Messages of God's Love: 2023

A couple visiting in a home noticed that a printed verse from the Bible was hanging in several rooms. The verse was this: “[Where] shall I go from [Your] Spirit? or [where] shall I flee from [Your] presence? If I ascend up into heaven, [You are] there. ... If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall [Your] hand lead me, and [Your] right hand shall hold me” (Psalm 139:7-10).

The couple saw the same text several places in the house and they asked their host why this was.

“There is a long story about those verses,” he said. “It starts before I was born. My parents were Christians and before my birth they prayed that I might live in a way pleasing to God. But as I grew up, I hated anything to do with religion.

“My feelings were so strong that I deliberately tried to break my parents’ hearts. I vowed that someday I would travel so far from home that I would never hear of religion again. When I was 19 years old, I carried out my threat.

“As I left, I said some things that must have deeply hurt my father and mother. I did not even tell them goodbye.

“I joined the crew of a cargo ship going to India. Away from the restraints of my parents, my life became blacker. I never heard the name of Jesus except when someone cursed.

“From India we sailed to South Africa. In port there I met two men who were planning a hunting trip into the jungles of Rhodesia. Hearing their plans fired me with a desire to go along with them. Despite my lack of experience, they accepted me for the safari, or hunting trip.

“At first, all went well with the group I was with, but after several months in the jungle, the original number had been greatly reduced. Disease had taken some of the men, lions killed others and several had deserted. Finally, the two men who led the expedition both died and with that the remaining porters left. I alone was left, in a strange land, friendless, really helpless. Now I was longing for the comfort my parents had in God.

“Not knowing what to do, I wandered toward the south, to make my way back to the port where I had first landed. One day, I was suddenly surrounded by ten African natives, armed with spears. I had a gun, but it was useless for me to fight, and one of the natives quickly disarmed me.

“Their language was strange to me, but I thought I understood what they were saying. I had heard that this was a fierce tribe and that they practiced cannibalism. When they took me to their village and put me in a straw hut, I was sure they would keep me until a day when the whole tribe would gather for a feast. Then they would eat me!

“For two days I saw no one. Alone as I was, I thought to pray to God but stubbornly refused. I realized that I had messed up my life and now I would not ask God to straighten it out.

“Then some of the natives came to get me, and as I walked by the huts, I felt like all were watching me and thinking of the feast they would soon enjoy.

“I was taken to the chief’s hut, there to be examined by him. For many minutes I stood in silence. At last, to my amazement, the chief spoke words that I well understood, ‘Do you know Jesus?’

“Never in all my life had I heard words so sweet as these, words which all but overwhelmed me. Indeed, I did know about Jesus. Though I had thought to get away from God, there in the African jungle He had found me. My heart was so touched that I knelt down right there and cried to God for forgiveness. And He did forgive me and save me.

“Now you can see why I have that text on my walls. I tried to get away from God but in His great love for me, He never let me go.

“You probably wonder about that African tribe. David Livingstone had spent a whole year with them and told them the story of salvation from sin by simply trusting in Jesus. They were cannibals no longer. Now they were gospel preachers!

“I stayed with them for six months, working with them and trying to improve their living conditions. Now, too, I remembered much that my parents had taught me about the Bible and I was able to help the natives in that way.

“Then I could wait no longer to return to my parents. In all the time I was away from them, I had never written one letter. What joy there was when they met me at the door and I told them that I was saved.”

What wonderful grace God showed to that man, never ceasing to love him, and following him wherever he went. And that same grace follows you, waits for you to bow your heart before Him, waits to hear you say that you need a Savior. Won’t you come to Jesus now? “[You] must be born again” (John 3:7).

We may not all get the opportunity to accept the Lord Jesus as Savior after rejecting Him for a long time, as this man did. “God ... now [commands] all [people] everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Memory Verse: “God ... now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.” Acts 17:30

Messages of God’s Love 1/1/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Two Unusual Fish

“Oh Lord, how manifold are Thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea.” Psalm 104:24-25

The fish named grunt got its name because it makes a grunting noise by rubbing its jaws together when lifted out of the water. It lives in both salt and fresh tropical waters around the world. It is a popular fish to eat.

Varieties include the common or white, the bluestriped, the French, which is sometimes called the open-mouthed, and many more. A typical grunt will weigh about one to one and a half pounds and measure from six to 18 inches long, depending on the variety, though they can get much larger.

Its high back gives it an almond shape, with a large, pointed mouth and big, round eyes. They come in many different colors with a variety of designs, showing their Creator’s amazing originality. Some have a large tail, like a bird’s outstretched wing, providing good speed and quick turning — provided by a kind Creator to help it not only catch food, but escape enemies.

Mandarin fish are one of the most unusually colored fish seen anywhere. Tiny creatures — only about two inches long — they have smooth skins without the scales common to most other fish. Most of them live in the South Pacific Ocean, all the way from South America to Australia.

The males have a beautiful combination of colors, including an interweaving of striking blue, blending into pale green and some dark green, with patterns of orange scattered all over it. What they lack in size they make up for with an amazing assortment of these colors and a big, widespread, orange and blue tail.

Searching for tiny sea creatures and fish eggs, they spend most of their time at the bottom of the ocean and are considered too small for fishermen to bother catching.

There are many fascinating fish of all kinds throughout the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers and streams, and new varieties are still being discovered. It is impossible for man to count them, but they are all known to God, their Creator. We know He had pleasure in designing and creating them, as the Bible tells us: “God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life. ... And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas” (Genesis 1:20-22).

The One who made and cares for the fish, giving to each the right food and environment, cares far more for you. Do you trust Him to provide for all your needs?

Messages of God’s Love 1/1/2023

The Little Stowaway

A young boy was watching the loading of a big ship in England many years ago. As the crew got on the ship, he decided that he was going to go too. He was tired of school and tired of his foster home. This would be an adventure, and he had always wanted to go on an adventure. When nobody was looking, he got on the ship and hid. Soon the whistle blew, and the large cargo ship moved slowly out of the harbor for its long voyage, with him on it, a stowaway.

The ship had been out to sea for less than a day when the captain and all his crew wished they had never started the trip. They knew before they left port that a tropical storm was approaching. But now the storm had increased in strength and had become a hurricane. The young stowaway boy came out of hiding. He was very sick and very scared. He also wished that he were back home, even back in school.

For hours the ship struggled against the huge waves. Then real problems developed. A leak allowed water to get into one of the ship’s engine rooms, which caused the ship to lose power. Then the steering gear broke, and the ship turned broadside to the waves. Wave after wave broke over the deck and leaked into the other engine rooms, flooding all of them. Now, everyone knew the ship was in real trouble. To make matters worse, it was being blown toward the rocks along the coast of Wales. Before the ship hit the rocks, they radioed an SOS and their position.

“Abandon ship! Abandon ship!” came the call from the captain.

Quickly, life jackets were handed out to each of the crew, and the lifeboats were lowered. One by one the crew jumped into the churning waters and were pulled into lifeboats. Everyone had forgotten about the stowaway — everyone, that is, except the captain. When the crew was all safe in the lifeboats, he went to find the boy. He found him, crying, in one of the
ship’s cabins.

The captain put his own life jacket on the boy, and then lifting him up carried him to the railing of the ship. Still holding the boy, the captain jumped into the raging seas just as a huge wave broke over the ship. The force of the wave tore the boy from the captain’s arms and swept them both away from the lifeboats. The sailors, rowing as hard as they could, were able to rescue the boy. But the captain, without a life jacket, drowned. The kind, brave captain gave up his life to save the stowaway boy.

What was it about the stowaway that brought out the kindness of the captain? The boy shouldn’t have been on the ship at all, and he really deserved to be punished. It was the kindness of the captain’s heart that saved the boy’s life.

Let’s stop a minute and look at the cross of Calvary. There the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to die for sinners. “Greater love [has] no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). By suffering on the cross for our sins, He has made the way for us to enter heaven. Even though we are sinners who deserve death because of our sins, if we believe on the Lord Jesus, we are no longer seen as sinners. We are seen as worthy to one day enter God the Father’s home, which is heaven.

If the boy had refused the captain’s lifebelt, he would have drowned. If you refuse God’s gift of salvation, you will be lost forever. Accept His salvation now, and you will be in heaven with the Lord forever.

“God [commends] His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Memory Verse: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Messages of God’s Love 1/8/2023

The Old Man and the Tracts

Liz Olson watched the old man walk slowly out of the restaurant. He had given her his usual smiling “Good day,” and when she went to clear off his table, she found his usual tip and one of the little booklets that he would often leave. Recently, his visits had become less frequent and he looked so old and tired. She missed seeing him, and she also missed the booklets. She read them over and over. What she had read in them had changed her life and she wanted to tell him sometime. Somehow she felt sure he would be glad to know. But the manager of the restaurant did not want the waitresses to spend time talking with the customers, so the opportunity never seemed to come.

One morning, before the restaurant got busy, a woman came in and sat at the old man’s favorite table. After Liz brought her order to her, the woman bowed her head and closed her eyes for a moment before eating, just as the old man always did. That was not all. When Liz cleared the table after the woman had left, she found a booklet just like the ones the old man left.

Without waiting to think, Liz ran out of the restaurant and called to the woman. “You left a little booklet behind. It ... ”

Walking back, the woman smiled and said, “It’s for you, if you will accept it.”

“Oh, thank you, but may I ask you something? An old gentleman used to come here and leave the same kind of booklets. He hasn’t been in for some time. Do you know him?”

“Yes, he was my father.”

“Was?” echoed Liz.

She nodded, “He died a month ago. I am trying to keep up the work he loved. Were you one of those he tried to help?”

Tears were filling Liz’s eyes. “Tried and succeeded,” she answered. “I’d like to tell you about it ... but ... I have to get back to work.”

The woman quickly wrote out her address on a piece of paper and handed it to Liz. “Come see me whenever you can.”

Liz did visit her. “The first day he came,” she told her interested listener, “he bowed his head and closed his eyes for a moment. It brought back memories of when I was a child and we would thank God for the meal before we ate. And then he left those booklets. In reading and believing what they said about the Lord Jesus Christ dying on the cross for sinners, I had to admit I was a sinner and needed Jesus as my Savior. My whole life was changed.”

The Word of God in those booklets was like a seed that was sown by the old man. That seed found a place in Liz’s heart. It grew and bore the fruit that God wanted — her soul’s eternal salvation. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, then why not do it today? “He that received seed into the good ground is he that [hears] the word, and [understands] it” (Matthew 13:23).

Messages of God’s Love 1/8/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Snakes and Their Ways, Part 1

“Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16

Snakes live in every part of the world except icy areas. Of the nearly 3000 varieties, the longest is a python, which may grow over 30 feet long. An interesting contrast is the thread snake, which is only about four inches long. The heaviest of all is the anaconda, which may weigh 500 pounds.

Snakes never close their eyes, even at night. This is because they have no eyelids. Transparent scales protect their eyes. Something else interesting is that they shed their outside skin several times a year. Snakes grow, but their skins do not. As their skin becomes too tight, they rub their heads back and forth against something hard until the skin splits open. Then they wiggle out of it from head to tail, turning it inside out and leaving it behind in one complete piece. Coming across one of these snakeskins in the woods might startle you, for it can look very lifelike.

Many snakes make their homes underground, but some hide under piles of dead leaves or in deep grass, and a few others prefer living in trees or in the wetness of swampy places. The Creator has given them extremely flexible bodies, composed of strong ribs almost their entire length.

Many snakes are harmless, but others are poisonous, and some, the boa constrictor for one, can wrap itself around a person and squeeze him to death. This is rare since almost all snakes try to hide from an approaching person.

Snakes are usually referred to in the Bible as an evil thing. Because Satan appeared in the form of a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve, he is later referred to as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan” (Revelation 12:9). In Genesis 3:14 when the first man and woman were tempted by Satan and committed the first sin, God cursed the serpent to spend its life crawling on the ground. Perhaps before that it walked upright, like people do, or on four legs, like a dog. We don’t know, but every time you see a snake on the ground, you can remember that what God says, happens.

All snakes are a part of God’s creation and exhibit God-given wisdom in making their way through life. It is in that respect that the Bible tells us, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). This God-given instruction is important for us to follow if we want to stay out of trouble and please our Father, God, who is always watching us.

In the next issue we will take a detailed look at a few outstanding snakes.

(to be continued)

Messages of God’s Love 1/8/2023

Only Four Pennies

About 100 years ago, Heinz and Gretchen Ufers were having a hard time in their homeland of Germany. Hoping for a better life for themselves and their five-year-old son Peter, they decided to immigrate to the United States. Using almost all the money they had, they bought tickets to cross the ocean by ship. Unfortunately, they had trouble finding much work after they got settled in a home in their new country.

One afternoon Gretchen called little Peter and gave him four pennies. She told him to go to the fish market a block away to buy a fish for dinner.

Peter walked to the store and showed his four pennies to Mr. Levine, the owner of the market, and asked if he could have a fish. But Mr. Levine said, “I’m sorry, my boy, but four pennies isn’t enough to buy
a fish.”

Peter asked, “Can I have half a fish then?”

Mr. Levine decided four pennies were enough for half a fish. So, Mr. Levine took the pennies, wrapped the half fish in some newspaper, and Peter headed
for home.

After he got home, his mother took the fish and unwrapped it. She was about to throw the stinky paper away when an article in it caught her eye:

NOTICE

Looking for an immigrant family from Germany.

We the Schmidt family are aware that some relatives of ours by the name of Heinz and Gretchen Ufers immigrated to the United States earlier this year. We have not heard from them and do not know where they settled. If anyone knows of this family, please tell them to contact us as soon as possible as they have recently inherited a large sum of money.

Gretchen could hardly believe her eyes! Could this be true? The Schmidt family were relatives, but ... this seemed too good to be true. She would have to contact them to know for sure. When they contacted the Schmidts, they discovered that they had indeed inherited a large amount of money. There would be no more half fishes for them! With this inheritance they would eat very well for the rest of their lives.

Did you know, dear children, that the Bible says we have “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that [fades] not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4)? You may not ever get an inheritance of money, but far more important is the fact that if you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have an inheritance right now and it’s waiting for you up in heaven. What kind of inheritance is this? It is happiness and riches far beyond what we can imagine. First and best of all, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, will be there. With Him we will enjoy the Father’s house forever. We can’t even imagine what perfect joy it will be to be there. It will be home! We will never leave that beautiful place where there is perfect love, peace and joy ... a place of beauty, where it is always light, but with no need of the sun ... a home where there will be no more tears. When you get something new, it is exciting, but after a while it’s not that exciting anymore, right? That’s not the way it will be with this inheritance. We will never lose the joy that we will have when we first see the face of the Lord Jesus. That joy will last for all eternity! I trust you know the Savior who loved you and died for you so that you can enjoy the wonderful inheritance He has
for us.

There’s a home for little children,

Above the bright blue sky,

Where Jesus reigns in glory,

A home of peace and joy;

No home on earth is like it,

Or can with it compare;

For everyone is happy,

Nor could be happier there.

Memory Verse: “There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” Revelation 22:5

Messages of God’s Love 1/15/2023

The Little Pig

Many years ago, two missionary friends lived in China. One, Dr. Huizenga, was in charge of a hospital for leprosy patients, as well as a tuberculosis hospital. One day he called his friend, Mr. Willis, to say he had noticed that one of Mr. Willis’s neighbors had two tiny pigs for sale. He needed them for eating up garbage scraps from his two hospitals. He wondered, Would Mr. Willis buy them for him?

Mr. Willis agreed, but he told him that he needed to have someone come and get them right away, or they would be stolen, as he lived in an area where there were a lot of thieves. The doctor agreed to this, and Mr. Willis bought the pigs. One of the doctor’s helpers came on his bicycle, but he could only take one pig at a time. He took one away and promised to come back for the other. But he did not arrive, and night came on. Mr. Willis didn’t know what to do. He decided to put the remaining little pig in a small brick building a little way from his house. The building had become a general dump for all kinds of rubbish, and it seemed a good spot for the pig to spend the night.

The pig had come to Mr. Willis with a necktie securely tied around his middle, with a rope tied to that. Mr. Willis tied this rope to a leg of an old table stored in the shed, put a padlock on the door and hoped for the best.

The next morning, he went out early to see how “piggy” had survived. A thief had been there, for the padlock was off and lying on the ground by the door, which was open. The rope and necktie were still there, but there was no sign of any little pig. So he called Dr. Huizenga and told him the pig had been stolen. He took it well, and they thought that was the end of the little pig.

But later in the day, Mr. Willis was passing by the shed, and there was the little pig! He had apparently slipped out of his necktie, crawled to the back of the shed, behind the garbage, and gone to sleep. When the thief arrived for him, he must have thought that some other thief had got in first, so he left without the pig.

Who saved the little pig for the missionary that needed him? The Lord did! He says in the Bible, “Seek ... first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). The Lord doesn’t always keep bad things from happening, but He loves to show us His care and to meet the needs of His people. Do you know Him as your own Savior?

Messages of God’s Love 1/15/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Snakes and Their Ways, Part 2

“God made ... everything that [creeps] upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:25

Last week we looked at some of the unusual characteristics of snakes; today we will examine a few more closely.

The most common snake in North America is the garter snake. All have plain dark coloring, normally with three stripes, which can be yellow, greenish, blue or white, down their sides and back. These are normally harmless and try to hurry away if a person comes near them, though they may bite if they feel threatened. Their main foods include worms, insects, small frogs and even small rodents, like mice. They can be helpful to have in your yard because they do natural pest control!

The mature common boa of South America normally varies from 6 to 10 feet long, with the females being longer than the males. They often climb trees or bushes to find food when young, but older and heavier boas usually stay on the ground. They eat many kinds of small- to medium-sized animals and birds. Their colors vary somewhat according to where they live.

Two species of boas live in the United States which are called rubber boas, because that’s what they look like. One species of these is solid black, while the other is a tan color. They are not known to ever bite or attack humans.

The Western Hemisphere has about 80 varieties of coral snakes. All are poisonous and have beautiful color patterns, including distinctive rings usually of black, red and yellow circling their entire bodies.

A common poisonous snake found in India and nearby countries is the Indian cobra. When it feels threatened, it raises the front part of its body and spreads out a distinctive “hood.” It is responsible for the most snakebites in India.

Because sin has marred much of God’s perfect creation, snakes are now associated with evil, but there is a time coming, called the millennium, when the world will be a happy, peaceful place. The Bible tells us that then “the child shall put his hand in the cockatrice’ [poisonous snake’s] den” (Isaiah 11:8). Won’t that be a wonderful time?

Messages of God’s Love 1/15/2023

Sid's Bike Crash

Sid’s eyes opened slowly. He was in a hospital bed, and his mother was crying softly beside him. His head, wrapped in bandages, ached. What had happened to him? How had he gotten here? Slowly it came back to him ...

Sid was only 12 years old the summer he joined the Seattle Cycle Club. This particular Saturday the club was planning a bike trip from downtown Seattle, Washington, out to a small town named Maple Valley, near the Cedar River, a ride of around 26 miles. The group would pass his house on the way, so he decided to join them as they passed, rather than at the start of their trip. But he was helping his father with a car problem right when the other bikers passed his house, so he could only wave as he saw them go by.

No problem, he thought. Fifteen minutes later he was heading out after them, hoping to catch up somewhere on the route. But when five miles had passed and he still hadn’t seen them, he decided to take a shortcut. This was a path along some railroad tracks, which came out next to the Maple Valley Road.

Where the railroad and the road came together, trains crossed the Cedar River on a high trestle more than a block long. He needed to use that trestle if he were to get across the river to where his group would be. There was a wooden beam about a foot high and a foot wide running between the edge of the rails and the edge of the trestle. He decided to ride his bike on that beam, pushing himself along on the rail with his right foot and on the beam with his left foot.

Sure enough, as he was crossing this dangerous trestle, he saw the group below him on the other side of the river. Perfect timing! They started calling back and forth, and then suddenly, Sid realized that his left foot was no longer coming down on the beam, but in the air, and quite suddenly, he and his bike tumbled off the bridge. The last thing he remembered was hitting his head on a steel girder a few feet below where he should have been. He was knocked unconscious, and he and his bike both fell down the 20-foot drop to the river below.

The watching club leader felt like fainting. It looked like Sid would land on some huge boulders in the river below. But somehow, he completely missed the rocks and landed, instead, in the swift waters of the river. His bike followed him.

Some of the club members dashed out into the river, waist deep, so that as he and his bike floated by, they were able to rescue both of them.

The next thing Sid knew, there he was, opening his eyes in that hospital room. He had to have stitches and his bike was never the same, but how amazing that he had been kept from dying in that dangerous fall!

Today, children, I hope most people know better than to ride their bikes across train trestles! Many safety laws have been put in place since those days, and in many countries it is not legal to walk or ride along railway tracks.

But, let’s think about Sid, unconscious in that river. What could he do to save himself? Nothing! He would have died if his friends had not gone to the trouble of saving him. And that’s a good picture of us as sinners. We are all sinners, and we are completely unable to save ourselves or do anything to please God and make it safely to heaven instead of going to hell. But the Lord Jesus came down to earth for that very reason ... to save us. He could save us, and He did everything that was needed to save us. God put all of our sins on His holy Son on the cross of Calvary, and the Lord Jesus took all the punishment for our sins on that terrible cross where He died. There, God “made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

If you accept the gift of God, which is eternal life in God’s Son, God will see you as just as righteous as His Son, the Lord Jesus, and one day you will enter heaven. If not, you will get what your own sinful actions deserve, your “wages,” which is eternal punishment in hell. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). I hope you accept that wonderful gift of God!

Memory Verse: “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Messages of God’s Love 1/22/2023

Fritzy

When Grandpa was a boy, one of his neighbors had a miniature Doberman pincer, named Fritzy. He was a very cute, very smart little dog. He had been trained to do many tricks ... he could put his paws together and close his eyes to “pray.” He could play dead ... walk on only his front legs or only his back legs ... jump like a frog ... and pretend that food was poisonous. But he could not be trained to stay in his own yard. Much as his owners loved him and tried to train him to stay home for his own safety, he refused to learn that lesson. He loved to wander the streets, and sometimes Grandpa would see that little dog over a mile away from his safe home.

One day Fritzy was out wandering and he met a German shepherd who was normally shut up in a pen. This day the door to his pen was open. Fritzy was small but he was brave and he didn’t really know how small he was. He decided to attack that big German shepherd. Within a few minutes, Fritzy was dying.

Children, this little dog makes me think of many boys and girls and of myself when I was a child. Sometimes we can look like very good children, we pray along with our parents, we act the way our parents want us to act, but perhaps we don’t have a heart made truly obedient through love to the Lord Jesus. In our hearts, we want our own way, so we are disobedient, perhaps when we think no one is looking.

Fritzy got away with his disobedience for a while, but one day it cost him his life. We have an enemy called Satan who will destroy us if he can. We are not stronger than he is. If we don’t have the Lord Jesus as our Savior to keep us safe, we will one day be dead forever in a terrible place called hell. I hope you will trust the Lord Jesus and not wait until it is too late. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31).

If you are a Christian, you can trust the Lord to keep you from evil and from Satan, every day, as it says in this beautiful verse: “The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil” (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Messages of God’s Love 1/22/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Dingoes Are Not Popular

“Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.” Psalm 22:20

Dingoes are medium-sized dogs, about the size of English setters. They are a breed of wild dogs living in Australia that look a lot like wolves, especially their heads. Most of them have yellowish-brown fur, short, upright ears and long, bushy tails. Their faces, with large, black noses and eyes, have a rather kind look, but their cunning eyes disclose that they can be fierce fighters. They rarely bark but howl instead.

These animals sometimes travel in packs and hunt together. One of their common foods is the wallaby, a small kangaroo, though they also look for smaller prey. The people of Australia dislike them tremendously because another food they will eat is sheep.

It is thought that dingoes originated as pet dogs introduced to Australia by sailors from Asia and that over the years they became wild. Often when one is caught, it seems friendly enough, but sooner or later it escapes to join a pack of wild dingoes.

Dingoes often travel in small packs and are amazingly tough. There have been instances where sheep ranchers have found one eating a lamb and have shot it, discovering later that the dingo had not died but recovered and rejoined its pack and continued raiding sheep. In one of the earlier raids, it was reported that ranchers in just one area lost over 1000 sheep in a relatively short time to these vicious dogs.

The damage done to flocks of sheep over the years led to the reinforcing of the longest fence in the world (originally built to keep rabbits out) in an effort to keep dingoes away. The tall fence made of strong wire is almost 3,500 miles long and stretches nearly all the way across the southern part of Australia.

While this helps to keep dingoes away from the sheep, they frequently dig the soil away from the bottom of the fence with their paws and then wriggle under it. Only a small number of them do this, and they are not now the large problem once experienced.

A Bible verse, explaining that we should not get involved in quarrels and matters that are not worthwhile, tells us, “He that [passes] by, and [meddles] with strife belonging not to him, is like one that [takes] a dog by the ears” (Proverbs 26:17). It is better to be occupied with pleasant things that will be pleasing to the Lord. We need to ask Him often to help us avoid evil things.

Messages of God’s Love 1/22/2023

Help From Above

Charles sat dangling his legs out the open door of the airplane. The wind whipped around his face. It was an exciting moment — his first parachute jump. The instructor tapped his shoulder, giving him the signal to jump. Charles leaned forward and pushed himself out the door.

No one knew why, but Charles’s parachute came out of its pack too quickly. As he somersaulted away from the plane, the parachute whipped back, catching on and holding tight to the tail of
the plane.

Charles found himself being towed at over 50 miles per hour about 40 feet behind the plane. He jerked desperately at the parachute lines, hoping to jerk loose from the plane. It was no use. He was caught!

Back at the door of the plane, the instructor stared back at the hung-up parachute, hardly able to believe what he saw. Charles twisted around so he could see the plane’s door. There was a questioning look on his face. As they looked at each other, the instructor stuck out his fist with his thumb up — “Everything will be all right. We’ll get you loose,” his motion said. Charles answered back with a thumbs-up fist.

The instructor pulled himself back in the door and began to study the problem. There was really no way to reach the hung-up parachute to release it. If they tried to land the plane, Charles would be killed. They needed help from somewhere else — someone to come release the helpless man.

The call went out over the plane’s radio, and everyone waited. Would help arrive before the plane’s gas ran out?

Time went by slowly for Charles while he was being towed behind the plane: 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes passed. Time was running out! The gas was running low! If he were going to be saved, he needed to be saved soon!

Suddenly Charles heard a roar above him. Looking up he saw a huge red helicopter dropping down through the mist. The helicopter hovered along about 50 feet above the slow-flying plane. A man came down a cable right to where Charles was caught. After making sure that Charles was prepared to use his emergency parachute, the rescuer cut him loose from the plane. Three seconds later the emergency parachute opened beautifully, and he floated down to a perfect first landing.

Charles is a picture to us of what each of us is like if we don’t know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. We are caught in our sins and we can’t do anything to set ourselves free. No one on earth can save us. Only one Man can save us, the One who has come all the way down from heaven. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no [one comes] unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way to God, and His name is the only name God has given as the Savior for sinners. Has Jesus set you free from your sins?

Memory Verse: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by Me.” John 14:6

Messages of God’s Love 1/29/2023

Philip's Birdhouse

“Let’s build something,” said Philip as he picked up a hammer. He and his family were visiting Grandpa and Grandma for a few days. He was always looking for things to do.

“How about building a birdhouse?” suggested Grandma. Philip agreed, so Grandma helped him choose scraps of wood from the woodpile and got a bag of nails for him.

Grandma held the pieces of wood while Philip nailed them together. He made a floor, walls and a roof. When he had it all put together, there was even a perch for the birds, and the floor extended forward for a
little porch.

“We’ll screw in a hook for hanging it in a tree, then your daddy can drill the entrance hole,” Grandma explained.

Later that week Philip and his family returned home from Grandpa and Grandma’s. Daddy drilled the entrance hole, then he got a ladder and hung the birdhouse in a fir tree close to the house where they could watch it.

A few days later Mother noticed a twig poking out of the hole. Soon a small brown bird landed on the perch with another stick in its beak and carried it inside the birdhouse. “It looks like we have a bird family, Philip,” Mother said.

Getting out their bird book, they learned that the little bird was a house wren. It had a very clear, musical song which it sang throughout the day.

Philip and his family watched the busy little bird that day and the next. They were surprised at the energy of such a small bird, bringing so many sticks to the nesting box. The third day, however, that little wren didn’t show up. Its beautiful song which had sounded like a gurgling mountain stream was gone too.

Mother got out the bird book and read that male house wrens try to attract females by singing and nest building. If this doesn’t work, they will leave the nest and search somewhere else. So that explains why our little wren didn’t stay, Philip thought to himself. It was a daddy bird who couldn’t find a mommy bird.

Our Father, God, created these birds and gave them their special instincts. This story reminds me of another home being prepared for a bride. It is a beautiful home in heaven. “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2), the Lord Jesus told His disciples. And this includes each one who puts their trust in the Lord Jesus by coming to Him to have their sins washed away. This makes them ready for His presence since sin cannot enter that wonderful home in heaven.

That little wren could only prepare a nest and wait, singing his most beautiful song. But since it failed to attract a mate, he had to leave, alone.

Our Lord Jesus was alone with His Father in heaven. In order to have a bride with Him there, He had to become a man and die for our sins. In this way He prepared a way for us to be in that home, if we believe on Him.

In John 14:3 the Lord Jesus went on to say that “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Soon He will come again to receive His bride, all believers, to Himself. Will you be there with Him?

Messages of God’s Love 1/29/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: A Look at Vireos

“I know all the fowls [birds] of the mountains.” Psalm 50:11

Vireo is the name of a family of small birds of the Americas and Southeast Asia. They are charming birds, four to seven inches long with short, strong legs, medium-length tails, short necks and a variety of wing sizes. Their coloring is not bright, but soft and subdued. Color combinations include olive, greenish or gray upper parts, with white, light gray or yellow and sometimes a touch of light red or blue on their underparts.

A large number of species make their homes in North, Central and South America, migrating back and forth in spring and fall. Often, they form colonies, and the air around these is filled with their pleasant chirpings, songs and whistles. They are helpful to farmers, eating great numbers of caterpillars, flies and other harmful insects, picked off bushes or trees or caught in midair. They will also eat berries and fruit found in the wild.

Building cup-like nests is a big occupation. Before the male has a mate, he picks a suitable spot and begins building the nest. He ties long fiber strands to the forked branches of a tree or shrub. These strands hang down in big loops to support the actual nest, which is made of grasses, fibers and spider webs. The nest is often lined with soft bark, and the bottom inside is lined with soft cottonwood seeds.

By the time he has the framework underway, he has attracted a female bird that adds the finishing touches. She lays three or four white eggs marked with a few dark specks near the large end. Incubating these takes about two weeks. When the little ones hatch, the real work begins, as both parents spend most of the time they are awake bringing them food. When the little birds are ready to fly, the father bird takes over, flying ahead a short distance and calling them to join him. Soon they are on their own.

But something interesting has been going on while the mother bird has been incubating the eggs. The father has been busy building another nest nearby, and when the little ones are on their own, the parents move to the new nest where another brood will be raised.

Isn’t it nice to know that the Creator is always watching over these little birds, as the opening Bible verse tells us? And even nicer is knowing that He is always watching over us and loves us in a way the birds could never understand. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, it gives Him great joy to know that soon you and all who trust Him will be together in His heavenly home. Is He your Savior? You can be sure by following this Bible verse: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Messages of God’s Love 1/29/2023

Old Clem

At the end of the school year, a fifth-grade class went on a weekend trip in a state park in Connecticut. Three girls from the class decided to take a hike through the forest. They were having lots of fun walking along the trails, telling stories, laughing and enjoying the pretty spring flowers.

However, they were so busy having fun that they weren’t watching where they were going and turned right where they should have turned left. It wasn’t long until they realized they didn’t know where they were. It was time to turn back!

But the more they tried to find their way back to camp, the more confused and lost they became. They wandered around all afternoon.

As it was beginning to get dark, they found themselves at the edge of a shallow swamp. When one of the girls thought she heard a wild animal behind them (a bear or wild dog or some other scary thing), the girls all plunged ahead into the swamp and began slogging as fast as they could through the murky water. At first, they fled through the swamp to get away from the noise, but when their fear of the noise was over, they hurried on to get out of the swamp, which in itself was scary with night coming on. They hurried on until they were exhausted. When it seemed like they could go no farther, they reached higher ground where they huddled together to spend the night. They were scared, tired, wet, cold and hungry. Then, to add to their troubles, it started raining.

When the girls didn’t return to camp at the proper time, the park rangers were called, and they immediately went out searching for them. The girls’ parents were also called, and they all hurried to the park. The parents spent what was probably the worst night of their lives, in the park headquarters, listening to the radio reports of the searchers who were looking for their lost daughters.

When the girls hadn’t been found by morning, 100 fresh volunteers were ready to renew the search. Among these volunteers was a state trooper named Andrew Rebbman and his old bloodhound named Clem.

The trooper led Clem to the place where the girls had last been seen. Then he had Clem sniff a piece of clothing one of the parents had brought that belonged to one of the girls. “Find them!” the trooper commanded Clem.

Clem sniffed around until he picked up their trail. When the scent was strong, Clem would pull against his leash, but when the scent was faint, he would spend more time sniffing, till he found the girls’ trail again.

After following the scent trail for three miles, Clem found a barrette that belonged to one of the girls. After another mile, he brought the search party to the edge of a swamp where the scent trail ended. Thinking the girls must have gone into the swamp, the men started calling. The girls heard them and shouted back.

The men headed through the swamp to where the girls were and then carried them on their shoulders all the way back to the rangers’ station. What a joyful moment it was when the girls were reunited with their parents!

Clem was a bloodhound, and bloodhounds are wonderfully able to follow a trail because of their keen sense of smell. The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and He is wonderfully able to be the Savior of lost sinners. Let’s think about this. For three and a half years He did wonderful miracles — giving blind people their sight, healing people with leprosy and raising the dead. At the end of this time, Judas Iscariot, one of His close followers, betrayed Him into the hands of the religious leaders. These men were jealous of the Lord Jesus and wanted to put Him to death. In order to do this, they had to bring Him before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Pontius Pilate, even though he knew the Lord Jesus was innocent of everything they accused Him of, passed the death penalty on Him.

What a sad day that was when people rejected God’s only Son and nailed Him to a cross. The Lord Jesus, who made the world and everything in it, was killed by the very people He made — think of it! But when He hung on the cross, the love of God was seen more clearly than ever before, because it was then that the Lord Jesus took the punishment for the sins of each one who would trust in Him as their Lord and Savior. Now, the sins of every one who believes on Him are gone forever, because Jesus paid for them. If you trust in Him, your sins will be gone forever too. Isn’t He wonderful?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Memory Verse: “He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” Psalm 40:2

Messages of God’s Love 2/5/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Warthog

“The wild beasts of the field are Mine.” Psalm 50:11

Several varieties of warthogs are found in Africa. These unattractive animals are related to Old World pigs, but they have larger bodies and longer legs. Mature male warthogs weigh up to 330 pounds. Their skin is tough and thick so that they are not easily hurt. Their name comes from large warts on their faces between their eyes and their four tusks. Males have bigger warts than females, because they help protect them in fights against other males. Their sharp, curved upper tusks, up to 10 or 11 inches long, grow out from the sides of their large snouts. They have another smaller set of tusks too.

Their general color is dull brown with some black. The front parts of their bodies are covered with long, bristly hair, but the rest is nearly bald. Tiny eyes at the top of their foreheads contrast with their large, hairy ears.

One look at a group of these fierce-looking creatures and most animals are immediately alert and will get away as quickly as possible. A traveler in Africa reported his experience this way: “Suddenly, from behind us, snorting and woofing, as up from a nearby swamp, with flyswatter tails bolt upright, trots a family of warthogs — father, mother and three young — all enameled in mud. We made a hasty exit and were relieved they did not take after us.”

A warthog is one of the fiercest looking of all animals, but actually they prefer to be peaceful. They often turn away from enemies, running at speeds of about 30 miles per hour with tails sticking straight up in the air. The sharp tusks are not just for fighting; they also use them to dig for edible roots and to enlarge empty dens to make a home for an expected family. In the heat of the day, they would much rather be wallowing in a soft, sticky mud bath than fighting.

When a family of these tough-looking beasts arrives at their den, the young ones (sometimes a dozen of them) go in first, and then the mother follows, usually with her head facing out to protect her young.

Isn’t it nice that the mothers protect their babies? The Lord has made animals this way, and it shows us His care over even animals. He cares so much more about people! He tells us this very clearly in His Word. Look at Matthew 10:29-31 and see how much He cares about you.

Messages of God’s Love 2/5/2023

Saved - Just in Time

It was a beautiful summer day, and Mark was looking forward to a white-water rafting trip with many of his friends. They were driving to a place near Maupin, Oregon, where the Deschutes River flows through central Oregon. Here, the desert’s melting summer heat finds relief in the ice-cold water of the river, which comes from snow melting on the beautiful nearby Mt. Hood.

Six rafts set off for the all-day float trip, with Mark and two friends and some passengers in one of them. By late afternoon, the five other rafts safely docked in Maupin, done with rafting for the day. Mark and his friends left their passengers in Maupin, but decided to continue on another couple of hours down the river to a different stopping point to get off the river.

It had been a relaxing day as the three young men looked forward to the end of their trip. The current was strong, but Mark and his friends were strong, too, as their paddles dug in to maneuver the raft through the last set of rapids before docking. All of them could swim and they had their life vests on, but at this point, there was a need to get off the river, as they would soon be helpless in spite of life vests and strong muscles against the mighty current rushing to a dangerous waterfall.

Finally, they rounded the last bend before the final docking place, and they could see other rafts docked in a row on the left bank. Mark and his friends knew that just ahead, another 200 yards beyond the docking place, was a deceptively-short falls named Sherars Falls. The river was very full and flowing fast, and the bottom of the falls boiled with deep and dangerous whitewater. There were signs warning of the danger of going over the falls. It was time to get off the river now!

In order to dock the raft, they had to fit in diagonally. Not wanting to bump into other rafts while docking, they went past the other rafts, looking for a wider opening to dock at.

Suddenly they heard yelling and screaming from the shore where other rafters had already docked. With fear, they realized that they were now dangerously close to the falls, and were even now picking up speed from the current which was pushing them faster than they could control the raft. Both of Mark’s friends jumped out of the raft into the river to try to swim to shore, but Mark decided to stay with
the raft.

As he balanced in the raft, someone on shore threw a throw bag toward the boat. (This is a bag with a rope inside that comes out as it flies through the air, while the person throwing it holds onto his end.) Thankfully, the rope fell across the front of the raft. Mark lunged for it and then fought to be sure his two friends, who were struggling in the water, could also grab it and hang on. With many people on shore working to pull them to safety, the three young men hung onto the rope and got it tied to the raft, as the current fought to pull them downstream.

One by one, the three young men reached the shore and collapsed. As Mark stumbled onto the bank, he found that his knees were weak as rubber as he realized how close he had come to going over Sherars Falls. They never thought it would feel so wonderful to sit on the bank! But they were safe — at last — thanks to somebody having a throw bag with a lifeline and enough people to win the war against the pull of the strong current swirling over the falls.

What would you think of Mark and his friends if they had just ignored the yelling and wished the people would be quiet and let them enjoy their peaceful day? And ... what about you? Perhaps you have been warned many times of the terrible end that is ahead for every person on this earth who doesn’t believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, the end of going to hell. Have you listened to those warnings or do you just keep going on, trying to enjoy your life? The Bible says, “Behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). It warns us that we need to listen today. “Today if [you] will hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15). Don’t put off until tomorrow being saved from “the wrath to come” (Matthew 3:7), because tomorrow may be too late. “Escape for [your] life” (Genesis 19:17). You need to use all the urgency Mark and his friends used to be sure you are safe for eternity!

There is nothing you can do, but just believe in what God has done for you in His Son. Just as Mark and his friends were helpless against the strong river current, so we are helpless to save ourselves from the wrath of God against sin. But God in His great love to us has given us a Savior, His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus has done all the work that was needed to save sinners, and now all you have to do, if you know you are a sinner, is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31). I hope you will do that today!

Memory Verse: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation?” Hebrews 2:3

Messages of God’s Love 2/12/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Gemsboks and Springboks

“Whosoever [drinks] of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” John 4:14

Living in the hot, dry regions of southern Africa, gemsboks are a beautiful member of the oryx family. They are about the size of a donkey and are related to antelopes. They have a velvety-gray or tan body with a black stripe down the back, and a black and white face, complemented by their black and white belly and legs, and a long bushy tail. Between their large, black and white ears is a pair of nearly straight, sharply pointed horns. These grow to about 33 inches long and slant slightly backward. They provide a weapon that any animal would be foolish to challenge. Gemsboks have been known to kill lions with these sharp horns.

Because of their heavy bodies, gemsboks are not particularly fast runners. They are an example of the Creator’s wisdom when He placed them in hot, dry areas, for they can go a long time without water. They live in bands of about 10 to 40 animals and roam dry, grassy plains and areas of low vegetation.

Although related to the gemsbok and living in the same area, the beautiful springbok is a sharp contrast. It is slender and graceful and a little shorter than its relative. The most common species has golden-brown hair with a snow-white stripe down the back, a white face with black stripes, and white on its underside and the inside of its legs. They have much smaller horns than the gemsbok, about 14 to 20 inches long, which curve back and in.

Though not found in big herds now, in the 1800s springboks occasionally made migrations in groups of millions, searching for water, which they very rarely need to drink. Sadly, their goal was the ocean, as it was also the death of many of them, because its salt water killed them by the thousands.

