Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26 ESV

Our younger son recently gave me a book by Pastor Tony Evans called, Kingdom Man. Though it is from a few years back, the basic principles on biblical manhood really haven’t changed. Being a bit of a bird lover, I especially enjoyed his take on this verse about how God takes care of the birds. He says, “A bird can’t just sit on a branch with its beak wide open, waiting for God to drop a worm down…” Though Dr. Evans was mainly focused on alerting men to their responsibility to work, this line inspired me with a slightly different message which I shared at Life Care Center on Friday.

First, God has given every bird its own song. Long before dawn the rooster begins his crow, in the daytime the Chickadee peeps and in the middle of the night, the owls hoot and pigeons coo. In that same way, each of us, needs to lift our voice in our own way, every day to our Father in prayer. Yes, He knows what we need, but He is waiting to hear our voice. Next, whether it be night or day, every bird, is appointed a time to look for food. Whether seeds or fish, carrion or worms, every bird knows they must to look for food. In that same way, we are each given a source of food, called the Bible. Within its pages, there are more than 7,000 promises, numerous warnings and chapters of helpful guidance for our lives. But God will not whisper the stories of Genesis in our ear, while we play golf, nor will he sing the Psalms over us when we are watching TV. It is our responsibility to open up our Bibles and seek our daily bread. In my dad’s last week of life, one of his great comforts was a nurse who came and spent time reading the Bible to Him on her night shift. Dad didn’t say, “Well I’ve lived a godly life, I know Jesus as my Savior, so what’s the use.” No! He knew that his source of strength was to be found in the pages of God’s book. Last of all, every bird has a job. Eagles build their nests, our mockingbird swoops down to harass the hawk, because it is too near his nest, and mother robin must feed an endless supply of worms to her chicks. In the same way, we all have an opportunity to serve. It is not God’s job to mow our neighbor’s lawn when they are sick. He will not bake a cake for your son’s birthday, nor will He do the dishes, when your wife needs a break. Jesus already has finished His part. Now it is our privilege to do ours, and then watch in grateful amazement as God takes care of all our needs!

I do hope you like our rendition of “His Eye is On the Sparrow. It has been a great blessing having our newest volunteer, Sharon Clark, helping me to sing. I have already put her on notice, that when we go to visit family this summer, that it will be her turn to keep the meetings going. Have a blessed weekend all!

From the top, these are Mallard ducks roosting on a neighbors roof, a group of Ibises near our community pond, a Muscovy Duck, an Anhinga drying its wings and a Great White Egret looking for lizards.