God of Hide-and-Seek

Now that blog posts on the Gospel of John have been completed, the time comes to contemplate what to do next. Work through another book of the Bible? Write biblical study through a topical series?

I've been distracted enough that I forgot to look ahead and pray for direction, and now find myself asking these questions of the Lord. He's never yet failed to lead the way.

I love that about Him.

I've asked Him a great many questions over the years. "Why …" has be a frequent one. It's also been the one most rarely answered. One can't help but suspect that God loves playing Hide and Seek. The fact that God is invisible is the first clue. The fact that He leaves evidence of His presence everywhere is the second.

"Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," says the LORD …
~ Jeremiah 29:12-14 (NKJV)

The key to winning this game with God is the "all your heart" thing. That phrase appears 21 times in the NKJV. The first time is when God tells His people what to do when they are in trouble:

"But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul."
~ Deuteronomy 4:29 (NKJV)

God wants to be found. But He also wants to be sought. He doesn't give Himself away casually.

Disasters occur. Injustice and cruelty run rampant. People suffer miserably. And the question is frequently posed: "Where was God?"

The great I AM is always present. But until such things happen, a great many people don't think to look for Him.

The saddest aspect of suffering is if people only then think to look for God, but fail to put their hearts into finding Him.

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.

Seeing the Unseen, Hearing the Inaudible

Photo credit: Matt Reinbold

But [Stephen], being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God ... and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
~ Acts 7:55-56 (NKJV)

I think of our existence not altogether unlike a fish tank with a two-way mirror. The fish looks into the mirror and sees only self and the reflection of infinity. But the owner can stand nose to glass, seeing but unseen, aware of every movement the fish makes.

Wherever the Bible describes God's nearness, or the heavens being opened, there is the distinct impression that God stands right before our eyes in another dimension, ready to reveal Himself and speak to the one who calls upon Him.

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
~ Isaiah 55:6-11 (NKJV)

How does one come to recognize the voice of God except by listening for it? How can one hear His word unless one stands ready to heed it?

Our Sunday school children just heard yet again of Joshua and Jericho. Does the story become so familiar that we fail to see the incredible faith of acting out the irrational? Who wages war by marching silently around a city? Who wins a battle by shouting?

Who follows the inaudible word of an invisible God?

Only the one who believes He is near.

The God Who hears me, cares about me, and acts on my behalf is not long ago and faraway. He engages Himself in my life as if I am all He has to watch. He speaks in my ear as if His nose is as close as my cheek—as if His Spirit is within my heart.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD...
~ Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV)

He is sure to communicate the unexpected, for His thoughts cannot be guessed, but only revealed.

He is sure to ask the irrational, which can only be done by faith.

And He is sure to prosper me when He speaks, for His word shall not be wasted.

[My word] shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
~ Isaiah 55:8,11 (NKJV)

: : :

This is the "rest of the story" connected to my testimony of gratitude posted at Everyday Testimonies.

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.

Invisible Woman

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name ...
~ Hebrews 6:10 (NKJV)

Invisible Woman

This is the best message I can remember ever hearing condensed into such a brief time. Though it was offered to an audience of women, I believe it has much value for men as well—whether they need a reminder to keep their eyes open, or a reminder of their enduring purpose.



Video by Nichole Johnson, freshbrewedlife.com

Angry at God, Angry with God

Angry at God, Angry with God

By some unfathomable mystery of grace, there’s not once in my life I can recall being angry at God. I mean, He’s God. What He says goes. What He does is right and good and perfect.

Certainly I’ve questioned Him, though with decreasing frequency as the years pass. The more I know Him, the more I either understand Him or know better than to try and understand what He doesn't reveal when asked. And when I ask about something, I can trust He'll reveal as much as I need to know. It's okay if He gives no more than what the “Serenity Prayer” asks:

God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

With time I've learned that the serenity to accept the "things I cannot change"—or circumstances—is grounded in belief that the Lord is good and wise and controls the circumstances beyond my control.

The last year brought a number of difficult circumstances into my life.

