In my weekly Works & Wonders column, I combine a brief devotional with other interesting and uplifting bits and pieces I gleaned throughout the week. I hope you enjoy this week’s collection! It includes:
- Not A God, but This God
- Bluebirds
- Yours Alone
- The Rarest Books on Earth
- Berries Berries Everywhere
- The Amazing Electric Eel
1.
Not A God, but This God
C.S. Lewis had a gift for saying profound things in simple words. Here’s an example: “We trust not because ‘a god’ exists, but because this God exists.” He makes a distinction here that is both plain and profound, that is simple, yet of the highest significance. There is all the difference in the world between “a god” and “this God,” between any god and the God of the Bible. Christians are not mere theists, people who demand the existence of some god or who would be satisfied with any god. Our eyes have not been opened and our hearts made receptive to the existence of the first higher power we have heard of or the one we regard as most persuasive. No, our longings have led us to this God, to the true God, the only God. If we had not found him, we would be searching still. If he had not satisfied us, we would be restless still. If we had not found joy in him, we would be discontented still. Our trust is not in the notion of a god or the existence of some kind of god. No, it is fixed on the God who has revealed himself to us persuasively and personally as the God who is, the God who lives, the God who loves. What a joy that this is the God we have the privilege of worshipping together today!
2.
Bluebirds
I enjoy the videos from Badgerland Birding, which most often share interesting facts about different bird species. The most recent one is about bluebirds—a species I have always loved because there was a huge nesting ground for them near our cottage, and we would sometimes go there to simply enjoy them. They are spectacular creatures and, as you’ll learn in this video, not actually blue.
3.
Yours Alone
Sovereign Grace Music released a new album this week. “Yours Alone” has lots of good songs and is well worth a listen. You can listen to the whole thing in whatever music app you prefer, or check it out on YouTube. Here is “Till the Whole World Hears.” “We will sing till the whole world hears, redemption has come, our God has drawn near / Perfect love on the cross revealed so we will sing till the whole world hears.”
4.
The Rarest Books on Earth
This video highlights the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, “where over $100 million worth of rare books, manuscripts, illustrations, and historical documents are gathered in a single room. From centuries-old masterpieces to modern cultural phenomena, this is an exclusive look at the pieces of history every serious collector dreams of finding.” I think I may have to add the event to my bucket list!
5.
Berries Berries Everywhere
We have probably lost the wonder of having access to strawberries everywhere all year round. Even as a kid, I remember the excitement of strawberry season in late June, when we could finally have them again. Today, though, we can have them all year round, and that’s largely due to the efforts of Driscoll’s, which the New York Times highlights in this article. ( Gift Link)
In 1712, Louis XIV dispatched a spy to Spanish-controlled Chile to smuggle out native white-berried plants. Royal gardeners bred them with European red berries, coddled them in manure hotbeds and warmed them with underground fires, all so that the king could have strawberries in March instead of waiting until June.
Today, Costco shoppers in South Korea, pastry chefs in Dubai and parents of small children nearly everywhere can buy strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries any time of year — if they can afford them. (Strawberry prices fluctuate throughout the year, from about $3 per pound in San Francisco to $35 in Dubai.) And the biotech that drives modern agriculture ensures that each berry is better than anything the Sun King ever tasted.
I do think it bears mention, though, that fresh Ontario strawberries almost always taste better than even the best of what Driscoll’s ships us.
6.
The Amazing Electric Eel
God made many amazing creatures, and one of the most amazing must be the electric eel. This article from Creation.com describes how they can generate up to 650 volts, and also considers this question, which scientists have not yet been able to answer: How do they not electrocute themselves?
Electric fish are not alone in generating electricity. In fact all living organisms do this to some degree. The muscles in our own bodies, for example, are controlled by the brain using electric signals. Electrons produced by bacteria can be used to generate electricity in a fuel cell. Electric eels produce electricity in the same way as muscles, using energy from food to charge cells called electrocytes. Although each cell carries only a small charge, by stacking up thousands of these in series, like batteries in a torch, as much as 650 volts (V) can be generated. Arranging many stacks in parallel results in a current of around 1 ampere (A), providing a shock of around 650 watts (W; 1 W = 1 V × 1 A).
How do electric eels not electrocute themselves?
Scientists are not entirely sure of the answer to this question, but there are some interesting observations that may shed light on the matter. Firstly, the electric eel’s vital organs (such as the brain and heart) are located near the head, away from the electricity-producing organs, and are surrounded by fatty tissue which could act as an insulator. The skin also appears to have insulating properties, as eels with damaged skin have been observed to be more vulnerable to their own electric shocks.
Secondly, electric eels produce some of their most powerful shocks when mating—but without harming the mate. However, if these voltage bursts are emitted when not mating, they can kill the other eel. This suggests that they have a protection system that can be switched on.
