"Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty."
~ Elie Wiesel
~ Elie Wiesel
Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
~ Psalms 119:1-2 (NKJV)
Thus begins Psalm 119, which goes on for 176 verses and 22 stanzas (one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet), to extol God's Word.
Except for Fridays, I write here each day on a verse or so from the day's passage of Scripture. For the last few weeks I've puzzled how I'd single just one or two verses from this majestic psalm, just as I wondered how I'd single out just one point today as part of the Blog Carnival hostessed by Bridget Chumbley on "Church."
The Church is a source of great joy in my life, and great sorrow. I'm thrilled to be meeting more people in Christ's body than ever before, with whom I shall spend eternity. I sorrow because I'm connecting with them just enough to know who they are, but there's too few hours in the day to spend the time and share the love I wish to give each one.
*heavy sigh*
My solution for both Psalm 119 and writing on the topic of The Church is called "The Twelve Days of Christ." For twelve days over the next two weeks, until the next carnival, I'm doing a post for each of the twelve Hebrew words for God's Word in Psalm 119, and connecting to each one something different about The Church.
Today's introduction is simply Who, What, and Where The Church is.
WHO
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
~ Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
The Church is all those who belong to Christ, who have received eternal life in His blood, who confess Him as Lord and believe He is God made man, raised alive from the dead.
The Church is all those connected by Christ's blood as brothers and sisters, His family.
The Church is one, regardless of denominational lines, race, or nation.
WHAT
"By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
~ Matthew 18:16 (NKJV)
The Church is one of three witnesses Christ left behind on His behalf when He returned to Heaven: His Word, His Spirit, His people. Every matter of faith is to be established by two witnesses—three to eliminate any doubt.
The Church is a reliable witness, regardless of human fallibility. The Word, by itself, can be misunderstood. The voice of the Spirit can be difficult to discern. Jesus knew we truly need all three.
WHERE
"You are the light of the world... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
~ Matthew 5:14,16 (NKJV)
Like terrorists who infiltrate our country so they can reach us anywhere, The Church is to be everywhere, infiltrating every part of the world. Unlike the terrorists, we are to be known and visible, our love, light, and life sharply contrasting the hatred, darkness and death of the world.
It is not merely a duty, but a privilege to keep His testimonies.
Father, thank You for making us those who are undefiled, through Your Son's precious blood. You call us to testimony, and give us power to meet it. Please show us how You'd use each of us to testify to who, what and where You are, and fill us with the desire to whole-heartedly seek You so we will do so.
Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#churchunity
May everyone know to whom I belong.
ReplyDeletesalt and light in this world...
ReplyDeleteAnne, thank you for this excellent post. What most struck me is the "Where"--that Christians are to be EVERYwhere. So often we insulate ourselves. I seek to follow Christ without adding to or subtracting from His commandments; to feel full freedom in going where He leads. For me, that means the public schools, which are much maligned by some in the Christian community, but which I nevertheless feel needs the steadfast love of Christ more than ever. I cannot preach Him there. But I can and do try to show children His love, and until and unless He calls me out, my hand is on the plow in my public school classroom.
ReplyDelete(For those new to Anne's blog, may I be bold enough to state that Anne homeschools and I am a public school teacher, and we are dear friends with heaps of mutual respect for each other's calling. I speak in generalities about the homeschool/public school debate, and not in specifics pertaining to Anne nor any of her followers. And with that, the dissertation is over! ;)
God bless you today.
Anne, thank you so much for being a great teacher, friend, and sister in Christ. :-)
ReplyDeleteComing to this blog each day is like pouring cool water into a parched throat. You are a blessing, Anne.
ReplyDeleteA few thoughts:
ReplyDeleteImagine "who" the church could be if we would but live in true community beyond denominations, race and nations. To live beyond us and for Him. It seems then the who and the where would rightly follow.
In reading Gwen's comment I am reminded of a quote by St. Francis (I believe) "Preach always and when necessary use words". Our lives when lived in Christ can provide the Living Water to a world that thirsts. Words are not often necessary but love always is.
I wonder if too often we (Christians) like to insulate ourselves in the safety of like minds - preaching to the choirs - when God calls us to live in the midst of the angry, cold and hungry. Jesus never played it safe and we should not either.
Where we are us often where "church" should be and rarely, is that within 4 walls.
Shalom,
Denise
I love the thought of being an infiltrator for God :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, great comments. Thank you Anne. I love that no matter where I go, I can be at home because I have family there. The biggest family with the best Dad in the whole world.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joy. Blessings and A Very Merry Christmas to you my friend, my sister.
