October 2007 Signs of the Times Email Newsletter

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The Signs of the Times newsletter is a collection of stories and quotes from past issues of Signs and These Times.

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There is a statue called “The Two Ambitions,” by one of the world’s greatest sculptors. Two figures are depicted. One sits on a throne with a jeweled crown on his head, and about him are ranged a group of servants proffering all the things that his selfish nature craves. The other figure is that of a young man of athletic build holding to a rock and reaching down into a raging sea to pull up a brother who is in mortal danger. These figures represent two ambitions—selfishness and service.—From Watchman-Examiner, Signs of the Times, February 28, 1928.

Quote: “Above all things, do not touch Christianity unless you are willing to seek the kingdom of God first. I promise you a miserable existence if you seek it second.”—By Dr. Henry Drummond, These Times, August 1964.

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Don't miss the November 2007 issue of Signs of the Times: “Hints for a Healthy Marriage,” “How Secure is Your Future,” “Give Yourself a Day,” “The Tenth Commandment,” “Why Studying the Good Book Is Good for You,” “Taming a Rebellious Child” and other important articles. To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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A storm, a memory of a mother’s Saviour, and “amazing grace” turned John Newton from a slave-ship captain into a sailor for the Lord, leading many sinners out of bondage.

Born the son of a master mariner, John lost his godly mother at the age of six. With little schooling, he joined his father, the captain of a sailing vessel.

As a teenager John Newton was in a tavern one night when a group of Impress officers entered and forced Newton and his cronies aboard a British man-of-war. In those days that was the method employed to “draft” young men into the navy. He hated the life of a sailor and led a reckless and immoral existence, often getting into trouble. He deserted, was captured, put into irons, and publicly whipped. The navy degraded him from midshipman to a common sailor. He became so embittered that he finally deserted the navy again and fled to an island off the coast of Africa. There he obtained employment with a slave trader, who ill-treated him and constantly threatened to turn him over to the British authorities. Finally his father obtained his release from the slave trader’s clutches.

Barely able to read, young Newton longed for knowledge. He taught himself Latin and some geometry, read Thomas a Kempis’s book “The Imitation of Christ,” and eventually became captain of his own slave ship. During the next few years he had many exciting and harrowing experiences plying the African slave trade.

One night, when Newton was twenty-three, he spent long hours foundering in his waterlogged vessel in the face of apparent death. He and his crew manned the ship’s pumps all night and the next morning to keep the vessel from sinking. During the fury of the storm Newton was so frightened that he prayed for the first time since he was a boy. He resolved that should his life be spared, he would forever give up the nefarious trade. But when the skies cleared, he forgot his promise to God. Besides, the slave trade was extremely lucrative. He did, however, become a merciful captain and had compassion on his human cargo. During the next seven years he studied his Bible diligently and strengthened his Christian experience.

Finally the inhuman aspects of the slave trade pricked his conscience. In 1755 Newton left the sea to become a surveyor. During his spare time he studied Greek and Hebrew.

Now his real life began. The Methodist revival and the preaching of George Whitefield greatly influenced him. At Liverpool he studied for ordination in the Anglican Church and was ordained in 1764, being appointed pastor at the small English town of Olney. The seating capacity of the church had to be enlarged to accommodate the crowds eager to listen to his dynamic preaching.

Newton, a zealous and tireless soul winner, became one of the most powerful preachers in all England. He conducted evening devotional meetings daily in a large converted manor house given to him by Lord Dartmouth (for whom Dartmouth College is named). Newton also taught Bible classes for children in the afternoon. His pupils avidly listened over and over again to his thrilling sea experiences.

One evening, shortly after Newton had begged from Lord Dartmouth the large manor house, he prepared a sermon on his conversion experience. But he could not find an appropriate ending. As he meditated on his past lost condition and how he had found Jesus, the poetic fires of inspiration burned brightly as he penned the concluding lines of his sermon:

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.”

Two other verses quickly followed.

Although loved more for his kindness and goodness than for his hymn writing, Newton wrote 281 hymns.

His epitaph summarizes in a few words his Christian hope. It was written on his tombstone, first over his grave in the churchyard of St. Mary Woolnoth, London; then at Olney, where he was reburied in 1893. He had served as rector for the last twenty-eight years of his life in the St. Mary Woolnoth Church, but his memory is connected with his Olney ministry, where he wrote most of his hymns.

