Bits and Pieces – 3rd Edition – March 22, 2020

CANCELLATIONS due to the coronavirus situation, and the Ontario government emergency regulations, there will be no Toronto Church services on Sundays 22nd and 29th March.  The Whitefield Christian Schools will not reopen until April 6.

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS continues to sweep  unrelentingly across the globe.  The whole world is in serious crisis as national borders are closing, the stock markets are plummeting, and draconian measures are  being put in place to try and slow down the advance of Covid19.  It is like a wartime situation.  At the time of writing about 250,000 have been infected, and 10,000 have died.  If there is any good news it is that over 80,000 of those infected have recovered.

WORTH REPEATING.  “When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come that following of Jesus which is an unspeakable joy.” – Oswald Chambers

ASSISTED DYING.  The Canadian Federal Government has tabled an expansive bill on euthanasia (Act C-7).  It is to amend the Criminal Code to, among other things,  repeal the provision that requires a person’s natural death to be reasonably foreseeable in order for them to be eligible for medically assisted dying.   Minister of Justice, lawyer David Lametti, says Bill C-7 “balances rights.”  Lametti’s legal acumen does not obviously extend to the Law of God that is quite clear, “Thou shalt not kill”  (Lit. ‘Do no murder”).  Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, says that C-7 “opens the door to death on demand.”  (The Interim.’ March 2020).  The Hippocratic Oath binds doctors to help patients, not harm them.  Euthanasia breaks the Sixth Commandment and tries to take our lives out of the hands of God, our Creator, Maker, and Saviour.

BALAAM is an Old Testament character whom Balak, the king of the Moabites, hired to put a curse on Israel (Numbers 22:5).  Balaam would be happy to concur but, after several failed attempts, was unable to curse Israel, but rather blessed them, much to the annoyance of Balak.  Christians should pray that Canadian Government leaders would be hindered from passing ungodly legislation, like euthanasia.  Although they be of a mind to put a curse upon Canada by introducing ungodly laws, let us pray that they may be severely restrained, like Balaam, from their wicked desires by the mighty hand of God.

ABORTION STATISTICS.  Canada is always trying to increase its population by immigration from other countries.  This is to meet the targets to keep the work force up to satisfy the needs of a developing country.  How ironic then that from 2007 to 2018 there were over one million abortions in Canada, a million young lives that were snuffed out before they ever saw the light of day. (Statistics from the Canadian Institute of Health Information [CIHI)] January 20, 2020) The human child is a masterpiece of God’s creation where, in the womb, He fashions a tapestry made in His own image.  (Psalm 139:13-18). Can He be pleased when medics put in their instruments of death and trash God’s precious canvas?  How can any nation expect the blessing of God when engaged in such wanton destruction?  Those one million aborted babies would have made a fine addition to the Canadian work force.