That's why I love Carman and Noah so much. They brighten my day and I do
pray over them.
--Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be
not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.
Donna Miller
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 2:03 PM
Subject: Why God Made The Birds
>I don't think I have posted this on here before.
>
> Phil.
>
>
> Why God Made The Birds
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
> This weekend, I wasn't feeling too well physically. It was
> sort of like the stomach flue or something. Anyhow, I normally
> seem to get discouraged pretty easily whenever I get sick. Some
> of it is related to the dozen eye operations I had 41 years ago
> because I used to wake up sick as a dog and puking my guts up
> after every operation. So, there's some healing there that needs
> to be done but fortunately, I've already received a great deal of
> healing in that area but there is more work to be done.
>
> Anyhow, as the day wore on, I got to feeling better. I had
> been thinking about what I was going to teach on this morning,
> Sunday, but somehow, and for some reason, I felt my spirit telling
> me to switch to another topic and that was about birds. I
> remember at the moment I felt the change, I was walking near the
> bird cage where Chester, our African Gray Parrot lives, and I
> heard him chattering and playing around. Parrots of all kinds
> love to play. They, unlike people like me, have no problem
> keeping themselves occupied in one way or another. So, as I said,
> I was walking by his cage and his chattering made me stop and
> think about him and other birds.
>
> When I was a kid, I had a dog named Corky. I've talked
> about him before in other articles and testimonies. He was a rat
> terrier and I spent a lot of time with him. I used to always say
> to him, "Corky, I wish I was a dog." One day my mother heard me
> say that and she asked why I was saying it. "Because," I replied,
> "dogs never have to go to school." I have a feeling there was a
> lot more behind my secret confession but I'll save that for
> another time.
>
> I was reminded of this when walking passed Chester and
> hearing him playing in his cage. I sort of thought the same thing
> as when I was a child about being a dog but this time, instead of
> wishing to be a dog, I thought of being a bird in God's animal
> kingdom. I heard myself saying in my thoughts, "Lord, why are
> birds so happy?" I was thinking, why do birds sing, those that
> are song birds I mean, and why do they chatter and play around and
> seemed to always be having a good time.
>
> Several years ago, I watched a two hour program on a local
> educational channel which was on birds. They claimed that there
> were over 600 billion birds on the planet, sounds low to me, and
> 2800 different species.
>
> Most of us probably never pay a whole lot of attention to
> birds but I was thinking, this weekend, what it must be like for
> all the birds in the world to awaken each morning and start
> singing and chattering to the Lord. Millions of birds, billions,
> singing and to whom are they singing? Well, they are for our
> enjoyment, that's for sure, but what do you bet that God hears
> them, every one, more than we personally bother taking notice.
>
> In the late seventies, we lived in western Colorado. I was
> an assistant pastor in a small Baptist church at the time. We
> lived in a brand new house and had one child that was a little
> less than two years old at the time.
>
> One morning, about 5:30 or 6 o'clock, in April, I put on my
> coat, after making some coffee, and carried my cup out on the
> patio. the meadowlark has been just about my most favorite song
> bird for many years. We lived in a very large valley and at the
> edge of town. In fact, over our back fence you were considered
> out of the town proper.
>
> that chilly mountain morning, as I stood and prayed, I had to
> stop to admire the thousands of meadowlarks I could hear all
> across the valley. One came within about 75 feet, or less, of the
> patio and perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. He sang so
> loud with all the others, you almost had to cover your ears. I
> tried singling each songbird out so I could count all those I
> heard that morning. It was impossible. I've never heard anything
> like it before or since.
>
> As I poured out the small amount of coffee I had left in my
> cup on the ground and pushed back the patio door, I realized that
> those birds new more about praying and praising God than I did.
