December 2016 Signs of the Times Newsletter

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December 2016 Signs of the Times Email Newsletter The Signs of the Times newsletter is a collection of stories and quotes from past issues ofSigns and These Times. ***************************      Some rude children in Madagascar were one day calling out, “A leper, a leper,” to a poor woman who had lost all her fingers and toes by the dread disease.      A missionary lady who was nearby put her hand on the woman’s shoulder and asked her to sit down on the grass next to her.      The woman fell sobbing, overcome by emotion, and cried out: “A human hand has touched me. For seven years no one has touched me.”      The missionary says that at that moment it flashed across her mind why it is recorded in the Gospels that Jesus touched the leper. That is just what others would not do. It was the touch of sympathy as well as of healing power.—From Mission Workers, Signs of the Times, June 28, 1910. Quote: “No man can hold Christ in one hand and the world in the other.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, October 26, 1915. *************************** Don't miss the ­­­­­­­­January 2017 issue of Signs of the Times: To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or CLICK to order online. ***************************      The first Christmas carol told of “peace on earth, good will to men.” It was written in heaven and sung by angels in the night, as Judean shepherds watched their flocks on the hills near Bethlehem. It was truly “glory to God in the highest,” and still echoes down the corridors of time with all the majesty of the angel voices.      Music became a part of the early church from the very beginning. At first the chants and all church litany were in Latin and not understood by the common people. So, when the carol, written in the language of the people, was introduced in the thirteenth century, it immediately became popular. As the years went by, certain hymns and carols became a permanent part of Christmas, and today they are sung and enjoyed all over the world.      Charles Wesley was inspired to write the spirited carol “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” while listening to the pealing of bells as he was walking to church one Christmas morning. Originally the first two lines were written:      “Hark, how all the welkin rings,      Glory to the King of Kings!”      He wrote the hymn in 1739, but the tune that is now generally used was not written until a century later, when Mendelssohn’s Festesang was first performed in Leipzig, to celebrate the invention of printing. Mendelssohn wrote the tune, never intending it for sacred words. Dr. W. H. Cummings put the two together in 1856; thus we have the carol as it is sung today.”—By Gladys K. Bradley, These Times, December 1961. Quote: “Happiness dies unless it is shared.”—By Charles G. Bellah, Signs of the Times, October 29, 1929. *************************** A few days ago the world was told of the death of Fidel Castro. Read two remarkable stories from Castro’s Cuba—stories of courage, and faith: I Will Die Free the moving story of Nobel Alexander. No More Broken Strings, the story of Jaime Jorge. Order from your Adventist Book Center at: 1-800-765-6955. ***************************                                                                                                   A few days after the death of his daughter, Oliver Cromwell called for a godly friend to read to him Paul’s words to the Philippians.      “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”      When the passage had been read, Cromwell said this scripture had saved his life after a previous tragedy, the death of his eldest son. Then he repeated Paul’s words: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”      Then and there he exclaimed, “ ‘Tis true. Paul has learned this, and attained to this state of grace; but what shall I do?” A moment later the stern old Cromwell went on to quote Paul’s further word: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”      Then a smile broke over his face, and he said, “He that was Paul’s Christ is my Christ, too.”—By Ralph W. Sockman, These Times, November 1961. Quote: “My mother’s habit was, every day, immediately after breakfast, to withdraw for an hour to her own room, and to spend that hour in reading the Bible, in meditation and prayer. From that hour, as from a pure fountain, she drew the strength and sweetness which enabled her to fulfill all her duties, and to remain unruffled by all the worries and pettiness which are so often the intolerable trial of narrow neighborhoods. As I think of her life, and all it had to bear, I see the absolute triumph of Christian grace in the lovely ideal of a Christian lady.”—by Dean Frederick Farrar, These Times, November 1966. *************************** NEW from Pacific Press—A Thoughtful Hour 2 by Jerry D. Thomas. Imagine sitting on the shore of the lake that morning, waiting and watching for Jesus. Following Him up the hillside, would you sit close by and watch—and listen? Would you be hoping to see someone healed? Or hoping to be in His army when He led the battle against the Romans? Putting ourselves on the scene that day will help us hear the words of Jesus more clearly and understand what they should mean in our lives today. The teachings in the Beatitudes are a pathway to heaven, and we can learn to follow each step. This book is designed to give a little structure and focus to the study of the life and words of Jesus. It’s a study guide for the book Blessings, or can also be used in conjunction with Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. Whether you work through the pages as part of a group, or on your own, you will find what it means to be a part of the kingdom of heaven. Read the first chapter of this book ONLINE. Order ONLINE or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955. ***************************     The Presbyterian relates that at the village of W. was the home of a man who was honest in his dealings, but who took no interest in religious things. His business was absorbing; and as the day of rest came, he was disinclined for public service, preferring ease and quiet at home, and rather enjoying than otherwise his reputation as an unbeliever. In the midst of external prosperity and apparent health a fatal disease suddenly appeared. One of his first movements was to send for a minister.      “Now, Mr. F.,” he said, “if you can help me I will be glad, for I am uncertain as to the future; but I don’t want to hear about Jesus Christ.”      