"Following"

"One of life's greatest challenges will always be
in knowing which voice has a right to our time."
~ Susan Lenzkes

As much as I appreciate them both, I spend just enough time visiting Facebook and Twitter to not be a stranger.

Facebook has been a tremendous blessing, allowing me keep up with my large, faraway family, whom I deeply miss. I'm also grateful to stay in touch with people at our moderately large church. I think of Facebook as a semi-private locale, like talking with friends in a restaurant.

I've been declining friend requests from people I don't know at all, who are "friends" of "friends" in publishing circles. But what I really need to do is maintain a separate Facebook page for my professional life, where a different type of communication takes place. The thought of maintaining two Facebook pages does not appeal, but I've come to terms with the fact that publishing has entered an era where an author is no longer permitted the luxury of seclusion, even the quasi-privacy of Facebook.

What an experience Twitter is! I appreciate the wealth of information exchanged, though I rarely have the time to indulge in conversation. My Twitter posts are exchanging hello's and thanks, promoting blog posts of myself and others, and most especially sharing quotes. While some people may think me unoriginal, a 140-character snippet can clearly and concisely share a compelling perspective with the potential to change the way we approach life.

Twitter is the epitome of an etiquette challenge, where surely even Emily Post would throw up her arms in resignation. I don't care for the game of "I'll follow you, you follow me back, and we both get to pump our egos by watching our followers numbers increase without ever actually paying attention to one another."

Some Twitterers follow just long enough for you to follow back as a courtesy, then delete you to enhance only their own numbers. I've started waiting a week to follow back, unless it's someone I know. About two thirds of the people who follow me have un-followed by the end of that week, which implies that they are more about inflating numbers than interested in what I have to say.

The other third? If they're not inappropriate or obvious spam, I usually follow back and send a personalized DM to make contact. I'm ready to engage them, however much communication we actually accomplish.

However naive or unrealistic I might be, I'd like to try and emulate my Lord Jesus on even social media. He had wider circles and inner circles of associations. He distinguishes between those who simply wish to be numbered as followers and those ready to listen to Him. And in each contact, His desire is to express love and glorify the Father.

Care to share your approach to the mixed blessing of social media?

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

When the Light is Darkness

The pillar of fire displaying God's glory was seen by the Israelites as light and by the Egyptians as darkness:

And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light ... and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other ...
~ Exodus 13:21; 14:19-20 (NKJV)

When the fragrance of God's light is in us, we should expect the conflict of contempt from the world:

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NKJV)

The answer is not to compromise light and make peace with the world (2 Corinthians 6:14), but to walk more closely with light and thereby strengthen our bond with other believers (1 John 1:7).

Precious Paraclete, please unite Your people and make us one with one another and with You.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Elaborate on the Whys

by Anne Lang Bundy

Elaborate on the why's? Why did Jacob place striped and not striped branches in the trough? Why did Moses hold the staff above his head during war? (I love that the Lord asks us to act with faith in His miracle.)
~ Tana Adams

The question partially answers itself. The Lord provides His people with unexpected directions, asking us to act in faith for His purposes, whether or not He immediately reveals the "why."

But with the Lord—in both Bible stories and our personal story—there is certain to also be a bigger picture.

And with many such parables [Jesus] spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
~ Mark 4:33-34 (NKJV)

Children aren't the only ones who benefit from object lessons. The Bible is filled with stories and parables that teach something much bigger than an apparent moral of the story. Biblical commentators (including yours truly) usually offer differing insights on the various levels of applications for any given story.

The biblical answers provided in this blog's articles are based on a comprehensive familiarity with Scripture, supplemented by a wide variety of biblical reference materials, and by extra-biblical sources as needed.

The above question's example is a story of Jacob breeding his sheep to his own benefit, and includes curious details about the diet of ewes when they conceived (Genesis 30:28-43). For this question, I prayerfully reviewed the passage describing Jacob's actions. No immediate answer became apparent. I went on to search my library, and then the internet about sheep breeding, without obtaining relevant details. But I later found an answer in another portion of Scripture—where I should have known to look in the first place:

"And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted."
~ Genesis 31:10 (NKJV)

It appears that God simply gave directions to 91-year-old Jacob, a lifelong caretaker of sheep, that wasn't even evident to the sheep owner Laban. Because God chose to reveal an otherwise inexplicable course of action to one of His people, and that man responded in faith (as noted in the original question), God rewarded him.

