The travails of Isaac

 Genesis 26 has an interesting tale about Abraham's second son

He had moved with his wife to Gerar (philistine territory) from Beer-lahai-roi (a desert), in response to a famine 

As if by dejavu, Isaac pretended his wife was his sister to preserve himself from possible death from those who would covet his wife (similar to what his father, Abraham, did a generation earlier 

It seems wife-snatching was a common occurrence in those days.

Perhaps this Abimelech (son of the former philistine king during Abraham's lifetime) knew Isaac was Abraham's son, and thus wary enough to keep a close eye, was able to figure out that Rebekah was Isaac's wife 

And so, Isaac became set apart (like Abraham) in Gerar

He cultivated crop, reaped 100-fold, and thereafter became very rich. So rich in fact that Abimelech expelled him from Gerar out of fear of being overpowered by Isaac's wealth 

Isaac therefore moved to the valley of the same city (Gerar) 

He encountered "bitterness" and "hostility", before he finally found "open space". 

After moving again, Abimelech himself and the old Phicol came to visit seeking an oath of peace and non-aggression, and thus Isaac (like his father) earned the respect of his foes through their recognition of God's hand on Isaac 

When witnessing hits home....

Jesus was quoted to have said in Acts 1:8 that his followers would be witnesses for him throughout the earth.

A witness is someone willing to swear an oath to the veracity of what they have seen

What that witness is swearing to may appear to be contentious in this particular context of witnessing. 

Is it a prior event, or a future event, that Jesus was referring to concerning the act of being a valid witness

Is a witness so named after testifying or before? Are you qualified to be a witness even if you haven't spoken of what you have seen?

In other words, is "seeing" the required act that "witnessing" describes, or is it "testifying" about it? 

In any case, it is one thing to witness farflung events, and quite another to witness them painfully in one's circumstance

Witnessing is passive. A call to see and take note. But when a witness is under attack, it can be hard to stay neutral and maintain the role of witnessing that Christ commanded.

Hence the topic of this post. Witnessing when one is the victim of the enemy.

The beauty of this is something else Christ said. "I am the good shepherd and my sheep hear my voice" 

Christ (the shepherd) has the uncanny ability to communicate with his sheep in a way that inspires full obedience

And so the act of witnessing actually holds true (ironically) regardless of the circumstance. Whether witnesses are the victim or not.

 

If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask

James 1:5-8

There are 3 points to note in the above statement 

1. Personal admission of our lack. You cant ask.for what you dont realise you lack 

2. God's liberal gift of wisdom. 

He literally gives wisdom to EVERYONE that asks, without refusing anybody.

This means that once you ask for wisdom, you receive it instantly. You need to be confident that this is the case, and that this wisdom is already influencing your thinking from that moment.

3. Confidence in the possession of God's wisdom henceforth.

There must be no doubt that divine wisdom is already at work in us immediately we ask for it.

Such doubt is what undermines our faith and renders the potency of our decisions ineffective

CONCLUSION 

Once we ask, we have received and the power is deposited within us. Doubt weakens us and renders us unable to utilize the power of divine wisdom already present within us.

The moment you decided . . . .

The moment you decide to act, something changes. Something shifts in the universe 

Your decision sets things in motion

When you choose to cast away your fears and walk in faith, there is a reaction in the supply of energy from unseen quarters 

“Safety” can be a hindrance to your growth

Being “pushed to the wall” can help to trigger a desire to do the impossible. Simply because you have no choice.

Embrace such moments because they are evidence of God nudging you.on the direction of your destiny. An atmosphere for miracles 

You will be my Witnesses

Christianity has long attributed the title of this piece to preaching the gospel worldwide 

Telling everyone we meet about Jesus and coaxing them to believe and accept his divinity and sacrifice on calvary 

For some years now, I have discovered another reality about what it means to be a witness

It's the literal secular interpretation. Being an observer 

Not having he ability to actually assist God in his work, but merely taking notice.

I have however been realizing that there may be yet another meaning of the word “witness” as attributed to Jesus 

A witness, beyond observing God's work, is an actual testament to that work. A witness to the world (without necessarily opening ones mouth to proseltyze) who displays God's awesome power, just as Jesus did, in a way that points to the majesty of the Creator

So witnessing not just in words, but in lifestyle (speaking much louder than any words can).

