Lokeśvara
You see, “Lokeśvara” is Sanskrit translated Loke (Earth) and śvara (lord). The Lord of the Earth. Sound familiar.
“Velkom Xhom!” I was greeted by the immigration officer at Los Angeles airport. Obviously he was of Russian decent, very recent decent. I was already being hit with culture shock.
Who knew a recession was on. Who would know that this community of believers was facing dire financial situations. They were just thrilled with the opportunity to show the love of Christ to people they met each day. They were making a difference in the Kingdom of God. They were ordinary people doing amazing things. This is how Jesus intended Christians to behave.
Policies always have an effect on society. Even with our little bit of money that Christians help people with in Cambodia, we too affect the society: Some for good and some for bad.
There are many ways to get through a jungle. The easiest way to travel is to follow those who go before you. Usually they just walk on a path which becomes warn over time. The path is narrow and small, and is hardly ever straight, because a person is constantly adjusting his weight and movements according to the obstacles he faces, so the path reflects the journey.
Apocalypse Now was one of the historic Vietnam War movies starring Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in 1979. The story was about tracking down a maverick colonel who went rogue and set up his own kingdom in Cambodia where he was running operations. Most of the movie was traveling through the jungles. About half way through the movie they stopped at a French chateau in a remote border region between Vietnam and Cambodia. Off the beaten track where Lonely Planet guide books dare not even travel, I know of an abandoned French Plantation house. It sits up on the spine of a hill called “Crocodile’s Back”.
Among the thousands of ancient temples and millions of carvings there is in one temple [Prasat Ta Prom] which was built in 1186 (some 800 years ago) which has a carving of what clearly is a dinosaur (Stegosaurus). In this same temple there are other animal carvings such as horses and rhinoceroses. So are dinosaurs 150 million years old or 800 years old?
In 1985 Steve Hyde built a church to provide a place of refuge for the community after a huge flood in the community of Malanday, Marikina, Manila in the Philippines. During Typhoon Ketsana, the community was again destroyed by the flooding, but 26 people were able to take refuge in the church building.
In today’s society, everyone is always looking for clever ways of doing business, or making the most money with the least amount of effort. Scams and schemes are everywhere to fool people. Unfortunately they are even in the church. Like I said, I don’t have all the answers, but I think we all need to be reminded that God has given us the task to build nations. We all need to be more careful how we build. One of my favorite “red letter” sections is John 15:16 which says, “You did not choose me,[Jesus] but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” If you build your nation God’s way, you build the Kingdom of God.
ObamaCare or JesusCare. Over the last month I have promoted JesusCare in a big way. I even have been making claims for people who don’t even know what JesusCare is about. Some get instant emergency care, while others seem to have more gradual relief. But I know for those who have universal health care with JesusCare, they absolutely love it!