Sreedhar's Journey

Plagues can alter the course of civilizations, and they have.  The Athenians lost a war in 430 BC.  Large number of Roman soldiers were killed, including the emperor around 180 AD.  A number of others impacted Europe and Africa.  Then came the Asian and American ones.  A lot had to do with hygiene and cultural practices that allowed plagues or viruses to infect large populations.  Man-made? Or, greed?  This can also play into man-made conflicts for the purpose of gaining economic power. Ezekiel 27:27 Your riches, wares, and merchandise, Your mariners and pilots, Your caulkers and merchandisers, All your men of war who are in you, And the entire company which is in your midst, Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin. Tyre was a very successful port and with that came success in trading and shipping. It was a very successful business ecosystem and port city that made Tyre a "global economic hub".  But they were too re...

Politics can turn on you very quickly when you have unmet objectives.  It causes people to do things that are bad and sometimes inhumane or vicious.  I have been told that in some countries they even conduct contract killings. In politics people want to see the quick demise of their opponents. Ezekiel 26:3-4 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It is all about Tyre today. No, not your car tire but about the port city of Tyre that was part of the major trade route for West Asia at that time. In fact what is prophesied here came to past and you can see the tremendous ruins of the ancient city when you make a visit to modern day Lebanon. It is a day trip from Beirut, the capital. Tyre, like the nations m...

Sarcasm is an ironic or satirical remark tempered by humor. Mainly, people use it to say the opposite of what's true to make someone look or feel foolish .  That is not very nice.  Any humor at the expense of another is not nice and God takes a strong position against it. Ezekiel 25:17 I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them. The Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites and Philistines were all looking happy for a moment due to Israel's judgement. But God was about to bring judgement on them as well. Don't doubt God's ways of correcting evil and don't celebrate at the issues others are facing if you have issues as well. These nations also did the same wrongs as the people of Israel. They have a rich history from their ancestry and they were without excuse when it came to knowing and worshiping God. But they worshiped other gods.  Are you laughing at other people's misf...

The American Medical Association has noted that stress is the basic cause of more than 60 percent of all human illness and disease.  And so what are you doing about it?  Even with all the amenities and gadgetry around us, life has become complex.  It is time to get a life.  In some forums I have said it is time to "smell the flowers" and not be rushed.  A friend of mine frequently says, "we need to have fun".  When I joined a project in the World Expo in 1986, the lead trainer for the project gave us new middle names, "Flexible".  However, all these can only happen when we are walking and running with God. Ezekiel 24:11 “Then set the pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That its filthiness may be melted in it, That its scum may be consumed. The meat is cooked in the heat of the cooking pot and this is symbolism of the hard times coming. The scum is left and it is burned in the pot with a hotter fire. And th...

Are you a "worrying" type of person?  I can be but I quickly realize that no amount of worrying can resolve a matter.  Lee Yen and my biggest concern as husband and wife, and parents, is our children.  But, we can be getting it all wrong, and we have.  They are gifts from God, and we need to be responsible stewards of God's gifts to us.  However, God owns them.  Our children are His.  When you have this perspective, there is no more worry.  We know God will take care of them.  We need to just invest into their lives through love, training and prayer.  However, this was not the case with the people of Israel. Ezekiel 23:36-37 The LORD also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, t...

In the city of Manila there is a place called "Smoky Mountain". This place is continually burning and smoky, not because it is a volcano, but because it is a pile of rubbish that is continually in a state of combustion. It is smelly and difficult to get near, but there are people who ignore all that and scavenge for recyclables in the midst of the garbage, and even live in the edge of it. The rest of us passing through this area may be appalled at this to the point of feeling nauseated. This is how you may feel as you read Chapter 22 in Ezekiel. Ezekiel 22:11-12 One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter. In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD. Human sacrifice. Making and worship of idols. Sexual perversity.  Social injustices of ...

