On most computer systems, several computing tasks that are done by the mouse can also be accomplished using the keyboard. In any particular software, the effectiveness of the keyboard in carrying out tasks that could also be done using the mouse is highly dependant on how well the software was programmed. Such keys that can take on the mouse's roles are called shortcut keys, and in Internet programming, F5 is a shortcut key to refresh a web page.

A web page would be refreshed if users were not contented with the way it was uploaded. It is an alternative way of refining and purifying the web page display results.

In a similar way, the Spirit of God may periodically prompt us to refresh, refine, and purify our lives, as we so often drift away from our first love of God. As Christians, we are always at the very centre of an on-going contention between God and Satan. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8 NIV) Temptations always assail us, and tragedy constantly knocks. Many times, we are tempted to compromise purity for pleasure, to seek worldly satisfaction instead of commitment to duty, or to question the validity of God's holy precepts for the gain of the flesh. How often, as Christians, we should remember to refresh our minds to that godly commitment that we possessed when we had just been introduced to God's love! How often do we study God's Word? How often do we pause to say a prayer? Satan is out on a serious mission and his targets are none other than those who profess to know God. His mission is to get them blurred over the new hope they were called to. This he accomplishes by calling them to cherish pleasure more than sacrifice, and to pile onto their tables bigger and bigger workloads that invite them to substitute worldly commitments for devotional prayer. How successful is he in our lives?

God calls us to renew our commitment to Him, to refresh the original pages that were once uploaded when we were first met with His love. May we heed His call, else our steps will slowly but surely slip from the divine fold!

Prayer: Father above, grant Your abiding Spirit forever, to admonish our straying. Help us to renew our commitment to Your love, and enable us to be mindful of what Your will requires of us. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen.

Just imagine waiting for a lifetime for a promised event that would never come to pass in one's generation! All the heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 lived a whole long life of hope, never giving up in their professed faith, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. What a challenge they present to our impatient and unbelieving generation!

When our father in faith, Abraham, was called out of Ur, his native country, into a land that God would show him, he was promised permanent inheritance of this land, for him and his descendants. But the Bible tells us that Abraham died before he received Canaan, the Promised Land, as his inheritance. As a matter of fact, he was buried in the land of the Hittites, not in Canaan. Was God's promise to Abraham of inheriting a land void? If not so, what and where is this land of promise? Do we, as Abraham's descendants in faith, have any share in Abraham's promised land?

Hebrews 11:10 – For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (RSV)

Having unquestionably obeyed and trusted God, Abraham, our father in faith, was not only promised the earthly Canaan, but also the heavenly Canaan as an eternal inheritance for himself and all his spiritual descendants (us).

Are we ready to follow in Abraham's footsteps, total trust and total obedience to God, so as to have a share in his promise? Lord, help us as we do so.

Prayer: Mighty Lord in the eternal glory, grant today that our hearts doubt not any of your holy precepts, but instead may we trust you to see us through our daily toil until we see you on your throne. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Do you hold (or have you ever held) responsibility for leading a group with some members who need shaping if the group's objectives are to be achieved? Fred and I do. Some members just seem to act completely contrary to the group's mission.

In one of our weekly meetings, they mounted such a stiff opposition that I suggested to Fred that we drop them from the group. After all, we would ride on smoothly in their absence. With a rebuking look, Fred read to me today's verse. "Remember, Joshua, you're a care-taker of those pessimists," Fred added.

Are we faced with the challenge of raising a stubborn son or daughter? Do we live with a spouse giving us constant hassles? Is it a brother, sister, friend, colleague, or roommate? Let us stand up to the challenge; let's pray about it. Let us remember that God calls us to be his or her care-taker. God paid us the two denarii deposit (at Calvary) and promises to repay whatever more we spend when He comes back. Let's all pray that we be then found faithful care-takers.

Prayer: Dear Lord, the tasks assigned to us are too heavy. We seek your help, which you promised. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Have you ever heard of the computing acronym "GIGO" (garbage in; garbage out)? I once did an experiment to prove it.