Jesus himself alluded to it (in John 10: 34-38) when he recalled the psalmist's admonitions to Israel (in psalm 82: 6-7) to his accusers, “ye are gods”.

In other words, displaying God's power is a demonstration (a witness) of God himself.

He keeps working relentlessly

God's work in our lives is continuous. He works through us, and He works in spite of us

There is little or nothing we can do to aid or hinder God's work in our lives.

Our perception will help us cease from feeling inadequate or perhaps even complicit in “hindering” God's work. 

It is impossible to hinder God's work

Abundance isn't given to self comparison

Abundance isn't in competition with others 

Needless to say, it doesn't compare itself with anyone. Abundance is a unique mindset 

It is completely reliant on God

Abundance has no need to keep score of wrong or hurt 

It doesn't place a limit on its capacity to absorb and reflect joy.

Who is responsible for the storm?

Let me ask you a question at this moment. 

What do you think is responsible for the storms you may have faced in the past, or may be facing right now? 

Your answer to this question says a lot about your attitude while the storm rages on

Who is responsible for the storm?

Is it your enemy?

Is it some unseen or faceless diabolical entity determined to ensure you and your loved ones suffer?

Or is it the Almighty God, Creator of everything in existence?

If your thoughts lead you to the first option (your enemy), it is then understandable if you were to constantly pray to God asking him to calm the storm and reverse the enemy's attacks

If, on the other hand, your thoughts settle on the Almighty as the origin of the storm, the entire equation changes.

Why (you may ask)?

With all that we know about God (who God himself says he is, and all that has been written about him in myriads of texts), then we know the following:

1. God is good

2. His thoughts towards us are of good and peace 

3. God loves us (He loved us even before he created us)

3. Nothing can separate us from God's love

Etc

To continue our train of thought, if we attribute the storm to God's doing, and since we know God is working for our good, it must also follow that the storm is also for our good! 

Sound confusing or perplexing? 

Don't let it be. God's ways are not our ways, and neither are his thoughts ours. His thoughts are higher than ours. He has far reaching sight and his plan for us is supreme

Once we realize that the sovereign Creator is the authority behind our storm, it clears the air, and gives us the resolve to weather it. We can even emulate Jesus and drift off to sleep in the boat while the storm rages!

Jesus asleep during the storm

In Matthew 8 v 23, Jesus had gotten on a boat with his disciples and a heavy storm began, appearing like it was going to sink it.

But Jesus was asleep!

His disciples were terrified, and  surpised that Jesus could sleep under such circumstances 

They woke him,  and he queried their fear. After which he calmed the storm

What is the lesson to learn from this passage?

Most will emphasize the value of calling out to Jesus when we are in trouble to “rebuke the storm” and rescue us

But if we look more closely, there is a deeper message here

Jesus was asleep in the boat while the storm raged. Why? Was he oblivious of the danger of a storm? Why sleep in a boat anyway, when the risk of a storm is so high? Was he that tired that he couldn't wait to arrive on land before falling asleep?

Jesus's action in permitting himself to fall asleep on the boat is significant.

It tells us that Jesus wasnt concerned about any eventuality that could happen. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation whether there was a storm or not. His purpose would be fulfilled regardless of the circumstances along the way.

Jesus wasnt afraid for his life, because he knew that not a hair on his head could be harmed without the permission of his heavenly Father.

God has a purpose to fulfil in the life of everyone. And nothing can stop his purpose. Not the least elements which are completely under his control 

That storm? It was merely acting out its purpose from the Creator. It was a teachable moment that we all need to learn from

Fear has no place in our walk with God.

We need to be comfortable with any circumstance we may find ourselves, because nothing happens without God's say so.

Jesus rebuked the storm, and it subsided because that was God's plan all along. The disciples needn't have been scared.

And neither should we be scared when we face the storms of life.

Remember, nothing happens without God's permission, and His purpose will come to pass regardless of any situation we may find ourselves.

So the question to ask is this. Is our purpose aligned with our Creator? Because God's purpose for our life will always supersede!

Whose report will I believe?

 I woke up this morning with a deep burden in my heart.

You see, in the course of business, I've become heavily indebted to several investors. 

The business climate hasn't been too good lately, and I made plenty of errors of judgement largely due to inexperience

Harsh economic conditions have made my investors impatient since the timing I gave them has elapsed. 

