November 2020 Signs of the Times Newsletter!

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November 2020 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. ***************************      Matthew Hale Smith, in his book “Marvels of Prayer,” tells of a shipwreck and rescue by Captain Judkins and the crew of the Scotia. Among the rescued was a lad of about twelve years, who had lost everything.      “Who are you, my boy?” said Captain Judkins.      “I am a little boy from Scotland. My father and mother are dead, and I am going to America to find my uncle who lives in Illinois.”      “What is this?” said the captain as he took hold of a rope that was tied around the boy’s breast.      “It is a piece of cord, sir.”      “What is that tied under your arm?”      “My mother’s Bible; she told me never to lose it.”      “That’s all you saved?”      “Yes, sir.”      “Couldn’t you have saved something else?”      “Not and save that.”      “Did you expect to be lost?”      “I meant, if I went down, to take my mother’s Bible down with me.”      “Alright,” said the captain, “I’ll take care of you.”      Having reached the port of New York, Captain Judkins took the boy to a Christian merchant to whom he told this story. “I’ll take the lad,” said the merchant. “I want no other recommendation; the boy that holds on to his mother’s Bible in such perils will give a good account of himself.”—Selected, Signs of the Times, November 21, 1911. Quote: “Never taper off a bad habit; break it at once. Disease grows as much by postponement of the remedy as by ignorance of it.”—By William Watson, Signs of the Times, November 21, 1911. *************************** Don't miss the December issue of Signs of the Times: To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or online. ***************************      When William Carey learned that a fire had completely destroyed all of the manuscripts on which he had worked for years, he knelt down and thanked God that he had the strength to start over again.      Not wasting a moment in despair, he launched into the preparation of dictionaries, grammars, and other books for the people of India, where he had pioneered mission work. Carey produced far better work than that which had been destroyed.      A man who had been robbed wrote in his diary, "Let me be thankful. First, because I was never robbed before. Second, because although he took my purse, he did not take my life. Third, because although he took all I possessed, it was not much. And fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."      At this Thanksgiving season let us say, "Thank You, Lord, for health and strength to do Thy will." Let us be grateful for the simple things in life—food, clothing, shelter, and a life of sweet accord with family, friends, and fellow beings.—By Donald W. McKay, Review and Herald, November 25, 1971. Quote: "Only when we are ready to be nothing can Christ make something of us."—Unknown, The Youth’s Instructor, January 29, 1929. *************************** NEW from Pacific Press—Christmas In My Heart, Number 29. This is the perfect gift to give this season to a neighbor or friend! Order online or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955. ***************************      It was the afternoon before Thanksgiving Day. The bleak, gray sky promised a blanket of snow before the morning, and the barren trees and dreary landscape seemed to cringe in the biting wind.      Back from the wide avenue stood a prosperous looking home surrounded by broad lawns and spacious gardens. And although the biting frost tore the gentility from Nature, within the cheery walls of the house burned a blazing log in the open fireplace. The library was massive in proportions, yet the warm glow radiated the room.      Silas Wetherby scowled sullenly into the glowing coals. His left foot was propped high in front of him as he reclined on his overstuffed lounge. It was his elevated limb that was causing the scowl on his face.      "Thanksgiving Day!" he blurted to himself. "This sentimental affair has been dragged along for three hundred years. There's no sense in it. Maybe the Pilgrim Fathers had something to be thankful for when they landed on American soil, but I don't see that I have. Being housed within four walls with this miserable rheumatism is far from a thankful state of affairs."      Silas Wetherby, financier and banker, was venting his pent-up feelings. The acute attack of rheumatism had made companionship either unwanted or unbearable to both the sufferer and the visitor. Therefore, Wetherby sat alone in the library.      Meanwhile the festivity and preparation in other rooms of the home went on unnoticed by its master. Thanksgiving plans had been entered into by everyone in the household except Silas. He had declared himself above such "sentimentality." In fact, he had reached the conclusion that it was time that a little attention be paid to his suffering and hardship.      With a grunt of disgust the gray-haired man picked up his evening paper, which the maid bad laid carefully at his side. Fixing his glasses upon his nose he began to read. Mr. Wetherby always read headlines first, to gain a general trend of the day's events. He said there was no need for a man to be so narrow in his business, whether politics, stocks, banking, or what not, that he could not attempt a resume of world happenings      Headlines glared at him in letters two inches in height. "Storm Blocks Traffic in Far North—Epidemic Rages." "Steamer Wrecked in Blizzard, Ninety Perish." "Chinese Refugees Slain in Retreat. Ten Thousand Estimated Dead." "Father Kills Family of Five. Then Shoots Self." "Thanksgiving Reunion Broken as Accident Kills Eight." "Famine Faces Thousands in India." "War in Southern Europe Is Feared." "Typhus Rages in China." "Welfare Worker Finds Forty Families Penniless — Need Thanksgiving Dinners."      On and on he read—of great suffering everywhere.      With a sudden lunge forward on his lounge, Silas Wetherby was sitting bolt upright. His jaw was set in a firm line. He was thinking vividly and rapidly.      The banker's mind leaped to incident after incident. There was the man who had come to his office heartbroken because his young wife had died. John Strong, an old schoolmate of his, had died suddenly in his home leaving a sorrowing family. There was the sad, haunting face of the man in dire financial difficulty whose Thanksgiving would be marred because of debt.      “Oh what a fool, a miserable coward!" he exclaimed after a few moments. "My little pin prick of trouble knocks all of the thankfulness out of my system. What a fool, I say!"      The mantel dock chimed six. Wetherby was picking up the telephone. "I want Main 234. Hello — Wetherby speaking. About that mortgage. Yes. I've decided to fix it up for you. Yes. It will be all right. A happy Thanksgiving to you. Good-bye."      "Dinner is served, daddy,' called his little daughter as she entered the room. "A real Thanksgiving to you, all except that old foot. We're awfully sorry about it, father."      "Forget it, dear, forget it," said Wetherby with a smile. "Your gray-haired daddy has a million things to be grateful for right now. We'll have a real Thanksgiving Day after all." And leaning on his daughter's hand, they entered the dining room.      "Can't we fix up some Thanksgiving baskets for the poor, my dear?" questioned Silas Wetherby of his wife as the family were seated. With sparkling eyes Mrs. Wetherby gladly assented.     In the glow of the soft lights, the shining of silver, and the smiles of the family circled about the table, Wetherby breathed a prayer of gratitude. "Gracious Father, for all of Thy bountiful blessings we give Thee thanks. God forgive us for our ingratitude, open our hearts in true service and unselfish love for others. May we search out those who are needy and help them. And most of all, may we never be ungrateful for the blessings of life, the provisions and health that Thou hast given to us. Amen."      Lifting his head, he smiled back at the faces of those who were so precious to him. "And I thought I had nothing to be grateful for," he said, half to himself. "Why, I have the best of all to be thankful for—the means of helping to lift the heavy loads that others carry." By Merlin L. Neff, The Watchman Magazine, November 1928. Quote: “God cannot show us the stars while the sun shines in heaven.”—By J. R. Miller, Signs of the Times, March 1987. *************************** Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: Now is a great time to offer hope to your friends and neighbors. Signs of the Times® takes on a broken world and directs hearts to Jesus for relevant answers. The result is changed lives! Send a subscription today. Order from your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online: https://adventistbookcenter.com/signs-of-the-times-magazine.html ***************************      An old deacon greatly surprised his good wife one cold winter evening by saying to her," My dear, I am going out to organize a singing school." In astonishment she looked up and said, "Why, you can't sing a tune; how can you teach music?"      He made no reply, but left the house, harnessed the horses, took a good supply of provisions and fuel, and started for the home of a poor widow with six children. He found her in a destitute condition, with no fire, and the children crying for something to eat.      When he made known the object of his visit, and laid before the family what he had brought, heartfelt thanks were showered upon him. When he returned home, his wife inquired how he had succeeded in getting up his singing school, and he replied, "First class." Then taking from the shelf the family Bible, he read, "The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." (Job 29:13.)      "That is the kind of singing school I have started, one of Job's singing schools," he said, " and it was a success."—Selected, The Youth’s Instructor, November 15, 1927. Quote: “Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the night."—Unknown, The Youth’s Instructor, November 29, 1927. *************************** NEW from Signs of the Times—Peace on Earth. Share the story of God’s love this holiday seasons. ***************************      Once there was a king who employed a number of people to weave for him. The silk and the patterns for the weaving were all provided by the king. He told the workers that whenever they had any difficulty in their weaving, they should send for him, and he would be very glad to help them. He told his workers never to hesitate about calling on him just as often as they needed his help in the weaving.      Now there was a little girl who worked among the many men and women at the looms. Sometimes she worked all alone, and yet through it all she was very cheerful and always very happy. One day the men and the women were very much troubled at the sight of their failures. They had made serious mistakes in their weaving; their silks were tangled and their weaving wasn't like the pattern at all. They went to the child weaver and said, "Tell us how it is that you are so happy in your work all the time. You never seem to have any trouble, but it seems we are always having difficulty."      The little girl then said, "Why don't you send for the king? He will help you. He told us he would come any time and help us and be glad to do it."      They replied, "Well, we do this night and morning."      "Oh," she said, "just sending for him night and morning isn't enough. I send for him real often. I call him whenever I have the least little tangle or have the least little bit of trouble, and he fixes it all up."      You know, Teenagers, many of us are just like those men and women. We expect to be Christians just by praying night and morning, but God tells us to call on Him always. He says, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." We are to ask Him often to help us, and we are to make our wants and our troubles known to Him in prayer. Remember, "prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend." He invites us to visit Him often. His promises will never fail.—By Caris Lauda, Our Times, November 1949. Quote: “You may have all brilliancy and business genius, but unless you possess both conscience and integrity, the day of test will come when your fellow men will find you out, and will shun you.”—By Secretary of Labor, James J. Davis, Signs of the Times, March 14, 1922. *************************** During the month of November, all Pocket Signs are just $4.99 per package of 100. (Regular price is $8.99.) Stock up today! CLICK HERE to see the various titles! *************************** SOLVING THE PROBLEM   Happiness is best acquired From arithmetic of life, Adding up all pleasant memories And subtracting all past strife.—By Thelma Ireland, These Times, November 1952.