Comfort Food. Do you easily lapse into fond thoughts of those particular foods which make you feel as if all is right with the world?
Mine are homemade soup and dark chocolate. I'd happily indulge in the former more often if it were as readily available as the latter. And since one should only have so much chocolate, I'm more likely to indulge in comfort drinks. I like cool water generously laced with fresh lemon, hot black coffee, or perhaps a glass of a not-too-dry Riesling. I needn't even sip of them to feel happy. Simply holding a cup or glass of one is enough to impart harmony with the world.
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
~ John 16:33 (NKJV)
John gives us an in depth, five-chapter glimpse of that last night Jesus spent with His disciples. Jesus may have spoken at such length on any other night, but it is only these final and fatal hours to which we are privy. We can nonetheless be certain that our Master weighed these particular words with special care, to feed His followers' souls at their Last Supper together.
"So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."
~ Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
When conflict churns and chaos clamors all about us, an oasis of calm waters and comfort food for the soul may be found in the every Word of Jesus.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.
~ Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Alone in a Crowd
"Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me."
~ John 16:32 (NKJV)
We have heard the story countless times, of Jesus' final hours and death. But we also know that it ends happily in His resurrection. And so we seek each year to somehow recapture the horror of the tale, so we might treasure it with increasing depth.
If one point captures me, again and again, it is the agony not of Gethsemane, but of a baby Boy's anguished cry:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
~ Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)
Surely every one of us has known the pain of feeling completely alone in a crowd. Jesus would face the extreme contempt of one crowd after another, all alone. Yet the malice of ignorant mortals cannot be compared to the point when the Father turned away from the filth of sin laid upon Jesus, forsaking His beloved Son.
Hours before Gethsemane, Jesus affirmed that "the Father is with Me"—the Father His ever solace in solitude. Then Jesus thrice begged His Father to take away the cup. I cannot help but wonder if the Father mercifully veiled until the last minute that the full cost of our sin included being forsaken.
"I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross."
~ Chris Tomlin
We who are in Christ shall never know the cost of being forsaken. Though we may taste loneliness—perhaps even persecution—we are never alone.
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed ...
~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NKJV)
Father, thank You that I shall never know personally the cost of my sin. Here I am to worship You, to serve You, to love You.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
~ John 16:32 (NKJV)
We have heard the story countless times, of Jesus' final hours and death. But we also know that it ends happily in His resurrection. And so we seek each year to somehow recapture the horror of the tale, so we might treasure it with increasing depth.
If one point captures me, again and again, it is the agony not of Gethsemane, but of a baby Boy's anguished cry:
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"
~ Matthew 27:46 (NKJV)
Surely every one of us has known the pain of feeling completely alone in a crowd. Jesus would face the extreme contempt of one crowd after another, all alone. Yet the malice of ignorant mortals cannot be compared to the point when the Father turned away from the filth of sin laid upon Jesus, forsaking His beloved Son.
Hours before Gethsemane, Jesus affirmed that "the Father is with Me"—the Father His ever solace in solitude. Then Jesus thrice begged His Father to take away the cup. I cannot help but wonder if the Father mercifully veiled until the last minute that the full cost of our sin included being forsaken.
"I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross."
~ Chris Tomlin
We who are in Christ shall never know the cost of being forsaken. Though we may taste loneliness—perhaps even persecution—we are never alone.
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed ...
~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NKJV)
Father, thank You that I shall never know personally the cost of my sin. Here I am to worship You, to serve You, to love You.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Two Kinds of People
The Bible frequently makes contrasts between two kinds of people, to make a distinction between those who belong to God and those who have nothing to do with Him:
• the righteous (or blameless) and the wicked (or ungodly);
• the wise and the foolish;
• those who fear God and those who do not;
• the children of God and the subjects of God;
• the faithful and the adulterous;
• the wheat and the tares.
But other times, two kinds of people are contrasted not by what is external and immediately apparent, but by a condition of the heart which is evident only over time. It is a contrast made between those who abide in Jesus Christ and His words, and those who are merely "externally and mechanically attached to Him" (using the words of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown):
• those who walk according to the Spirit and those who walk according to the flesh;
• the good servant and the lazy servant;
• the fruitful and the unfruitful.
