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Risk is the probability of variation in actual return from the expected return on investment. It is related to future uncertainty of gaining or losing of investment value. The basic principle of investment is higher the risk, higher is the profit (Fidelity International, 2017). Broadly the risk can be classified in two categories: systematic risk and unsystematic risk. Systematic risk is also known as market risk and it is uncontrollable. Unsystematic risk is a specific risk which is controllable through diversification.
Management of risk is very crucial in any investment decision and it starts with the measurement of risk. There are various methods to measure the risk level. The most commonly used method is computation of standard deviation and variance of distribution of return on investment. The standard deviation measures the volatility of returns or the degree of fluctuation of actual risks from the expected returns.
The higher value of standard deviation denotes higher volatility and thus depicts high level of risk whereas the low value of standard deviation denotes lower volatility and thus depicts low level of risk.
2. Source of firm specific risk and market risk
Firm specific risk is a risk which is specific to a particular firm or group of firms. It arises due to factors which are specific to a firm or group of firms. It is an unsystematic risk which can be controlled by making investment in portfolios instead of making investment in single security.
The main source of specific risk is business risk and financial risk. Business risk is the possibility of lower profits in a business than the expected one. It may be due to competition, low demand of product, high cost of production, bad management decision and input cost etc.
Financial risk is associated with liquidity position as well solvency position of company. In other words it is related to the capacity of the company to repay its short term liabilities as well as long term liabilities in time. For example, UK based banking organization Banco Espirito Santo (BES) failed in 2014 due to its financial irregularities. It is firm specific risk.
Market risk is the systematic risk which arises due to macro events which have impact on all firms (Weaver & Weston, 2001). The degree of impact may vary from industry to industry. It cannot be controlled with diversification that is why it is also known as undiversifiable risk. Sources of market risk can be any natural disaster, change in government regulation, political change, market recession, changes in foreign exchange rates and interest rates. For example, demonetization of currency in India in 2016 had same impact on all industries. It is market related risk.
3. Coefficient of variation
Coefficient of variation is a statistical measure which expresses the ratio of standard deviation to average return of the data distribution (Damodaran, 2014). It is calculated as follows:
Coefficient of variation = Standard deviation of data distribution
Mean of data distribution
It measures the dispersion of data points in a data distribution around its average. It is also known as relative standard deviation as it can be used to measure and compare the degree of variation of two different data series with different number of samples. The higher value of coefficient of variation depicts higher degree of variation and thus higher risk and vice versa. For example stock A has return of 8% and its standard deviation is 25%. Stock B has return of 9% and its standard deviation is 30%.
The coefficient of variation will be as follows:
Stock A = 25% = 3.13%
8%
Stock B = 30% = 3.33%
9%
The coefficient of variation of stock A is low as compared to stock B, so the level of risk is low in stock A as compared to stock B.
The implications of the cyber security raise several questions that need an exhaustive examination from governments and other stakeholders. Some of these questions have been noted by the project 2020 initiative of the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA), such as who owns the data in networks and who secures the joins between services, applications, and systems (Cyber Security Protection Alliance, n.d ).
Perhaps the most crucial to answer is who covers and recovers the losses both financial and regarding data recovery. Understanding who covers the loss of cyber-attack in terms of finance and data can help prepare and formulate strategic solutions for cyber security. This is the most important question to examine given that the worst effects of a cyber-attack are loss of money, tarnishing of the organization’s name and loss of customers. The increased cyber-attacks have resulted to a faster growing cyber insurance industry as high profile attacks fuel demand.
Insurance plans like the First Cyber Risk Insurance allows the victim to recover information and income that may have been lost due to a data breach. This policy includes theft and fraud and covers the loss of the policy holder’s data resulting from cyber-attacks. A forensic investigation on the other hand covers the legal and technical forensic services and examines the impact of the breach while business interruption insurance covers lost income when the insurer is capable of doing business after an attack.
Another type of first-party cyber risk insurance is the computer data loss and restoration that covers any physical damage experienced during cyber-attack. There are several third party insurance covers that insure the policyholder of the liability to a client’s or government after an attack. These types of cover range from litigation and regulatory and notification costs insurance
How are nursing theories used in day-to-day nursing practice to ensure patients have positive outcomes?
Nursing science is a discrete of knowledge that comprises of paradigms, theories and frameworks. Nursing practice is deliberative, action- oriented, goal directed and coordinate work with many health stakeholders to enhance healthful living and death with dignity in both the patients and ontological realities of human features. Nursing practice consists of coordinated process of technological problem solving processes, human to human engagement to deliver quality and cost effective care (Alligood, 2014).
The last two decades have witness an increased support and recognition for the importance of nursing theory in education sectors and clinical practice. Examples of nursing theory important to clinical practice includes Rogers, Neuman, Orem (grand theories), middle range theories and general nursing theories such as Eriksson, Nightingale, Watson, Newman among others.
Theories in nursing are developed to explain vital nursing phenomena. These theories are used to guide clinical practice especially when collecting patient data, organizing, interpreting and making appropriate decisions related to nursing interventions. The theories act as frameworks that provide direction and frameworks for structuring nursing professionalism, education and research (Green, 2012).
