Signs of the Times - August 2024 by Adventist Media

a christian perspective on the world today

In this issue August 2024 WHAT IN THE WORLD 04 FROM HEARTACHE TO HOPEFUL 06 YOU’RE TIRED! YOU NEED A SABBATH 12 HOW TO KEEP YOUR KIDS OUT OF THERAPY 18

KYLE PORTBURY ON THE HOPEFUL AND GOING PUBLIC WITH HIS FAITH PAGE 32

BEYOND DESPAIR 24 MEDICAL MIRACLES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA 30

THE DAY MY DAUGHTER DIED 40 ASK PASTOR JESSE 46 CHANGE FOR THE BETTER 48

SEARCHING FOR GLOW-WORMS 54 EATING WELL ON A BUDGET 60 SUDOKU AND CROSSWORD PUZZLE 62

30 FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

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@SIGNSMAG

NOW MORE THAN EVER

If hope were a commodity, it seems that it is in drastically short supply. Research on Gen Z reports that many have little hope for the future, with many describing the current state of the world as “the darkest timeline”. When I consider the rising cost of living, corporate greed, the increasinglypolarised state of politics and senseless wars that seem to be increasing in both their violence and stupidity, it’s difficult not to agree. My denomination was founded on hope. For the many who believed Jesus would return on October 22, 1844, hope was all they had. Many had sold business, homes—even their belongings. So when Jesus didn’t come back, their hope was dashed. Some abandoned the cause but others returned to the Bible, studied how they’d gotten it wrong and in doing so, gave birth to the movement today known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. This month, we are proud to partner with a film that explores this very theme. The Hopeful is a story of love, loss, pain and courage. Whether you’re a Christian or not, we believe this story will resonate with you. For an introduction to the film, read our review (p6). To go deeper insights into the story of The Hopeful, check out our interview with the film’s director (p32). If you’re a person of faith, we highly recommend you go see the movie when it premieres in October. Take a friend—particularly if they don’t share your faith. Use The Hopeful as a conversation starter about the things that truly matter. There’s much to be pessimistic about, but we believe there’s plenty of reasons to have hope. Join us in spreading that hope. The world needs it now more than ever. JESSE HERFORD Associate Editor

VOL 139 NO 7 VOL1038-9733 139 NO 7 ISSN ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE Brad Kemp PUBLISHER Brad EDITOR Kemp JarrodEDITOR Stackelroth ASSOCIATE Jarrod Stackelroth EDITOR ASSOCIATE Jesse Herford EDITOR ASSISTANT Jesse Herford EDITOR ASSISTANT Zanita Fletcher EDITOR Zanita COPYEDITOR Fletcher Tracey COPYEDITOR Bridcutt GRAPHIC Tracey Bridcutt DESIGN GRAPHIC TheodoraDESIGN Pau’u Talia Theodora Valderrama Pau’u Talia Valderrama PHONE +61 2PHONE 9847 2222 +61 2EMAIL 9847 2222 info@signsofthetimes.org.au EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist ADDRESS Media PO Box Adventist 1115, Wahroonga Media PO New Box South 1115, Wahroonga Wales 2076 New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONEKelli +61Geelan 3 5965 6300 Australia/New PHONE +61 3 5965 Zealand, 6300 Australia/New $A28/$NZ30; Zealand, South Pacific $A28/$NZ30; countries, $A41; South Other Pacific countries countries, $A51$A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of Published the Timessince is printed 1886, 11Signs times of the a year Times by is the printed Seventh-day 11 times a Adventist year by the Church Seventh-day and is registered Adventist as Church a periodical. and is registered as a periodical. Seventh-day Adventist Seventh-day Church Adventist (SPD) Church Limited ABN (SPD) 59 093 Limited 117 689 ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person NOTEor The their inclusion image of within a does person notor imply theirtheir image endorsewithin does ment not of the imply Seventh-day their endorseAdment ventist of Church the Seventh-day or its beliefs. Adventist Church or its beliefs. Unless otherwise stated, Bible Unless verses otherwise are from stated, the Holy Bible Bible, verses Neware International from the HolyVersion®, Bible, New Anglicised. International Copyright Version®, © Anglicised. 1979, 1984, 2011 Copyright by Biblica, © 1979, Inc®.1984, Used by 2011 permission by Biblica,ofInc®. Hodder Used& Stoughton. by permission All rights of Hodder reserved & Stoughton. worldwide. All rights reserved worldwide. COVER IMAGE: COVER HOPE STUDIOS IMAGE: CREDIT

WHAT IN THE WORLD

THE WISDOM OF THE EARTH For more than 3000 years, people have inhabited the Pacific Islands and experienced many climate-driven challenges to their livelihoods and survival. However, their traditional knowledge has taught them to predict oncoming challenges by observing waves, the migration of bird species, moon halos, changes in winds, the placement of wasp nests and so on. While many Pacific people won’t talk about traditional knowledge for fear of ridicule, research is now finding that much of it is scientifically plausible.—Radio New Zealand

TIKTOK BAN UNITED STATES

Countries such as Nepal and India have already banned TikTok. Recently, the US also moved closer to banning it. The House of Representatives passed a bill calling for the app’s developer to divest from the company—or face a ban. The ban received 352 votes in favour with 65 against. Legislators and the White House are at odds with TikTok’s 170 million users (representing half the country) and digital rights groups who say a ban would infringe on freedom of speech.—The New Yorker 4

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VIJESH DATT, ALEXANDER SHATOV—UNSPLASH, ANDREW PATRICK—PEXELS, MILAD-FAKURIAN—UNSPLASH, MIKHAIL NILOV—PEXELS

PACIFIC ISLANDS

TAXIDERMY DRONES UNITED STATES

Scientists in New Mexico are giving dead birds new life by developing taxidermy bird drones. Mostafa Hassanalian, the engineer leading the research, says traditional drones are disruptive to ecosystems. Birds get frightened, often abandoning their nests or attacking drones, leading to injuries. Taxidermy drones that are made to move like real birds will help researchers study bird flight and monitor nearby wildlife. —Smithsonian Magazine

IS THERE HOPE IN SCIENCE? UNITED STATES

Researchers have observed through functional MRIs physical changes in neural circuitry as a result of participants anticipating positive future events. These neurological changes also positively influence individuals’ perceptions of their experiences in the present and help them cope better with stress. —Science Direct

BULLYING OUT OF CONTROL AUSTRALIA

A report released by the Australian Council for Educational Research revealed that Australian students are bullied more than all other OECD countries, except Latvia. The responses, gathered from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, showed that 16 per cent of Australian students said other students had teased them, 10 per cent said they’d had rumours spread about them and six per cent reported receiving physical abuse. Australian students also said they felt less safe at school than the OECD average. —Vice AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • AUGUST 2024

From Heartache to Hopeful If you need an introduction to The Hopeful and its setting, this is the best place to start.

HOPE STUDIOS—SUPPLIED

ZANITA FLETCHER

AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

t’s not hard to misinterpret the Bible. I’ve done it, most people I know have done it and if you’ve read it enough, I’d bet you’ve done it too. It isn’t surprising then, that throughout history many have misinterpreted the Bible, especially when it comes to complex ideas like the end of the world and Jesus’ second coming. The Essenes predicted Jesus would return between AD66 and 70, soon after the crucifixion. Pope Sylvester II predicted the same at the turn of the millennium. The Mormons predicted it around 1891. There’s even a famous tale of a hen in Leeds, UK, laying eggs inscribed with the warning: “Christ is coming” (I’ll let you Google that one for yourself).1 One of the most well-known second coming predictions was made by a man named William Miller who believed Jesus would return sometime between 1843 and 1844. Many followed Miller, believing him wholeheartedly. Though I don’t want to entirely spoil the story for you, they were obviously wrong. After all, we are still here today. The event became known as the Great Disappointment. But not everyone let the disappointment define them. Some went on to found a worldwide

Christian denomination that is still growing in number: the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But that begs the question: why would anyone become a Seventh-day Adventist if their church was founded on a false prediction? If you’ve ever heard about this faith group and wondered what they’re about, the 2024 motion picture The Hopeful will shed some light. Set in 19th century New England, the film gives an exciting portrayal of the humble beginnings of this worldwide movement—and the reasons why you might want to join it.