These burdens I place in the hands of God daily. It's the only way I've been able to remain sane and peaceful.

Today though, I found myself asking myself whether I preferred to succumb to the depression my mind was pushing me to, or if I would choose to hold on to what God has said about Himself 

I understand that we may all think the Almighty's relations with humans transcend ephemeral issues such as business. 

However, God works in mysterious ways and His purpose will ultimately be fulfilled in spite of the vagaries of human choice

And so I choose to believe the Word of God. What does He say? 

His thoughts are of good and not evil, and will bring us to an expected end.

He says those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength 

He says we should have no fear of being disgraced or ashamed! 

Death of the soul

Matthew 12:43-45  (NIV)

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

The eventual aim of God for His children is to be transformed into the image of His Son. How? This takes place gradually through a subjection of each individual to a lifetime of joy and pain. This process is known as "breaking" (a term familiar with horse breeders).

The problem is that many of us believe just being "broken" is sufficient. Brokenness allows the Spirit of God (activated when we submit ourselves to Christ) to shine through us to the world at large.

But the truth is that God wants none of the remnants of our personality to remain after He is done with transforming us! This is where many will disagree. We still strongly believe our personality is desirable to God. We still speak of  our soul's salvation in terms that reveal we abhor its complete death.

Jesus clearly spoke of the inevitability of loss before gain (and vice versa). He said, whoever sought to lose their life would save it, and whoever tried to save their life would lose it!

He even demonstrated it with His own life! He died. And He was raised up on the third day.

If Jesus did not die, we could not have been set free from bondage to death. If our souls do not die, we cannot fully express the Son of God resident as the Life within us!

Exodus 23:30 NLT

Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

Moses

Moses has been on my mind of recent.

Moses was born literally into Egyptian royalty, and raised in its finest traditions and learning.

And,  regaled by his mother on what Joseph had prophesied concerning Israel's exodus (Genesis 50:24), Moses figured out that he probably was the one that would lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt.

He knew the Israelites far outnumbered the Egyptians, and so after a while he tried to "speed up" Joseph's prophecy by fomenting a rebellion.

The plot backfired spectacularly and Moses was forced to flee Egypt.

All his privileges and the strategic advantage of being a royal insider was lost. Moses' family must have blamed him. Moses would probably have blamed himself. Probably he would have felt his strategy was wrong. And so his people would be confined to several more generations of slavery, he must have thought.

Another 40 years of drudgery passed by in which time Moses had gotten married and had children.

But that scientific mind, honed by Egyptian schooling was not quenched. He saw a strange unscientific occurrence from afar. Having observed for a while, he decided to move closer.

And so, in this most unlikely of situations (at the age of 80), he was officially commissioned to go and lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

This was a different Moses though. He was no longer young and headstrong. An abundance of caution and experience had been added to his privileged upbringing.

This almighty God was not even suggesting a strategic military plan. As far as Moses could tell, he was being asked to go and talk the Egyptians into letting the Israelites go! Talk!!!

Well, talk and a bit of persuasion (such as the 10 plagues) did the trick, and the Israelites were out of Egypt in a jiffy.

Now this was the beginning of Moses the scientist's problems. He never really shed that analytical mind of his.

The years of exodus, in which God performed so many miracles through Moses, he still thought and acted like a scientist. Through it all he grew to know God so well.

Perhaps too well.

Numbers 13:17-20 (NIV) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?
How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

This was Moses' scientific mind at work again. God had only asked him to send men to explore the land, but here was Moses defining parameters that would make them look away from God's awesomeness, and at the impossible task ahead of them.

Moses was asking the men to analyze the possibility of their possessing the land that God had promised Israel!

Again, God asked Moses to speak to the rock at Meribah, so that water could gush out to quench the Israelites thirst. Ever scientific, Moses decided to strike it (in repetition of how he had struck it earlier and water had gushed out). This time he struck it twice.

Moses had started to believe he was actually the one responsible for the welfare of the people!

He was punished for this. He and Aaron never had the opportunity to lead the Israelites into Canaan.

They both died in the wilderness.

The Word of God (part 2)

Why did Jesus speak in parables?

Mark 4 :12 NLT

"so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: 'When they see what I do, they will learn nothing. When they hear what I say, they will not understand. Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.'"

