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 ...

Read 2Kings 3:9-11 "So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They made a circuit of seven days' journey, but there was no water for the army or for the animals following them. Then the king of Israel said, Alas! The Lord has called [us] three kings together to be delivered into Moab's hand! But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here by whom we may inquire of the Lord? One of the king of Israel's servants answered, Elisha son of Shaphat, who served Elijah, is here. " When in trouble, dilemma or confusion, Jehoshaphat looks to God and His servants for help. What an attitude of dependency on God. When we are in such difficult situations, we let our hearts to be troubled and lose heart just the way Joram, king of Israel lost his heart. But wise thing to do would be to seek heavenly provision - the help from the God of Jacob, who is an ever present help in times of trouble ( Psalms 46 ). In trusting God, in submitting to G...

How to Pray Effectively by Rick Warren Please remember what you told your servant Moses: “If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations.” Nehemiah 1:8 (NLT) Here are four secrets to answered prayer from the life of Nehemiah: 1. Base your request on God’s character. Pray like you know God ill answer you: “I’m expecting you to answer this prayer because of who you are. You are a faithful God. You are a great God. You are a loving God. You are a wonderful God. You can handle this problem, God!" 2. Confess the sins of which you’re aware. After Nehemiah bases his prayer on who God is, he confesses his sins. He says, “We’ve sinned.” He says “I confess . . . myself . . . my father’s house . . .we have acted wickedly . . . we have not obeyed.” It wasn’t Nehemiah’s fault that Israel went into captivity. He wasn’t even born when it happened and he was most likely born in captivity. Yet, he’s including himself in the national sins. He says, “I’ve been a part of the problem.” 3. Claim...

How Do You Develop Self-Control? by Rick Warren God does not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) *** *** *** *** Successful people have one obvious trait in common: personal discipline. They are willing to do things that average people are unwilling to do. It’s my observation that successful people express their self-discipline in six ways: · Successful people master their moods . They live by their commitments, not their emotions. They do the right thing, even when they don’t feel like it. “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28 NLT). · Successful people watch their words . They put their minds in gear before opening their mouths: “Those who control their tongue will have a long life . . .” (Proverbs 13:3 NLT). · Successful people restrain their reactions . How much can you take before you lose your cool? “People with good sense restrain their anger; they e...

2Samuel 11:1 IN THE spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. At this point of time, David was successful in all his battles and he was well established as the King over Israel. There was peace and prosperity in the kingdom. Because of his Godly character and success, there is no one to whom he has to be accountable. This has resulted in some complacency in David. It was time when the kings go for battle. But David remained in Jerusalem. This is the start of his fall. In stead if keeping himself with his work, he was relaxing. In general, David has a weakness toward women - why does he need to marry so many women being a Godly person? This is definitely not a trite that is exemplary in David's life. In the time of crisis that is about to come upon David shortly, all these things compounded on him and led to the fall. Remember, his fall was no...

As I was doing my regular bible study, I came across the following verse from Bible. 1Sa 24:6 He said to his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this to my master, the Lord's anointed, to put my hand out against him, when he is the anointed of the Lord. I understood how David could go through such a difficult situation and handle Saul so well. In the end David could come out of it by God's grace. A great lesson to learn for us - David was not willing to harm Saul, who was an unreasonable master. Who is Saul for David: His master - an unreasonable master. Lord's anointed King Read 1Peter 2:18-24 1Pe 2:18 [You who are] household servants, be submissive to your masters with all [proper] respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate and reasonable, but also to those who are surly (overbearing, unjust, and crooked). 1Pe 2:19 For one is regarded favorably (is approved, acceptable, and thank worthy) if, as in the sight of God, he endures the pain of unjust suff...

(ASV) Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Heb 13:5 Some time back I started worrying about how to save money for some of the needs I am having in my life. As this worry crept into my mind, there are traces of worry hovering around my mind. As I was going through the bible, God showed me the above verse. I have seen this verse many times before, but this time some how I felt God is speaking to me through this. This verse can be divided into the following components: To be free from Love of Money Contentment Promise To be free from Love of money Love of money is also refered as covetousness, greed or lust for more money. Paul also compared the love of money to idolatory. King James Bible mentiones that our conversation be without covetousness, which indicates that it is not good to even converse or talk about coveting more money. Covetousness leads to worry a...

NOTE: Taken from Chapter 2 of the book "The Pursuit of God" by A.W.Tozer Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:3 (Holy Bible) Before the Lord God made man upon the earth He first prepared for him by creating a world of useful and pleasant things for his sustenance and delight. In the Genesis account of the creation these are called simply 'things.' They were made for man's uses, but they were meant always to be external to the man and subservient to him. In the deep heart of the man was a shrine where none but God was worthy to come. Within him was God; without, a thousand gifts which God had showered upon him. But sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts of God a potential source of ruin to the soul. Our woes began when God was forced out of His central shrine and 'things' were allowed to enter. Within the human heart 'things' have taken over. Men have now by nature no peace within thei...

The well known survivor of Nazi concentration camps by God's grace, Corrie Ten Boom writes in her book titled, " A Prisoner and yet... " While being imprisoned at Vught prison camp by Nazis, the women of Harlem (A town in Holland from where Corrie Ten Boom hails from) used to sing the following song under their pressing conditions: " We never let our courage fall, We hold our heads up high. They never, never will prevail, No matter how they try. Onward we press, our word is 'yes', Heads up, you women of Vught, heads up. " Their faith in the living God is the source of their confidence to sing the above song under such a horrible in-human treatment by Nazis. What an assurance of peace it is to know that the Joy of the Lord is indeed our strength as we go through the pressures of life and fight against the principalities of this dark world. It is in such circumstances as these that the character of christ is formed in us. Unless the seed dies, it canno...

Most people struggle with this question of identity at some point in their life. But this is a very important question which needs to be addressed. I try to address this question based on what Bible says about my identity. Until few years back, I struggled with this question and lived a life of "no identity, no purpose". Once I found the answer to this question, life became meanignful and I could face all those times of frustration, disappointment and boredom. The straight answer to this question is " I am the son of living God, who is the creator of heaven and earth ". In the very first page of bible, it was clearly mentioned that every individual is created in the image of God, irrespective of race, status, sex. " God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything tha...

Job's life was reviewed and testified by three people as we read in the bible. He was testied by the author and God as "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God ahd shunned evil" . Satan confesses about the blessedness of Job, "Have you(God) not put a hedge around him and his household and every thing he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land." From Job's life we see that Satan tries to accuse God's people all the time. But we need to take courage because God has washed our sins and made us righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ. As long as you take refuge under the blood of Jesus Christ, you have right standing before God. After his children were wiped out, his wealth was destroyed by various attacks created by Satan, after losing everything, Job submits himself with humility under God's might hand with an attitude of worship and worships God saying, "Naked I came f...

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Malachi 3:3 This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study And they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest! as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if ...