New Moon: The Creation of Eve and The Institution of Marriage

Adam opened his eyes, his eyelids fluttering for a moment in this first glimpse of sunlight, looking directly into the face of his Creator, into the face of his King, his God.  Sitting up, he looked around, taking in the world around him - the trees, swayed ever so gently in the calm embrace of a sweet blowing wind, the long blades of grass, the flowers edging the clearing in small tufts, both vibrant and pure in their fresh splendor.  Rising to his feet, he turns, looking into the face of his Creator, a soft, humbled smile on his lips as he bows his head, paying homage and thanks to his God for his gifts.  He looks up into his Creator's smile as God speaks, "All of this I give to you - Every plant and animal is under your domain - give them fitting names to separate them.  Everything you will ever need to survive is here for you."

Adam smiled, thanking his Creator for such a marvelous blessing and turns again, taking in the garden, Eden, which was to be his home.  Looking at the nearby tree line, he smiled as a deer tentatively stepped out of the darkness, cautiously coming forward to greet it's new master.  Adam stepped forward and placed a hand on it's head reassuringly, stroking gently at the thick fur as he smiled, coming up with a name for the creature.  "I think I'll call you a deer," He said quietly to the animal, walking on, curious about his new world.  He stepped a cautious foot into the treeline and disappeared, eager to explore.

Several days passed and Adam, having explored the majority of the garden, sat with his Creator, talking to him.  He had become lonely, but didn't know what to do about it. He wanted another being to explore with, one he could converse with and that would understand his own mind - A helper to assist him with life and stay by his side, and no matter where he looked among creation, nothing was fit.  Adam explained this to his creator, trying to stress how thankful he was for creation, so he wouldn't seem like he wanted more than he deserved.  God looked to Adam and smiled, knowing the desires of his heart.  God knew in Adam's heart was the desire and capacity to love someone the way God loved him.

While Adam slept, God fashioned, out of Adam's body, a new creation, one specifically manufactured for Adam.  Every inch, every curve He painstakingly crafted to appeal to Adam, and He granted her the same intellect He granted Adam, allowing the two to communicate and converse, so they could grow and mature together.  When He was finished, God lay Eve next to Adam, her intended.

The next morning, as Adam opened his eyes, an astonishing sight awaited him.  Even as his eyes opened, he was confronted with the still sleeping form of Eve. His eyes widened slightly, slowly taking in her still form - memorising every feature of his first glimpse of her; The way her hair cascaded down her face, the slow rising and falling of her chest, filled with the same breath of life as him, and the beauty of the sleepy gaze she gave him as she opened her eyes for the first time.  She smiled faintly; warmly, in knowledge of who Adam was and what he would mean to her.  Adam smiled faintly back, knowing his life on this earth would never be the same.  Far away, God smiled, knowing His creation was good.

"Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Gen 2:24)

Conception Pt 1: Dawn's Breaking

The year does not exist.  Time itself does not matter.  A great king - a Lord of Lords, looks out over the nothingness, a massive, all-reaching blackness and suddenly, matter begins to emerge.  Amongst the vast nothingness that is the void, shapes begin to take form, colliding with each other and transforming themselves into large shapes, coming out of the inky nothingess to take form before the eyes of it's creator.  One particular form catches His eye.  This is to be his chosen planet.  Even as countless wonders form around it, His thoughts remain with this particular orb.  There is nothing to set it apart from any other speck in the universe, nothing to set it out from the rest other than the love it's Creator bestowed on it.  For this was a world the Creator had chosen to bless with life.  It's surface is dark, covered in a watery tempest, seemingly roaring in defiance against its sudden, unexpected existence.  As The Creator looks on, a light forms on the horizon, covering the planet in awe as the tumultuous waves die in the midst of this beautiful first light.

The world has received it's first blessing, and as the rose-colored sky spreads and turns to blue, The Creator speaks to His planet, whispering reassurances for the transformations to come.  Even as the universe around this new Earth take shape, The Creator spends time, personally knitting the fabric of His chosen world together.  Out of the watery depths emerge masses of rock and dirt, pushing up and gasping for breath as they emerge into the glimmering sunlight.  Barren and rocky, the land is desolate, and for a moment, there is silence.  Then, as the entire universe watches, The Creator focuses on this new land, and a tiny plant begins to grow.  It starts slow, the green stem pushing through the fertile ground, then spreading faster, becoming a raging wildfire and spreading quickly over the planet - a tide of green spreading to the corners of the earth.

