February 2021 Signs of the Times Newsletter!

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February 2021 Signs of the Times Newsletter The Signs of the Times newsletter is a collection of stories and quotes from past issues of Signs and These Times. ***************************      As Napoleon marched eastward, one of his trusted counselors was proved guilty of treason. A letter he had written was intercepted, and the man was condemned to die. His faithful wife decided to go before the emperor and to plead for his life. As she stood before Napoleon, she was shown the letter and asked if she recognized the handwriting. She readily admitted that the letter was his, but she said, "He has learned his lesson and will never fail you again. Just give him a chance."      Turning to Talleyrand, his secretary of state, who sat working at a near-by desk, Napoleon asked, "Is there any other evidence that this man is a traitor?" He was assured this was the only evidence. Before the eyes of the tearful wife he slowly dropped the letter to the hearth, and with his cane pushed it into the roaring flames. Then turning to the wife, he said, "As far as I know, there is no evidence that your husband is a traitor."—By F. O. Sanders, These Times, August 1951. Quote: “He who would pass the declining years of his life with honor and comfort, should, when young, consider that he may one day become old, and remember, when he is old, that he has once been young.”—By Addison, These Times, August 1951. *************************** Don't miss the March 2021 issue of Signs of the Times: To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or CLICK HERE to order online. ***************************      A great ship once crashed on the rocky coast of England. In the gale all were lost but one young lad, who was carried high onto a rocky ledge. All night the winds lashed at him, and the waves tore at his feet.      When morning came, those watching saw him clinging to the rock. They hurried to his rescue. "Weren't you afraid in the wind and the storm?" they asked as they cared for him. "Didn't you tremble when the waves tore at your feet?"      "Tremble?" he repeated. "I trembled many times, but that rock didn't tremble once." He smiled at his rescuers. "Not once," he added.      The winds of troubles and fears and worries—how we tremble before them when all we have to do is hide, like Moses, in the cleft of our Rock! Here, shut in with Him, we may know the Father's goodness, His gracious mercy. The Saviour's joy and trust will be our joy and trust. No storm, however dark and threatening, can tear us from this sheltering care if we keep close to Him. "Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. . . . For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock." Psalm 27: 3, 5.—By Inez Brasier, The Watchman Magazine, May 1943. *************************** NEW from Pacific Press—In the Name of Jesus by Ron Clouzet. What if, instead of waiting for an effective strategy to reach the lost, we realize prayer is the strategy? We usually think of prayer in a supporting role to ministry; but when it comes to large cities or other challenging fields, small or large, a prayer plan that works is the first and most important step. This book is a must read for all who take the gospel seriously. CLICK HERE to read the first chapter FREE online. Also available as an eBook. CLICK HERE. Order ONLINE or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955. ***************************      The sun rose one morning on a dreadful scene. Strewn over the ground was the flower of the French nobility—knights and nobles interspersed among the common footmen, lying where they had fallen.      Here, the day before, the English and the French had fought the great battle of Crecy. Late into the night the battle had raged. Midnight struck before all the defeated French had fled.      Not until the day broke did the English realize how complete the victory had been. But as soon as it was light, out they went to count the dead, search for comrades, aid the wounded.      King Edward III and his son, the Black Prince, were among them. Eagerly they sought to identify the chief knights and lords. Presently they noticed one arrayed in unusually expensive armor. Examining the armor carefully, they recognized it as belonging to old King John of Bohemia, who, though blind, had insisted on joining in the fight.      As the familiar old story relates, Edward saw on the king’s crest a badge of three white ostrich feathers, with the words Ich Dien, “I Serve.”      Plucking it from the armor of the dead king he gave it to his son as a fitting token of that day. From that morning in 1346 to the present time, the Prince of Wales has always borne this badge and motto.      Once there was another battle, and another King who died. Though infinitely greater than the king of Bohemia, yet His was the same motto. His life centered in the theme, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” Matthew 20:27. “From His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others.”      God, our Father, takes that motto from the heart of King Jesus and offers it to each one of us, a pattern for our lives.      “I Serve.” Wonderful words! Motto of the first-born sons of the kings of England. Motto of the only-begotten Son of the King of heaven. What a more fitting motto for us, called to be, with Jesus, sons of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords!—By Lawrence Maxwell, Signs of the Times, December 23, 1947. Quote: “I may not live until Jesus comes, but I plan on being alive when He comes.”—By Charles G. Bellah, Signs of the Times, June 4, 1929. *************************** Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: People sense that something is amiss, but the challenge of social distancing makes it difficult to reach them with answers from the Bible. This recent development makes Signs of the Times® more valuable than ever. Sending a monthly subscription to a friend or neighbor is the perfect way to safely and effectively share Jesus. Order from your Adventist Book Center today. Call: 1-800-765-6955, or go to: https://adventistbookcenter.com/signs-of-the-times-magazine.html ***************************      On November 23, 1892, Dwight L. Moody and his son Will lay on their bunks in their cabin on the German liner Spree because of bad weather. Suddenly there was a terrible crashing sound as though the ship had hit a rock. Jumping down from his bunk, Will ran for the door to investigate. In moments he was back with an explanation, “The propeller shaft has broken and the ship is sinking!”      Moody dressed and followed his son onto the deck where hundreds of anxious passengers milled around.      “There’s no danger,” Captain Willigerod assured them. “Go back to your cabins.” When the second-class passengers tried to go back to their cabins, they discovered water rushing in.      By noon the captain announced, “The water is under control and we won’t have to abandon ship. I expect we will drift into the way of another vessel by three in the afternoon.” But it got dark and they had sighted no sails.      “That was an awful night, the darkest in all our lives,” Dwight later reported. “No one dared sleep. . . . The agony and suspense were too great for words.”      As the tense passengers waited, they saw rockets flame into the sky, but no one answered their signal for help. Sunday morning, they were still afloat but drifting further from possible help. As the second night approached, Dwight got permission from the captain to hold a religious service.      They all came—Jews, Protestants, Catholics, and skeptics—looking to Dwight L. Moody for some words of hope. He clasped a pillar with one arm to steady himself and began to read Psalm 91. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge. . . in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee. . . . Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night. . . . There shall no evil befall thee.”      The eleventh verse touched Dwight deeply. His voice was full of emotion as he read: “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all they ways.” He had a sense of the presence of the heavenly messengers, and his heart was calmed in the midst of the storm. He prayed then, “Lord, still the raging of the sea and bring us to our desired haven. We are trusting in You to deliver us in our time of trouble.”      Encouraged, he turned then to Psalm 107 and read verses 21-31. All eyes were fixed on him as he read verses 23 and onward. “They that go down to the sea in ships. . . these see the works of the Lord. . . . They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble and he bringeth them out of their distresses.”      “Show me that in the Bible,” a woman asked him afterward. When she read it for herself, she confessed, “I thought those were words you had written especially for this occasion.”      Moody went then to his cabin and thought of his wife, children, friends, and his ministry on both sides of the Atlantic. He realized that the next hour might be his last.      He thought of the words he had read in Psalm 91:15, 16: “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” He cried then unto the Lord from the depth of his soul, “Lord save us, but they will be done!” Peace came into his heart, and he slept.      At three o’clock in the morning, he awoke suddenly. It was his son calling, “Come on deck, Father. Come quickly!”      Moody followed Will onto the deck where he saw a small light rising and falling on the sea. It was the light of Lake Huron, A Canadian freighter that had seen their distress signals. They were on their way to rescue the 700 desperate passengers and crew on the vessel Spree.      There were some anxious moments as they tried to connect the two boats with a cable. Some felt the cables would snap and they would all go down with the ship. However, with the words of Psalm 91 in mind, Moody had no fear. He believed God would do as He had promised and would see them to safety.      Moody wrote, “There were storms all about us, but they came not nigh our broken ship. Seven days after the accident, by the good hand of our God upon us, we were able to hold a joyous thanksgiving service in the harbor of Queenstown.” They had been towed a thousand miles to safety.      “Psalm 91 was a new psalm to me after that experience,” testified Moody.      Will told his father, “I always doubted if direct answers to prayer ever came, but I am no longer doubtful.” Epilogue      Although a shoe salesman with only a few years of education, Moody is remembered as an evangelist who won thousands to Christ, inspired missionaries, and started three Bible schools.      During the 1882-1884 evangelistic tour in England, Dwight Lyman Moody spoke at Cambridge University, overcoming the ridicule of the students to win an unprecedented response. Seven young men of wealth, social position, and athletic prowess, known as the “Cambridge Seven,” gave up their careers and sailed the next year as missionaries to China. This was the beginning of the Student Volunteer Movement that stirred young people in the universities of the western world for several decades. C. T. Studd, one of those seven, founded Worldwide Evangelization Crusade, that sent out thousands of missionaries.      In 1886, Moody founded a school in Chicago that later became known as Moody Bible Institute. He also founded Northfield Seminary for girls and Mount Hermon School for boys near his home in Northfield, Massachusetts. He died in Northfield in 1899.—By Ron and Dorothy Watts, The Scripture That Changed My Life.      The Scripture That Changed My Life has more than 40 stories—showing that God’s Word changes lives. These stories are great for all ages. They are great stories for worship—at home and at school. And, for pastors—they make awesome sermon illustrations. Order a copy today from your Adventist Book Center: 1-800-765-6955 or ONLINE! *************************** Would you like to give a Bible study, but don’t know where to start? Visit www.ToolsForEvangelism.com There you will find resources to give you confidence! ***************************      There was once a noted robber and his gang who lived in a cave in a high mountain. When he was about to raid a certain valley, he would hire men to go from house to house in that valley and spread the report that the great robber whom they had so long feared was now dead. That was his trick to put the people off their guard and leave their property ex-posed. And then the great robber and his gang would swoop down on that valley and plunder the people's goods without resistance.      In the same way, the devil has tried to capture this world for himself. He has hired men to go up and down in the world preaching the doctrine that there is no devil.—By John L. Shuler, Signs of the Times, February 24, 1942. Quote: " Garments of righteousness never go out of style.”—Unknown, The Youth’s Instructor, January 8, 1929. *************************** Pocket Signs are an easy and effective way to share your faith. CLICK HERE to see a wide assortment of topics! ***************************  Are you looking for comfort and strength? Keep Reading! February has been called “the month of love”. What better time to be reminded of God’s great love. First notice the following quote by Ellen White made in the Review and Herald. Then take time to read again the great love chapter of the Bible! And, why not take time to read it each day this month?   “The Lord desires me to call the attention of His people to the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read this chapter every day, and from it obtain comfort and strength. Learn from it the value that God places on sanctified, heaven-born love, and let the lesson that it teaches come home to your hearts. Learn that Christlike love is of heavenly birth, and that without it all other qualifications are worthless.”—By Ellen White, Review and Herald, July 21, 1904.    1 Corinthians 13 (NKJV) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these islove. *************************** Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others.

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