Bits and Pieces – 160th Edition – April 2, 2023

     Today is Palm Sunday, the day that commemorates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  It is normally regarded as a happy day when the people are praising the Lord and shouting their “Hosannas,” which means, “Save, we beseech Thee.”

     Many of the people thought He was the Messiah.  Their interpretation was that after suffering long under Roman bondage, Jesus would claim the throne of Israel, and throw off the Roman yoke. But they were very wrong.

When people think today of Palm Sunday they often focus on the adulation poured on the Saviour.   But have you ever thought what it was like for Jesus Himself?  The Passover was just six days away, and while the Lord might enjoy the people’s worship, ahead of Him lay an unpleasant incident when he had to overturn the tables of the moneychangers.

     Then the extreme sadness of Gethsemane followed shortly by the horrific agony of Golgotha.  Surely the heart of Jesus was thinking of these things while the crowd shouted “Hosanna.”  And He knew the happy cries of “Hosanna” would soon turn to, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”

     On March 3, Sonya Louis was married to Diego Forero, and we wish the young couple the Lord’s richest blessing in their new life together.  The wedding was held earlier than expected because of immigration difficulties experienced by Diego who is a native of Columbia.  The Louis family has been long-time and faithful members of the Toronto Church.  Sonya’s father, Maher, is a deacon in the church.   Do pray for the young couple that Diego will get residence approval in Canada.

     It was in April 1973 that our radio ministry was born.  Under the inspiration of Rev. Alan Cairns, “Let The Bible Speak” began broadcasting on Manx Radio in the Isle of Man. Alan asked my brother James to do the technical end, a task he was well qualified for, and he asked me to take care of the financial details.  We took a decision never to ask for funds on air.  The next year we got an opening in CFGM in Richmond Hill, which helped pave the way to start a church in Toronto a couple of years later.  Today, “Let The Bible Speak” can be heard worldwide. Do continue to pray for this vital radio outreach.

I am sure every Christian who heard of the shooting of six people, three teachers and three nine-year-old pupils, at Covenant Christian School in Nashville. Tennessee, was heartbroken at the news.  And that it was committed by a 28 year-old woman made it doubly painful.  The sympathy and prayer of our church and Whitefield Christian Schools goes out to the bereaved and the whole Covenant family.  Their pain can only be imagined.  May the Lord comfort their hearts.

     The world seems to be getting more wicked by the minute.  Already in 2023 there have been over 130 mass shooting incidents in the United States, where at least four people lost their lives.   And in the last ten years that amounts to 4,171 incidents involving the loss of about 20,000 deaths.

One wonders why this state of affairs should be, and the current thinking is that the perpetrators are mentally ill, hence the many cries for more mental health funding.  While that undoubtedly is a major part of the problem, the root cause lies much deeper.

I cannot speak to the United States’ problem but I can comment on what we have seen In Canada.  Our church fought a valiant battle when the Toronto school board banned from the public schools the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and eventually banned the Bible itself, unless in the company of the Koran or the scriptures of other religions.

We said at the time that to dump the Ten Commandments alone would lead to social lawlessness.  And it has.  If a child does not learn early in life that God “is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,” it should be no surprise he grows up to deny His existence.  If he doesn’t learn he is responsible to keep His commandments, it should not be a surprise when be becomes lawless.  If they think they can kill people knowing that, in all likelihood, they will lose their own lives in the process, thinking that, “the grass is greener on the other side,” they are in for a horrible surprise. They may escape the judgment of man but they must face the Judgment of God and its terrors [Revelation 6:14-17].