Anne,
ReplyDeleteI love the infiltrators analogy. In our church, we used to have "cell groups" but when we learned that terrorists use this same words, we changed it to small groups.
In light of your post above, I think cell group was okay. It speaks of urgency and focus, something the church need today.
Simply excellent- thank you.
ReplyDeleteFirst, You are radiating in the picture below! :D :D :D
ReplyDeleteSecond, I love how you are tackling certain aspects about the church. When I brought that question up last Friday about what the church smells like...I envisioned some of the deeper things you mention above. Fragrant. I loved your answer by the way--HOME.
~ Wendy
I think a part of the church is right here, Anne, reading your uplifting and encouraging words. Thank God for vessels like you who love to teach about God's love. :)
ReplyDeletePS. You look beautiful in that picture. There's nothing compared to the feeling we get when we dance for God.
The 'Twelve Days of Christ'... awesome idea, Anne!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is a privilege to keep His testimonies.
Thanks for this post, I really enjoyed it!
Denise, there is no doubt!
ReplyDeleteNatasa, I considered using salt rather than light. Both infiltrate in different ways. I chose the contrast of light and darkness this time.
Gwen, I think you and I are not unlike salt and pepper shakers. At a glance we appear to match on the outside. On the inside we have more than one contrast. Yet we blend in perfect harmony. You are a dear friend indeed.
Russell, the feeling is mutual. I treasure your friendship my brother.
Glynn, to be thus compared to the Holy Spirit's living waters is high honor. Thank you. You are among the fascinating saints with whom I'd love to spend a day.
Denise, even as a writer in awe of the power of words, I thoroughly agree that "words are not often necessary but love always is." One of my 12 posts will focus on that. That love belongs on both sides of the walls, for sure.
Lorrie, I'm relieved. I debated the terrorist metaphor at length before I decided to leave it. I'm especially appreciative of Jojo's comment.
ReplyDeleteDoug, you are a delight and encouragement. I suspect our testimonies are not altogether different. Thank you for your warm affection.
Jojo, I love your comment. I worried of the offense to compare saints to terrorists. But did Jesus not say that forceful men lay hold of the kingdom? "Urgency and focus." YES!
Jason, I thank you for your encouragement.
Wendy, can you imagine the fragrance of Heaven, when we are finally gathered? Will dance have smell? Will sound have color? Will light have texture? *sigh* Hugs and love to you.
Ellie, thank you. I do hope the church is here. And I hope that the church here always has room for seekers. I pray that although I minister primarily to the Body, those who don't yet know they belong in it feel at home here.
Bridget, let's hope that idea plays out as nicely as it sounds. I've discovered that themes stretching over several days likewise stretch me. The Lord does wonderful things through that, but aiy yi yi in the process!
sound like it shall be a 12 day feast
ReplyDelete(Love your new picture) I'm still preoccupied asking the Lord "who can I love for you?" Each day. You're right, not nearly enough hours in the day.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the picture below. Stunning. I can feel God smiling over you. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAnne, I loved this post! Especially the Elie Weisel quote! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I've got the menu planned, but have nothing on hand yet. As always, I'm relying on the Lord to provide.
ReplyDeleteT. Anne, I suppose this quote by Mother Theresa could be for both of us: "Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." (I'm glad you like the pics. It's not hard to get a photo up ... I'm waiting to see your gorgeous smile without having to go dig in my own pics ...)
Sarah, I'm smiling to hear from you here. Thanks! :D
I'm putting up a virtual Christmas card Friday. It's a couple years old only because it's the only family pic I had on my lap top. I'm working on a thumbnails for myself before the new year. It takes so much more to be a writer these days than just writing. Now where did I put that agent again??? ;)
ReplyDelete(again I bother you ;) BTW< I love to watch your numbers climb. You go girl!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the next 12 days! What an awesome idea.
ReplyDelete"What" is very profound. I never thought of my "witness" in that context. It's meaningless without the Word and the Spirit.
Fatha Frank, I agree that without the Word and Spirit, the testimony of one is neither effective nor holds power. Isn't that what every other religion is? The testimony of one—human reasoning? (And sorry to let you go overlooked for a bit. Been busy!)
ReplyDeleteT. Anne, I won't deny I love seeing new faces on that left sidebar and in comments (and can hardly wait for yours). But I restrain myself from getting excited about numbers, because then I'm discouraged when they're NOT growing. God's made clear I'm to keep my eyes and ears on His affirmation. Tough at times, but necessary.