BUSY MUSHROOMS
Joel 1:17
"The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered."
If it weren't for mushrooms, there would be so many un-decayed dead trees that there would be no room on Earth for anything else to grow. But mushrooms don't just recycle dead trees. They help make the trees grow in the first place.
The mushrooms that we see are merely the part of the fungus that produces the fruit. Most of the mushroom is unseen. If you were to peel back the bark of a decaying tree, you'll see white tissue called mycelia. That is the main part of the mushroom plant. Many species of mushrooms combine efforts to help trees grow. Their mycelium forms a sheath around tree roots that help to deliver water and nutrients. In return, they get excess sugar produced by the tree. This relationship is so close that both the fungi and the tree depend upon each other. For example, researchers estimate that the Douglas Fir has about 1,000 species of fungus working together for its support. The fungi will even form underground mycelial networks to move nutrients between different kinds of tree.
Clearly, God has designed a finely balanced partnership between trees and fungi for their mutual survival. In the Old Testament, God punished His people through the loss of their planted crops. Is it just possible He tipped the fine balance of other such partnerships to do His bidding?
Father, thank You for the beauty of trees and for the tree on which our Lord died to take away our sins. Amen.
Discover, 2005, pp. 48-53, Greg Mueller, "Dr. Mushroom." See also: http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/mycelium.html (updated June 2011).
Joel 1:17
"The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered."
If it weren't for mushrooms, there would be so many un-decayed dead trees that there would be no room on Earth for anything else to grow. But mushrooms don't just recycle dead trees. They help make the trees grow in the first place.
The mushrooms that we see are merely the part of the fungus that produces the fruit. Most of the mushroom is unseen. If you were to peel back the bark of a decaying tree, you'll see white tissue called mycelia. That is the main part of the mushroom plant. Many species of mushrooms combine efforts to help trees grow. Their mycelium forms a sheath around tree roots that help to deliver water and nutrients. In return, they get excess sugar produced by the tree. This relationship is so close that both the fungi and the tree depend upon each other. For example, researchers estimate that the Douglas Fir has about 1,000 species of fungus working together for its support. The fungi will even form underground mycelial networks to move nutrients between different kinds of tree.
Clearly, God has designed a finely balanced partnership between trees and fungi for their mutual survival. In the Old Testament, God punished His people through the loss of their planted crops. Is it just possible He tipped the fine balance of other such partnerships to do His bidding?
Father, thank You for the beauty of trees and for the tree on which our Lord died to take away our sins. Amen.
Discover, 2005, pp. 48-53, Greg Mueller, "Dr. Mushroom." See also: http://www.anbg.gov.au/fungi/mycelium.html (updated June 2011).
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING FATHER
Ephesians 6:4
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
How important is father to a child's religious growth? Due to the way in which census information is gathered in Switzerland, researchers were able to find out. And while their conclusions might shock modern sensitivities, they are really not too surprising.
If both mother and father attend church regularly with their children, 33 percent of those children will grow up to attend church regularly. Another 41 percent will grow up to attend church irregularly, and the remaining 25 percent of the children will end up lost, not going to church at all. Amazingly, if only the father is regular in his church attendance, and the mother is irregular or doesn't go at all, the number of children who grow up to attend church regularly or irregularly actually increases. On the other hand, if only the mother attends church regularly, and the father doesn't go at all, only two percent of the children will grow up to attend church regularly. Researchers concluded that a father's practice of his faith has 12 times more influence upon his children than the mother's. Similar studies in England showed the same trend.
While no one would dispute that mothers are a great blessing and provide things that fathers cannot provide, clearly, fathers are essential to healthy spiritual development. This is why, in Scripture, God charges fathers with spiritual leader-ship.
Lord, I thank You for faithful fathers everywhere. Help Christian fathers to take their responsibilities seriously. Amen.
Touchstone Magazine, 2003, Robbie Low, "The Truth About Men and Church."
Ephesians 6:4
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
How important is father to a child's religious growth? Due to the way in which census information is gathered in Switzerland, researchers were able to find out. And while their conclusions might shock modern sensitivities, they are really not too surprising.