The epitaph reads:

“JOHN NEWTON, Clerk

Once an infidel and libertine;

A servant of slaves in Africa;

Was by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,

Preserved, restored, pardoned,

And appointed to preach the Faith

He had long laboured to destroy.”—By Donald W. McKay, These Times, September 1973.

Quote: “You will never stub your toe standing still. The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere.”—By Charles F. Kettering, These Times, October 1964.

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NEW from Pacific Press—“No Peace for a Soldier” by Walter C. Utt and Helen Pyke. In this gripping tale of courage and commitment to Christ set during the time of the French Reformation you’ll see powerful faith at work against amazing odds. Everything changes for Huguenots Armand de Gandon and Monsieur and Madame Cortot as they are caught up in wars and religious persecution. Follow their stories as each is forced to choose between loyalty to the king or loyalty to God. Watch for “Any Sacrifice but Conscience”, the sequel to “No Peace for a Soldier”, coming in the Spring of 2008.

Read the first chapter of this book online at http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com Order online or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955.

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Some time ago, while driving to Cambridge from London, a friend of mine took me to a famous cemetery to see the tomb of Lady Anne Grimstone. Once when reminded of the Christian’s hope of resurrection from the dead she is reported to have said, “It is no more likely that I should be raised from the dead than that a seed should grow out of my body.”

Lady Anne Grimstone died in the year 1717 and was buried in an altar tomb. Soon after her death a crack developed in the tomb, and a seedling pushed its head up and through it. During its growth the tree split the tomb and twisted the railings so much that it has left them hanging in the air. Thus what seemed so unlikely to Lady Anne Grimstone actually happened.—By L. C. Naden, Signs of the Times, May 1963.

Quote: “Seeing is not always believing. For instance, we see liars frequently.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, April 18, 1900.

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Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: Has your neighbor met Jesus? You can make the introduction by sending a gift subscription to the NEW Signs of the Times. Join the thousands who have discovered this EASY and EFFECTIVE way to share their faith! Order from your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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Thomas A. Edison wrote in 1921: “We don’t know the millionth part of one percent about anything. We don’t know what water is. We don’t know what light is. We don’t know what gravitation is. We don’t know what enables us to keep on our feet when we stand up. We don’t know what electricity is. We don’t know what heat is. We don’t know anything about magnetism. We have a lot of hypotheses about these things, but that is all. But we do not let our ignorance about these things deprive us of their use.”

And we do not know just what prayer is, or how it works. But let us be as wise as was Edison. Let us use it, though we do not fully understand it!—By Marcus E. Lindsay, These Times, February 1962.

Quote: “Instead of a gem or a flower, cast the gift of a lovely thought into the heart of a friend.”—By George McDonald, These Times, September 1964.

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NEW from Signs of the Times—Special 64-page magazine written by Mark Finley—Certainty in an Uncertain World. Great to share with friends. It covers the plan of salvation. For a free sample copy, send your name and mailing address to becbin@pacificpress.com before October 15, 2007. Offer good in the US and Canada.

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A 12-year-old was chatting with her pastor about her wish to be baptized. Wanting to know exactly how much she understood about the seriousness of such a step, the pastor asked, “Mary, have you been born again?”

“Yes, Pastor, I have,” she replied without hesitation.

“Before you were born again, were you a sinner?”

“Yes, indeed I was,” she answered with equal lack of hesitation.

“And Mary, now that you’ve been born again, are you no longer a sinner?”

This time she was thoughtful for a few moments. She knew that she often made mistakes, that she did and said things she wished she hadn’t, and had weaknesses in her life that she longed to overcome. Finally she said with admirable candor, “Pastor, I’m still a sinner!”

“Well, now, Mary,” asked the minister, “what is the difference?”

Mary’s reply was the most eloquent sermon on the new birth he had ever heard: “You see, Pastor, it’s like this. Before I was born again I was a sinner running after sin. Now I’m a sinner running away from sin.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, February 1989.

Quote: “He who follows duty ever may find danger often, but defeat never.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, May 26, 1909.

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Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others.

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“How Secure is Your Future”