The search of the springboks for water that killed them reminds me of the search of humans for happiness. In our opening verse, we read how the Lord Jesus said that if we drink of the water He gives, we’ll never thirst. Sadly, most people of this earth seek the refreshment they need in the pleasures of this earth, which not only don’t satisfy, but lead to eternal death if they are chosen and the Lord Jesus is rejected. If you are a Christian, where do you look for your joy in this life? Listen to the loving invitation of the Lord Jesus: “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:37). Only in Him is found the love and peace and joy that truly satisfy our human hearts.

Messages of God’s Love 2/12/2023

Sally's Friends

It was a warm summer afternoon, the kind that makes you wish there was something really exciting to do. Annie and Lynn lived on a farm where there were lots of things to do. If they asked Mother what they could do, she always suggested they pull weeds in the big garden by the barn or make sure the little calves had plenty of water or watch their little sister and brother while she worked in the house. They didn’t like these suggestions. They wanted to do something really fun. They wanted to have an adventure!

As they sat on the front porch watching the kittens play in the grass nearby, Annie said, “I know! We can pretend that we are pioneers and some enemies are after us!” That was one of the girls’ favorite games.

“Yes,” agreed Lynn, “but we always play that game.”

“Well ... ” Annie was thinking. Her imagination did get her into trouble now and then, but this time she had a really good idea. “Let’s play it the real way,” she exclaimed.

Annie jumped up and ran to the barn with Lynn close behind her. It’s no fun just to pretend that you have a horse to pull the covered wagon. Annie had a better idea.

“Lynn, go get the wagon over there and bring it here,” she directed. She waited as Lynn came back with the old red wagon rumbling along behind her.

“What are we going to do, Annie?” Lynn asked as she followed Annie out to the pasture.

Out in the pasture was their dearest pet — Sally, the mother goat. She was munching on the fresh green grass. Sally seemed glad to see the girls and baaaaaed her greeting.

“Oh!” exclaimed Lynn, “Sally can be our horse!”

“That’s right,” Annie agreed. “This will be lots better than just pretending that we have a real horse. And besides, if we take Sally up the gravel road to the top of the hill, we can have a faster ride, and we won’t be so heavy for her.”

“That’s a good idea,” Lynn agreed.

So the girls tied Sally to the old red wagon. Soon they were on their way up the hill. The girls walked beside Sally, trying to coax her along. She didn’t want to go, but when Annie and Lynn held bunches of grass in front of her, she eagerly followed them.

At the top of the hill, they turned Sally and the wagon around. How fun this would be — just like the pioneers used to do! They had to hurry ... their enemies were after them!

Sally was in a hurry, too. She wanted to get back home. She started off down the hill. Quickly, Annie and Lynn hopped into the wagon, and down the hill they went.

Poor Sally! What was that awful noise that was following her? The faster she went, the more the old red wagon rumbled and squeaked as it hit rocks and holes in the road. Sally was scared! Faster and faster she ran. They were going so fast down the hill that Annie and Lynn were getting scared, too. Suddenly, they hit a big bump. The wagon dumped over, leaving the girls sprawled out in the road while Sally ran faster and faster with the wagon tumbling over and over behind her. Sally was running so fast that when the girls finally picked themselves up, they could hardly catch up with her. When they finally did catch her, they untied the wagon and let her go out to the pasture again.

That night, Daddy wondered why Sally didn’t give as much milk. He thought she seemed a little nervous. When he found out what his girls had done, he was not happy. Annie and Lynn felt bad, too, because they really did love Sally. They were sorry they had upset her.

Have you ever done something without thinking that hurt someone you love, or who loves you? Whether we know it or not, we all have, because we are all sinners, and every sin causes grief to God, who loves us very much. Sin is so awful to God that every sin deserves death. “The wages of sin is death” the Bible says in Romans 6:23. That means that we deserve death because of our sins. But God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to pay for our sins on the cross. It was there that God showed us how much He loves us, for He willingly gave His only Son to die for us so that we could be saved. All you have to do is realize your need of a Savior and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Savior.

“In this was [shown] the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).

Memory Verse: “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” 1 John 4:9

Messages of God’s Love 2/19/2023

A Story About Nothing

Mr. Giordano was a very rich man who lived in Italy. He had an expensive car, a nice house, a good job, and pretty much anything he wanted that money could buy. In his nice car he had a little New Testament in the glove compartment that he had put there because he didn’t know what else to do with it.

Isn’t that sad? He had the precious Word of God, that could teach him the way to heaven, and he didn’t know what to do with it! He had lots of things, but not the one thing that matters most in the whole world, because he didn’t have the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

Then one day Mr. Giordano had a car accident. He was not badly hurt, but he knew that he could have been killed. As he waited for the ambulance, he reached for the papers that showed he owned his car, and somehow he grabbed that little New Testament. For the first time, he opened it and read a verse that caught his attention. It was 1 Timothy 6:7. “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

He realized that if he had been killed, all his money would mean nothing. He would have nothing for eternity. But after death there is something that would still be his. His sins! These don’t disappear when we die. They must be gotten rid of before we die or they will be ours forever and will take us to hell.

Mr. Giordano began to read the Bible, and he soon accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior. Now all his sins were gone! Will you also receive this loving Savior as your own? Then you will have the only riches that really matter.

“What shall it profit a man [or boy or girl], if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37).

Messages of God’s Love 2/19/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Hiding in Plain Sight

“Now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8

The Creator has provided interesting ways for many of His creatures to protect themselves from danger while gathering food. He has given them various camouflages so they cannot be easily seen.

One of these is the katydid, an insect that has green wings which match the color of the leaves where it nests. These wings also cover its back, like a strong armor, keeping birds from attacking it.

In South America the false-eyed frog has large imitation eyes on its back. When this little fellow is in danger, he turns his back and raises his rear. Usually the attacker, looking at the fierce imitation eyes and the legs and toes which have been bent in such a way that they look like claws, leaves in a hurry. If not, the frog can further help hurry it on its way by a bad-smelling sticky substance it excretes from the same eyespots.

A yellow-green caterpillar, called synchlora, bites off bits of flowers from the plant it wants to feed on and attaches them all over its body with sticky threads. Then it’s ready to feed on the plant, fully disguised and safe from birds that would otherwise quickly eat it.

Another interesting insect is the walking stick. Remaining perfectly still on a bare branch, it attracts no attention. A person passing by would never realize that what looks like a dead twig is actually a living insect.

The Creator has also provided many birds with colors that hide them. One example is the woodcock and its chicks. Nesting on a low spot of ground, they all have speckled back and side feathers that look just like their surroundings. A person walking through the woods might unintentionally step on one if the bird did not startle him by jumping or flying out of the way.

One master of disguise is the chameleon. It can change colors very quickly and also show designs in its skin to fit in with its environment. The Bible talks about chameleons in the Old Testament as an unclean animal (Leviticus 11:30), which means it was an animal an Israelite was not supposed to eat. It reminds us of a person who changes how they act according to the people they are around, and God is letting us know that’s not how we should act. When the Lord Jesus was here on earth, He was always faithful to God, no matter what it would cost Him. Ephesians 5:8 says, “Now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Do you let your light shine when you are around others?

Messages of God’s Love 2/19/2023

Crocodile! Crocodile!

The river steamer had to make many stops at little port towns as it traveled up the Amazon River. At these stops the steamer dropped off supplies and loaded up with Brazil nuts and rubber, along with some change of passengers. Travel was slow, and the passengers spent the hours talking, leaning on the railings, watching the sights they passed and listening to the sounds of the jungle. Giant palm trees, passion flowers, rubber trees, brilliantly colored birds, and even whistling monkeys were seen along the way.

Suddenly there was a loud scraping sound under the boat, and it stopped with a jerk. The boat tilted, and some of the passengers were thrown off balance. The captain yelled for the crew to grab poles and help shove the boat off the sand bar before it got stuck. It was too late. They were stuck right there until the tide in the giant Amazon River would come up high enough that the steamer could float off the sand bar.

Most of the passengers lived along the river, but two young men on this journey were from the big city of Rio de Janeiro. They were salesmen for a company that sold medicines. The bright sun and heat made them think about cooling off in the river.

Finally, one of them, Raul, asked his friend, “Arnaldo, how would you like to go for a swim so that we can cool off a bit?”

“Sounds good to me,” Arnaldo answered.

After they had changed into a pair of swimming shorts, they stood at the edge of the boat ready to dive off.

An old man named Tiago who lived along the river looked up at them and shook his head “no.”

“Boys,” Tiago warned, “I’d suggest you not do that. You never know what is in the waters of this river.”

Arnaldo looked up to question Tiago when another man, who was a judge, added, “For one thing, there are piranhas, man-eating fish, in some places. Also, there are stingrays with their poison and the painful cut of their barbed tails.” Another young man who worked cutting rubber warned of snakes in the water.

Have you ever been warned of the danger you are in if you have never asked the Lord Jesus to be your Savior? In the Bible in James 2:10, we read, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Just one sin is enough to keep you or me out of heaven. Lies, anger, selfishness and unkind words are all sins and are more dangerous than even piranhas, snakes and stingrays, because they can land us in hell. The problem is that boys and girls and men and women ignore the danger they are in.

Raul just laughed and said to Arnaldo, “We can take a chance. Let’s dive together. Are you ready?”

Tiago warned them once again: “Seriously, fellows, I wouldn’t do it.”

As Arnaldo smiled, Raul insisted on going in the water, saying, “Just look at the water. We are so hot, and the water is so cool.”

Arnaldo added, “Don’t worry, Tiago, my friend. It’s not my destiny to die in these waters! Just a little dip.” He dove in with Raul close behind. The warnings of danger were being ignored.

Seldom do people plan to die. Instead, they make plans for the future. James 4:13-14 tell us, “Go to now, [you] that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas [you] know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that [appears] for a little time, and then [vanishes] away.” Arnaldo and Raul planned to continue their travels, selling their medicines. Neither of them planned to die.

Both dove in and were swimming away from the sand bar where the boat was stuck. Something on the bank that looked like a dead log suddenly rose up on four legs, then quickly sank into the water. The judge and the man who worked as a rubber cutter both saw it and shouted at the same time, “CROCODILE!”

Everyone on the boat heard the cry and ran over to see what was happening. They could see the heads of the two swimmers and occasionally the two eyes of the crocodile as he came to the surface to check where the young men were headed.

On the boat, the crew and the passengers all joined to warn the young men, shouting, “Crocodile! Turn back! Turn back!” Perhaps your dad, your mom, your brother, your sister, your Sunday school teacher, or your friends have told you to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31). Have you listened to the warnings?

Raul and Arnaldo didn’t understand the warnings at first; they just thought everyone was having fun and joking. But finally Raul heard the cry, “CROCODILE! CROCODILE!” and shouted the warning over to Arnaldo: “CROCODILE! CROCODILE!” They quickly headed back to the boat, but the crocodile was a faster swimmer than they and soon got close to Arnaldo.

Tiago knew that crocodiles swim faster than they can turn, so he shouted to Arnaldo, “Dive, Arnaldo! Dive underneath him and come up on the other side!” Arnaldo was almost back to the boat and was already very tired. His only hope to escape was to follow Tiago’s advice.

He dove. But he didn’t stay down long enough and came up too soon. The crocodile’s jaw snapped open where Arnaldo came to the surface. There was a slight movement in the water, and the crocodile and Arnaldo were not seen again.

Raul sat on the deck with his face in his hands. The men on the boat groaned and the ladies wept. It was too late for Arnaldo.

It is not too late for you if you will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior right now. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). If you believe, instead of sadness like there was at the end of Arnaldo’s life, there will be joy even in heaven. Luke 15:10 says, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that [repents].”

Memory Verse: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Proverbs 16:25

Messages of God’s Love 2/26/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Black Skimmer

“The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalm 145:9

The black skimmer is an unusual bird. There are three species of skimmers, and the one called “black” lives on several shorelines in North America, migrating as far as South America for the winter. About 18 inches long, they have wide, long wings. They are black on top and are quite striking with a black and white face, white neck, breast and underside, and red legs as well as a red and black bill. Skimmers are social birds, living in large flocks of up to 300 pairs near the ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

A person might think something is wrong with the bill, since the lower part is an inch or more longer than the upper part. However, this longer part of the bill is exactly suited to the way they fish, and the sides of their bills fit together perfectly. The bottom edge of the top bill is as sharp as a knife blade and fits into grooves in the bottom bill when it snaps its bill shut. They have special eyes, too, with pupils running vertically through them, which narrow to thin slits to cut the glare of the sun as they glide over the water during the daytime.

Skimmers live almost entirely on fish or other small marine life which are just below the surface of the water. They fish by skimming above the water’s surface, holding their bills open, keeping the lower half just under the surface to scoop up any small fish and shrimp or crabs near the surface.

If a fish is a good size, the skimmer may hold it in the closed bill and carry it to its nest. If there are no young birds to feed, it will land on shore and cut the fish into small pieces with its sharp bill.

It’s amazing how many little fish are close to the surface, that would probably never be seen by a person in a boat, and are almost always present in bay areas or even in open waters. The skimmers are given instincts by the Creator to know they are there. However, in stormy weather and high waves, they can’t undertake these fishing trips.

The bills and eyes of the skimmer show us the perfect wisdom of the Creator when He made all the birds on day five of the creation. Have you ever thought of how He has provided for you in your life in so many special ways? As Christians, we walk through a world opposed to God in every way, and also opposed to us if we belong to Him. Yet He has given us His Word and His Spirit to guide and keep us, if we listen to them. I hope you read your Bible every day and ask the Lord to show you more clearly how to live for Him and know more of His love!

Messages of God’s Love 2/26/2023

Missionary Guide

As we approached the native village, I breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long, hot, tiring day of walking through the jungle. There should be plenty of food in the village and a place to sleep. Being a missionary in Africa, I had visited this village several times. I knew that my native helpers and I would be welcome.

Shortly after we arrived in the village, we were told there wasn’t any food. Elephants had trampled down all the crops. A hunting party had been sent out each morning to hunt food, but game was scarce this time of year. The natives could not get close enough to the animals to use their spears. I offered to go out with my gun to shoot a buffalo, and my offer was gratefully accepted by the chief.

“But you must wait until the hunters come back,” he advised. “They will go with you so you don’t get lost in the jungle. They will guide you to the water holes where there are many buffalo.”

My helpers and I sat down to wait, but the longer I sat, the hungrier I became. Finally I suggested to the chief that my men would go with me and the hunting party could catch up when they returned. The chief told us that we should not go without a guide since we would get lost on the many crisscrossing animal trails.

We waited a few more hours. Finally, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. Going against the advice of the old chief, my helpers and I started off into the jungle. The trails that we followed twisted and turned as we got closer to the river. Sometimes we did not know which of them to take, but we kept on walking anyway. We finally reached the river, and hiding in the brush we waited for the buffalo.

It wasn’t long until we spotted one. After following it for some distance, I got a clear shot and was able to kill it. My men quickly started skinning the large animal. It took about two hours to get the meat cut and packed and ready to carry back to the village. It began to get dark, and we discovered we did not know which of the many trails led to the village. Every trail looked the same to us. Suddenly we heard the roars of lions approaching! We knew they were being attracted by the smell of fresh meat.

We worked fast to get as much of the meat stored in trees as we could. Then we climbed up into the trees right along with our meat. It wasn’t long before several lions appeared and began feeding on the buffalo carcass.

One of the native helpers climbed to the top of the tree to see if he could see any sign of the hunting party. He would call them, then listen for an answering call. There wasn’t any. He continued calling for the next three hours until we heard a faint answer which gradually came closer.

At last the hunting party from the village appeared. They were carrying torches and shouting as loud as they could. Their noisy approach with the burning torches scared the lions, and they ran off.

I was very thankful, but felt foolish as I climbed down the tree. I realized I should have waited and not started out on the hunting trip without a guide. We thanked our rescuers, loaded up the meat and started back to the village.

Up and down hills, through valleys and the dense undergrowth of the jungle, the native hunters led us back to the safety and shelter of the village. The chief came out to meet us and took us to his own campfire.

After we had eaten some of the meat which had been roasted over the fire, I turned to the chief and said, “Chief, I have something to tell you. I was lost in the jungle today because I didn’t have a guide. It’s not the first time that I have been lost. Years ago as a young man, I did not know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. I did not have Him as the Guide for my life. Although I had heard many times that I needed to be saved, I did not obey. I laughed at God’s offer of love and mercy and decided I didn’t need it. Everything went well for a while, but then I discovered I was lost and needed a Savior. I called for help, just like we did in the jungle tonight. God heard my call, just like your hunting party heard our calls for help. Then the true Guide, the only One who can rescue us from sin, saved me. He rescued me from Satan’s power and lifted me up in His loving arms, and He is now taking me safely home. He wants to save you, too, Chief. He shed His blood so that you, also, can be protected in His arms. He loves you just like He loves me, and He is waiting to be your Savior.”

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Memory Verse: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” Psalm 50:15

Messages of God’s Love 3/5/2023

Queen Elizabeth

Most of my readers probably know that Queen Elizabeth of England died on September 8, 2022. She was 96 years old, and she had reigned over England for 70 years, which is the longest any queen or king has ever reigned in England.

Queen Elizabeth had accepted the Lord Jesus as her Savior. This means that she had realized she was a sinner and needed her sins forgiven. She had accepted God’s forgiveness, which He offers to everyone. God can forgive sins because the Lord Jesus died on the cross and paid the penalty of death for our sins. Then God raised Him from the dead and He went back to heaven where He lives now.

Verses from the Bible in John 14 were read at the Queen’s funeral. About 2,000 important and famous people were there, from many countries of the world. They heard that God has a mansion in heaven that He’s inviting us to and that Jesus is the only way to heaven.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions. ... Jesus [says] ... I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man [comes] unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:2,6).

The Queen had lived in beautiful castles in England and Scotland, but when she died, she went to a home in heaven that was so much more fantastic! It is so wonderful that nothing on earth can describe it! The Lord is inviting you to come to be there with Him someday, too.

I hope you have accepted Him. If not, I hope you do it right now. All you have to do is sincerely tell the Lord that you’re sorry for your sins. Then thank Him for loving you so much that He died for you and rose again. You will then join Queen Elizabeth and all other Christians around the Lord’s throne, when you leave this world. It will be wonderful!

Messages of God’s Love 3/5/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Delightful Squirrels, Part 1

“O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God!” Psalm 36:6-7

Squirrels are interesting little animals, aren’t they? There are close to 300 species throughout the world. Most people cannot help enjoying them because their antics are fun to watch. It’s fun to watch as they chase each other up and around a tree trunk and seem to be playing hide-and-seek, or as they jump from branch to branch and even tree to tree.

Squirrels have no difficulty holding a nut between their front paws while sitting upright with their big, bushy tails raised in a big loop over their backs. Their sharp teeth and strong jaws can crack open a nutshell very quickly, and they are soon enjoying the treat.

A brave squirrel in a public park will sometimes come timidly to the outstretched hand of a person squatting on the ground and holding out a peanut or other treat. (This is not recommended because of the danger of being bitten.) The squirrel finally will snatch the food and scamper away, often up a nearby tree to a nest hidden there.

There are several varieties of these active little creatures in North America, including the fox, American Red, Chickaree, tufted-eared, black and others. They are all part of the same family, but each is a little different from the others.

The smallest squirrel is the African pygmy, only 4.4-5.4 inches long, including its tail which is almost half of its length. One of the largest is the beautiful Indian giant, nearly three feet long including its tail, with a beautiful rust, black and tan coat with other amazing colors (like purple, blue and red) found on some of them.

Tree squirrels are commonly seen in parks, backyards or in trees along a wooded trail. Using their powerful hind legs, they easily jump from branch to branch, their bushy tails helping them to keep their balance. They can run amazingly fast headfirst down a tree trunk, sharp claws clinging to the bark. Most of their time is spent in trees, but they also search on the ground for nuts, berries, seeds and mushrooms.

The opening Bible verses remind us that squirrels are cared for by God, just as He looks after each one of us. Have you ever thanked Him for His love and kindness to you?

(to be continued)

“O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God!”
Psalm 36:6-7

The opening Bible verses remind us that squirrels are cared for by God, just as He looks after each one of us. Have you ever thanked Him for His love and kindness to you?

(to be continued)

The Dollhouse

Children, let’s put on our imagination caps for a few minutes. Let’s pretend that we are hearing Hailee and Bethany talking about a new dollhouse of Bethany’s ...

At school one day, Bethany is excitedly telling her friend Hailee about her new dollhouse. She finishes with, “You have to come see it! It even has lights
that work!”

So, that afternoon Hailee goes to Bethany’s house and Bethany shows her a beautiful big dollhouse. Bethany points out details in room after room. “See this staircase? Look at the pretty wallpaper! And see? I can turn the lights on and off using this tiny switch! Look at all the little furniture ... it’s so pretty and it fits in all the rooms just right!” Hailee is impressed!

Then Hailee asks Bethany, “Did your Dad put this dollhouse together?”

“Oh no!” replies Bethany. “You won’t believe what happened. One night my family and I were all sitting here in the living room and there was a storm going on. Suddenly there was a big bang and all the lights went out. When the lights came back on, we couldn’t believe our eyes! This dollhouse was sitting here in the middle of the living room, just
like this!

“Oh, come on, Bethany,” Hailee says. “That’s impossible! In fact, it’s ridiculous! Do you think I’m going to believe that the wallpaper hung itself, the lights all connected to the electricity and all the darling furniture just appeared out of nowhere? Now I feel like I can’t trust anything you say!”

“Well, I am telling you the truth!” says Bethany, with a disgusted look on her face.

It so happens that Bethany’s father is in the next room and he can hardly believe what his daughter is saying. He comes into the room where the girls are talking and speaks to his daughter. “Bethany! What are you saying? Why are you lying to your friend and making up this strange story about your dollhouse? You know very well that your mother and I spent a lot of time in the last several months working on this dollhouse. I made many trips to the store and spent a lot of money so it could be ready for you to enjoy by your ninth birthday. It is wrong of you to lie like this! Instead of telling your friend the truth and giving us the credit we deserve, you are telling her nonsense.”

Children, this story has been written to teach a lesson. Many of you are going to school and hearing talk just like Bethany’s lie, about God’s wonderful creation. There is the Big Bang theory of evolution and other teachings that deny that God is the Creator of the whole universe, including the beautiful world we live in. The Bible is the living Word of God and it only tells the truth. Do you know what the very first verse of the Bible says? Here it is: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”
(Genesis 1:1).

What beauty there is in all of God’s creation! It is beautiful even though, for now, creation’s beauty is spoiled in many ways because of sin. If you read the story of the creation in Genesis, you will read that God created nearly everything (not including man) in the world by simply speaking it into being. It grieves Him that so many people don’t believe this. Usually this is because they don’t want God in their lives and don’t want to think about having to answer to Him someday for their sins. Through the different theories of evolution, God doesn’t get the glory He deserves for His beautiful work in creating everything we see as well as what we have never seen.

The next time you see a beautiful flower or watch a bird fly or play on the sand and then jump the waves in the ocean or taste your favorite food, remember it is God who made all these things for you to enjoy because He loves you so much. The same loving God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on Calvary’s cross for your sins, so that someday you can be with Him in an even more beautiful place called heaven for all eternity!

Memory Verse: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

Messages of God’s Love 3/12/2023

The Musical Watch

Mr. Marcus had a watch with a musical alarm. Every night he set the watch on the nightstand beside his bed, and every morning at 6:45 the watch would play a tune and wake him up.

One morning Mr. Marcus woke up at 6:45 as usual, hearing his musical watch. But the watch was not on his nightstand, and the tune sounded muffled and far away. Mr. Marcus got out of bed and began to look around for his watch.

The sound seemed to be coming from the kitchen, so Mr. Marcus searched all around the kitchen carefully. But even with his dog, Fudge, helping him hunt, he could not find his watch. Soon the music stopped, and Mr. Marcus had to give up his search.

The next morning at 6:45 Mr. Marcus again heard his watch, but this time the muffled tune seemed to come from the hall outside his room. Puzzled, Mr. Marcus stood in the hall, thinking. There was no place in the hall where a watch could be hiding. In fact, there was nothing at all in the hall except Fudge. Fudge! Was it possible ... ?

That night Mr. Marcus closed Fudge in the bedroom with him and at 6:45 the next morning when the music started, he picked up his dog, held him close and listened carefully. It was as he feared. The music was coming from inside Fudge!

Poor Fudge. Somehow, he had swallowed the watch, wristband and all.

Mr. Marcus loved his pet and was worried that the swallowed watch might make him sick. But Mr. Marcus knew there was someone he could turn to for help. He took Fudge right over to the vet. Mr. Marcus told the vet his story. After taking some X-rays, the vet and Mr. Marcus could see clearly that Fudge had indeed swallowed the watch. So, the vet operated on Fudge to remove the watch from his stomach. Soon Fudge was as healthy as ever.

Fudge was only a dog, and dogs don’t sin, but this story reminds me of the verse, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). The Lord Jesus died to give us not only salvation, but the victory over sin in our lives. If we go on sinning, not only God knows about it, but it also affects our lives. The musical watch kept playing its tune inside Fudge’s stomach, and sins that we commit keep causing problems in our lives. Why not go to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to show you how to overcome sin in your life, instead of letting it go on and affect your life?

Messages of God’s Love 3/12/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Delightful Squirrels, Part 2

“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3

Some time ago we considered the “flying squirrels” of Africa. North America also has flying squirrels. There are only three found in North America. The two most common are usually referred to as northern flying squirrels and southern flying squirrels. Although referred to as flying squirrels, it would be more appropriate to call them “gliding” squirrels, as we will see.

These squirrels are very impressive in their ability to make their way from tree to tree through the air without going to the ground. They have been known to glide 300 or more feet. They usually finish up at a lower point from where they started. The exception to this is some very short flights. They do this by launching themselves from high up in a tree and gliding through the air with legs outstretched. Here’s how it’s possible.

The Creator has provided them with special furry, loose skin (flight membranes) stretched between their front and hind legs. These membranes are loose when they are not flying. But when gliding through the air with all four legs stretched out, this loose skin becomes a perfect parachute under their full control.

It only takes a slight movement of their legs to direct their flight. Their flat tails with special feathered fur help them change direction midflight and are also important for stopping their flight. They always land upright, with strong claws grabbing the tree trunk. Then they usually scoot around to the opposite side of the tree — a God-given instinct, in case they may have been spotted by an owl or hawk that would like a squirrel supper. When the young squirrels are only five weeks old, their very excellent mother begins their flight training.

Aside from the ability to glide, which other squirrels would never attempt, their lives are much the same. One exception is that they are nocturnal (awake at night and asleep during the day), which is probably why most of us never see them. They make nests in decayed holes in large trees with enough space for food supplies, and also in attics. Their food is mainly nuts and seeds, but at times includes berries, grasshoppers and an occasional bird’s egg.

Our lead verse tells us that the Lord made everything, and without Him, nothing was made. Not one thing that is part of the creation was made without Him. That includes you. I hope that helps you realize how important your life is. Your life is no accident, and you are not worth less than other people. The Lord made you for His purpose. It is good to ask Him what His purpose for our lives is.

Messages of God’s Love 3/12/2023

No Return

It was a warm day in July when Jim took his two friends, seven-year-old Roger and his 17-year-old sister Deanne, for a motor boat ride on the Niagara River. The quiet water five miles upstream from Niagara Falls was perfect for the small boat with its small outboard motor. The two Woodward children thoroughly enjoyed the river and the boat. They did not like the life vests they had to wear, but they had promised their father that they would wear them all the time, so they kept them on.

Jim decided to go downstream just below one of the electric generating plants where the water was also quiet. Although the water appeared calm, Jim had underestimated the strength of the current. When he turned the boat around to head back, he found that he had passed the “point of no return” for his small boat and motor. He quickly discovered that instead of going upstream, they were being carried slowly downstream toward the falls. Soon they were in the swirling rapids. Then the motor stopped and the boat capsized, throwing the three of them into the water.

Deanne saw Roger and Jim being swept along in the current ahead. She was a strong swimmer and swam toward the shore of Goat Island where crowds of people had gathered and were watching the horrifying scene. Deanne was only a few feet from shore, but still she was being swept toward the falls. A man on shore climbed over the guardrail and was able to catch her outstretched hand only 15 feet from the 162-foot high falls. Another man helped, and they pulled Deanne to safety.

Meanwhile, Jim had grasped little Roger, telling him, “Don’t be scared — I’ll hold you!” But the swirling waters tore them apart and both were swept over the falls and lost from view in the spray and torrents below.

Jim was killed on the rocks at the base of the falls. Roger fell beyond the rocks into the water. Down, down under the water he was driven from the fall, but because of his life vest, he came up again fast. Moments later the captain of the excursion boat “Maid of the Mist” saw him and was able to throw a life ring out to him. After three tries the ring went close enough to Roger so he could grab it, and he was pulled to safety.

Other than a few bruises, neither Roger nor Deanne had any injuries from their awful experience. They were thankful that they had obeyed their father and worn their life vests. Jim did not have one on.

There is no doubt that what helped keep both Roger and Deanne safe was obedience to their father in wearing their life vests. They really didn’t want to wear them, but their father knew what was best. The Bible says, “He that [loves] his life shall lose it; and he that [hates] his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (John 12:25). If they had decided to “love” their freedom to do their own will, Roger and Deanne would have lost their lives. I hope you have chosen to love what God says to do, which is to choose eternal life by believing in the Lord Jesus. Then you will be safe from eternal death. If you decide to love life in this world more than life in that eternal world, you will lose your life in hell forever.

Memory Verse: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto
life eternal.” John 12:25

Messages of God’s Love 3/19/2023

Rescue

Bob and Shirley decided to go for a car ride one day after Bob had been kept in the house with a cold for a while. With their two children, they set out on a drive to the mountains. It was nice to get out of the house, but later in the afternoon, it started to rain as they drove up the twisting mountain road.

“Maybe we ought to head for home,” Bob said, and he began to look for a place where he could turn the car around. But he couldn’t find a place to turn around on the narrow road which had been blasted out of the mountain, so he kept driving.

Soon they came to the end of the pavement. Here the road turned to clay, which was now very slippery because of the rain. When they finally slid down a hill to a place where Bob could turn the car around, he found he couldn’t steer the car on the wet clay. Soon, they were in the ditch. As Bob tried to drive the car out, the spinning tires only made them sink further into the mud.

Bob and Shirley got out to collect branches to fill in the ruts and give the car some traction, but it was no use. They tried pushing, but that didn’t help either. They were only getting muddier and wetter by the minute.

Not only was it raining steadily, but it was beginning to get dark and cold. Bob felt so sick he could hardly stand up. He began to worry about what they would do for the night if they couldn’t get out. Finally, he said, “Let’s get back in the car and cry to the Lord. It’s all we can do.”

The children calmed down at once when Bob and Shirley got back in, and they all prayed that the Lord would help them out of their trouble. They had just finished praying when they saw two 4-wheel-drive trucks driving toward them. Across the front of each in large letters was the word “RESCUE.” It seemed as though the Lord Jesus had just been waiting for them to ask for His help so He could send them the help they needed. Did you know that God wants us to trust in the Lord Jesus not only for salvation from our sins, but also to depend on Him to take care of us every moment of our lives, to rescue us when we are in trouble?

The first truck hitched a big chain onto their back bumper, and the other hitched its chain onto the front to steady the car. Together they pulled them backwards up the hill. Bob tried to steer but the car kept slipping sideways into the ditch. Each time it was pulled out, the car was more scratched up. By the time they got to the top of the hill, their car was a big mess.

But they were safe, and how they thanked God for their rescue! Bob thought of the verses in Psalm 40:2-3, “He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And He [has] put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” Isn’t it wonderful that even our hard times can turn into a place where we see the Lord work for us and give us another opportunity to praise Him?

Messages of God’s Love 3/19/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 1

“Ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee ... and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.” Job 12:7-8

There are about 40 varieties of dolphins throughout the world’s warm ocean waters. These include some that are just four feet long and others that are up to 20-26 feet long and weigh up to six tons.

Dolphins normally live and travel in groups called pods. They are truly social animals, needing the company of others for safety and also for success in their hunting. They communicate with one another, sometimes when more than a mile apart, by whistles, squeaks and barks. They can communicate this way with each other even when it is too dark to see one another. They also use gestures to communicate when closer to one another. Each dolphin is believed to have a distinctive tone to their voice, just as your voice is different from anyone else’s.

Dolphins are excellent swimmers. The Creator has given them streamlined bodies, enabling unusually fast movements. They are well-designed for catching fish and other sea creatures — their entire food supply. Their short snouts look a bit like beaks, and their streamlined bodies taper off to large, flat tails, divided in the middle. These tails are used both as a rudder and as a contributor to their speed.

Dolphin babies are born underwater, and the mother immediately pushes the little one to the surface for its first breath of air, sometimes with help from another dolphin. If she were too slow in doing this, the little one would inhale water into its lungs and drown. This is because dolphins are not fish; they are mammals that need to come to the surface regularly for air.

Although dolphins are unusually social and intelligent animals, occasionally one will be seen alone. Apparently, this is usually a dolphin whose mother died while it was too small to have learned from her how to be social, or perhaps an older one after the death of a companion. This reminds me of how as people, we are meant to live with other people, enjoying fellowship and friendship. Sadly, there are many lonely people in this world. In John 9 we read of a man who had been cast out by the Jewish leaders, and even his parents had left him alone. But the Lord Jesus went to him and taught him more about Himself, and the man was so happy to have the Lord Jesus that I don’t think he felt bad about losing all the others. Did you know that the Lord Jesus cares that much about you, too?

(to be continued)

Messages of God’s Love 3/19/2023

Forest Fire

There were 17 school children and several adults on the school bus one day in May in eastern Canada. Mr. Jones was their bus driver. They were returning from St. John’s where the children had spent two days sightseeing and learning more about the province of Canada where they lived, Newfoundland, and about its capital, St. John’s. They had left St. John’s early that morning. They had been having a wonderful time! They didn’t know it yet, but they were headed for a very scary experience. After traveling quite a while that May morning, they were all looking forward to stopping at a McDonald’s restaurant for lunch in a city called Grand Falls.

They had been hearing about a forest fire, but what they didn’t know was that it was moving fast right in the direction of Grand Falls. As they traveled closer, though, they could see a smoky haze in the sky and, later, thick smoke billowing upward. When they entered Grand Falls, there was no doubt in their minds that they were very close to the fire.

They pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot. Mr. Jones got off the bus after asking everyone to stay seated until he could learn more about where the fire was heading. What he learned was frightening — the road over which they had just traveled was now closed!

Mr. Jones quickly got back on the bus and everyone shushed to hear what he had to say. They were surprised to hear about the road behind them being closed, and everyone agreed with his decision not to stay at McDonald’s another minute, but to head on toward home.

There went the opportunity for lunch, but that fire was traveling fast ... from several directions.

Thinking about it later, Mr. Jones was thankful to the Lord Jesus for the warning he was given at McDonald’s, and that they didn’t take just a little time to quickly order hamburgers and milkshakes and eat them on the bus as they hurried on. As they found out, even waiting 10 or 15 minutes to order could have spelled disaster.

On the other side of Grand Falls, things looked a little better. They were still hungry, so they found a small restaurant in a shopping mall where they could get some hamburgers like they had been looking forward to all morning.

That food tasted extra good! But while they were taking a break, the forest fire wasn’t. They went back out to get on the bus and were startled to see heavy smoke rolling in from three directions.

Everyone hurried to take their seats and Mr. Jones started the bus as quickly as he could.

They turned to go the direction they needed to go and also the only way that now looked safe, but they didn’t get very far. The police had the highway blocked. They were ordered to turn around and go back to the mall parking lot they had just left as possibly the safest spot around.

They waited there for three long hours, watching the billowing smoke and sparks coming closer. Then they could actually see flames, sometimes leaping nearly 100 feet high as they consumed everything in their path.

They felt helpless and frightened during those hours as they watched the flames closing in around them. Mr. Jones was a child of God, and he prayed for their safety, knowing God would hear his prayer, and he could trust Him with the answer. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee” (Psalm 56:3).

Suddenly, a police car zoomed into the parking lot and the officer announced over his loud speaker, “The highway is open to the west! Escape at once!”

The adults yelled for the kids to get on the bus immediately, and they didn’t need to be told a second time. Mr. Jones followed the last one on, slid into his seat, and took off as fast as that school bus could move.

They made it through and they all heaved a sigh of relief.

But their joy and relief were short-lived.

Suddenly, several of the girls began shouting frantically that they needed to turn around and go back. They were crying and talking at the same time — something had been left behind. Mr. Jones suddenly understood, with a terrible sinking feeling ... two of their girls had been left behind at the mall! In their frantic hurry to leave, they had not counted heads.

Of course, they turned to go back, but now the fire was raging across the highway. They could not go back.

Oh, what could they do? They were all so upset, each one blaming himself.

Mr. Jones turned the bus back west again and drove a little way. Someone spotted a brook, and they decided to pull over. They all went down for a drink as their throats were burning from the smoke and heat. While they were all gathered there, Mr. Jones asked the students and adults to bow their heads while he prayed, crying to the Lord Jesus for the safety of the two girls.

In just three minutes, the Lord Jesus answered that prayer. A police car suddenly pulled up beside the bus, and the two girls tumbled out of the back seat, tears streaming down their faces, but they were tears of relief and joy. And the rest of them were just as relieved and overjoyed as they were. The girls were safe!

What a quick answer to prayer!

As Mr. Jones drove on, he thanked the Lord Jesus for keeping them all safe through that whole scary ordeal. But he also had some sad thoughts. He could not help thinking that when the Lord Jesus comes to take all those who have accepted Him as their Savior to heaven with Him, there will be some (maybe some who were on his bus) who have ignored God’s warning. They will be left behind to suffer the punishment for their sins. And there is no escape from the fire of hell. “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Today there is still time to listen to God’s warning and be saved. Won’t you accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior right now and be safe?

“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Memory Verse: “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 20:15

Messages of God’s Love 3/26/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 2

“I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3

Dolphins are very social animals, even showing friendly behavior toward humans. For instance, people who are friendly with the dolphins have gone to swim at the same spot at certain times of the year, and the dolphins seem to know when they will be there. Swimming among the people, they seem very friendly, even with some people they have not seen before, but remembering others and swimming up close to them for a friendly pat or hug.

Tourists in the Bahamas told a story of finding dolphins swimming around them, some even coming alongside and welcoming their gentle strokes. One of the ladies tossed her bright red scarf into the water and then promptly snatched it up and swam a short distance with it. Sure enough, the dolphins immediately showed an interest, and the next time she tossed the scarf, one of them immediately grabbed it, and from then on, they all joined in the fun. They never tried to take the scarf away from another dolphin, but in a short time it would drop it and, quick as a wink, several would go after it. They seemed to enjoy playing this game, and the swimmers and dolphins stayed with it for four hours. Dolphins have been seen playing this kind of game with pieces of seaweed.

The most amazing thing that has happened many times is the help dolphins have given to people in danger of drowning. A sailor who had to abandon a sinking ship told this story: Jumping fully clothed into the ocean quite a distance from shore, he found the water rough and soon gave up hope of making it to shore. Suddenly he felt a gentle but strong support underneath him. To his amazement, it stayed with him all the way to shallow water where he could stand. Then he finally saw his rescuer — a large dolphin — heading back to deep water.

The way dolphins get along with one another and their help to humans is remarkable and perhaps makes some of us ashamed that we do not show more kindness to others. But there is a kindness that far outshines all others, expressed by our loving Lord in our opening Bible verse. That love took Him, the Creator of all, to Calvary’s cross, where, through a cruel death, He became the Savior of all who put their trust in Him. Has His kindness won your heart?

(to be continued)

Messages of God’s Love 3/26/2023

An Old Man's Faith Tested

Many years ago, an old man in China known as “Old Li” came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as his own Savior. Soon after he was saved from being an idol worshipper, he heard a talk on the verse “Covetousness which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5) which really impressed him. (Do you know what “covetousness” is? It is having a strong desire for money or for someone else’s things.)

As he listened carefully, he was very concerned to think that, though he had given up idolatry, he might be tricked into the same sin by letting covetousness have a place in his heart. To avoid this sin, he decided he would keep no money of his own, and he would own no property. He gave his house and little farm to a nephew, and he started giving his time mostly to preaching the good news of salvation. He lived mostly by receiving simple food and a place to stay from those he served. He was even enabled to open a refuge to help needy people, which made him a blessing
to many.

After some years, however, some wrong teaching regarding the Bible reached the place where the dear old man was working. Some parts of the Bible were looked upon by evil teachers as though they were only made-up stories that were useful for teaching good things. Old Li was told that in the story in 1 Kings 17 where Elijah was miraculously fed during a famine, it was not ravens that fed the prophet, but Arabs who shared their food with him. They said that it was crazy to think that birds would act that way!

This wrong teaching didn’t make sense to the old man with his simple faith. The Lord was going to use Old Li himself to prove this teaching was wrong and to give an example, by his own life, to the truth of the story in the Bible.

A time came in his refuge work when he reached the end of his money. There were no patients coming in for treatment, and all his food was gone as well. At first, Li’s cousin, who was not a Christian, but a priest of the village’s idolatrous temple, helped him. The cousin brought him supplies of bread and millet. Every time Li would receive these gifts of food, he would softly say, “Tien-Fu-to-en-tien” — “my Father’s grace.”

Eventually, his cousin got offended by these words. “I supply the food,” he said, “and if I did not bring it, you would starve.”

“But it is my Father who puts it into your heart to care for me,” returned the old Christian.

“Well, we’ll see what will happen when I bring no more food.”

For two weeks the cousin did not visit Li.

Li had no food or the money to buy food with, but he did have faith in God. In his simple faith, he went into his room and prayed to his Father, God. As he knelt in prayer, he heard an unusual noise and cawing and flapping of wings outside over the patio of the house. He got up and went to see what was happening. A number of vultures and ravens, common in that part of China, were flying above him in great commotion, and, as he looked up, a large piece of pork fell at his feet.

