Birds of the Bible - Niami, Niger, West Africa (Lee Dusing)

Our missionaries in Niami, Niger (the Totmans and Marines), encounter different Birds of the Bible than our missionary in Brazil, that I wrote about last week.

These are some of the different birds mentioned in the Bible that they might see in Niger that we don't see here. Some do not have pictures, so this is not a complete list. All of these pictures are from the Niger, Africa list of birds from Wikipedia.

Avibase Checklist of Birds - Niger

Birds of the Bible - Study Tips (by Lee Dusing)

When the Birds of the Bible were introduced in February, 2008, "Introduction to Birds of the Bible", the goal was to acquaint you with each bird that is mentioned in the Bible and for you to learn of God's great handiwork in their creation. These blogs have grown greatly since then. I would like to share some of the methods that I use to produce these articles and to study God's Word.

As you are reading along in your Bible, you may come across the mention of a particular bird (or any other topic) in a verse. You see a bird and are wondering whether it is mentioned in Scripture. Your curiosity is caught and you want to find out more. What do you do?

• As a "birdwatcher," you can pull our your handy bird handbooks like: Peterson Field Guide to Birds, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds, The Sibley Guide to Birds, etc.
• As an "internet birdwatcher," you can "Google" that bird and get instant information (more than you can ever read) and learn many interesting things.
• As a "Bible birdwatcher," you can look in your concordance for references to that bird and if you have a Bible software program, such as "e-Sword" (free), you can search for the bird.
• Also as a "Bible birdwatcher," you may want to see why the bird is mentioned and what applications can be made by that passage of Scripture used. I like to use the Topical references, like Nave's Topical Bible and Torrey's New Topical Textbook. That is one reason that they are available here to help in the study of the "Birds of the Bible." The ones here are different in that I put a picture of the bird on its page.

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; (Job 12:7 NKJV)

This verse has been quoted many times in these blogs and we have tried to apply it to the lessons to be learned. Also, there are many other verses that give encouragement to study God's Word.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11 KJV)
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)

As you study about the birds (or whatever in the Bible), I trust you will:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16 KJV)

* (Emerald Dove by Birdway)

Birds of the Bible - For His Pleasure II (by Lee Dusing)

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33 NKJV)

Last week the "Birds of the Bible - For His Pleasure" that I wrote was about the Lord's Handiwork with the colors and markings of the Birds. This time, how the Lord designed their bill or beak will be considered.

It is truly amazing to observe the birds around us. They come in all kinds of sizes, shapes and colors. Have you really noticed their bills or beaks. God has designed them with various shaped bills, different length, and uses for them. Depending on what niche they fill, they have just the perfect bill for that food that they need to partake of. Some times the food that they consume is not available and they either adapt to what is available, they move on to find that food, or they become endangered or extinct. Let's look at some of the variety of bills and the birds attached to them.

Toucan - "The colorful, giant bill, which in some large species measure more than half the length of the body, is the hallmark of toucans. Despite its size it is very light, being composed of bone struts with little solid material between them. The bill has forward-facing serrations resembling teeth," which is used for eating fruit. "It does aid in their feeding behavior (as they sit in one spot and reach for all fruit in range, thereby reducing energy expenditure)...Also, the beak allows the bird to reach deep into treeholes to access food unavailable to other birds, and also to depredate suspended nests built by smaller birds."

Hummingbirds - Their thin long bills are used for collecting nectar and to protect their split tongues.

Egrets and Herons - They have long pointed bills that can be used to spear the fish they catch. They also catch them by a quick closing of the beak.

Woodpeckers - Their beaks are use to peck and tear off the bark of trees to catch bugs hidden there.

Pelican - They have a big beak with a pouch that they can hold the fish they catch.

Gnatcatcher - A very fine and small beak helps them catch gnat and other tiny insects.
Sparrows and similiar - They have a cone shape bill that allows them to crack open seeds.

Parrots - Have even a bigger cone like beak that can open larger seeds and nuts.

Spoonbills - Have what looks like a spoon for a bill. They use it to swing back and forth in the water and have a very sensitive touch that will snap the paddles together when something gets in between them. Video

The list goes on and on and you will find in each case, that the bill and the bird match-up shows the infinite wisdom of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of them all.

