Blog 3 -- Idol worship

Isaiah 44:6-20

"This is what the LORD

says--

Israel's King and

Redeemer, the LORD

Almighty;

I am the first and I am the

last;

apart from me there is no

God.

Who then is like me? Let

him proclaim it.

Let him declare and lay

out before me

What has happened since I

established my ancient

people,

and what is yet to come--

yes, let him foretell what

will come.

Do not tremble, do not be

afraid.

Did I not proclaim this

and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is

there any God besides

me?

No, there is no other

Rock; I know not one."

All who make idols are

nothing,

and the things they

treasure are worthless.

Those who would speak up

for them are blind;

they are ignorant, to their

own shame.

Who shapes a god and casts

an idol,

which can profit him

nothing?

He and his kind will be put

to shame;

craftsmen are nothing but

men.

Let them all come together

and take their stand;

they will be brought down

to terror and infamy.

The blacksmith takes a tool

and works with it in the

coals;

he shapes an idol with

hammers,

he forges it with the might

of his arm.

He gets hungry and loses

his strength;

he drinks no water and

grows faint.

The carpenter measures

with a line

and makes an outline with

a marker;

he roughs it out with

chisels

and marks it with

compasses.

He shapes it in the form of

man,

of man in all his glory,

that it may dwell in a

shrine.

He cut down cedars,

or perhaps took a cypress

or oak.

He let it grow among the

trees of the forest,

or planted a pine, and the

rain made it grow.

It is man's fuel for burning;

some of it he takes and

warms himself,

he kindles a fire and bakes

bread.

But he also fashions a god

and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows

down to it.

Half of the wood he burns

in the fire;

over it he prepares his

meal,

he roasts his meat and

eats his fill.

He also warms himself and

says,

"Ah! I am warm; I see the

fire."

From the rest he makes a

god, his idol;

he bows down to it and

worships,

He prays to it and says,

"Save me; you are my

god."

They know nothing, they

understand nothing;

their eyes are plastered

over so they cannot see,

and their minds closed so

they cannot understand.

No one stops to think,

no one has the knowledge

or understanding to say,

"Half of it I used for fuel;

I even baked bread over

its coals,

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestable

thing from what is left?

Shall I bow down to a

block of wood?"

He feeds on ashes, a

deluded heart misleads

him;

he cannot save himself, or

say,

"Is not this thing in my

right hand a lie?"

This passage of scripture has been continually on my mind since visiting the temple. It seems almost every time I open my Bible, God puts it in front of me again. When we were told about the Hindus swishing the water of the ash-and-sewage-filled river in their mouths because they believe it to be holy, the verse "He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him," came to mind.

What a sad, hopeless religion. From personally witnessing these things, I can honestly say that worship of false gods--i.e. Satan--is disgusting and nauseating. I have never "felt" darkness the way I did at the temple in Kathmandu. I have no desire to feel it again, either. Praise God for His light that dispels the darkness! "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (John 1:5) O how the new believers in Christ that were once living in that darkness must sing with all their hearts their own version of "Into marvelous light I'm running, out of darkness, out of shame. By the cross You are the Truth, You are the Life, You are the Way!" (Marvelous Light by Charlie Hall)

To clarify exactly what these Hindus are worshipping, we asked questions of the people that took us to these temples (we also visited a temple in Pokhara). We learned that when they worship these idols, they are literally worshipping the physical idol in front of them--not just a god that it represents. In our preparation for this trip, Abraham Tamang explained to us that in Hinduism religion and morality are totally separate. For example, all Hindu women worship the god Shiva because he is the god of fertility (who looks like a blue hippie with a snake around his neck and leopard skin pants, but anyhow...), but they would never ever want their children to grow up and be like this god they worship. They would think you were crazy if you suggested that idea! So their religion has absolutely nothing to do with their morality.

Another sad fact we learned is that Hindus bring people who are near death to these "houses" at the temple in Kathmandu so that they can have the privilege of dying on-site and being burned right away. This is supposed to assure them of a better life when reincarnated or to finally be freed from the cycle and enter heaven, or "Nirvana". Family and friends bring them down to the area near the burning piles, say their good-byes, and place them in these rooms to die. Nothing else is done to them or for them until they are dead or close enough to be tossed on the fire.

