Jewel # 126 (Dec 3, 2012)

"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,

Rhinos - Ugly and Mean!

"Will the unicorn be willing to serve Thee, or abide by thy crib [stable]? . . .

wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?"

(Job 39:9,11)

The unicorn is mentioned several times in the Bible.  While no on knows for sure, some think it refers to the rhino, perhaps because the word "rhinoceros" means "nose-horned."  All rhinos have horns - some have two while others have just one.  These horns actually are not made of bone but are made of hair-like fibers growing tightly together and are very tough and strong.

The white rhino of Africa (the largest) can be 15 feet long, over 6 feet tall and weigh 7000 pounds.  Its massive head has large, trumpet-like ears and huge nostrils on an ugly, wrinkled snout with two horns.  Its hide is thick, tough and warty.

Its loose skin hangs in folds and is the home of many parasites, which attract birds known as oxpeckers.  These birds may spend all day on a rhino's back and sides, providing considerable relief as they dig our and eat the troublesome parasites.  The birds also give warning calls when other animals or people approach.  This is another example of the Creator providing benefits between two creatures that are nothing alike.

These beasts are truly vicious and short-tempered.  They will charge anything crossing their path, be it an animal, person or even a car or train. Although they look clumsy on their short legs, they run as fast as a horse.  It is a terrifying experience to be charged by one galloping at top speed, its feet pounding the ground while it snorts loudly through flared nostrils.

Its front horn, with which it defends itself, is two to three feet long.  Its eyesight is poor, but a strong sense of smell and extra-sharp hearing make up for that problem.  They are lightening fast when charging and extremely dangerous when wounded.  Rhinos are often hunted for their horns, which sell for hight prices on the black market.  Natives who like to carry daggers with handles made from the horns also hunt them.  Although protected by the governments of Africa and Southeast Asia, poachers kill great numbers illegally just to get the horns.  It is feared these animals may someday become extinct unless the poaching can be stopped.

When those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as Saviour are with Him in heaven, we will learn and understand why such creatures as rhinos have been given a place in His creation.  Meanwhile we can say, 

"Thou art worthy . . . for Thou hast created all things,

 and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

(Revelation 4:11)

Love you all

Grandpa  

Jewel # 125 (Nov 16, 2012)

                                              

"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 Bear Causes a Big Problem

George drove his old station wagon down the unpaved forest road towards his favorite fishing hole. Fishing was one of the things he loved most.  The winding road led through thick forests, until at last he saw the deep, blue lake ahead of him.  What a happy sight!

The road sloped down right to the water's edge.  He stepped on the brakes twenty feet away from the water, shifted into park and turned the engine off.  Reaching over the seat, he grabbed his fishing pole and tackle box and left his bag of sandwiches and donuts on the passenger seat.

George walked to the water's edge and down a shoreline trail a short way to to his favorite spot.  Then he baited his hook with a fat nightcrawler.  The worm wiggled on the hook - nothing like a wiggly worm to attract the fish.  Soon George was busy reeling in panfish, and by midday his stringer was full.  Not a bad morning's catch. He decided to call it quits, and, picking up his things, he began hiking back to his station wagon.

On the way back he heard a commotion - groans and grunts - coming from what sounded like a large animal.  What's making those noises? he wondered as he neared the car.  Then he saw it!  A black bear had stuck its head and upper body into  his car window and was struggling to pull its fat lower body through the window.

George knew immediately: It's after my lunch!  he also wisely decided that it was to late to do anything about it.  He set his stuff down and sat down on a tree stump a safe distance away to watch what the bear would do next.

The bear gave up trying to pull its whole body thorough the window and decided to eat the lunch with half his body squeezed into the car.  He grabbed the bag with his paw and scattered the contents all over the car.  Bit by bit, the bear gobbled up what it could reach.  Then, not seeing any more food, the the still-hungry animal began rummaging, through all the nooks and crannies of the car with his paws, looking for more to eat.  While rummaging, the bear bumped the gearshift lever and knocked it from "P" for park into "N" for neutral.  The car began to slowly roll down hill, gathering speed as it went and heading straight for the lake.

The front bumper of the car hit the water first, then the grill, then the front tires and then water started to fill the inside of the car, rising to the height of the front seat. When it came to stop, the entire car, except for the brown top, was under water.  The bear made a furious tug and pulled himself free and ran off, splashing through the shallow water.

