Jewel # 275 (Feb. 24, 2017)

     

Garden Eels             Flying Fish

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

Garden Eels and Flying Fish

“They that go down to the sea in ships . . . see the works of the Lord, 

and His wonders in the deep.”

(Psalm 107:23-24)

GARDEN EELS

If you were to look underwater near some Red Sea beaches, you might come across what looks like a group of three-foot-long pieces of black garden hose standing upright, gently swaying as the water flows around them.  But as you would move closer, they would, one by one, sink out of sight into the ocean bottom.  Then, if you remained perfectly still, they would come back up.  These marine creatures are called garden eels.   

They are nourished by specks of sea life that float into them.  They point their mouths towards the underwater current to catch drifting food.  Occasionally they bend over and fight one another, perhaps over bits of food.  But they usually stay upright all day long, sinking into their anchor burrows at night.  The garden eel will always keep a part of its body inside the burrow even when feeding. 

FLYING FISH

Unlike garden eels that spend most of their time motionless, flying fish spend most of their life in motion.  Many of them make their homes in warm waters near the equator, but some can be found in warm waters as far north as Florida and California, as well as other parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  The smallest species are only about 2 inches long, and the largest are about 18 inches  long.

These fish don’t really fly; they throw themselves out of the water by a strong push with their tails, leaping through the air several hundred yards.  They spread out their fins, which act like the wings of a soaring bird.  This is not done for fun.  Like other small fish, they are often the targets of larger fish.  They escape predators by taking to the air.

Sometimes they look like skipping stones as they skim over the waves, their tails flipping them back up each time they drop down to the surface of the water.  They are seldom very high in the air, but occasionally drop onto the decks of small boats.  Then they are likely to wind up in a frying pan, for they make a very good meal.

Does the Lord God, the Creator pay attention to such things as garden eels and flying fish?  He certainly does, as a Bible verse tells us that “all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). 

This verse and many more like it cover all living things.  But it is most important to notice that this includes people, for whom He has a special loving care.  He invites us to come to Him in faith and trust His wonderful love.  

Do you know Him as your Saviour?

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 274 (Feb. 15, 2017)

Murres & Eggs

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I 

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren 

Birds of the Cliffs

“Birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.”

(Matthew 8:20)

Among the most unusual birds’ nests are those of several species of sea birds in the high, rocky cliffs of the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  One species will choose a section of the cliff, from the top to the bottom, for its nests.  Other species will choose their own section on the same cliff, but the species do not mix.  

So one section might have nests of petrels, next to it seagulls, then puffins, or sometimes gannets, guillemots and murres.  This separation of nests is a wise provision of the Creator, for it keeps the various species from fighting with one another.

However, in daylight hours there is always a terrible racket from such a collection of birds so close together.

Openings between the levels of the cliff may be several inches high and not very deep in some places, but but several feet deep in other places.

Eggs are laid in these openings often on the bare rock, but sometimes in nests made of mud and grass.  The eggs of most of these birds are pear-shaped instead of round or oval.  Can you guess why?   

I’ll tell you: if a pear-shaped egg is knocked out of the “nest,” it will not roll over the edge.  Instead, it will roll in a tight circle and stop.  The mother bird can then fetch it back to where it belongs.  Isn’t that an amazing provision of the Creator?

These birds get almost all their food from salt water.  It is most interesting to watch one make a swift dive through the air and right into the water.  Then it comes up with a fish in its beak.  The fish is often carried back to the baby birds that are crouched in their rocky home.

When there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of nests so close together, how does each bird find its own nest when returning from a fishing trip?  Or how do the young birds dare to jump from those high cliffs and use their wings the very first time?

Answers to these questions can only come from our Master Designer and His ability to provide so wonderfully for all that He has created.

The opening Bible verse refers to the Lord Jesus who left the riches of heaven to become a man on earth.  He showed kindness to needy people, but He was so poor Himself that He did not even have a bed of His own.

At the end of more than 33 years, He allowed wicked men to nail Him to Calvary’s cross where He bore the sins of all who will confess they are sinners in need and will accept Him as their Saviour.

Have you done this?

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 273 (Feb. 1, 2017)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

The Hedgehog

“I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground,

by My great power and by My outstretched arm.”

(Jeremiah 27:5)

Although the hedgehog is well-known in many parts of Europe, Asia and Africa, it is not native to North America.  This peculiar little animal is less than a foot long and looks somewhat like a porcupine.  Most are nocturnal, but some venture out in daylight.

As it is one of the weaker animals that would be hunted and killed by larger animals, God has given the hedgehog a very effective defence against its enemies.  From its neck to its short, stubby tail, it is covered along its back and sides with sharp stiff spines, sticking out in every direction.  When in danger, the hedgehog tucks its head into its chest and rolls itself into a spiny ball and is safe from its enemies.  If it hadn’t done this right the very first time, it would have been quickly killed.  God gave it that protective knowledge when it was born.

