Bullets & Butterflies

REST

2011-06-27T23:42:00.003-04:00

Bullets & Butterflies made its first post in April of 2009. Wow! It kind of started off as an experiment and eventually became something that changed my worldview. One-hundred-forty-five posts later it is now time to take a break and move on to other things ...

If you would like to go back and read Anne Bundy's Question Of The Week posts, please do. I learned so much from her.

If you would like to go back and read my Prayer Circle, posts, you are invited to do the same.

My prayer is that you know how much that God loves you. I pray that with all my heart in Jesus name.

Question of the Week: How do I Recognize the Kingdom of God?

2011-06-03T00:00:00.056-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Image source: Salvation Army

What is the Kingdom of God, how do I get there, and how do I know it when I see it?
Russell Holloway, blog host

The last two weeks described what God's kingdom is and how to enter it now. This week's conclusion examines how we recognize the presence of God's kingdom.

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)

There are modern day Pharisees who attempt to create a kingdom defined by culture—certain ways of speaking, dressing, behaving. There are modern day Sadducees who would make a kingdom of this world by using God's name as excuse to pursue connections, pleasure, and control.

There is a kingdom to come on a future day when we will look upon the face of Jesus, find delight to bow before Him in worship and lift Him up in praise, enjoy fellowship and perfect unity with His people, and are free from the sorrows of this world.

There is another kingdom Jesus says is within His people.

When we give Jesus dominion of our lives and receive His Holy Spirit within us to guide us in every way, we become people of a different place. We see the face of Jesus in the people around us. We find delight amid the sorrows of this world when we bow before Jesus in worship and lift Him up in praise. We enjoy fellowship with His people and desire unity with them.

This kingdom is within us who are within the world. It is neither an invisible kingdom, nor is it made visible through the things of this world. It is a kingdom clearly manifest wherever Jesus reigns and has dominion.

We recognize the presence of the kingdom wherever –
• sacrificial love overcomes apathy and hatred
• joy brings strength amid affliction
• perfect peace prevails amid turmoil
• patient longsuffering meets irritation and trial
• active kindness is antidote to condemnation and bitterness
• obedient goodness challenges evil
• trusting faithfulness confronts doubt
• meek gentleness faces pride
• temperate self-control overcomes lust for immediate gratification

Jesus warned that His kingdom within would provoke others; we will be odious at best, and at worst we will be persecuted to the point of bloodshed, finding enemies even within our family.

The kingdom may be recognized by consistent growth. Whether we take two steps forward and one step back, or ten steps forward and nine steps back, we will grow. We cannot help but become more like Jesus if He has dominion over us.

When we discover that we are more like Jesus, and we treat others as if they were Jesus—when we recognize the Spirit of Jesus prevailing in one of His followers—we know we have found the presence of the Kingdom of God.

: : :

Question of the Week and Anne will take a break for several weeks. In the meantime, you can find answers to plenty of Bible questions at the site Bible.com. You're also welcome to email Anne anytime and say hello at buildingHisbody [plus] @gmail.com

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: How do I Enter the Kingdom of God?

2011-05-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Image source: myroyalwedding.wordpress.com

What is the Kingdom of God, how do I get there, and how do I know it when I see it?
Russell Holloway, blog host

Last week described what God's kingdom is. This week will address how to enter His eternal kingdom—now.

Jesus provides an answer that is both specific and an apparent mystery.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again ... unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
~ John 3:3-6 (NKJV)

To be born again is to become a new creation, born by repentance into God's Holy Spirit as a place for Him to reside. God separates Himself from evil. Therefore we must repent of sin and be cleansed of sin by confessing Jesus as our risen-from-the-dead Lord—our Sovereign—so that He also becomes our Savior from sin.

God's will for His anointed kings is that they do battle to protect their people. King David is the paradigm for King Jesus. David began to save his people after he was anointed king, long before he received the throne. The most visible foe of Israel was Goliath, whose head David took, just as Jesus came to crush the head of Satan. King David went on to deliver Israel from the Philistines and all other enemies, just as King Jesus goes on to deliver us from all sin wherever He is invited to reign.

When we repent of sin and make Jesus our Lord, water baptism is the outward expression of having made this spiritual transaction with God. As we then yield to the Holy Spirit, He enters us and reproduces the Person of Jesus in us.

This might be seen in Jesus' birth, in the invitation Mary accepted. (See Luke 1:35.) When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, He creates a new life in us—the life of Christ—which grows and is eventually manifest to the world. We are then able to enter the kingdom of God because we belong to it. We are no longer citizens of Earth but of Heaven. We are adopted as sons and daughters of the Father Who is King.

Worldly subjects of our king are ruled by law. The heirs of God's kingdom, to whom it belongs, receive grace and are not subject to law. However, the King holds His own children to a higher standard than law, because we represent Him, His name, and the kingdom.

He is most jealous about the integrity of His Son's bride, whom we are.

More on that next week, in describing how we know the kingdom when we see it.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What is the Kingdom of God?

2011-05-20T00:00:00.058-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Image source: turnbacktoGod.com

What is the Kingdom of God, how do I get there, and how do I know it when I see it?
Russell Holloway, blog host

The work 'kingdom' designates a realm under the domain of its sovereign.

This week will outline the Bible's description of the Lord's dominion, which might be divided into five phases.

I'll call the first Creation. To this day, we clearly witness testimony of the divine Designer's original creation, as well as the re-creation He accomplished through the flood of Noah. People living in those first two thousand years also had the testimony of ancients who knew God firsthand. Adam and Enoch literally walked with God, and lived well into the days of Noah's father Lamech. Noah lived to see the days of Abraham, and both of them appear to be contemporaries of Job. These men knew God as Elohim and Shaddai, Creator and Almighty, the One with dominion over all life, to give it or to destroy it.

The kingdom's second phase could be called Commandment. It was a time of YHWH—covenant God of deliverance—establishing dominion over one specific people (the Israelites) through their obedience to His laws. Circumcision, shunning worship of idols to worship an invisible God, and observance of the Sabbath all demonstrated the Israelites as clearly set apart from other nations in willing subjection to YHWH, despite Israel's many failures. During this two millennia, a monarchy existed for approximately 460 years as model of a divine King who protects His people, appropriates and directs use of His dominion's resources, and receives their tribute.

The third phase is Church. For the last two thousand years, God has established His dominion in the human heart through His Holy Spirit. He rules wherever people willingly accept His sovereignty. This period in history establishes God's spiritual Kingdom throughout the earth. (More on this in the next two weeks.)

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them... And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
~ Revelation 20:4-6 (NKJV)

The seventh millennium is the time when Christ (Messiah, King Jesus) reigns on the earth. The parables and prophecies of Jesus and the Old Testament describe a time when His resurrected saints rule with Him, with our own sphere of dominion awarded according to how we have proven ourselves during the Church phase. It is a peaceful time of restoration, when swords are beaten into plowshares, when carnivores become tame and again eat grass. It ends with in a final contest between Good and Evil, when the devil and death see ultimate defeat.