Thankfully the old man picked up the unexpected food, saying, “My Father’s kindness!” Looking around, he saw a large piece of bread that had been dropped by another bird. So Old Li was given food by these feathered messengers of God, just as Elijah was (1 Kings 17).

Children, do you read and love the Bible? It is wonderful to know that the Bible is true, exactly as it is written, no matter what other people might think about it. “Every word of God is pure,” says Proverbs 30:5. If it weren’t true, it wouldn’t be pure. A blind person who never goes outside the house might tell you there isn’t a sun, but if you have eyes, you know there is a sun. And, if you know the Lord Jesus, you can “see” Him with the eyes of faith. Just because someone else doesn’t see Him doesn’t mean He isn’t real. If you know Jesus as your Savior, you have been given the gift of faith by God Himself (see Ephesians 2:8). Faith shows us things we can’t see with our natural eyes just as clearly as if we could see them. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The Lord Jesus said, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever [believes] on Me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). If you believe on the Lord Jesus, you have been saved from the darkness that is in this world. How wonderful it is to be able to “see” the things that will last forever, and most of all to know the Lord Jesus, the very Son of God!

Memory Verse: “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Messages of God’s Love 4/2/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 3

“God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

We have looked at how dolphins live and act in the past two issues. Now let’s see just a few of the many varieties of dolphins in the world.

Bottle-nosed dolphins are large, up to 13½ feet long and weighing as much as 1,400 pounds. Their name comes from their long, round snout that looks like it would fit in a bottle. Many of these dolphins are found in the warm waters off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, where they may swim with the large groups of people who swim and play in the water there.

Spotted dolphins are found throughout warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They have a variety of coloration with black spots on a white background, though they all start life with no spots at all. They are friendly dolphins, normally swimming in groups of 5-50 animals. They can swim fast and like to follow boats in the Atlantic, riding the waves created by the boats.

The spinners are the most acrobatic of dolphins, sometimes rotating up to seven times after a leap into the air, before dropping back onto the water with a big splash. One called the Hawaiian spinner dolphin lives mostly around Hawaii. They are nocturnal animals, doing their hunting during the night and resting near shore during the day. Tourists used to take advantage of this to swim with the dolphins near shore, but this has been banned as it was discovered that it is upsetting to them. You can imagine why it would be upsetting to have their rest interrupted every day!

The Indus River dolphins are very unusual, living in some rivers of India. They are nearly blind, their tiny eyes not seeing much more than darkness and light. They are from seven to eight feet long and have long, bony snouts lined with sharp teeth. Their snouts make up about one-fifth of their body length. They sweep these snouts from side to side along rivers in the muddy bottoms, also using their “echo systems” to direct them to their seafood meals.

The Lord has made such an interesting variety of animals, hasn’t He? And He has made each of the people in this world just as varied. Some people, like the Indus River dolphin, don’t have eyes that work like other people’s eyes work. Maybe that’s because the Lord has special things to show them that they wouldn’t see if they had “normal” eyes. Sometimes a blind person can “see” the Lord and heavenly things much better than some of us who have eyes, because they aren’t distracted by the things we see in this world. Whatever you may have or don’t have, you can ask the Lord to use you, just as you are, for His glory. That’s the only life worth living!

Messages of God’s Love 4/2/2023

Avalanche

The sky was dark and stormy-looking when John got on his snowmobile. He was heading to his home in the next town in Switzerland. Soon after he started out it began to snow, and then the snow turned into a real blizzard. The snow fell so heavily that it quickly covered the road in front of him.

It’s too late now to turn back, John thought, so he continued driving toward home. What really worried him was that the area he was traveling through was known to have avalanches, and the snow was continuing to fall fast and heavily.

He had only gone a little farther when he heard the roar — the unmistakable sound of an avalanche! Before he could turn around, he was engulfed in a swirling, rushing river of snow. It knocked him unconscious and buried him under three feet of snow and ice.

When he did not arrive home, his family organized a search party. With them on the search, the search party took a specially trained dog who could find a person buried in the snow by smell. Even with his help, for a while they could not find John as they searched the road.

Then the dog, unnoticed by the rest of the search party, turned off the path and wandered a little distance off alone. Suddenly he stopped and with his nose deep in the snow he sniffed. Then he began to dig rapidly into the snow with his paws.

Down under the snow, John, now conscious, became aware that something was digging down through the snow toward him. What could it be? Perhaps a wild, hungry animal had discovered him. He must act quickly to save himself, he thought. With difficulty he drew his pistol from its holster, and pointing it at the dark form above him, he pulled the trigger. There was a loud shot, a yelp of pain, a dull thud as the dog fell, and then all was still.

The search party heard the shot and hurried to the spot. There they found the faithful dog lying dead on the snow. John, half-frozen under the snow, heard voices and was soon pulled to safety, alive thanks to the dog he had shot.

How sad John must have felt when he saw the beautiful dog lying dead on the snow. This sad story makes me think of an even sadder story, only this story has a happy ending. It is the story of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. The Lord Jesus came to earth to look for sinners, because He loves us. “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). As He lived here and served His Father by doing many miracles, healing the sick and preaching about God, some important men grew jealous of Him and hated Him for the perfect life He lived. They hated Him so much that they decided they would kill Him. Not only did they want to kill Him, but they also had Him die a terrible death, nailed to a cross. He died and was buried, and as far as they were concerned, that was the end of His life.

What they didn’t know was that by His death, God was making the way to give eternal life to all who would believe on the Lord Jesus. They didn’t know that the Lord Jesus would rise from the dead on the third day, and in spite of how awfully man had treated His Son, God would offer salvation to all who would believe on His Son. Another thing they didn’t know was that what they did to the Lord Jesus was fulfilling God’s plan to save sinners. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And ... He was buried, and ... He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

And ... what about you? Have you heard about this Savior? Have you received the precious Lord Jesus as your Savior, or do you look at Him as an enemy? Or do you ignore Him so you can keep on living life the way you want to live it?

Memory Verse: “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Messages of God’s Love 4/9/2023

The Fall of the Rossberg

Many years ago, among the Alps in Switzerland, there was a huge mountain peak, called the “Rossberg.” At the bottom of the mountain on one side, nearly straight down from the peak, was a little village. Just below this was a blue mountain lake, so common in Switzerland. Some of the people thought part of the mountain might fall someday, so an officer was sent to inspect it. He stayed at the hotel, and every day for a week, with shovel and pick and hammer, he dug and climbed and examined. Finally, he asked for all the villagers to be called together. When they were all there, he said to them, “I am an officer sent here by the government to examine this mountain. I find that the top of it is composed of separate boulders, resting on a foundation of gravel. One of these days it will fall! And the wisest thing you can do is to move away. Goodbye!”

Of course, the people were very upset by his message, and they were afraid to stay in their beautiful mountain village.

Some moved away to another village.

But it did not fall right away, and soon people laughed at their own fears, because the mountain still stood, as it had for many years. Days, weeks, months and years went by, and still it stood. Old men and women died and were buried. New children played in the streets, and all went on as usual. The officer and his message were nearly forgotten.

But one night, 19 years after the warning, with an awful roar, the mountain fell. It buried the village and half choked up the little lake. Very few people escaped alive.

Did you know that you are living in a world which God has said is going to be destroyed? “The heavens and the earth which are now ... are ... reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and [punishment] of ungodly men. ... The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise ... the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:7,10).

God knows the exact day that this will happen. “He [has] appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom He [has] ordained” (Acts 17:31). All of a sudden, it will be here!

Thankfully, God has made a way of escape. There is only one way. The Lord Jesus died on the cross for you, and you must go to Him by faith. If you do, He will keep you safe from that judgment.

Messages of God’s Love 4/9/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Two African Lizards

“These also shall be unclean unto you ... the chameleon, and the lizard.” Leviticus 11:29-30

Even though lizards were called unclean in the Bible, God still cares for them. Let’s see how He cares for two of them.

The shovel-snouted lizard lives on the hot, sandy Namib Desert in Africa. This lizard has been given long legs to cope with its hot, sandy environment — far too hot for people to walk on barefoot.

Moving about in such intense heat as it searches for insects, the shovel-snouted lizard’s long legs carry its body high enough so it doesn’t rub its belly against the hot sand. When its feet get too hot, it uses its tail for balance and lifts two legs at a time on a diagonal across its body for a few seconds, puts them down and switches to the other two.

If it gets too hot to stay in the heat, this little lizard has an impressive way to escape. It dives into the sand and “swims” down, down, down ... to where the sand can be up to 50 degrees cooler. It can breathe just fine down there because a sand dune is made up of about one-third air. It might stay comfortably in this coolness for up to 24 hours.

Many mornings, very heavy fog blows in from the ocean. The Creator provides in this way for our lizard friend to collect water to fill up a special water bladder He provided for it.

Another unusual lizard, the leaf-tailed gecko, only makes its home on Madagascar Island and surrounding islands off the coast of Africa. It waits for its prey on the side of a tree with its head facing down. It might look like a difficult position to hang onto, but the Lord has given it toes with suction cups so it can cling to the side of the tree very easily.

One way it protects itself from enemies is that it can drop its tail. Then the enemy might go after the tail instead of the lizard, and the tail grows back in a short time. Other times, it opens its mouth wide, revealing some bright colors in its mouth, while throwing its tail up over its back. It can also scream, with a sound like a small child screaming. These things hopefully send an enemy running the other way!

As we see in our opening verse, lizards were considered unclean in the Bible. This is partly because their feet don’t provide protection from the dirt and germs of the ground. As Christians, we are called to walk in separation from the things of this world because they aren’t holy like God is, and they will end up making us “dirty” in our hearts. God has provided wonderful, clean things for us to enjoy, and He has given us a nature that appreciates and loves those things. May we walk according to that nature!

Messages of God’s Love 4/9/2023

Wanna Fight?

Ricky belonged to the Lord Jesus, but he found it very hard to stay out of fights when he was in first and second grade. Although he was big for his age, certain boys in his class were always looking for a chance to fight anybody. When Ricky was in third grade, he decided to stay away from the boys who picked fights and got into trouble. Instead, he had fun playing games with others at recess time.

One day, Ricky was playing with some friends at recess when Mike and Scott came up to him. “Hey, Ricky,” they said, “we want to beat up Mark. Will you help us?”

Ricky was surprised. These two boys used to pick fights with him, and now they wanted his help to beat up somebody else! Everyone knew they were troublemakers because they were always starting fights. But it made Ricky feel really good that they wanted his help.

Ricky had learned a Bible verse to help him at such a time. “My son, if sinners entice [you], consent ... not [don’t say yes]” (Proverbs 1:10). If Ricky had just thought of that verse, the Lord Jesus would have helped him to do what was right. But he sure liked the idea that Mike and Scott wanted his help. He didn’t stop to think that what they wanted him to do was wrong — it was sin. And he didn’t remember that the Lord Jesus had died for his sins. He told Mike and
Scott, “Okay.”

While the three boys were talking, Mark saw them looking over at him, so he started to run. Mike, Scott and Ricky took off after him. Mark ran off the playground and went around the side of the school. Then he ran out onto the front lawn and headed for the street.

Mike, Scott and Ricky followed him. Just as Mark reached the street, Mike picked up a rock. Thinking he was close enough, he threw it at Mark.

Do you know what was on that street? There were cars parked in a row. Do you know what was behind those boys? There were classrooms with big windows where people could see outside.

It was a terrible thing for Mike to want to hit Mark with a rock. But that rock did not even come close to hitting Mark. The boys watched as it hit one car and bounced off, hit another car and bounced off, and then hit a third car before it fell to the ground.

Now it was the three boys who were scared, and they ran as fast as they could back to the playground for the rest of recess.

As he returned to his classroom, Ricky secretly hoped no one would ever find out about the rock thrown at Mark. But if Ricky had been a little older, he would have understood that the Lord Jesus loved him too much to let him get away with doing wrong. Ricky had something to learn. “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23).

A half hour later, there was a knock at the classroom door. In came the principal. “I want Mike, Scott and Ricky to come with me to my office immediately.” The boys knew they were in trouble, and they were scared.

They soon found out that a teacher and all of her class had been watching them through their classroom windows. They had seen the rock thrown at Mark and how it had hit the cars. The principal also told them that the windshield of one of the cars was broken. Word was sent home to Mike’s, Scott’s and Ricky’s parents.

Ricky got in trouble at home. He felt even worse that his Dad had to share the cost of paying for a new windshield. How he wished that he would have had the courage to say “no” to Mike and Scott.

We hope the next time Ricky quickly prayed and asked the Lord Jesus to help him do the right thing. If you belong to the Lord Jesus, a good verse to remember is Psalm 18:2: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust.”

Memory Verse: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust.”
Psalm 18:2

Messages of God’s Love 4/16/2023

A "Worthless" Bird

Joel found another bird! He found it as we arrived at the house of our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lyons. Our three children called the Lyons’s children, and soon we were all gathered around the bird. It was a grackle, and it wasn’t moving.

At first we thought its wing was hurt, but soon we realized that the wing was fine. However, the bird was very sick.

You may already know that a grackle is not a pretty bird like a robin or a cardinal. They are not well-liked where we live. There are too many of them, and they are noisy pests most of the time.

As we stood around the sick bird, it seemed everyone had the same idea.

“I think we should put it out of its misery,” said one.

“The world’s better off with one less grackle,” said another.

Then, to our surprise, Mrs. Lyons came out of the house with a towel in her hand. She planned to rescue the bird! “I have a friend who works for the Bird Rescue Center,” she explained. “They rescue birds of all kinds. Please call my friend while I wrap the bird in this towel.”

She gently wrapped the bird in the towel, and Mr. Lyons went to the phone while the rest of us looked on in amazement. She was going to save a grackle ... a worthless bird?

But even kind Mrs. Lyons must have had a little doubt because she called after her husband, “Ask them if it makes any difference if it’s a grackle.” We thought it most certainly would make a difference. Surely not even the Bird Rescue Center would want to save a grackle!

We were wrong. They said to bring the grackle over! So as we shook our heads in disbelief, our friends went to take the sick grackle to the Bird
Rescue Center.

Have you ever felt like you were worthless? Many children and even older people feel that way. Not one of us is worthless, however. We know how much something is worth by how much someone is willing to pay for it. What might seem worthless to one person might be worth millions of dollars to another person. Do you know how much you are worth to God? You are worth so much that He paid the highest possible price to buy you back from Satan, who had stolen you away from God and was taking you to hell because of your sins. The price God paid was to give His own precious Son to die for you. This wonderful truth is found in a verse you probably know very well: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever [believes] in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Have you come to the God who loves you so much?

Messages of God’s Love 4/16/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Adorable Kit Fox

“Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes.” Song of Solomon 2:15

The pretty kit fox, or desert fox, is the smallest fox in North America. An adult is only about 20 inches long, and the little ones are so tiny and adorable that if you got a peek at one, you would want to pick it up and hold it. The adults weigh from 3.5 to 6 pounds. They have big ears for their small size, as well as a long tail that adds 10 to 12 inches to their length.

One of the subspecies, the San Joaquin kit fox, is endangered. Part of the problem is that the wolf has been wiped out of California, so the next largest predator, the coyote, has gotten much more common. The coyote is small enough to enter the kit fox’s tunnels leading to dens where the parents and babies should be safe from such dangers. Another problem for the kit fox is the loss of their normal habitat, as businesses and homes take over the land. A big tract of land has been set aside to help protect the kit fox in this area of California.

Since the kit fox lives in hot areas, the Creator has given it several important ways to cool off. One of these is its large ears, which help to let heat escape from its body. Another way it keeps cool is that it normally stays in its den during the hot part of the day. It is normally only active at night and sometimes during the twilight hours. Sometimes, though, you might see them during the day, as they come out to enjoy the sun’s warmth or to let the kits play when they are small.

Another provision the Lord has made for kit foxes is that they don’t seem to need to drink water. Since they live in dry areas, isn’t that kind of the Lord? He has also given them very hairy feet, which helps them have traction on the sandy soil they walk on.

Kit foxes are cute, but our opening verse reminds us that foxes can cause damage to valuable plants. Foxes might be too small to reach the grapes, so they chew away at the vine until it falls so they can reach the grapes. This is a picture of what sin does in our lives. Sin can take away our joy if we allow it in our lives. Sins like jealousy, hatred, covetousness, lust and bitterness all eat away at us until our joy is gone. We are warned to take care of those sins. We do that by confessing them to the Lord and then asking Him to keep us so they don’t grow in our lives again.

Messages of God’s Love 4/16/2023

Escape From An Orca

The Raven Princess, a large chartered fishing boat, was rolling with the waves. Twenty people were standing along the rails fishing. They lowered and lifted their fishing rods to give a lifelike action to the lure on the end of their lines. From overhead the cries of sea gulls were heard. A half mile to the east they could see the large waves breaking on the rocky shore of Vancouver Island.

Every few minutes somebody would call out, “Fish on!” Then after a short battle between fisherman and fish, one of the crew members would use a long-handled net to scoop the shining salmon on board, its scales glittering in the sunlight.

“Hey, what’s that black thing moving in the water?” Jason asked his dad, pointing to it.

“It looks like the fin of an orca whale, Jason.”

“An orca whale!” a neighboring fisherman exclaimed. “Hey, everybody, come over here and see the orca!”

In just a few moments all the passengers on the Raven Princess had reeled in their lines and stood on one side of the boat, watching.

The orca was rapidly swimming toward the Raven Princess. Its black dorsal fin protruded about six feet out of the water. The orca arched out of the water as if it were trying to spot something, and its white spots could be seen.

“Look, it’s chasing a seal!” someone pointed out. All eyes strained to see the much smaller animal darting through the water. The orca was chasing its dinner, and the seal was fleeing for its life. The chase was bringing them close to the boat.

“Dad,” Justin asked, “how will that seal escape?”

“I have a hunch that the seal is swimming to our boat for protection. Maybe it knows that the orca will not want to get too close to it.”

“I hope the seal makes it,” Jason replied.

Jason’s father was right. The seal, swimming just out of reach of the orca, came up to the side of the boat and circled it nervously. From its panting for breath, the passengers could tell it was tired from its race with the orca. The orca stopped its chase about 30 feet away from the boat, apparently not wanting to come any closer. It seemed to be waiting for its prey. Occasionally it blew spray through its blowhole.

The people on deck could see the seal’s whiskers and dark eyes as it swam around the boat. One of the crew members pointed out that the seal was little more than a pup and hadn’t grown to full size yet.

“Isn’t there anything we can do to help the seal get away?” Jason asked the skipper of the boat.

“Well, we’re out here to fish, not to save seals from orcas. They have to eat too.”

Several people at once disagreed with the skipper and wanted to do what they could to save the seal.

“Okay, since most of you feel so strongly, we will do what we can,” the skipper said. Then he picked up his microphone and announced, “I’d like everyone to move to the front of the boat. We are going to catch the seal in a net and swing it onto the deck of the boat. Then we’ll drive it back to shore.”

Most of the people clapped when they heard this message.

In a few moments one of the crew members lowered a fishing net into the water. Then, as if the seal understood that this was its way to escape from the orca, it swam into the net. It took two crew members to lift the seal onto the deck. The seal was tired and didn’t try to move much once it was on board.

The skipper turned the Raven Princess toward shore. The orca followed the boat all the way to the harbor before turning around and heading back to sea. The crew safely released the seal in the harbor. And the people on board the Raven Princess had quite the story to tell their friends about the seal that was snatched from the jaws of death!

This little seal is a picture of every child who knows they have sinned and who goes to the Lord Jesus to save them. Unlike the skipper of the boat who wasn’t willing to save the seal at first, the Lord Jesus loves you very much and wants to save you! He said, “Him that [comes] to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). That means that He will never turn away anyone who comes to Him for salvation. Once the seal was in the boat, he was safe from his enemy, the orca, until he was released. But once we believe on the Lord Jesus, we are safe forever. He said, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:28). The Lord Jesus is a Savior who is “mighty to save” (Isaiah 63:1). He is stronger than all of our enemies, and He has done everything needed to save us and take us safely home to His Father. Have you come to Him to be saved?

Memory Verse: “All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.”
John 6:37

Messages of God’s Love 4/23/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Rockhoppers Are Tough!, Part 1

“Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.” Ephesians 4:1-2

There are many varieties of penguins, from the largest emperor species, which is about four feet tall, to the smallest species, only about one foot tall. Rockhoppers are about two feet tall. They don’t live on big ice fields; they live on bare rocky cliffs in different areas of oceans far to the south. There are four subspecies of Rockhoppers, the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western.

These penguins are white on their bellies, but otherwise they are mostly black. They also have yellow and black feathers, called a crest, that stand out on their otherwise smoothly-feathered heads. Their beaks and feet are a contrasting orangish color.

These penguins avoid sheltered bays and beaches for nest sites and prefer bare shores exposed to the winds or bare areas atop rocky cliffs where the winds are even stronger. Nests are only shallow scrapings in the ground. A colony sometimes makes an awful racket with their sharp shrieks. They are known for being rather cranky birds! As a matter of fact, they are endangered, but their aggressive personalities make it hard for scientists to study or help them.

Rockhoppers have the same mate for life, though they spend over half the year in different locations, just being together long enough to raise their chick. The males return to the nesting site first to claim territories for their nests, and the females arrive a bit later. Since penguins don’t fly, getting to shore on the rocky, inhospitable shores where they live is a big challenge. Here is where their aggressive personalities come in handy. They get on shore, just to be washed off again by a wave ... over and over. But eventually they gain their purpose and are able to set up their nests.

Up to two eggs are laid in the simple nest, but only one is usually raised. Both parents take turns incubating it until the little chick breaks out of its shell as a blackish and nearly blind baby. Both parents care for it until it is ready to live on its own, about four months after it hatches.

When we think about the personality of the rockhopper, we might think of all of us who are Christians. We usually have a personality strength that has a weakness that goes along with it. It is good to learn to be patient with one another as our lead verse teaches, realizing the Lord made each of us to be suited to the life He has ordained for us to live, and He also keeps working with us to make us become more like Him.

(to be continued)

Messages of God’s Love 4/23/2023

Stay in the Backyard

Daddy called Danny and David over to him. “Boys,” he said, “I’m going to visit Mommy and your new baby sister at the hospital. You be good boys and obey Aunt Helen. Stay in the backyard, and be sure you don’t go into the barnyard.”

For a while Danny and David rode their tricycles around and around the backyard like Daddy said to do. But each time they made the circle on the bumpy grass, they thought of the smooth, hard-packed gravel in the barnyard. Finally, the boys decided that the barnyard was the only good place to ride.

Do you know the story of when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden? They picked and ate that fruit anyway. Wasn’t that sad? And now, ever since that first sin, each of us has a sinful nature that loves to do things that we know we should not do.

Danny and David worked at the gate latch until they got it open and then they rode their tricycles into the barnyard. But riding tricycles makes little boys thirsty, and they knew just where to get a drink in the barn. Soon they were in the room where the milking equipment was cleaned, and they climbed up on the sink to turn the faucet on.

When they both had gotten a good drink, Danny tried to turn off the water. His curly-haired head bobbed up and down as he worked at the faucet, but the harder he worked the faster the water gushed out. David couldn’t turn it off either. Both of the boys began to feel guilty about coming into the barnyard and turning on the water. They knew they were disobeying. They decided to shut the barn door so their daddy couldn’t see them when he came home.

That’s what Adam and Eve did too. When they sinned, they made themselves fig leaf aprons to cover their nakedness and then they hid among the trees of the garden. How foolish we are when we think we can hide from God who sees everything, all the time. David said in Psalm 139:11-12, “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness [hides] not from Thee. ... The darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.”

Back in the closed barn the water soon filled up the sink and began to splash over the edge. Soon the water was an inch deep all over the barn floor, then two inches, then three. The frightened boys ran back over to the barn door to open it again. Although the door had been easy for them to close, the handle was too high for them to reach, and they couldn’t open it. They began to pound on the door and cry out for help.

Meanwhile, Aunt Helen decided it was far too quiet in the backyard, so she left her ironing and came out to see what Danny and David were doing. Soon she was close enough to the barn to hear the boys pounding and crying.

Poor little boys! By now they were really scared. They needed someone to rescue them, but they were afraid to be found because they had disobeyed their daddy. Do you ever feel like that? You know you need God to forgive your sins, but you are afraid of Him because you know that you’ve sinned. God is holy and He cannot overlook one sin, but He loves you and me so much that He gave His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for us. Danny and David knew that they had disobeyed their father and deserved to be punished. We have disobeyed God and deserve to be punished too. But if we come to God and tell Him we are sorry for our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus who died for us, God will forgive every sin we’ve ever done because He punished the Lord Jesus for them. Isn’t that wonderful?

Aunt Helen opened the barn door. Out ran the boys and the water. She ran in and turned off the faucet. Just then the boys’ daddy drove into the driveway. He was sad that his boys had been disobedient, and they had to be punished for their sin. But when the punishment was over, the boys were completely forgiven. You can be completely forgiven for your sins right now, if you will believe that “Christ died for [your] sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). God says, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, [your] transgressions, and, as a cloud, [your] sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed [you]” (Isaiah 44:22).

Have you come to the Lord Jesus to have your sins forgiven?

Memory Lane: “The darkness and the light are both alike
to Thee.” Psalm 139:12

Messages of God’s Love 4/30/2023

Daddy's Shortcut

It was summer and relatives were visiting our family. With four teenage boys in their family and six children in our family, we had a lot of fun.

The weather was hot even for June, so we were making good use of our above-ground swimming pool. One day, almost everyone was in a swimming suit except our parents. One of the cousins, Kurt, was standing on the deck deciding if he should jump in or go in slowly when Daddy came up on the deck behind him and gave him a little push. In went Kurt with a yell and a splash!

Now, Kurt wanted to get back at Daddy. He turned and quickly swam back to the deck and climbed out. Not wanting to get pushed in since he was fully dressed, Daddy leaped over the gate to reach the steps leading down from the deck, rather than taking the few extra seconds to open the gate. But as Daddy landed on the wet steps, his foot slipped and down he fell, shoulder first, into the fence surrounding the pool.

Daddy was hurt! The big boys helped him into the house. He had knocked his shoulder out of joint and lay on the floor in terrible pain. It was hard for us children to see him groaning in pain.

Soon Daddy was on his way to the doctor who put his shoulder back into place. The doctor also put Daddy’s arm into a sling, which he had to use for several days. This resulted in the family vacation, which had been planned for the following week, having to be canceled. It was a disappointment not only for Daddy, but for the whole family.

Boys and girls, are you hoping for a “shortcut” to heaven? There aren’t any. There is only one way to heaven — God’s way. The Lord Jesus said, “I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). Daddy thought his shortcut was the fastest way to escape from Kurt, but it only ended in pain and disappointment. “There is a way which [seems] right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12).

Messages of God’s Love 4/30/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Rockhoppers Are Tough!, Part 2

“God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

How did these birds get the funny name of rockhopper? Let’s imagine we’re following one of these penguins around, and we’ll soon learn the answer.

Leaving the female on the nest, caring for the little chick, the male hops along the edge of their high cliff to where there is a way down to the seashore below. It is rough and full of huge rocks, but these don’t bother him. He just hops over them and soon is at the bottom where big waves are crashing in.

He immediately dives into a wave and is soon swimming in smooth water. Diving fairly deep, he spots a small fish that also spots him and tries to swim away. But a rockhopper can swim faster, and soon the fish’s tail is in his mouth, and then ... goodbye fish!

He may do this a few more times until his stomach is full. But then he needs one more to take to their little chick. So the next catch, instead of going all the way to his stomach, is stored in his crop.

When he decides to head back to shore, he may find there are immense waves which are pounding against the rocks he needs to reach. Reaching a rock, but before he is able to get a foothold, he may find himself washed back out by the waves time after time, until somehow he finally gets past the pounding surf.

Now he has a tough climb ahead of him. Is a big rock in the way? Just hop to the top, and hop down the other side. This is done many times until he reaches the top of the cliff and can scamper home, hopping over gullies and other things along the way. So you see it was only natural for these interesting penguins to be given the name “rockhopper.”

When the male gets back to the chick, he will bring up the partially digested fish from his crop into his open beak where the hungry chick can reach it.

The rockhopper doesn’t have easy circumstances to live in, we might think. But God, who made them, made them so they are able to live there. Our opening verse tells us that God doesn’t let any of us have troubles that are too much for us. He makes the way for us to handle the trials He lets us have, by depending on Him. We never need to fear trouble, because He promises that we will be able to bear whatever He allows in our lives, just as He has made it possible for the rockhopper to bear the life He has ordained for it to have.

Messages of God’s Love 4/30/2023

The Pawned Bible

When William Mackay left home for college at the age of 17, his mother gave him a Bible. On the inside cover she wrote his name, her name and a Bible verse.

William graduated as a doctor with excellent grades. Eventually he became head of a large hospital. But William didn’t love the God of his mother. He even became the president of a club for atheists, which are people who do not believe in God. He did not mind letting anyone he talked with hear him criticize God and the Bible.

One day a badly injured man was carried into the hospital. As Dr. Mackay looked him over, he was amazed to see total peace and joy on the man’s face.

“Just what is my condition?” asked the man.

“Oh, I guess we’ll pull you through,” replied the doctor.

“Doctor, I don’t want any guess work. I want to know if it is life or death: I am ready. I am not afraid to die because I have put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. He paid the penalty for my sins and I know I will be with Jesus if I die.”

“You have at the most three hours to live,” replied Dr. Mackay. “Is there anything you would like for us to do?”

“Thank you,” said the man. “In my pocket is my paycheck. Would you send it to my landlady and ask her to send me the book?”

“What book?” inquired the doctor.

“Oh, just ask her for the book. She will know.”

The doctor decided to do as the man asked. Then he had to move on to other patients, but he couldn’t forget the words of the man who wasn’t afraid to die.

Usually Dr. Mackay did not take a personal interest in his patients, but this time he returned to the unit where the man was taken and asked the nurse how he was. “He died a few minutes ago,” she informed him.

“Did he get the book in time?” he asked.

“Yes, just before he died.”

“What was it? His bank book?” questioned the doctor.

“No,” she replied. “It is still there under his pillow; go take a look.”

Dr. Mackay went to the bedside, reached under the man’s pillow and pulled out a Bible. As he did so, the Bible opened to the inside cover, and there in his mother’s handwriting was his name, her name and the Bible verse! It was the very same Bible his mother had given him when he left home for college. Years before at college, he had gotten drunk and had pawned his Bible so he could buy more liquor.

Dr. Mackay was amazed! He was overwhelmed by memories. Hurrying to his office, he fell on his knees and asked God for mercy and forgiveness for his sinful life.

He knew that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) and that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that [whoever believes] in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God had His eye on Dr. Mackay, and He answered his mother’s prayers. Dr. Mackay the atheist became Dr. Mackay, a preacher of the gospel. What a wonderful change!

Do you know that God loves you even though you have sinned, and He wants His Son to be your Savior too? “God [commends] His love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Memory Verse: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16

Messages of God’s Love 5/7/2023

The Little Prodigal

There is a story in the Bible about a man who had two sons. One of the sons left home, did many bad things, and then came back home when everything went wrong for him. The father welcomed his returning son joyfully. It is known as the story of “The Prodigal Son,” and you can read it in Luke 15:11-32. But now I am going to tell you about another father with two sons. This father’s two sons were little boys. Timmy was five years old and Stevie was three years old.

One day Timmy told his father that he was going to run away. His reason for leaving was that he was having trouble with Stevie, his little brother. Timmy and his father found a suitcase, and his father helped him pack his belongings, putting in some books because he might want to look at them. He left his room, and his father said he would walk up the street a little way with him.

But the suitcase was heavy, and Timmy asked his father to carry it for him. His father said, “No,” because he would be going back home, and Timmy should get all the practice he could now of carrying it alone.

As they were passing a fast-food restaurant, his father bought Timmy a hamburger. Since he couldn’t eat it all, his father said to put the rest of the hamburger in the suitcase, as that would be all the food he had with him.

Back on the road again, instead of continuing on his journey, Timmy started back towards home with his father, still hauling the heavy suitcase. They turned in at the house, and his father went inside, but Timmy went around to the back.

Do you think his father forgot all about Timmy now? No. He loved him too much to do that. His father was teaching Timmy a lesson. Both his father and his mother were watching him through the window. They saw him open the suitcase and take out the books and look at them. They saw him get up and walk around the yard. Soon he came into the house and said he had decided to give his little brother another chance. So the suitcase was unpacked, and Timmy was home to stay!

The fathers in these two stories give us a picture of God, our Father, and His love for us. Sometimes we do as we please and do wrong things, which are called sin in the Bible. But He is always waiting for us to return to Him and receive His forgiveness and enjoy His love again.

Somehow as Timmy had only started his journey to run away, he changed his mind and decided to go home. His father was so happy he did! And when we are sorry for our sins and want to return to God, He, too, is always ready to forgive us and so happy to have us back in fellowship with Him.

God tells us in Isaiah 44:22, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, [your] transgressions [rebellions], and, as a cloud, [your] sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed [you].” He never holds a grudge against us for our sins, and He is always ready to forgive us.

Messages of God’s Love 5/7/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 1

“I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully [amazingly] and wonderfully made: marvelous are Thy works.” Psalm 139:14

Nothing in the entire world compares with the human body. Birds, animals and other kinds of life have been made in a remarkable way, but nothing compares to what God created in humans. He created Adam and Eve last in His creation and gave them the highest place in creation. He wisely arranged for the other things He created to be ready for them first.

We read that “God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7). This is an example of the Creator’s wisdom, for He designed our bodies to need nourishing food. Since the first man was formed from the earth itself, the plant life growing in the soil would supply the exact nutrients our bodies would need. When God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” He gave humans a soul that would last forever, even after life on earth ended. He did not do this with any other creature.

The human body, from the soles of the feet to the hair on the head, is so extremely complex that it could only have been designed by a supremely wise and divine Creator. Scientists keep learning new things about the body’s wonders, but, apart from a Creator, man cannot explain how these things came about. For instance, many experts admit they cannot understand how our eyes work, and no wonder, when you think about all our eyes do.

It’s easy to say “the eyes see things,” but it’s not so easy to say, “I know how they do it.” Our eyes are always “taking pictures,” deciding what objects are by color, shape and size. In doing this they automatically focus immediately, whether the object is close or far away. These pictures don’t stay in our eyes, but travel to our brain, which immediately tells other parts of our body how to react. If our eye has seen something dangerous, our brain may tell our hands to shove it out of the way or instruct our legs to run far away from it.

In addition, our brain stores these pictures in our memory. When needed, our memory will bring the pictures back to us, even many years after they were first seen. They’ve been “on file” all the time, although we have not been aware of it.

Do you know the verse that says, “Thou God seest me” (Genesis 16:13)? The One who made our eyes also has eyes, only His eyes see everyone at all times, and He even knows our thoughts. Just as we remember everything we have seen, so does He, and one day we will stand before Him either as our Judge or as our Savior to answer for what we have done in our bodies.

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

God gave humans a soul that will last forever, even after life on earth ends.

Messages of God’s Love 5/7/2023

Okay, Monkey, I'll Find You!

A jet plane zoomed in for a landing at busy New York’s Kennedy Airport. It was planning to stop only long enough for refueling before taking off again. This was not to be, however.

In the big cargo hold of the plane, among the countless boxes and crates were a dozen animal cages with five macaque monkeys in each cage, which makes 60 monkeys in all.

When the plane came to a standstill, one particular little monkey must have gotten very busy. I can imagine what happened! He grabbed onto the bars of his cage with his slender fingers and started shaking the bars with all the might his 15-pound body could muster. He shook those bars to the right, and then he shook them to the left. He pulled them up, and then he pushed them down. He shook them till his hands got tired, and then he shook them with his feet. He struggled with those bars, making them rattle and clatter ... and finally the gate opened. The monkey quickly squeezed through. After he got out, the gate sprang closed again, so the other four monkeys in his cage were still stuck inside.

When the other monkeys saw their friend free, they started screeching and screaming, clapping their hands, and spinning around in circles. In their screeching they seemed to be calling to their escaped friend, “Escape out of this place! Run, and don’t let anyone catch you ever again! You can do it!”

Encouraged by all the clamor, the monkey scurried out of the cargo hold and got into the cabin of the plane. Rushing down the aisle and screaming as he went, he took the men working there by surprise. They were so shocked they ran off the plane. Then the pilot and copilot heard the commotion. They came to see what the problem was. They too were startled by the monkey and locked themselves in the cockpit. The tiny monkey must have felt like a mighty conqueror for a while with all the humans running away from him.

An animal expert working at the airport was called to the airplane. John was a big man with a beard and a rosy, smiling face. When he heard all the ruckus one tiny monkey had caused, he chuckled.

The first thing John did was to take the pilot and copilot off the plane. Then he turned his attention to catching the escaped prisoner. The only problem was that the little escapee didn’t want to be caught.

What John thought would be an easy catch turned into an energetic game of hide-and-seek. The monkey would stick his head out of one spot as if to say to John, “Here I am; you can’t catch me!” Then before John could catch him, he would find another hiding place. This game went on for an hour and a half.

Then something caught the monkey’s attention, and his curiosity got the better of him. He spotted all the colorful dials and interesting levers and buttons in the cockpit. He stopped to play with them.

John saw his chance and caught him as the monkey sat on the instrument panel right between the pilot’s and copilot’s seats, fingering the levers and buttons as though he knew how to fly the airplane.

Later that day, John posed for a picture with the monkey in his lap and told reporters, “He’s one sharp little cookie ... but, no, I don’t think he was trying to fly the plane back home.”

You know, that monkey might have been “a sharp little cookie,” but there are limits to what monkeys can do. It would have been impossible for him to start the giant engines of the 747 and fly it home to the Philippine Islands. And there are some things which are impossible for people to do, whether children or grown-ups.

Since there can be no sin in heaven, it is impossible for you to go to heaven just as you are, for Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” And it is impossible to do good works to try to cancel out your sins. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “By grace are [you] saved through faith ... not of works, lest any man should boast.” The only possible way to heaven is through faith in what the Lord Jesus has done to save you. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). Will you trust the Lord Jesus?

Memory Verse: “By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Messages of God’s Love 5/14/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 2

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart [mind], be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

In the previous article we reviewed briefly the story of man’s creation and the wonders of our amazing eyes. Today we will look at our brains.

The Brain

The brain, one of the most important parts of the body, fits snugly into a strong, protective skull. This skull has some spaces in a newborn baby so that the brain and the skull can both grow as the baby grows. By about 18 months, these spots have closed and the skull is a strong and complete shield for the brain.

There are three main parts to the brain. The largest of these is the cerebrum, which is made up of two halves. The cerebellum is at the back and under the cerebrum, and the brain stem is beneath the cerebrum in front of the cerebellum and connects the brain to the spinal column.

The cerebrum takes messages from all over the body and sends instructions back to our body by the brain stem, telling each part of the body what they are to do at any given moment. It is also the part of our brain that we think with.

The cerebellum’s main job is to keep in touch with all the muscles, telling them when they are to be in action or when to relax and be still. For instance, if you are standing at home plate on a baseball diamond, you don’t think about what is going on inside your brain. But you can’t lift the bat over your shoulder until the cerebellum tells your arm and hand muscles exactly what to do, nor can you swing at a ball unless muscles all over your body have received instructions from your brain. Finally, running off to first base, your entire body is obeying those brain-given instructions without your having to consciously think about it.

The brain stem is important too. One of its chief duties is to see that automatic functions of our bodies continue. This would include breathing, the beating of our hearts, blinking our eyes, digesting food and others.

The duties of every part of the brain are beyond our ability to understand and are more wonderful than all the world’s newest computers put together. And this represents just one area of the Creator’s wonderful provisions for us.

As we think about the amazing brain the Lord gave us, it is also important to think about what we put into it and use it for. David’s prayer in the opening verse is a good one for us to pray each day.

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

The cerebrum is the part of the brain with which we think.

Messages of God’s Love 5/14/2023

Grrrr … Wolf!

GRRRR ... WOOF! This unfriendly warning from the pit bull that lives across the street suddenly interrupted my summer afternoon visit to the mailbox. He was trotting toward me steadily. My first thought was to run. But I knew that before I could reach my door and be safe, this dog would easily catch up to me.

Maybe some of you boys and girls have not heard of pit bulls. These dogs can be very unfriendly and dangerous — a real enemy, not only to children, but to grown-ups too. However, if they are very well trained by their owners, they can be good family pets. But the pit bull that lives across the street is very unfriendly, and I was not looking forward to meeting up with him.

Since I couldn’t make it to my front door in time, I quickly thought about what else I might do. I could use my feet to kick the dog. However, the neighbor had warned me before that kicking this dog was a bad idea. The last man who kicked him had to be rescued from its jaws by the dog’s owner. So what else could I do? I know that some dogs can be scared off by loud noises, so I tried yelling at the top of my lungs.

GRRRR ... WOOF! The dog’s growling and barking didn’t sound like he was one bit scared by my yelling, and he continued his steady trot in my direction. I was running out of ideas. The envelopes in my hand couldn’t be used for protection. I looked around for a stick or something to hit the dog with. All I saw was pea-sized gravel, so I stooped down and picked up a handful of gravel and hurled it with all my might at the mean beast that was coming closer each second.

GRRRR ... WOOF! He seemed to have taken no notice of the gravel bouncing off his body. Now what? I had tried everything I could think of, and there was nothing that could protect me from this oncoming, unfriendly, threatening animal!

At that moment, I heard behind me the fierce barking of another dog approaching at a run. My heart filled with relief as I realized it was my own dog, and he was coming to my rescue! The pit bull turned and ran back into his own yard, as I quickly ran to mine, praising and thanking my dog, Captain, for his heroic rescue.