Although this animal sometimes lives in harsh surroundings, it knows how to make a comfortable nest of woven moss, grass and leaves that is waterproof even in heavy rains.  Sometimes it will burrow into a rabbit’s runway and make its home there or burrow under the roots of a tree where it is safe with a good strong roof over it.  It has sharp claws on powerful front feet which enable it to dig quickly, not only in making its home, but also in finding grubs, slugs, worms and insects that make up part of its diet.

The hedgehog is helpful to man in at least one way—it is a natural enemy of snakes, especially poisonous ones.  The hedgehog quickly seizes the snake by its tail and then curls up into its spiny-ball defence, with the snake’s tail still in its mouth.  The angry snake strikes against the prickly spines again and again, until it almost hacks itself to pieces.  The hedgehog them finishes it off and has snake dinner.

Do you think the hedgehog gave itself such a protective armour or taught itself how to catch snakes without being harmed?  No, God, who cares for all His creatures, provided it with its unusual survival features.  “In the hand of God is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).

This verse reminds us that, while God cares for every creature, He considers mankind separate from all others.  He does, indeed, care for such an unusual little animal as the hedgehog, but it is important to realize that He has a special interest in every human being and wants each one, through faith in Christ, to be His child.  He tells us - 

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).   

Love you all - Grandpa       

Jewel # 272 (Jan. 28, 2017)

"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

Swamp Loving Bitterns

“I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.”

(Psalm 50:11)

If you spend time in swampy areas and look closely, you may happen to see one of the lovely bitterns that live in the swamps.  Being part of the heron family, there are many varieties throughout the world, and two of them are residents of southern Canada and northern United States.

Lets look at one named the least bittern.  It is called “least” because of its smaller size compared to other bitterns.  It is about 12 inches long when measured from its feet to the tip of its long bill when it stretches its neck straight up.  Its body is only about the size of a quail or robin, but its legs, neck and bill are much longer.

The Creator has provided this secretive bird with colours suited to hiding in its marshy home of cattails, tall reeds, long grasses and low bushes.  Its feathers are light brown except for  a black crown and back.  Similar colouring on its neck and breast is lightly striped in black tones.  This combination makes the bittern almost impossible to spot when something has alarmed it, and it freezes with its bill pointing up in the midst of swamp foliage.

It also turns its front and both eyes toward the source of alarm.  If the wind moves the reeds, the bittern sways with the movement of the reeds.  Adding to its excellent camouflage, the striped colouring of its long neck and breast look like the reedy plants in which it stands.

One reason bitterns like such watery surroundings is the plentiful food found there—fish, eels and frogs.  They also eat mice and other small animals, various insects and seeds.  Unlike most birds, they do not flock together.  Usually only one is seen by itself or occasionally a pair.

Bitterns are among the world’s most cautious birds, preferring to stay in the surroundings that hide them so well.  Only occasionally will they venture out into open water or into a close-by meadow for a meal of grasshoppers, other insects or seeds.  They can run fast on open ground but fly slowly, keeping close to the tops of the reeds and brush.

Nests are built above water level where from three to six young are raised each year.  The mother bird does all the incubating and feeding of her brood until they can care for themselves.

As we look at even a few of the multitudes of bird varieties in the world, it give us happiness to realize the Creator, the One who is Lord of heaven and earth, has found pleasure in them all.  But He says in Proverbs 8:31, “My delights were with the children of men.”  You are much more important to Him than any bird, fish or animal—so important to Him that he died on the cross for you.

Is He important to you? 

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 271 (Jan. 13, 2017)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

The Amazing Honeybee

“How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

(Psalm 119:103)

Without the work of the honeybee, the world would soon starve. Its work in pollinating blossoms is essential to the development of many kinds of fruits, vegetables, grains and other plant foods and also the reproduction of many other flowering plants.

The hive of the honeybee is a marvellous example of community living. As many as 50,000 bees will work together in unity, building a hive of honeycombs made up of hexagonal cells.  In one square inch, there are exactly 4.83 cells.  How do they make such an exact measurement? No one knows other than God who has created them and given them their unusual skills. 

Whether building honeycombs in a hive provided by a beekeeper or in a hollow tree or in any other location, the work always follows the same pattern.  Young worker bees produce beeswax in special glands in their bodies.  This wax is attached to the ceiling.  Then, working down, the cells are built one by one all the way to the base.  Several groups of bees begin building from different parts of the ceiling, gradually all coming together to make a complete comb.  Where the sections join together, the result is still the same—all adjoining cells a measure exactly 4.83 to the square inch!

Thousands of bees are busy right now, each adding its tiny bit to what others have started.  The walls of the waxen cells, only two or three thousandths of an inch thick, are so fragile that you could easily crush them in your fingers, yet strong enough to support the weight of the comb as well as the weight of the bees working on it.

Once the comb is completed, the workers then turn their attention to making honey, which they use as food.  The bee fills a special pouch inside its body with nectar from several blossoms.  In the pouch, the sugar and nectar are broken down into two simple sugars.  After the nectar is deposited in the hive, most of the water in the nectar evaporates and the liquid becomes thick.

