I learned an interesting truth not too long ago and it made me consider what a wonderful, great God we have. If you are computer-literate you, too, may appreciate the story I am about to share with you. If you are not computer-literate, stay with me as I do my best to give you a quick course on Internet servers, databases and website management.
Back in 1982 I broke my right leg in a motorcycle accident. The doctor said I would probably never walk again on that leg. But God is good and I manage to get around quite well these days without even the use of a cane. In October of that year, because I was pretty much immobilized, I bought my first computer and began to learn programming.
As the years passed and the Internet became popular I switched from writing programs that run on a single computer to writing applications that could be used by folks surfing the Internet. In 1999 I established mrkent.com to serve the needs of the students in my classes at a career-training institution. Since then mrkent.com has become widely used by folks all over the world.
I have learned a lot about web-based servers over the years. Let me explain the meaning of the word server. A server is simply a computer that is connected to a network of other computers. The difference between it and the other computers is that its operating system is designed to provide a service to the other computers on the network. A web-based server is running additional software that supplies web pages and email to the network known as the World Wide Web - commonly called the Internet.
Anyone can set up a website. It can be done without too much expense if they do their own programming. When I started mrkent.com it ran on a server along with many other websites. I paid a monthly fee to the owner of the server which was located in a building downtown. But eventually mrkent.com began to be used by so many visitors that I had to move it to a dedicated server located about 1000 miles away. A dedicated server is one on which only one website resides. Mrkent.com has been running in this manner for several years now.
But it wasn't until recently that I discovered a very interesting difference between one of the functions on the server and the same function on my home computer. That's what I want to share with you now.
Back in 1982, when I first began working with computers there was no Internet. There was no such thing as Microsoft Windows. (Windows is the operating system used on most computers) Back then the operating system we used was DOS (Disk Operating System). You may have heard of MSDOS. That was the disk operating system sold by Microsoft. And that is what most of us used back then.
By the way, there were no such things as mice. That's plural for mouse. I remember the first time my young, six-year-old son came home from visiting a friend whose parents had one of the first operating systems that did use a mouse. He came walking into my computer room and announced that his friend's computer was easier to use than ours because it had a RAT. It took a few seconds for me to figure out what he really meant.
But I was stuck with DOS which meant that whenever I wanted to make my computer respond, I needed to know the command to type in and then press the [Enter] key. For instance, to navigate to a folder holding a file I needed I had to type something like the following:
CD C:\stories\family [Enter]
Then I needed to type:
DIR and press [Enter]
DOS would then provide a list of the files contained in that folder (known as a directory back then).
If I wanted to delete one of the stories in that folder I would type:
DEL sum_trip.doc [Enter]
Sum_trip would be the name of a story about a summer trip we had taken. But with DOS we were limited to eight characters for each file name, thus, sum_trip. And, as soon as I pressed the [Enter] key that file became history. It was totally wiped away. If I ever wanted to get it back I was out of luck. It was gone forever.
But things have come a long way in the past 25 years or so. We are not limited to such short file names. And if we want to delete a story about a summer trip we simply right-click on it, find the word Delete in the pop-up menu, left-click on the word Delete, and the file is gone. But is it really gone? Well, it has gone to what we know of as the Recycle Bin.
It will remain in the recycle bin for a very, very long time - just in case we decide we want it back. And, if we do want it back all we need to do is double-click on the recycle bin, find the file we are looking for, and double-click on it. It quickly jumps out of the recycle bin and right back to its original home in the folder where we had it stored.
The point you need to remember here is that whenever we delete a file on our Windows computer, it is not really deleted, but moved to a different location. Unlike the old days of DOS, it still exists. We can always bring it back and look at it again.
Now, let's look at the server. In order for mrkent.com to function I need to upload the files I have created to wherever the server is located. It would not be good for me to buy my own server. I do not have access to a super-high-speed trunk line. Much of the Internet traffic travels through fiber-optic cable and the companies which lease out servers to folks like myself are usually connected to such media. Over the years I have leased servers located all over the United States and in Canada.
To upload my files to a server I need Internet access and an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) application to do the work for me. After uploading all of my files to the server my website is ready to roll. This devotional you are reading was created in a word processor, then copied to an HTML file, then uploaded to the server.
Over the years I have become very comfortable using my FTP software to upload, and download files on mrkent.com. The FTP application on my computer is the working link between where I sit in my office and the hard-drive on the server far away.
Quite often I will use the FTP software to delete a file on the server which I no longer need. It is easy to do! I just find the file on the server's hard drive, right-click on it, and, from the pop-up menu I just left-click on the word, Delete. From that point on the file is gone. Did I say “Gone?” Yes - G-O-N-E, gone.
It wasn't until recently that I decided to check and see if those deleted files were just moved to the recycle bin on the server. So I brought up the Remote Desktop application on my home computer and connected to the server. Some of you may be asking yourself, “What is a Remote Desktop?”
The Remote Desktop application makes it possible for me to log in to the server in the same manner you would log in to your own computer if you had it protected with a password. Most servers, whether on the world wide web or in a local business office, require a password in order to gain access to the files it contains. The Remote Desktop allows webmasters to do the same, but, from a distant location. Once you have logged in successfully, the keyboard, mouse, and monitor at your location are connected to the server through the Internet. It is as if you were sitting in front of the server, where ever it may be.
Now, back to my recent discovery: After connecting to the server and viewing its desktop display, I double-clicked on the icon labeled “Recycle Bin.” When it opened, I was surprised to find it EMPTY! After having deleted many files over the past months I expected to find something in the recycle bin. But there was nothing. Those files were gone - wiped off the surface of the hard drive - gone forever!
That's when it hit me! As I closed the remote desktop connection the Lord spoke to my heart and helped me learn a very important truth about how He treats my sin.
Let's compare the server to our Heavenly Father. And let's compare our home computer to ourselves. The server provides for our needs. All that he has is available to us whenever we ask for it. He is always there waiting. A lot like the Internet - just a click away.
Now, I don't know about you, but I have never been able to overcome the battle with sin. I was born a sinner and I will die a sinner. The good news is that I am a sinner who is saved by grace. From the time I placed my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ until the day I go to meet Him, all of my sin has been washed away by the blood He shed on the cross.
Acts 3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out, . . .
Isaiah 43:25When I trusted in Jesus ALL my sin, past, present, and future, was blotted out. I can't forget the sins I keep committing no matter how hard I try. I read God's word and know they are forgiven. I ask forgiveness and consider them deleted. But it isn't long until I have pulled them back out of my recycle bin and back into my daily life. RECYCLE seems to be the key word here. Do you know what I mean? Do you have the same recycling problem?
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I have to remember that He is faithful and just. Because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for me there no sin in God's Recycle Bin that can be identified with my name in His Book of Life. That recycle bin is EMPTY! Any sin that may have been there before I trusted in His son has long since been BLOTTED OUT!
It is up to me to remember that fact! It is His recycle bin that matters - not mine. And when I do slip from time to time and begin to recycle my sins down here on earth I have an open invitation to regain that close relationship with the One who saved me:
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
I need not let this world's influence and the devil's tricks lead me into a depressed state of mind, thinking I am stuck in my own recycle bin. God lovingly waits for my return to His throne of grace where I can get all the help I need to stay connected the server.