March 2009 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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There is an interesting incident mentioned in the life of Charles Wesley,
which led to the writing of one of his best known hymns. One day Mr. Wesley was
sitting by an open window, looking out over the beautiful fields in summer
time. Presently a little bird flitting about in the sunshine attracted his
attention. Just then a hawk came sweeping down toward the little bird. The poor
thing, very much frightened, was darting here and there, trying to find some
place of refuge. In the bright, sunny air, in the leafy trees, or the green
fields, there was no hiding place from the fierce grasp of the hawk.
But seeing the open window and the man sitting by it, the bird flew in its
terror toward it, and with the beating heart and quivering wing, found refuge
in Mr. Wesley's bosom. He sheltered it from the threatening danger, and saved
it from a cruel death.
Mr. Wesley was at the time suffering severe trials, and was feeling the
need of a refuge in his own time of trouble, as much as the trembling little
bird did, that nestled in his bosom. So he took up his pen and wrote the
beautiful hymn:
"Jesus, Saviour of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the waves of trouble roll,
While the tempest still is high."-Examiner and Chronicle, Signs of
the Times, September 1, 1881.
Quote: "God who prepares His work through ages, accomplishes it by the weakest
instruments when His time is come."-By D'Aubigne, Signs of the Times, November
5, 1885.
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Don't miss the April 2009 issue of Signs of the Times: Articles include: "Is
the Historical Jesus the Real Jesus?", "Why Jesus Had to Die", "The Sanctuary",
"Born to Die". To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at
http://www.AdventistBookCenter.com
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The story is told of some Christian people in Africa coming together on a
certain day to pray for rain. The whole countryside was dry, brown, dusty, and
hopeless. The church folks thought it appropriate to appeal to God to have
mercy on the poor starving people.
The day arrived and the people came to the church, but only one little
girl brought her umbrella with her. In fact, many of the older ones made her
out to be a sort of joke. To the little girl it was no laughing matter. She
said, "Didn't we come to pray for rain? Well, don't you expect God to hear our
prayers and send rain? I came prepared to go home in the rain."-By Denton
Edward Rebok, These Times, March 1955.
Quote: "Once, they say, State Secretary John Foster Dulles showed up at the
airport outbound on a 'trouble-shooting mission.' The pilot asked, 'Where to,
Sir?' Mr. Dulles said, 'Anywhere. We have troubles all over!'"-By Paul Harvey,
These Times, June 1964.
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Mr. Moody tells a pithy story of a young man who held out a book to his
pastor, saying, "Here's your Bible," and, turning the leaves, showed him the
volume with many books cut out altogether, and hardly a whole page among those
that were left.
"Why, what do you mean?" asked the doctor of divinity; "that is not my
Bible."
"Yes, it is," was the reply. "I have followed your preaching for ten
years, and whenever you have discredited a book or verse, or explained it away
as uninspired or mythical, I have cut it out; and this is what is left of your
Bible."
"Let me have it," said the pastor.
"Oh, no," said the young man instantly, "I am going to hang onto the
covers anyhow."-Unknown, Signs of the Times, August 5, 1886.
Quote: A young man who was offered a package of infidel publications replied:
"If you have anything better than the Sermon on the Mount, the parables of the
prodigal son and the good Samaritan, or if you have any better code of morals
than the Ten Commandments, or anything more consoling and beautiful than the
twenty-third Psalm, or, on the whole, anything that will make this world more
bright than the Bible, anything that will throw more light on the future, and
reveal to me a Father more merciful and kind than the New Testament, please
send it along."-Argus, Signs of the Times, April 12, 1899.
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I thought the sun was blotted out of my sky-that I had so sinned against
God that there was no hope for me. I prayed-the Lord knows how I prayed, but I
never had a glimpse of an answer that I knew of. I searched the Word of God;
the promises were more alarming than the threatening. I read the privileges of
the people of God, but with the fullest persuasion that they were not for me.
The secret of my distress was this: I did not know the Gospel. I was in a
Christian land, I had Christian parents, but I did not fully understand the
freeness and simplicity of the Gospel.
I attended all the places of worship in the town where I lived, but I
honestly believe that I did not hear the Gospel fully preached. I do not blame
the men, however. One man preached the divine sovereignty. I could hear him
with pleasure; but what was that for a poor sinner who wished to know what he
should do to be saved? There was another admirable man who always preached
about the law; but what was the use of plowing up ground that wanted to be
sown? Another was a great practical teacher. I heard him, but it was very much
like a commanding officer teaching the maneuvers of war to men without feet.
What could I do? All his exhortations were lost to me. I knew it was said,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31), but I
did not know what it was to believe in Christ.
I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair now had it not
been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm one Sunday morning when I
was going to a place of worship. When I could go no farther, I turned down a
court and came to a little chapel. In the chapel there were a dozen or fifteen
people. The minister did not come that morning; snowed up, I suppose. A poor
man, a shoemaker, a tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit
to preach.
He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason he had nothing
else to say. The text was, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the
earth." Isaiah 45:22. He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did
not matter.
There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in the text. He began thus:
"My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, 'Look.' Now that
does not take a great deal of effort. It isn't lifting your foot or your
finger. It is just 'look.' Well a man need not to go to college to learn to
look. A man need not be worth a thousand a year to look. Anyone can look. A
child can look. The text says, 'Look unto Me.'"
"Aye," he said, "many of you are looking to yourselves. No use looking
there. You'll never find comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father.
No: look to Him by and by. Jesus Christ says, 'Look unto Me.' Some of you say,
'I must wait the Spirit's working.' You have no business with that just now.
Look to Christ. It runs: 'Look unto Me.'"
Then he followed up his text in this way: "Look unto Me; I am sweating
great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hanging on the cross. Look! I am dead
and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend; I am sitting at
the Father's right hand. Oh, look unto Me! Look unto Me!"
When he had spoken about ten minutes, he looked at me under the gallery,
and I dare say, with a few present, he knew me to be a stranger. He then said,
"young man, you look very miserable." Well, I did; but I had not been
accustomed to have remarks made on my personal appearance from the pulpit
before. However, it was a good blow struck. He continued: "And you will always
be miserable-miserable in life, and miserable in death-if you do not obey my
text. But if you obey now, this moment you will be saved."
Then he shouted, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ!" I did "look."
There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that
moment I saw the sun: I could have risen that moment and sung with the most
enthusiastic of them of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith
which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me that before:
Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.
It was, no doubt, wisely ordered, and I must ever say:
"E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy wounds supplied for me,
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall forever be."-By Charles Haddon Spurgeon, These Times,
December 1964.
Quote: "A child of God can see more on his knees than a philosopher on his
tiptoes."-By Mel Johnson, These Times, November 1964.
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Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others. If this
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