On A Pole and A Piece of Cloth

"[King Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan." (2 Kings 18:4)

To rescue the Israelites from biting serpents, Moses was told to put a snake on a pole. (John 3:14; 12:32) If the people looked to the pole after having been bitten, they would be healed. The problem arose later, however, when the people began to worship the pole.

It happens with pieces of cloth, too.

The Shroud of Turin, that burial cloth of Jesus (purported to be), is "venerated" by the Catholic Church and others. "Veneration" (according to dictionary.com) and/or "to venerate" means: "1. to hold in deep respect; revere 2. to honor in recognition of qualities of holiness, excellence, wisdom, etc." It's a form of worship. Notwithstanding the fact that carbon dating has placed the Shroud of Turin between approximately 1260 and 1390 A.D. How could it have then wrapped the body of our Lord in the first century?

The Shroud of Turin is not genuine no matter what those who stand to make a buck on it tell you. It's amazing how far even the most learned scientists and scholars will go to sell something ~ a documentary, a picture of Christ? (It's done with politicians and global warming, too?!)

The conclusion: We don't worship (venerate) a piece of cloth (the Shroud of Turin), pole (Nehushtan of old), political figure, painting, place, Pope or preacher/pastor (it happens in bigger churches) ~ or whatever else kind of "p" you can come up with (principality, power). We worship a Person. (Exodus 20:4a; Matthew 4:10)

(Both pictures above are in the public domain: HERE and HERE.)

You might also be interested in:

• An Attitude of Worship
• On Burning, the Koran and Pastors Who Lose Their Way

Moving Forward by Looking Back

And so here we are with another year gone by the wayside. And, if anything, we have another chance for evaluation. And so to begin with, where does 2007 rank in your life experience? I mean, on a scale of one to ten (ten being the best and one being the worst) how do you see 2007 in areas like career, relationships, personal development, etc.? And maybe it was a five in career for you and six in relationships and a six and a half in personal development. And maybe the five in the career area - it wasn’t so much your fault as it was a lot of things took place that were beyond your control. And maybe the six in relationships – well, you see, in 2006 you had a one in that area so you’ve been improving big time. Do you see any areas of improvement in your life where you know you were going in the wrong direction, but now, at least you’re going in the right direction? And then what about the area of attitude? How’s your attitude on a scale of one to ten? And I think I heard somebody say somewhere, “Attitude is everything.” And no matter what the New Year may bring, if we can have a positive attitude, I think it’s half the battle. With this in mind I’ve included some quotes on attitude that I thought you might appreciate. May they help point you in the positive direction in 2008.

Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. ~Voltaire

I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet. ~Ancient Persian Saying

Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples, don't count on harvesting Golden Delicious. ~Bill Meyer

Defeat is not bitter unless you swallow it. ~Joe Clark

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun. ~Colleen C. Barrett

Always look at what you have left. Never look at what you have lost. ~Robert H. Schuller

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere; while a pessimist sees only the red stop light. The truly wise person is color blind. ~Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Finally . . . whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ~Philippians 4:8

(Quotes gleaned from the following websites: Quote Garden, Wisdom Quotes, Inspirational Quotes and BibleGateway.)

The Christian And Yoga

“You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. God paid a price for you. So use your body to honor God.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; CEV)

I want to deal with a subject a little bit off the beaten path today, my friends. (Or maybe it isn’t.) The subject is yoga. Yoga has become an accepted practice of physical exercise across America in recent years. You can find yoga classes offered just about anywhere. From on TV to college campuses to the local gym, sometimes it seems like just about everybody is doing it. But is the practice of yoga really okay for a believer? In an interview article on the Christian Broadcasting Network (Pat Robertson’s) website, Laurette Willis gives us helpful insight. She can’t help but be able to since she’s had firsthand experience in yoga and the New Age movement for more than 20 years. Among other things, Willis comments on yoga’s postures, breathing techniques and practice of emptying your mind. First of all, the body postures are ultimately forms of worship. And why so many of them? Well, it’s because there are 330 million Hindu gods to worship! Willis says, “Yoga postures really are; they are offerings to the [Hindu] gods. If you do these postures and you do this breathing technique and this meditation, then you will be accepted by a god, little ‘G.’” And then there are the breathing exercises of yoga. Of course, they are meant to relax and bring a sense of peace and calm to the individual. Right? Wrong! That’s not to say that there aren’t any benefits to the breathing techniques. (If sin didn’t have some “attractive” qualities, then who would sin?) But there’s more to it than that. Willis talks about how yoga breathing is really an attempt at manipulating life force energy. She continues, since “Satan is the prince of the power of the [air, it’s] not oxygen [that’s being manipulated via the breathing].” Finally, yoga encourages the emptying of one’s mind. Willis is quick to point out that the Bible emphasizes “‘the renewing of our minds, not the emptying.’” Of course, there is much more to say about yoga which my space here won’t allow. But I think this little bit of evidence is reason enough to steer clear of yoga and towards another health regimen. By the way, if you would like to read the entire article that I’ve been quoting, you can view it at:
http://www.cbn.com/health/fitness/bagby_yoga-alternative.aspx. (Laurette Willis herself offers a Christian alternative to yoga. It’s called PraiseMoves™ and it combines Scripture with exercise.)