"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
~ John 16:24 (NKJV)
Any one of us can be the kind of people who ask God to indulge human will and attach "in-Your-name-amen" at the end of our words.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
~ John 15:7-8 (NKJV)
But only some of us will prove to be the kind of people who so deeply root ourselves in Jesus that we produce the astonishing spiritual fruit of prayers which glorify the Father to the extent that He does not deny them.
Lord, please make us this kind of people, that You may be glorified.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
• the righteous (or blameless) and the wicked (or ungodly);
• the wise and the foolish;
• those who fear God and those who do not;
• the children of God and the subjects of God;
• the faithful and the adulterous;
• the wheat and the tares.
But other times, two kinds of people are contrasted not by what is external and immediately apparent, but by a condition of the heart which is evident only over time. It is a contrast made between those who abide in Jesus Christ and His words, and those who are merely "externally and mechanically attached to Him" (using the words of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown):
• those who walk according to the Spirit and those who walk according to the flesh;
• the good servant and the lazy servant;
• the fruitful and the unfruitful.
"Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."
~ John 16:24 (NKJV)
Any one of us can be the kind of people who ask God to indulge human will and attach "in-Your-name-amen" at the end of our words.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
~ John 15:7-8 (NKJV)
But only some of us will prove to be the kind of people who so deeply root ourselves in Jesus that we produce the astonishing spiritual fruit of prayers which glorify the Father to the extent that He does not deny them.
Lord, please make us this kind of people, that You may be glorified.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Friday, March 23, 2012
But
"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now..."
~ John 16:12 (NKJV)
Though we often forget it, the Lord knows well that we are frail children of dust. He is so sensitive to how much we can bear that He reserves some truth for us until the hour we need it, lest it prove to be too much for us in the meantime.
It might therefore seem logical to conclude that God never allows His children to suffer more than they can bear.
As Billy Coffey astutely observed in his novel, "Snow Day," the axiom that says God doesn't give us more than we can bear isn't exactly true. What the Bible does say is that we won't be tempted, or tested, beyond our ability to bear it ...
... but.
Of all the critical uses of "but," this occurrence ranks right up there with the most important ones:
No temptation [test, trial] has overtaken you except such as is common to man ... God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted [tried, tested] beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV, amplification and emphasis mine)
We will face situations that are beyond our ability to bear without an escape. And we are asked to believe that a good God allows suffering not only to test the love and compassion of those who observe suffering, not only to refine us from sin, but also so that we will seek out escape.
"... However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth."
~ John 16:13 (NKJV)
The same Spirit Who reveals truth at the needed hour is also our escape in the needed hour—and He rarely provides immediate escape via separation from suffering. Escape is obtained by being yoked with Jesus, and trusting Him to bear us all the way through temptation and testing, lest we fall into it.
Lord, please help us to stay closely connected with you, through every moment of the day, so that we will be able to stand in the hour of testing, that we may bear the hour of suffering.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
~ John 16:12 (NKJV)
Though we often forget it, the Lord knows well that we are frail children of dust. He is so sensitive to how much we can bear that He reserves some truth for us until the hour we need it, lest it prove to be too much for us in the meantime.
It might therefore seem logical to conclude that God never allows His children to suffer more than they can bear.
As Billy Coffey astutely observed in his novel, "Snow Day," the axiom that says God doesn't give us more than we can bear isn't exactly true. What the Bible does say is that we won't be tempted, or tested, beyond our ability to bear it ...
... but.
Of all the critical uses of "but," this occurrence ranks right up there with the most important ones:
No temptation [test, trial] has overtaken you except such as is common to man ... God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted [tried, tested] beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV, amplification and emphasis mine)
We will face situations that are beyond our ability to bear without an escape. And we are asked to believe that a good God allows suffering not only to test the love and compassion of those who observe suffering, not only to refine us from sin, but also so that we will seek out escape.
"... However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth."
