Atlas

"Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing me."
- The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan, page 269

Atlas was a deity in ancient Greek mythology. He was the god believed to hold up the earth itself, keeping the sky and the sea from melding together and killing all of humanity. In the scene I just quoted, a mortal boy, Percy Jackson, temporarily takes the load of the earth in Atlas's stead to save one of his friends (I won't tell any more; I wouldn't want to spoil the book for you).
Even though the Percy Jackson series is completely based off of pagan gods and whatnot, I was hit very hard by this short description. Somehow, I was able to relate to Percy's plight because I too have tried to carry the weight of my own world all by myself.
Any time we as humans say something like,
"I've got this."
"I have the strength to get through this."
"I can do this on my own",
we are actually saying that we can, in fact, carry the world on our shoulders, all by ourselves. But, just like Percy, we soon realize how excruciating it is to actually hold up the world and keep it from crashing down on us.
I know I've definitely felt this way before. However, I came across a verse in Psalms that addresses this concept perfectly. Because I just got a spectacular copy of the Message Bible as a gift, I've had the chance to read the Bible from an alternate perspective frequently and this verse in particular stood out to me:
"I took the world off your shoulders, freed you from a life of hard labor. You called to me in your pain; I got you out of a bad place."
Psalm 81:6-7a (MSG)
Wow. This verse is so comforting to me. It means that no matter what I may be facing in this life, God will carry it for me. He will bring me through the rough time, holding up my world and preventing me from getting crushed by it.
Another Psalm discusses this some more:
"They did not conquer the land with their swords; it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them."
Psalm 44:3 (NLT)
To summarize these thoughts, we are not strong enough to hold up our own worlds. That is a fact of life. No matter how hard we try, we CAN'T do it. God is the only one who's strong enough to lift the weight onto His shoulders. So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, don't try and say, "I've got this. I can do it" because honestly and sadly, you can't do it. This is why we need our savior, Jesus Christ, to step in and be our Atlas, holding up the world on his strong shoulders, yet carrying each of us in His loving arms. One of my favorite Coldplay songs, titled "Atlas", reflects this promise,
"Carry your world, I'll carry your world."
And he will carry your world, but only if you place it on His shoulders. You must ALLOW God to take your world and hold it with His strength.
I know that I've quoted a lot of random books and such already, but I came across a beautiful prayer about this topic in a compilation book of Puritan prayers and devotions. So, to end this blog post:
"O Lord of Grace,
The world is before me this day,
 and I am weak and fearful,
but I look to thee for strength;
 if I venture forth alone I stumble and fall,
but on the Beloved's arms I am firm as the eternal hills;
if left to the treachery of my heart I shall shame thy Name,
 but if enlightened, guided, upheld by thy Spirit,
I shall bring thee glory.
Be thou my arm to support,
my strength to stand,
my light to see,
my feet to run,
my shield to protect,
my sword to repel,
my sun to warm."
- "God All-Sufficient" from The Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett

Something to Read Before Valentine's Day

Our society has messed up ideas of love. I'm sure you've already heard that before now. However, because of all of the jaded views of love floating around in the world, our own Christian community has created their own jaded views of it as well. Sometimes, we as Christians have a bad habit of antagonizing relationships; we start to think of them as off limits and we try to treat our desires for companionship as sins. However, I don't believe that God views love as a bad thing at all. I mean, really, he was the one that invented our desires in the first place! Think about it. He gave Adam a helper for a reason. God realizes that we as human beings need to be known and loved, so he has provided us with these things. But, as we all know well, society has taken this priceless, wonderful gift and smashed it into something meaningless. I think Taylor Swift's song "State of Grace" shows this clearly:

"So you were never a saint

And I’ve loved in shades of wrong

We learn to live with the pain

Mosaic broken hearts

But this love is brave and wild

And I never saw you coming

And I'll never be the same

This is a state of grace

This is the worthwhile fight

Love is a ruthless game

Unless you play it good and right

These are the hands of fate

You're my Achilles heel

This is the golden age of something good and right and real."