The faithful old servant of God quailed at first, but undertook the service upon the basis proposed. “Well,” he said, “I will talk with you tonight upon the greatness of God.” His watchful hearer agreed to it, and listened attentively while the minister spoke of the wonders of creation, the beauties of nature, the telescope and the microscope. The sick man was profoundly interested throughout the interview, and urged the minister to come again on the following evening. As the good man entered the chamber on the next evening, he said, “I will tell you tonight of the goodness of God.” His hearer listened attentively, and as the unnumbered mercies and blessings were made to pass before him, his mind was moved, and he exclaimed, “It is all true!” And yet the name of Christ had not been alluded to.      At the next interview the minister said, “We will talk tonight of the justice of God.” The sick man in his armchair trembled with new and strange emotions as the awfulness of this attribute of Jehovah took possession of his mind; and as the skillful fisher drew the net tighter, his conviction of sin had become a power within him hitherto unknown. At the crisis, when the face of the hearer indicated the alarm of his soul, as his sins stood in awful array before him, the minister rose to take his leave.      “You are not going now, Mr. F., and leave me in this distress? Can’t you give me some comfort?”      “No,” said the minister, kindly, “I cannot. You have yourself forbidden my doing so.”      “What do you mean, sir?” said the distressed man.      “I mean that He whose name you will not hear, and whose love is so deep, is the only one in Heaven or earth who can comfort and save you.”     The veil dropped from the eyes of the blinded man; he listened eagerly to the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, joyfully accepted the terms of salvation, and lived for seven months, testifying continually of God’s great mercy in saving the chief of sinners.—Selected, Signs of the Times, June 8, 1888. Quote: “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.”—By Walter Lippmann, These Times, September 1966. *************************** Place in your church newsletter or bulletin: Send a GIFT that helps your friends and neighbors find hope and meaning in these momentous times. Each month Signs of the Times® takes on a broken world and directs hearts to Jesus for relevant answers. The result is changed lives! Order from your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: http://www.adventistbookcenter.com/signs-of-the-times-magazine-yearly-us-subscription.html ***************************      Many years ago on a summer afternoon, John Jacob Niles heard a band of traveling evangelists in Murphy, North Carolina. Annie Morgan, a member of the group, sang one of the most strikingly beautiful folk melodies that Niles had ever heard. He requested that she repeat the words. Millions now hear them each Christmas:      “I wonder as I wander, out under the sky,      How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die      For poor on’ry people like you and like I,      I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.”      Despite his efforts to locate Annie, Niles was never again to find her. Aren’t there many like Annie? They live quietly. They may be unknown to most people. But yet somehow they offer God and others influences that live on after they have gone.—By David A. MacLennan, These Times, March 1961. Quote: “A man can no more take in a supply of grace for the future than he can eat enough today to last him for the next six months or take sufficient air into his lungs at once to sustain life for a week to come. We must draw upon God’s boundless stores of grace from day to day as we need it.”—By D. L. Moody, These Times, July 1966. *********************** NEW from Guide Magazine—Desmond Doss for Kids! This 16-page special issue of the popular Guide Magazine tells the story of courage, faith and heroism of Desmond Doss aimed at junior age children. It includes thought questions to help young people resolve to be true to their faith in God. Perfect for home, school, Pathfinders and Sabbath School. Available at your Adventist Book Center. ONLINE or call 1-800-765-6955. ***************************      “I want you to spend fifteen minutes every day praying for foreign missions,” said the pastor to some young people in his congregation. “But beware how you pray, for I warn you that it is a very costly experiment.”      “Costly?” they asked in surprise.       “Aye, costly,” he cried. “When Carey began to pray for the conversion of the world, it cost him himself, and it cost those who prayed with him very much. Brainerd prayed for the native Americans, and after two years of blessed work it cost him his life. Two students of Mr. Moody’s summer school began to pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth more servants into His harvest; and, lo it is going to cost our country five thousand young men and women, who have, in answer to this prayer, pledged themselves to the work! Be sure it is a dangerous thing to pray in earnest for this work; you will find that you cannot pray and withhold your money; nay, that your very life will no longer be your own, when your prayers begin to be answered.”—From Apostolic Guide, Signs of the Times, December 26, 1892. Quote: “That man is a bad preacher in the pulpit who is not a good preacher out of it; and no man in the world has a right to stand up for God, if God has not adorned him with personal holiness. We should preach by what we are, as well as by what we say.”—By Rowland Hill, Signs of the Times, June 30, 1881. *************************** Christmas In My Heart, vol. 25. This much loved, and longest running anthology of Christmas stories by Joe Wheeler is now available! CLICK to read a FREE story from Christmas In My Heart online. *************************** Human Relations Want to improve your ability for getting along with other people? Try some of these: Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word of greeting. Smile at people. It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, and only fourteen muscles to smile. Call people by name. The sweetest music to anyone’s ears is the sound of his own name. Be friendly and helpful. If you would have friends, be friendly.  Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do were a genuine pleasure. Be genuinely interested. You can like everyone if you try.  Be generous with praise, cautious with criticism.  Be considerate with the feelings of others. It will be appreciated. Be thoughtful of the opinions of others. There are three sides to a controversy—yours, the other fellow’s, and the right one. Be alert to give service. What counts most in life is what we do for others.—Unknown, These Times, June 1966.  *************************** Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others.