Ever been to the Weta Workshop in Wellington?  It is an amazing place where physical effects are created to make a movie come to life.  Most of the "props" are make believe.  However, there are some items that are made to scale and with the real stuff.  One of them are some of the swords.  They have a great collection of swords that are made by a master swordsman.  Beautiful to look at, but need care in handling.  It is hard to believe how in ancient times swords were used widely, but they were. Ezekiel 21:14 You therefore, son of man, prophesy, And strike your hands together. The third time let the sword do double damage. It is the sword that slays, The sword that slays the great men, That enters their private chambers. The sword is mentioned throughout this chapter and its referred to in relation to the judgement that is coming on Jerusalem and the Ammonites. Great wrath through the hands of the Babylonians. They also do not follow God and...

Michael Dell was probably one of the first people to commercialize the idea that going direct to the manufacturer made more sense than buying from a distributor or retailer.  Intermediaries make money from making it convenient and hassle free.  This includes wholesale markets and other kinds that consolidate goods for easy "one-stop" purchasing.  Amazon makes huge profits from being an intermediary.  But I predict that one day technology and markets will innovate to remove the "Amazon-type" digital intermediaries. Wood and stone are commodities used to build many things. One comes out of growth of a plant, the other is the product of minerals that got compressed with high pressure and heat. Both cannot speak to you or have any meaning unless you make them out to be something. And this is the case with the gods that many cultures have created over the centuries. They only found meaning from mere mortals. They were created in "real time", and not "...

I read a story of how a woman was upset with her husband and left the car while they were driving through a safari park. There were clear instructions to never leave their vehicle but in her anger and haste she put herself and her family in danger. I believe she was killed and a number of her family members were injured. Yes, anger can lead to rash decisions and repercussions. Ezekiel 19:8-9 Then the nations set against him from the provinces on every side, And spread their net over him; He was trapped in their pit. They put him in a cage with chains, And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in nets, That his voice should no longer be heard on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 19 talks about young lions that created issues in Israel. Yes, they can be dangerous. They caused their personal down fall. No matter how strong you may feel you are, you will be caught and brought down. In this chapter it reminds us of the captivity they went through both in Egypt and B...

No fair!  Or, not fair!  We may have heard this phrase growing up.  In fact, I have said it before.  And it was truly the case recently.  I was picking up an elderly couple from the airport.  They were already curbside, but there was no place to stop.  I had to drive quite a distance away.  Airport security came to me and said keep moving.  I said to him that my passengers are already curbside and I am going to get them.  He kept insisting that I stay with my vehicle and I cannot wait there.  This is when I showed him the many vehicles that were not moving and taking up space behind me.  This prevented me from stopping closer to the couple.  No fair!  But God is fair! Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. ...

The imagery of strength given by the cedar tree is great. But as long as the external environment is not conducive, including how the tree is planted, it will not be able to establish its full properties.  And who controls the environment?  We need to go to this person.  Such was the case with the illustrations of the eagles in Ezekiel 17. Ezekiel 17:9-10 “Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots, Cut off its fruit, And leave it to wither? All of its spring leaves will wither, And no great power or many people Will be needed to pluck it up by its roots. Behold, it is planted, Will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the garden terrace where it grew.” ’ ” But when God does it, it flourishes and it's able to fulfill its desired purpose completely. Ezekiel 17:23 On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear...

Valentine's Day is one of those days which evokes a once a year special expression of, or need for love and endearment.  Yes, climaxed to this day for good memory.  I personally wish people Happy Valentine's each year.  However, why do we wait for this day?  Everyday is a valentine moment.  I love my wife very much.  Coupled with that, I love our children very much all the time.  We are one family and nothing can negate this bond.  Likewise we are in a permanent bond with God.  Nothing can separate us from His love. Ezekiel 16:8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God. The message in this chapter is clear. God loves His people Israel. But the imagery of a harlot or prostitute is used to describe how they pursued relationship...

