​When famed archeologist and former minister of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, and his team set out to excavate an area near the Egyptian city of Luxor in September 2020, all they were hoping to find was King Tutankhamun's mortuary temple. Instead, the archeologists stumbled upon the largest ancient city ever found in Egypt. Hawass, who revealed the discovery on April 8, 2021, believes the enormous, well-preserved metropolis is the “So’oud Atun,” or the "Rise of Aten," whose location has eluded scientists for decades.
"The discovery of this lost city is the second most important archaeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun," Betsy Bryan, an Egyptology professor at Johns Hopkins University and member of the mission, said in the statement.

The city dates back 3,400 years to the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, who reigned from 1391 to 1353 BC. Often referred to as Amenhotep the Magnificent, the ninth pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty ruled during a time of unprecedented peace, allowing him to accumulate large amounts of wealth. While archeologists suspected the pharaoh had used some of his riches to build what Hawass refers to as "the golden city," they had never been able to find it.
The researchers believe that his son, King Akhenaten, briefly lived in So’oud Atun before founding the city of Amarna about 250 miles away. Historians think the pharaoh and his followers left to escape the priests who were unhappy about his decision to forgo all other deities in favor of the sun god Aten. Following Akhenaten's death, his son, Tutankhamun, relocated to Thebes, which also served as Ancient Egypt's capital. The scientists are not sure if So’oud Atun was ever occupied again.

​The annual 3-to 4-millimeter rise in sea levels is expected to impact many coastal communities in the coming decades. However, few are as vulnerable as the Republic of the Maldives, a collection of more than a thousand picturesque islands in the Indian Ocean. NASA researchers believe that parts of what is "arguably the lowest-lying country in the world" will become uninhabitable by 2050, due to wave-driven flooding and limited freshwater. To combat the inevitable, the government recently unveiled plans for the world's first "true" floating island city.

In the works for over a decade, the aptly-named Maldives Floating City (MFC) is the brainchild of the Netherlands-based Dutch Docklands, a global leader in floating infrastructure. According to the March 13, 2021, announcement, the new city will be constructed on about three-quarters of a square mile, or a 200-hectare, lagoon located just 10 minutes by boat from the Maldivian capital, Male. It will initially comprise about a thousand waterfront residences, arranged in a series of honeycomb-like hexagonal maze rows, reminiscent of the shape of a coral reef. The developers plan to add hotels, restaurants, shops, and even a school and a hospital in the near future. The floating structures will be anchored to the surrounding islands, which will form a base and provide protection from high tides.
Maldive officials aim to make MFC as carbon neutral and self-sufficient as possible. Freshwater storage will provide drinking water for residents, while floating solar blankets and agriculture fields will take care of their energy and food needs.

“This Maldives Floating City does not require any land reclamation, therefore has a minimal impact on the coral reefs,” explains Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives from 2008- 2012, Speaker of Parliament and CVF Ambassador of Ambition. “What’s more, giant, new reefs will be grown to act as water breakers. Our adaption to climate change mustn’t destroy nature but work with it, as the Maldives Floating City proposes. In the Maldives, we cannot stop the waves, but we can rise with them.”
Construction of the revolutionary city is expected to begin in 2022 and be completed in phases over the next five years. If successful, it will provide a blueprint for other countries facing a similar situation.
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​After erupting almost continuously for over three decades — from 1983 to 2018 — Hawaii's Kilauea volcano finally seemed to lose steam, producing no lava for nearly two years. The slumber ended on the night of December 20, 2020, when the active volcano began spewing out dramatic lava fountains and giant puffs of gas and steam from a fissure in the northwest wall of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

​As of December 31, 2020, the volcano had ejected over 27 million cubic meters (953 million cubic feet) of molten rock — enough to fill more than 8,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — and replaced the existing water lake with a nearly 600-foot-deep lava lake. Fortunately, the magma is contained inside the volcano's crater and does not pose a risk to people or property as it did in 2018, when the molten rock flowed through a residential neighborhood, destroying over 700 homes.
Residents have, however, been asked to limit outdoor activities in areas with high volcanic smog levels. Commonly known as vog, it is a form of air pollution created when sulfur dioxide and other pollutants emitted from volcanic activity interact chemically with atmospheric moisture, oxygen, dust, and sunlight. While not deadly, it can irritate skin and the tissues and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, and throat, and it can be particularly harmful to individuals with preexisting respiratory conditions.

If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.   Proverbs 9:12
THREE PEOPLE—a minister and two kids—once went on a short sight-seeing flight in a small, four-passenger plane. One of the kids had just been honored in a national newsmagazine as “the smartest kid in the world.”
Suddenly, the pilot shouted to his passengers over the roar of the engine. “We’ve got a big problem!” he said. “Our gas tank has a leak in it, and we’re going to run out of gas in just a couple minutes. We’re going to have to jump!”
“That’s not so bad,” the minister said, forcing a nervous smile. “I’ve always wanted to learn to skydive!”
The pilot shook his head. “We only have three parachutes. One of us isn’t going to make it! I’ve got a family. I can’t leave them alone without a father.”
“Well, I’m the smartest kid in the world,” said the one kid. “I may be the only person who can discover a cure for cancer or AIDS or something like that! You two will have to fight this out between you.” And with that, the kid grabbed one of the parachutes and jumped.
The minister turned to the other kid and the pilot. “You take the other two parachutes,” he told them. “I’m not afraid to die.”
“Thanks,” the other kid said. “But we’ve got nothing to worry about. The ‘smartest kid in the world’ just jumped out of the plane with my backpack!”
The “smartest kid in the world” wasn’t so smart, was he? He made a foolish decision—not just because he took a backpack instead of a parachute, but also because he made a selfish decision. And he paid for his choice!
You may not be as foolish or as selfish as that kid, but you may discover (if you haven’t already) that wrong choices often have a high price. Lying may get you into more trouble. Cheating in school may get you suspended or expelled. Trying to hurt other people may hurt you more than them.
The Bible says, “If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer” (Proverbs 9:12). In other words, godly wisdom and right choices pay off—maybe not right away or maybe not for a long time. But if you make a habit of making right choices, you will benefit in many lasting ways. If you don’t… well, just don’t go jumping out of any airplanes.
REFLECT: Who do you think has more fun: those who are always getting into trouble or those who follow the rules? Have you ever been sorry you made a wrong choice? Have you ever enjoyed any rewards for making right choices? Which are you: a person who is becoming wise or a person who scorns wisdom?
PRAY: “Lord, I want to be wise in making right choices. Please teach me to be wise and help me to make wise choices today.”

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Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.   Hebrews 12:14
IF YOU’VE TRUSTED Christ to forgive your sins and make you a new person inside, you’re a Christian. That means your sins are forgiven and you’re going to heaven.
But until you get to heaven, you still have a challenge. You’re still going to be tempted to sin. And every once in a while, you’re going to make a wrong choice. That doesn’t mean you’re not going to heaven, but it is still a problem. So what should you do? How should you feel about right and wrong choices as a Christian? See if the following True/False quiz helps you to answer those questions:
1. It’s OK to sin.T      F
2. It’s OK to sin as long as you plan to ask God’s forgiveness later.T      F
3. A Christian can make right choices or wrong choices; it doesn’t really matter in the great scheme of things.T      F
4. It’s impossible for a Christian to live a clean and holy life.T      F
5. Making right choices is not optional—it’s crucial.T      F
6. If you say you’re a Christian but go on sinning, you’re not living in the truth.T      F
7. Being a Christian makes living a clean and holy life possible.T      F
8. Those who are not holy will not see the Lord.T      FHow did you do? The first four statements were all false; the final four were all true. Some of those are pretty tough questions, aren’t they? They’re even tougher when you compare the right answers to your own life.
That’s what today’s Bible reading is all about. The writer of Hebrews said, “Seek to live a clean and holy life” (Hebrews 12:14). In other words, making right choices is not optional; and if you say you’re a Christian but go on sinning, you’re not living in the truth (1 John 1:6). Hebrews 12:14 also says that “those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” That means if you’re a Christian, you will seek to live a clean and holy life by making right choices with God’s help.
In fact, being a Christian (and letting God’s Holy Spirit control your life) is the only way any of us can live a clean and holy life. It’s also the only way we’ll ever see the Lord.
REFLECT: Have you ever acted like statements 1-4 (in the True/False quiz above) were true? How can you seek to live a clean and holy life from now on? Can you do it on your own? If not, how can you do it? (Hint: reread the last paragraph above.)
PRAY: “Lord, sometimes I act as if it doesn’t really matter whether or not I make right choices, but I do want to make right choices. I want to live a clean and holy life. I want to see you someday. So please help me to trust you and let your Holy Spirit control my life so I can make right choices.”

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need. Proverbs 17:17
AN OLD BOY Scout manual told the story of two brothers who were fighting side by side in France. The brothers struggled to rejoin their unit, but only one made it back safely. He approached his commanding officer and asked permission to retrace his steps in an effort to find his brother.
The officer shook his head. “It’s too dangerous,” he said, not without pity. “Your brother is probably dead, and there’s no use risking your life just to find him dead.”
The brother persisted, however, and begged the officer to let him try. Finally, the man agreed, and the soldier dashed back toward the enemy fire to hunt for his brother. Some time later, he returned-with his brother draped across his shoulders. But just as he reached the safety of the bunker, his brother gasped and died in his arms.
“You see,” said the officer. He clapped a hand on the soldier’s shoulder and shook his head. “I let you risk your life for nothing.”
“Oh no, sir,” the brother answered respectfully. Tears welled in his eyes. “No, sir,” he repeated emphatically. “You see, when I crawled up beside him where he lay, hurt and dying, and I took him in my arms, he said, ‘I knew you’d come, Tom. I knew you’d come.'”
That soldier’s faithfulness was rewarded by his brother’s dying words. Can you imagine how Tom felt to know that his brother’s last words were a testimony to his faithfulness?
Don’t forget, “The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness” (1 Samuel 26:23, Niv). Your faithfulness may be rewarded immediately-and it may not. You may see the results of your faithfulness to a friend or family member in this lifetime, and you may not. But faithfulness is often its own reward, as it was for Tom.
REFLECT: What do you think would have happened if Tom had not gone to look for his brother? Do you think Tom would have known of the blessing he had missed? Do you think you have missed any blessings by not being faithful to a friend or family member? Have you experienced any rewards for your faithfulness? If so, what?
ACT: Be alert this week for a chance to be faithful to a friend or family member, especially “in time of need” as Proverbs 17:17 stresses.
PRAY: “Lord, I don’t want to miss the rewards and blessings you give for faithfulness.”