Buddha prophesied Jesus!

So I just found out this cool tidbit of info ; I asked Pr Jesse and Soar if there was anything in the Buddhist religion that pointed to Jesus or the salvation message at all. There is! Buddha had spoken a prophecy about a Lord of Mercy who would come one day, and abolish all injustice and such! No joke! One booklet Pr Jesse saw a few years ago went as far as saying that this Lord of mercy would have scars in his hands. But that fact isn’t as commonly known. Truth is, some Cambodians have even been waiting for this Lord of mercy to come. Here, out in the provinces, when encountering someone who is deeply Buddhist, evangelists will use these facts to bring in the Gospel! Ravi Zaccharias wrote a booklet called the Lotus and the Cross which compares Buddhism and Christianity. Basically, I bet you Buddha would’ve become a Christian had he met Jesus. The Gospel is really what he was longing for all along.

Unfortunately, the majority of Cambodians are not so Buddhist as they are animist and superstitious. Many wear a guardian spirit belt, which they’ve acquired by bringing sacrifices to a witch doctor. Most Cambodian homes have shrines where they worship ancestral spirits. Here, deliverance from demons comes hand-in-hand with salvation. Pr Jesse knows a fellow missionary who came here as a Baptist, but soon realized he’d have to learn to cast out demons, or he’d get cast out himself!

The Buddhist monks are another story altogether. You can see them walking in the streets, with shaved heads, long orange toga-type robes, and a shade umbrella. They stop by homes and businesses, and wait for the owner or inhabitants to come out and donate money. Then, they’ll mumble a blessing and walk away. But in truth, the monk society here is actually a welfare system for singles. If a single person is very poor, he can sign up to be a monk. Then, he gets shelter, money and food. Buddhism is supposed to be about detaching yourself from all material need and attachments. But many of these people, as they gather money, start going to school and building their wealth. They’ll walk around with cell phones, use computers, sometimes put on a disguise and sneak into dance clubs. And when they’re back up on their feet, they drop their toga and walk away. I’m sure some are sincere. But this seems to be the norm here.

Total subject change : Friday and Saturday I went to the worship team retreat. It was really cool. The spot was gorgeous. I shared my cabin with 6 other girls, and the mattress was so comfy. It was out in one of the provinces, up a mountain. Beautiful site! I got a chance to meet some of the young people of the church. It’s so hard to remember names though! Some of my new acquaintances : Srey Nikt, Srey Meng, Ata, Mata, Hung Lee, and others I can’t pronounce. One guy’s name is Nate, so that one I remembered, cause it sounds like something I’m used to. His story is really cool actually. He is Pr Mara’s younger brother. He used to be a Buddhist, living out in the province with his family. Then, about 12 yrs ago, Mara met the Lord, probably while he was here in the city studying. Pr Mara is a fiery evangelist. Eventually, the rest of his family also started coming to church, and they’ve now all met the Lord. Nate is now one of the main worship leaders.