Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Wisdom, Might or Riches – Where is your glory?

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On March 12, 2009

In Christian

We often tend to bask in the glory of our wisdom (which is foolishness to God for he is far wiser than the wisest man), our might (or strength) or in our riches. We rest on the laurels of past accomplishments, riding the ebbing waves of ephemeral success, trying to establish a name for ourselves.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 9:23-24  that that wise man must not glory in his wisdom, the mighty man must not glory in his might, nor the rich man glory in his riches, BUT instead, he/she that glorifieth, let him/her glory in the following
– that he he understands and knows God
– a God that exercises lovingkindness (loving and kind God), judgment (a just God), and righteousness (THE ONLY RIGHT GOD) in the earth
– a God that delighteth to be loving and kind and just and righteous.

Point(s) to ponder:

  1. Do you understand and know God?
  2. Do you know God to be loving and kind, a just God and a righteous God?
  3. Where is your glory? In your wisdom, in your strength or in your riches; or is it in God?

Jeremiah 9:23-24
23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

No unfinished business with God

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On March 11, 2009

In Christian

Philippians 1:6 states that “He that began a good work (in them) will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. This is very applicable today when most of leave that which we start unfinished. With God there is no unfinished business.

With God there is only completeness and perfection in that completeness. Though circumstances and situations at times may make us believe otherwise, trust that God who begins anything in your life will always bring it to fruition accordingly to his Holy will and purpose. Isaiah 10:12 refers to the time when God completes his whole work, meaning that there is no half-done work in God’s efforts.

Point(s) to ponder:
Think off the good things that you have started that have been left unfinished? Take time to address them. Ask God for his wisdom to help you get through to completing the good work he has began in you!

The wrong way to get rich – fool

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On March 10, 2009

In Christian

As the patridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. – Jeremiah 17:11

Enough said!

Beware of getting rich quickly

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On March 9, 2009

In Christian

We have heard of the saying, Get rich or die trying. Most of us, especially me as a business man, are always seeking opportunities to make it big with the shortest critical path to success a.k.a. trying to get rich in haste. The Bible in God inspired wisdom, warns us of this effort.

Proverbs 28:30 states “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent”
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting rich or being rich, the Bible does warn us to be careful of “Get rich quick” plans, since most of these efforts have the potential to compromise our faithfulness (righteousness) to God and man.

Abraham was rich, King David was rich, King Solomon was rich, Joseph of Arimathaea (Matthew 27:57) and many more in the Bible are recorded to be rich. Those in this list that were faithful are the ones who are also known to have been blessed. So watch out and beware of getting rich quickly. Think twice when you are faced with such decisions and pray to seek God’s will, evaluating if engaging would make you, to be guilty (not innocent) of being unfaithful to God and man. A faithful man shall abound with blessings.

Are you Afraid or Are you Ashamed to Die?

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On March 8, 2009

In Christian

I personally believe that there are only two states in which one can die. Afraid or Ashamed!

If you DO NOT KNOW Jesus Christ and have not accepted him as your Lord and Savior, you have every reason to dread (be afraid of) meeting him face to face upon death or on his return (whichever is earlier).
Now if you KNOW Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior BUT have NOT done anything to be his witness to others, the you have every reason to be ASHAMED of meeting him face to face upon death or on his return (whichever is earlier).

Point(s) to ponder:
Answer the question – Are you Afraid or Are you Ashamed to Die?

Mark 8:38 (King James Version)
38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Daniel 12:2 
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

It is Finished – Genesis to Revelation

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On March 7, 2009

In Christian

The Word of God (the Bible) is a compilation of hidden treasures and the more we search, the more it comes alive.
Most of us are familiar with the seven sayings of Jesus, when he was crucified to the the Cross for our sins, to make the payment to God so we can be restored back into a relationship with God. The sixth saying on the Cross is “Tetelastai” which means “It is Finished”

It is Finished is recorded 3 times in the Bible.
First, it is in Genesis (first book of the Bible) – Genesis 2:2 – where it is recorded that God had finished the work (of his Creation)
Second, it is on the Cross (central core of the Bible) – John 19:30 – where Jesus says, it is Finished, meaning that “It have been paid in full”, “The debt is no more”.
Thirdly, it is in Revelation (last book of the Bible) – Revelation 16:17 – where from out of the temple, came a loud voice saying “It is Finished” meaning Evil no longer has a chance against God.

Interestingly, the Genesis, this saying is at the end of the sixth day and beginning of the seventh. On the Cross, it is the end of the sixth saying and the beginning of the seventh and in Revelation, it is at the end of the sixth bowl of wrath and the beginning of the seventh.

