THE WORST-SMELLING FLOWER!
Genesis 1:11
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself."
The voodoo lily is native to Southeast Asia, although it is sometimes sold in the west as a curiosity. When it flowers, the voodoo lily sends up a fleshy, purple spike that can be three feet long. Besides being one of the worst-smelling flowers you'll ever experience, the spike has another amazing ability.
The spike of the voodoo lily generates a number of hormones that, when heated, smell like rotting meat. It does this because the flies that pollinate the lily feed on decaying flesh. The smell draws them in to look for food, and in the process pollinate the lily. The flower stalk is able to generate plenty of heat that creates its awful smell. Temperatures inside the flowers can reach 110 degrees F. In order to generate this much heat, the voodoo lily actually operates at a metabolic rate similar to that of a hummingbird in flight! This frantic rate continues only until the flower is pollinated.
As a matter of interest, while the voodoo lily is the most dramatic of heat-producing plants, several common household plants that are related to the voodoo lily also produce heat when flowering. These include the dieffenbachia and the philodendron.
Scripture offers a very modest account of God's creative activity. Incredibly imaginative and intricate designs are included in the simple statement, "Let the earth bring forth grass..."
Lord Jesus, You are the Instrument through which the creation was made, I thank You for the wonder-inspiring beauty and diversity around us. But most of all, I thank You that You cared so much for Your creation that when we fell into sin, You gave up Your life to save us. Amen.
Rick Weiss, "Blazing Blossoms," Science News, Vol.135, June 24, 1989, pp. 392-394. Photo: Voodoo lily (Dracunculus vulgaris). Courtesy of Jörg Hempel. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.
Genesis 1:11
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself."
The voodoo lily is native to Southeast Asia, although it is sometimes sold in the west as a curiosity. When it flowers, the voodoo lily sends up a fleshy, purple spike that can be three feet long. Besides being one of the worst-smelling flowers you'll ever experience, the spike has another amazing ability.
The spike of the voodoo lily generates a number of hormones that, when heated, smell like rotting meat. It does this because the flies that pollinate the lily feed on decaying flesh. The smell draws them in to look for food, and in the process pollinate the lily. The flower stalk is able to generate plenty of heat that creates its awful smell. Temperatures inside the flowers can reach 110 degrees F. In order to generate this much heat, the voodoo lily actually operates at a metabolic rate similar to that of a hummingbird in flight! This frantic rate continues only until the flower is pollinated.
As a matter of interest, while the voodoo lily is the most dramatic of heat-producing plants, several common household plants that are related to the voodoo lily also produce heat when flowering. These include the dieffenbachia and the philodendron.
Scripture offers a very modest account of God's creative activity. Incredibly imaginative and intricate designs are included in the simple statement, "Let the earth bring forth grass..."
Lord Jesus, You are the Instrument through which the creation was made, I thank You for the wonder-inspiring beauty and diversity around us. But most of all, I thank You that You cared so much for Your creation that when we fell into sin, You gave up Your life to save us. Amen.
Rick Weiss, "Blazing Blossoms," Science News, Vol.135, June 24, 1989, pp. 392-394. Photo: Voodoo lily (Dracunculus vulgaris). Courtesy of Jörg Hempel. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license.
THE DOUBLE LIFE OF THE HUMMINGBIRD
Psalm 4:8
"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety."
You might guess that the hummingbird, darting around from flower to flower with wings beating some 60 times a second, must burn a lot of energy to keep going. If a 65-pound boy burned up energy at the same rate, he would eat 100 pounds of chicken every day. The fact is, the hummingbird will die if it goes for more than two hours without eating. You might wonder, if the hummingbird cannot go more than two hours without eating, when does it sleep? The fact is, the hummingbird does sleep a good eight hours every night. How does he do it?