The Culmination phase is when the existing heavens and earth pass away, and an eternal kingdom is established. It is described in the last two chapters of the Bible, Revelation 21-22.

: : :

Next week: How to enter the Kingdom now.

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What Purpose Earth?

2011-05-13T16:20:00.000-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Artwork: "Stairway to Heaven" by Jonathan Allen Cummings

Once we are saved from Hell and know about the joy waiting in Heaven, why would we want to remain on Earth?
~ follow up to last two posts on how a Christian never dies and what happens to us after death (April 29 and May 6)

To those with relatively trouble-free lives here on Earth, the above question may sound ridiculous—the knowledge that Heaven awaits is no reason to hasten our departure. Young people seem particularly un-impatient for the rapture, hoping to first experience this life's promise.

But those who have seen trouble aplenty are more likely to struggle with a reason to engage in this world's life rather than endure it. The Bible has numerous examples of suffering saints who questioned a reason to live.

The answer comes by asking a more difficult question, of whether we are self-centered or God-centered in defining our purpose. It's not a question of whether or not we love God, but if we love Him enough to live for Him rather than for ourselves—both now and in the next life.

For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
~ Romans 14:7-8 (NKJV)

This world is our proving ground for Heaven. We cannot obtain eternal life by any good works, but only by faith. Our works then prove our faith to be genuine and establish the place we'll have in God's kingdom.

The unbeliever will one day stand before God's judgment seat to be condemned for sinful rejection of God, as proven by their unrighteous works.

The Christian who has already proven their faith by works will face a different judgment seat, at which God evaluates our works.

Each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
~ 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (NKJV)

Whatever has seemed unfair here on Earth is to be taken into account—each of us will be judged in the measure of what we were given to work with, whether our talents (gifts), time, or treasures of this world.

The irony is that works performed for the sake of reward are inherently selfish and won't count as works of faith. Faith instead cooperates with God's Holy Spirit to do His work through us, especially His work of love for others. Knowledge of a reward isn't our motivation and purpose, but it can serve as a reminder if we grow weary in our motivation to love or in our purpose to glorify God.

How we life for the Lord in this life determines the manner in which we enjoy living for Him later.

"Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
~ Jesus (Matthew 6:20-21 NKJV)

: : :

Beginning next week: What is the Kingdom of God, how do I get there, and how do I know it when I see it?

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Where Do We Go After Death?

2011-05-06T00:00:00.113-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Photo credit: Oscar Burriel

How can we have eternal life and die? (I know some believe that when they die they go into the ground until Christ's return.)
~ Anonymous

Last week's post described that the Bible speaks of the body housing the soul as a "tent." When we die, the soul enters spiritual realms while the body remains behind. On a day in the future, the bodies of both righteous and condemned are resurrected and reunited with the soul for judgment. (John 5:28-29)

Innumerable people have reported credible experiences of dying and leaving their bodies, briefly glimpsing the spiritual world, and then being revived. Among the common elements many people describe is visiting a place of inexplicable beauty and profound peace, where they meet angels and / or loved ones who have already died.

A few people report a place not of beauty and loved ones, but of great torment. Jesus likewise describes such a place when He tells of Lazarus and the rich man. (Unlike other stories Jesus told, this account in Luke 16:19-31 is not called a parable, and appears to be an actual event.)

For the condemned soul, the Bible mentions the following places of torment in spiritual realms:

• Hades (Greek name; called Sheol in Hebrew) –
the place of torment before final judgment; the OT sometimes speaks euphemistically of suffering with the word Sheol, in the same way we might describe our circumstances as "going through Hell"

• Gehenna (possibly the same as the "lake of fire" mentioned in Revelation and the Hebrew Abaddon) –
the place of everlasting fire and punishment for the condemned, in their resurrected bodies after the judgment, where "their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:43-48)

• Tartarus (Greek tartaroō); appears to be the same as "the abyss" (Greek abussos, also called "bottomless pit") –
deepest abyss of Hades; a place for demons

• Great Chasm (Greek megas chasma) –
impassable gulf separating Hades and Paradise mentioned in Luke 16:26

These places are only spoken of as a destination for the condemned. Those souls who trust in the Lord and obtain forgiveness of sins through Christ's blood experience no torment after the body dies.

The dying thief on the cross expressed faith in Jesus, and Jesus assured the man he would be in Paradise the same day. Paul was among those who glimpsed Paradise (perhaps after he was stoned and left for dead). He explained that after Christians die, "we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

The soul given to Jesus does not experience death (John 11:25-26).

The soul given to Jesus knows no separation from God's love:

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

Next week: Pursue this world or the next?

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Who are the 'Dead in Christ'?

2011-04-29T00:59:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"Don't be afraid that your life will end;
be afraid that it will never begin."

~ Unknown

Artist of unnamed work: David Morin

Who is 'the dead in Christ'? How can we have eternal life and die, period? (I know some believe that when they die they go into the ground until Christ's return.)
~ Anonymous

These questions refer to the following Scripture concerning the rapture of Christians, from the post "Left Behind":

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (NKJV)

Although Christians whose bodies have died are called "dead in Christ," Jesus said that when we are spiritually "born again" by faith—before the death of our physical bodies—we receive eternal life:

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life ..."
~ John 3:36 (NKJV)

Before spiritual rebirth, the body houses the soul as a "tent." With spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit enters the physical body, which then becomes a "tabernacle" for the Holy Spirit as well.

Although our bodies are still in bondage to physical death (as is all creation), our souls have been set free from death. The death of our bodies is referred to as both death and sleep. Just before the above 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 passage, death is called sleep three times (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15), as in other Scriptures (especially 1 Corinthians 15:35-55).

To be "in Christ" is to receive a new life. Though our souls continue to be housed in a body that is dying, Jesus promises that our souls will not experience death when our body does (John 11:23-27). Peter calmly referred to his death as "putting off his tent."

Even if our attention is on a dying body, the kingdom of God is not something we wait until Heaven to see, but something vibrantly alive within us:

Now when He 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)

Next week: What happens to the soul after the body dies?

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Blueberries & Scrambled Eggs

2011-04-23T08:27:00.001-04:00

Scripture teaches us that the prayer for wisdom is always answered. What is more often missing is the faith and courage to follow through with the instruction God gives us. My prayer for you today is that you gain wisdom and courage, and that you grow closer to our Father in heaven, who loves you, in Jesus name ...

Question of the Week: Why War from God?

2011-04-15T00:00:00.056-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Image source: Battles of the Bible
by Chaim Herzog & Mordechai Gichon
Fall River Press ©1978, 1997

"How can Christians say that God is loving if He ordered war ... and even the killing of children?"~ Anonymous

There's no single or simple answer, but at least one basic principle applies.

