Today we toured around the beautiful city of Haifa. The scenery is just amazing and the people have been so accommodating and gracious to us. One of the places that they took us to was the Holy Garden, a 350 million dollar landmark. The botanical gardens are just pristine and the view from this mountain is amazing. At the center of this garden is the Bahai temple. The Bahai is essentially a cult. What they have done is taken bits and pieces of the different major religions of the world and mixed them together. Their original prophet is known as "The Bob", no joke! He was executed in the early 1800's. What struck me is how willing people are to serve and follow something and yet miss what is right in front of them that could truly satisfy their hearts. What is interesting about this structure is that not to far from this beautiful landmark, is where it is believed that God's prophet Elijah put a major whooping on the false prophets of Baal. Now I understand that this may be a totally different era, scenario, and circumstance, but isn't the bottom-line the same: man's heart is wicked and empty and man will turn to something that they think initially will satisfy and complete. Yet all too often, sadly they discover that the way they have chosen only leads to destruction. I know that for me that is where my life was headed. Now I didn't pray to or bow to "The Bob", but I did serve other idols that in God's eyes were just as filthy. But I thank God for drawing me to Himself and leading me into a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. My prayer as we traveled down through this marvelous landscape was "Lord please remove the blinders from these people's hearts and may they see Your light and understand Your Truth." As I prayed that for the Bahais I could not help but to pray that for the people of the city I live in and for the people I do life with.
2 comments:
Hi. Just so you know, the name you referred to as the "bob" is actually, the "Báb". Translated into English, it means the "Gate" - as in Luke 13:23 and Matthew 7:13.
Considering the name of your blog, here's a quote from the Báb that you might enjoy: (bolding by me)
"God will cause oceans of living water to stream forth from the presence of Him Whom God shall make manifest, while ye will refuse to quench your thirst therefrom, notwithstanding that ye regard yourselves as the God-fearing witnesses of your Faith."
(Selections from the Writings of the Báb)
Later, "Him Whom God shall make manifest" said this:
"Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power."
(Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Aqdas)
And here is a prayer that He wrote out for us to use:
"Magnified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou art He Whom all things worship and Who worshipeth no one, Who is the Lord of all things and is the vassal of none, Who knoweth all things and is known of none. Thou didst wish to make Thyself known unto men; therefore, Thou didst, through a word of Thy mouth, bring creation into being and fashion the universe. There is none other God except Thee, the Fashioner, the Creator, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
"I implore Thee, by this very word that hath shone forth above the horizon of Thy will, to enable me to drink deep of the living waters through which Thou hast vivified the hearts of Thy chosen ones and quickened the souls of them that love Thee, that I may, at all times and under all conditions, turn my face wholly towards Thee.
"Thou art the God of power, of glory and bounty. No God is there beside Thee, the Supreme Ruler, the All-Glorious, the Omniscient."
(Prayers and Meditations by Bahá'u'lláh)
God Bless!
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