Dear brethren, God has a plan for the entire existence, which has been put into motion from the very beginning. A  big part of that plan is the reconciliation of mankind to Himself through His "Son". I say "Son" because this very term has confused many.

The entire mystery boils down to the identity of the person being referred to as the "Son" of God.

From the earliest recorded portions of scripture, there have always been attempts by men to rewrite history.

Adam denied responsibility for the disobedience in Eden. Cain denied knowledge of his brother's whereabouts. Without an alternative witness, they could have distorted the facts of what happened in more favorable light to themselves.

In the old testament, many details seem to be absent. Many other nuggets of information have been obfuscated.

By who?

When the prophets spoke, it was often in confusing prose. Why? Was it more diabolical obfuscation, or like Christ said above, an attempt to shield the truth from unwanted eyes?

We know the Scriptures have been severally manipulated, with books being added and omitted to serve unclear purposes, and which have purported to render its validity suspect.

However, for some reason, a key theme has not been removed. That there is a Creator of all things, and that He is Love. Also still present in the scriptures is the enduring desire to reconcile mankind to Himself.

Hebrews 1:1-2 New Living Translation (NLT)

"Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe."

The most confusing portions of the modern Bible are those books which the prophets wrote, or the Words of Christ Himself. This is deliberate. You cannot distort what you do not understand.

All sorts of messages abound in the Bible. Several paths to death are there, as well as the path to Life .

However the pathway to Life can only be illuminated by the Spirit of Life himself. Christ's representative who has been mandated to guide us into all truth. Merely reading the scripture without illumination by the Holy Spirit can never lead to Truth. Part of the reason is because so much revision has taken place!

However, because Christ who was crucified has risen, because He is alive, He is able to lead us away from lies to the truth.

Christ the Son of God, is also the Word of God. The Scriptures are nothing but a static text.  But the Word of God is alive. Only He can guide us to truth!

Overcoming the world

1 John 5:1, 4-5, 11-12 New International Version (NIV)

1."Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father LOVES his child as well.

4-5 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

11-12 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Dear brethren,  the reality of Christ is fixed. We can't change it. Our own position in  relation to that reality is what crucially relies on what we believe.

Belief in Christ (through God-given faith), must morph into the reality of overcoming the world, through physical manifestation in 3 crucial steps.

Christ Himself overcame the world. And His victory was made manifest through those same 3 crucial witnesses. (1 John 5:7)

1. Water (indicating Baptism)  - a public declaration for Christ

2. Blood (indicating sacrifice) - by dedicating our lives to God's will and purpose, often directly in conflict with our personal dreams, hopes and desires. Submitting to God. This is actual because it is this process that brings about the true change in us.   Therefore our belief and declaration are confirmed in our sacrifice of ourselves for Christ's purpose.

1 John 3:16 New International Version
"This is how we know what LOVE is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

3. The Spirit -  He is the one who brings everything to pass. He reveals Christ to us, He convinces us to declare openly for Christ, and He transforms our sacrifice into a fulfilment of God's purpose and plan.

John 15:13 New International Version

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.

Brethren, sacrifice is bloody. If it doesn't hurt, sometimes to death, its probably not a sacrifice.

Selah

The nature of God

Hebrews 1:3 Aramaic Bible in Plain English

"For he is The Brilliance of his glory, The Image of his Being, and upholds all things by the power of his word; and he in his Essential Being has accomplished the purification of our sins, and he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high."

Brethren, the key to your victory is the understanding of who God is. When God reveals Himself to us in His complete form,  then our victory is complete.

*The puzzle of the ages, the Son. Also known as God's Word. There from the beginning. The vehicle through which God has taken all action. The manifest expression of God. God is a spirit. You cannot identify Him, . . . except He speaks. That Word that God speaks, is what purified us from sin. That Word is Christ. This isn't about physical procreation. You cannot separate God from His Word. They have always been.

*An even bigger puzzle, the Holy Spirit. The Power of God's Word. When God speaks, His Word comes with executive Power. This Power is the Holy Spirit.

So you see God, His Word, and the Power that accomplishes God's Word are inseparable. They are one.