Nursing theories have various utilities in clinical practice. For instance, the theories have the general unspecified role which is basically providing of general clinical practice orientations, commitments and attitudes towards fundamental nursing practice features that improves patient’s outcome. The situation specific role involves theories that are used selectively, for specific clinical situations.
In clinical practice, theories serve as guide to patient assessment, identifying patient specific intervention and evaluation of nursing care plan. Nursing theories provide rationale for collecting of valid and reliable data regarding the health status of clients, and especially those that are effective during decision making and implementation of interventions. The theories enhance autonomy of nursing, thereby defining its own dependent functions.
This is because it enhances communication between nurses, thereby providing a common theoretical knowledge base from which the clinical practice is built. The manner in which the theory is developed influences its potential for communication during research and its applicability into practice (Alligood, 2014).
The multiple theories in nursing practice are important because they aid in illuminating, appreciating and understanding the different components of nursing knowledge. However, it is important to understand that nursing theories do not directly explain what one is expected to do in clinical situations. They are basically abstractions that help a registered nurse to understand, describe and prediction of patient’s outcome theoretically.
Uniqueness of each clinical situation indicates that there are complex interconnections of nursing phenomena. This is because clinical situations comprises of different human meaning and interpretations, and that the situations flow with their own time, own trajectories and histories (indicates that the clinical situations re never stable and are highly unique (Carrington, 2012).
References
Alligood, M. R. (2014). Nursing theorists and their work (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Carrington, J. M. (2012). Development of a conceptual framework to guide a program of research exploring nurse-to-nurse communication. Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 30(6), 296-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NXN.0b013e31824af809
Green, C. (2012). Nursing intuition: A valid form of knowledge. Nursing Philosophy, 13, 98–111. Im, E., & Chang, S. J. (2012). Current trends in nursing theories. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 44(2), 156-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2012.01440.x
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The historical evolution of advance nurse practice indicates the importance of Advance practice nurses are in delivering of quality and cost effective care. This class outlined the theoretical foundation of nursing practice which has enabled me gain credibility and develops the necessary practice skills and core competencies in this dynamic and complex nursing environment.
It has empowered me with appropriate skills to navigate the complex healthcare systems and to promote evidence based practice and knowledge. The course provides an opportunity to evaluate the traditional and current nursing practice by exploring nursing theories and theories in other discipline. This has provided an opportunity to understand the various theories, and to explore the best framework that reflects my role as a Family nurse practitioner (Shearer and Adams, 2012).
Reflecting on this course outcomes, I recognize several outcomes that I can relate with to develop my professionalism. The course has enabled me to integrate knowledge gathered from previous courses to deliver quality care. I have developed critical thinking skills that are essential in developing differential diagnoses; and competences that will help one to relate and address the health dilemmas encountered in my discipline.
The unit course on facilitates the development and interdisciplinary leadership provided; thereby providing an opportunity to interact collaboratively with other professions, and their role in delivering cost effective and quality care. The course outcome provides an opportunity to exhibit advanced communication skills, thereby ensuring that I can appropriately and confidently engage as a team member and collaborator and simultaneously functioning as part of the multi-disciplinary team (Zanetti, 2015).
The Advance nurse practitioner functions in various role territories including the family nurse practitioners, nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, administrators and nurse researchers. Through this course, one can differentiate the distinct role territories; for instance, nurse specialist focus on illness management in acute care, during consultation, education and research.
Nurse administrators work as clinical leaders within the field or expertise. On the other hand, the Family nurse practitioner focus on primary care where they provide care plan, comfort, educate and in promotion of health and wellness strategies. As a family nurse practitioner, my core role as primary care clinician is to coordinate the healthcare team, educate/instruct patient and to work as care managers (Fitzgerald et al., 2012).
The advance nurses (family nurse practitioners) are patient’s advocates and must deliver this role actively to ensure that patient’s rights and dignity are protected. The course is structured in such a way that one can synthesize knowledge from ethics, regulatory statutes and theory, to develop personal philosophy in my career.
This includes development of cultural competence so as to champion as a social and culture ambassador and to ensure that care is available, accessible, and delivered equitably without any bias. I have explored the ethical and legal principles in my State, and as required as a professional member of the nursing community (Shearer and Adams, 2012).
This course outcome provides an opportunity to utilize research so as to identify health promotion strategies, diseases prevention and to deliver cost effective and quality care as evidence based, while respecting sensitivity towards population or patient’s unique attributes.
The introduction to scholarly project development helped me in gaining skills on the importance of consulting with preceptors, identifying problems in clinical practice, explore on evidence of achievements and to disseminate findings. I find these skills to be very useful even upon graduation, and also when pursuing professional advancement (Morgan, Barry, & Barnes, 2012).
As a future advance nurse practitioner, I now understand that learning is not just an act of momentary acquisition of skills and knowledge, but a process where skills and knowledge become honed so that they can manifest in every aspect of clinical practice. Looking at my future career, it is my hope that I will apply the core competencies gained to develop critical awareness in all the different role functions. Thank you for your immense guidance and support throughout the course.
