An old movie from Disney is entitled "Atlantis: The Lost Empire". The movie charts the adventure of a group of explorers searching for the lost empire of Atlantis in search of treasure and artifacts. But when the team shows up, there is actually an entire civilization still thriving there. During one part of the movie, several group members along with Princess Kida are before the source of power of Atlantis, which is being guarded by stones representing past rulers. When Kida sees this, a tear falls down her cheek, she acknowledges that they are the kings of her past, and falls to her knees, pressing her face upon the floor of chamber whispering prayers.

There, in that moment, I cannot help but see myself having the same reaction to God. When I stand before Him in all of His glory, what will I do? MercyMe's "I Can Only Imagine" comes to mind. Will we stand in awe of God? Will we fall to our knees in humility? Will we burst into song? Will we even be able to say anything? Would words be enough?

Kida sees the kings of her past and falls to her knees in adoration. I want to be the same when I stand before the Lord. To fall at His feet and worship.

Companion: Reprise

I heard the speaker's words. I knew that he spoke what God wanted me to hear. My desired companion is not coming. This has become more than a desire - it has become a demand. I demanded it of God. The Master, Teacher, Creator, Savior, Lord. The clay pot has been yelling at the potter and demanding that this be so. But now I see what God has been telling me all along - God wants me. All of me. He does not want half-hearted praise. He wants all of my praise.

For longer than I care to say, I have seen myself as the guy who did not have a companion. I did not have a girl (and in some cases, just a friend), but now I realize the obvious simple truth: I am the guy who honors God above all other things. The Christian - one who is never ashamed of the Cross, and never afraid to discuss my relationship with Christ to others. He should be more than just my first allegiance, He should also be my first love.

Knowing this truly does change my mindset. Now that the mindset has changed, the lifestyle changes, the actions change, the attitude changes, and so many other things.

I am a fan of a certain anime called "Avatar: The Last Airbender". I am certain that I have touched on this before. One of the groups of people are represented by the element of fire. Many consider fire to an element of rage, hate, and anger; but in its true form, as it was meant to be, it is inner calm, self-control, and balance. Fire represents energy and life, not death and destruction.

God wants me to pursue a personal and intimate relationship with Him and let that be my sustenance through everything. I find it hard to believe in something that cannot be seen, but this is the task that has been set before me. The challenge is hard, but people of the element of fire have desire and will, and the energy and drive to achieve what they want. This may not be the deepest desire of my heart, but I know that it is what I need the most.

The Master of the Universe wants a close, personal, intimate, loving relationship with me. Who am I to refuse?

Companion

Christian Scripture tells us that God wants us to be in community with other Christians. But what do we do when we try to be with others and things just don't work out. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of hanging with friends quite a bit, but it was also marred by experiencing a day without them as well. It's frustrating when we are commanded to enjoy community, but when we try to make that happen, it falls apart.

I have prayed for a loving wife. There are several reasons. Let's be honest, one of them is to feel the warmth of a loving embrace. But I also wish to love her with all of my heart as well. I want to show her how a man of God should love a woman. And I wish to honor God by treating her as a sister in Christ as well as my wife. I also know that it means that I will have to step up and serve her with everything that I am. Perhaps some believe that I have to learn how to serve others and love them before I find a woman to love, but how do I learn to love a woman when there is no woman to love? Is this possible? I don't think that it is possible.

I get frustrated with God because I pray that He would guide me to a loving woman, then He allows me to meet great women, but things don't make sense. Sometimes I see her, and other times when I think that I should, I don't. When I expect to see her, and I don't. Sometimes I get angry with God and I just don't feel like talking to Him about it. I think that we all go through that. I don't want to talk to God about it because I'm angry with Him.

Don't get me wrong. I still love God. I am still loyal to Him. And I'm not going to walk away. But that doesn't mean that I'm not angry with Him.

But maybe that's what He wants me to learn. That even though I'm angry with someone, I'm not going to walk away. I know that even if I do find a loving woman, there will be times when she won't please me. She'll let me down. She'll say or do the wrong thing. She won't say or do the right thing. But I'm not going to walk away. Sometimes you just want to be mad for a while, but you still love that person with all of your heart.

His Story

Every once in a great while, we come across a revelation so obvious and so simple that we wonder why we didn't think about it before. I had one such revelation only a few days ago.

For a long time, I've been frustrated that I haven't had a woman to hold and love. Every guy wants this. After my last post, I think that it becomes obvious that I desire a loving woman. So I've been thinking a lot about who she will be, where I will find her, and how long it will take. I know that 1 Corinthians 13:4 starts off by telling us that "Love is patient", but I'm not a patient person, believe it or not. It takes a lot of practice for me.

But I keep trying to think beyond myself to see the other people around me in my immediate vicinity to help them with their needs. Some of the people that I see are completely wrapped up in themselves. But then, who am I to speak? I continue to think about a woman to have and to hold. It's a noble thing, sure, but when I think about women more than bringing the name of Christ to those who don't know Him, I wonder if it is so noble. I don't think that it's evil that I search for a woman, but I also know that such a search should never come before God. And before the task He has placed before me. Sometimes I get far too selfish and think about myself finding a woman.