Last autumn, for the first time, I had a fleeting moment of being angry with God before I came to myself and the anger was gone. I wish it had stayed gone. But that was just the beginning of a time of intense testing. By spring, there were more moments of being angry with Him. Though few enough to count on one hand, they evidence my pride—my desire to be in control.

This time of testing seems to be behind me. I didn't do as well on all parts of the test as I might like. But I do see a difference between being angry at God and angry with Him. To be angry at Him would be to see myself faced off with Him as an opponent. I've never seen Him as my adversary—not in the most painful moments of recent months, not during the last 23 years of walking with Him, not even before I met Him in 1985, when ignorance prevented me from knowing myself to be His enemy. I believe that even when I was His enemy because of my sins, He was still on my side, setting me up for the day I would come to Him for His forgiveness.

In this last year, I have still felt Him to be on my side. I never felt the coldness of anger at God. He was never for a single moment my opponent. When I thought Him being a bit hard on me and it hurt badly enough for me to get angry, I was angry with God.

Because He was always there with me. There was never a moment we weren’t in it together.


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: wallpaperstock.net

Eyes Like a Flame of Fire

"An eye can threaten like a loaded and leveled gun,
or it can insult like hissing or kicking;
or, in its altered mood, by beams of kindness,
it can make the heart dance for joy."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Eyes Like a Flame of Fire

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, 'These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass ...' "
~ Revelation 2:18 (NKJV)

What child does not feel power in the eye of a stern parent?

What soul in love does not melt in the beloved's gaze?

What criminal does not know fear under the stare of cop or judge?

Do you remember a time you thought your actions unseen? Or when your thoughts, if displayed, would have shamed you? Or when you believed a certain sin could be forgotten?

The Son of God sees all, into the very thoughts of mind, emotions of heart, desires of soul.

Why do you say ...
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
And my just claim is passed over by my God"?
Isaiah 40:27 (NKJV)

Furthermore, when we suffer injury or offense or slander for which no one can compensate, which seems to pass unnoticed, we are assured that the Lord sees and already knows His intended remedy.

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is ...
~ Romans 8:26-27 (NKJV)

The "feet like fine [white] brass [alloy]" belong to the Jesus we've invited into our hearts. He has taken up enduring occupancy in His temple, walking where He wills, searching out every corner with His eyes like a flame of fire. He comprehends the questions we cannot articulate, shares our speechless grief, and receives the love we do not know how to put into words.

El Ro-iy, God-Who-Sees-Me, please let us discern Your presence in moments of temptation and when we think we cannot endure offense. Please let us welcome Your presence in every corner of our hearts, with delight in Your gaze.

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.
Gun barrel image source: flickr.com

Father, Son, Spirit

To the pilgrims ... elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
~ 1 Peter 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Father, Son, Spirit

I readily confess to obsession with God's Word, as well as to the drive to understand it for this primary purpose: to know God.

My “sub-obsession” is the names of God, because He is known in His names. While hundreds of names capture various dimensions of one God Who longs to be known, His inherent nature is of three distinct personalities: Father, Son and Spirit. He's simply too big to fit into one Person.

May I today share Whom those three Persons are to me personally?

The Father is mighty and majestic King. He created me with a purpose and plan for me, and to share mutual love. All I have is a gift from His hand, and I need never go without anything I truly need. He blesses me with direction and disciplines me. He can be stern but usually isn’t, because of His deep underlying affection for me as His little child. Though I may disappoint Him at times, He is never, ever disgusted with me, because He sees my icky thoughts, feelings, words and actions through the rose-colored glasses of His Son's blood.

His Son is the King's Prince Regent. He is in Himself exactly all the Father is, and makes the Father personal to me by both telling me and showing me. As the Word of God, Jesus uses logical words I can understand. As the Creator, Jesus speaks in pleasurable sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and sensations. As the Son of Man, Jesus didn’t just live inside flesh, He actually became as human as me without losing any of Who He is—and demonstrated how to touch and talk with and love people. My Friend Jesus came searching for me where I sat imprisoned on death row, set me free, brought me to His Father, and asked that I be adopted into His family. He is my someday Bridegroom, residing in Heaven until our wedding day. He left behind the Bible as His love letter, His church as the part of Him I can still touch, and His Holy Spirit as His heart.

