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Posts Tagged ‘Lord Jesus Christ’

Morningbird – A Voice In The Morning

Posted in Birds, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 17, 2013 | 2 Comments »

Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) by Margaret Sloan

Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) by Margaret Sloan

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. (Psalms 5:3 KJV)

The Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) is a songbird species in the family Pachycephalidae. It is also known a “Brown Pitohui, Morning Bird, Morning Pitohui, Morningbird, Palau Morning Bird, Palau Morningbird, and Palau Pitohui” (Avibase) At the present time it is a bird of “Least Concern” but it is hard to find a photo of it. That is what caught my attention to it. I liked its name. A recording of the Morningbird by Todd Mark (xeno-canto) made a remark that it was the “first loud singer of dawn chorus.” That seems to be appropriate according to the name it has been given,


Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. (Psalms 55:17 KJV)

Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) by Margaret Sloan

Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) by Margaret Sloan

The Morningbird is endemic to the islands of Babelthuap, Koror, Garakayo, Peleliu and Ngabad in Palau. Its natural habitat is deep primary tropical moist lowland forests. The species is non-migratory. It is apparently commoner on the smaller islands in its range. The feed principally on insects, but also take snails, berries, fruit, and seeds. They feed on or around the ground. Checking the internet, there are many birds called by that name because they sing in the morning, but very few photos. (Margaret Sloan just gave permission to use her photos of this bird, thanks.)

There are videos of a Morningbird Song. Most probably do not know that there actually is a “Morningbird.” Here is one verse of that song:

You are the blood of me
The harvest of my dreams
There’s nowhere I can find peace
And the silence won’t cease

Sorry, but just because a Morning Bird flew away, our lives should not be like those words. We can have peace and knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the only real peace anyone really receives. He is the way to peace:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:1-6 KJV)

Palau Morningbird Pitohui © Mandy Etpison

But to You I cry, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer come to meet You. (Psalms 88:13 AMP)

The Morningbird (Colluricincla tenebrosa) is a member of the Pachycephalidae – Whistlers and Allies Family. There are presently 58 species that are assigned to that family by the IOC. Others place it in the Colluricinclidae family according to Wikipedia, yet I can’t find much about that family. They are closely related to the Shrike-thrushes and some sources list it as a Pitohui

(Wikipedia and other internet sources)

Links:

Gospel Message

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Birds of the Bible – Trusting Under The Wing

Posted in Birds of the Bible, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2013 | 1 Comment »

Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) young on her wing ©USFWS

Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) young on her wing ©USFWS

The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. (Ruth 2:12 KJV)

While searching for “wing” or “wings” in my e-Sword, I discovered this really great verse. Let’s dig into it.

Searching further using “under” and “wing” here are a few more verses that sort of relate to the verse above:

Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, (Psalms 17:8 KJV)

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. (Psalms 36:7 KJV)

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalms 91:4 KJV)

Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 mention being gathered under the wing, but they were not willing. Also, in  we covered. no pun intended, how birds protect their young under their wings and how God protects us. But the verse above seem to imply our trust.

What is being trusted? Boaz is implying that Ruth is trusting in the “LORD God of Israel.” She is from another country, another culture and religious way of life, but has turned her trust over to the LORD. That is something I did personally way back in 1960. I put my trust in the Lord to be my personal Savior. It was the best decision of my life.

Storks Shadowing Baby in Lakeland by Dan

Storks Shadowing Baby in Lakeland by Dan

In the Psalms verses, we can know that the Lord keeps His Eye on His own and we should desire to be the “apple of the eye.” Notice in the other verses that while we are under the wings we are trusting. Who? The Lord or LORD. Why do we trust? Wow! Look around at all the Lord has done just in creation and care of the birds. How about our care? We know through promises all through the Word of God that He cares for us. We know He doesn’t lie or do things for our harm. We also know that He is just and will give judgment when needed.  We could go on and on, but you can also see that the Lord Jesus Christ is “trustworthy.”

Baby Chick Peeping Out From Under His Mom's Wing - ©©

Baby Chick Peeping Out From Under His Mom’s Wing – ©©

We know the birds trust their parents to protect them while they are under their wings. Should we not trust the Savior while we are under His wings?

