A Little Bit of This & a Little Bit of That – December 2013
You have probably noticed that our “health” correspondent, Rick Coupland, hasn’t an article this month. Regrettably, he is tied up in other matters but in his place, we are re-publishing a 2007 article by Rob MacDormand.
Speaking of Rob, he offered some good Christian advice to Lottery Ticket enthusiasts. He wrote, “One day I was in a grocery store and there were several people ahead of me waiting to pay at the cashier. When I finally got up to the cashier she asked me if I wanted to buy a lottery ticket. I politely declined and she explained that all of the people ahead of me had bought lottery tickets for a big jackpot that was coming up the next day. None of those people ahead of me won the jackpot because it was won by someone in a different city. They wasted their money.
In the Bible God asks people why they waste their money. “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isaiah 55:2. For the price of a lottery ticket, a person can buy a loaf of whole grain bread to build a healthy body and mind. Think about it.”
In last month’s “A Little Bit” I talked briefly about the tribes in Switzerland (Page 19) and mentioned that there were Italian-speaking people who have yet to be identified as being descendant from a tribe of Israel. A reader from the Netherlands offered this bit of information and while it doesn’t mention a “tribe” it is an interesting revelation. She wrote, “Dear Brooks, When I was reading the letter-part in TKC of this month about Israelites in Switzerland it reminded me of an article of not only Switzerland, but also about the mountain areas (Dolomites) and that many Israelites live in the northern part of Italy. In old times tribes of the north fought terrible wars against the Romans, won and stayed. There are stories about rough warriors with long beards and clothed like Levites. When you visit the Duomo in Turin you find there a statue of Moses, dressed like a Levite. In another church is a memory in stone of Levites as priests … My daughter married an Italian from the north part of the country. With her father in law I had many conversations about the Israel peoples and where to find them.
Though a RC, a very well-read and well-informed man. He mentioned that in the valleys of the Dolomites people still speak a kind of Hebrew.
Someone enquired if we have any records about letting the land rest every seven years, as commanded by God in Leviticus 25:4. About the only material we have is from a very old “Anglo-Saxon World” article about a farmer and wife experimenting. Here are excerpts: “We had learned of God’s Law (in Deuteronomy and Leviticus) about letting the land rest once every seven years … and [after application] everyone commented on our beautiful foliage. We had no “peach curl” on our two peach trees. We lost no strawberry plants from “weavils°” getting into the roots. Even our primroses were gorgeous, with no loss there, while at the same time, our neighbours were having an awful time with bugs, weavils and many other things. We were able to can fruit, give much away and even to sell some. We could eat it with all the enjoyment one could want, because there were no poison sprays on it. We sent many boxes of apples downtown to the missions to give to the hungry men who would drop in. Such an abundance! We could hardly believe it ourselves….. Our tomatoes were solid and most weighed two pounds each. We have let our land rest twice since being here. If we are still here on our 21st year, we will do so again. We have angle worms all over the place that aerate our garden and provide us with their little piles of fertilizer each morning, especially in the early spring when we have so much rain. We don’t even spray our few rose bushes anymore…. Our fruit trees still bear lots of fruit even though the apple trees must now be at least 25 years old. I know what God meant when He gave us all these instructions for our health’s sake. I think there is a great blessing for individuals who obey them, but, it has to be on a National Scale, for greater blessings to all our nations. Then, I think the blessings to the individuals too, would be far greater. Oh, what a day it will be when all Israel will be observing God’s rich laws in His Kingdom. Sincerely, A Daughter in Israel.
I was asked about a number of Canadian prime ministers, including John A. MacDonald, John Diefenbaker, Louis St Laurent, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and the current occupant Stephen Harper, as to which was the greatest of all. Of this group, I would pick either MacDonald or Diefenbaker, but the greatest of all, in my view, was not mentioned. William Lyon Mackenzie King held office longer than any other Prime Minister of Canada – longer than any other Prime Minister in the history of the Commonwealth. Under his administration Canada rose to become the third most important trading nation in the world. He introduced many measures of social welfare, such as family allowances, pensions, labor reforms. He led the country through the Second World War, when it became the fourth most potent fighting force, with the third largest navy. But probably Mackenzie King’s most outstanding talent was his “power of reconciling contrary elements”. In this no other Prime Minister equalled him. It enabled him to serve Canada as Prime Minister for 21 years and 157 days. As a young man King was a practicing Presbyterian and would attend church regularly throughout his life. His correspondence and diary from his student years refer constantly to spiritual values and his personal dedication to Christian duty. It was his faith that likely led to his good works.
Whenever one hears the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” the name of Alan Campbell comes to mind, because he has been one of God’s truest soldiers. Perhaps no one today has the grasp of political, economic and ecclesiastical matters as they relate to Biblical prophecy and whenever he takes us down the road of current events, we invariably gain a great appreciation of what and why events are as they are. He has travelled extensively throughout the Israel world proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom and news of the Israel Truth, in fact he has been our guest here in Vancouver on seven or eitht occasions.
Pastor Campbell now needs our prayers. He was rushed to hospital in early November and at the time of this writing, he remains in intensive care. We’re not certain of the cause at this time, although we are told that it was accompanied by a heart attack.
Our good friend Michael Clark sent us an article that appeared in the UK Daily Mail written by Rev. Andy Kelso. He wrote, “At this season of remembrance, we would do well to remember the kind of country for which our brave troops died.
We were, by and large, a Christian country with Christian beliefs and morals. We believed that justice would prevail when faced by evil because we believed in the God of the Bible.
We had an ally in America who shared Christian beliefs. But today? We, like America, are a nation in freefall.
We think that God is old-fashioned and that we can do without Him.
We think we can build our nation in our own strength. Biblical teaching is now to be eradicated from our society.
But here’s a warning: at the place where the Twin Towers collapsed in New York, now Ground Zero, stands a small church, St Paul’s. It’s where George Washington led the members of the first Senate and House of Representatives on April 30, 1789, to pray for the first government of the United States of America.
This nation was a fledgling nation which depended on God for its daily life. At the place where the Twin Towers, symbols of modern America’s power, fell, the very first President and leaders asked for God’s help.
Today, like us, America has pushed God to the margins and the result is that it has suffered.
We, too, have sown the wind and reap the whirlwind. We need to repent and turn back to God before it’s too late.”
Michael Clark’s Comments: “ St. Paul’s Chapel is an Episcopal chapel located at 209 Broadway, between Fulton and Vesey Streets, in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan.
George Washington, along with members of the United States Congress, worshipped at St. Paul’s Chapel on his Inauguration Day, on April 30, 1789. Washington also attended services at St. Paul’s during the two years New York City was the country’s capital. Above Washington’s pew is an 18th-century oil painting of the Great Seal of the United States; adopted in 1782.