~ John 16:13 (NKJV)
The same Spirit Who reveals truth at the needed hour is also our escape in the needed hour—and He rarely provides immediate escape via separation from suffering. Escape is obtained by being yoked with Jesus, and trusting Him to bear us all the way through temptation and testing, lest we fall into it.
Lord, please help us to stay closely connected with you, through every moment of the day, so that we will be able to stand in the hour of testing, that we may bear the hour of suffering.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Monday, March 19, 2012
High Risk Occupation
"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."
~ John 15:13 (NKJV)
Whatever my inclination toward the dramatic or the adventurous, I suspect I'm not the only person to read the above words and imagine saving someone else's life at the cost of my own.
In a land long ago and far away, (when I evidently didn't think one high risk occupation was sufficient), my positions as a police officer and volunteer firefighter-EMT made the willingness to lay down my life daily and real. In the present day, where I am a homemaker and home school teacher, the biggest risk I face is keeping a good temper with other drivers on the road and with my live-in students at home.
Do you believe me when I tell you that facing just those two groups of people still makes the willingness to lay down my life daily and real?
Then [Jesus] said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."
~ Luke 9:23-24 (NKJV)
Jesus—God Himself!—calls His disciples His friends. If we are to follow Him as His disciples, the need to crucify our own desires and comforts is a daily demand and requires a very real laying down of life of Self. Perhaps it helps to thus define "Disciple of Christ" as a high risk occupation—and train accordingly.
Father, forgive me for all the times I protect Self at the expense of someone else's interest. Forgive me for all the times I look after desires of Self rather than emulate the example of Jesus. Please help me to think so highly of You and of others that my only desire is to honor You Who calls me friend.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
~ John 15:13 (NKJV)
Whatever my inclination toward the dramatic or the adventurous, I suspect I'm not the only person to read the above words and imagine saving someone else's life at the cost of my own.
In a land long ago and far away, (when I evidently didn't think one high risk occupation was sufficient), my positions as a police officer and volunteer firefighter-EMT made the willingness to lay down my life daily and real. In the present day, where I am a homemaker and home school teacher, the biggest risk I face is keeping a good temper with other drivers on the road and with my live-in students at home.
Do you believe me when I tell you that facing just those two groups of people still makes the willingness to lay down my life daily and real?
Then [Jesus] said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."
~ Luke 9:23-24 (NKJV)
Jesus—God Himself!—calls His disciples His friends. If we are to follow Him as His disciples, the need to crucify our own desires and comforts is a daily demand and requires a very real laying down of life of Self. Perhaps it helps to thus define "Disciple of Christ" as a high risk occupation—and train accordingly.
Father, forgive me for all the times I protect Self at the expense of someone else's interest. Forgive me for all the times I look after desires of Self rather than emulate the example of Jesus. Please help me to think so highly of You and of others that my only desire is to honor You Who calls me friend.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Commandment Number 13, Conclusion:
Radical Joy
Our church drama team did a full length presentation (90 minutes?) earlier this year—"Baggage Claim"—set at a quirky bed & breakfast. I played giddy Clarisse, the hostess whose unearthy and radical joy causes her to dance her way across the lobby whenever she moves. Clarisse seems hilariously absurd until the final scene, when the allegory turns deadly serious and Clarisse is the angelic messenger of judgment.
I'm not accustomed to dancing for an extended period of time. During Act I, Scene Two, I had only a few lines, and spent most of the scene dancing in the background. The scene itself was perhaps 15–20 minutes, plenty of time to work up a respectable heart rate. But rehearsals could extend that time to a couple of hours, long enough to grow downright tired.
I'd never before considered seeing a day when I might rather sit down than dance. But the radical joy of the Lord births a truly unearthy strength.
Can you imagine what would happen if, during a live stage production, an actor or actress decided they'd had enough and dropped out? While such a character would rest, there'd be no joy in the performance. Every other disrupted actor would fumble to cover for the missing member. Critical lines could not be delivered effectively by the wrong person, and the story would be seriously impaired. The poor audience would be hopelessly confused, and leave the auditorium disappointed.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus …
~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
Last week, someone close to me and dearly loved attempted suicide. Our unrelenting enemy the devil constantly bombards us with lies, Christians and non-Christians alike. If a person gives him an ear, he ruthlessly attempts to steal, kill and destroy whatever he can.
