Steven Brown's World

What Is Prayer?

2004-05-21T08:33:00.000-05:00

I think some people have a misconception as to what prayer is. I hear a lot of comments like "our prayers are with you" or "our prayers go out to..." But when someone says they talk to God, they are labeled as crazy, extremist fanatics.

Let's take, for example the most famous, and most quoted prayer of all time; "The Lord's Prayer" (AKA "The Model Prayer"), where Jesus Himself instructed us in The Gospel according to St. Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 9-13, he said:

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

As you can see, prayer is just not some esoteric vague spiritual chant. Nor is it simply meditating and talking to one's self, or to the air.

When we pray, we can speak directly to the creator and sustainer of the universe ("Our Father which art in heaven")

Although there are many accounts in the Old Testament where God speaks audibly to people, I don't know of anyone in modern history who can credibly say this has happened to them. One reason for this may be because He doesn't have to speak audibly, since we now have the entire Old Testament and New Testament to "speak" for Him.

We have the advantage of being able to benefit from the wisdom and experiences of those who have gone before, and we can read for ourselves the first-hand and sometimes second-hand accounts of God's words to others.

So, when people today say they "heard" from God, they are most likely referring to an epiphany, or thought that comes to mind as a result of prayer, meditation, reading God's Word (The Bible), or some commentary on the Bible; or while listening to a preacher, teacher, or any other Christian.

However, one caveat is necessary. When testing the validity of what anyone says "came from God": It must not contridict the teachings of the Bible, because God will not tell us anything that is contrary to His Word, or His laws.

Stop the Hate!

2004-05-08T17:33:00.000-05:00

I thought liberals were supposed to be tolerant and not hate. But pure seething unadulterated hatred is what I am seeing and hearing from them recently. Especially when it comes to President Bush.

Why is that? Is it because they are not in power at the moment? Or because they have some deep prejudice against anyone who speaks with a southern accent?

I hear the people on the "left" say: George W. Bush is "stupid, moron, liar, corrupt, etc..." But the truth does not agree with those claims.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Yale, and an MBA from Harvard Business School (they don't give those degrees to just anybody, and they certainly can't be bought).

He was also elected Governor of Texas (the second largest state in the U.S.) for an unprecedented two, four-year terms.

As President, he has taken some of the traditionally "liberal" issues and made them his own. For instance, in January 2002, he signed the largest, most expensive education bill in our history; and then last December, he signed the Medicare Prescription Drug bill.

Of course, the biggest issue some people have with President Bush, is that he took the initiative and made a decision to act against the terrorists, and their allies, without waiting on the U.N. and the rest of the world.

However, didn't he hold off the invasion of Iraq for several months, waiting on the U.N.; all the while allowing Saddam Hussein the opportunity to hide, bury, and/or export the elusive weapons of mass destruction.

Some attempt to make the argument that since we can't find the WMDs, then they never existed. Therefore Bush must have been lying to us, right?

The only problem with that argument is that we knew he had the weapons because he had used them against the Kurds in the north, killing over 100,000 people. Even the Clinton administration, knew they were there, and said so on several occasions during their time in office. For example, here are a few quotes:

"We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program. "
- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"[Saddam] will use these weapons of mass destruction again, as he had 10 times since 1983."
- Sandy Berger, Clinton's National Security Adviser, Feb. 18, 1998

Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.
- Secretary of State Madeline Albright, Nov. 10, 1999

So the main question we should be asking is not "Were there WMDs?", but "What happened to them, and where are they now?"

The other contention from some people is Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with Al Queda or other terrorists. However, our troops have found terrorist training camps, and we have learned information from former Iraqi Intelligence agents that confirm the ties between Hussein and Terrorists.

Aside from this, we also know from intelligence reports, evidence found, and eyewitness accounts, that the Hussein regime not only sponsored, but participated in acts of terrorism, torture, rape, and mass murder of those dissenting, or not conforming to the government policies.

The bottom line is this: since 9/11/2001, we have not had another terrorist attack here in the U.S. Why? Possibly because most of the terrorists are in Iraq, where we met them on their own "turf". Furthermore, if the Hussein loyalists, and the outside terrorists would stop attacking our troops, our departure from Iraq would be sooner. I wonder if they have thought of that?

My ultimate point is this: it doesn't matter what President Bush does or doesn't do, some people will never be satisfied. And the hate is perpetuated by inflammatory rhetoric, which is neither true nor justified.

Are Drivers Getting Worse?

2004-05-04T17:12:00.000-05:00

I don't know about where you live, but in the greater Springfield, Missouri area, I have definitely noticed an increase in reckless drivers on the highways and streets of this otherwise good place to live.

Just last week, I observed at least ten or more vehicles being driven in such a dangerous manner, that I have to wonder what is going through their minds, (if anything) at the time these crimes were being perpetrated.

For example, one incident in particular springs to mind: I was making my early morning trek to work, when a rather menacing-looking grille suddenly fills my rear-view mirror. Now mind you, I was driving 50 mph, in a 45 mph zone, so I was not going slow enough to impede the traffic, but obviously, I was still not exceeding the speed limit nearly enough to suit the driver of the fast-moving Pickup truck behind me.

By the way, in the driving laws today, are we not still admonished to keep a safe distance between us and the other vehicles of "one car length for every 10 mph"?

Well, this driver was especially impatient that day, so he shot around me without so much as a signal of any kind, and proceeded to pass not one, or two, but three cars simultaneously, on an uphill climb in a no-passing zone as well.

So in this example, I witnessed the flagrant disregard for not only the other drivers and our safety, but also the flouting of at least four traffic laws from one such inconsiderate driver in the matter of just a few seconds.

What makes people do such things? Is it their complete and utter contempt for the laws of our society in general? Or is it that when some people get behind the wheel they forget everything they had to learn to get their license?

Every day I could recount numerous examples of driver's lawless, inconsiderate and downright rude behavior on the streets of this relatively small city in Southwest Missouri. Whether it is driving too closely ("Tailgating" is one of my pet peeves); making an illegal turn or lane change (without signaling); excessive speeding (I know it is generally accepted by even police officers that 5-9 mph over the limit is tolerated, but I'm talking about those who drive 15-20 mph over the limit, which is insane!).

Then there are those who must think they are qualifying at the Daytona 500, because they'll take extreme chances, darting from one lane to the other in order to gain a couple of seconds lead on the other cars. By the way, for the record, just because you have a window sticker of your favorite Nascar driver's number on your vehicle, that doesn't mean you have to emulate them in city traffic.

I can only assume that there are a lot of people out there who are either woefully ignorant of the law, or else they are so independently wealthy that the prospect of a traffic ticket, or a law suit as a result of their negligence and impending accident doesn't seem to phase them.

I, on the other hand, don't want to have to pay a fine, or hospital bill, so I try to drive as reasonable as possible. Of course I make mistakes, but on the whole, I tend to drive defensively and be as careful and courteous as possible on the road.

How about you?

Who Am I?

2004-05-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

That's a good question. After all, with the perponderance of blogs, articles and editorials on the web, what difference can one "Johnny-come-lately" make in the grand scheme of things?

I hope to just add my "two cents" to the mix and let my voice be heard by whomever wants to read it and comment.

First, by way of introduction, I am Steven Brown, a Christian, father of six beautiful children and husband of one wonderful woman. Furthermore, I am a Computer Technology Instructor at Vatterott College in Springfield, Missouri; a singer, songwriter, guitarist and author. I live in Republic Missouri, where I run a part-time computer services business, a music ministry and a computer technology association. I am also a retired Navy First Class Petty Officer, where I served for 15 years as an Electronic Warfare Technician, Recruiter, Master-At-Arms, Data Systems Technician, etc.

Since taking early retirement from the Navy, I have tried my hand at numerous jobs and endeavors. For instance, I have been a Rural Mail Carrier; a Proofreader for a small newspaper; Field Service Technician; Computer System's Analyst; Corrections Officer at Algoa Correctional Facility, etc.

I attend the Brookline First Baptist Church, where I volunteer as musician, singer and Sunday School teacher.

Well, I guess that about covers it. I hope I haven't bored you too much, but I felt I needed to let you know my background, in order for you to know where I'm coming from.

I also hope this doesn't come off sounding like bragging, but as someone once said: "If it is fact, it's not bragging" :-)

Thank you for your patience;

Steve

2004-04-30T15:21:00.000-05:00

Hello World!

Hey folks! This is my first foray into the world of "Blogging", and I know there are a great many others out there in "Blogdom” who have been doing this for a while now. So, you may be asking: why should I jump in the pool with them? I suppose the answer can be summarized simply as this: because I can!

So, here I go, but be patient with me, because it may take me a little while to get up to speed with the others. But I promise to keep this blog site friendly, cordial, honest and true to my belief that we, as mature, intelligent, rational people can have a legitimate exchange of viewpoints, information and opinions, without lowering ourselves to slander, name-calling, insults, and the like.

The best advice that I’ve ever heard for writers is: “Write about what you know”. Therefore, with that in mind, these are the major subjects I will be leaning toward in the future:

* Christianity
* Music
* Computer Technology
* Family
* Military (specifically Navy)
* Government
* Education
* Etc…

In the meantime, you can e-mail me at: mail@truewitness.org for comments, suggestions, or just to say “hi”. I’ll include a short bio and introduction next time.

In Christ’s peace, love and joy;
Steven Brown