Disclaimer: Folks, I'm not a cloud expert. Until two days back all I knew about the cloud was sky, cotton, rain and sheep fur! I attended the Business Technology Summit '09 which dealt with Cloud computing, a lot! Special thanks to Janakiram MSV for his splendid speech on "Cloud Computing and Open Sourcing" which helped me get a hang of this new buzz word in the technology arena. I'm going to use a lot of stuff that I gathered out there. Any copyright infringements, trademark violations etc, let's take it offline. For now, just sing along...Oh Cloudia!

First of all, the concept of the cloud may sound complicated. But I've got some good news for you. It's actually a simplified technology. The Web has grown phenomenally until now just because it got simplified in the run. Cloud computing is another step to simplify it further. So I would recommend you to keep your apprehensions and doubts aside and read on with a fresh mind.

Throughout the seminar, I kept thinking of an analogy to best explain the web architecture. And to my surprise I couldn't narrow down on one until I started writing this blog. Hey, I'm a Pianist and a huge lover of concerts. Spot On...here's the analogy.

A fictitious company called "SoundofMusik" organized a concert for the first time. They evaluated a lot of theatres and chose the best "infrastructure" that pretty much matched their expectations: an open air theatre, with a raised "platform" at the center. They also signed an agreement with a sound and music services company. This company would "service" all music and sound needs for the concert so that SoundOfMusik need not take the pain of hiring individual musicians and sound systems.

I've specially quoted the words "Infrastructure", "Platform" and "Services" to make my point a bit more clear. You need an "Infrastructure" to seat the audience, a "platform" or stage to the seat the musicians and "software" otherwise music instruments, sound equipments for the musicians to perform. This is exactly how the web architecture works. You need a Server (infrastructure),a runtime/program execution environment (platform) and software to run a web application. Still not clear? you need a DELL or an IBM server at your server room which runs Windows Server or Linux Operating System (Infrastructure) that has a .NET or Java runtime (Platform) that runs the Sales Force application (Software) to view salesforce.com on your browser.

©grovesorchestras.org

Downsides of the above setup

Scalability – The server performance is constant. There is no simple and inexpensive way today to scale the server's performance according to the traffic.

Hardware Cost – The cost includes procuring/upgrading the servers when technology requires it to be. Imagine running Windows 7 on an old 2000 PC! We need to keep the hardware in pace with the software advancements.

Software OS – Cost incurred in upgrading the OS software along with the hardware upgrade. Infrastructure housing Cost – The whole server setup needs a dedicated server room with a host of other costs incurred in coolants, uninterrupted power-supply etc

Resource cost – A server admin or a team of server admins to monitor and make changes to the servers.

So finally...What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud computing addresses the above drawbacks by taking the above told 3 architectures to a centralized space called the "Cloud", that's it!

In detail, think of cloud as a huge Data Center or a Server Room at some remote location, housing the above 3 architectures. The user picks and chooses the Infrastructure, Platform and Services that cater to the need of the hour, from another remote location. The services that the cloud offers can be classified as:

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – Also called "HaaS" (Hardware as a Service) where one can pick and choose any hardware from the cloud. There is a flexibility to add or remove hardware on-the-fly programmatically! Now that's a huge boon. Till today hardware could only be configured prior and not on-the-fly. Your program could dynamically add, remove and modify a server and that's the power of IaaS.

PaaS (Platform as a Service) – Software programs run on typical runtimes or program execution environments like .NET or JAVA (JVM) called Platforms. The PaaS provides end-to-end solutions that aid the complete software development cycle without additional cost or downloads. Microsoft Azure, Google Apps to name a few, offer platforms on the cloud.

SaaS (Software as a Service) – Enough of software licenses...lo and behold, the concept of "subscriptions" is the talk of the town. No software CDs, postal delays, shipping charges etc. You get to the cloud choose what software you want and pay per subscription. I guess developers reading this blog get the real advantage a cloud could offer.

Quick 4 virtues of the Cloud

Elasticity – Ask any cloud patriot, his first proclamation about the cloud would be elasticity and it's definitely worth bragging about. Leveraging the power of IaaS, one could customize the server usage according to the need of the hour and that too programmatically.

Pay-Per-Use – Elasticity gives you a great cost advantage by avoiding bandwidth wastage cost. You pay and use only what you require for that moment.