It’s a story of courage and hope, war and true love

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the horror of war

The film starts with widower John Andrews and his two children Charles and Mary on a ship headed to Europe. Thirty years after the Great Disappointment, Andrews was sent as the first missionary from the United States to spread the good news about Jesus internationally. Aboard the ship, he tells his children the story of how they came to be where they are. He says it’s a story of “courage and hope, war and true love”. As Andrews begins his story, it felt like I was perched on the edge of the bed alongside Charles and Mary, awaiting the details with

validity.” While he could not answer their questions, he also could not deny what he had experienced. “Both views require a leap of faith,” he replied. “Surely one of them demands as much attention as the other.” With that, Miller set out to find answers to his questions. He began studying the Bible and found a particular interest in the prophecies and the return of Jesus. One day, he made some calculations and discovered that Jesus would be returning within just a matter of years. For a long time, he agonised over whether to share his findings, fearing he might be wrong and worried about what others would think. But his family AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

HOPE STUDIOS—SUPPLIED

anticipation, having been taken on a journey back in time. Andrews begins with William Miller, a once-ordinary farmer and former captain in the United States army during the War of 1812. After miraculously surviving the fierce Battle of Plattsburg, we see Miller return home a changed man. Previously he hadn’t thought of God as anything more than a distant deity who may or may not exist. But the war led him to believe otherwise. Over pints at the pub his friends mock him saying, “What of the men and boys that died around you? Was it the hand of God that put them in the grave? . . . The Bible is an ancient fairy tale. You have no proof of its

believed he was right and encouraged him to spread the message. Joshua Himes, publisher and future editor of the magazine Signs of the Times (yep, the very same), also trusted his calculations and helped spread the message further through pamphlets, meetings, rallies and lectures. It is estimated that he distributed more than five million copies across the country.2 Paper boys ran the streets yelling, “Get your paper! Read all about Christ’s return!” While many thought Miller was suffering from a grand delusion, he convinced close to 100,000 people that Jesus would indeed return when he said—including Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and more. As the film depicts, it was a time of great upheaval in American society. Communities were divided and families were torn apart. For many, Miller’s message was one of 10

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long-needed hope. People sold their properties, abandoned their crops, gave up their jobs and gave money to the cause. Thousands who had never even given thought to the Bible wondered if it could be true. After several failed predictions, October 22, 1844 was eventually chosen as the definitive date of Jesus’ return. As the day drew closer, the world waited in suspense. But midnight struck, October 22 passed and nothing happened. David Holland, professor of religious history at Harvard Divinity School, said, “The devastation that hit is really hard to capture: grown men weeping like children and people profoundly traumatised by this disappointment, questioning God’s existence, questioning the Bible’s validity, these anchor points for their entire sense of themselves.”3

Though not many films end with an unhappy ending, I wasn’t sure how they’d come back from the Great Disappointment. But I think this is where the filmmakers wanted to get our attention. The Hopeful brought to life the human experience of being let down after having one’s hopes dashed. Sick with disappointment, many abandoned their faith completely. However, for others, this was merely where the story started. These men and women took the mistake as an opportunity to correct their thinking and dive deeper into what the Bible had to say. In doing so, they uncovered beautiful biblical truths that are still observed by Seventh-day Adventists to this day. One of these was the invitation Jesus gave to rest every Saturday. This practice, called the Sabbath, is being rediscovered and embraced by many Christians around the world today. They also gained fresh insights about the second coming of Jesus as well as what happens when we die. With

time, the group grew stronger in faith and number. Eventually, they decided to call themselves “Seventh-day Adventists”. Today, there are more than 95,000 Adventist churches and more than 22 million members around the world.4 The Hopeful tells the true story of a group of people who pushed through disappointment with grace, humility, and of course, hope . . . even in the face of mockery, confusion and grief. As I watched the events unfold, the characters instilled in me a desire to respond similarly in the face of future personal heartaches. I’m guessing we’ll see many more predictions ring false before Jesus comes back to take us home. As well, we’ll experience much more despair before that time comes. But The Hopeful illustrates how growth and transformation can come from even the greatest of disappointments. Or as director Kyle Portbury says, The Hopeful invites us to “imagine how hope can change the world”. That is something we can all get on-board with. THE HOPEFUL is coming to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in October 2024. Find out more at <thehopefulmovie.com.au>. Zanita Fletcher is a life coach and assistant editor for the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times. She writes from the Gold Coast, Queensland. 1. <britannica.com/list/10-best-hockey-players-of-all-time; https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/g3226/ doomsday-predictions/>. 2. <lineagejourney.com/read/a-snapshot-of-the-milleritemovement-1839-1844/>. 3. <wgbh.org/news/local/2015-10-23/maybe-you-noticedthe-world-didnt-end-in-1844> 4. <adventist.org/statistics/>.

AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

HOPE STUDIOS—SUPPLIED

new beginnings

You’re Tired! You Need a Sabbath

The world we live in moves at a breakneck pace. Too often, we fall into the trap of consumerism and busyness. The Sabbath promises to set us free. MARYELLEN HACKO

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moth danced around the reading lamp, casting shadows across the keyboard. I squinted at the clock: 11:47pm. Feeling a rush of panic, my fingernails tapped the plastic keys a little faster. Working so late into the night, it probably goes without saying: I was tired. Not the good kind where you want to snuggle up in bed—the kind where your adrenaline-fuelled body doesn’t want to cooperate. I’d been sitting in this position for nearly three days. My back ached. My desk was cluttered with old mugs, scrap paper and random objects that frazzled me and filled me with shame. I needed a shower. A word to the wise: don’t say yes to 15 projects at once. It might sound obvious but when you’re selfemployed, this is often easier said than done. Just two months prior, I’d been projectless and ready to give up on freelancing completely. Now, I was drowning in work. I could blame the rising cost of living, poor business management or even call it an “inherent part of being a freelancer” . . . but they’re all surface issues. In reality, this unsustainable pace was the fruit of a much deeper heart problem.

In his short and famous essay published in 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that within 100 years, most people would work no more than 15 hours per week, and that working would be AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

COTTONBRO STUDIO— PEXELS

an unsustainable pace

Australia, McCrindle Research has found that 80 per cent of us consume more than we need, while 60 per cent believe our nation’s consumption habits are having a negative impact.9 Today, the average Australian pays $A163 a month on selfstorage—bolstering a $US40b industry10—even though 25 per cent of us can’t even remember what we’re storing.11 These consumption habits are only being made worse by digital marketing, with the average person in the West seeing between 4000 and 10,000 advertisements per day.12 Combining this hyper-consumerism with chronic overscheduling creates a toxic combination of stress, burnout, overwhelm and dissatisfaction. The question is: Why are we like this?

the glorification of busyness

As sociologist Jonathan Gershuny notes, “Work, not leisure, is now the signifier of dominant social status.”13 Philosopher Byung-Chul Han

ANTONI SHKRABA—PEXELS

optional.1 Today, in a world where 60 per cent of us are connected to work via smartphone for 13 or more hours per day,2 we laugh at Keynes’ predictions. A recent Harvard Business School survey of 1000 professionals found that 94 per cent worked at least 50 hours per week, while half worked more than 65 hours.3 Unsurprisingly, the percentage of Americans reporting that they “never have enough time” rose from 70 per cent in 2011 to 80 per cent in 2018.4 Closer to home, Australians are working 3.2 billion hours of unpaid overtime a year5 and have 200 million days of accrued annual leave,6 while 3.8 million go without lunch breaks daily.7 We are overworked, overscheduled and increasingly time poor. But it’s not just our calendars that are full to overflowing—it’s also our homes. Global statistics show that if every person on earth lived like the average American, we would need 5.2 planets to support us.8 In

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attributes our busyness problem to what he calls “achievement society”. He argues our modern world has become so obsessed with achievement, performance and self-optimisation that they have now become “ends in themselves”.14 This may be why people who appear to exert high effort or use productivity tools are considered “morally admirable”, regardless of their actual output.15 Contemporary neuroscience confirms that achieving major goals—even winning the lottery—doesn’t cause long-term happiness. Rather, it is the act of seeking, regardless of outcome, that drives human behaviour.16 Being busy and accumulating material things are major signs that we’re on this “quest”, and a subconscious way of proving our value to others. As Christian finance guru Dave Ramsey famously said, “We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.”17 We rent storage units because our homes are overflowing. We tap screens to order food we don’t have the time to cook. We drag our bodies through early morning traffic to meet deadlines we should never have agreed to in the first place. While a Buddhist may try to

kill desire to end suffering, a consumerist may continue to feed it for the same reason. Meanwhile, Christian teacher John Mark Comer argues that our suffering is caused by the fact that humans have an inner, infinite desire that cannot be fulfilled by finite, earthly things.18 The fourth-century theologian Augustine of Hippo famously said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you [God].”19 We were created for an eternal life with God—and so, our natural tendency is to fill our lives and schedules in the hopes of satisfying our inherent restlessness. Surely there’s a better way.