References
Fitzgerald, C., Kantrowitz-Gordon, I., Katz, J., & Hirsch, A. (2012). Advanced Practice Nursing Education: Challenges and Strategies. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012, 854918. http://doi.org/10.1155/2012/854918
Morgan, C., Barry, C., & Barnes, K. (2012). Master’s programs in advanced nursing practice: new strategies to enhance course design for subspecialty training in neonatology and pediatrics. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 3, 129–137. http://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S29270
Shearer, D., and Adams, J. (2012). Evaluating an advanced nursing practice course: student perceptions, nursing standard 26(21):35-41. DOI:10.7748/ns2012.01.26.21.35.c8888
Zanetti, M. L. (2015). Advanced nursing practice: strategies for training and knowledge building. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 23(5), 779–780. http://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.0000.2614
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An evaluation and critical analysis of Ebola control: A global Health case study
Introduction
Emerging infectious disease seems to be risk in conflict affected regions. For instance, the impact of Ebola outbreak in 2014-15 was highest in regions that were conflict affected in the recent past. Despite the slow response, the 2014-15 outbreaks in West Africa received most attention than other public health issues. However, the public health institution has paid very little attention to evaluate the complex interaction of conflict, its consequences and its implication for the local, regional and international health systems (Corsi, 2014).
This research conducts a critical analysis on Ebola control to evaluate the elements of conflict affected societies that hinder effective control of emerging infections outbreak, and to evaluate the strategies that facilitate or hinder effective control of these emerging infections before a catastrophic situation occurs. The global perspective case study is expected to have implications for the types of strategies needed to facilitate effective response to Zoonotic diseases such as Ebola in conflict afflicted regions.
Summary of the case study
A new outbreak of Ebola Virus (EV) was identified in West Africa in March, 2014. The first cases of EV virus were reported on the border of Guinea Conakry with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The transmission of the virus became intense in the aforementioned country, but there were few outbreak incidences in the neighboring countries including Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali.
By January 2015, the EV virus outbreak in West Africa had affected more than 22,000 people and 8,800 deaths. Small unrelated EV virus outbreak also occurred in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between the months of July and October 2014. The cases were also reported in other countries outside Africa including Spain (1 person was infected) and 2 incidences in America (McPake et al. 2015).
The first outbreak of EV virus took place in Zaire (now known as DRC) in 1976; and was named after a nearby river – Ebola River. Similar outbreaks was experienced Sudan, but the EV strain was different from that of DRC. Since then, there are more than 25 EV outbreaks that have occurred in Africa, and five EV virus strains have been identified (McPake et al. 2015).
The latest EV virus outbreak in West Africa was the largest ever, given the number of people it affected and the countries involved. This is followed by the 2000 EV virus outbreak in Uganda which affected more than 425 people. Prior to these aforementioned EV virus outbreaks, these regions were conflict affected in the recent past which suggests a complex interaction between conflict and emerging infections outbreaks (Okware et al., 2002).
Discussion
It is known that wars, conflicts and population displacement pose significant risk for outbreaks of infectious diseases due to overpopulation, combined livelihood, water and food shortages. Some of the health outbreaks related to conflicts includes re-emergence of African Trypanosomiasis in Angola, Uganda and Sudan (Ford, 2007). Bausch and colleagues also describes the impact of political unrest in DRC and delayed response to Marburg virus outbreaks (Bausch et al., 2003). Several studies have confirmed the statistical relationship between the occurrence of conflicts, natural disasters and epidemics (McPake et al., 2015).
Undeniably, war drives a society towards marginal substance and is associated with multiple implications on the society’s health and economy. For instance, during conflicts vegetation may be deliberately become destroyed and residents may permanently or temporarily lose access to these lands, and often become separated from their normal means of livelihood. The conflict implications may last into post conflict periods.
Consequently, the states may become dysfunctional and weak. The fragile governance finds it challenging to deliver core functions to most of its people. This is because they lack political capacity and will to deliver the basic functions of a society such as security, human right, economic development and public health.
Newbrander and colleagues describes conflict affected health systems as poorly coordinated with insufficient coordination and monitoring. This results into reduced equity of health resources due to poor mechanisms to develop, establish and to implement the health strategies. In these types of systems, the health information system is non-operational due to inadequate management capacity, lack of infrastructure, non existence referrals and inadequate capacity to deliver health services to a large population (Newbrander et al., 2011).
Despite the fact that this list is comprehensive, it basically outlines the typical characteristics of Middle income healthcare systems. The main domain that is absent in this list is health human resource shortages, making preventive care to stall during the conflict periods, thereby increasing the likelihood of emerging infections outbreaks (Corsi, 2014).
Other proposed description of health systems in conflict affected areas are best understood when one evaluates the consequences of violence and conflict. For instance, in most conflict affected areas, the health workers tend to desert especially if there is a specific risk factor that affects them in excess as compared to the rest of the population. Conflicts also damages healthcare infrastructures used to make disease surveillance and to monitor controls of emerging infections (Annan, 2014).
Notably, the flight of healthcare human resource in conflict affected areas does not result to generalized shortages, but skewed shortages in areas perceived as most insecure- often rural and remote areas. In some incidences, the prolonged conflicts could result into missing a generation of healthcare providers due to prolonged periods of no or little recruitment and training.
This may lead to absurd events such as having inexperienced staff being promoted in senior positions such as the management of public health at national level and representing negotiations with other international health agencies. This undermines the ability to effectively collaborate with the international agencies to monitor or provide support in order to curb potential outbreaks in the conflict affected region (Newbrander et al., 2011).
