Sreedhar's Journey

I believe I still hold the record in my old firm from 1986 when I stayed a record of 3 continuous days working in the office without going home.  On the third day I had to call my mother (I was a bachelor then living at home and with no car) to bring me a new shirt and some toiletries.  I did get a few small winks on the office couch.  Otherwise, no sleep.  Even when I went home the 3rd day to crash, I got a wakeup call that evening to explain something.  I was working on three different matters related to the same crisis.  We were determined to get ready to help the Government disburse funds before an important celebration.  The pain was worth the smiles and joy. Mark 8:17-21 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loa...

Water is an important element in any home. Generally, in traditional village homes, water is given to clean the hands and feet before a meal is served. I believe that when the Jewish leaders in this chapter complained about the disciples not washing their hands before the eat, they were referring to them not doing it the right ceremonial way. There are many things the Jewish leaders did because of tradition and accepted practices of the day. We also could be caught up with these things and miss the more important issues of life. Mark 7:5-8 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the...

Much of the areas around Galilee today are in a state of alertness because of the neighboring states that would love to take potshots at Israel. Before the Golan Heights were taken, artillery fire would come from positions in this area against the areas around Galilee. It is truly a hotbed of violence and terror, but by God's grace it is relatively protected and calm at the moment. Nazareth, the home country or city of Jesus is right here. Much of His ministry about 2,000 years ago was around this area. Mark 6:14-16 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” Others said, “It is Elijah.” And others said, “It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.” But when Herod heard, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!” Jesus is well known here. Even King Herod knew John the Baptist and thought Jesus was his resurrectio...

Who do you call when you have a medical emergency? Today you have all kinds of services out there, including emergency services at hospitals and private ambulance services. We have many conveniences and we know more than ever about our bodies. Being a doctor today is very challenging because there is a lot more to know. Did you know that besides the many medical specializations, there is also the specialization of General Practitioner. Yes, you specialize in general medical things. Wow! Mark 5:36-39 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” Do we know everything? No! But I know one who does. J...

It is incredible that seeds store most elements of life. They come in different forms. Plant seeds that get dispersed in different ways, including animal excrement when the fruit is ingested for food. There are also those that merely dispersed by wind. Some seeds yield major and large trees over time, and others yield plants that are essential for human food. Jesus uses the concept of seeds to explain the kingdom of God in this chapter. Mark 4:8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. This verse is preceded but statements about unfruitful seeds that do not grow and yield the fruit that they ought to. So much potential in the seed, but it yields nothing because the right conditions are missing. Six different kinds of soil, three of which yield great fruit.  We need to have faith that God is going to use the little seeds in our lives to grow big things. Let's yield oursel...

Want to stand out in the crowd? Do unconventional things. Today you see many wearing weird dressing, body piercings, visible tattoos and "new hairdos". All to look different and say "I am me".  Today's generation is no different from previous generations.  People want to standout in the crowd.  They want to identify with people to help this.  I am not against your need to express yourself, but how about doing something that would show Jesus Christ in you? Mark 3:4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. Jesus was anticipated to do something different on the Sabbath and He was about to heal a man with a withered hand. And, the Jewish leaders expected Him to do that and wanted to use that against Him. So what do you do? Follow Jesus.  So many are wanting to be counter culture.  A new phrase has evolved, "Cancel Culture".  Each one is trying to outdo the other,...

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

Many times we get complicated.  We blame it on the problem.  We say, "It is complicated".  Is it?  Each problem needs to be broken down into simple parts and they need to addressed in a systematic way to achieve the desired results.  Some may address a portion of the problem forgetting the bigger picture and therefore the need for a holistic approach, but this does not make it complicated.  We just need to be systematic.  There are computer algorithms created to solve such challenges before we take "knee jerk reaction" type steps.  This is my observation with Jesus' approach to talking about the kingdom with the masses.  His ways were simple. Mark 1:32-34 At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak...