I understand how a person can become distracted enough from Jesus, or neglect spiritual armor, and begin to believe those lies.
This problem is never going to change.
There's no other way out of the pain.
It's okay to bow out a little early.
Yet there really is a time to dance, and a time to mourn; a time of war, and a time of peace. The script of our lives is not one we can skip out on. Yes, others would fumble and move on, but not without impairment. Our story incomplete, we'd never experience fullness of joy. And that great cloud of witnesses would be most disappointed.
… looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
~ Hebrews 12:2 (emphasis mine)
Among the enemy's most damaging and prevalent lies are these:
You're not loved enough.
Your love doesn't make any difference.
Love matters. Love is deadly serious.
While faith and hope will find their fulfillment and cease, love never ends.
As mentioned in Part Three ("Just One Thing"), we are commanded to love as Jesus loves us. Our Lord Jesus introduces His command while speaking of the Father's glory. Then among His final words before dying, He gives us another reason:
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
~ John 15:11-12 (NKJV)
If we are to find full joy—radical joy—we must love as Jesus loves us.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
I'm not accustomed to dancing for an extended period of time. During Act I, Scene Two, I had only a few lines, and spent most of the scene dancing in the background. The scene itself was perhaps 15–20 minutes, plenty of time to work up a respectable heart rate. But rehearsals could extend that time to a couple of hours, long enough to grow downright tired.
I'd never before considered seeing a day when I might rather sit down than dance. But the radical joy of the Lord births a truly unearthy strength.
Can you imagine what would happen if, during a live stage production, an actor or actress decided they'd had enough and dropped out? While such a character would rest, there'd be no joy in the performance. Every other disrupted actor would fumble to cover for the missing member. Critical lines could not be delivered effectively by the wrong person, and the story would be seriously impaired. The poor audience would be hopelessly confused, and leave the auditorium disappointed.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus …
~ Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
Last week, someone close to me and dearly loved attempted suicide. Our unrelenting enemy the devil constantly bombards us with lies, Christians and non-Christians alike. If a person gives him an ear, he ruthlessly attempts to steal, kill and destroy whatever he can.
I understand how a person can become distracted enough from Jesus, or neglect spiritual armor, and begin to believe those lies.
This problem is never going to change.
There's no other way out of the pain.
It's okay to bow out a little early.
Yet there really is a time to dance, and a time to mourn; a time of war, and a time of peace. The script of our lives is not one we can skip out on. Yes, others would fumble and move on, but not without impairment. Our story incomplete, we'd never experience fullness of joy. And that great cloud of witnesses would be most disappointed.
… looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
~ Hebrews 12:2 (emphasis mine)
Among the enemy's most damaging and prevalent lies are these:
You're not loved enough.
Your love doesn't make any difference.
Love matters. Love is deadly serious.
While faith and hope will find their fulfillment and cease, love never ends.
As mentioned in Part Three ("Just One Thing"), we are commanded to love as Jesus loves us. Our Lord Jesus introduces His command while speaking of the Father's glory. Then among His final words before dying, He gives us another reason:
"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
~ John 15:11-12 (NKJV)
If we are to find full joy—radical joy—we must love as Jesus loves us.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Commandment Number 13, Part Four:
Spiritual Tightrope
John 13 introduces the commandment from Jesus to love one another as He loves us—an impossibility. John 14 then introduces us to the Holy Spirit, with whom we are able to do the impossible.
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever."
~ John 14:16 (NIV)
The tightrope we face is to be aware of the strength (of Spirit) dwelling within us, to do the impossible, while remaining aware of the weakness (of flesh) dwelling within us, to keep us dependent. As soon as we become aware of the strength operating through us and think it comes from us, we start to slip.
A tightrope walker cannot afford to be distracted, by either a huge cheering crowd or a tiny mosquito. We must likewise allow no distraction which takes our eyes off the Source of our strength, whether exultation or annoyance.