We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like

a restless heart

In his book Subversive Sabbath, AJ Swoboda argues that despite living in a 24/7 culture of convenience, we are “ominously dissatisfied”. “In bowing at these sacred altars of hyperactivity, progress and technological compulsivity, our souls increasingly pant for meaning and value and truth as they wither away, exhausted, frazzled, displeased, ever on edge . . . Our bodies wear ragged. Our spirits thirst. We have an inability to simply sit still and be. As we drown ourselves in 24/7 living, we seem to be able to do anything AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

but quench our true thirst for the life of God. We have failed to ask ourselves the question Jesus asks of us: ‘What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?’ (Matthew 16:26). We must begin by remembering.”20 There is one simple practice that God has asked us to remember. It can unravel our busy schedules, undo our overconsumption, and restore peace and harmony to our lives, and to the world at large. Maybe it sounds too good to be true, but in those 11:47pm moments, when my cortisol is at an all-time high and I’m ready to have a “menty-b”, this practice keeps me grounded. I know that even though I’m momentarily unbalanced, that soon, I’ll get to experience true, deep, meaningful rest. It’s called Sabbath.

rest for the soul

Put simply, Sabbath is a 24-hour period from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. It was designed to help us engage in deep, restorative rest. On Sabbath, we stop worrying, wanting, working. We step away from the emails and spreadsheets and begin to feel human again. How you choose to spend this time is up to you but some basic tenets include: spending time with loved ones, eating good food, laughing (a lot, if possible), spending time in nature, seeing new places, making music, reading a good book and most importantly, being in God’s presence. Sabbath is a way of re-centring ourselves and remembering what 16

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is truly important (rather than just urgent) in life. Sabbath teaches us that we are human beings, not human “doings”. We refrain from buying things that clutter our lives and embrace the fact that our value is derived not from our accomplishments, our busyness or the things we own, but from our existence as children of God. There are increasing numbers of Christians—and even non-Christians—who are beginning to adopt this practice. Seventh-day Adventists have been doing it for nearly 200 years and I’m grateful to have been brought up in a religious tradition that values this practice. But whether you’re Adventist or not, you can benefit from Sabbath.

two encouragements

To the Christian exhausted by their heavy load, remember: Jesus is not glorified by unhappy, exhausted people. Rest is essential for emotional and spiritual health, and for loving others well. Rest isn’t just a suggestion, it’s a command from God. And to the non-Christian who simply needs a break, remember: real luxury in life is not status, busyness or material things; it’s being able to read a book at an unhurried pace, in the middle of the day. Sabbath can do that. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG paraphrase): “Are you tired? Worn out? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Learn the unforced

rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” This is the way of Jesus. This is Sabbath. Maryellen Hacko is an artist and illustrator living in Sydney, Australia. 1. Shane Wright, “A century ago, it was predicted we’d work just 15 hours a week by 2030. What happened?,” <smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-century-ago-itwas-predicted-we-d-work-just-15-hours-a-week-by-2030-what-happened20231204-p5eoqf.html>. 2. Jennifer J Deal, “Welcome to the 72-hour work week,” Harvard Business Review, September 12, 2013, <hbr.org/2013/09/welcome-to-the-72-hourwork-we>. 3. Leslie A Perlow and Jessica L.Porter, “Making time off predictable—and required,” Harvard Business Review, <hbr.org/2009/10/making-time-off-predictable-and-required>. 4. Ashley Whillans, “Time for happiness,” Harvard Business Review, <hbr. org/2019/01/time-for-happiness>. 5. Fiona McDonald, “Short changed: unsatisfactory working hours and unpaid overtime” (The Australia Institute, November 2023). 6. Roy Morgan Research, “Australians have 200 million days of annual leave due,” <roymorgan.com/findings/australians-have-200-million-days-ofannual-leave-due>. 7. Prue Cameron and Richard Denniss, “Hard to get a break? Hours, leave and barriers to re-entering the Australian workforce,” <australiainstitute.org.au/ wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IP-13-Hard-to-get-a-break.pdf>.

scan me

8. “The World Counts,” <theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/stateof-the-planet/number-of-consumers>. 9. Shalom Pillay, “Why Australians are caught up in consumerism,” <mccrindle. com.au/article/blog/why-australians-are-caught-up-in-consumerism>. 10. “Storage Units—Worldwide | Statista Market Forecast,” accessed May 20, 2024, <com/outlook/cmo/consumer-electronics/computing/storage-units/ worldwide>. 11. Louise Grimmer, Gary Mortimer and Martin Grimmer, “We are drowning in stuff and storing It—or hiding it from loved ones—Is now a major expense,” <abc.net.au/news/2022-12-29/australians-pay-163-a-month-on-averageto-store-things/101801682>. 12. Sam Carr, “How many ads do we see a day in 2023?,” <https://lunio.ai/blog/ strategy/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day>. 13. <hbr.org/2023/03/beware-a-culture-of-busyness>. 14. Byung-Chul Han, The Burnout Society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2015. 15. Jared B Celniker et al, “The moralization of effort,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 152, no. 1 (2023), <doi.org/10.1037/xge0001259>; Silvia Bellezza, Neeru Paharia and Anat Keinan, “Research: Why Americans are so impressed by busyness,” Harvard Business Review, December 15, 2016, <hbr. org/2016/12/research-why-americans-are-so-impressed-by-busyness>. 16. Olivia Goldhill, “Neuroscience confirms that to be truly happy, you will always need something more,” Quartz, May 15, 2016, <qz.com/684940/ neuroscience-confirms-that-to-be-truly-happy-you-will-always-needsomething-more>. 17. Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover Workbook: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2018. 18. John M. Comer, “Rest for your soul | Sabbath E1,” Podcast, <open.spotify. com/episode/1dHkfMlHZ8YnVGrhLztLm5?si=9345dcb4b4814e43>. 19. Augustine of Hippo, translated by Peter Constantine, Confessions. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company, 2020. 20. A J Swoboda, Subversive Sabbath. Ada, MI: Baker Books, 2018.

we live hurried and busy lives DISCOVER THE SABBATH

deadlines and the demands of your fast-paced work environment? If so, you’re not alone! Stress and burnout are becoming increasingly common issues in today’s society, and they can take a serious toll on our mental and physical health.

Find out more at sabbathgift.info AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

COTTONBRO STUDIO— PEXELS

Are you feeling like you’re constantly on the go with no time to

How to K Kids Out o

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Our children will undergo many challenges in life. If you want to avoid adding to that emotional load, here are a few tips on how to be a healthy parent and in turn, raise emotionally healthy kids. DR PAUL BOGACS AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

COTTONBRO STUDIO— PEXELS

eep Your f Therapy

will admit, the title is somewhat facetious. Being in therapy is no bad thing, not only because it provides a living for us counsellors, but also because it has been shown beyond all reasonable doubt, to work. However, this doesn’t mean we parents must provide extra baggage for our kids to work on in therapy. The consequences of living in a chaotic world will provide plenty for them to talk about with their counsellor. On February 7, 2012, father Tommy Jordan made a recording which he subsequently posted on Facebook. It was viewed by 42 million people and more than half a million liked it. In the video, the father expresses his outrage at a very disrespectful post his 15-year-old daughter Hannah had posted on Facebook. He reads out her full letter then fires nine bullets into her laptop. He also makes comments about what her punishment will be, including paying for the bullets used and being grounded for years. There is no doubt that parenting is tricky business. Our teenagers will push us to our limits, will not always appreciate what we have done and will at times be disrespectful. Our kids push our buttons and it will be stressful. So, how do we practice emotionally intelligent parenting? How do we remain as non-reactive as possible and how do we build emotional wellbeing in our kids? Let’s start by defining what emotional health is. Based on

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psychologist Daniel Goleman’s work, I would like to suggest that it’s perhaps four things; (1) a healthy and realistic view of who we are, (2) being in touch with our emotions, (3) being able to contain emotions when necessary and (4) being in touch and respectful of the emotions of others.1 The questions we must ask ourselves are: -How comfortable am I with emotion? -Are there emotions I am more likely to shut down in my children? -How well can I contain (not repress) my own emotion and thus model a healthy response to strong emotion? Strong emotions are not the problem; it is the acting out of our feelings that is counterproductive and hurtful to others. For example, crying releases chemicals that are part of the endorphin family and actually block pain receptors. So, when you cry and then feel better, you are not kidding yourself. You actually do! It has been suggested that there are four basic emotions: fear, anger, sadness and joy.2 Fear is the key emotion involved in anxiety. Anger in our children often masks hurt and sadness and if not taken seriously, can lead to depression. When we respond to our children’s anger with anger ourselves, we may miss the hurt that drives their anger. When we tell our children they will be okay and they just need to “stop worrying”, we may be glossing over the fear that has paralysed them.

don’t be like Tommy

So how do you deal with your own anger? Shoot your child’s laptop? You could do that. Of course, what really happened in that video was that there was no parent present— just two angry teenagers. Tommy reduced himself to using shame and revenge to get even with his daughter. That is not emotionally intelligent parenting. In fact, it’s not even parenting. Here are some practical suggestions on how to deal with anger and thus provide a good role model to your children: • Don’t blame or label your child (You are such a brat! You are hopeless!). • Don’t use put downs (Are you serious? You can’t be that dumb! If you had a brains you’d have . . .). • Don’t say anything you can’t (or won’t) follow through (If you do that again, I’ll rip your head off!). • Be assertive and clear about what you need from your child (What I need from you is to clean up the things you left in the sink—and I need it done by 5pm today). • Use “I” statements to talk about your anger (When you didn’t call me when it was past the time we agreed you’d be home by, I felt really disrespected and somewhat angry).

