Sreedhar's Journey

Are you feeling cornered and unable to get released from some burden? You feel you are at the end of yourself and nothing seems to work. Israel felt the same way as they faced the people of Nineveh. Where do you turn? No one to help but God. And indeed God says I am coming to help. Nahum 2:2 For the Lord will restore the excellence of Jacob like the excellence of Israel, For the emptiers have emptied them out And ruined their vine branches. It is the Lord that would do it. In Jonah the people of Nineveh repented and were not destroyed. This time they would be. Israel is protected. This is because Israel turned to Him. Who are you turning to when you are in trouble? Your friends? Close relatives? Turn to the Great Creator.  I am turning to you Lord. Father, I cry out for your work to be made complete in me and my burdens are no more. 

Awhile ago it became clearer for me that darkness is just the absence of light. Now don't laugh at me. It does have a deep significance for me personally. We cannot define darkness without defining or talking about the light. But there are people out there who have no light reference and therefore they cannot even define the darkness they are in. That is their only world view. That is why when I was 14 I saw a new thing that I never saw before and realized that I need to step into the light and not stay in darkness any more. Only crazy people will continue to walk an unlit path when they have another path that is well lit.  You will avoid all the tripping and falling. Nahum 1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked. The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Likewise, the people of Israel went through these periods of darkness and light because of their craziness?  The mes

We all have had difficulties confronting the issues of life. They may or may not be things that you had an influence over, but they stay with you. You suffer through them wondering when is it all going to end.  I have been through such challenges myself.  Everyone is against you.  You know you are doing what is important for the nation, but yet many of your stakeholders are wanting to fulfill their own agenda.  This kills the good that you are trying to do. Micah 7:2-3 The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together. Reading the first part of Micah 7 reminds me of the situation in my home country where many in leadership have succumbed to doing things that are not right. The prince asks for gifts.  Th

I was privileged to do my MBA immediately after my computer science degree. During those days you studied about the capital asset pricing model and the concept of optimal debt levels. The bottom line principles (if I still remember them in this early hour :)..) is that "the higher the risk the higher the return required", "debt reduces the cost of capital",  and "there is a quantum of debt that is optimal, after which it becomes expensive due to risks associated with it". Great principles but without God it can all collapse. There is some allusion to that in the 2nd half of Micah 6. Yes, God had prescribed an economic system to the people of Israel from the days of Moses but these were not followed.  The passage from this chapter that keeps ringing in my head because of an old song is this.  Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Th

History books are difficult to write because it takes meticulous effort to gather the facts, verify them and piece them together to present a plausible story. It is always great if a piece of text from that era was found. This would possibly authenticate the story. However, there are those who try to rewrite history due to their need to change something that is not acceptable, or build something to support their agenda. But two things are for sure, you cannot deny the fact that Jesus was born and that it was prophesied more than 700 years before He was born. Which is harder to write? A prophecy (that became fulfilled) or a history text? Micah 5:2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” Yes, Bethlehem is mentioned as the place of the coming of the "Ruler of Israel".  And we know that Jesus was born in

T. E. Lawrence says, "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." Let me be frank. I almost never remember my dreams from sleep. When I lie on my pillow, within minutes or seconds I am out. The Lord has blessed me with good sleep. But I have dreams for the future and many of them have to do with what God wants to do. Micah 4:2 Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Yes, I dream of the day when this will be fulfilled. My passport does not allow me to visit Israel freely and neither do I have the funds to travel to Israel, but I dream of the da

Good leadership is vital for the progress of a nation. Every aspect is important for the well being of the people of that nation. This leadership must be good in every area. The spheres of family, education, business, government, arts and entertainment, media, and spiritual have been a way to look at the core areas that are important for a nation. In the early days of Israel everything that could go wrong, went wrong. What could God do in that situation? Micah 3:7-8 So the seers shall be ashamed, And the diviners abashed; Indeed they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer from God.” But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the LORD, And of justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin. Micah, the prophet, continues to warn them, and through him, God in His holiness where sin cannot be tolerated, pronounces judgement. What is the state of your life? Are you submitted to God? We need the Savior. Your good deeds are nothing and