God sees the end from the beginning. Where evil has taken root, He does not need to allow it to grow to maturity before He knows what kind of fruit will come of it.

War is depicted as the sword of God throughout the Old Testament. The above question is asked most often about wars God directed between the time of Moses and David. At that time, the Lord established specific borders for Israel, and then gave instructions concerning both the nations which infiltrated those borders and the less proximate nations.

Nations which kept their distance and were willing to make peace were permitted to do so (Deuteronomy 20:10-15). But for the seven evil nations within Israel's borders—and for the Amalekites, whose immediate proximity and hostility threatened the Israel—God commanded complete annihilation, including children and animals. (Deuteronomy 20:16-18; Judges 21:10; 1 Samuel 15:3)

Many people find it difficult to reconcile such a God with the message of John 3:16—with a message of love and forgiveness, grace and salvation. But the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. He doesn't change—nor does evil, sin and Hell.

The proof that sin and Hell are real is visible when we look upon the manner of death God required from His Son Jesus to save us from them—crucifixion.

The proof that evil is intolerable to God is visible when we look upon the manner of war He requires (present tense) to extinguish it—crucifixion.

Now the works of the flesh are evident ... And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
~ from Galatians 5:19-24 (NKJV)

It is noteworthy that God did not commission the Israelites to go out into all the world to destroy evil, but only when evil threatened infiltration. Though there are times when evil comes to our doorstep, when we are compelled to do battle, Christians are likewise not commissioned to root out the pervasive evil in the world. When we go into the world, it is to make disciples. We wage a war of annihilation against evil within our own borders—against its infiltration of our hearts.

Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
~ Jude 1:7 (NKJV)

Jude preaches to Christians that the same evil immorality which existed in the ancient world and brought about their destruction would continue to threaten us. We are to be as ruthless with ourselves as we root out the sin within our own borders as ancient Israelites were commanded to root out the pagan nations within their borders.

"Most of God's people are content to be saved from the hell without; they are not so anxious to be saved from the hell within."
~Robert M. McCheyne

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: How Long Does Temptation Knock?

2011-04-08T00:40:00.001-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Photo credit: Preston Bezant

How long were Adam and Eve in the garden before she took that fatal bite? Was the serpent whispering in her ear a long time?
~ Lori

Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day of creation, and God rested on the seventh day, so the earliest day for the "fatal bite" is day eight. Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born, after the death of Abel, whom we can infer lived to adulthood. So the latest date is about 100 years after creation.

The key question here, which applies to all of us, is how long might temptation knock?

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
~ James 4:7 (NKJV)

Scripture records the temptation of Jesus by the devil. (Luke 4:1-13) After 40 days of temptation (which isn't described), the devil presented three specific temptations. When Jesus responded with absolute rejection to a temptation (using Scripture), that temptation ceased.

Consider that an invitation to sin isn't a true temptation unless it appeals to something already desired (whether the desire is a good or bad one). Temptation offers to fulfill desire in a manner contrary to God's will. Here are three different scenarios of what might be expected.

• Temptation's invitation to fulfill desire in a sinful way is given no consideration and categorically rejected. The door is immediately slammed on this temptation. It has no reason to linger.

• Temptation receives some amount of consideration before it hears "no thanks" and has a door shut on it. Temptation has found its mark and is likely to knock again. One shouldn't expect temptation to stay away before it is rejected on sight without consideration.

• Temptation gets a "yes," either immediately or after repeat visits. Once the door is flung open to temptation's invitation, sin establishes its foothold. The door can't be shut on temptation before sin is driven out. If repeated sin establishes a stronghold in a person's life (sin moves in with all its baggage), it may take a long time to want to drive out sin. Even if sin is kicked out, temptation remembers where its sin was sampled and enjoyed. Expect temptation to come knocking as long as its invitations receive consideration before refusal. A person will need to slam the door hard and slam it immediately on temptation for a long time to come before temptation will believe it's not welcome.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.
~ Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)

The Bible doesn't say how many days the serpent came knocking and received consideration of its invitation. It's usually depicted as all one incident. Temptation may have come knocking over a long period of time, or been welcomed on the first visit.

But this much is certain: one can never open the door to sin and assume to understand all the consequences to follow.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Friends With Benefits

2011-04-04T07:31:00.007-04:00

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key." -Yakov Smirnoff

By Russell Holloway

This weekend I was sitting on the beach with my family, enjoying the Florida sunshine and waves, and it crossed my mind that if I ever write a book about marriage I'll title it: Friends With Benefits: Five Steps To A Happy Marriage.

As a counselor I come into contact with unhappy couples a lot and I've noticed that what marriage researcher John Gottman says is true. Couples who focus on and foster friendship tend to be happy.

Although important, sex does not hold faltering relationships together. I talk to couples all the time who report great sex (with each other no less) but otherwise cannot stand to be in the same room. Far more important than bedroom delectation is the ability to do life together.

+++

Four hundred years ago, when marriage was more or less a property contract, people were too busy trying to stay alive to be burdened with emotions like romantic love. Romantic love existed for sure, Shakespeare assures us of that, but in a purer form. Love was first something one did. It was defined by behavior. Now, if couples don’t feel like giddy teenagers into the third year of marriage they often start a slow downward spiral and divorce somewhere down the road. Sad and unnecessary.

If we cannot rely on duty, the antidote for the modern couple is friendship. It works, it is fun, and best of all it usually includes sex. Cool. Thus the title of the book, Friends With Benefits.

+++

At the end of our day on the beach we packed up our towels and sunscreen, and walked back to the truck, side by side. Friendship, and love, and commitment have gotten our marriage through some difficult times. I’m lucky. My wife truly is my best friend. And there is more than one benefit to that.

Father, thank You for life. Thank You for the gift of friendship, that we can be friends with the one we love intimately. Father we ask for Your blessing and that You bless the marriages of those who read this. In Jesus name we cry out to You.

Question of the Week: What Motivates God?

2011-04-01T00:00:00.078-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"The Kiss"
V-J Day, August 14, 1945, Times Square

photo credit: Alfred Eisenstaedt, Life Magazine

"We measure the worth of a treasure
by what we will gladly give up in order to have it."
~ John Piper

"Why did God create things the way He did, knowing what we'd turn into?"
~ Wendy Paine Miller

This could also be asked as, "Why did God put both Himself and us through all this grief?" Behind the above question, might we even infer The Question:

"Why does a good God allow suffering?"

An answer to that was offered in the post "Why Suffering?" So let's take another angle and answer, "Can we understand what motivates God?"

The Bible says over and over that God desires to be given glory (magnified, or made bigger, in worship, praise, thanksgiving, and testimony). He seeks to bring honor to His name, and therefore acts "for His name's sake." Even His expression of love for us goes toward the purpose of making known His holiness, goodness, grace, mercy, justice, majesty, and power.

Couldn't all that happen without sin and suffering and major mess-ups?

It could happen—nothing is impossible with God. But how good would it be?

