Changing Times

I have not lived in New Orleans for a year now. Pretty sad how often I post here. I now live in a rural area in the Appalachian Mountains. Its interesting to find that there are wasted drug heads in the backwoods who steal junk from their own poor grandparents to pawn off for drug money just like the drug heads in the urban cities like New Orleans. Trust me, if you have seen the lives ruined by drugs that I have, you will never start them; it is simply not worth the risk just from a logical standpoint.
Now instead of working with teenagers primarily, I work in domestic missions. I have helped rebuild houses in New Orleans as well as here in Appalachia. Basically I get to travel a lot. I thank the Lord that I could not afford the V6 model I wanted the last time a bought a car. My 4 cylinder has incredible mileage. Back to the topic. Did you know that many people here in the mountains do not have city water? They have their own well or cistern that is fed by the gutter system on their house. So when the electricity goes out, their electric water pump does not work. From the shotgun houses of Nowlens to the moutain cabins of Appalachia, I have seen some interesting places that people call home. Still, I have found that no matter how different people are, they can still believe in the same God, fall into the same sins, and need a caring brother to help them out sometimes. I want to encourage everyone who reads this to remember their neighbors; be a good sameritan. People will not always come to you for help and often times hide the fact that they are in great need. When you get the opportunity to help out others, your actions speak louder than your words.
"Preach the Gospel at all times. If necesary,use words."~St. Francis of Assisi.

Atheist Discussion

I have not posted much in the last few months as I have been busy in another blog. The following is some interesting posts from: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-DIY-Spray-Paint-T-Shirt/?commentflag=1194221319817#CX5M68UF8JUSY9G

Some Atheists are very nice people, but some are not. The following is why you should know your Bible and study it often. Always be prepared to give an answer for your faith.

Conversation #1

Aug 30, 2007. 9:50 PMstevoIutionsays: That's odd, considering most people in developed countries have the internet and therefore a means to learn about about proven facts, as opposed to unprovable, ridiculous, fictional stories. Please tell me you're not a creationist. If so - REPLY[flag]

Sep 13, 2007. 3:10 PMBro. Jonessays: So explain how science disproves God. I kinda thought it proved Him. REPLY[flag][delete]

Sep 15, 2007. 3:42 AMstevoIutionsays: Science hasn't disproven god, just all of the man-made religions around today. It disproves creationism pretty freaken easily. All you have to do to realize the bible is retarded is read it. A good chunk of it is instructions on how to kill animals and burn them because god likes the smell. It says it repeatedly but i don't see any Christians sacrificing animals and setting them on fire. REPLY[flag]

Sep 17, 2007. 10:16 PMBro. Jonessays: Man made religions are not a good thing, I must agree. Yes the first of the Bible does have a lot of animal sacrifice because their must be death for our misdeeds. The animal sacrifices were temporary payments or down payments until the ultimate price could be paid. That ultimate price was Jesus on the Cross. Since the debt is paid in full we don't have to sacrifice animals anymore, just get our name on the list as a cosigner. Oh, and I still love to throw a good steak on the grill. Tastes great. REPLY[flag][delete]

Sep 17, 2007. 11:56 PMstevoIutionsays: A perfect god wouldn't keep petty, symbolic debts. I give up, there will always be ignorant morons who believe anything their parents tell them. What revision of the bible do you read? REPLY[flag]

Sep 20, 2007. 5:13 PMBro. Jonessays: I'm currently learning to read the original Greek. Symbolic debts...hmmm. So if someone committed a crime, should the judge not keep their "symbolic debt" just so they wouldn't have to go to prison? I have studied the Bible for myself and made my own decision. In His perfect love for us, He decided make a way out for us instead of condemning everyone like we deserve. The gift is free, but its not yours until you take it.

Conversation #2

Oct 9, 2007. 4:16 AMstevoIutionsays: If you want to know about DNA I'd recommend that you start with wikipedia. Why does it say that the earth is flat and surrounded by a jacket of water? REPLY[flag]

Oct 9, 2007. 11:06 AMBro. Jonessays: Flat as in no hills or valleys, thus all the oceans covered all the land. REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 10, 2007. 11:26 PMstevoIutionsays: Is there also a reference to the earth standing on four pillars? REPLY[flag]

Oct 11, 2007. 11:21 AMBro. Jonessays: I may have missed that part in the Bible, but I could not find it just now. However I did find this where Job is talking about God. One problem with understanding the Bible is that it is not a science book. It is a history book. Therefore it does not define things, but merely describes them. Check out the part about the clouds below. It sounds like evaporation to me. How did Job know about such science back then I wonder? 6 Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. 7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. 8 He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them. 9 He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it. 10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. 11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. 12 He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud. 13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent. 14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand? Job 26:6-14 (KJV) REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 18, 2007. 9:56 PMstevoIutionsays: The only way to properly read the bible would require a time machine. REPLY[flag]

Oct 20, 2007. 9:17 PMBro. Jonessays: I think your right. The next best thing is to study it in depth. I always encourage Christians to know what they believe and why they believe it. I don't want anyone to be ignorant as everyone must decide for themselves.

Conversation #3

Oct 20, 2007. 4:58 PMzachninmesays: Actually, Science does not disprove God -- according to the Islamic "bible" -- the Qur'an, a lot of the things we've discovered by science actually happen. Theres a description of the Big Bang, life coming from water, and even *gasp* evolution (Although its changed a bit, to say that humans are special and were not made via evolution, but everything else is. However, we are still today looking for "the missing link", so this still stands) Also -- the Qur'an was kept as pure as possible. There was an intense screening process of writing down the remembered stories -- cross checking them multiple times. It was about 5-10 years after Muhammid's death (he's the one who said the Qur'an, BTW. He was also illiterate, and considered the Qur'an his only miracle. If you read it, its amazingly eloquent), but there were still "first-generation" people around. After they got it down, they ordered everything else to be destroyed. Maybe this isn't christianity, but Muslims believe that Chirstians/Jews both recieved the same exact message, but it became twisted over time. (I'm athiest, BTW. But I'm not going to go around being ignorant and/or arrogent) REPLY[flag]

Oct 20, 2007. 9:22 PMBro. Jonessays: I appreciate your lack of arrogance. REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 21, 2007. 6:55 AMzachninmesays: If that's sarcasm, I'm sorry, I'm trying to defend you more than go against you... If it isn't -- Yay :P REPLY[flag]

Nov 4, 2007. 4:08 PMBro. Jonessays: I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I genuinely enjoy open discussion when it is respectfully carried out. It helps people to better understand what they believe and what they think others believe. REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 20, 2007. 8:15 PMstevoIutionsays: .Why is an Athiest trying to convert me to Islam? Haha. (I'm athiest, BTW. But I'm not going to go around being ignorant and/or arrogent) But that's what the internet is for. "The cybernet will revolutionize the art of being a jerk" - Bill Gates, 1989 I may have made that up.

Conversation #4

Sep 18, 2007. 12:57 PMTrainman 2000says: "I give up, there will always be ignorant morons who believe anything their parents tell them. " Me up until a year ago... REPLY[flag]

Sep 24, 2007. 11:11 PMBro. Jonessays: Sorry to hear that. Too many people believe everything they hear... including what there friends have to say. Have you studied the details for yourself? Try searching these words: Atheist, agnostic, apologetics There are very well thought out arguments on both sides of the fence. REPLY[flag][delete]

Sep 25, 2007. 5:53 PMDemon_Darkchildsays: don't let trainman get to you. He's just looking for someone to prove wrong so he can feel superior to someone. Of course attacking people's beliefs isn't the way to go around starting a debate either. Just ignore him and his childish ways. If he were truly so smart and intelligent like he acts he would know how rude he was being and would've avoided what he had done. As another Christian, I'll back you up on this one. By the way, Cool T-shirt. REPLY[flag]

Oct 1, 2007. 2:58 AMstevoIutionsays: Demon_Darkchild is a Christian... Good to see someone who is so against the evils of their fabricated belief system. REPLY[flag]

Oct 1, 2007. 4:50 PMDemon_Darkchildsays: I won't stoop to your level by calling you an idiot based upon what you believe. I'm perfectly fine with your beliefs. We are different, I understand that, but attacking someone just because they put a cross on their shirt is a bit pathetic. I'm sure there's a place for religous debate but instructables is not that place. I also apologize to trainman because I aimed my original post at you. I meant to aim that at stevolution. You just happened to be the name above Bro Jones's last post. Again, sorry. REPLY[flag]

Oct 1, 2007. 10:49 PMstevoIutionsays: I would hardly call the question "Christianity's not dead yet?" an attack, the attack came later. Anywhere is a good place for religious debate. What's with your name? It's almost like a 9/11 widow calling her son "hijack" or "Jihad." Maybe I'll change mine to "Blind Faith." REPLY[flag]

Oct 2, 2007. 1:36 PMDemon_Darkchildsays: I said I was a Christian. I never specified how devout I was. I am by no means a 'good christian'. I rarely go to church, only on holidays, and I often scoff at what is taught in our religion class. But that doesn't mean that I don't believe in God and Jesus. I'm pro evolution because I see the second book of genesis as a metaphor. God created the world in seven days. But who are we to say that time passes at the same rate for God as it does for us. What took Him seven days could've taken the earth thousands to millions of years. Or maybe He just shot the earth with a random bolt of lightning and sat back and watched life flourish under Him. And what's wrong with my name? So I like metal music and watch anime. Is there something wrong with that, Or are you going to attack me on that too?

Continuing the same line of conversation:

Oct 2, 2007. 5:07 PMBro. Jonessays: Personally I believe God created time too, but not too many people agree with me on that point. There have been scientists that argue that Carbon dating as we know it is flawed in its math. What is 1 year off on 100 years of history could be hundreds off at a thousand years of history for example. Its been too long since I studied it. Now Micro evolution has been proven, but we have yet to see any any species develop from a total different species. Keep the Faith Darkchild. REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 9, 2007. 2:14 AMstevoIutionsays: Bro. Jonessays: "Personally I believe God created time too" Hahaha, how long do you think it would have taken? Bahahaha REPLY[flag]

Oct 11, 2007. 10:45 AMBro. Jonessays: Time is a form of measurement. Measurement is merely comparing something to a standard. I believe God created the Earth, Sun, Moon, etc. and put them into motion. If time is a measurement based on comparison to revolutions of the earth etc. then one could argue that God created time. REPLY[flag][delete]

Oct 13, 2007. 2:54 AMstevoIutionsays: If something/anything is happening, there is time. REPLY[flag]

Oct 2, 2007. 10:00 PMstevoIutionsays: Surely you know that kind of evolution takes an astonishingly long time. Don't hold your breath waiting for a new species to pop up...

Some concluding comments on this stream:

Oct 20, 2007. 8:21 AMjessyratfinksays: You really need to chill out with this stuff. I share the same beliefs as you do but I don't go around getting fussy about everything Christian related. The cross might have just been a nice looking graphic for them to use - the cross is not always a Christian symbol. You're really just pulling at straws and trying to start arguments. You're not going to change anyone's beliefs with the way you're acting - you're just pushing them away and adding to the stereotype that atheists are bitter, lonely, and angry people in general. REPLY[flag]

Oct 20, 2007. 8:38 PMstevoIutionsays: You're really just pulling at straws and trying to start arguments. I do find it interesting that a solitary sentence can snowball in such a way, especially in the comments section of a guide on how to put a stamp on a shirt. you're just pushing them away and adding to the stereotype that atheists are bitter, lonely, and angry people in general. Not everyone wants to be close to the recruiting deluded. If people want to see bitter, lonely and angry in what I say, let them. That's their (and your) misconception.

As you can see, many atheists think that we are buying into disillusioned fairy tails that do not hold the mustard when anylized by science. I do not recommend a blind faith, but a growing faith. I listened to an atheist discussion on YouTube in which they said it was child abuse to bring up children in church. They also talked about how easy it was to disprove and shoot down Christian beliefs because they do not know what the Bible says. One of their favorite statistics was how many people's deaths were attributed to God. However they said most evangelicals are not so easily disproven because they actually read and believe in the Bible.

I apologize for such a long winded post and also that bloggers spell checker altered some words incorrectly. There actually is much more that I left out.

Know your Master, not just about Him.

"Nowlens" Back to New Orleans

I finally made it back to New Orleans. I moved here originally 2 weeks before Katrina. Hopefully this time I will stay.
I have heard a lot of people tell me that Katrina was God's judgment on this perverse city. Maybe so, but not necessarily. God sends the rain on the just and the unjust. Either way, none of us deserve God's mercy.
Who can judge right from wrong, better from worse? God. If He decided to condemn this city, then so be it. Now we as Christians have to step up and evangelize...not condemn.
Judging and Condemning: God's Job
Evangelizing: Our Job
Having mercy on those who do not deserve it: God and His followers
Are you a follower of God, or do you try to play God?

