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  • God Loves Ravens

    God Loves Ravens

    Raven overlooking a marsh

    I like ravens. They’re not a particularly attractive bird, and their singing voice leaves much to be desired. Yet, they are smart, can be very friendly, and are generally interesting. They can even be taught to mimic human speech.

    They even play Games. One day, Kathy and I watched a trio of them play a raven version of kick the can using a discarded pop can. It was quite amusing.

    Our culture often depicted ravens as symbols of evil. They are cast as creatures of corruption and chaos. They are shown to be omens of darkness and death.

    Yet the Bible treats them differently. They are admittedly not kosher because they are both scavengers and birds of prey. Still, Noah sent ravens to search for dry land after the flood. 

    At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Genesis 8:6-8

    The Lord also used ravens to bless and nourish Elijah in his time of depression and need.

     Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tisbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 1 Kings 17:1-6

    I think that tells us more about God than it does ravens. God used something despised by the world for His glory and service.

    His love for the broken, weak, ignored, despised, and abused is what caused Him to send Jesus to come in our stead.  We were lost in a world of darkness with no hope of ever being redeemed, yet He came to save us.

    How marvellous is that?

    The next time you see a raven, be reminded of how much God loves you, too.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2026 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, “Gleanings From The Word.”

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    Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

  • Life – God has his hand on believers’ lives

    Life – God has his hand on believers’ lives

    salmon eggs - Stonet Creek November 2025

    Yesterday, I was too slow registering for my Aquafit class, and didn’t get in. The class size is limited and fills within a minute of the registration opening for the day.

    With no class to attend, I  opted for a walk along Stony Creek. It was not much past sunrise and cloudy, so I didn’t take many photos.

    The salmon run is on, and one of the first things I saw was the carcasses of dead salmon lining the banks of the creek. I wondered if I was too late to see any live ones.

    With careful watching, I did see a fair number of living salmon and some trout as well. They were hiding under root balls and undercut banks, gathering strength for the next part of the journey upstream. https://www.facebook.com/reel/857922200042646

    I also managed to get a view of some salmon eggs. Once the eggs are laid and fertilized, the parents die, leaving their bodies to feed scavengers.

    It got me thinking of life. We’re born, live our lives, and die. Of course, humans have an afterlife, something the Bible doesn’t talk about for animals. You can insert your own theology at that point.

    Sometimes our journey from womb to tomb seems to stretch on forever. Other times, it races by in a blur. At times, we are oblivious to the passage of time, while at others we are acutely aware of every passing second.

    We pass through our lives quickly, unable to fully process everything we have seen, heard, and done. Much of it we can’t even remember. Yet, our omnibenevolent (infinitely, all good) God sees and knows every detail. Nothing escapes Him. God has His hand on believers’ lives.

    He knows us before we are born, and He cares about every moment of our lives.

    For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:13-16

    “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34

    Believers never walk alone. He knows us and cares for us beyond measure. He is there before we enter the world, through our lives, and even after physical death takes us.

    Wherever you are in the journey of life, if you have Jesus, know He will carry you through. We know that God has His hand on believers’ lives.

    Take heart and praise His holy name.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

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    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word. 

    Unless otherwise noted, “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.