Here is a quote from the Believer’s Bible Commentary:

“2:4-12 When Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he asked the identity of the young woman. Learning that she was Naomi’s daughter-in-law, he cordially invited her to continue gleaning in his fields and to share the water provided for his workers. In praising her for the loyal and selfless step that she had taken, Boaz concluded with a little prayer for her:
The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge (v. 12).
Leon Morris comments:

In due course, the prayer was answered through him who uttered it. He recognizes the religious aspect of Ruth’s change of country by saying that she has come to trust (AV) under Yahweh’s wings. The imagery is probably that of a tiny bird struggling under the wings of a foster-mother. It gives a vivid picture of trust and security. . . .

From J. Vernon McGee:

“She had come to trust the Lord God. This is the reason she had left the land of Moab and made that radical decision. She had said that the God of Naomi would be her God. She had turned from idolatry to the living and true God. This woman has come to trust God; she was one of His children. Therefore this is the wonderful testimony that she had there in the land of Israel. And Boaz says, “May a full reward be given to you. May you be recompensed for this decision.”

From Matthew Henry:

“(5.) He (Boaz) prayed for her (Ruth_2:12): The Lord recompense thy work. Her strong affection to the commonwealth of Israel, to which she was by birth an alien, was such a work of the divine grace in her as would certainly be crowned with a full reward by him under whose wings she had come to trust. Note, Those that by faith come under the wings of the divine grace, and have a full complacency and confidence in that grace, may be sure of a full recompense of reward for their so doing. From this expression, the Jews describe a proselyte to be one that is gathered under the wings of the divine majesty.”

From John Gill’s Exposition:

“under whose wings thou art come to trust; whom she professed to be her God, and whom she determined to serve and worship; whose grace and favour she expected, and to whose care and protection she committed herself: the allusion is either to fowls, which cover their young with their wings, and thereby keep them warm and comfortable, and shelter and protect them, see Psa_36:7 or to the wings of the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat, Exo_25:20 and the phrase is now adopted by the Jews to express proselytism; and so the Targum here,”thou art come to be proselyted, and to be hid under the wings of the Shechinah of his glory,”or his glorious Shechinah.”

My all time favorite photo showing this:

Under His Wings - (Dove - photographer unknown)

Under His Wings – (Dove – photographer unknown)

Other Articles to check out:

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Birds In Christmas Hymns – Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne (Re-post)

Posted in Birds in Hymns, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) ©WikiC in nest

Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) ©WikiC in nest

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Philippians 2:6-7 KJV)

Words by Em­i­ly E. El­li­ott, 1864. This hymn was first used at St. Mark’s Church in Bright­on, Eng­land, where El­li­ott’s fa­ther was rec­tor. In 1870, it was pub­lished in the Church Mis­sion­a­ry Ju­ve­nile In­struct­or, which El­li­ott ed­it­ed.

Music: Margaret, Tim­o­thy R. Mat­thews, 1876

Birds in Christmas Hymns

Birds in Christmas Hymns

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home,
Saying Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

Starling feeding chicks

Protection and feeding at the nest by Anthony

Em­i­ly E. El­li­ott (1836-1897) - Emily’s fa­ther was Ed­ward Bi­shop El­li­ott, Rec­tor of St. Mark’s Church in Bright­on, and her aunt was hymn­ist Char­lotte El­li­ott. For six years, Em­i­ly served as ed­it­or of The Church Mis­sion­a­ry Ju­ve­nile In­struct­or.

Tim­o­thy R. Mat­thews (1826-1910) – Son of the rec­tor of Colm­worth, Matt­hews at­tend­ed the Bed­ford Gram­mar School and Gon­ville and Cai­us Coll­ege, Cam­bridge (MusB 1853). Or­dained the same year, he be­came pri­vate tu­tor to the fam­i­ly of Rev. Lord Wri­oth­es­ley Rus­sell, a can­on of St. George’s Cha­pel, Wind­sor Cast­le, where he stu­died un­der the or­gan­ist, George El­vey, sub­se­quent­ly a life­long friend.

Matthews served as Cur­ate (1853-1859) and Cur­ate-in-Charge (1859-1869) of St. Ma­ry’s Church, Not­ting­ham. Dur­ing this time he found­ed Not­ting­ham’s Work­ing Men’s In­sti­tute. In 1869, he be­came Rec­tor at North Coates, Lin­coln­shire. He re­tired in 1907 to live with his eld­est son at Tet­ney vi­car­age.