We actually got to witness a woman being brought in on a stretcher for this very purpose. Lazarus pointed out the bandage on her arm, which meant that she had been brought from the hospital to die here. Not exactly the hospice care we are familiar with in America. We also watched as a family prepared their loved one to be burned on the fire. A Hindu priest was performing some rituals, and the family did their part in the ceremony. We left before they actually placed the body on the fire, but it was haunting all the same.

I cannot even begin to describe to you the smell of burning flesh and soot in that place. Our noses were full of soot each day, and our lungs burned with it. My heart broke for those precious children playing in the disgusting river near it! They have no idea the darkness they are being raised within. Precious children, created by God, and they don't even know Him.

Unless someone tells them of the One true God and His Son Jesus sent to redeem them, they will spend eternity separated from Him in a fire that can never be quenched. Is there anything more sad than that? What are we all doing that is so important we don't have time to share Jesus with these children He created for His glory, not destruction?

How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)

In my next blog, I can hardly wait to share with you our encounters with some of the church-planters we met in Nepal who have the most beautiful feet I have ever seen. God has raised up for Himself men who are taking the Gospel to these very people living in darkness. Their stories and their sacrifices overwhelmed and humbled us. It was our privilege to be with them for just a short time and bring a word of encouragement from their brothers and sisters in America.

Blog 2--Hinduism and our trip to the temple

I have been wanting to share more about our trip, but it's been difficult to find the time to write. On Friday, we took in our first rescue baby from Montrose Street Reach, and he is so precious...just five months old! The little guy will be with us for about a week, while his very young mama gets some needed help and tries to find them a new home. Keep them in your prayers, please. I can't even imagine trying to raise a baby on the streets of Houston on your own.

Now more about our incredible trip to Nepal!

Our first day in Nepal was absolutely incredible! We began our trip in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. For those of you who don't know much about this country, it is located between India and China--sandwiched right between the two. The Himalayan Mountain range runs through Nepal, and Mount Everest--the tallest mountain in the world--is located there.

Nepal is about the same size as the state of Arkansas, but it's population is more than 28 million (about 10 times higher than the population of AR). They are 11 hours and 45 minutes ahead of us, so when it's 6 am U. S. CST, it's 5:45 pm Nepali time. The people there are referred to as either "Nepali" or "Nepalese." About 75 percent of the people in Nepal are Hindu, and about 15 percent are Buddhist (although many follow a mixture of the two religions as well as animistic beliefs). By the grace of God, in the last 50 years Christianity has spread to about 400,000 people! (statistics taken from "Bold Believers in Nepal" by Voice of the Martyrs)

Nepal is the only "Hindu Kingdom" where Hinduism dominates the way it does in Nepal. Kathmandu is the location of the temple that is considered to be the center of Hinduism, a place where over 45 million people gather one day a year to worship over 33 million gods of their religion.

The caste system is a huge part of culture and life in Nepal (just like India and some other Asian countries). It is so ingrained in their society that they cannot even comprehend life any other way. If you are not familiar with the caste system, let me explain. There are five main castes in Hinduism. Brahmins are the highest caste, believed to be born out of the mouth of Brahma; therefore they are the people in leadership positions. These people will not eat food prepared by people of a lower caste and must go through all sorts of ritual washing if they think they may have touched something that was touched by the lowest castes. The second caste is believed to be born out of Brahma's shoulders/arms, therefore they are the warriors/military of the country. The third caste is from the waist of Brahma, so they are the workers. The fourth caste is from the feet, so they are lowly and mostly servants. Then the fifth caste is the Dahlits, which actually means "no caste." They are the "untouchables" of their society and treated as though they are not even people.

