CATS
Genesis 49:9
“Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?”
Only two members of the cat family are mentioned in the Bible: lions and leopards. And, in any case, we can work out exactly when they were created. Cats are land animals, so they were created on Day Six of the Creation week.
All cats seem to consume a very high fat meat diet. Unlike other carnivores, cats cannot manufacture their own taurine, so their diet is almost perfectly carnivorous, with very little in the way of plant material.
There are many cases where cats of similar size can hybridize. Tigons and ligers are well-known hybrids. They are both hybrids of tigers and lions. Ligers have a lion father and a tiger mother, while tigons are the other way around. Other inter-feline hybrids are possible, such as the blynx – a hybrid of lynx and bobcat. This seems to indicate that all cats are part of the same baramin (created kind).
The Ark would not, therefore, have housed two lions, two tigers, two pumas, etc. There would have been two cats. These would have been something like the saber-toothed cats – possibly a smilodon. All the modern species of cat would have developed from these. This, of course, is not evolution, which requires new genetic information to be made, whereas the speciation of cats involves variation of genetic information already existing.
God made cats. They are such a clearly defined group that it is as if God were making a textbook in the animal kingdom to explain how animals got to be as they are.
We praise You for all the wonderful creatures that You have made. We love to see the powerful big cats, and we love to see the small domestic cats. Thank You for all the beautiful things You have made. Amen.
Genesis 49:9
“Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?”
Only two members of the cat family are mentioned in the Bible: lions and leopards. And, in any case, we can work out exactly when they were created. Cats are land animals, so they were created on Day Six of the Creation week.
All cats seem to consume a very high fat meat diet. Unlike other carnivores, cats cannot manufacture their own taurine, so their diet is almost perfectly carnivorous, with very little in the way of plant material.
There are many cases where cats of similar size can hybridize. Tigons and ligers are well-known hybrids. They are both hybrids of tigers and lions. Ligers have a lion father and a tiger mother, while tigons are the other way around. Other inter-feline hybrids are possible, such as the blynx – a hybrid of lynx and bobcat. This seems to indicate that all cats are part of the same baramin (created kind).
The Ark would not, therefore, have housed two lions, two tigers, two pumas, etc. There would have been two cats. These would have been something like the saber-toothed cats – possibly a smilodon. All the modern species of cat would have developed from these. This, of course, is not evolution, which requires new genetic information to be made, whereas the speciation of cats involves variation of genetic information already existing.
God made cats. They are such a clearly defined group that it is as if God were making a textbook in the animal kingdom to explain how animals got to be as they are.
We praise You for all the wonderful creatures that You have made. We love to see the powerful big cats, and we love to see the small domestic cats. Thank You for all the beautiful things You have made. Amen.
GO TO THE ANT
Proverbs 6:6
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”
There are certain occasions in the Bible when we are directed to look at the behavior or traits of an animal and are asked to learn an important lesson from them, behavioral or spiritual. One of the most well known of these is found in Proverbs 6:6, where we are told to “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
The instruction is addressed to a sluggard. By this, the writer of Proverbs is referring to someone who is lazy, lethargic, and generally without any industry. The Bible values work and opposes lethargy.
So we are to go to the ant and consider her ways. The writer is not suggesting that we identify as an animal, but simply learn that the ant gets on with her work. We also notice that ants tend to work cooperatively – often in very large colonies that can comprise hundreds or thousands of individuals.
I remember a house of mine being invaded by ants. I came back after a vacation, to find an interstate of ants, marching in opposite directions from their entrance point in a crack in the door-frame. This interstate stretched across the lounge, into the kitchen, and up onto a work surface, and into a kitchen cupboard, where the ants were picking up crystals of sugar from an open sugar bowl. This fascinating scene reminds us of how hard and how cooperatively we should work, and that is the lesson that the Bible is asking the sluggard to learn.
Lord, forgive me when I an tempted to be lazy. Forgive me if I do not give the best to my work, or work well with others. I pray that You will teach me the lesson of the ant, and that my work will be an offering of praise to You. Amen.
Proverbs 6:6
“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:”
There are certain occasions in the Bible when we are directed to look at the behavior or traits of an animal and are asked to learn an important lesson from them, behavioral or spiritual. One of the most well known of these is found in Proverbs 6:6, where we are told to “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
The instruction is addressed to a sluggard. By this, the writer of Proverbs is referring to someone who is lazy, lethargic, and generally without any industry. The Bible values work and opposes lethargy.