Okay, so much for anger. Let’s talk about another powerful emotion that we’ve already mentioned: fear. There are things we do as parents that can increase fear (and the anxiety that can result from prolonged fear) in our kids. Let me make another list. -Overprotective or overcautious parenting. The link between this type of parenting and anxiety has been well-established.3 Our kids will not learn resilience if they are not exposed to some risk. They cannot become self-reliant if we always step in and protect them from the consequences of their behaviour. -Believing that our job as parents is to keep everybody happy. Here’s the thing: nobody can keep everybody happy. If your children learn that it is okay not to have everybody’s approval or keep everybody happy, they have learned a very valuable lesson.

the best possible scenario

Imagine if your child could say and believe this about themself: -I am a good person -I get along well with most people -I can usually figure things out -I know that I am God’s special child -I have a good brain -I’m really creative -I like the way I look4 Would these beliefs not stem the tide of anxiety enveloping our children and teens? Would this not increase their resilience? The question is, how do we produce these beliefs in our children? AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

soft and firm love

The parenting style that has been shown to be most effective is authoritative parenting, in contrast to passive or aggressive parenting. It combines love with limits and combines unconditional acceptance with conditional acceptance of behaviour. The Australian family psychologist Steve Biddulph suggests that two types of love are needed—soft love and firm love. Emotionally intelligent authoritative parenting involves using both types of love. Let me explain. Soft love is that warm, fuzzy, mushy love that some of us parents do naturally and others struggle with. Whether or not we struggle giving that kind of love, is of course related to what was modelled to us in our family of origin; if we were brought up with physical affection and regular affirmation in a family that valued emotional connection and empathy, it will be easier for us to deliver soft love to our kids. What works against us delivering generous servings of self love are our over-programmed lifestyles, constant and invasive media bombardment, our drive to compete and being overworked. Unfortunately, these challenges have no easy fix, there is no “one size fits all” answer and sometimes hard decisions have to be made in order to create space for the tasks of parenting. So, what are characteristics of firm love? Biddulph suggests that firm love doesn’t hit, blame or harm— but is firm. It acts early, before 22

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control is lost, doesn’t take things personally and uses techniques such as “stand and think” and “dealing”. “Stand and think” involves taking your toddler away from temptation and staying in that spot until they agree to “deal”; that is, agree to a change in behaviour. This approach is firm but avoids the use of violence or fear in order to bring about behaviour change. The important thing is that we have to be consistent as our kids are super-smart. They figure out so quickly what they can get away with (and who is most likely to yield first, mum or dad) and use it to their advantage. As kids get older, they can physically take themselves to a place (such as their room) and stay there till they are ready to “deal”. This is not punishment; rather it is giving the child time to think and thus come up with a better course of action. So, why should you not shoot your child’s computer and post it on Facebook? There are many good reasons but let me just suggest a few. First, in the interaction 42 million

ELINA FAIRYTALE—PEXELS

people witnessed, there was no adult present—just two angry teens acting out. Parenting doesn’t work well when the parent leaves the room. In the video, there was both fear and shaming. Shame is central to depression, just as fear is to anxiety. Parents are there to give an example of how to deal with emotions in an appropriate and helpful way. Second, if our children are to grow up to become responsible and respectful adults (the hope of all parents), responsibility and respect (rather than reactivity) have to be modelled consistently. Children have to be shaped through the use of both soft and firm love. Our kids may still end up in therapy as they encounter the many

challenges of life that are beyond our control. But, at least they will have strength to draw on, resilience to rely on and emotions they understand in the struggle we call growing up. Dr Paul Bogacs is an academic who works at Avondale University where he coordinates the counselling training programs. He is married to Gill and they reside at Wangi Wangi on the shores of Lake Macquarie. Between them they have four children, five grandchildren and three adorable and annoying cats. 1. Daniel Goleman: Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Sydney: Bantam Books, 2006, 2. Steve Biddulph with Sharon Biddulph, The complete secrets of Happy Children. Australia: Harper Collins, 2007. 3. V Mark Durand, David Barlow, Stefan G Hofmann, (2019) Essential of Abnormal Psychology (8th ed). Australia: Cengage, 2017. 4. Adapted from Biddulph.

If our children are to grow up to become responsible and respectful adults, responsibility and respect have to be modelled consistently AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

Beyond Des Louis Zamperini’s story is that of immense suffering—but also hope. For him, hope meant the difference between life and death. OLIVIA FAIRFAX

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pair

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She had given up the will to live and died as a result any ‘how.’”¹ For Frankl, this understanding of hope was not merely a philosophical musing—it was a stark reality. Hope was not abstract for these Holocaust survivors. It was an essential, vital, tangible force that kept them going. This experience has been studied by psychologists in more recent years, with the discovery having been made that death is entirely possible when individuals respond to traumatic stress by giving up

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love listening to people’s stories. From a young age, I have always been an avid reader, churning through books to discover new and exciting tales of adventure and the human experience. But it wasn’t until moving from fiction novels to reading non-fiction, particularly biographies, that I began to uncover a rich appreciation for people’s real stories. I once read a book called The Librarian of Auschwitz that told the story of a girl in a Nazi concentration camp. One aspect of this story, which made a curious impression on my mind, was the author’s analysis of despair in her fellow prisoners. She tells of a moment when a woman passed away during the night despite not being sick or cold, but simply due to her loss of hope. She had given up the will to live and died as a result. Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, noticed a similar phenomenon from his experiences in concentration camps. He recognised that the prisoners who had given up all hope quickly succumbed to death . . . not merely from the brutal conditions, but from a deep existential defeat. He said that “those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost

hope (referred to as psychogenic death). Essentially, these individuals believe that there is no escape from their traumatising situation or no purpose for living anymore, and this psychological state can lead to death despite no obvious material cause.² Though we may not realise it, hope is essential for our mental, emotional and physical health. Hope can literally be the difference between life and death.

adrift in the Pacific

This was certainly the case for Olympic runner Louis Zamperini. After the outbreak of WWII, his opportunity to compete in the 1940 Berlin Olympics fell through and he instead joined the US Air Force as a bombardier. Zamperini flew a B-24 airplane and participated in several bombing raids over the Pacific. On one rescue mission to search for a missing plane, Zamperini’s plane experienced a double engine failure over the ocean and crashed, killing eight of the crew on impact. Only Zamperini and two others survived the crash: Francis “Mac” MacNamara and Russell Allen “Phil” Phillips.³ The men stayed afloat in a pair of life rafts with only a few survival rations to keep them going. As the days wore on and their rations ran out, they slowly realised the dire situation they were in. They collected rainwater to drink, caught albatrosses to eat and even fought angry sharks in desperation for food. They

also had to endure typhoon-sized waves, dodge machine guns fired from passing Japanese planes as well as the blistering, hot Pacific sun. After 33 days on the open ocean, Mac passed away. In Unbroken, the biography that tells of Zamperini’s experiences, Mac’s death was attributed to despair. It reads, “What is remarkable is that the two men who shared Mac’s plight didn’t share his hopelessness. Though all three faced the same hardship, their differing perceptions of it appeared to be shaping their fates . . . Louie’s and Phil’s hope displaced their fear and inspired them to work toward their survival, and each success renewed their physical and emotional vigour. Mac’s resignation seemed to paralyse him, and the less he participated in their efforts to survive, the more he slipped.” Not knowing what more to do, the men prayed to God to save them. Two weeks after Mac passed away, and after 47 days adrift, Zamperini and Phil were captured by the Japanese off the coast of the Marshall Islands . . . 2000 miles (approximately 3200 kilometres) away from the crash site. This did not provide any relief to their ordeal and marked the beginning of years of horrific treatment as prisoners of war. Again, Zamperini asked God to save them, promising to follow Him if He did. By August 1945, Zamperini was on the brink of death, having developed a deadly disease caused by severe vitamin deficiency. That very month, AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

the United States dropped the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to the surrender of Japan. Allied planes dropped food, cigarettes and news of victory to the famished POWs. This renewal of hope, as well as the food, gave Zamperini the strength to endure. A month later in September 1945, after more than two years of captivity, their camp was liberated and Zamperini was rescued. But Zamperini’s troubles did not end when the war finished. When he returned home, he married a beautiful woman named Cynthia. Sadly though, he could not escape his past. As many who have experienced traumatic ordeals understand, he could not “switch off” his memories or the strong emotions he had for his captors. A seething hatred towards one of his captors, nicknamed “the Bird”, began to consume him—to the point that it was said of Zamperini, “a once singularly hopeful man now believed that his only hope lay in murder”.⁴ Zamperini’s life spiralled downwards and he became a drunk who routinely engaged in reckless behaviour to numb his inner torment. In 1949, his wife filed for divorce.