But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
~ Romans 5:20 (NKJV)

Any story teller (or fiction writer) knows that the greater the conflict, the greater the satisfaction in resolved conflict. The greater the suffering and obstacles overcome through God, the greater the grace He shows, and the greater the glory He receives.

For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
~ 2 Corinthians 4:15 (NKJV)

Does it seem selfish of God to let us suffer so that He gets the glory? That's only half the picture. He bears far greater suffering for our sin than we do, yet He shares the glory with us.

It's called love.

What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory ...?
~ Romans 9:22-23 (NKJV, emphasis mine)

God doesn't simply want us to know His love and enjoy Heaven after a quiet rest on Earth. The Author of our salvation wants us to experience abundant, exceeding, higher-than-our-highest-imagination love and joy and peace—and created a conflict to create the ultimate triumph.

The resulting celebration is like the difference between the everyday kiss exchanged between a long married couple as they slide into the breakfast nook with coffee after a quiet night's sleep, and the triumphant reunion kiss of V-J Day when a sailor returns home after he's spent years away from home cheating death.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Curiosity

2011-03-25T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

I'm calling in sick this week, and guess what would make me feel great?

Send more questions! My pile is getting low, and hearing about your curiosity in Christianity and the Bible is sure to provide a pick-me-up.

I plan to be back next week.

~ Anne

Question of the Week: What is Biblical Reconciliation?

2011-03-18T00:00:00.070-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"Reconciliation"
Sculpted by Josefina de Vasconcellos
(image source: trinityfellowship.net)

What is the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation, (in the sense of being available for further abuse)?
~ Anonymous

Last week's post provided some contrasts from the Bible about forgiveness, separation and accountability. This week offers some examples of how enmity, forgiveness and reconciliation might play out.

Three important notes in preface:

• if a Christian experiences enmity, relationship with Christ will bring the desire to eliminate it;

• the below examples of forgiveness and reconciliation are biblical ideals toward which God's Holy Spirit enables us to work, whether or not we reach them;

• the person who has been wronged should not only be ready to forgive and reconcile, but also ask God if there is anything for which he or she should repent and ask forgiveness.

"Love your enemies,
bless those who curse you,
do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;
for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
Do not even the [heathen] do the same?"
~ Jesus (Matthew 5:44-46)

EXAMPLES OF ENMITY:

You hurt me and I hope you suffer for it.

I want to hurt you back, whether I do it openly or secretly, with or without restraint.

I want you out of my life. Your death wouldn't bother me. Killing you myself isn't out of the question.

EXAMPLES OF FORGIVENESS:

If I hate you, it will hurt me more than it will hurt you, so I release my enmity. God's forgiveness and love enable me to forgive and love you, and I choose to do so.

I am willing to hold you accountable for your wrongdoing with the hope that your repentance will enable full reconciliation between you and God, between you and me.

I ask God to do good things for you. I seek opportunity to be an agent of His blessing. I wait for God to heal the injury you have done to me. I hope God will move you to become an agent of that healing by your right response to Him, expressed to me.

EXAMPLES OF RECONCILIATION:

Whether you and I associate peaceably or have no contact, your lack of repentance has prevented reconciliation between us. But my forgiveness prevents enmity toward you—even if circumstances prevent me from escaping further injury. Though I desire reconciliation with you, I instead reconcile myself to knowing I have done as much as I can. I am at peace.

Or:
You have repented—you have acknowledged your wrong against me, you have expressed remorse and apology, and you may have reconciled yourself to God through Jesus. Forgiveness and repentance enables you and I to experience reconciliation. But until your cooperation with God enables you to overcome the behavior which led you to hurt me, we cannot share the level of relationship I still hope for, which I pray God brings to pass. I am at peace.

Or:
Your thorough repentance and my thorough forgiveness have enabled our reconciliation to God and to each other. We are brother(s) and sister(s) through Jesus Christ and are free to enjoy that relationship in love. I am at peace.

Now all things are of God,
who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation ...
and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (NKJV)

Photo credit: Ed Gardener, Flickr.com

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Forgiveness or Reconciliation?

2011-03-11T00:00:00.069-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

What is the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation (in the context of being vulnerable to further abuse)?
~ Anonymous

Once again, a question is posed which defies adequate explanation on a lone page. This week, five contrasts from the Bible will be presented. Next week will look at how biblical truth plays out in relationships.

Accountability & Forgiveness:

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more ... if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen ..." (Matthew 18:15-17 NKJV)

"Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22 NKJV)

Holding someone accountable for doing wrong to you, with a goal of reconciliation, is separate from the unrelenting forgiveness of heart that Jesus teaches.

Non-resistance & Escape:

"But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." (Matthew 5:39 NKJV)

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?" ... Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him. (Acts 22:25,29 NKJV; other examples of escape are Acts 5:17-20; 9:23-25;12:7-10)

Jesus both taught and set the example of accepting abuse without retaliation. But we should avoid injury when possible.

Marriage, Separation, Divorce:

A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife... If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And [likewise] a woman ... if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. (1 Corinthians 7:10-15 NKJV)

God hates divorce. If separation is necessary, Christians are instructed to remain unmarried and work for reconciliation. Only if the non-believing spouse divorces is the believer released from the marriage. (An exception is divorce for sexual immorality—see "Can Marital Sex be Sinful?")

Willing Suffering:

But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. (1 Peter 2:20-21 NKJV)

There really are some circumstances when suffering is preferable to quitting a situation or quitting a person. God's will and guidance are necessary for discernment.

Peace With Others & Peace Within:

Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. (Romans 12:17-18 NKJV)

Reconciliation doesn't always happen after we offer forgiveness. As much as depends on us, we must offer peace—and then be at peace.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: "Reconciliation in Sri Lanka"

Nice is Overrated

2011-03-06T21:13:00.010-05:00

By Russell Holloway

Last week my oldest son told me while we were standing around in the kitchen, “You are a pretty good dad, but I wish you were a little nicer.”

This made me laugh. Lucas is a talented and tough negotiator. There is little doubt in my mind that he could represent the International Brotherhood of Teamsters some day. And, I am sure he was being honest when he said that I am not always nice.

I admit that I have a temper that gets away from me now and then, but his comment had more to do with recent disappointment in not getting what he wanted than it did with me not being nice.

You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes. ~Walter M. Schirra, Sr.

In any case, being nice is not my job as a parent. Friendship destroys the parent/child relationship. Friends are equals. When a parent and child start behaving as equals chaos and misery, for everyone, soon follow.

My job as a parent is to love my children. Love is teaching my children. Love is being patient with my children. Love is listening to my children and showing them affection.

Love is often saying no to my children and disciplining them, sometimes at the risk of making them angry with me or causing great disappointment in their lives. When this happens in our home I sometimes think my heart will stop, literally, but what my children learn is more important than what they temporarily think about me.