So we are to go to the ant and consider her ways. The writer is not suggesting that we identify as an animal, but simply learn that the ant gets on with her work. We also notice that ants tend to work cooperatively – often in very large colonies that can comprise hundreds or thousands of individuals.
I remember a house of mine being invaded by ants. I came back after a vacation, to find an interstate of ants, marching in opposite directions from their entrance point in a crack in the door-frame. This interstate stretched across the lounge, into the kitchen, and up onto a work surface, and into a kitchen cupboard, where the ants were picking up crystals of sugar from an open sugar bowl. This fascinating scene reminds us of how hard and how cooperatively we should work, and that is the lesson that the Bible is asking the sluggard to learn.
Lord, forgive me when I an tempted to be lazy. Forgive me if I do not give the best to my work, or work well with others. I pray that You will teach me the lesson of the ant, and that my work will be an offering of praise to You. Amen.
NOT A FISH LIZARD
Genesis 1:20
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
Like so many children over the last century, I was given a book about dinosaurs when I was a small boy. This book contained references to a number of extinct creatures other than dinosaurs, and one of the most fascinating to me was ichthyosaur.
The word ichthyosaur means fish lizard. The animal looked like a fish but appeared to be reptilian in nature. My old dinosaur book seemed to suggest that ichthyosaur was a sort of reptilian analog of the whale and, like that giant sea mammal, had evolved from a land-based animal.
Fossils of ichthyosaurs are fairly common. One interesting point to note is that a few adult ichthyosaurs have been found, fossilized, with a smaller ichthyosaur inside them. A well-known fossil at London’s Natural History Museum shows an ichthyosaur apparently giving birth. These fossils provide evidence that this creature gave birth to live young, whereas most reptiles lay eggs. So an evolutionist has to explain not only the transition from land reptile to sea creature, but also the transition from shelled egg to live birth. Given that these fossils are fairly common, the lack of the possible transitional forms is a major setback for evolutionists.
British creation writer Geoff Chapman wrote back in the 1990s that these remarkable animals show no sign of evolution and every indication that they were given a design well-suited to their environment: the sea. As sea creatures, they would have been made by God on the fifth day of creation, while land reptiles were not made until Day Six.
Thank You, Lord, for the wonderful diversity of Your creation. Thank You that every animal was designed by You for a purpose. Amen.
Genesis 1:20
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
Like so many children over the last century, I was given a book about dinosaurs when I was a small boy. This book contained references to a number of extinct creatures other than dinosaurs, and one of the most fascinating to me was ichthyosaur.
The word ichthyosaur means fish lizard. The animal looked like a fish but appeared to be reptilian in nature. My old dinosaur book seemed to suggest that ichthyosaur was a sort of reptilian analog of the whale and, like that giant sea mammal, had evolved from a land-based animal.
Fossils of ichthyosaurs are fairly common. One interesting point to note is that a few adult ichthyosaurs have been found, fossilized, with a smaller ichthyosaur inside them. A well-known fossil at London’s Natural History Museum shows an ichthyosaur apparently giving birth. These fossils provide evidence that this creature gave birth to live young, whereas most reptiles lay eggs. So an evolutionist has to explain not only the transition from land reptile to sea creature, but also the transition from shelled egg to live birth. Given that these fossils are fairly common, the lack of the possible transitional forms is a major setback for evolutionists.
British creation writer Geoff Chapman wrote back in the 1990s that these remarkable animals show no sign of evolution and every indication that they were given a design well-suited to their environment: the sea. As sea creatures, they would have been made by God on the fifth day of creation, while land reptiles were not made until Day Six.
Thank You, Lord, for the wonderful diversity of Your creation. Thank You that every animal was designed by You for a purpose. Amen.
THE STRANGER WHO ISN'T A STRANGER
Genesis 17:8
“Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Social insects seldom, if ever, tolerate other species within their communities. Strangers are generally identified by their smell, rather than by their appearance, since those insects that aren't actually blind have very poor eyesight. It is common for social insects to unite to destroy even one stranger who invades their nest.
Like most social insects, termites don't tolerate strangers. However, the Trichopsenius frosti beetle likes to make its living within the nest of just one species of termite. These termites produce a very specific mixture of 21 compounds that are mixed into a unique scent by which they identify nest mates. The unique scent includes a compound that is a third of the total mix while other compounds are included as less than one percent of the mix. As unlikely as it sounds, the Trichopsenius is able to make the same mix of compounds so perfectly that its presence in the termite nest goes unquestioned.
