Category Archives: Orni-theology

Are You Sounding Any Alarms?

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American Robin (Turdus migratorius) by Ian

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) by Ian

“Birds’ lives are so filled with danger that they’re on alert at all times, just to stay alive. Luckily, they have several tactics to avoid becoming the next meal for a cat or hawk. One, of course, is to fly away, a good choice, but not always possible. Another is to call in a troop of other birds to set up such a clamor that the predator is driven from the neighborhood. But in cases where the threat is too close and too dangerous, birds freeze in hiding while making soft, high-pitched sounds that serve as a warning to other birds.” [Bird Warning Calls Work Across Species]

Black-capped Chickadee

“Birds give a lot of “false alarms” or brief low-level alarms. With practice you will become sensitive to the higher intensity of real alarm calls, and when these calls are sustained for several minutes, and directed at one spot, you can be fairly certain a predator is there.” [Sibley Guides – Understanding Alarm Calls of Birds]

Here Sibley was using the alarm to help find the bird who was giving the warning.

We have been reading through Ezekiel in our devotions, and came across the often preached passage in Chapter 33. This was written to warn Israel, but it applies to us also. We all know people who need to be warned. As you read through this passage, you will see why I thought of the alarms from our Avian Wonders from the Lord.

Ezekiel 33:1-9 NASB
(1)  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
(2)  “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,
(3)  and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people,

Barking Boobook (Ninox connivens) by Ian

(4)  then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
(5)  ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life.

Unwatchful Dove ©S.Young

(6)  ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’
(7)  “Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me.

Birds Mobbing Owl and Warning Others To The Danger With Their Calls ©Andrew O’Connor

(8)  “When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.
(9)  “But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.

[Bolding Mine]

I trust we are all doing our part to warn the lost of their need of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sharing the Gospel

Running The Race

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Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) by Daves BirdingPix

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) by Daves BirdingPix

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 (NKJV)

Have you ever wondered what kinds of birds can run fast? We read about how fast birds can fly, but what about when they are on the ground. The bird pictured above is one that you might have thought of. That is the Greater Roadrunner. He chases lizards and other speedy critters so they need speed and agility. There are other birds that run fast, but we will check them out later.

“The roadrunners (genus Geococcyx), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern United States and Mexico, usually in the desert. Some have been clocked at 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) while a few have also been clocked up to 27 miles per hour.”

“The roadrunner forages on the ground and, when hunting, usually runs after prey from under cover. It may leap to catch insects, and commonly batters certain prey against the ground. Because of its quickness, the roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes; it is also the only real predator of tarantula hawk wasps.” Wikipedia – Roadrunners

Lesser Roadrunner (Geococcyx velox) ©WikiC

The Bible tells us, that after we accept the Lord as our Savior, we are supposed to do certain things. We should read God’s Word, talk to Him in prayer, obey our parents, be kind to others, and so on. Most times, you and I know when we do something we shouldn’t. We also know how we feel when we do do the things we know are right.

Living as a Christian is sort of like being in a race. We want to do our best and hopefully win. Others will be watching, and cheering us on to do our best. If we trip and fall, do we stay down, or get up and keep going?

Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) ©©Alan Murphy Flickr

Again, the Bible tells us that we need to ask forgiveness when we do wrong (sin). If you misbehaved, wouldn’t you ask your parents to forgive you? [That is if you meant it.] Get rid of those bad behaviors and run the race [do your best]. The same is true with the Lord Jesus Christ. We should do our best to please and serve Him.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

ABC’s of the Gospel

Proud As A Peacock?

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Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) by Nikhil Devasar

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3 NKJV)

In a recent post, Rabbit Chasing Sandhill Crane, I mentioned that Dan and I have been re-reading “Things I Have Learned” by Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. Today, I’d like to tell another short excerpt about the singing of a Mockingbird and the strutting of a Peacock.

The lesson has to do with having a “big head.” The Lord has given every Christian certain abilities or “talents.” How we use them and how we may feel about those gifts. Some believe that those talents were their own and lean toward becoming an “egomaniac”

“The Bible recognized that. God tells you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. You are not so tremendously important.” School might grieve for a few days if you died, but.. “…I have seen many a man die whom nobody knew how to get along without, and yet somehow or other things went right on. The world kept moving.”

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) By Dan'sPix

Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) By Dan

“Young people, I meet many people along life’s way who are failures because they overemphasize their own importance. That is the temptation of talented people. The fact that you have talents does not mean you are brilliant. Some people with much talent have little reasoning ability. Some people have special gifts for which they deserve no credit whatever. The just have gifts.”

