A Peek at Dessert First

Image source: theidorendezvous.blogspot.com

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days ...
Many people shall come and say,
"Come, and let us go up to the mountain of YHWH,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways ... "
They shall beat their swords into plowshares ...
~ Isaiah 2:2-4

My read through the Bible over the course of a year alternates between Old and New Testaments, between history, poetry / epistles, and prophecy. I now venture into Isaiah.

Most striking is that a book with the breadth of Isaiah begins with a look at the end—as if the Lord YHWH is about to serve a week-long, full course feast, but serves a peek at dessert first. This particular feast will serve some of Scripture's most glorious passages as well as some of its most bitter ones.

We do well to remember the peaceful end God has readied for us to savor for all eternity when we stare down the bitter moments which must also be swallowed.

Father, Your every plan is perfect. Your timing may always be trusted. Please draw our hearts to be taught in Your ways. Please serve from this rich and glorious book the insights each and every blog reader needs for the present hour.

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.

Hour of Eternity's Winter

We lived without care—
Our lives fast, our fun full.
Even when heat scorched
Though drought consumed life
We thought it should always be so
In that summer of our lives.
We knew not the nature of seeds sown
Nor saw the fruit bending boughs low.

Sin grew ripe and dropped heavily
Bedding down in children of dust.
Its abundance fermented and grew putrid
We staggered and fell in drunken stupor.
Laid low and lying in filth
Your Spirit blew upon us.
You covered us in crimson
And invited us to taste Your death.

Our sins blanketed and made white
We now dwell in eternity's winter.
Howling winds of barren world
Batter and bend, sculpt and suppress.
In our cove of quiet shelter
We hear Your voice whisper.
Seed buried and secure
Waits for touch of Son.

Herald's call shall sound forth
Dry bones shall awaken
Body of splendor shall rise
Touch shall stretch to embrace
Seed and soil become one
Birthing perfection of life
Sowing and harvest shall cease
In season of endless Paradise.


Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be ...
So also is the resurrection of the dead.
The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.
~ 1 Corinthians 15:36-37,42-43 (NKJV)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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: Winter

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: marycaytonministries.com

And He Shall Reign

Then the seventh angel sounded:
And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever!”
~ Revelation 11:15 (NKJV)

And He Shall Reign

I searched through numerous videos of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus to select one for today's post. I was dismayed that the majestic piece has become a source for farce, for gay pride promotion, and even for a movie opportunity to drop the f-bomb in connection with Jesus.

The video below may not have the highest quality of photos and text, but it is certainly faithful to the reverence for God with which the piece was written.

This passage of Revelation inspired the beloved music which looks to the day when "the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of His Christ." I pray these verses might inspire you to think of the day when the sound in Heaven may be something like this ~

Hallelujah Chorus



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.
Hallelujah Chorus composed 1741 by George Frideric Handel.

Expiration Date for Hope (Part I)

The theme for today’s blog carnival (hosted by Bridget Chumbley) is "Hope." To see what others are saying, visit her site
"One Word at a Time".


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.
~ Eugene Peterson, from The Message,
1 Corinthians 13:13

: : :

Expiration Date for Hope (Part I)

Hope. This blog carnival theme brought to mind three initial thoughts.

1. Hope can mean either "wish," without anything solid to rely upon ("I hope it doesn't rain"), or confident waiting for a reliable promise to be fulfilled.

2. Hope means waiting, whether it is expectant waiting (Hebrew yâchal—"hope, stay, tarry, trust"), or the possibly painful waiting engaged with someone else (Hebrew qâvâh—"twist together, writhe, lie in wait").

3. Hope, like faith, expires once it is fulfilled, unlike love, which lasts forever.

It comforts me to know that I won't always be waiting. When I get tired of waiting for various things with the wishing kind of hope, I remind myself to stick to the confident-expectation-in-God's-Word kind of hope. I know He'll fulfill some things on Earth, but everything will be fulfilled in Heaven. In Heaven, faith ceases when it becomes sight, hope is fulfilled, and waiting ends.

There is an expiration date for hope.

I'm presently blogging out of the book of Revelation, looking not at prophecy of events to come, but on prophecy which reveals the Lord Jesus and speaks of His bride, the church. Since chapter six was up for today, I thought to study it with "hope" in mind. This is what I read:

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer ...
~ Revelation 6:9-11 (NIV)

(Close eyes. Smack palm on forehead. Groan.)

