Spirit Houses

If you come to Thailand, you will see pretty little houses all over the place, in the front yards of homes and by places of business. The smallest shack and the largest mall both have these houses, given some are more ornate than others, and some are larger than others.

Hope has mentioned these sometimes when we have seen them. She'll say something like, "Oh, look at that cute little house!" When she says this I have to explain who these little houses are for.

These little houses are for the spirits, evil angels of Satan. They are designated dwelling places for evil spirits to abide. Not so beautiful, huh?

Several months ago, we went up to an academy outside the city with a large group of people. As we were passing a Buddhist temple one of the young ladies in the group said, "That's so beautiful!" Given, the architecture and design and decoration was pleasing to the eye, but when you think about who that temple is honoring, and the worship of idols that goes on there, can we really call it beautiful?

I love the Thai people and I love things about the Thai and Northern Khmer cultures. I also love American people and things in the American culture. However, in all cultures there are things that we need to be wary of.

We need to find the little houses that we have erected in our hearts, and burn down the dwellings of selfishness, pride, and any other attitude that comes from the evil one. May we remember that our body is a temple of the Living God, live our lives accordingly, and may we invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts continually.