Selah

True Worship

Romans 12:1 New American Standard Bible

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

John 4:23 King James Bible

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

Romans 8:19 New International Version

For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

Dear brethren, what is worship? Is it the 30 minutes of singing and adulation we participate in once or twice weekly? Is it lifting up "holy hands" with eyes shut and singing along while the choir renders soul stirring music accompanied by virtuoso instruments? We may consider it worship, but is it acceptable to God?

Worship is a way of life. It is how we wake up and how we sleep. It is how we eat and how we work. How we react to situations and where our focus is directed during every action we take. Worship is inseparably associated with sacrifice. A conscious effort to deprive ourselves of gratification, in order to please our creator. Worship is costly.

Worship stems from revelation. An understanding of who God is (what He reveals about Himself), will enable us offer a more perfect worship acceptable to Him.

If we truly worshipped our God in spirit and truth, this country would not be in the state it is today.

Let us remember that true worship is an offering (in fact it is the only offering) that God desires. In other words He can choose to accept our worship or reject it. Remember God is the King above all kings. He cannot accept what is given from an imperfect heart.

If we consciously offer our best to human kings; the best of our products, the best of our service, the best of our time, the best of our behaviour; how much more the everlasting King of glory who never slumbers nor sleeps! He sees our motives, our desires, our hearts! At all times he is surrounded by multitudes of authorities offering the best of worship.

What kind of worship are we offering today? Remember God reserves the right to accept or reject our worship like He accepted Abel, but rejected Cain.

Two kinds of faith

Faith is 2-fold.

1. There is the faith that springs from obedience to God's Word. In spite of what reality appears to be, we declare and work according to what God has said.

For example, I have a million deadlines to meet financially, with not a dime to fulfill them. But I trust God to make a way for all my needs to be met. As the deadlines draw close, fear and apprehension threatens to burst my atmosphere of peace and serenity. I start to consider taking remedial action out of panic. From experience, I know this will lead me nowhere, so I resist the urge to panic and instead lay my concerns out to God for the umpteenth time.

Then I look at the issue from a different perspective. What is the worst that can happen? Does any of this mean I offend God? Is any of this expressly in disobedience to His commands? Is it hindering His plan and purpose in my life? If not why am I afraid of things going wrong? Is it my responsibility, or is it God's responsibility?

Then I resign myself to whatever consequence that will happen and live everyday as it comes in thanksgiving to the almighty.

And all of a sudden I just feel sure everything will be alright 

2. There is also the faith that is a gift. It is a quiet assurance that God WILL do what He says. It is faith that comes from above. Unexplainable. With no facts to support it, but there nonetheless.

I recognize this faith because I've felt it before. Yes. I FEEL this faith (Hebrews 11:1) whereas I ACTED OUT the previous faith (James 2:18). Previously I acted based on my trust of God's word. But now I'm strangely SURE that everything will be sorted out.

Exhilaration fills me and i relax. God is truly in control.

God's Word

God's Word (part 1)

A key pointer to who God is, is what He says about Himself (The masculine description "He" doesn't mean God is masculine, because God transcends gender).

What is God's word? Firstly, the Bible strictly cannot be described as God's word. The Bible itself says God's word is alive (Hebrews 4:12). In other words, God's word is a person. The Bible can more accurately be called a detailed description of God's word.

Many still misunderstand the essence of what the Bible stands for today. I have heard accusations of alterations, misrepresentation and plain blatant lies written within its pages. What we need to do is zoom out of the micro details and look at a vast effort, over thousands of years, in millions of words, within thousands of chapters, and hundreds of various writers in different circumstances and backgrounds, and vastly varying states of mind, all writing about different events and for different audiences in several languages. Look at this effort, and if we can identify a theme, just the tiniest theme, then we may begin to see that this work is actually being curated by more than an individual ( or a group of individuals).

Some say the Bible isn't complete. My answer is that the word of God, being alive, can never be incomplete. Certainly a description of a person will always be incomplete until we meet that person. So accusations of an incomplete compilation (or deliberate omissions from the compilation) miss the point entirely. If a group of books is describing a dead person, an omission of a detail will, at best, serve to withhold some piece of vital information. An alteration will do likewise by misleading unsuspecting readers. But if the subject of the description were alive, then such false descriptions would easily be revealed for what they are, once we meet the subject of description.

