October 31st: Not So Scary Creations

The world would say that October 31st is about going trick or treating, eating candy, focusing on evil, and even death. Some animals are focused on this day, and considered as evil, demonic, creepy, to cause people to be afraid. As a Christian I want to share some thoughts about this day and the animals God created. I have chosen a few below to share with you.

1 Vampire bat

One animal that is popular on this day is the vampire bat, which is found in Central, and South America. Of course, they do not turn into people, like the tales from European explorers, told in the 16th century. However, they do drink blood from animals. They are known to drink blood from cattle, sheep, pigs, donkeys, horses, turkeys, chickens, and even penguins. They are the only mammals in the world that live entirely on blood.

Before sin, we are not sure what kind of plants they ate. They possibly ate fruit just like fruit bats (flying foxes). After sin came into the world, their behavior changed from eating fruit to drinking blood. They rarely drink blood from people, because they hate the taste. Even one naturalist in a vampire bat habitat, reported sleeping in a tent with his feet out, and was never bitten. The bat’s bite does not hurt. Even when an animal or person is asleep when bitten, it is not felt. However, the bat bite can spread a disease called rabies.

It’s one of two species of bats in the world that can crawl on the ground just fine. This is how it creeps onto the backs of sleeping animals.

Scientists have discovered, that vampire bats have good relationships with one another. They will sometimes groom each other, to clean themselves of parasites. Scientists also discovered something in it’s saliva that could possibly help prevent blood clotting in humans who have had strokes. That’s amazing and very good! They are one of creation’s most misunderstood animals in the world. Even though these bats are kind of creepy, even in a sin fallen world, we can see good and how they are used for God’s purposes and for His “glory”.

2 Tarantulas

Most people would be afraid of tarantulas, because they may look creepy in person or in a movie or video game, but they are really friendly. No human has ever been killed by the venom of a tarantula. Only if scared or threatened, it will rub off tiny but sharp hairs from it’s abdomen, that can be very painful to the victim. The largest tarantula in the world is the Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula, having a body about 4 inches long, and having a leg span of up to 11 inches. The Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula (which actually only rarely eats birds) eats insects, as well as rodents, worms, amphibians, and even snakes.

3 Goblin Shark

Goblins are creepy monstrous, “mythical” creatures. The Goblin Shark is a “real” creation made by God, and one of the most mysterious of sharks. Found mostly along the coast of Japan, but also on other coast lines world wide, this shark gets it’s name from the goblins of Japanese folklore. When hunting, it will possibly use it’s long nose to poke around in crevices to find it’s prey. When it does find something to eat, it will shoot it’s jaws out to catch it. Some of their known prey are blackbelly rosefish, dragonfish, rattail fish, squid or crustaceans. Like the great white shark, they do give birth to live young. At the moment they’re born, baby goblin sharks have the instincts to know how to hunt. Even though they look scary, they are not really a threat to people, because they live very deep down in the ocean, where no human can dive to ( but only in a deep sea submersible). From the ability to shoot it’s jaws out of it’s mouth, to the young goblin shark’s instinct to know how to survive in the deep, I see it as another of God’s great creations.

4 Black cats

When I say black cat I’m not talking about black Jaguars or leopards, I’m talking about black house cats. Some people think of them as bad luck, and treat them as creepy. As a Christian there is no such thing as luck. Everything has a purpose by the creator God. So I believe black cats can be very friendly. Like people, all cats have different personalities. I like to visit a horse ranch where I also met a friendly black cat. She was so friendly, she would let me pick her up, and nuzzle her in the face! Like most cats( except the cheetah), they have retractable claws, so when they’re walking they stay in their paws, but when hunting, they come out to grab on prey like mice, birds or fish. I find them as amazing creations, made by the one true God, Jesus Christ.

5 Owls

Owls in some cultures around the globe are considered bad omens of death and are sometimes avoided or killed. The truth is, owls do good things for people. They hunt rodents which can prevent diseases from spreading. Owls are opportunistic, meaning at any given moment, whatever animal is before them, they hunt and eat. For one example, the Great Horned Owl will eat racoons, squirrels, cats, falcons, small dogs, and other owls. Barn owls eat rodents, bats, rabbits, shrews and other birds.

When I was about 15, I saw my first wild Barn Owl, flying in the middle of the day. As I saw it fly to the other side of a river, I noticed it was being chased away by crows. It is a rare sight to see an owl in the day, because they are nocturnal, and hunt at night.

God designed owls with special wing feathers, that have serrated edges, to muffle the wing beats. So that way, the owl’s prey won’t hear it coming. Owls can be found on every continent, except Antarctica.

Owls ( one out of hundreds of animals) have been found as fossils, in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. These animals that are still with us today are ” living fossils”. From the ability to fly silently at night, to finding owls as fossils, this is another good and incredible wonder of God’s creation.

6 Crows

One of the most well known birds in North America are crows. Sadly, some people consider crows an omen of death, because they are scavengers. I want to share with you the truth. Crows are quite fascinating. Some species are known to be very smart. The New Caledonian Crow, is one of the smartest. In the wild, they use twigs and sticks to stab into tree holes, and pull out insects and larvae to eat. Crows can be found on every continent, except Antarctica.

The American Crow, as well as many crows, are opportunistic, meaning they eat almost anything. From carrion (dead carcasses), insects, nuts, seeds, corn, fruit, bird eggs, and nestlings. They will also visit bird feeders. Sometimes I have seen them chase Red-Tailed Hawks and other birds. They aggressively do this to defend themselves, keep large birds of prey out of their territory, and to protect their young. American Crows are great at mimicking other birds and human voices as well. From being very smart, to the ability to mimic people and other birds, I don’t find them scary at all. I see them as evidence for an intelligent designer.

What’s to celebrate?

October 31st is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. My family and I celebrate it as any other day that the Lord has made. We worship the Lord, enjoy sweets, and share in the gospel.

My pumpkin you see here has three symbols.

The paw print symbolizes His animal creation. Whether His creation looks beautiful or creepy to us, He created it all for a purpose and for His glory. Imagine a perfect world where all the animals flowed together in unity. Nothing was creepy before sin.

The hand symbolizes ourselves. We are people made in the image of God.

The cross symbolizes Jesus’ sacrificial death, love, and blood that was shed to save people from their sins, and hell. Jesus died on the cross (and rose again) to give everlasting life! Anyone who believes in Jesus, repents of their sins, is forgiven, and receives everlasting life with Him.

The light inside the pumpkin symbolizes a person who has received Jesus. His light shines in His children.

God made all His creation, to show His creativity, and glory!

Sin is the creepy thing!

However, a sinner cleansed by the precious blood of Christ, is a very good thing!

One day Jesus is coming again. He is going to cleanse the earth of all sin. All creation will be perfect for all eternity. A person who has been cleansed and saved by Jesus, will be with Him forever. When we go to be with Jesus, there will be no more death, blood shed, suffering, or pain etc. Jesus will make things all for good again.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and God bless you all!

This is maximus adventures over and out!

“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” Phil. 1:6

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” Eph. 5:8