Patagonian Mockingbird (Mimus patagonicus) ©WikiC

“What credit does a mockingbird deserve for singing? He is just made that way. When a mockingbird sings, he is not strutting his stuff.”

“A peacock struts. He has tail feathers, but he didn’t make them. God Almighty bent over heaven and stuck all those feathers in his tail. I know some people who can sing and play and act. That is about all they can do; yet they get to thinking they are wonderful.”

Peacock at Magnolia Plantation by Dan

“What have you on this earth you didn’t get from somebody else? What are you stuck up about? Do you know the cure for the big head is? It is to sit down and realize two things: first, anything you have, you got from God; and you are custodian of that gift –a trustee. Then think of somebody else in the world who has something you don’t have.”

Quotes from, Things I Have Learned, Chapel Talks by Bob Jones Sr  , 1992

Things I Have Learned

 

Woods, Water, and Winged Wonders

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Woods, Water, and Winged Wonders

Dr. James J. S. Johnson

Dan's Wood Stork Tree up close

WOOD STORKS in evergreen tree   (photo by Dan Dusing)

He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.

They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.

By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches. …

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,

Where the birds make their nests;
The stork has her home in the fir trees.

(Psalm 104:10-12 & 104:16-17)

Psalm104.17-SlidePlayer.com-storks

WOOD STORKS in tree   ( image credit:  SlidePlayer.com )

Springs and rain fall water the hills.  Wooded hills provide myriads of branches useful for avian nests, providing a hospitable habitat for birds of many kinds.  (Of course, the ecological fact that thriving trees facilitate homes for thriving birds is nothing new — see Daniel 4:11-12).  So, if rainfall is adequate, trees thrive – and where you find trees you also find birds, many birds of many different kinds. Forests are homes for owls, corvids, cardinals, hawks, wood ducks, doves, storks, and miscellaneous passerines galore!

BIRDWATCHING  IN  FOREST  HABITATS

Watch birds as they fly or they walk;

See their plumage and hear them talk!

Look for bird neighborhoods

In green, well-watered woods:

Homes for woodpecker, jay, owl and hawk!

So, take a trek through the woods  –  you should like the hike!   Walk and gawk.  (Is there a fowl on a bough?  Do birds perch on a birch?)  Wherever woods and water abound, look for winged wonders!

StellersJay-evergreen.iStock-Getty

STELLER’S JAY on evergreen tree branch   (iStock / Getty image)

 

 

2014 in Review

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 220,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 9 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Thank you for all your visits to this blog during 2014. This is encouraging and keeps us motivated to “keep on keeping on.” May we all have a great 2015!

“That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. (Psalms 26:7 KJV)

Lord Bless You In 2015!

Happy New Year!

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Dad and Mom its feeding time..

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American Robin (Turdus migratorius)with youngsters by Raymond Barlow

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)with youngsters by Raymond Barlow

This is for every blessed parent who so anxiously works hard in raising their kids in the way of the Lord…
And for the kids being fed by their parents.

Birds emerge from the shell blind and so weak
they can’t even hold their heads up.
Parents must feed babies frequently because
baby birds digest their food quickly.

The larger the babies grow, the more food they require.
Baby Crows need at least half their weight in food
every day just to stay alive.
a baby Belted Kingfishers eat 1 to 1 3/4 times
their weight in fish every day.
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) with young in nest

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) with young in nest

On average, a songbird nestling
receives four-12 feedings
of protein-rich insect food every hour.
Young Hawks are fed about once an hour.
Feeding duties aren’t always divided
equally between the sexes.
This varies with the species and
the inclination of the individual bird.
One male House Wren – a single male
whose mate disappeared – fed his nestlings
1,217 times between 4:15 a.m. and 8 p.m.
That’s about one trip every 47 seconds.
It’s astonishing how much a young bird can eat.
In one instance, a young American Robin,
who was supposed to leave the nest that day,
was experimentally fed all the earthworms it would eat.
Each worm was measured.
The Robin ate 14 feet of worms.
Orni-Theology

Orni-Theology

If birds can feed so much to their chicks every day,

how much would God expect us as a parent
to nourish our kids with spiritual food.
Well, do we feed the word of God to our kids every day?
Kids, are you eating well? Are you reading and listening to the Word of God?

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1/blockquote>

Yours in YESHUA,
a j mithra
(Found this on the Kid’s blog. AJ wrote it especially for that blog before joining the Lord in Glory)

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