There are certainly additional why's to be answered about this and thousands of other object lessons in the Bible. Especially in the Old Testament, the physical and natural world is used to explain spiritual realities to us.

... there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things ...
~ Hebrews 8:4-5 (NKJV)

When studying the Bible, we can be quickly satisfied with an answer about the immediate lesson. But God has ever deepening spiritual applications for us. If we are disciples of Jesus and spend time seeking and heeding His directives—accepting that we won't understand everything at once—then He will give us needed understanding in the hour we are able to hear.

: : :

This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see ongoing dialogue in comments posted there click here.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: chakpak.com

Necessity of Light

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you,
that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
~ 1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

We need light for not only our bodies [see Monday's post, "Fatality of Darkness"], but for our minds—the light of God's Word is knowledge for the intellect (lest we stumble in ignorance, Psalm 119:105), and the light of His Spirit is sanity, or soundness of mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

If human spirit is life force and human soul is personality and psyche, then spirit needs light to have fellowship with its Maker (Psalms 36:9; 1 John 1:7), and soul needs light to be free of anguish and distress (Psalms 27:1; John 14:27).

If light is needed by the heart—by the emotion, in feeling—I think it must be the heart's assurance of knowing fulfilled purpose through another (Song 8:10). That is, the heart knows contentment in its union with God when we are one with His Spirit and His light shines in us (Matthew 5:14-16).

Whichever part of us lacks light, that part of us will surely taste death.

"Put your trust in the light while you have the light,
so that you may become children of light."
~ John 12:36 (TNIV)

Beloved Lord, we can only begin to comprehend the beauty of the light that You are. Please give us hunger for Your light—and satisfy us.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

God Wants Your Body

"We've just established the excellence of God's knowledge and wisdom concerning His plan for the whole world. So now, please, I'm begging you, act as a rational person and give God your body. Not only will He take great pleasure in having you all to Himself, but in getting a break from the world you'll also get a fresh perspective on the stunning perfection and wisdom of His excellent plan for you."
~ Paul, Romans 12:1-2 (author's paraphrase)

Romans 12:1 is usually translated with the words "offer your bodies as living sacrifices." In the Old Testament method, a sacrifice that meant the body of an animal died. For us, it means that our souls are more alive when we give our bodies to God.

As regular readers know, I've recently come out of a time when I struggled to bring myself to God. It's not that I didn't want to crawl up on the altar and give myself up. Rather, I was aware that the Lord asks for an unblemished sacrifice—the best we have to offer—and awareness of my sinful failings made me feel completely out of place as anything worthy to offer Him.

Silly, mistaken me.

Our Father in Heaven sees as unblemished those who have the protection of Jesus' blood. We're not going to become more worthy of God on our own. Christ's blood has already made us perfect in His Father's eyes.

There's a very good reason God wants your body and mine. God is Light, and any light needs something to hold it or reflect it, at least in our physical world. (Even daylight is held by the sun and reflected off the moon and planets at nighttime.) Although God is evident in other parts of creation, humans crown creation as God's image, and He most wants to be manifest in us—in our bodies.

He wants freedom to transform us from plain clay pots into magnificent vessels of His Light ...
... in our eyes as we take note of others.
... in our ears as we listen to others.
... in our hands as we serve others.
... in our words as we encourage others and praise Him.
... in our feet as we persevere with Him.
... in our faces as we shine with His countenance.
... in our hearts as we give His love to others—and return His love to Him.

Pick any body part. God's got a way to make it beautiful with His Light when it's offered to Him.

"Don't be afraid to give up the good for the great."
~ Kenny Rogers

This post is part of a blog carnival hosted by Peter Pollock. You're invited to visit his site and see what others are saying about today's theme: Sacrifice


"God Wants Your Body" is also the title of a message by Christian comedian and preacher Ken Davis on Romans 12:1. His materials are available at KenDavis.com.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Fatality of Darkness

The Bible calls God "Light," and we often consider it a metaphor without taking into account the fatality of darkness.

