It's Not a Buffet
Life is full of decisions. Many are morally neutral. Are you into excercise? Great! You can go running, or walking. You can go to the gym and play a group sport like basketball or volleyball. You can do Pilates or Zumba or low impact aerobics. But, if you are a Christian, there are some boundaries. I'm talking about yoga.
Many will argue that they engage in the purely physical aspect of yoga. I say, that is an impossibility. Look up yoga in Wikipedia and you will see right from the get-go that it involves religion, philosophy, and practices. In India, yoga is a path to spiritual growth. Yoga means union, the union of the finite with the infinite...Braham (god or infinite reality). The poses are a pathway to enlightenment.
I was on a Christian site the other day and saw a great quote. The strange thing was that the person who was credited with the quote had a single name, not a first and last. So, I checked out the person and found it to be an Islamic teacher. One of the other ladies let it be known that she was a fan of his, as well.
I am very much reminded of the people of Israel. They couldn't seem to decide who they wanted to follow. Instead, "everyone did what was right in his own eyes". Today, our country has had such an influx of different religions. And the internet has opened up our world considerably, as well. But, one thing hasn't changed about true Christianity, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Jesus) God was sorely displeased with those who professed to worship him, but retained the baals. He even forbid marriage outside of the Jewish community because He didn't want the influence of foreign wives; something that even the wisest man who ever lived, ignored.
Christianity is exclusive. God is a jealous God. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me (or beside me, either)." In the book of Revelation, Jesus has something to say to the churches. He rebuked the church of Pergamum for holding to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. He rebuked the church in Thyatira for tolerating Jezebel, who called herself a prophet. But, perhaps the sternest rebuke went to Laodicea because they were neither hot nor cold. When people talk about yoga as if it is their salvation, rather than the Lord, something is seriously amiss.
One blogger who engaged in yoga for hours a day became very depressed and nervous as a result of his practices, and eventually had beings dressed in white robes appear by his side telling him they would lead him to a new life if he continued.
It is reminiscent of so many other deceptive things: alcohol (for in the end it bites like a poisonous snake) adultery (till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life) sin, in general (for the wages of sin is death). What promises happiness, distraction, or life, ends in death.
As believers, we are to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them". Which are you doing? Are you taking part, or are you exposing?
Many will argue that they engage in the purely physical aspect of yoga. I say, that is an impossibility. Look up yoga in Wikipedia and you will see right from the get-go that it involves religion, philosophy, and practices. In India, yoga is a path to spiritual growth. Yoga means union, the union of the finite with the infinite...Braham (god or infinite reality). The poses are a pathway to enlightenment.
I was on a Christian site the other day and saw a great quote. The strange thing was that the person who was credited with the quote had a single name, not a first and last. So, I checked out the person and found it to be an Islamic teacher. One of the other ladies let it be known that she was a fan of his, as well.
I am very much reminded of the people of Israel. They couldn't seem to decide who they wanted to follow. Instead, "everyone did what was right in his own eyes". Today, our country has had such an influx of different religions. And the internet has opened up our world considerably, as well. But, one thing hasn't changed about true Christianity, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Jesus) God was sorely displeased with those who professed to worship him, but retained the baals. He even forbid marriage outside of the Jewish community because He didn't want the influence of foreign wives; something that even the wisest man who ever lived, ignored.
Christianity is exclusive. God is a jealous God. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me (or beside me, either)." In the book of Revelation, Jesus has something to say to the churches. He rebuked the church of Pergamum for holding to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. He rebuked the church in Thyatira for tolerating Jezebel, who called herself a prophet. But, perhaps the sternest rebuke went to Laodicea because they were neither hot nor cold. When people talk about yoga as if it is their salvation, rather than the Lord, something is seriously amiss.
One blogger who engaged in yoga for hours a day became very depressed and nervous as a result of his practices, and eventually had beings dressed in white robes appear by his side telling him they would lead him to a new life if he continued.
It is reminiscent of so many other deceptive things: alcohol (for in the end it bites like a poisonous snake) adultery (till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life) sin, in general (for the wages of sin is death). What promises happiness, distraction, or life, ends in death.
As believers, we are to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them". Which are you doing? Are you taking part, or are you exposing?
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