But then, this past weekend, something came to me. It opened my eyes. Something so obvious and so simple I wondered why it had not come before.

We are all a part of God's story.

I get so bogged down with finding a woman, and doing well in classes, and practicing Ultimate or martial arts, but then I remember that one truth: we are a part of God's story.

I've studied Astronomy enough to realize that when we compare our planet to the galaxy, we are a grain of sand in a desert. When we compare our galaxy to the rest of the universe, we are a salt crystal in the ocean. Now think about this: God created all of that. My mind can't understand that. I rationalize to myself that there must be another god, or that something else happened, or something, but then I read Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." That's it. He created it. There's no trick, no other god, no secret that we have yet to uncover, even though my mind tries to find one. It's all His. I don't believe in the Creation stories as pieces of historical fact, but I do believe that they are meant to teach us something. I believe that the Creation story in Genesis 1 teaches us of God's sovereignty and power and shows us how small we are compared to Him.

I learned a year ago at Winter Conference with CRU that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Don't place yourself on a lower level. Think of others more often. God created the Heavens and everything in them. So when I think about everything that He has done, I am truly humbled. Every time I run, He created those muscle systems to work perfectly. As we discover new scientific formulas, He was the One who wrote them. As we look upon the vastness and beauty of the universe, we see what He can do with a paintbrush.

These are His creations. This life, world, universe. They're all about Him anyway. We're just along for the ride. Now that I see things in that perspective, I'm just glad that He decided to allow me to be a part of His story.

I still have a hard time having humility and compassion for others, and I do wait and pray for a loving woman to come into my life, but when I think about the fact that we are part of God's story, I am humbled. Like I said, it's His story, we're just along for the ride.

Sex

Sex. It's in our culture. It is something that has been used to sell everything from movies to beer to cars. It is inescapable due to our level of technology. It is something that we must deal with. And it is a creation of God.

Christians in the past have viewed sexual desire as a demon that they had to keep at bay. Now it is something that Christians must stay away from (at least until marriage).

But what if we embraced it?

Not the action, but the conversation. People today have placed sex into the category that we should do it all the time with whoever is the hottest and sexiest. Some Christians don't want to talk about it (of course, many have a hard time talking to Christians period), but what if everyone agreed that we, as Christian men and women holy and devoted to a loving God, were open about sex? I don't expect anyone to talk about personal experiences, but people should know that Christians aren't afraid to have sex either. People should know that when they turn their lives over to God, that they are allowed (and in some ways encouraged) to have sex with their spouse. Everyone else talks about sex. Christians shouldn't be afraid to join the conversation.

Let's get started.

As far as sex, Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." There is no way around this.

So yeah, sex outside of marriage is clearly a sin (ALL forms of sex).

But another question still lingers: what about masturbation? Is that a sin?

There is a passage in Genesis 38 about a man named Onan who would not impregnate his brother's widow because he knew that the heir would result in Onan losing some of his inheritance, so Onan "pulled out" and spilled his seed on the ground. God punished him for doing so, but many scholars agree that the sin was not that he pulled out (according to some, he masturbated), but that he did so out of greed for the inheritance. It's not what he did, but why he did it.

So is masturbation a sin?

There are times that I would say yes, but at others time I would say no. If a man looks a woman lustfully, it's sinful. Christ said so (Matt. 5:28). But what about the desire to please a future wife? If a man masturbates not only to release those desires within himself (and avoid greater evils), but so that he is comfortable with his own sexuality when he is united with his wife, is that evil? I cannot convince myself that it is sinful. That is what we are supposed to do: prepare for marriage. As Christians, we prepare for marriage by getting used to living with someone else, helping them with their needs, picking up the kids at school, doing the dishes, laundry, etc. But what about being sexually ready? I can admit that I have done this. I have masturbated. Every man has masturbated in his life (if he tells you otherwise, he's lying). I can admit it because I know that eventually I will stand before God and everything will be stripped away. Would I be ashamed then? One of my greatest desires is to find a woman beautiful in every way and love her as a man should. In Genesis 2:24, Adam and Eve are said to become one flesh. When I love my wife, I hope that every fiber of my being will desire her completely. She will be the one that I cannot live without. She will be the one I yearn to be with, to hold her in my arms, to see the love in her eyes, to feel her skin against mine, to touch the love in her heart and her soul. To be one flesh, one mind, one spirit. That is what I want.

It should be noted that Genesis 2:25 says "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."

No shame. That is what I desire with my wife. Masturbation is a way for a person to be comfortable with their own sexual desires.

Make no mistake, those who indulge in sexual behavior are not following Paul when he said that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). But to restrain masturbation to once every month, or few months, isn't that self-control? I think the primary reason that many Christians advise not to start is that it is too easy to fall into temptation, and many people do not possess the control required. There are some who shouldn't. Others will think that they can fool God and others. But they only fool themselves for they will be tried and judged by God.

Christians should not be afraid to talk about sex, masturbation, and if you're bold, even different positions. The rest of our culture talks about, and if we want to bring them to Christ, we have to be willing to speak to them about it.

Christians get squeamish when talking about sex and masturbation, but I think about it, I try to remember the love, passion, and romance that I desire with my future wife.