evil good and good evil

It was a long Saturday with a family friend of us. We went to shooting range late and then followed by shopping and swimming. we went home at around 10.00 p.m. Since his wife too was out of town, we could do that. We pulled out the dinner his beloved wife had made for them and started eating. As we were waiting for his kids to finish eating around 11:30 p.m, Moses picked up his mail and brought the Forbes magazine to dinner table. After reading few pages, he went to last page to read the thoughts of the bi-weekly. The verse was Isaiah 5:20

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

As I continued my reading on Isaiah, I came to this verse. Then the verses that followed were not easy to read. It talks of people thinking themselves as wise and those who drink heavy. The consequence that follow are not comforting.

Then when I started thinking more, it was comforting. Without achieving much, I used to think I am smart. God out of his sovereign grace had to keep me small so that I am protected from those that are talked in this chapter.

Also now I pay attention to the deeds of the Lord and consider works of His hand(Isaiah 5:12).

I am now surrounded by people who live a very high standard of life. Men I meet on Saturday mornings are quality people. Men on Sunday Adult fellowship are people who I can follow as model. Family friends of us are really kind. I was called for dinner every weekend. Friends I play basket ball with are great. These friends are not what i selected but these are deeds of the Lord.

I trusted too much on the works of my hand. I had a coworker who used to say that he earned all his money through tips his fingers. I used to live under the hope that people will constantly praise me for the work I do. I still remember the day when I told my father that I will earn more than him by the age of 30. I am 38 and i find all around me earn more than me. Reason for the failure is trusting on the work of my hand. If I had trusted the son, life would have been very different.

I trusted the evil that is in me and called it good. Woe to those who call evil good.

king's court

I am to study Isaiah for the summer but i have not gone past 2 verses. But I did look up the second verse in internet.

Hear O Heavens! Listen O earth!.

The picture it draws is greater than what my mind can think. It was first said by Moses. Moses grew up in pharaoh court as pharaoh's adopted son. He is used to seeing royalty on the highest level. He has also seen all different gods of Egypt. In fact he went back to Egypt after exile and defeated all their gods. On leading people of Israel to promised land, he was intimidated by the rebelliousness nature of the people. They made a golden cafe and declared it as their deliverer. In his prayer Moses asked to see God's glory. Glory that he saw is what he is talking about. The great king is on His throne and heavens and earth are His subjects.

There are multiple things Moses is talking here. human greatest royalty is nothing compared to the glory he saw. gods of this world are nothing compared to the power of the great King. he declares himself to be more knowledgeable in knowing truth than all others around him. Also how foolish are the people in not following God's commands. Then he pleads his people to obey and trust the great King.

Like Moses there were other prophets followed. Finally King's Son himself came to reveal the glory. King's Son said, if you believe the Son and obey the kingdom commandments, you can also be there in the Kings court just like Him.

People are amazed looking at the beauty of this world and we want to preserve it. One day we all will get to see the kingdom. question is if we are inside or outside the kingdom. What a feeling to be inside the King's court.

I have been invited to many homes. Some are rich and others not that rich. Some made me feel very comfortable and others made me look small. some gave me best food they could not afford for themselves and others what was left over. some opened the full house and other just little bit inside front door. Some left a sign on front door asking me to leave and others gave their house key for me to live inside.

But when i enter the Kings Court, they will make me feel very welcomed. I will tell them, I am not worthy to receive this treatment. I will ask them what did I do that you are treating me like a king when for most part I was rebelliousness against the King. One of them will say, you trusted the King. Another will say that the King still holds those tear drops from your eyes in his Hands. The very Hands that created heavens and earth.

Hear O heavens! Listen O earth!

good master

A rich young man addressed Christ as Good Master and He replied, why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God.

I really don't like to write personal stories because it sounds self serving or self destroying. but will do it as the last time.

During the final year in college i had a skin disease and was very ashamed about it. My father took me to doctor and Dr said it was just stress and gave some medicine. i don't think it worked. maybe it was just an antidepressants. all i wished them in life was this. a cup of rice and dal(http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Dal) to eat with it.

Now I have come long way because the good Master decided to be good to a worthless.

Everything works together for good because He is a good Master. We need to trust Him as a good Master. on both words- good and Master.