Honestly this song isn't blatantly bad. But, it makes me a little sad to see a precious gift given to us by our loving Creator called "a ruthless game" and an "Achille's heel". The general message of this song is about the emptiness and pain that comes with pursuing this world's definition of love. From the melancholy sound of this song to the longing lyrics, Taylor Swift has accurately depicted emotions that resonate with anyone who has experienced the disappointment of worldly love. But what do we do to avoid this unfortunate love?

The answer lies within one the most outlandish and bizarre books of the Bible, Song of Songs. Let me just say that if you want proof that God himself created love and sex, then read this book. However, let me continue...

"Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming!"

Song of Songs 2:15

I first heard this verse when my mom got me a t-shirt with it on it. When I first laid eyes on this shirt, I was very confused. But, she explained the meaning behind it and I realized that this verse is extremely relevant. The foxes are a metaphor for little things that distract us from true love. Not worldly, empty love, but true love-the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13. We as Christians need to begin to catch them if we want to experience this love. So, what exactly are the little foxes?

Well, I think they're different in every individual's lives. They could be suggestive songs that propel the imagination, sensual books or movies, a current, unhealthy relationship that you know is wrong, porn, or anything else that turns us away from 1 Corinthians 13 love. These are very hard things to say, yes, but according to King Solomon, if we hold onto our foxes, we'll never truly be able to experience the wonderful kind of love God has created for us. So, here's the food for thought: what are your little foxes and what are you going to do about them? The wonderful thing is, because we have a wonderful God, he can pull out his "fox-whacker" (like a weed-whacker, but it kills foxes instead) and give us a hand in subduing those pests. But the question is, will you let him in to help you deal with them? I hope and pray that you'll think through this as I am thinking through it too. Our Creator has given us a marvelous gift of love to enjoy; how could we waste it by settling for less than the real deal? 

Of Caterpillars and Cells

Every spring, we see a bunch of these little things called caterpillars, invading the plants all around us. Even though it's not quite spring yet, I want to talk about something incredible that I learned about caterpillars a few months ago. So, put on your science thinking cap for a few minutes here...

Caterpillars are born as long, worm-like creatures, built exclusively to eat food. In fact, in a period of 2 weeks, a caterpillar will multiply its body weight 3,000 times (whoa...). So, it makes perfect sense that they have several features meant just for eating, like a long stomach that extends down most of its body, a tube-like heart, and obviously, no reproductive organs since it's a juvenile insect. However, there is something so miraculous about each of these little creatures; they are each equipped for the future. Every one of these tiny creatures is born with something called imaginal cells within its body in addition to the larval cells that make up its functioning organs. These imaginal cells sit dormant for the duration of the caterpillar's stage of eating. But, after gorging itself on leaves and such for several weeks, the fat little guy prepares to use them for the first time. As you probably know, caterpillars don't just stay baby insects forever; they go through a crazy process called metamorphosis. So, the caterpillar begins a process that will only last a few weeks by making a chrysalis. Let me tell you what happens INSIDE this chrysalis. First, the caterpillar's larval cells begin to systematically destroy themselves, turning the caterpillar into a big mush within the chrysalis. Essentially, it's killing itself! But, all hope is definitely not lost. Those imaginal cells are still there and they begin to use mitosis (splitting apart to multiply themselves; remember that from biology?) to rebuild into a new creature: a butterfly! Even cooler is the fact that the inside of the chrysalis is similar to a mold; you can see the pattern of the wings and body inside it! Then, the moment arrives after only weeks of construction; the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, a completely new creature with a tiny stomach, a compactly sized heart, beautiful feathery wings, a mouth designed for eating nectar rather than leaves, and reproductive organs.