Everyone has the same potential for success.  It is a matter of the conditions in which you grow up in and what you do within the those conditions.  I would parallel it to the work of two farmers.  Both have fields next to each other, but there is a stark difference between the two,  One is overgrown with bush and weeds yielding no return, while the other has neat rows of crop that is growing well to eventually yield great profit.  One farmer did not work the land, perhaps lazy.  The other was hardworking and determined to do the right things at the right time. Ezekiel 15:8 Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord God.  In this chapter a parallel is drawn with the wood of the vine. It is not useful for anything except for the fire. It cannot be formed into anything useful.  These are the harsh comparisons God is making with the people of Israel. Their land was to be desolate becau...

It is a pity that good people are "few and far between". When you go to a store and approach customer service what do you expect?  Good customer service.  As the customer service experience is delivered by this one store representative, your perception of the store's customer service is driven by this one experience, and possibly other encounters.  But our encounters are limited and may not truly reflect the culture of the organization or the store.  It is highly dependent of those few experiences.  Good or bad.  But with God, He knows everything and everyone.  He deals individually without generalizations. Ezekiel 14:13-14 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says th...

When I was young I remember going to a mediums (or an Indian version of witch doctor or shaman) and to be blessed or protected.  It can be scary at times because the medium would look weird.  Eyes rolled, mouth drooling, and speaking with a devilish voice.  We did all sorts of things as an outcome of these visits.  One of them was to travel in the heat of the afternoon through traffic jams (no air conditioning in the 1970's) to pray at a special temple in Kuala Lumpur.  My first encounter with a medium after I became a Christian was also my last encounter.  In hindsight, it was clear to me that the demonic realm knew they lost me. Ezekiel 13:22-23 “Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life. Therefore you shall no longer envision futility nor practice divination; for I will deliver My people o...

Something good is sometimes ignored for something less good, or even something harmful.  There is a temptation to use or consume something that we know is not helping us in the long run.  But we do it anyhow because of some immediate "good".  Example, my liking for chocolates and anything sweet.  I can go through an entire packet of M&M's in one sitting, no matter how big. Argh!  Thankfully I know my weakness and I do not buy large packets of this stuff any more.  And yes, do not give me chocolates as a gift.  However, Israel could not stop something that was harmful to them. Ezekiel 12:28 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “None of My words will be postponed any more, but the word which I speak will be done,” says the Lord God.’ There is a time after much reminder that God had to carry out the judgement proclaimed. In the past kings have repented. Even whole nations. But here, even in the midst of great anxiety and turmoil ...

Did you know that your heart has 40,000 neurons?  What does this mean?  You guessed it right, the heart appears to be another brain.   Of all the cells in the heart, 67% are nerve cells (click here for one of many articles on this).   Your heart is a "thinking" organ.  This resonates with things mentioned across the Word of God about the workings of the heart and how it influences our words, actions and attitudes.  In Ezekiel chapter 11 reference is made to a change of heart. Ezekiel 11:19-20 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel was perturbed by the momentum of judgement being pronounced upon the people of Israel. While he saw this vision, a leader in Jerusalem dies confirming what God was going to do...

Are you listening?  Most times we go through life with great busyness and fail to hear each other.  We need to have those "smelling the flowers" moments.  We need to stop and "listen" to people around us.  That is correct.  I am not talking about just stopping to listen to them speak, but watch their faces, their actions, and through spiritual eyes discern what is going on in someone's life to be able to support them in their personal pursuits or challenges.  The ultimate person you can do this with is God. Ezekiel 10:7-8 And the cherub stretched out his hand from among the cherubim to the fire that was among the cherubim, and took some of it and put it into the hands of the man clothed with linen, who took it and went out. The cherubim appeared to have the form of a man’s hand under their wings. Earlier Ezekiel recounted his out of this world experience. 4 faced Cherubims and Wheels that had eyes at the River Chebar. This was in Babylon. Now the...