Those who trust Christ for their salvation are strangers in this world. But unlike the Trichopsenius beetle, because we are strangers here, we should not strive to be like those among whom we are strangers. Like Abraham, those who trust in Christ have been given God's promise that He will lead them through this wilderness to a new and perfect land that will last forever. Abraham could not guess how God would make his descendants a great nation and give them a beautiful land. Nevertheless, he trusted God's promise, and we can, too!
Dear Lord, teach me how to be like You and live as Your child. Amen.
Genesis 17:8
“Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
Social insects seldom, if ever, tolerate other species within their communities. Strangers are generally identified by their smell, rather than by their appearance, since those insects that aren't actually blind have very poor eyesight. It is common for social insects to unite to destroy even one stranger who invades their nest.
Like most social insects, termites don't tolerate strangers. However, the Trichopsenius frosti beetle likes to make its living within the nest of just one species of termite. These termites produce a very specific mixture of 21 compounds that are mixed into a unique scent by which they identify nest mates. The unique scent includes a compound that is a third of the total mix while other compounds are included as less than one percent of the mix. As unlikely as it sounds, the Trichopsenius is able to make the same mix of compounds so perfectly that its presence in the termite nest goes unquestioned.
Those who trust Christ for their salvation are strangers in this world. But unlike the Trichopsenius beetle, because we are strangers here, we should not strive to be like those among whom we are strangers. Like Abraham, those who trust in Christ have been given God's promise that He will lead them through this wilderness to a new and perfect land that will last forever. Abraham could not guess how God would make his descendants a great nation and give them a beautiful land. Nevertheless, he trusted God's promise, and we can, too!
Dear Lord, teach me how to be like You and live as Your child. Amen.
VISION REVEALS GOD'S HAND
Proverbs 20:12
“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them.”
Did you know that if you stared at an object with absolutely no eye movement you would eventually go blind? Actually, it is impossible to stare at anything without some eye movement and there is a good reason for this.
You may be aware that each eyeball has a blind spot where the optic nerve is attached. Normally we don't notice it because the other eye fills in the missing portion of the image in our brain. However, there is much more than this going on to make vision possible. Suppose that you are talking with someone, nodding your head in agreement. Despite the movement, your eyes stay focused on his face. You can do that because of an organ in your ear called the vestibular sensory organ. It senses the motion of your nodding head, and sends the information to your eyes, enabling them to stay focused while your head moves.
More amazing is what you don't see. Your retina is crisscrossed with blood vessels that cast shadows into your field of vision. You just don't see them because the shadows never move. This explains why, if you were able to stare perfectly at something, you would go blind. Your brain automatically filters out perfectly nonmoving images. If it didn't, you would constantly see the web of blood vessels on your retina. So when you stare intently at something, the muscles of the eye send microscopic tremors to the eyeball making it vibrate so that you won't go blind.
The ability to see is the result of several precision-designed systems all working together to give us reliable vision. God, not chance, creates such precise integration
I rejoice, Lord, for You have not left my design to chance. Amen.
Proverbs 20:12
“The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them.”
Did you know that if you stared at an object with absolutely no eye movement you would eventually go blind? Actually, it is impossible to stare at anything without some eye movement and there is a good reason for this.
You may be aware that each eyeball has a blind spot where the optic nerve is attached. Normally we don't notice it because the other eye fills in the missing portion of the image in our brain. However, there is much more than this going on to make vision possible. Suppose that you are talking with someone, nodding your head in agreement. Despite the movement, your eyes stay focused on his face. You can do that because of an organ in your ear called the vestibular sensory organ. It senses the motion of your nodding head, and sends the information to your eyes, enabling them to stay focused while your head moves.
More amazing is what you don't see. Your retina is crisscrossed with blood vessels that cast shadows into your field of vision. You just don't see them because the shadows never move. This explains why, if you were able to stare perfectly at something, you would go blind. Your brain automatically filters out perfectly nonmoving images. If it didn't, you would constantly see the web of blood vessels on your retina. So when you stare intently at something, the muscles of the eye send microscopic tremors to the eyeball making it vibrate so that you won't go blind.
The ability to see is the result of several precision-designed systems all working together to give us reliable vision. God, not chance, creates such precise integration
I rejoice, Lord, for You have not left my design to chance. Amen.
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