SALIVA IS NOTHING TO SPIT AT
Malachi 4:2
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."
Someday, instead of having to give a blood sample during your physical exam, the doctor might just ask you for a saliva sample. Saliva is an amazing fluid. Besides helping us moisten and digest food, saliva is able to speed healing and fight bacteria, fungi and viruses. Saliva is chemically almost identical to the clear part of your blood. It even has, in lesser concentrations, the infectious organisms found in your blood.
Let's say, for example that you suddenly find yourself in a stressful situation. The level of the hormone cortisol will increase in your blood in response to the stress. Within 20 minutes, that increase will be evident in your saliva. This means that someday saliva tests may replace blood samples. In the United States, saliva tests have been approved to diagnose AIDS, illegal drugs, periodontal disease, alcohol and premature labor. If the hormone estriol rises in a woman's blood before 36 weeks of gestation, doctors know that the woman may go into labor prematurely. Saliva testing is also used to check hormone levels in women who are having a difficult time conceiving a child. Other countries have approved a saliva test for hepatitis B.
Saliva's remarkable abilities are a witness to a loving Creator. He knew that we would sin and thus bring disease into the world. So He gave us saliva that not only defends us against infection but also helps us heal. But the greatest love He has shown us is in sending His Son to give us spiritual healing.
I thank You, Lord, for all Your good gifts, especially salvation. Amen.
Judy Foreman, The spitting image gains credibility, Star Tribune, September 12, 1999, p.E3, Image: Salivary glands. Courtesy of Bruce Blaus. (CC BY 3.0)
Malachi 4:2
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."
Someday, instead of having to give a blood sample during your physical exam, the doctor might just ask you for a saliva sample. Saliva is an amazing fluid. Besides helping us moisten and digest food, saliva is able to speed healing and fight bacteria, fungi and viruses. Saliva is chemically almost identical to the clear part of your blood. It even has, in lesser concentrations, the infectious organisms found in your blood.
Let's say, for example that you suddenly find yourself in a stressful situation. The level of the hormone cortisol will increase in your blood in response to the stress. Within 20 minutes, that increase will be evident in your saliva. This means that someday saliva tests may replace blood samples. In the United States, saliva tests have been approved to diagnose AIDS, illegal drugs, periodontal disease, alcohol and premature labor. If the hormone estriol rises in a woman's blood before 36 weeks of gestation, doctors know that the woman may go into labor prematurely. Saliva testing is also used to check hormone levels in women who are having a difficult time conceiving a child. Other countries have approved a saliva test for hepatitis B.
Saliva's remarkable abilities are a witness to a loving Creator. He knew that we would sin and thus bring disease into the world. So He gave us saliva that not only defends us against infection but also helps us heal. But the greatest love He has shown us is in sending His Son to give us spiritual healing.
I thank You, Lord, for all Your good gifts, especially salvation. Amen.
Judy Foreman, The spitting image gains credibility, Star Tribune, September 12, 1999, p.E3, Image: Salivary glands. Courtesy of Bruce Blaus. (CC BY 3.0)
HOW SMALL CAN LIFE BE?
Job 9:10
"Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."
How small can a living thing be and still be considered alive? Viruses are not considered living things because they cannot reproduce on their own. But now scientists have confirmed the existence of bacterai that are smaller than the largest viruses and yet can reproduce on their own. They call this amazing class of bacteria nanobacteria. They are less that 20 percent the size of normal bacteria.
The unusual nanobacteria have some unusual abilities. Normally, cells in the immune system detect a bacterium in the bloodstream, engulf it, and destroy it. But nanobacteria are able to trick immune cells into committing suicide. Luckily, nanobacteria reproduce very slowly. While the average bacteria reproduces once an hour, nanobacteria take three days to double their numbers. But they still do a lot of damage. Researchers have found that nanobacteria are apparently able to build a calcium shell around themselves. It appears that when they enter the bloodstream, they quickly migrate to the kidneys, where they begin building their shells. Researchers investigating whether nanobacteria cause painful kidney stones have reported testing 30 stones so far. Each stone showed antibodies that bind to nanobacteria. The good news is that if nanobacteria are a cause of kidney stones, they can be eradicated with antibiotics.
While scientists are unsure of how something so small can be alive, our wonderful Creator is able to fashion even these tiny, amazing creatures.
I rejoice and praise You, dear Father, for the wonder of Your creation. Amen.
John Travis, The Bacteria in the Stone, Science News, v. 154, p.75. Photo: Structures found on meteorite fragment. Courtesy of Allan Hills. (PD)
Job 9:10
"Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number."
How small can a living thing be and still be considered alive? Viruses are not considered living things because they cannot reproduce on their own. But now scientists have confirmed the existence of bacterai that are smaller than the largest viruses and yet can reproduce on their own. They call this amazing class of bacteria nanobacteria. They are less that 20 percent the size of normal bacteria.