Surely we need not ask where these busy workers get the wisdom needed to build these complex homes, nor how they work together in such unity.  God, “which doeth great things and     unsearchable; marvellous things without number” (Job 5:9), is the one who has set their ways and kept them in the same pattern since the day He first created them.

 As King David thought on God’s ways which provide so many benefits to man, He said, “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Psalm 107:8).  His greatest work of all was on the cross where He became the Saviour of sinners.

Is He your Saviour?          

Love you all

Grandpa

Jewel # 270 (Jan. 4, 2017)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I 

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

Fringed-Toed Lizards

“Thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone.  

Teach me Thy way, O Lord.”

(Psalm 86:10-11)

There are more than 2,000 kinds of lizards throughout the world, and the fringed-toed lizard is perhaps the most amazing of all.  It gets its name from the small, tough scales on its hind toes that swivel like tiny paddles when making its way across loose sand.  It can run over this loose sand with amazing speed or, when necessary, dive into it for safety. 

This is a cute little creature with a slender, orange body about three inches long.  They live in southeast California and southwest Arizona, also in northwest Sonora and northeast Baja, California.  This lizard lives comfortably there among huge sand dunes that are also occupied by tarantulas, rattlesnakes, rabbits, quail and a wide variety of other creatures.

Rough, furrowed skin covers the lizard’s body, but its underbody, throat and legs are smooth.  Its flat body and pointed snout, provided by the Creator, aid when diving headfirst into loose sand for safety.  With surprising speed, it buries itself completely and disappears from view, either lying motionless beneath the sand or moving off quite a distance without being detected.

How can this creature breathe under the sand?  The Creator has taken care of that need in a remarkable way.  He has given it a special nose like no other creature has.  Part of its nose is a trap beyond which sand cannot pass, although allowing the small amount of air to pass which it requires.  When back on the surface, it simply blows out the trapped sand.

The lizard’s eyes have been given additional protection from harm.  Each eye has two overlapping lids, preventing even the tiniest speck of sand from reaching the delicate part of the eyeball.  One of these lids acts just as yours does—blinking up and down when something threatens; the other moves from side to side to do the same thing.  If, as rarely happens, a speck of sand gets past this double guard, it simply wipes it away with a fringed toenail of a hind leg.

This lizard apparently gets sufficient moisture from eating the flower buds, stems, leaves, and seeds of desert plants.  If this is not enough, it can move out into the morning fog that condenses and runs down its furrowed skin into its mouth, which it holds lower that the rest of its body for that purpose.  Besides the desert plants, it also eats ants, beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars.

As the opening verse expresses, we can see an example of the marvellous designing that speaks of the greatness and wonder of God and His creation even in a little creature like this.  Pondering this, the psalmist said, “Teach me Thy way, O Lord” (Psalm 86:11).  That excellent desire should be in the heart and mind of each of us also. 

Love you all - Grandpa  

Jewel # 269 (Dec. 17, 2016)

"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I 

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

The Pika—A Mountain Farmer

"The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest 

them their meat in due season.” 

(Psalm 145:15)

The cute, furry pika measures about seven inches long and weighs about eight ounces.  This energetic little animal is a relative of hares and rabbits and is sometimes called a coney.  In North America it is found only among the rocks high in the mountains of Western Canada and United States.

The pika’s outstanding feature is its busy activity in the summer months.  It wisely prepares food for use in winter, when the snow will lie deep and it must stay in its den with its family.  Unlike many mountain animals, it does not hibernate but does remain quite active during the cold season.

While cutting and gathering plants, flowers, berries, aspen leaves and other vegetation in summer and fall, the pika is constantly in motion. God has provided this rodent with four incisor teeth to do all this work.  The rock-dwelling pika has small litters of fewer than five young.  A lot of food is necessary, because one little pika family will need about 50 pounds of dried food during the cold winter days while confined inside the den.

Everything it cuts or gathers is brought to the entrance of the pika’s den, and, like a farmer preparing hay, it is piled in separate mounds in the sunshine to dry in the clear mountain air.  When rain threatens, it carefully picks up these piles and carries them inside, bringing them back out for further drying when the sun is shining again.

Where did this little animal get such wisdom?  And how does it know how to store its food underground so it will not become mouldy or rot?  This wisdom is given to it by God who, in creating everything “after his kind,” has provided for its unique way of life.  This is passed down from generation to generation, without the need of lessons or experiments.  If it didn’t know how to do this, it would die the very first winter of its life.  The Creator watches over everything He has made and provides for the needs of each one in His own wise way.

Living so far from civilization the pika is much like the coney spoken of in Proverbs 30:26:  “The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make their houses in the rocks.”  Eagles, hawks and many animals are enemies of this quiet little fellow, but when sheltered by the rocks into which he hurries when they fly or come close, he is perfectly safe.

When David was delivered form his enemies, he said, “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my rock; in Him will I trust” (2 Samuel 22:2-3).  He is the only refuge from Satan, our dreaded enemy.  

Do you know the Lord as the rock of your salvation? 

Love your all,

Grandpa