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Last night, as I was watching television (the evening news to be exact)… I saw a segment that featured tips on how to welcome the Chinese new year. And since I was just surfing the channels, I decided to stop for a moment and see what makes this portion “newsworthy”.
Feng shui experts started giving their advice on how to bring in “good luck” and how to fend off negative vibes. Rolling fruits on the floor just before the stroke of midnight and writing your wishes on paper and tucking them inside a small chest (container) wrapped in aluminum foil… posting good luck stickers on doors and displaying a particular type of buddha figurine.
Ok, so maybe the Chinese have a bunch of beliefs in order to attract fortune and prosperity… but what I saw on television were Filipinos… Catholics and renewed Christians alike listening to feng shui experts!
The most common phrase I heard from most of these “so-called” practicing Christians when asked why they follow these Chinese feng shui rituals: “Wala namang mawawala eh” (in english, “There’s nothing to lose”).
On the contrary, MUCH is to be lost! Haven’t they read the Ten Commandments? They need not go through the entire list to figure out that what they’re doing is an abomination to the Lord. The first part of the list states:
Do not have any other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.
Now tell me, how does believing in superstition, in other religions and beliefs (such as feng shui) and all the rituals that go along with it not equate to idolatry? Doesn’t that clearly violate what God so clearly commands of us Christians?
To put things in perspective… let’s pretend you’re married to someone (assuming you still aren’t)… what you clearly expect from your spouse is that he/she be faithful to you… to not falter or waver but to be steadfast. Then one day you learn that your spouse has started to “play the field” so to speak… and starts dating other people… her reason being that he/she needs a fallback in case you fall short or aren’t able to deliver on your promises. How would that make you feel? Then he/she ultimately justifies it by saying “Wala namang mawawala, eh” (”There’s nothing to lose”)…
Tell me… is there really nothing to lose?
The Lord never said, “Do not have any other gods before me… but just to play it safe, it’s ok to also put your faith on good luck ornaments, crystals, figurines, coins and mystic advice in case I fail to deliver.”
God delivers. Indeed, He most certainly does… to those who are faithful and obedient. You see, His love is unconditional… but His promises aren’t.
You can be the most generous person during offertory… even the most consistent tither, but without obedience… it is all for naught. Without absolute obedience, sacrifice is empty.
In 1 Samuel 15:22 it reads:
“Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams.”
Total surrender to our Heavenly Father is not just something that is said… it isn’t just something that comes out of your mouth… it is an everyday decision… a continuous and conscious effort… a daily act that you must carry out every minute of your life.
Remember, we (Christians) aren’t called the “bride” of Christ for nothing. The Lord expects nothing less than absolute and unconditional faithfulness to Him.
To be recognized as a Christian is not simply in being tagged or labeled as one… it is in how you live your life.
There is no such thing as a pseudo-Christian… or a semi-Christian. Either we’re Christians or we aren’t. There is NO middle ground. No compromise. No “playing it safe”
Try as they may, there is no possible justification to these acts. Nothing. Only complete and total repentance.
Because if they, as Christians, believe in life everlasting…
…there is EVERYTHING to lose.
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Allow me to post a forwarded email received from a good friend in community which I believe is of utmost importance to us Christians, especially to parents and children.
Please read the message that follows and be faithfully vigilant.
BEWARE!!
If you have children or grandchildren, work with children at church, or you have neighborhood children whose parents you know, please take note of the information below and pass it along to others. Schools are distributing this book to children through the Scholastic Book Club.
The name of the book is “Conversations with God”..
James Dobson talked about this book twice this week. It is devastating. Parents, churches and Christian schools need to be aware of it. Please pass this information on to church/e-mail addresses, Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, friends.
Please pay special attention not only to what your kids watch on TV, in movie theaters, on the internet, and the music they listen to, but also be alert regarding the books they read.
Two particular books are, Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch.
They sound harmless enough by their titles alone. The books have been on the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks, and they make truth of the statement, “Don’t judge a book by its cover or title.”
The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the “voice of God”. However, the “answers” that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God.
For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question “Why am I a lesbian?”.
His answer is that she was ‘born that way’ because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and “celebrate” her differences.
Another girls poses the question “I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?”
His reply is, “Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.”
Another question asks about God’s forgiveness of sin.
His reply: “I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is “‘judge not lest ye be judged.”
Not only are these books the false doctrine of the devil, but in some instances quote in error the Word of God.
And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children.
Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey.
Pass this on to every Believer you know. God bless!
And, if you are in doubt, check out the books yourself.