Wrongly perceived reality can have dire consequences, especially if it has something to do with God's instructions and leading. Our human tendency is to listen to things that are pleasing to our ears.  Anything contrary to our belief system or understanding is rejected. The people of Israel were no different. Micah 2:11 If a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this people. Israel was filled with false prophets that were probably influenced or directed by the evil one. Micah spoke against them. Nevertheless, there will be a remnant gathered to be restored to their land because they listened to the voice of the Great Shepherd.  Listen right and you will live. The Lord is ever ready to guide us into His fold and pasture. I am moving there. Are you coming? Micah 2:12-13 “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put th

When things are going wrong you will have alarm after alarm going off to tell you something is wrong. When a fire develops in a building equipped with a fire alarm system, it would normally have heat and smoke sensors. Either smoke or fire events would trigger an alarm. Next, people will start noticing it and raise the alarm. The neighbors will be the next one. Israel and Judah were no different.  Micah 1:5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem? Many prophets were called to warn them through the same period when they drifted from God and worshiped other gods.  In fact it appears that the region became a center of idolatry and much economic gain was coming from this activity.  Micah proclaimed that judgement was imminent and catastrophic. The ground will be devastated and all the wealth from their agriculture busine

Are you tired? Are things not working out the way they should, or that you expected? All the little things in life could add up to become a huge thing in your life.  Without you realizing, it caused you to be depressed to the point of being suicidal. There was one such prophet that came to this point. Yes, you guessed it right. Jonah! Jonah 4:1-3 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the LORD, and said, “Ah, LORD, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” Jonah preached God and His workings to the people. The population was large by ancient standards, 120,000. About the size of Dunedin, New Zealand where our children went through High School. Jonah 4:11

Have you been given a second chance in life? Perhaps, you came to a point where you thought death is imminent but somehow you survived the accident or the severe illness. I had an experience of a smaller scale in this area. When I finished my O (stands for "Ordinary") level examinations in Malaysia (a major examination that determines your future academic path) I left for Canada to do my final year of high school l to get into university. While I was in my first semester, I got news from Malaysia that I had failed my O level examinations. I was very depressed and the very next day I was having my mid term examinations at the high school in Canada.  I could not study. But the Lord gave me a second chance. My results from the mid term was straight As. Hence, I started my successful second chance for academics. Jonah 3:1-3 Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”

When a person is in distress in the water, they will take every breath possible to cry out for help. They will also hold tight to anything they can around them. This is why when you rescue someone you need to approach them from the back to avoid being dragged down by the person in distress. But the first thing that draws your attention to the person is their cry. Jonah's cry must have been great. Jonah 2:2 And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. ‘Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice. This is not the first time a servant of God cried out to God. When you are desperate, when you are in need, there is nothing shameful about crying out. I had a tendon strain in October, 2016. And for the first time in my life I had to learn how to use a crutch. I cried out to the Lord and my "crutching days"  only lasted 24 hours. Hallelujah! Are you desperate for something? Cry out to Him! Father, I am crying

When someone's greatness is recognized it is usually after something out of the ordinary is accomplished. We go out of our way to make the recognition and celebrate with some pomp and fanfare. Such was the case when a man was thrown overboard and the sea became calm for safe passage. This is the story of Jonah. Jonah 1:2-3 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. Jonah was thrown overboard and stayed in the belly of a fish (there is no mention of what fish) for 3 days. But preceding this is a fascinating story of discovery of the great God of the people of Israel. When the storm hit, everyone was asked to pray to their gods. Jonah had to be woken up to do the same. As he shared h