God has blessed me with two amazing boys. In the kitchen Lucas wrapped his arms around me, shut his eyes, and said, “I love you daddy.” I know he does. And, I love him and his brother more than life.

... Father, thank You for Your son. Thank You for the gift of children. Let us never take them for granted. Father, we cannot raise them without Your love and help. Give us the courage to be good parents. In Jesus name ...

Question of the Week: Worldly Fear or Godly Fear?

2011-03-04T00:00:00.067-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Image source: science.howstuffworks

What is the difference between worldly fear and godly fear?
~ Russell Holloway, Blog Host
from the post Love is greater than fear

The short answer might be that worldly fear is motivated by self-protective pride and lust (a wide variety of self-indulgences), while godly fear is motivated by godly love. The Bible says that even Jesus experienced godly fear:

... in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
~ Hebrews 5:7-8 (NKJV)

If my love for another is self-centered, I recognize their potential to hurt me and am likely to limit myself to "safe" expressions of love which cater to the other person and still protect myself.

When my love is other-centered, I see the potential of my weaknesses to do injury to the one I love and have genuine fear of doing so. I am willing, if necessary, to both experience and cause pain if I am assured that doing so gives my loved one what is truly needed. The other-centered love—agape love—which accompanies godly fear values the relationship built up by reciprocal love and seeks to receive it. But agape love is stronger than my desire to experience temporal comfort or pleasure.

Godly fear only begins with the self-protective recognition that my heavenly Father's necessary discipline involves the training and correction which can be painful, and therefore attempts behavior to avoid discipline. (What athlete expects to excel without disciplined training that involves pain and correction?)

Godly fear holds a love for God that understands the injury to Him my sin has caused. Godly fear calls to mind the sufferings of Jesus on my behalf and has a heart which desires to cause Him no more pain.

For all that is in the world—
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life
—is not of the Father but is of the world.
~ 1 John 2:16 (NKJV)

The worldly fear which does not come from God also involves love—disproportionate love for self above love for God and others. Pride wishes self to be built up rather than use the power of God to edify others and exalt God. Lust for personal and temporal gratification does not possess the sound mind which sees the broader perspective of what provides lasting and unified peace among self, God, and others.

You may recall the verse about God offering not worldly fear, but rather power, love and a sound mind. The next verse explains what's also included:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God.
~ 2 Timothy 1:7-8 (NKJV)

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Love is greater than fear

2011-02-28T06:42:00.007-05:00

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

- 1 John 2:17

A colleague told me over a cup of coffee that all human behavior is motivated by either fear or love. Maybe. I agree that behavior tends to be purposeful, even negative behavior. But, I need more time to decide if I completely agree with my friend. There might be other factors in play.

This weekend I was in Washington, D.C. to spend time with men from my old Army unit. We were in D.C. to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of the 73 Easting. We gathered in the morning at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath in honor of a friend who did not make it back from Iraq. His mother and father were with us. They quietly set the wreath on the tomb, which added solemn weight to the ceremony.

It was exciting and emotional to see people I never thought I would see again. We were slapping each other’s backs, hugging, and trying not to talk too loud before the ceremony began.

As the day unfolded I reacquainted myself with old comrades. Some with lives motivated by fear in the guise of ambition. Some with lives motivated by love, evidenced by their desire to attend to the needs of others. All of us motivated by the wish to be reconnected with our past, which is fueled, I think, by the mixture of both fear and love.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve ... me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

- Joshua 24:15

Even if love is winning, fear still has a small foothold on my life. Scripture teaches us that we cannot faithfully serve two masters, so I constantly redirect myself toward love. In the words of Thomas Cahill, we have a choice: we can be burned up by the fire of fear, or be refined by the fire of God’s love. I choose love.

... Father, thank You for being a God of love, thank You for being the very definition of love. Father guide us away from our worldly fears, strengthen us and give us courage to grow closer to you. In Jesus name. ...

Question of the Week: Elaborate on the Whys

2011-02-25T00:00:00.054-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Elaborate on the why's? Why did Jacob place striped and not striped branches in the trough? Why did Moses hold the staff above his head during war? (I love that the Lord asks us to act with faith in His miracle.)
~ Tana Adams

The question partially answers itself. The Lord provides His people with unexpected directions, asking us to act in faith for His purposes, whether or not He immediately reveals the "why."

But with the Lord—in both Bible stories and our personal story—there is certain to also be a bigger picture.

And with many such parables [Jesus] spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it. But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
~ Mark 4:33-34 (NKJV)

Children aren't the only ones who benefit from object lessons. The Bible is filled with stories and parables that teach something much bigger than an apparent moral of the story. Biblical commentators (including yours truly) usually offer differing insights on the various levels of applications for any given story.

The biblical answers provided in this blog's articles are based on a comprehensive familiarity with Scripture, supplemented by a wide variety of biblical reference materials, and by extra-biblical sources as needed.

The above question's example is a story of Jacob breeding his sheep to his own benefit, and includes curious details about the diet of ewes when they conceived (Genesis 30:28-43). For this question, I prayerfully reviewed the passage describing Jacob's actions. No immediate answer became apparent. I went on to search my library, and then the internet about sheep breeding, without obtaining relevant details. But I later found an answer in another portion of Scripture—where I should have known to look in the first place:

"And it happened, at the time when the flocks conceived, that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked, speckled, and gray-spotted."
~ Genesis 31:10 (NKJV)

It appears that God simply gave directions to 91-year-old Jacob, a lifelong caretaker of sheep, that wasn't even evident to the sheep owner Laban. Because God chose to reveal an otherwise inexplicable course of action to one of His people, and that man responded in faith (as noted in the original question), God rewarded him.

There are certainly additional why's to be answered about this and thousands of other object lessons in the Bible. Especially in the Old Testament, the physical and natural world is used to explain spiritual realities to us.

... there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things ...
~ Hebrews 8:4-5 (NKJV)

When studying the Bible, we can be quickly satisfied with an answer about the immediate lesson. But God has ever deepening spiritual applications for us. If we are disciples of Jesus and spend time seeking and heeding His directives—accepting that we won't understand everything at once—then He will give us needed understanding in the hour we are able to hear.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: chakpak.com

Question of the Week: Balance in Marital Submission

2011-02-18T00:00:00.014-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before Almighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind."

~ Lt. Col. Hal Moore,

from the movie We Were Soldiers

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

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Last week's post ended with these words:

The principle of love acts not according to mere duty, but according to what is in the best interest of both [neighbor] and myself, in light of eternity and God's truth... Where marriage is concerned, the Bible teaches that balance comes not only in understanding the distinction between obedience and submission, but in understanding how both husband and wife submit to each other.

Jesus epitomizes a principle which God stressed most emphatically throughout the entire Bible: the greater the power a person has, the greater the responsibility to use it for good to serve others.

No human has greater power or has served others as sacrificially as Jesus Christ. He is the standard for servant leadership.