Without physical light, photosynthesis would not occur, plants would not grow, and we would starve.

Light is an necessity for us to function in life for any length of time. (Visually-impaired people who see no light rely on people with sight to perform many vital tasks, as I've observed during a lifetime of personal experience.)

When the Lord sent ten progressively worse plagues upon Egypt (Exodus 7-12), the second worst plague of utter darkness, which immobilized the Egyptians, was exceeded only by death.

Moses' Tabernacle in the Desert

by Norbert McNulty

Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting,
and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle ...
the cloud by day, and fire was over it by night,
in the sight of all the house of Israel.
~ Exodus 40:34,38

God provided their necessities to the children of Israel during forty years in the desert: water, bread, meat, clothing, and light. The light provided in pillar of cloud and pillar of fire not only guided them on their way, but assured them of God's presence and continued provision—exactly as He does for us today.


More on the Necessity of Light is planned for Wednesday.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

No Regrets

Meet my writing space.

Our house holds too few square feet for an office. (If it did, the space would be a music room anyway.) I count myself blessed to have a corner to call my own.

We once lost a computer to a virus. The internet can be a distraction to getting serious work done, and my five kids are distraction enough. So the lesser-used laptop has internet access, while my desktop writing computer is clean of it.

The homemade banners (upper left) are "pictures" of God I selected from Old and New Testaments. The art on the right depicts the era when the Lord chose to be visible. (More on that this week.) Stacks of books framing the monitor are oft-used reference materials, plus the to-read (to-watch) books and DVD's up next in the queue. (An overflowing shelf of to-read books is behind the camera.) A mug holds either cold water with lemon, plain hot water, or black coffee (if I'm having a cup of it today).

Dotting the landscape are random kid gifts, family photos, a trash bin (for 86% cacoa Ghirardelli chocolate wrappers), notes with either recent Bible insights or historical details and thoughts for my fiction, strips taped to the monitor with Hebrew alphabet and keyboard shortcuts (I do NOT like ANY mouse), and a dog tag reading "FEAR NOT."

The scattered quotes?

You will keep in perfect peace
The one fixed upon You
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever
For YAH, the LORD,
Is the Rock of Ages.
~ Isaiah 26:3-4

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
~ Psalm 66:16

"March toward the sound of guns."
~ Army mantra, via Russell Holloway
(reminding me that somewhere, a battle waits for support)

"Hope is to be alive in this moment."
~ Maureen Doallas, author and cancer survivor,
(reminding me on bad days that hope is not only for eternity)

"I want to read a book that changes me."
~ Chip MacGregor, Author and Publishing Agent(reminding me to stretch beyond excellence)

For this quote, the photo is sufficient explanation:

Finally, there is this, author unknown:
NO RESERVE ~ NO RETREAT ~ NO REGRETS

It took me a good while to figure out how to live a life of no regrets, because there's so, so much I would do differently if the ctrl+Z key existed on life. What's more, I'm sometimes guilty of retreats and half-hearted effort.

But I trust in God to use my every mistake for good, and every injury to me for blessing. Only by such faith can I allow that last quote to stare me in the face every day with this reminder: give God my all, stay with Him through all, and accept all He allows—with no regrets.


Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Purpose of the Test

The purpose of a test is not to show God how strong or weak we are, because He already knows. The purpose of a test is not to make us feel good about success or bad about failure. The purpose of the test is to reveal our hearts to ourselves and those around us.

Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
Genesis 22:1 (NKJV)

To fare well on a test reveals our faith and God's worthiness of it.

... God withdrew from [Hezekiah], in order to test him, that he might know all that was in his heart.
~ 2 Chronicles 32:31

To fare poorly reveals to us where God is next ready to work.

"Whoever survives a test, whatever it may be, must tell the story. That is his duty."
~ Elie Wiesel

Righteous Father, strengthen our faith for the tests, and our testimony to Your faithfulness.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Balance in Marital Submission

by Anne Lang Bundy

"I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before Almighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind."