Matthews ed­it­ed the North Coates Sup­ple­ment­al Tune Book and The Vil­lage Or­gan­ist. He com­posed Morn­ing and Ev­en­ing Serv­ices, chants and re­sponses, and earned a rep­u­ta­tion for sim­ple but ef­fect­ive hymn tunes, writ­ing over 100. William How­ard re­quest­ed six tunes from him for a child­ren’s hym­nal, and Mat­thews com­plet­ed them with­in a day. Mat­thews al­so com­posed a Christ­mas car­ol and a few songs. His sons Nor­ton and Ar­thur Per­cy were al­so known as hymn tune com­pos­ers.

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More Birds in Hymns

See ~ Wordless Birds

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal – Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

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Birds in Christmas Hymns – I Wonder As I Wander (Re-post)

Posted in Birds in Hymns, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 18, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Crane Migration over Israel

Crane Migration over Israel

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)

John Jacob Niles, 1933  - Collector of the music

Music – I Wonder as I Wander, Appalachian carol by Carl Rütti (1949 – )

Birds in Christmas Hymns

I Wonder As I Wander

I wonder as I wander out under the sky,
How Jesus the Savior did come for to die.
For poor on’ry people like you and like I…
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.

When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas in a cow’s stall,
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all.
But high from God’s heaven a star’s light did fall,
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing,
A star in the sky, or a bird on the wing,
Or all of God’s angels in heav’n for to sing,
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King.

Mallards flying off by Ian

Mallards flying off by Ian

John Jacob Niles (Dates B-D) Collected by John Jacob Niles in Murphy, NC in July 1933 from a young traveling evangelist Annie Morgan. According to Niles, he asked her to sing the song repeatedly until he had memorized it. It was published in his 1934 Songs of the Hill-Folk. Written in a minor key, it’s qualities of pensiveness make it one of today’s most popular carols.

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More Birds in Hymns

See ~ Sharing The Gospel

Wordless Birds

Most information from The Hymns and Carols of Christmas – I Wonder As I Wander

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Birds of the Bible – Birds and Names?

Posted in Birds of the Bible, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Pin-tailed Parrotfinch (Erythrura prasina) ©WikiC

Pin-tailed Parrotfinch (Erythrura prasina) ©WikiC

The devotional a few days ago from Days of Praise had one called The Names of Men. They were referring to the many list of names of people in the Bible and how many of them are unknowns. Why are they listed? The article gives a good answer to that, but here is the main point of it:

And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. (Numbers 1:5 KJV)

“He wants to assure us that He is interested not only in the Abrahams, Daniels, Pauls, and other great men in His kingdom, but also in the Elizurs and Shedeurs and Bills and Kates in His spiritual family.

There are many millions of names “written in the Lamb’s book of life” and the heavenly Lamb–the Lord Jesus Christ–is also the Good Shepherd that “calleth his own sheep by name” The names in His book here on earth are an assurance that He knows and calls us by each of our names in His book in heaven. “

Saffron-billed Sparrow (Arremon flavirostris) by Dario Sanches

Saffron-billed Sparrow (Arremon flavirostris) by Dario Sanches

How does this tie in with birds? We know that the Lord knows the birds because the Word tells us that not a one falls without His knowledge.

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? (Luke 12:24 NKJV)

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ (Job 35:11 NKJV)

Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice. (Matthew 10:29 AMP)

If the Lord knows every birds need, cares about them and knows when they fall, do you not think we are noticed? He knows all of our names and if you know Him as your personal Saviour, your name has been written in the Book of Life.

Gospel Message

More Birds of the Bible

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Nuggets Plus – Bleeding Mom Pelican..

Posted in Birds, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) rookery ©USFWS

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) rookery ©USFWS

Bleeding Mom Pelican.. ~ by a j mithra

The Mom pelican
regurgitates food for her babies,
and in doing so,

Nuggets Plus

Nuggets Plus

blood from the macerated fish
spots her snowy white breast –
hence giving the impression
of piercing her own chest
to let blood as food for her young…
Do you know that our Lord Jesus
doesn’t give us regurgitated food.
But, let Him to be pierced
on the cross and shed His blood..
to give Himself as the Living bread…

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51

Yours in YESHUA,

a j mithra

Please visit us at:

Crosstree

ajmithra21

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Sharp-Beaked Ground Finch – The Bloodsucker..

Posted in Birds, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2012 | 3 Comments »

©realmonstrosities.com

Sharp-Beaked Ground Finch or Vampire Finch ©realmonstrosities.com

Sharp-Beaked Ground Finch – The Bloodsucker..  ~ by a j mithra

There is an interesting finch bird on Wolf Island, it is the Sharp-Beaked Ground Finch. The Vampire Finch (Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis) is a small bird native to the Galápagos Islands. It is a very distinct subspecies of the Sharp-beaked Ground Finch (Geospiza difficilis) endemic  to Wolf and Darwin Islands.

Sharp-Beaked Finch: (Geospiza nebulosa) belong to the highlands of the central and western islands. The vampire finch is endangered, being a small-island endemic. This bird is known as the Vampire Finch because it pecks the flesh of the backs of masked boobies, red footed boobies and Blue Footed Boobies to feed on their blood.

This pecking the flesh and feeding the blood at the back, reminds me of how Jesus was battered and bruised on the cross for my sins..

  • Of how my sins had ploughed his back on the cross..
  • Of how He drained all His blood on the cross and paid a price for my salvation…

For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. (Leviticus 17:11)
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us]. Hebrews 9:12)

The four species of ground finches are similar in coloration — adult males are black, and females streaked brown. They all have bills of the “crushing” variety, useful for feeding on seeds.

©galapagoscatamarans.com

Sharp-Beaked Ground Finch ©galapagoscatamarans.com

The Sharp-beaked finch (Geospiza nebulosa) of the humid highlands of the central and western islands is highly endangered, unfortunately since some ornithologists believe it may be the closest to the ancestral form of all Darwin’s finches. On Wolf Island (or Culpepper, in the northwest corner of the archipelago) this finch is called the “vampire finch,” for its habit of pecking at the skin of boobies until they draw blood, which they drink. Such a behavior may have developed from eating the parasitic insects that are found in bird plumage (as ground finches do in other islands).

The vampire finch is sexually dimorphic as typical for its genus, with the males being primarily black and the females grey with brown streaks. It has the largest and most pointed beak of all G. difficilis subspecies, and overall looks like a miniature Common Cactus-Finch rather than, as the other subspecies do, a large Small Ground-Finch with a straight bill.

It has a lilting song on Wolf, a buzzing song on Darwin, and whistling calls on both islands; only on Wolf, a drawn-out, buzzing call is also uttered. This bird is most famous for its unusual diet. The Vampire Finch occasionally feeds by drinking the blood of other birds, chiefly the Nazca and Blue-footed Boobies, pecking at their skin with their sharp beaks until blood is drawn. Curiously, the boobies do not offer much resistance against this.

Jesus knew that the only redemption for all my sin is shedding His precious blood. That is the reason He took up the cross and shed every single drop of His precious blood, rather I would say, like these boobies, Jesus let Himself be sucked of all His blood, just to redeem me from eternal death…

He not only took the cross but also did not offer resistance, but completely submitted Himself.

  • Silence is the most powerful of all languages.
  • His silence pronounced death sentence to folks of satan.

Jesus could have easily got away from this suffering, but He let His silence speak for me…

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

I want to be like Jesus, but, do I keep my mouth shut when afflicted for no reason, I asked myself…

  • I know that there is life and death in the words that come out of my mouth…
  • But little did I know that, it is my silence that can bring life..

“A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;” Ecclesiastes 3:7<

It has been theorized that this behavior developed from the pecking behavior that the finch used to clean parasites from the plumage of the booby. The finches also feed on eggs, stealing them just after they are laid and rolling them by pushing with their legs and using their beak as a pivot) into rocks until they break. More conventionally for birds, but still unusual among Geospiza, they also take Nectar from Galápagos prickly pear (Opuntia echios var. gigantea) flowers at least on Wolf.
Nonetheless, the mainstay of their diet is made up from seeds and invertebrates as in their congeners. The reasons for these peculiar feeding habits are the lack of freshwater on these birds’ home islands.

This character of this bird, clearly showed me how I would be, if I don’t have the Living Water to quench my thirst..
Jesus showed me how He is ready to part away with all the blood and all the water to quench my thirst…

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13,14)

He let all His blood out on the cross so that I may live and dwell in Him forever and ever..

He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. (John 6:56)

>Have a thoughtful Passover!

Your’s in YESHUA,

a j mithra

Please visit us at:  

Crosstree

ajmithra21

See also:

Gospel Message

Vampire finches of the Galápagos

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