true hope

In September 1949, shortly after Cynthia filed for divorce, evangelist Billy Graham came to Los Angeles where Zamperini was living to tell the city about Jesus Christ. Cynthia attended this campaign and accepted Jesus as her Saviour, announcing to 28

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Zamperini that she would no longer pursue the divorce. Though indignant about her religious awakening, Zamperini was curious to see what she had heard that made her change her mind. So, he went with his wife to listen to Billy Graham. It was at this point that Zamperini discovered true hope. Deeply moved by the message, he dropped to his knees and humbled himself before God. He asked God to forgive him for not holding to the promise he made to follow Him if He helped him survive on the open ocean and in the POW camps. Zamperini made no excuses for the abhorrent life he was living and invited Jesus to enter his heart and lead his life. As soon as he did this, he felt great joy that replaced the anger he had held in his heart for so many years. He was also able to forgive his former captors and in 1950, he returned to Japan as a missionary. Zamperini discovered an enduring hope which gave him the strength, resilience and humility to bounce back from the psychological trauma that held him captive after the war. As Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Time and time again, hope was literally the difference between life and death for Zamperini. Sometimes when we look at the world around us, it can seem like a dismal and hopeless place filled with violence, war, crime, cost-ofliving crises and natural disasters.

During intense difficulty, hope can be a life-giving tool that can give us the resilience and determination we need to survive. Where can we find this hope? The Bible offers us an answer: Jesus. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus can give us hope that there is an eternity waiting for us where there will be no more tears, and pain and suffering will end (Revelation 21:1-4). This hope can be an anchor for our souls—firm and secure—giving us strength no matter what life throws at us (Hebrews 6:19). Olivia Fairfax is an eager student in all things psychology, theology and literature. She enjoys spending her time writing, learning and investing in people. She writes from Sydney, Australia. 1. Viktor Emil Frankl, Man’s search for Meaning. Washington: Washington Square Press, 1963. 2. <eurekalert.org/news-releases/811596> 3. Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. New York, NY: Random House, 2010.

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4. <thegospelcoalition.org/article/broken-louie-zamperini/>.

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make a difference

Medical Miracles in Papua New Guinea In April 2024, hundreds of Seventhday Adventist medical professionals travelled to Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea for a single purpose. Nurses, doctors and specialists from around the world and PNG itself worked to provide much-needed aid to one of the most remote and under-supported parts of the country. The project was a collaboration between the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventist World Radio and health campaign 10,000 Toes. Called the Mega Health Clinic, it consisted of 300 health workers, 40 nurses and 86 doctors. One of these was Dr Jacob Probhakar Chindrupu, an eye surgeon from India. Speaking with Signs of the Times editor Jarrod Stackelroth, he shared what it’s like to see someone receive their sight back for the first time after cataract surgery. “It’s a life-changing surgery. They have not been able to see the food they eat or their children. There was one lady who was crying, saying ‘I was blind for so many years. Now I can see, I don’t have to depend on anyone.’” Zachary Lipen is the health director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Papua New Guinea. “I would say it’s a historic event,” he said. “Some of the patients who came, their sight had been restored—even before they had the opportunity to be seen by a doctor.” In other words, a miracle.

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Dr Chindrupu was only one part of the clinic. Pastor Kyle Allen from Adventist World Radio shared that the medical teams had seen more than 10,000 people in four days—and provided more than 18,000 services. That means that many of those 10,000 had visited twice or more for different types of treatment. “If you include [Dr Chindrupu’s] additional surgeries that have taken place since then, it’ll be over 11,000 [patients] for sure.” For his part, Dr Chindrupu was keen to keep going for as long as necessary. “We have been here for nearly 10 days. In that time, we’ve done more than 1500 surgeries. The provisions we were offered were only for 1000 surgeries. God impressed me to take more supplies. So, we came prepared to do 3000 surgeries, the need is so great.” There are too many stories to share, but there was one Dr Chindrupu was particularly excited about. “Every story is miraculous. There were some ladies who came for surgery. Afterward they said, ‘If this is what the Seventh-day Adventist Church is all about, we will be Adventists forever.’”

The Mega Health Clinic was open from April 16 until April 19. The eye clinic extended its services until April 26, then provided services at a site in Minj, Jiwaka province. To learn more about what 10,000 Toes is doing in the South Pacific, visit <10000toes.com>.

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IMAGES COURTESY OF 10,000 TOES, ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO

Kyle Portbury on The Hopeful and Going Public with His Faith We sit down with filmmaker and director of The Hopeful, Kyle Portbury. He tells us about the creative process, telling stories that matter and sharing his faith through making movies. JARROD STACKELROTH IN CONVERSATION WITH KYLE PORTBURY 32

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yle Portbury is one of the most enthusiastic people I’ve met, and his zest for life is matched only by his passion for film. Portbury is a filmmaker with vision—and it shows. He’s an Emmy Award-winning, three-time Australian Directors Guild nominated writer/director and has credits spanning film, television and animation. His most recent project is The Hopeful. The story begins with New England farmer William Miller’s miraculous escape from the brutality of the War of 1812, which leaves him searching for purpose in the midst of violence. Determined to uncover the truth, he sets out on a quest that would end up becoming a movement. Along the way, he encounters Ellen White (née Harmon), a young woman whose life is forever changed by his words. Each, in their own way, navigates the challenges of 19th-century America, standing up against societal norms and facing formidable adversaries. This time period gave birth to what we now know as “The Second Great Awakening”. Existing denominations like Presbyterians, Anglicans and Baptists rose significantly. As well, many brand-new denominations were formed like the Churches

of Christ, Latter Day Saints and yes, Seventh-day Adventists. In case you didn’t catch it, The Hopeful is unapologetically all about the origins of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. I recently sat down to speak with Kyle Portbury to ask him why he was so passionate about telling the story of his church’s founders.

going public

“I’ve never talked about being Adventist before publicly. I’m just not that guy,” said Portbury. “So, it was fascinating to find myself promoting this film in its public release in the US and Australia and suddenly have to be talking about Seventh-day Adventist faith publicly. I’d be working in post-production with industry professionals on a scene where someone’s talking about Sabbath and they would say, ‘So tell me more about this Sabbath business, because I’ve worked seven days a week and I’m burned out but you seem to show up on Monday morning looking fresh.’ Suddenly I was in a position I’d never been in before, being asked to explain the Sabbath. These aren’t amateurs. These guys were working on The Fall Guy or Elvis or Jane Campion’s

The film is a human story with real-world impact

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The Power of the Dog. And so, I sat there thinking, how do I articulate [the Sabbath] to someone who’s never engaged with an Adventist before?”

approaching the edit

“I approached every decision in the edit with one question: ‘How am I as an Adventist going to feel when someone who isn’t an Adventist watches this?’” This may seem like a strange approach but if you’re not aware, Christians don’t always make high-quality media. Portbury was determined to make a film that could be appreciated not just by other Christians, but those without a faith background. “It’s gratifying to see how non-Adventists have responded to the film’s themes, whether it’s the empowerment of women, the health principles that many people today accept as scientific fact or rediscoveries like the Sabbath.” The release of The Hopeful in Australia isn’t its first viewing. The film has already premiered in the United States. Though the US is a much more overtly “Christian” nation (though I’m sure some would disagree), there are still many sceptics. I asked Portbury how The Hopeful was received in its initial US release. “If you look at Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 93 per cent positive audience rating. Most of those responses from what I can tell aren’t Adventists. The way Rotten Tomatoes works, you can’t game the algorithm. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the response and I think the reason it’s done so 36

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well is because the film is a human story with real-world impact. We all anticipate, and we all get disappointed. Likewise, we all must figure out how to deal with that disappointment. This is first and foremost a great story with great characters. “One of the great things the film has done is dispelled some big misconceptions about the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In our research, we found that many people (particularly in the United States) think the church is an offshoot of either The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. And so, we’ve been able to clearly differentiate for people what those three denominations are, that they’re unique to each other and that Adventists are not derived from either of the two. One of the other fascinating things I’ve seen is people researching Seventh-day Adventism and discovering things like, ‘There’s a huge hospital down the road that both my kids were born at, and I had no idea it was an Adventist hospital.’ People are beginning to better recognising Adventists’ existence in their community, which they didn’t before.”