You and I have an enemy even more dangerous than my neighbor’s pit bull, who wants to destroy us. The Bible describes him: “Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Don’t think for a minute that you are strong enough to save yourself from Satan any more than my yelling or throwing gravel was able to protect me from the jaws of that pit bull. There was no way I could defend myself without help.

Those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior have a powerful Protector, and His power and wisdom are always ready to come in for us to drive away Satan when we call upon Him. Only Jesus can overcome Satan, for Jesus defeated Satan when He rose from the dead. Is Jesus your Protector and Savior? He tells us to “call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver [you], and [you shall] glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

“The Son of Man [Jesus] is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:56).

Memory Verse: “The Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” Luke 9:56

Messages of God’s Love 5/21/2023

Expecting Gramma

DearChildren

Let me tell you what happened to Chelsea and me one Sunday recently. Gramma had to go to Sunday school and our worship time by herself because I was still very sore from an operation I had had a few days before. Gramma and I never miss going together on Sundays unless one of us is sick. We hope that you never miss going to Sunday school or saying your memory verse. You may ask, “What is your favorite verse, Grampa?” Here it is ... maybe you have memorized it: “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son [cleanses] us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Gramma and I usually leave the house on Sunday mornings about 8:30 a.m., but this Sunday she went alone. While she was gone, I lay down on the bed, and Chelsea, our dog, lay down beside me on the floor. I could reach her head, so I rubbed her ears and tickled her under her chin. She loves it.

I fell asleep, and the next thing I knew Chelsea was moving around and whining a little bit. Then she came back and lay down on the floor beside me again. I checked the clock and it was 12:15 p.m. Soon she was up again and whining a little. Then she looked out the door window and looked back at me. So I said to her, “Chelsea, do you want to go outside?” But she came back and lay down again. The clock said 12:25 p.m. Suddenly it came to me why she was acting like this.

Chelsea knew that Gramma would be home any minute. So I said to her, “Chelsea, do you want outside to go meet Gramma?” Her reaction was instant! She jumped up on all four paws, started to pant and puff, ran to the door and back twice, as if to say, “Hurry up! It’s about time you get up off the bed and let me out ... I don’t want to miss her driving in!”

Chelsea was right! We hardly got out the door and down the steps when Gramma turned into the driveway! What a welcome for Gramma! Chelsea did everything but knock her down and lick her face!

Right then I thought about when the Lord Jesus returns to take all the men, women, boys and girls who have trusted Him as their Savior up into heaven. What a wonderful moment that will be! And it could be today! Chelsea knew Gramma would be coming any minute, and we know that Jesus will be coming any minute. He tells us in the Bible, “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). What a happy reunion that will be — happier than Chelsea welcoming Gramma home! But, boys and girls, are you ready? Are your sins washed away? Look back at my favorite verse again and read what it says. Come to Jesus right now to have your sins washed away so you will be ready.

“Be ... ready: for in such an hour as [you] think not the Son of Man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).

Love, Grampa and Gramma

Messages of God’s Love 5/21/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 3

“The life of the flesh is in the blood. ... It is the blood that [makes] an atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11

The Heart and Blood

Considering all the work it does, the twelve-ounce heart doesn’t take up much room in the center of our chests. It is the hardest working part of our bodies, and life would not be possible without it. For instance, it pumps 770,000 to 1,600,000 gallons of blood through our body every year.

Your heart beats approximately 70 times each minute — about 100,000 times a day. It is truly a perpetual-motion wonder, working moment by moment and day by day without your having to think about it.

The blood flowing through many miles of arteries, veins and capillaries is made up of about 20-30 trillion red blood cells in an adult, with about 26 billion white blood cells besides. The duty of the red blood cells is to carry oxygen to every part of the body and at the same time pick up carbon dioxide, a waste product that would prove deadly if left there too long. The white blood cells help defend the body against disease and infection.

Where do the red cells pick up the fresh oxygen they distribute throughout the body, and what do they do with the waste carbon dioxide they pick up? This is where your lungs enter the picture. After your blood has made its rounds, it returns to your heart to begin another trip. It goes from the right side of your heart to your lungs, to pick up oxygen, then back to the left side of your heart to go out to the rest of your body. When the air you breathe in reaches your lungs, the oxygen in the air goes to your blood, that needs it badly but has become loaded with carbon dioxide. The lungs also remove this carbon dioxide, which goes out into the air each time you breathe out. It eventually reaches trees and vegetation, which need carbon dioxide to live.

Isn’t this a wonderful arrangement? It is something that only the all-wise Creator could plan for the maintenance of life, both for humans as well as animals, birds and the plants around us.

Perhaps at some later time we will review the digestive process to see how the food and liquids we take in are used in the body, passing from mouth to stomach for first treatment, then on to other body parts in the digestive system — blood playing a very important part in this too.

I hope that you can understand our opening verse better by knowing how much we need our blood for our lives to continue. And even more importantly, as the last part of that verse says, the Lord Jesus gave His blood for us on the cross to remove our sins from God’s sight forever.

Did You Know?

Your heart beats approximately 100,000 times a day.

Messages of God’s Love 5/21/2023

Hero in Feathers

When the doorbell rang, no one expected what Mother found as she opened the door. In a basket on the front step was a yellow ball of fluff. It was a little baby duck — a gift from an unknown friend.

Neither Mother nor Father was very happy about this gift. They both knew that baby chicks and ducks are often mistreated when given to small children. But to Susie, their three-year-old daughter, this present was just for her. From the moment the little duck came into the house, all of Susie’s toys were forgotten for this tiny duck.

Much to the surprise of her parents, Susie was very gentle with the soft body of the duckling. And it didn’t take long for the duck to show that Susie “belonged” to him, too. Wherever she walked, he waddled along right behind her. When she would run, in his hurry to catch up he would fall over himself with loud quacking that demanded, “Wait for me!”

Susie spent hours that first day cuddling him, talking to him and showing him her toys. And sometime during that first day the baby duck got a name — Waddles!

Mother and Father did not really want to keep Waddles. From the beginning Father insisted it should go to a pet store or a farm. They decided to keep it for only one day.

It was raining the next morning. This made it easy to wait to take Waddles out to Grandmother’s farm. Every day after that, for a week, a reason came up for waiting to get rid of Waddles. Finally, it was decided that he could stay.

Now Susie had a playmate. There were no children her age nearby, so Susie and Waddles played together in the high-fenced backyard. It was amazing how a little duck could take over what at times had been a hard job for her parents — keeping track of Susie.

The two friends chased butterflies, built castles in the sandbox, played hide-and-go-seek among the shrubs and lawn furniture, or just sat in the sun “talking” to each other.

Waddles was about two years old when Susie’s baby sister, Carol, was born. Carol was brought home from the hospital and placed in her crib. Susie and Waddles were watching the new arrival when Waddles gave them all a big surprise. Except for different ways of quacking, he had never made any sounds. Now, he suddenly beat his big wings against his sides, let out a trumpeting honk, and sat down beside Carol’s bed! With that one honk, Waddles was telling the world that he was now going to take on the job of protecting the new baby. From that moment Waddle’s attention switched from Susie to Carol.

This loss of her friend was very hard for Susie. But starting kindergarten and having a new family move into the neighborhood with a little girl her age helped her.

Waddles began guarding Carol whenever she was put in the backyard. Then no one, except the family, could go in the yard without being attacked by Waddles. This included the local dogs and cats and even the mailman.

One Saturday afternoon all the neighborhood children were in the yard for games and a picnic lunch. After they left, Susie went inside to take a nap, and Carol was placed in her buggy in the backyard to take her nap. Mother went into the house, and Waddles took his usual place underneath the buggy.

Five minutes later the phone rang. A friend who lived nearby said, “I just saw a dog turn into your driveway, and it looks like a mad dog to me!” Rabies had broken out among some of the dogs in the town. Whenever a stray dog was seen in the neighborhood, everyone was sure it had rabies.

Thanking her friend, Mother hung up the phone and then thought, The back gate! She hadn’t checked it to make sure it was closed after the children left. Frightened, she hurried for the yard. But before she reached the back door, she heard, for the second time in her life, that wild, loud honk from Waddles!

Bursting through the door, Mother saw something she would never forget. Not three yards from the baby buggy was an ugly, shaggy dog with a swollen head, red, wild eyes and foaming mouth. Flying at him was Waddles, wings outspread, neck stretched out, and beak snapping and cracking like a gun! Grabbing Carol, Mother ran back into the house and called the police.

Mother couldn’t see the fight going on in the yard, but she could hear it. The blood-chilling growls and the thrashing sounds told her that the shaggy dog and Waddles were having a serious fight.

Mother knew there wasn’t anything she could do. She hoped that Waddles would realize his danger and fly up on something out of reach before it was too late. But all the time, she knew he wouldn’t. Waddles simply would not stop fighting until his enemy was driven out of the yard. This time, however, the enemy didn’t have enough sense to run, no matter how much he was beaten.

The squawks and barks gradually got quieter. Then, it was completely quiet. The police arrived, and there was a pistol shot. One of the officers came to the back door and said, “I want you to see a sight you will never see again.”

The backyard was in shambles! But in the open gateway, with a wing tip touching the fence on either side, lay Waddles. Just beyond him in the driveway lay the dog’s body.

“The dog was almost dead when I got here,” said the officer. “I don’t think the bullet was really necessary. Your duck had really torn him apart!” Then looking down at the body of Waddles he added, “He protected his own, didn’t he?”

Yes, Waddles had given up his life to protect the one he loved.

Doesn’t this story show us a little of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for each of us? He gave up His life that we might be saved and have everlasting life. The Bible says that “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Each of us is “without strength” when it comes to doing anything about our sins. Carol could not fight against the mad dog, and we cannot do anything about our sins. We need someone to save us. The Lord Jesus Christ knew that we were helpless and on our way to hell, and He died to save us. His love for us was so great that He suffered on the cross for the sins of everyone who will believe in Him. He wanted to rescue us from death and hell. He has done everything that is needed for us to be saved. All we have to do is believe
on Him.

Memory Verse: “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Messages of God’s Love 5/28/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Migrating

“I will instruct [you] and teach [you] in the way which [you shall] go: I will guide [you] with Mine eye.” Psalm 32:8

A man tells of hiking in a remote part of the Arctic one summer, when he spotted a small group of caribou watching him. Then he was startled to see a huge number coming his way and realized he was in the path of a migration! Soon the caribou were all around him, but they ignored him completely and soon passed by.

Every spring hundreds of thousands of these deer-like animals migrate northward from the northern part of western Canada, parts of Alaska and the Yukon Territory, traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to their spring pastures. The Creator has provided great meadows of nourishing grass and large fields of a tasty plant called reindeer lichen, which is part of the tundra growing over marshy areas.

The females, which have made the trip ahead of the males, give birth to their calves there. Baby caribou are such tough little creatures that they can stand as soon as they are born, and in less than a month they can outrun a threatening grizzly bear. The males arrive some time later with the year-old calves who travel slower. These large herds often share the grazing grounds with other caribou herds without any problem, except that the big males sometimes fight each other. But when it is time to leave, the herds never get confused with one another.

Many of the wild animals living along the routes they travel eat caribou meat — bears, cougars and wolves. These animals stalk the calves particularly and do capture quite a few on the outside edges of the herd. But these vicious animals don’t dare go into the migrating herds, or they’d be trampled by the big hoofs or meet up with the sharp horns of the adults.

There are half a dozen or so species of caribou involved in both the northbound and southbound migrations, but they don’t try to move together. If one group happens to overtake another along the way, they are usually quite friendly. Then somewhere along the route each group knows instinctively where to turn off, and the others continue on their way.

As we consider these vast numbers of beasts traveling such great distances each year and never making a mistake as to their destination, we cannot help but be impressed with God’s ways with all He has created. As we see in our opening verse, the God who guides the caribou will guide you through life, too, if you look to Him.

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

Baby caribou are such tough little creatures that they can outrun a threatening grizzly bear less than a month after birth.

Messages of God’s Love 5/28/2023

The Doll That Grew

Becky was a little girl who lived on a small farm with her family many years ago. She had what we might think was a strange doll. It was the shape of a gingerbread girl, but it was made out of cloth. Becky had wanted a doll for a long time, but her family lived far from the nearest town where a doll could be bought. After she asked for a doll many times, her mother decided to make this doll for her out of cloth, filled with corn.

Even though it wasn’t a very pretty doll, Becky loved it. She named it Betsy. She played house with Betsy and took her out for walks, just like other little girls do with their dolls.

One day, Becky and her brother Jimmy had a quarrel. Jimmy had been carving a boat out of a block of wood. He was carefully working on it when Becky accidently bumped into him. The boat was knocked out of his hand and broke when it hit the floor.

Jimmy was so disappointed! “Can’t you ever watch where you’re going?” he cried angrily. “Look what you did!”

“I don’t care if I did it!” snapped Becky. Then she thought to herself, I shouldn’t have said that, because I really do care. She was so ashamed of herself that she hurried out of the room.

I’ll get back at her for that, thought Jimmy, as he picked up the broken pieces of his boat. Just then he saw her doll lying nearby. He grabbed it and ran outside. He found a shovel in the tool shed, and then he raced around to the garden. At the far end of the garden, Jimmy dug a hole and put Becky’s doll in it. Then he covered it up with the dirt.

There, that takes care of that! That’ll pay her back for breaking my boat, he thought to himself. Nobody will ever know what happened to it.

It wasn’t long before Becky missed her doll. She cried and cried, but no one could find Betsy. No one knew what had happened to the doll. That is, no one but Jimmy. And he wasn’t telling.

But Jimmy wasn’t very happy after that. He lied when his mother asked him if he knew where the doll was. He began to feel that he had done something very wrong. He thought about digging up the doll, but when he thought about the hard time he would have trying to explain how it got so dirty, he decided to leave it where it was.

A while later, a few days after a hard rain, Mother was in the garden picking tomatoes. Walking around the garden, she happened to notice a clump of new green plants at the far end. That’s strange, she thought. I wonder what that is. Nothing is planted down there. She walked over to have a closer look, and there, exactly in the shape of Becky’s cloth doll, were tiny, green corn shoots. The corn kernels which were in Becky’s buried doll had started to grow. Jimmy’s hidden sin was discovered.

Mother soon found out the whole story. She told Becky she was wrong for not telling Jimmy she was sorry about his broken boat. And Jimmy had to be punished for taking something that didn’t belong to him and for telling a lie about it.

Children, did you know that the Lord sees everything we do, whether it’s good or bad? “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).

Evil (bad) things, called sins, have to be punished. After the first sin, long ago in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves from God, because they knew they had done wrong. Eventually, Adam and Eve found out that God still loved them, even though their sin had to be punished. He even made them some clothes to cover them up, since they now knew they were naked. Did you know that we all have sinned? But God, in His great love, made a way to take away our sins, by the death of His own Son, Jesus. John 3:16 tells us the whole beautiful story in one verse. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that [whoever believes] in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I hope you know and believe God’s wonderful love!

The verse in Proverbs also says the Lord sees the good. One day the Lord will reward all the good things we do, if we know Him as our Savior. And right now, we can do them to please the One who did so much for us.

Memory Verse: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

Messages of God’s Love 6/4/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Migrating Caribou, Part 2

“O Lord, Thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God!” Psalm 36:6-7

There are about half a dozen distinct but closely related species of caribou living in Alaska and northwestern Canada, including the Yukon Territory. Each group stays by itself in its winter home area and, with few exceptions, migrates hundreds of miles north to the Arctic in April and May. There they enjoy the cooler weather and ample food provided for them by a loving Creator. During their stay, the calves are born. Then in late June or July they return south to their winter homelands.

The porcupine caribou is one of two species that number in the thousands. Their name shows that they have their calves along the Porcupine River in the forests and meadows of Canada and up into northeastern Alaska. They migrate more than 1,500 miles. This is the longest migration of any land animal on earth.

They have beautiful antlers which look like two sets, one reaching back and up, over their backs, and the other forward and up, over their heads. The males’ antlers reach about four feet above their heads, with many branches. No other animal is likely to attack a male caribou with such a huge set of antlers! The females also have antlers, but their antlers are smaller.

Another beautiful species is known as the western Arctic caribou. The males have brown fur from their backs to their stubby tails, contrasting with snow-white fur around their necks. The females don’t have these outstanding colors. This seems to display the kind provision of the Creator in helping to keep them hidden from bears and wolves when giving birth and nursing their young calves.

The remaining species are very similar, and each one is an additional wonder of God’s creation. As we think of these beasts and the Creator’s care over them, we can think of how He cares for us, too. We may gladly say, as the psalmist did, “Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble” (Psalm 32:7). The important thing is to know Him as your own Savior, and then stay near Him all your life, and you will see how much He loves and cares for you. There is no one who truly walks close to the Lord Jesus their whole life who is later sorry that they did it!

Did You Know?

Porcupine caribou migrate more than 1,500 miles a year.

Messages of God’s Love 6/4/2023

I Don't Understand It

It was a cold night and Tom shivered in his worn-out jacket. He was at work as usual, doing a job many boys used to do, trying to sell newspapers. A blizzard was arriving, and it was so cold that people were hurrying past him to their warm, cozy homes, so he was not selling very many papers. Tom didn’t have a home to go to. This particular night, as it got darker and colder, Tom went up to a policeman and said, “Mister, you wouldn’t happen to know where a boy who doesn’t have a home could find a warm place to sleep tonight, would you? I sleep in a box around the corner in the alley, and it sure does get cold in there at night! It would be nice to have a warm place to
sleep tonight!”

The policeman looked down at him kindly and said, “Son, go down the street to that big white house and knock on the door, and when they answer, say ‘John 3:16.’” So, Tom did; he walked down the street to the big white house and knocked on
the door.

Finally, a lady answered, and when she did, Tom said, “John 3:16.” She said, “Come on in, son.” She took him inside and led him to a warm place by the fireplace. She had him sit in a cozy chair and left the room.

As he sat there Tom thought, John 3:16: I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold
boy warm.

A little later the lady came in and asked if he was hungry. He said, “Well, yes ma’am, I could use some food. You see it’s been a few days since I’ve eaten. I am kind of hungry.” She took him to a big table full of good, warm food. He ate, and he ate, and he ate, until he couldn’t eat any more! He sat there and thought, John 3:16: I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

After he finished, the lady took him upstairs to a bathtub full of warm, sudsy water. She left, and as he was soaking he thought, John 3:16: I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. I don’t think I’ve had a real bath in my whole life, except when I stood in front of the fire hydrant when they were flushing it out.

After he finished, the lady had him get ready for bed. She led him to a big feather bed. He climbed in and she pulled the covers up close to his chin and kissed him goodnight on the forehead. As she left the room, she turned off the lights and closed the door.

He lay there and looked out the window. It was dark and cold out there and the snow was coming down, and he thought, John 3:16: I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came and got him up. She took him back downstairs to that big table. After he had eaten, she took him back to the cozy chair in front of the fireplace. She took her Bible down from the mantel and said, “Son, do you understand John 3:16?”

He said, “No ma’am, I sure don’t. The first time I’d ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to say it.”

So the lady opened her Bible to John 3:16 and read it to him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Then she explained to him about Jesus. And right there in front of that fireplace, Tom accepted the Lord Jesus into his heart and gave his life to Him. After a little while he said, “John 3:16: I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy saved.”

You know, I have to admit, I don’t understand it either. How could God love me so much that He would send His only Son to die for me, and how would Jesus be willing to do such a wonderful thing? I don’t understand it, but it certainly makes a lost
person saved.

And today, if you are lonely, sad, and lost in your sins, Jesus can make you truly happy, be your friend, and, most of all, save you from your sins.

Memory Verse: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Messages of God’s Love 6/11/2023

Pride … And a Fall

Do you like to do things all by yourself? Sometimes that’s okay, but sometimes you need help from someone else.

This is a story about a little boy named Malachi. I have seven children, and the last one, Malachi, wants to be big, like all the rest. He just turned three, and like most three-year-olds, he tries to be as independent as
he can!

We were on vacation, walking on a beach in Brazil when we decided to climb up some large rocks. Malachi began walking in front of me and I said, “Malachi, hold my hand so I can help you!”

He said, “No, Mommy. I can do it all by myself!”

I said, “Malachi, you need to hold my hand, or you could fall.”

He looked at me and said, “I not fall! See?” And he kept walking. He climbed a rock and stood on the top. “See, Mommy? I not fall, I not fall! See? I not fall! I’m big!”

I said, “Be careful; you are going to fall!”

Malachi didn’t listen. He kept going from one rock to another. He was really excited and proud of himself for climbing rocks all by himself and not falling. But finally we came to a huge rock which his daddy and older brothers and sisters began climbing. Malachi tried to get to the large rock with the family, when all of a sudden, he slid. Bang! He was flat on his face.

“WAAAHHH!!!!” he started screaming loudly. When he lifted his face up out of the rocks and dirt, his mouth was full of blood. Immediately I remembered the verse, “Pride [goes] before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). He had gotten a warning. I had told him to hold my hand so he wouldn’t fall ... but he was proud and wanted to do things all
by himself.

Oh, boys and girls, as you go through life, you will have lots of decisions to make. The Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). Listen to your parents. Obey what they say. If you don’t have parents, perhaps you can find someone who loves the Lord Jesus who you can learn from. Best of all, the Lord Jesus wants to walk by your side and hold your hand your entire life. He wants to be your best friend. Don’t become proud and think you can do life all by yourself. No one can! We all need the Lord Jesus to keep us safe, no matter how old
we are.

Messages of God’s Love 6/11/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Body Snatchers and Other Ants

“Go ... and preach the gospel [God’s good news].” Mark 16:15

There are thousands of species of ants in various parts of the world. We may find them a nuisance at a picnic or in the kitchen, yet they are an important part of God’s creation. There are more ants in the world than all the humans and mammals added together. Do they do any good? Yes. When they dig their nests in the ground, they turn over the soil and break it up. Some also kill insect pests.

Among the more than 12,000 species of ants is a large red ant in South America called the Amazon, sometimes called the body snatcher. This slave-making ant enslaves Formica ant colonies. The babies then grow up thinking it’s normal to serve these ants, not realizing they are captives. The Amazon ants cannot feed themselves or dig nests, so the slave ants do this work for them.

Another interesting species is the trap-jaw ant in the forests of Central and South America. They are tiny, dark-red creatures with such strong jaws that they do not hesitate to attack creatures much larger than they to feed on. Their jaws can open 180 degrees and snap shut with speed much faster than an eye can blink. This same force can be used to help them escape from their enemies, sending the ant flying into the air nearly eight times as high as they are long. (If you are three feet high, you could jump almost 24 feet into the air if you had their ability!) Scientists are still trying to learn exactly how this happens, and they hope to copy this wonderful creation to help robots jump over obstacles.

In Africa driver ants are feared by all. They are vicious creatures that will eat anything in their way, though they aren’t particularly dangerous to humans, as we can move out of their way. Driver ants must travel a lot to feed their enormous colonies that can have over twenty million ants. They dig out a place to stay for a few days, or up to three months, underground. At night they form living “tents” of worker ants joined together by their legs and bodies around the queen and the larvae, to protect them. The driver ant queen is the largest known ant on earth, at up to 2.4 inches long.

As we know, God created everything “good” when He created everything at the beginning of Genesis. Sin has brought about many changes to that good creation. The Amazon ant reminds me of Satan, who has all of us as his slaves when we are born into this world. Just as the Formica ant babies don’t know that they aren’t meant to live as slaves, so it is with many people. If we know the Lord Jesus, we need to tell people that there is a way to be free from Satan’s slavery, as our lead verse tells us.

Did You Know?

Trap-jaw ants can open their jaws 180 degrees and snap them shut much faster than an eye can blink.

Messages of God’s Love 6/11/2023

Rescued From the Fire

Kay was afraid. Her big sister, Sarah, her baby sister Nellie, her sister Michelle, and a friend of Michelle’s named Sally were all somewhere not too far off. But she didn’t care about any of them right now. Her house was on fire, she was only six years old, and she wanted to find her daddy. She knew he would save her.

Sarah was afraid too. She had been babysitting while her parents were out on a date, and now, all the girls were playing upstairs, and she was having some peace and quiet. Downstairs, in the front room, she suddenly noticed that the house was on fire! She called her parents and told them the house was on fire and they were all in the house. Then she raced upstairs to grab baby Nellie, found the two older girls, and was heading back down the stairs. But ... where was Kay?

A man named John was out for a drive that quiet summer night. The night air was cool as it entered his car window, and it was clearing his head after a tough evening. All seemed peaceful and quiet. But then his peaceful ride was interrupted. He spotted a two-story house on fire! There were no firemen there to help, either! Quickly parking his car, he raced into the house.

He ran into Sarah coming down the stairs holding Nellie. Sarah told John that she couldn’t find Kay. First, he helped the four girls who were there to get outside to safety. Then he took a deep breath and ran back inside the burning house to search for Kay. The smoke made it hard to see anything as he stumbled through the unfamiliar house. But finally he heard Kay! She was still looking for her daddy. Because of the smoke filling the first floor, John had to go upstairs, break a window and jump down to safety, holding Kay in his arms. John was hurt rather badly, but he held onto Kay tightly and she only got a little cut on her foot.

John handed Kay to the police, who had arrived by then, and then he collapsed. They started helping him, but his only question was, “Is the baby okay? Please tell me the baby’s okay.” Someone was able to tell him that Kay was fine ... safe because of his quick and brave actions.

Almost everything in the house was burned up, but there was a plaque that had hung on the living room wall that survived the fire. It only had one word on it: “Love.” That was what Kay’s parents felt from everyone, and especially from John. They said he was now part of their family.

Wasn’t that brave of John? He said that he only did what he would want someone to do for him if his house was on fire. And he kept reminding himself that it was only a small sacrifice. The pain would only last a little while, and he said, “It was so worth it.”

Isn’t that nice? His words remind me of Someone who loved me enough to endure terrible suffering and to die in order to save me. He thought it was worth it, too. That One is the Lord Jesus. “The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Did you know that He loves you, too, and died for you, if you will trust Him as your Savior? He made a huge sacrifice, dying on a terribly painful cross, suffering all the horrible judgment from God that our sins deserve, and yet He loves us so much that He thinks it was worth it. “He shall see of the travail [hard work] of His soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isaiah 53:11). I hope you have believed on Him as your own Savior, so He can be “satisfied” when He looks at you, too. And, like the Jones family made John a part of their family because he had saved the girls from the fire, I hope you have made the Lord Jesus the Lord of your life, because He loved you so much!

Memory Verse: “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:11

Messages of God’s Love 6/18/2023

A Lesson From A Squirrel

Many years ago, a boy named John lived in England. His job was to take care of sheep. He had to feed the sheep every morning, and on Lord’s Day (Sunday) morning, after feeding them, he got into the bad habit of spending the rest of the day hanging out with other young men around the village. This meant he didn’t go to where God would be talked about, and it also led to his doing many wrong things. John’s conscience told him he was doing the wrong things, so he often wasn’t happy as he spent the day with those ungodly young men.

One Lord’s Day morning as he went to take care of his sheep, he looked up and happened to see a squirrel in a tree. It was sitting on a branch with his two front paws raised together in front of his face, as squirrels often sit when eating a nut. John had just been thinking about his evil ways, and as he looked at the squirrel, it seemed to him that it was praying. John had lived all his life in the country, so he should have known better than to think such a strange thing, but that was what he thought.

His first thought was, “What a bad boy I must be who never prays when even squirrels do!” He went to feed his sheep, but the thought kept bothering him, “How bad I must be never to pray, when even squirrels do!” When he was done taking care of his sheep, he hurried home, changed his clothes, and went to hear the Word of God.

On the way he passed some of the young men he usually hung around with. When they saw that he was dressed in his good clothes, they guessed where he was going and began to make fun of him. This didn’t change John’s mind. God was at work in John, and no amount of laughter could turn him from what he had decided to do.

That day he heard the Word of God preached. John went home knowing that he was a lost sinner and that praying and working could never save him. On the following Lord’s Day he went again ... and he kept going until he understood that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) and that “he that believeth on the Son [the Lord Jesus] [has] everlasting life” (John 3:36). Now he was truly happy.

From then on John led a very different life. He cared about the salvation of others, and he became a Sunday school teacher. He found that his work as a shepherd got in the way of his Sunday school work, so he changed jobs. He became a well-digger. His work was harder, but he was happy in it because he loved the Lord.

John did not live many years, but he lived long enough to show what God’s grace can do by the most unlikely ways. What about you? Have you believed on this dear Savior of sinners? And does your life show to others that you have done that?

Messages of God’s Love 6/18/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Intriguing Echidna

“Thou art worthy, O Lord ... for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 4:11

Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea provide good homes for one of the world’s strangest animals — the foot-long echidna. The echidna looks something like a porcupine. It also has some features similar to a platypus and a kangaroo. The echidna is the only mammal besides the platypus that lays eggs. It has a pouch on its stomach for hatching its baby from a tiny, leather-like egg. The mother also provides milk for the baby in her pouch. She carries it there for less than two months, and then she leaves her baby in a burrow, only returning every five days to feed it. The baby echidna lives there for up to a year before heading out to live on its own.

The echidna’s face has a long snout with a tiny mouth and rather large, open nostrils atop the end. Its snout has electrosensors, which are sensors that detect electric currents, to help it find ants and worms and other creatures, which they eat.

Its front claws are good for rapid digging for ants or termites in soil, or tearing apart a log to find them. Its back claws are good for digging, and the hind legs point backward, which help it dig straight down into the earth quickly if needed, to escape an enemy or even to bury itself while a fire passes over. Each back foot has one extra-long nail which it uses to clean its brown fur coat, that lies beneath its armor of coarse, sharp spines.

The Creator designed this cute little animal perfectly for the life He knew it would live. This is particularly noticeable not only in its claws, but also in its seven-inch-long, sticky tongue. This tongue dips into an ant or termite nest and brings great numbers of them to its mouth. It also picks up some dirt in the process, but the Creator has provided special glands that digest the dirt as well as the insects.

Because of their sharp, barbless spines, these little fellows are seldom bothered by wild cats or even Australia’s top predator, the dingo dog. When threatened, the echidna presses close to the ground, and, using both front and hind feet, it rapidly claws the soil away beneath itself. It gradually settles its body down into the hole, inch by inch, until only its sharp spines are showing. By that time the enemy gives up and leaves. If it is threatened and can’t dig its way to safety, it curls up into a round ball, with its tender parts well protected by its needle-like spines.

Just as the Lord created the echidna perfectly for its life, so He has a perfect plan for your life, which He created you to fulfill. Did you know that, as our opening verse says, you were made for His pleasure? Your life is no accident. Have you ever asked Him to show you what He made
you for?

Did You Know?

The echidna is the only mammal besides the platypus that lays eggs.

Messages of God’s Love 6/18/2023

The Trapper's Story

One day we sat in a trapper’s cabin and heard many interesting stories. He trapped in the winter and was a fishing and hunting guide the rest of the year, and he was very familiar with a large area of northern Ontario, Canada. Here is one of the stories he told us that day.

“Three years ago I was working my trap line far to the north. The snow was very deep that winter. The only marks made by a human in the whole area were made by me, as I traveled on my snowshoes from trap to trap. Coming over the crest of a hill, I saw a thin wisp of smoke rising straight up in the still, cold air. I knew of no other trappers in the area, so I wondered what would have caused a fire in this part of the bush. There were no cabins of any kind in this area, but the smoke was a definite sign of man. Who could it be? It was late afternoon, night was coming on, and, with a long way back to camp, I could not risk going further to find out.

“Three days later the wisp of smoke was still on my mind, so I decided to go back to see what had caused it. Fresh snow had fallen, and walking was difficult. After searching for many hours and finding nothing, I was tired and about to turn back. A hill was ahead, and I knew a small lake was on the other side of the hill. I decided to go as far as the frozen lake and then
return home.

“I will never forget what I saw on the other side of that hill. There on the ice was a military aircraft, which I learned later was an F-101 fighter jet. It sat on the ice on the far side of the lake and looked to be undamaged.

“Crossing the ice to the other shore, I found the pilot. He lay in a shallow hole scooped out in the snow. There were branches broken from nearby trees pulled over his body. Beside the place where he lay, covered with snow, were the charred remains of a fire. This had been the cause of the smoke I had seen. Placing my head against his chest, I heard a faint heartbeat. He was still alive!

“I made a sled out of branches and parts of the plane and brought him out and got him into town. The police helped me get him to a hospital. He had been injured in the crash landing of his jet and had suffered severe frostbite in the days following. But he lived. He told of three weeks of struggling to stay alive in the bitter cold. Emergency rations on board the plane kept him alive, and he waited, hoping to be rescued. But as the time dragged by, his hope began to fade. The cold numbed him, and he was afraid to lie down to sleep. With great difficulty, because of his injury, he managed to keep a fire burning until his strength failed. When the last flickering flame died, his hope died with it. The place he hollowed out in the snow was a grave where he expected to die. He had reached the end of his strength, the end of his hope; there would be no rescue; he would die alone.”

This story gives us a good picture of every sinner who needs to be saved. Maybe such a person has tried everything they can do to be saved, and yet they aren’t saved. But when a person knows they are lost and cannot do a thing to save themself, then they can turn to the Savior. They will find He has already done the great work that is needed to save their soul.

“The Son of Man [that is, the Lord Jesus] is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

The Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for a sinner. Notice that He does not help to save the lost, but He does the whole work Himself. And He only saves lost sinners, not those who are still trying to save themselves. Have you ever realized that you are lost? If so, there is good news for you. The Lord Jesus goes “after that which is lost, until He find it” (Luke 15:4).

Memory Verse: “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:7

Messages of God’s Love 6/25/2023

A Tough Race

Do you like to race? Many children and even older people do! But how about a 100-mile bicycle race?

This story is about that kind of race. The race was planned for a Saturday morning in July on the Manitoba prairie in Canada. However, instead of the warm, sunny day the racers had expected that July morning, rain was falling, the temperature was about 45° and there was a strong wind blowing. It was a miserable day for a bike race, but the race would go on anyway. The starting point was in a valley, so the first two miles were uphill, and if that wasn’t bad enough, the bikers would be riding straight into that strong wind.

What a slow start for the racers! That day the thought was not to be the first one to the top of the hill; it was just to make it to the top, for each racer knew there were still 98 miles to go after that first hill.

Several cars and vans followed the racers with the food and drinks they would need to keep up their strength. They also carried medical supplies in case a racer became ill or got hurt. Someone would be right there to help out all along that 100-mile ride; the riders would never be left alone.

It was over 4½ hours before the first racers came in sight of the finish line. They were a tired, wet group. Even though each racer wanted to win the first prize, there was no burst of speed — just a steady pedaling to make it to the finish line — and then a cheer went up as the wheels of the first bicycle — the winner — crossed that finish line.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24, we are told to run the “race of life” as though we wanted to win first prize. It asks if we don’t know that “they which run in a race run all, but one [receives] the prize? So run, that [you] may obtain.” That means that we should always do the will of the Lord who loves us, every day, with all of our heart. Just as every bicycle racer was happy to reach the finish line, even if he didn’t get first prize, a day is coming soon when each of us who has accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior will be happy to be with Him in heaven, and our “race of life” will be over. Are we being good runners?

We don’t have to run the race of life alone! The bike riders had people in cars following them to give them whatever they needed, and we who have believed on the Lord Jesus have the presence of the very Spirit of God in our hearts to give us whatever we need to keep running the Christian life. He is the “Comforter” promised by the Lord Jesus, who Jesus promised would “abide with you forever” (John 14:16).

Messages of God’s Love 6/25/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Amazing Sandhill Cranes, Part 1

“The stork in the heaven [knows] her appointed times ... and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming.” Jeremiah 8:7

Sandhill cranes are very large birds. A full-grown one measures four feet from the tip of its sharp beak to the end of its tail feathers. Wings on most of them are huge, and a pair outstretched can be well over six feet across. Their long, spindly legs make them about three to four feet tall. More than a million of these majestic birds migrate from Florida, Texas, California and Mexico, traveling north to their breeding grounds in a few states and much of Canada each spring, some even crossing into Siberia. They head back south in the fall after raising their chicks. The cranes have rest stops on their long flights north, and one gathering place is along the Platte River in Nebraska, where gigantic flocks gather to fatten up before their long migration. Bird watchers travel great distances to see them there.

There are several species of cranes in North America, but only the sandhill crane is completely gray. Some of them have a tan or rust coloring, thought possibly to be a result of rust in the water. Other identifying marks are its bright-red crown and its black legs and beak.

It is interesting to see these birds take to the air from the ground. Once airborne, they give a call of triumph with a deep “gar-oo-oo, gar-oo-oo.” When flying, their distinctive call can be heard for more than a mile. Sandhill cranes can travel very great distances each day, partly due to how they fly. They fly until they find a thermal, which is a column of rising air. They circle up on that thermal, rising on it till they are a couple thousand feet high, where they start to glide north. As they glide, they lose altitude, until they come to another thermal to take them high in the air again.

As migrating flocks fly at these great heights, they are sometimes too high to be seen from the ground. But they often fly on cloudless days and sometimes can be seen as they circle higher and higher on the thermals. It is not unusual to hear their calls before sighting them. Hearing a flock of them calling is unforgettable and is a sure sign that spring (or winter) is on the way.

In the beginning Bible verse we are told that the stork knows her appointed times, and the crane knows when to migrate. The rest of that verse says, “But My people know not the judgment of the Lord” (Jeremiah 8:7). It is often true that while the birds know the time to migrate, people choose not to know what God says about things in the Bible, or even things He teaches us through nature. God has told us His thoughts in His book, the Bible. I hope you read it every day!

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

Hearing a flock of sandhill cranes calling is a sure sign that spring (or winter) is on the way.

Messages of God’s Love 6/25/2023

Danger on the Snake River

Ben and Cora Smith and their daughter Jenni had been having a wonderful time at the camp where they were spending the week with other Christians. Today was going to be especially exciting. There was a white-water-rafting trip planned for the afternoon. Many people wanted to experience the excitement and beauty of this trip down the Snake River, in spite of knowing that the part they would travel had some dangerous sections.

The Smiths listened along with everyone else to the instructions for the trip as they were given by the camp host, Rick. They would all be a part of the crew to take the raft they were in down the river, as they would sit on the edge of the raft and help paddle. The group was too big for just one raft, so there were three rafts making the trip together that day. They heard Rick warn the other guides, who were also experienced white-water-rafting guides, but who didn’t know this particular river, about a part of the river where they would need to be especially careful. They would need to stay to the right side of the river, because on the left side there was a dangerous ledge of rocks they could get slammed against if the current took them too close to it. Then they could get stuck in that part of the river, slammed against the rocks, until the current would eventually send them on their way again.

Laughing, excited people filled the rafts, and the Smiths got into a raft with one of the visiting guides.

All went well for a while. But then, unknown to those in the Smiths’ raft, they were coming to that dangerous ledge of rocks, and Rick, who was in the first raft, seemed to be yelling something to them. They were too close to the left side of the river!

Wham! Before they knew what had happened, the strong current had grabbed their raft and slammed them against that ledge of rock. All three of the Smiths were thrown forcibly out of the raft. Ben’s head came up out of the water, and someone helped him get in the raft. But where were Cora and Jenni?

Jenni was under the raft! She remembered that Rick had told them to get to the side of the raft if you were stuck under it, and she was able to do that fairly quickly. As she came up, the current carried her away, but one of the rafts was eventually able to get to her and pull her to safety.

Cora was also under the raft. She used her hands to “walk” along the bottom of the raft to the edge, as Rick had told them to do. But she must have gone the full length of that long raft because it took quite a while. But then ... good! She could begin to feel where the edge of the raft was curving upward, and it was a big relief, because she was out of air! But then, wham! Before she could get out and get a breath, another wave pushed her way back under the raft, and this time her head got slammed against the rocks. Cora had no air left in her lungs, she couldn’t find the edge of the raft again, and her head really hurt. She began to think she might die that day.

Let’s pause for a minute. Cora knew the Lord Jesus as her Savior, and if she had died, she knew she would be safely in heaven with Him. But what about you ... do you know where you would be if you were to die today?

Somehow, though Cora doesn’t know how, the Lord took her out from under the raft, and she started floating down the river. It felt good to take a big breath of air at last! Only, even though she was normally a strong swimmer, now she couldn’t even move her arms and legs. Her body had been so low on oxygen for so long that she was barely able to move her hands. She needed someone to rescue her!

Thankfully, Ben was looking for her, and he finally saw her, with blood streaming down her face, floating helplessly in her life jacket down the river. He dove in the river and went swimming quickly after her, and he held her until the raft came and took them safely on board again.

Cora was helpless to save herself from the dangers that were still ahead on that river. She knew that one of them was a very dangerous whirlpool that didn’t look like a whirlpool on top at all, but like a gently bubbling area of water. But underneath that innocent-looking surface, there was something similar to a 100-foot waterfall that would pull her deep down under the water. She needed someone to save her — a savior — and her husband went to save her, because he loves her.

Wouldn’t it have been silly of Cora to tell Ben that she was just fine — she didn’t want him to save her? But that’s exactly what many people are doing with an even bigger danger in all of our lives. We are all helpless to save ourselves from the death that our sins deserve. But the Lord Jesus, God’s Son, came all the way from heaven to save us, because He loves us. He wants to take you into His loving arms and save you from the danger of hell. His name “Jesus” means “Savior.” Before He was born, an angel told Joseph about His name: “[You shall] call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Have you trusted in Jesus the Savior to save you? Or are you still heading for the dangerous thing called death to take your life? “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Hebrews 9:27-28). He died to take the judgment that we deserve for our sins. I hope you receive God’s free gift of salvation while you still
have time.

Memory Verse: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.” Hebrews 9:27-28

Messages of God’s Love 7/2/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Amazing Sandhill Cranes, Part 2

“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Colossians 3:20

In the last issue we spoke of the great numbers of sandhill cranes that migrate north and south on the many flyways of North America and the rest stops they make along the way. The huge flocks — sometimes thousands of birds — make an amazing sight when landing, and then they almost seem to disappear in the brush or long grass.

