My Journey of Faith

Sreedhar standing to the left of his grandfather in the center

Almost 55 years ago a son was born to a Hindu family. The parents were 2nd generation Malaysians raised in a rubber estate near a small town called Sungei Petani in Northern Malaya at that time. This first child was given much love and care by their parents and had the privilege of growing up in 3 different states of Malaysia, most of which was in Petaling Jaya. He was blessed with his first domestic airplane ride when he was 10 years old, and made his first trip by airplane to Bangkok at the age of 11. In the mid 1970's the family moved to a large house in a relatively exclusive neighborhood in Petaling Jaya. This was a result of the favor his father, aged about 35 at that time, had in the workplace,. As a result, this son grew up in a mostly multicultural environment with Indian, Chinese and Malay children. In the process, his perspectives became cosmopolitan and racially neutral. One thing that kept him at odds with his parents was their racial stereotypes and his openness to peoples of all backgrounds. He was blessed with two sisters and they grew up with the best possible education and opportunities. This privileged son from this blessed family is me, Sreedhar Subramaniam.

Sreedhar in his school days as part of his Boy Scouts Group

Christian Movie in School

By the time I was age 12, I started to explore many thoughts and ideas and began to form my own opinions about life. I grew up with a mostly absent father because of his busy days at work. My parents often quarreled, and this upset me and my sisters greatly. We prayed much to the Hindu gods but nothing improved and there was a great lack of peace in the house and in our hearts. During this time I had also joined the Boys Brigade group in the Trinity Methodist Church near my house and had a number of Christian friends. Initially my engagement with them and the Christian faith was just on a social basis, but I started to have serious doubts about my Hindu faith when the gods did not answer my home issues. In my simple mind, I asked this question. "If ever there was a fire in the Hindu temple, would the gods be able to save themselves?" I came to a personal conclusion that they would not be able to save the temple or themselves. Hence started my quest to understand other religions and faiths, including Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. I did not have to go far as my classmates came from these backgrounds. I also had great friendships with others in my school Boy Scout Group. In my search for spiritual answers I found a unique message in the Christian faith. This was the statement "God loves you". I never heard this before. God loved me in spite of all my errors and problems. And so, at the age of 14, I attended a school Christian Fellowship Meeting to watch a Christian Movie called Survival. At the end of the movie I made a decision to follow Jesus.

Sreedhar 3rd from left in The Stone Church, Toronto

After accepting Jesus into my heart in 1976, I was fearful of sharing my new found faith with my still Hindu family. I kept it a secret until I was found out when I was 17. I bought a bible with my pocket money and kept it in my drawer. I would secretly read it from time to time. Occasionally, I would read the bible in my bed before going to sleep. However, there was one occasion I had slept with my bible on my bed and it was discovered by my mother in the morning. Then began the silent treatment. My mother would give strong words of advice to my sisters not to change their religion. She would not directly confront me on this matter. But she made sure I heard the advice. In 1980 I had the opportunity to go to Toronto to finish high school and attend university. During this time I took every opportunity to attend church and other Christian meetings to make up for the time I did not go to church in Malaysia. I was at the Sunday morning and evening services, Monday night College & Career Bible Studies, Wednesday night Choir Practice, Friday evening Christian fellowship meeting in the high school, and Saturday morning men's prayer breakfast. I grew fast in my new found faith in Jesus Christ.

Sreedhar seated on the floor first on the left at
Glad Tidings Young People's Retreat

By the time I returned to Malaysia in 1986 I was already a young leader in the Stone Church and the high school fellowship in Toronto. Upon my return I successfully secured a management consulting position with a major consulting group in Malaysia. With God's blessings, I became a Senior Manager by the age of 33.

During this time I joined a Glad Tidings Petaling Jaya and served there in leadership, including being a board member in 1989. I met my wife Lee Yen there and we have 4 wonderful children.

Sreedhar seated first on the right at marketplace ministry

The Lord continued to bless my work in the corporate world and have had significant C-level positions in the IT, media and business process outsourcing industries. While in the corporate world, the Lord blessed me with opportunities to serve the greater community by sharing the same love of God that I experienced as a 14 year old. Many have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of my message of God's love, and the peace that you can receive. I trust that you are blessed by my story of faith and take a decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Don't delay.

Heavenly courage and capability

Anybody reading this belongs to the military or was in the military? I commend you if you were. Whatever reason you were part of the military, it takes great courage to perform your role. If you are protecting the sovereignty of a country and you go beyond the call of service, your work is beyond anything money can pay. Such a person that acted in this manner was Abram. Genesis 14:14, Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. Abram had 318 men and he was going after 4 kings who just defeated 5 kings. He was rescuing, among others, his nephew Lot and his family. He is acknowledged and blessed by Melchizedek . Genesis 14:18-20, Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High...

"Being Ready" cannot wait

Ready for the end of the world? Ready for death? I am sure many reading this are indifferent to this question. You don't care. But if you care about what you eat each day. You care about who you meet. You care about your health. And perhaps, you even care about people, your community and/or the environment. Then, you are avoiding the question about being ready for the most important event of your life, because you don't know the answer. John writes about this in Revelations. Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. The time is near! In the KJV it says, the time is at hand! The revelation given to John is difficult to completely appreciate because He is sharing God's perspective on time (from eternity to eternity). In the human context, time cannot be stored. If you missed it, you missed it. It is spent. You cannot redeem time. It is...

There is a silver lining

The phrase "silver lining" is used when you want to emphasize the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface. The origin of the phrase seems to be John Milton's 1634 poem "Comus," which includes the line, "Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud/Turn forth her silver lining on the night?" ( Source ). When you think about it most things is not doom and gloom. There is a positive side that you can pick up on, because God is watching over us. Jeremiah 46:14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; Proclaim in Noph and in Tahpanhes; Say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves, For the sword devours all around you.’ Egypt had great military might and was a great civilization with years of history. Yet they were no match for the new Super Power of the day, Babylon. They had hired workers as their soldiers and great expertise in warfare but all this is nothing when God declares that you will be defeated. In times like t...

Keep to the Original

When you buy things, a branded piece of garment mostly gives you an assurance that it meets a certain set standard of quality. It allows you to decide whether paying a certain price is worth the money. A cheap brand attracts a low value, while an expensive one probably has the design and other qualities that are worth paying for. I have my favorite brands not because I am brand conscious, but because I want to be assured of the value experience. I sometimes try new brands, but as a test. However, I am wary of "copycats". I prefer to stay with the ORIGINAL. Ezekiel 41:4 He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.” In Ezekiel 41 God continues to give clear instructions on the building of the temple. Outer courtyard, inner courtyard, altar and how the walls and doors were to be decorated. Everything has a meaning and significance. Palms, lions, cher...

Be unconventional; it is okay!

In every society and organization there are cultural norms. There are practices that are observed and are deemed normal. Anything else would be unacceptable and may cause the person committing this to be taken out. In a religious context many of these may have no relevance to the practice of the faith. They are just ways to deal with all other aspects of life together. In this regard, Jesus was fairly unconventional. Mark 2:5-7 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Jesus constantly brought up or did things that were never seen before. He forgave sin. He healed the paralytic. He caused a tax collector to join His discipleship group. He had close fellowship with tax collectors and sinners. His disciples did not fast while He was with them. His disciples picked grain in t...

Sreedhar's Journey

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