I must have read this passage—no exaggeration—fifty times, maybe even a hundred. And I just realized that waiting doesn't end in Heaven. Our loved ones are waiting for our arrival. Angels and saints alike are waiting for Earth's end game. Even the Lord Jesus is waiting for the day He will return and establish His kingdom.

Yes, there is an end of waiting, and an expiration date for hope—and it's not when we expire.

Consummation and the end of waiting doesn't happen when we reach the present Heaven, but when a new Heaven reaches us.

That is our confident expectation.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
~ Revelation 21:1 (NKJV)

Tomorrow, Part II—"Be Joyful in Hope" (Romans 12:12)

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.
Image source: zazzle.com

O The Deep Deep Love Of Jesus

Lord, I've asked in the past if I could have a spot in Heaven not too far from the King, even if it's just scrubbing out the corner with a toothbrush. I'm not particularly interested in Heaven's other locales or pleasures.

Then I consider how undeserving of Your grace I am, and I feel I can't ask for even that much.

All the same, I know that You love me, and that You know my love for You. And I want to say that I don't care a whit about Heaven unless I'm with You, in Your presence, taking in the fullness of Your vast, unmeasured, boundless love. I'd rather spend an eternity on Earth in only Your Spirit's presence than to be Heaven without You.



O The Deep Deep Love Of Jesus

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean
In its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward
To Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Spread His praise from shore to shore!
How He loveth, ever loveth,
Changeth never, nevermore!
How He watches over His loved ones,
Died to call them all His own
How for them He intercedeth,
watcheth over them from the throne.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Tis a heaven of heavens to me
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to Thee!

I appreciate hearing from you. Questions are welcome. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments or e-mail me—my address is
buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com.
Words of "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus" by S. Trevor Francis, 1875.
Arrangement recorded by Selah © 2004 Curb Songs
All other content Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

The Good Wine

The Good Wine

We polished off dessert, my family and our charming company. While finishing my Turkish coffee I noticed my glass of dinner wine had not yet been emptied. That last swallow of Riesling caused me to recall this verse:

And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" (John 2:10 NKJV)

God created wine for many blessings. In biblical culture, while grain was a necessity for bread to sustain life, the wine of grapes indicated the pleasant life. The grapevine required a level of care one could afford only if already well fed. The cistern water was more healthy if purified with the alcohol of wine. Wine at a celebration could not be enjoyed unless all else was well. Betrothal and marriage covenants were sealed with wine.

Throughout the Scriptures, wine was commended as a gift from the Lord to indicate prosperity and well being.

He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth food from the earth,
And wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man's heart.
~ Psalms 104:14-15 (NKJV)

Like any blessing, in biblical culture or modern, wine is perverted when used wrongly. Cheap wine in particular is likely to be purchased in greater quantity which invites drunkenness, while fine wine is sipped and savored at a quantity and pace which discourages excess.

Jesus' first sign at Cana mirrored His last sign at Calvary. Good wine introduced the good news of His arrival when presented near wedding feast's end, inviting it to be savored and remembered. At His last supper's end, our Lord offered wine in departure, saying He would not again enjoy the fruit of the vine until He celebrated it with us in His kingdom. He called that last wine His blood, sealed His new covenant with it, and introduced the Good News of salvation with it.

Whenever we eat the bread and drink the wine of Christ's covenant, we proclaim the death of the Lord Jesus, we signify our commUnion with Him and one another, and we look forward to the wine Jesus will one day share with us.

Yet again, Jesus is saving the very best wine for last.

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.
Image source: vineyardrobertdouglas.com

Generational Blessing

These are some of my grandparents. (You may click the image to enlarge.)

My ancestors are largely a mystery to me.

Of my great-grandmothers, two lived to be over one hundred (bottom left and top right corners). My father's paternal grandmother (in the red dress with white trim) was a Native American from an unknown tribe of Zaruma, Ecuador. I knew these three women mostly through their loving gestures and stories passed down from other relatives.

My mother's doting mother (pictured with me) died when I was three, and my only memory of her is when my uncle held me at her funeral so I could say good-bye. Her father died before she grew up. My paternal grandpa (wearing the hat) lived until I was nine, but his alcoholism made him scarce enough that we spent little time together until his last months of relative sobriety.

