BITS and PIECES
277th Edition – January 11, 2026
A random collection of news and views compiled by Frank McClelland for the Toronto Free Presbyterian Church.
PRAY FOR THE OWEN FAMILY
Tonia Owen is the beloved wife of the Rev. Phil Owen, the minister of Buffalo FPC. Tonia took ill some months ago with a brain tumour, but after much chemotherapy and radiation treatment she did not improve.
Please remember Phil and his family at this very sad time. Pray that the Lord will comfort and strengthen them in these very difficult days.
THE REALITY OF SICKNESS
Sickness is not the domain only for people like our dear sister Tonia, it is for every single individual. All of us, sooner or later, shall succumb to its effect. Christian grace does not lift us above its influence.
It is not “so wonderful that man should die so soon, [said Bishop J.C. Ryle] as it is that they should live so long.” Sickness is often one of the most humbling trials that can come upon us. The skill of doctors may continually discover new remedies and effect surprising cures, but sickness triumphs at the end.
The question facing everyone is – what causes illness? When a person denies the existence of God, be he atheist, deist or unbeliever, he has no explanation for illness.
The only satisfactory answer is the existence of sin in the human race. There was no sin in Eden’s garden. It was only when Satan entered that the bliss of the garden was upset. Then we read, “There is none righteous, no, not one” so that “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:10, 23]. Every person is a sinner, and everyone will face the ravages of illness.
A woman once argued with me that it was lack of faith that caused sick people not to be healed. I asked her, what about dead people? She responded that ‘they die healthy!” Nobody dies healthy. Death is caused by the breakdown of the body in sickness, or accident.
The blessing of sickness is that the Lord is always with His people in those times of direst need. I remember lying on the operating table about to undergo serious open-heart surgery with not a worry in the world. The peace of God was so real. The Lord was with me each step of the way.
Prepare for the eventuality of ill health but also prepare to be blessed by the presence of the Lord, in such a trying time.
DAILY BIBLE READING
Each new year the Toronto church prepares a daily Bible reading calendar. This is to encourage the people to develop good habitual reading of the Bible. Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible-reading.
God has mercifully given us a Book which is “able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” [2 Tim. 3:15]. By reading that Book we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do.
“Happy is that man who possesses a Bible! Happier still is he who reads it! Happiest of all is he who not only reads it, but obeys it, and makes it the rule of his faith and practice” [J.C. Ryle].
It is to be hoped that all will use the church calendar every day. The Lord has given us a body and a mind. The body needs food to sustain it. We do not dream of missing out on our breakfast, lunch, or dinner. To do so would weaken the body.
The Word of God is referred to as bread, or manna from heaven. It is the necessary sustenance of the soul. We should no more neglect our Bible reading than we would neglect our physical meals.
Some of the Bible is fairly easy to read and understand. Other parts are more difficult and some, like certain chapters of Ezekiel, are well nigh impossible for us mere humans to interpret.
We should read the whole Bible, both easy and difficult portions because we will learn something. It is a good practice, before you start your daily reading, to ask the Lord to show you something new out of His Word today. It will surprise you how, even a familiar verse, will come with fresh meaning.
You may feel you are not getting much from your Bible reading. That is the work of the devil. The Bible may be daily keeping you back, and hedging you up, and preventing many a false step. By hiding the Word of God in your heart you will be able to differentiate the truth from this wicked world’s error.