This disappearing act is true not only when migrating but also in their homes. The Creator has given them the ability to hide themselves very well. At times it is almost impossible to tell where they have hidden their nests. They are peaceful by nature but can be vicious if an enemy approaches their nest, or if any animal is attacking their mate, using their sharp beaks and long legs as weapons.

Sandhill cranes eat grubs and worms that live underground, frogs, reptiles, small fish, eggs of water animals and small plants. In addition to flower seeds, they like seeds of corn, wheat and rye growing on farmlands. This can disturb farmers, if their crops are tampered with. As a result, in many places wildlife groups, along with farmers and other helpers, often plant separate fields of some of these grains for the cranes. The sandhills seem to learn that if they stay in those areas they will not be in danger.

In searching for food, whether in water or on land, they walk with their heads close to the ground or water but frequently lift them up to be sure of their safety.

Groups of cranes gather for dances during the mating season. They dance crazily, hopping and jumping about with excitement and bowing to one another. Then they go off with their lifelong mates and begin building their nests.

The female lays only one or two eggs a season. Within a few weeks of hatching, the baby cranes can run fast enough to escape enemies. They live with their parents nine to ten months, as they must learn many things before they are ready to live on their own.

Just like the baby sandhill cranes, boys and girls have many things to learn from their parents while they are young. That is why God, in His great goodness and love, has given parents to most of the children in the world. One reason He tells children to obey their parents, as our opening verse says, is because parents have learned a lot of things throughout their lives that they can help their children learn, too. There are children in this world who for one reason or another don’t have parents, but God cares about them, very much. He calls Himself a beautiful name, “A Father of the fatherless” (Psalm 68:5). Sometimes we can do things to help show such children the love of God.

Did You Know?

Within a few weeks of hatching, baby cranes can run fast enough to escape enemies.

Messages of God’s Love 7/2/2023

Let's Go!

It was a perfect day for fishing. Two brothers, George and Tom, waited patiently for fish to bite as they stood with their fishing rods on the shore of Grigg’s Dam in Columbus, Ohio. Both were policemen, and this was their day off. They were enjoying the warm sun on their backs and the relaxation of fishing, but neither of them had caught a single fish. George suggested they try moving to the rocks above the falls. They knew there were more fish in that area, so they moved up to the new spot and cast out their lines once again.

Tom, the younger of the two, had an expensive new fishing rod which he had purchased the day before, and he was quite proud of it. This day he was using it for the first time, and he thought he would pull up the biggest fish with it.

Just as they had hoped, George and Tom started catching fish in the new spot on the rocks. They fished for about an hour, and then they noticed that the water level was getting higher. George packed up his fishing gear to leave, but Tom wanted to stay a little longer. George warned Tom about the rising water, but it did not change Tom’s mind. He was enjoying using his new rod so much that he didn’t want to stop fishing! Worried, but knowing how stubborn his brother could be, George climbed back to shore alone.

It wasn’t too much longer until Tom realized the water was now level with the rocks he was standing on! He could not go back to shore the way George had gone, because the water was now all around him. He was on an island of rocks in the middle of the river.

Suddenly, he heard someone shouting from the shore. It was George. He had seen that Tom’s way back to shore was gone, and he had gone to get help. The fire department had answered the emergency call. One of the men threw a rope across the now-rushing water to the rocks where Tom was trapped.

“Quick! Grab the rope!” they shouted to him above the roar of the water.

Tom reached out to catch the rope using the hand that was not holding his new fishing rod, but he missed. Again they threw the rope to him, and that time he caught it.

“Now, let go of your fishing rod, tie the rope around your waist, and we’ll pull you in!” was the next shouted command.

But Tom would not let go of his new fishing rod. Instead, he held on tightly to the rope with one hand, while holding onto his “treasure” with the other hand.

Tom could not hold onto the rope tightly enough with only one hand, and as they tried to pull him in through the fast-moving water, he disappeared under the water. Soon, he went under the second time, and then he lost his hold on the rope. The third time Tom disappeared under the water he did not come up again.

Is there something you are hanging onto that keeps you from trusting in the Lord Jesus? Maybe it is wanting to choose your own way through life, or something wrong you do, or being afraid of what people would think. You must let go before it is too late, or you will never be saved.

We hope you won’t be like poor Tom who wouldn’t let go. The Lord Jesus is calling to you to trust in Him for your salvation. He came to this earth and died on the cross for your sins. He shed His blood to save you. Now He is a risen Savior, waiting to take each boy and girl who trusts Him to be with Him forever in heaven. Eternal life in the Lord Jesus is the only real treasure. Won’t you take it for yourself, now?

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ... but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven ... for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. But seek ... first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:19-21,33). “Seek ... the Lord while He may be found, call ... upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

Memory Verse: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

Messages of God’s Love 7/9/2023

The Safe Way

If you had been driving through the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, one warm, rainy evening in April many years ago, you might have seen a group of people standing in the rain by the edge of the road.

“Why is everybody standing out here getting wet?” you might have asked someone.

“We’re standing out here to see if the salamanders crawl through the tunnels,” that person would have answered.

“What tunnels?”

“Those tunnels over there,” your new friend would say, pointing a short distance away to some small tunnels going under the road. “We put them in this winter and we have been waiting until now to see if the salamanders would go through them after they woke up from their winter’s hibernation.”

“Why can’t they just walk across the road?”

“That’s what they have always done, but so many of them got run over by cars that we decided to do something about it. We had these tunnels dug under the road so that the salamanders would have a safe way to get to the other side of the highway.”

“See, here comes another salamander out of the woods. He’s headed right for the tunnels ... oh no ... he’s going right by them,” says your friend.

“It looks like he doesn’t know what’s good for him,” you reply.

“Nope, hardly any of them do. Out of 50 salamanders crossing so far this evening, only one of them has used a tunnel.”

This story about something that really happened is a picture to us of another very important fact.

God also has a safe way for you to walk through life and to get to heaven. Maybe you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior. That is wonderful! But it is like taking the first right step on a long journey through life. Are you also walking in the way that will take you safely to the Lord Jesus in heaven, without experiencing the dangers of this world? That way is in obedience to the Bible. For example, the Bible says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). The Lord has given many of us parents to help us learn to walk safely through our lives. The Lord also promises, “I will ... teach [you] in the way which [you shall] go, I will guide [you] with [My] eye” (Psalm 32:8). Even if your parents don’t love the Lord Jesus or you don’t live with your parents, the Lord is always with you, and He promises to guide you all through your life, if you look to Him.

Messages of God’s Love 7/9/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: More About Elephants

“Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted.” Ephesians 4:32

Some time ago we looked at a few facts about elephants. Let’s look at some other interesting facts about this largest of all land animals. Elephants are not only the largest land animal, but they also have the distinction of having the largest ears in the world, and their tusks are the largest teeth.

The way elephants live together is interesting. A herd (8 to 100 elephants) is led by the oldest and usually largest female and is usually made up of related elephants. The males grow up with the group but leave by about the age of 12, usually living alone, and not mixing with the bigger group most of the year.

In some ways elephants are not too different from people. They have times of sadness and times of happiness. A writer tells of seeing two family groups, which had been separated quite a while, racing toward one another with loud calls, dancing and rubbing against one another, winding trunks together in a loving way. Most elephants are peaceful and get along with almost all other animals. However, some have quick tempers.

At birth a baby elephant weighs about 250 to 300 pounds and is about three feet tall. It can stand and walk almost immediately, but it stays close to its mother throughout its early years. The mother is very loving and attentive, often hugging it with her trunk, while her huge ears slowly flap. This may be to keep insects away or to provide some cooling on a hot day. Baby elephants sometimes suck their trunks as human babies suck their thumbs. They are also playful, playing chase and pulling other babies’ tails.

In one day, a fully-grown wild elephant will eat about 300 to 400 pounds of grass, bushes, roots, tree bark, miscellaneous plants and any fresh fruit it can find. It also drinks 18 to 26 gallons of water every day. A sick or injured elephant will be cared for by other elephants. They bring it food and even help it to stand. If it dies, they seem to be sad, and still bring it food and water for a while.

We see what we would call kindness being shown by elephants. They are kind to their offspring, caring for their needs and teaching them how to live in the world where they are born. They are kind to one another, as we see in their care for the sick and dying. We live in a world where there is often a great lack of kindness. But the Bible speaks of the “kindness and love of God” (Titus 3:4). He is kind, and as our opening verse says, God wants His children to be kind to one another.

Did You Know?

A fully-grown wild elephant drinks 18 to 26 gallons of water every day.

Messages of God’s Love 7/9/2023

A New Home for Pedro

This story is about a boy named Pedro. He lives in a very large city in the country of Brazil. Pedro was born blind. Even worse, his mother did not love him. Sadly, she was more interested in her own pleasures than in her tiny baby. She did not take care of him at all. She did not feed him, wash him, or cuddle him close. Poor little Pedro! Only an old granny came to give him a little to eat. Because he could not see, they thought he also could not hear, so they didn’t talk to him. Since no one talked to him, his body grew but he never learned to talk. Poor Pedro was left lying on his back for nearly five long years. If the old granny had not fed him a little, he would have died. Who could love a little boy like Pedro with so many problems?

He was often sick with his tummy full of worms and his blind eyes red and sore with infection. If you had seen him lying there, you might have thought it would be hard to love this poor, blind little boy who was so sick and dirty.

Not far away in the city where Pedro lived was a Christian couple, Juan and his lovely wife Julia. They had two beautiful children. They lived in a nice home, but best of all, because they read the Bible and believed it, they were a happy family. The Lord Jesus had washed their hearts from sin and brought many joys into their lives. Because their Savior, the Lord Jesus, had done so much for them, they wanted to help others. They prayed, asking Him to show them someone they could help. Perhaps they could bring some child into their home to share in their love and happiness.

As they were praying about this, a friend told them about poor, blind Pedro who was now almost five years old. The old granny had died, and now there wasn’t even anyone to give him a little food. Pedro still lay on his back, unable to sit up or talk or see. Juan and Julia felt that this must be the Lord’s answer to their prayer. They went to see Pedro. What they found was a very sick little boy, dirty, blind and unable to talk or walk.

Would you or I have turned away, not even wanting to look at that poor little boy? Juan and Julia didn’t. They took him home to be their own son. They washed him and fed him and made sure that he got all the doctors’ care he needed. What a happy change happened that day for Pedro! He was taken from his lonely, sad life in that dark hut and made a son in a loving family in their happy home. Pedro learned to sit up and crawl and say a few words, and he received the best care that his parents could give him.

I see in poor Pedro, before his loving parents adopted him, a true picture of what each of us is like when we are born, even if we have a wonderful home. God says that those who don’t know the Lord Jesus may not realize it, but they are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

The good news is that God loves you, and He wants to adopt you into His family as one of His children, to care for you now, and to have you share in all the riches of heaven and the joys of His happy family forever. “Behold, what manner of love the Father [has given to] us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). Come to the Lord Jesus today to receive the forgiveness of your sins, and God will welcome you into His family as one of His happy children.

Memory Verse: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1

Messages of God’s Love 7/16/2023

Who Do You Belong To?

There is a city called Juarez, in Mexico. It is just across the Rio Grande River from El Paso, Texas. Although the two cities are so close, there is a huge difference between them. El Paso has lovely weather, plenty of good food and nice houses to live in. Juarez is a very poor city.

Mr. and Mrs. Samuels, a Christian couple, once had a day free to spend near these cities. They stopped for breakfast at a restaurant in El Paso. Bowing their heads and thanking the Lord Jesus for their food, they also asked Him to guide them to meet people they could help that day.

Very soon, two women sat down at a table next to them and started talking with them. These women were Christians, and they soon realized that the Lord Jesus had guided them to stop in this restaurant for a cup of coffee. One had prayed a prayer just like Mr. Samuels’ that morning, and soon they all felt that the Lord had brought them together.

The two Christian women worked with a group that collected food, clothing and firewood to give to the needy people in Juarez. They also told them the good news of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Samuels decided to help them that day.

The night before, the temperature in Juarez had dropped to -4°F, and they had also gotten 22 inches of snow recently. Most of the people in Juarez were not used to that kind of cold and they had no way to keep warm.

As the Samuels helped that day, they saw many proofs of how poor the people in Juarez were. There was a little girl who had no shoes and was wearing only a thin dress, standing barefoot in the snow. One of the houses they went into had a fire burning right on the concrete floor with no chimney, so the house was full of smoke. Little children were trying to get warm around the fire.

In Juarez, not only is life very hard, but worse than that, there are many people who have never heard that God loves them.

These two cities remind me of heaven and hell. One city has so much to give people happiness, and the other has so much to cause sadness. Satan is the one who wants to take people to hell, and I hope you know what he is like. The Bible describes him as a thief, who comes “to steal, and to kill and to destroy” (John 10:10). The Lord Jesus is the One who wants to take you to heaven, and He is a good and kind Shepherd, who came so that people can have “life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Which one do you belong to?

Messages of God’s Love 7/16/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: "Dogs" That Are Not Dogs

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, [walks] about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

Early settlers crossing the prairies of the midwestern United States apparently thought the sharp yelping sounds prairie dogs make could only come from an animal related to dogs and so gave them this name. We now know that prairie dogs are not dogs, but part of the squirrel family.

At that time there were great numbers of them, but early settlers — and even current farmers and ranchers — considered them a threat to their cattle. Over the years these little animals might have completely disappeared if naturalists hadn’t insisted on protecting some. They are now known to be a key to other grassland animals’ survival.

For the most part, these cute little animals live together in a friendly way, gathering food and taking care of their little ones. They live in large colonies marked by low mounds of bare dirt and sand that have been excavated from their burrows. Within the large colonies are smaller family units of about 8 individuals.

The colonies have sentries that stand guard, watching for large birds, snakes and animals wanting to sneak up on them. Certain ones of each group take turns at this job. If a sentry gives a danger warning, all of them, or perhaps just the babies, dive inside their tunnels until the danger is taken care of. The adults will work together to get a rattlesnake out of the area, risking getting a lethal bite in the process. If the snake crawls into a nearby hole, they have been known to simply kick in dirt on it to kill it. Scientists have learned that their warnings can be very specific. There is a special call just for snakes, for example.

They find plenty of food on the hot prairies — mostly dried grasses and other vegetation. They keep the grasses of the prairie trimmed, which improves the nutrition of the grasses for other animals. Their burrows create homes for other animals as well, and also help the rain soak in better for the prairie.

Prairie dogs are very protective of their own colonies. Members of a family will show affection by kissing and grooming one another. They also have what looks like “kissing” which is actually a way of discovering just who an approaching prairie dog is as two of them lock teeth. If the newcomer doesn’t belong, it will be chased out.

These prairie dogs are a good example to us of what our opening verse means. There are people we should love and care about. But we also have an enemy called Satan, who walks about looking for someone to attack. Just as the prairie dogs have sentries who look out for danger, so we need to be on guard against Satan, who wants to destroy our happy communion with the Lord Jesus.

Did You Know?

Prairie dogs are part of the squirrel family.

Messages of God’s Love 7/16/2023

Safe on the Rock

Len and Fred shoved their boat away from the breakwater at about 5:30 on the evening of June 30, 1933. They were off on their usual night’s work — salmon fishing in the Bay of Fundy.

By the time they reached a good area in which to fish, they were about ten miles from shore. Fred was beginning to worry about the dark clouds forming above them, but they went ahead anyway, laying out their seven large nets over the next mile and hoping all would be well.

At 11:00 p.m. a thick fog rolled over the bay, and the waves started to get high. The two men began hauling in their nets. They soon discovered that the rough water had dragged another fisherman’s nets on top of theirs, and the nets were badly tangled. There was nothing they could do but cut the nets and pile all of them in their boat. Then they started the engine and headed for home.

Suddenly a huge wave broke over the boat, half filling it with water and making the engine die! As fast as they could, they put their nets out again, hoping the nets would hold the boat steady in the rough water. But about 2:00 in the morning they realized they were drifting and found that the storm had loosened the nets from the boat. Now there was only one thing left to do: put up a sail and try to steer for the harbor.

But it wasn’t long before they saw that it wasn’t the harbor they were headed for. In the early morning light they could see the cliffs looming up through the fog, with waves as high as trees smashing against them. Len and Fred were losing their battle with the sea.

It looked hopeless. The men were sure the end was near for them. Len asked Fred if he knew where his soul would be in eternity.

Fred answered, “I guess it’ll be all right.”

“You’ve got to be sure about it!” insisted Len, yelling above the noise of the storm. “I’m just a sinner, but I know the Lord Jesus has washed away all my sins in His precious blood. Just tell Him what a sinner you are, and ask Him to save you. Then you’ll be safe for all eternity too.”

In another moment a huge wave tossed their boat clear out of the water and threw it up on the rocks, standing it on its backend and flipping Len and Fred out onto the rocks beyond it. The two men were bruised but safe.

Fred thought a lot about how the Lord had saved him from death that night, and later he trusted in the Lord Jesus as his own Savior.

Exactly 51 years later, on June 30, 1984, Len’s nephew, John, who had graduated from high school that spring, started out with his fishing partner, Mark, for a night of fishing. Again, a storm came up. The boys maneuvered their boat, already taking on water, into the mouth of the St. John Harbor. John called his mother on the two-way radio to let her know that they were entering the harbor and would soon be home.

As the storm grew worse, big waves broke over their boat. The two boys had forgotten to clean out the scuppers (openings in the side of a boat that allow water falling on the deck to drain out), so their boat started filling up with water and sinking, fast.

Mark ducked into the cabin to get the life belts. He thought he had both of them, but he had only grabbed one. By then the cabin was full of water and he couldn’t go back to get the other one.

“You wear it,” John offered. “Don’t worry about me ... I know the Lord Jesus as my Savior.”

Soon, their boat sank. Mark wore the only life belt while John hung on to a piece of plywood. He hung on until he was too tired to hang on any longer. About 3:00 a.m. he slipped off the piece of plywood and into the stormy sea. “Greater love [has] no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Early the next morning an old man found Mark, unconscious but still alive, washed up on the rocks at the same spot where Len and Fred’s boat had been thrown 51 years earlier.

We admire the love of John, who was willing to die so his friend could be saved, don’t we? I hope you know the far greater love of God. The Bible teaches us that God loved us so much that when we were His enemies, God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die, so that we could come back to God. “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:10). What amazing love! Have you received God’s free gift of salvation?

Memory Verse: “When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” Romans 5:10

Messages of God’s Love 7/23/2023

Left Behind

Many years ago a man was on a train in England which was travelling quickly between the cities of Glasgow and Bradford. The train arrived at a junction where one track headed to Bradford off the main track. In order to keep to a very tight schedule, the train company had come up with a way to let part of the train keep travelling at full speed to Glasgow without stopping, while part of it got left behind to go to Bradford. As they came to this junction, the Bradford cars were instantly disconnected from the main body of the train, which then continued on to Glasgow at 50 miles an hour. This left the cars going to Bradford, after they slowed down, standing on the train track.

The passengers waiting on the tracks were concerned. As far as they knew, the connection to the other part of the train had just broken, leaving them behind. A young man put his head out the window and said, “We are left behind. I see the train going around the curve!” For all they knew, some other train might come any minute and crash right into them.

Did you know that the Lord Jesus is going to come one day very soon to take all who love Him to heaven to be with Him forever? This will happen very quickly. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52), the Bible says. We don’t know when it will happen, but we know it will happen. How sad it would be if anyone reading this story would be left behind, as they realize that those they know who are believers in Jesus have gone to be with Him forever!

For those on the train in our story, this uncomfortable situation only lasted a few minutes, as another engine soon came down the track to pull them to Bradford. But for anyone left behind when the Lord Jesus comes, there will be no happy ending to their story. Be sure you are “connected” to the Lord Jesus by faith in His finished work for you, so that you will be among those who go to be with Him when He comes.

Messages of God’s Love 7/23/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: A Night Under the Stars

“God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also.” Genesis 1:16

Have you ever slept outside? Perhaps as you were lying on your back in a sleeping bag, you noticed as the stars were beginning to appear. There were just a few at first, but more and more soon appeared until the sky seemed full of stars — some twinkling, others colorful, but all beautiful.

After a short while you perhaps realized that a group of stars you had especially noticed were no longer where they first were, but were now twinkling through some nearby trees. Other stars had taken their place. You may have realized this was due to two things — the earth was turning about 1000 miles an hour, and the stars themselves were traveling at a similar or even greater speed. But you knew that tomorrow night they would be there again.

An experience like that is something amazing. David, out in the fields with his sheep, had the same experience and later wrote in Psalm 8:3-4, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man?”

It must be that everyone in the world at some time wonders about those billions and billions of stars — where they came from, how they always have their own place in space, or why they never crash into one another. God wants everyone to recognize that He alone brought them into being and keeps them in their places.

Astronomers have the opportunity to look at the stars with huge telescopes and see much more of their beauty than the rest of us can see. They now think there are 100 to 200 billion galaxies! They have given names to some stars, but of course they could never find enough names for the billions more that there are. However, the Creator knows exactly how many there are and has given a name to every single star. Psalm 147:4 says, “He [counts] the number of the stars; He [calls] them all by their names.” Isn’t that wonderful?

God’s ability to name every star, that people can never begin to count, shows us a bit of how much He knows. And He knows you just as well! He knows your name and just what you are thinking at every moment, as well as what your life is like in every detail. He has promised, “I will never leave [you]” (Hebrews 13:5). Because He loves us and cares about us so much, we can trust Him completely!

Did You Know?

Earth spins at 1000 miles an hour at the equator.

Messages of God’s Love 7/23/2023

A Father to the Fatherless

Elias never knew his father. There was no one in his home he could call “Daddy.” His mother was kind to him and to his brother and two sisters, but his father had left them when Elias was too small to remember him. In a family where there is no father, life is often difficult.

His fatherless family lived in a small village high in the Andes Mountains. Their tiny hut was made of adobe — bricks of mud dried in the sun. The other boys in Elias’s village were also poor, but most of them had a father to help the family, so they did not understand that Elias’s family was also poor in not having a father.

And although Elias did not know it, the worst part of his life was not that he was poor. It was not even that he did not have a father. The worst part was that he did not know that there is a God who is a loving Father to any who are born again into His family. He had never heard that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that “a Father of the fatherless ... is God in His holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5). Elias thought often about how poor his family was and how hard he and his mother had to work just to have enough to live. No one had told him that God loved him and wanted to show him “the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

All the other children in my village have a toy, Elias thought to himself. Some of my friends have two or three toys, but I have none. His face darkened as he thought about this, and in his heart he said, It is because I have no father ... my father ran away ... he does not love us. Why did my father leave us?

For many years these thoughts troubled Elias. His mother was kind and worked very hard, but it was all she could do to provide a little food and a few clothes for her four children.

When Elias was 13, he was sent to Argentina to work in the sugar cane harvest. It was hard work for a young boy of 13, and he missed his family. Day after day he had to help burn, cut and gather the long stalks of sugar cane. Snakes were often hiding among the rows of cane. The money he earned was barely enough to buy his food. The workers all lived in crowded shelters, and there was a lot of sickness. As Elias thought about his hard and lonely days, again he said in his heart, It is because my father deserted us. He did not love us. We have to suffer now. My mother and I have to work hard and we never have anything nice. Seeds of bitterness were growing in Elias’s heart. He blamed his father for his hard life; he blamed his father that he never had a single toy; he blamed his father that his kind mother had to work so hard for so little. He had never known his father, but now he hated him.

Elias married a young girl when he was still in his teens. He worked hard for his little family, but those feelings of hatred toward his father were still deep in his heart. He told his young wife about his life of hardship, and he vowed, “If I ever find my father, I’m going to kill him!” He did not stop to think that this would be a terrible sin. He did not know that the Bible says, “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

One day Elias heard that his father was living in a small town several days’ journey from the mountain village where Elias lived. He would have to travel down out of the mountains and into the area where the jungle began to carry out his plan.

First, Elias bought a pistol. Then he began the long journey. As he traveled, he planned what he would do. He did not want to do this secretly. No, he wanted everyone to know what his father had done. He planned to meet his father in the central plaza of the town, and he planned exactly what he would say. He would call out loudly so all could hear: “This is what you deserve for what you have done to my mother, such a fine lady!”

So Elias, with his plans of murder, reached a small town that was close to where his father lived. Here he had a friend who would let him stay with his family for the night.

Unknown to Elias, the God who loved him was seeking him. Even though his heart was filled with these terrible plans, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners from their sins, was seeking Elias.

As Elias visited with his friend, he told him about his plans. His friend begged him to give up his plans. Then he told him about a loving God who would receive him into His own family if Elias would accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior. The light of God’s love for him poured into Elias’s hurt and sinful heart, and he believed that Jesus had died on the cross for his sins. Now he was one of God’s own children. Elias had started a new life, and he now had a loving, caring Father. What a joy it was for him that at the very time he was planning to do the worst sin of his life, God was reaching out to him in love. To his amazement, he found that when his sins were washed away in the precious blood of Christ, he could forgive his father. He, who had so recently bought a gun, could now put it away. He, who had hated, could now forgive because God had forgiven him for so much.

Elias travelled back to his family with a new peace in his heart — and a new purpose for his life ... to tell others about his new Father and his Savior. He told his wife about the loving God who is a Father to the fatherless. He told his mother, brother and sisters about a Savior who loved us while we were yet sinners. It is a great joy to know that they also came to the Savior for forgiveness and found that God brought them into His own family as sons and daughters.

Are you one of God’s sons and daughters?

Memory Verse: “Every one of us shall give account of himself
to God.” Romans 14:12

Messages of God’s Love 7/30/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Attracting Wildlife

“The Lord [knows] how to deliver the godly out of temptation.” 2 Peter 2:9

There are times when people want to attract a wild animal or bird to come closer. A photographer may want to get a close-up picture, a scientist may be doing research work, or perhaps a hunter wants to get a shot at closer range. Many devices have been designed to help do this. The following are a few of these.

In the days before North America was settled, Native Americans hunting for food had a clever way of drawing pronghorn antelope closer, so they could shoot them with their bows and arrows. They discovered that these animals, which normally would run from anything approaching them, are terribly curious about anything unusual. If a hunter hid himself in tall grass and waved a white cloth above his head, the antelopes’ curiosity would make them come closer to investigate. Of course, they had no way of knowing they were soon going to become the hunter’s food.

Another trick with deer, elk and moose is for the hunter or photographer to clash a pair of antlers together, over and over again. A nearby buck, thinking this noise is coming from two males fighting, comes cautiously to investigate. The person making all the racket gets his reward.

Turkey hunters have some tricks too. The most successful one is to imitate turkey calls. The person has to stay hidden while waiting until a gobbler comes to chase away what it thinks is an intruding bird.

Smaller birds also are often tricked to come close for a photographer in a similar way. Recordings of the songs and calls of many birds are available at some sporting goods stores. When one is played in the woods, it will often bring several of the desired species closer.

Water birds such as ducks, geese and loons will often respond to decoys placed on a pond or lakeshore, especially if the person placing the decoy is also good at imitating the calls of these birds.

Some people have learned how to imitate the cries of an injured rabbit, cat or dog, any of which may cause a coyote, bobcat, cougar or other animal to show up, thinking it will find an easy meal.

There are many attractions that our enemy, Satan, uses to cause us to sin. It is good to ask ourselves, What things attract me? Am I being fooled by them? Social media is one way Satan tricks people into wasting time, for example. A Bible verse warns us: “Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived” (Deuteronomy 11:16).

The Lord Jesus wants you to let the Word of God, the Bible, be your guide in all you do. Following this guide is a safe and happy path. “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn Thy [instructions]” (Psalm 119:73). Ask the Lord to help you do this, and He will.

Did You Know?

Recordings of songs and calls of many birds are available at some sporting goods stores.

Messages of God’s Love 7/30/2023

Do You Recognize Him?

Tsai Sung Hua picked up a silver hammer and struck a small gong. Two personal attendants entered his room. One carried beautiful robes that belonged to him because of his important job, and the other carried his hat which had a peacock feather hanging down and a red button that showed that the wearer of the hat was a Chinese official of highest degree.

After he dressed in his robes and hat, he walked out onto a balcony overlooking a large courtyard. Several less-important officials were already there. Tsai Sung Hua walked to his position at the front of the balcony without saying a word.

Carefully he looked over the courtyard of the examination hall below. High walls with locked and sealed iron gates surrounded it. Along one wall were many cells, barely large enough for a person to sit down in. In front of these cells were six hundred students, all young men, standing still and silent like statues. Slowly Tsai Sung Hua looked them over. Several were dressed in patched, worn-out garments, making Tsai think of his own life of poverty when he was a student. Most of their faces seemed frightened and strained. Their futures depended upon the results of this 72-hour examination.

After examining the courtyard from the balcony, he looked at an official in a watchtower on the wall and nodded. At this signal the man beat a large gong. The young men in the courtyard gazed up at the watchtower and saw the man wave a banner. In a loud voice he cried out, “O ye spirits of the dead! Look upon these students gathered here! If any has offended in word or deed, do punish the offender and avenge the wrong!” The students, all of whom believed in evil spirits, shivered with fright, and some nearly fainted. Another gong was sounded and each student went to his own examination cell.

A servant carrying a banner over his head walked through the courtyard making sure every student could see it from his cell. On the banner was printed the subject of an essay they must write. Each student received a single roll of paper. They were given three days and nights to write the essay and were ordered to stay in the cells with only brief breaks for rice and water. They were strictly forbidden to speak to anyone until their examination was finished. The students who wrote the essays were often appointed to important positions in the government. This system of choosing public officials had been in practice in China for over 1400 years.

Tsai Sung Hua was appointed by the emperor to be in charge of the examination hall. For his faithful service he was rewarded with wealth and honor.

Late in the evening of the second day of the examination, Tsai Sung Hua felt restless. He took off his gorgeous robe and hat and in a dresser drawer found a plain gray servant’s uniform. He put it on and slipped unnoticed out of his rooms and into the darkness of the courtyard. He walked there for a few moments. Then he heard someone sobbing. In the darkness he found a young man crying as if his heart would break.

“What is the matter?” Tsai asked. “Who are you?”

“My name is Hung,” the young man replied, “and I am here from the city of Wusih. My mother is a widow and too poor to send me here, but some friends loaned her money for me to come. My essay roll slipped out of my gown into the dirt and is ruined. Now I have no more paper, and I dare not return and tell my mother I have lost the chance. It would break her heart. I have no choice ... I can only kill myself.”

Tsai Sung Hua listened with sympathy, remembering the strain of his own examination. “I have a roll of paper I do not need,” Tsai said. “I will get it for you and you can rewrite your essay.”

When Tsai returned with the paper, the young man looked into his face to thank him. Astonished, he recognized him, not as a servant, but as the Chief Examiner. He bowed to the ground. “Sir,” he cried, “I shall remember you with gratitude all the days of my life. You have saved me and my mother.”

If Tsai Sung Hua had not walked as a servant through the courtyard, the young man might have ended his own life that night. His grief in losing the roll was so intense and his hopes had been so sadly ruined that he felt he couldn’t go on living.

A Man far greater than Tsai Sung Hua put on the form of a servant and walked through this world. Although it could truly be said of Him, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3), yet we read, “Christ Jesus ... made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5,7-8).

When Hung recognized who the man in the servant’s uniform really was, his heart filled with gratitude, and he bowed to the ground before him.

Have you recognized this wonderful One who died on the cross? He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Has your heart filled with gratitude and have you bowed before Him?

“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Memory Verse: “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9

Messages of God’s Love 8/6/2023

Jesus

Jesus, who made the largest stars,

Has made both you and me;

He came to earth a little babe

For love of you and me.

He lived a life of serving all,

But people hated Him;

They nailed Him to a cross where He

Was punished for our sin.

But now He’s living once again,

And calls to you and me:

Oh, hear His voice; come unto Him;

He loves both you and me.

Messages of God’s Love 8/6/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Adaptable Guanaco

“I am the bread of life: he that [comes] to Me shall never hunger; and he that [believes] on Me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

The guanaco is another interesting animal that the Creator has designed to live in unusual surroundings. This charming woolly animal lives at the lower end of South America. It is fitted for the sea-level plains of Argentina and Patagonia, as well as the cold, wind-swept islands of Tierra del Fuego and the high, snow-covered peaks of the Andes mountains in Bolivia, Chile and Peru. It lives in family groups that migrate between these winter and summer feeding areas. Guanaco blood has about four times the red blood cells that we humans have. This is what enables them to live in the great heights of the Andes.

The guanaco often has to survive long periods without water, so God has given it the ability to get its water from the food it eats. It also has been given padded feet that have two hard, sharp little toenails, which give it a good grip on rocky ground, as well as in sand and snow. Warm, woolly fur covers its entire body. It can “open” and “shut” parts of it to help it stay warm or to cool down.

Closely related to llamas and vicunas, the guanaco is the most graceful of them. But it is wild and not used as a pack animal like the llama.

Babies are born between October and January (spring and summer south of the equator). Called chulengos, they are playful and have mock battles, jumping at each other and wrestling with their long necks. They like to tease the patient adults too. The young have downy, cinnamon-colored coats with white underparts.

Only one day after birth, the chulengo can run swiftly, but the mother nurses it for a year or more before the dominant male in the group chases any males away. The females stay with their mothers but bachelor males band together in groups of up to 50 until they are about five years old and then they establish their own families.

Isn’t it interesting that all creatures on earth need both food and water? They may get them in different ways, as we see in the guanaco, but God has made all people and animals dependent on those two things in order to live. People have another need, as well. We have a soul inside of us that needs God and things that only God can give: the forgiveness of sins, unchanging love and a purpose for living. As our opening verse tells us, Jesus is the bread of life, and He also gives the spiritual water we need. I hope you know the Lord Jesus, who can and will satisfy you like nothing and no one else ever can, if you simply come to Him with your needs and believe on Him. Every moment of every day, this food and drink is available to satisfy your heart.

Did You Know?

Only one day after birth, the chulengo can run swiftly.

Messages of God’s Love 8/6/2023

The Train Accident

Ed and Jan were a happy Christian couple. They had both accepted the Lord Jesus as their own precious Savior and loved to tell others about Him, so they kept a box of gospel tracts beside the front door. As they went out the door, they would pick up a few tracts to take along with them.

One day as they were buckling their seat belts before driving to Pembroke, Ontario, Ed said, “You know, Dear, I think the Lord would like us to take a lot of these tracts with us today.” So he went back into the house and picked up a big stack of gospel tracts. Each tract had a picture of a train with a vista dome (a dome with large windows for sightseeing) on top.

As they drove along, talking about the stack of tracts, Ed remarked while looking at the picture, “Don’t you think it would be fun to go across the country on that? You could see for miles around, looking through that glass dome top.” Jan agreed, and she added that the Canadian Pacific vista dome train would probably be traveling at that very moment on the track that they would soon see beside the highway on which they were driving. But they thought that since it was such a fast train, it was unlikely they would see it.

It wasn’t too many miles farther, as they came over a crest of a hill, that Jan said, “Look, Ed! What’s that?”

“It looks like the vista dome train lying on its side on the track!” As they drove closer, they saw that was what it was. “Do you think anyone is alive?” they wondered as they stopped their car and started toward the overturned engine.

“Wow! I almost fell. Be careful. This stuff is slippery!” said Ed, looking down to see his feet in a pond of asphalt that covered the track and all the ground around it for quite a distance. Just then they saw a strange-looking man come from behind the train. He looked strange because he was black from asphalt covering him almost from head to toe, and he had streaks of blood running down his face, chest and arms.

“What happened to you?” Ed asked the man covered with asphalt and blood.

“I was driving my tractor trailer truck full of asphalt down that hill, and the sun was glaring in my eyes so that I couldn’t see the train coming. When I did see it, it was too late to back off from the track, so I gunned it to try to get across the tracks before the train got to me. I made it over in the tractor, but the engine hit my trailer and spilled my load of asphalt all over the ground.”

By that time another truck had stopped and took the injured truck driver to a house at the top of the hill to get cleaned up and bandaged.

Ed and Jan made their way through the gooey asphalt with their first-aid kit and the stack of tracts, still wondering what they would find in the train.

Happily, soon they saw the conductor climbing up out of the overturned train. “Are you hurt?” asked Ed and Jan together.

“Not badly,” replied the conductor. “This morning I prayed for the Lord’s safe keeping, as I always do before I go out on a run. The Lord has graciously kept me in safety, and I think all the passengers as well.”

Soon the passengers began to climb out of the train. Ed and Jan gave each one a gospel tract. Because the tracts had a picture of a train on them, the people thought the railroad company had sent them, so everyone took one. The Lord Jesus had kept them safe during that frightening time and the gospel tracts told them how He would keep them safe for all eternity.

Among the last of the passengers to come out of the train were several young boys who were crying.

“Our mother is waiting for us at the next station,” they told Ed and Jan, “and we’ll never get there. What shall we do?”

Ed and Jan assured them that God had already proved His care over them by not letting them get hurt in the train, and He would continue to take care of them. The railroad company was planning to send limousines to take the passengers to their destinations. “But best of all,” they told the boys, “God will take care of us for all eternity. ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life’” (John 3:16).

The boys said, “We don’t usually think about God, but we’re sure going to say our prayers tonight and thank Him for all He’s done for us.”

If you were to come as close to death as those boys did, would you be wondering where you would be if you died, or would you know for sure that you would be with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven? You can know for sure. John 5:24 tells us, “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, [has] everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment for his sins]; but is passed from death unto life.” If you believe on Him, you already have eternal life. You don’t have to wait until you die to start enjoying the eternal life that the Lord Jesus gives to everyone who believes on Him.

Memory Verse: “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24

Messages of God’s Love 8/13/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Muskrat

“The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works.” Psalm 145:9

Names of several animals start with the word “musk,” because they have a distinct odor about them that is often rather unpleasant. This is true of muskrats, found in many rivers, lakes and ponds throughout North America and parts of Europe. When fully grown, their bodies including their tails are up to 25 inches long. Their life span in the wild is one to three years. They are excellent swimmers and divers. Their hind feet are webbed to help them swim and work underwater. Their tails are scaly and act as rudders.

Some muskrats build domelike houses, either in the banks of streams or out in the water by piling up mud and plants. These usually have more than one underwater entrance — a God-given instinct to keep enemies from getting inside. There is another benefit of these underwater entrances. When the water is frozen over, they can still find food, including fish, frogs, clams and water plants, down under the ice. Muskrats are not picky eaters and will eat almost anything they find. While muskrats eat one third of their weight each day, that slows down in the winter, when they enter a state called torpor and only eat every few days. Muskrats like to eat on feeding platforms they build as part of their lodges. Mothers give birth to four to eight pups two or three times a year, with larger litters born in the spring.

Some might wonder how muskrats get fresh air for breathing when the entrance to their den is underwater. Their kind Creator has arranged this for them, with fresh air coming in and stale air working its way out through slightly porous roofs that are covered with loose-growing plants.

If a steep bank or a dam is available, the muskrat will dig a tunnel from under the water up into the bank and have its living quarters there.

If a person sees a muskrat home and has the patience to sit quietly in a concealed spot nearby, he is quite likely, sooner or later, to see one swimming or sitting on the outside of its home where it is safe from most enemies. But if hawks or owls are nearby, they stay safely inside. They bravely fight any attacker, but because of their small size, they often don’t have a chance. Their main enemies are snakes, foxes, raccoons, owls, hawks and also people who trap or shoot them for their pretty fur. With so many enemies, it is easy to see why they spend much time hidden in their unusual living quarters.

As we consider these and other creatures, it is plain to see how well the opening Bible verse expresses the Creator’s care over each in its special way of life. And that includes boys and girls and grown-ups too, as we have our temporary homes here on earth. How thankful we should be to Him for that loving care!

Messages of God’s Love 8/13/2023

Mary's Two Bibles

Mary was the daughter of missionary parents in India. She lived there with them until she was six years old. As was often done in those days, when it was time for her to start school, her parents sent her to North America to live with her grandmother while she went to school. Mary’s grandmother loved her very much and often told her Bible stories, just as her parents had done.

As Mary learned to read and write, she wrote letters to her parents in India. They sent many letters to her too. At first her grandmother would have to read them to her, but soon she could read them herself.

One day close to her seventh birthday, she received another envelope from her father. Inside, she found some money and a note that said, “You will soon be having your birthday, Mary. I have enclosed money for you to buy yourself a new Bible as your birthday present.”

“That’s just what I wanted!” exclaimed Mary happily.

On her birthday, Mary and her grandmother went to a bookstore. They looked at a lot of different Bibles. There were big ones and little ones, some had gold edges on the pages, and some had leather covers, but those cost more. After looking at the Bibles for almost 15 minutes, Mary told the saleslady how much money she had and asked if it would buy two Bibles.

“Yes,” replied the saleslady, “but not the nice ones you’re looking at.”

Mary’s grandmother heard this and asked, “Mary, why do you want two Bibles?”

“Because I want one for myself and one to send to a girl in India who is my age so that she can learn about Jesus too,” answered Mary.

So Mary bought two Bibles. They didn’t have gold-edged pages or soft, leather covers. But as the saleslady told Mary, “The inside is just the same!”

As soon as Mary got home, her grandmother helped her carefully wrap the second Bible to be sent with a letter to her parents. She thanked them for her Bible and asked them to please give the second Bible to a seven-year-old girl in India.

Mary read her Bible every day and learned more about the wonderful love of Jesus. Her favorite verse was, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). She read in a letter from her father that the second Bible had been given to a seven-year-old girl, just as Mary had asked. Each day Mary prayed for her unknown friend in India, that she would also learn to know about the love of Jesus and how He had died on the cross for her.