Many people carry bumper or windscreen stickers indicating they are a Christian. Some wear crosses of different forms on their clothing or person. All good and I am not going to say anything against these things. In fact once I found a nice silver fish sign to stick on the back of my car. But the big question I have is whether we (and I) are truly walking right with God and interceding and reaching out for the current lost generation. Do we truly love God and love people? Ezekiel 9:3-4 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel sees God giving instructions to an angel to put His mark on people in Jerusalem tha...

Have you ever tried to keep a secret from your parents?  It is not very easy, especially with your mother.  Because she has carried you in her womb and then nurtured you for many years, she can tell when something is different or not quite right.  You will be compelled to eventually admit the truth.  I suppose that is how my mother discovered I had a bible and had become a Christian. Ezekiel 8:11-12 And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’" What an incredible picture of Israel's rejection of God as they use the very temple for worship of the Lord to worship other gods. This incredible d...

What are you looking for? Good news? No, you will not get it. Why? Because, you have a self inflicted wound. Maybe you are looking for mercy and sympathy. But, you will not get it. Instead you have to suffer regret by yourself. You were already told the plan that will get you right. Incredible promises were before you, but you chose to reject them. Such was the case with Israel. Ezekiel 7:27 ‘The king will mourn, The prince will be clothed with desolation, And the hands of the common people will tremble. I will do to them according to their way, And according to what they deserve I will judge them; Then they shall know that I am the Lord!’  What does this mean to me? I need to grab the promises. I need to pursue Him and walk in His ways. His promised Holy Spirit is ready to operate with wisdom and power in my life. I need to submit to Him. The God that created the world with the spoken word is ready to lead me. I need to follow His footsteps because any other s...

As human beings we are naturally attention seekers because our God given makeup is such that we cannot exist alone. God said it is not good for man to be alone and so He made Eve as recounted in the book of Genesis. We were made for each other. And hence the individual gets his or her identity from their family. This is why when the family breaks down much more breaks down. We break down.  The family beyond itself needs to have a relationship with God. Take away God and the family breaks. And now God is seeking our attention. It is for our good. Ezekiel 6:14 So I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land desolate, yes, more desolate than the wilderness toward Diblah, in all their dwelling places. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. Through the destruction He got His people's attention and they would know who is the Lord. God is seeking your attention for your good. Seek Him and be blessed. For without Him your human and family ecosystem will break do...

Doing what is right in your own eyes brings great risks. Firstly, you could be doing something that may jeopardize the well-being of your family. Next your well-being at work and community. Or, with the laws of the country. Or, worst still, your relationship with God. Such was the case with the people of Israel. Ezekiel 5:7-8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have multiplied disobedience more than the nations that are all around you, have not walked in My statutes nor kept My judgments, nor even done according to the judgments of the nations that are all around you’— therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Indeed I, even I, am against you and will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations’. Ezekiel shares God's pronouncement of judgement on Jerusalem. It is severe and consistent with what Jeremiah had said. And history has shown this to be true. In our need to focus and not waste time, we need to do what is right in God's eyes. Am I? Fat...

In my days as a scout I used to go camping at least twice a year.  We were encouraged not to take anything canned.  Only fresh vegetables and dried foods.  We were also not allowed to bring cooking stoves.  We made wood fires at the camp.  If it rained it was a great challenge, but we managed.  We were young then.  Our tents were simply waxed canvas tents and we had to dig good drains around them to ensure we were not flooded out.  At most we would spend 5 days out on a camp, but Ezekiel had it way worse. Ezekiel 4:4-6 Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear th...

Speaking with boldness does not come naturally for me. I was a very quiet person in school and did not mix much. My parents were conservative when it came to me and my siblings going out after school or spending time with friends. But God through His own way built a boldness and ability that has allowed me to be able to speak to thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands through various media platforms. I am grateful to be able to do this blog and speak to you as well. But the message that God has for you is clear. He wants you to return to Him. And I need to be the mouthpiece to tell you. Ezekiel 3:10-11 Moreover He said to me: “Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears. And go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear, or whether they refuse.” Ezekiel was proclaimed a watchman for the people of Israel. A watchman in days of old warne...