WHAT are these???

God has such an imagination. This little green critter is being held between my thumb and first finger. It's about 1 inch long.



Another such tiny critter is this one that resembles a seal.



Now for a look at the entire 'seal'.



After emerging as an adult, this 'seal' is actually a Tropical Checkered Skipper butterfly.



I often wonder if God is grinning when I 'discover' another of his little jokes. So many bits of information about butterflies and moths are totally fascinating and can be somewhat confusing to a human mind.

Adult butterflies have two eyes and see pretty well. Caterpillars have twelve eyes and see light and dark. So where is the sense in that?

Add these items to the fun things God has hidden in his handiwork:
* Caterpillars that look like bird droppings
* Caterpillars with fake eyes
* Butterflies whose 'tail' looks like a head
* Caterpillars and chrysalises that create 'anti-freeze' so they can live through below freezing temperatures for weeks and months
* Chrysalises that look exactly like broken twigs

Isn't it great to know that God has such an imagination? No matter where I go when I wander, no matter what species of butterfly or moth I find, there is always something to make me laugh.

I thank God for giving us something so original to laugh at ... His wonderful handiwork.

Stephen was reading today about creation, "For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:20

Apples

Some butterflies enjoy fruit. This Viceroy discovered the apple hanging less than 30 minutes after it was first hung in the tree.



Question Mark butterflies also enjoy apple. This one was offered a slice of apple and decided it was supper time.

Many people have been taught that Eve ate an apple in the Garden of Eden. Truth is, we don't know if she ate any apples or not. I assume there were apple trees in the Garden of Eden. Apples are mentioned nine times in the bible, but not actually mentioned as growing in the Garden of Eden.

But what Eve did eat was the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That tree was growing in the middle of the garden. Before God made Eve, God had told Adam not to eat from that tree.

The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was never named.

The crafty serpent asked Eve ... uh ... let's stop a minute. Have you thought about what life must have been like for Even to calmly stand and talk to the serpent? First, it talked to her. About that time I'd be checking myself into a mental hospital. She just calmly carried on a conversation with the serpent.

The Bible tells us that Eve ate of the fruit and also gave some to Adam. Now I used to think of this as Adam not knowing where the fruit came from but I realized after reading this historical account again (Genesis 2 and 3) that the account reads, "She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it". So obviously Adam knew what was going on.

Like his mode of operation, the serpent told a bit of truth, "For when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". He also added in a bit of untruth, "You will not surely die".

Satan is a whiz at taking a bit of truth and mixing it in with a bit of untruth to make the whole thing untrue. He also deceives me the same way he deceived Eve.

After eating of the fruit, Adam and Eve did know good and evil.

Adam and Eve used the same means of defending themselves that we still use today.

Adam's excuse: When God asked Adam, "Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?", Adam responded, "It's not my fault, it's all your/her fault". Oh, you want the Bible's words? "The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Translation: YOU gave her to me (it's your fault) and SHE gave it to me (and it's her fault too) (and it's not my fault at all, I'm the victim).

Eve's excuse: When God asked Eve, "What is this you have done?" she responded, "I was deceived, it's not my fault, it's all his fault". Reading the NIV it's worded, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate".

So I have several lessons to remember when I see an apple:
1. It wasn't an apple in the Garden of Eden that Eve and Adam ate.
2. Satan uses truth and mixes it with a lie. Truth + lie = all lie
3. It's never the other person's fault when I make a bad decision. It's my fault.
4. I need to love God so much and have a good relationship with him so that I will never want to disobey God.

Eye see what?

Eyes are deceiving. This blue headed caterpillar is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly 'child'. When it 'grows up' it will be a fantastic butterfly!



As an adult, it sees through compound eyes, hundreds of everything. We see just one of everything. (We SHOULD see just one of everything!)

But the caterpillar ('child' stage) of the butterfly sees things quite different. The photo below shows its six eyes on just one side of its head. Yes, six eyes on each side of its head. The 'eyes' you see are not eyes but skin spots. It's eyes are on the sides of its little sky blue head.



A butterfly sees hundreds of every object. Caterpillars discern only light and dark.

When Paul wrote a letter to the Christians at Corinth, he spoke of Satan who blinds the eyes of people so they can't see the glorious light. Unlike the caterpillar, these people can't even see light at all.

John shared his knowledge that God IS light. The neat thing is that where there is light, there can't be darkness. The deepest darkness is broken by a single match or candle. If there is light, the caterpillar can discern it.

2 Cor:4
"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God."

I John:5-7
" This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."