After Mary finished school, she went back to India to help her parents in their missionary work. Not long after she arrived, she met an Indian girl who was a happy Christian.

“How did you learn about the Lord Jesus?” Mary asked her.

“When I was seven years old, I was given this Bible,” answered the girl. “I read it and learned how the Lord Jesus loved me and died for me.”

Mary had finally met her unknown friend! This was the girl who as a seven-year-old had received Mary’s second Bible and the one Mary had been praying for all these years.

Do you have a Bible? If you will read it, you will learn about God’s love and how He sent His Son Jesus to die for you. If you already know Him as your Savior, why not do what Mary did — share God’s Word with others so that they can learn about the wonderful love of God and be saved.

Memory Verse: “We love Him, because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Messages of God’s Love 8/20/2023

Alligator in the Attic

Mr. Hansen backed slowly away from the alligator he had almost run into. He was a home inspector and he had been called to inspect a home that was undergoing some construction. Up in the third-floor attic he had noticed what looked like a stuffed alligator in the dim light — perhaps a toy for a child, he thought and continued on with his job. But then he saw the “toy” blink! That eight-foot “toy” was a real live alligator!

The alligator must have been asleep, as he wasn’t moving, when he first got up to the attic, and he thought it wasn’t real. But then he shone his flashlight on him, and the alligator gave him a wink, letting him know he was very much alive.

Mr. Hansen had to persuade people that there was that dangerous reptile in the attic. When he did, he and his coworkers all left the home and called the animal control officers. They decided that since a door to the house had been left open during the weekend, the alligator must have made his way into the house, climbed the stairs to the attic and there he was when Mr. Hansen arrived. Mr. Hansen had come across a few dangerous kinds of animals in his work but he had never before seen an alligator in an attic!

Children, this story makes me think of how we have an enemy that the Bible refers to as a “roaring lion” who walks about “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). No one got hurt in this story but very many have gotten hurt by that roaring lion! That roaring lion is Satan himself and he is your enemy. He doesn’t want you to believe the gospel message that the Lord Jesus has come from heaven, died on the cross for you, rose again, and made the way for you to belong to the family of God. Satan would love to make you think that the Bible is not true and then drag you to hell.

Children, do not listen to the roaring lion who will do you nothing but harm, but come to the Lord Jesus who “came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Messages of God’s Love 8/20/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Two Unusual Storks

“These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat [food] in due season.”
Psalm 104:27

The African openbill stork makes its home in Africa and parts of Madagascar. This bird certainly would never win a beauty contest. One reason would be because of its big brown beak. It looks rather strange in that the upper and lower sections do not come together except at the very tip, leaving an open space. This is how it got the name “openbill.” Another reason would be because its black and iridescent green feathers, contrasting with brown and white ones, often look like they need straightening out. Its long, stilt-like legs, with three big toes spread wide, don’t help its appearance either.

This stork’s most important food is a large underwater snail that clings to stems of underwater plants. When it finds a snail, it grasps it with its strong bill and then is somehow able to extract it from its shell. Then, flipping the shell away, the stork enjoys this bite of food. Strangely, the snail’s pretty shell is not damaged in the process and makes a good collector’s item for anyone finding it.

The wood stork is another stork, mostly white, with a black tail and black feathers on the underside of its wings. It has a black head and neck mottled with brown and a beak that is similarly colored. Its three-toed feet are pink. Home for this stork is in the southeastern part of the United States, mostly in Florida.

The wood stork feeds in shallow water on both freshwater and saltwater fish, and it is very good at fishing. It wades with its beak under the water, feeling for fish with its sensitive beak under the murky water. When its beak feels an underwater creature, it reacts by snapping closed on it with a reaction faster than any other animal, reptile, bird or fish is known to have. To feed their young, the parent eats the fish, snail or other food first. After digesting it, the parent brings the food back up into its open beak. The babies reach in from the sides, each trying to get the biggest bite, hoping there will be more as well.

In the hot afternoons, these storks often take to the sky, soaring upward on thermals. Perhaps this helps to cool them down. The parent birds also splash their babies or their eggs with water that they have carried in their beaks to their nests.

Isn’t it wonderful to think of the Lord God, the Creator of all things, taking pleasure in placing so many varieties of creatures throughout the world? It’s nice, too, to think of how He cares for them, giving them their food, as our opening Bible verse says. He does the same for you and me. Do you thank Him for His care and the food and other things He provides for you? There is an encouraging verse, the very last verse in the Psalms, that says, “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). If you are breathing, that means you are alive, and there is always much to thank the Lord for!

Did You Know?

African openbills can eat snails without damaging their shells.

Messages of God’s Love 8/20/2023

Going to Camp

Ned didn’t like school, until fifth grade. That year he had a very special teacher named Mr. Williams. Mr. Williams was especially kind to his students, and that made Ned like school a lot more. Mr. Williams showed how much he cared about his students in many ways. On recess, he often spent time with Ned by playing the guitar while Ned played his cello, even though he probably had a lot of work he could have been doing. He also noticed when Ned was having a bad day and asked him about it. He ran a race with another student that challenged him to
a race.

Ned got to have Mr. Williams as his teacher for sixth grade, too. Near the end of sixth grade, Mr. Williams and some other teachers took everyone in sixth grade to a special camp for three days. There the students learned new skills and had a lot of fun doing things they didn’t normally do. The kids got to choose what to do during the day ... things like hiking, painting, leather working, swimming, fishing, canoeing and shooting bows and arrows. At night, the students acted in short plays and sang songs, enjoying cozy campfires in the dark before going to sleep in their cabins.

Ned had a great time at camp with the boys in his group and Mr. Williams. Then one day he got a bag of chips at a meal. Chips were a special treat to Ned, because he didn’t get them very often at home. But Ned wasn’t hungry when he got the chips, and he wanted to go play, so he stuffed the bag into his pocket to eat later. As he crawled into his sleeping bag that night, he opened the bag quietly. No one was around to tell him not to eat the chips in the cabin, so he started eating the crunchy chips in the dark, thinking no one would know.

However, it wasn’t long before Mr. Williams came into the room and asked, “Is someone eating chips?”

What had made Mr. Williams wonder? Ned didn’t know! Had he heard the crunching? Had someone told on him? Ned didn’t answer, and Mr. Williams finally left the room without discovering who was eating against the rules.

As soon as he was gone, someone whispered loudly, “Hey, give me one of those chips.” Mr. Williams must have been standing on the other side of the door, waiting for clues that would tell him whether one of the boys really did have chips, because in an instant, he was back. He asked again, “Who’s got the chips?”

Ashamed, Ned admitted that he had the chips, and he gave them to Mr. Williams.

Now Ned felt awful. But it wasn’t because he had been caught or because he had lost the chips. It was because he had offended Mr. Williams, the friend who had been so kind to him. Now it didn’t matter to him how Mr. Williams had found out that he was disobeying. He didn’t even care what his friends thought about him. All he could think of was how much he must have hurt Mr. Williams who had been so kind to him.

Proverbs 9:10 tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This story shows us a picture of what the fear of the Lord is. Ned felt bad about doing a wrong thing against Mr. Williams because he was so good and kind to him. Mr. Williams was a loving teacher and a good friend, but he was nothing compared to God. God takes care of us all day and all night, loves us more than anyone else ever could, and made the biggest possible sacrifice in giving His Son Jesus to pay for our sins so we can spend eternity in heaven with Him someday. Even what we think of as a little sin cost Jesus so much to pay for that we can’t begin to understand it. If we think about how much God loves and cares for us, it will make us want to be careful not to grieve Him ... not to do bad things, called sins, since all sin is really against God. Jesus said, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23). If we love God, we will want to obey Him, and then we can keep on enjoying His love.

Memory Verse: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

Messages of God’s Love 8/27/2023

The Changed Boy

Long ago, a man named Mr. Moody was trying to get to know a family so he could teach them about the Lord Jesus, but he just wasn’t able to. Then one day, as he was preaching, he saw one of the boys from that family sitting in the audience. He was there to make trouble, not to listen. He was poking pins into the backs of other boys near him! Mr. Moody decided to try to help that boy. As all the boys left, he shook hands with all of them, but then, after he shook hands with that boy, he patted him on the head and told him he was glad to see him and hoped he would come again. The boy, Mark, looked ashamed of himself and walked away.

The next week he was back, and he kept coming. After two or three weeks more, he asked someone to pray for him, as he wanted to become a Christian. He came to Jesus just as he was, and the Lord Jesus saved him.

A few weeks later, one evening Mr. Moody noticed that Mark was crying. It was because he wanted them to pray for his mother. Mr. Moody asked him if he had ever talked with her or tried to pray with her. He had not, so Mr. Moody told him, “I want you to talk with your mother tonight. I will pray for you both.”

When Mark went home, his mother was talking with some friends. Mark sat there and waited for a chance to talk, but finally his mother said it was time for him to go to bed. He started to leave, but then he ran back to his mother and threw his arms around her neck.

“What is the matter?” she asked him.

Crying, he told his mother that he had been a Christian for five weeks. He had stopped swearing and was trying to be obedient to her. He would be so happy if she would become a Christian too.

Mark went off to bed, but soon his mother couldn’t stand it. She went up to his room and, stopping outside the door, she heard him crying and praying for her to be saved.

She couldn’t sleep that night. The next day she told her son to go ask Mr. Moody to come, and he went as soon as he could. He found her crying.

“Mr. Moody,” she said, “I want to become a Christian.”

Boys and girls, if you live with people who don’t know the Lord Jesus, did you know that you can help lead them to the Lord? The Bible says, “A little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6). Mark was able to talk with his mother when Mr. Moody was not able to. The Lord will help you if you ask Him to!

Messages of God’s Love 8/27/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Ravens Are Smart

“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God [feeds] them.” Luke 12:24

Few northern countries are without ravens. There are around 16 million of them, found throughout North America, including Canada’s Northwest Territories. They are also found in northwest Africa, northern India and in most European countries and all the way to the far edges of Russia and China. They are an impressive bird with their black shiny feathers, strong, three-inch-long beaks and long claws. They have been described as “brainy, smart and wily.”

Ravens have no beautiful song, but they do have many interesting calls and sounds which enable them to communicate many things to one another. They are also able to mimic sounds they hear around them, including human words.

A full-grown raven may be more than two feet long and have a wingspread that can be over four feet. Their huge nests are built of large sticks, held together using grass, bark or mud and then lined with softer material, which can include animal fur. Raven pairs usually stay together for life. They use the same nests year after year and keep them in good condition. These are usually built in tall trees or on a protected ledge of a rocky cliff.

For most ravens, egg-laying begins in late February. The female lays from three to seven olive-green eggs with brown spots, and she alone incubates them, never leaving the nest until they are hatched, five to six weeks later. The male bird faithfully brings her food while she is on the nest.

Parents take very good care of their young ones, continually bringing food to them in daylight hours and guarding them from other birds that might be foolish enough to get too close to a nest. The young ravens leave the nest about five or six weeks after hatching.

Ravens are not picky eaters. They eat dead animals, fish, rodents, lizards and eggs and even the young of other birds. They find food in a garbage dump if one is available. They also eat insects, wheat, barley and other grains growing in the fields, and fruits. They will eat almost anything. This is why when Noah sent the raven out of the ark, it didn’t come back to him. It had plenty to eat.

If you can study ravens more on your own, you will find many interesting facts about them. They are one of the most intelligent creatures on earth, with amazing memories. They like to tease. Their young ones like to play, sliding down a snow bank or tempting an animal like a wolf to chase it. They find things like sticks to play with, and they are very curious about bright and shiny round objects. The God who made them takes pleasure in them, according to Revelation 4:11, and no doubt He also takes pleasure in it when we enjoy them with Him.

Messages of God’s Love 8/27/2023

Did You Know?

Raven pairs usually stay together for life.

No Warning

It was a beautiful, warm spring day, and Jeanne and several of her friends decided to take a hike to the top of Wallace Falls in northwestern Washington. It was a lovely place to hike with lots of evergreens and bushes along the path. The birds sang and they could hear the roaring sound of the falls in the distance as they climbed with all the energy of healthy youth to reach the top of the falls. While they hiked, the girls talked and laughed, enjoying one another’s company. They all seemed to be having a good time, but Jeanne may not have been feeling very happy inside.

Not too long before, at the high school where Jeanne was a senior, the students had all been asked to write a short message that would be printed under their picture in the yearbook. At the end of her message, Jeanne had written two little words: “I’m scared.” What a strange message! What was she scared of? Jeanne had heard about the Lord Jesus and His love for sinners, but she had never seemed very interested in the subject. Was she scared of God? Was she scared of death? Or was she scared of the unknown future?

As the girls neared the top of the falls, they heaved a sigh of relief; the hot hiking uphill was over, and in front of them were the beautiful falls. The girls decided to take off their shoes and wade in the pool of water just above the falls to cool off.

“Oops! There goes my shoe!” yelled Ann, Jeanne’s best friend, as her shoe fell out of her hand and into the water with a splash. “I hope it doesn’t go over the falls!”

“I’ll go after it,” yelled back Jeanne.

As Jeanne made her way after the shoe, she discovered that the current was stronger than she thought. She turned around and struggled to get back to the other girls, but the current was too strong for her. Right in front of her friends’ eyes, Jeanne was carried over the falls!

The girls could hardly believe what had happened! They ran for help, but it was too late. It was not until several weeks later that Jeanne’s body was found. That beautiful day Jeanne went out of this life and into eternity with no warning.

Boys and girls, are you ready to face eternity? Jeanne had no idea when she woke up that morning that she would be in eternity that very afternoon. If you were to die today with no warning, like Jeanne, where would you be? How wonderful it would be if you would be with the Lord Jesus in heaven where there is perfect love, true happiness and no more pain. But how terrible it would be to find yourself in hell with the devil and his angels! There is no happiness there — no light and no love! Come to the Lord Jesus and have your sins forgiven while you still have time.

Like Jeanne, none of us knows when we will die. Because of that, the Bible warns us, “Boast not [yourself] of tomorrow; for [you know] not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). Not one of us knows if there will be a tomorrow for us. The Lord Jesus loves you and is calling to you right now: “Come unto Me, all [you] that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Won’t you come to Him today? Tomorrow may be too late.

Memory Verse: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

Messages of God’s Love 9/3/2023

Noah Webster

Have you ever used a dictionary? In your school or homeschool you have probably looked up the meaning of a word, either on the computer or in a big book called a dictionary. You may even have a dictionary book at home. If so, it may be a Webster’s Dictionary.

Noah Webster was the man who put together the first American dictionary. If it were not for this book, people in New York might be speaking a completely different version of English than people speak in California, because language changes very quickly and easily.

Mr. Webster was born in 1758 on a farm near West Hartford, Connecticut. He loved to read, even as a boy. His father had to really work to get him away from his books to help with the farm chores. Although his family did not have much money, Noah somehow earned enough money so he could go to college. Shortly after graduating, he started teaching school.

While teaching school in the 1780s, he wrote a beginner’s spelling book, a grammar book and a book to teach reading to school children. Millions of copies of the spelling book were sold, which helped everyone in the United States to spell and pronounce words the same way. It took him more than 30 years to write what is called the dictionary, since the English language was changing very fast because of new discoveries in almost every area of life.

When he was about 40 years old, he began to wonder if all his work was what mattered most in life. He wondered if he had been building his hopes on what he had done, rather than on God’s mercy toward him. One day he told his wife and three children, “Starting today, I’m going to study the Bible until I find out what really counts!”

This was the beginning of a very important change in Mr. Webster’s life. He studied the Bible as carefully as he had worked on his dictionary. God was working in his life. The more he read, the more he understood what a proud sinner he really was. Late one night he kneeled down and asked God to forgive him. He confessed that he was a sinner and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. He believed that the work that the Lord Jesus had done on the cross was everything and that his own life and works were nothing. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The very next morning Mr. Webster told his family about his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They began to read the Bible and pray together each day. Soon his whole family believed on the Lord Jesus as their Savior.

Mr. Webster found out what many of us have learned, that we can’t trust ourselves or our own ideas about what is right or wrong. Instead, we need to know God’s standards that He clearly shows us in the Bible. It is there we see what we are in God’s sight — “gone astray” and in need of His salvation. Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord [has] laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). What are you trusting in to get you to heaven? The Bible tells us there is only one way of getting there, and that is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Messages of God’s Love 9/3/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The World's Largest Snakes

“The Lord God said unto the serpent, Because [you have] done this, [you are] cursed above all cattle ... upon [your] belly [shall you] go.” Genesis 3:14

Of the world’s more than 3,000 species of snakes, three of the largest are anacondas and boa constrictors, which live in the swamps and tropical forests of South and Central America, and pythons, found in southeastern Asia, Africa and India.

The 10- to 18-foot boa constrictor is smaller than the 20- or 30-foot anaconda and python. All kill their prey by coiling around an animal’s body and squeezing it to death. Then they swallow it whole. They do not chew their food, but draw their hinged mouths over it, and their fangs then pull it into their bodies an inch or two at a time, where it is slowly digested. After a big meal, the snake may not need to eat again for three or four months.

The long, flat head of these snakes has no outer ears. They have an inner ear bone that connects to their jawbone, and this helps them hear through vibrations. They also have a great sense of smell. They smell partly through their flicking tongue, and partly through their nostrils. An amazing ability to sense tiny variations in heat also gives many pythons and boas, along with pit vipers, the ability to get a full infrared picture of their surroundings.

God has given snakes a protective armor of scales in their skin, to protect them from things that might hurt them as they crawl on the ground. For various reasons, snakes shed this skin 4 to 12 Times a year. New skin replaces the tight old one, which is rubbed off, often in one piece.

Anacondas and boas give birth to live babies, as long as two feet at birth, but pythons lay eggs. Some python mothers incubate their eggs by coiling around them. Either way, as many as 60 babies are born or hatch, and immediately they know how to squeeze small victims to death. Python babies can be nearly three feet long when they hatch.

These reptiles have a place and purpose in God’s creation, but most people find them repulsive, especially when remembering that in the Bible Satan is called “that old serpent, which is the Devil” (Revelation 20:2). We know from our opening verse that God cursed the snake to crawl on its belly because of its work in getting Adam and Eve to sin. Isn’t it amazing to think that God would give it protective skin to protect it as it lives out this curse? God is so merciful! Can you think of ways you see His mercies to you as well as to people who don’t love Him and who may even curse His holy name?

Did You Know?

Some python mothers incubate their eggs by coiling around them.

Messages of God’s Love 9/3/2023

The Runaway Gerbil

Kristen and Johnny had two cute little gerbils named Arnold and Bucky. They were both active little animals, as most gerbils are, but Bucky was especially adventuresome. He explored everywhere he could when he was allowed out of his cage.

One week, Kristen and Johnny went to visit their grandmother, leaving their gerbils with their parents at home. Early in the week Daddy noticed that Bucky was not in the cage. The lid had not been closed tightly and was slightly ajar. If you’ve ever had a gerbil, you know it doesn’t need much room to squeeze through. Bucky had gotten out!

Every night after Daddy came home from work, he went gerbil hunting. The cage was kept in the basement, so that is where Daddy searched. Although he spent many hours trying to catch Bucky, there were too many hiding places. He saw Bucky several times, but he could never catch him.

When the children came home a few days later, Bucky was still loose. Kristen thought that since Bucky was her pet, she would be able to catch him, but Bucky didn’t seem to remember their fun times. Johnny tried everything he could think of too. They put food out by the cage and then waited quietly for Bucky to come and get it. However, when Bucky did come and they dove to catch him, he always escaped.

Then one day Kristen prayed, asking the Lord Jesus to help them catch Bucky. Do you think such a little thing matters enough to talk about to the Lord Jesus? It does matter to Him, because, as the Bible tells us, “He [cares] for [or about] you” (1 Peter 5:7). Everything that matters to you, matters to Him.

Later that day, as Kristen looked for Bucky, the quick little gerbil ran behind an old bookcase that was being stored in the basement. Running behind the bookcase was easy, but Bucky soon discovered that there was no way to continue running away. The bookcase sat in the corner of the basement. Bucky could run behind the bookcase until he reached the corner, but then he was stuck, because the bookcase sat tightly against the wall. He could not go under it either. The only way out was the same way he had gotten in. Kristen was guarding that end. Bucky was trapped!

Kristen called for Daddy and he brought the cage quickly. Together they were able to get Bucky back into the cage.

The Lord had answered Kristen’s prayer, and so easily too. I’m sure the family must have thought, “If we had prayed about it sooner, we could have saved ourselves a lot of trouble.”

Bucky settled down to his normal caged life. But about two days later Kristen noticed that Bucky seemed sick, and he got worse over the next two days. On the fourth day after he was caught, Bucky died.

Kristen and Johnny’s parents wondered if Bucky had eaten something that was not good for him while he was out of the cage. Bucky might have thought he was having a good time while he was loose, but his good time led to his death.

Some boys and girls are so busy having good times that they don’t want to think about God. Sometimes even children who love the Lord Jesus Christ and know Him as their Savior want to go their own way, like Bucky did, and do things that are not pleasing to Him. But those “good times” will only last a short time, while our souls live forever. And those good times can be very bad for us too, just like Bucky’s was! If you have not trusted in the Lord Jesus and are “running away” from Him, why not allow yourself to be “caught”? He wants to have you safe in His loving arms. He loves you so much that He has already taken the punishment for all your sins if you will only believe in Him. He shed His precious blood on Calvary’s cross for all who accept Him as their Savior. He promises that “him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). If you do know Him but are not obeying Him, I hope you will go to Him right now in prayer. He wants to have you close to Himself to keep you safe and fill your heart with joy.

And if you do know Him, here’s a verse to think about. The Bible tells us, “If we ask anything according to His will, He [hears] us” (1 John 5:14). There is no problem we have that is too small or too big to bring to the Lord Jesus in prayer.

Memory Verse: “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.” 1 John 5:14

Messages of God’s Love 9/10/2023

The Missing Baseball Bats

Mr. Allan went to his garage to get his baseball bats. He was on his way to the park to play baseball with a bunch of friends.

“That’s funny,” he said to himself. “Where did I put those bats? They are usually right in this barrel!”

He took several minutes to look around but he could not find his bats. They had disappeared! And he couldn’t think of anywhere he might have left them.

A few weeks later he and his family decided to browse the yard sale down the street for fun to see what interesting things they might find. Was he ever surprised to see what looked like his very own baseball bats! Yes, they were his, all right! So he just gathered them all up and bought his bats back! Now, Mr. Allan was a policeman, but he decided not to say anything to the man running the yard sale, who was probably the thief, but to buy the bats as though he knew nothing about their being stolen.

When Mr. Allan bought his baseball bats back, he “redeemed” them. “Redeem” means “to buy back.”

Children, did you know that we all need to be redeemed? Satan “stole” all humans from God when he got our first father, Adam, to sin in the Garden of Eden. Adam then had a sinful nature, and that sinful nature got passed down to every one of us. First Peter 1:18-19 says, “Forasmuch as [you] know that [you] were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” This tells us that God has bought us back for Himself through the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is not a policeman, but He is the God of the universe who knows your every thought and yet still loves you and longs to buy you back from Satan for Himself. Won’t you come to Him today?

Messages of God’s Love 9/10/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Interesting Least Tern

“I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.” Psalm 50:11

There are several varieties of terns, and a very pretty and lively one is called the least tern. It did not get this name because there are so few of them, but because it is the smallest, being only ten inches long. It is not a songbird like a robin or a meadowlark, but it does have some distinctive chirping calls of its own.

How pretty they are with smooth, white feathers over the entire lower parts of their bodies, heads and throats. This is beautifully contrasted with gray upper feathers and their gray forked tail feathers outlined in black. The tops of their heads are coal black, and the long, sharp beaks, legs and feet are yellow, with a black tip to their bills.

Favorite nesting places are along the western coast of the United States beginning in southern California and down into Mexico, and also all along the Atlantic coast of the United States from Maine to Texas. They nest in colonies of 10 to 200 pairs along flat ocean beaches and also beside streams. Shallow nests are scooped out of the sand, and sand-colored eggs produce cute speckled chicks — all well camouflaged. The chicks are cared for by both parents for several months. In the fall they migrate south. Where they go is not known, but the South American Pacific coast is their likely wintering grounds. They return north to the same nesting spot in the spring.

Feathers of these birds used to be in demand for decorating women’s hats. Hundreds of thousands of these lovely birds were killed for that purpose. But we are happy that killing the least tern is no longer allowed, so their numbers are increasing. However, enemies such as foxes, owls and other birds, feral cats and even some people still kill many of them.

When waters are smooth, a tern flies swiftly, close to the surface, with its lower beak open. When it spots a fish of the right size, it scoops it up. Other food includes flies, beetles and sand hoppers, many of which they catch in midair.

The little “least tern” isn’t a very well-known bird, even today. But they were used and almost destroyed because people wanted something out of them. Sometimes people can feel like this — not very well-known, but used and even destroyed because of something someone else can get out of them. They may feel like no one knows what they are going through and that no one cares. But that isn’t true. God knows, and God cares. His Word tells us that He sees even when a little sparrow falls to the ground. How much more He cares about you and me, who are made in His image! He says, “Fear ... not therefore, [you] are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).

Did You Know?

The least tern’s diet includes small fish, flies, beetles and sand hoppers.

Messages of God’s Love 9/10/2023

A Warning for Max

Max was a strong young man. He lived high in the Andes Mountains of South America, where he was used to the harsh climate and the simple way of life. Cold winds whipped over the high plateau where he lived, and temperatures dropped below freezing, but Max did not have a furnace or even a wood-burning stove. Max did have warm capes called ponchos made of rough, woven material.

Max sometimes went to Bible meetings held near his house. The Christians there taught that people should think about their sinful ways and turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation.

Max did not enjoy those meetings, so he stopped going. He had grown up with other ideas about religion anyway. Some of those ideas were superstitions that had been passed on from his ancestors, the Inca Indians.

Max did not know at that time how serious it was to turn his back on God’s love and His precious book, the Bible. But God still loved him, and He put a strong warning in his life.

Although Max was young and healthy, he suddenly got sick. He tried many medicines, but nothing worked. Max never stopped to think that this might be God speaking to him. In spite of everything he tried, he just got worse. Finally, he had to go to a hospital. Even there nothing helped, and he got sicker and sicker.

One day, Max’s older brother went to visit him in the hospital. Since he wasn’t getting better, Max asked his brother to do a very serious and dangerous thing. He asked his brother to go to the witch doctor to ask for help. Max and his brother did not realize that this was not only dangerous, because it was getting involved with the devil’s power, but it was also sinful in God’s sight. The witch doctor’s power was from the devil, and the Bible says that the devil’s work is “to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10), not to help people.

However, “the Lord [has] prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom [rules] over all” (Psalm 103:19). God is stronger than Satan and He is able to rule over everything. God loves sinners even though He hates their sins. In His great love, He was going to give Max another opportunity to hear and obey His Word.

God was in control even when Max’s brother arrived at the witch doctor’s house. The brother explained about Max’s illness, but the only message the witch doctor gave was a very unexpected one: “Tell Max that he had something good and left it. If he doesn’t go back to it, he will die!”

That was a very strange message. It was not at all like the witch doctor’s normal messages, but God’s hand of love won a victory over the devil that day. When Max heard the message, he knew right away what it was that he had left: the Bible meetings! They were good even if he hadn’t enjoyed them at the time, and he had left them. Now he must go back.

Max went back to the meetings and this time his heart was ready to receive God’s Word. He heard again that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). This time when he heard, Max believed in the Lord Jesus and was saved from his sins. Soon, Max recovered completely from his illness. After that, if you went to visit him in his mountain home, you would hear him joyfully telling others that Jesus is stronger than Satan and telling the good news that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever [believes] in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Children, do you know what made the difference in Max? At first, he found the Bible meetings boring, but later he wanted to share the things he learned there with others, and he loved to talk about them. What made the difference was that he was now born into the family of God. If your family is talking about someone you know and love, it might not be interesting to someone who isn’t part of your family. But for someone in the family, it is interesting because they know and love that person. If you are born into the family of God by believing what He says about Jesus and how to have your sins forgiven, you will love what God loves. God loves His Son, the Lord Jesus, and His people and all the people in the world too. “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that [loves] is born of God, and [knows] God” (1 John 4:7).

Memory Verse: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1 John 4:7

Messages of God’s Love 9/17/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Two Unusual Wonders

“Stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14

Near the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, and at several other points in tropical regions, there is an unusual aquatic worm named the balolo worm that lives on the coral below the surface of the ocean. Great numbers of these worms leave their coral homes once or twice a year at very specific times.

During the third quarter of the moon in October or November, in the very early morning hours, they suddenly loosen themselves from the coral and rise to the surface where they prepare for giving birth to a number of little ones. Then a few hours later that morning, they all drop back down to their coral homes, where they remain until they repeat this a week or two later, and then they disappear, not be seen again for another 12 months.

Natives of that area have long known of this cycle, and many are in their canoes or waist deep in the water, waiting to catch as many as they can with their nets, baskets, or any other means, to enjoy a special meal and to sell them, if they get a lot of them. They are considered such a special treat that people will pay very high prices to get some where they can’t be caught. Crabs also time their arrival from inland homes to coincide exactly with the arrival of these worms, so the natives get to enjoy both crabs and worms to the full.

Another interesting creature is a little fish named the splash tetra. This 1.2- to 1.6-inch-long fish lives in shallow streams which are part of the huge river systems of South America.

When a male and female get together to produce babies, both leap out of the water to an overhanging leaf, where the female lays six to ten eggs. The male immediately fertilizes them. This is repeated until there are about 100 to 200 eggs.

When this is done, the male takes over the care of the eggs. He stays close to the eggs, splashing them with water up to 38 times an hour to keep them from drying out. Within 1½ to 3 days, the tiny babies, called fish fry, hatch, fall into the water and begin living on their own.

Have you ever eaten a worm and thought it was a delicious treat? I haven’t! What is a treat to one person may sound awful to another person. But there are some very special foods that are good for everyone. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” David said of the Word of God, “How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! [Yes], sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (John 6:35; Psalm 119:103). I always loved a piece of bread cut from a loaf fresh out of the oven and spread with butter and honey. That is a picture of the food God gives us to eat in giving us His wonderful Son, the Lord Jesus, and His precious book, the Bible. Have you eaten of that good food today?

Did You Know?

Balolos are also called palolo worms, Samoan palolo, wawo or nyale.

Messages of God’s Love 9/17/2023

A Close Call

It had all started as a fun adventure. Marie Peary and her mother had boarded a ship, named the Windward, to search for her father, Robert E. Peary. He had been away from his family for two years, as he tried again to reach the North Pole, and his family missed him. The Windward was taking supplies to the great explorer, so Marie and her mother hoped to see him.

At their first stop, they found that Peary had gone farther north, to Payer Harbor. They picked up some of his supplies, as he had left instructions to do, and also many of the Inuit men of that area who wanted to go along to hunt musk ox. One of those who joined the ship was Marie’s good friend Koodlooktoo, a teenage boy. At Payer Harbor they once again met with disappointment; Marie’s father had gone on still farther north. The ship’s captain explained to Marie and her mother that it was getting too late in the season to wait any longer for his return and that they would need to return to Newfoundland. But that very night a blizzard came and the wind blew the ship onto rocks. By the time the ship was repaired and ready to sail, it was too late ... the ice had frozen them into the harbor. Marie didn’t mind. She loved the Arctic where she had been born, and she loved adventure.

One day while they were there, Marie, who was seven, and Koodlooktoo, who was 15, set out on a four-mile walk across the frozen bay to Cape Sabine. The Windward’s captain wanted to know the condition of the ice at the Cape, so he could make plans when they could sail. The two friends walked across the ice in the bright moonlight of the long Arctic night and had their lunch on a hill overlooking the Cape. They could see that the ice to the north was still unbroken. But when they turned to head back to the ship, to their alarm they found a deep, wide channel where the ice they had just crossed had broken up. They would have to find a new
way home!

The detour journey back was much longer than the morning’s walk had been. Wearily they struggled on, sometimes up to their waists in snow, sometimes slipping as they went up icy hills. Marie begged Koodlooktoo to stop for a rest, but he wisely refused, knowing that if they fell asleep in that cold, they could easily freeze to death.

Finally, from a hilltop, Marie saw the welcome lights of the ship shining through the darkness. What a welcome sight! In her exhaustion, she sat down and started to slide down what looked to her like a smooth ride down the hill to home, in spite of warnings from Koodlooktoo that the slope was actually a glacier that could have a dangerous cliff.

Koodlooktoo saw his little friend hurtling to possible death, and he acted as only a very brave and very loving friend would. He threw himself down the icy slope, whizzing past Marie. Kicking his legs and flailing his arms, he found his footing when he was nearly on the edge of a cliff. As Marie slid wildly toward him, he reached out and caught her before she went over the edge.

I wonder ... have you been warned that you are on your way to a place of danger? If you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are on a dangerous road, the road to hell where you will be punished for your sins. “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and He cannot allow any sin into His holy presence. But thankfully 1 John 4:16 tells us that “God is love.” In God’s great love, He has made a way to save you from that eternal punishment through the death of His own Son.

What love it took for Koodlooktoo to risk his life to save his young friend! The Bible says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). But there is a much greater love than Koodlooktoo’s. The Son of God, the Lord Jesus, gave His life to save you from eternal punishment. He went to the cross of Calvary, where God placed upon Him all the sins of those who would believe on Him. God then punished His Son instead of us, so that He can now forgive us. You need to make this gift of forgiveness and eternal life your own by simply believing God. Won’t you believe His wonderful love and be free from the penalty of your sins?

“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever [believes] in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16).

Memory Verse: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:13-14

Messages of God’s Love 9/24/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Glaciers and Icebergs, Part 1

“He [God] [says] to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain.” Job 37:6

A glacier is formed by vast amounts of snow turning into ice as more layers of snow press down on the top or sides of a mountain. As this goes on year after year, a long, deep mass of ice builds up and a glacier is formed. Eventually the great weight of ice begins to slowly move downward, pushing ice, soil and loose rocks ahead of it like a giant bulldozer. Though it doesn’t appear to be moving, it is actually moving very slowly, perhaps only a few inches a day.

A glacier may cover so much area that its lower end could be melting in a warmer part of the land, flowing into a stream or lake. But most often a glacier moves toward the ocean where great chunks break off and float out into the water. These huge floating chunks, many of which weigh thousands of tons or more, are called icebergs.

Masses of glacial ice are often beautiful to look down on from a nearby hillside. People are sometimes tempted to climb a glacier. But that should never be done without a guide’s help, for there are often hidden holes (crevasses) which an inexperienced person might fall into, causing serious injury or even death. Huge caves are often formed too, but these are also dangerous to explore without a guide’s help. What most frequently happens to glaciers, adding to their beauty, is that as the force behind keeps them moving, they break into innumerable chunks of ice — pretty to look at, but dangerous to climb on.

The greatest number of Alaskan glaciers end their journey in the North Pacific Ocean, where warmer salt water splashes against them, breaking off chunks, large and small. This is an example of the wisdom of the Creator, using the melting of glacial ice to add fresh water to keep the oceans of the world from becoming too salty.

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that [you] may know how [you] ought to answer every man.” Just like the ocean is kept from being too salty by having fresh water added to it in different ways, the Lord wants a Christian’s speech to be always with grace (or kindness and love), which is like the fresh water. But it is also to be seasoned with salt, which includes using the truth of the Bible in an appropriate and helpful way for the person you are talking with.

In the next issue we will look at the place icebergs have in the Creator’s plans.

(to be continued)

Messages of God’s Love 9/24/2023

Frozen to the Boat

Every winter the Rideau River near our house in Canada freezes all the way across. The ice is often a foot thick and strong enough that a truck can drive over it. This thick ice often causes problems in the spring. If there is a warm rain that melts the snow quickly, the water flows on top of the ice as well as underneath. This sometimes causes flooding in the homes that are near the river. The city workmen often have to blast the ice with dynamite so that it will break into pieces and float down the river.

Several years ago, workers were out in boats doing this job. The water was about two feet deep on top of the foot-thick ice. One workman put dynamite in a hole in the ice and quickly moved his boat away. But somehow his boat overturned and he ended up in the icy water.

The man climbed on top of the upside-down boat which was now being carried rapidly down the river towards the Rideau Falls. Another workman saw the poor man’s dangerous situation and called the fire department.

The fire department raced to a bridge that crosses the river just above the falls. They quickly lowered a rope for the man to grab as he floated underneath.

Sad to say, the man did not grab the rope, and just before the boat went over the rushing falls, the firemen holding the rope heard him cry out, “I’m frozen to the boat!” The poor man could not do one thing to help himself. If only the firemen had lowered a man on the rope to grab him before it was too late!

Boys and girls, if you have never had your sins washed away in the precious blood of Christ, then you are in far greater danger than the man on the boat. The Bible says, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). The poor man whose hands were frozen to the boat could not save himself, and there is nothing you can do to save yourself, either.

It was too late when the firemen realized that what the man needed was not a rope for him to grab, but a person to save him. But the good news is that there is a Person who is able and willing to save you from the judgment your sins will bring. That Person is God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus. He came into the world and went to the cross of Calvary to suffer and die for the sins of any who would believe on Him. He rose from the dead the third day, and now the Savior we are telling you about is alive again and in heaven. “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6).

Memory Verse: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6

Messages of God’s Love 10/1/2023

Where Is Your Written?

Have you ever been tempted to carve or write your name on a tree or a wall? Perhaps you have done it in the sand at the beach. Although the tide may very quickly erase a name written there, in other places the name may last for many years. Of course, it’s a bad idea to mark up a tree or someone else’s fence with your name. But there are other places where people’s names are written down on purpose and with a good reason. It is so they won’t be forgotten.

Perhaps you have walked through a cemetery and seen names on gravestones. The name of the person along with the dates of their birth and death are neatly carved on the gravestone. In this way we remember our loved ones who have died. Some gravestones give a hint of where that person’s spirit went when they died ... heaven or hell.

Another interesting place to see names is on rocks and cliffs along the Oregon Trail in North America. Many immigrants moving west in the 1800s wrote their names with axle grease or carved them on huge boulders as they passed along the trail. Fur trappers and explorers were the earliest names. Their names marked the way for the immigrants they were sure would come after them. Later, long “trains” of wagons, filled with families and everything they owned, traveled west along those same trails. Many of those travelers also carved their names in the limestone rocks.

One landmark from those pioneer days is called Independence Rock. More than 5000 immigrants wrote their names on this rock, in what is now the state of Wyoming. It came to be called the Great Register of the Desert. There is another “register rock” in the state of Idaho, where passing immigrants left their names. Many of them have been partially erased by the weather over the past 150 years, but some can still be read.

God knows the name of every person that has been born into this world, including your name! He knows when you were born, who your parents are, where you live, and even how many hairs you have on your head!

In the Bible we are told there is a book in heaven called “the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). In this special book, the name of everyone that has come to the Lord Jesus and asked Him to be their Savior is written down.

On a recent airplane trip, we had to show our boarding passes to be let onto the plane. What do you think would have happened if our names were not on the passenger list? We couldn’t have flown that day until we bought a ticket. That is like the Lamb’s book of life: The list of names in the book is checked, and those not written in the book cannot enter heaven. “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

Get ready now! Tell God that you know you are a sinner and that you believe Jesus died on the cross to wash you from your sins. The Lord Jesus will write your name in His book, and it can never be erased.

“The blood of Jesus Christ His Son [cleanses] us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Messages of God’s Love 10/1/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Glaciers and Icebergs, Part 2

“[The Lord gathers] the waters of the sea together as a heap: He [lays] up the depth in storehouses.” Psalm 33:7

Last week we took a look at glaciers originating in Alaska and their long, slow journey to the Pacific Ocean. Now let’s look at the icebergs that are formed as a glacier breaks up.

Some icebergs are quite flat on top, making a nice place for seals to climb up and rest. Birds also use them as places to rest. Hunters, spotting game on icebergs, silently paddle their kayaks near enough to get a shot. Sometimes they are even pleased to discover a polar bear asleep on one.

The icebergs most often talked about are the huge ones found in the Arctic Ocean waters around Newfoundland. Many of these icebergs are carried by ocean currents and winds into the shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean. It was one of these that was hit in the dark many years ago by the “unsinkable” ship named Titanic. The Titanic sank and many people drowned. Many other ships had crashed into icebergs in the darkness or fog. Today these iceberg areas are patrolled by boats with radar and radios, which warn ships to keep away from them, though accidents still happen occasionally.

These larger icebergs are most frequently huge chunks of ice that have broken away from the glaciers of western Greenland. The largest iceberg known about measured 208 miles long by 60 miles wide, which is larger than the country of Belgium. Incidentally, the part of an iceberg underwater is almost ten times larger than what is seen above the water.

In former days of fishing, some wise captains learned they could pull alongside these great icebergs in calm weather to chip off enough ice to fill their storage tanks with drinking water. It is estimated that an iceberg one half mile long by one half mile wide holds frozen water worth millions of dollars if it could be towed to one of the hot, water-scarce countries near the equator. So far, there are too many problems to attempt this.

Ephesians 3:18 talks about being able to understand what is the “breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of God’s plans and purposes for His people. Verse 19 talks about knowing the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. Perhaps as we think about the huge icebergs of our small planet, we get some tiny idea of the greatness of God the Father’s thoughts and plans for us who believe in the Lord Jesus. We can’t understand even the size of huge things in God’s creation ... and His thoughts for us are far, far greater. Do you enjoy learning about His thoughts in His book, the Bible? And the love of Christ, who died for us, is far more than we can know. But we can enjoy beginning to know it!

Did You Know?

The largest iceberg known measured 208 miles long by 60 miles wide.

