DINOSAURS NEED FRIENDS, TOO
Proverbs 18:24
"A man [that hath] friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer than a brother."
Almost every creature seeks companionship with others. This universal, basic need gives us additional insight into the mind of the Creator.
Those who believe in evolution have always thought that only warm-blooded creatures valued companionship and love. So for generations, dinosaurs – which are supposed to be much further down the evolutionary scale of living things – were seen as hard-hearted, dull-witted, uncaring creatures that didn't even care whether their own young lived or died. Now, many instances of the desire for companionship – even among dinosaurs – is being uncovered.
Scientists are learning that dinosaurs often lived together in communities, building nests, caring for their young and traveling together, even when they had no need for protection. In some sites, huge dinosaur trackways show that various kinds of dinosaurs lived in groups, close to each other, and that the same kinds generally followed their own pathways. These discoveries at several sites and involving many different kinds of dinosaurs have convinced scientists that dinosaurs were very much like modern animals in their social habits. In other words, dinosaurs needed friends, too.
That almost all of His creatures value companionship tells us a little about our Creator. Scripture reveals more details about this aspect of the Creator when it tells us that He created man because of His great love. Do you know His love for you through Jesus Christ?
Father, I thank You for my friends. Most especially do I thank You for Your love for me in sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be my truest and best friend and brother. In His Name. Amen.
Proverbs 18:24
"A man [that hath] friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer than a brother."
Almost every creature seeks companionship with others. This universal, basic need gives us additional insight into the mind of the Creator.
Those who believe in evolution have always thought that only warm-blooded creatures valued companionship and love. So for generations, dinosaurs – which are supposed to be much further down the evolutionary scale of living things – were seen as hard-hearted, dull-witted, uncaring creatures that didn't even care whether their own young lived or died. Now, many instances of the desire for companionship – even among dinosaurs – is being uncovered.
Scientists are learning that dinosaurs often lived together in communities, building nests, caring for their young and traveling together, even when they had no need for protection. In some sites, huge dinosaur trackways show that various kinds of dinosaurs lived in groups, close to each other, and that the same kinds generally followed their own pathways. These discoveries at several sites and involving many different kinds of dinosaurs have convinced scientists that dinosaurs were very much like modern animals in their social habits. In other words, dinosaurs needed friends, too.
That almost all of His creatures value companionship tells us a little about our Creator. Scripture reveals more details about this aspect of the Creator when it tells us that He created man because of His great love. Do you know His love for you through Jesus Christ?
Father, I thank You for my friends. Most especially do I thank You for Your love for me in sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be my truest and best friend and brother. In His Name. Amen.
RAT LANGUAGE: MORE THAN MEETS THE EAR
Psalm 19:1, 3
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard."
It was once thought that language was a relatively late development in the evolution of man. Language among the lower animals was dismissed as a fantasy. So when the Bible speaks of the whole creation praising God, these same people said that this was just a figurative expression. Now modern science has shown that many creatures do have a language of their own – language which, we point out, can also be used to praise the Creator.
The human ear can detect sounds between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second. Many creatures that we once thought were silent are busy communicating in sounds well above this range of frequencies, and we just don't hear them. Scientists have cataloged many of the calls of Norway rats who communicate at 70,000 vibrations per second and conclude that they have the richest vocabulary of calls with specific meanings. Young rat pups screech a distress call that reaches the same volume as a jackhammer, yet we are not able to hear it.
There is an advantage for these small rodents having such a high-pitched language. Even though many predators, like cats, can easily hear these frequencies, the loudest call does not travel far enough to give away the location of the nest.
Language is a gift from our Creator; therefore, it is only fitting that the entire creation has language with which to praise Him!
Father in heaven, help me to use my lips and voice in praising and thanking You at all times. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Psalm 19:1, 3
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. [There is] no speech nor language, [where] their voice is not heard."
It was once thought that language was a relatively late development in the evolution of man. Language among the lower animals was dismissed as a fantasy. So when the Bible speaks of the whole creation praising God, these same people said that this was just a figurative expression. Now modern science has shown that many creatures do have a language of their own – language which, we point out, can also be used to praise the Creator.
The human ear can detect sounds between 20 and 20,000 vibrations per second. Many creatures that we once thought were silent are busy communicating in sounds well above this range of frequencies, and we just don't hear them. Scientists have cataloged many of the calls of Norway rats who communicate at 70,000 vibrations per second and conclude that they have the richest vocabulary of calls with specific meanings. Young rat pups screech a distress call that reaches the same volume as a jackhammer, yet we are not able to hear it.
There is an advantage for these small rodents having such a high-pitched language. Even though many predators, like cats, can easily hear these frequencies, the loudest call does not travel far enough to give away the location of the nest.
Language is a gift from our Creator; therefore, it is only fitting that the entire creation has language with which to praise Him!
Father in heaven, help me to use my lips and voice in praising and thanking You at all times. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
THE RIDDLE OF KEMP'S RIDLEY
Psalm 119:140-141
"Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. I [am] small and despised: [yet] do not I forget thy precepts."