Truly from Genesis (alpha) to Revelation (omega), It is Finished because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

Wise Woman – I am truly highly favored

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On March 6, 2009

In Christian

Proverbs 31:10-31 talks about the qualities of a wise woman and as I read it, I can’t help but notice how wonderfully it fits like a hand in a glove to the qualities of my beloved wife – Sangeetha.

Today is my wife’s birthday and as I reminisce about who she has been to me in the past years that we dated and have been married, words fall short of the admiration I have for her (although many times, I dont show it or dont know how to show it). She is invaluable (vs 10), a person I can trust with my life (vs 11), does me more than good (vs 12), always seeking opportunities (vs 13), providing sustenance (vs 14), ensuring that there is food (vs 15), investing in the right areas (vs 16), staying fit and healthy (vs 17), evaluating what God has blessed her with (vs 18), working (vs 19), donating to the needy (vs 20), confident of facing the future because she plans ahead (vs 21), arrayed in fine clothes looking the best amongst all her other women friends (vs 22), making me (her husband) known amongs others (vs 23), with a business acumen (vs 24), unwavering and strong in her spirit and honorable in her words and actions (vs 25), wise and kind (vs 26), never NEVER idle but constantly looking after the house (vs 27).
Our son Reuben often expresses to her as to how much he loves her (vs 28) and I truly know how blessed he is to have a mother like her and she is to have a son like him.

The Bible says in Proverbs 19:14 that a prudent wife is from the Lord.
To add to it all, I cant even stop to thank God for how blessed I am for having given me a wise (a prudent) woman as wife and a wonderful son. I am truly highly favored.

Among all of the woman in the world, from the time of Eve, I can honestly and genuinely say – that my wife, Sangeetha Johnson is infact the MOST EXCELLENT of them all.
When I met her, I realized that she could love no one more, except her Savior and God – Jesus Christ, than she loves me (and I am cool with that as that is how it ought to be).

I wish I could reflect an ounce of the love she shows to me and Reuben and am learning and working at trying to be the husband that she desires me to be – more loving and caring for her needs. I am not there yet, but hope to be someday. As for today, happy birthday, Sangs. I love you lots. Kisses and Hugs. Love you, dear.

Proverbs 31:10-31
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 
14 She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. 
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. 
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Christian Hackers as Transformers

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On March 5, 2009

In Christian

Christian HackersYesterday, I wrote about Johnny Long and how though he is world renowned security professional hacker, he is not ashamed of being known first as a Christian and how his family is serving the Lord, helping children in Africa, by using his skills through his organization – IHackCharities – www.IHackCharities.org. At the end of his talk at IPIC, Johnny put up a slide with the images and names of his hacker friends, all of them, well known in the information security space. Names like PDP, HD, Adam Laurie etc were on that slide. This gave me an idea to compile a similar slide (or hopefully many slides) that showed the names and images of Christian Hackers. We can start here and then start working on using our security talents (See the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25), to do some good works that people may see our lives and glorify the Father (God) in heaven. Ideas of projects or work could be performing security consulting, code reviews, vulnerability assessments for, penetration testing, security education etc for churches, charities and christian organizations pro bono.

In the movie Transformers, as it ends, the main character, Optimus Prime speaks the following words; “With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars; we are here, we are waiting.”

We are called to be TRANSFORMERS, sharing the Gospel so that the Holy Spirit can transform the lives of others and so it is aptly befitting that I adapt the words of Optimus Prime to invite all the Christian Hackers out there.

So here is the official invitation for Christian Hackers out there.
“With the OLD SELF gone, we cannot return to a life we lived before we knew JESUS CHRIST as LORD and MASTER. And GRACE has yielded its reward: a new world (HEAVEN) to call home. We NOW live for a short time among Others who are yet to meet with God and acknowledge His Lordship, often hiding in plain sight, but watching OUT FOR them in secret, waiting, protecting (SAVING). I have witnessed their capacity TO CONTINUE IN THEIR PATH THAT LEADS TO ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye. I am Mano Paul, and I send this message to any surviving CHRISTIAN HACKERS taking refuge in the HEAVENLY REALMS; we are here, we are waiting.”

Send mano(dot)paul(at)securisksolutions(dot)com the following information
Name: What you are called?
a.k.a.: Also known (would like to be known) as in the hacker community
Work/Project: How you would like to use your skills and talents to glorify God.