Called Paraclete (“Counselor”), the Holy Spirit is as gentle as the most compassionate mother. From the inside of me, he breathes into my soul desire for the Father’s plan for my life. Though Jesus set my spirit free, my soul lives with the lingering filth of sin which the Spirit tenderly burns off and washes away, refreshing me and making me radiant as gold. As divine Valet, He clothes me with works attractive to my Bridegroom—the labor of love, the sacrifice of joy, the cultivation of peace. His flames singe without burning, His waves billow without drowning, His breath fills me without forcing.

All three are one God. All three are marked by personality of soul and are as tangible as the elements. If the Holy Spirit is formless wind, fire and water of God, Jesus is the earthly and physical expression of God. The splendor of Father in Heaven is as untamable and untouchable and real as magnificent thunder which reverberates in my ears and heartbeat.

My God, how I love You. Thank You for making Yourself so indisputably real in my life. Please use my words to make Yourself more real and better known to others.

Your feedback is appreciated. Post to BuildingHisBody.com Comments or e-mail to BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
#knowingGod
Image sources:
bostonherald.com/blogs
agnostichicagokie.blogspot.com
health.utah.gov
newamsterdamrecords.com

The Gift of Listening

"Surely this is the greatest gift we can give to another—
to really listen."
~ Unknown

The Gift of Listening
#powerofwords

I love the LORD,
because He has heard My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
~ Psalms 116:1-2 (NKJV)

"Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him."
~ John 9:31 (NKJV)

"Oh, that My people would listen to Me ..."
~ Psalms 81:13 (NKJV)

I've searched the Bible more than once, various ways, to find expressions of love for the Lord. In today's passage from Psalm 116, the psalmist speaks to a third party of his love for the Lord. Psalm 18 begins with David's declaration of intent in the words, "I will love You." And in John 21, Peter answers each of Jesus three queries about love with the words, "You know that I love You."

Considering that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord, doesn't it seem that it would be declared more often?

I come from a family effusive in expressions of love. We don't hang up the phone without an "I love you" and about every second Facebook status includes the same. As I get to know people through the internet, my affection becomes genuine. I don't pass along a single "I love you" or "much love" or "sending my love" that I don't mean. So for me, telling the Lord "I love You" on a regular basis is requisite.

But if the proof of love is in willingness to be quiet and listen, I fall short far more often than I'd ever want to admit. I'm horrible in conversation about interrupting with a question, comment, or—worst of all—my own anecdote or perspective. Being quiet in time of prayer too often leads to becoming distracted rather than hearing from the Lord. Even when I hear Him, if I fail to act immediately I am apt to not act at all.

Yet here is the reason the psalmist gives for loving the Lord: "because He has heard my voice ... because He has inclined His ear to me." The Bible, answered prayer, and peace of heart offer abundant testimony to the fact that in His love for us, the Lord is a good Listener.

Is there any friendship that would endure if we failed to listen?

Can we say we love the Lord and fail to listen, or fail to heed?

Lord, I confess that I've only begun to learn to listen. I ask for all Your people, and especially those reading these words, that You'd make each of us better listeners—truly hearing the words spoken and unspoken of those we love. Please enable our love for You to be expressed in listening quietly for Your voice.

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 larsoninstitute.com

Sanctuary

Sanctuary
#encouragement

Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain...
When I thought how to understand this,
It was too painful for me
Until I went into the sanctuary of God ...
I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth
that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
~ Psalms 73:13,16-17,23-26 (NKJV)

How often do we think that doing the right thing doesn't matter?

Do we grow weary in doing good?

Do we think God is taking too long?

Whether or not we are in a church sanctuary, there is always opportunity to enter the presence of God. Because is He continually with us, we are continually with Him. He sees. He knows. He feels our frustration and impatience and weariness.

