Sreedhar's Journey

Praising someone requires us to look out for things to praise.  The problem for most of us, including myself, is that we are quick to see the mistakes and admonish those.  It is time to be intentional about looking for the good and praise it.  Let today be the start of this practice and the atmosphere will change dramatically as we do it.  The same applies to our Heavenly Father. Psalm 145:4 One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. This chapter is so full of praises for God. The Psalmist pours out his heart as he speaks of God's goodness. His love. His mercy. He will shout it. He encourages all to share this openly. He is ever ready to help us. He looks out for us. With God like this, who else do you need. What would I do without Him? He overlooks our sin because of Jesus' death and resurrection. We are grateful for the personal relationship we have with Him. All this translates into how we treat other people. Like

Nothing can happen in an organization with just one person doing everything.  As a leader you need to bring everyone together with a clear purpose and outcome.  That unity will yield the joy of serving.  You can have a happiness survey from time to time.  But, the crucial thing is that you are doing something about the culture to support great accomplishments.  Happiness will be the natural outcome. Psalm 144:15 Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! David as a ruler cries out for God's protection and deliverance from his enemies. He pleads not only for himself but for his people that he has responsibility over. He says that they don't deserve God's consideration but yet he knows that God is capable and will save them greatly. He will not only protect them but also prosper them. My relationship with the Lord needs to grow. Acknowledge Him at all times. The challenges that we face are significant but they ca

The constant question most people ask is, what is God's will for my life.  This question only gets brought up by those who have an earnest desire to seek God's best for themselves.  They know God has the best plan. They cannot out think God.  He is after all the God of the universe.  Nothing escapes Him.  He knows the beginning to the end in an instant. Psalm 143:8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. In this chapter the Psalmist writes that he is being pursued. He acknowledges his sin and pleads mercy from God. He is obviously surrounded by trouble and reflects on this and his relationship with God. This has drawn him to a dead-end and he is seeking the compassion of a loving God to pull him out of all this and to direct him to follow God's ways. In effect he is crying out. Father, my earnest desire is to fulfill your call.  Direct me O

I just read the story about the son of a prominent politician who got spit on the face in a restaurant because the waitress did not agree with the political position of his father.  What is the world coming to?  This person got handcuffed, but there many of parts of the world where they will go free because the government promotes such physical expression of activism against one's beliefs.  The Psalmist sings of being under attack. Psalm 142:5-6 I cried out to You, O Lord: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I. The Psalmist seems to be describing captivity.  Persecutors all around. And so he cries out to the Lord for mercy. Yes, sin may be involved and probably is because we are all fallen beings who do what we ought not to do and do not do what we ought to do. But he ends by saying that he will be surrounded by the righteous a

There is no reason for us to do wrong because we know it.  But yet we still do.  Many times it is due to what we call the "herd mentality".  Joe and Mary is doing, and so we join the crowd.  Buzz!  Wrong answer!  We need to be driven by that inner voice that stops us.  As the saying goes, "think before you leap". Psalm 141:3-4 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. The Psalmist is open about the fact that he is among evildoers and may be also engaged in things that may not be right. He is seeking to break from that and do what is right in God's sight. Hence he calls out to God for His leading. We are surrounded by much evil and evildoers. How do we operate under such conditions? It is very easy to go with the flow. Are we able to, like the Salmon, to go against the fl

Are you being bullied?  I keep reading news about how people are being bullied in school and in cyberspace.  It is amazing the kind of thrill people get from doing this, and feel no remorse for engaging in such activity.  A child that is bullied affects them for the rest of their lives.  If they survive the bullying, they repeat the same with someone else.  It is a vicious cycle that has been growing through the ages, especially with the advent of social media and easy use of digital images.  If you are the bullied, rest assured that God wants to help you. Psalm 140:12-13 I know that the Lord will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence. In verses 12 and 13 the Psalmist ends by saying, I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,and will execute justice for the needy.  Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;the upright sh

Are you feeling alone?  You seem to not be able to get anywhere with the situation that you are in.  I have found that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life.  He is constantly watching and waiting for me, like a father would when his children are out late.  However, God is seeing us even before we return home. Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in [c]hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. God knows everything about us and intends good for us. v13: For you formed my inward parts;you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Wonderful are your works;my soul knows it very well. So rich are these words if you truly meditate on them and see their

Over the years many songs have been composed to worship God.  They have been played in different settings.  I know of one government agency that even plays Christian radio in the office and it is a blessing for the waiting clients or customers.  The Psalmist writes it well. Psalm 138:1-2 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. Yes, we sing praises to God before the gods. His name will be great and His word will be above that. His promises will hold true. Because of His word, the kings of the earth will praise Him. It would be difficult for anyone to see it differently.  As we walk in the midst of trouble and among enemies, God is there for us. He will stretch out His hand and with His right hand save us. Father, I really have nothing to fear when You are in charge.