What a commotion the bear had made, and what a problem George had now! It all could have been avoided if only he had closed the car window.   He had a long way to walk to find help.  Then he had to hire a tow truck to pull his station wagon out of the water and tow it back to a car repair shop in town.  Then a mechanic charged him a lot of money to get his engine running again.

How George wished he hadn't been so careless in keeping his car safe.  All he needed to have done was just close the window.  He would have saved himself a huge amount of trouble and money.

Are you being careless with your soul?  God wants you to let the Lord Jesus save your soul so you don't suffer loss - a loss far greater than George's.  The only way your soul can be saved is to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.  "If thou shalt confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved" (Romans 10:9).

What is the result of believing on the Lord Jesus?  Those who believe in their hearts receive the forgiveness of their sins and a wonderful new life that makes them ready for heaven.  "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  He doesn't want you to wait until you think you can become a better person.  That won't help - you'll still be in your sins.  He wants you to come right now just as you are.  He is the only Saviour because of the mighty work He did on the cross, bearing the punishment for sin and shedding His blood that has the power to wash away your sins.  "The blood of Jesus Christ HIs Son cleans us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

Once you are saved, God wants you to keep you heart fresh in His love by staying close to Him.  Of course, someone who loves God will love His word and keep His commandments.  To keep God's love fresh in our hearts, we should be careful to keep sin out.  Sin makes the love of God grow cold in our hearts.  It has the ability to sneak into our lives if we are careless, just as the bear sneaked into the open window of the car.  That is why we need to store Bible verses in our hearts.  "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11).  Only by hiding God's Word in our hearts can we have victory over sin.

Poor George was careless.  As a result his lunch was stolen and his car got a dunking in the lake.  Don't be careless with your soul.  Won't you be sure that your soul is safe by admitting to the Lord Jesus that you are a sinner and accepting Him as your very own Saviour?  Then if you will hold tightly to His precious Word, you will enjoy God's rich blessings and avoid much unhappiness.

Love you all,

Grandpa

Jewel # 124 (Nov 2, 2012)

Did you know?  Bee-eaters bathe in dust to protect themselves from parasites.

"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 That Eat Bees

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

(Psalm 145:9)

There are many varieties of bee-eater birds, ranging in size from six to fourteen inches.  All have pretty feathers in various colour combinations of bright red, yellow, blue, brown and purple.  All of them have a black mask over their eyes.  These unusual birds live in Mediterranean countries, Africa, Australia, India and other tropical areas.  The European bee-eaters migrate south in the winter.

Bees, wasps and hornets make up 80% of the bee-eater's diet, along with a few other insects.  These are captured in the air.  Even the young birds can do this without any lessons from their parents.  Their food being caught this way explains why the Creator gave them long pointed wings and swallow-like tails.  These features enable them to fly swiftly and make quick turns in their flights, so that they rarely fail to capture their prey.

Another special feature about these birds is their long, pointed beaks.  What purpose do these serve?  If they only ate flying ants and and termites, a short, wide beak like a swallow's would do very well.  But catching bees and wasps is another matter, since a sting in the mouth or throat would not only be painful with swelling, but would probably mean death to the bird.  So God gave it a specially designed beak.

Overtaking a bee in mid-air, this bird skillfully catches the bee across its middle, holding it just tightly enough until the bird returns to its perch where it beats its captive against something solid to kill it.  Then the pointed beak is carefully used to remove and discard the stinger and to squeeze out any remaining poison from the stinger end of the bee.  Not until all this has been taken care of does it eat the bee or give it to its babies.  Isn't that an amazing feature of this bird!

We can easily believe that when God Himself created these pretty birds, He gave them their knowledge of how to capture and eat these poisonous insects safely.  This instinct and skill has been inherited by each generation ever since.  If they had had to learn on their own how to safely catch the bees, carefully kill them, skillfully remove the stingers and remaining poison, their mistakes would have caused their deaths, and the species would have died out.

The Bible tells us, "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).  It also tells us, 

"The LORD searcheth all hearts. . . . If you seek Him, He will be found of you" (1 Chronicles 28:9).

What does He see when He searches your heart?  

Love you all

Grandpa

Jewel # 123 (Oct 21, 2012)

 

"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 Tortoise

"God made the beast of the earth . . . and everything 

that creeps upon the earth after his kind.

(Genesis 1:25)

The desert tortoise, with its twelve-inch- diameter arched shell, stumpy hind legs, flat feet and short tail, lives in the deserts of Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and Mexico.  It is an expert digger, sometimes digging a burrow up to thirty feet long where it will hibernate for six months during the winter.