In turning our minds and hearts to Him, we are reminded that in Heaven and upon Earth, He is all we need, able to fulfill all desire.

Lord, in Your presence we are made whole. You are everything. Please fill our hearts with the praise for You that is fitting in every moment of every day for all 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.
Photo from trekearth.com

Fascination not Force

"Art is not what you see,
but what you make others see."
~ Edgar Degas

Fascination not Force
#knowingGod

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
~ Psalms 63:1-2 (NKJV)

What first fascinated you about the Lord? What did you learn or see that captured your awe?

My friend Mike Ellis shared this thought: "Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination." He then asked me, "How do you, I and other Christ followers make Christianity fascinating?"

I do not think we can make Christianity fascinating unless we make Christ Himself fascinating, because He has fascinated us.

However else the Lord captures the awe of others, He seizes my heart with no more than His presence. He draws near when I enter the place of worship, and I bow before His majesty, truth, and love.

It is then a privilege, pleasure and passion for me to even attempt to make Him fascinating to others.

Lord, Your presence is an exquisite and satisfying wonder. We need no more from You than Yourself. How glorious the day when You are ours without distraction.

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.
Art of Riek Jonker titled "In Awe" from fineartamerica.com

As Far as the East is from the West

"Nearness to God is the foundation of a creature's happiness."
~ Isaac Watts

As Far as the East is from the West
#salvation

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
~ Psalms 103:11-12 (NKJV)

In Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin... Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
~ 1 John 3:5-6,9 (NKJV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

The north and south poles are 12,436 miles apart. No such extreme point exists between east and west. The distance between them is not infinite. The two are simply opposed to one another without measurement.

The Hebrew word for transgression is pesha. It means the sin of rebellion, revolt, or to throw off authority. Such rebellion puts us in opposition to God—as opposed as east and west.

When we come to fear the Lord—to recognize Him as Almighty God and stand down from opposing Him—He makes available the mercy of Calvary. There God took the transgression of man upon Himself and removed it "as far as the east is from the west." God now draws near.

God once stood afar off. Now sin is far removed. Sin once tightly bound us. He is now tightly bound to us. Sin was once deeply inside of us. He is now inside of us.

Holy God will not have sin where He resides. Thus sin cannot be in us. Never.

If we commit sinful thoughts, feelings, words and actions, how are they not sin? Because they are no longer attributed to us. No matter what we do, it is no longer counted as sin, for then it would also touch Him.

This is no license to permit sin to abound—a topic of Hebrews 10:26-29 and well-covered in other posts here. It simply describes the liberty in which we walk as new creations.

Precious Abba, what words could we offer in gratitude for what You have done? You have taken what is most disgusting in our lives, filled with death, and exchanged Yourself—fullness of lovingkindness, goodness, light, peace, life, joy, love. We stand in awe.

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 facilities.pps.k12.or.us

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.

El Ro-iy / God Who Sees Me

El Ro-iy / God Who Sees Me
(pronounced: "ale ROH-ee")

[Hagar] gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
~ Genesis 16:13 (NIV)

"... your Father in heaven ... makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
~ Matthew 5:45 (NKJV)

Yesterday's God name was "YHWH is Peace." For the next three days, each name of God presents a subtle distinction found in the peace of God seeing us. The different contexts in which these names appear in Scripture are also worth noting.

The Hebrew word for "see" is raah. Hagar calls the Lord "the God who sees me" after she encounters Him in as the Angel of the Lord (His manner of appearance several times in the Old Testament). Hagar is told that the Lord has heard her affliction, and the child she carries will be a son with descendants too great to be counted. She is instructed to return to her mistress Sarai.

Hagar had despised Sarai, Sarai had dealt harshly with Hagar, so Hagar fled, carrying Abram's only child. Though the Lord already intended to give Abram a child by Sarai, He is not yet finished with Hagar and Sarai. He supernaturally steps into the situation to reconcile the two (at least for the next seventeen years).

Hagar is the slave woman whom God has not ordained to bear the son of inheritance. She has been a source of trouble, and she and her son will be again be a problem in the future. Why wouldn't the Lord just write her off?