The Creator allows this new beauty to spread over his prized creation and finishes piecing the universe together. He knits together more planets, their surfaces knitting together just as His precious Earth's did.  Hey carefully paints the sky, filling it with stars, bringing a new light to the universe and giving it shape. The universe is speechless and watches in awe even as it is pieced together by the masterful hand of it's creator, splashing color throughout the universe in a reflection of it's Designer.

Watching the universe grow and come to fruition before him, he turns his attention back to his treasured home.  He watches as the seeds he planted bloom into tall, full trees and small, delicate flowers of every imaginable color.  Looking out over the water, He calls out to the earth, beckoning it open up for him and release His newest creation.  Even as the coral blooms on the rocky sea floor, tiny fish begin to swim out of it.  From the depths of the ocean, massive whales begin to rise, prepared to take their first breath of this new air.  The King looks to the land, at a grove of trees, where a small bird begins to chirp, it's song changing from an unsteady, unsure test into a full song, glorifying it's Creator for His mighty works.  The Creator looks over what He has done and smiles, It was beautiful.  Deer poke their heads out from shaded trees, and a cougar jumps down from a perch high in a tree, landing with a soft thud on the fresh ground.  They all walk, feeling called to their Creator even as He completes His final and greatest work.  All of creation watches as this King, this God kneels down by the sleeping form of His most prized creation, and whispers softly over him, "Wake Up... Adam."

Wreck It Ralph - Finding Happiness and Using Your Past

Recently I had the pleasure of watching Wreck It Ralph, a disney movie that follows the life of Ralph, a "bad guy" in an arcade game.  Throughout the movie, Ralph is torn by the fact that he is a bad guy in his game and, as a bad guy, is looked down on and unappreciated.  The movie is the story of him realizing who he is and becoming comfortable with himself.

The idea really hits me close, having struggled with becoming comfortable with myself and who God made me to be.  See, I, like everybody else have struggled in my past.  Nobody was ever born the way they were meant to become - As I've said before, every moment in your life is a journey leading you to who you will become.  Every day we are confronted with minor choices that help to shape ourselves.  When we align ourselves and our thinking with Christ, we draw closer to him and become the people we were meant to be.

The culmination of these choices, as they define who we become, build up in our past to fill out the story of our walk with him.  Often times, through the living of our lives, we make mistakes - little "glitches" in our lives that torment us as we try to walk with Christ later.  I've seen this personally in my own life as I've grown and become closer to Christ.  It's a troubling and scary thing when your past comes up and haunts you, and it's one of the devil's strongest weapons against us as Christians - the simple memories of things we've done break us down and make tiny holes for the devil to whisper how unworthy we are of the grace we have in Christ and how we will never be what we were made for.  It's one of the biggest lies the devil has on Christians.

Two years ago, I started playing an online game.  What started as a simple recreational activity quickly grew into an overwhelming addiction that consumed every minute of my time.  I avoided all responsibility, friends, family, and church in an effort to play a game that steadily wore down who I was and warped my ideas of happiness.  I looked at a game that allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be, do whatever I wanted to do, and look however I wanted and found happiness in it.  I gave the devil such a tiny little crack in my shield and he used it to destroy who I was.  The deeper I got into the game, the more I hated who I was when I wasn't playing.  Here I was this great, well known, likeable person in game and when I left I was just Kyle, the mediocre guy who would never amount to anything.  I looked at myself in the mirror and loathed what I saw looking back at me.

The devil used this and abused it until it got to the point that one day I bought a sword and went home with full intention of ending my life.  I felt, in that moment that I was a failure - a mistake that should never have existed.  I looked at my life and who I was and saw nothing but my own mistakes and flaws.  I looked into my past and saw only the hurts, pains, and frustration that the devil showed me.  I took what God made and formed Himself and demeaned it until it meant precisely nothing.

God had a much larger plan for me, though.  See, on the way home from the store I bought my sword at, for some reason, I missed the turn to go to my house and ended up driving the long way - right past my church.  Seeing my sisters's car in the parking lot, I stopped and decided to go in.  We talked for a short while, and while she had no idea what was going on, she ministered to me in a way that can only come from God.  She could tell that I had changed and something was very wrong with what I had changed into, but she had no idea my situation.  Before we went our separate ways, she gave me a verse - Ephesians 5:14, which says "This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." That verse is the reason I'm alive today.  See, what she didn't realize is that whenever I felt super depressed, I listened to a song titled "Asleep."  

That night, when I had a sword pressed against my stomach, the verse she gave me kept me from ending my own life.  Had God not intervened in such a powerful way, I wouldn't be here to write this blog.

See, what people don't always see is that God doesn't judge you for who you were.  It's not about what you've done with your past, and it doesn't matter all the mistakes you've made.  God can take you, the flawed, imperfect creature you were made as, and use you for a purpose you cannot even understand.  Even Paul, one of the most influential writers of the New Testament KILLED CHRISTIANS for a living.  Talk about regrets!  The focus of God, and subsequently what should be our focus is not WHO you are... rather WHOSE you are, and subsequently who GOD wants you to be.  God can use your story, no matter how nasty and messed up it may be, to glorify His kingdom.

See, even as scary as my past got, God still used it.  Months later I got a text at work from an old friend of mine who found himself on a bridge ready to jump and end his life.  God blessed me with the opportunity to use my story to save someone else's life.  There is no greater feeling than the knowledge that Christ used you in a powerful way.

Today, as you go about your day, I would encourage you to focus on where your thoughts go.  Put away your past and keep it for later.  In the right hands, at the right time, your past can be the instrument God uses to move mountains.

The Power in a Name

Have you ever had someone you didn't know come up and call you by name?  If you're anything like me, It leads to a very awkward moment of trying to link a name to a face, ultimately ending in a simple hello to buy time while you try to remember who you're talking to.  Working on a cruise ship, I'm constantly referring to people as sir, ma'am, or something to that effect as they go about their vacations.  It's always unusual when somebody calls me out by name.

As I was out today, I had a guest start talking to me, calling me specifically by name, and it really got me thinking about the whole concept.  Here was a person whose vacation I was able to affect to the point they were able to pick me out of a crowd of people (Out of uniform no less), then took the time to actually start a conversation with me!  It would have had to take quite a bit of effort for that all to happen.   This got me thinking even more about our relationship with God.  Here's our God who knows us BY NAME.

 Isaiah 43:1 says, "But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine."  Did you ever think about this concept?  God took you, designed you, formed you, named you, and you are HIS.  When we get married and have children, our children are a labor of our love for our spouse and they are immediately loved for what they represent.  God thinks the same way about you!  Your existence on this planet is due to God's labor of love - a love that started in the Garden of Eden and continues to this day, introducing new life every minute.  And even with the billions of people on this planet, and the hundreds of trillions of people who have lived on this planet, you are completely unique!   God designed you with your own specific journey and purpose with the same amount of love as He has every other person on this planet.  Every person has a purpose, even the lowest person you could think of.

The fact that God knows me by name just hits me hard, because it's a distinct level of personal connection.  It takes time, desire, and effort.  It's an example of a powerful God who pursues you every moment, trying to draw you closer to Himself to give you a glimpse of the immense love He has for you.

Star Wars Episode 1 - Your Life as a Futuristic Sci-Fi Hero

There's something about Star Wars that has captivated audiences for decades.  Since it's first release, audiences have flocked to see every installation in the nine part saga (yes, there are nine - six released, three unfinished), and they continue to flock as each update comes out.  And while it's not specifically based around Christianity, there's a lot of parallels that we as Christians can draw from it.

First off, I'm going to be using information beyond the movies - background information that most people don't know/don't care to know about star wars, so bear with me in this.  Don't worry though, we'll start with the basics.

The Jedi, in the Star Wars Universe, were the protectors of the republic, the heart of the galaxy representing peaceful, prosperous civilization.  Originating on Tython, a core world in the heart of the galaxy, as a philosophical study group, their purpose was to study what was called "The Force" at that point a concept, more than a fully conceived energy source.  However, another group also evolved with them - the Sith.  Following their own version of the force, Boca, they philosophically opposed the Jedi.  Where the Jedi focused themselves toward peace, knowledge, understanding, and compassion, the Sith viewed the force as a method to overpower and overcome their enemies, fueling their passions to give themselves strength.

