Sreedhar's Journey

In today's world it has been said that if you leave behind anything of value in a public place, you will never find it again. Finders keepers they say. It is a show of poor conscience and greed. Thankfully you still get some great stories of people safeguarding people's property. God gives instructions that we need to protect lost property. Deuteronomy 22:3, You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother's, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself. The chapter goes on to talk about dressing and sexual immorality. Everything has a reason and it is for human order and protection. It starts with a simple statement on cross dressing and moves on to talk about the consequences of rape. Deuteronomy 22:5, A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God. De...

Sin is serious and needs to be dealt with correctly and firmly. It is like a virus. It spreads quickly and can be fatal. This is the case at the moment with the flu epidemic in the US. The instructions in chapter 21 of Deuteronomy have a strong tone to them. An example is a rebellious son who is a drunkard and glutton. Deuteronomy 21:21, Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. I surely would not wish this upon anyone's son, but it is evident that having a strong family and children who are obedient was important to the people of Israel. There were high standards and no compromises. All this was to preserve a people that would be blessed by God and be a channel of blessing to the nations. God is calling out for those that would walk right and be right. This comes through receiving Jesus Christ as your personal savior and Lord. His Holy Spirit becomes your counselor and co...

Do you get panic attacks? There are individuals who suffer from this due to some old episode when they were under great distress and from time to time the old emotions return and cause the panic attack. We all have gone through some significant experiences in our lives and fear may return. The people of Israel were reminded yet again that God is with them. Deuteronomy 20:1, When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. We need constant reminders. I need this too. The God of the universe who has has done all these things in history is always with us. The people of Israel have not fought a battle before. They lacked military might and intelligence. God is going to provide it. What do you lack? God is ready to supply. As we navigate the challenges of life, relationships, finance, children, health and personal reputation,...

Ever heard the term "cowboy country"? You guessed it. There are no rules in that country. Everyone does what is right in their own eyes. But God desired that justice be right and fair. He developed the idea of sanctuary cities (not the modern kind). Deuteronomy 19:11-12, But if anyone hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises against him and strikes him mortally, so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, then the elders of his city shall send and bring him from there, and deliver him over to the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. In these sanctuary cities no one is above the law. They are only there to protect the killer from being killed for something accidental. If he is possibly guilty, the elders will give him a proper hearing and the right judgment given. What a fantastic way to administer justice. Man unfortunately wants part of the process. Our God is a God of justice, mercy and love. Love to the point of making himself humble for the cr...

Do you love fortune cookies? We regularly go to a Chinese food establishment that serves these cookies along with their meal. At the end of the meal Shane would open them up and be amused by everything that is being said. Of course we do not believe in them. God told the people of Israel to be careful not to listen to fortune tellers. Deuteronomy 18:14, For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. The clear instruction is that they were to hear God and no one else. When you have the creator of the universe speaking to you, why would you listen to anyone else? People are so easily taken up by good words spoken for them that they keep going back to these people. We live under God's blessing, and that is enough. He knows best. Father, I only listen to you because you know best.

Do you have good discipline to study? It takes time and can be very difficult if you do it while you are working. Your mind is rusty and does not want to absorb anything more. I have a deep desire to deepen my knowledge of the word of God and I am encouraged when I saw this instruction for a future king of Israel given to the people of Israel before they entered the promised land. Deuteronomy 17:18-19, Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes. The only way the king can lead well, is by studying God's Word well and putting it into action in his personal life. The king was to copy the whole thing. It required humility and hunger. Otherwise, it will all amount to nothing. W...

Have you ever checked out the intricate dates and festivals of the Jewish people? It is quite fascinating. The coming of Jesus, His life, death and resurrection is so much embedded in these days. God blessed the world through the Jews as was promised to Abraham. The main ones to be celebrated are listed here. Deuteronomy 16:16, Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. Why do we celebrate something in the past? Because it has huge blessing for the future. When we celebrate, we do not forget. God wants us to understand that greater things are in store as we come to Him in celebration. It is more than the food and the holiday. It is Him. Father, I will celebrate as guided by your Word.

This business of lending money is a sensitive and controversial one. Have I borrowed money? Yes, I have. Do I feel ok about it? No, I don't. Given our experience, Lee Yen and I have been teaching our children to manage their money in God's ways. The people of Israel were in fact promised the reverse. Deuteronomy 15:6, For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. This promise we are claiming for the rest of our lives, including our children and children's children. It all starts with the tithe and knowing that God's desire for us is to be blessed so that we will not be the borrower but the lender. Father, help me to understand your instructions well and obey them.

