Jewel # 391 (February 20, 2020)

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

make up MY JEWELS.

Malachi 3:17 

To my dear Grandchildren

Wild Pigs - Ugh!

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods.”  Deuteronomy 11:16

Wild Pigs have a variety of names—boars, razorbacks, or just plain hogs or pigs.  However, they were not always wild.  Years ago some escaped from their farm homes and easily adapted to living in the wild.

There were no pigs in Hawaii until someone imported a number of tame ones.  Some of these escaped into the nearby forests and shores and shorelines.  Today they have become Hawaii’s worst pest.  Among other things, they destroy beautiful tree ferns by gnawing into the stems for food.  Another plant they eat is the banana-poke, spreading the seeds around, making it an added problem because it chokes out other native plants.

Both California and North Carolina have thousands of these black, fat, short-legged animals with pointed snouts and bare tails.  Many other North American areas have similar problems with them, all resulting from imported tame pigs escaping into the wild years ago.  Hunters shoot them by the thousands.  But it is impossible to keep ahead of them since the sows give birth to about six babies twice a year.

The wild pigs’ food includes acorns, hazelnuts, chestnuts and berries, hoggishly depriving many birds, deer, bears and other wild creatures of what they need.  Another disadvantage is that these creatures do not hibernate in the winter, but rain, snow and freezing weather seem to make then hungrier.  With part of their regular food not available, they strip bark off many trees, looking for hidden insects.  This results in ruining some forested areas.

As if these traits are not bad enough, they love to change a forest pond or part of a shallow stream into a filthy mud hole as they wallow and get covered with mud.  These areas soon become polluted and foul smelling due to all the filth.  This attracts flies and other insects that carry some of the disease-laden filth to farm yards, homes, parks and other public areas, harming not only farm animals and birds, but people as well.

These vicious, unpleasant beasts are an example of what sin has brought into the world, for when God created them, they were not this way.  This reminds us that Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin against God, and Satan is still trying to keep people from responding to God’s love.  Read the warning in our opening Bible verse.

Our loving God wants us to turn from our sinful ways and to His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for the sins of all who will come to Him.  The Bible tells us this: “We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

Have you come to Him with your sins?

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 390 (February 14, 2020)

Quetzals

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

A Spectacular Beauty - Quetzals

“Of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever".   Romans 11:36

There are over 40 species of birds called quetzals in the tropical parts of the world.  The one named mocinno trogon is probably the most beautiful of all.  It lives in Mexico and Central America and is the national bird of Guatemala.  Here are some interesting facts about this beautiful bird.

Its short body is only about a foot long, but the long tail feathers form a train about three feet long.  Head, chest, back and tail feathers are all beautiful emerald green, and the under parts of its body are bright red.  The only additional colours are the few white feathers in the tail, a soft-yellow, short, pointed beak, and maroon legs and toes.  Seeing one perched on the limb of a tree is quite a display, but seeing one flying or gliding under the trees is a really beautiful sight!

This bird’s food includes insects, which they dart out to catch in the air, and also spiders, berries and fruit, including a small wild avocado that it devours whole.  When its normal food is hard to find, it may substitute small lizards, snails and frogs.

The male puts on a spectacular show wen trying to interest a female.  He repeatedly flies straight up in the air as much as 150 feet, then swoops gracefully down to display his gorgeous colours.

Nests are usually high in the trunk of a dead tree.  Both birds peck out a hole with their sharp beaks and claws.  They take turns incubating from two to four bright-blue eggs for two to three weeks.  Chicks are born without down or feathers and are totally helpless.  Until they grow enough feathers to fly and can hunt for themselves, both parents feed them with pre-digested food held in their wide-open beaks.  The baby birds greedily peck it out.

Sadly, these lovely birds are facing many problems.  Besides natural enemies, which include the weasel-like tayra, moneys and snakes, hunter often kill them for their feathers.  But the worst hazard is the fact that loggers have cut down the forests where they live.  However, a few national parks have been established for them and other wildlife, and this should protect many of them.

These spectacular birds are certainly one of the wonders of God’s creation and remind us that “He hath done all things well” (Mark 7:37).  This includes a Bible promise to those who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour: “It shall be well with them that fear God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12).

He does care for the quetzals out in the tropical forests, but those people who love Him know much more of His love and care over them every moment of their lives.  Are you aware of His care?

Love you all- Grandpa

Jewel # 389 (February 6, 2020)

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 Desert-Wise Cactus Wren

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwells on high,

who humbles Himself to behold the things . . . in the earth!  Psalm 113:5-6

The cactus wren is about the size of a robin and is the largest member of the wren family.  Its brown feathers mottled with white, along with the bright red or orange iris of its eyes, make it a pretty bird.

As its name indicates, the cactus wren lives in the hot deserts of the southwestern United State and northern Mexico.  The Creator has given this bird the ability to thrive in these harsh deserts, and it seems quite content there.  It has been given a remarkable instinct to place its nest among the needle-like armour of spiny cholla and other cactus plants.  This defence is so good that its enemies (owls, wood rats, ground squirrels and snakes) do not attack it often.  The wren is so sure of this protection that it makes no attempt to conceal its nest, which is built only about three feet off the ground.

