OPEN HEAVENS BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE – SUNDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2017

TOPIC: GOD HAS SUBSTITUTES

MEMORISE:
For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Acts 1:20

READ: 1 Samuel 15:16-16:1
15:16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
16:1 And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Genesis 1-2 and Isaiah 41:8-20

MESSAGE:
One truth that everyone born of God must have at the back of their minds is that God has substitutes. He can therefore never be held to ransom by anyone. Whenever God decides to use a person, if that fellow does not yield to God at the time of His requisition, God will move on to use another person to fulfil His purpose. More often than not, such substitutes are better than the original recipients of God’s mandate. Such was the case with King Saul.

"And Samuel said unto him, the LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou."
1 Samuel 15:28

When a man feels too big to obey God’s instruction, he is not fit for God’s use. In the family of the works of the flesh, pride, stubbornness and rebellion are kinsmen, with witchcraft as their first cousin (Galatians 5:19-21). The Lord through Samuel reminded King Saul that there was nothing special about him before He made him king over Israel. King Saul himself did not see himself as qualified, yet God’s grace preferred him, despite the fact that he came from the least of the tribes of Israel (1 Samuel 9:21). This is the reason why whosoever God decides to use should not allow himself or herself get carried away by the glamour of the office he or she is occupying. The fellow should always keep in mind where he or she is coming from and what he or she used to be. God does not use the qualified; rather, He qualifies the fellow He wants to use.
When King Saul began to feel too big to obey the Lord’s commandment, he was replaced with a ready-made substitute, whom the Lord declared to be better than King Saul. My prayer for you is that you will not be replaced in the scheme of things in God’s kingdom in Jesus’ Name. Beloved, we should know that God has substitutes that can readily replace us if we fail to yield to His instructions. Never see yourself as being indispensable before God. Take heed to what the Lord Jesus Christ said concerning this in

Matthew 3:9:
"And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham."

PRAYER POINT:
Father, please help me to overcome anything I am doing now that may eventually make You find a substitute for me in Your Kingdom. Please don’t replace me with anyone or anything.

HYMN 14: ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS

1 Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!

Refrain:
Onward, Christian soldiers,
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!

2 At the sign of triumph
Satan's host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
on to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver
at the shout of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
loud your anthems raise!
[Refrain]

3 Like a mighty army
moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading
where the saints have trod;
We are not divided;
all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine,
one in charity. [Refrain]

4 Onward, then, ye people,
join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices
in the triumph song;
Glory, laud, and honor,
unto Christ the King;
This thro' countless ages
men and angels sing. [Refrain]

Bar review: Frames, Nicosia Cyprus

Frames Nicosia Espresso and Cocktails, is yet another new, all day lounge bar that’s recently opened in the capital, a movement that seems to define Nicosia’s burgeoning nightlife scene.

Opened mid December, Frames is open nearly 24/7. It struck me as an odd place but it has been very popular since its launch, especially among university students. It’s a large space which seats approximately 100 indoors and 60 out. The physical space has an unusual layout, the ceilings are incredibly high and the bar, which takes up a huge amount of space, is an interesting boomerang shape. The bar is very pretty indeed, lined with stools and with large mirrors behind highlighting an impressive array of alcohol.

With 18 varieties of single malt whiskey, 20 types of beer, 43 labels of red, white and rosé international wines and Champagnes there’s absolutely no shortage of choice. The signature cocktails are designed by the specialist barman (a member of the International Bartender Association) and are both very reasonably priced and well designed.

Frames is an easy going space with a splendid supply of alcohol. The cocktail menu may not dazzle with crazy and original ingredients, still, the cocktails are well made and tasty. Their Grey Goose Vodka based Sweet Amelie, despite being very sweet (and not my typical choice of drink) is moorish; perfect for the hotter months. Full of fruity flavours, it’s light on alcohol, creamy and washes down well. For a more serious cocktail, then their Old Boys is the man for the job, served in whisky glass, the citrus smelling J&B Whiskey, Drambuie, orange and mint curacao packs a punch to both nostrils and taste buds.

In warmer days, the entire glass front wall will open up to create a huge outdoor seating area, where in typical Nicosia style, people can enjoy watching cars whizzing by. The rest of the inside bar area squeezes in several high tables and chairs. The atmosphere overall is chatty. Despite the music being predominantly Deep house, one can hear people nattering away above it; the music stays pleasantly in the background. At the end of the bar area, another huge glass division separates the drinking area (where you can eat too) from the main café style eatery.

Weekdays sees more of the neighbouring students pop in to chillax, however Wednesdays and weekends attract different clientele of varying ages dressed to impress. Reservations are a must on weekends and event nights.

