BITS and PIECES
A random collection of news and views compiled by Frank McClelland for the Toronto Free Presbyterian Church.
235th Edition – March 23, 2025
THE LIMITATION OF CANCER
Dr. Ralph Colas, before he died with cancer in 2015, shared the following verse, with the members of the American Council of Christian Churches, of which he was General Secretary at the time. “Cancer is a dreaded disease, but it has its limits . . .
Cancer is so limited …
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.
It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection.
Everything we face in life has limits. The one thing that is unlimited is our Father’s love for us and the love your family and friends have for you.
PRAY FOR ABIGAIL
Rev. David Brown, pastor of our Larne church, wrote an excellent article in the recent “Vision” magazine on the subject of “Thinking Biblically about Disability.” He used the story of his nine-year-old daughter, Abigail, who was born with ‘fumarate hydratase deficiency.’
Little is known about the condition with no known cure. It has left her with an underdeveloped brain and limited life expectancy.
The pictures of Abigail show a happy young girl in company with her younger siblings. But Abigail cannot speak or eat like a normal person. She is PEG-fed (Percutaneous Endoscopy Gastronomy) through her stomach. This is a heavy burden for Abigail, and her parents., to bear.
Can I ask for all of our readers to take Abigail and her parents on their hearts and pray daily for sustaining grace for them.
JACOB BORNE ON EAGLES’ WINGS
“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: so the Lord alone did lead him (Jacob)” [Deuteronomy 32:11]
A baby eagle is hatched from an egg in a basic nest on a rocky cliff. After some weeks the chick has to learn to fly. The parents will fly past the nest in the hope the young will learn and take the plunge.
However, if it doesn’t, the parent will destroy the nest and push the terrified chick over the edge. If it doesn’t quickly learn to use its wings, one of the parents is flying below and will catch the babe on its back, then fly up to the cliff, to repeat the lesson again. Moses used this illustration to show how the Lord preserved Jacob while He taught him to gain his spiritual wings. And isn’t this true for all of us?
Sometimes our heavenly Father has to deal seemingly harshly with us to teach us to fly, and if things do not immediately go right for us He is always there to help us on the way.
A question arises. Do eagles really assist their young with flight training?” The National Geographic magazine, usually no friend to Christianity, answered.
“Some offer a lift. Golden eagles, for example, have been known to swoop down under their flapping eaglets and fly upward with the eaglets on their back before dumping them off and repeating the process.” [April 2002. p20]. Once more, though written thousands of years before, the Bible has proved to be correct.
So, the next time you think the Lord has been hard on you, just remember it is for your good. He wants you to get your spiritual wings and soar up into the heavenlies and become a mature believer who has proved God in adversity.
“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” [I Peter 4:12].