Self-Service – Server/Sys Admins are not going to like this. Anyways, it erases the requirement of a server admin to aid the configurations. A handful of cloud providers in the market provide extremely easy to use cloud management tools that any technology person with very little knowledge about server management could easily handle.

Programmability – In addition to letting you configure servers according to your choice you could also set the configurations programmatically. Coding your application to use only one server when the hits are low and keep adding servers as the hits go high, is more like a dream come true for coders.

Now that the cloud offers a remote OS, all we need on the client machine is a browser or User Interface to display the desired results whereas every other operation can be done on the cloud itself. Did it ring a bell in your ears? If you listen closely, this scenario completely wipes away the concept of another OS in your client machine just to run the browser or the UI. So going forward you might not require an OS at all. The opportunity this unfolds is multifold. All you need is a browser/mouse supported TV to run or access your entire personal/official folder on the web.

I could even envision an optical browser on your mobile phone which could flash on a whitewall using which you could access or run an application. If my dream comes true, you would spot people sitting at railway stations, airports each using a part of the wall to check their emails and a few even running mission critical applications out of their mobile phones on a wall! If technology permits an optical browser to be touch-screen, we may not even need the mobile itself. A small gadget to flash your optical browser would be enough to perform all of which I've explained above.

Could you just fathom the plethora of opportunities cloud is going to open up? Cloud Computing is more of a paradigm shift than just a technology advancement. It's going to shape the history of computing in a whole new way. Cloud computing today is just the tip of the iceberg...the real power is yet to be unleashed.

Please come back for more updates on Cloudia...

"There are two ways to hammer a nail to the wall...one is to hold the nail and hammer it hard towards the wall and the other is hold the nail and push the wall against it!" As funny as it sounds, the latter is exactly how many businesses work today. They do everything the hard way and do not reap the full benefits. Little do they know that they could explore umpteen ways to mobilize their businesses. One of the ways that I'm going to explore below is "Webizing".

You may not be familiar with the term "webize" primarily because I coined this term and using it for the first time (I believe so!)...Webizing is the process of converting your manual business processes into electronic processes to gain efficiency, productivity, discipline and most importantly, revenue. To explain the process of webizing, let me quote the example of train ticketing. In India we have a long lived legacy of the father running to the railway station early in the morning to join a never-ending queue, waiting long hours, not even being sure when he gets to the counter he would actually get a ticket. Gone are those days! The railways was smarter to webize their process. Today, one could sit in his bedroom, login to the ticketing portal, check for trains, pay online and to sum it all, even print the ticket and carry it on the journey date as a valid traveler's ticket. This would take not more than 5 mins while the previous method would easily quench 3-4 hours.

What made the difference in the above example? The process is still the same except that it became electronic or in other words "Webized"! Not only did the customers find it easy to book tickets, the railways was able to make a phenomenal increase in profit year after year. It is that niche every business needs to understand to multiply their revenues. Thou shalt webize!

What should thou webize?

This is a difficult question but if you give it a thought the answer is, as much as you can or all of it. A simple way to identify your key process is to list out on paper what brings you revenue and how. A print company would have primary processes like finding orders, finalizing them, executing the requirements, proof reading, shipping and payments. In the older way, finding orders would be through sales executives, paper ads, word of mouth etc. Finalizing is when someone interested had called the print company and immediately a fleet of sales executives rush to the clients place. There they negotiate and finally sign the order. A person is employed to show the client the output and bring the message back. Finally once the order is complete another person visits the client to deliver the prints and bring cash to the company. Both time is wasted as well a lot of risk involved.

Webizing this process is to create an online portal where one could order for prints with the quotes mentioned in the portal. The user uploads the source file and pays the money online. On the other side, the system alerts the operations department of the new project and automatically places the project in the queue. The prints are done and are shipped directly to the client using an external vendor.

Why should thou webize?

One of the prime factors, as I have mentioned the word "discipline" before, webizing brings a lot of discipline to the way work is done. You have total control of it and have a complete history of what is being done. You could always back track and see what went wrong in the event of a mishap. You also have a record of all that is done and using a reporting tool, you could generate reports as per your wish. These reports play a key role is measuring the company's performance quarter by quarter or even day by day. Graphs could easily show where there is a sudden dip or a raise and with a little research we could identify the reason and work on it.

When should thou webize?

