The Bible Says

God Saw That It Was Good!
Our beautiful fall weather has given place to snow and cold weather. Our feathered friends have done what some of us would like to do – fly to a warmer climate. The October issue of WORLD magazine carries the following information on “starlings,” that I found interesting.

Small Beginnings

“Outside my study window, starlings are raucously congregating in an autumn flock. They are preparing to migrate, and when they finally do, flock joins flock to form an unending black ribbon that streams across the evening sky.

Estimates indicate that such ribbons can number over 10 million birds.

“That’s a lot of birds, especially in North America, a latecomer to starlings. Until 1890 there weren’t any on the continent. That year 60 were released in New York’s Central Park, and the rest is bird-world history. The little has become the big.” -- Matthew Ristuccia p.39

Starlings In Northern Minnesota

This past year a lot of starlings visited our bird feeder. They like the sunflower seed we provide for them. Some people don’t like starlings because they are sometimes unkind to other birds, but we think they are pretty so we welcome them year by year. We actually have at least two other strains of black birds, including cow birds and red-wing blackbirds.

And God Saw That It Was Good

And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and birds multiply on the earth. So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind.

And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:22-24).

Where Faith Begins
by Hugh Tilroe

In this old world which God has made,
Are things I’d like to know,
I till the ground and plant the seed,
But the Corn! What makes it grow?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

I see the rosebud on the bush,
I feel quite well acquainted;
I note the hue, the crimson blush,
But where’s the brush that painted?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

The giant in the virgin wood!
Now towering like a spire,
What arm can lift the growing load
And send it mounting higher?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

The birds that fly on a million wings!
That flit from pole to pole,
Whence came their tuneful warbling?
Who gave their song a soul?
I’d like to know,
I wish I Had the brain to think it through.

The feathery kingdom’s length of days;
It started in the nest,
But when it sings the farewell lays,
Where does this kingdom rest?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

The flame that zigzags through the sky,
And rents the clouds in twain;
Who saw the land all parched and dry
And coaxed the blessed rain?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

This mortal man I know as “me”;
My breath somewhere began;
Whence came my immortality,
The heritage of man?
I’d like to know,
I wish I had the brain to think it through.

And thus the mysteries multiply
To which my eye is dim;
My faith begins to mount on high,
And now it rests in Him.
I think I know,
I think I’ve found the brain that thinks it through.

More Worth While Poems p.48

School Is Never Out
By Joan Clayton

Bible Thought: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work.” (John 9:4 KJV).

Remember those wonderful days of school hood when the last day of school finally arrived and school was out for the summer. That long awaited day finally came. But guess what? You discovered the “School of Life.”

Whatever our next pursuit happens to be, we are still in school. We never graduate from learning.

In “Life’s school,” I don’t always receive a good report card. I make a renewed effort to do a better job next time, acknowledging my shortcomings, knowing that God’s grace and forgiveness cover me.

There are times in “Life’s School,” that I do not listen to my Teacher as I should, nor do I get my homework done! My Teacher has instructed me on how to live happily with peace and joy in every facet of my life! When I come to an obstacle, I go back to my textbook, the Bible, and strive to get my homework in on time!

My Teacher is for me! He wants success for me!

Finally, when school is eventually out for me and its my final Graduation Day, He will hand me my diploma and receive me unto Himself. Until then, school is never out!

The Bible Friend, July-August 1998 p.3

God Takes Pleasure In Everything That He Created

When you took your first breath, God said, “It is good!”

You may not have remained good, but Christ gives you the potential for God’s very best, for time and eternity!