For instance, Ebola virus outbreak in Uganda (2000) emerged in conflict afflicted region – Gulu district. The index case of this outbreak is yet to be identified, but it is associated with movement of people across Sudan, Uganda and DRC. The incidence was speculated that the disease was carried by Sudanese rebels that operated in Gulu district, or Uganda armed forces that had returned from Congo. This highlights that movements of people from conflict affected areas to other regions may carry emerging disease pathogens with them. This has also been demonstrated by cholera outbreaks in Haiti (McPake et al., 2015).
The EV virus outbreak in Uganda was controlled effectively and the success can be attributed to prompt action and proper coordination of care. Effective public communication created an appropriate community protocols that were effective when dealing with infectious diseases among the communities. There was also extensive surveillance mechanism that reached into rural communities, and in cases of suspicious death, they used trained burial teams.
Okware and colleagues report that media have major role to play during outbreaks in conflict affected areas. Fortunately, the media reports back then was supportive and performed a major role in controlling behaviors by delivering reassuring news that limited anxiety and panic. This implies that the government should use the media strategically to advise their community about the effective precautions and control measures (Okware et al, 2002; Linda and Ndebe, 2015).
Some of failures in healthcare system in this case study are that the healthcare providers were forced to work even in areas that still had conflicts. The healthcare providers were escorted by Ugandan army to insecure areas. Due to the continued conflicts, medical supplies were insufficient during the early phase of the outbreak, which led to infection of 14-22 health workers. Initially, the health workers were not compensated for additional risks and there were no compensations to their families incase of their deaths until two months later into the EV virus outbreak (McPake et al., 2015).
In addition, during an outbreak, the communities have their own perspective about the disease. In this case, the community would seek for traditional treatment and when it failed, the illness would be classified as a curse and most people responded by isolating the sick. In the first phase, burials were the main source of transmission, especially in females exposed to traditional practices.
Another common issue evident in this case study is the issue of distrust between the locals and the international social workers. It is suggested that most people feared visiting the hospitals due to rumors that their body parts would be stolen if they died. This stigmatization between the locals and foreigners also contributed to the spread of the outbreak. Therefore, it is evident that distrust between the national government and the regional conflict constrains the outbreak control efforts. For instance, there were high suspicions regarding the rationale behind the rapid and isolated burial tradition (Roca et al., 2015).
The Sierra Leone EV virus outbreak in 2014-15 is believed to have originated from a 2 years old child in Guinea forest, in 2013, who was most likely infected by a fruit bat. The disease reached the health workers by January 2014, but the ministry of health was notified in March.
Although basic control measures such as early diagnosis, quarantine, infection control strategies, contact tracing, disinfection and safe burial were implemented; they were implemented slowly in the three West Africa countries due to shortages of staffs trained in infection prevention and control (McPake et al., 2015). They also lacked protective gears and had limited clinical management as well as surveillances capacities.
The success of outbreak control measures were hindered by lack of cooperation between the residents, States healthy system and international response. In addition, the deep rooted cultural values and beliefs resulted into lack of trust on the government- which could be linked to distrust created by increased regional conflicts and rivalries. The disease transmission spread across the borders due to population movement. In addition, the initial media response was unhelpful as it pointed fingers to the government claiming that incompetence in ministry of health and corruption failed to support the public health adequately (Ebola, n.d.).
Despite the fact that the international agencies declared the outbreak as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” the international response in West Africa was sluggish. In addition, the health workforce in the West Africa was inadequate, unequally distributed and lacked skillful training for the task at hand. Medical teams in middle income countries are generally understaffed, de-motivated, overworked and ill equipped to manage an outbreak of such magnitude.
It is also documented that these countries delay payment of financial incentives to attract, motivate and retain health workers in rural areas. In this case, the environment is not conducive to practice infection preventive surveillances and control. The collective factors increased attrition from healthcare providers and reduced trust between health services providers and users. Therefore, the service users became more accustomed to seeking treatments from traditional healers (Annan, 2014).
Recommendations
From this critical analysis, the study identifies the main recommendations that will help improve detection and control of infectious diseases. To start with, detection and control of emerging infectious diseases demands for functional healthcare systems. This implies that the government should invest in human resources, infrastructure, training and provision of the necessary medical supplies such as drugs, vaccines and equipment.
The international agencies such as non-governmental organizations and United Nations Agencies must recognize their roles in middle income countries, especially those conflicts affected in order to provide adequate humanitarian assistance and coordinate care during outbreaks (McPake et al., 2015).
In such incidences, good hygiene and appropriate standard infection control strategies in the region are required so as to reduce potential transmission and amplification of the disease. The healthcare providers should give the correct guidance on the rationale of infection control and use of PPE, and quarantine based on the potential exposure and the risk of infection. The guidance should be supported with consistent supply of PPE, disinfectants and drugs because shortages in these supplies may become a breach in infection control (Annan, 2014).
Surveillances on the disease incidence and trends are essential because they help to identify priorities, plan and implement interventions. The surveillance system should rely closely with NGOs, community and international organizations so that they can provide resources and capacities of present organizations. The system must demand for immediate reporting for potential outbreaks to the relevant authorities (Linda and Ndebe, 2015).