more than just a good story

Clearly the film has made an impact in the US market. However, I knew that for Portbury, telling a good story wasn’t just an end unto itself. So, I pressed him a little harder. Why this story in particular? “For me, it was personal curiosity

about who these people were and why they did what they did. It’s not a safe way of storytelling but it is more honest. It’s okay to see Ellen and James with a crying baby. Just because you’re a prophet of God doesn’t mean you don’t argue with your spouse. Just because you feel called by God doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes.” Portbury is referring to the role of Ellen White as a prophet. Seventh-day Adventists believe Ellen White had what scholars call the “prophetic voice”, but this has led some to elevate her to the point of losing her humanity. Portbury is a faithful Seventh-day Adventist, but he also wanted to show how Ellen and James White were people, too. “I didn’t want to downplay the spiritual truth of these events—but I did want to tell a human story because that’s what we all connect to. None of us can relate to receiving visions from God, but we can all relate to the human struggles these characters went through. What’s fascinating is when I’ve spoken with people who have never heard of Ellen White before. They’ve said to me, ‘Wow, there was a woman in the 1800s with agency who was listened to by men and whose legacy is celebrated by 22 million people worldwide? This woman is amazing!’ “If you go to watch The Hopeful expecting to be dictated to, the impact’s going to be negative. My encouragement is to go see it for yourself. Whether you’re a Christian AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

or not, the film has something of value for you. It’s one of the few films getting a general cinema release this year that truly is a family movie. When I walked into a cinema in America, there would be people from the age of five to 95 and they all had a fabulous experience—but totally different experiences. You don’t have to be an Adventist to enjoy a good story. Biopics are getting a renewed interest in cinema if Oppenheimer or Elvis is any indication. Plus, if you’re into it, this is a great period drama. Most of our post-production team moved on to Furiosa two weeks after

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they finished with us. When they said, ‘This is a really good movie, Kyle. This is what our expectations of cinema are,’ I thought, wow. You realise this is an Adventist story, right? It was then that I realised our stories are on par with the stories general cinemagoers are wanting to see on the screen.” THE HOPEFUL is coming to cinemas across Australia and New Zealand in October 2024. Find out more at <thehopefulmovie.com.au>. Jarrod Stackelroth is the editor of the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times and Adventist Record.

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The Day My Daughter Died When my daughter died, many people tried to comfort me. But it wasn’t until I discovered the Bible’s true teachings on death that I found peace. KAROLINA GRABOWSKA—PEXELS

EMMA DYER

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do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Though I did grieve the death of my daughter, the Bible gave me absolute confidence that I would see her again one day. During that time, I was inundated with kind words, encouragement and comfort from friends and family, as well as a wide range of conflicting ideas about death and the afterlife. Here are a few examples.

life after death?

At our daughter’s funeral as the hearse drove away, two butterflies were fluttering amongst us all outside the church. A friend later said to me, “I think that was your Jemima saying hello.” Another friend, when our second daughter was born (healthy and thriving), noticed how similar she looked to Jemima and said she thought our second child might be Jemima reincarnated. By far

HELIN LOIK-TOMSON—GETTY IMAGES

y daughter Jemima passed away just 23 hours after she was born. It was, and still is, the most heartbreaking thing I have ever faced. As I waited in the hospital room for the autopsy to be completed, I flicked through a book the nurses had given me. It was a collection of stories from mothers who had lost their babies either through miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death. The book was intended as an encouragement, I think, to reassure me that I wasn’t alone. But I was struck by the utter despair felt by these mothers with empty arms. For some of them, that despair had defined them for the rest of their lives. I saw then that I had a choice. I hadn’t been able to control what had happened to my daughter or to prevent her death, but I could choose how I responded to it. I could choose between despair or hope. In the Bible, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, writes, “Brothers and sisters, we

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though, the most common belief and attempt to give me comfort was the idea that Jemima was now in heaven. Honestly, each of these ideas sounded lovely on some level. But they did not provide the kind of comfort I deeply needed. Yes, butterflies are beautiful and it was special to see them at such a sad moment, but to believe that my daughter is now an actual butterfly? It’s a lovely, but not particularly pleasant thought. Reincarnation is a belief held by many religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. The belief is that the soul, after death, begins a new life in a new body, be it human, animal or spiritual depending on how good or bad your life had been. When my second daughter was born healthy, I was so incredibly grateful to have a little baby girl to take home. Yes, all my babies had a similar look about them but to believe that she was Jemima reincarnated would be to deny each one their unique individual personhood. Reincarnation

The most common belief and attempt to give me comfort was the idea that Jemima was now in heaven

was not a comforting thought. The belief that our dead loved ones are now in heaven is surprisingly common among Christians. But particularly as a mother, I did not find comfort in the idea that my baby was in heaven without me. Or, as some people suggested, the notion that Jemima was growing up in heaven without me. The idea of being separated from my baby and missing all of those precious milestones was extremely distressing. Thankfully—despite its popularity amongst Christians—this is not what the Bible actually teaches about death.

straight to the source

Paul writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). What follows next is Paul’s explanation of what does happen when we die. He gives an explanation full of hope for those, who like me, have lost a loved one—and ultimately for us all as one day we eventually face death ourselves. In this passage, Paul refers to death as a sleep. This is a common term used for death in the Bible. Jesus described the condition of Jairus’s daughter, who was dead, as sleeping (Matthew 9:4). He referred to Lazarus’s death as a sleep as well (John 11:11–14). Sleep was used as a metaphor for death because Jesus’ understanding of death was that, “the dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5,6). In both death and sleep, a person is unconscious. The idea that the soul lives on AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

We have this hope that burns within our hearts— Hope in the coming of the Lord

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in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”

hope for resurrection

It is at Jesus’ second coming that the “dead in Christ will rise” and receive immortality. God, through Jesus, will bring those who have “fallen asleep” back to life. Then we who are alive will be caught up together with them to join Jesus in His eternal kingdom. What I love so much about this picture is that we get to go to heaven—together! Those who are still living with those who are resurrected. Paul finishes this description of the second coming resurrection of the dead by saying: “Therefore, comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18, NASB). And it is these words of Paul regarding the second coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead and our ascension to heaven together that have comforted me the most. I know I will see my daughter again. I know that in death she is waiting, sleeping until we will all rise in the resurrection together. As the line from a grand hymn declares: “We have this hope that burns within our hearts—Hope in the coming of the Lord!” And it is this hope that has made all the difference. Emma Dyer from Upper Hutt, NZ, is currently enjoying being a stay-at-home mum to her five-yearold daughter and three-year-old son.

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SOUBHAGYA MAHARANA—PEXELS

after death originated with Satan’s first lie to Eve—“You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Today throughout the world, religions of all sorts unwittingly repeat this lie of the immortality of the soul. It has led many to believe in the consciousness of the dead. The source of this belief is from pagan philosophy—particularly that of Plato who taught that the soul and body are separate entities. This idea was later incorporated into Christian belief during a time of great compromise in Church history. This belief became the prevailing view within Christianity and continues to be the dominant view to this day. But if the soul is immortal, and if the soul or a person goes directly to heaven when we die, why did Jesus, and His apostles make such a point of teaching about the resurrection? The apostles, Peter and John were arrested for teaching on this very topic (Acts 4:2). Why would Jesus return to resurrect the dead if they are already with Him in heaven? Paul continues in 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17: “ For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead

As a pastor, there are questions I’ve encountered over and over again, sometimes about the Bible but usually about everyday life. If you’ve never had the opportunity to ask a pastor tough questions this is the right place. I’ll do my best to respond authentically and biblically! Why do Seventh-day Adventists revere Ellen White? Do they consider her writings on par with the Bible? Kelly, Christchurch, NZ The short answer to your second question is “no”. Adventists do not consider Ellen White’s ministry as on equal footing with the Bible. She herself frequently downplayed her influence, calling herself a “lesser light” pointing to the “greater light” (the Bible). For her and her contemporaries, the Bible alone was all we need to know

everything there is to know about God and His work in the world—and more importantly, the Bible contains everything we need to know to respond to Jesus and His message. This begs the question though: how should I think about Ellen White, especially if I am not a Seventh-day Adventist? The elephant in the room here is the Adventists belief about Ellen White’s prophetic gift. While I firmly believe in her prophetic voice, I do think many have mischaracterised the role of the prophet. When we think of prophets, most of us think of a crazy person on a street corner, waving their fist at the world declaring “the end is nigh!” However, the apostle Paul identifies the 46

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prophetic voice as speaking to people for “strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). Ellen White fulfilled this role at a time when the fledgling Seventh-day Adventist Church was facing many spiritual and practical challenges. The other role she fulfilled was that of a visionary leader. Through her teaching, preaching and writing, she cast a vision for the kind of movement that could change the world. When the church lost focus, she helped get it back on track. Did she receive prophetic visions? I believe she did. But, as historian Dr John Skrzypaszek says, “Ellen White’s visualisation of a new world given by God blends with an even more profound, vertically anchored, motivational and inspirational perspective.” In other words, her contribution to the Seventh-day Adventist Church does not replace the vision found in Scripture. Rather, she seeks to elevate the Bible to better communicate its beauty and grandeur.