Sibling rivalry has always been there through the ages. They can make up and be good friends as they grow older.  However, sometimes a rivalry started as children can extend into adulthood. It serves no purpose and brings harm. There was one ancient rivalry that cut across the generations and exists till today. This is between Jacob and Esau. Twin brothers that contended with each other from the womb. Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head. Obadiah, made up of one chapter, is all about Esau's descendants. Perhaps the reason for the Lord to specifically pick out this people and have the prophet Obadiah speak out to them is because He wanted to show that Israel's blessings were confirmed. The twin brother Esau was not included in the same blessing, though he was blessed in other ways.  It is clear that you cannot pick a fight with Israel because you are

A good father always has a heart for their children even if the children do not recognize it. When children go wayward or do wrong, they would be disappointed and discipline their children, but after that they are looking for ways to bless their children. This is so much a reflection of God's ways with His children. Amos 9:8 “Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” Says the LORD. He did discipline them but not completely destroy them.  The people of Israel had a different kind of connection to the Lord and this led to favor.  This began with the covenant God had with Abraham.  And this same favor is available to all as was promised when God gave Abraham the vision of the stars.  If we accept it. Amos 9:13-15 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The

Our human nature is filled with the need to stay ahead and win. You see this in sports, business and education, among others. Some years ago was the Vice Presidential candidate debate for the United States between Tim Kaine and Mike Pence . It was clear that one of the candidates was very intent in not only winning the debate but to be rude and speak while the other candidate is making his presentation.  This situation of incivility and arrogance is not new since the people of Israel seemed to have practiced it as well in ancient times. Amos 8:4 Hear this, you who swallow up the needy, And make the poor of the land fail. The chapter says more but you get the idea. What does God promise? He will bring destruction where people will lose everything. What you thought you will be gaining is lost and much more. What is the lesson here? Instead of looking out for gain, look out for how you can give. When you produce something to sell, think about how you can give before what you ca

There is a favorite saying that goes like this, "Fear nothing but fear itself". Yes, fear can be paralyzing and prevent you from achieving great works and results.  However, having no fear does not remove the fact that you may have entered danger zone or could have hugely negative consequences. What happens if those negative consequences become a reality? Amos 7:12 Then Amaziah said to Amos: “Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy. The consequence for Amos if he did not leave was that he would be killed by the king of Israel. Amos knew the consequences but did not fear them because it was God that was leading him and telling him what to say. He was just a sheep breeder by profession but God had picked him to prophecy and he obeyed God. This can only come not by a lack of the fear of fearing, but the fear of God. Father, I fear nothing except God. Fear nothing but God!

There have been laboratory tests done to look at how mice behave in certain conditions imposed artificially in them. They always seem to adapt to the point of their physical bodily limits. In the same way we can be adapting to chastisement to the point that we do not runaway even if the opportunity presented itself. We adjust to the pain and forget what could be better. Such was the case with Israel. Amos 6:3-6 Woe to you who put far off the day of doom, Who cause the seat of violence to come near; Who lie on beds of ivory, Stretch out on your couches, Eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall; Who sing idly to the sound of stringed instruments, And invent for yourselves musical instruments like David; Who drink wine from bowls, And anoint yourselves with the best ointments, But are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Israel was chastised to bring them back to God but they chose to do wrong. They became immune to the chastisement until death. God

Just as I mentioned about political leaders who make decisions that are popular, they also subvert justice for their benefit. This is so that the small few who are rich and can contribute to their well being will continue to support them financially and with strong voice. It is only humanly natural. In the flesh this is a great weakness. The leaders of Israel were no different and so were admonished for that. Amos 5:15 Hate evil, love good; Establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. But there was no change with the people of Israel. Evil prevailed and God's judgement came as is recorded in history.  In today's circumstances you see the same repeated and it appears that we are going downhill all the way.  God is sovereign and He is all knowing.  He saw the current calamities coming.  He yearns for us to return to Him so that we can be receive the love, joy and peace that He has promised. Father, l