 When I learned about this entire process, I was completely blown away. For one thing, how could anyone believe in evolution when they see cool stuff like this?! I mean really, the theory of evolution is based on survival of the fittest, so when a creature essentially kills itself without insight that it will continue to survive later on, the entire theory makes no sense. 
But, I also realized something cool about us; we as Christians have "imaginal cells" too! Look at this verse:
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
Just like the little caterpillar, there are aspects in each of us that aren't being used right now like talents, abilities, and strengths. We don't realize it, but God has given us the exact tools that we'll need to succeed as we follow Him. 
Also like the caterpillar, we have been called to "die"..
"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."
Luke 9:23-24
 This basically means that we are setting aside our own desires, dying to ourselves. Whenever I hear about denying myself, a scared feeling wells up inside me. But then again, I remember the imaginal cells. What do they mean in this context? Well, I believe that God has equipped us with the strength to follow His will. Just as the caterpillar was given the ability to come out of his death as a beautiful butterfly, our own "imaginal cells" give us the strength to deny ourselves and to recklessly abandon ourselves to Christ, but become something so much greater in the end.  I'm not sure how you feel about the matter, but I personally would rather be a soaring butterfly than a fat, ugly caterpillar. 


All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

~Beautiful Things by the Michael Gungor Band



P.S. I got all of this cool information about imaginal cells and caterpillars from a video called "Metamorphosis" made by Illustra Media.
Here's a link if you want to see some clips from it...
http://www.metamorphosisthefilm.com/clips.php

Merry Christmas to ALL

It seems like the general message every Christmas season is to GIVE and LOVE. However, if we really thought about it, there are those people in the world that we just wouldn't want at our table for Christmas dinner. When I walk down the street on any given day, I can look at certain people and just shake my mind (that is, shake my head in disbelief in my thoughts). Some of the people in the world are just so lost and far away; it seems hopeless for some. But, let me tell you a story that I learned just a little while ago that changed my point-of-view on all of this.

It started with Adam and Eve, the first two beings ever created, and the first to sin. The moment they took bites of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, their eyes were opened to sin; a gap was formed between God, in his perfection and justice, and man, in his sin and darkness. The only thing that could save them now was a Savior. 

God made a secure promise to the serpent, the one who had tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, that he would be destroyed in the end. After that moment, the human race began to hope for redemption, knowing that the promise would someday be fulfilled. 

Later, after Adam and Eve's children had children and their children had children and so on and so on, a man named Noah was chosen by God to build an ark to save himself and his family from a worldwide flood. But, Noah was still a flawed man; the Bible describes one of his least honorable moments in Genesis 9 when he got very drunk. But, the story continues on.

Noah's family line continued until it reached a man called Abram. He and his wife Sarai were both very old  and childless. God promised them that they would have many descendants. Instead of trusting their God, Abram and Sarai laughed; Sarai even decided that she was smarter than God and told Abram to sleep with her handmaiden, a woman who would actually be able to have kids. But, God had a better plan and Sarai gave birth to Isaac. 

Isaac had a few sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob was a sneaky one. He managed to receive his older brother Esau's blessing AND birthrights, by lots of trickery. 

Judah, one of Jacob's sons, was most definitely one of those creepy people you'd never want at your Christmas dinner. He had twin sons called Perez and Zerah, but we discover through a barbaric, nasty account in Genesis 38 that the mother of these two sons was actually his daughter-in-law called Tamar, who was dressed up as a prostitute.  

Let me continue the story. Perez had several generations of children. Eventually, he had a son named Salmon. Salmon and a prostitute named Rahab (that name should sound familiar... hint: look up Joshua 2) had a son named Boaz.

Boaz did the unthinkable and married a Moabite named Ruth. Back in those days, foreigners were considered "unclean", so this was quite a controversial decision.

Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a son named David.

David was a shepherd boy, the least of his brothers. He also made a lot of pretty bad mistakes in his lifetime, like the whole Bathsheba hoopla ( 2 Samuel 11).

His son, Solomon, wasn't any better. He used his power and money to do all sorts of things all for himself, like building personal gardens, hiring tons and tons of people to work for him, and all sorts of extravagances (Ecclesiastes 2:4-9). Solomon also started worshipping idols after being pressured by his foreign wives. 

