February 2008 Signs of the Times Email Newsletter

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February 2008 Signs of the Times Email Newsletter

The Signs of the Times newsletter is a collection of stories and quotes from past issues of Signs and These Times. This is the 120th issue of this newsletter.

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Not long ago I heard a story of a business man whose Christian wife had died praying for his conversion. One night, while lying awake in the darkness of his room, he heard a voice from the little bed at his side, “Take my hand, daddy; it’s so dark!” He reached forth his strong hand and took the small trembling one and held it until the child fell asleep.

Then that strong man looked up through the darkness, and said: “Father, take my hand as I have taken the hand of my child, and give me rest in my soul, for Jesus’ sake.” Then it was that he felt the comforting influence of the Divine Presence, and knew that God was near.

“He is not far from each one of us,”—so close indeed is He that He hears every sigh we breathe, so close that He sees every tear we shed. He who made the light and who rules beyond the stars, is attracted by the cries of the sorrowing and helpless who feel their need of Him. This attraction was strong enough to draw Him once from heaven. It is strong enough to draw His spirit of comfort and healing into every broken heart. And He comes, not simply to sympathize, but to revive, to save!—By Earnest Lloyd, Signs of the Times, November 7, 1922.

Quote: “He who seldom thinks of heaven is not likely to get there. The way to hit the mark is to keep the eye fixed upon it.”—By Bishop Horne, Signs of the Times, July 1, 1903.

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Don't miss the March 2008 issue of Signs of the Times: “All I Need to Know I learned from My Students”, “Who Wrote the Bible?”, “When Words are Not Enough”, “The Middle East Quagmire”, “Who’s Afraid of the End Time?” and other important articles. To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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I am reminded of an essay by the nature enthusiast James Tucker, of Austin, Texas. Tucker talks about a remarkable experiment in which a pilot followed the flight of a young bird that used remarkable inbuilt qualities.

Tucker begins his piece with a Bible text, James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights [God], with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Then he states:

“On May 24, 1965, a young gray-cheeked thrush was captured in central Illinois as it was on it way north for the summer for the first time. Scientists glued a tiny transmitter to the feathers on the bird’s back and then released it. Local receivers began to pick up the signals and thus were able to keep track of the bird’s movements. The thrush had already traveled several thousand miles from its winter home and had a few hundred miles still to go before reaching its Canadian nesting ground. Earlier studies have shown that these birds actually travel by using the stars as a guide.

“As evening approached on the day the transmitter was attached, the receivers picked up signals that indicated the bird had taken to the air in a northward direction. The scientists had equipped a plane with a receiver, so they took off immediately and were soon picking up signals from the bird. Before long they were able to establish its course and flying speed. The course lay slightly east of north, and with the help of a stiff tail wind the bird was traveling about 50 miles per hour.

“The full story is a thrilling one, but, briefly, the pilot tracked the thrush for some eight hours through the night sky, during which time the bird passed directly over the city of Chicago and did not lose one degree of accuracy on its course. The course was so exact that the pilot was able to land, refuel, plot where the bird would be out over the middle of Lake Michigan, and exactly what time it would be there. The pilot circled at that point, and the bird arrived right on time.

“For eight hours man and bird flew through the night. Man’s ability depended on training and carefully constructed mechanical things. The bird’s ability was somehow inbuilt.”

After assuring us that the thrush reached its Canadian nesting ground, James Tucker concludes, “When will we learn to follow the wisdom coming from God? In following Him we possess the antidote to stress, because with Him is ‘no variableness, neither shadow of turning’ (James 1:17).”--By Kenneth J. Holland, These Times, May 1983.

Quote: “The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth and have it found out by accident.”—By Charles Lamb, These Times, June 1961.

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NEW from Pacific Press—“Any Sacrifice but Conscience” by Walter C. Utt and Helen G. Pyke. This historically accurate and compelling tale of courage and commitment to Christ will appeal to history lovers and avid readers alike. Set during the time of Louis XIV’s persecution of Protestants in seventeenth century France, you will learn of the “glorious return” of the Waldenses to their valleys, and of the trials of the Huguenots who continue to struggle as their faith is tested to the limit and they gain nothing at all. “Any Sacrifice but Conscience” is on sale for 25% off during the month of February.

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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Listen to the advice an old man gave a group of students. They asked him: “What would you do if you had your life to live over again?”

His unhesitating reply was: “I’d be kinder, just kinder. That’s what I’d be.”

Every day is a new beginning. God will give deliverance from criticism and from all other sins. Jesus will come into our hearts and make them like His own. His love will crowd out sin. His love will cleanse the heart and write therein the law of kindness. It will fill the heart with that heavenly, inexhaustible love that never changes.—By Mrs. E. E. Andross, Signs of the Times, September 14, 1948.

Quote: “ ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock.’ That is the Christian’s call to prayer! That is the pathos of prayer—God’s yearning so often repulsed. That is the power of prayer—it is based, not on our weak human desires, but on the desires of an infinite God.”—By Amos R. Wells, Signs of the Times, August 10, 1948.

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Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: What will it take to reach my friend with the good news about Jesus? Many are finding that the answer is Signs of the Times. Its fresh presentation of the gospel beckons readers to take a second look. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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I once read the story of a little girl who found this blessed hope in Christ. She was dying of tuberculosis, and her parents were concerned about her salvation. She had left the church of her father and joined one of the evangelical churches. In desperation her parents requested their minister to visit the girl and try to persuade her to return to their church.

The minister pleaded with the child, but in vain. Then in desperation he said, “If you don’t return to our church, we will not be able to bury you in holy ground.”

Raising herself on her frail elbows the child said, “You do not frighten me. Bury me where you will. When the Lord Jesus returns for me, He will know where I am.”—By L. C. Naden, Signs of the Times, May 1963.

Quote: “Kindness is a language that the dumb can speak and the deaf can understand.”—By Charles G. Bellah, Signs of the Times, July 22, 1930.

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Signs of the Times draws people to Jesus. It’s that simple and that beautiful. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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Some years ago, so the story is told, there appeared in the streets of Los Angeles, an old man with a long flowing beard and a kindly face claiming to be Jesus. A crowd gathered round, and some were ready to believe, but just then, in a nearby street, a Salvation Army band began to play that old gospel song “I shall know Him, I shall know Him. . . By the print of the nails in His hands.”

Someone shouted, “Show us your hands, old man!” Needless to say, the impostor fled. It will be the same Jesus, the One who hung upon the cross, the One with the nail-prints in His hands, who comes to earth the second time.—By Kenneth Lacey, These Times, August 1974.

Quote: “Teach me that 60 minutes make an hour, 16 ounces a pound, and 100 cents a dollar. Help me to live so that I can lie down at night with a clear conscience and unhaunted by the faces of those to whom I may have brought pain. Grant that I may earn my meal ticket on the square, and in earning it I may do unto others as I would have them do unto me. Deafen me to the tingle of tainted money. Blind me to the faults of other fellows and reveal to me my own. Guide me so that each night when I look across the table at my spouse, who has been a blessing to me, I will have nothing to conceal. Keep me young enough to laugh with little children and sympathetic so as to be considerate of old age. Amen.”—Unknown, These Times, October 1960.

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Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others. If this FREE newsletter was forwarded to you by a friend, and you would like to receive it directly on a monthly basis, email: join-signsnews@lyra.pacificpress.com