Lastly, every nation should establish and implement epidemic preparedness such s training of staff on ways to manage an outbreak, use of surveillance tools to manage epidemic prone infections and equipping the conflict affected regions with appropriate infrastructures and means of communication. They should have ample isolation facilities, lab and mechanism to transport the specimen to the relevant authority (Roca et al., 2015).
Conclusion
Beyond the public health objectives of preventing the emergence and spread of infectious disease, it is important for the international agencies to alleviate the impacts of the outbreaks on the vulnerable conflict- affected areas. This is because the conflict afflicted regions represent the weakest links in health security globally, and must be prioritized by the international agencies so as to provide adequate support in operational and technical support, and to implement core capacities to detect and respond to potential epidemics effectively.
References
Annan, N. (2014). Violent conflicts and civil strife in West Africa: causes, challenges and prospects. Stability. 3(1):3
Bausch, D.G., Borchert, M., Grein, T., et al.(2003). Risk factors for Marburg hemorrhagic fever, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Emerg Infect Dis. 9(12):1531–7
McPake, B., Witter, S., Ssali, S., Wurie, H., Namakula, J., & Ssengooba, F. (2015). Ebola in the context of conflict affected states and health systems: case studies of Northern Uganda and Sierra Leone. Conflict and Health, 9, 23. http://doi.org/10.1186/s13031-015-0052-7
Newbrander, W., Waldman, R., Shepherd-Banigan M. (2011). Rebuilding and strengthening health systems and providing basic health services in fragile states. Disasters. 2011;43(4):639–60.
Okware, S. I., Omaswa, F.G., Zaramba, S., Opio, A., Lutwama, J.J., Kamugisha, J, et al. (2002) An outbreak of Ebola in Uganda. Trop Med Int Health. 7(12):1068–75.
Roca, A., Afolabi, M. O., Saidu, Y., & Kampmann, B. (2015). Ebola: A holistic approach is required to achieve effective management and control. The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 135(4), 856–867. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2015.02.015
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MacArthur, John F. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013.
Summary
The book by MacArthur is very resourceful to Christians and leaders seeking to be effective in their ministries and in their personal growth in Christ. The book has three chapters, each delving in different topics, addressing the need for Christians to understand the immense power of the Holy Spirit. In the first chapter, the author states how Christians in several parts of the world have been faking their understanding of the working of the Holy Spirit.
Others use their position to swindle and steal from unsuspecting listeners using the language of generosity and faith.[1] He says prosperity is not a gospel but a heresy.[2] The author says that the Holy Spirit is already churning the Church through mighty revivals and it requires Christians to discern the times and workings of the Holy Spirit in their midst.
In the second chapter, the author states the importance of speaking in tongues as a sign to the Israelites and as a transition to the new covenant from the old.[3] The use of tongues should be orderly and only for edification purposes and not for spiritual ecstasy. The author strongly reinstates the need to have faith in praying for the sick, whose healing should depend on the faith of their intercessors, not theirs.
The author in the third chapter brings several themes into light. First, the author highlights the dangers of counterfeiting the working of the Holy Spirit, stating that it is vital to have a true understanding of the Holy Spirit in worship. The Holy Spirit is God, whose presence in a person should result in a greater spiritual experience.
The Holy Spirit has the ability to secure a person’s salvation, but some charismatic Christians ignore this wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit. The author states that it is important for believers to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit in order to offer effective worship to God and to be fiery in their ministries.[4]
Critique
The works of MacArthur highlights several problems encountered in the Christian faith worldwide. The author is concerned with the low level of spirituality in the church; and how some ministers have reduced the message of salvation to personal gain. The author’s arguments on the working of the Holy Spirit resonates the need for the church to awaken and rediscover the power of revival, prayer, worship and evangelism.
I agree with the author’s analyses of several theatrics present in the church such as false tongues, false miracles, prosperity gospel, and use of the pulpit for personal gain. It is imperative for the minister to understand their call and adhere to their master’s command, the Holy Spirit, in their daily activities.
The author has also stated how important it is to speak in tongues; genuine tongue that leads to edification of the person. This is the most abused practice in the church according to the author, and amounts to mockery of the highest order to the Spirit.
The fact that many Christians do not understand the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives in terms of His plans for their salvation also highlights the need for Christians to seek for a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit. To sustain the great revival and to keep the Spirit fire burning, Christians will have to safeguard themselves from false doctrines and practices and lean to the pure word of God.
Evaluation
MacArthur reinstates the perpetual need for revival in the body of Christ in his book. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the church has experienced mighty revivals by the Holy Spirit seeking to change the static nature of the church to a vibrant one. The notion of being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in new tongues is a part of Christian experience that the mainstream churches have ignored for a long time.[5]
The Holy Spirit has immense ability to work in the current church in an even mightier state than the ancient church; something that has been plagued by the inability of the church to recognize His power and the need to yield under His authority. The Holy Spirit is a prerequisite for the successful operation of the church, which Jesus promised to send, without which we cannot be effective in ministry.[6]
George Smeaton in his book The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit reiterates how this third personality of God has been working with humanity since the time of Enoch. The Holy Spirit is the finisher and effecter of the purposes and plans of God. However, the reason why the church has remained dormant for a long time is due to lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit and yielding to the spirit of confusion.