I would say, the ideal time is when you actually start your business! If you are able to electronically manage your processes at the beginning itself you are on the right track. If you are an already running business, the answer is today! You need to figure out what brings revenue and webize right away

Whom should thou contact to webize?

Anyone who is able to understand the requirements and create the business portal. Creating a business portal isn't an easy task. The person or the firm you are employing needs to be someone with a lot of business sense. If you are just trying things out and not willing to invest much, you could always employ freelancers or Web DADs which would cost you much lesser than what web development firms would quote.

What is the process of Webizing?

A Professional Corporate Website – A website plays a major role is exposing the face of the company to the whole world. How your website looks is how the visitors are going to judge the quality of your company. Simplicity, professionalism, easy navigation, pleasing colors, attractive discounts are a few factors that keep your visitors from "bouncing out" of the site. Also, Social media initiatives like links to Networking communities, Micro-blogging (twitter) etc would enhance the look. SEO strategies play a key role in getting your site to show up in Google and SMO plays a vital role in adding value to your SEO. Remember, search engines are the primary sources through which any one could get to your site ... better be friendly with SEs!

Web Marketing – As said above immense participation in online communities in FaceBook, LinkedIn lets many see your site. SEO gives you good ranking when you optimize your site with logical keyword density. The whole point of Web Marketing is to get users to visit the website and finally let them contact you through one of the "Call outs". A call-out is an action primarily a form which the user submits. The result of this submission is a lead ... the user leaves an email-id or his phone no and you could always contact him on either of these methods and convert him to a potential customer. The ladder is simple – A Lead to prospect and prospet to customer...and customer is revenue!

Web Application Portal – Your website should ideally be integrated to a web application portal that lets the user do business with you. Be it a catering site, pharmacy, website design or whatever under the sun, there should be a way for the customer to interact with you through the web application. He should be able to visit the portal often to know the status of his order and the entire history. As told before, the portal should be easy to use, responsive and pleasing; otherwise the customer may not prefer to visit again you lose the whole point of webizing.

Finally...How expensive is Webizing?

For any layman, the above process may look too technical or verbose. But the real truth is that the implementation is absolutely simple. There are so many "free" ready-made tools available that a wise Web DAD or freelancer could take advantage of and do an excellent job without a hefty bill. The hard part is to get a person or a firm to think in your lines ... if you are able to spot one, way you go with Webizing!

The New "NeT" Commandments

1. Thou shalt not make thyself any slow, manual, pain striking processes
2. Thou shalt not work the hard way around. Simply webize
3. Thou shalt not be ignorant of the power of web in your business.
4. Thou shalt always remember the term "Webize" which has another meaning, revenue!
5. Honor thy clients, that thy number of deals may be long enough
6. Thou shalt not commit procrastination. Webize Today!

Web DAD stands for "Web Designer-Administrator-Developer". Given today's omnipresence of the web there is a great need to create web applications faster and efficient. With the introduction of scintillating features like web 2.0, AJAX, search engine and social media optimization etc, creating RIA (Rich Internet Applications) is the talk of the town. Wikipedia defines RIA's as a web application being as responsive as a desktop application. Today's web developers are supposed to keep up-to-date with web technologies to take advantage of these nuances.

Are you a Web DAD?

There are 3 significant roles in creating a Web site/application

Web Designer – A Web designer is someone who sculpts the web according to a client's imagination. I've sat with clients and remember a few having those wacky imaginations of how their website should look like. It's the prime responsibility of the web designer to carry those imaginations from the client's mind to the monitor. Various photo editing tools like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw etc help designers chalk out a design. The outcome is called a template or a wireframe (layout) which ideally is a jpg image.

Web Developer – A Web developer's main responsibility is to churn out a HTML page out of the template the designer created. The developer's biggest challenge is to make sure the HTML page looks exactly like the wireframe or at least close. A developer also works on the CMS to set up the website, use JavaScript frameworks to make the site elegant, work on server programming languages to make the site interactive, work on storing data in databases etc. In short, the designer makes the site a show piece, the developer gives it life!

Web Administrator – A Web administrator is responsible to host the web site up on a server, perform the necessary name server mappings etc to display the web site using a URL. He is also responsible for documenting the performance, traffic etc.

IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO TAKES CARE OF THESE 3 ROLES, YOU ARE A WEB DAD! With the increasing need to "webize" businesses, many are looking up to firms for the faster solutions. Any web development firm would have teams for these 3 roles if the web project is big but at least 3 individuals to perform these 3 roles for a small project.

