Tomorrow's News -- Written Years Ago

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 11:1-9

TO CHEW ON: "The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:8,9


“And a Little Child Shall Lead Them” Original oil painting © 2007 by Darlene Slavujac (Used with the artist’s permission).

Would you let your baby sister play near the hole of a poisonous snake? Of course not! That would be almost certain death. Yet in this prophecy, Isaiah tells about a time when people and animals will get along without fear of each other. Match the creatures who will live together without fear (Isaiah 11:6-7)


Has this prophecy come true? No. The time it will happen is still in the future. It will be a time that Jesus rules as king on earth. He will destroy all bad things. Then even nature will change. Instead of animals hunting each other, they will live together in peace.

No fights. No wars. No suicide bombers. It’s hard to imagine such a time. Yet God predicted it so we can be sure it will happen.

PRAYER: Dear God, please bring this wonderful time of peace soon. Amen.

MORE: Picturing Peace
Choose one or several of the animal pairs that Isaiah describes as getting along (Isaiah 11:6-8). Draw a picture of their new friendship.


ANSWERS

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Made Things and the Maker

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 4:29-34

TO CHEW ON: "He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish." 1 Kings 4:33

We can learn things about people in many ways. One of them is by looking at what they’ve made. Suppose you saw a display of birdhouses. On the left side is a description of five of those houses. On the right side are things you might learn about the person who made them. Match the things that go together.


Solomon prayed for wisdom. God answered his prayer. He was known as the wisest man of his time. As well as making up thousands of wise sayings (called proverbs) and composing over one thousand songs, Solomon studied nature. In a time before binoculars, microscopes and dive expeditions, Solomon knew much about plants, animals, birds, reptiles and fish.



We may ask why would such a wise man study these things? Perhaps it was just because he was curious. Maybe he studied plants and animals to see if they had anything to teach people. Another reason Solomon enjoyed studying nature was probably to learn more about the One who made all these things – God. For just as we can learn about people from the things they make, we can learn about God from the things He has made in creation.

PRAYER: Dear God, please open my eyes to see You in the world around me. Amen.

MORE: Learn About God from a Reptile?


1. Choose a reptile that interests you.

2. Find and list five interesting facts about the creature you picked (from books or the internet).

3. What things can you learn about God from your study?


Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Cool Stuff About Creation

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Psalm 104: 24-32

TO CHEW ON: "How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures." Psalm 104:24

In the sea a dolphin sights a squid in the water above.


It races toward the yummy meal. But the squid sees the enemy coming. Immediately its body changes. It begins to glow and its shape disappears. To the dolphin looking up, all it now sees is the light filtering through the water from the surface.

Then the squid squirts ink-like dark fluid into the water. The dolphin thinks it has found the squid again. It darts toward the blob of ink while the squid speeds away.


The squid is one of a family of sea creatures which can camouflage its body when in danger. Another member of this family is the octopus which lives on the ocean floor. It can change the color and pattern of its body to exactly match the colors of its surroundings. In a sea full of enemies, the ability to blend is necessary for survival.

Of course there are millions more creatures in the sea, on land and in the air with abilities just as interesting. There are animals like porcupines which wear a prickly armor of quills to protect them from enemies.


There are insects like wasps and bees which sting anything that is a threat to them.


There are plants like poison ivy which look harmless but have a substance in their leaves and stems to make the skin of people that touch them painful, swollen and itchy.


Our creator God has thought up this amazing variety of ways that sea creatures, animals, insects and plants can live and survive. He has created on our earth the kind of food that each living creature needs. God has also made each creature in such a way that it can find that food and take it in. It’s mind-boggling, isn’t it!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for creating and keeping the earth and each creature on it. Amen.

SUPERSIZE IT: Creature Focus
Choose one sea creature, animal, bird, insect or plant. Find out, through books or the internet how God has created it to:

1. Find and eat its food _____

2. Avoid its enemies ________

3. Multiply __________

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.



Adult readers - DAILY DEVOTIONS FOR ADULTS  are available too at Other Food: daily devo's. 