Years ago, a former Australian Prime Minister has called Tun Mahathir, a former Prime Minister of Malaysia, a recalcitrant. Looking up this word in the dictionary I found this, "having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline". Many politicians, for their own reasons, appear to me to be mostly "schizophrenic". It is self imposed and calculated. Hence it is difficult to know the real person. Unfortunately, it is their public life that affects their populace, and it is a way to be popular with the populace. Israel had similar leaders that were recalcitrant. God knows their hearts and their real intent. Even though they were chastised and the whole nation suffered in the process, they did not heed the discipline. Amos chapter 4 gives a blow by blow account of how God was getting their attention but it did not yield change in the leaders.  This verse in Amos reminds us that God knows the real us. And, He is in control. Amos 4:13 Fo

Cause and effect is the logical approach to analyzing any event, whether in general science, social science, political science, or business. For every effect there is usually a cause that can be discovered and studied. Here in this chapter, Israel is being told there is a cause that created their dire situation but yet they are not seeing it.  Amos 3:3-5 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? What is wrong with these people? In spite of the prophets telling them so, they continue to indulge in the worship of other gods resulting in their separation from God and many defeats both from their enemies and the elements. The same may be true for us. I said this before, "insanity is defined as doing the sa

Parents are always in that mode to protect their children.  Their decisions that impact their children may not always seem right or fair, but they are trying to do what is right for their children.  One of my father's hobbies was to race cars.  He would spend much time and money on this hobby.  I loved what he was doing and I would look with keen interest to follow him.  However, my Mum saw the negative side of the sport and prevented me at most times to go to the racing tracks.  God is doing the same thing with the people of Israel and others. Amos 2:13-16 “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might shall flee naked in that day,” says the LORD. The Moabites

Have you been told off for something that you may or may not have done wrong?  How did you feel?  I usually feel rotten.  I get a mix of guilt and anger, but these situations have tremendously reduced with my growing relationship with God.  You want to say many things to justify your actions (or inaction), but it is usually of little value.  Accept everything said (or written) as good feedback, and do better the next time. Amos 1:2 And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.” Amos the prophet must have been in great fear as he spoke. So many negative things against so many people. The pronouncement of judgement can make you angry or repent.  I am reminded of King David's reaction to Nathan the prophet when he confronted him about his relationship with Bathsheba. He cried out to God and repented. Many of Israel's kings never repented and the Lord continued with the ful

The catchphrase that many are using these days is "new normal".  I am saddened that so many have quickly died of the COVID-19 disease.  It has been predicted that something like this would happen in our lifetime.  Some are blaming God for it, while others are repeating the statement said before that this is no surprise.  Millions and millions of people have lost their jobs.  Industries that depend on close proximity of people can no longer operate the same way.  Economic delivery and cost structures have to change.  The prophet Joel from ancient times goes further to say that economic activities such as farming will be stopped and war will begin. Joel 3:10-11 Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. In Joel chapter 2 we saw how the people of Israel would go through a period of revival when

When I was living in Toronto, Canada for almost 7 years, I had a rich cultural experience.  Food, clothing, mannerisms, slang, humor, lifestyle and sports were among the many things that I learnt and experienced.  In sports there were many exciting sports, one of them being baseball.  As a student I could afford to go to games but I managed to get to at least one Blue Jays baseball game.  It was great fun though they lost.  The most important call for the team you are supporting is "SAFE", especially when the base runner is gunning for the home plate.  The most important state to be in for the people of Israel is "SAVED". Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. Before this verse there was mention of a great advancement of forces that required repentance and a call to prayer. This

In most countries, agriculture is the base load of the economy. If that part of the economy breaks, there is a complete breakdown of everything else. In countries where land is scarce, they would have secured supplies from neighboring nations. A lack of food will lead to economic disaster. One way this has happened is when locusts and fire devoured the land of the people of Israel according to the prophet Joel.  It has also happened in modern times. Joel 1:4 What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten. Joel 1:19-20 O LORD, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pastures. However, something else caught my eye as I read this first chapter of Joel.