The church is at the edges of societal centrality due to entertainment of ungodly doctrines by ministers and congregation as well. Christians must learn to test the spirits to know which is from God in order to avoid deception.[7] God gave several people in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit in order to do specific tasks, requiring wisdom, courage, extreme strength, and skills.[8] Therefore, the infilling with the Holy Spirit is a requisite for effective spiritual experience in Christianity and realization of greater purpose. The author’s analogy of the works of the Spirit reflects the works of other authors as an imperative entity.
The person I chose to share the gospel with is my friend Allyson Sy and we met at Starbucks Coffee on Feb. 7, 2017 at 4:00 pm because she was feeling down. This is why I shared the gospel to her that has a message about miracles. When I read the gospel to her which is John 2:1-11, she was skeptical of the part when Jesus turned water into wine because, according to her, there is no such thing as a miracle. Hence, she said that it never happened, but after some time, she began to open her mind to the possibility.
I did not allow her doubt to discourage me because I gave examples of little miracles that happen in daily life. For instance, how a person feels relieved after praying if she has been feeling unloved and lost. That miracles do not always happen in big crowds like the wedding in Cana at Galilee. That event had to happen because there were a lot of people and it was a banquet that symbolized the messianic era. There was also the faith of a mother in her son because all she had to do was tell Jesus there is not enough wine and he did the miracle.
If someone who does not self-identify as a Christian hears about this story, he or she might even laugh at me. Since Allyson is my friend, despite her skepticism, she continued to listen to my explanation. Meanwhile, I was also very careful not to make her feel that I am imposing anything to her. I have had experiences where people have become defensive of their beliefs because someone provoked them to. By making Allyson feel that I do not condemn her for not being a self-identified Christian, her reaction was lighter. And out of curiosity, she started to ask questions.
She wanted to know why his disciples did not believe Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. What happened at the wedding proved them wrong and they started to believe in him because that was clearly not a coincidence. They had no wine at first and Jesus filled 6 jars that held 30 gallons each. The disciples did not believe Jesus at first because they have never met anyone like that before and blasphemy was very common during that time. In the same way, Allyson thought I was being foolish, but she eventually opened her heart.
This is an encounter that I will not forget because it gave me a chance to open someone’s doors to the reality of miracles. Especially because that person is one of my good friends. I also related Jesus’ experience to how people doubt a leader at first until he or she proves them wrong. Jesus and his disciples can be compared to a group of friends who have been through a lot, got lost, and needed a credible leader to clear their path. This is something that can happen to a person, a company, or a peer group. There is always someone who has to take the lead so that everyone is safe.
After I talked to her about it, she gained more insights about life and why people tend to admire someone they can look up to. Since we still had time, I invited her to pray with me and told her that I will lead the prayer. She agreed because, since the does not self-identify as a Christian, she is not good with spontaneous prayers. I recited a prayer of thanksgiving and related it to the experiences we had. It was a 3-minute prayer that was enough to let her feel the power of prayer. She thanked me for the experience because it is not every day that she will encounter someone like me, and we happily ended our meeting.
Spiritual discipline is imperative for any Christian with a strong quest to live a fulfilling godly lifestyle and achieve the optimum outcome from his faith. It has been part of my weekly practice to adhere to a spiritual discipline plan for the aim of inculcating a consistent godly lifestyle and avoiding all manner of temptations. This study provides a brief evaluation of the achievements I attained while implementing the plan, how I overcame temptations and the plan I shall use for the next twelve months.
Spiritual Discipline Evaluation
In the entire week while implementing the spiritual discipline plan, I came to realize the importance of having a consistent personal relationship with God. Spiritual discipline highlighted to me the beauty of staying attached to the creator of all and learning many things that the Holy Spirit has to offer to all that are thirsty for Him. My spiritual discipline plan entailed two activities, which were journaling and a scripture taking. Each day I allocated an hour of prayer and reading the Word every morning and evening with a quest of making it my personal habit. It was difficult to adhere to the schedule as I was used to the normal routine of waking up and preparing for other activities.
Putting God first ahead of my daily activities has made me realize that I achieve more because He goes ahead of me. In scripture taking, I came across a verse granting the ownership of day and night to Him;[1] therefore, His importance in leading us every day is unquestionable.
I allowed the Holy Spirit to lead me through scripture taking, which enabled me to have a satisfying devotion every day. Although I managed to accomplish the devotions almost daily, some days I slept late and woke up very late making it difficult to have a conducive session. I was able to achieve covering up to nine chapters of the scriptures per day, only skipping devotion on average twice a week.
I spent a considerable amount of time, sharing the scripture with my neighbors and friends during the weekend and in our cell group, which exposed me to more revelations from other brethren. I would make it clear that it was not smooth sailing as exhaustion sometimes made it difficult to attain these goals but God enabled me to achieve them.
I also managed to do journaling every day. Journaling is an activity I personally saw as important since it allowed me to quickly capture insights developed whenever I read the scripture or reflected on the doings of the Lord in my life. Personal reflections and meditations especially after my devotions helped me to grow a deep understanding of the purposes of God in my life.
Every day I sought to record at least five things that I consider a blessing in my life. This helped me to identify what I had taken for granted in my life that God was doing. It is surely surprising to know what the Lord has done by counting one’s blessings one by one. Implementing the first plan was difficult because of lack of personal training into being consistent in implementing the plan.