Advantages of hiring a Web DAD

The benefits are many ...

Effective handling of Change Requests – One area where clients find it difficult to understand is who to reach out for a particular change request. "I need the red button to display pink on mouse over" is sent to the designer and he sends it back saying it's the developer's job to add the mouse over. Taking this as an experience "Change the button color to blue" is sent to the developer and he sends it back saying it's the designer's job .. phew! With a Web DAD the requests are routed to one point of contact.

Project Management – There is literally no need for a project overseer to monitor the resources. In fact the client himself works as the project manager. The Web DAD also works as a single point of contact for the client and it's so easy to get the status straight from the horse's mouth!

No wastage of resources – The above mentioned 3 roles are supposed to be worked one after the other in a queue. The developer cannot work until the design is ready and the administrator cannot work until the developer completes his job. So while one of the roles is under progress, the other two are literally without any work (if there is only one project). I would call it a sheer waste of resources. With a Web DAD, each phase is done without wastage of resources by a single person.

Save Cost! – Above all, what gives the Web DAD a real edge is the cost of development. Resource cost is one third which would result in a hefty discount on the overall project cost.

You might wonder why I am complementing the concept of Web DAD so much. Well, because of the very fact that I myself play the role of a Web DAD in my current organization as a Specialist in Web Information Systems. I've worked on projects where I handled these three roles and received some great testimonials from clients appreciating this concept. They say it's very easy to handover their dreams to one person and stand to watch their dream take shape. Being a Web DAD is highly beneficial especially if you are a freelancer. You would be able to quote some great prices and live up to your promises while you still make your share worth.

Happy Parenting, DADs!

"The Delhi High Court pronounced a historical judgment decriminalizing homosexuality"

I've kind of lost my hope in our judicial system when I heard one of the High Court's judgments about smoking on screen by celebs. I had many friends in College who started smoking just because their favorite hero on screen smoked and did many stylish tricks which attracted the heroine much. I was able to clearly see that the judicial system in India does not have a clear distinction between logics and morals. Logically, smoking on the screen is right but morally, it's perilous. But the court had to succumb to logics more than morals. FYI, that's where we are heading to!

I would like to pose a scenario where a mother of two, living happily with her husband and family, met with another man whom she thought was "the man of her dreams". Logic may suggest that she should follow her heart's desire, but morals would just keep her from deserting the family structure and live faithfully as a great mother. Same with another man who met a "woman of his dreams" but unfortunately she was married then. He being an extremely successful person, smart-looking, could allure her and shatter her commitment with her husband and strike an affair, "logically". Yet morally, he backed up.

I'm trying to quote these two scenarios as this is very much our society and we ourselves. Though there are so many secret desires, lures and temptations, morals keep us on track. That's what our families are made up of; morals and not logics. It is a moral commitment for a father to look after his children. Logically, why should a man strive hard for another human! It is very clear that morals are pivotal to a society and especially ours.

Who decides the standards for morals - What is moral and immoral? The answer is no one! Society frames the morals. It would try various things and eventually a basic moral framework would be set. Anything below that line would be immoral. For e.g. sex between legitimate couples is morally accepted. But if they are not, it's the same sex, but the act is immoral. Why? No one knows! But that's how the society is. Culturally rich countries like India, thankfully, even today have these moral values "as a society". Please note the quoted phrase "as a society" because no one can claim that all Indians individually are morally, culturally rich. But fortunately our society still is. That's why we still have strong family bonds. Parents don't decide to separate at will...they try to mend inconsistencies and carry forward. Children grow up seeing parents, their commitments and they know the value of a family and that is what has been driving India morally.

The difference between LGTB and Eunuchs.

I would like to request the Honorable Supreme court of India not to relate the LGTB community with the eunuchs. These two are two different cases. The former is a handicap mentally where as the latter is a handicap, biologically. The Eunuchs deserve the right to live like other humans...there is absolutely no doubt about that. It's the same as a physically challenged person and they need to be treated loyally. But why are the LGTB involved in this reservation. They have a problem mentally... against nature. It is natural for a man to love a woman and vice versa ... Same sex attraction is unnatural and a mental disability. Even if there has to be special laws for the Eunuchs, the LGTB community needs to be exempted for the law to make sense.

How does this Law for LGTB bring down the morals of our society?

