Darkness

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
~ John 8:12 (NKJV)

We humans become well-acquainted with darkness before we come to know light. Even our conception is wrapped in months of darkness before we are thrust into the world of light.

And so it seems fitting to peek at Darkness before examining Light—even if doing to discloses more than one might prefer to know.

But when I looked for good, evil came to me;
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
~ Job 30:26 (NKJV)

My personal experience with Darkness began during 23 years of wandering through a spiritual haze, in search of the God Who hovered just outside my reach. My meeting with the Word of God was love at first sight, but three more years of flirting with Darkness prevented me from really knowing Light. The Lord does not tolerate divided allegiances, and waited to reveal Himself until He had all of me.

Since my surrender to God, His Light has dominated my life. I've remained well aware of the presence of Darkness in this world, and have made every effort to fearlessly be the Light of Jesus to everyone around me. In my lack of trepidation, I even prayed to better understand the Darkness against which we battle.

Be very careful of what you pray for.

God granted my prayer. My single, face-to-face encounter with the power of Darkness remains the most horrifying experience of my life. Though I emerged the victor, I'd swear that Darkness still nibbles at my heels, hungry for a rematch.

Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain.
~ Revelation 16:10 (NKJV)

In the last couple of days, I've studied the 220+ references to darkness in Scripture. Here are some notes.

Several verses make clear that God separates light from darkness on various physical and spiritual levels. God has even veiled Himself in darkness when separating Himself from unholiness. The phrase "shadow of death" occurs 19 times, usually accompanied by references to the dark.

The plague of darkness in Egypt is described as "darkness which may even be felt" (Exodus 10:21). When Revelation describes darkness descending and people gnawing their tongues in pain (above passage), I can imagine a deep darkness so horrific as to cause pain all by itself. The line which divides physical darkness and the power of Darkness is a fine one indeed.

Lastly, here are words and phrases associated with darkness in the Bible.

void, vanity, futile, foolish
gloom, blackness, silent
forsaken, alienated, desolate, wilderness
blindness, obscurity, hide, cover
wander, grope, stagger, bow down
stumble, slippery, unstable
scattered, forgetfulness, unfruitful
woe, sorrow, trouble, anguish, tribulation
sickness, pestilence, lays waste
disaster, destruction, curses, calamity
tempest, overflowing flood, utter end
hatred, persecuted, wrestle, bound in affliction
anger, thief, evil, way of the wicked
beasts creep about, consume
chased, overtake, pursue
captivity, prison, chains of darkness
crushed my life, long dead, cut off, grave
lowest pit, in the depths
bottomless pit, hell, smoke of the pit
outer darkness, weeping, "gnashing of teeth"
haunts of cruelty, power of Satan
horror, terrify, terrible

Next time: Light.

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You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Blame Game

"Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act..."
~ John 8:4 (NKJV)

Perhaps being a woman makes me both less inclined to draw attention to the power femininity holds over men, and more sensitive to how often the blame for sin is laid at the feet of vulnerable women.

Consider the Bible's many examples of the latter:

• Judah demands that Tamar be burned for pregnancy by harlotry, though he is the man guilty of hiring her (Genesis 38)
• The numerous warnings against the "evil / immoral / adulterous woman," "seductress," and "harlot" contained in Proverbs, a book largely composed by Solomon, the son of a man who committed adultery with Solomon's mother
• The above example from John, when Pharisees present to Jesus the woman caught in the very act of adultery, though the man they also caught is mysteriously absent
• Paul's observation that "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." (1 Timothy 2:14)

Do you detect the irony in that last verse? There is no honor in lack of discernment which permits any person to be deceived. But if Adam was not deceived, how much greater is his dishonor for sinning with full knowledge?

"But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery."
~ Matthew 5:32 (NKJV)

Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees who drag the adulterous woman to Him for stoning. He does so again in the above passage from Matthew, when He points out a reality of patriarchal culture: a woman divorced by her husband remained largely dependent on men for support, and had little choice but adultery or harlotry. Jesus says men cause such adultery with their divorce.

The pendulum has now swung the other way in a society that pounces on the shortcomings and outright abuses of men, and gives an understanding nod to the sins of women. The fundamental church counters with its generally pharisaical or patriarchal view.

Except in a court of law, the blame game doesn't produce a winner.

... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ...
~ Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

God doesn't play the blame game. He merely convicts each of us of sin where we have yet to see it.

And then He points to the cross and to His Son, offering His Holy Spirit's power to overcome.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
~ Romans 8:1 (NKJV)

Comments are welcome and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Prayer Request?

"... I was in prison and you came to Me ... "
~ Matthew 25:36

You will likely read this post after your celebration of Thanksgiving. Regardless of when you see this, it's not too late for you to breathe a prayer.

Our family had turkey dinner yesterday. Today I'll help lead a team of people going to the local county jail. Our church has a team of people who make Thanksgiving dinner for all the prisoners, and another group who meets with the prisoners for just a few moments to explain why we've done so. During those few moments we share a song or two, our love & encouragement, and the Gospel.

Would you be willing to take just a moment and ask the Lord to use our imperfect words in a lasting way in the lives of these people?

Thank you. May God bless you with the joy that flows from a heart full of gratitude.

Great Day of the Feast

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
~ John 7:37-39 (NKJV)

Even those believers privileged to see and hear Jesus did not have what we have.

We have been set free from our sins by His blood.
We have the Lord God living within us by His Holy Spirit.
We have the entirety of Scripture at our fingertips.

Yet all too often, gratitude for such divine treasure is diminished by attention to some lesser thing we lack, or with impatience because we wait for something we believe will be better than what we have today.

And we then miss the fullness of blessing in today.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, our country's "great day of The Feast." We will celebrate our abundance and, perhaps, express more gratitude to God than on other days.

We might also have a great day of the feast every day of the year, for the Lord daily offers us Bread of Life and Living Waters.

Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul;
Thank You, Lord, for making me whole;
Thank You, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
~ Seth Sykes

Comments are welcome and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

How Much Can You Know?

Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."
~ John 7:16-17 (NKJV)

The Christian who shuns teachers or purposefully abstains from Christian fellowship runs a high risk of walking in error without check, and such pride can only lead to destruction and fall.

But.

Jesus also says that the disciple who wills to do the will of the Father need not be hindered where instruction is lacking. Our Lord promises discernment of truth and doctrine to those who have a humble heart like a child's ...

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."
~ Luke 10:21 (NKJV)

... who remain immersed in the Bible:

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
~ John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

I would love the opportunity to attend Bible college and gain the valuable knowledge offered by formal training. The day may yet come when I do so. The Holy Spirit has proven wholly adequate as the perfect Bible Teacher in the meantime.

To any reader who has ever felt limited in spiritual understanding, or who has experienced disdain from another believer with formal theological training, I offer to you these passages of Scripture.

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things ..."
~ John 14:26 (NKJV)

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
~ Luke 11:13 (NKJV)

But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
~ 1 John 2:27 (NKJV)

I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.
~ Psalms 119:99 (NKJV)

"But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
~ Jeremiah 31:33 (NKJV)

Thus says the LORD: "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 the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.
~ Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NKJV)

Consider the power and promise of our God in this verse!

"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty [unattainable, inaccessible] things, which you do not know."
~ Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV, amplified)

Finally:

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
~ 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NKJV)

Comments are welcome and will receive a reply.
You may also contact author via Twitter – @anne4JC
or e-mail – buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com
Copyright 2011, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.