I knew my paternal grandmother well. After her four boys and two grandsons, she lavished love on the first little girl in her life, until her death in 1997. I disappointed her when I left the Roman Catholic church. She softened in many ways as she grew old. I am grateful to God that He allowed her to finally say to me, "Well, as long as you're following Christ, that's what really matters."

I know that her parents were also people of faith (far left—can you see it in their peaceful countenance?) Her husband turned to God when He turned away from the bottle. I have assurance of a happy homecoming when I one day get to finally know these people I didn't know on earth—people who live on in me, because their faith is vibrant and alive in me.

"The LORD God [is] merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."
~ Exodus 34:6-7 (NKJV)

So began yesterday's Question of the Week, which addressed the spiritual principle of generational sin. The topic is painful. And if the discussion stopped after bringing up the problems in our life passed down from our ancestors, it would not be accurate.

If asked to identify race, I am German, Hispanic, Irish, and Native American. My children are also French and Polish. Their children will no doubt be once more removed from the full-blooded races of my ancestors.

If asked to identify generational sin, my spiritual enemy would readily name violations of all ten commandments. Being a couple of hundred generations removed from Adam and Eve has not diluted the DNA of sin passed on to me.

If asked to identify generational blessing, my cup runneth over. I am descended from grandparents of faith. My mother has prayed for me more than any other person in my life and taught me what it is to live out unconditional love. My Father in Heaven is the King of the Universe, and I am royal heir to His infinite riches and life.

And though I've not yet seen Him in person, His loving gestures and stories passed down from others convince me that He is indeed "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands." I have assurance of a happy homecoming because He has forgiven my iniquity and transgression and sin.

I love hearing from you. Reply to BuildingHisBody.com comments or e-mail BuildingHisBody@gmail.com.
Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

How Shall We Sing?

“After silence, that which comes nearest
to expressing the inexpressible is music.”
~ Aldous Huxley

How Shall We Sing?

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down, yea, we wept
When we remembered Zion.
We hung our harps
Upon the willows in the midst of it.
For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song,
And those who plundered us requested mirth,
Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
How shall we sing the LORD's song In a foreign land?
~ Psalms 137:1-5 (NKJV)

Observe the pain here. The Babylonians have ransacked Jerusalem (Mt. Zion), burned the temple, and taken surviving Jews captive to a foreign land. The people of song have no song left in themselves and have hung their harps upon the willows to weep with deepest mourning. Their captors now taunt them: “Go ahead, sing us one of your famous songs. None of those sad songs, either. Sing us one of the happy songs about Zion—your pride and joy.”

Sunday morning is our time of song. All across the globe, we come before the Lord with praise and worship and testimony set to music of every kind. But some of us may not feel like singing. Earth is a foreign land to citizens of the heavenly Zion. With heavy hearts we wonder how shall we sing of home when we are captives in enemy territory?

What was the psalmist’s answer to tormentors?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget its skill!
If I do not remember you,
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, "Raze it, raze it,
To its very foundation!"
O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
~ Psalms 137:5-8 (NKJV)

And so we also look our tormentor the devil squarely in the eye, pick up our music and say, “You taunt us by reminding us where we are and where we long to be. So we will indeed sing of our home, and we will throw your derision back in your face with song of your fate. For the Lord has promised good to us and damnation to you. We shall call to mind our home and our God,
and
we
shall
SING!”

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#powerofwords
Image source: jeffpaschall.com

Hard Answers

“Warriors of light hold inside them both the light and the dark,
weaving them together, embracing all as is.”
~ Maura Casey

Hard Answers

[Jesus said to them,] "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."
~ Luke 14:26-27 (NKJV)

Even those who have wives should be as though they had none ... I want you to be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife... this I say ... not that I may put a leash on you, but ... that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
~ 1 Corinthians 7:29-35 (NKJV)

Jesus’ words from Luke 14 are often interpreted as Jesus meaning that our love for God should be so great that our love for others is like hatred in comparison.

I happen to think Jesus really did mean that love for God would bring us to hate the people closest to us, and even ourselves.

I love my husband and pray to outlive him, to spare him going through losing me. I love my children and am driven to see them through to adulthood. I have close ties to my beloved siblings and hope to live long on the earth with them to finish what we’ve all started.