Over thousands of years, the Jedi remained prevalent in the galaxy, always standing for the morals and values they established on Tython.  The Sith, on the other hand, struggled through the millenia with infighting between the lords of their orders.  With a philosophy bent so fully on destruction, deceit, and power, it was impossible for them to truly excel.

We, as Christians, can take a lot from this history, because it points towards our own.  Think about what we are called to strive for - what Jesus stood for.  He stands out as an example of compassion, empathy, courage, and humility.  It is obvious to see throughout his life - healing the sick, making the blind see, loving the invisible and unloved.  What people don't notice though, is the battling he does with the devil.  He spends forty days in the desert locked in combat with Satan, being tempted and won!  And he stands right there and calls you to do the same and follow him!

Ephesians 6:10-13 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."  Armor is a tool for fighting!  Not for living an ordinary life.  We have been radically transformed as followers and asked to fight for our God on a spiritual and physical level, fighting the devil in our lives through the overcoming of temptation and sin, and recruiting more people into His army!  In my mind, what the Jedi do is a physical representation of what we, as Christians, should be striving for - actively fighting the hold the devil has on our lives and on the world.

While Star Wars isn't a perfect representation of what Christianity, as with all my posts, it presents examples, little flashers that we can use to look at how we're directing and living our lives.  Are we living a life in which we earnestly fight the power the devil tries to hold over us?  Are we calling on and relying on our brothers and sisters in Christ to aid us?  Think about what you live for as you go through your day today.

Star Trek - Creation Ideas

I'm willing to bet that all of you have seen Star Trek, in one form or another, throughout some time in your life.  Whether you watch it for the entertainment value, the historical significance, or whatever drives you, the show has, historically, been one of the most well known sci fi shows of our time.  From visiting distant worlds to interacting with alien species, Star Trek had it all.  It was a link to the strange and unknown, filled with adventure and the constant twinge of danger.
What gets me most, though is the expanse in which the U.S.S. Enterprise travels.  It brings into mind the amazing complexity of this universe that God has created.  It's astounding to me!  The very idea that God created such an expanse of space for us.  As it stands right now, we've only mapped a tiny portion of our galaxy. NASA reports that there are 3,000 visible galaxies in the universe and that number is only including what we can see through the hubble telescope.  God only knows the infinite complexity of the universe, and He took the time to create every infintesimal speck in it.  Every image of beauty in the universe - every nebula, every star, every planet, he created.  Each has their own radiant beauty and God took the time and effort to put it there.  I think there's more to it than that though.
You see, while I can't guarantee exactly how God created the universe, science has shown that everything in the universe is moving outward, thus leading to the Idea of a "Big Bang."  Scientists have been able to plot everything in a "big bang" univeral beginning up until the initial incident that started it.
I believe that there was a moment in heaven when God gathered together the myriad of his celestial beings behind him and looked into the void and simply said something along the lines of, "Check this out."  and there was, for a moment, a tiny spark, which lead to the single largest explosion of all time.  I imagine something like a sonic charge from Star Wars (as in this scene ) coming out of this explosion which created not only the galaxy we live in, but the entire universe, filled with it's myriad of completely unexplored beauty and environments.
I mean, seriously, put yourself in the shoes of one of the angels standing behind God, just sitting there wondering what He's going to do, then being blown away by the awesome power of His creation.  Can you even imagine it?  I know I can't.  Just the reality of it blows me away, and the best part is - You'll never know what happened!  As long as we live on this earth and aren't in heaven, I don't think we'll ever fully understand the power that went into the creation of the Universe - the power that still gets displayed throughout it every day.
The next time you're not doing anything, just sitting around surfing the web, I'd encourage you to get on google images and look up pictures of Nebulas.  Just take a glimpse into the mind of God for a while and see what he has in store for you.

New Series

First off, I wanted to apologize - I've been terrible at keeping up with this blog lately, but I am working on a new series.  Essentially, it's going to take themes and ideas from Star Wars (Not just the movies, but back history, etc) and relate it to christian themes as always.  I'm not sure how many weeks it's going to be, but I'm going to try and get the first out by this week, but please continue to bear with me as I put this out, and I'll try and keep it updated through facebook!  As Always, I welcome and encourage comments and feedback, and if you feel so entitled, feel free to follow the blog or email me!

As well, I'm going to work on/tweak a few of my older posts and actually put them out (i have like two or three draft posts) in the meantime!  So keep watching!