Pastor’s Notes

Pastor’s Notes: Alligator Gar

Alligator gars are ambush hunters and may lie very still at the top of the water waiting for smaller prey to come within range of their deadly jaws.  They feed mainly on other fish but have been known to prey on birds, small mammals, turtles, and carrion. Alligator gars have been reported to attack duck decoys and eat injured waterfowl shot by hunters.  This gar, in particular, is capable of delivering a serious bite to fisherman or swimmers but there are no documented cases of attacks on humans.  All of God’s gars grow slowly and live, relatively speaking, long lives.  Females of the species reach sexual maturity around age 11 and may live to be 50 years of age; males mature around age 6 and may live over 25 years. They easily reach 6 ½ ft and weigh over 100 lbs.  Females are generally larger than males and have been reported at over 300 lbs. and 10 or more feet in length. The largest recorded alligator gar was taken from the St. Francis River in Arkansas (near Cathy’s old stomping grounds) during the 1930′s  and weighed 350 lbs.  Their eggs are poisonous, causing illness if consumed by humans. They have a highly vascularized (a good blood supply) swim bladder connected to the throat by a pneumatic duct.  By gulping air, gars are able to survive in water with very low oxygen levels, i.e. sloughs.  These characteristics provide the perfect design for living within slow moving rivers, reservoirs, oxbow lakes, bayous and bays.  However, due to dredging, dams, dikes, and levees  the large overflow floodplains that once existed have all but vanished in North America.  Consequently, populations of this magnificent fish have in recent times been on the decline over virtually all of its range.  For a number of years the Tennessee Wildlife resources Agency has been stocking alligator gar within the Hatchie and the Forked Deer river system in an effort to restore the balance that God intended these giant creatures to provide to the ecology of our river systems.  I applaud these efforts as I am certain that we are called to be stewards of God’s creation.  Genesis 7:3 makes plain God’s concern that the different kinds of animals would be preserved and Genesis 8:1 indicates that God had not forgotten Noah or the animals.  Just as Noah and his family were God’s chosen servants for the preservation of animal life during the time of the flood. I would argue that we too are to preserve and protect what remains of His creation in our day…even the alligator gar.

Pastor’s Notes: Common Murre

The Common Murre or Common Guillemot (Uria aalge) is a type of bird known as an auk.  God gave them a circumpolar (around the poles of the earth) distribution and a sea-faring existence, occurring along the Arctic waters of the North-Atlantic and the North Pacific. Their flight through the atmosphere is quite fast but they lack the maneuverability they enjoy while “flying” under water.  They hunt at sea, really only coming to shore to establish colonial nesting sites on rocky ledges along the water’s edge. They have only one mate (monogamous) and mate for life.  The pair produces a single egg and, as they nest in densely-packed colonies (called loomeries), the eggs would most certainly be rolled over the edge was it not for the egg’s God-given design.  It tapers to a point on one end and any movement of the

common-murre-egg

egg simply results in its pivoting around that single point. Matt 10:29-33 says “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”   It is comforting for me to know that God watches over and provides for all His creatures and that we are His most prized of all!

Dr. James Huggins

Pastor’s Notes: Northern Short Tailed Shrew

Northern Short-tailed Shrews are small mammals that apparently look a bit like baby moles to many people as I am constantly having people describe them to me in that fashion. Metabolic rates are extremely high and they may consume up to twice their weight in food on a daily basis. In their never-ending search for food they are highly active for several minutes periods then relax for periods of 20 to 25 minutes. In designing an animal that needs to eat so much and so frequently God made them insectivorous and carnivorous and He gave them some special talents. Poisonous saliva enables them to kill mice and even larger prey and to paralyze and store invertebrates such as snails alive for later consumption. God has provided them with a form of echolocation which enables them to move through tunnels and darkened landscapes via emitting a series of ultrasonic “clicks” that bounce back to alert the shrew to living and nonliving objects around them. The tiny shrew has a place in God’s plan and is testimony to His provision. Gen 1:31 says “and God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Pastor’s Notes March