The headship of a husband above his wife is not about exercising power and authority, but about leadership and order among equals. The principle is perhaps seen most clearly in the military, where good leadership values and relies upon lower ranking officers, while exercising decisive leadership for the best of all. Good leadership would not think of asking from a subordinate what one would not be willing to do, as seen in the example pictured above.

I have observed two extremes purported to be marital submission.

One extreme says the husband speaks for God, and is therefore heeded without question, perhaps without a wife even thinking to offer input. This approach 1) makes an idol of the husband; 2) denies a husband the value of his wife as a helpmeet; 3) makes a woman a subservient pet at best, a doormat at worst.

The other extreme embraces the "forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission" mantra, with a wife doing her own will unless expressly forbidden by a husband. Such an approach 1) disregards the high price of forgiveness; 2) is blind to the high cost of lost trust in a relationship; 3) undermines the true spirit of submission.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is...
submitting to one another in the fear of God.
~ Ephesians 5:17,21 (NKJV)

In a balanced, biblical approach to submission, husband and wife both submit personal will to God first, and each other second. The husband exercises responsible, sacrificial servant leadership, taking the lead in laying down personal desires, and seeking a wife's unique perspective to make informed decisions. The wife follows her husband's lead with a submissive spirit, recognizing that the Lord appoints her husband as a minister for her good, respectfully sharing her relevant knowledge and supporting his final decision unless he chooses a clearly immoral path. Both accept that they're mutually fallible and actively seek God's guidance.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
~ Lord Acton

The above principles of servant leadership, trust, and fallibility also apply to government authority. Esteem the exceptional official who, regardless of political affiliation, behaves as a public servant rather than as a totalitarian prig feeding at the trough of public monies.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Obedience or Submission?

2011-02-11T00:00:00.029-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

A biblical look at "Submission to Authority" was planned as one post but is being stretched into three:

February 4: Submit to Bad Government?
February 11: Obedience or Submission?
February 18: Balance in Marital Submission?

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"Duty does not have to be dull.
Love can make it beautiful and fill it with life."
~ Thomas Merton

Photo from "The Notebook"
© 2004 New Line Cinema
image source: rottentomatoes.com

The question planned for this week was How is submission in marriage different than submission to government? Before answering that, it might be helpful to correct an oversight in last week's answer, and distinguish subtle differences between obedience and submission.

The dictionary says that to obey is "to carry out or comply with command, authority, or instruction." To submit is "to surrender or yield oneself to the will or authority of another."

Obedience is more about action. Submission is more about attitude. It is possible to obey the letter of the law without submitting to the spirit of the law.

While God's grace is abundant in the Old Testament, emphasis is that obedience results in blessing, while disobedience leads to consequences. The New Testament in Jesus teaches that more important than strict compliance with the letter of God's law is the higher standard of submission to the spirit of His law, which is love.

The key New Testament passage about submission to governing authorities is Romans 13. The spirit of submission is described in the same chapter as follows:

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
~ Romans 13:7-10 (NIV)

Last week's post made this statement:
There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

The principle of love acts not according to mere duty, but according to what is in the best interest of both authority (neighbor) and myself, in light of eternity and God's truth. It is possible to be both disobedient in action and submissive in spirit.

Where marriage is concerned, the Bible teaches that balance comes not only in understanding the distinction between obedience and submission, but in understanding how both husband and wife submit to each other.

More on that next week.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Submit to Bad Government?

2011-02-04T00:00:00.008-05:00

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Since the Bible says submit to governing authorities, what do you do when government is bad?
~ M.V.

How much of government is truly good? All authority is comprised of sinful humans who err, and are sometimes downright bad.

There are three areas of authority mentioned in Scripture—government, church, and family. The same principle generally* applies to all three—obey authorities unless they command what God forbids or they forbid what God commands.

That principle harmonizes two contrasting Bible passages:

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God... For he is God's minister to you for good.
~ Romans 13:1,4 (NKJV)

and:

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"
~ Acts 5:29 (NIV)

The three authorities are separate and independent, as long as they don't violate another realm of authority. For example, parents have authority to use corporal punishment on their children. But if they become abusive and violate criminal laws against assault, the government exercises authority over the parents. On the other hand, if one level of government violates parental rights, parents may appeal to a higher level of government.

Likewise, separation of church and state does not mean that religion may not influence government, but that church and government recognize the separate areas of authority that the other holds.

It may be helpful to remember that Paul wrote the above passage to the Romans—Christians living right under the nose of a pagan emperor. Paul well understood that he directed submission to bad government—but only when obedience was not sinful.

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh...
~ 1 Peter 2:18 (NKJV)

We hope for morality in the authorities over all three areas, and that they rule rightly because they are good, or at least because they have fear for their accountability to God. When authority asks something of us we don't want to do, we have several options:

– Submit quietly when a matter is not worthy of dissension, for the sake of peace and order. Regular contention over trivial matters reduces our credibility when we must speak up over a more serious matter.

– If a matter is worthy of the effort, wait for the right time, and then respectfully request dialogue and/or make an appeal, being prepared to provide additional information or perspective which gives an authority reason to reconsider.

– If such dialogue is unsuccessful, carefully and prayerfully consider if the matter rises to the level of justifying disobedience, with or without appeal to another authority—including God. Disobedience to authority always risks consequences, and we have no way of knowing how far suffering might ultimately extend.

... But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
~ 1 Peter 2:20-21 (NKJV; full context: 1 Peter 2:13-21)

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: gospelmet.wordpress.com

Psychological First Aid

2011-02-01T12:42:00.008-05:00

Last week I spent four days in Orlando training with first responders: police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel, you know, the people you call when you are having a really bad day.

The purpose of the training was to help these practiced individuals learn techniques they can use to support each other when one or more of them have been exposed to an unusual incident that might lead to post traumatic stress.

First responders know something the rest of us sometimes have a hard time figuring out. In a crisis, life is hard, often lethal, when we try to go through it alone.

We are meant to rely on each other. That is how God created us. We are stronger when we support and look out for each other.

Scripture teaches us that, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

We are stronger when we band together. We are infinitely stronger when we invite God into our relationships. We experience God through each other. When we are in His will, He is manifest through our lives.

"Father, thank you for the people who are willing to put their lives at risk to keep us safe, be with them, give them courage and wisdom, and protect them, in Jesus name we pray."

Question of the Week: Aren't Rules of Forgiveness Unfair?

2011-01-27T23:59:00.006-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"We are most like men when we judge.
We are most like God when we forgive."
~ Anonymous

If God required a sacrifice to forgive, why should I be asked to forgive without receiving one?
~ Anonymous

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, how could the master put the servant in prison for a debt that had been forgiven?
~ J.F.

Since the master in the parable represents God, both questions imply that God unfairly applies the rules of forgiveness. There are innumerable responses that might offered for the first question. The answer offered here today will address the aspect of ownership, nicely illustrated by the parable in the second question.