Some of these tortoises have been known to live well over fifty years.  How do they find enough food to stay alive in such a harsh climate?  They feed on the plants that grow there - grass, flowers, wild fruit, certain shrubs and even prickly desert cactus.  Sometimes they eat snails and insects too.  But if food is scarce, they can go without eating for a month.  They hunt for food only in the cool hours of the morning and evening, crawling into their burrows when it is hot.

The tortoise, though wonderfully designed by the Creator to withstand fierce desert heat, does need water, which is scarce in the desert.  God has given their bodies the ability to get all the water they need from the vegetation they eat.  They do drink water when they find it, usually from pools in a rainstorm, but that does not happen very often.

Early in June the females digs a dirt nest several inches deep, making a cavern under the hard surface soil.  Her eggs (about ten) look like ping-pong balls.  As each one drops into the nest, she packs dirt around it.  Then she fills the whole nest with dirt, tamping it down and smoothing it over so it is cleverly concealed.  From then on the eggs are on their own, as are the young tortoises that hatch about three months later.  It is amazing how they can hatch underground and stay alive as they dig their way to the surface.  The Creator, who watches every living thing, takes care of them.

The newly hatched tortoises are exact miniatures of their parents and are about the size of a half-dollar.  They have soft shells and need to hide or run quickly to avoid being eaten by vultures, coyotes and snakes.  As their shells harden, they become like pieces of armour.  The young tortoises soon learn that they have no need to fear harm from their enemies, and so they just go about the desert slowly and peacefully.

The world in which we live is often compared to a desert, in spite of all its glamour and attractions.  God's enemies, encouraged by Satan, seem to be increasing daily.  Yet for those who love God and know His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their own Saviour, He has provided an armour to protect from all evil. (See Ephesians 6:10-17)  The important thing is not just to know that the armour is provided, but to "put on the whole armour of God."

Love you all,

Grandpa  

Jewel # 122 (Oct 9, 2012)

"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord

of hosts, in that day when I 

make up MY JEWELS."

(Malachi 3:17) 

To do my dear grandchildren,

A Mother's Rescue

One hot summer day, my two youngest children and I were walking along a busy city street.  Just as we got to a large oak tree, a squirrel's nest fell at our feet.  It was about the size of a large beach ball and made out of sticks and leaves.  Part of it split open when it hit the sidewalk so that we were able to see what was inside.  There lay four, tiny squirrels, squirming and squeaking.  Like all newborn baby squirrels, they were naked with just a trace of fur, and their eyes were still closed.

"What shall we do?" asked one of the children, and the answer arrived just at that moment.  Down the tree came the mother squirrel.  She sniffed her babies all over to see if they were all right.  Then without a moment's hesitation, she picked up one in her mouth, ran with it as fast as she could across that busy street, and went directly to a tree with a hole in it.  She climbed the tree and placed her baby inside the hole.

As we stood and watched, one by one the mother rescued each tiny squirrel until all were safe.  She must have been very smart to make those seven trips safely across that busy street!  It is wonderful that God gives His creatures a mother's tender care and an instinct to know just what to do in a time of danger.  The mother squirrel already knew about the hole in that tree across the street, and her little ones were safe.

As we think about those helpless baby squirrels, we see a picture of helpless, lost sinners.

Sinners are blind.  "The god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Sinners are naked.  God sees all our sins; we can't cover them up.  "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him [God] with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13).

Sinners have fallen and are at the mercy of destroyers. "The devil,  as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

Those little squirrels were in real trouble.  Death was ahead for them, until their caring mother rescued them and provided a place of safety.  Death and hell are ahead for lost sinners, but a loving God has provided a rescuer in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  The death and resurrection of of the Lord Jesus has provided that place of safety for you and me.  By faith, we can be washed clean of every sin through the blood He shed on Calvary's cross.

Will you accept the Lord Jesus as your rescuer from everlasting death and hell and receive His promise of everlasting life in heaven?  "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36).  "Whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe" (Proverbs 29:25).     

Love you all,

Grandpa

Jewel # 121 (Sept 23, 2012)

             

"And they shall be Mine saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up My Jewels."

(Malachi 3:17)

My dear grandchildren,

Magpies are Thieves

Magpies are rather pretty birds, with black and white feathers and long tapering tails.  They are related to crows and jays and are about the same size and just as noisy, often quarreling and fighting among themselves. 

Besides being noisy, there's something else about magpies that make us not like them very much.   They have a nasty habit of stealing eggs and baby birds from other birds' nests.  And you can guess what they do with the eggs and baby birds - they eat them!  Magpies are thieves!