Why do Seventh-day Adventists go to church on Saturday, rather than Sunday? Charlene, Canberra, ACT It’s pretty simple: God told us to. Not to go to church specifically, but to “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Furthermore, Jesus kept the Sabbath and made no intimation that His followers should stop keeping it, too. In this busy world in which we live, Sabbath is even more important than ever. Everyone would benefit from

taking a day of rest and connecting with Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8), He who says to all, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Why do Seventh-day Adventists emphasise Jesus’ second coming so intensely? Christopher, Rotorua, NZ While most Christians believe Jesus will one day return (though the details have been much debated), Seventhday Adventists look forward to it with (seemingly) more enthusiasm than most. Simply put, our hope is not in heaven (though we certainly look forward to it). Our hope is in Jesus’ return and the resurrection. Because we don’t believe when you die, you’ll instantly go to either heaven or hell, but that you’ll sleep until Jesus’ return,

the second coming is particularly exciting. First, it represents the end of evil and the “death of death”. Second, it will be the time when we will be reunited with loved ones who have passed away. Third, we look forward to it because the earth will be renewed and all things will be made new again. What a day that will be!

Want to get your question published in the next issue ? Ask Pastor Jesse a question by scanning this code! AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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Change FOR THE

Better Change: fear it, avoid it, it comes all the same. Is there a way we can not just survive through change—but thrive?

PIXABAY—PEXELS

ZACH TAN

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hange is an inevitable part of life. Whether you accept it or not, it will happen. Change isn’t intrinsically a negative thing but the toughest part about it usually is how we process it. Flexibility—the ability to accommodate change—is touted as a virtue by many, especially those into self-help, but learning to develop this trait can take time.

moving to Singapore

The first time I experienced significant change was when my family and I moved from the Philippines to Singapore. Being four years old, I took the change as well as any small child might have and expressed it appropriately. That is, by crying until my eyes were red and puffy. As a child, I couldn’t grasp that we had moved for a better future. It was a brand-new environment, everyone spoke different languages and, worst of all, I didn’t understand what was going on. Although I eventually became used to the culture, I believe this was the start of my inherent dislike of change.

moving to Australia

A few years later, my family moved to Australia thanks to another job offer. I took the change as well as the last one. Like Singapore, I learned how to acclimatise. It took a while to overcome the culture shock, but I was soon getting along with some of my fellow students. Then I switched schools—again—forcing me to repeat the process of learning how to 50

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Our tomorrow is always in flux, which is why change can be terrifying blend in. The same process repeated until I was finally enrolled in a private Christian school where I stayed until my high school graduation. The whole experience was unpleasant and led me to withdraw from others somewhat. The concept of change had been cemented in my mind as an enemy to be feared.

why is change so scary?

Change is a daunting experience. The future is, for the most part, unknown. If we were to count the number of choices we make every day, we would be easily overwhelmed, and even if we did know them, we wouldn’t be able to measure the ripple effect they have on our lives. Little choices can trigger big changes while seemingly giant obstacles often make little impact in the grand scheme of things. Our tomorrow is always in flux, which is why change can be terrifying. After I graduated from high school, I felt a sense of loss from leaving a status quo I had grown

creatures of habit

Humans are creatures of habit. We regularly create routines for ourselves whether we realise it or not. From the moment we wake up, we do the same things we’ve always done, whether it’s going to school, to work, walking the dog, etc. Some people even write down their plans to ensure they don’t skip anything. We often see the same sights every day and unforeseen disruptions (road works or waking up late) can rattle us—some of us more than others. We feel a sense of safety and comfort from following prescribed patterns and familiar motions. There’s nothing wrong with habits that help us go through life but, if things stay the same forever, we risk getting stuck in a rut.

stuck at home

As an introvert, the switch to a study-from-home routine seemed ideal to me. While I was disappointed at not being able to participate in club activities, I wasn’t against AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

ENERGEPIC.COM—PEXELS

comfortable in. I hadn’t yet decided what I wanted to do in life, nor did I have any concrete plans. A quick look at my final grades showed that I was proficient in English—contrary to my expectations of excelling in the arts. Deciding to capitalise on this unexpected strength, I devoted myself to studying literature, writing and editing. Enrolling myself in a university that taught those subjects, I discovered a talent I never realised I had. As I began to enjoy university life, I realised that perhaps change isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. With a spring in my step, I joined a club to improve my social skills and come out of my introverted shell. I attended orientations, talked to club supervisors on open days, and eventually settled on a club that matched my interests and schedule. The new sense of freedom was invigorating. This was it. I was finally able to create change on my own terms. It was time for me to make the most out of it. Then came the pandemic.

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danger of a lack of social interaction. While I wasn’t exactly staying indoors by my own discretion, the effects warned in the verse were being felt. My mental health started to decline from being stuck in the same routine almost every day. I learned a lesson that proved a bitter pill to swallow. Change might be unpleasant, but a lack of change leads to stagnation. After what felt like an eternity of repeating the same rote schedule, I found myself unprepared for the next big change: returning to society in a post-pandemic world.

TIMA MIROSHNICHENKO—PEXELS

studying from home, especially if it meant I could sleep in. A few months later I realised what a horrible situation I was in. To put it lightly, I regressed to my former habits. To get out of my rut, I began a habit of regularly reading my Bible. Going through the book of Proverbs, a particular verse stood out to me: “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgement” (Proverbs 16:1). While the context of the verse spoke of a man who willingly shut himself off from others, it warned against the

a change in direction

After the pandemic, I found that my social skills had degraded. After much anxiety, I applied for a position as a casual worker at a human resource agency to remedy this issue and worked for a few warehouses for a while. Although I eventually quit, I was indeed able to start socialising again, though not to a level I was satisfied with. Roughly a year-anda-half after the lockdowns ended, I graduated from university, where I found myself at a loss as to where to go next. As most of my tertiary education had me learning from home, I lacked two things I desperately needed: connections and social skills. It was while I was at a loss when an unexpected opportunity showed up. My parents found out that the Australian government—spurred by a lack of workers—was offering to pay tuition fees for educational courses that would lead to blue-collar work in multiple industries. Deciding it was better than doing nothing, I enrolled in a cabinet-making course; a big step out of my comfort zone due to my dislike of physical labour and maths. Surprisingly, I found the course satisfying despite having to lift heavy amounts of wood and constantly measuring what to cut, and it set me on a path to form the connections and social skills I missed out on forming during the pandemic. It reminds me of something I read during lockdown: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace

and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11; NKJV). A reminder that God always has the best in store for us in His mind, even if it means steering us in a direction that we’ve never thought to walk down upon.

change is inevitable—and that’s no bad thing

Change is an inevitable part of life. Whether you accept it or not, it will always happen. Instead of fearing the future, try and look for opportunities. Some will come right to you while others will need to be sought after. While I can’t say that I’ve developed a completely flexible mindset that will help me adapt to any situation, I’ve learned not to fully deny change in my life. It took me a while before I could accept this, but when I did, I found myself feeling more fulfilled than when I clung to the familiar and consistent. A world of opportunities unfolded before me, one that I would have never had the privilege to partake in had I decided to stick to what I knew. I encourage you today to take a step outside of your comfort zone, even if it’s just to accommodate a tiny change. You’ll never know what you’re missing out on until you do. Zach Tan is a writer based in Melton, Victoria. He has an eccentric sense of humour and is constantly on the lookout for new things to write about.

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Glow-Worms A hiking trip to a secret valley revealed an incredible encounter. It also taught me a valuable lesson about the spiritual reality of this world. JESSE HERFORD AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

MARCEL STRELOW—GETTY IMAGES

Searching for

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now several hundred metres above the valley floor and thanks to the added elevation, were afforded a view unlike any I’d witnessed before. The valley stretched out to the east, revealing green rolling hills, cow pastures and a rushing river. However, for all its beauty, this wasn’t our final destination. We turned away from the lookout and began to descend— not the way we had come, but deeper into the mountains. Only a few metres from the lookout was a small hole in the rock face, barely large enough for an adult to squeeze through. Once inside, the path dropped deep into a cutting. Surrounded on both sides by smooth, vertical rock, it grew deeper until we could barely make out the top. As we got to the bottom of the cutting, it opened up, revealing a small valley dotted by more moss-covered boulders, a few plants here and there—and not much else. It almost seemed like a railway tunnel, so perfectly straight and tall were the

ALEX MOLISKI—UNSPLASH

ith packs and tents strapped to our backs, it took our little group of three several hours to reach the hidden valley. The lush, green rainforest was cool and damp and as we gingerly clambered over mosscovered boulders, we attempted to follow an almost non-existent track that wound its way parallel to the mountain stream. After an hour of hiking, the path transformed into a steep hill where only vines and the most stubborn of trees grew. The trail, which had previously only been faint at best, completely disappeared. Our boots became completely covered in mud as we climbed higher. Occasionally, the incline became so steep that we were forced to haul ourselves up with vines, praying they would hold both the weight of our bodies and supplies. After a few hours of climbing, we finally reached our destination, and the thick rainforest gave way to a magnificent panorama. We were

famous for: its glow-worms. Tiny little insects who, in the right conditions, glow, thanks to their amazing bioluminescence. I’d seen glowworms before—but never so many, all in one place. I’m talking hundreds, if not thousands of them, all at the same time. They had been there the entire time, but we didn’t have the eyes to see them.

more than matter?