As Christians, we also each have some niche that the Lord wants us to fill. He has given us the talents, abilities, gifts, etc. to do that task or ministry. Our problem sometimes is the will to do His Will with what He has provided for us. Again, let us learn from watching the birds and how they use what was designed for them.

See also: Beak from Wikipedia

Birds of the Bible - For His Pleasure (by Lee Dusing)

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)

The Lord has created some fantastically beautiful birds amongst His Creation. This blog is just to show you some of those birds. As you watch the photos, realize that they are under a curse, ("For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." Romans 8:22) and yet they are so neat. What must the first birds have been like when they were created? The Lord must have the neatest Paint Brush!

These photos were chosen to show colors and markings. In another blog, I'll feature another of God's Creative Handiwork.

All of these photos are copyrighted © by the photographers and used with their permission. Please honor their copyrights.

Birds of the Bible - Bird Idols (by Lee Dusing)

(16) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith. (18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; (19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. (20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (21) Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (22) Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (23) And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. (24) Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: (25) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:16-25)

I know that the above quotation is long, but it is needed to show the problem of making idols in the image of birds and other things. Here on this blog, we discuss the birds and how the Lord has created each of them, how His glory and honor is to be praised for His great intelligence (omniscience) and power (omnipotence), etc. What we don't do is worship these birds. Over the centuries, man has taken his eyes off of God, and put it on things, such as birds. Then, he has used wood and other materials to make idols of them. Next come the worship of that idol. "Idolatry is a term used by the monotheistic religions in reference to the worship of physical objects (idols) and, more generally, to most any religious practices which involves the worship of anything other than God. Forms of worship encompassed under the term idolatry include prostrating before an idol, offering prayers to idols, and offering librations or animal sacrifices to idols." (from Creation Wiki) Here are some of the ways that man has denied God this way:

Fenghuang: "Fenghuang is said to be made up of the beak of a rooster, the face of a swallow, the forehead of a fowl, the neck of a snake, the breast of a goose, the back of a tortoise, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of a fish. Today, however, it is often described as a composite of many birds including the head of a golden pheasant, the body of a mandarin duck, the tail of a peacock, the legs of a crane, the mouth of a parrot, and the wings of a swallow. Its body symbolizes the six celestial bodies. The head is the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the wings are the wind, the feet are the earth, and the tail are the planets."

Griffin: "The Griffin (griffon or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and often wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure. In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine."

Phoenix: "The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being immortal and invincible — it is also said that it can heal a person with a tear from its eyes and make them temporarily immune to death. The phoenix is a symbol of fire and divinity." "Originally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a "benu", known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra."

These are just a few of the Bird Idols around the world. As stated earlier, we love doing articles about the fantastic birds God has created, but please, don't take your eyes off of the Creator. He created them for His pleasure and ours, not to be worshiped.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, (Exodus 20:3-5a)

Interesting articles to read: The Folly of Idolatry and The Folly of Idolatry #2 by Kyle Campbell
Most quotes are from Wikipedia.

Birds of the Bible - Osprey III (by Lee Dusing)

But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey, (Deuteronomy 14:12 KJV)
"But these are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, (Deuteronomy 14:12 NASB)

I decided to revisit the Osprey because they have been actively nesting in the area the last few months and also have some new photos to share. The photo to the right is neat in that both are working to feed the little ones. They usually mate for life. Normally the male does the fishing while the female guards the nest. The Ospreys were greatly endangered with DDT, but they are making a great recovery. For the first "Birds of the Bible - Osprey," CLICK HERE

While preparing (with e-Sword) the above verse, I again reminded that not all the translations use "osprey or ospray". Some use "vulture" (ESV, NASB, NKJV & others) and Darby uses "sea-eagle." This was investigated in "Birds of the Bible - Osprey II."

The research that is being done with the DNA of birds is changing the classification of several birds. The Osprey is being affected by these changes also. They were with the New World Vultures and now that is being rethought.

There are four subspecies of Osprey (Pandionidae):

Australia and New Guinea have an Pandion cristatus - Eastern Osprey (non-migratory) They even have stamps with their photos. The smallest subspecies.

North America - halietus carolinensis (migratory)

Eurasia - P.h. haliaetus

P.h. ridgwayi in the Caribbean; "Caribbean subspecies Pandion haliaetus ridgwayi. Known for their very pale head and breast plumage."

"Poole (1994) points to an interesting fact: despite its long history, Osprey has not evolved into different species." I can believe that.