I learnt, from one of my programming lectures, that if the computer's memory is supplied with an alphabetic character when it expects a numeric character, (or vice versa), "something goes wrong". Curiosity, (foolish curiosity, if I may term it so) demanded from me to know what this "something goes wrong" might be. I gave the computer input contrary to what it expected. The output I received was a system crash.

How often do we go on abusing God's leadings by experimenting with sin! It is wrong today to experiment with smoking, drinking, narcotics, just as it was wrong for Adam and Eve to seek censured knowledge by eating the forbidden fruit. "But using profanity, committing adultery, stealing … will only add to my knowledge, education and wealth; moreover, God excuses all sin," one will urge. Well, let us remember this too: "Knowledge of sin leads towards death."

O that we become as "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16, KJV) to see the adversary's traps in these sin experiments!

Prayer: God, we pray that you would help us never to play with sin. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Being fed up by the frequent and monotonous visits from a Christian friend, with his constant urging to accept Jesus as his personal Saviour, an atheist (who dearly loved flowers) planted a flower design in his compound that formed the statement "GOD IS NO WHERE".

One morning, a little lass from the atheist's neighbourhood exclaimed to the atheist how great God is, who created the beautiful flowers in his compound. Filled with fury, the atheist commanded the lass to read the statement the flower design formed. Word by word, the lass read, "GOD IS NOW HERE".

What joy, assurance and confidence do we get knowing that "God is now here," and is always here, to usher us through today's perplexities and life's hurdles! Shall we let Him work in us?

Prayer: God, we thank you that you are our refuge, an ever present to help us in our troubles. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Imagine receiving a letter from some person for the first time and in the salutation is the phrase "Brother/Sister". I once addressed someone in a similar way (and I am glad to report that we came to be great friends later) and in his reply, he expressed his gratitude that we both belonged to a family, even though we had not met before in the physical life.

There exists a uniting cord between the members of God's family in which personality, status, abilities, location and origin appear as unimportant factors which can set not a single pause to the relationship, its promotion and expression. Fellow Christians easily link up even on the very first interaction, because of the great feature we share — love for fellow brethren. What a privilege to belong to such a family!

In today's reading, Ananias addressed Saul — who had set out for Damascus on a legalized mission of persecuting Christians — as a brother. No sooner had Paul been converted to Christianity (by Jesus' voice, preceded by a great light that shone so brightly around Saul) that he switched from being Ananias' enemy to a brother. O how sweet it is, belonging to such a community, flowing with love, even for enemies!

Yes, we all belong to God's family with a principal uniting cord — love for fellow brothers and sisters. Before us is the challenge of how we express, exercise and promote this uniting cord. Let's pray that we acquire and share this love, since "He who does not love does not know God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8 RSV)

Prayer: Father in heaven, grant us love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Marathon racing takes the lead on my sporting list. Not only do I enjoy watching folks participating, but I myself enjoy participating physically.

My former sporting forays were often marred by disappointments; I appeared at the bottom of the list after each racing competition. The problem was that my racing speed declined whenever I was racing upwards on a slope. In a training session following one of the events, there was an emphasis on racing uphill. Praise God, I can now compete favourably, after the "hard-knock" hill-climbing training.

One special fact I always notice while racing is that at the top of every hill there is either a slope downwards or a straight track.

Before anyone can be used of God, he or she ought to undergo a "hard-knock" training, so as to become equipped for the adversary. Usually, this training comes in the form of afflictions or trials. Many of God's co-workers whose lives are recorded in the Holy Scriptures were trained in the "hard-knock" style. Moses, for one, had to spend forty years in the wilderness attending to this training before he could be used of God. Several other examples could be cited: Joseph, David, Daniel, Paul. For each of them, successful service in faith was preceded by "hard-knock" training.

Whatever the form of our training today, let us pray that we will submit to God's leadings and appreciate them, for the end result is for our own good. Having gone through the same training, King David is quoted thus: "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." (Psalm 119:71 RSV)

Let us pray that we may endure today's affliction, for everything always works for the good of those who fear the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, we ask for the faith of endurance during the moments of testing, that we may partake of whatever it breeds. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.