Because He sees her and cares about her. He hears her affliction, and even gives her son the name "Ishmael," which means "God hears," so she will not forget it. God also cares for His servant Abram, and will not take Ishmael from him until Abram has Isaac.

Jesus says God blesses us whether we're evil or good, just or unjust. This means wicked people do not necessarily experience immediate or visible consequences. It means we are loved not because we are "naughty or nice," but simply because we are.

And although it may seem that God is not paying attention, He always sees our afflictions because he always sees us—clear into our hearts.

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

יהוה / YHWH

For the month of July, each day will examine a name of God from the Old Testament.

יהוה / YHWH
(Pronounced "yahd hay vahv hay")

Thus says YHWH:
"Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am YHWH,
exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight," says YHWH.
~ Jeremiah 9:23-24 (author)

YHWH is the covenant, personal name of God specifically revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14-15; 6:3; 34:5). It is also referred to as the Tetragrammaton.

YHWH is usually translated into English as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah," though other variations are occasionally seen. Following the Hebrew tradition of substituting Adonai ("Lord") for it, YHWH is usually not actually translated, but the name “Lord” (or its foreign language equivalent, such as Señor) is instead substituted. English Bible translations usually render YHWH as “LORD” or “GOD” in small caps (or all caps) to distinguish it from Adonai. When the two names appear together—Adonai YHWH, or "Lord YHWH"—they are rendered “Lord GOD” in the NKJV, ESV, NASB, and “Sovereign Lord” in the NIV.

Although most English Bibles substitute "Lord" for it, YHWH (together with its variation, Yah) actually appears in the Hebrew text some fifteen times as often as Adonai (and Adon, about 6872:470).

It is commonly held that the meaning of YHWH is “to exist.” Among other Hebrew words perhaps related to the meaning of YHWH are: ehyeh (I AM, spoken to Moses in Exodus 3:14); hayah (to be or exist – it can also denote ruin); havah (to be, apparently in the sense of “to breathe,” though not translated “breathe”); and ahvah (to wish for, covet, greatly desire).

The Jews came to so greatly fear speaking the divine name YHWH (lest they violate the third commandment) that they began substituting Adonai when the Scripture was read aloud. By the time written vowels were added to ancient Hebrew, the pronunciation of YHWH's phonetic vowels had been forgotten—probably part of the fulfillment of Jeremiah 44:26: "Therefore hear the word of YHWH, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by My great name,' says YHWH, 'that My name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "The Lord YHWH lives." ' "

Many of the faithful (both Christain / Messianic and Jewish) use the title Ha-Shem (“the Name,”) to refer to the name YHWH. Another common practice is to say YHWH as individual Hebrew consonants ("yad he vav he"). Since the Hebrew vowels for YHWH are lost to us, this is the only pronunciation of YHWH which is known to be accurate.

When this pronunciation of YHWH is spoken, the meaning is “behold hand, behold nail.”

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

Friday Freelance: FINGERPRINTS

"There are two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
~ Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

Last week I volunteered to drive for church group outing. I cleared the kid junk out of our family's 11-passenger van and it looked otherwise pretty clean—until an adult sat in the same spot usually occupied by my ten-year-old son. I suddenly noticed that fingerprints covered the window. We're talking write-in-the-fog-then-wipe-it-around leftovers.

I look over my right shoulder through that window all the time and never notice the fingerprints that have probably been there since before Christmas. That smear is as invisible to me as the kid noise circulating through our house like forced-air heat and the obstacle course clutter which has defined our decor since our fifteen-year-old was born.

How interesting that "adults on board" illuminates fingerprints, pillow talk amplifies kid murmurs, and guests render benign toys and laundry baskets impolite.

The evidence of five kids so thoroughly pervades my house that I take no note of it. Likewise, evidence of God's presence so thoroughly pervades our world that people fail to see it. His fingerprints nonetheless mark every part of our lives, invisible until we look at them rather than through them.

