November 2011 Signs of the Times

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November 2011 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.

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A beautiful statue stands in the marketplace. It is that of a Greek slave girl, but she is well-dressed, tidy, and handsome. A dirty, forlorn, ragged slave-girl passes by. She sees the statue, stops and gazes at it in rapt admiration. She goes home, washes her face, and combs her hair. Another day she stops in passing, to look at the statue. Next day her tattered clothes are washed and mended. Each day she stops to look at the statue, and each next day she has imitated some of its beauties, until the dirty, ragged slave becomes completely transformed; she becomes another girl. This is the way Christ teaches. He does not hurl His own individuality upon others; He simply lives and works and loves before men, not to be seen of them but to inspire to a holy emulation.—Selected, Signs of the Times, June 9, 1890.

Quote: “What little things are capable of giving help at critical times! A mere twig may help a mountain climber up the last difficult step of his way, when without it he might have lost his footing and fallen. The smallest good thing that anyone can do or say may be some one’s else salvation in a moral or spiritual crisis.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, March 9, 1904.

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Don't miss the December 2011 issue of Signs of the Times: “Staying Motivated This Winter”, “You Are What You Think”, “Committing to a Cause”, “What Difference Does a Day Make?” and other important articles.

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

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There was a poor boy in London who loved toys, but he could not have them. He used to go down the street and gaze through the shop windows at the wonderful displays of things that he wanted and longed for. But he never got them, for there was always a glass window between.

One day he was run over in the street by a truck and was taken to the hospital. As he lay there on his cot, they propped him up and brought him toy soldiers to play with. He looked at them, then slowly reached out and touched them. He touched them again and again, and every time he would say, “No glass between.” He didn’t have to look through a glass window that held back his hands. Now he could actually hold the precious toys! The Scripture says, “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Why not make application today for a place in that kingdom which shall never end, the land of eternity; a home in the City of God where we shall see Jesus face-to-face?—By Kenneth J. Holland, These Times.

Quote: “We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.”—By Helen Keller, These Times, June 1971.

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NEW from Pacific Press—What Jesus Really Meant by Richard Litke. Much of the Bible speaks to us in such simple terms that even children can understand it. But some parts of it raise questions that demand clear, substantial answers. In short, understandable chapters, Richard L. Litke, longtime professor of biblical languages, provides authoritative answers to the questions raised by challenging New Testament passages. You’ll find his explanations, helpful, easy to understand, and faith-building.

Read the first chapter of this book online at http://www.adventistbookcenter.com/Detail.tpl?sku=0816324794 Order online or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955.

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A big, tall, giant of a man, with kind but homely face, was one day making his way along the streets when he overtook a little girl, who evidently was in trouble. From her sobbing and crying, he knew something was wrong. Big as he was, he had a kind heart, and stopped to ask what the trouble might be, and if he could be of any help.

It took a little coaxing on the part of the big, tall stranger, but she finally told him that she had planned to go away on the train, and had asked some one to call and get her trunk and take it to the station. It was almost train time, and no one had come for the trunk. And she must catch the train.

The big, tall man told her to dry her tears and show him where the trunk was. He would take it to the station for her. He soon had the trunk on his back, and carried it to the depot in time for her to buy her ticket. She was a happy little girl, and he was a happy man. His life was made up of just such little acts of kindness.

He was one of the best-loved men of all time, Abraham Lincoln. Some one called him the American Greatheart. He was kind to every one—to little children, to the poor, to his soldiers, to the wives and mothers of the soldiers, even to animals.

Some think it is a sign of weakness to be kind, but it is really a mark of greatness. Few men have had more troubles and perplexities than did Lincoln, yet few men are more sympathetic and considerate.—By Archa O. Dart, Our Times, March 1950.

Quote: Martin Luther once said that from every text in the Bible a plain path could be beaten to the foot of the cross.—Our Times, July 1950.

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Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: Signs of the Times brings the gospel to your friends and neighbors in full color! They will be attracted to Jesus by the timely and relevant articles. Send a subscription today. Order from your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: www.pacificpress.com/signs

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“I tell you,” said a non-thinker, who fancied himself a free-thinker, “the idea that there is a God has never come into my head.”

“Ah! Precisely like my dog. But there is this difference, he doesn’t go around howling about it.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, January 18, 1883.

Quote: “Religion isn’t gloomy; it is happy—something to cheer us and make us more content.”—By Lady Astor, Signs of the Times, January 6, 1931.

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Thank God for the key to the heavenly treasure house. Why should any soul be poverty-stricken, or any heart remain in bondage? The promises of the Bible are living words, every one a key to the riches of infinite grace.

Christian and Hopeful were lying in Doubting Castle, giving way to despair. Suddenly Christian aroused himself. (This is from Pilgrim’s Progress.)

“ ‘What a fool,’ quoth he, ‘am I, to lie in a stinking dungeon when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.’ Then said Hopeful, ‘That’s good news; good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try.’ “

And sure enough, the key of Promise slid back every rusty bolt, and the pilgrims were out again in heaven’s sunlight and liberty. The key of the kingdom lets us out of bondage, as well as into the righteousness and peace and joy of the kingdom.—By William A. Spicer, Signs of the Times, November 26, 1918.

Quote: “He who thinks of sin lightly will feel its force heavily.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, January 28, 1903.

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“It must be done!”

I was watching the goldsmith fashion a beautiful bangle. Various manipulations were necessary, but at last it seemed to me that the splendid work was finished. But lo! The artisan put the tiny shining bit into the flame and burned it black.

“Why destroy its splendid luster,” I exclaimed, disappointed.

“Wait,” he said, as he held the bit against the polishing wheel. As by magic the dull black disappeared, and the rosy luster of the metal flashed in his fingers, rich, without a scratch, more perfect a dozen times than it had been before.

“You can’t tell,” said the workman at last, “you never can tell about the unfinished job in the workman’s hands. Wait. Leave it to him, and don’t worry.”

Only the Maker, He who sees the end of all from the first, knows the result of human life—your human life and mine. His thoughts concerning us are thoughts of improvement, progress, and attainment. If we are in His hands His thoughts will be carried out. If we are not in His hands it is high time to get there.—By Edison Driver, Signs of the Times, May 13, 1903.

Quote: “It will hurt you more to live a day without prayer than to live it without bread.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, August 28, 1901.

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Read articles from previous issues of Signs of the Times: www.SignsTimes.org

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It is related of Moffat, the great missionary, that the night he was leaving England for his field of labor in Africa, a few of his friends met with him for the last time. During the evening, a pious young lady, wishing to have his autograph, presented her album, and asked him for his autograph. Taking the album, he wrote the following lines:

“My album is a heathen heart,

Where darkness reigns and tempests wrest,

Without one ray of light.

To write the name of Jesus there

And point to worlds both bright and fair

And see the heathen bow in prayer

Is my supreme delight.”—By George B. Thompson, Signs of the Times, January 4, 1927.

Quote: “Our greatest troubles never happen.”—By Charles G. Bellah, Signs of the Times, April 15, 1930.

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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