The Power of God’s Mercy

It is strange that of all the people of Jericho whom God could have chosen to save from destruction, he did not choose the kindest grandmother or the sweetest little child, or an innocent baby, but He chose to save a prostitute!  Rahab was a sinner among sinners.  And yet the Lord showed mercy to her.  God chose to save this prostitute out of this evil city. How or why did this happen?  We read of Rahab’s confession of faith in 2:8-14.  The fact that Rahab chose to cast her lot with the Israelites and not with her own people seems to be a pretty clear indication of her faith in the God of Israel.  Rahab’s declaration was proof of her faith. It was not strong faith and it was not perfect faith, but her faith...

Cost of Disobedience

Joshua commanded the nation of Israel that they should not take any of the accursed things from Jericho, things associated with the demonic worship practices of the Canaanites.  Up to this point, Israel had experienced only victory.  Joshua must have expected an unbroken string of victories!  Of course, that was God's desire, too - for Israel then and for us today.  God provides every avenue to make victory possible for us.  But God has given us the free will to choose, and our choices can either lead to victory or failure.  Too often, we choose to go our own way and fall into sin.  Remember, obedience is better than sacrifice!  The Canaanites could not defeat Israel, but...

The Prince of this world!

People often ask, if God is a God of love, why is there so much suffering in the world? They also question if God is good, then does He not have the power to defeat Satan? But the Bible tells us that God is both all good (Psalm 25:8, Matthew 19:17) and all-powerful (Psalm 115:3, Matthew 19:26). But now the world belongs to Satan because Man joined Satan's rebellion by his disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Dr. Kurt Wise explains this beautifully in his notes on the book of Genesis. He says that when Satan fell, there was no curse on all Creation. But everything was cursed when Man fell because the Creation was designed with Man in mind, not angels. Therefore, man's sin destroyed the earth, and natural disasters and disease punished man. Throughout hi...

God, my Rock and my Refuge!

In life, we cross paths with different kinds of people.  Some we can remember with affection and some with pain.  Some we cannot forget for their positive impact, and some for their negative impact!  When we remember some, without our knowledge, a smile breaks out on our faces, but tears swell in our eyes when we remember some!  This is not just my experience with friends and colleagues alone.  Sometimes, we have such experiences even with family members!  We can quickly identify with David, who said, "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me" (Ps 41:9).  Such experiences are very stressful for me. &nb...

Two young kings!

There were two young kings in the history of Judah!  Joash became king when he was seven years old (2 Kings 11; 2 Ch.24).  When Athaliah killed all the royal heirs, the sister of King Ahaziah and her husband Jehoiada saved Joash and kept him hidden.  At the right time, Jehoiada made Joash king.  King Amon, son of Manasseh, was assassinated by his servants, and the same servants made his son Josiah king in his place in his eighth year.  Jehoiada, his uncle, guided Joash.  Josiah also must have been guided by someone, even though the Bible does not say so explicitly.  After the death of Jehoiada, Joash walked away from the ways of the Lord.   But Josiah stayed true to t...

Humble yourself….

God has been teaching me about humility.  Humility is a great virtue; the Bible encourages us to humble ourselves.  While answering the question of who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus said, "… whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4).  The apostles also state, "Humble yourselves" (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).  It is advisable to humble ourselves, ourselves!  If the Lord humbles us, it will be unbearable.  Before God humbled King Manasseh, he was steeped in idol worship.  God humbled Manasseh by allowing the captains of the army of the king of Assyria to take Manasseh with hooks bound with bronze...

Amaziah, the half-hearted king!

The Bible says Amaziah, the king of Judah, did not wholeheartedly follow the Lord.  This aptly summarizes a reign plagued by compromise.  Though Amaziah could respect the Mosaic law and respond to prophecy, it is with mixed motives, and it is no surprise that he turned away from following the Lord.  Throughout the Scriptures, we find that when the people of God were ‘half-hearted’ in their service, their hearts quickly strayed away from the Lord.  Half-heartedness in serving God is a severe mistake.  It gives no satisfaction to our Lord and it does not fill our soul with lasting joy.  This attitude in serving the Lord will lead one to darkness, doubt, worldliness, and guilt.  We can...

Under His Wings!

My mother, Indrani Asirvatham, was a pianist.  She also had a sweet soprano voice.  During my college days, we used to choose songs with meaningful words from 'Songs and Solos,' and we used to learn to sing.  We just sang by ourselves as the words ministered to our souls!  This was one such song!

Under His wings, I am safely abiding;

Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,

Still, I can trust Him—I know He will keep me;

He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

The Purpose Driven Life

Pastor Rick Warren, the author of 'The Purpose Driven Life,' says we do not find our life's purpose because we start at the wrong starting point, ourselves!  We did not create ourselves, and so we cannot find the purpose of our existence by looking within us as Eastern religions suggest.  If someone makes a gadget and gives it to us, we cannot understand its purpose unless the designer tells us!  The Lord of the Universe has created us, and only He can tell the purpose for which He created Man.  The Bible says, "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, …. All things were created through Him and for Him" (Col. 1:16).  That means we cannot understand...

You are not forgotten!

Movies and documentaries of the Second World War fascinate me.   The strategies employed and the meticulous planning behind every victory are worth understanding and appreciating.  They are great to read and watch because we know the final outcome.  I read an account of a rescue mission in WWII  history sometime back.  When the US Army was forced to retreat from the Philippines, some of their soldiers became prisoners of the Japanese.  By early 1945, only 513 men were alive at the Cabanatuan prison camp.  In an astonishing feat, 120 US Army soldiers and 200 Filipino guerrillas outflanked 8000 Japanese soldiers to rescue the POWs.  Alvie Robbins was one of the rescuers, and he later described how he found a...