The magnificent grandeur and minute intricacy of creation only begin to testify to His presence. The universe by its size alone defies the evolutionary theory that it sprang forth unaided from a big bang. Its complex beauty evidences an Artist extraordinaire. Its order and seasons and symmetry are inextricably connected beyond the most sophisticated computer's capability.

The autonomy of life still astounds me. How are plants programmed to react to temperature and light, and distinguish which nutrients to draw from the soil? What tells animals how to survive and reproduce and raise young? Watching life emerge from my body (times five) only sharpens the impossibility that a microscopic seed grows into a human, who takes in invisible air and food made of dirt, who functions with rational thought and raw emotion, who survives the world's bitter adversities and climate—who is granted relationship with the Creator.

This relationship is the pinnacle of awe-filling testimony to God's presence. In a world filled with sin and pain and suffering and utter hopelessness, our God seems to take exceptional pleasure in taking what is most hideous and hateful and transforming it. Tragedy is made triumph. What is most devoid of potential becomes precious. From death, everywhere, springs life.

God uses all things for good. If we perceive a situation as a tomb's frigid chamber filled with fog, God uses the fog to draw a fleeting picture with His finger upon the window to something better, leaving behind His invisible yet unmistakable fingerprints.

If we fail to see God's fingerprints, it's because we don't look.

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

He Will Hear

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God,
and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord....
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders.
~ Psalms 77:1-2,13-14 (ESV)

So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
~ Acts 3:5 (NKJV)

I wish I wrote these posts at first light while the house sleeps. They are typically composed in evening hours as five children, the phone, my beloved, and perhaps bedtime all vie for my attention. Four-year-old Daniel has learned to say "Look at me, Mom" before he speaks.

Our omnipresent God has no difficulty giving His full attention to each one of us, all at the same time. Every day is "the day of my trouble." If we cry out to God He will hear us. There is no matter too great for Him to work wonders with. Miracles are His business.

There is also no matter so trivial it is a bother to Him. His full attention is always upon each of us. There is no moment of the day when we lose His interest. He doesn't have something more pressing to go attend to. We face no situation He expects us to handle on our own.

He will hear because He is near.

Precious Abba our Father, how much You love Your children. How good You are to keep us in Your presence. Please make us mindful of You, as eager to speak to You as You are to hear. Please draw us to give You our attention, expecting to receive what You are anxious to give.

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

Put to Death

Nothing devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed, but shall surely be put to death.
~ Leviticus 27:29 (MKJV)

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
~ Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
For indeed, those who are far from You shall perish.
~ Psalms 73:25-27 (NKJV)

Most translations of this passage from Leviticus refer to "no man" rather than "nothing" being unredeemable. (The more literal translations are similar to the above quote.) In context, it is clear that some things or people could be set aside for God and later redeemed; but some were devoted to Him, whether put to death (as a sacrifice) or to belong to Him until death.

The New Testament is less ambiguous. To receive life in Christ—eternal, resurrection life—is to go to death with Christ. It is to no longer have a life of one's own at all.

No complaint here. The psalmist says, "there is none upon the earth that I desire besides You." That "none" includes me. The life I once desired was on a path to death and no good to me. The solution? Go ahead and be put to death, and experience Christ in me, the strength of my heart.

Lord Jesus, You know the depth of human agony apart from You. To know You, living in me, is the only life I want. Please Lord, use me, my words, my life, all I am to bring others to more fully know life in You. Please enable all of us to sacrifice whatever makes more room for You.

Feedback invited. 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

Dwelling Place of God

Thus says YHWH:
"Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest? ...
To this one will I gaze upon and regard with favor:
To the lowly, of a contrite spirit,
Who is trembling at My word."
~ Isaiah 66:1-2 (author)

... you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. ~ Ephesians 2:22 (NKJV)

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."
~ Revelation 21:2-3 (NKJV)

One of the most earnest endeavors any man undertakes is to build himself a house. He overlooks no detail to customize and prepare the dwelling place in which he will take his rest.