Things in the world are mighty difficult these days, and they’re going to get significantly worse as the Great Tribulation and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble approach. My desire to live is strong, so that I might deliver to the world desperately needed words of hope and faith. I’ve sometimes asked the Lord if I could be the last one to go before the Rapture for exactly that reason.

Weird prayers are birthed of irrational love. Deepest love is not rational, and makes me desire the opposite of that for which I’ve earnestly prayed.

The same love for God which compels my great love for people can make me hate them. My yearning to live like Jesus can make me hate the relationships which bring me to sin. Desire to please people in a healthy way is despised for its interference with ability to please the Lord.

My last post spoke of moments when longing for the Lord overwhelms me. In such moments I hate the people who keep me from Him by their existence. That is, I wish the people who are my reason for living ceased to be so that my purpose might be fulfilled and I could be done with this world.

I love myself enough to live this life to its fullest. I love God enough to hate the very best people of my life—even as my love for them does not diminish.

Lord, help me to love you perfectly, with all that I am, and to love others perfectly, with Your light.

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.
Image source not available
#discipleship

Hope Does Not Disappoint

"None are completely wretched but those who are without hope."
~ William Hazlitt

Hope Does Not Disappoint

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
~ Proverbs 13:12 (NKJV)

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
~ Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

There's lately been more than one cause in my life for me to think on what hope means.

In the movie Shawshank Redemption, a man in prison says, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside."

And so it is. When we feel imprisoned in some way—by jail walls, by a hated but necessary job, by sickness, by rejection, by a stigma wrongfully forced upon us, by conflict in a relationship—hope is dangerous. It opens the door to expectation for change, and we know that life is brutal to expectations.

But without hope, we fail to act as our own catalyst for change. We fail to confront the status quo, telling ourselves "it is what it is." We fail to pursue what we are called to do that painfully stretches us. We fail to chip away at the walls we build around ourselves which have come to feel secure in their dependability and protection from uncertainty.

True hope is not expectation for something specific, like to get a new job, or to change the person we struggle with, or to attain a goal we've set.

True hope says, "This pain, this indignity, this labor—this love—is not in vain. It drives me to be a catalyst for change where change is needed. It drives me to cooperate with the plan God has to bless me and work for good. It allows me to surrender even that which I think I need, because God says to do so, and Faith in His Love gives me Hope for something even better."

Genuine hope does not die. But it does cease, as does faith. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

Faith is being certain of the unseen. It finds its fulfillment—and ceases—in the seeing.

Hope is waiting for promised blessing. It finds its fulfillment—and ceases—in the receiving.

Love is greatest. And on the day spoken of in Scripture as That Day, love will no longer wax and wane, but will find complete fulfillment, for love cannot cease.

That is true hope.

"Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well
but the certainty that something makes sense,
regardless of how it turns out."
~ Vaclav Havel

Lord, faith does not fail us when faith is in You. Hope does not disappoint when hope is in You. Love always trusts, love always hopes, and love never fails, for You, Lord God, are love.

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.
Image Source: cenotemexico.com
#hope

That Day

"We must embrace pain
and burn it as fuel for our journey."
~ Kenji Miyazawa

That Day

Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
~ 2 Timothy 4:8 (NKJV)

And walk in love ... an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
~ Ephesians 5:2 (NKJV)

An oft expressed desire of Christians is the day we will stand before our Maker and see His smile, hear His voice, feel His touch. I daresay some are impatient for That Day.

But longing for That Day cannot be at the expense of today. We have on Earth something we shall not have in Heaven.

Here, we can give God expensive love.

I think that in Heaven love will no longer carry a cost. Here, to love the Lord is to ache with longing, to endure the pain of separation, to suffer graciously because Jesus did and asks it of us who love Him.

We can choose to love less and not experience the agony of love. Or we can love our God passionately, and offer to Him now that which we can no long offer on That Day.

My Lord, You know our impatience. You know the kind of love we wish to have for You, and yet fall short of in our selfishness. Please enable us to pursue that love and accept the pain to experience the passion You've created our souls to know.

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.
Photo from corbisimages.com

Great Multitude

"To love is to receive a glimpse of Heaven."
~ Karen Sunde

Great Multitude
#loveoneanother

I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth;
Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.
~ Psalms 109:30 (NKJV)

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands ...
~ Revelation 7:9 (NKJV)

I travel in many circles:
my family, husband's family, church family;
my ministry, his work, our kids' friends;
Facebook, Twitter, blogsphere;
present neighbors, and friends we never quite let go.

