June 2008 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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The story is told of how once Frederick the Great, one of the most eccentric sovereigns who ever graced a European throne, was selecting a court chaplain. He advertised for a number of candidates, who preached before the court on successive Sundays. But the requirement was that each preacher should not know in advance what text he was to preach upon. As he was ready to ascend the pulpit, an officer of the court would step up and hand him an envelope; within that envelope was a slip of paper bearing a text; and from that text the candidate must preach.

On one Sunday the candidate for the day was handed his envelope; he ascended the pulpit; he opened the envelope, and took out the slip of paper. But it was blank. He examined it carefully to see if any markings had eluded him. But the scrap of paper bore not a single line.

Looking calmly at his audience, the preacher said, “The slip in my hand says nothing. Now, my brethren, God made the world out of nothing!” And he went right on to preach a stirring sermon on the creation.—By Gwynne Dalrymple, Signs of the Times, October 27, 1936.

Quote: “A man’s religion can not be worth much when he has to consult his lawyer to know whether he is doing right.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, June 5, 1907.

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Don't miss the July 2008 issue of Signs of the Times: “Dieting Can Be Dangerous,” “Predicting the Second Coming,” “Does God Torture Sinners?” “5 Ways to Increase Your Faith,” “Tobacco: You Can Be Free!” and other important articles to read and share.

To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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Strangely enough, another will excuse himself by saying he is not good enough. "The Lord could never save a sinner like me!" he says despairingly.

When I hear a person make such a statement, I think of the young man who approached his spiritual adviser for help.

"Sir," the youth said, "I am a lost man."

"This is fine!" the minister replied.

The young man, thinking perhaps his friend did not understand him, repeated, "But I tell you I am a lost man!"

"This is good," the man of God assured him. "Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost!"

The Lord Jesus specializes in apparently hopeless cases. His power is not limited. He still saves "them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him." Hebrews 7:25--By Robert H. Pierson, These Times, January 1959.

Quote: “Conceit is the most incurable disease that is known to the human soul.”—By Henry Ward Beecher, Signs of the Times, July 31, 1907.

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It is recorded of a certain philosopher, that a friend who went to visit him met the philosopher himself. Knowing that the father was such a deeply learned man, he thought that the little girl must have learned something very grave, something very deep, from such a father, and he said to her, “What is your father teaching you?”

The little maid looked at him with clear blue eyes, and just said, “Obedience.”

That was what the great and wise man taught his little girl, and I believe that is the most important lesson for children to learn, “to be obedient.” It is a lesson necessary for happiness, for their safety, and, I think we may say, for their life.—Canon Wynne, Signs of the Times, April 20, 1888.

Quote: “No pain, no palm; no cross, no crown.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, June 8, 1888.

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Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: Signs of the Times® gets RESULTS. Each year thousands request Bible studies after reading its life changing articles. Bring a friend or neighbor one step closer to Jesus by getting them into the Word. Order Signs today at your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com

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At a missionary meeting in Paris a poor blind woman put twenty-seven francs into the plate.

“You cannot afford so much,” said the man who was holding the plate.

“Yes, I can,” she answered. And on being pressed to tell how she could give so much she said: “I am blind; and I said to my fellow straw workers, ‘How much money do you spend in the year for oil for your lamps, when it is too dark to work nights?’ They added it up in their minds, and found it was twenty-seven francs. So,” said the poor woman, “I found that I save twenty-seven francs in the year because I am blind and do not need a lamp, and I give it to send light to the dark heathen lands.”—Selected, Signs of the Times, December 4, 1893.

Quote: “The Pharisee’s righteousness consisted in not doing evil; Christ superadded that we must do good.”—By St. Clement, Signs of the Times, November 13, 1893.

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The children in a certain school had been told by their teacher that the members of the school board were coming to visit them, therefore they must be on their good behavior. Two of the small girls were discussing the matter, when one of them reminded the other, “They may come any time. You had better clean up your desk.”

“Oh, I will do that tomorrow.”

“But they may come tomorrow.”

“I will clean it up before I go this afternoon.”

“But what if they come this morning?”

“Maybe I had better clean it now and keep it clean all the time. Then I won’t be ashamed.”

Very good philosophy, wasn’t it? It is still good reasoning. Our desks should be clean, our lives free of rubbish all the time.—By James Wallace, Our Times, November 1949.

Quote: “Many people owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.”—Boy Life, Our Times, July 1949.