Every civilization started their economic base with at least farming. Within this context most have a harvest festival. Unfortunately, due to discovery of fermented drinks, many of these festivals descend into drinking orgies. On the contrary, it should be a time of thanksgiving for all that God has given. The people of Israel were instructed to tithe from their increase. Deuteronomy 14:22, You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. Who gives us the key ingredients for a good harvest? The sun, rain, soil and protection from the elements. Farmers are busiest during sowing and harvesting. The rest is in the Lord's hands. Let us celebrate with God by giving the tithe. Father, I want to celebrate with you constantly!

Would you agree with me that every civilization, through time, has had the opportunity to know God? I have discussed this matter in my journal postings in the past. I am greatly exposed to the history of the Indians, Chinese, Arabs and Jews. Everyone has a history of God's intervention. The issue is whether we appreciate the original encounters. God gave clear instructions to the Jews that they not worship any other gods. Deuteronomy 13:1-4, If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His...

Anarchy is a word that has rarely been used but we are seeing more of it these days. What's going on? Personal expression and character development is not being learned. There is strong modeling of wrong way of doing things among modern day celebrities and leaders. This leads to new standards of behavior never seen before in this generation. God warned against this. Deuteronomy 12:8, You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes. We think everything is ok as long as we think it is ok. But it is not ok with God. Matthew 5 through 7 is very helpful to understand God's ways and His expectations of us. This includes how we should pray. Much of the prayer is about how we are to live. Not much about our needs. Anarchy usually starts when people are focused on themselves and their needs or wants. What is right? Father, give me the desires of my heart. That's right, Your desires God , not mine.

Children are a blessing and gift for God. The process of procreation is incredibly intricate. The level of precision and process leaves the idea of evolution a bad taste. Anyone that discredits the bible and the creation story, and says it is fairy tale needs to look at the alternative discussion with the same pair of glasses. They will find that the evolution theory helps prove creation. Of course the creation account does not need evolution to help prove it. There are many evidences around us that point to creation. The biggest being the gift of birth. But it does not end there. As instructed by God, Moses many times reminds the people of Israel to teach their children. Deuteronomy 11:19-21, You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the ...

Many nations have a practice of favoring their own people or people of the majority ethnic background. It may seem good for awhile but in the long run it leads to suspicion and jealousy. There are many nations around the world, including Malaysia, that suffer from this. God instructed the people of Israel to share the favor poured on all others. Deuteronomy 10:18, He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. When you have the favor of God it is difficult to keep what you don't own. I have mentioned this before, many of the things we use today benefit from technologies developed by the Jewish people. It is difficult to ignore the blessing they have received and how we are enjoying that blessing. A family became a nation to fulfill God's promise to Abraham that they will become a blessing to the nations. Deuteronomy 10:22, Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made y...

Have you ever led a group of people that seemed to have differing opinions and perhaps are even prepared to sabotage your plans? Thankfully I have never had this problem. The challenges I have had in the past have always been from external factors. Government, financiers and competitors. Moses had problems from within and God reminded the people that He is only doing this to take out wicked nations. Deuteronomy 9:4, Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you. In fact the people of Israel were about to be wiped out because they decided to worship a molded calf. This was probably a practice that continued from their days in Egypt. But God was committed to fulfilling His promise to their forefathers. Deuteronomy 9:5, It is not because of your righteo...

When you travel in many cities you see great wealth. But along with it you see great evil. Greed, drugs and alcohol abuse, fighting, divorce, unhappiness, homeless people and beggars, and people without God and lost spiritually. God reminded the people of Israel through Moses to never forget. Deuteronomy 8:18, And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. There were consequences for not remembering. They would be dealt with in the same manner as the nations driven out before them. In some sense I can see the same thing with the United States. It was founded on Christian principles. The policies of the country included the separation of the church and the state so that the government could not interfere in spiritual matters of the church. But now everything is turned around and messed up. When the US courts gave privacy to the mother (based on privacy laws...

In the Bahasa Malaysia language we have proverbs or "peribahasa" that have great learning. One of them is, "Sedikit-sedikit lama-lama jadi bukit". Literally translated, little by little and eventually a hill". Never underestimate anything that has small beginnings or the small steps taken. With patience and peverence it will result in success. God had a great plan for the people of Israel. They were to displace peoples that rejected their creator God. Deuteronomy 7:1, When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you. They were going to do the unimaginable. It was not going to be easy. 7 nations that have established cities, walls, fighting men, and other resources. The people of Israel were no match for them. But God's promise...

We all want our children to turn out well. Personally, Lee Yen and I have made many mistakes in our lifetime and we want our children to learn from that and the gospel message that transformed our lives. God instructed the people of Israel to take care to teach their children as well. Deuteronomy 6:6-9, And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Everywhere! The children must not lose sight of what God has done and what He is going to do. Sometimes when you go through a period of blessing, the next generation could take for granted everything that they are experiencing. The children of Israel were going to experience blessing. Deutero...