The straw-coloured nests are often as big as a man’s head.  Shaped like a flask, they are constructed of desert plants, grass and twigs and lined with soft, woolly fibres and feathers.  These nests show the God-given skill handed down from one generation to another.  When finished with her nest, the female wren builds a landing platform that is surrounded by sharp cactus spikes.  This platform permits her to enter a passage, sometimes a foot long, which leads into the nest itself.

However, the male bird does not share this nest.  Instead, if he cannot find an abandoned nest to use, he builds another one nearby.  He is not as careful about its construction as the female is with hers.  The female’s nest may be reused year after year, but the male’s nest often will fall apart during the first winter’s storms.

Cactus wrens are wary creatures, although they do select high perches for singing their lovely songs.  However, when searching for food, they prefer to fly close to the ground where they are screened by desert bushes.  Most of their food is insects and seeds of desert plants.  When hunting, these wise birds know that much food can be found under stones, so they turn these over to catch the insects that live in the coolness underneath.  Some of these stones may weigh half as much as the birds do.

Our opening verse tells us of our Creator God who, though mighty, humbles Himself to look after all His creatures.  This also includes you, and not only does He care for your needs, but the Bible tells us, “The Lord searches all hearts, and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9).

Are you seeking Him or forsaking Him?

Love you all - Grandpa  

Jewel # 388 (January 28, 2020)

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 Octopus

"The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.”  Psalm 145:9

In spite of its frightful appearance, the octopus is usually a very timid creature and will not attack a person unless he triess to invade its home.  There are more than 150 varieties of octopuses.  Some are less than an inch across, others are 30 feet or more from the tip of one outstretched tentacle to the tip of an opposite outstretched tentacle, but most are only about there feet across.

This odd resident of the ocean has a body with a large, dome-shaped head, containing not only its brain, but also its stomach and other organs.  These are covered by a membrane called a mantle.  It has huge, human-like eyes behind its mouth and a strong, parrot-type beak.

  

Eight snake-like tentacles stretch out from its body, each having on its underside about one hundred suction cups that attach themselves with a vice-like grip onto anything. The eight tentacles also act as feet to move along the ocean floor and as hands to pull up and over an underwater rock.

A large opening in the mantle is always moving, sucking water over its gills and out through a siphon.  This siphon can be pointed in any direction to provide jet propulsion.  It also squirts inky fluid to make a “smoke screen” when pursued.  Attached to the octopus’s skin are little bags of pigment.  When these bags are held open, various colours are exposed, which the octopus can change to appear striped, mottled or a a solid colour, to match its surroundings.  How wonderfully the Creator has designed this creature for is way of life deep in the ocean!

The octopus does have enemies—squid, whales and large eels.  As a result, it hunts at night.  In the day time it hides in a cave where it piles odd shells and rocks by the entrance.

Do you think God sees these octopuses deep on the ocean floor?  He certainly does.  The Bible tells us, “Thy way is in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters” (Psalm 77:19).  God sees and cares for everything He has created, and He never takes His eye off them.

But He has a special care for you and me whom He has created “in His own image” (Genesis 1:27).  We are the only creatures invited to come to Him in faith.  His Word assures us that “the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows them that trust in Him”  (Nahum 1:7). 

If you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you may say as the Apostle Paul did, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans  8:38-39).            

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 387 (January 22, 2020)

“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

Fierce-Looking Moray Eels

“They that go down to the sea . . . these see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.”  Psalm 107:23-24

Over 100 specie of moral eels live among rocks and corals off the coasts of British Columbia, Canada, south to Mexico, all along the Atlantic coast of North America, as well as parts of Europe.

These ells generally do not exceed a length of five feet.  Looking at you with their mouths open showing many long, razor-shap teeth, they can frighten the bravest of men if they are not aware that moray eels aren’t usually a threat, but some can be dangerous and aggressive.  Their mouths are always open to breathe.

Moray eels are usually vividly marked or coloured.  They are an unusual combination speckled, striped, and freckled, with a large range of colours—chocolate brown, off white, black, sandy yellow, scarlet and blue.  One found off the coast of Florida is the green moray—a long thin round-bodied variety.  Another is well-named speckled, for its whole body is covered with all white dots on a dark background.         

Other unusual ones include a brown and white one named slender and another called ribbon, because its body is about the size and shape of a huge snake.  It is primarily blue, but it head and a few other parts are orange.  Still another, looking much like a speckled but in lighter white and brown shades, is known as the dragon.  

Unless threatened or frightened, moray eels usually are not aggressive toward divers who are careful not to get too close or frighten them.  One diver tells of a frighteningly classical when try spear one in the Pacific Ocean.  The moray was coning too fast for humanoid swam right at him with its mouth wide open.  He knew he couldn’t out swim it, but surprisingly it didn’t attack.  