RESPOND NOW

Not Ashamed – A ‘Long’ (Johnny Long) Story

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On March 4, 2009

In Christian

Johnny Long needs no introduction to those in the information security community. The ‘ihackcharities‘ guy, the ‘ihackstuff’ guy,  professional hacker, author of many books (Google hacking, No Tech hacking …), Ninja, Pirate, excellent speaker, yada yada yada , and trust me I can go on. I first heard of Johnny Long, a  few years ago, at Blackhat security conference in Las Vegas and for years wanted to meet him. So when I found out that he will be at the IPIC security conference where both of us were speaking, I was thrilled and searched for his information before the conference. To my pleasant surprise, I found out that he was a Christian (and yes, there can be Christian Hackers; not an oxymoron :-)) and that he was not going to be offended if someone called him a Christian.

Finally, I had the privilege of meeting him today, before his talk on No Tech hacking (which was wonderful and highly recommended), I approached him, and our introductory conversation went something like this
Mano Paul: So Johnny, you are a Jesus Freak?
Johnny Long : Absolutely
Mano Paul; So am I (maybe not as openly a Jesus freak as Johnny is because I often shy away from being bold to proclaim my allegiance).

This led to a faith connection far beyond anything I have experienced with another fellow security hacker professional and we talked about various things of eternal value, hidden treasures in the Bible, God’s provisions, lessons from the birds of the air etc.

And then when he started his No Tech Hacking talk. Johnny introduced himself, first as a Christian, which he said, some may think is ‘Leet’ (hacker jargon for elite) or ‘Lame’. Through the course of his talk, his again eluded to the fact that he was a Christian. Wow, what a testimony to the 100+ people in the room. One thing was sure, Johnny was not ashamed of being called a “Christian”.

I learned that soon he will be leaving his work to go to Africa on a mission trip (not his first). Check out his organization at www.ihackcharities.org on what their mission is and if the LORD leads you, support him and his family in whatever way you can. This is a truly noble cause.

A ‘Long’ story short, if we combine Matthew 10:32 and Mark 8:38, we arrive at something like this – if you are not ashamed of Jesus or his words and confess Him before men, Jesus will not be ashamed of you and will confess you before his Father (God) in heaven. Irrespective of what the world may think of Johnny, 1337 (leet) or 14m3 (lame), one thing is for sure, Jesus Christ (to whom Johnny and his family have trusted their lives), will NEVER be ashamed of them.

Johnny was an inspiration for me to start to let the world know that I am a Christian as well. So far, I wanted people to know me as a security professional, that is not longer the case, as I want people to first know that I belong to Christ (Christian really means “Christ Ones” as they were called for the first time in Antioch). This of course means, that I have to change who I am, cannot continue to do some of the stupid things I have done in the past,  when I am with my good friends and pals (real cool cats) in my security circles. The old has to pass away (die), and I should live as a new creation. This is not going to be easy, I know, but I have to start sometime. My prayer is that God helps me to be HIS witness, to be a Christian – Not ashamed.

Mark 8:38 (King James Version)
38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Matthew 10:32
32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

Birthday on Square Root Day

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On March 3, 2009

In Christian

Today is 03/03/09 and I celebrated my birthday. My wife sent me this email which had the subject line – Interesting day.  Reading the contents, I came to learn of an interesting, humorous and unofficial holiday, known as the “Square Root day”, celebrated by Mathematicians *for the most part). Square Root day are celebrated on days when both the day of the month and the month are the square root of the last two digits of the year. For example, the last Square Root Day was March 3, 2009 (3/3/09), and the next Square Root Day will be April 4, 2016 (4/4/16). The final Square Root Day of the century will occur on September 9, 2081.  These days are unique and occur once (only once) in a century a.k.a 1/1/01, 2/2/04, 3/3/09, 4/4/16 … 9/9/81. This sure is an interesting day, and got me to ponder.

And as I thought about this more, it dawned on me that just as this day is unique, so is my birthday and for that matter, your birthday. Let me explain. We are all unique, one of a kind. Think about this, there is absolutely not a single person in the world (just like you), even if you have a twin or septuplet siblings. Each one of us is unique. The day we were born in this world was a special and interesting day, possibly for your family, but certainly in the Heavenly realms.

The Bible says in Psalm 139 that we were wrought (put together) by the hands of God. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Each one of us. Even when we were unperfect, God made us (in his own image) and ordained our days recording them and placed us on earth for a short period of time, so that our lives will be reflection of the maker and others will see it and glorify the Father (God) in Heaven.

Point(s) to ponder:
1. Take time to celebrate your Birthday (with family and friends) because it is an interesting and unique day.
2. Thank God for making you unique, one of a kind. There is no one else like you.
3.  For those who feel there is no meaning to life, who think suicide is the way out, please know that we are all fashioned by the very hands of God, and so your life and mine is important to him and to others. Life life and enjoy it. 
4. For the abortionists, dont make the womb a tomb. You are messing with God’s handiwork and no amount of raionalization (zygote, lifeless embryo etc) will be condoned.

Psalm 139 : 13-16
13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 
15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

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