~ Lt. Col. Hal Moore,

from the movie We Were Soldiers

(© 2002 Paramount Pictures)

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

: : :

Last week's post ended with these words:

The principle of love acts not according to mere duty, but according to what is in the best interest of both [neighbor] and myself, in light of eternity and God's truth... Where marriage is concerned, the Bible teaches that balance comes not only in understanding the distinction between obedience and submission, but in understanding how both husband and wife submit to each other.

Jesus epitomizes a principle which God stressed most emphatically throughout the entire Bible: the greater the power a person has, the greater the responsibility to use it for good to serve others.

No human has greater power or has served others as sacrificially as Jesus Christ. He is the standard for servant leadership.

The headship of a husband above his wife is not about exercising power and authority, but about leadership and order among equals. The principle is perhaps seen most clearly in the military, where good leadership values and relies upon lower ranking officers, while exercising decisive leadership for the best of all. Good leadership would not think of asking from a subordinate what one would not be willing to do, as seen in the example pictured above.

I have observed two extremes purported to be marital submission.

One extreme says the husband speaks for God, and is therefore heeded without question, perhaps without a wife even thinking to offer input. This approach 1) makes an idol of the husband; 2) denies a husband the value of his wife as a helpmeet; 3) makes a woman a subservient pet at best, a doormat at worst.

The other extreme embraces the "forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission" mantra, with a wife doing her own will unless expressly forbidden by a husband. Such an approach 1) disregards the high price of forgiveness; 2) is blind to the high cost of lost trust in a relationship; 3) undermines the true spirit of submission.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is...
submitting to one another in the fear of God.
~ Ephesians 5:17,21 (NKJV)

In a balanced, biblical approach to submission, husband and wife both submit personal will to God first, and each other second. The husband exercises responsible, sacrificial servant leadership, taking the lead in laying down personal desires, and seeking a wife's unique perspective to make informed decisions. The wife follows her husband's lead with a submissive spirit, recognizing that the Lord appoints her husband as a minister for her good, respectfully sharing her relevant knowledge and supporting his final decision unless he chooses a clearly immoral path. Both accept that they're mutually fallible and actively seek God's guidance.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
~ Lord Acton

The above principles of servant leadership, trust, and fallibility also apply to government authority. Esteem the exceptional official who, regardless of political affiliation, behaves as a public servant rather than as a totalitarian prig feeding at the trough of public monies.

: : :

This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see ongoing dialogue in comments posted there click here.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

On a Personal Note ...

... to readers of Building His Body ~

Among the things I pray for concerning writing this blog is that the Lord will guide me to say neither too much or too little—knowing that I'll not always clearly discern His guidance. I also pray that no matter what I write, and how imperfect it is, that the Lord will nonetheless use it in the lives of readers to draw them closer to Him.

It does make life easier to write posts in advance, on those rare occasions when my schedule demands it. But I try to most often write about what the Lord is showing me day to day, with the intent that posts stay fresh and relevant, and that replies to comments are more in touch.

Recently, it seems that rather than me discerning clear thoughts from the Lord's Word, I am simply seeing more of Him (and myself)—in ways that can make my soul ache. While the Holy Spirit translates "groanings which cannot be uttered" into prayer, groanings don't always translate as easily into coherent blog posts. Tuesday was one such post, while I cheated a little on Monday and didn't manage to frame a post for Wednesday.

I ask your patience and indulgence if I go through a season of sounding less down to earth than I'd like, as I work to find the time to cooperate with the Holy Spirit and know the words to share with you.

I'm grateful if I have your permission to continue being candid. Remaining transparent is something the Lord seems to ask of me. I hope I make it look easy. : )

~ Anne

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com

Locate the Perfect

In a world of eBay and Google, we understand an intent to locate the perfect. Things once only dreamed about can now be had if one searches far and long enough. Perfection is no longer the ideal, but the expectation. If you doubt this, watch an American in the produce section pick over not just what's truly bad, but anything less than perfect.

And though we acknowledge that no human is perfect, we nonetheless search for something approaching perfection in the people closest to us.
 

 "Nothing, in such a world as this,
can be more foolish than to renounce a friend
because we have found him to be imperfect."
~ Susan Huntington

"Perfect Person" actually exists. Whatever attribute we might ask of the perfect friend, the perfect advisor, the perfect mate—honesty, strength, patience, wisdom, understanding, kindness, humility, compassion, selflessness, beauty—all such attributes are found in God.

