Helter-Skelter

Image source: Victorian Funfair

And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
~ Genesis 1:2 (ASV)

"Waste and void" (or "formless and void") translate the Hebrew tohu v' bohu. Tohu (TO-hoo) denotes chaos, confusion, and disorder. (Think of the ruins left in the wake of a disaster so destructive that the rubble leaves no distinguishable form of what it once was.) Bohu (BO-hoo) denotes the void of utter emptiness, not unlike a vacuum.

If Genesis 1:1 describes God creating the raw ingredients with which He is about to form something good, Genesis 1:2 gives us an idea of what those ingredients look like before He speaks life into them. One might surmise that God’s Word uses "tohu bohu" in a manner similar to English reduplication, when a wordplay is coined for a singsong and often disparaging effect.

Consider the low class, even trashy nature that "riff-raff" conveys about a person. "Mumbo-jumbo" devalues words as gibberish, while "boob tube" rightly describes a proliferation of nonsense. And when the character of our actions is less than intelligent and careful, we use the phrases "pell-mell," "willy-nilly," "topsy-turvy,"—or perhaps the more sinister "helter-skelter."

Whatever the expression's pre-1600 origin, or its use to name the British spiraling slide, "Helter Skelter" is best known as the raucous, violent Beatles song produced in Paul McCartney's deliberate effort to create a sound as dirty and raw as possible. Little wonder that mass-murderer Charles Manson saw in the song a prophecy of an apocalyptic racial war which he attempted to trigger—that he and his followers might emerge as rulers of a postwar world.

Interestingly, the Bible also uses the "tohu bohu" wordplay to describe a postwar landscape. If waste and emptiness precede God's creative intervention, they likewise trail the His retributory intervention.

For the LORD has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense …
He shall stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
~ Isaiah 34:8,11 (ESV; also see Jeremiah 4:23-26)

Except for the intervention of God, each of us is riff-raff, our words are mumbo-jumbo, and our lives are "topsy-turvy" at best or "helter-skelter" at worst.

This is particularly true of that confused void before Christ, before we received His words of life. If we become distracted by this world, and find ourselves on another helter-skelter, downward-spiral slide, we can trust that He longs to once again speak life into the empty chaos.

Gracious Father, apart from You, we are worse than nothing. In You, we have all that is good. Please draw us, every day, to abide more closely with You.

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Copyright 2012, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

You Have Loved Righteousness

"God is the same Person yesterday, today, and forever;
but in the drama of the ages, He plays many parts."
~ Bob Jones, Sr.

You Have Loved Righteousness

"These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God ..."
~ Revelation 3:14 (NKJV)

But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness."
~ Hebrews 1:8-9 (NKJV)

The God of the Old Testament Who demands justice and the God made flesh in the Jesus Who heals are the the same faithful and true God, unchanged and unchanging since the Beginning of creation. He has always hated sin and loved sinners.

There is no more contradiction in the Word of God between Old and New Testaments than in the directions of a daddy to prohibit or prompt using the stove for the toddler and teenager. Different ages, different directions, same loving Father.

If the OT God seems harsh, consider if it is truly harsh is it to spank precious little fingers to prevent them being burned. If He seems judgmental, consider that justice would not be served to set a convicted murderer free to kill again.

Thus the person who makes claim to the payment of Jesus blood for his or her sin must repent of sin and love righteousness, or else one day face the same God Whose justice demanded Jesus' death—without the benefit of being clothed in Christ's righteousness at that meeting.

Those who read these words may not be the ones who need to apply them. But it's a sure bet that we know someone who has yet to have them lovingly explained.

Lord Almighty, our Shepherd and Savior and Sacrifice, please allow us to trust Your justice and rely upon Your mercy as we seek to know You fully as unchanging God.

I appreciate hearing from you. Questions are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments or e-mail me—my address is
buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com.
Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
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Blameless

"In reading the lives of great men,
I found that the first victory they won was over themselves."
~ Harry S. Truman

Blameless

I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart within my house;
I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.
~ Psalms 101:2-3 (ESV)

"I was also blameless before Him,
And I kept myself from my iniquity."
~ 2 Samuel 22:24 (NKJV)

How did King David—the man who committed adultery with Bathsheba, murdered Uriah, and unrighteously numbered his people so that 70,000 people died—declare himself "blameless" near his life's end?

David did not leave his sin unattended. When he became aware of it, he did not make attempts to rationalize or justify it, explain it or excuse it. His heart was broken for sin. He humbled Himself before the Lord and immediately confessed his sin. David pled for the Lord's mercy, even as he accepted the consequenses for his sin. He therefore left nothing for which he might be blamed, because the matters had been resolved.

It is not the absence of sin, but the absence of unrepentant sin which makes a man blameless.

Lord, thank You that in Christ's blood we are absolved of sin's debt. Please let us never hesitate to turn from the sin which demanded a life to make us blameless. Please let us be daily mindful and grateful that the life was given by the Innocent for we guilty.

Contrasting points-of-view, questions and feedback are invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

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In Need

"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need."
(Luke 15:13-14 NIV)

And the children of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray." So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
(Judges 10:15-16 NKJV)

Has any nation ever possessed greater riches than the USA?

