EVRI year, winim six million pipol go long wanfala bush ples long Shima Peninsula long Japan. Olketa go long Grand Shrine of Ise, wea hem nao ples wea pipol worshipim datfala Shinto woman God, Amaterasu Omikami, and olketa duim datwan for samting olsem tu thousand year finis. Firstaem, olketa wasim hand and mouth bilong olketa. Then olketa standap front long datfala holy ples and olketa baodaon, klapem hand, and prea long datfala woman god. * Shinto religion no stopem olketa member for worshipim olketa nara god tu. Samfala Buddhist, samfala Christian, and samfala long olketa nara religion, tingse hem olraet for worship long datfala shrine.

Staka religion garem olketa shrine, * and staka million pipol go long olketa. Long olketa kantri wea staka pipol Christian, plande church garem olketa shrine wea olketa wakem for Jesus, Mary, and olketa saint. Olketa nara shrine stap long olketa holy ples wea Bible storyim, or long ples wea pipol sei mirakol hem happen long there, or long ples wea olketa keepim olketa holy samting bilong religion bilong olketa. Staka pipol go long shrine bikos olketa tingse God bae herem prea wea man talem long holy ples olsem. Staka narawan bae kam from olketa farawe ples for worship long olketa shrine for showimaot olketa strong for worshipim God.

Waswe, God barava tinghae long prea wea man talem long shrine? Waswe, God hem barava tinghae long man wea kam from farawe ples for worship long shrine? Waswe, hem stret for olketa Christian worship long shrine? Ansa for olketa kwestin hia bae helpem iumi for luksavve sapos hem fitim for iumi worship long shrine and for savve wanem kaen worship nao God hem hapi long hem.

Samting wea Jesus talem long wanfala woman bilong Samaria showimaot tingting bilong God abaotem wei for worship long olketa holy ples or shrine. Jesus wakabaot go for Jerusalem and hem stop for rest long wanfala well klosap long datfala taon Sychar. Hem story long wanfala woman wea kam for tekem wata. Woman hia storyim hao religion bilong olketa Jew hem difren from religion bilong olketa long Samaria. Hem sei: “Olketa grani bilong mifala worship long disfala maunten, bat iufala olketa Jew sei Jerusalem nao ples for worship.”—John 4:5-9, 20.

 Datfala maunten wea woman hia storyim hem Maunt Gerizim, wea samting olsem 50 kilometer north long Jerusalem. Long bifor olketa Samaritan garem temple long there for celebratem olketa festival olsem Pasova. Jesus no storyim datwan, bat hem sei long datfala woman: “Woman, bilivim samting wea mi talem iu. Bae wanfala taem hem kam wea iufala bae no worshipim God long disfala maunten and bae no worshipim hem long Jerusalem tu.” (John 4:21) Maet woman hia sapraes for herem wanfala Jew talem datwan! Why nao wei for worship long temple bilong God long Jerusalem bae finis?

Jesus hem sei: “Wanfala taem bae kam, and taem hia hem start distaem, wea olketa wea worshipim God long stretfala wei bae worshipim hem followim holy spirit and followim samting wea tru. God lukaotem kaen pipol olsem for worshipim hem.” (John 4:23) For staka handred year, olketa Jew ting long temple long Jerusalem hem main ples for worshipim God. Thrifala taem evri year olketa go long there for offerim sakrifaes long Jehovah, God bilong olketa. (Exodus 23:14-17) Bat Jesus sei datwan bae change and olketa wea worshipim God long stretfala wei bae “worshipim hem followim holy spirit and followim samting wea tru.”

Temple bilong olketa Jew hem wanfala building. Bat holy spirit and samting wea tru hem no olsem. So Jesus helpem olketa Christian for luksavve olketa no need for depend long wanfala building olsem datfala temple long Jerusalem, or long wanfala ples olsem Mount Gerizim, or eni nara ples olsem, for worshipim Jehovah.

Jesus hem sei tu long datfala woman, “taem” for disfala change “bae kam.” Wanem taem nao datwan? Hem kamap taem Jesus dae, bikos sakrifaes bilong hem endim nao worship bilong olketa Jew wea followim Law bilong Moses. (Rome 10:4) Nomata olsem, Jesus hem sei tu: “Taem hia hem start distaem.” Why nao hem talem olsem? Bikos hem nao Messiah and hem start for garem olketa disaepol wea bae obeyim disfala komand: “God hem wanfala Spirit, and olketa wea worshipim hem mas worshipim hem followim holy spirit and followim samting wea tru.” (John 4:24) Wanem nao diswan hem minim?

Taem Jesus sei for worship witim holy spirit, hem minim for letem holy spirit bilong God leadim iumi. Holy spirit savve helpem iumi long staka samting, olsem for minim Bible. (1 Corinth 2:9-12) And “samting wea tru,” hem minim for garem stretfala savve long olketa teaching insaed Bible. So for God  acceptim worship bilong iumi hem bae no depend long wanfala spesol ples. Important samting nao, worship bilong iumi mas followim samting wea Bible teachim and wea holy spirit leadim iumi for duim.

So waswe, hem fitim for olketa Christian worship long shrine? Jesus sei olketa wea worshipim God mas worship followim holy spirit and followim samting wea tru. And tu, Bible storyim tingting bilong God abaotem wei for mekhae long olketa idol long worship. Hem sei: “ranawe from wei for worshipim idol” and “stap klia long olketa idol.” (1 Corinth 10:14; 1 John 5:21) Dastawe, Christian bae no worship long eni ples wea pipol sei hem holy, or long ples wea man savve mekhae long olketa idol. So olketa tru Christian shud no worship long olketa shrine.

Nomata olsem, Bible no tambuim iumi for markem wanfala ples wea iumi laek go long hem for prea, study, and ting raonem samting. Taem iumi go long ples for hipap wea olketa samting hem followim order datwan savve helpem iumi for lane and storyim olketa spiritual samting. Hem no rong tu for mekem wanfala memory, olsem grev ston, for man wea dae finis. Iumi duim diswan bikos iumi laek for rememberim man and from iumi lovem hem. Bat for ting long datwan olsem wanfala holy ples or for putim olketa image and idol long there and mekhae long olketa, datwan bae barava againstim samting wea Jesus talem.

So iu no need for go long wanfala shrine for God herem prea bilong iu. And tu, sapos iu go long ples wea farawe for worship long wanfala shrine, datwan bae no mekem God hapi long iu or mekem hem givim iu olketa spesol blessing. Bible sei Jehovah God, wea hem “Lord bilong heven and earth, hem no stap insaed olketa temple wea man wakem.” Bat diswan no minim God hem farawe from iumi. Nomata long wea nao iumi stap, iumi savve fren gud witim hem bikos “hem no hard nomoa for savve long hem.”—Acts 17:24-27.