However, it became easier to implement the plan on a daily basis by developing some discipline in avoiding distractions that would rob me time in the evenings and morning. Some of these activities included staying out late, sleeping late, oversleeping, and watching television until late.
Battle Strategy
The ability to overcome temptations is an important step in achieving long-term goals in life, whether spiritually, academically, economically, or socially.[2] Lack of self-control is a major setback in establishing a thriving spiritual life that is both fulfilling and successful in the pursuit of godliness. The Bible is clear that temptations that come upon people are due to the evil that are accustomed to them.[3]
It is however important to undergo trials as it helps to build perseverance in the life of a Christian. The main temptations I identified before the beginning of my plan was the use of electronics and the social media. I realized I was spending a considerable amount of time watching television and chatting on social media sites. This was detrimental to my spiritual walk and especially being consistent in my devotions and prayer.
During the implementation of my plan, I learnt how to allocate time for my evening and morning devotions by, reducing the time I was using to watch television and accessing social media sites. I placed a lot of priority on my devotions especially in the evening by deciding to do my devotions early before doing other things. Social media can also provide a lot of temptation to a Christian, so I limited the time taken to use the sites. Additionally, I decided to use the sites to promote spiritual matters by sharing Bible verses and evangelism.
I developed the need to draw satisfaction from the social media by interacting with friends and catching up with people I have not met for a long time. Using sites like facebook, whatsapp, and twitter provides a window into getting information concerning what is happening in the society and people’s views concerning them.
However, the devotion plan helped in making me understand the importance of allocating time to build a relationship with God. Although there was some great tendency to veer off the quest to remain spiritual, adhering to the spiritual discipline plan made it easier to overcome temptations.
However, I can also say that the Holy Spirit helped me a lot in realizing this goal as it is not by my strength that I was able to accomplish this. I also drew a lesson from the Bible, which states that we should draw closer to God in order to overcome the temptations that the devil throws at us.[4]
Spiritual Discipline Plan
Reading the scriptures and prayers constitute a very important part of personal devotion. In my devotions, I have learnt to create notes on what I have learnt, and this has helped me in developing personal insight on what the Spirit communicates to me on a daily basis. In my new plan for the next six-month or so, I would like to share with people more about these insights in order to spread the word of God. I have desired to be active in evangelism so that I may lead other people to Christ and help them change their lives.
In order to undertake this new plan, I would like to get involved with some brethren in the church who are consistent in evangelism and become part of them. I believe by surrounding myself with people who have the heart for the lost will enable me reach out to more people with the message of truth and helping them in their daily struggle through sharing of a message of hope. I also need to study the Bible more and my plan shall not rely on my daily devotions but by taking part in Bible studies with my church’s cell group members.
In the next month going forward, I shall aim to lead at least one person to Christ every month, while taking part in church activities that optimally capitalizes on my faith and ability. Having a great intimacy with God can overflow into a personal action and lead to someone reaching out to others as an expression of this intimacy.[5] I believe by putting action into my faith, I shall not only be alive to the working of God in my life but also to hearing from Him even more.
Bibliography
Bible, Holy. “King James Version.” Texas: National Publishing Company(2000).
I choose to offer an exposition to the prayer in the book of Mathew 6, and this is what it says “ when you pray do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray while standing up in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others that they are praying. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward in full. When you pray as a Christian, go into your room, and just close the door, then pray to the heavenly Father who is in heaven, who is unseen.
Then God, who sees what is in secret, will reward you in full. And when you pray, you should not keep on babbling just like the pagans do, for they think that they will be heard with the use of their many words[1].
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need even before you pray
Here Jesus is talking to the gathering about the way they should also pray. The result of the prayer, He says that we should not pray like hypocrites but pray in an orderly manner that does not show off to others. He adds that, prayer should be secretive and brief. Jesus merges the result of the prayers with the resulting subject being the kind of prayer the Father in high heavens rewards[2].
Prayers of nature: they include the exaggerated prayer, as well as the hermeneutic prayer. These are the prayers Jesus said, the Father in heaven listens to a prayer offered in sincerity and not as the hypocrites or pagans do, but one delivered with sincerity and confidence[3].
The Exegetical guideline of passage
1. The type of prayer that Jesus Christ said, my Father’s rewards are ones that are offered not as the hypocrites do, praying to be recognized, rather Jesus says a prayer that is offered in great sincerity in the solitude of one’s room is the best.
a) The believers of Jesus Christ were encouraged by him not to be like the pagans, who prefer to pray in front of all humans to show off; they will receive their reward in full.
i. Also, the followers of Jesus Christ are not to pray just like the pagans.
ii. Hypocrites will go to rooftops as well as streets to show off that they are praying.
iii. The heavenly Father has already rewarded the pagans in full
2. The followers of Jesus Christ are supposed to be praying in secrecy, in their room where the omnipresent God will see them.
I. Followers of Jesus Christ are to pray in secret to God who is unseen.
ii. The Father in heaven will reward those who pray to him in secret
The followers of Jesus of Nazareth are not to pray as the pagans do, by babbling on with their many words and asking too much, but are instead just pray with confidence knowing that God knows what they need even before they ask.