If both mother and father attend church regularly with their children, 33 percent of those children will grow up to attend church regularly. Another 41 percent will grow up to attend church irregularly, and the remaining 25 percent of the children will end up lost, not going to church at all. Amazingly, if only the father is regular in his church attendance, and the mother is irregular or doesn't go at all, the number of children who grow up to attend church regularly or irregularly actually increases. On the other hand, if only the mother attends church regularly, and the father doesn't go at all, only two percent of the children will grow up to attend church regularly. Researchers concluded that a father's practice of his faith has 12 times more influence upon his children than the mother's. Similar studies in England showed the same trend.
While no one would dispute that mothers are a great blessing and provide things that fathers cannot provide, clearly, fathers are essential to healthy spiritual development. This is why, in Scripture, God charges fathers with spiritual leader-ship.
Lord, I thank You for faithful fathers everywhere. Help Christian fathers to take their responsibilities seriously. Amen.
Touchstone Magazine, 2003, Robbie Low, "The Truth About Men and Church."
CHICKADEE-DEE-DEE DANGER
Psalm 9:20
"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
Millions of North Americans are familiar with the call of the Black-Capped chickadee: "Chicka-dee". However, most bird-watchers know that the little chickadee communicates danger with its "chickadee-dee-dee" call. Bird-watchers also know that chickens use different warnings for dangers from the air or from the ground.
Scientists decided to see if chickadees used specialized calls for different dangers. In their first experiments they used a stuffed hawk to see what the chickadees in an outdoor aviary would do. However, they were only fooled once, and after that researchers had to use live hawks. After studying over 5,000 responses, a pattern emerged. Small, agile raptors like hawks are more dangerous to chickadees than, say, a large, horned owl, which the chickadees can easily evade. When confronted by a smaller raptor, the birds' "chicka" call added up to four "dee"s in rapid succession, instead of two more leisurely "dee"s. Even more "dee"s might be added if the chickadees evaluated the danger as greater. Most frightening to the little birds was a pygmy owl that rated 23 "dee"s.
God cares for all His creatures and, knowing that predation would enter the creation with man's sin, provided them with ways to warn each other. He also gave man His Word to warn us how to avoid sin and how to escape from it through Jesus Christ, should we become entrapped.
I thank You, Lord, for Your protection from all the dangers we face, especially the danger of our sin. Amen.
Science News, 6/25/05, pp. 403-404, S. Milius, "Dee for Danger." See also: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/sounds
Psalm 9:20
"And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head."
Millions of North Americans are familiar with the call of the Black-Capped chickadee: "Chicka-dee". However, most bird-watchers know that the little chickadee communicates danger with its "chickadee-dee-dee" call. Bird-watchers also know that chickens use different warnings for dangers from the air or from the ground.
Scientists decided to see if chickadees used specialized calls for different dangers. In their first experiments they used a stuffed hawk to see what the chickadees in an outdoor aviary would do. However, they were only fooled once, and after that researchers had to use live hawks. After studying over 5,000 responses, a pattern emerged. Small, agile raptors like hawks are more dangerous to chickadees than, say, a large, horned owl, which the chickadees can easily evade. When confronted by a smaller raptor, the birds' "chicka" call added up to four "dee"s in rapid succession, instead of two more leisurely "dee"s. Even more "dee"s might be added if the chickadees evaluated the danger as greater. Most frightening to the little birds was a pygmy owl that rated 23 "dee"s.
God cares for all His creatures and, knowing that predation would enter the creation with man's sin, provided them with ways to warn each other. He also gave man His Word to warn us how to avoid sin and how to escape from it through Jesus Christ, should we become entrapped.
I thank You, Lord, for Your protection from all the dangers we face, especially the danger of our sin. Amen.
Science News, 6/25/05, pp. 403-404, S. Milius, "Dee for Danger." See also: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/black-capped_chickadee/sounds
THE MASTER OF LIGHT
Psalm 96:9
"O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth."
Over hundreds of years, science has learned a lot about manipulating light. And while lasers and liquid crystals might seem pretty sophisticated, some of God's creatures show us how much more there is to learn.
The Morpho butterfly is one of the brightest butterflies in nature but looked at closely in artificial light it appears dull gray-brown. However, in the sunlight its color changes to a bright blue. It can do this because the scales on its wings form a type of diffraction grating called a photonic band gap. This diffraction grating is formed by a precise spacing of the scales so that they are similar to the wavelength of sunlight. When white light hits the grating, it breaks down into its various colors. The red light waves cancel each other out, and all the other colors are scattered, except the blue. As a result, the blue color never fades, and it is so intense that it can be seen up to half a mile away. Scientists comment that we do not yet know how to make an optical structure this complex.