God has given the hummingbird a most remarkable metabolism. During the day, the hummingbird's heart must beat 10 times every second as it keeps its incredibly fast metabolism going. But when it goes to sleep, the hummingbird's heart slows down to less than one beat per second - about the same as ours. And to further slow his metabolism, the hummingbird's normal daytime temperature drops from 100 (F) degrees to the same temperature as the night air - 50 or 60 degrees. This drop in temperature would kill most warm-blooded animals. But all of this enables the hummingbird to go without food for a good eight-hour sleep.
The hummingbird provides more than enough evidence that the Creator really does care for His creatures, even when they are asleep.
Dear Father, I thank You that You care for me even when I am asleep and cannot protect myself. Comfort me with this truth, especially when I am fearful of the night. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Bob Devine, Uncle Bob's Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 38-39. Photo: Green Violetear hummingbird. Courtesy of Mdf. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Psalm 4:8
"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety."
You might guess that the hummingbird, darting around from flower to flower with wings beating some 60 times a second, must burn a lot of energy to keep going. If a 65-pound boy burned up energy at the same rate, he would eat 100 pounds of chicken every day. The fact is, the hummingbird will die if it goes for more than two hours without eating. You might wonder, if the hummingbird cannot go more than two hours without eating, when does it sleep? The fact is, the hummingbird does sleep a good eight hours every night. How does he do it?
God has given the hummingbird a most remarkable metabolism. During the day, the hummingbird's heart must beat 10 times every second as it keeps its incredibly fast metabolism going. But when it goes to sleep, the hummingbird's heart slows down to less than one beat per second - about the same as ours. And to further slow his metabolism, the hummingbird's normal daytime temperature drops from 100 (F) degrees to the same temperature as the night air - 50 or 60 degrees. This drop in temperature would kill most warm-blooded animals. But all of this enables the hummingbird to go without food for a good eight-hour sleep.
The hummingbird provides more than enough evidence that the Creator really does care for His creatures, even when they are asleep.
Dear Father, I thank You that You care for me even when I am asleep and cannot protect myself. Comfort me with this truth, especially when I am fearful of the night. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Bob Devine, Uncle Bob's Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 38-39. Photo: Green Violetear hummingbird. Courtesy of Mdf. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
DEEP-FROZEN SQUIRREL
Job 37:8-10
"Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened."
Researchers have discovered a species of mammal that can actually survive being frozen for several weeks.
Scientists were amazed to find that the little Arctic ground squirrel can allow its body to drop to 27 degrees F - that's five degrees below the freezing point of water - for up to two weeks at a time during its unusual eight-to ten-month hibernation period. After the two weeks at this very low temperature, the squirrel rouses itself, returns to normal body temperature, takes care of a few bathroom duties, and then returns to a state of nearly frozen hibernation for another two weeks. The squirrel usually comes out of hibernation for its short summer in June. It has only two or three months before the ground freezes again and it returns to hibernation, so the squirrel is very busy eating and mating for two short months. You could say that the Arctic ground squirrel sleeps most of its life away.
Scientists say that the Arctic ground squirrel is the only mammal that is able to allow its body temperature to fall below freezing. If they can find out how the squirrel does it, they believe the same method might be used to preserve transplant organs for longer than a few hours. So once again, scientists expect to learn new medical methods by studying how the Creator does the same thing.
Dear Father, Your understanding and wisdom in designing the creation are so great that even those who do not want to recognize You still expect to learn from You. As they do so, make it ever more difficult for them to deny You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"Squirrel makes its body subfreezing to hibernate," Minneapolis Star Tribune, Saturday/July1/1989/8A. Photo: Arctic ground squirrel eating a mushroom. Courtesy of Ianaré Sévi. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Job 37:8-10
"Then the beasts go into dens, and remain in their places. Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened."
Researchers have discovered a species of mammal that can actually survive being frozen for several weeks.