Our strength lies in remaining so aware of our weakness that we cultivate utter dependence on God.
Lord Jesus, thank You for sending Your Spirit. Thank You for making His home in our redeemed mortal flesh. Please help us overcome any hesitation or distraction which hinders Your Spirit's work thorough us and in us—to the glory of the Father.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever."
~ John 14:16 (NIV)
The tightrope we face is to be aware of the strength (of Spirit) dwelling within us, to do the impossible, while remaining aware of the weakness (of flesh) dwelling within us, to keep us dependent. As soon as we become aware of the strength operating through us and think it comes from us, we start to slip.
A tightrope walker cannot afford to be distracted, by either a huge cheering crowd or a tiny mosquito. We must likewise allow no distraction which takes our eyes off the Source of our strength, whether exultation or annoyance.
Our strength lies in remaining so aware of our weakness that we cultivate utter dependence on God.
Lord Jesus, thank You for sending Your Spirit. Thank You for making His home in our redeemed mortal flesh. Please help us overcome any hesitation or distraction which hinders Your Spirit's work thorough us and in us—to the glory of the Father.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Commandment Number 13, Part Three:
Just One Thing
So, when he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him."
~ John 13:31 (NKJV)
If you've never seen it, this half-minute clip from the movie "City Slickers" explains "Just One Thing." (The single profanity is muted.)
Jesus knew His Just One Thing: glorify the Father. He sought no glory for Himself, with the exception of the glory in Him which glorified His Father.
We are greatly beloved to Jesus. Just before He died, Jesus invited us to join Him in His Just One Thing, and live to glorify the Father. We will one day do it in face-to-face worship. In the meantime, we have an opportunity to glorify God that we won't have then. Our days here are a gift during which Jesus allows us to carry His Holy Spirit on His behalf, to the glory of God.
We strive to do that through our good works—giving to the poor, or sharing the Gospel, or living a righteous life. Though Jesus said in Matthew 5 that our good works bring God glory, it's not the works themselves that accomplish that. There's really only one good work to be done, which we put into action through every other word and deed, thought and feeling:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
~ John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
All will know we are Christians by our love, and they will give glory to God for it. Our love glorifies God more than all the praise songs and good works can ever give Him by themselves.
To join Jesus in His Just One Thing is to love one another. You stick to that and everything else don't mean ...
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You for the privilege to join You in Your highest goal. Please help us see our opportunities for what they are.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
~ John 13:31 (NKJV)
If you've never seen it, this half-minute clip from the movie "City Slickers" explains "Just One Thing." (The single profanity is muted.)
Jesus knew His Just One Thing: glorify the Father. He sought no glory for Himself, with the exception of the glory in Him which glorified His Father.
We are greatly beloved to Jesus. Just before He died, Jesus invited us to join Him in His Just One Thing, and live to glorify the Father. We will one day do it in face-to-face worship. In the meantime, we have an opportunity to glorify God that we won't have then. Our days here are a gift during which Jesus allows us to carry His Holy Spirit on His behalf, to the glory of God.
We strive to do that through our good works—giving to the poor, or sharing the Gospel, or living a righteous life. Though Jesus said in Matthew 5 that our good works bring God glory, it's not the works themselves that accomplish that. There's really only one good work to be done, which we put into action through every other word and deed, thought and feeling:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
~ John 13:34-35 (NKJV)
All will know we are Christians by our love, and they will give glory to God for it. Our love glorifies God more than all the praise songs and good works can ever give Him by themselves.
To join Jesus in His Just One Thing is to love one another. You stick to that and everything else don't mean ...
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your love. Thank You for the privilege to join You in Your highest goal. Please help us see our opportunities for what they are.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Commandment Number 13, Part Two:
Payback Time
For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him ... that he should give something to the poor.