Good meaning, He looks out for the best in you. That He has you as the apple of His eye. You are not worthless but very precious that He asked His Son to die for you.

Master meaning He is omniscient. He knows all things that goes around you. He knows you will come out in flying colours when all is done.

I talk lot about positive thinking. it is not asking you to think contrary to what is going on. It is askign you to think God has a bigger plan for all the ordeal that you are going through.

I said - God is good. and they shouted - all the time.

follies of my younger years

Spurgeon on Psalm 25-7:

Verse 7. Remember not the sins of my youth. Sin is the stumbling block. This is the thing to be removed. Lord, pass an act of oblivion for all my sins, and especially for the hot blooded wanton follies of my younger years. Those offences which we remember with repentance God forgets, but if we forget them, justice will bring them forth to punishment. The world winks at the sins of younger men, and yet they are none so little after all; the bones of our youthful feastings at Satan's table will stick painfully in our throats when we are old men. He who presumes upon his youth is poisoning his old age. How large a tear may wet this page as some of us reflect upon the past!

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When I started working in Bangalore I had a preacher son as roommate. He used to repent for his sins at college. All others in the room used to make fun of him by asking what petty sins he had done. We considered those as no sins.

Where as I was the opposite. My sins were big and I wanted to cover it. There was college mate of mine at work. He was from Electronics and communication branch and I think he was one of the top students in class. I was very nice to him so that he will not tell. Then I wanted to out-perform him in work so that even if he says, people will think it is out of jealousy. what a folly. what a folly. what a folly.

If I had repented then, life would have been very different. Pride settled in me well when head of the company said, 'you need to have fun as Samuel did in college and perform as good as him in work'. I don't know how much he meant, but that killed me. I started to live a bigger sin life with full of pride.

I was and am a fool. But used to think very high of myself. Then out of Sovereign Grace, God introduced some people in my life. They constantly pour out insults at me so that I don't get those pride again. I still hangout with them because they keep me on check. b.t.w :- If you are one of them reading this, I am not talking about you.

I have a great life now. I think low of myself most of the time and look for God's mercy and grace to feel if I have anything in me.

finally:- I hear me when reading Spurgeon on this - How large a tear may wet this page as some of us reflect upon the past!

fathers' day

I wanted to write about my father on fathers' day. but 'A tree is best measured when it is down.' I am expecting lot more great things from him.

Since I am a father now, I was thinking what will my sons say of me. I am now connecting with my school/college/work/relative friends through facebook. They all will have different things to say of me. Some will say good of me even with all my weakness. Others will say bad of me with all my little goodness. What will my sons say of me? Heard this song in church on fathers' day. Song is 'let it be said of us' by Steve Fry.

Let it be said of us:
We were marked by forgiveness.
We were known by our love,
And delighted in meekness.

We were ruled by His peace,
Heeding unity's call;
Joined as one body
that Christ would be seen by all.

Let the Cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song.
By mercy made holy
By the Spirit made strong.

Let the Cross be our glory
And the Lord be our song.
'Till the likeness of Jesus
Be thru us made known.


----
Nathan will you say this of me?

amma and appa

Jubilee - 50th anniversary

50 year celebration like 50th year reign of Queen of England is called Jubilee. This word Jubilee come from Old Testament meaning 'blowing of ram's horn'.

When people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt,Lord appeared to their leader Moses in a burning bush. Lord said that He will deliver them from slavery and promised them with land flowing with milk and honey. On their exodus/journey, Lord gave His commandments to be followed in the promised land. Among them is the 'year of Jubilee'. It is described in Leviticus 25:10 as - Consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.

You will find this verse in the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. The bell was ordered by Pennsylvania assembly to commemorate their 50th year celebration of Pennsylvania original constitution.

Liberty is the main idea behind these celebration. And it is a continuing theme from Judaism to Christianity. When Lord Jesus Christ started his ministry on this world, He did it by opening the scrolls and reading Isaiah 61. 'The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to bind the brokenhearted, to proclaim Liberty to the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.'


You may ask why I am talking about slavery when we live in a free and democratic country. We may not be under physical slavery, but we are slaves for our sin nature.

You may also ask why I am talking about slavery on 50th wedding anniversary celebration of my parents. I am going to talk about 3 characters for each of my parents. These characters are built by having deliverance from our sin nature.