The unusual nanobacteria have some unusual abilities. Normally, cells in the immune system detect a bacterium in the bloodstream, engulf it, and destroy it. But nanobacteria are able to trick immune cells into committing suicide. Luckily, nanobacteria reproduce very slowly. While the average bacteria reproduces once an hour, nanobacteria take three days to double their numbers. But they still do a lot of damage. Researchers have found that nanobacteria are apparently able to build a calcium shell around themselves. It appears that when they enter the bloodstream, they quickly migrate to the kidneys, where they begin building their shells. Researchers investigating whether nanobacteria cause painful kidney stones have reported testing 30 stones so far. Each stone showed antibodies that bind to nanobacteria. The good news is that if nanobacteria are a cause of kidney stones, they can be eradicated with antibiotics.
While scientists are unsure of how something so small can be alive, our wonderful Creator is able to fashion even these tiny, amazing creatures.
I rejoice and praise You, dear Father, for the wonder of Your creation. Amen.
John Travis, The Bacteria in the Stone, Science News, v. 154, p.75. Photo: Structures found on meteorite fragment. Courtesy of Allan Hills. (PD)
THE DECEPTION OF A GLOW IN THE DARK SHARK
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
The creation is filled with plants and animals which use deception to survive. The glow in the dark cookie-cutter shark is a master at such deception.
The cookie-cutter shark is only a foot to a foot and a half long. It doesn't have powerful muscles and can't swim very fast. But it doesn't need to. Lunch serves itself. The shark typically lives between 600 and 3,000 feet below the surface of the water. Looking down from above one of these sharks, you would probably not see it because the top of its body is as dark as the deep waters where it lives. Looking up from below, you wouldn't see the dark outline of the shark against the light that filters down from the surface. This is because of the shark's first deception: its underside is completely covered with light emitting cells that match the illumination from above. The deception doesn't stop there, however. A small patch beneath the shark's jaw doesn't glow. From beneath, the cookie-cutter shark looks like a small fish, just the kind of dinner a tuna might like. As the tuna speeds toward what it thinks is a small fish, at the last minute the shark turns and takes a bite out of the tuna. Its open, round jaw takes a plug of flesh out of the tuna � hence, the name cookie-cutter shark. Interestingly, most cookie-cutter shark wounds are not fatal.
The fact that the cookie-cutter shark's form, deceptions and habits all match each other perfectly is not a result of chance, mindless evolution but of God's careful design.
Lord, enlighten me with Your gifts that I may not be deceived. Amen.
S. Milius, Glow-in-the-dark shark has killer smudge, Science News, v.154, p.70. Photo: Cookie-cutter shark. Pencil shows its small size. (PD)
Jeremiah 17:9
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
The creation is filled with plants and animals which use deception to survive. The glow in the dark cookie-cutter shark is a master at such deception.
The cookie-cutter shark is only a foot to a foot and a half long. It doesn't have powerful muscles and can't swim very fast. But it doesn't need to. Lunch serves itself. The shark typically lives between 600 and 3,000 feet below the surface of the water. Looking down from above one of these sharks, you would probably not see it because the top of its body is as dark as the deep waters where it lives. Looking up from below, you wouldn't see the dark outline of the shark against the light that filters down from the surface. This is because of the shark's first deception: its underside is completely covered with light emitting cells that match the illumination from above. The deception doesn't stop there, however. A small patch beneath the shark's jaw doesn't glow. From beneath, the cookie-cutter shark looks like a small fish, just the kind of dinner a tuna might like. As the tuna speeds toward what it thinks is a small fish, at the last minute the shark turns and takes a bite out of the tuna. Its open, round jaw takes a plug of flesh out of the tuna � hence, the name cookie-cutter shark. Interestingly, most cookie-cutter shark wounds are not fatal.
The fact that the cookie-cutter shark's form, deceptions and habits all match each other perfectly is not a result of chance, mindless evolution but of God's careful design.
Lord, enlighten me with Your gifts that I may not be deceived. Amen.
S. Milius, Glow-in-the-dark shark has killer smudge, Science News, v.154, p.70. Photo: Cookie-cutter shark. Pencil shows its small size. (PD)
MODERN MEDICINE IS CATCHING UP WITH THE BIBLE
Proverbs 3:7-8
"Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."
For thousands of years the Bible has taught that there is a link between spiritual health and physical health. When rationalism came along, many sought to deny the spiritual aspect of humans. For them, the spiritual and the material have nothing to do with each other. Even medicine was, and still is, taught and practiced by many without any consideration of human spirituality. In one recent survey, only 20 percent of doctors reported that spirituality and healing ever came up during their medical education.
