Our Helper?

Recently, one of the Buddhist temples in our area erected this interesting idol with multiple arms.  It is an interesting looking idol, but I wasn’t quite sure what the significance is of this latest idol was.

Guan Yin เจ้าแม่กวนอิม

But last week, while I was out bicycling, I noticed that there were several young monks out working in the yard by the statue.  So I detoured and chatted with them a few minutes.

The first inquiry I made was concerning the name of the god depicted by the statue.  I found out that this was the goddess Guan Yin (เจ้าแม่กวนอิม).

Next I asked why this goddess had so many arms.

I found out that Guan Yin has so many arms because she is a helper goddess.  The term they used was Phu Chuai (ผู้ช่วย), the same term the Bible uses to refer to the Holy Spirit.

Interesting that since this idol was erected, it has yet to move from where it was made in order to go help anyone. And even though it has 12 pairs of hands, it has yet to lift a finger to provide assistance to those who come.  And even if it could move and wiggle its fingers, 12 pairs of hands is not going to make much of a dent in assisting however many billion people live in the world.

I think, if I wanted a god that could help me and the rest of mankind, this god would first have to be a living entity, not a bunch of stones and mortar formed by another person.  Secondly, this god should not be bound by human limitations, such as a finite number of arms.

And this is what Jesus promised us.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,  to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16, 17 ESV)

So I won’t be posting any pictures of the True Helper.  Because if the Holy Spirit were small enough to be photographed, He would not be much help. And if the Holy Spirit were a visible physical entity, He would not be able to dwell in the people of God in order to change their lives.

It is interesting that the Buddhists recognize the need for a helper.  In a religion that tells them that according to the laws of karma, you get what you deserve, there is a recognition that perhaps they need more or better than what they deserve.  Unfortunately, this hand-crafted idol won’t be able to help them much
.
I thank God for the Holy Spirit, Who was able to make changes in my life that I was powerless to do.  I thank God for grace that says it is possible to get more or better than I deserve.

Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. (Acts 14:15 ESV)

Watch out for the little guy…

It was probably a couple of weeks ago that a little virus taunted my 6 foot tall, 180 pound body saying, “Watch out, big guy, you’re going down.”

To which my body replied, “Says who?  You’re so small you make a grain of sand look like a mountain!”

“Don’t be too brash,” said the virus, “I got people.”

And my body brashly replied, “Where, I don’t see anyone?” 

At that point the virus found a nice comfy place in a mucous membrane, and self-replicated until there were probably a few million of them, wreaking havoc on my throat and sinuses.  So my body is using most of its available resources trying to quash the rebellion—leaving me not much energy for anything else.

Watch out for the little guy—with friends.

There was once a little guy named David.  When David saw the giant, he ran fearlessly toward him with his sling.  David wasn’t afraid because the giant made fun of his God and he knew God would give him the victory.  So David let loose the stone and the stone hit true and the giant fell in a heap. (1 Samuel 17)

Watch out for the little guy—with a friend named God.

There was once a working-class man from a part of the country that was looked down upon by the rest.  Being a fisherman, this guy didn’t have time to invest in a quality education.  When he spoke he had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth, so much so that, on more than one occasion, Jesus had to rebuke him for speaking brashly.

But then the day came when Peter stood before a huge crowd and people marveled at the preaching of the uneducated man from Galilee.  And people were cut to the heart and many responded positively to his words. (Acts 2:1-40)

Watch out for the little guy—with a friend named God.

Last Saturday, three high school girls listened in rapt attention to this irrelevant old white guy as I struggled to tell them, in Thai, some of the things that Jesus has done for me and the reason we came to Thailand.  I’m sure if there were a Thai language instructor present, his face would be all distorted from the constant wincing and biting of the tongue.  But somehow, in spite of me, God was able to keep the attention of these three young women.’'

And so my prayer is, “God, don’t let my Thai language abilities get so good that I think that I can accomplish something worthwhile in Thai without your help.”

Some of those who listen to our teaching in spite of us.

Hidden power

Water can do amazing things.

When we were in Canada last September, we went to Maligne Canyon—a narrow gorge carved into the rock by water flowing down from Maligne Lake towards the Athabasca River.  Haw can water do this?



Later on, we were in Hood Canal in Washington State.  There, water trapped behind a dam in the mountains feeds into a pipe which turns generators to make electricity.



Water has this hidden source of power that enables it to do amazing things.

But I want to write about another source of hidden power in this world that can accomplish amazing things—the Spirit of God.

Last July, I found myself asking, “What should I study for my next language check?” We had just come off a busy season near the end of our first term and our team leader asked us what we were planning on studying next. I told her that I would like to prepare my first sermon in Thai. For subject matter I thought I would write about the impact of having idols, based on some of my recent scripture reading.

My language helper would be Knot, a young man who decided to follow Jesus back in February. What I did not know at the time was that he and his wife had an idol in their car. Even though they did not believe the idol had any power any more, they had not thrown it out because it was given to them as a gift from a close friend. I found out later that some of the leaders in the church had been talking with him and his wife about this.

As we were looking at various passages in scripture relating to idols while preparing for the sermon, Knot told me about the idol in his car and why he still had it (by this time I had heard about it from others as well). The next week, Knot was busy, so his wife, Goi, was helping me. We were reading from 1 Corinthians where Paul writes about how eating food sacrificed to idols can cause others to stumble. I did not mention the idol in the car. But after we finished I overheard her talking to Knot about their idol and why, even though they may not believe the idol has any power, it might be something that keeps others from coming to Christ.

The next week, as I was again studying with Knot, he told me that they got rid of the idol from their car.

Jesus said:
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. (John 16:13 ESV)

Even though others had tried to talk Knot and Goi into getting rid of the idol, it was as if they weren’t able to receive that counsel until they received it by the Holy Spirit working through the word of God

As we go about our work as missionaries, we can be tempted to rely on our own abilities and wisdom to get the work done. But we are most effective when our ministry is covered in prayer and we let God work in people’s lives. There is great power as the Holy Spirit works through the word of God.

Knot and Goi