The typical lifespan is 20-25 years.

Osprey Ridgwayi from Rutland Ospreys (Left)

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Eastern Osprey in Australia by Birdway

Birds Of The Bible - Solomon's Birds (by Lee Dusing)

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. (1 Kings 4:29, 30,32-34)

While reading these verses lately, I began wondering what HAD Solomon written about the birds. Here is what I have found so far.

∞∞∞∞

Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird; (Proverbs 1:17 NKJV)

From John Wesley's Explanatory Notes "In vain - The fowler who spreads, his net in the sight of the bird looseth his labour. But these, are more foolish than the silly birds, and though they are not ignorant of the mischief which these evil courses will bring upon themselves, yet they will not take warning."

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Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, And like a bird from the hand of the fowler. (Proverbs 6:5)

If you get caught in a snare, struggle like the gazelle or bird to get free. Like Dave Ramsey said last evening on "Town Hall for Hope," if things get bad get moving and exercise every effort to fix the problem. Don't just wait for someone else to solve your problem. Don't stay in the net of no hope.

∞∞∞∞

Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. (Proverbs 7:23)

This verse which tells of a bird being enticed into a trap, not knowing that it will kill it, comes in an illustration of a man enticed by an immoral woman. How many lives have been ruined this way. How many families have been lost.

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Like a bird that wanders from its nest Is a man who wanders from his place. (Proverbs 27:8)

This seems to almost go along with the verse above.

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Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter. (Ecclesiastes 10:20 NKJV)

Now that is an interesting case of, "the little birdie told me so."

∞∞∞∞

I returned and saw under the sun that-- The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them. (Ecclesiastes 9:11-12)

Solomon in Ecclesiastes changes to more of a "all is vanity" mode. I take this verse to mean that no matter whether you are strong, wise, rich, skillful, or otherwise, that things happen to all of us unexpectedly. All of us can get caught by a tornado, hurricane, flood, tsunami, and your status makes no difference to that circumstance. Even with the best preparations, things happen that are out of our control, but not God's.

∞∞∞∞

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, "I have no pleasure in them": While the sun and the light, The moon and the stars, Are not darkened, And the clouds do not return after the rain; In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men bow down; When the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look through the windows grow dim; When the doors are shut in the streets, And the sound of grinding is low; When one rises up at the sound of a bird, And all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height, And of terrors in the way; When the almond tree blossoms, The grasshopper is a burden, And desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)

These verses remind us to "Remember now your Creator." While we are young accept the Lord the Creator and learn of Him. One day you will be old, and things slow down, and you wake early at a birds singing (most likely a Mockingbird because they sing really early) while others that are young get a full nights rest. Or, it could be that a person is so afraid that even a bird's song frightens them awake. Solomon is reminding us to keep the Creator foremost because one day we will return to dust.

All quotes are from NKJV.

A Debt Free Church (by Stephen Simpson)

As you know, our church is opposed to going into debt. Pastor Osborne has often told us of the strange looks he has received when telling people outside our church of our "Debt-Free" stance.

Here are some thoughts I've had about our Debt-Free Church:

• A Debt-Free church sets a good example for its members. If a church borrows money for something it wants but can't afford, what message does that behavior send to the members of that church? It encourages them to borrow money to buy things that they want but can't afford. In contrast, our church is teaching us that saving money actually works. When something is needed, we save up for it and then pay cash.
• A Debt-Free church fosters a Stress-Reduced Workplace. Guess how many staff meetings I've been to where we sat around wondering if enough money will come in to pay the mortgage payment? ZERO.
• A Debt-Free church demonstrates Godly contentment. A patient church is a content church. Our church demonstrates contentment with what God has provided. We have refused to get ahead of God's plans.

I praise God for a church that teaches me not only from the pulpit, but also through its actions. Are you thankful that your church is debt-free?

Birds of the Bible - Foundation #5 (by Lee Dusing)

The birds are now out of the Ark and on their way to becoming all the species we see today. (See Birds of the Bible - Foundation #4 for the links to the others) It would be great to know exactly which bird kinds and critter kinds came off the Ark. We know for certain that 2 kinds of birds were on board. The raven and the dove are both mentioned. (Gen 1:21, "every winged bird according to its kind") According to Birds of the World, 8th edition, there are 233 families of birds. Also Bird Families of the World from Cornell. There are studies going on by creationists who are trying to find out what the original kinds were. It is called Baraminology and comes from "bara" which means "created" and "min" which means "kind". That is "baramin" and the study of it is Baraminology. I have listed some interesting articles at the end about this topic.