~ John 13:29 (NKJV)
John's Gospel describes that twice in one week, Jesus' disciples express concern for the poor (above, and when Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus). It may be surmised that Jesus had both taught and demonstrated such manner of kindness toward the destitute, though He and his disciples were themselves destitute. (See Mark 10:28, Matthew 17:27, Luke 9:58)
As an itinerant Prophet, Jesus often relied upon the kindness and hospitality of others. If some of His disciples criticized Mary for "wasting" a costly flask of oil, perhaps they harbored resentment for those times they went hungry after giving to others from their purse. Or perhaps they had yet to appreciate the proverb Jesus surely esteemed:
He who shows favor to the poor lends to the LORD,
And He will pay back what he has given.
~ Proverbs 19:17
God's payback may or may not include a payback in kind. But God's payback is sure to include all manner of spiritual treasure. We both "lay up treasure in Heaven" for the future, and we reap what we sow here and now. Whatever our material possessions or savings in a bank vault, we ourselves are the vault in which Jesus keeps His Holy Spirit. We become wellsprings of treasure as we make regular deposits of God's Word into our hearts.
Showing favor (Hebrew chânan) to the "poor" may include far more than a monetary handout. It means that we, who are destitute of time, still give of our time. It means that we, who sorrow, give comfort. It means that we, who fall short of being Christlike, lavish patience and love upon those who are not Christlike, as God lavishes upon us.
Holy Spirit, please open our eyes to see opportunities for spiritual investments and loans. Please make our interest grow where we invest our hearts. Please give us patience as we wait for Your payback time.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
~ John 13:29 (NKJV)
John's Gospel describes that twice in one week, Jesus' disciples express concern for the poor (above, and when Mary pours expensive perfume on Jesus). It may be surmised that Jesus had both taught and demonstrated such manner of kindness toward the destitute, though He and his disciples were themselves destitute. (See Mark 10:28, Matthew 17:27, Luke 9:58)
As an itinerant Prophet, Jesus often relied upon the kindness and hospitality of others. If some of His disciples criticized Mary for "wasting" a costly flask of oil, perhaps they harbored resentment for those times they went hungry after giving to others from their purse. Or perhaps they had yet to appreciate the proverb Jesus surely esteemed:
He who shows favor to the poor lends to the LORD,
And He will pay back what he has given.
~ Proverbs 19:17
God's payback may or may not include a payback in kind. But God's payback is sure to include all manner of spiritual treasure. We both "lay up treasure in Heaven" for the future, and we reap what we sow here and now. Whatever our material possessions or savings in a bank vault, we ourselves are the vault in which Jesus keeps His Holy Spirit. We become wellsprings of treasure as we make regular deposits of God's Word into our hearts.
Showing favor (Hebrew chânan) to the "poor" may include far more than a monetary handout. It means that we, who are destitute of time, still give of our time. It means that we, who sorrow, give comfort. It means that we, who fall short of being Christlike, lavish patience and love upon those who are not Christlike, as God lavishes upon us.
Holy Spirit, please open our eyes to see opportunities for spiritual investments and loans. Please make our interest grow where we invest our hearts. Please give us patience as we wait for Your payback time.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Commandment Number 13, Part One:
Impossible Love
When my oldest daughter was a little girl, she one day presented me with a gift:
We had discussed (in home school Bible lessons) the importance of The Ten Commandments (listed in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). We went on to study that according to Jesus, all the commandments really come down to just two:
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
~ Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV; also Mark 12:28-34)
If we love God with all we are, and if we love others as we want to be loved, we have little worry of violating The Original Ten. Jesus simplifies all of the Old Testament with these two commands.
10 —> 2
Easy? Oh no. But it is simpler. Jesus continually issues challenges that go to our core with the very simplest of truths, such as:
lust = adultery
hatred = murder
About the time we might think we're getting a handle on those two greatest commandments, we may come to realize that Jesus simplified even further, with The New Commandment:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
~ John 13:34 (NKJV)
We can no longer get away with the lower standard of loving others as we want to be loved. We are now challenged to love others as well as God loves them.
2 —> 1
Simpler yet. More difficult yet.
Impossible for humans. Made possible by the God living within us, when we love God so well that His love naturally flows from us to one another.
More to follow ...
We love You so much, Lord. We love You not nearly enough. Please show us more of You?
