Jeremiah 10:1-16 NIV
Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. This is what the LORD says:
“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.”
Our time in Thailand is coming to an end and I find myself feeling unsettled. Doing bar ministry at night here is a lot different than being in the bars back home. If you bring up Jesus in a bar in America for the most part people will know who you’re talking about. In Thailand the majority of people are Buddhist so we get mixed reactions. People either have no idea who Jesus is, know who he is and think he’s a prophet, or think Christianity and Buddhism are basically the same thing.
No one is like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere you O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols. Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple – all made by skilled workers. But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.
It’s one thing to know that people worship statues but seeing it is a completely different thing. Honestly it made me sick to my stomach to see it in person. To see people bowing down to an inanimate object was almost unreal to me. Then I started thinking about life in America. We worship idols all the time: internet, relationships, careers, pets, and the list could go on and on. Why are we so anxious to find something other than God to worship? He is the only thing that is constant and good. I think the part that just gets to me the worst is that there is a LIVING REAL GOD out there!! Our God is so big! He is so alive! He is so good!! He doesn’t have to resort to being a lifeless immobile statue! He is alive and He is moving!
“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’”
But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; they have no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance – the Lord Almighty is his name.
I know that through the duration of this month that we followed what God’s will for us was and that is enough. God is going to continue to call up missionaries who have a love for the Thai people and for the foreigners that come here to take part in the sex trade industry. As much as I loved being here and working with these people this month I know that my time here for now is done. Our God is big enough to have bigger and better plans than we could ever think of. He is a God who loves us and cares about us in personal ways. He is alive!
