Defiled By A Yoga Mat

I have noticed Yoga classes being offered at many churches nowadays.  To which I marvel at the lack of discernment within entire congregations.  And when you point out that Yoga is, indeed, a legitimate system of worship that is part of the Hindu religion, people give excuses as to why they have reasoned within themselves that it's okay, rather than humbling themselves and considering any error on their part.  Among those excuses is the most prevalent, "I do it for exercise" or "I'm not worshipping anything while I do it."  But those are just illegitimate excuses to justify doing it.  Any reason to justify doing something that would even remotely grieve God, is an illegitimate excuse.  Quite often when Jesus taught something that people didn't want to accept, He would end His teaching with the phrase, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt 11:15; 13:9,43; Mark 4:9,23; Luke 8:8; Rev 2:7,11; 36). Even Jesus knew that everyone wouldn't receive the truth of His message.

Something that much of the church seems unaware of, is God's very real contempt toward mixing religions.  Throughout the Old Testament, He refers to it as "harlotry" or spiritual adultery.  It is the very reason for which He destroyed His beloved Israel.  And because the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, Paul tells us that how God dealt with Israel was written down as a warning to us: "Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come." (1 Cor 10:11)

Over and over, God spoke through His prophets about Israel's idolatry and spiritual adultery: 

-"Look at the shrines on every hilltop. Is there any place you have not been defiled by your adultery with other gods? You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer. You sit alone like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and your wickedness." (Jer 3:2)
-"Their deeds will not allow them to return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them and they do not know the LORD." (Hosea 5:4)
-"Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.'" (Ezek 23:35)
-"These things will be done to you because you have played the harlot with the nations, because you have defiled yourself with their idols." (Ezek 23:30)

Much of the Mosaic Law was to symbolize Israel's separation from the other nations:

-"For is not the fact of your going with us the sign that I and this people have grace in your eyes, so that we, that is, I and your people, are separate from all the other people on the face of the earth?" (Ex 33:16)
-"You must keep the Israelites separate from things that make them unclean, so they will not die in their uncleanness for defiling my dwelling place, which is among them." (Lev 15:31)
-"Therefore, separate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God." (Lev 20:7)
-"But I have said to you, you will take their land and I will give it to you for your heritage, a land flowing with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God Who have made you separate from all other peoples." (Lev 20:24)

And this spiritual principle of the separateness of God's people carries over into the New Testament to be applied within Christianity today:
-"What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate', says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'" (2 Cor 6:16,17)

-"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too." (1 Cor 10:21)

Because Western Christianity tends to have a very casual attitude about Christ, it has been inundated with Eastern Mysticism and even occult influences.  Western Christianity has become a very mixed religion.  However, God calls His church to be "without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 5:27); "..holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence.." (Col 1:22); "make every effort to be found at peace with Him, without spot or blemish." (2 Pet 3:14); "..keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ," (1 Tim 6:14). 

We may have a casual attitude towards our salvation, but God does not:  "How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:29); "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Eph 4:30).

If God has a serious attitude toward holiness, then so should we:  "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Heb 12:14); "..But just as He Who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, because it has been written: 'You shall be holy, because I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1:15,16).

For an article that explains the spiritual aspect of Yoga far better than I ever could, I recommend you take the time to read:  The Spiritual Stretch Of Yoga 

"Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 14:35)

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." (Hosea 4:6)

"For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first." (2 Pet 2:20)

"Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today if you should hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the time of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and for forty years saw My works. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, "Their hearts always go astray, and they have not known My ways." So I swore on oath in My anger, "They shall never enter My rest."' See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another every day, while it is called today, so that not one of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb 3:7-13)

Eclipsing Repentance

Genesis 1:14 says, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.'"  The phrase translated as "and let them be for signs" is the Hebrew "LE'OTOT", which is a form of the Hebrew word "OTH", which can mean banner, omen, sign or witness.  Depending on the context, this word can mean a sign such as the changing seasons and times, or it can mean a sign or omen promised by prophets as pledges of certain predicted events, such as God moving the shadow of the sun on Ahaz's stairway at Isaiah 38:7,8. 

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last year, I'm sure you are aware of the total solar eclipse that will be traversing across the entire United States, from sea to shining sea, on August 21st of this year.  Jewish tradition held that lunar eclipses were a bad sign for Israel and that solar eclipses were a bad sign for the Gentile nations.  This tradition is related to the fact that Gentile nations held to a solar calendar and Jews reckoned their calendar by the moon.  The Jewish Talmud* states:  "When the sun is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for the whole world. This may be illustrated by a parable. To what can this be compared? To a human being who made a banquet for his servants and put up for them a lamp. When he became wroth with them he said to his servant, ‘Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark’... When the sun is in eclipse it is a bad omen for idolaters; when the moon is in eclipse, it is a bad omen for Israel, since Israel reckons by the moon and idolaters by the sun" (Succah 29a).