Then there's those many people I just know. Mary and Judy and everyone at the grocery stores. People I recognize only as parents of kids my kids know. Clerks and attendants and receptionists all over. (I'm continually embarrassed by how many names I forget.)

A good many of us know each other as children of the King. When our paths cross, I want to sit down with every single one of you, soak up your company, and express my genuine affection for you. I hate hasty hellos and quickly posted comments and 140 character tweets that say far less than I want to.

Today, I give thanks for your place in my life, whatever it may be.

Today, I give thanks that the day is coming when I'll remember every name, get to hug every neck, and have eternity to bask in your presence.

Ironically, I'm writing about people least likely to see this today, because hardly any of the "great multitude" for whom it is intended will read my blog on a holiday.

I nonetheless say to every one: I love you.

Father in Heaven, thank You for blessing me with so many wonderful people in my life. Please let me be Your blessing to each and every one of them. Please show me how to best love so many in this temporal and imperfect place.

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.
Photo from community.beliefnet.com

Friday Freelance: FRIVOLITY

"The pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential."
~ John Piper, from the book Desiring God

Friday Freelance: FRIVOLITY

Even Colorado mountains don't stun me as much with their inconceivable vistas as the impossible hues of Michigan autumn I've seen this week. Like a masterpiece in progress, each day's art reveals a new touch of the Creator. This is my season of wonder.

Yet I've been far more astounded by the variety of praise revealed to me in recent years.

Some twenty years ago, I attended a Messianic worship service. For the first time I witnessed worship dance, and was immediately captivated. I had never observed praise expressed with such beauty and reverence. The experience was tucked away in the back of my mind.

I went on to learn many other things about my Jesus. I obsessively read the Bible with which I'd fallen in love. Over two decades, I found many capacities in which to share and serve: teaching, speaking, administrative tasks, prayer, service.

Beyond service and sharing, my soul contained a deep desire to praise my God. I sang from a hymnal on Sundays. I praised privately with prayer, song, and even dance at home. But I yearned to praise using all my heart-soul-mind-strength, joined to others who felt as I did.

Our church forbade such expressions, especially any music with a beat. Thin tolerance was eventually accorded to acoustic guitars. Outside our church, I managed to touch worship dance. I assisted for two semesters with elementary worship dance students. I began to worship with a Messianic congregation when I visited Denver, and a couple of times joined their worship dance impromptu. But within our church, dance was never a consideration. It was taught that the original Hebrew references to dance in the Bible meant "marching," not dance as we know it. I knew such definition was an error, but there were more important hills to risk dying upon.

Such hills split our church in 2002. The Lord finally gave us permission to leave in 2007, by which time I thought my soul might shrivel up with thirst to express exuberant praise. And every time I observed worship dance, my heart would break to see such beauty poured out to God.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
~ Psalms 37:3-4 (NKJV)

In His goodness, the Lord brought us to a new church where praise is given priority, and excellence marks our choir and orchestra. Dance has also tantalized, but always just outside my reach. In the spring of 2008, I had opportunity to either dance or obtain training in jail ministry. I went with the latter, since I have eternity to dance, but only a few years on earth to minister to others. In fall of 2008 dance for the Christmas presentation was planned but fell through, and I found myself instead on drama team, which proved a match made in Heaven. This last summer, I joined the Sunday evening praise team, and now help lead singing twice a month.

All the while, I've contented myself with the prayer, "Lord, could You just be sure I'm put on Heaven's dance team?" On Earth I'll practice arts such as writing, drama and music, which speak words to edify. The utter frivolity of worship and praise in dance must wait for eternity.

A month ago, I learned that part of the presentation this Christmas is a magnificent piece of music which our orchestra will play, our choir will sing—to which worshipers will dance. I plan to be among them.

It's hard work. My brain doesn't want to remember French words like degagé, demi-pliés and tendu, and my feet don't want to move that way. I stretch and fumble and practice, practice, practice. I concentrate on the music's tempo rather than its majesty.

Then the soloist sings "Holy, holy, holy." My face is pressed into the dust of the floor in worship. I slowly lift my arms in praise and my feet begin to glide through the fluid movements of angels. Every fiber of my being—heart, soul, mind and strength—is given over with abandon to the praise of my King, joined with others of like minds.

