I have had the privilege of exploring Israel and going to various places that Jesus walked, lived, and taught along with going to many of the sites of many of the events in which the Old Testament unfolded. Most of these sites are simply locations where these events transpired. God forbade the making of idols or any images of Himself to commemorate His history. As opposed to this if anyone is interested in travel, many of the selling points of many exotic places around the globe feature the idols and the various pagan worship of these places. One of the selling points for many of the places that one chain of hotels features in Peru is the ability to participate in shaman ceremonies. For those who are unaware, a shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits. It generally includes a trance-like state during a ritual, and includes divination and healing. Practically every hotel features yoga, which many in the West, simply consider a means of physical exercise, flexibility, and strengthening. But the word yoga, which was derived from India, was a path to spiritual growth and enlightenment. It means union, with the goal of uniting one's temporary self with the infinite Brahman (the Hindu concept of god). The practice of yoga is based on the belief that man and God are one. When you move to the Far East, the most sought out areas are the many large idols and temples erected to their false gods. We, who are called according to Christ, must not aimlessly wander through life. There are so many entities which seek our devotion which is not God, that unless we are vigilant, we can limit or destroy our walk.

We read in Numbers 33:4, "For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them. Also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments." You would think that the ten plagues that God launched against the false gods of Egypt would be enough to reveal how impotent these gods were compared to the One True God, but we read in Isaiah 19:1, 3, in the prophet's proclamation against Egypt, "Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will melt in its midst...The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers". God knows man's tendency to worship other things, so He was firm with His command in Numbers 33:51-52, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places;". But they did not follow God's advice by eliminating the land of their idols and those who worshiped false idols, we read in 33:55-56, "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. Moreover, it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them."

Why is this so relevant to us in the United States, now? We who were once founded on Christian principles, whose founding fathers sought God's counsel, whose original writings forming our nation were based on these principles are now considered archaic and out of step with current thought. We, as a nation, rather than upholding our commitment and our faith in the One True God, have allowed the worship of everything else to permeate and become the rule of law. Most have replaced the traditional view of God, with other gods, or the New Age concept of us and god being one. The exaltation of these other gods and practices literally permeates every segment of society from the bookshelves, the internet, the entertainment industry, our form exercise, our vacations, etc. Like God counseled so long ago, it is a mistake to toy with these false gods. What at first might seem so harmless, will eventually destroy any true faith. May we all take stock of our lives, look at our bookshelves, consider what we consider entertainment, and consider how we spend our days. May we take seriously God's command and warning to His people, and vigorously eliminate all those things which can take our eyes off of him.