It's called holiness. We think of holiness as either too sacred to touch or too foreign to appeal. "Holiness" simply means "set apart." The perfection of God is this: His goodness and desirability are so much more beautiful and far above what we might define that they set Him apart from the things of this world.

Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
~ Psalm 29:2 (NKJV)

To locate the Perfect One, we need not search far and long. He is found when we bow our hearts in worship. The beauty of His holiness—His perfect satisfaction for the desires of heart, mind, body, and soul—is most clear when we find a place to shut out the world and look only at Him.


Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Classic Love, Contemporary Version

On a day when we celebrate love, I offer here a fresh look at a portion of history's classic soliloquy on love, 1 Corinthians 13, in the contemporary language of The Message paraphrase of the Bible.

♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥

No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies ...

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
Beloved Lord, please give us a fresh vision for how to make Your great love known to those in our lives. Please empower us to love one another as You have loved us, and to love You extravagantly.

P.S. ~ I love and pray for my readers. (Which means I love you!)

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥

To Infinity—and Beyond!

"I love you, baby."

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you more than I loved you yesterday but not as much as I'm gonna love you tomorrow."

Age 6 Daniel pauses to take in all the words. "You always say that, Mommy."

"Because that's how I love you and I want you to always remember."

Another pause while Daniel thinks of the right word. "I love you a thousand!"

I smile. This is a new one. "I love you a million. That's a thousand of thousands."

Kisses and hugs and snuggles commence.

"But guess how much God loves you?"

Daniel looks at me expectantly. I always come up with a different answer for this one.

"How much?"

"He loves you the biggest number. Way more than a million."

"What's the biggest number called?"

I try to think of the biggest number I know. Isn't a google a one with a million zeroes? Or should I introduce a new concept?

"He loves you infinity. That's the biggest number. Nothing is more than infinity."

Young eyes light up with recognition. "You mean like 'to infinity—and beyond!' ?"

Buzz Lightyear's motto has been in my ears about a google times, but this is the first time the meaning registers in my brain. What is beyond infinity?

If only one thing, it's God's love.

"You're so smart, Daniel! God's love goes to infinity and beyond. The very biggest number of all numbers is infinity, and God's love is bigger than that."

More hugs. And smiles. Because if there's anything that makes me happy, it's when God shows me more of Himself through my kids.

The LORD has appeared to me of old, saying, "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love."
~ Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV)

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Years of Obscurity

Then Moses was content to live with the man [Reuel], and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. And she bore him a son. He called his name Gershom, for he said, "I have been a stranger in a foreign land."
~ Exodus 2:21-22 (NKJV)

Between the forty years Moses spent as a prince of Egypt and his forty years as Israel's leader are forty years of obscurity, summed up in the above two scant verses.

When Moses meets God in the burning bush at age eighty, he hardly sees himself as the Lord's spokesman and a nation's deliverer. But it had evidently taken God forty years to adequately prepare Moses and shape the foremost character quality needed for His servants:

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.
~ Numbers 12:3 (NKJV)

Lord, please give us patience for the work You perform in us, trusting that You already know the plans You have for us and what is needed for days ahead.

"We should ever remember that those whom God uses much in public He trains in secret; and further, that all His most honored servants have been more occupied with their Master than with their work."
~ Charles H. Mackintosh

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Obedience or Submission?

by Anne Lang Bundy

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

: : :


"Duty does not have to be dull.
Love can make it beautiful and fill it with life."
~ Thomas Merton

Photo from "The Notebook"
© 2004 New Line Cinema
image source: rottentomatoes.com

The question planned for this week was How is submission in marriage different than submission to government? Before answering that, it might be helpful to correct an oversight in last week's answer, and distinguish subtle differences between obedience and submission.

The dictionary says that to obey is "to carry out or comply with command, authority, or instruction." To submit is "to surrender or yield oneself to the will or authority of another."

Obedience is more about action. Submission is more about attitude. It is possible to obey the letter of the law without submitting to the spirit of the law.