I am transported to another realm. Heaven has arrived on Earth.

And I am lost in the frivolity of eternity.

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.

Heaven on Earth

"In Christ the best is always yet to come.
Always. No exceptions. Forever."
~ John Piper

Heaven on Earth
#encouragement

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, [Jesus] answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
~ Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
~ 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NKJV)

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post, which asked readers to consider what they would do if given the chance to do absolutely anything humanly possible.

The idea was to evoke thoughts of what Heaven on Earth might be for each of us. I intentionally stated the question without mention of Heaven so that we'd simply think in earthly realms.

So today I ask a follow-up question: How do you think we can presently experience part of Heaven on Earth? How do you experience Christ in a way that the kingdom is within you now?

Precious Abba, the life we have in Your Spirit is so rich and real and it restores us to You. How wonderful the day we stand in Your physical presence! Please open our eyes to see all the ways we live in Your kingdom now.

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.

Heaven's Strength of Joy

"Joy is the serious business of heaven."
~ C.S. Lewis

"... Thy kingdom come ..."
~ Matthew 6:10

"This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
~ Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Now when [Jesus] was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."
~ Luke 17:20-21 (NKJV)

My dear friend Gwen Stewart recently wrote a piece on Heaven to explore what we expect it to be like. (Click the link to see all the responses.)

Whatever else we imagine Heaven to be, we know without a doubt that the business of Heaven is Joy. It is other things such as Peace and Love and the Presence of God. And all those things come down to Joy.

If we have been born again into the God's Kingdom of Heaven ...
If eternal life is not something we wait for but something we have ...
If the kingdom of God is something not searched out but found within ...

... shouldn't we be employed in Heaven's business of Joy?

The Power to manifest Joy resides within the heart where Jesus is enthroned. In yielding to His Joy we have strength.

Lord Jesus, You taught us to pray for Your Father’s kingdom to come. We long for Your kingdom on earth when You return some future hour. Please shine through us so that Your spiritual kingdom is visible in us for this present hour.

[Note: if sorrow clouds your joy, I invite you to stop by Shortybear's Place, the blog of another dear friend. Denise has many afflictions. Her joy shines brighter than perhaps anyone else you'll ever encounter. Her strength in Jesus is abundant.]

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.

Flame of Yah

"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
~ Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)

Seal my love upon Your heart;
Seal my arms around You.
Love is as overpowering as death.
Passion is as unyielding as the grave.
Its flashes are arrows of fire—
The very flame of YAH.
~ Song of Solomon 8:6 (author paraphrase, based on GNB & GW)

"And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace."
~ Jeremiah 29:7 (NKJV)

Jeremiah 29:13 is my life verse (note the large letters at bottom of page). I don't remember a time when I didn't relentlessly seek spiritual truth. The Lord had to utterly exhaust me of searching for it in wrong places before He revealed Himself to me. My eyes were opened to Him in 1985. My life was surrendered to Him in 1988. Relentless search for truth became relentless pursuit of God.

I'm a fanatic for learning names of God. Of the hundreds I've collected, my very favorite is Yah. It is an intimate name (perhaps even a nickname), used fifty times in Hebrew Scripture. It is most familiar in the phrase, "Hallelu Yah" (Greek "Alleluia"), which literally means "give clear and shining praise to Yah." Bible authors generally use Yah in contexts of up close or very personal encounters with YHWH's power. The first appearance of "Yah" in Scripture is when the Israelites danced and sang praise after being delivered through the parting of the Red Sea.

The consequences of relentless pursuit of God is discovering the consuming love of Yah, as many contemporary praise songs attest. Such consuming love can make us yearn for heaven a little too much, to the point of losing peace over being earth's captive.

Though we yearn for heaven, we must also remain firmly engaged in bringing God's peace to this place of captivity—for therein we also find peace.

Oh Yah, how You confront me today! Please give strength for the pursuit and to withstand the flames without shrinking back. Please enable us to praise You with unbridled passion as we engage ourselves in kingdom work on earth. Please lead in paths of peace.

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

The Lord is Near

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion ... a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always... [An angel of God] said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God."
~ Acts 10:1-2,4 (NKJV)

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him.
~ Psalms 145:18-19 (NKJV)

"For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
~ 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

I look forward to heaven because there I will see God. I will look upon my Maker. I will see the scars of my Savior. I will bask in the light of love and glory that may be felt.