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
We had discussed (in home school Bible lessons) the importance of The Ten Commandments (listed in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). We went on to study that according to Jesus, all the commandments really come down to just two:
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
~ Matthew 22:36-40 (NKJV; also Mark 12:28-34)
If we love God with all we are, and if we love others as we want to be loved, we have little worry of violating The Original Ten. Jesus simplifies all of the Old Testament with these two commands.
10 —> 2
Easy? Oh no. But it is simpler. Jesus continually issues challenges that go to our core with the very simplest of truths, such as:
lust = adultery
hatred = murder
About the time we might think we're getting a handle on those two greatest commandments, we may come to realize that Jesus simplified even further, with The New Commandment:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
~ John 13:34 (NKJV)
We can no longer get away with the lower standard of loving others as we want to be loved. We are now challenged to love others as well as God loves them.
2 —> 1
Simpler yet. More difficult yet.
Impossible for humans. Made possible by the God living within us, when we love God so well that His love naturally flows from us to one another.
More to follow ...
We love You so much, Lord. We love You not nearly enough. Please show us more of You?
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Stress Test
My heart hurts.
It is not heartburn—not anything I ate, and not because my heart's on fire for the Lord.
It's stress. I can handle the pressures of obligations okay. Physical exertion has never bothered me (at least not until the last few weeks). But there's been just a wee bit too much emotional stress in my life. And so the doctors say:
Chest pain
+ normal EKG
= stress test.
I understand the concept. Put increasing stress on my heart, observe how it reacts, and obtain a diagnosis so that the doctor knows what treatment plan to recommend.
Since I already know that stress is what caused the problem, I'm not entirely thrilled about the idea of going in today to see how much more stress my heart will take and how it will react. But I also understand that being tested is the process by which we learn where we're strong and where we fail so that we can do something about it.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me ...
~ Psalms 139:23-24 (NKJV)
Maybe cardiologists got the idea for stress tests from God. He's the Expert in that field. The difference is that with God, He already sees into the heart and knows exactly where there's a problem. His tests aren't to prove to Himself what's a problem, but to show us where we're weak so that we can cooperate with His treatment plan.
And then sometimes He tests us to show us where we're strong so that we can engage that strength in His service.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
~ James 2:21-22 (NKJV)
God knew Abraham's heart. But did Abraham know his own heart until he raised the knife above Isaac? And didn't his heart of faith become stronger through the faith offering?
Stress tests from God should be expected. Some failures should be no surprise, though they should also result in us growing stronger in faith. And when we, like Abraham, pass with flying colors, we know our Father smiles upon us for proving what He knew we could do all along.
His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
~ Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
Precious Lord, we are Your unworthy servants. We dare not ask You to test us without fear and trembling, knowing the sin which lurks in our hearts. Please be gentle with us. Please give us the courage to be tested by You and remain standing.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
It is not heartburn—not anything I ate, and not because my heart's on fire for the Lord.
It's stress. I can handle the pressures of obligations okay. Physical exertion has never bothered me (at least not until the last few weeks). But there's been just a wee bit too much emotional stress in my life. And so the doctors say:
Chest pain
+ normal EKG
= stress test.
I understand the concept. Put increasing stress on my heart, observe how it reacts, and obtain a diagnosis so that the doctor knows what treatment plan to recommend.
Since I already know that stress is what caused the problem, I'm not entirely thrilled about the idea of going in today to see how much more stress my heart will take and how it will react. But I also understand that being tested is the process by which we learn where we're strong and where we fail so that we can do something about it.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me ...
~ Psalms 139:23-24 (NKJV)
Maybe cardiologists got the idea for stress tests from God. He's the Expert in that field. The difference is that with God, He already sees into the heart and knows exactly where there's a problem. His tests aren't to prove to Himself what's a problem, but to show us where we're weak so that we can cooperate with His treatment plan.
And then sometimes He tests us to show us where we're strong so that we can engage that strength in His service.
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
~ James 2:21-22 (NKJV)
God knew Abraham's heart. But did Abraham know his own heart until he raised the knife above Isaac? And didn't his heart of faith become stronger through the faith offering?