If there's a far country to which we've traveled with our wealth, it's the place of relativism (no absolute truth), atheism (no God), and humanism (man is God). We were founded in faith, and have received prosperity beyond anything our forefathers might have imagined. Yet we've engaged in prodigal living and recklessly squandered both material and spiritual wealth.

Like the prodigal son, we now sit in need, amid economic hardship, but have yet to come to ourselves and humbly return to our Father.

Corporate repentance begins with individual repentance. The world turns a deaf ear to Christians who preach repentance but don't set an example of it wherever sin lies in our own lives. Whatever our sins are, we must repent!

If there's anything that softens the Lord to relent from allowing us to suffer hardship, it's a heart turned back to Him in repentance.

God Almighty, El Shaddai who provides all, You have been more generous and patient with us than we deserve. Please reveal to each of us the sin from which we should repent. Please move us to come to ourselves and receive the blessings You wait to shower upon us.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Judge Not

"Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
~ Luke 13:4-5 (NKJV)

"If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the LORD who heals you."
~ Exodus 15:26 (NKJV)

"Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned... For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
~ Luke 6:37-38 (NKJV)

The depravity for which New Orleans is infamous fueled plenty of remarks that Hurricane Katrina was a judgment of God. While I don't dispute a likely connection, I'm also careful to "judge not" lest I also be judged—whether for personal or collective sin.

The Bible makes numerous references to disease, disaster, famine (economic hardship) and violence being God's judgment for sin to provoke repentance. The Bible also gives many examples of suffering which have other purposes, Job being a prominent example.

If we are experiencing hardship, it is prudent to seek the Lord to understand the purpose of our testing—whether repentance-inducing, character-building (augh!), or faith-building. When someone else experiences hardship, we can pray for them and encourage them in numerous ways, while still refraining from the judgment or condemnation we ourselves hope to avoid.

Lord, all Your ways are perfect. We have violated your ways and suffer as a result. We surely never suffer what our many sins deserve. Please give us discernment for how to respond to suffering. Please help us to judge not when another suffers, but to leave all judgment in Your hand.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Earthen Vessel

"The sin offering ... is most holy ... the earthen vessel in which it is boiled shall be broken."
~ Leviticus 6:25,28 (NKJV)

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

If I correctly remember the location, the archeological site of ancient Gibeon's place of sacrifice had thousands of shards of shattered pottery, clearly broken intentionally. They evidence compliance with the requirement that the earthen vessel used to cook the sin offering to be set apart for this single use, and then broken that it might never be used again for a lesser purpose.

The treasure of the Holy Spirit, who gives us the light of the knowledge of God, lives in the earthen vessel of the believer's body. Though made of the planet's dirt, we are set apart to Him, to be used for whatever holy purpose He ordains, and to be broken in the process.

When our hearts break with the realization of the deep pain and great cost our sin has caused our God, we become broken vessels. The light that then filters through the cracks is God Himself.

Most High God who loves us, please help us to understand the depth of Your grief for our sin. Please help us allow our hearts to be broken for sin when we see suffering in the world. Please let us appreciate the pain of brokenness and its purpose in our lives.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Times of Refreshing

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
~ Acts 3:19 (NKJV)

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent... To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." ~ Revelation 3:19,21 (NKJV)

Few would disagree that the American church needs revival—a fresh infusion of the Holy Spirit to inflame our hearts. The path to times of refreshing is repentance of sin.

There is no condemnation to those in Christ. Our sins are indeed covered by the blood of Jesus. And they're still every bit as detestable as they were before Christ owned us. Until we reach heaven, we will need to regularly confess and repent of sin.

Jesus, thank You for salvation. Please give us fresh eyes each day to see the darkness of sin. Let its stench compel us to be washed with the water of Your Word. Manifest Your Spirit in us as we respond to You. Please bring times of refreshing to Your church.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy

Repay According to the Favor Shown

In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death... And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years."
Isaiah 38:4-5 (NKJV)

But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up... Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart. ~ 2 Chronicles 32:25-26 (NKJV)

"When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive." ~ Ezekiel 18:26-27 (NKJV)

King Saul, Absalom, and Judas Iscariot are examples of those who returned favor with betrayal and came to a bitter end. King David, King Hezekiah, and Peter are examples of transgressors who repented and received forgiveness, then went on to repay according to the favor shown.

The Lord is more interested in where we are than where we have been. When we have tasted eternal life—the greatest favor available through the blood of Jesus Christ, the holy Son of God Almighty—we cannot simply declare the favor as accepted and walk away to live for Self.

To repay according to the favor shown is not a work to show we are "good," but the response of a grateful heart. And while we cannot give God as much as He has given, we can take the time to pray when leisures beckon, we can forgive offenses far less than ours against God, and we can love the neighbor who is the image of our God, even when he or she is less than lovable.

Oh Lord our God, You have given us all things necessary to life and love, joy and peace. Please open our eyes to the many opportunities to show favor as You have shown us favor, to forgive as we’ve received forgiveness, and to love as You have loved us.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy