Friday Photo

I went to Las Vegas this past week for a couple of days to attend a work related convention/seminar.

 

I had never been to Vegas and I'm 99% sure I won't be going back. Several people had told me how "fun" it was. Most described Vegas as "different." I don't drink--not even occasionally--and I don't gamble, so that left a limited amount of things for me to do. Luckily (no pun intended), I was traveling with a co-worker that was pretty much in the same boat, so we spent our time outside of the work-related stuff, sight-seeing...and boy are there some "sights" to see!

We visited Hoover Dam one afternoon; most evenings we walked The Strip and watched the people. We took LOTS of pictures--my co-worker had just purchased a new camera. The lights, fountains, and shear magnitude of the casinos is incredible. And we ate good! I had always heard that food was cheap in Vegas, but we didn't see that...at least not in the area where we were staying. We ate at The Buffet at the Bellagio casino one afternoon. It's HUGE! One evening we took a cab to Freemont Street downtown--the "old Vegas;" the Golden Nugget casino is there.

I was amazed at the openness/lax attitude toward nudity/near nudity on the billboards and signs in front of the casinos and along the roads. I was also taken aback by the brazen attitude toward prositution. There were "clickers" everywhere--people that stood on the streets--in DROVES--slapping/clicking business-size cards with pornographic pictures on them and phone numbers for prostitutes. (The clicking gets your attention supposedly so they can hand you a card(s).)

From a logistical stand-point, Vegas is an amazing place when you consider the amount of electricity, water, food, lodging, etc. it takes to make the place run. It's a very sad place from a spiritual perspective--so much energy and money spent to provide temporary "happiness" in the form of sex, alcohol, and revelry. I felt like I needed to wash my eyes out the whole time I was there.

Work, Creation and A Corrupt World

Work
I've done very poorly this year so far in regard to posting here and keeping up with my photography "hobby". We're looking a some major changes at work this year which will--already has--effected by schedule. I have a couple of programming projects that I've been told (basically): "you will get these done." OK, then. My paycheck depends on it, probably better get on that. Actually, I'm looking forward to the challenge. I've had some changes in responsibilities at work over the past couple of years which have prevented me from programming as much as I'd like, so this will actually be a welcomed change. Plus, I think I work better unders pressure--we'll see.

Creation
We've been studying the book of Genesis in Sunday School. I spent the first four weeks introducing the book and then detailing the six days of creation. In case it's not obvious, I believe in a literal, 24-hour, six days of creation. I believe in a young earth. I believe God created all that was going to be created in those six days. I don't believe we evolved from some "big bang" or crawled out of some slime billions of years ago. I like John MacArthur's take on evolution:

Someone once estimated that the number of random genetic factors involved in the evolution of a tapeworm from an amoeba would be comparable to placing a monkey in a room with a typewriter and allowing him to strike the keys at random until he accidentally produced a perfectly spelled and perfectly punctuated manuscript of Hamlet's soliloquy.

The amazing thing to me is, people think evolution is more logical than creation! I takes WAY MORE faith for me to believe that I can leave a pile of metal, plastic, and rubber in a parking lot and over a period of billions of years...it will become a 1967 Buick!!! (that's essettially what evolutionists would have us believe).

Corrupt World
In our study of Genesis today, we looked at the life of Noah (Gen 6-9). Several things stood out to me:

• Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
• Genesis 6:12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. (All emphasis mine)

I passages like these, and then I look around today and I wonder: How much worse does it / will it get before God looks at our world and says the same thing about us as He did those living in Noah's day. Some days...I think we're almost there.