Boys and girls, have you ever taken something that doesn't belong to you?  Sometimes those of you in school need a certain colour marker or an eraser or something else that you don't have.  If you ask to borrow it and then return it, that's okay.  But if you just take what you need from your neighbours desk and keep it, that's stealing.  The Bible says in Exodus 20:15, "Thou shalt not steal."  Stealing is sin, and God writes it down against your name. And He also gives you a warning: "Be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23).  Sometimes those sins can have very serious results.  I'm going to tell you about a magpie thief and the serious results for that bird.

As we were hiking through the hills, we saw something strange.  It looked like a bird hovering beside a ledge on the side of a hill.  As we came closer, we saw that it was a magpie hanging upside down from a string that was wrapped around one of it wings.

There was a bird's nest on the ledge.  The bird that had built the nest must have found some tangled fishing line, thrown away by an unhappy fisherman who wasn't able to untangle it enough to use it for his fishing.  The mother bird had used the tangled fishing line as the base of her nest and filled in the empty places with dried leaves and twigs.  She was satisfied with her nest and laid her eggs in it.  Along came a hungry magpie and spotted the eggs in the nest.  We can only guess that the magpie was pecking at the eggs and must have gotten entangled in some of the fishing line.  When the magpie tried to get free of the line, it only became more and more entangled.  The result - it was hanging below the nest - dead!

Boys and girls, stealing even something small is a sin.  There is no way you or I can erase God's list of sins against our names.  There is only one way to have our sins blotted out of God's record, and that is with the blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that was shed on Calvary's cross for sinners.  Because the Lord Jesus loves you and me so much, He willingly came to earth and lived a perfect life.  Then He let those who hated Him nail Him to the cross where He suffered for the sins of each person who would believe on Him.  One of the soldiers pierced the side of the Lord Jesus with a spear, and His blood flowed out - the blood that blots our sins out of God's record.  When you have accepted Him as your Saviour, He says, "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed you" (Isaiah 44:22) 

God has blotted them out; I'm happy and glad and free;

God has blotted them out; I'll turn to Isaiah and see;

Chapter forty-four, Twenty-two and three;

He's blotted them out and now I can shout,

For that means me.

Love you all

Grandpa

Jewel # 120 (Sept 8, 2012)

           

"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 Musical Katydid

"Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone;  Thou hast made heaven . . .  the earth . . . the seas,

and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all. "

(Nehemiah 9:6) 

Katydids live mostly in the tropics, but 100 species also live in southern and eastern parts of the United States.  These large, green insects are about two inches long and are relatives of crickets and grasshoppers.  The loud, shrill mating call of the male sounds like "katy did katy didn't," which undoubtedly is where their name came from.  But often they make a strong, penetrating screech or some consider it a loud, chirping call.

Their colorful two-inch bodies are attractive.  The Creator has given them the ability to change colour.  Most often they are a pretty shade of green, but the color automatically changes to match the plant on which they are climbing or resting.  Birds, which would like them for dinner, can be right next to them and not even be aware of them.  Many of the katydids look so much like lichens (a kind of fungus) that when they climb up a plant or tree trunk covered with these rootless plants, it is almost impossible to tell where they are as long as they remain still. 

These insects are active in summer but are heard most often during late summer and autumn when the weather is very hot.   The males make their shrill, rasping call by rubbing together rough areas of their wings.  These sounds are made especially loud by paper-thin, tiny amplifiers under their wings.  Their calls, along with those of crickets, locusts, cicadas and many other insects, create an amazing chorus when uninterrupted on an otherwise quiet afternoon.  Some katydids begin their song at twilight and continue all night.

The Creator has provided this insect with remarkable hearing.  It has been determined that they can distinguish many sounds that our ears are not capable of hearing.  In some species, their long, thin, V-shaped antennae are longer than their bodies.

Most katydids live in trees and bushes and eat young twigs and leaves.  Their long hind legs enable them to travel quickly over the tree branches.  They can also fly short distances.  Starting in early fall until frost appears, the females lay their flat, oval, slate-gray eggs in the ground or in plant tissue.  The eggs hatch in spring.

Whether it is a whale, an elephant or other huge animal, an ostrich, a hummingbird or a tiny insect, let us never forget that all creatures are part of the Lord God's wonderful creation.  This also includes you, and if you trust in Him as your Saviour, He has a home in heaven waiting for you when your life here on earth is ended.  Will you be there?   

Love you all,

Grandpa