The star-nosed mole has a nose that does more than smell. In terms of its sense of touch, it is the most sensitive organ in the entire animal kingdom. As a point of reference, it is six times as sensitive as the human hand. The end of the nose really does look like a star as it is equipped with 11 pairs of fleshy finger-like appendages. The appendages are covered with some 25,000 mechanoreceptors called Eimer’s organs. Within the “star” there is a central fovea area designed for high resolution and on the periphery there is a less sensitive zone. Approximately half of the mole’s brain is devoted to processing sensory information from the nose and this says a great deal about how important the nose is to this organism’s place in nature. Not only does this nose serve as a remarkably designed sensory-motor organ but it also enables the mole to smell underwater, something which was previously thought impossible for mammals. This species has been filmed as it coursed along underwater scent trails which led to food. They exhale between 8 and 12 small air bubbles per second onto objects or scent trails while foraging underwater then inhale the bubbles to test them for odors picked up by the air bubbles. It consumes its prey at speeds which dazzle the mind but maximizes the time it spends finding food while underwater. This species recently entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest forager. Neuroscientists hope to learn much from this amazing little animal’s design.

For the Christian we once again find testimony that the heavens and the earth declare the glory of God. Isn’t it amazing that God not only has designed an animal to forage both underground and underwater with an organ that is both capable of detecting odors and using touch to find its food source. Scripture tells us “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

Pastor’s Notes February

A shorebird known as a bar-tailed godwit was recently found to have flown nonstop for nine days, no food or water, from Alaska to New Zealand for a total of 7,145 miles. It is the longest continuous flight bird migration ever measured according to the biologists who followed the flight using satellite tracking. While seeking favorable winds at elevations between 1.85 miles and 2.5 miles the female godwit flew, according to satellite data, at an average speed of 34.8 miles an hour.
There are many God-given attributes that allow birds such as this to perform amazing feats of athletic prowess and endurance. The muscles of the breast of all migratory birds are composed of “dark’ meat. This indicates that there is a molecule known as myoglobin, much like the hemoglobin of our blood that allows us to carry oxygen to our tissues, and a very good blood supply. The myoblobin allows the muscle to store oxygen for use when it is most needed. The contour of the body in flight makes the bird glide (aerodynamic) through the air with little resistance; they have hollow bones which reduces weight that must be kept aloft; feathers keep them warm at high altitudes; fat is easily made while feeding and used for energy while flying long distances; they know to seek favorable wind currents; they are born with the ability to navigate by the sun in daylight and the stars by night; they are able to sleep by allowing one side of the brain to shut down at a time (known as half-brain sleep). In addition the air they breathe circles through the lungs, rather than flowing into and out of the lungs along the same path as in humans, due to a series of air sacs. This makes sure that the air entering the lungs, from which oxygen is extracted, is always “fresh”.
Jesus told us that even Solomon in all his splendor was not arrayed as one of the birds that God created (a Huggins paraphrase from Matthew 6:29). God has indeed prepared His creatures for what they will face in the life He has granted them. The Bible also tells us the purpose of the stars was given for light, a calendar and navigational purposes (Genesis 1:14) and so it is both for humans and His other creatures that have need of such guidance. As His children we should realize that not only does God provide a means to guide us physically across oceans, deserts and mountains by such means as celestial bodies but He also desperately desires to lead us through the spiritual barriers of life via our Bible study, our prayer time and our everyday interaction with the Holy Spirit. We too have been imbued with God’s gifts for sustenance in this life: physically, mentally and even spiritually if we only choose to listen.