But I will also see all the saints who have gone before me. I will share sweet fellowship with David and Daniel, Rahab and Ruth, Cornelius and Cleopas. Distinctions such as Jew and Gentile, men and women, lofty and lowly will cease to have meaning in God's presence.

The Lord is near now to those who call upon Him in truth. He hears our prayers. He does not look at success or failures, status or vagrancy, but upon the heart which fears and loves Him.

I hope you're not disappointed that I present nothing fresh and new at the moment. Today the Lord is near this Gentile, and I am simply reveling in His gifts.

Oh Lord our God, how wonderful is the depth of the riches of both Your wisdom and knowledge! How unsearchable are Your judgments and Your ways past finding out! How merciful You are to extend Your covenant and salvation beyond the house of Israel to all nations.

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

The Lord Waits

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:18 (ESV)

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' " ~ Matthew 23:37-39 (NKJV)

... what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God ...?
2 Peter 3:11-12 (NKJV)

Though I've for the most part "learned in whatever state I am to be content," I never stop waiting for things to change. I am entirely content sitting eight feet from the fire in my wood stove, but I also wait for the bite of frigid winter to give way for spring's gentle warmth.

It fascinates me to think that the Lord waits for us before He acts, for this hints at the power mankind has to move the hand of God. Prayer is perhaps the most apparent example of our influence with the Almighty, but there are clearly many other ways we affect Him.

Such is the nature of a relationship. We carefully watch and evaluate and respond to each other. We self-consciously wait for the responses to ourselves. In our relationship with God, we are painfully aware of waiting upon Him. How amazing that the Lord waits upon us as well!

Everlasting God, even time waits for no man—how is it that You should be so patient with puny mortals? Please move in our hearts, that we will readily respond to you. Please call us to times of prayer to express our love, to hear You speak, to repent, to share our hearts, and to move Your hand.

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

How Long?

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple... Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' ... Then I said, "Lord, how long?"
Isaiah 6:1,8-11 (NKJV)

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. (James 5:7 NRSV)

Inspired by the glorious vision of God asking for a servant, Isaiah boldly responded "Here am I! Send me!" As the prophet understood the burden of ministry laid upon him, he did not shrink back. But he did ask, "Lord, how long?"

Isaiah survived four kings before dying a martyr, sawn in two by King Manasseh. He would come to well understand the renewed strength in "waiting upon"—Hebrew qavah—the Lord. Qavah denotes both to intertwine and to wait with hope. It might be described as lying in wait together.

Waiting undergirds birth, dying, and all the trials in between as the Lord accomplishes His purposes in our brief lifetimes. We wait through many trials: sickness and healing, economic hardship, bad marriages and broken relationships, sanctification from sin through the ever-popular character building.

We are told to be patient until the coming of the Lord. Meanwhile, both the Lord and His people wait—together.

Lord, how long shall You and Your people wait? How long before Your plans and purposes are accomplished and Your promises are fulfilled? Our spirits groan together with Your Spirit. Please teach us to qavah with You. Please renew our strength as we trust Your perfect timing.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy

To Die is Gain

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you." (Mark 5:18-19 NKJV)

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (Philippians 1:21-24 NKJV)

Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His saints.
(Psalms 116:15 NKJV)

The man healed of his demons desired to remain with Jesus, who had set him free. Paul likewise earnestly desired to depart and be with Christ. Both remained behind as messengers of the Gospel, willingly, for Paul said to live is Christ. He counted his existence as no more and no less than the manifestation of the Lord Jesus.

This man beaten, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, who labored "in weariness and toil," with sleeplessness, hunger and thirst, had good reason to desire death. He knew to die is gain—the receiving of his reward, and the commendation, "well done, good and faithful servant." Yet his great love for others commissioned him to a life of suffering which he did not resist.

In heaven, we will know the glorious presence of Christ. On earth, we have the privilege to be the presence of Christ. It is a worthy reason to wait patiently for the day we look upon Him.

Lord Jesus, how heaven can beckon when You draw us close! One of these days, surrounded by Your glory, when we finally see the hands which took our nails, and touch the face of You who made us, what will our hearts feel? Give us strong hearts, to make Your presence known until that day.

Feedback invited. Post to BuildingHisBody.com "Comments" or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com.
Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy