Tag Archives: Christianity

The Wombat’s Backward Pouch (Re-post)

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Common Wombat - Cairns CC

Common Wombat - Cairns CC

The Wombat’s Backward Pouch (Re-posted from Creation Moments)

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Australia has many animals that are not found anywhere else in the world today. One of the most unique is the wombat, which looks like a small bear with brown fur. The wombat is a burrowing animal.

Like many of Australia’s animals, the wombat is a marsupial, having a pouch in which its prematurely born young complete their development. The pouches owned by most marsupials are open at the top toward the mother’s head. This works fine for the kangaroo and other marsupials – no one ever saw a kangaroo standing on its head.

Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)-Maria Island National Park

Common Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)-Maria Island National Park

But the wombat is a burrowing animal. If its pouch opened toward the mother’s head, it would very quickly fill with dirt, which wouldn’t do the young wombat inside the pouch any good. So, unlike any other marsupial, the wombat’s pouch opens toward the animal’s hind legs – it points backward!

The marsupial’s pouch is a wondrous enough invention all by itself. But this pouch is a clear case of a specialized intelligent design for a unique situation. If the wombat’s backward pouch had been produced by mutations, how would baby wombats have gotten by during the millions of years of trial and error needed to redesign the pouch? It’s easy to see the wombat’s backward pouch as a humorous hint from the Creator that human theories simply cannot replace the account of creation that He has revealed to us in the Bible!

Prayer:
Lord, I thank You that You have so carefully planned every detail of the creation for the benefit of every creature. When things don’t seem to be going well in my life, comfort me with the fact that You are still in charge and that You care about the details of my life, too. Amen.
Notes:
Major, Trevor. 1989. “The backward wombat.” Reasoning from Revelation, August. p. 3.

©Creation Moments, 2012

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Birds in Hymns – Bring, O Morn, Thy Music

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Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) by Raymond Barlow

Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) by Raymond Barlow

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8 KJV)

Words: Will­iam C. Gan­nett, in A Chor­us of Faith, 1893.

Music: Nicaea, John B. Dykes, in Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern, 1861

Bring, O Morn, Thy Music

Bring, O morn, thy music! Night, thy starlit silence!
Oceans, laugh the rapture to the storm winds coursing free!
Suns and planets chorus, Thou art our Creator,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be!

Life and death, Thy creatures, praise Thee, mighty Giver!
Praise and prayer are rising in Thy beast and bird and tree:
Lo! they praise and vanish, vanish at Thy bidding,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be!

Light us! lead us! love us! cry Thy groping nations,
Pleading in the thousand tongues, but naming only Thee,
Weaving blindly out Thy holy, happy purpose,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be!

Life nor death can part us, O Thou Love eternal,
Shepherd of the wandering star and souls that wayward flee!
Homeward draws the spirit to Thy Spirit yearning,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be!

Most information from The Cyber Hymnal

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YouTube by First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, CA – Their Chancel Choir & Young Adult Choir

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See more – Birds in Hymns

Wordless Birds

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Nuggets Plus – Baobab, the water tank..

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Baobab Grandidier (Adansonia grandidieri) ©WikiC

Baobab Grandidier (Adansonia grandidieri) ©WikiC

Nuggets Plus – Baobab, the water tank.. ~ by ajmithra

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Nuggets Plus

Nuggets Plus

Mature Baobab tree
holds 120,000 litres of water
but a water tank
can hold between 1000-9000 litres!
If we are like the trees
planted by the waters,
how much Living Water
do we hold?

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 11:18)

Have a blessed day!

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Eagle Away From Home

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Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Brevard Zoo by Lee

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Brevard Zoo by Lee

While having devotions this morning, we read this from Comments on Here and Hereafter, by Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. (After our regular devotional we read from different books.)

“A story is told of an eagle that had its wing clipped. He was put in the barnyard with the fowls. The eagle used to walk out in the light and turn one eye to the mountain and the other eye to the sun, and he said in his eagle language, ‘This is not my home. I don’t belong here. God made me for the jagged peaks of the mountain top.’ The eagle tried to lift himself with the clipped wing, but he could not fly. Day after day while the wing was growing back to normal he looked at the mountain and he looked at the sun and said in his own eagle language, ‘I am going home some day.’ One day the eagle’s wing was strong. He tried his wings and found he could lift himself. He said, ‘Good-by, I am going home. God didn’t make me for this place. He made me for a mountain top.’ God didn’t make man for the dread sordidness of the commonplace and the monotony of every-day life. The soul of man has wings. But sin has made these wings helpless. Christ can restore us and make strong these wings of the soul so man can fly high enough to have fellowship with the infinite God.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:16-17 KJV)

See also:

Wordless Birds

Birds of the Bible – Eagles III

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Birds Of The Bible – Gull With A Broken Wing

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Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. (Matthew 10:29 KJV)

Yesterday, Dan and I went to Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland, FL for a little birdwatching and to just enjoy the day. It was around 77 degrees and a few clouds were hanging out. Just another beautiful day from the Lord. After walking as far as I could, we turned around and retraced our steps back along the southern shore of the lake.

My legs are doing much better, praise the Lord, but I still have issues. I stopped to rest a minute and spotted a Laughing Gull along the shore. Something in its appearance didn’t seem right, so I got up to investigate. (They have benchs along the way.) What I found was that the Gull had a wing hanging down and I assume it was broken. It appears to be an immature Laughing.

Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

The bird walked up by the tree and kept dragging it’s wing as you can see in the third photo.

Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

Laughing Gull Imm injured wing

I know that verse has been many used times here with the Birds of the Bible articles, but it still applies so well. That verse popped into my thoughts while observing the Gull’s situation. The verse mentions the Sparrow, but all birds were created by the Lord and it applies to them as well. I do not believe that He is only aware of just Sparrows that fall. God is ever-present, all-knowing, and all-powerful, so how could God NOT KNOW?

We know that verse was used to encourage those being persecuted (v.23) to not fear, knowing that the Father is aware of what they were experiencing. They did not need to worry about someone who could destroy their soul. (v.28) The passage goes on to reassure them that they are more valuable than sparrows or birds.

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31 KJV)

Not sure if Gulls “worry.” but that immature bird was in a very precarious situation. Without that wing he (or she) was very vulnerable to what could happen to it. There was a Red-shouldered Hawk flying by and I believe that that might be the tree it landed in when we went by the first time. I was trying to get its photo, but it flew off. I didn’t notice the Gull then. When we noticed the bird on the way back, the Hawk was still flying in the area.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary says this about verse 31: “for their (the persecuted) Father was truly concerned for them and aware of their circumstances. He is aware of the death of a sparrow which is worth so little. Two sparrows were sold for a mere penny (assarion, a Gr. copper coin worth about 1/16 of a Roman denarius, a day’s wages). God the Father also knows the number of hairs on a person’s head (Mat_10:30). The apostles were instructed not to fear for they, being far more valuable to God than sparrows, were seen and known by Him. ”

Believer’s Bible Commentary: “10:30, 31 The same God who takes a personal interest in the tiny sparrow keeps an accurate count of the hairs of the head of each of His children. A strand of hair is of considerably less value than a sparrow. This shows that His people are of more value to Him than many sparrows, so why should they fear?”

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33 KJV)

We should not be afraid to tell others about the Saving Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor that we believe that God is the Self-Existent, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Ever-Present, Loving (He gave His Son to die for our sins.), Creator of the world and all these birds, critters, and us.

What will be the fate of the Laughing Gull? I have no clue, but God already knows all about its situation, but better yet, He knows all out us and our situations and circumstances. He cares and wants us to put our trust in Him.

Sharing The Gospel

And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure. (Isaiah 33:6 KJV)

See more Birds of the Bible

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Nuggets Plus – The Ant, stores to share…

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Ants and aphids on a mango tree ©binux

Ants and aphids on a mango tree ©binux

The Ant, stores to share… ~ by a j mithra

Ants have two stomachs
one to store food for itself
and the other to store food
to be shared with the other ants!

Nuggets Plus

Nuggets Plus

We’ve been storing
lots of spiritual food since birth
but, do we share it or store it?

Remember, storing too much
could lead to spiritual cholesterol..

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40)
Have a blessed day!
a j mithra
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Birds of the Bible – Robbing The Nest

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Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) nest by Bob-Nan

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) nest by Bob-Nan

My hand has found like a nest the wealth of the peoples; and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken, so I have gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved a wing or opened the mouth or chirped.” (Isaiah 10:14 ESV)

Now here is an interesting passage in Scripture. Came across it the other day in my reading. Hadn’t found it in my Bible searches with my e-Sword because no actual bird is mentioned.

Chapter 10 of Isaiah tells, by way of prophesy, how God was punishing Israel for their sins by using Assyria’s wrath as a tool.

Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him, and against the people of my wrath I command him, to take spoil and seize plunder, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets. (Isaiah 10:5-6 ESV)

Also stated “Are not my commanders all kings?” in verse 8 and “As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols, whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria, shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols as I have done to Samaria and her images?” in 10 and 11.

Hummingbird nest by Bob-Nan

So the Lord uses Assyria to punish Jerusalem, but the King becomes boastful and full of pride. He, the king of Assyria, states that he has done it, by his strength, and his wisdom, and plunders their treasures. (Isaiah 10-12-13)

Then the king makes the remark about robbing the nest of it’s eggs (the wealth and riches of the captured people) as easy as from a nest where the bird is not there to protect it.

“and there was none that moved a wing” is referring to how normally a bird would defend its nest and be flying about attacking the egg thief.

“opened the mouth or chirped.” Under normal conditions, the birds would be quite vocal if their nest was being robbed.

And I have put my hands on the wealth of the peoples, as on the place where a bird has put her eggs; and as a man may take the eggs from which a bird has gone, so I have taken all the earth for myself: and not a wing was moved, and not a mouth gave out a sound. (Isaiah 10:14 BBE)

Those two phrases would be like today if a country was attacked and no army came out to defend or the news media and governmental officials were not there making a vocal condemnation or complaints.

But the chapter goes on to state that the king, country, servant, or whomever, should not think they are the one doing the work, but realize they are being used by some power greater than their self.

Will the axe say high-sounding words against him who is using it, or the blade be full of pride against him who is cutting with it? As if a rod had the power of shaking him who is using it, or as if a stick might take up him who is not wood. (Isaiah 10:15 BBE)

The LORD had to punish the people of Jerusalem because if He didn’t get rid of the sin and idolatry, then the whole nation would have to be destroyed. Thankfully, there was a remnant that was to be saved. That remnant would eventually bring forth the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Davidic line when He came in bodily form.

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) nest w eggs by Nikhil Devasar

Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) nest w eggs by Nikhil Devasar

What’s to be learned? Birds shouldn’t desert their nest? I think it goes deeper than that.

We should be careful of pride, arrogance, thinking more highly of our self than we should, etc. What we have and are comes from God. When things in our current history are not going the way we think it should, we have to realize that God is in control. Sometimes He uses bad things and people to accomplish His Will.

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Nuggets Plus – African Lungfish, The Clay Dweller…

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Protopterus - African Lungfish WikiC

Protopterus - African Lungfish WikiC

Nuggets Plus – African Lungfish, The Clay Dweller… ~ by a j mithra

Nuggets Plus

Nuggets Plus

African Lung fish
dig a hole and survive
under the mud
for even up to four years
without water!

What have we done
for those who live in miry clay
without the Living Water
all through their lives?

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (John 7:38)

Have a blessed day!

a j mithra

More Nuggets Plus

a j mithra’s Articles

Protopterus – Wikipedia

Nuggets Plus – The Righteous Cedar…

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Nuggets Plus – The Righteous Cedar… ~ by a j mithra

Nuggets Plus

Nuggets Plus

Not only Ships
but also God’s temple
and musical instruments
were built with the scented and
decay resistant wood
of the Cedar tree!
Cedar was even used for
ritual cleansing!
We say that we are God’s temple
and instruments in the hands of God!
God calls us as Cedar too!
But,
do we deserve to be called
as Cedar?
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12)
Have a blessed day!

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That’s a Fact – Evolution In Action & On The Origin of Dogs

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Here is an interesting video from the Institute of Creation Research. Thought I’d share it.

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Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31 NKJV)

Also an interesting article about the Origin of Dogs. Love those dogs as well as birds. Here’s an excerpt.

“On the Origin of Dogs
by Brian Thomas, M.S. *

Overall, there are more dogs than children in American and British households.1 Dogs have become a huge part of humans’ lives. How and when did they get here?

Chromosomes show that “the domestic dog, Canislupus familiaris, is a grey wolf.” Additional DNA studies provide “strong evidence” that all dog breeds descended from a wolf population that was domesticated in southern East Asia. Dogs, wolves, coyotes, and foxes can interbreed, so they represent the created dog kind. Over 230 dog breeds have been defined in the 4,300 or so years of post-Flood history.

In his 300 B.C. book Historiae Animalium, Aristotle listed the dog separately from the wolf and fox. But University of Otago archaeologist Helen Leach wrote that “systematic breeding only emerged within the past 300 years.”

Over 200 breeds were produced in only 300 years? That doesn’t fit with evolution’s theory of gradual change, in which new features are supposedly favored by natural selection over vast time periods. A recent experiment proved that dogs most likely changed in just a few generations through pre-designed genetic programming and intentional breeding……

To see the rest of the article – Origin of Dogs

From Acts & Facts – January 2012

Sharing The Gospel

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2011 in review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 210,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 9 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

That report was produced by WordPress and is a great reminder for us to keep up the good work on our blog.

Most of all, thank you for taking the time to view Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures. Without you, these numbers would not be possible.

Thank You and Happy New Year!

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (Genesis 1:14 KJV)

Birds In Christmas Hymns – Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

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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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