We have no problem with the birds interbreeding within their kind or as some call it "natural selection." But the problem comes in with statements like this from a UCBerkeleyNews - Press Release, "Dinosaurs developed feathers some 65 to 100 million years ago and became birds, with the ostriches and emus among the first to evolve, and the ducks and chickens next. That much we know, says University of California, Berkeley, ornithologist Rauri Bowie. But when it comes to the rest of bird evolution, he adds, "nobody had any idea"- until now." I contend they still don't know, because they have rejected the Creator who says He created them.

We all have the same evidence of fossils and living birds, but the difference comes with what worldview you start with. What they are finding is very interesting because of studies with the DNA of birds. The study was by The Field Museum of Chicago, which gathered "DNA from 169 species of birds representing nearly all of the world's non-songbird families." Because of these studies, it:

• "shifts the relationships among today's birds in surprising ways."
• "For example, parrots and songbirds turn out to be each other's closest relatives, while falcons are only distant cousins of the other birds of prey, the hawks and eagles."
• "New world vultures like the turkey vulture are no longer classified with the storks, but rather, return to their more traditional placement with the hawks and eagles."
• And hummingbirds and swifts, long known to be closely related, are in the same group as the elusive nightjars and the whip-poor-will."
• "The new relationships often make a lot of sense....For example, hummingbirds, swifts and nightjars all go into torpor at night or during cold weather. It thus makes sense that they are related, rather than having evolved this trait independently."

• "Similarly, many songbirds... learn songs from their parents, just like many parrots, which are now revealed to be songbirds' closest relatives."
• "although falcons look superficially like hawks, the new data show them to be distantly related. In line with this new phylogeny, falcons are known to have traits, such as acute ultraviolet vision, that distinguish them from hawks and other birds of prey."
• "These are just simple examples of how people are going to have to rethink the behavioral characters that have evolved," he said. "The study has raised as many questions as it has helped to resolve."
• "Birds fall into three general groups: land, water and shorebirds"
• "With this study, we learned two major things,"... "First, appearances can be deceiving. Birds that look or act similar are not necessarily related. Second, much of bird classification and conventional wisdom on the evolutionary relationships of birds is wrong."

The Bold in the quotes are mine.

That is just an example of the remarkable things they are finding out. Sounds like a fantastic God created them and we are just finding out some of His Majesty.

You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11 NKJV)

I had this article ready to go when today's mail came. There is a great article about "Speciation and the Animals on the Ark," by Daniel Criswell, Ph.D. in this month's Acts and Facts from ICR. It is a little technical, but it helps explain more of what this article is about.
Article about Baraminology from Answers in Genesis by Todd Charles Wood. Bara-What?
"Variation within Created Kinds" by Dr. Gary Parker
"Is Natural Selection the Same Thing as Evolution?" by Georgia Purdom
From Wikipedia "Baraminology"
From CreationWiki "Baraminology"

Lessons from April Faith Day 2009 (by Stephen Simpson)

We are praising the Lord for what He did yesterday at our April Faith Day. Over $90,000 was added to the building fund!! When you add the General Fund giving and Faith's 100 giving, well over $100,000 was given in the offering plates yesterday. Praise the Lord!

Here's a breakdown of the $90,000 that was donated for the building fund:

• Over $39,000 was pledged money.
  
• Over $50,000 of new money was donated. There were two $5,000 gifts and two $3,000 gifts. The rest (over $34,000) was given through many, many checks of various amounts.
  

What can we learn from this?

• There was widespread participation in our April Faith Day. 324 checks were deposited in the bank today. God did not provide through one or two large checks. He used hundreds of people to accomplish his purposes.
• God's people are extremely generous. Even though times are tough and there is a lot of economic uncertainty, God's people still gave.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Birds of the Bible - Foundation #4 (by Lee Dusing)

We will continue on with the Birds of the Bible - Foundation series.

If you have not read the previous blogs:
Foundation #1, - Foundation #2 - Foundation #3

The last article in this series left the world, Noah, his family, the animals, birds and creeping things in a rough situation. All the world was violently rearranged by the global flood and all air-breathing creation was dead, except for those on board the Ark.

Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:20)
But first must he (Christ-the Creator) suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:25-27)

Just as those who were saved by being in the Ark, so are we by putting our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5)

Finally, (Noah and all were in the Ark for over a year.) Noah opened the window in the ark and sent forth a raven. The raven which flew back and forth to the ark until the land was dried up. Noah, then sent out the Dove (female) to see if the ground was off the ground. Doves are ground feeders and also like to put there nests on the ground many times. She found no resting place for her feet and so Noah put out his hand and brought her back inside. Noah waited 7 more days and sent the dove out again and this time she came back with an olive leaf. This let Noah know that the waters were receding. When he released her again 7 more days later, the dove did not return. "The surface of the ground was dry." (Genesis 8:7-12)

After 7 more days: "God spoke to Noah, saying,"

"Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth." So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. "While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease." (Genesis 8:16-22 NKJV)

That is a tremendous promise and in Genesis 9, God blesses Noah and his sons and then makes some statements:

• Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth
• Fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast, bird, all that move on the earth, all fish of the sea. Are given into your hand
• Every moving thing that lives shall be food. (Man is no longer just a vegetarian)
• You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood
• Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.
• God makes a covenant with man and every living creature

Genesis 9:11-17 NKJV
(11) Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
(12) And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
(13) I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
(14) It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;
(15) and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
(16) The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
(17) And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."

What a tremendous promise! Even though man and critters are still cursed, God will never bring another global flood.

As for the birds and other critters, we find from God's Word that there are changes for them. They now can become food for man and other critters, they now have a fear and dread of man who has dominion over them, they now become eaters of others. They are still to reproduce and spread out and fill the earth, they are promised never to be totally destroyed again by a global flood, etc. Somewhere between the Fall in the garden of Eden and this, the nature of birds and critters is drastically changed from what God originally created them to be. All because of SIN.

Some links to some informative articles about the flood:
Noah's Flood covered the whole earth
Universality of the Genesis Flood
How Did Defense/Attack Structures Come About?

Sacrificial Giving (by Stephen Simpson)

This coming Sunday is April Faith Day. Our Capital Campaign will come to a close. Most of you know that for the past three years our church has been raising and saving money in order to build and expand our facilities. You may recall the desserts that we held three years ago. Pastor Osborne gave presentations and asked us to consider making a pledge towards the campaign. One thing that stuck in my brain was the concept of sacrificial giving. Pastor explained that gifts toward the Capital Campaign were to be extraordinary gifts. They were to be gifts over and above our regular giving.

At the time of those desserts, Nicki & I were very newly married. We both worked full-time jobs. We prayed individually and together about what God would call us to pledge. God brought both of us to the same amount. We agreed on that grand total and decided to break it down into equal monthly contributions, in addition to our regular tithes. We were certain that it was going to be a huge sacrifice; it was definitely stretching our "budget."

Fast forward three years to the present time. Much has changed! We have been blessed with two girls and have moved into a larger house. Nicki went from her full-time job, to stay-at-home Mom, back to working a few hours a week. All this means our "budget" was stretched even more than planned. I'm sure many (if not most) of you have also experienced some significant life changes these past three years.

This month, by the grace of God, we were able to send in our final monthly contribution. PRAISE THE LORD!! We have been so excited to look back and see what God has been able to accomplish. We certainly could not have done it on our own! But, as I have thought about our pledge, I have thought again of the concept of sacrificial giving. I have asked myself, "Was our pledge a sacrificial gift?" What did we have to sacrifice? What did we give up in order to give more? I can honestly tell you that our pledge truly felt like a sacrificial gift. There were times when we worried about how we would meet our monthly commitment, and it felt like we were sacrificing tremendously. But, if I'm honest, I can't really look back and provide a list of the specific things that we sacrificed. We never went hungry, and we were able to pay all of our bills. In fact, we were even able to pay off some of our debts early. We never ran out of clothes to wear. We still went on vacations. There were still Christmas presents under the tree each year, and we still exchanged birthday presents.

My point is this, God has blessed us tremendously. He has provided above our needs! I don't know about you, but I feel like I have truly grown spiritually through our giving. I look forward to the next Capital Campaign because I want to grow even more. Maybe next time I'll come closer to the true meaning of sacrificial giving.