Reboot

I am not high-tech savvy, but I have discovered one thing. Rebooting solves a lot of problems. When your computer or e-reader is frozen, when the electronic camera on either doesn't work or if an accessory plugged into your device decides to stop functioning, reboot.

I have read that rebooting becomes necessary when your computer develops system problems because of running into an endless program loop or your internet connection breaks down. Shutting off your computer and restarting it can stop the loop or repair the connection.

Life is like that as well. Sometimes we allow negativity to loop over and over in our minds until we become non-productive.

As I travel, I often  visit with someone undergoing a problem, they are often frozen in that endless loop of negative thinking. Sometimes he can't see a light ahead because present circumstances are so dire. Often she can't forgive herself for something she has done. Maybe he believes his life is useless because he had not been able to accomplish his dreams. She may tell me how her parents, husband, co-workers give her such negative input that she believes that she has nothing to contribute to her family or her job.

It may be hard to believe, but these conversations are with Christians - people who should know better. It is Satan that wants us to believe the negatives in that endless program loop and be incapable of stopping the loop and repairing the connection.

I listen with a heavy heart to these conversations, pray about any advice God may have for them and without exception have told them that what they need is to go back to the place where they met God in the first place and remember the joy they encountered when they first met Jesus and made Him Lord of their lives. Sin can for a time disturb our connection with God. It is up to us to recognize it and ask Him to restore the joy we once knew. We often need to reboot.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me (Psalm 51:12 NIV).

Background Software

Like practically everyone else, my life seems to be contained in my computer. I use it for work, for reading, for socializing, for writing, for shopping - you name it. I have stopped using my heavy dictionaries or encyclopedias. If I need to know something, I can search for it online.

I write a lot of Bible studies and often have a scripture in mind that I want to refer to. The problem is I can't remember exactly where the scripture is located in the Bible - the chapter and verse. I used to use my concordance exclusively for this purpose. Now I often "goggle" the verse.

Tied very closely to my use of information on the internet are the software programs on my laptop. Some programs I have chosen to install. Many of them are just necessary for the operation of my computer. What I am able to accomplish by using my computer are tied to software programs that run in the background. Being technologically challenged, these run in ways that are mysterious to me.

Even when I am unable to log on to the internet, my software programs enable me to keep working. Since I carry my laptop with me practically everywhere, I often even record reminder notes on my computer rather than using pad and pencil. The time saving possibilities are endless.

Since using my computer has become such a normal part of my life, I often forget the background software is there. I just take advantage of it and its functionality.

God created our brains to hold all the data we could possibly use. We load them with all kinds of information - some good, some bad. That "background software" can be useful or harmful, depending on how it is accessed.

Unlike computer software, data stored in our minds cannot be uninstalled. It can surface at any time. Satan can use the information for evil. God can remind us of something for usefulness. It is even possible to forget that we input something that will later be harmful or useful, so good judgment is called for when acquiring any new information.

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You... Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning... Wise people store up knowledge...For as he thinks in his heart, so is he...  (Psalm 119:11, Proverbs 9:9, 10:14, 23:7).