As I have told before, the moral standards of our society has been set. Often different thinkers may prop up claiming to revisit the moral standards to make sure it really is humanitarian. If it doesn't there would be voices raised and depending on the justice it makes, would be accepted or discarded. But the reforms brought up and widely accepted till today, made sense...like abolishing sati, widow discrimination which has taken our moral values up. LGTB is a mental issue, unnatural feeling for which a law cannot be proposed. It would then justify persons having unnatural attraction within own family members (incest) also. Terrorist killings could be justified as they could claim they have a natural tendency to kill people. Even child abusers could justify their natural instinct towards children which could later breed into a great community claiming rights for their own.

Where is our society heading to?

It's high time we decide whether to be logically correct or morally correct. The government and the court would stay silent because of the 70 million vote bank. Educated mass may also choose to be neutral to pacify the LGTB community which is mostly the elite. When it comes to making a decision, logics might be most admired than morals as morals are a little old fashioned in our current vibrant sophisticated social framework. Slowly, moral laws would be modified to make logical sense. The end is for you to presume!

Religiously, is it correct?

I follow the Bible and the Bible treats the act of homosexuality as an abomination, a curse that is detestable before the eyes of God. Read it in the Holy Bible. Do you know why? It's because God instituted a Holy and most divine institution called "Marriage" between a man and a woman. So far this institution has worked wonders and we are what we are because our forefathers and our parents relentlessly held on to the morals established. I know there is no widely accepted religion that legalizes or supports homosexuality.

I believe when there are riches, intellect and sophistications in abundance, the human mind tries new theories like these just because their basic needs are already met. People in most down trodden countries today have no time fighting for gay rights as they are fighting for their next meal. Even in India, not long ago, 15 years back when India was counted as an underdeveloped country by westerners, none dared to bring these issues up as we were struggling for our basic necessities. Fathers had no choice than to earn little and mothers wisely used that little to raise their children. But today with globalization and international exposure, earning exuberant salaries has become easy. The concept of living content is gone and craving for new sophistications is talk of the town. Western lifestyle is the new mantra; "breaking-up", pizzas, burgers, harmful beverages, branded apparels, swanky cars and gadgets have become an invincible part of our lives. There's no doubt a lot of these new theories are propping up. Wait and see... worse is yet to come!

A Word to LGTB

The law says more than the law breaker the one who instigated to break the law should suffer more punishment. Please do not conduct a Pride rally or something of that sort, primarily because there is nothing to be proud about and secondly you create a lot of unwanted publicity. Many ignorant young people may want to follow you just because of this publicity. After all who has the right to supervise your secrecy but don't make it public. But remember, there is a time coming very soon when the gold will be put to test and refined. Only what is pure and moral would stand and all impurity would be cast out.

Malachi 2:17 says "You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"

And Malachi 3:2 says "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;"

The people during Noah's time were very similar to this age... No moral values and when the test of time came, there was no time to repent. I'm praying for you to repent!

"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness." – Romans 6:12-13

God loves you ... He's waiting for you to mend your ways. "He(Jesus Christ) will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. - Micah 7:19"

I received this scripture through email from one of the daily mailing services and it triggered my heart to look at it in a whole new perspective especially the last phrase. Here it goes;

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12"

I was thinking it would've been great if it had said "quick to discern if you are a Christian with a Christian name" or "quick to discern if you are a regular church goer" or even if it said "and quick to discern if you pray and read the Bible everyday". The stuff that I've mentioned above can be publicly justified and it's very easy to outwardly display them. But the sad news is that God does not look at "how" we are but "who" we are. "How" can be easily displayed in public but "who" takes a great deal to accomplish because it is justified by who we inwardly are.

That is why Jesus had to meet the widow who dropped just two mites at the offering box and her story is mentioned in the Bible. There were so many explicit Godly people who brought their offerings in public. But the widow being too ashamed to reveal her petty offering thought to secretly cast it into the box. But of all those who offered to God that day Jesus honored the widow's offering because "Word of God (Jesus) discerns the thoughts and attitudes of the heart". I was encouraged to see Jesus saying "She (the widow) of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living – Mark 12:44". I loved the last phrase again "even all her living". Did she sell all her possessions and household things to give to God? No! But yet God referred to it as "all her living". The truth behind it is that when we have the right attitude God honors us as though we have sacrificed our entire living though it may not be.