While God's grace is abundant in the Old Testament, emphasis is that obedience results in blessing, while disobedience leads to consequences. The New Testament in Jesus teaches that more important than strict compliance with the letter of God's law is the higher standard of submission to the spirit of His law, which is love.

The key New Testament passage about submission to governing authorities is Romans 13. The spirit of submission is described in the same chapter as follows:

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
~ Romans 13:7-10 (NIV)

Last week's post made this statement:
There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

The principle of love acts not according to mere duty, but according to what is in the best interest of both authority (neighbor) and myself, in light of eternity and God's truth. It is possible to be both disobedient in action and submissive in spirit.

Where marriage is concerned, the Bible teaches that balance comes not only in understanding the distinction between obedience and submission, but in understanding how both husband and wife submit to each other.

More on that next week.

: : :

This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see ongoing dialogue in comments posted there click here.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Getting Personal

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If Elohim will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then YHWH shall be my God."
~ Genesis 28:20-21

Age seventy-seven Jacob has always known his mother's favor and lived amid his father's wealth. His mother sends him away from family—purportedly to obtain a wife, though he in fact runs for his life. Jacob becomes a homeless man without riches or companionship. His life previously covered by his forefathers' faith, he now has no God.

Things look like they couldn't get much worse.

But Jacob discovers his need for a personal God, and invites YHWH to act in his life—to become "my God."

He's in the perfect place for things to get way better.

Lord YHWH, You're not known for acting in small ways. Can You understand why we sometimes hesitate to throw open the doors for things to get personal? Please help us do so before we must come to the end of ourselves.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Despair Part II: Inevitable Renewal

"Despair is the damp of hell,
as joy is the serenity of heaven."
~ John Donne

One definition of spiritual battle might be external and / or internal bombardment with lies, especially in the face of loss.

A particularly fierce spiritual battle entered my life in June 2009. The resulting despair is described in "Despair Part I: A Chronology" with these words:

Nearly incapacitating depression is a daily battle ... I am overwhelmed with belief in my failure of the past, having fallen out of God's favor in the present, and utter futility for the future.

Medication for depression is effective treatment for some people. A counselor suggested it last spring and I declined. By December my dark outlook moved me to reconsider. But I feared that numbing the depression might also numb my passion for God and for people. And I sensed that the Lord had an alternative treatment.

That alternative proved to be Truth immersion.

A well stocked home library, trusted friends, and Google offer plenty of information. But only one source contains Truth that leaves no room for question: the Holy Bible.

Though I spent time in Scripture for study, for wisdom, and for the pure pleasure of discovering God, intentional immersion in God's Word effected changes in me. The lies I'd swallowed were dissolved with healthy doses of God's Truth. I felt worthy to approach God with more consistency and boldness.

Renewal became inevitable.

"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
~ John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

By January 4, I felt increased spiritual strength. But I still suffered physical symptoms of stress, I had to concentrate on some sort of intellectual challenge to head off a PTSD attack, and profound sadness continued to bring on random crying episodes.

I went to sleep that night sorrowing over numerous personal attacks I'd experienced. The next morning, "groanings which cannot be uttered" pleaded for relief. As I prayed, I understood that I sought some sort of vindication or compensation for the injury I've suffered.

I also realized that I would have no hope of offering adequate vindication or compensation for all the injury I've caused. Sadness for myself was transformed into sadness for others.

My prayer became a poem, "Damages." As I finished composing the poem, I felt release. Release brought profound peace—profound peace as intense as the profound sadness which dogged me.

Now, a month later, the peace has prevailed. Despair has fled. What I have experienced is not a makeover, but a renewal which only the Lord of life could give.

You will keep in profound peace
The one whose mind is fixed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in the LORD forever,
For YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
~ Isaiah 26:3-4

Prince of Peace, You only allow us to know affliction so we might more fully know Your peace. Thank You for renewal. Please make me Your channel of renewal to others. Please bless hundredfold every person who has supported me with their prayers to You and kind words to me.