Another diver accidentally disturbed a hidden one withe swimming mourned a sunken ship, andante an opening that happened to be the home of a small moray.  Immediately one of his fingers was caught in its mouth, feeling like it was grabbed by a pair of pliers with needle points.  The eel soon withdrew, but not before the sharp teeth left painful cuts the entire length of his finger.  A wise swimmer knows that when a moray comes his way with its wide-open mouth showing those long, sharp teeth, its time to get away!

The opening Bible verses remind us that many people familiar with ocean waters have been impressed with the wonders of God’s creation.  Another verse tells us, “Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made . . . the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all” (Nehenmiah 9:6).

Do you know Him as more than the God of creation?  

If you have accepted His beloved Son as your Saviour, He is also your Father.

Love you all - Grandpa    

Jewel # 386 (January 9, 2020)

Spurwing Plover

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 Crocodile’s Friend

‘Thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast.”

Psalm 36:6

We are all familiar with the vicious looking jaws and teeth of the crocodile, which are able to rip apart the flesh of almost any animal or even a person.  But while these teeth are very strong and sharp, they sometimes become infested with leeches and other parasites.  However, God in His wonderful creation has provided an unusual way to remove these parasites from the crocodile’s teeth.

At times a crocodile will crawl onto a bank of the Nile River and lie with its jaws wide open, sometimes going to sleep in that position.  Soon a little African bird, thespurwing plover (sometimes called the crocodile bird), comes along and sees the open mouth as an invitation to dinner.  It will fly down and enter right into those terrible looking jaws!  It hops around the inside of the crocodile’s mouth, pecking out and eating all the parasites.

What an amazing thing this is!  The crocodile usually snaps its jaws closed on anything that touches them—except when it is the crocodile bird!  Somehow it knows that this bird is its friend, and it will not harm the bird—truly amazing!

This bird helps the crocodile in other ways besides cleaning its teeth; it feeds on insects living on the crocodile's body.  And flies are always bothering these big creatures too.  The flies attack the  crocodile’s eyes and sometimes cause sores to develop.  This little bird goes after those flies too.

It is doubtful that either the bird or the crocodile behave this way because of any real friendship, but rather because there are benefits for both of them.  Yet we cannot help but wonder at this unusual partnership.  It is another example of how the Creator God watches over all creation.

How does this little bird know it will not be crushed in the jaws of the big reptile?  What keeps the crocodile from snapping its jaws shut when the bird is inside?  The answer is that this partnership was arranged by God, whose interest is not only in creating, but also in taking care of all His creatures.

While the crocodile does not harm the little plover, it will quickly attack anything else.  The crocodile’s habits remind us of an enemy whose evil ways can trap us.  the Bible warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).  This enemy wants to keep our thoughts away from God, knowing that this will lead to unhappiness and judgment.  Our protection, through faith, is in the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, who “is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him” (Hebrews 7:25).

Do you have the Saviour’s protection?

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 385 (January 1, 2020)

 

Flat Tailed Water Snake 

        Red Bellied water snake 

"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

Look Out for Water Snakes

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your enemy the devil, as a roaring lion . . . is seeking whom he may devour.”  1 Peter 5:8

Snakes are usually thought of as creatures that live on land, but there are many that live in lakes, ponds and even some parts of the ocean.  All water snakes are excellent swimmers and can stay underwater a long time, swimming as deep as 50 feet.

Several varieties are in various areas of Canada and the United States.  One commonly found in Ohio and Illinois is called the queen.  The Graham’s water snake is common in Pennsylvania and north into Canada.  Some others include the striped, Clark’s, flat-tailed, and red-bellied species.  The brown is the longest—up to five feet long.  These freshwater snakes are not poisonous and are usually harmless.  However, if some of the larger ones are stepped on, they can give a painful bite.

There are about 50 species in the ocean waters of the Philippines and Australia, and all are as poisonous as rattlesnakes or other pit vipers.  These are usually about three feet long and are rather pretty creatures with a variety of colours and patterns.  They often stay in deep water a long time, searching for seafood, but come to the surface for air after about 30 minutes.

Water snakes may swim in groups of a dozen or more, but sometimes there will be hundreds of them hunting together.  Some people make a living by capturing them and selling their skins to tanneries and shoemakers, to be made into belts, shoes, handbags and other items.  

Strangely, these people don’t wear gloves or special clothing in their work with these poisonous serpents.  They swim up behind a snake and grab it tightly behind its head with their right hand.  Then they quickly transfer the snake to the other hand in which three or four others may be held, before swimming to a boat where they are quickly killed and stowed away for skinning later.

In the Bible, Satan is referred to as “that old serpent, which is the Devil” (Revelation 20:2), and as “a roaring lion,” as quoted in our opening verse.  Satan is described as a serpent because he wants to sneak into our lives with evil thoughts and like a fierce lion he will harm us in any way he can.  He wants to keep us away from the Lord Jesus who loves and cares for us.

In a wonderful contrast, the Lord Jesus is called “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29) and “a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).  When Satan tempts you to do anything bad or evil, ask the Lord Jesus to help you to be strong .  He promises, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me”  (Psalm 50:15). 

Love you all - Grandpa