Stress tests from God should be expected. Some failures should be no surprise, though they should also result in us growing stronger in faith. And when we, like Abraham, pass with flying colors, we know our Father smiles upon us for proving what He knew we could do all along.
His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
~ Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
Precious Lord, we are Your unworthy servants. We dare not ask You to test us without fear and trembling, knowing the sin which lurks in our hearts. Please be gentle with us. Please give us the courage to be tested by You and remain standing.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Friday, March 2, 2012
How Deep
Ever wonder why Jonah didn't want to go to Ninevah?
Jonah the son of Amittai was a small town boy from an obscure and remote corner of Israel, Gath-hepher of Zebulun. Yet traveling to educated and sophisticated Nineveh, magnificent capital of the Assyrian Empire, should be no challenge to a man who readily set sail on a large cargo ship for distant Tarshish.
The Assyrians surely intimidated neighboring countries with their malicious brutality and horrific expertise at siege warfare, which rivals any in human history. But fear seems to have little place in the heart of a man who dares to first defy God, and then later angrily rebuke Him. One might surmise that Jonah sought to prove himself anything but the "dove" he is named.
In the end, Jonah leaves no question about his motivation for disobedience, which is revealed in the closing words of his book (Jonah 4:2). Not unlike the Pharisees, who had zeal for God without knowing Him, Jonah's problem was that he knew God all too well, but loved Him all too little.
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
~ 1 John 4:20 (NKJV)
The Bible says it took three days to walk through Nineveh, long enough for Jonah to closely observe its people. However intelligent and advanced their culture, their hedonistic lives immersed them in sin's misery and darkness. Their plight evoked only Jonah's contempt.
Jonah not only knew God to be gracious and merciful and compassionate, he had just experienced the depth of it in deliverance from the fish. He readily praised God for the blessings poured out on a repentant heart, but seethed with rage and persisted in hatred when God did the same for someone else.
Such knowledge—such personal experience—is riches greater than all the wealth of the mighty Assyrian Empire, greater than the GNP of mighty United States. We will not be willing to pay the cost (however small or great) of sharing such treasure unless we first love God and love people.
Lord God, knowing You is an inexhaustibly deep well of living waters. Thank You for permitting us to touch such treasure. Please allow us to see others through Your eyes and feel for them what You do, that we might do Your will on the earth as it is done in Heaven.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Jonah the son of Amittai was a small town boy from an obscure and remote corner of Israel, Gath-hepher of Zebulun. Yet traveling to educated and sophisticated Nineveh, magnificent capital of the Assyrian Empire, should be no challenge to a man who readily set sail on a large cargo ship for distant Tarshish.
The Assyrians surely intimidated neighboring countries with their malicious brutality and horrific expertise at siege warfare, which rivals any in human history. But fear seems to have little place in the heart of a man who dares to first defy God, and then later angrily rebuke Him. One might surmise that Jonah sought to prove himself anything but the "dove" he is named.
In the end, Jonah leaves no question about his motivation for disobedience, which is revealed in the closing words of his book (Jonah 4:2). Not unlike the Pharisees, who had zeal for God without knowing Him, Jonah's problem was that he knew God all too well, but loved Him all too little.
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
~ 1 John 4:20 (NKJV)
The Bible says it took three days to walk through Nineveh, long enough for Jonah to closely observe its people. However intelligent and advanced their culture, their hedonistic lives immersed them in sin's misery and darkness. Their plight evoked only Jonah's contempt.
Jonah not only knew God to be gracious and merciful and compassionate, he had just experienced the depth of it in deliverance from the fish. He readily praised God for the blessings poured out on a repentant heart, but seethed with rage and persisted in hatred when God did the same for someone else.
Such knowledge—such personal experience—is riches greater than all the wealth of the mighty Assyrian Empire, greater than the GNP of mighty United States. We will not be willing to pay the cost (however small or great) of sharing such treasure unless we first love God and love people.
Lord God, knowing You is an inexhaustibly deep well of living waters. Thank You for permitting us to touch such treasure. Please allow us to see others through Your eyes and feel for them what You do, that we might do Your will on the earth as it is done in Heaven.
Comments are welcome (including respectful disagreement) and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
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