The jewel of Solomon's kingdom was a grand and glorious temple. God's glory came to dwell in it—but only to signify the ultimate dwelling place of God: His people. We partially fulfill that destiny in this era of the Holy Spirit's kingdom, for we are the temple of God's Spirit.

In the imminent kingdom of Jesus, the present spiritual reality will achieve fulfillment with physical reality. The Lord's people will finally be made one, as a beautifully adorned bride—His jewel—and she will be the blissful dwelling place of God.

Lord Jesus, please give Your people eyes for only You. Plesae wash us with Your Word and make us ready for Your arrival. Please unite our hearts with each other and make us one with each other, that we might be one with You.
Father, please send us our Beloved Bridegroom soon.

O my love, you are as beautiful as Tirzah,
Lovely as Jerusalem ...
Turn your eyes away from me,
For they have overcome me.
Song of Solomon 6:4-5 (NKJV)

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

Friday Freelance: WINDOW OF HEAVEN

I recently read In Silence: Growing Up Hearing in a Deaf World by Ruth Sidransky, daughter of two deaf parents. Rarely has a book so so profoundly moved me, or so thoroughly transported me into another realm of understanding and appreciation.

What will surely remain with me forever is Ruth's account of when her parents buy a radio, so that she might receive audio stimulation in a silent home environment. Ruth describes it thus:

"I heard music for the first time. The music made me uncomfortable. I didn't feel that I should listen to music's magnificence. My parents would never hear it. I moved the dial."

Ruth's words move me to tears every time I read them. There are times we are so happy we weep, times we experience something so wonderful it hurts. There is a place in our souls so deep that it can only be reached by something of exquisite beauty and pleasure—a place so sensitive that to touch it produces pain.

It is the place where God dwells. The Creator breathed into man life in the image of God. The life-giving part of God which exists only in humans continually hungers for God. We may attempt to gratify it with pleasure, but it is satisfied by nothing less than Divinity.

God speaks to that place through all of our senses—in creation's grandeur of mountain vista or glorious sunrise, in the taste of wholesome fruit plucked from the earth, in the scent of fragrant blossom or loved one's presence, in the passion of pure love from spouse, in the sound of music that cracks open the window of heaven itself.

Music is the true language of the soul. It can be used for health or harm. It can stir men to battle courageously or languish in desperation. It can evoke pure emotions of sensual beauty or dark emotions perverse and corrupt.

When music praises God, it gives glory to Him and life to man. When it bridges the breach between heaven and earth, it touches that place in our souls where God dwells, arousing us to reach for Him and know His fleeting caress.

God rarely speaks audibly. Those who have heard Him with the ear and not just the heart testify of it in situations so obscure and so desperate that such a thing cannot be sought. When God's Spirit speaks to the heart, His gentle voice is too easily missed. If He speaks with insistence, compelling us to move in the face of fear, it is only the soul which knows His voice.

A day lies in the future when we will no longer be mostly blind and nearly deaf to the sights and sounds of heaven and heaven's God. Music is eternity's gift to us in the meantime, one of the few things we can take with us into the next world.

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

Wings Like Eagles

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31 (NKJV)

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

So then, after the Lord [Jesus] had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. ~ Mark 16:19 (NKJV)

When asked which animal I would be, I chose the eagle. I love heights, for straining toward the heavens above clouds seems to draw near to God. Twice, mountain peaks clothed in clouds and light actually looked to me like the throne room upon which I'll some day gaze continually.

Tommy Tenney likens waiting upon the Lord to a restaurant waiter of excellence who is content to simply stand by and watch for the slightest gesture of his patron, that he might rush to do his bidding, with no thought of either personal inconvenience or gain.

A good waiter might receive a generous tip from a benevolent patron of wealth. The Lord upon whom we wait rewards with strength, endurance and vigor to do all things—and with the ability to soar above the clouds near the presence of God, then plunge back to earth without fear.

Everlasting God who is with us always, however impatient we grow, remind us often that it is no burden to wait upon You and do Your every bidding. Let us not grow weary in well-doing amid people or tasks we find irritating or tiresome. Teach us how to depend fully upon You.

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