In man's way of thinking, a small animal – especially one that lives in the ocean – tends to be regarded as unimportant. However, in God's view, all living things are His creation, and not one is ever unimportant. A good example is the smallest of the sea turtles. While most mature sea turtles weigh hundreds of pounds, the Kemp's Ridley weighs only 60 to 100 pounds.
So little has been known about Kemp's Ridley that it was not until 1947 that scientists knew that mature members of the species were found only on a beach on Mexico's coast. Because the eggs are prized by humans as well as by coastal creatures, the population of the Kemp's Ridley is down to less than a thousand egg-laying females.
However, the Creator has given Kemp's Ridley some advantages over other sea creatures. The female can lay fertile eggs for several years after she has mated just once. The hole she digs for her nest is 18 inches deep, and she may lay as many as 135 eggs at one time.
Although Kemp's Ridley was almost completely ignored and unknown to science, God has not treated Kemp's Ridley as unimportant, nor has He neglected to give this creature special gifts for its survival. Christians may be considered unimportant by the world's standards, but God does not consider even one Christian as unimportant.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You do not value things in the same way as sinful man does and that not one of us, no matter how small and unimportant in the world's eyes, may be neglected by Your love. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
ELECTRIC BUSHES AND TREES
Job 14:7, 9
"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. [Yet] through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant."
Is it silly to speak of plants anticipating a good watering or is it naive to think of a plant anticipating spring? Scientists are learning that although plants do not have a nervous system, they do use electrical signals to respond to their surroundings – and sometimes they respond just like human beings!
Most of us are familiar with the Venus flytrap, which responds very quickly when the trigger hairs are touched. Other plants are "sensitive" and close their leaflets when touched. One mimosa tree was so disturbed by its keeper that it shed all its leaves, seemingly, as one writer put it, having a nervous breakdown. Tomato plants will wilt to conserve water, but if they are overly disturbed, they will wilt even though they don't need to conserve water.
Scientists have found that cells within plants communicate with each other through electrical signals in a similar way to our nervous systems. Such responses are very unexpected in what evolutionists consider simple plants.
However, if we see the creation as the work of a caring Creator Who endowed all of His creation with its own form of emotional sense, then even these limited plant responses are not unreasonable reflections of their Creator. The fact that we can recognize emotional response will hopefully enable us to see the importance of His love.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son so that He might earn my salvation through the forgiveness of sins. In His Name. Amen.
Photo: Persian Silk Tree foliage and flowers (commonly known as a mimosa tree in the United States). Courtesy of Kurt Stüber. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Psalm 119:140-141
"Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. I [am] small and despised: [yet] do not I forget thy precepts."
In man's way of thinking, a small animal – especially one that lives in the ocean – tends to be regarded as unimportant. However, in God's view, all living things are His creation, and not one is ever unimportant. A good example is the smallest of the sea turtles. While most mature sea turtles weigh hundreds of pounds, the Kemp's Ridley weighs only 60 to 100 pounds.
So little has been known about Kemp's Ridley that it was not until 1947 that scientists knew that mature members of the species were found only on a beach on Mexico's coast. Because the eggs are prized by humans as well as by coastal creatures, the population of the Kemp's Ridley is down to less than a thousand egg-laying females.
However, the Creator has given Kemp's Ridley some advantages over other sea creatures. The female can lay fertile eggs for several years after she has mated just once. The hole she digs for her nest is 18 inches deep, and she may lay as many as 135 eggs at one time.
Although Kemp's Ridley was almost completely ignored and unknown to science, God has not treated Kemp's Ridley as unimportant, nor has He neglected to give this creature special gifts for its survival. Christians may be considered unimportant by the world's standards, but God does not consider even one Christian as unimportant.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You do not value things in the same way as sinful man does and that not one of us, no matter how small and unimportant in the world's eyes, may be neglected by Your love. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
ELECTRIC BUSHES AND TREES
Job 14:7, 9
"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. [Yet] through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant."
Is it silly to speak of plants anticipating a good watering or is it naive to think of a plant anticipating spring? Scientists are learning that although plants do not have a nervous system, they do use electrical signals to respond to their surroundings – and sometimes they respond just like human beings!
Most of us are familiar with the Venus flytrap, which responds very quickly when the trigger hairs are touched. Other plants are "sensitive" and close their leaflets when touched. One mimosa tree was so disturbed by its keeper that it shed all its leaves, seemingly, as one writer put it, having a nervous breakdown. Tomato plants will wilt to conserve water, but if they are overly disturbed, they will wilt even though they don't need to conserve water.
Scientists have found that cells within plants communicate with each other through electrical signals in a similar way to our nervous systems. Such responses are very unexpected in what evolutionists consider simple plants.
However, if we see the creation as the work of a caring Creator Who endowed all of His creation with its own form of emotional sense, then even these limited plant responses are not unreasonable reflections of their Creator. The fact that we can recognize emotional response will hopefully enable us to see the importance of His love.
Heavenly Father, I thank You that You so loved the world that You gave Your only Son so that He might earn my salvation through the forgiveness of sins. In His Name. Amen.
Photo: Persian Silk Tree foliage and flowers (commonly known as a mimosa tree in the United States). Courtesy of Kurt Stüber. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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