On the other hand we read about another person in the Bible named Ananias (Acts 5) who sold all his possessions in an act to give to God but kept back a "part of it" only, and laid the rest at the apostle's feet. When the word of God discerned the thoughts and attitudes of the heart, they fell short of the expectations and had to die because of their wicked attitude. When you compare the two givers, the widow and Ananias, both gave to the Lord. The former gave only two mites and latter gave most his possessions but God judged the thoughts and attitudes.

The question we need to ask is, Are we mere explicit children of God? Do we just exist like a child of God outwardly with all evil intentions and wicked thoughts inwardly? It's time to retrospect our lives to see if we match the expectations of God. More than anything else our attitude needs to be Godly and everything else would follow. Amen

"In the day that God created man, in the LIKENESS OF GOD made he him" – Genesis 5:1.

One of the most precious gifts that God has bestowed on mankind and something that everyone should be excited about is the fact that we carry the form of God in us. Isn't astounding to know that we actually look like God? Yes! God created man and woman in the LIKENESS OF HIM. Genesis 1:26 says "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". Next time you see yourself in the mirror shout a big thank you to God. Never complain about how you look for you are created by God in His own likeness. Today let us look through the Bible how man lost this impeccable form and regained it.

Genesis 3 narrates the fall of man because of his disobedience. The serpent tricked Adam & Eve to believe a lie that he formulated and made them betray God. This sort of betrayal is not just eating an apple against God's will rather a higher form of betrayal where man replaced satan for God. His right as a son of God having the likeness of God was despised to satisfy the lust of his eyes. Esau, in Genesis 25:32 lost his birthright for he didn't value the sonship that he was entitled for. Esau resembles the fallen man. Thus when man despised God he actually started to lose the form of God as God was no longer his father but it was satan who snatched that place by his craftiness.

God had to send man out of the garden of Eden because he betrayed him. In chapter 6 the Bible says that men began to multiply on the face of the earth. If you furl a few chapters back you would notice something peculiar. God sent Adam & Eve out of the Garden of Eden for their disobedience. Adam knew his wife and bore a son and named him Cain. Then she bore Abel. If you notice the characteristics of Cain and Abel, Abel chose to be a shepherd and was pleasing to God. Genesis 4:4 says God had respect on Abel and his offering. But v5 says that God did not respect Cain and his offering. I was wondering why God portrayed this favoritism. On reading these chapters again and again I got this revelation – when man disobeyed God, he bore the fruit of sin within him as he walked out of the Garden of Eden. He knew his wife during this period of guilt and the seed of sin came out as Cain. But man did repent for his transgressions and the God of grace did grant him repentance. Abel was born during the period of repentance. That is why right from the beginning Cain had bitterness towards Abel and wanted to kill him as there was an enmity between the son of man (Cain) and son of God (Abel).

Later Eve bore Seth and she considered him as another seed instead of Abel. So Adam and Eve had two descendants Cain and Seth, the former being a seed of sin and the later seed of God. Now when they began to multiply Cain's descendants lost their identity with God whereas the descendants of Seth resembled God's form. It's until chapter 6 when the sons of God mixed with the sons of men that they all lost the likeness of Christ. V4 says that there were giants on the face of the earth, a form of man that God didn't intend to be. God's prime purpose to create man in his likeness was no longer worth it as he already destroyed it by his sin. Now when God saw that every thought of man was only evil, he had no other resort than to destroy him because he lost the form of God.

Surprisingly Noah and his family kept themselves from mingling with the sons of men and still had the form of God. So Noah found grace in the eyes of God and his family was spared. All the giants and mighty men who lost the form of God were destroyed in the great deluge. Thus, though we were about to lose the likeness of Christ we were able to regain it because of Noah's righteousness. Noah is a shadow of Christ in the Old Testament. He resembles Christ as through him we regained what we thought we almost missed.

I still argue with historians and atheists that the fossil remains of pre-historic man are true. It's nothing but the remains of guys who simply didn't value God's likeness and became disfigured. Sin separates us from God and we start to lose the likeness of Christ as we move away from Him. This is a warning to each one of us to understand how we need to conduct ourselves as told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 – "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

Romans 12:2 – "...be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will."

