Walk The Bible

As I was studying the life of King Josiah, I was intrigued by his response to " The Book of the Covenant ". His response reminded me of Fear of the Lord . Let me go through his responses as mentioned in the bible: He rent his clothes - As a sign of repentance for the sins of his people and forefathers. He didn't ignore the sins done by his predecessors, but took the responsibility for their sins (2kings 22:11) He chose to inquire of the Lord about what he heard from the book of the Covenant (2Kings 22:13) His heart was tender towards God (2Kings 22:19) He was humble before God (2kings 22:19) He wept before the Lord (2kings 22:19) He gathered all the people of his kingdom in the presence of God (2kings 23:2) He read the Book of the covenant in the presence of the crowd (2kings 23:2) He made a covenant before the Lord (2kings 23:3) He cleaned his house (Rest of 2kings chapter 23) What a remarkable character this leader has exhibited! Even though he was not directly respons

"Because your heart was [tender and] penitent and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I said against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation, [an astonishment and] a curse, and you have rent your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, says the Lord. " 2Kings 22:19 It was indeed a bad news for King Josiah to hear about the wrath of God that is going to come up on his nation. But he responded in a wise manner which brought an answer from God. I am sure we can learn some lessons from this incident. Be sensitive to God's word : From the above verse, we see that his heart was tender, soft and penitent. He was quick to heed the word of God. He didn't ignore the word that came to him. Ask the Lord for guidance : When he heard what was written in the book of the Law concerning the wrath of God that is going to come on the nation of Judah, he was quick to seek the guidance from the Lord. Even though it was n

" ... There was no accounting required of them for the money delivered into their hands, because they dealt faithfully." 2kings 22:7 Empowered individuals make empowered organizations. The organization could be a family, church or a big corporation. Often times organizations take lot of pain to create empowered organizations. The above verse from the Bible gives a clue to empowerment. It starts with every individual comprising of the organization. Integrity , Trustworthiness and Faithfulness of a person enables him to be empowered , resulting in freedom. These things cannot be taught in a crash course because they are nothing but the reflection of a person's heart or character. Unless a person's heart is transformed, he cannot exhibit these traits. I have listed below some of the areas of life in which we need to be faithful. The list is just a sample, not complete. Ensuring integrity and faithfulness in these areas will make us empowered individuals, confident befo

Whether we realize or not, every individual influences some body else in his circle of influence . Very few can say that his/her choices will not impact any one. In general, it is a fact that our choices impact some body else in some way. The choices made by husband and wife impact each other as well as their family. The choices of father/mother impact children. A king's choices will influence the whole kingdom. The leader's choices influence his/her followers and the list goes on. The ability of an individual to influence is a powerful truth . As I was going through my quiet time (2 Kings 21), this truth dawned up on my heart. This chapter gives the details of two kings of Judah namely Manasseh, son of king Hezekiah and Amon. They chose to depart from the ways of God and followed the practices that are detested by God. This in turn led the whole nation to sin against the Lord. The kind of influence they had on their people was not a godly one, not an encouraging one. I call i

" ... He will do the thing He has promised ..." 2 Kings 20:9 What makes the Bible stand apart from all the other books in the world? As I was meditating the above verse, I felt so calm in my heart and the assurance that the word of God, the Bible will stand the test of the ages. The Bible is special because it is the word of God, word revealed by God, backed up by the creator of heaven and earth. God will stand by what is mentioned in the Bible. We can take comfort in the promises made by God in the Bible, because God cannot change and He will show up to accomplish what He has promised. God's glory is dependent on the authenticity of the Bible and the manifestation of the promises there in. For this reason, God is very eager to accomplish His word. "The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this." 2Kings 19:31 Question to Ponder : Have you picked up any promise from the Bible recently? Then be assured that the zeal of the Lord will accomplish it for you.

"... I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you...." 2 Kings 20:5 This is the reply from God to King Hezekiah after he cries out to the Lord. The king was told by prophet Isaiah that he is going to die, he will not recover from his sickness and he should set his house in order. In this verse, I came to realize that my God is very personal God. People have personal trainers, personal doctors (family doctors) etc. But I am not sure whether they have a personal God. I am glad to realize that I have a personal God. What makes our God so personal? He hears my prayers - How many times do we feel that there is no one to seek help? We might feel, there is no hope that some body will listen to our plea or prayers. But in this verse, I see that God gives His time and attention to our prayers. When we approach Him, He will gladly accepts us. My God is the God who listens. He sees my tears - Because I and you are valuable to God, He sees our tears. He is

"I beseech You, O Lord, [earnestly] remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You] and have done what is good in Your sight..." 2 Kings 20:3 In Faithfulness - Do not turn away from God depending on the situation. We are to remain faithful to Him no matter what the circumstances may be. Our faithfulness to God should not depend on our feelings. It should be based on our Faith in Him. In Truth - Not having any hypocrisy, being honest and open before the Lord. Walking in Truth before God becomes easy if we realize that He is our heavenly father. We don't have to wear a mask of holiness in approaching God. We are encouraged to approach God just as we are. With whole heart - Devote yourself to God alone. We are to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as He is our role model. God is pleased with 100% devotion to Him. Nobody can serve two masters effectively. We read from the Bible in Luke 16:13 "No ser

"..... take root downward and bear fruit upward." 2 Kings 19:30 Everybody would like to be fruitful, successful and have continual progress. What does that Bible say about bearing fruit? When do we bear fruit? The above verse gives the answer in plain terms. It is a natural principle that when a tree has it's roots established deep down in side the earth, it will be able to bear fruit. It is the same for us as children of God. When we are rooted deeply in Christ, anchored in Christ that is when we will be able to bear fruit upward. This fruit will last longer, have greater influence for the glory of God. Key is this : Being rooted in Christ, being anchored in Christ. Question to Ponder : Where am I rooted - In Christ or in the world?

Read 2Kings 18:5-7 2Ki 18:5  Hezekiah trusted in, leaned on, and was confident in the Lord, the God of Israel; so that neither after him nor before him was any one of all the kings of Judah like him.  2Ki 18:6  For he clung and held fast to the Lord and ceased not to follow Him, but kept His commandments, as the Lord commanded Moses.  2Ki 18:7  And the Lord was with Hezekiah; he prospered wherever he went.   As I was meditating on this scripture, I was impressed by Hezekiah's success and prosperity. My desire also is to be successful and fruitful. What is that Hezekiah did that made him so special among the kings of Judah? Initiative taken by Hezekiah was: Trusting God Leaned on Him Confident in the Lord Clinging to God Held fast to the Lord Following God Obeying God Results: God made him a special king among the kings of Judah He prospered wherever he went. By his actions, Hezekiah created an environment of God's presennce around him. By the way, God's presence around you