It goes on to say that the Rabbis taught that there are four reasons for a solar eclipse over a nation.  One of those four reasons is as a sign that homosexuality/sodomy has invaded a culture (Succah 29a).  Not only do I find that worthy of note, but I also find it worthy to note that the total solar eclipse across the contiguous U.S. on August 21st, 2017, is also the first day of the Jewish month of Elul.  In the Jewish tradition, the month of Elul is a time of repentance in preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (also known as Yom Teruah or Feast of Trumpets) and Yom Kippur.  Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, or Judgment Day.  According to Jewish tradition, an entire month was spent in heartfelt repentance to prepare oneself for judgment and atonement.  And it just so happens that the first total solar eclipse across the entire contiguous U.S. in almost 100 years falls simultaneously on the day that begins the Jewish month of repentance that precedes Judgment Day.  I find this remarkable.

During the month of Elul, every effort is made to repent and "return" to God in every area of a person's life.  It is a time of thorough self-examination, a time of coming before God in total submission, without worldly distraction, seeking Him to reveal anything in our lives that does not line up with the standard of His Word and the lives we are called to live as those who call Him Lord.  The month of Elul is, quite literally, the season in which we ensure our lamps are full and our wicks are trimmed in preparation for the arrival of the Bridegroom for the wedding feast (Matt 25:1-13).  Which is why I find it additionally remarkable and worthy to note, that the rabbis used a parable about taking the lamp away from unworthy servants to illustrate the significance of a total solar eclipse:  "Take away the lamp from them, and let them sit in the dark" (Succah 29a).

I wrote a post last year around this time about America as Daughter Babylon who sits in the dust...in the dark:  Cold Love Of Daughter Babylon

I wrote a series on the Parable of the Ten Virgins and the Jewish month of Elul, that goes into greater detail and explanation:  The Picture On The Puzzle Box

I also wrote another post last year around this time, in which God impressed upon my spirit the gross need for repentance:  Balm Of Gilead

"Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no more be called tender and delicate...

Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen.

I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.

Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.

Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms.

Yet you said, 'I will be a queen forever.'

These things you did not consider Nor remember the outcome of them.

Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely,

who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me;

I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children':

These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day;

the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, 'No one sees me';

your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,

and you said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'

Disaster will come upon you, and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee will suddenly come upon you." (Isaiah 47:1-11)

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy through the extravagance of her luxury."
Then I heard another voice from heaven say: "'Come out of her, my people,' so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup.
To the degree that she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, inflict on her that much torment and misery. In her heart she says, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see mourning.' Therefore her plagues will come in one day, death and misery and famine; and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her"... Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: "With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again... The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery." (Rev 18:1-23)

*Disclaimer:  I do not consider the Jewish Talmud to be inspired literature.  I am very well aware that the Talmud discredits Jesus and His teachings.  However, the Talmud is a rich source of Jewish oral and historical tradition, and for that reason only have I included it as reference in this post.

Lord Of My Doorstep

I missed You today.

And yesterday. 

And the day before that.

I missed You because I was busy.

I am so busy with my life.

Day after day, the time passes by. 

I think of You.

I breathe a word or two in Your direction.

You are a perpetual concept in my mind. 

A concept that is ever-present, so that gives me comfort.

It gives me comfort because I have confused the concept of You with Your actual presence. 

You stand at the door, but I wrestle with the thought of inviting You in. 

I have grown comfortable with Your presence on my doorstep.  

Besides, it's messy inside.  If I invite You in, I will have to clean up this mess.

I will have to get rid of some things. 

Sometimes cleaning up the mess is far more difficult than living in it.  Surely You understand?

I want You, but I don't want to clean up this mess. 

So I will let You stay on my doorstep, and comfort me from there. 

You are my comfortable concept.

My faith is one of intention, rather than practice. 

My salvation is a notion, rather than a lifestyle. 

Why should I change, if You can save me from out there and let me keep my mess in here?

I read everything but Your word, because if I read it, I will have to choose.

If I read it, then I will know better, and the avalanche of accountability will wash away my comfortable construction.

So, not today. 

Today I will miss You. 

And probably tomorrow too.

I will miss You because I am busy.

I am far too busy with my life.


"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev 3:20)

"Jesus replied, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23)

"Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.  Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.  Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed! But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect." (Luke 12:35-40)