We all sense the desire to “open our eyes” to the reality that undergirds all reality walls. Finding a place to set up camp, we lit a pathetic fire—just enough to keep us warm—and hunkered down to wait for the real reason we’d come to this hidden valley. As the sun set and the chill of night overtook us, a deep, dark shadow was cast over the valley and we were left in complete darkness. That’s when the real show began. One-by-one, small blue-green lights appeared on the valley walls. Though only a few at first, soon the entire area was illuminated so radiant that man-made lights were outshone. This is what the hidden valley was

Many have pondered the question of whether there is more to this life than just what we see. Once the realm of desert mystics and philosophers, whether we know it or not, this question pervades much of our popular culture today. Many popular films, TV shows and books seek to explore, whether in fiction or real life, the question of origins, truth and ultimate reality. Likewise, science, through theories on the Big Bang, evolution, multiverse and more, seek to explain ultimate reality through naturalistic means. And of course, every religious group has their own answers to these same questions— some benign, others deadly. What I’m driving at is the question of whether there’s more to this life than just this life. Whatever the interpretive lens, we all sense the desire to “open our eyes” to the reality that undergirds all reality—if indeed such a reality exists. It’s my conviction that in fact, such a reality does exist and that it’s all around you right now—if you have the eyes to see it. AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

spirit and truth

Saul of Damascus (later called Paul) is responsible for writing much of the Bible’s New Testament. He travelled throughout the Roman Empire, preaching, starting new churches and helping grow new believers’ faith. There’s a curious passage in a letter he penned to followers of Jesus in the ancient city of Ephesus that gives us an insight into Paul’s image of an alternate spiritual reality. Speaking on prayer, he instructs these early Christians to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:18). What does he mean? Well, the previous verses give us a clue. Paul speaks about putting on the “full armour of God”. Believers, says Paul, should arm themselves with “truth”, “justice”, “peace”, “trust”, “assurance of God’s saving power” and “God’s Word”. These are metaphors (unless you know how to wear metaphysical concepts) but the elements of this armour are no less real. Why should they “wear” these ideals? Because, in Paul’s words, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (6:12). What Paul is claiming here is that the real war we’re all involved in is not against earthly powers—but against spiritual powers in the spiritual realm. Like the glow-worms, the spiritual world is all around us—but 58

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most people go through life unaware it even exists. Every act of oppression, abuse, violence is animated by forces we can’t see, can’t touch—but are nevertheless very real. Christians often refer to these forces as “demons”, “fallen angels” or “spiritual evil”. If these powers sound sinister, it’s because they are. Though humans are free to make their own decisions, these powers lurk in the shadows, tempting us to act on our darkest impulses.

spiritual powers for good

As overwhelming as spiritual evil in this world might seem, there’s good news: they don’t get the final word. In a letter to another Christian community, Paul discusses what happened on the cross—that pivotal moment in Jesus’ life when He allowed Himself to die a criminal’s death; a death He didn’t deserve. In a paradoxical sense, Paul paints this tragedy as a triumph. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). These same powers that are responsible for the earth’s evil are defeated by . . . death? It doesn’t seem to make sense but this, in Paul’s view, is how God triumphed over evil. By giving up His life, Jesus proved death could not hold permanent power over Him—and through His resurrection, likewise proved death need not hold permanent power over humanity. Though you

Jesse Herford is a pastor and associate editor for the Australia/New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times. He lives in Canberra, Australia with his wife, daughter and their miniature schnauzer.

AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

CREATIVA IMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

and I will still experience death, the Christian hope is that death will “lose its sting” (1 Corinthians 15:55) because of the resurrection. You and I will die one day but we need not fear it, for “if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies” (Romans 8:11). This is the hope of Christianity. This is why early Christians willingly allowed themselves to die at the hands of cruel men. They no longer feared the grave, for they worshipped the God who had defeated death itself. When they understood the war they were fighting wasn’t against the Romans or local pagan authorities, it gave them perspective to see the world for how it really was—embroiled in a cosmic conflict against powers invisible to the naked eye and yet one that topples governments and incites the worst of atrocities. And yet, they also realised that acts of kindness, compassion and generosity animated by the life-changing love of Jesus can transform the darkness of the world into light. Like Jesus on the cross, death can be overturned and, in its place, life can triumph. The hope of the resurrection transformed the lives of these men and women and it can transform your life, too. All you need to do is open your eyes and see the glow-worms.

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COTTONBRO STUDIO—PEXELS

Eating well on a budget

Healthy eating can be easy and affordable. In many cases, the foods that make up a nutritious diet, such as vegetables, pantry-staple legumes and wholegrains, are some of the most affordable foods you can get. With a little clever planning, it is possible to eat well on a tight budget. Here are seven tips to help get you started. Root to stem Save money, reduce your food waste and make meals go further by choosing veggies that can be eaten in their entirety. This means saving those carrot tops from the bin, making them into things like pesto, then adding them into a salad or pasta. Other veggie parts to experiment with include broccoli stems and leaves, beetroot leaves and potato peels. For great recipe ideas, check out the Sanitarium website. Plan and save Shop your pantry and fridge first so you know what you have and what needs to be used up. Then you can plan your meals around these ingredients for the rest of the week. Making a list will help you to budget and only buy the food you need. Batch it up Put some time into cooking a range of different meals, or components of meals, in bulk and freeze for those busy nights. This will help you get ahead and your future self will thank you! Cooking in this way will also allow you to buy ingredients in bulk, bringing your grocery costs down. Cool tips Frozen fruit and veggies, and canned veggies, beans and legumes can be used widely as cheap, delicious staples

that can help you meet your daily nutrition goals and veggie intake. If a veggie needed for one of these recipes isn’t available or in season, it can usually be substituted for a cheaper frozen or canned version. Storage hacks Learn how to store your food properly so it doesn’t spoil and end up in the bin. This can be as easy as throwing a paper towel in the storage container dwith your leafy greens. But even if after all your correct storing and planning you still find yourself with fruit and veggies lurking in the bottom of the fridge, you can turn them into smoothies, soups, juices or pasta sauces. Eat seasonally Eat what is in season locally and in abundance right now. This will usually be obvious in a supermarket as it will be the produce that looks fresh and smells great, often at the front of the store and it is cheaper too. Freezer friendly Freeze and thaw those precious batch cooked meals and prepped foods properly so your hard work isn’t wasted. Smaller components, like herbs, veggies and muffins, should be frozen individually on parchment paper for a few hours before they’re transferred into a freezer-safe container. This step will stop them sticking together and makes for easier thawing.

Article courtesy of Sanitarium Health Food Company. Visit <sanitarium. com.au> or <sanitarium.co.nz> and subscribe to Recipe of the Week for a delicious plant-powered recipe in your inbox each week. AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

CROSSWORD

Crossword Puzzle

How closely have you been reading? Each keyword in this puzzle is also contained within this edition of Signs of the Times. Happy digging!

5 6

7 8 9 10

n: Economist who predicted that by 2030, most people would work no more than 15 hours per week What death is described as in the Bible Where the Mega Health Clinic took place Small insects that give oﬀ light under the right circumstances

Across: 3. Number of Seventh-day Adventists worldwide 4. A New England farmer-turned-evan 6. The key emotion involved in anxiety 7. Ellen White’s maiden name 8. India and this other country have b TikTok 10. Where Louis Zamperini spent most time during WWII

crossword clues DOWN 1 Economist who predicted that by 2030, most people would work no more than 15 hours per week 2 What death is described as in the Bible 5 Where PNG’s Mega Health Clinic took place 9 Small insect that gives off light under the right circumstances ACROSS 3 Number of Seventhday Adventists worldwide 4 A New England farmerturned-evangelist 6 The key emotion involved in anxiety 7 Ellen White’s maiden name 8 India and this other country have banned TikTok 10 Where Louis Zamperini spent most of his time during WWII

SUDOKU easy

4 6

1 9

7 4

hard

5 3

9 4

4 1

7 7

Hint: 7 Across

8 2

5 4

3 8

1 6

8 7

SOLUTIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU AUGUST 2024 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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