Declaring bankruptcy was not an option in ancient times. Debts were paid by selling your possessions, by selling your family members or yourself as slaves, or by going to prison unless someone of means paid the debt on your behalf. Jesus tells a parable of a servant who owes millions of dollars. His master says the man, his family, and his possessions will be sold in payment. The man begs for mercy and patience to make good on his debt—as if he can. The master shows great mercy by simply forgiving the debt.

Take note that the servant is already a slave (Greek doulos). All he has belongs to the master anyway. Being sold would have separated him from his family and given him a different master, but forgiveness has not given him ownership of himself. The forgiven slave still serves at his master's pleasure, and he has incurred a new debt—the debt of gratitude.

The master owns the slave, the debt, all assets the slave considers his own, and all the slave's service. The master also owns a fellow slave whom the first slave assaults and imprisons for a minor debt. And since the master owns both slaves, he actually owns that minor debt, too. In forgiving the first debt and wiping the slate clean, the master has effectively wiped out the associated debt of the second slave.

If debtor's prison serves as punishment and deterrent for willfully acquiring debt without ability or intent to repay, then the first slave deserved prison in the first place. His refusal to extend a small measure of mercy not only proves him evil and unworthy of the mercy he received, but his ingratitude trivializes the master's goodness. The slave's actions say to the master: "What you gave me is insignificant compared to what this other slave should give me."

Jesus Christ is the payment for our sins, and not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world.
~ 1 John 2:2 (GW)

When Jesus was crucified, His sacrifice paid the death penalty every one of us owes God for our sins. Once I accept application of that payment to my account, it also wipes out whatever sin debt I think someone else owes me, and which is actually owed to our mutual Master.

Though we may ask for our offenders to be held accountable, we cannot ask for sacrifice. The sacrifice for all sin has already been made.

[POST SCRIPT: Please see the comments below for more discussion of Jesus' atonement and God's authority to require it.]

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For more on the reasons to forgive and the associated blessings, see Why Forgive?

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
image source: jshinn.wordpress.com

Question of the Week: What about the Jews?

2011-01-20T22:37:00.003-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Western Wall, Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Photo credit: Rafael Ben-Ari

Are the Jews of today heirs to the covenant made with Abraham? Are all Jews saved? Will the Lord ... allow resurrected Jews to accept Christ?
~ T. Anne Adams

God does not forget the people of His covenants or fail to provide for them.

When Jeremiah 31:31-37 prophesies of the New Covenant (the covenant established through Jesus's death), the Lord makes clear that not only is Israel heir to that covenant, but He gives the covenant specifically to Israel.

Jesus directed His Jewish followers to actively seek converts to the New Covenant. More Gentiles than Jews accepted it, and those New Covenant Jews assimilated with Gentiles and ceased practicing the Old Covenant. In time, New Covenant Jews were no longer distinguished as Jews, while Old Covenant Jews still are. This has resulted in a notion called Replacement Theology, which says the church of Jesus has replaced Israel as heir to the promises which God made to His chosen people.

Replacement Theology is not Scriptural. Although the covenant made with Moses was made obsolete by the New Covenant, covenants made with Noah, Abraham, and David are still in effect.

However, Jews are not heirs to God's covenants because of their human bloodline, but because of their faith:

Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
~ Galatians 3:6-7 (NKJV)

Righteousness has always come by faith in the Lord and calling upon His name (Romans 10:11-13). All Jews are not saved, because not all Jews have the faith of Abraham. But there are many Jews with the faith of Abraham who do not yet know Jesus is their Messiah. God has promised a day when they will accept Jesus as their Lord.

Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved.
~ Romans 11:25-26 (NKJV)

"All Israel" refers not to every Jew, but every Jew of faith. There are numerous interpretations of how Israel will be saved in connection with The Tribulation and end times. But the Bible indicates there is no second chance to come to faith after death.

The Lord has already begun to fulfill this last verse. He not only restored Israel as a nation just 63 years ago, after 1878 years with no country, but many Jews have come to faith in Jesus since that time. My own take on "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" is that a day will come when the Lord reveals to all of faithful Israel that Jesus is Messiah, and that the Holy Spirit will not bring any more Gentiles to faith when that point is reached.

I personally believe the end is very near.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What does Sanctified Mean?

2011-01-14T00:00:00.005-05:00

What did Jesus mean when He said He sanctified Himself?
~ Bud Ezekiel

This question comes from the following prayer of Jesus, immediately before His crucifixion:

"They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."
~ John 17:16-19 (NKJV)

The word "sanctify" means to set apart as holy. Jesus was already absolutely holy before His crucifixion, so what could sanctify Him?

He appears to be referring to the sacrifice of Himself He is about to make, and how this affects us. When considering what the words may have meant to Jesus, these words can be applied to a Christian's day to day life.

In the Old Testament, some animals were set apart from the rest of the herd or flock for the purpose of being sacrificed to God. But if a priest rejected an animal as blemished, it would be used for other, non-sacred purposes. The set apart animal wasn't completely sacred, or sanctified, until the sacrifice was completed.

During Jesus' earthly ministry, He was completely set apart to do His Father's work. If He had healed and driven out demons, preached repentance, revealed the Father to us, set a good example for us, and then returned to Heaven without dying on the cross, we would have surely judged His ministry excellent.

But His ministry would have served us for only this world.

Jesus went further. He also set Himself apart as a sacrifice for sin, and then perfected that sanctification with the completion of sacrifice. Jesus didn't simply come to make our lives better in this world. He laid down His life in payment for our sin so we could have the eternal life that begins in this world, bypasses all spiritual death, and continues into the next world.

We receive eternal life when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and give ourselves to Him. Although salvation justifies us by changing our status before God from "sinner" to "righteous saint," the process of being set apart from the world—while at the same time being sent out into the world—continues with every choice we make. Even matters as simple as what to wear or eat provide opportunity to testify, "I live for this world," or, "I live for God."

Truth sanctifies us. Example: If I make lifestyle choices which indulge my desires, and I tell myself it doesn't matter, I believe a lie and live for this world. If I know the truth which says my body is set apart to God as His Holy Spirit's temple, and that knowledge prompts me to make healthy choices, then the truth sanctifies me.

Each sacrifice, however large or small, sanctifies us. The process of being increasingly set apart to God not only honors Him, but enables us to experience His presence and eternal life more fully.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: worshipconcordjournal.wordpress.com

Question of the Week: Do Christians Sin?

2011-01-07T00:00:00.005-05:00

"Good and Evil: The Devil Tempting a Young Woman"
Andre Jacques Victor Orsel 1832
Image source: art.com

Is it true that Christians "can't" sin?
~ Hannah Meyer

This question usually arises from 1 John 3:9-10. Here's the Analytical Literal Translation (ALT) text:

Every one having been begotten from God is not practicing sin, because His seed abides in him, and he is not able to be sinning, because he has been begotten from God. By this are revealed [who are] the children of God and the children of the devil: every one not practicing righteousness is not from God, and the one not loving his brother.