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This post is part of a blog carnival hosted by Peter Pollock. You're invited to visit his site and see what others are saying about today's theme: Renewal.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: ihatecommuting.wordpress.com

Despair Part I: A Chronology

2006 – 2009:
growing tension in life circumstances becomes noticeable

April 2009:
intense grief over estranged brother

June:
spiritual attack occurs during medium burnout; prayer time becoming sporadic

July:
intense Bible study and prayer; brief revival

August:
intense personal/spiritual attack on two fronts amid distraction from prayer

September:
stress symptoms, see doctor

November:
crash #1; depression settles in

January 2010:
crash #2; stop daily blogging, Bible time becomes more sporadic; begin seeing counselor

Spring 2010:
personal/spiritual attacks on more fronts; PTSD symptoms become apparent; anti-depressant medication suggested by counselor and refused

June:
crash #3; stop seeing counselor, fast and pray for a week

July:
personal/spiritual attacks from without cease; spiritual attacks from within are still relentless

September:
blindsided by an attack from without; relative peace obtained with prayer

November:
nearly incapacitating depression is a daily battle; I feel the Lord drawing me to my prayer closet—and my resistance; I am overwhelmed with belief in my failure of the past, having fallen out of His favor in the present, and utter futility for the future

TURNING POINT, DECEMBER 2010:

During the months of battling depression, I've repeatedly cried out to God that I just want to return to where I was before. The last time I experienced sustained depression was in the 80's, just before I surrendered my life to the Lord. The fire in my heart for Him has not dimmed, but I don't know how to draw close to Him when feeling so worthless.

Throughout this trial, I've believed my life wears a "DETOUR – LORD AT WORK" sign. But I've reached the point of believing the sign will not come down this side of Heaven.

Then on December 1, these words speak to my soul with assurance that the trial may have an end:
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:10, NKJV)

Within a week I read a blog post by Lyla Lindquist titled "The Work of an Adjuster." Lyla closes with these words:
Because I know, when He did what He did to make me whole, the farthest thing from His mind was putting me back in the same position as I was before.

The words Lyla speaks—both through her article and to me personally—bring hope.

As part of regular Bible reading and study, I have read through the Bible in a year, seven times during the 90's. By the third week of December, I decide I need to do so again. Unwilling to wait even a couple more weeks for the new year, I lay out a schedule which will begin on the winter solstice. I determine that as more sunlight fills each day, my life will also hold more Light. (December 21 post: "Darkness & Light")

By the end of the month (year), I have begun spending mornings in my prayer closet again on a daily basis.

Despair Part II: Inevitable Renewal will appear on Tuesday.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Divine Beauty Treatment

[Abram] said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, 'This is his wife'; and they will kill me, but they will let you live."
~ Genesis 12:11-12 (NKJV)

Though she was about seventy years old, the beauty of Sarah (Sarai) commanded such attention that Abraham feared for his life. Longer age expectancies (Abraham lived to age 175) only partly explains that.

The particular Hebrew noun translated "beautiful countenance" is yâpheh, from the verb yâphâh, meaning to "be bright."

The face of Moses shone when he spent time in the Lord's presence. Perhaps such time is the only beauty treatment we need ever use.

"As an ambassador for the King of kings, whose kingdom is love, joy and peace, your face must be radiant, otherwise your message will not be believed."
~ Basilea Schlink

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Submit to Bad Government?

by Anne Lang Bundy

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

: : :

Since the Bible says submit to governing authorities, what do you do when government is bad?
~ M.V.

How much of government is truly good? All authority is comprised of sinful humans who err, and are sometimes downright bad.

There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally* applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

That principle harmonizes two contrasting Bible passages:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God... For he is God's minister to you for good.
~ Romans 13:1,4 (NKJV)

and:

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"
~ Acts 5:29 (NIV)

The three authorities are separate and independent, as long as they don't violate another realm of authority. For example, parents have authority to use corporal punishment on their children. But if they become abusive and violate criminal laws against assault, the government exercises authority over the parents. On the other hand, if one level of government violates parental rights, parents may appeal to a higher level of government.

Likewise, separation of church and state does not mean that religion may not influence government, but that church and government recognize the separate areas of authority that the other holds.