Let me not show gender bias. So will start with my mother. Three character we find with her are 1. Caring 2. Talented 3. Prayerful

Caring:- I am writing this on mothers day. All mothers are special and they care for their children. That is why it is celebrated in a big way. But my mother is special. When I was working in Bangalore, there were many engineers from tamilnadu. Only person who got phone calls from his mother every other day was me. When my father was worried about the phone bills, she was worried about her children. She never had her eyes on gold, money, or self glory. She had total focus on her children and grandchildren. Her physical weakness never stopped her from doing that.

Talented:- My father says this always. Your mother needs no training or education, she knows things without that. She can talk about medicine without being a doctor. She solves math problems in no time. I was told she got full marks in maths all the time. She was very quick in all things she did. She will write 3 page letters to us within 3 minutes. Those letters had information, instruction, love, and concern. Some of those letters were very strong. I am very fortunate now because she can not type emails that quick. By the way- she learnt to send emails much before some of her age group people learnt to do it. She has been sending emails from 1999 onwards.


Prayerful:-When you talk with her cousins or childhood friends, they will say she was good looking, well dressed, and talented girl. She must have been a very confidence person. But I know her as a prayerful person. There is a day and night difference between confident person and prayerful person. Former put his trust on himself where as the later puts confidence on God. Former thinks high of himself, whereas the later understand depravity of men.

Change of event happened during the delivery of her first child. She felt her spirit leaving her body. And then she remembered Psalms 91 and prayed that. ' he shall call upon Me and I will answer him. I will be with him in times of trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With a long life will I bless him and show him My salvation.' It is almost 50 years since she has said that prayer and He is faithful to bless her with a long life.

Now my Father :- I find 3 character of him which i admire most. 1. Grateful 2. Hardworking 3. forgiving.

Grateful:- We live in a day and age where people expect more than what they deserve. They say - I have this education, I need to be treated better than that. Or I am from a great family and i demand better treatment. They murmur constantly for what they have. they walk around as if the world should serve them constantly. My father is just the opposite of that.

After my grandmother death, my grandfather gave money with a lady to provide food to my father and left for Srilanka. There were days when she did not provide. I asked him if he is angry with her. He said he is grateful for the food she provided. He is always thankful to his friends family who gave him cloths, his teacher who encouraged him to do engineering, MSP Raja in virudhunagar, C. Arumganayagam for job he had in the government, Fathers who helped him in business and the list goes on. He talks lots of profound things. One of them is 'Even the president of US can not think he is the president'. For world does not owe anything to us but we owe everything back to this world.

Hardworking:- Anybody who has visited his village will understand the hard work that he has put in. He has put lot of hard work in studies, sports, and business. We as children are enjoying the fruits of his efforts. We children still have to introduce ourselves as Periasamy children.

Forgiving:-
I find this as his greatest character. I was eight years old and my younger brother was 6 and we lived in Virudhunagar. When we were at school, suddenly schools will close for the polytechnic college strike. It will be a total chaos in the town and we will be escorted back home by college students. My father was a principle of it. Because of those strikes we had to move to Chennai.

I asked him about the Virudhunagar incident when he visited US. He is not bitter about it and is happy that it happened. When they meant it for bad, he considered it as good. Those trials gave him opportunity to work in Chennai. When he became little influential in Chennai, that Secretary came to visit him asking if he can stand for the election again. Appa encouraged him to stand again.

I have talked these great characters my parents have. These don't come naturally. Opposite of these are what we possess and we are slaves to those. Many don't forgive and live under slavery of bitterness. Many are slave to mental and physical weakness and they can not work hard. Many are slave to pride and they are never grateful.

There is a great need for all of us to come out of our own slavery that is stopping our success. You know what is holding your success. When we are out of those, all we need to do is believe.

Favorite book of my parents is 'power of positive thinking' by Normal Vincent Peale. He read it when he moved to Chennai and also after he retired. All that matters is belief and faith. This world is not about strong people. This world is not about rich people. This world is not about well educated people. It is about you. It is about you believing the dream. When you believe, you get to be the strong, rich and sophisticated person. It becomes a Jubilee. Thanks You. God Bless You.