The Morpho butterfly, with all its precise engineering, is a testimony to the skill and love of beauty of our Creator. He considers Holiness the greatest of beauties – a beauty given us through the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Thank You, Father, for the light of Your truth and for giving us the beauty of Christ's holiness. Amen.
Discover, 8/05, pp. 42-47, George M. Whitesides, "Illuminated Life." See also: http://www.bluemorphobutterfly.net/
Psalm 96:9
"O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth."
Over hundreds of years, science has learned a lot about manipulating light. And while lasers and liquid crystals might seem pretty sophisticated, some of God's creatures show us how much more there is to learn.
The Morpho butterfly is one of the brightest butterflies in nature but looked at closely in artificial light it appears dull gray-brown. However, in the sunlight its color changes to a bright blue. It can do this because the scales on its wings form a type of diffraction grating called a photonic band gap. This diffraction grating is formed by a precise spacing of the scales so that they are similar to the wavelength of sunlight. When white light hits the grating, it breaks down into its various colors. The red light waves cancel each other out, and all the other colors are scattered, except the blue. As a result, the blue color never fades, and it is so intense that it can be seen up to half a mile away. Scientists comment that we do not yet know how to make an optical structure this complex.
The Morpho butterfly, with all its precise engineering, is a testimony to the skill and love of beauty of our Creator. He considers Holiness the greatest of beauties – a beauty given us through the suffering and death of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Thank You, Father, for the light of Your truth and for giving us the beauty of Christ's holiness. Amen.
Discover, 8/05, pp. 42-47, George M. Whitesides, "Illuminated Life." See also: http://www.bluemorphobutterfly.net/
FRESH DUST?
1 Corinthians 15:40
"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another."
The last few years have seen a good deal of excitement among astronomers over the possibility of discovering planets orbiting distant stars. Astronomers are looking at stars that are surrounded by disks of dust and debris.
The idea is that planets form over millions of years from the dust and rock that orbits a star. This was supposedly how the Earth formed billions of years ago. Hundreds of such stars have so far been identified. Often, these debris fields extend further from the star they orbit than, say, Pluto is from our sun. The question is, are the discovery of planets and debris around other stars proof of evolution's story of the formation of the Earth?
Scientists believe that it takes two or three million years for planets to form out of the orbiting debris. However, they also recognize that it only takes a few thousand years before a star's gravity draws the dust into itself, or the pressure of its radiation forces the dust away from itself. This leaves the hundreds of stars with dusty debris fields a mystery. Astronomers believe that all these stars still have their dust after millions or billions of years because they are getting fresh dust from somewhere else, but scientists don't know where.
Perhaps a better explanation is that these stars are only about 6,000 years old.
Father, I thank You for Your trustworthy Word, which tells me of the forgiveness of sins through Your Son. Amen.
Science News, 7/2/05, pp. 10-12, Ron Cowen, "Panning Distant Dust."
1 Corinthians 15:40
"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another."
The last few years have seen a good deal of excitement among astronomers over the possibility of discovering planets orbiting distant stars. Astronomers are looking at stars that are surrounded by disks of dust and debris.
The idea is that planets form over millions of years from the dust and rock that orbits a star. This was supposedly how the Earth formed billions of years ago. Hundreds of such stars have so far been identified. Often, these debris fields extend further from the star they orbit than, say, Pluto is from our sun. The question is, are the discovery of planets and debris around other stars proof of evolution's story of the formation of the Earth?
Scientists believe that it takes two or three million years for planets to form out of the orbiting debris. However, they also recognize that it only takes a few thousand years before a star's gravity draws the dust into itself, or the pressure of its radiation forces the dust away from itself. This leaves the hundreds of stars with dusty debris fields a mystery. Astronomers believe that all these stars still have their dust after millions or billions of years because they are getting fresh dust from somewhere else, but scientists don't know where.
Perhaps a better explanation is that these stars are only about 6,000 years old.
Father, I thank You for Your trustworthy Word, which tells me of the forgiveness of sins through Your Son. Amen.
Science News, 7/2/05, pp. 10-12, Ron Cowen, "Panning Distant Dust."
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