Boney M sang that famous song "Rivers of Babylon".  I remember this song being sung over and over again during my teenage years.  It was only years later that I realized that it had biblical roots.  It had to do with the time of captivity of the people of Israel in Babylon and this Psalm was written to reflect that. Psalm 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. By the rivers of Babylon did they remember their promised land. The Psalmist is bringing back memories of Zion. Cannot be forgotten. It is the Lord's blessings that cannot be broken and cannot be forgotten. Sing the song well and overcome the temporary position of captivity.  As promised by God, 70 years later, they returned to their promised land.  God fulfills His promises. Father, your promises do I trust.  No other name but the name of Jesus. Reflection from January 7, 2016: Today is my father's funeral. Much mixed emotions. My only p

Growing up I am sure that you quickly learnt how to say "thank you".  This is one of the most important communication skills that is learnt by a child to ensure that they grow up with gratefulness in their lives.  However, I can think of occasions that I could have demonstrated gratefulness a little more.  Most importantly to the God of Universe.  He has done so much and yet I could go about the day's activities and forget how much God is protecting the steps I am taking and all that He is doing in my life.  Psalm 136 is full of gratitude and ends with this verse. Psalm 136:26 Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever. Yes, His mercy endures forever. No doubt about it given the recollections that the Psalmist recites from the day of creation (or maybe I should say the week of creation) to the days of David or perhaps the days of siege when food was miraculously given by God after the enemies were defeated. O give thanks to the Lord!

You may have read my testimony about asking this question about fire in the temple.  Please do not be offended, but it raised big doubts in my mind at about 12 years of age.  I was ready to consider other faiths.  Islam was a big one because my classmate next to me was Kamarulzaman.  But, I found out that the Christian God loved me.  And so, this kept me strongly interested until I said yes to Jesus when I was 14.  This passage in Psalms presents my doubts with great logic. Psalm 135:15-18 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. What is the main purpose of their worship when their items of worship cannot hear, cannot speak and cannot see. These were questions in my mind when I was a young teenager. The Psalm

I apologize if I offend anyone, but I feel free to lift up my hands when I worship the Lord.  I would do it while standing up.  It is only natural when you are worshiping the Almighty God, creator of heaven of earth.  He is after all the God loves me and redeemed me by dying on the dying on the cross.  The Psalmist agrees with me on this one. Psalm 134:1-2 Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. There are key elements to be observed here in this chapter being shared by the Psalmist. The familiar ones are us blessing God, doing it with hands raised, we doing this as servants of God. But a new element that I did not see before is doing all this at night, though it may have been said in other parts of the Word. The Psalmist ends with acknowledging God as the one who made heaven and earth. Reflection from 2016: Speaks to me about evening services, m

As you may know I grew up in a traditional Indian home in Malaysia.  I am third generation Malaysian.  We have traditional baths for special occasions where we would pour coconut oil over our heads, and then have a bath.  It was never explained to me, but it was a ritual of cleansing and preparation.  As I read today's chapter, it reminded about that childhood experience. Psalm 133:2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. The dew of Hermon and the precious oil upon the head and running down the beard and the length of a garment is the picture given. A beautiful picture that the people of Israel were familiar with. One was visual the other was the feeling of being relaxed and cooled. All this was used to describe the experience of unity among the brethren. Yes, there is such tremendous blessing says the Psalmist. Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is Fo

It is simply amazing how the structure of the family has come about.  And, at the same time the world is being confused with a different view of a family that is contrary to the natural path for procreation and population.  There are some "learned" scholars who use their positions of academic authority to convince all of us that gender is all in the "mind".  I apologize if I seem blunt.  I love all peoples, and for this reason I would want to see people who have personal challenges in gender identity to be helped. God makes promises to David and it would only be possible to fulfill them if the natural procreation process is acknowledged and accepted. Psalm 132:11 The Lord has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: “I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body. The Psalmist is bringing to remembrance God's promises for David and his descendants. Indeed the lineage of kings will not be interrupted, if only his descendants would fol

Each day can get very hectic.  My days are full, but I am privileged to speak into many lives and nations.  I always look forward to my solitude when I rise at 4 a.m. and meet with the Lord both at home and on my prayer walk.  The Psalmist aptly summarizes my thoughts. Psalm 131:2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me. The Psalmist returns us to the simple things in life. Compares us to a child being weaned by a mother. No bragging. Just simple trust in the Lord. No great issues to grapple with. The ending is quite significant. Hope in the Lord! He encourages the people of Israel, and now us. Father, my hope is completely in You. Reflection from 2016: This New Year, let's get back to the simple things in life. No complexities. No stress. No big agendas. Just God's plans for us. He has all the strategies, plans and resources in order. Let's get back to Him to be able to