Destructive Behavior

Why do some guys enjoy breaking stuff?
I must admit demolition with a sledge hammer can be fun. People pay good money to go to Demolition Derbies and Monster Truck shows. I suppose the problem comes when people commit vandalism. It is usually teen guys who do not respect other's belongings. Some guys simply want to mark there pressence. "I was here." That reminds me of dogs leaving their mark. Other guys simply want to exert their strength and show off their power. Take up a sport please!
Where I am working now there has been hundreds of dollars worth of destruction. Every time it happens we figure out who is guilty and they have to pay for it. Every time I ask myself, "What were they thinking?!" Did they think destroying a piece of property would go unnoticed?
I think the root problem comes from apathy. The property does not belong to them so it does not matter if it gets destroyed. When we quit caring about other people we have really lost something. We should always be considerate of others and remember that God was very considerate of us when He sent His Son to die for us.

In my previous post I talked about girls being so critical. Sometimes they care too much. Why do guys tend to care so little? Any demolition stories or discussions on apathy you care to share? Comments are open to everyone.

Vendictive Wanch

Most of the teenagers I work with are guys. Lately I have been working with some young ladies for a nice change. One thing I have noticed different is how girls talk about each other behind their back.
Ouch. That's backstabbing.
The other day one girl mentioned that she hated another. When I implored as to why she hated her, I found out that she was jealous of how much faster she was loosing weight. They were both trying to get their weight down, but the other girl was having better luck. Jealousy gets us nowhere. Why not be happy for her? Don't be vain.
Another chick is in a position of power. She can do things for people without them even knowing who did what, but because she doesn't like some people she does not want to do for them what she is supposed to do. Luckily for the little people under her she has an honest team that won't let her be dishonest. Some of the people she simply did not like the way they looked despite never meeting them.
If people know you are vindictive they will only tell you what you want to hear. They will not be honest with you. Also you will be the center of strife. It is pretty greedy to ruin other people's day just to get some attention. Is that the reputation you want?
"Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.
Proverbs 26:20-22

thems fightin words

So what does the Bible say about fighting? Turn the other cheek.

Yes "turn the other cheek" is in the Bible. If you read it some you would probably know that.

Many teenagers get in fights over the silliest things these days. They feel that they have to prove themselves, even if someone simply bumps into them. You are not a man based on how big and bad you are, or how many people you have beat up. You are a man based on your character. Do you keep your word? Do you shoot your mouth off over the pointless things? Proverbs 12:16 tells us a little about the wise man and the fool. The wise man overlooks little things, but you can tell a fool by his mouth. A fool does not know when to hold his tongue. Mouthing off gets a lot of teens in trouble. Do not be a fool. Know when to shut up. If you fight a lot you will eventually find someone bigger and badder than yourself. Its better to pick your words wisely and fight as little as necessary...but is it necessary?
There were many wars and fights in the Bible. Fight to protect the innocent. That is the only good reason I can find to fight. There may be a few other instances in which it is right to defend something. The only fight I recall Jesus getting into was in the temple. He drove the money changers out telling them that they had turned God's house into a den of thieves. He defended God's Holiness.
When you find yourself ready to fight, stop and ask yourself how important the issue is. Will it matter in ten minutes who was right and wrong? How about ten hours? Ten days? A year? Use these questions to gauge yourself. It probably is not worth fighting over. This is also a good scale for worry.
I prefer to be the strong quiet type.
Go in Peace.

Is God Real?

People often ask whether or not God is real. It is human nature to question things. The whole concept of God goes against the idea that seeing is believing. Perhaps people are just looking in the wrong direction.
When people ask me to prove God's existence, I ask them to tell me where the world came from. Some scientists say that it just happened by accident, but science says that matter cannot be created or destroyed. Must not take much to earn the title "scientist." The fact is, God created the laws of the Universe, and therefore He can also break them or bend them. It takes more faith to believe in the Big Bang Theory than it does the Creationism Theory.
Another good rhetorical question concerns miracles. Where do they come from if God does not exist? The most common answer to this question is that people fake miracles. Yes people fake miracles. You should not believe everything you see on TV or read on the Internet. People also fake Drivers Licenses. Should you never trust a person's identity based on their license? Not all miracles are fakes. Look at the situation. Is it a televangelist begging for money who performed this "wonder" or was it a street magician? Following some of the miracles that Jesus performed in the Bible, He told the person to go and tell nobody about it. He did not want hoards of attention from His miracles, rather He was more concerned with people's souls. Fact is I can introduce you to someone who was dead for ten minutes and the nurse who confirmed it. Why is He still alive? There were a lot of people gathered there praying for a miracle.
Need more proof that God exists? Try talking to Him. He will answer. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you. God typically chooses how He answers so pay attention and don't be surprised. Ask people about their relationship with God. There are a lot of people who talk with God on a regular basis. Ask them about their conversations. Testimony is one of the most powerful things...after all it is acceptable in the court of law too.