Your Pastor,
Dr. H

Pastor’s Notes January

The arguments surrounding creation vs evolution are not likely to end soon but, as your pastor and a biologist that believes God created just as he said He did, I would like for you to consider the case of the Venus flytrap. As you are probably aware, this is one of the few carnivorous plants found on planet earth. When an insect touches a trigger hair on the trap leaf it causes an action potential, much like a nervous impulse in humans, to close the trap. Digestive juices are secreted to kill and digest the unfortunate insect (which is probably more often an ant than a fly). The insect’s struggle and death will result in the release of sodium and ammonium ions from its body and the trap closes even tightly. Carnivory is a remarkable innovation for a plant and has been touted as something that developed in plants that “evolved” in areas low in the essential nutrients required for the their growth, metabolism and reproduction. However, flytraps have been found to grow, flower, produce seed, and propagate without the need for an insect meal. In a flytrap to capture the first insect it must have developed digestive enzymes. Why would it developsuch a mechanism if it is able to take nutrients from the soil and use the sun for solar energy making this “evolution” was unnecessary? Why would it develop a trap leaf and trigger hairs unless there was a “plan” for their use? Since there is no significant advantage to the trap forming by itself, I would rather believe that God created it to regulate some aspect of nature that we have not yet fathomed. We can trust god’s Word when it says in “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”.
Your Pastor,
Dr. H

Pastor’s Notes

Crossbills are finches with remarkable morphological and behavioral adaptations that illustrate God’s design for His creatures. Their beaks allow them to feed from pine, spruce, and Douglas fir or from other conifers that most other birds cannot utilize. The lower jaw crosses (can go either to the right or the left) over the upper one and the tips are inserted between the scales of cones to pry the scales apart. The tongue will lift the seed from the cone once the scales have been parted. Individuals can consume up to 3,000 conifer seeds per day but, while they depend primarily upon cone seed, they may also eat the buds of some trees, weed seeds, berries, and some insects, especially aphids, when resources dwindle. The crossbill is mainly a northern resident, but populations will regularly irrupt south when cone production fails. Adult males tend to be red or orange in color, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation affected in part by the differing anthocyanin content of the cones they feed on, as these pigments are transferred to the feathers and contribute to color. Breeding is opportunistic and can occur throughout the year, even mid-winter, whenever food intake is sufficient for the female to lay 3-5 eggs and raise young. Although they can be locally abundant, nomadism, due to often unreliable food sources, typically forces this species to range extensively to feed.The bills of young birds are not crossed at hatching, but by 45 days they are crossed enough for the young to extract seeds from cones.

There are some spiritual life lessons that we can take home from examining the life of this small bird. Like the Crossbill we too are what we what we consume. Just as the crossbill is colored by what he consumes so are we; when we regularly feed upon the Word, immerse ourselves in prayer and training opportunities we will reflect what we gain and we will be “colored” by it. This is especially true for our little ones as we are told that if we bring up a child in the way that he should go that he will return to it! Just like the crossbill we are to be opportunistic in that we to take advantage of every opportunity and literally “irrupt” into the lives of those that have never given their lives to Jesus Christ. We have uniquely fashioned individual talent that will enable us to fit into God’s plan just like His uniquely designed creatures. Where is your niche in God’s plan?
Your Pastor,
Dr. H