Thursday nights play mainstream mixed Greek and English tunes. Their special events have an entrance fee after 10.30pm. They also offer 15% discount to students presenting a Frame’s card. The resident DJ plays all kinds of house on Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays and upcoming events can be found on their Facebook page.

 ALEXIA EVRIPIDOU

Trump dumped Flynn over ‘trust issue,’ spokesman says

WASHINGTON — President Trump requested Michael Flynn’s resignation after a weekslong review of his contacts with a Russian diplomat led Trump to conclude he could no longer trust his national security adviser, the White House said Tuesday. But the internal investigation, led by Trump’s government lawyer, found that Flynn hadn’t violated the law.

“The evolving and eroding level of trust as a result of this situation and a series of other questionable instances is what led the president to ask for Gen. Flynn’s resignation,” press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

Spicer did not detail the nature of the “other questionable instances,” but officials pointed to news accounts of Flynn’s temper and of National Security Council dysfunction. And one career national security official told Yahoo News that Flynn had clashed last week with Defense Secretary James Mattis, whose judgment is known to carry great weight with Trump.

Trump removed Flynn ostensibly over a controversy involving contacts between the retired Army lieutenant general and a Russian diplomat during the transition. Apparently on Flynn’s say-so, top officials including Vice President Mike Pence and Spicer denied that the conversations touched on the question of U.S. sanctions imposed under the Obama administration in response to allegations that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election. Flynn at first expressed confidence that the sanctions didn’t come up, then later allowed that they might have. A bombshell Washington Post report on Friday disclosed that U.S. intelligence officials possessed transcripts of the calls that contradicted Flynn. Pence press secretary Marc Lotter said Pence “became aware” that Flynn misled him “based on news reports” on Feb. 9.

Olivier Knox

Chief Washington Correspondent

Liang Barsky Line Clipping Algorithm in C and C++

On ciuconnect today programmers have the opportunity to learn about liang barsky line clipping algorithm in C and C++.

This Algorithm was developed by Liang and Barsky. It is used for line clipping as it is more efficient than Cyrus Beck algorithm and Cohen Sutherland algorithm because it uses more efficient parametric equations to clip the given line.

These parametric equations are given as:

x = x1 + tdx

y = y1 + tdy, 0 <= t <= 1

Where dx = x2 – x1 & dy = y2 – y1

Liang Barsky line clipping algorithm uses 4 inequalities with 2 parameters p & q which are defined in the algorithm below.

Algorithm

1. Read 2 endpoints of line as p1 (x1, y1) & p2 (x2, y2).

2. Read 2 corners (left-top & right-bottom) of the clipping window as (xwmin, ywmin, xwmax, ywmax).

3. Calculate values of parameters pi and qi for i = 1, 2, 3, 4 such that

p1 = -dx, q1 = x1 – xwmin

p2 = dx, q2 = xwmax – x1

p3 = -dy, q3 = y1 – ywmin

p4 = dy, q4 = ywmax – y1

4. if pi = 0 then line is parallel to ith boundary

if qi < 0 then line is completely outside boundary so discard line

else, check whether line is horizontal or vertical and then check the line endpoints with the corresponding boundaries.

5. Initialize t1 & t2 as

t1 = 0 & t2 = 1

6. Calculate values for qi/pi for i = 1, 2, 3, 4.

7. Select values of qi/pi where pi < 0 and assign maximum out of them as t1.

8. Select values of qi/pi where pi > 0 and assign minimum out of them as t2.

9. if (t1 < t2)
{
xx1 = x1 + t1dx

xx2 = x1 + t2dx

yy1 = y1 + t1dy

yy2 = y1 + t2dy

line (xx1, yy1, xx2, yy2)
}

10. Stop.

Advantages

1. More efficient than other algorithms as line intersection with boundaries calculations are reduced.

2. Intersections of line are computed only once.

OUTPUT:

Turkish Cypriot Council urges TCs in Britain to apply for TRNC citizenship

The Council of Turkish Cypriot Unions has called on Turkish Cypriots who live in the UK to apply for TRNC citizenship.

According to a statement issued by the Council, only 220,000 Turkish Cypriots will have citizenship of the new federal state that will be formed in a Cyprus settlement, following which only 22,000 Turkish Cypriots who live abroad will have the right to apply for it.

Stating that there are currently 300,000 Turkish Cypriots who live in the UK, the Council says that another reason for applying for TRNC citizenship is that Turkish Cypriots in the UK will no longer be EU citizens after Brexit.

Last November, the Council met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertugruloglu who made the necessary preparations to ease application for TRNC citizenship.