Messages of God’s Love 10/1/2023

Otto The Bored Octopus

Elfi Kummer was completely confused. She would have to close the Sea Star Aquarium because of an electrical problem. For two days in a row the electrical system needed for the aquarium had mysteriously stopped working. The electricians couldn’t find the cause of this problem. All of the sea creatures were in danger of dying when the electric pumps which sent oxygen flowing into their water didn’t have electricity. Something had to be done right away!

In the summer, the Sea Star Aquarium in Coburg, Germany, was usually bustling with visitors who were there to see the 3,200 different sea creatures living there. One favorite was the very clever, six-month-old octopus named Otto. The workers had trained him to squirt passing visitors, and that kept him busy and having fun during the busy summer months. But now that it was quieter in the winter, the 31-inch octopus was bored. He began to cause trouble.

Otto found things to do that didn’t cause too much trouble at first. Using his eight legs, he would juggle the hermit crabs that shared his tank. This got a good reaction from the workers and gave him the attention he wanted. But then the workers drifted off to do other jobs. He had the playfulness to grab the workers’ scrubbers when they tried to clean his tank. But imagine the stress for the creatures that shared his tank when this mischievous octopus rearranged the whole tank to exactly how he wanted it!

Otto’s next trick was to start throwing rocks at the glass walls of his aquarium. That brought the workers over to try to keep him out of trouble! They invented toys like bottled crabs for him to play with. That worked for a little while, but how long can you keep a clever octopus out of trouble? They would soon find out.

Not long after, the power outages started. After two nights, some of the workers decided to take turns sleeping on the aquarium floor. One worker would stay awake to see if he could spot the start of the electrical trouble. After watching for a few hours, he would wake up the next worker to take his turn.

Toward morning, one of the workers noticed Otto crawling up the side of his tank. He got onto the top edge of the aquarium and then he took careful aim at the 2000-watt light bulb overhead. WHOOOSH! Otto squirted a long stream of water onto the light bulb, and ZAP! The water short-circuited the lighting system, shutting off the power to the whole building!

So that was the cause of the problem! A bored octopus was using his trained squirting abilities to amuse himself. This is rather interesting behavior for an octopus, but it makes me think about the trouble a selfish person causes.

Otto sounds like some boys and girls and older people I know. They think their world should be arranged to make them happy. They think: “I should do whatever makes me happy.” God’s Word warns us about these days and calls them dangerous. “This know also, that in the last days perilous [dangerous] times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves ... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1-2,4).

Even though we live in a selfish world, we have a perfect example in the Lord Jesus of how we should behave. Romans 15:3 tells us, “Even Christ pleased not Himself.” He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do [My] own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38). This teaches us that the way to have true joy is found in doing the will of God and trying to please others in right ways. The Bible says: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Corinthians 10:24). Live to please the Lord and to seek the happiness of others, and you will find greater happiness than you will ever have in living for your own happiness.

Memory Verse: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.” 1 Corinthians 10:24

Messages of God’s Love 10/8/2023

Bobby Builds a Stall

Bobby had a toy horse he liked to play with. It looked like a real horse, with a long tail that Bobby could comb. It even had a saddle he could take off and put on.

Bobby wanted a stall for his horse. His daddy told him, “Since you are nearly five, I think you could build a stall yourself. I have a hammer that is the right size for you and some nails, and here is some wood that you can use.”

Bobby was very excited and wanted to start building right away. But Daddy said, “Let’s wait until tomorrow when I have a day off work.”

Waiting one day wasn’t very long, but even so, it was going to take some patience for a five-year-old to wait even one day. Do you children know what the word “patience” means? “Patience” means to wait for something without fussing or complaining. Bobby could have stomped off and said he didn’t want to wait until tomorrow. That would not have been pleasing to the Lord Jesus or his parents. Instead, Bobby used patience to wait one day.

The next day when Daddy was home, he and Bobby got everything together to build the stall. There were three big boards for the walls and a big piece of wood for the floor. Bobby held the hammer while Daddy held the boards together. Bobby gave a mighty WHACK! Not only did he miss the nail completely, but two pieces of wood broke and the hammer hit his finger! Poor Bobby went away, crying.

Bobby was more scared than hurt. After he calmed down, Daddy told him, “Thank the Lord you weren’t hurt badly. How about if we try again, but I’ll have to get more wood first.” Bobby agreed that he wanted to try again.

Then Daddy said, “Here’s a thick board. Why don’t you practice hammering before we work on the stall another day.”

The next day, Mother taught him how to hold the nails with one hand and the hammer with the other. Then Mother started several nails, so they were ready for Bobby to pound in, and soon he could do it all by himself.

That evening, Daddy came home with more wood. Daddy held the pieces together while Bobby pounded the nails. This time all went well. When they finished, Bobby was quite pleased as he put his toy horse into its stall. He was happy because he had learned to hammer the right way, and he had learned some patience, too.

Patience is a hard lesson, even for grown-ups. Sometimes we pray, and we don’t get an answer right away. We know the Lord Jesus answers all our prayers, but sometimes His answer is “Yes,” sometimes it is “No,” and sometimes He says, “Wait.” He knows what is best. He tells us to “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).

Messages of God’s Love 10/8/2023

The Clever Baboon

“Every three years ... came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.” 2 Chronicles 9:21

In this verse we find that King Solomon apparently had a zoo near his palace, and apes were one of the animals he kept. We do not know what species of apes they were, but quite possibly they included baboons.

There are several kinds of baboons in South Africa. All of them have dog-like muzzles, close-set eyes, and sharp canine teeth. They also have a special pad of skin with no nerves or hair that makes it possible for them to sit for long periods of time in comfort. Baboons weigh between 31 and 88 pounds, depending on their species. All have strong jaws, large canine teeth and cheek pouches in which they can store food. They are noisy and quarrelsome animals and have even been known to attack humans.

The members of this ape family live in communities and have a highly developed social system. They have a dominant leader with all others taking their places in a well-defined “pecking order.” They live on the ground, though they sleep in trees or other high places where they feel safe from their enemies. Active both during the day and at night, they will eat almost anything. This includes stealing food from picnicking people and from food stores or homes.

Since they also make frequent raids on farmers’ crops, they are serious pests. In one area farmers kept such close watch with their guns that the baboons were no longer seen coming into the orchards, yet the trees continued to be stripped of fruit, much to the dismay of the farmers. Finally they discovered what was taking place. A group of baboons was found forming a line hidden in brush. After making sure he was not being watched, the leader would silently approach a tree, pick some fruit and hurry with it to the first baboon in line. The fruit was then passed from animal to animal and placed in a pile at the far end of the line. Then they all had a feast. However, they seemed to know that this little game might be interrupted, so as the first of the fruit reached them, each baboon took a bite and stored it in his cheek pouch without eating it.

While baboons have characteristics that make them somewhat to be feared by people, they are also a very interesting part of God’s creation. We see God’s kindness in giving them special seating pads, since they seem to sit a lot. Having pouches to carry their food in is another mark of God’s kindness to them, so they can collect food and travel with it to where they can eat it in peace. What proofs of God’s kindness do you see in your body? For example, what would life be like if you were missing even one of your five senses, as some people suffer? The sense of taste shows how kind God is to let us enjoy the food we eat. Perhaps you can think of more proofs of God’s kindness to you in how He made you.

Did You Know?

Baboons steal food from stores, homes and make frequent raids on farmers’ crops.

Messages of God’s Love 10/8/2023

A Statue That Danced

Hugo was a young man in his early twenties who worked for the Department of Agriculture in Lima, Peru. His job was to travel to other places in his country to estimate how much the crops would produce in the coming year. Many of the people in Peru were poor, and many did not have jobs. Thousands lived in tiny grass huts scattered across the dry mountainsides. They had no running water and no electricity. Since there were so many in need, Hugo was thankful he had such a good job and looked forward to an easier life than many had.

Sadly, Hugo had never really thought about the fact that there was something more important than having a good job and an easy life in this world. He had never thought about the fact that he would someday have to leave this world and stand before God. He had never heard the good news of the love of God. No one had ever told him that Jesus had suffered and died on the cross for sinners. In fact, Hugo seldom thought about God at all. But among all the millions of people in Peru, God in His love was going to speak to Hugo.

One day Hugo went to a certain town to inspect the crops in that area. He stayed in a hotel near the central plaza and he noticed the large statue that was in the middle of the plaza. Hugo was sitting in his hotel room when he heard rumblings that were all too familiar ... an earthquake! Anyone who lived in Peru probably would not have been as surprised or worried as you or I would have been, because small tremors often shake that country. But this time Hugo thought, This is not just a small tremor. This is a real earthquake!

The earth thundered again, even more loudly, and everything began to shake. Hugo was afraid and quickly ran downstairs. The earth shook even more strongly, and he thought it would be best to crawl under the large statue in the plaza for protection. He ran towards the statue ... and then suddenly he stopped, not believing his eyes! The statue was dancing! He stared, afraid and shocked, as the earthquake made the statue turn around and around. In a frantic attempt to find a safe place to hide, Hugo turned to run back to the hotel. He had only taken a few steps when, again, he could hardly believe his eyes. The entire hotel collapsed, and the roof fell all the way to the ground! Hugo stood frozen to the spot as disaster hit almost every building in the town — they were all collapsing as he stood there watching.

Many were killed that day, but Hugo’s life was spared. He realized how close he had come to dying, and a voice seemed to say to him, “This is the hand of God! God is speaking to you!”

Hugo had not read the Bible and so he could not decide just what God wanted him to do. He did not know that the Lord Jesus lovingly says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Hugo only knew without a doubt that he had felt the hand of God over his life.

Hugo started to help rescue school children who had been trapped under debris. He wondered if he could find any of his belongings. However, the hotel had been completely destroyed, so that was hopeless. He spent the night in the open countryside in a truck, because the aftershocks continued all during the night. There was much fear still that the few walls and buildings left standing would also collapse.

Hugo wanted to return home to Lima, but the roads had also been destroyed by the earthquake. So he began to walk with others to the nearest open road. They walked for three days through the countryside and had a very hard time finding food to eat. At last they found a road that was open. As Hugo traveled back home, he thought again, “God is speaking to me.”

Not long after this, Hugo was invited to a place where the Word of God, the Bible, was talked about. He listened, and the preacher told about God’s wonderful love in sending His only Son, the Lord Jesus, to die for sinners. He heard that his sins had taken him far away from God, but that the Lord Jesus had shed His precious blood to take those sins away. He heard the simple message that “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

After the gospel meeting one of the Christians said to Hugo, “God is speaking to you!”

“Yes!” agreed Hugo. But he must have wondered how this man could have known that God was speaking to him. Hugo had not understood the whole message, but that very night he knelt down and simply called on the Lord Jesus to save him. His sins were washed away in the precious blood of Christ and then he understood what God had been saying to him. He began to read his Bible, and he learned more about the wonderful salvation that God had given him. Soon, he started to tell others about his wonderful Savior.

God had spoken very loudly to Hugo through the earthquake, but He has also spoken to you. Perhaps it has been through your parents or through your Sunday school teacher or even through an illness. Maybe He is speaking to you right now, through this paper. God wants you to listen and be saved from your sins, because He loves you. But He also warns you that those who refuse the Lord Jesus and His love will be in hell forever, because “he that [believes] on the Son [has] everlasting life: and he that [believes] not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

The Bible tells us that God speaks once, and even twice, yet people don’t even notice (see Job 33:14). It takes an earthquake to make some people listen. Have you listened to God speaking to you?

Memory Verse: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

Messages of God’s Love 10/15/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: What Goes On in a Compost Pile?

“He [looks] to the ends of the earth, and [sees] under the whole heaven.” Job 28:24

For some years, many of us have been recycling various items instead of throwing them away. Even plant material can be recycled. Here is one way.

Many children help their parents make compost piles by dumping grass clippings, weeds, rotten vegetables and spoiled fruit in one spot to which manure, lime and occasionally soil and ashes may be added. These piles are turned over and stirred up occasionally, until it becomes a rich mixture of decayed organic matter that, when spaded into a garden, provides the finest kind of enriched soil.

How does this all happen? If you were to dig your hand into a properly done compost pile, you would find it is very warm and moist. This is the result of all the plant material decaying because of certain types of tiny worm-like creatures and organisms doing their job. The most active of all are billions of bacteria that work inside the pile. These are the main producers of the heat. They not only silently change everything to compost which is useful for enriching soil, but also destroy many harmful insects that are attracted to this banquet.

Other helpers, quite visible, include beetles, worms, millipedes, and sow bugs that work near the surface, making tiny tunnels that allow air to reach the materials and make them decay faster. Many of these helpers have short lives, and soon their bodies become part of the compost too. You don’t want to introduce some of them into your garden through the compost!

Just think — all these helpers almost seem to appear from nowhere. Where do they come from? Well, this is just another wonder of God’s creation. He has designed each one to do its part without any training or instruction. In as few as two weeks’ time, the compost becomes a crumbly, loamy substance which, when spaded into a garden, enriches the soil and will produce excellent fruits, vegetables and flowers.

To see some of these active producers of compost, just take a shovel full of the decomposing mixture out of the center of the pile when it is about ready for use, spread it on a white cloth or newspaper, and look at it through a strong microscope. You won’t be able to see all of them, but what you find will help you grasp how wonderful the Creator’s ways are, even in such a thing as a lowly compost pile.

The Bible verse at the beginning reminds us that nothing is hidden from God, no matter how small or where it may be. Another verse asks, “[Does] not He see my ways, and count all my steps?” (Job 31:4). The answer is, Yes, He does indeed see the ways of every one of us, and He wants our lives to be lived in obedience to His Word, the Bible. Then they will be pleasing to Him. Is your life lived to please Him?

Did You Know?

The most active organism in a compost pile is bacteria.

Messages of God’s Love 10/15/2023

Carmen's Bible

The great man had arrived, and there were banners and crowds shouting cheers of welcome to him in Carmen’s town in Chile.

Carmen’s school was let out so that the children could also line the streets to see him. It was a wonderful sight! He drove slowly by, with marching bands in front of and behind his long, black, shiny car. Those standing behind others stood on tiptoe for a better view.

Then the school children went back to class, and the teacher told them to write about the great man they had just seen.

Carmen remembered that God has said, “Honor all men” (1 Peter 2:17), and she wrote carefully about this great, important man. But her heart was also thinking of the One who is far more important than that man, the One who is “higher than the kings of the earth” (Psalm 89:27). So she also wrote about the Lord Jesus and about what He has done for sinners. At the end of her assignment she wrote, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

After school the teacher, Mrs. Garcia, called her to her desk and asked her to explain what she meant by those words about all having come short of the glory of God. This was a hard question for a 12-year-old girl to answer, but she had her Bible with her, as she always took it to school, and she showed her teacher what it said. Mrs. Garcia asked to see the Bible and said she had never had one in her hand before.

“Would you like me to leave it with you?” asked Carmen.

Mrs. Garcia gladly said yes, so Carmen marked some verses that might help her. Mrs. Garcia was delighted. After that, she often chatted with Carmen about her faith in Christ, and soon she had a Bible of her own.

What do you think of that story, girls and boys? Is it worth speaking for Christ, even if you do not know how someone will react? Sometimes it is not accepted gladly, but it is still good to speak of your Savior to those who don’t know Him.

Perhaps I could tell you one more story of a man named Julian, who was a short little man who carried a big pack of Bibles on his back to give to people in villages he went to visit for that reason. These were often gladly accepted, but not always. Finally, some enemies of the Lord Jesus caught him and threw him into prison for passing out Bibles.

“Why do you do this?” asked his guards. “You know it will get you into trouble.”

His brave answer was this: “For the joy of bringing bread to the hungry and water to the perishing.”

Julian was sentenced to death for spreading the Word of God. Is it worth it, boys and girls? The Lord Jesus also died, because He loved us and thought that we were worth dying for even when we were His enemies, and He is worth more than 10,000 of us! In heaven we will worship and praise Him. Why not start now?

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:12).

Memory Verse: “All have sinned, and come short of the gloryof God.” Romans 3:23

Messages of God’s Love 10/22/2023

Closed Eyes

Alice was too young to be able to read the directions on the tube of glue she found in her brother’s room. She did not know that a warning on the super glue read, “Avoid contact with skin and eyes,” and in large print, “KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN.” Alice must have thought it was lotion, because she started squeezing glue out of that little tube and rubbing it on her face. At first this seemed like fun, but soon she had a sticky face and her eyes were stuck closed. She could not open them no matter how hard she tried.

Alice was frightened when she couldn’t open her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and cried, but that didn’t help. When Mother heard her crying and came to the room, she was quite concerned. Mother had read the warnings on the super glue label and she knew how dangerous it was to get that glue near the eyes.

Mother and Alice made a fast trip to the nearest hospital. Even the doctors and nurses in the emergency room were worried when they saw Alice’s eyes. It took them over four hours of using different solutions on the glue before they found one that softened the glue so Alice could open her eyes again. How happy everyone was when the doctor examined Alice and said he did not think there was any injury to her eyes. She could see again without any problem.

Alice got in this trouble because she couldn’t read the directions on the super glue. But what about you? Have you ever heard the directions that God gives you in His Word, the Bible? Here are a few of them: “Come unto Me [the Lord Jesus].” “[You] must be born again.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” These are important directions — directions that will save you from everlasting punishment in hell if you follow them. Have you followed those directions?

Messages of God’s Love 10/22/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Stealthy Bobcat

“Be ... therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also [has] loved us.”
Ephesians 5:1-2

Most bobcats live in the United States, but they are also found in southern Canada and all the way into northern Mexico. They are just as much at home in deserts and sagebrush as they are in forests or on rocky hillsides, though they always need somewhere to hide. Shy and stealthy, as well as well-camouflaged, they are seldom seen. Hikers might be startled to see one standing nearby, watching them, then suddenly disappearing.

The bobcat is a pretty animal, looking much like a large domestic cat. Its short (bob) tail and tan-colored fur, patterned with darker brown and black markings, immediately identify it. Its underside is white with black markings. An adult is 12 to 24 inches high and up to 50 inches long, including its tail. Like some pet cats, the bobcat is a great climber, and it can even swim if it has to, though it avoids that if possible.

The bobcat is a wonderful hunter. It stalks its victim slowly until it is close enough to make a lightning dash and then pounces on its victim. Rabbits are a favorite food, and farmers appreciate the bobcat’s help in keeping their numbers down, as well as rats, mice and gophers and even deer. (In some places, the presence of bobcats is encouraged to help keep the deer population under control.) Unwary birds are frequently caught, and even fish are scooped out of shallow water. Although its piercing howls at night have frightened campers, the bobcat does not attack humans.

The mother bobcat has one to six kittens in a hidden den or a hollow log in April or May. She does all the work of raising them alone, including gathering food and training. When the kittens are born, they are blind for nine or ten days. At three to five months old, they begin traveling and hunting with their mother. They hunt their own food by that fall, and soon after they usually leave to begin living on their own. The mother may have another litter in September. The mother trains the kittens to hunt by taking them with her, and they learn to do as she does. After she catches something, she may make them work a bit for their food, turning in circles while they run around her to “catch” the food in her mouth. This helps train them for their own hunting experiences.

Our lead verse says that we are to be followers (or imitators) of God, as dear children, and to walk in love as Christ loved us. Bobcat kittens have the same nature as their mother, and they learn from her how they are to act. If you are a Christian, you have the same nature as God has, as His dear child. You will learn in the Bible how your new nature wants to act by seeing how God acts and how the Lord Jesus loves us.

Did You Know?

The bobcat is a great climber, and it can even swim if it has to.

Messages of God’s Love 10/22/2023

Caught by the Tide

Art was working his way through school by selling books, many years ago. He lived in England, and although he was only 15 years old, he was sent alone to a group of islands off the west coast of Scotland to sell to the few people who lived there. There, in what is known as the Outer Hebrides, he rode an old bicycle around the lonely, windy islands, day after day, trying to get people to buy the books he was carrying.

For quite a few weeks he lived in the town of Stornoway on Lewis Island. Every day he rode all the way across the island to the villages on the other side. It was a long, tiring trip — he went 12 miles without passing a single house and sometimes riding against rain and wind the whole way. Each day he made it a little farther trying to sell his books, until finally he got to the most northerly point. Beyond that there was only a lighthouse — no more people who might want to buy his books.

He then moved his bike and other few belongings by boat to the next island, called North Uist, where he found a small room he could rent. On this island he again followed a road that went all around the island, riding and walking through villages he never knew existed. What an adventure for a 15-year-old!

Art finished on North Uist Island and decided to go to South Uist Island. He was told that it was possible to walk between the islands on a sand strip that was above the water level at low tide. He liked that idea, because it would save him having to pay boat fare to make the short trip. Leaving his bike behind one morning, Art walked to the beach when it was low tide. Sure enough, there was a sand strip going straight out toward South Uist Island. Looking it over carefully, he decided that it wasn’t going to be quite so easy. Running through the sand were channels of water 10 to 20 feet wide, but there was no way to tell how deep they were.

As he was taking off his shoes, he saw two men begin to cross, coming toward him. He watched where they hurriedly crossed the channels. It looked easy, so he started off.

Crossing the first channel was simple since he could see the footprints where the two men had just crossed. The water was only a few inches deep. But when he reached the second channel, he was not as sure where to cross. As he stepped in, he discovered that it was much deeper than it looked. He backed up, went to another spot, rolled up his pant legs, and stepped in again. Although the water reached to his knees, he had no trouble crossing this channel either.

When he reached the third channel, about halfway between the two islands, he began to worry. The channel was much wider than he had first thought. But, he thought, the other men crossed it, so I can too. He had not yet realized what a dangerous thing he was attempting, and there was no one to warn him of his danger.

Art stood at the edge of this wide third channel looking for the place where the men had crossed, but he could not find it. Then he realized that the water in the channel was no longer still. It was moving — moving quite rapidly. Bits of seaweed, pieces of wood and sea foam were floating by. The tide was coming in! Looking around him, Art was horrified! Instead of a large area of sand, there was only water. It looked like the whole Atlantic Ocean was rolling in on him! The patch of sand where he stood was getting smaller, fast. Every moment the channel was getting wider and deeper. Within a few minutes, his patch of sand would be completely covered with water. He had to do something fast!

The question was, What could he do? If he couldn’t find his way when the channel was shallow, how could he find it now when already it had become twice as deep and was spreading out over the sand in every direction?

His answer was that he had a Guide. Art had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. Now that he knew he was in danger, he quickly prayed for help and then he plunged into the channel.

He didn’t worry about his pants now. The water was soon above his knees ... his waist ... higher and higher ... still his feet took him down the slope into deeper water. For a moment he wondered if he had made a mistake. Should he have turned back crossing the same channels again? Looking back, he saw that it would have been impossible. Everything behind him was now covered with water. He could only go forward. He could still see some areas of sand between the channels ahead.

The water kept getting deeper and deeper. “Will I make it?” he wondered.

But then the bottom began to rise again. He was past the halfway point. At last he made it to the next patch of sand.

There were other channels to cross, each one difficult as the tide continued to flow in. Afterward he couldn’t remember clearly how he got across. At last he crawled onto the island to which he had set out so confidently less than an hour before.

He was helped by a man on the island who had been watching him but could do nothing to help him until he reached the island. This man found someone who took Art back to North Uist Island in a boat. How thankful Art was to be safely home.

Did you know that each of us is on an adventure? That adventure is our life. Long ago, as a shepherd boy, a man who became a great king, named David, had time to think about his life as he watched over his sheep. He wrote Psalm 23. David knew that the Lord was his Shepherd, just as he was the shepherd of his sheep. David did everything possible to keep his sheep happy and safe. He even rescued one of his sheep from a lion, and one from a bear, with his bare hands! As he had those adventures, he found that the Lord helped him through all of his dangers and took care of him on every normal day, too, and he learned to trust Him. He wrote, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). Just as Art found that the Lord helped him as he crossed that dangerous strip of sand and just as the Lord helped David the shepherd boy, so the Lord will help you, no matter what you face in your life, if you know Him as your Savior. If He is your Savior, then He is also your good Shepherd, taking care of you every moment of every day. Is the Lord your Savior and Shepherd? He can be! And He wants to be. If you aren’t saved, just pray to Him. Acts 2:21 Says, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Then you will begin the happy adventure of living life in the care of the
Good Shepherd.

Memory Verse: “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:1,6

Messages of God’s Love 10/29/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Some Shocking Fish

“God [thunders] marvelously with His voice; great things doeth He, which we cannot comprehend.” Job 37:5

It took humans many centuries to discover electricity and many more years to learn to use it. Elaborate wiring systems and power plants are needed before a business or home can use it, and even then, it doesn’t always work.

In contrast, let’s look at another wonder in God’s creation. He gave certain fish the ability to make and use their own electricity. The three- to ten-inch-long flashlight fish has a light as strong as a small flashlight that can be seen up to 100 feet away. Its electricity comes from glowing bacteria kept in pouches below its eyes. Its light can be turned on and off by the fish as it rolls the pouch forward to shine or back to hide it. It seems to use it to find and to stun its prey.

The viper fish has rows of lights along the lower side of its body, looking like a miniature boat with lights shining out through its windows. This light is the perfect amount to make it blend in with the amount of light in the ocean where it lives, so that it acts as camouflage to help it escape predators. It also has a light on the tip of the fin on its back. It can swing this little light in front of its mouth and, in this way, lure prey right where it can easily catch it.

The Lord made the deep-sea dragonfish very special. Red light travels even less than other light in water, so most fish use blue light down where it is always dark. But the dragonfish not only uses red light, but it is able to see it, enabling it to spot its prey when its red light shines on it. It stays safely hidden itself by being very dark black and having invisible teeth. Because it is the only fish that sees red light, its prey can’t see the dragonfish’s red light even when it’s shining right on them.

Not all fish use their electricity for lights. For some it is a weapon. Certain species of catfish use an electric shocking system to defend themselves from larger fish as well as to capture prey. Touching the stomach of a large fish with its fin gives it such a strong shock that the larger fish is stunned or knocked out, and the catfish escapes. It also uses its strong shock to stun prey so it can eat it.

The electric eel of the Amazon River and other waters of Central and South America has the most powerful shock of all. One species can deliver a shock of up to 860 volts of electricity!

Isn’t it amazing how the Lord provides a way for sea creatures to have light even in the darkest places? I love seeing cheerful lights during dark winter months. Light is a cheer in the darkness, besides helping us see. We live in a very dark time in this world, and yet we are told that we are the light of the world. It is a great privilege to know the God who is light (see 1 John 1:5). He can help us to let our light shine even in a very dark world.

Did You Know?

Certain species of catfish use an electric shocking system for self-defense.

Messages of God’s Love 10/29/2023

Ching Lee's Stuffed Ears

In San Francisco, California, there is an area called “Chinatown.” As the name suggests, the people who live there are Chinese. There are many who don’t speak English, especially among the older people. They speak only the Chinese language.

A Chinese Christian man wanted to teach other Chinese people about the wonderful love of God. He rented a small room on a street in Chinatown to preach God’s good news of salvation. Bible verses in Chinese characters were on posters on the walls. The preacher passed out many Chinese tracts and invitations to the gospel meetings. He also had a Sunday school for the children. It was in that Sunday school that Lotus heard the story of the Lord Jesus Christ, and she accepted Him as her Savior.

One evening, Lotus combed her straight black hair and then went to find her grandfather, Ching Lee. She said to him in Chinese, “Come, honorable grandfather. It is time for the gospel meeting.” Ching Lee grumbled and refused to move from his chair.

Lotus sighed. She could go on alone to the meeting without her grandfather, “but he doesn’t know about Jesus,” she told herself. She had prayed every night that her old grandfather would be saved.

“I’m too tired to go tonight, small granddaughter,” he said slowly.

“But Grandfather, you promised! And you’ll like the singing.” Lotus pulled at his coat sleeve as she talked.

“Singing?” Ching Lee did enjoy singing. And besides, he really had promised her that he’d go. He began to get up, moving stiffly, and reached for his cane. “Hurry up, Lotus child! I want to hear the singing.”

Grandfather walked so slowly that the first hymn was finished before he and Lotus were seated near the front of the meeting room. Then there was more singing, and Lotus joined in with the other children and the few grown-ups who were there. The old man smiled as he listened, his body swaying with the music. The musical voices of the Chinese audience came to an end with the hymn “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” and the preacher began to pray.

Ching Lee had been sitting with his eyes closed. As the preacher began to speak, Ching Lee had an idea. He slowly placed one of his fingers into each of his ears. Now he did not have to listen to any of the preacher’s stories!

Lotus pulled on his sleeve and tried to get him to listen. Ching Lee yawned noisily several times, but refused to remove his fingers. He looked at one of the posters hanging on the wall. In Chinese characters were printed the words, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.” Ching Lee read no further. He closed his eyes, pushed his fingers still further into his ears and shuffled his feet.

As Ching Lee sat with his eyes closed and his ears plugged, a fly came buzzing around him. It landed on the bald spot on the top of his head. Ching Lee opened his eyes and unstopped his ears as he made a swing to swat the fly. As he did that, he heard the speaker say, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:43). Back into his ears went his fingers, but the Word of God had entered. Instead of closing his eyes this time, he watched the preacher’s face. The fly returned and again Ching Lee swatted at it.

“Who hath ears to hear,” repeated the preacher.

Ears? Yes, Ching Lee had ears, and ears were for hearing. Maybe he had better listen after all. He slowly removed his fingers. The preacher was describing a farmer who owned a large field. He had sown good seed in his field. It made Ching Lee think of the rice fields called paddies where he used to work when he was in China. The preacher continued, “But an enemy came and sowed bad seed producing tares (a weed that looks like wheat) in the same field! And the wheat and the tares grew together until harvesttime. Then the tares were separated from the wheat and were burned in the fire.”

The speaker went on to explain that those who were listening were like either the tares or the wheat, and that it was God who would be the judge. He explained the way of salvation through faith in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross to wash away sins.

As Ching Lee listened to the Word of God, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart. The fly returned, but Ching Lee didn’t even hear it buzzing. Jesus the Son of the living God had died for him — for Ching Lee!

After the meeting Ching Lee said he wanted to talk with the preacher. Lotus was very excited as she led her grandfather to him. She walked quietly around the room praying silently as the preacher talked with her grandfather.

Finally, Ching Lee slowly rose and called, “Lotus child, take me home. I’m tired.”

She looked up into his face as she took his arm to help him. She wanted to ask him if he had accepted Jesus into his heart as his Savior, but she waited for him to speak.

He smiled down at her and said, “Lotus child, your God is my God now. I have believed in the Lord Jesus as my Savior. I hear singing, small granddaughter, and it is inside of me. My heart is singing, child!”

Lotus and her grandfather were both very happy as they walked home. There was not only joy in their hearts, but the Lord Jesus said, “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that [repents]”
(Luke 15:10).

Memory Verse: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17

Messages of God’s Love 11/5/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Swat That Fish

“Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is.” Acts 4:24

Of the 85,000 kinds of flies in the world, the peskiest and best known is the common housefly. It has been called “the most dangerous insect in North America,” because of the germs it spreads. As unpleasant as houseflies are, let’s take a closer look at what the Creator has given them.

Starting from a tiny egg laid by a female fly, a white grub, called a maggot, hatches and grows rapidly. Within a few days it changes to a pupa and eventually into an adult fly. The housefly multiplies rapidly. During its short lifetime, a female can lay up to 500 eggs in clusters of 75-150 eggs over three to four days. If every egg became an adult fly, it has been calculated that within four months the descendants of a single pair would cover the earth. God does not allow them to do this, keeping them under control with many enemies. In addition to people using insecticides or swatting them with fly swatters, they have many other enemies. Spiders, hornets, frogs, birds, mites and parasites also help keep their numbers down.

In proportion to its size, the fly’s eyes are huge. Each eye has around 4,000 six-sided lenses that give it outstanding vision. These amazing eyes are why it can be so hard to swat one with a fly-swatter.

The fly’s six hairy legs come with a tiny claw and a sticky pad on the end of each leg. Did you ever wonder how a fly can walk up a window or how it can walk upside down on the ceiling? Its pads are coated with a sticky substance that enables it to climb or walk upside down without difficulty. The claws help it detach its foot again so it can keep moving.

Have you ever seen a fly rubbing its legs together? It senses food through the hairs on its legs, and it has to clean them occasionally so it can continue to sense food that is good to eat. The housefly cannot chew. It has a snout with tubes that act like a sponge to absorb liquid. To help it soften foods to make them edible, it has a liquid enzyme which it vomits onto food, dissolving it to make it possible to absorb. This vomit contains a lot of bacteria, which spreads illness and serious diseases. That is why you don’t want flies on your food.

Do flies do any good? Yes! They themselves are food for other creatures, such as birds and fish. They help consume rotting food and animals, actually making this world a cleaner place in some ways. They pollinate many plants, helping our food grow.

Whether they are good or bad, we should love all people. If you have someone in your life you find hard to love, ask the Lord to help you to love them as He loves them. He loves everyone, and He wants us to “increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).

Did You Know?

Spiders, hornets, frogs, birds, mites and parasites help keep flies’ numbers down.

Messages of God’s Love 11/5/2023

A Thief in the Chimney

Did you know that children in rich families are often very unhappy? Happiness for young children comes with knowing that you are loved, not from having lots of money. And the truest happiness begins with knowing you have peace with God because your sins are forgiven. Then it grows by following the Lord Jesus and obeying what He says in His book, the Bible.

Tony was an unhappy boy in a rich family. He lived with his parents in a big house in a nice neighborhood. Ten-year-old Tony only had to ask his parents for anything he wanted, and usually his parents would get it for him. But do you think those things made Tony happy? No. In fact, Tony was very lonely. He wasn’t even sure his parents loved him.

So, one day Tony planned a prank. The real reason Tony planned it was because he wanted to get attention from someone. (Getting attention is one way children feel loved.) Tony decided to become a thief for that day and rob one of the houses on his block. He got his friend Mikey in on the idea, and together they made their plans.

First, they studied their neighborhood and watched to see which house would be left empty during the day.

Next, they figured out a way to get into the house. Tony discovered a big tree growing right next to the house, and that gave him an idea. He could climb up the tree, jump to the roof, and then slide down the chimney into the fireplace. Then he could go through the house and open a door to let Mikey in. While he was climbing down the chimney, Mikey could act as his lookout.

Great plan, they thought! What could go wrong?

The very next day they put their plan into action. Mikey kept watch while Tony climbed the tree, jumped onto the roof and then scrambled across to the chimney. So far everything was working as planned. Then Tony looked down the chimney. He saw that it was smaller, darker and dirtier than he had expected. But he discovered that by scrunching his shoulders together he could squeeze in. Down he went, slowly, feet first. Inch by inch, he worked his way down, getting scratched and scraped every inch of the way. Then something happened that wasn’t part of his plan. Tony’s feet touched bottom ... and he wasn’t out of the chimney and into the fireplace yet.

Oh no, he thought, they must have their chimney damper closed! (A damper is a little door inside the chimney near the bottom that is opened from the inside of the house when a fire is burning and closed later to keep birds and animals from coming down the chimney and into the house.) Tony was stuck! It was impossible for him to climb back out, since he could hardly even move his arms. He yelled to Mikey, “Mikey, get me out of here; I’m stuck!” But when Mikey heard that, he decided that he had had enough of being a thief. He went home, leaving Tony to get out of his problem alone.

Wedged in that chimney with no way out, Tony must have wondered if he would die in there.

Hours passed.

Finally, he heard people inside the house. He was desperate to be free, so he called out for help.

The people in the house were quite startled to hear a voice coming from the chimney! They quickly called the police and the fire department. When help arrived, they found that the damper opening was too small for Tony to squeeze through. The firemen had to work for three hours to take the chimney and fireplace apart enough to get Tony out. Just before he was set free, Tony said, “Please don’t tell my mother!” Then a fireman carried Tony in his arms to a waiting ambulance which drove him to the hospital where he could be checked by a doctor.

Do you think the firemen told Tony’s mother? Of course they did, and then she knew all about it, just as God already knew about it.

What Tony did was wrong, of course. It is sad that Tony felt so lonely and unloved, but there is a much better thing Tony could have done to feel loved. Tony could have come to the Lord Jesus to save him from his sins. Then Tony would never have felt alone and unloved again, because the Lord Jesus said, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). That means Jesus would always be with him and love him.

If you are lonely, I want to tell you that God loves us so much that He makes those who believe in Jesus His very own sons and daughters. The Lord Jesus said before He went back to heaven, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God” (John 20:17). His Father is now the Father of all those who believe. It will take us forever to learn just how wonderful that is! But even now, it is wonderful to know that God Himself loves us and is the Father of all those who love Jesus. He is the perfect Father, and He loves us all the time, no matter what. If we know Him, we don’t ever need to feel lonely.

Memory Verse: “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” John 20:17

Messages of God’s Love 11/12/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Earth Still Turns

“While the earth [remains], seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22

God has placed the earth and every planet and star in its own special orbit through the vast regions of space, and they all spin in perfect order and always stay on schedule. If they didn’t, they would have crashed into each other long ago and produced problems too great to imagine.

Through improved telescopes and computers, astronomers are continually amazed to find that the galaxies of stars reach farther away than has previously been thought. Some now say there may be no end to them! No one on earth now can know for sure, but those who will be in heaven with their Savior will then undoubtedly learn all about His creation.

We have been taught that the earth turns on its axis every 24 hours (although it is actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds), providing an average of 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness every day of the year. Who do you think arranged this, and why doesn’t it ever change? The answer is found in the Bible verse: “The Lord by wisdom [has] founded the earth; by understanding [has] He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19).

Imagine what life would be like (if there could be any life) if the earth did not rotate! On one side the heat would be so unbearable that nothing could live, and on the other side it would be so dark and cold that everything would freeze solid. Aren’t you glad the Creator is the One who controls this turning? We should thank Him, among other things, for the way this design takes care of all His creatures — some are active in daylight hours and go to sleep around sunset, while others sleep in the daytime and are active at night, all according to His plan.

The earth’s tilt of 23½ degrees on its axis is another provision of the Creator. This tilt is what brings the change in seasons, as our opening verse states. This places more areas of the earth’s surface under the benefit of the sun’s warmth than would be possible if it were not tilted.

Mankind’s carelessness spoils many of the good things our loving God has given us, but there are some things we cannot spoil, as our opening verse tells us. Everything that depends on God’s faithfulness cannot fail, until He is done with it. “Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23). God can be counted on in every way. Isaiah 51:6 tells us that even though one day He will be done with the creation as it is now, His salvation will last forever. “The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be forever.” Do you have His salvation?

Did You Know?

The earth’s tilt of 23 ½ degrees is what brings the change in seasons.

Messages of God’s Love 11/12/2023

The Fort

Joseph and his family lived where there was a big ravine right behind their house. Joseph and his brothers enjoyed playing in that ravine. It even had a stream at the bottom of it. Across the ravine from their house was a house with a big yard that belonged to a kind lady named Mrs. McDonald who didn’t mind little boys playing in her yard.

One day, Joseph and his two brothers, John and Alex, decided to build a fort in Mrs. McDonald’s yard. They worked very hard, hauling up sticks and other great building materials from the ravine, and soon they had a fine fort ready to defend and enjoy. Just as they finished up, some neighbor boys, who also got to play in Mrs. McDonald’s yard, came by. Joseph and his brothers proudly showed them their fort. The boys said, “Nice!” and left. Then, Joseph, John and Alex had to go home for lunch.

While they were having lunch, they looked out the window and saw those same boys back in Mrs. McDonald’s yard. For some reason, they had decided to destroy that nice fort. Joseph and his brothers went running across the ravine, yelling, “Hey, hey! Don’t do that! Why are you doing that?”

When the other boys heard Joseph and his brothers coming, they ran off. They probably thought the rightful owners of the fort would be angry. But they weren’t really angry, just very sad. All that hard work ... and now, nothing.

But they were determined boys! They went right back to work to make another fort, only better and stronger and bigger than the first one. They were tired when they were done, but they were happy, because now they had a great fort they could enjoy. Maybe the bullies felt a little bad, because they left that fort alone.

This story is a picture of what happened in this world when God first created a beautiful home on it for two people named Adam and Eve. He had made them, and He put them in a lovely garden called Eden, where there was lots of delicious food, no problems, and lots of happiness in enjoying the love of God and one another. But one day, very soon, along came an enemy of God and of everyone, named Satan. He can’t stand to see anyone being happy, and he really can’t stand anyone loving God. So, he thought of a way to ruin this lovely happiness. He disguised himself as a snake, and he talked to Eve. He made her start to think that God really wasn’t good to them, because there was one tree that He had told them not to eat from. He tempted Eve in this way, so that she started to think about that tree. She decided it really did look like a tree that was good for food and that would make her smarter, because it was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Sadly, she and Adam took some of that forbidden fruit. That was the first sin any person ever committed. Have you ever done even a “little” sin like that? It really wasn’t little, because God had told them not to do it, so it was disobeying God.

Well, Adam and Eve found out the truth about Satan right away. He was a terrible enemy and a liar. They knew more than they did before, for sure. But what they now knew was that they were naked. Now they didn’t look forward to the visit from God to Eden that evening. They dreaded it. They went to work to try to hide their nakedness by making some clothing out of leaves. You can read this story in Genesis 3.

Now for the good news. When God came to visit them that evening, He wasn’t angry with them. He did give them some painful consequences for the sin they had done, and He also sent them out of that lovely garden, because He didn’t want them to eat from another tree in that garden called the tree of life, or they would have lived forever in their misery. But He promised them something truly wonderful. He said that Eve would have a child, and then down the line of humans who would be born, Someone would be born who would completely conquer the serpent, Satan, who had lied to them. He didn’t tell them the whole story, but we now know that God was going to do a wonderful thing. God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, would come to earth as a human baby. He would live a perfect life, and then He would be killed on a cross by wicked men. Before He died, He would suffer on that cross for the sins of those who would believe on Him. His death made a way them to come live in an even better home than Eden — in heaven itself,
with God.