Pastor’s Notes

From fish with four eyes to mammals with two thumbs I have been all over the place of late so I thought I may as well tell you of the curious pattern of reproduction that we see in one of our newest emigrants to the area. Barring no problems, the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) gives birth to four identical quadruplets with every birth. This is because the armadillo only produces a single egg, which separates into four separate cells after fertilization thereby producing four identical, same sex offspring (.monozygous quadruplets). As a biologist I always try to find the adaptive benefit of God’s design. Since armadillos don’t normally establish and defend individual territories and the young are not driven away (as is the case in many vertebrate species), it is possible that brother sister mating could present a problem. It may be that since the quadruplets are the same sex there is no danger of the litter mates inbreeding. Some creatures are designed to live within environments that frequently change. God has built into these creatures a high genetic diversity and consequently the ability for the species to adapt to the change taking place in their environment. It is also a possibility that armadillo are simply well adapted to a stable niche within the environment (one that changes very little) and God is diminishing genetic diversity within their populations by producing identical offspring. This would maintain a population of armadillos that are each one centering the purpose God put into them as His creatures and would help ensure their survival against environmental forces that naturally prey upon weakness.
I have just explained that I believe God “manages” His creation and the creatures thereof by manipulating their constituency or their internal makeup. God’s Holy Word also teaches that He “produces and manages” His church in a similar fashion. He calls men and women to Himself, apportions gifts, talents, and resources to these individual Christians then guides them to church membership as a local body of believers. The individuals, along with their apportioned resources, then coalesce as a “body” designed to combat the forces of evil that reside within a given community (environment) and prey upon human weakness. The resources may be varied or similar and members may come and go as community and church needs change and adapt one to the other. Hebrews 10:25 makes it very plain that we are not to be “lone rangers” but are to serve God’s purposes as a united population of believers, i.e. the body of Christ (I Cor. 12:27). To “fight the good fight (I Tim. 6:12) alone is not what God has in mind for His children. Lets raise God for His bountiful provision and be quick to take advantage of it!!
Your Pastor Dr. H

Pastor’s Notes

Have you ever heard it said that someone was “all thumbs”? Well, with Vacation Bible School still fresh on my mind, I am reminded of the koala that we saw on the short films that we watched from Australia. While we were never able to see enough detail to pick it up on the films the koala is the mammal that perhaps best fits this description. I say this because they have two opposable digits (like our thumbs) on its front paw rather than the single one that we most often witness across the animal kingdom. I have yet to find a definitive answer as to why God gave them two on the front but it must certainly be a helpful adaptation for an animal that spends virtually all of its life in the trees. The back paw is equally curious though in a different fashion. Unlike the two opposable digits on the forefoot, the single opposable digit (big toe) on the hind foot is not clawed and the reason seems to be equally ambiguous. A third peculiarity concerning the digits of the koala is the fusion of the 2nd and 3rd digits (fingers) to form a single double clawed digit. It is thought to be used primarily for grooming, i.e. removing debris from the fur.
While we may not know the why in everything that God does we can rest assured that it is always for a purpose and always for the good of His creation. I am certain that God created the koala and I am equally certain of the veracity of Gen.1:31”And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day”.
Your Pastor,
Dr. H.

Pastor’s Notes

Anableps anableps is a species of fish from South and Central America that is often referred to as the “Four-eyed fish”. Though there really are not four eyes the reason for this nickname is evident. It is due to a unique division of its two eyes that allows this surface dweller to see clearly both above and below the surface of the water. A band of pigment divides the eye horizontally at the waterline and allows the fish to spot predatory fish within the water and predatory birds that might attack from the air. There is even a golden flap on the iris, just above and behind this line of pigment, which shields the “terrestrial” eye from the glare off the water. The portion of the lens behind the upper division of the eye is flattened and designed for light rays that travel through the atmosphere while the lens behind the lower portion of the pupil (opening though which light travels into the eye, i.e. the dark round circle of the human eye) is rounded and designed to bend and focus light rays that travel in water. Underwater images are focused by the lens on the upper portion of the retina (nervous layer at the back of the eye that sends “visual” impulses to the brain) while light from the terrestrial vision is focused on the lower half of the retina. Both images are inverted when they land on the retina and the fish‟s tiny brain must turn them right side up and around so that the fish can make appropriate movements to avoid predation (being eaten) or to capture its own food. What an amazing design God has provided for this creature!
Paul tells us that in this world we see through a glass darkly (I Corinthians 13:12) … i.e. our spiritual vision is clouded. We can only hope to make any sense at all from the spiritual happenings around us when viewing life‟s circumstances through the eyes of the Holy Spirit. Even then God often does not clear our vision totally. I believe the reason for this is that we must find the faith to trust God even when we can see little of what God is doing. So we must be “four-eyed” as much as is possible in that we view the world not only through human eyes but though the spiritual eyes (eyes that truly see) provided us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Your pastor,

Dr. H