One of the areas where we often tend to make a wrong move is at 'knowing God's will'. Our life needs to be according to His ways. Proverbs 3:5,6 talks about how God could direct our paths when we lean on Him. But the problem is when we don't know whether or not it is His will. Paul talks about a transformation to renew our minds which would help us test and approve God's will. Interestingly he points out the characteristics of God's will as Good, Pleasing & Perfect. Satan works around this area. It is easy for him to divert us at the point of choosing God's ways so that our entire destination changes. This process is slow that we do not recognize we have drifted away.

When we read the life history of Abraham, choosing a life partner for his son was one of the greatest challenges. Like any other God fearing parent, he wanted it to happen according to God's perfect plan. In Genesis 24 Abraham sought the help of his eldest servant, Eliezer, to go to his father's country and find a suitable partner for his son. Prayerfully, Eliezer and his team set out a journey trusting God completely. Please note that God's will is pivotal in this circumstance because it's his master's earnest desire and as a faithful servant Eliezer need to discern God's will in spotting the right one. When he reached the city of Nahor, it was evening time when the daughters would come to the well to draw water. Eliezer prayed to God. His prayer is of great importance as he proposed to God what he would like the girl to be. He wanted to choose the girl who is willing to water him and his servants and willingly water the camels too.

As Eliezer was praying, Rebecca was there at the well. Verse 16 describes her beauty and how anybody would like her at first sight. As she drew water from the well, Eliezer ran to her and asked for some water. She immediately lowered her jar and gave him water to drink. Moreover she said "I will draw water for the camels too until they have done drinking". This is the first part of knowing God's will! "You would encounter exactly what you wanted". But beware satan could mimic your expectations and bring the fake one before you actually see what's destined for you. That's why Paul uses the term "test & approve" God's will. This is where the wisdom of God is displayed through Eliezer. Instead of jumping into conclusions, he nodded his head for Rebecca's offer as she ran down to fetch more water.

Verse 21 is the key – "Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful." Eliezer waited patiently to see if Rebecca was able to fulfill the promises she made. It is clear that she had to go down to the well to fetch water and taking into account how much water each camel would drink, it would've been a tiring job for Rebecca to water all ten camels. Eliezer watched carefully to "test and approve" if it was God's will. As he expected, the next verse says "When the camels finished drinking..." which means Rebecca tirelessly completed what she promised.

We all have heard stories and I personally have witnessed young people taking hasty decisions especially in choosing life partners. They have expectations and when they encounter one which appears to closely match theirs, they immediately jump into it without testing and approving. Only later they understand it's not what God had planned and regret in that irrecoverable state. In all other matters of life we tend to make this blunder which is prime reason for guilt and regret. The fakes come with false promises and could never accomplish those. To test and approve one needs to wait patiently and see the results just like Eliezer did.

1 Corinthians 1:28 – "He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are". I was in a conversation with one of the topmost persons of a conglomerate who once was a devoted child of God, now an atheist. He commented something about Jesus Christ that made me pen down this article. He said "I don't know why Jesus related himself only with people of low state like the sick, poor and the illiterate. That is why I cannot relate myself to Him as I am always with people of high state". Though I was perplexed about how this generation has already raised themselves above God and the pride of life has blinded their eyes, I was on the other hand thrilled about my Jesus who though being the Master of this universe still was humble enough to consider the lowly...Aren't we fortunate to have a father like Him?

God's wisdom, His majesty, His wealth, His riches cannot be fathomed. He designed this humungous universe and the tiny little atoms. He is there from infinity to infinity. He formulated the seasons. He gave rules for the stars to shine, the planets to revolve. He defined nature, the rain, the sunshine etc. He chiseled our brain and placed rules what it is supposed to do. It's funny using this petite invention of God, we have started to question the creator Himself!

That is why God's ways are always interesting. He being such a great God still came down for the lowly and even died for them. In John 1:45, the Bible talks about a person called Nathanael. The Bible does not describe much about his ancestry, but when Jesus saw him coming towards Him, He remarked, "Here is a true Israelite in whom there is nothing false". Here we see God himself giving approval of Nathanael's conduct. Jesus further prophesied about Nathanael saying he would see heavens open and angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. In simple words, Nathanael was a perfect minister of God. But this is where Jesus stands out...instead of appointing Nathanael as His assistant, He let him go. Do you know why? Jesus was interested in a denying Peter, doubting Thomas, timid John and Mathew instead of a spotless Nathanael.

God is absolutely interested in the invalid. Jesus isn't compared with a goldsmith who takes the most precious metal to bring out a beautiful ornament. He is compared to a potter who takes the dirty clay and makes a beautiful pot out of it which is honored in par with a gold ornament. Unlike gold, clay is extremely fragile, incompetent and irksome. In Jeremiah 18, God asks the prophet to go down to the potter's house. What he sees is very interesting. There was a potter who saw that the vessel he made was marred. He immediately smashed it and redesigned a new pot out of it the way he intended it to be. God chooses the invalid and moulds them the way He wants them to be.

Ruth was a Moabite. Genesis 19:30-38 describes how the very inception of the Moabite clan was an abomination before God. Moab was cursed right from birth. Yet God chose Ruth from that cursed generation and lifted her up to be the great grandmother of Jesus. Moses had a stammering tongue, very inarticulate and timid. God chose him to lead Israel to the promised nation. Right from Genesis the Bible is full of examples of how God chose the invalid and made them valid.

Today you may be feeling inferior because of your poor state, sickness, low education, sin or anything that isn't up to God's standards. If you are one feeling so, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! YOU JUST GOT SHORTLISTED FOR BEING GOD'S CHILD! God would choose you more than anybody else only because you are invalid. Isn't He wonderful on contrary to the world which would love you only if you are valid? It's a joy serving the Lord and seeing Him molding us into finer vessels though we were invalid once. Do not listen to the lies of the devil but keep up the fervor...Remember God is there backing you up always amidst your inabilities.

Judges 12 - Before King Saul became the king of Israel, judges led Israel. Jephthah is one among the notable judges. He was a Gileadite and a mighty warrior with valor and known for his mission against the Ammonites. He devastated the Ammonite lands and subdued them. After this victory, the men of Ephraim provoked Jephthah for not involving them in the battle against the Ammonites. He tried to explain how he had called them for the battle but they refused to join. Unconvinced, they still persisted in provoking him. His anger flared against them that he called together his men and fought against Ephraim.

The Gileadites struck the Ephraimites and captured the city of Ephraim. Jephthah was determined to completely route the Ephraimites. So he decided to kill every Ephraimite entering or leaving the city. Since it was very difficult to figure out one's origin from mere looks, the Gileadites framed an interesting strategy. Whenever a man would pass through the gate, the Gileadites asked if he was an Ephraimite. Obviously he said he wasn't, fearing death. They would then ask him to repeat the word "Shibboleth". The Ephraimites could not pronounce the sound "sh". If he said "Sibboleth", because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him. A whooping forty four thousand Ephraimites were killed because they could not pronounce the word correctly.

Isn't it strange? No wonder it says in Proverbs 18:21, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue". James 3 talks about the power of the tongue. It is compared to the small rudder that determines the direction of huge ships. Yes, though it is a small part in the body it can prove to be a threat if misused. It is also said that no man can tame his tongue because it is a restless evil full of deadly poison. We need watch our words and speak wisdom because what we speak is what we are.

Our ministry depends on two prime factors: Words and Action. What we say is what we do and that is what people around see in us. That is why Proverbs 13:3 teaches us to think before we talk. Unless our words are gracious (Proverbs 22:11), comforting (Job 4:4) and beneficial (Proverbs 20:15) we aren't making the best use of the tongue. As the tongue could determine life and death, isn't it easy to choose life as the option?

But today's children of God are so caught up in the conspiracy of the devil and he has rightly struck the precise organ to propagate his ministry; the tongue. That is why there is so much of gossips, offensive remarks, words of hatred, enmity and strife even among believers. It's high time we understand the power of the words we speak and use it for the glory of the Lord. Just like how the Ephraimites lost their lives because of a word, we may lose our lives because of our words! The only difference between the words 'Shibboleth' and 'Sibboleth' is the letter "h" and one minister of God referred to it as "Holiness in Words". If there is no holiness in your words, it may take the very life out of you!

Here are a few questions to evaluate yourself.

Do's:

1.Am I using wisdom in words? (Proverbs 10: 31,32)

2.Do I impress the wisdom of God's word to others around (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7)?

3.Are my words comforting to people? (Job 2:11, 4:4)

4.Do I speak on behalf of the innocent? (Proverbs 31:8,9)

Don'ts:

1.Do I gossip knowingly or unknowingly? (Proverbs 20:19)

2.Do I talk too much? (Proverbs 10:19)

3.Do I offend people by my words? (Proverbs 15:1)