So, just like the destruction of the bullies in our story led to Joseph and his brothers building a bigger and better fort, Satan’s lies and his destruction of God’s creation only led to God making the way to an even better place for all the people He loves so much to live in. I’m on my way to that place, called heaven. I hope you are too! “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One [the Lord Jesus] shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

Memory Verse: “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19

Messages of God’s Love 11/19/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Two Big Hares

“Be ... kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

In desert country, you may not have to travel far before seeing a jackrabbit. It may be sitting up on its hind legs watching you, or it may be leaping away in a zig-zag course to get out of sight.

The jackrabbit has big ears, yet all species do not have the same size ears. Those in Australia have enormous ears. These big ears give these hares an excellent sense of hearing and also help to cool them down by giving off body heat in the intense heat of that land. The ears of jackrabbits in the United States are much shorter, since they live in cooler areas and need to conserve heat in the cooler seasons. How wise our Creator is to help these active animals to be comfortable no matter where they live.

The jackrabbit has a sharp sense of sight. Its eyes see forward, sideways and even behind. This, along with its excellent hearing, helps keep it alert to the threat of enemies. Its strong hind legs enable it to make leaps and bounds at speeds up to 40 miles an hour. It can also jump five feet in the air while leaping five to ten feet in distance.

The snowshoe hare is a cousin of the jackrabbit. This species can live comfortably in cold climates. It has long, strong back legs like its relatives of the south, but its ears are much shorter, since it needs to conserve body heat where it lives.

A very special feature the Creator gave this rabbit is its “snowshoes.” Its feet are about twice the size of a jackrabbit’s. This permits it to walk on top of the snow and easily leap through it in ten-foot jumps. It also has fur on the bottom of its feet to keep them from freezing.

In addition, God gives it a white winter coat in exchange for the brown one of summer. When sitting still on the snow, it is almost invisible. Towards spring as the snow melts and rocks and brown soil begin to appear, this rabbit’s white coat changes to reddish-brown again for the summer. The tips of its ears stay black all year long.

The fur on a snowshoe hare’s feet is one more thing that shows us the kindness of God toward all of His creation. His kindness toward us is so much greater, as He has made the way to forgive us of our sins, as our opening verse says. This forgiveness cost Him the life of His own Son! He wants us to be kind to others as well, and that includes forgiving those who do wrong things to us. We will find it easier to do that as we remember His great kindness to us.

Did You Know?

A jackrabbit’s strong hind legs enable it to run up to 40 miles an hour.

Messages of God’s Love 11/19/2023

The Searcher

Raymond Slupik was only three years old when he had his first trip on a fishing ship, where his father was the captain. As Raymond grew up, he spent a lot of his summer days on fishing ships.

Twenty years after that first trip, Raymond became the captain of his own ship, The Searcher. Then he enjoyed taking his father on board as his guest.

On the evening of December 26, 1985, Raymond had his father along on a fishing trip. That afternoon, The Searcher was returning to the harbor after a day of fishing on Lake Michigan. Small chunks of ice floated on the lake. High winds stirred up the water, tossing huge waves over The Searcher and coating it with heavy ice. The Searcher looked more like an iceberg than a ship. Raymond and his father were doing the job of steering the ship, but the four crew members were inside the cabin, relaxing after a hard day of work.

The crew members were supposed to walk around the ship now and then to make sure everything was safe. But on this particular day, it was so cold they all stayed inside.

When The Searcher was still 17 miles away from Chicago, the ship began leaning badly to one side. This finally moved the crew to action, and they went to find out what was happening. What they found terrified them!

The large door at the back of the ship, through which they hauled the nets, had blown open, and the waves crashing on the ship had washed through the open door, filling the ship with water and chunks of ice.

Raymond knew they were in serious trouble. He quickly called over the radio, “Mayday! Mayday!”

The coast guard answered almost immediately. “Come in, Mayday. Who are you and what is your problem?”

“This is Raymond Slupik of The Searcher. Our ship is leaning badly to one side, and I don’t know how long we can stay afloat.”

“Do you have your life jackets on?”

“Yes.”

“How many men do you have on board?”

“Six,” Raymond answered.

“Can you give me your exact location?”

Raymond reported their exact location. He was told that three helicopters would leave immediately to rescue them.

The water in the ship and the heavy coating of ice on the ship were making it lean dangerously to one side. They didn’t know how long they had until it would completely roll over, but the lake was so cold they knew they must stay on the ship as long as possible.

Finally, the boat came close to rolling over. It was time to abandon ship. The coast guard radio operator heard the captain’s order: “Abandon ship! Hurry up, guys! We’re going under!”

Fifteen minutes later the helicopters arrived and hovered over the area. There was no sign of The Searcher, but they saw a flare on the water. One of the helicopters lowered a steel basket into the water and scooped up one of the crew. He was barely alive, and his hair and clothing froze to the basket as it was lifted out of the water and up into the helicopter. A second time, then a third time the basket was lowered and lifted a man to safety. They searched for the other three crew members, but they were never able to find them. Sadly, Raymond and his father were two of those who were never found.

Children, why do you think the boat was called The Searcher? I don’t know, but it makes me think about how we are all searching for happiness in our lives. Do you know who to go to in order to find true happiness? The Lord Jesus said, “The thief [comes] not, but ... to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The thief is Satan, and he never gives anything to anyone that gives them true happiness. He only wants to destroy lives and keep people from the true happiness that God alone can give. But Jesus came to give us life that will last forever — life that is full of joy! I hope you have trusted in the Lord Jesus as your own Savior. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). If you are lost because of your sins, all you need to do is call to Him, and He will save you.

If you have trusted the Lord Jesus to be your Savior and He is the Captain of your life, He will take you safely all the way to heaven. He says in John 10:28, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish [or, never be destroyed in hell], neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”

Memory Verse: “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” John 10:28

Messages of God’s Love 11/26/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Millions of Crabs

“Be at peace among yourselves.” 1 Thessalonians 5:13

There are more than 6,000 different kinds of saltwater, freshwater and land crabs. All have flat bodies covered by hard shells, eyestalks, and four pairs of legs covered with jointed shells. A fifth pair of legs has a pair of claws, like pincers, usually used for eating and fighting. Crabs that swim have flattened hind legs that work like paddles.

Hermit crabs use all kinds of empty shells for their homes. One called the anemone hermit crab places poisonous sea anemones on its back as protection from enemies. The anemone shares the crab’s food as its reward for its protection.

In somewhat the same way, the boxer crab of Hawaii carries a poisonous anemone in each of its two front claws to frighten its enemies. It joins the anemones in eating the food killed by their poison.

One called the sponge crab often takes a piece of sponge and holds it over its back as protection. Some of the sponges used are also poisonous, making the crab that much safer. The crab uses its back pair of legs for this clever trick.

Mole crabs bury themselves in the sand, leaving only their breathing antennae and eyestalks exposed. Large numbers of them live together, catching food in their feathery antennae from outgoing waves.

Ghost crabs, the color of sand, blend with the seashore and live in burrows on the beach. They leave their burrows mostly at night to explore for food and scurry back to their burrows at dawn. These crabs hibernate during the coldest parts of the winter. They are able to store oxygen in special airbags for about six weeks, enabling them to live through this hibernation.

Coconut crabs are a species of hermit crabs that live most of their life on land. The adult coconut crab has a tough exoskeleton, so it does not need anything extra for protection. From the tip of the legs on one side to the tip of the legs on the other side, its leg span can be up to three feet. It can live up to 60 years.

Just as the anemone hermit crab can live peacefully with a poisonous anemone and not be hurt by it, but rather be helped by it, the Lord is able to help us live peacefully with people who are very different than we are, if we know Him, and even help us work together, as the crab and anemone do. As our opening verse says, He wants us to be at peace with other Christians. He loves everyone, and His love in our hearts can make it possible for us to do the same.

Did You Know?

Messages of God’s Love 11/26/2023

I'm Alive!

I wonder why it’s so quiet, thought Walt as he woke up from a fitful sleep. “I know! It has stopped raining,” he said out loud to himself.

For the first time since his helicopter crashed in the lonely wilderness, the rain had stopped. Later that afternoon the sun shone through the branches of the black spruce forest.

It had been seven days since mechanical problems with his helicopter had forced him down in that forest. He was flying from Fort Nelson in British Colombia, Canada, all the way to his home in the southern United States. Now that it wasn’t raining, perhaps pilots in search planes could start looking for him. They knew exactly where he had planned to fly.

The last seven days had been very difficult. In terrible pain from his ribs that had broken in the crash, he had struggled to build a shelter from the burned-out helicopter. He had found a small amount of food, which had been in the helicopter, and a bucket which he was using to catch rainwater.

Walt knew that it would be difficult for anyone to find him. His helicopter’s blades had cut a hole straight down through 40 feet of thick trees as it crashed. The search pilot would have to fly directly over him to see him and his wrecked helicopter. “I must be prepared to signal,” Walt thought. “It’s the only way they’ll see me.”

Walt knew he was in a dangerous situation. He was lost in a huge wilderness with barely enough food to keep him alive a little while. He was injured, and even if he weren’t, the marsh under the trees would not allow him to hike out. He would die if he were not rescued soon.

Walt had a few matches in his coat. Now that it wasn’t raining, he kept a fire going to keep himself warm, and he figured that if he could get enough smoke from his fire, it would help the search planes find him. He collected moss and green branches that he could quickly add to the fire to make it smoke. Sure enough, later that day, he heard a plane! He loaded green things onto his fire to make it smoke. But it was windy, and when the smoke reached the top of the trees, the wind blew it back down. The planes flew by four times, but the pilots did not see the smoke or Walt and his wrecked helicopter.

Then followed six more days of rain and fog that kept the search planes from coming to look for him. Walt was now surviving on wild berries he found and water. He prayed that the rain would stop. He knew that he could not last much longer.

Finally, 14 days after the crash, he heard another plane. He looked up and saw it pass right over him. It circled and came back. Walt waved his arms — there was no time to work on the fire. “I’m alive!” he shouted. “Don’t go away!” The plane dipped its wings to signal that the crew had seen him. Tears streamed down his face as he shouted, “I’m saved! I’m saved!” As the plane continued to circle above him while radioing for a helicopter, Walt lay back and rested.

Fifteen minutes later a large yellow rescue helicopter hovered over him. Two rescue workers were lowered on a cable. They strapped Walt securely in a basket which lifted him into the helicopter. “You’re okay now,” said one of the men. Walt hugged him and hoarsely said, “Thank you! You saved my life!”

Children, what did Walt do to save himself? The answer is: Nothing. He had a crash, and people who cared about him went to all the work of looking for him and saving him. In that way, Walt is like each of us. We are all lost because we all have sinned, and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Only the One who came down from heaven, the Lord Jesus, can save us. The Bible says that “when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). God loves us very much, and He knew we couldn’t do anything to save ourselves, so He did everything to save us, long ago, through the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. When the Lord Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), just before He died, He meant that He had finished everything that needed to be done so we could be saved. I hope you have trusted in Him and the work He finished so long ago!

Memory Verse: “Jesus ... said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30

Messages of God’s Love 12/3/2023

Who Has Charge of Your Money?

Once there was a family with two young children named Sammy and Sarah. Their father kept their piggy banks safe for them, and they were always locked, so the children did not even know how much money they had.

Sammy came to his father one day and said that he would like to get a present for his mother for her birthday. His father said it would not be a present from him unless he paid for it out of his own money, but Sammy was happy to pay for it.

So, very soon, his father took Sammy to the store to buy a present for his mother. They looked around carefully, and at last Sammy picked out a very nice gift. His father told him he didn’t have enough money for that one. Soon Sammy picked out another gift. This time, his father told him that he would be able to pay for it, but it would take almost all of his money. Sammy didn’t mind that at all, and he told his father that he would like to get it for his mamma.

They bought it and took it home to give to Sammy’s mother on her birthday.

His father was so pleased with Sammy’s unselfishness, and the love he had shown to his mother, that he decided to do something special. Every now and then, Sammy’s father would put some money into the piggy bank, without Sammy knowing it, and soon Sammy had more money in his piggy bank than he did before he bought the nice gift for his mother.

If God our Father sees us using our money for helping others and other things that He cares about, won’t it please Him even more than Sammy’s gift pleased his father? The Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). That means that if we seek God’s interests first, even with our money, He will be sure to take care of us.

Messages of God’s Love 12/3/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Feathers - A Masterpiece of Design

“[Did you give] the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?” Job 39:13

A bird’s feathers are extremely light for their size and strength. They provide not only for flight but also for warmth and to give each species its distinctive coloring. Most birds do not have feathers when they are hatched; many are bald, but some, like baby chicks, have soft, fluffy fuzz called down. They grow feathers later.

There are seven types of bird feathers. Wing and tail feathers are made up of a strong main shaft which is hollow, called a rachis, which tapers to a point. Each rachis has many little branches, called barbs. Each of the barbs in turn has smaller branches, called barbules. The barbules have further tiny branches called barbicels that have tiny hooks which connect them. A strong microscope is necessary to see these tiny parts. One six-inch flight feather may have 660,000 barbules, ending in many barbicels. Isn’t that amazing? Did you ever think a bird’s feather could be so complicated? Do you wonder why all these hooks are there?

When birds lift their wings to fly, the barbules are hooked together, making a firm fan. It actually looks like a zipper. It is this firm surface on its feathers that enables the bird to fly. When a bird preens, it is “re-zipping” any feathers which may become disconnected, among other things.

Most birds have 12 tail feathers, but some male birds that use their tail feathers mostly for attracting a mate may have only two, while a peacock has about 200 tail feathers.

There are other types of feathers that provide different benefits to birds. Down feathers have no barbules. Their loose structure traps air to keep the bird warm. Contour feathers, including flight and tail feathers, define the shape of the bird’s body and are often waterproof. These feathers also have a downy area close to the body. A bristle feather has a rachis with only a few barbs near the outer end. They are usually on a bird’s head and protect its face and eyes.

God has also provided each bird with a pigment (color) system so the species of all remain fairly uniform in color and design.

As you think of these amazing details of God’s creation, you can be sure that you are even more amazingly created. And you are infinitely more precious to God than birds. He tells us that even though He doesn’t forget even one sparrow, of us He says, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7).

Did You Know?

A peacock has about 200 tail feathers.

Messages of God’s Love 12/3/2023

Where Is Larry?

“Hey, I found Larry’s toy truck,” yelled Terry to the mothers who were standing at the top of the ravine. Terry and two other teens had been searching the area along the railroad tracks at the bottom of a ravine for clues for missing Larry.

“I think this is his hat,” called one of the other teens, who was searching a little farther down the tracks.

Among the small group of mothers, who were watching and listening as the scouts searched the area below, stood the mother of four-year-old Larry. These reports brought a cry from her, as they seemed to confirm her worst fears.

It was one of those warm, bright days of early spring when boys and girls want to play outside. Larry had been shut up inside the house for almost two weeks because of the cold, gray March weather. But today the clouds had blown away and it had warmed up enough for a little boy to go outside to play.

Larry had on his play clothes and his hat to cover his ears. Best of all, he had a new toy truck that he could finally play with in the dirt. After he had been outside for 30 minutes, Larry’s mother went to the door to check on him. He was not in the yard.

She threw on a coat and went out to look for Larry. She went first to check at their neighbors, the Jansens. He was probably there with his friend Scott. No, they hadn’t seen him. Scott was inside with a cold. She continued to look farther and farther down both sides of the street. As she called Larry’s name and got no answer, she began to feel panicky. Where could he be?

Terry and two friends were just returning from a Scouts meeting. By this time Mrs. Jansen and several other mothers were helping Larry’s mother look for him.

“Can we help?” asked Terry.

“I’m frantic!” said Larry’s mother. “He’s been gone for almost two hours.”

“We’ll look down by the tracks,” said Terry. “Maybe you should call the police. They have dogs that are good at picking up a trail.”

Kindly, Mrs. Jansen said, “I’ll call them. You go with the boys. I’ll also call my husband and see if he can come home quickly.”

“Thank you,” said Larry’s mother. “I’m so worried. I wish his father were back from his business trip!”

Mrs. Jansen ran to her house while Larry’s mother and some of the other neighbors continued their search along with the scouts. After Mrs. Jansen called the police, she called her husband’s work number. “Henry,” she said when he answered, “come home quick! Little Larry next door has wandered off and we can’t find him anywhere!”

Ten minutes later everyone was there. Two policemen in a police car came with their lights flashing. Mr. Jansen came racing down the street in his car and squealed to a stop. It was right around then that the scouts found Larry’s toy truck and his hat.

As the police and the scouts organized into search parties to check the heavy brush areas along the tracks, Mr. Jansen thought to himself, “Larry is fascinated with trucks. I wonder ... ?” He jumped into his car and called to his wife, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ve got an idea.”

Mr. Jansen drove four blocks down Railroad Street to the Meyer Sand and Gravel Company. As he drove into the yard, he noticed a large gravel truck being loaded by a big conveyer belt. Dust and gravel were flying around, and there was lots of noisy equipment. And there, sitting on the ground watching all this activity, was little Larry. His shoes were muddy, his hands and face were grimy from the flying dust, but he was happy as he sat watching the trucks and the other equipment.

“Hi, Mr. Jansen,” he said somewhat surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, Larry; you’d better come along with me” was his reply.

“Oh, okay, but it sure is fun here!” exclaimed Larry.

As they drove back towards his house, Mr. Jansen explained to Larry how worried everyone had been when they couldn’t find him. “Don’t you know, Larry,” he said, “that you can’t go anywhere you want without telling your mother? Even the police are looking for you!”

As they neared Larry’s house, Mr. Jansen began honking his horn. Before the car had even stopped, Larry’s mother was there. She quickly opened the door and picked up her dirty little son and hugged him tightly. The search was called off. Larry was home.

That evening Scott Jansen, Larry’s friend, saw him playing in his front yard.

“Hi, Larry,” he called. “Did you get spanked when you got home?”

“No,” said Larry, “Mommy didn’t spank me. She took me in the house and gave me a bath and clean clothes. Then she just sat and hugged and kissed me for an hour,” he said in disgust.

Larry was received home with great joy by his mother. We read in the Bible that “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that [repents]” (Luke 15:10). Each of us has wandered away from the God who loves us. But God, in His great love, sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to look for us and to save us. Everyone who is found by Him is given a wonderful, joyful welcome into His family. If you have a Bible, read Luke 15:11-24, and see if you can list all the wonderful gifts the father gave to his son who had run away and wasted all his money, but then returned home. Then you will have a little idea of the joy God has and all the wonderful gifts He gives us, when we return to Him.

Memory Verse: “Let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Luke 15:23-24

Messages of God’s Love 12/10/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: The Pocket Gopher

“I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember Thy wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11

Gophers are sometimes called pocket gophers because they have fur-lined pouches that have an opening from the outside of their cheeks. A gopher stuffs food inside these pouches to carry back to its underground tunnel. It empties its pouches by turning them inside out, and sometimes also cleans them, and then it heads back outside to collect another load. Squirrels and chipmunks also have cheek pouches for carrying food, but the gopher’s pockets are different in that they open on the outside of its body.

Gophers range in size quite a bit among the approximately 41 species. They can weigh anywhere between ½ pound to 2.2 pounds. They are around six to eight inches long, with a tail another one to two inches long. They use those little tails to feel their way around as they back into their tunnels. Their whiskers help them find their way in their dark homes, too.

These rodents are found over wide areas of North and Central America. They vary in color from reddish-brown to gray, but whatever color they are, it is often a close match with the soil in which they make their homes. Their most noticeable features are their sharp-pointed front claws and their large front teeth. Those big front teeth are used not only for gnawing food but are real power shovels, working with their claws when digging. The Lord has given them the amazing ability to close their lips behind their front teeth, so they can keep dirt out of their mouth as they dig using those big teeth. They have large heads with small eyes and ears. They are designed perfectly for a little animal that spends most of its life digging tunnels in the soil. What a wonderful provider the Lord God is for His creatures!

The burrow system, which is always being worked on, can cover an area up to 2,000 square feet or as small as 200 square feet. Feeding burrows are about six to twelve inches below the surface, but go as deep as six feet to where they keep their food and have their nests. Sloping tunnels go up from their burrows to the surface. There is a mound at the tunnel’s entrance that shows where it is, but the entrance is usually plugged with earthen plugs for the night.

The pocket gopher’s digging opens up hard ground, allowing rain to penetrate rather than run off. However, because they eat plants in the areas around their tunnels, they are not welcome guests to farmers and gardeners.

How the Lord made the gopher’s lips reminds me that we live in a world where there are a lot of things that the Lord doesn’t want us to let into our minds and hearts. May the Lord give us to obey this verse to “keep [your] heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Did You Know?

Gophers use their tails to feel their way as they back into their tunnels.

Messages of God’s Love 12/10/2023

Are You Adopted?

Ted always felt the sad power of the prison walls as he walked into the state penitentiary. He went nearly every week to that prison to tell the men who lived there the good news about the Lord Jesus who could save them. In his heart was a deep desire to help those men. He knew they were prisoners, not only behind prison walls, but prisoners to sin. He knew the Lord Jesus Christ was the only One who could set them free from that prison.

As the prisoners walked in to hear his message that evening, Ted noticed that one man, named Jim, had a look on his face very different from the sadness on the faces of the others. Jim’s face almost glowed with joy. Ted felt that something special must have happened to him. Perhaps he is going to receive a parole or something, he thought to himself.

But after the meeting, Jim came up to Ted and said he’d like to tell Ted something about his life. This is the story he told that day.

“When I was only five years old, my parents abandoned us kids. After that, we were cared for in foster homes. As time went by, I was moved from one place to another. Sometimes a couple would come to visit these places, looking for a child to adopt so they could have a boy or girl to raise and love as their own child.

“As I watched these people looking over the group, I always hoped that I’d be the one they would adopt and give a home to, so I’d have someone to call ‘Mom and Dad.’ As the years passed, that hope grew into a burning desire to ‘belong.’ I would ask the matron, ‘Will somebody ever adopt me?’ She would have to say, ‘Well, I just don’t know, Jim. Maybe someday you will be chosen.’ But it never happened.

“In all those foster homes, no one ever told me about Jesus. The only thing I remember in the way of prayer was what one housemother taught me: ‘Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep. Amen.’ It seemed the Lord answered that simple prayer in spite of everything.

“As I grew older, I got into trouble and was put in detention homes, then in reform schools, then in jails, till finally I landed in the penitentiary. God saved me about two years ago while I was being held for trial in the county jail. A man came there with a Bible and spoke to us about the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I accepted Jesus as my Savior.

“The other day as I was reading in my Bible in Romans 8:14-17, I suddenly realized, I have been chosen! I was adopted into the family of God, and God is my Father. I am His child! No one else would have me as their child, but God adopted me, and I belong
to Him.”

Children, maybe you are from a happy home with a father and a mother who love you. But maybe you are not. We are so glad we can tell you, whatever your home is like, that God loves you with a love even greater than the love of mothers and fathers, and He wants to be your very own Father. He gave His only Son to come here to die for our sins and rise again from the dead, because He loves us so much. Because of the work of the Lord Jesus, God can forgive sinful men and women, boys and girls, and adopt them into His family and give them a happy home forever in heaven. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that [whoever believes] in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”
(John 3:16).

Memory Verse: “Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Romans 8:15-16

Messages of God’s Love 12/17/2023

Eternal Blessings

If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you will want to read Ephesians 1, because there you will find a wonderful list of many of the blessings God has given to us who belong to Him. Here is a start to that list. We are:

blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ;

chosen in Him before the foundation of the world;

holy and without blame before Him in love;

predestinated (marked out beforehand) unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself;

accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

So, whether you are from a poor or rich family, here you see that you are blessed with amazing riches for all eternity as well as for right now, by being given all spiritual blessings in heaven in Christ. Maybe you feel rejected by others, but you have been chosen and accepted by God. And so much more. There is joy in really thinking about all that God has given to us in the Lord Jesus.

Messages of God’s Love 12/17/2023

The Little Gray Dog

One morning in December, Mrs. Turner looked out the window at the blowing snow and read the thermometer ... 10° below zero! It was so cold that she shivered even standing indoors. She noticed a little gray dog sitting in a yard up the street and she felt sorry for it because it looked terribly cold.

Later that morning, as Mrs. Turner was leaving home to run an errand, a neighbor, Jill, called to her, “Do you know whose dog this is?”

Jill was carrying the little dog and she said, “His feet look frozen.” But when she set him down, he ran away immediately.

That afternoon, Shelly and Ellen Turner bundled up to walk to the store. What should come over to meet them but the little gray dog. He seemed friendly, and Ellen had no problem catching him. He seemed to enjoy the warmth of her arms as she carried him home to their garage. Although he was wearing a collar, there were no tags on it to tell them to whom he belonged.

Mrs. Turner decided the garage was not warm enough for him to stay in, so she called the animal control center. In a few minutes an officer was there in his van.

The officer walked around to the back door of the garage. How surprised Mrs. Turner was when he greeted the dog with a friendly, “Well hello, George, how are you?” The officer knew George well — he ran away from home often, and this officer was often called to pick him up. George would have to go to the police station even though the officer knew exactly where he lived. Because George ran away from home so often, breaking the law of no loose dogs, he could not go back home until his owners paid for the tickets that had piled up.

Boys and girls, did you know that we all have sinned, and those sins have piled up like George’s tickets? We sometimes sing, “My sins were as high as a mountain.” That is a lot of sins. There is no way we can pay for even one of our sins! However, the Lord Jesus already paid the price for all our sins if we will only believe on Him and accept Him as our Savior. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and [you will] be saved” (Acts 16:31). Then there won’t be a mountain of sins against you anymore.

Messages of God’s Love 12/17/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Commuter Birds, Part 1

“Lo, the winter is past. ... The time of the singing of the birds is come.”
Song of Solomon 2:11-12

The ability of billions of birds to migrate to and from various parts of the world each spring and fall is truly amazing. If we were to attempt these trips, we would need many kinds of instruments and maps. But God has given these flying wonders the wisdom to stay on their courses perfectly.

Scientists are very interested in the abilities of these birds and would like to learn their secret. But man has not discovered the secret; it is the Creator’s gift to the bird kingdom. Amazingly, some, like storks, hummingbirds, plovers and terns, fly accurately for thousands of miles over land and ocean.

Some scientists think that birds are guided by the sun, and they may be right. But the sun travels from east to west, and for the most part birds travel north and south. If guided by the sun, they would need some kind of sensor to tell them the location of the sun in the sky at any time of day. Others think the night fliers use the stars for direction. However, the stars’ positions change as the earth revolves. So if the stars guide them, the night fliers have certainly been given something better than man’s global positioning systems to find their way. Still others think they follow landmarks, such as mountains, rivers and valleys. This might help those migrating over land; however, what about those flying over oceans?

None of these provide a real answer, since the migrators find their way just as well in total darkness, through foggy or cloudy skies, and sometimes even through bad storms. We must conclude that the Lord God who created and takes care of them is their source. He supplies this superb guidance and the amazing strength and endurance that takes them safely and accurately over these great distances.

If you know the Lord as your Savior, He will give you the guidance and strength you need to get through life as you trust in Him, too. He cares about you far more than He cares about the birds. The Bible asks, Don’t you know that “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, [faints] not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He [gives] power to the faint; and to them that have no might He [increases] strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:28-31).

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

Many migratory birds find their way through total darkness, foggy or cloudy skies and even bad storms.

Messages of God’s Love 12/17/2023

Helping a Sparrow

One spring day, after the students had gone home and all the chairs were up on the desks, I sat at my teacher’s desk quietly grading papers. My classroom has a door to the outside which I had left open to get some fresh air. I had the lights off, and the two windows let in just enough light so I could see. The windows were closed. The room was quiet and peaceful after a busy day of school.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw some rapid movement. Looking closer, I saw that a sparrow had flown in the open door. The tiny gray bird flew around the room a couple of times looking for a way to get out. I hoped for its sake that it would go out through the door that it had entered seconds before. However, it decided the best way to exit the room was through the window. Up against the glass it flew. With a constant flutter and flurry of wings, it searched for a way to get through the clear glass, only to be disappointed time and time again.

I felt sorry for the bird. It was like a prisoner of its own mind because if it had only looked towards the open door, it would have seen the way to escape.

I stood up and walked softly to the window. I didn’t want to scare it. Moving quickly, I cupped my hand and trapped the little bird against the glass of the window. I felt its wings, soft and fluttery, beat against my hand. Gently, I placed my other hand over the bird so it couldn’t escape my grasp. Its head with the little beak and reddish-brown eyes stuck out from between my fingers. It felt almost weightless as I held it.

I carried the little bird towards the open door, but before I got there, it slipped through my fingers and fell to the floor. On the floor it stood still for a second and then hopped out the open door to where it belonged.

As I had held the tiny bird carefully in my hands and felt its heartbeat through its feathery chest, I thought to myself, This is the way the Lord Jesus holds me. He said in the gospel of John, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

For a long time in my life, this wasn’t true. I lived as though sin was able to make me happy and content. I thought the way to freedom and fulfillment was through pleasing myself. I would still be trapped in seeking my own happiness if the Lord Jesus had not saved me. One day, I discovered I needed a Savior. I believed in Him. When He took my life into His hands, He didn’t crush me, but cradled me in His hands. He was gentle with me. I learned that He wanted only what was the very best for me. It cost Him immense suffering on the cross so I could be forgiven, but to Him it was worth it. After He rose from the dead, Jesus showed His hands with the nail wounds in them to His disciples, and He said, “Why are [you] troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself” (Luke 24:38-39). The nail wounds in His hands prove, beyond all shadow of doubt, that He loves me. Those are the hands in which He holds me.

I want my life to be totally in His hands. How about you? Is this the desire of your heart? It can be through faith in Christ. Won’t you believe in Him who died to set us free? He is much greater than we are. He wants you to trust Him.

Memory Verse: “He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.” Luke 24:38-39

Messages of God’s Love 12/24/2023

Defeated, But Still Dangerous

When Danny was a young boy, he enjoyed hunting for rattlesnakes with his dad. His dad gave Danny some good advice: “Never touch a rattlesnake!”

When Danny was 53 years old, he lived where he had some land and some horses. He hadn’t seen a rattlesnake in the five years he’d owned his property. Rattlesnakes where Danny lives inject a poison that kills living tissue, stops blood from clotting, and shuts down body organs. If the bite isn’t treated right away, it can cause death. That’s why I’m sure Danny wishes he had listened to the advice he got from his dad when he was a boy.

One Monday night, he was feeding his horses when a five-foot rattlesnake slithered up where Danny and his son were working. Quickly, one of them grabbed an irrigation pipe and pinned the snake to the ground. While it struggled, the other one grabbed a shovel and cut off the head, hitting it a few times for good measure. That’s when Danny made a mistake. He thought, Wouldn’t a rattlesnake head make a nice souvenir?

Danny forgot his dad’s warning. When he reached down to pick up the rattlesnake’s head, it raised up and bit his finger! A rattlesnake’s heat-seeking and touch sensors can both function for a while after it dies and make its muscles react without its brain telling them what to do.

Danny would have ignored the bite, but his wife insisted they head for the hospital. Ten minutes later, with his tongue already swelling and the snake poison spreading, they reached the hospital. In minutes he was in an ambulance, heading for a larger hospital where he could get a full antivenin treatment. Two days later he came home from the hospital.

The rattlesnake reminds me of another enemy we have — Satan, or the devil. He was defeated by the Lord Jesus at the cross. But that doesn’t mean we should challenge Satan or ignore the power he still has. “Your [enemy] the devil, as a roaring lion, [walks] about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Satan hides his deadly poison in things that look inviting. There are books and magazines, games and other entertainment that have the poison of sin mixed with them. The Lord Jesus gave us the perfect example for resisting Satan, by using His Word to defend against the devil. You can read about it in Luke 4:1-13. Notice how many times Jesus says, “It is written,” and then quotes the Word of God.

Messages of God’s Love 12/24/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Commuter Birds, Part 2

“[Noah] sent forth a dove. ... But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark.” Genesis 8:8-9

Noah’s dove had no problem finding her way back to the ark. This is an example of the billions of birds that migrate over vast oceans and land throughout the world each year. One, the blackpoll warbler, travels up to 6,650 miles between the forests of North America all the way to South America. One part of the trip for this tiny, less-than-one-half-ounce warbler is an 1800-mile nonstop flight over water. In order to accomplish this feat, it first eats until it even sometimes doubles its body weight.

The golden plover travels up to 20,000 miles each year, and the bobolink travels about 12,500 miles round-trip between Canada and South America.

Why do they migrate? One reason is that they need a place with long days and enough food to raise their young. Both of these are found in the North where trillions of insects hatch just as the birds arrive in spring. The Creator has arranged this, providing them with needed food and, at the same time, controlling the insects that otherwise would destroy the land. Then, aware that winter is coming, the migrators time their flights south to escape the cold of winter. Birds are the best forecasters on earth and can tell weather changes long before people can.

Young birds often do not migrate with their parents. It is amazing how they can accurately fly to their destinations without help from their parents! Only God could give them this ability.

It is not only in the migration along their normal routes that birds’ instincts are revealed. Experiments with birds removed from their normal surroundings and set free elsewhere have shown amazing results.

A number of shearwaters were taken in covered cages from the coast of Wales to both Italy and Switzerland. Although they are water birds and not used to flying over land, when released, these birds rose high in the air, crossed the Alps and flew straight back home. A cowbird from Illinois was taken to Colorado and released. A month later it was back home. This same bird was later taken to Quebec and again found its way back.

The amazing migrations of birds give us a picture of the power and wisdom of the Creator. His power, His wisdom, and, most of all, His love for you and me has been shown most perfectly at the cross. For those who know God as their Father, there is a special promise in Psalm 32:8. It says, “I will instruct [you] and teach [you] in the way which [you shall] go: I will guide [you] with [My] eye.” Do you look to Him for His guidance? He wants to give it to you.

Did You Know?

Birds are the best forecasters on earth and can tell weather changes long before people can.

Messages of God’s Love 12/24/2023

A Dangerous Way to Fish

“BOOM!” The dynamite was loud enough and the blast strong enough that it made Wilfredo jump ... but he was getting a lot of fish. He knew that fishing like this was against the law, but most likely no one would ever know what he was doing since he was a long way out in the jungle. He hoped no one would ever find out about his fishing with dynamite.

It seemed so easy and so much faster than any other way to fish. Just light the stick of dynamite, wait until it was almost ready to explode, and then throw it quickly into the river. The explosion underwater killed lots of fish. The dead fish quickly floated to the top, and ... what a catch! His family would eat some and they would sell
the rest.

Wilfredo didn’t know that his whole life was about to change. He had grown up in a Christian home and had gone to Sunday school and many other Bible meetings. He had often been told of God’s wonderful plan of salvation for lost sinners. He had heard many times how the Lord Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, had been buried and rose again the third day. But Wilfredo had not accepted God’s loving offer of the forgiveness of sins. He had heard the warning from Hebrews 2:3, “How shall we escape, if we neglect [pay no attention to] so great salvation?” But Wilfredo had neglected it. He had learned by memory the verse, “Remember now [your] Creator in the days of [your] youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1), but he had not remembered the One who had made him.

Wilfredo’s Christian father had taken him to hear about the way of salvation every Sunday for over 10 years. That meant that he had heard the story of God’s wonderful love over 500 times! His family had read the Bible together every morning each day of the year. Wilfredo had heard the Bible read over 3,000 times! What amazing patience God had shown Wilfredo! A kind teacher might have explained a math lesson to him a second time if he did not understand it the first time, or a really patient teacher might even explain it three or four times. But is there any love and patience so great as God’s — to explain to a sinner his need of the Savior thousands of times?

Even now, as Wilfredo was fishing with dynamite, he was not thinking about God. However, in a powerful way, God was going to show Wilfredo that no one can stay in this world forever — that everyone will leave — everyone will face God.

He put a match to the fuse and watched and waited for the red glow to burn low. Just another few seconds and he would let it go ... “BOOM!” Before he could throw it, the blast went off, and Wilfredo knew he was badly hurt.

The terrible pain confused him and he ran. He could not see where he was going, but he ran deeper and deeper into the jungle. Friends who had seen the accident ran after him until they caught him. They carried him to a hospital. In the hospital, Wilfredo learned how badly he was hurt. He had lost his right hand and his right eye.

Now at last his thoughts turned toward the Savior he had neglected for so long. The devil had shown that he was a hard, unkind master, and Wilfredo no longer wanted to serve him. Wilfredo knew that God had kept him from being killed in order to give him another opportunity to be saved. He was finally willing to accept God’s gift of salvation. “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Wilfredo was so thankful that he had been saved from his sins. He said it was worth losing a hand and an eye. He began reading his Bible, and he soon started teaching a Sunday school class. He told the children how patient God had been with him. The children could see that Wilfredo was happier even without his hand and eye than he had ever been with two hands and two eyes while he still had his heavy load of sin.

Are any of you boys and girls living like Wilfredo did for so long? Perhaps you have Christian parents or friends who have read God’s Word to you many times, and you have been to many Bible meetings, but still you aren’t saved. This is the last day of 2023 and perhaps God is still waiting for you to accept His loving offer of salvation. The time is very close when God’s day of salvation will be forever over. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s dear Son, now, before it is too late. The Bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Memory Verse: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Messages of God’s Love 12/31/2023

Wonders of God's Creation: Is It a Frog or a Toad?, Part 1

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Colossians 3:2

In response to the title question, “Is it a frog or a toad?” the word “frog” is used many times to describe what actually is a toad. All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads, because toads are in the frog family. Because they are both amphibians, there are similarities, but there are some differences. For instance, toads have no teeth but most frogs do. Most toads don’t have webbed feet, while frogs’ back feet are usually webbed, and some frogs have webbed front feet, too. Only toads have bumpy skin, and some of those bumps have a poisonous liquid, usually in bumps just behind the eyes. This poison irritates and can even kill small animals, if they eat enough of it, and it can cause people to have allergic reactions.

Most frogs and toads are not seen in temperatures below freezing. This is because they hibernate during the winter, down deeper than the water will freeze if they live in the water, or in burrows that reach below where the frost will reach them, if they live on land. But the Lord has also provided them with a natural antifreeze in glucose, that preserves their vital organs and prevents those from freezing, even if ice crystals form in other parts of their body during hibernation.

One interesting toad is the Surinam toad of South America. It is so flat it looks like it was stepped on. It eats small fish, insects and worms, using suction to draw water and prey into its mouth when it sees something to eat and using its fingers to keep a fish in its mouth, for example, while reversing the direction of the water to get rid of all that water. When the female lays eggs, the male places them, one by one on her back. Her skin quickly closes over them, providing a separate incubator for each egg. There they develop into tadpoles, and then into miniature toads. After three to four months, they have fully developed and come out of their safe incubator to begin life on their own. The mother sheds the layer of skin used for incubating those eggs and is soon ready to repeat the process.

This toad, made to live in the water, has a hard time on land. This makes me think of the new life we have as believers, that is very different from the life of someone who doesn’t know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. As our opening verse says, our minds are to be set on things above, where the Lord Jesus is living. His love for us is so great and He is so wonderful that we can never get to the end of all we can enjoy in Him, no matter how much we think about Him!

(to be continued)

Did You Know?

All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.

Messages of God’s Love 12/31/2023

Messages of God's Love: 2023

Table of Contents

Saved on Safari

Wonders of God's Creation: Two Unusual Fish

The Little Stowaway

The Old Man and the Tracts

Wonders of God's Creation: Snakes and Their Ways, Part 1

Only Four Pennies

The Little Pig

Wonders of God's Creation: Snakes and Their Ways, Part 2

Sid's Bike Crash

Fritzy

Wonders of God's Creation: Dingoes Are Not Popular

Help From Above

Philip's Birdhouse

Wonders of God's Creation: A Look at Vireos

Old Clem

Wonders of God's Creation: The Warthog

Saved - Just in Time

Wonders of God's Creation: Gemsboks and Springboks

Sally's Friends

A Story About Nothing

Wonders of God's Creation: Hiding in Plain Sight

Crocodile! Crocodile!

Wonders of God's Creation: The Black Skimmer

Missionary Guide

Queen Elizabeth

Wonders of God's Creation: Delightful Squirrels, Part 1

The Dollhouse

The Musical Watch

Wonders of God's Creation: Delightful Squirrels, Part 2

No Return

Rescue

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 1

Forest Fire

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 2

An Old Man's Faith Tested

Wonders of God's Creation: Cheerful Dolphins, Part 3

Avalanche

The Fall of the Rossberg

Wonders of God's Creation: Two African Lizards

Wanna Fight?

A "Worthless" Bird

Wonders of God's Creation: The Adorable Kit Fox

Escape From An Orca

Wonders of God's Creation: Rockhoppers Are Tough!, Part 1

Stay in the Backyard

Daddy's Shortcut

Wonders of God's Creation: Rockhoppers Are Tough!, Part 2

The Pawned Bible

The Little Prodigal

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 1

Okay, Monkey, I'll Find You!

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 2

Grrrr … Wolf!

Expecting Gramma

Wonders of God's Creation: Your Amazing Body, Part 3

Hero in Feathers

Wonders of God's Creation: Migrating

The Doll That Grew

Wonders of God's Creation: Migrating Caribou, Part 2

I Don't Understand It

Pride … And a Fall

Wonders of God's Creation: Body Snatchers and Other Ants

Rescued From the Fire

A Lesson From A Squirrel

Wonders of God's Creation: The Intriguing Echidna

The Trapper's Story

A Tough Race

Wonders of God's Creation: Amazing Sandhill Cranes, Part 1

Danger on the Snake River

Wonders of God's Creation: Amazing Sandhill Cranes, Part 2

Let's Go!

The Safe Way

Wonders of God's Creation: More About Elephants

A New Home for Pedro

Who Do You Belong To?

Wonders of God's Creation: "Dogs" That Are Not Dogs

Safe on the Rock

Left Behind