Continued in part 2

The Good news in 21st century language

Let me explain this in 21st century language. The lingo of the computer age. The explanation is not an actual fit because the Christ that I speak of, the Son of God, has no beginning and no end. Anyway, Here goes . . .

Our physical body is the HARDWARE, our soul (also called or containing the "heart"  or mind) is the OPERATING SYSTEM, while our Spirit is the electricity that powers the device. In other words, we, in totality are complete devices modelled after a prototype.

The first model (Adam) was designed to manufacture subsequent models through its in-built facility in conjunction with the second model. The second model (Eve) was developed from the first in such a way as to be a failsafe to any possible flaws in the system. It wasn't that the manufacturer felt His product was faulty, it was just a precaution against external breach.

Unfortunately, the failsafe itself was the focus of the first breach, and thus a virus was introduced into the system. Having corrupted the OS, the power source was changed and the devices lost majority of their functions due to their ultra-low power source. This is like powering a 220v device with 110v current. It simply won't function optimally. So the device is virtually dead.

However on this low power, and with a virus corrupting the OS, the internal  manufacturing process designed by the manufacturer kicked into action and more devices were created in geometric progression.

The manufacturer looked at this situation in distress. There were now millions, if not billions, of devices each with the replicated virus corrupting their operating systems. If He chose to reformat the hard drives, he would need to do this for each and every system (millions of them ). And this would not guarantee that another attack couldn't take place.

Therefore the manufacturer decided to bring in the actual prototype. The initial device that all the other devices were modelled after.
He brought in the system and ran it's OS. This prototype, which ran on the actual electricity for which it was designed, was so robust that it was able to repel all attacks from the various programmers who wrote all types of viruses in attempts to compromise and corrupt it.

This Prototype is Christ.

All the software the manufacturer ran on the prototype were able to perform as designed, and it really caused a revolution in the way things were done by it. Therefore the other devices, acting through the virus, conspired to shut it down.

But they weren't aware that this was actually the manufacturer's plan. So the Prototype was shut down within the closed system that they all operated. 3 days later, the manufacturer hooked the shut down system into the Internet (a network which had always existed, but which the devices knew nothing about).

Therefore the Prototype became extremely powerful and could reach the corrupted devices one by one. This network was powered by the approved electric source and necessary routers (angels) which allowed it to evade any virus attacks. Besides the manufacturer and Prototype were able to see all the new tactics the programmers were devising and could communicate with the devices through the Internet.

So, each device, hooked up to the Internet and knowing the prototype was robust enough to perform every required function, reformatted itself and downloaded the Prototype OS. It also tapped the appropriate electricity from the source and therefore became as robust as the prototype. Each "reborn" device was now expected to communicate the "good news"  to other devices and in turn they also would hookup and get reformatted.

The programmers and virus creators seeing this, decided to "create"  their own "internet"  and begin confusing other devices to hook up to them. But devices that came from this "fake"  Internet couldn't perform the functions of the ones hooked up to the "real" Internet. So other unconnected  devices became very confused. This is because in the assemblies where the "good news"  was being communicated, both devices from the fake and real "internets" were members. And it seems one couldn't tell the real from the fake. This is the dilemma we are in today.

On depression

Matthew 26:38 NLT

"He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.""

There is no better description for a state of DEPRESSION in the Bible than the one Jesus Christ gave to His disciples above.
What are the lessons we can learn from the verse above?

1. Even the Son of God faced depression. My dear brother or sister, our Saviour has gone through your condition. Trust him to understand how it feels.

2. His first action was to ask three of his disciples to "stay and keep watch". When you feel the devastation of depression, talk to your close associates about it, but more importantly, ask them to keep watch over you.

3. He prayed about it. Even when you reveal your situation to humans, ask for God's help. Christ knows precisely how you feel because he has experienced it. Luke's version (Lk 22:43) stated that an angel was sent to strengthen Christ during the experience.

4. Man is not reliable, only God is. When Christ returned to them 3 times, his disciples were sleeping. He woke them and used His condition to point them inwards on the need to pray against what he was going through. This means it is possible to overcome temptation (including the temptation to succumb to depression) through prayer. He said, "for the spirit is willing, but the body is weak". Therefore whatever our physical condition, it is always possible for our Spirit to overcome our flesh!

Say to yourself today, Depression will not overcome me for I am crucified with Christ.

Selah