According to several recent surveys that rationalistic view is now beginning to change. These surveys include a 1996 poll of family physicians, a 1997 poll of HMO professionals and a 1987 survey of Americans. Now, 87 percent of the Americans public believe that prayer and other religious practices help in the treatment of people who are ill. Most surprising, 99 percent of all physicians polled believe these things help. Forty-one percent of the American public polled said that their ill health had been improved or even cured because of personal prayer. It is not out of place, according to 74 percent of Americans, for doctors to begin a discussion of a patient's spiritual needs as part of the patient's treatment.
It's not surprising to learn that the Bible was right thousands of years before modern medicine learned that spiritual health and physical health are related. But it is nice to see this area of science finally catching up with the Bible.
I praise You, dear Father, because You have shared Your wisdom with us in the Bible. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Better Health, Summer 99, v.15, n.2. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
Proverbs 3:7-8
"Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."
For thousands of years the Bible has taught that there is a link between spiritual health and physical health. When rationalism came along, many sought to deny the spiritual aspect of humans. For them, the spiritual and the material have nothing to do with each other. Even medicine was, and still is, taught and practiced by many without any consideration of human spirituality. In one recent survey, only 20 percent of doctors reported that spirituality and healing ever came up during their medical education.
According to several recent surveys that rationalistic view is now beginning to change. These surveys include a 1996 poll of family physicians, a 1997 poll of HMO professionals and a 1987 survey of Americans. Now, 87 percent of the Americans public believe that prayer and other religious practices help in the treatment of people who are ill. Most surprising, 99 percent of all physicians polled believe these things help. Forty-one percent of the American public polled said that their ill health had been improved or even cured because of personal prayer. It is not out of place, according to 74 percent of Americans, for doctors to begin a discussion of a patient's spiritual needs as part of the patient's treatment.
It's not surprising to learn that the Bible was right thousands of years before modern medicine learned that spiritual health and physical health are related. But it is nice to see this area of science finally catching up with the Bible.
I praise You, dear Father, because You have shared Your wisdom with us in the Bible. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Better Health, Summer 99, v.15, n.2. Photo: Pixabay (PD)
RARE AND HIDDEN FLOWERS
Luke 11:33
"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."
Two strange species of orchids are among the rarest flowers in the world. These unconventional plants live their entire lives underground, even flowering underground. Most often, their flowers never break the surface of the ground. One of these species, Cryptanthemus, has been found only three times in this century. Only 150 flowering Rhizanthella plants have ever been found.
Since they live in the dark underground, neither orchid has any need for chlorophyll or leaves. Each looks like nothing more than a white, waxy root. Rhizanthella produces a flower that is initially white, but which turns purplish as it ages. Its fragrance has been described as delicate and sweet. Cryptanthemus produces a candelabra flower stalk that has several white flowers with small red splotches. The flowers remain almost an inch under the soil. Both species begin life in the same way as most orchids. The orchid seeds germinate when threads of a fungus invade the embryo and form coils within the seed. At this point, other orchids grow leaves so they can make their own food. But these underground orchids continue to live in a symbiotic relationship throughout their entire lives, being fed by the fungus.
The wonders of God's creative handiwork never cease to amaze us. But God's greatest creation is a redeemed believer in Jesus Christ, a creation He does not want hidden. That's why He tells us in His Word to let the light of faith and new life He has given us in Christ shine onto those around us.
Thank You, Father, for the new life You have given me through Christ and help me live so that others can see it. Amen.
Margaret Helder, Underground Flowers in Australia, Dialogue, Winter, p.6. Photo: Rhizanthella gardneri (underground orchid). Courtesy of Jean and Fred Hort. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Luke 11:33
"No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light."
Two strange species of orchids are among the rarest flowers in the world. These unconventional plants live their entire lives underground, even flowering underground. Most often, their flowers never break the surface of the ground. One of these species, Cryptanthemus, has been found only three times in this century. Only 150 flowering Rhizanthella plants have ever been found.
Since they live in the dark underground, neither orchid has any need for chlorophyll or leaves. Each looks like nothing more than a white, waxy root. Rhizanthella produces a flower that is initially white, but which turns purplish as it ages. Its fragrance has been described as delicate and sweet. Cryptanthemus produces a candelabra flower stalk that has several white flowers with small red splotches. The flowers remain almost an inch under the soil. Both species begin life in the same way as most orchids. The orchid seeds germinate when threads of a fungus invade the embryo and form coils within the seed. At this point, other orchids grow leaves so they can make their own food. But these underground orchids continue to live in a symbiotic relationship throughout their entire lives, being fed by the fungus.
The wonders of God's creative handiwork never cease to amaze us. But God's greatest creation is a redeemed believer in Jesus Christ, a creation He does not want hidden. That's why He tells us in His Word to let the light of faith and new life He has given us in Christ shine onto those around us.
Thank You, Father, for the new life You have given me through Christ and help me live so that others can see it. Amen.
Margaret Helder, Underground Flowers in Australia, Dialogue, Winter, p.6. Photo: Rhizanthella gardneri (underground orchid). Courtesy of Jean and Fred Hort. (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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