>
> This weekend, when I asked the Lord why birds were so happy,
> He instantly said, "Because they know me." Quickly on the heels
> of that knowledge, I realized that birds know him as their Creator
> and so they are happy. Additionally, they know Him as their
> Provider. You see, I know these things myself, theologically
> speaking, but the birds know it from experience. More than
> anything in my life, I want to know God as that which He has
> created but to do that, you have to experience it. How do you
> experience God's nature? I personally believe it is accomplished
> through intimate prayer.
>
> Have you ever seen a bird up on a telephone wire muttering to
> himself and saying, "What a lousy morning this is. The whole day
> will probably be as lousy as yesterday. That's the way life is
> for me," you hear him say, "nothing ever goes right for me. I
> think," he says a little louder and with a little more
> forcefulness, "I'll just cash it all in right here and now. I'm
> going to do a swan dive, a perfect header, right off this wire
> into the ground. I'll snap my little beak, my neck will break,
> and I'll be dead. I'm sick of life."
>
> I hear little sparrows all the time around our house. No,
> they aren't very pretty birds and they can't carry a tune in a
> basket. All they do is chatter together. I've noticed though,
> when I listen closely to their sounds, they seem to be happy. I
> bet, I just bet you, that they are chattering about the Lord and
> His goodness and that's why they sound happy. Of course, I could
> be wrong and they could be belly achers and complainers like we
> are but somehow I doubt it.
>
> "Oh," you say, "birds don't have anything to worry about like
> me." Oh, really. What about their predators? Cats, squirrels,
> high voltage power lines, hunters, kids with bee bee rifles just
> itching for a kill, and a whole host of others that would love to
> have them for supper?
>
> I've never seen a bird sitting up on my house saying, "I hate
> life. Life just isn't worth living. It ain't rained in days.
> The worms have gone so deep, I couldn't pull one out of the ground
> with a pile driver. My stomach hurts I haven't eaten for so long.
> Not only that, every single freaking bird feeder in the
> neighborhood has been picked bone dry by them crazy squirrels. I
> wonder why God made them dumb things any way. All they do is
> steal my food. Oh, my belly hurts. God must not even care about
> me. I'm so weak, I can't fly another inch," and with that, his
> little legs give out, he rolls down the roof, off the edge, and is
> dead before he hits the ground; dead of a broken heart.
>
> Why do you suppose we don't hear birds talking and acting
> like that? I'll tell you why.
>
> Matthew 10:29-31
> 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
> shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
> 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
> 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
> sparrows.
>
> The word for "value" is a rather unusual word. One meaning
> is that of a boat, a ship really, filled with precious grains,
> gold and silver, and many other such goods which will be sold in a
> land far away. The returning sailors will be rich men because
> they will have sold everything in the ship to those who have no
> such provisions. Plus, they will fill the same ship with new
> things from the far away land which they will sell when they get
> home and make even more money. This describes the Greek meaning
> of the word for "value" that Jesus used to describe how much he
> values us.
>
> Further more, He makes a comparison. He reminded us that the
> Father is aware of ever single sparrow that falls to the ground.
> Sparrows, in those days, were worthless and were sold for a tenth
> of a penny or a tenth of a day's wages. Oh, so you are thinking
> that isn't very much value? Remove all the birds in one second
> of time from our planet and see what effect it has on our
> ecosystem. In a week, this planet would be in big trouble if god
> removed all his precious little birds. Jesus says, you are worth
> more to Him than the sparrows. In fact, he says, He knows exactly
> the number of the hairs on your head. Admittedly this is
> considerably fewer on some heads but regardless, God not only
> knows how many we have, He chooses to keep track of them. Try and
> figure that one out.
>
> So, why did God make the birds? Because they know Him as
> Creator and Provider. I wonder if you do. I know I do
> theologically but I don't experientially. I want to experience
> the truth that the birds know so I can sing and praise God with
> them every morning. I, too, want to be as happy as they are
> because they know who they are and they know who their Creator is.
>
> Has He Ever Crossed Your Mind?
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>
>
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