There have been stories of people seeing dead men alive.  Some faked their death and therefore they were never dead in the first place.  I have been told that I look like many different people in the past.  I hope I don't get labeled looking like a person that is dead and gone.  It would be both funny and troubling.  It would be very perplexing and you do not know how people perceived the "other" person, and now how they view me as someone they just met.  Jesus had the same challenge. Matthew 28:16-17 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. This chapter moves very fast. Ever seen a dead man walking? Ever saw an angel and hear him speaking to you? In the midst of all this, people seeing and hearing but not accepting. Even trying to hide the truth. Wow, this chapter is loaded. If you have doubts about the existence of a man called ...

Many odd things have happened in the past and this has stood out for me.  A court of law is trying to protect the scriptures of a certain faith by judging a man for blasphemy who has quoted from it. I am reminded of the story of Gideon where the leaders were told that if truly Gideon has offended their god, their god alone will arrange to judge and punish him. Does a god need the protection of man?  Jesus was persecuted and judged for blasphemy as well in this chapter. Matthew 27:28-31 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Pilate as the Governor of Judea had to give judgement over the acc...

When the end is near you sit at the edge of your seat and hope for the best ending possible. The hero must not die. The heroine must be saved. There must be great celebration at the end of good over evil. But wait before that there is that last bit showing people being beat up, people dying and the evil winning. Such was the case in this chapter of Jesus' life before He was crucified. Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Many in history denied the divinity of Jesus Christ, and still do.  They say he was a prophet, a good man and a great teacher, but not God.  It is obviously perplexing that they can only accept one part of his statement and not another.  The Jewish leaders got very upset and were ready to kill him for his statement above.  You have to take in the full account.  You cannot take h...

I want to continue on this mood to talk about storytelling or movies.  As you reach a climax in a movie, you start to second guess the story writer and assume this is how it is all going to end. And so, we predetermine our actions to allow for it. One of them could be that we start to finish our popcorn as soon as we can. And then, NO! Your guess is wrong, especially when the story is being told by God. You cannot tell when it is coming to an end. The virgins got it wrong. The servant with the one talent got it wrong. And, those to the left of of the Son of Man got it wrong. Timing and actions to take must be consistent with God's ways. Matthew 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours. It is sad. God is giving us a good thing and we hide it. The unfolding story we are watching (and we are in it) needs to follow His Story. Not ours. The ending has been told to us and now we are to live our lives in His way. It is l...

Every story has its climax, and a happy ending. Some have a number of climaxes and just when we thought that was it and the movie is coming to an end, it is not so. Usually the movie timing is a giveaway. You notice there is at least an hour left. Must be more to come. Matthew 24:6-8 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Stephen Hawking, the well known physicist, has announced that the world will come to an end in less than 1,000 years . But let me venture to say this. It can happen anytime. The world has seen many climaxes and just when we thought that's the end, the story continues. In this chapter, Jesus said no one will know, and don't trust anybody's information. Matthew 24:4...

Are you a leader? You have important responsibilities. I am sure by now you have read many leadership books and found many gems of thoughts, concepts, strategies and techniques for becoming not just a good leader but a great one. But to be the greatest of all is very difficult unless we follow Jesus' example. In this chapter Jesus berates (to put it lightly) the Jewish leaders. Matthew 23:27-28 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus has high standards for leaders. Can we match up? What is our agenda? Heavenly? Or, our own? Or, something called organizational agenda? Our daily distraction in fulfilling our leadership responsibility is sometimes the wrong agenda. The Jewish leaders are told they look good on the outside,...

Been invited to a banquet recently? My family and I have been invited to a number of these special occasions and we made sure we put together our "Sunday best" (not sure if this term has lost its meaning, but you know what I mean) and attended. Had a great time and photos. I am reminded of a song we used to sing in my school days called the "Banquet" song, or sometimes referred to as the "Cannot Come" song. You can listen to it here. This is very much related to this parable that Jesus shared in this chapter. Matthew 22:2-3 The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. It goes on to say that more information on the food being served was shared and still they rejected the invitation and in fact some killed the people carrying the invitations. Jesus was obviously speaking about those carrying the gospel m...