Special Creation

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:24-2:2

TO CHEW ON: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27)


This is a detail from a painting by Michelangelo called "The Creation of Adam." It is Michelangelo's idea of God (on the right), reaching out to touch Adam with the spark of life.

How are people different from other things God created?

1. They walk upright?
2. They talk?
3. God created them in His image?

Did you pick 3? But what does it mean to have God's image?

When God created the first humans they they were pure and sinless. That’s part of having the image of God. But even after the first man and woman sinned, God’s image was still in people. It set them apart from the rest of creation. Here are some ways:

- People have creativity. They can draw, sing, build.

- People are self-conscious. They are aware of being sad, happy, bored, excited and having many feelings.

- People have personality. Each person has a special way of thinking, feeling and acting.

- People can think about more than what they see, feel and hear (think abstractly).

- Besides having just a body (like reptiles and fish) and a also soul (which some say birds and animals also have) people have a spirit, the part that makes us want to know God.

- People can make decisions and choices. These lead to feelings, like being proud, or embarrassed or guilty.

When God put His image in people, He gave them a special place in creation. He made them responsible as rulers and caretakers of the rest of creation.

Each person is precious and valuable because of God's image in them. You are precious and valuable because God's image is in you.

PRAYER: God, thank You for Your image in me. Help me to learn what that means. Amen.

SECOND HELPING: God’s Image - What Is It?
What activities, below, can you do because God created you in His image?

1. Make rules
2. Eat
3. Die
4. Choose between right and wrong
5. Sleep
6. Want a friendship with God.

Answers

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

From Moons to Mollusks

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:14-34

TO CHEW ON: "...And God saw that it was good.... And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:18 & 21)

Not only can God make something out of nothing. He is also full of original and interesting ideas. There is variety in the planets, stars, galaxies, moons and meteors of space. Think about the assortment of birds and animals that live on land. And then there’s the teeming life in the sea. Can you name these fishy creatures? (Use the pictures below)

plankton






whale

starfish

squid

shark

clownfish

seahorse

coral

anemone

Answers

God loves variety. When He looked at what He had made, He said, “This is good!”

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for creating so many different and interesting creatures. Amen.

SECOND HELPING: Different and Alike
1. Pick a sea animal and a bird which interest you.

2. From what you know, or from what you can find out in books or on the internet:
a] How does the sea animal breathe? How does the bird breathe?
b] Where does the sea animal live? Where does the bird live?
c] What does the sea animal eat? What does the bird eat?
d] What sound does the sea animal make? What sound does the bird make?
e] How does the sea animal reproduce? How does the bird reproduce.

3. In what ways are the sea animal and the bird alike? In what ways are they different?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Create!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Read: Genesis 1:1-13
TO CHEW ON: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)

What does it mean to create:
1. Arrange things in an original way?
2. Cause something to come into existence?
3. Change something so it doesn’t look like the original thing?

I’m sure you’ll agree it’s 2. We do call people who put things together in interesting ways creative, but to create means to bring something into existence which didn’t exist before.



People explain how the sun, moon, stars and earth came into existence in different ways. Some believe it was through the big bang – a cosmic explosion – and that all life evolved from a single-cell after that. (In order for this explanation to make sense, we need to go back to that first step and ask who made the things that exploded and that single cell in the first place?)

Other people believe that God created the universe but not in six, twenty four-hour days. Instead they say God used the big bang (a cosmic explosion) and evolution to bring the universe to how it is today.

Still others take the Bible story of creation literally. They believe that God created the universe in six twenty four-hour days.

The Bible doesn’t tell us whether God created the heavens and earth in an instant of time, or over eons. But it does tell us that in the beginning God created (or brought into existence from nothing) the heavens and the earth.

PRAYER: Thank You that You are Creator God. Amen.

SECOND HELPING: Create versus Destroy

We call the things that God created - things that we can see, touch, smell, taste and feel - matter. People can't create matter out of nothing. If people can’t create it, can they destroy it (make something that exists disappear so that it no longer exists)? Find out from books or the internet:

1. What happens to matter when you burn it?

2. What happens to matter when you explode it?

3. What happens to matter when you evaporate it?

4. What other ways might people try to destroy matter?

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.