On Monday we went to see the Big Buddha. It is a huge statue of Buddha that is
still being completed. The goal is
for it to become the largest Buddha in all of Thailand. The Big Buddha sits on the highest
place in Phuket so that it looks down on the entire island. It took us 30 minutes or more to get to
it even though we can see the top of it from the window of our house.
In homes, business, schools and other places there are
spirit houses where people place offerings and burn incense to spirits or
Buddha. I watched people bow to a
spirit house on all four sides at one of the malls at the beginning of Bangla
Road.
All of the verses about idols and high places in the Bible
really come alive for me here in Thailand. You are able to see people daily worshipping idols. Objects made by man that they bow down
to. It breaks my heart to see them
worshipping these idols and totally missing the One and True God.
The viewpoint from Big Buddha is one of the best views of
the island of Phuket. It is
completely breathtaking and demonstrates God’s amazing creation however so many
do not recognize the artwork of our Powerful and Mighty God.
While I was looking out on the beauty of the island, I was
reminded how easily we in American also bow down to our idols. They may not be physical objects that
we knee before, but we do have our idols of worship. Money, Success, Fame, Lust, Comforts, People, etc. We so easily substitute other things in
the place of God. We try to fill
the emptiness in our lives with those things instead of with Jesus.
I know in my own life I have chosen TV over time with
Jesus. I have found my security in
my job instead of the provision of my Lord. I have sought love and affection from others instead of
being content with the love of God.
These things are not necessarily bad, but if they are what we turn to
instead of Jesus first then they become idols in our lives.
I walked around the Big Buddha with some of our girls 7
times like the Israelites did around the city of Jericho. The walls fell down. I pray that Big Buddha will fall
down. I pray that every spirit
house I pass by will fall to the ground in Jesus’ name. I also pray that our own personal idols
will be knocked down and filled with the love and power of Jesus.
We bow our hearts
We bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes
From evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols
So give us clean hands
and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