A friend of mine related to me how he was asked at the US border what he did for a living. He said he was a Christian minister. The immigration officer then asked him to say the 10 commandments. He managed to say it and he was admitted into the US. I am not sure if I could remember everything after a long flight and during an important interview, but I would pull out my smartphone and go to Deuteronomy 5. God spoke directly to the people of Israel his commands. Deuteronomy 5:3-4, The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. The people of Israel remembered this well. It would be a great blessing for them as they adhered to these commands. They heard them and they were to obey them. These are rich words for a chosen people of God whose blessing is transmitted to all men, if we would receive it. Deuteronomy 5:33, You shall walk in al...

Yesterday I had the privilege of singing and teaching the song "I've got joy that is down in my heart" to a group of senior saints. It is an old Sunday School song that I used to teach when I go for ministry and we have children gathered. I encouraged the senior saints to teach them to their grandchildren and great grandchildren. Moses instructed the people of Israel to teach everything they were taught to their children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9, Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren. What's the hold back? We seem to be preoccupied with our own things and forget that the first people that we need to disciple are our own children and their children. What a responsibility, and what a joy to be able to do that in a family that is together. Let's not allow this responsibil...

The story of the move of the people of Israel into Canaan is continued here. Two kingdoms down and whatever east of the Jordan they need to occupy is now theirs. The Amorites and the kingdom of Bashan had no chance. Deuteronomy 3:22, You must not fear them, for the Lord your God Himself fights for you. When God fights for you your enemies have no chance. In fact it is mentioned here that with the downfall of these 2 kingdoms there were no more giants in the land. The people of Israel were victorious, not because of their might, but because God was fighting for them. Moses appealed to cross the Jordan, but God said but took him to a high mountain to let him see the land. Joshua was to take over leading the people of Israel. God is going to continue fighting for them. Father, it is not who we are, or who our leader is. It is whether God is fighting for us.

When someone says you have a reputation, how do you respond? It could be for good or bad. Without us noticing it many are keeping mental notes of our lives and sharing them with others, for better or worse. The good news is that a good track record helps you build a good reputation. What kind of a track record are you building? The people of Israel were stopped from crossing into the promised land because God knew that they were going to build a bad track record. But 40 years later, it was going to be different. Deuteronomy 2:25, This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you. They crossed the land of the descendents of Esau and Lot without incident. But God gave clear instructions on the Amorites . They obeyed and had great victory. Step by step done in accordance with God's instructions. You want to have success in anything and build a good rep...

One of my sons had an interesting statement about time. He said it is merely a social construct to provide a reference for everything in life. If you lived alone on an island you would never need time. I agreed and disagreed. Yes, everything is relative to a specific time, but even on an island there is night and day, seasons of the year for weather that repeats each year (in terms of temperature and/or precipitation), position of stars and planets, growth of plants and fruits, and I could go on. You are never alone. You interact with many things that have a cycle and gives a time reference. God, the creator of time, also operates that way. Deuteronomy 1:3, Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them. God said 40 years and on the dot the people of Israel were being prepared by Moses to enter the promised land. The writings...

Have you written your will yet? In my culture there is no clearly given practice in dividing the inheritance. Basically my wife and I have agreed that we would spilt the inheritance equally among our children. We are blessed with 4 wonderful children that are uniquely and wonderfully made, and given to us to disciple. The issue of inheritance seems to have gained great priority with the people of Israel even before they entered the promised land. Numbers 36:9, Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance. The details of the discussion of the issues and resolution can be read in this chapter. But, what caught my attention is how this matter is captured for us to read. The welfare of the people and their descendents is treated with great importance. Appropriation of land is important, especially in those days since agriculture was the main source of income. Less land, less income. Is God inte...

Have you heard of blood money? It is something offered to the family of a murdered person by the murderer to getaway from a fatal punishment. It is practiced in certain cultures. It does not take into consideration how the crime was committed, and it is form of release from all guilt. However, God has different instructions for the people of Israel. Numbers 35:31, Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. A sin is a sin and it needs consequences. The person may repent but that does not remove the consequences of the sin. The instructions in this chapter differentiate between premeditated murder and otherwise. Both allows the person that committed the killing to run to a sanctuary city for a proper judgement. If it is premeditated, the person is put to death. Otherwise, the person remains there until the death of the chief priest. God's ways are just and compassionate. He works everything for our good...

Have you made the mistake yet? It is 2018! Don't make the mistake of writing 2017 in your notes, letters and checks. We have moved on to a great year ahead. The promises of God will bless you greatly. Has it come to past? No. It is only day 1. Moses had a similar situation with the people of Israel. They were about to cross the Jordan and they saw God's promises and are already claiming it and dividing it. Numbers 34:2, Command the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. This detailed instruction could be visually seen by the posting in this blog site . The land to be taken by the people of Israel is clearly indicated by God (some ancient names are guesses but the assumed locations are given based on research). This is obviously abhorred by most of the world. It means the current international boundaries for Israel are incorrect. More to come on ...