So to subscribe to Hinduism is to subscribe to the caste system as well. When a Hindu becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, he or she is considered to be the same as a Dahlit, with no caste and no rights at all. They have become "untouchable." Most are cast out of their family, losing all their inheritance and any other privileges they once had. Many are persecuted harshly by their family in an attempt to bring them back to Hinduism. These Nepali believers have usually sacrificed much and endured much for their faith in the One true God. They have truly picked up their cross and followed Jesus no matter the cost.

We were supposed to visit the temple in Kathmandu on our first day in Nepal; but due to being rerouted to India and landing five hours late, we couldn't do this until the end of our trip. I wish we had done this at the beginning, because it was a rather depressing way to end an incredible time of ministry. I would have preferred to end on a high note of one of the beautiful times of worship we had with the believers there. So for your sake, I'm going to share about our visit to the temple in this blog and then share about all of the precious ministry moments in future blogs. But be prepared to be nauseated by what you see and read.

First, I want to share this video I took of Michael sitting in front of the temple grounds explaining what we had been told about this temple and the practices here.

Hindu temple in Kathmandu

The sight of all those platforms where they burn bodies was horrific. Lazarus (leader of ServLife's church-planter institute) explained to us that the lower castes use the platforms on the left side of the bridge, and the higher on the right. After the body is burned, the ashes are swept into the river right next to them. Hindus actually take some of the water from this river full of ashes and swish it around in their mouth because the river is believed to be holy. This thought was absolutely disgusting, especially considering all the garbage in the river as well. But even more sickening was watching children playing in this river right next to the burning bodies. What a sad, sad sight--their only reality unless someone tells them the truth of Jesus Christ and the One true God who created them and sent His Son Jesus to redeem them for eternity. Unfortunately, 96% of the people in Nepal have placed their hope in gods and rituals that cannot save but ultimately destroy.

It is so powerful to hear all of this explained by Lazarus. I took a video of him explaining the history of the temple in Kathmandu and the main god--Shiva--that is worshipped there. Shiva is the god of fertility who changed his appearance to that of a deer and had sexual relations with a deer in "Deer Park" next to the temple. The bull is also one of his symbols--a fallic symbol--that is included in all the temples built for him. I am including this video for you to view, but you'll have to listen with "Nepali ears" due to his accent. We were very impressed with Lazarus as a church leader. Joel Vestal described him as the Max Lucado of Nepal. In fact, he has published eight books for the believers in Nepal!

Lazarus explaining the temple of Shiva

I was so saddened by all I witnessed and learned about this temple on our last full day in Nepal. As I watched the smoke rising from those burning piles of bodies, Revelation 14:11 kept running through my head: "And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." Verse 9 even refers to those who receive his mark on their forehead, which I can't help but think of all those Hindus with their various markings on their foreheads.

The next morning I woke up very early with a heavy heart, so I went off to have some quiet time with God and journal my thoughts. Here is what I wrote:

Thursday, November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving Day in America)

It is early in the morning on our last day in Nepal. Several hours from now we will board a plane and begin our journey home. Words cannot even begin to describe our experience here. I sit here close to tears just thinking about it.

I just spent time in the precious Word of God, reading Luke 16:1-18:30, and in the middle I just burst out in tears and prayer. My heart is so heavy with sorrow for all these people living in darkness, spending their lives worshipping false gods that cannot save and facing a Judge one day who will condemn them to eternal hell because they did not believe in the One true God who created them and gave His only Son as a sacrifice for their souls. I want to run to each one and tell them the Good News before it is too late!

I am asking God to show me how and lead me by His Spirit to at least speak to the young gentleman here at the hotel who was so gracious to get me some coffee for my quiet time (an hour before the restaurant opens). O Lord, hear my prayer.

Lord, I lift up to You all these people in Nepal. I praise You that You have chosen the people of this nation to be in Your Kingdom for eternity. Send forth workers into this huge harvest field. Make them bold for their task. Equip them and provide for them everything they need to accomplish Your good work. Use us however You desire to be their Aaron and Hur, supporting their ministry unto victory.

I thank you, Jesus, that You have already won this victory for each of us who calls upon You as Lord! May the nations praise Your name and bring glory unto You, precious Lord Jesus! Amen.