All of these people were less-than-heroic, if you look at these faults. Yes, many of them did great things for God, but deep down inside, they were doubters, lusters, liars, drunkards, and overall, sinners. But, God had a plan. Solomon had a son, who had a son, who had a son, and eventually, one of Solomon's descendants, a man named Jacob, had a daughter named Mary!

So, in the end, God used the most unlikely people to carry out His perfect plan to redeem mankind. I think we can learn great lessons from this entire story. Anyone, and I mean, ANYONE, can be used by God. So, this Christmas, we shouldn't love and give to others just out of obligation or tradition, we should do it to be part of God's story, knowing that he has a plan for everyone, even those people you wouldn't want at your Christmas dinner. And this shouldn't just be during Christmastime either. Let's do it all year. 

*Blink* it's all gone

No, I'm not a Whovian, in case you're wondering. However, since I'm related to one and friends with many of them, I have sat through my share of Doctor Who episodes. The most memorable and famous episode that I got to see a few years ago is titled "Blink". In this show, a girl known as Sally Sparrow must get back the Doctor's phone box from some nasty alien-monster things known as "Weeping Angels". In a terrifying turn of events, Sally realizes that these angels that appear as "harmless" garden statues, can move when there aren't any living things looking at them. So, when Sally is looking at a Weeping Angel, it seems to just be a normal, lifeless statue. But the moment she even blinks, they have the opportunity to move. As you can imagine (and have probably seen), things get pretty intense as Sally tries to escape from these creatures, having to stare intensely at them to make sure they don't move and attack her. I think the scariest concept about the Weeping Angels is how quickly they move. If you so much as blink, it has the opportunity to suddenly be THERE, in front of your face, ready to attack you the moment you blink again.
 I've come to a reality about this concept: our lives are like a blink. If a Weeping Angel represents death, then I'll say it this way. Death seems so far away, but if you so much as blink or look away from it, it will suddenly be there, ready to take you away. No, I'm not saying that we should constantly think about our deaths; God has that all covered so we don't need to think twice about it. What we really need to do is to always realize the brevity of our lives because the end can appear suddenly, just like a Weeping Angel.
Earlier today, I learned about this idea first-handed when I stepped into an assisted living home to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The people surrounding me were so close to the end of their lives. They were barely dragging along, many of them struggling with physical handicaps and mental degradation. A thought suddenly hit me and caused my heart to skip a beat as I was in this facility. I am seventeen years old. Multiply that number by five and add a few years to it, and I am the age of the people in the nursing home. That really isn't that long from now. This feeling of being youthful forever that I'm currently feeling as a teenager will disappear, in the blink of an eye.
My most favorite book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes, really hits home with this concept.
"Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” Remember him before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds continually darken your sky. Remember him before your legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the windows—see dimly.
 Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint.
Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the mourners will weep at your funeral.
 Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
Ecclesiates 12:1-7 
That passage may seem depressing, yes. But it is SO powerful if we can actually take it into consideration. 
Next time you feel like falling into a pit of despair because of drama, members of the opposite sex, homework etc., just remember this passage. Why, you might ask?
Well, because it reminds us all that our lives are so brief and miniscule that we need to look to something greater than ourselves to find true purpose. And if your entire life is that small, how big is this little section of your entire life? It's like the size of an atom in the universe of eternity.
What will you do with your tiny gift of time?

"Teach me to number my days
And count every moment
Before it slips away
Take in all the colors
Before they fade to grey

I don't want to miss
Even just a second
More of this

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life?

It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink

When it's all said and done
No one remembers
How far we have run
The only thing that matters
Is how we have loved

I don't want to miss
Even just a second
More of this

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash
It happens in the time it took to look back
I try to hold on tight, but there's no stopping time
What is it I've done with my life?

It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink
It happens in a blink

Slow down
Slow down
Before today becomes
Our yesterday

Slow down
Slow down
Before today becomes
Our yesterday"
- Blink by Revive