Sreedhar's Journey

A father is usually proud of his sons. Daughters are just as important and fathers take pleasure with them differently. When it comes to sons they not only take on the masculine characteristics of the father, but also the responsibilities that come with being a man. I am not the perfect father. My sons, my wife and daughter will tell you that. But I pray that I will never leave behind this situation like Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 21:4, Now when Jehoram was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel. This man went 180 degrees away from all that his father did. How is this possible? Jehoshaphat allowed other influences into his household. His wife and Jehoram's mother brought foreign gods into the home. What happened? As the man of the house I need to be responsible in instilling Godly values, character, and relationship with the Almighty God in all my family members. Fat...

Today is one those days when so many things are going through my mind. I sprained my ankle yesterday and so I am minimizing my movements. I said to someone that the sprain happened just as I was going to have a one week break between assignments. Perhaps God is forcing me to truly take a break. Jehoshaphat had a similar problem. 2 Chronicles 20:2, Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). What do you do? He could not depend on his army. He was incapacitated. Judah will be defeated big time if they went to fight. Jehoshaphat knew that, and he called a fast. Everyone including women and children came. The solution? Organize a praise and worship team. In the end God took over and completely decimated the opposing forces. Based on the account given, I don't think the writer knew exactly what happened. It says there was an ambush. By whom? 2 Chronicle...

You must have heard the phrase, "Like father like son". I just saw pictures of a good friend of mine and his family from Singapore. His sons look exactly like him. My children have a great combination of Lee Yen and me. We are always thankful for the journey God has brought us through. Both as a family and individuals. Asa had a son Jehoshaphat, and he did well in the eyes of the Lord because of the impact of the father. But I believe there is another reason. 2 Chronicles 19:2, And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Remember Hanani? He was put in prison because he boldly spoke against King Asa? Now Jehu, Hanani's son, is doing the same with Jehoshaphat. However, this time there is no mention of prison. Based on what is mentioned in this chapter, there seems to have been some major reforms in the legal, government and...

I love the way history is recorded so that we can see what happened, and possibly learn from it. However, many historians do not speak up and get heard. Perhaps they feel that they are in a dying profession where the future prospects are poor or even dead. The Bible records history like no other. This statement provides some background to the historical account of how King Ahab died. 2 Chronicles 18:6, But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?” Jehoshaphat is a Godly king. He becomes great friends with the king of Israel. Perhaps there was some move to reunite the two kingdoms. However, this was not to be. Ahab had 400 prophets tell him that he will win a battle. When a prophet of God was called, he surprisingly gave the same message. However, he also delivered the bad news. He gave the background to the whole thing that happened in heaven. This prophet was like Hanani. He was prepared to suffer the consequences for d...

When I came to the Lord at the age of 14 (actually I was 13 going on 14 that year), I did so secretly. I did not have a Bible. I saved up enough pocket money to buy my first Bible. This I kept and read secretly because I knew that my parents would not take kindly to my actions. I was blessed reading the Word of God. Jehosaphat also saw great value in the people of Judah knowing God's Word. 2 Chronicles 17:7-9, Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. So they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people. The Bible is very rich in stories from history and solutions for everyday matters. It is a textbook...

Are you fickle minded or forgetful? We are constantly challenged to make difficult decisions. I would say the most important decision we have to make is what do we do with our time. Yes, as a child of God, I have all of eternity. However, there is an initial phase that is important for all of mankind. What I do affects the eternal destiny of other people. Hanani chose to do the right thing. 2 Chronicles 16:7, And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. King Asa was in his 36th year. An established king and kingdom. There are songs attributed to him in Psalms, and I am sure he did well through his years. However, he made a grave error. He stopped relying on God. Instead, he relied on Syria against Israel. God spoke to him through Hanani. It was a bold move that resulted in Hanani's imprisonmen...

In Malaysia sometimes we referred to a place as "cowboy country". What we meant by this is that it was not only a little backward in development, it was lawless. Anything goes. Everyone could do what they liked, and it could be dangerous to go out alone. Sometimes we also use it in the context of an organization. This passage during the days of King Asa seems to indicate that he lived in cowboy country. It seems to indicate that the problem is across the whole region and perhaps the whole world. 2 Chronicles 15:5-6, And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. The issue of the day is that they were abiding in the ruler of this world, Satan. Asa made it a point to return to God and ensure the citizens of the land did that. This resulted in peace for his lands. Many try to cove...