Scientists were amazed to find that the little Arctic ground squirrel can allow its body to drop to 27 degrees F - that's five degrees below the freezing point of water - for up to two weeks at a time during its unusual eight-to ten-month hibernation period. After the two weeks at this very low temperature, the squirrel rouses itself, returns to normal body temperature, takes care of a few bathroom duties, and then returns to a state of nearly frozen hibernation for another two weeks. The squirrel usually comes out of hibernation for its short summer in June. It has only two or three months before the ground freezes again and it returns to hibernation, so the squirrel is very busy eating and mating for two short months. You could say that the Arctic ground squirrel sleeps most of its life away.
Scientists say that the Arctic ground squirrel is the only mammal that is able to allow its body temperature to fall below freezing. If they can find out how the squirrel does it, they believe the same method might be used to preserve transplant organs for longer than a few hours. So once again, scientists expect to learn new medical methods by studying how the Creator does the same thing.
Dear Father, Your understanding and wisdom in designing the creation are so great that even those who do not want to recognize You still expect to learn from You. As they do so, make it ever more difficult for them to deny You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"Squirrel makes its body subfreezing to hibernate," Minneapolis Star Tribune, Saturday/July1/1989/8A. Photo: Arctic ground squirrel eating a mushroom. Courtesy of Ianaré Sévi. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
HE BREATHES WITH HIS FEET
Job 21:22
"Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are on high."
What breathes with its feet, has thousands of jaws but no mouth, has up to fifty arms and an eye on the end of each arm? No, it's not a new creature for the next Star Wars movie. It's the starfish.
When God designed the starfish, it almost seems as if He tried to see how differently He could make this creature from all the others. Depending upon the species, the starfish can have from three to fifty arms while there is an eye on the end of each one. The rough skin of the starfish is covered with tiny jaws to keep parasites from attaching themselves to the starfish. Even more amazing is the fact that each of these thousands of jaws works independently of the rest. To get its oxygen, the starfish takes water in through tubes in its feet, each containing a tiny pump and a pipe system linking it to the other feet.
The starfish presents us with the lesson that our Creator did not have to make the creation in any specific way. This is referred to by theologians as "voluntary creation." If God had chosen to, you and I might be breathing through our feet - although I'm glad we don't. But the biblical truth of the voluntary creation was one of the crucial ideas that provided the basis for the modern scientific method.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were made, I thank You in wonder and awe at Your creativity, and especially that You made me, and purchased and won me from sin, death and the devil. Amen.
Bob Devine, Uncle Bob's Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 65-70. Photo: Arm tip of the Leptasterias polaris starfish, showing tube feet and eyespot. Courtesy of André-Philippe D. Picard. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Job 21:22
"Shall any teach God knowledge? seeing he judgeth those that are on high."
What breathes with its feet, has thousands of jaws but no mouth, has up to fifty arms and an eye on the end of each arm? No, it's not a new creature for the next Star Wars movie. It's the starfish.
When God designed the starfish, it almost seems as if He tried to see how differently He could make this creature from all the others. Depending upon the species, the starfish can have from three to fifty arms while there is an eye on the end of each one. The rough skin of the starfish is covered with tiny jaws to keep parasites from attaching themselves to the starfish. Even more amazing is the fact that each of these thousands of jaws works independently of the rest. To get its oxygen, the starfish takes water in through tubes in its feet, each containing a tiny pump and a pipe system linking it to the other feet.
The starfish presents us with the lesson that our Creator did not have to make the creation in any specific way. This is referred to by theologians as "voluntary creation." If God had chosen to, you and I might be breathing through our feet - although I'm glad we don't. But the biblical truth of the voluntary creation was one of the crucial ideas that provided the basis for the modern scientific method.
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were made, I thank You in wonder and awe at Your creativity, and especially that You made me, and purchased and won me from sin, death and the devil. Amen.
Bob Devine, Uncle Bob's Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 65-70. Photo: Arm tip of the Leptasterias polaris starfish, showing tube feet and eyespot. Courtesy of André-Philippe D. Picard. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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