Walk The Bible

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...

"The angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people" Luke 2:10 I am finding it very meaningful and renewing to remind my self of what Christmas actually means to me and to the whole world. Traditional and false understanding of the Bible takes away the power from the word of God. It always helps to take a fresh look at what the Bible has to say about the birth of Jesus. Here is another verse from the Bible which gives real meaning of Christmas - Birth of Jesus, the Christ: Christmas is good news Christmas news is of great joy Christmas is for everyone What makes this news so special? It's because Jesus (Greek word Jesus means Savior) is born. Jesus is the Christ - the anointed one, separated one for the purpose of saving people from the bondage of sin. "For to you is born this day in the town of David a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah) the Lord!" Luke 2:11 To understand the value of free...

As I was going through the Christmas story from the book of Luke, chapter 2, I observed that the news of Jesus' birth was made known to Shepherds first. "And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid." Luke 2:8,9 I am wondering why the news went to Shepherds first and not to others? I am sure there were many prophets, wise men and serious synagogue goers who were waiting for the news. What made these shepherds so special to receive the greatest news of the world first? Here is what came to my mind - At the time of Jesus birth, these were the people awake, keeping watch over their flock. Shepherds were poor people and they need God's favor most. God was going to reveal Himself as good shepherd, so shepherds will be able to carry out this news to others with lot of passion. I am not sure i...

We have been halfway through the Christmas season. Many of us must have gone through lot of Christmas seasons and I am sure we all have enjoyed them with our families and friends. Over the years, I realized that I can really enjoy Christmas when I understand the true meaning of Christmas. This year, I started digging deeper into the Bible to understand the real meaning of Christmas. Reference from the Bible: Luke 1:67-79 This was the prophecy by Zachariah after the birth of his child John the Baptist. He was prophesying about the salvation that is going to be made available through the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is nothing but God implementing His plan of salvation for the world. At this point of time in history, the people of Israel were under the bondage politically, in darkness as there was no revelation (word) from the God for a period of 400 years, they were going through shadow of death spiritually. Under this background came this prophecy as rain in the desert. Christmas g...

"Saul died for his trespass against the Lord [in sparing Amalek], for his unfaithfulness in not keeping God's word, and also for consulting [a medium with] a spirit of the dead to inquire pleadingly of it, And inquired not so of the Lord [in earnest penitence] ..." 1 Chronicles 10:13,14 Saul, the first king of Israel, began his walk very well. It was the ideal start any one could look for - with all the favor from God and Prophet Samuel, being the tallest one among the people, being the first king of Israel. But along the way, he lost the focus and the end was a miserable and sad one. I am sure you will agree with me that it is how you finish, is more important than how you start . It is definitely an advantage to start well, but finishing is more crucial. The above verse made me think on why Saul's end was a sad one? What are the lessons that I could learn from him? He disobeyed the specific command to destroy the Amalekites Not keeping God's word - In general...

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...