Waiting is most times difficult.  In this fast paced world of electronics, faster transportation, crazy deadlines, and those unending "notifications" it is difficult to keep yourself in a "waiting" mode. My we need that with the Lord. Psalm 130:5, I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope. The Psalmist urges us to cry out to the Lord for our needs. We are reminded that our sins are many and would be totally unacceptable to the Lord. We need Him more than anything else. And so we wait on Him. More than those who watch for the morning. Every moment we wait on the Lord. That is a tall order in our busy lives. But if we would do this we will experience mercy, forgiveness and redemption like Israel was promised. No hold back. Let's pursue God relentlessly and every moment. He has the best for us. Let us seek the things He has prepared for us this day.  Father, my eyes are on you.  Nothing should interrupt my gaze, or my listening ea

Today is a historical day. I am writing my reflection on the last chapter of the Bible since I started this on January 1, 2016. I have come full cycle since I started with Psalm 130 on that day. Today is Psalm 129. The reflection today is aptly about how God looks over our shoulders at all times. Psalms 129:4 The Lord is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked. More than 3 years ago the Lord gave me a promise summarized "I will take care of it". He has, all these years. My family and I have seen God provide powerful interventions for the sake of each family member. Yes, we saw spiritual attacks, but God was there for us. By end of this year, by God's special grace, we should see all three of our oldest children become financially independent adults. The next major step for us as a family is to see each start their careers and post academic walk with the Lord, including having their own families. We know God will take care of them. Father, into Your wo

Let me honest with you. I adore my wife. She has beauty, intelligence and strength. All well designed by the Lord. We are not perfect, but we are blessed to be together. Married more than 27 years ago with 4 children. This verse reminds of that. Psalms 128:3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. The Lord has truly orchestrated something magic. We have had our fair share of mistakes, but as we submitted everything to the Lord, He course corrected our life journey. Yes, God loves us too much to let us fail. I will continue to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. Father, may many experience the richness of a family submitted to you.

Those who know our children know that they are not perfect. The parents that raised/raising them are not perfect. We have done what we could do far. My greatest wish for each of them is that they will follow Jesus with all of their hearts and serve the King of kings. This verse sums up my feelings. Psalms 127:5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate. Incredibly as it may seem, our 4 children are in 4 different cities in 3 different countries. They love God and have unique callings that no one can derail except of their own doing. As parents, Lee Yen and I constantly pray for them, give advice and help them where we can. We pray that they will grow to do bigger and better things than we have. Father, our lives are in your hands. The good, the bad and the ugly are all in your hands. You break us, mold us, and lead us.

Can the impossible become possible? I have read many stories of rags to riches and have been naturally impressed by everything that has been said. It required great persistence, hardwork, endurance and something else. That something else is what differentiates between one rags to riches story, and the many other rags to rags stories. Unfortunately, we do not hear or read many of the latter. The successful ones had a "good break" that is a gift from God. Psalms 126:6 He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him. The people of Israel could only dream of being released from captivity. That is how this chapter started. Yes, the sowing of seed is needed. Hard work cannot be missed. But, along with the hardwork is the weeping. Weeping before God. He alone provided the deliverance when the people cried before God. Father, my heart's desire is to see all saved. Hear my cry O Lord fo

Each day can be an adventure. If you choose to view it that way. We can sometimes (or maybe all the time) be caught up with the usual that we forget that new things are developing all the time around us. No one day is the same. But one thing needs to remain. Psalms 125:1 Those who trust in the Lord Are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. What are you looking for in the day? Is there something bothering you? Perhaps it's something that you need to do and you have not been doing it. God is waiting all the time for us to listen to him and act on something that will not only be a blessing for you but for others. Let this be a new day for a fresh start. Father, I trust you. Lead me now.

Contrary to public opinion, if there was one, I am not so keen on having wild animals in the same confined space as human me. Imagine a rat, a bat, or even a bird caught in a room unable to find a way out while dear me is in the same room. This has happened to me before. I am glad I survived those incidents, along with these wild animals. As I read this verse, I understood the feeling. Psalms 124:7 Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. The bird wants to be free. It wants to reenter the nature that it understands. Being in a cage is unnatural. It does not belong there. However, the sad truth is that some of us believe that we need to stay in the cage. It is unnatural but perhaps because you are unaware of all that is outside you stay in that "open" cage. There are many living their lives suboptimally. There is much more outside the cage. Get out! God wants you to get into the natural, which is in a loving r

The passage and verse from Psalms today is a little difficult to process. It talks about being looked down upon. Not being respected. You are therefore pleading for mercy. To be removed from this terrible position of ill will. Psalms 123:3 Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Is there a way out? Yes! Your identity with God. Your identity with Jesus Christ. Nothing beats that. That is more important than all the respect that you will ever get in this world. We are connected to the greatest "vine". We will bear great fruit in spite of what people think about us. Father, You are the greatest and most important person in my life.