Walk The Bible

"In that very hour Jesus was healing many [people] of sicknesses and distressing bodily plagues and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave [a free, gracious, joy-giving gift of] sight. " Luke 7:21 When John the Baptist sent his disciples to confirm if Jesus indeed was the expected Messiah, they come to Jesus to ask and at that moment, they saw Jesus healing people from all kinds of infirmities and bondage. Jesus blessed these people unconditionally. Whenever He saw people with infirmities and bondage, He was moved with compassion to heal them and deliver them. No strings were attached for receiving this blessing from Jesus. The above verse indicates that the blessing Jesus gave was free, gracious and something that gave joy. This made me think about what is going on in the world. Most of the times, it is a transaction - you give and then you will be blessed. But that is not what the Bible teaches. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of heavenly lights

During the time when Jesus was on this earth, there was a Centurion in the city of Capernaum. One of his bond servants fell ill to the point of death. When he came to know that Jesus was in the city, he sent some men to request Jesus to come to his house and heal the servant. After some time, he sent some more men to implore him not to come under his roof, but just to speak word of healing. What made the centurion to change his mind? The centurion understood the power of word spoken with authority. In his daily life he had been experiencing it when he commands the soldiers and servants under him. "For I also am a man [daily] subject to authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bond servant, Do this, and he does it." Luke 7:8 The same principle he applied towards Jesus. He heard about Jesus - His word carrying authority to forgive sins and heal the sick people. He must have reasoned out that if my word

I woke up today with a feeling of disturbance in my mind. Lot of concerns were going through my mind and they were weighing on me. Some concerns are due to what is happening in the world economy, some are due to my own mistakes and the list goes on. I observe that the list of worries is an endless one :) I opened my Bible to the book of Daniel and was reading the incident where Daniel and his friends were facing death sentence along with the wise men of Babylon. I was encouraged by Daniel's response and my heart was at peace. He along with his friends turned to God to solve the impossible problem. God solved the problem as a mark of respect for the confidence that was laid on His faithfulness. Later I came across a devotional where surrender was the theme. In surrendering to Him, who is able to do beyond what we can ask or imagine, we find rest. "He is able to [carry out His purpose and] do super abundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond

"Be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is." Luke 6:36 Most of us know the famous sermon on the mount by Jesus Christ (Read Luke 6:27 - 36). When I was meditating on this, one thing that I observed was this: You will be the sons of the Most High . Here is the list of the characteristics of a son of the most high - Love your enemies Treat well those who detest you and pursue you with hatred Invoke blessings upon them that curse you - It is interesting to note that sons of God can invoke blessings on others if we choose to. Pray (implore God's favor) upon those who abuse you If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also - Sign of patience and long suffering. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic - Sign of generosity and kindness. Give to everyone who asks you If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back Do to others as you would have them do to you What it means is t

"And Jesus replied to them, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to arouse and invite and call the righteous, but the erring ones (those not free from sin) to repentance [to change their minds for the better and heartily to amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins]." Luke 5:31,32 The above words were spoken by Jesus in response to Pharisees and scribes who were complaining that Jesus and His disciples were eating with tax collectors and preeminently sinful people. The Pharisees and scribes were the religious leaders of the day and they were living hypocrite lives and misunderstood the whole concept of living separated life (Holy life). Outwardly, in view of the public, they were very religious, looking very gentle and pious. At the same time, they distanced themselves from common people who were needy, such as sick people, tax collectors, slaves, poor people etc. They had this wrong understanding about the

When Jesus encountered a man full of leprosy, very interesting conversation happened. Here it is: "While He was in one of the towns, there came a man full of (covered with) leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, Lord, if You are willing, You are able to cure me and make me clean. And [Jesus] reached out His hand and touched him, saying, I am willing; be cleansed! And immediately the leprosy left him." Luke 5:12,13 As I was contemplating on these 2 verses, tears welled up in my eyes. Here was a man full of leprosy, a social outcast, who is not allowed to move freely among the society. His words spoke volumes about his faith in Jesus, but humble enough to seek confirmation about Jesus willingness to heal him. In other words, we can infer that none of the people around this man are willing in his well being. He was kind of helpless. Jesus response and actions were equally surprising - He reached out His hand - This action of Jesus signifie

"Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the ground of Your word, I will lower the nets [again]." Luke 5:5 It wasn't a profitable day for Peter and his buddies as they went for fishing in the evening. They had worked very hard whole night to catch some fish, but couldn't succeed. At the dawn of the next day, they came out of the water and started washing their nets to leave for their homes. Meanwhile Jesus came there, got into the boat that belongs to Peter and continued to teach the crowd. After He completed his teaching, Jesus asked Peter to take the boat into deep waters and cast the net to catch fish. After some hesitation and doubt, Peter says, "But on the ground of your word (Rhema - Spoken word), I am going to put my trust and am going to do what you asked me to do". Jesus had asked Peter to do something that was against the natural activity. It is natural that fishermen fish during t

"Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12 From Luke 4:13 , We can observe that Jesus was tempted and tested in every possible way in the wilderness during the trial period of 40 days. He came out of the test victoriously in spite of being constantly subjected to tests. In the same way, Joseph came out victoriously after being tempted by the woman. The woman had tried to seduce him time after time but he would not listen to her, yield to her or to be with her ( Genesis 39:10 ). I am wondering how did they come out victoriously? It was not by luck or mere coincidence that they could come out unscathed from the trials. Here is what we could observe from the Bible - The Lord was with Joseph - Genesis 39:2, 3. Please read my other blog " Key to Fruitfulness "

"Bear fruits that are deserving and consistent with [your] repentance" Luke 3.8 These are the words spoken by John the Baptist, to those who were approaching him to take baptism. Baptism is a decision made by people in repentance of their sins, past life of sin. This verse made me think what are the fruits that are being referred here? Here are they - Character reflecting the changed heart A heart abhorring sin Christ like heart - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22) It is a natural phenomenon that a Mango tree shall bear the fruit Mango. Here is what the Bible has to say - "Does a fountain send forth [simultaneously] from the same opening fresh water and bitter? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can a salt spring furnish fresh water." James 3:11,12 Unfortunately with us, human beings things doesn't seem to work that way. Our behavior is not consistent with

Our son is 1.5 years old now. Normally he sleeps by 8 PM and during the night while sleeping, he gets up crying for milk or for some attention. Either me or my wife pick him up and look after his needs. There were some nights in which he used to wake up frequently and we had to give him more time and lose our sleep. Some times it was very difficult to put him back to sleep. In spite of all this, I have observed that I never felt like ignoring his needs. Either me or my wife would get up, take care of his need and put him back to sleep. I am sure many of us who have children will agree with me. The reason I am narrating this is that in many such situations, I was reminded of my Heavenly Father and felt a comforting assurance from God that He is indeed my Father and I am His beloved son. No matter what my short comings are and how unfaithful I had been to Him, still God reminded me of His unfailing love and the covenant that He has established with me. We read from the Bible in Isaiah 54

Even though it is the beginning of a new year, I thought about the end of the past year as I came across these shocking verses from the bible last night. Here are they - Luke 14:12-14 Jesus also said to the man who had invited Him, When you give a dinner or a supper, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, lest perhaps they also invite you in return, and so you are paid back. But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind. Then you will be blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied), because they have no way of repaying you, and you will be recompensed at the resurrection of the just (upright). The above verses hit straight at me and I introspected about how I (In general people) spent days at the end of the year 2008. It was the time of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New year. We all have invited our friends, relatives and people from fellowship for lunches and dinners. But did we invite