and broken them, until I 

 don't believe the Christiajis here have faith enough 

 in me to even pray for me; and the simters don't 

 like me now as they did when I had money to spend 

 with them for whisky. 1 have a good old Christian 

 mother, and I write to beg you to help her pray for 

 me. 1 am a young man yet. I think there is still 

 hope for me. By the help of God I won't touch any 

 more whisky. Please pray for me. I would not 

 write you this way. but I believe you are a gocd 

 Christian. . 



Texas, May 13. 



I want to say, first, that my recent expe- 

 riences have prepared me to have more 

 charity for those like the writer of the 

 above than I have ever had before. Our 

 poor friend has written to me when utterly 

 discouraged. We judge from his letter 

 that he is almost on the point of giving up. 

 There is something almost plaintive in his 

 honest, frank confession. He does not 

 beat about the bush, nor use polite w^ords to 

 tell the truth as it is. He says, "I have be- 

 come a drunkard.''^ AVhy, the very word 

 sends a chill through one's veins. Of late it 

 has become so customary to use some softer 

 or more polite word, that we are startled 

 when a poor sinner uses the term " drunk- 

 ard." And he says, further, that he has 

 made so many promises only to be broken 

 that he hardly believes that the Christians 

 around there have faitli enough to pray for 

 him. His money has gone, and his compan- 

 ions who are, like himself, sinners, are gone 

 also. He is alone, and clear down to the 

 bottom, probably. There is one poor soul, 

 however, who still hopes and prays— an old 

 Christian mother. But even her prayers, 

 and thoughts of that pious mother, have so 

 far been of little or no avail. He remem- 

 bers his bee-journal and the Home Papers ; 

 and, as a last hope, he writes to me, beg- 

 ging a favor. The favor is, that I shall 

 help this poor old mother pray. Oh how I 

 wish I could be by her side for just a little 

 while I How I should like to hear her tell 

 me the sad story of her lost boy! "Lord, 

 help ! " wells up in my heart as I read the 

 words. ''Lord, help this poor soul strug- 

 gling in helpless bondage. Help him as 

 thou didst help me when I was a slave and 

 in fetters. Ilelp all who are in the fetters 



of sin ; and, O Lord, hear this poor old 

 mother's prayers, and help our poor friend 

 in his utter helplessness. May he look up to 

 thee, as did poor Peter when he said, ' Lord, 

 save me.' " 



Dear friends, I do not mean to say that 

 Christ Jesus will or can help imless we 

 come to him. You will remember that, in 

 his own village of Nazareth, none were 

 healed. The reason was, that nobody came 

 to him asking to be healed. They hadn't 

 even faith enough to come. And it is so 

 with us. We must come to him. "Him 

 that Cometh to me I will in nowise cast out." 

 If the writer of the above letter were invit- 

 ed to come to Jesus, and should refuse, 

 and make excuses, there would be no help. 

 If, however, in his utter discouragement 

 and despair, he should come, saying, 

 "Lord, help, for I have nowhere else to 

 go," salvation is sure— that is, providing he 

 holds to that attitude. Should he change 

 his mood and reject the Savior, he is lost. 

 " He that helieveth on the Son hath everlast- 

 ing life.'' Now, it is not enough to say that 

 we believe. Words are well, but they must 

 be the expression of the heart. What must 

 the sinner do ? He must from the heart 

 say, " Lord, help," at every turn. When 

 tried and sorely tempted he must from the 

 bottom of his heart keep calling and beg- 

 ging for help. So long as he does this with 

 an honest sincerity of purpose, and with an 

 abiding faith, he is safe ; and in a very lit- 

 tle time he will come to look back, and 

 smile to think of how little he could com- 

 prehend or understand what Jesus can and 

 will do for those who trust him. He will 

 smile as the wondrous truth bursts in upon 

 him in the light of the beautiful words of 

 my little text. I say w?/ little text, for I 

 have been making it mine ; but, dearly be- 

 loved reader, let me give it to yon that you 

 may make it yours: " O thou of little faith I 

 wherefore didst thou doubt? " 



3F0B^cc0 CQii^W. 



CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH WE GIVE SMOKERS TO PERSONS WHO 

 STOP USING TOBACCO. 



First, the candidate must be one of those who have g:i ven up 

 tobacco in consequence of what he has seen and read in this 

 department. Second, he promises to pay for the smoker 

 should he ever resume the use of tobacco in any form, after 

 receiving the smoker. Third, he must be a subscriber to 

 Gleanings. Any subscriber may. however, liave smokers sent 

 to neighbors or personal acquaintances whom he has labored 

 with on the matter of tobacco-using, providing he give us his 

 pledge that, if the one who receives the smoker ever uses to- 

 bacco again, he (the subscriber) will pay for the smoker. The 

 one who receives the smoker in this case need not be a sub- 

 scriber to Gleanings, though we greatly prefer that he be one, 

 because we think he would be strengthened by reading the 

 testimonials from time to time in regard to this matter. The 

 full name and address of every one who makes the promise 

 must be furnished for publication. 



REDEEMED FROM BONDAGE. 



I have been a slave to the filthy habit for about 2.5 

 years. One year ago last November I quit chew- 

 ing an! went to smoking, and the latter was the 

 worse of the two habits. Last August I attended a 

 revival meeting, and became deeply convicted of 

 my sins, especially in regard to the way I was rais- 

 ing my family, and the e.vample I was setting be- 

 fore my boys (I was a backslider). I resolved to 

 "return to my father's house" again, and seek sal- 

 vation. Oh the joy and comfort it gives one to 



