Bits and Pieces – 137th Edition – October 23, 2022

     Peace was not often the accompaniment of Paul’s ministry.  If it was not the excitement of revival, then it was the danger of riot that followed the witness of God’s fearless evangelist.  In the list of sufferings given in his second letter to the Corinthians, there is little space for peace to be squeezed in.  Yet despite all the excitement and danger of his busy ministry Paul had a deep-settled peace: peace with God and the peace of God, both of which passed all human understanding.

     Hence Paul could write from experience to the Philippians [4:7] to encourage them as they fought the good fight of faith.  In so doing, Paul has left us a piece of the very best of psychiatry that, if applied, would solve many mental problems in this stressful age.  Even Christians can suffer from problems of the mind.

     Paul first counsels his readers not to be overly anxious or “full of care” about human problems but rather by prayer and thanksgiving, place them before the Lord.  In answer, God will not only keep the heart but also the mind through Christ Jesus so that in life’s storms, the soul has that wonderful peace of God that defies human understanding.

     Then Paul exhorts the Philippians to fill their minds with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report.  Surely the reason for much mental anguish is dwelling on the very opposite: things that are untrue, dishonest, impure, unlovely, and of evil report.  Heed Paul’s Spirit-breathed advice, and not only will you experience the peace of God, but “the God of peace shall be with you.”

“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body” [Phil. 3:21].

     Often when we are racked with pain and unable to think or worship, we feel that this indeed is the body of our humiliation, and we are tempted by the passions that rise from the flesh, we do not think the word ‘vile’ at all too vigorous a translation.

     Our bodies humble us, and that is the best thing they can do for us.  Oh, that we were duly lowly because our bodies ally us with animals, and even link us with the dust.

     But our Saviour, the Lord Jesus, shall change all this.  We shall be fashioned like His own body of glory.

     By faith, their souls have been transformed, and their bodies will undergo such a renewal as shall fit them for their regenerated spirits.  How soon this grand transformation will happen, we cannot tell; but the thought of it should help us bear the trials of the day and all the woes of the flesh.  In a little while, we shall be as Jesus now is.

     No more aching brows, no more swollen limbs, no more dim eyes, no more fainting hearts, the old man no more a bundle of infirmities, nor the sick man a mass of agony.

     “Like unto His glorious body.”  What an expression!  Even our flesh shall rest in hope of such a resurrection! [C. Spurgeon’s Cheque Book].

Questions for evolutionists

     How come the life-sustaining air we breathe is always 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen when untold trillions of apparently unrelated little pumps are pouring these gases onto our atmosphere? What regulates their mixture into a breathable gas to support life?

     Why did the cormorant and the anhinga, two very similar birds, develop different ways of catching their prey?  And why did the brown pelican develop its spectacular plunge diving technique for capturing dinner while the similar but bigger white pelican uses an entirely different method of fishing?

     Why did some birds develop a diet of fish while others developed a liking for insects or vegetation or red meat?  Why did the geese learn to fly when their food was on the ground?  And why did the swallows not eat grass like the geese?  It would have been much simpler than having to develop the advanced aeronautical skills they possess.

     How is it that man, with all his modern technology, cannot make a successful flapping wing airplane?  Yet every little bird unfolds his wings and flies without the need of complex airfields.  He lands and beautifully tucks his feathered wings away until the next flight while man can only dream and say, “I wish.”

     The answer to all these questions, and thousands more, is that evolution is a myth and “heaven and nature” cry out as signposts to the great and all-wise Designer and Creator.

“The owlet, atheism, sailing on obscene wings across the noon, drops his blue-fringed lids and shuts them close and, hooting at the glorious sun in heaven, cries out- ‘Where is it?’ [Samuel Coleridge]