Signs of the Times
August 2005
Hillary Clinton: Speaking Up for Religious Freedom
Recently, Mrs Clinton addressed a dinner held in a historic Senate conference room. The occasion was sponsored by Liberty magazine, a 100-year-old religious freedom periodical founded and still published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church (in the US). While about 15 per cent of her talk was comprised of lavish praise for her hosts, she chiefly concentrated on the meaning of religious liberty, both in the US and abroad.
Secrets in the Bottle
There’s a chasm between what glitzy ads say and the effects of alcohol on our bodies and communities. Be assured, our young men and women whose minds and desires are being targeted by the carefully orchestrated media campaigns aren’t being told the life-shattering secrets of alcohol.
Bigger Than Batman
Batman has a conviction that his city can be saved and takes on the role as a crime-fighting saviour. Superheros are meant to be saviours even if they never use that term. It’s part of their job description, part of the role they take on. But what about the One called the Saviour—Jesus Christ?
God’s Final Altar Call
Every false religious system uses “good works” as its basis for salvation; every false religious system to some degree distorts the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
The Cost of Caring
I had no right to be delighted! This was a schoolyard brawl, I was a teacher, and duty required immediate action. But as it was, I was struggling not to cheer! Now don’t get the wrong impression; I’m a peaceful person and I’ve been around long enough to know that violence doesn’t solve much. But this felt different.
She Brings Joy
Ironically, she struggled to learn the alphabet. She remembers her first years at school. “I had no understanding of phonics,” she says. “The teacher tried to beat it into me. It didn’t make sense. The more she hit me, the less I could reason through the process.” In June 2005, Joy Cowley was made a Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit (DCNZM) for services to children’s literature.
Desley Scott: A Pollie for Good
After working as secretary to the local member for 16 years, Desley says she has a good understanding of the issues in the community, which has allowed her to focus on the social welfare aspect of her position, while actively living her Christian principles.
Faithfulness in a Minor Key
The written record of the lives of the so-called “minor prophets” of ancient Israel—those biblical authors that follow the book of Daniel—accounts for roughly one-third of the Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures. Called minor because their 12 documents combined would hardly have filled one complete scroll, they nevertheless greatly impacted Israelite life, insisting that Yahweh, their God, had bypassed the official priests, giving them messages for His chosen people.
Kaleidoscope
I was 45 and my mind wandered as I thought about how my life had taken many turns too. Like the kaleidoscope palette, each circumstance had brought a new presentation of shapes and colours to deal with. Some sharp and painful, others soft and pleasant. Each turn required me to give or give up some part of myself that I cherished. Then move on and live life differently. It seems change is inevitable.
A Skeleton in Your Closet
The 206 individual bones that support our bodies do not restrict us. Rather, they allow us to live the life God gave us at Creation. Something else God gave humankind very early on was His law, and it is just as essential to existence.
A Chance
Needy young people in northern Hobart, Tasmania, are receiving support from a partnership of community groups. A partnership of Glenorchy City Council and nine other agencies is working to give a chance at a great future through a youth centre on Main Street, Moonah. The centre has been appropriately named Chance on Main.
How to Know You’re Saved
Nothing is more sure than death and taxes, they say, but I’d have to add a third certainty to that list: For the Christian, salvation is even more sure than death—and far more sure than taxes! Yet if you’re a Christian, at some point during your life, you are likely to question whether you’re really, truly, absolutely, positively saved beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Improve Your Memory
"I have 100 billion brain cells. My question is: “What do they do with their time?” They certainly aren’t remembering where I left my car keys."
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