Star Kibris

NFC/RFID implant project is ongoing

 

The project was founded on the insight that NFC/RFID implants have an increasing potential to serve as a practical user interface between humans and machines as a consequence of the quick spread of cheap and distributed sensors. The technology itself is not new, it has been in use industrially since the 1990s in animals and there are examples of human implantees in the late 1990s. But with the development of NFC compatible smartphones and the ‘internet of things’ there are today a number of concrete user cases where this technology can make everyday activities easier and simpler.
The goal of the project is to create a user community of at least 100 persons with NFC implants who experiment with and help develop possible uses. The implantations are entirely volunteer based and people normally pay for their own implants. As we want participants to feel as part of a community we prefer to do the chip insertions as group events which we call Implant parties. A typical implant party involves between 8-15 implantees and a bit of socialising around the experience. The fast growing implantee community is diverse, involving people of all different ages and professions but many come from hacker- and maker communities and see experimenting with technology as a natural way of life.
The objectives of the project are
– To discover and develop relevant user cases for NFC implants
– To forward the idea that subdermal implants are not only harmless but in fact useful in everyday life
– To change the public perception of smart implants, to make it as normal to have an implant as it is to have other near-body technology such as for example earrings.
– To learn and document how this technology works to help develop new generations of implants with much greater capabilities
– To give external service providers the opportunity to interact with a knowledgeable, highly skilled and visionary group of early adopters
If you are a company or organisation who would want to engage with us in order to arrange workshops or user testing of new products and services we welcome all initiatives that help develop this exciting new ecosystem. Please contact the project coordinator Hannes 
nfcimplant@bionyfiken.se

Trump's White House: Five takeaways from Friday

With the first two weeks of his presidency behind him, Donald Trump arrived at his luxury Mar-a-Lago Florida estate, dubbed the "Winter White House," where he will spend the weekend.

The president's long day included slapping new sanctions on Iran and announcing plans to take an ax to a landmark financial reform bill. A few hours before midnight, the White House issued a pledge to fight a judge's order temporarily halting Trump's controversial traveler ban.

Here are five takeaways from Friday's events in Washington:

- Travel ban halted -

The White House vowed to fight back late Friday after a federal judge in Seattle ordered a temporary nationwide halt to Trump's controversial ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.

Press secretary Sean Spicer called Trump's executive action "lawful and appropriate" and said the Department of Justice would request an emergency stay of the federal court order filed earlier in the day.

"The president's order is intended to protect the homeland and he has the constitutional authority and responsibility to protect the American people," Spicer said.

- Iran sanctions -

The US president slapped fresh sanctions on Iran's weapons procurement network, provoking an angry response from Tehran in what is an increasingly tense stand-off.

"Iran is playing with fire -- they don't appreciate how 'kind' President Obama was to them. Not me!" Trump tweeted.

The fresh US measures were in response to Iran's latest ballistic missile test and its support for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen who in the past week targeted a Saudi warship, US officials said.

- Dodd-Frank goes under knife -

The landmark Dodd-Frank financial reforms adopted in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis were aimed at curbing risky excesses by Wall Street investors that led to the "Great Recession."

On Friday, Trump -- who frequently vowed on the campaign trail that he would get rid of Dodd-Frank -- ordered a review of the law, telling business leaders: "We expect to cut a lot out of Dodd-Frank."

"I have friends who can't start businesses because the banks wouldn't let them borrow because of rules and regulations and Dodd-Frank."

Critics claim the legislation created red tape that stifles the finance industry.

- Visa numbers out -

The United States has revoked up to 60,000 travel visas since Trump ordered a ban on visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries, the State Department said.

"We recognize that those individuals are temporarily inconvenienced while we conduct our review under the Executive Order," Will Cocks, spokesman for the department's bureau of consular affairs said.

A Justice Department attorney, however, told a court hearing in Virginia that about 100,000 visas had been revoked.

A week ago, Trump issued an executive order halting arrivals for at least 90 days for the citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

All refugee arrivals from around the world were also halted, in this case for 120 days.

- Bannon brigade -

Fifty Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter to Trump demanding he explain his placement of controversial chief strategist Steve Bannon on the National Security Council despite lacking formal foreign policy experience.

Trump caused an uproar last weekend when he issued a memorandum that reorganized the NSC to elevate Bannon onto the Principals Committee and to relegate the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Director of National Intelligence to roles where they only attend when "issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise" are discussed.

Becca MILFELD

AFP4 February 2017

Community leaders meet again today

President Mustafa Akinci and President Nicos Anastasiades are meeting today in what UN envoy Espen Barth Eide described as a crucial meeting to decide the way forward.

The two community leaders agreed during their last meeting on 26^th January that they will meet again on 1^st February to decide the how the negotiations process should continue. Following which, all topics, will be on the table.

Cyprus Mail