1. The followers of Jesus Christ are not to pray like the pagans pray who babble on with many words endlessly thinking they will not be heard because of their many words.
i. Jesus Christ followers are not to pray like the pagans.
ii. The pagans talk a lot when they are praying.
iii. The pagans always assume that the Holy Mighty God hears them because they use many words
2. The followers of God are not supposed to pray just like the unbelievers assuming the All Mighty knows what you need even before you pray
i. Followers of Jesus will not pray as pagans
ii. The Father knows their needs before they ask
The expository guidelines
What is prayer, it can be defined like a solemn request for the help or expression of thanks, address to God, and it also refers to as the direct line to heaven. It is a communication process which allows us to talk to God[4].
Example of how to pray as demonstrated
Jesus Christ explained to the crowd as well as his disciples on how to pray. He gave an example of the types of prayers and educated his followers on which one is accepted, that which the Father in heaven recognizes and that He blesses all those who pray in that manner. He explained how to pray and what should be avoided when one is talking to the All Mighty in heaven. Here is what Jesus Christ said. “When you pray, avoid being like the pagans and the hypocrites and pagans, for they love to pray standing up on rooftops and in the synagogues and on the street corners and rooftops to be seen by others that they are praying[5].
Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. However, when you pray, go into your room, close the door and then pray to your Father, who is in high heavens. Because your Father always sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Therefore, when you pray, don’t keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like pagans, for your Father knows what you need before you ask”[6].
Those are the words of Christ giving guidelines on how Christians and his followers should pray.
Difference between Christians and pagans prayer
Jesus demonstrated the real difference of the Christian prayer and the pagan prayer. Pagans will always want to be seen praying as they will go to the streets to pray and show off that they are communication with God[7]. But Jesus says that “they have been rewarded in full in heaven” he tells his followers not to be like the pagans who will go to the streets and the rooftops and shout in the name of praying to the Father in heaven.
Jesus says that his followers should pray in their home where others do not see them, but only the unseen God will see them and answer their prayers. The invisible God will bless those who pray in sincerity and confidence, as stated by Jesus Christ[8].
Pagans will babble their mouths with many words when they pray, and they will pray long prayers as well, but God won’t answer their prayers. Followers of Jesus Christ will offer a short prayer in faith and sincerity as it will be solved because the Father in heaven already know what they are planning to pray about even before they pray. The followers of Christ are encouraged not to be like the pagans because;
I. Followers of Christ are not to pray like the pagans.
ii. The pagans bubble on endlessly in their prayers
The pagans think that God hears them because of their many words it is when Christ will listen to their prayers which are not true. God has already rewarded the pagans in full, and their prayers will never be answered at all[9].
A prayer is a powerful tool that God gave to Christians to use it to communicate directly with him. When Christ was on earth, he asked his followers to use prayer as a way to reach the heavenly Father and ask as well as give thanks to him. The prayer of Christ is simple and brief. In the book of Matthew Christ taught his followers the prayer of the Lord.
The Lord’s Prayer; “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, Give us this day, our daily bread; forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, and lead us out of temptation, also deliver us from all evil: for thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen”[10].
Hermeneutic prayer outline
From the book of Matthew 6 Christ talks about prayer, he shows his followers the correct way to pay as well as how to use the Lord’s Prayer correctly to be able to communicate with the Lord in clear and precise way[11]. Christ said that when one if praying to the Lord he should pray for other as well as himself, prayer is for everyone. When you pray, do not pray like the pagans who will go to the streets.
To the people that they are paying but for the followers of Christ. Should offer a short prayer “The followers of Jesus of Nazareth are not to pray like the pagans do, by babbling on with their many words thinking it is when they will be heard, but are instead to pray with confidence knowing that their Father knows what they need even before they ask.” Jesus told his followers oh how to pray with sincerity and trust.
Jesus goes ahead to explain more in Matthew 6 “ when you pray do not be like the hypocrites, for them they love to pray standing up in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by other that they are praying[12]. Truly I tell you, they gave received their reward in full. But when you pray, just go into your room, then close the door and then pray to your Father, who is in heaven.
Then your Father in high heaven, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when praying, avoid not to keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, as for your Father knows what you need before you ask”[13].
Pagan’s Prayer does not have a mean to the Father in heaven, and they are regarded as the people who pray without sincerity, and they always boast about knowing more about Christ than anyone else, and this is not humility with Christ talks about when talking to God. Here Jesus is talking to his audience about the way one should also pray the result of the prayer. He says that we should not pray like hypocrites but pray in an orderly manner that does not show off to others on the and prayer should be secretive and brief[14]. The result of the prayers is merged.
[15]From the Lord prayer, the sanctifying of God’s name in the clause “hallow be your name” (Matthew 6:9). Is not that major theme in the Gospels, Jesus’ prayer “Father, glorify your name” and the Fathers’ response, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:28). What the kingdom come is expressed by the petition “your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10) Jesus name is meant to be the central theme of his proclamation.
You will be done the voice of entreaty. “You will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) “your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). For the bread “give us today our daily bread” (Matthew, 6:11). Forgiveness “forgive us our regular debts as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).
List of References
Cornett. Staff Pick – An Exposition on Prayer. New York: SAGE. (2015).