It may be helpful to remember that Paul wrote the above passage to the Romans—Christians living right under the nose of a pagan emperor. Paul well understood that he directed submission to bad government—but only when obedience was not sinful.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh...
~ 1 Peter 2:18 (NKJV)

We hope for morality in the authorities over all three areas, and that they rule rightly because they are good, or at least because they have fear for their accountability to God. When authority asks something of us we don't want to do, we have several options:

– Submit quietly when a matter is not worthy of dissension, for the sake of peace and order. Regular contention over trivial matters reduces our credibility when we must speak up over a more serious matter.

– If a matter is worthy of the effort, wait for the right time, and then respectfully request dialogue and/or make an appeal, being prepared to provide additional information or perspective which gives an authority reason to reconsider.

– If such dialogue is unsuccessful, carefully and prayerfully consider if the matter rises to the level of justifying disobedience, with or without appeal to another authority—including God. Disobedience to authority always risks consequences, and we have no way of knowing how far suffering might ultimately extend.

... But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
~ 1 Peter 2:20-21 (NKJV; full context: 1 Peter 2:13-21)

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This post originally appeared at Bullets & Butterflies. To see ongoing dialogue in comments posted there click here.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: gospelmet.wordpress.com

One More Reason to Wait

... two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.
~ Genesis 7:9-10 (NKJV)

Various people waited long years upon the Lord for Him to fulfill His many promises to them. The seven days that Noah waited in the ark with the animals before the flood came must have seemed like years.

... and the LORD shut him in.
~ Genesis 7:16 (NKJV)

I wonder if the Lord closed the ark at the beginning or end of the seven days? Was there a final week for the witnesses (to whom Noah preached, 2 Peter 2:5) to change their minds and also enter?

We serve a God of second chances, and I'm inclined to think that week-long wait was with open doors.

"Every breath is a second chance."
~ David Rupert

Redeemer, thank You for continuing to call us after we've failed You.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Most Dangerous Virus

"An idea is like a virus—resilient, highly contagious.
And the smallest seed of an idea can grow;
it can grow to define or destroy you."
~ Cobb, from the movie Inception,
© 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Though the movie Inception is science fiction, its premises are chillingly real. An idea can be planted in the mind from the inside. Ideas may take root which both defy eradication and come to define and destroy a person. And the attempt to alter our world by defining our own reality with deceptive ideas is most assuredly a deadly mind game.

Our enemy the devil is master of inception. His goal is to steal, kill and destroy. His modus operandi is to first plant an idea from within, mixing the lie with enough truth for it to take root.

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
~ John 10:10 (NKJV)

Another premise of Inception is that freefall is fatal even before it ends with an impact. When we think of what is needed to sustain life, we think air, water, food. But the need for something solid to stand upon is also vital.

Skydiving exhilarates with its eagle's ride upon the wind, until the moment when a ripcord is pulled and one floats gently back to terra firma. Without a parachute to capture the earth's breath, the same swan dive would bring death—whether when man meets rock, or in terror of anticipating that inevitable end.

The freedom of traveling upon the ocean is likewise thrilling—as long as one has feet planted in a reliable vessel. But a ship must eventually return to land to sustain its human cargo, and one could not float or tread water for long without solid support before the sea would prove fatal.

Jesus warned that shifting sands of self-defined reality will inevitably collapse, resulting in thorough destruction. Our lives are secure only if resting upon the solid rock of His words. (Matthew 7:24-25) If we do not build upon that rock, truth will fall upon us with crushing power.

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone ...' ?
... whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
Matthew 21:42-44 (NKJV)

It's been said that not all lies send you to Hell. But to embrace a lie is to sleep with the enemy, who is father of lies. Whether inception plants deception in mind of self or another, lies compromise ability to discern truth, distort reality, and architect a hell of the mind which destroys life.

Our enemy attacks not only when he covertly speaks within our minds, but when he speaks through the false teachers who infiltrate our churches and other Christian circles. No weapon of man can fight deadly ideas, but only the sword of God's Spirit.

In the movie Inception, potential victims can be trained to fight against an enemy who enters the mind.

In reality, it is critical that we immerse ourselves with the truth of God's Word so that the enemy's seeds find no inception.

"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth."
~ John 17:17 (NKJV)

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

This post is the rest of the story attached to the gratitude I express today at Everyday Testimony.

Comments, questions, and respectful disagreement are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments, or e-mail buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.