Here is why the child of God, born again in Jesus, does not sin.

God's Word reproduces spiritual life in His children, not sin.
To be "begotten from God," is to be born again through the seed of God. Whether seed is of a plant, human, or God Himself, "seed" implants and reproduces life. God's seed is His Word (logos, Greek for "word"), whether manifest as Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:14), or as the living sayings of God from the Bible (Hebrews 4:12). If the Word of God is implanted in a person and takes hold, the spiritual life of God is reproduced in His new child.

God's children gain the legal standing of Jesus—"righteous."
Those who receive God's seed—His Word, Jesus—and allow it to reproduce spiritual life are born as immortal, spiritual beings. God does not call us His children as only an affectionate metaphor. We receive a legal status of child and heir. We receive Jesus' life (sinless) in place of our life (sinful). Our standing before God is changed from "sinner" to "righteous." We are no longer guilty of any sin. No matter what we do, it is not counted against us as sin.

God's children grow in likeness to God, hating sin ...
Though we gain a new spiritual status, we continue to live in sinful flesh, which dies. As we grow in likeness to God, sin is something we will become increasingly aware of (see Romans 7:15-20), continue to repent of, and hate enough to not willfully practice. Paul describes the situation of sinning but hating it as "wretched," and comforts us with the words, "Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

... while practicing righteousness and love.
Children of the King are royalty, who are not judged by the law, but are instead members of His court, outside the law. However, the King holds His royal children to a higher standard of character than mere duty to obey the law. We are to behave as royalty, like the King Himself, out of love for our Father. And though we are no longer subject to the death penalty of law, we are subject to the discipline of our Father, Who takes a dim view of His children defaming His name with bad behavior.

A shorter explanation might modify the cancer mantra and simply say, "I may have sin, but sin doesn't have me."

For further information on this topic, readers may be interested in
"Lie of Hell #2: No More Worry About Sin."

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2011 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T02:36:00.004-05:00

"Question of the Week" will return next Friday, with a look at this query:

"Is it true that Christians 'can't' sin?"

May your 2011 have a solid foundation upon Jesus Christ, the Rock.

Image source: billycoffey.blogspot.com

Question of the Week: What is The Christ?

2010-12-24T00:00:00.005-05:00

"Annunciation" by Henry Ossawa Tanner
Image source: canvasreplicas.com

The Greek word "christ" and Hebrew word "messiah" both mean "anointed one."

The biblical word "anoint" refers to the pouring oil on a person. Olive oil was used as fuel for light. It was also poured on people as a cosmetic, to give skin and face the shine of health. Various herbs and spices in oil were used for food enhancement, for perfume, and for healing.

Anointing with oil was also a ritual, signifying that a person was set apart to serve God as His king, priest, or prophet, and often empowered by the Lord’s Holy Spirit. Persons were occasionally called "anointed" without ritual pouring of oil, when God appointed them for a special purpose.

Thus "anointed" also indicates the Holy Spirit and His power being poured out upon a person.

Long before the birth of Jesus, God promised He would send His Christ—THE Anointed One, God Himself in human flesh—to fill the three roles of King, Priest, Prophet. The great significance of Jesus’ mother Mary being a virgin is that Jesus' biological Father is God. The Holy Spirit did not simply empower Jesus as a Man, but impregnated His mother with a Person already divine:

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin ... "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS... The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God..." Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
~ Luke 1:26,31,35,38 (NKJV; also see Matthew 1:18-23)

By consenting for the Holy Spirit to come upon her, Mary accepted God's Word and thereby received His seed—"seed" meaning both offspring and God's Word. Jesus grew within her until the day she birthed Him and He became manifest to others.

This wonder celebrated at Christmas—Almighty God dwelling upon the earth by His Spirit having union with a human to reproduce the life of His Son—is an everyday miracle. Because the Lord's Anointed One came as conquering King to defeat death, came as Priest to offer Himself as sacrifice for sin, and came as Prophet with God's Word for us (His seed), we receive the same invitation that Mary did.

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
~ Acts 2:38 (NKJV)

We can accept God's Word and humbly offer ourselves as servants to God, yield to the power of Most High God entering our human flesh, and then reproduce the life of Jesus so that God might be manifest to the world.

Christians are not merely Christ-followers. We are Christ-bearers and anointed ones, set apart to God and empowered by His poured out Holy Spirit, so that we might burn as the light of Christ, shine with spiritual health, heal and be healed, and be the perfume of Christ.

For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.
~ 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 (NKJV)

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What is Peace?

2010-12-17T00:00:00.006-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Some of the [Christmas] words have been worn out. Can you put “glory,” “joy,” “Messiah / Christ,” etc. in today’s vernacular?
~ Don Kimrey

A wonderful Q&A theme for the Advent season is to revisit biblical definitions of these words. We'll insert the quintessential Christmas word “peace” for "etc.," and spread the answer out over four posts:

December 3: Glory
December 10: Joy / Rejoice
December 17: Peace
December 24: Messiah / Christ

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Here is one Hebrew word easily translated: shâlôm.

Peace.

This Hebrew masculine noun is rooted in a verb that means to be safe and well; to make complete or to be completed.

True peace is holistic; that is, it takes in the whole person. Anyone who otherwise lives in health and ease, yet experiences gnawing hunger pangs in body, mind, heart, or soul, is not at peace.

If we look to the Bible for how to find peace, we discover that not only does peace affect the whole person, it is obtained in a Person:

You will keep in perfect peace,
The one fixed upon You,
Because he trusts in You.
Trust in YHWH forever,
For YAH—YHWH—is the Rock of Ages [everlasting strength].
~ Isaiah 26:3-4 (author)

We see here why peace eludes us. We think we can find peace in prosperity, in vigor of health, in relationship with another human. These things can bring a measure of peace, especially when we recognize them as gifts from God.

But they are all temporal. Prosperity is maintained by no small effort. Health and vigor are under constant attack from lifestyle, environment, and age. Every human relationship will eventually fail us, since every other human is as flawed as ourselves.

YHWH (also Yahweh, Jehovah, the LORD) is the Rock of Ages—eternal, everlasting strength. He does not change. His love never fails.

The more we are fixed on temporal things, the more ways we experience disappointment in their failing us. The more we are fixed upon YHWH, and establish Him as the solid foundation of our lives, the more peace we find amid the failures of all that is temporal.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
~ Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

A closing thought about peace is this: just as lack of peace in one part of the body affects the whole person, lack of peace in one part of Christ’s body of believers affects the whole. Indeed, lack of peace in one part of humanity affects the whole.

2010 draws to a close on a world without peace. While each of us might work toward peace in our corner of the globe, we remember—in this expectant season of Christmas—that peace cannot be complete until The Prince of Peace again walks the earth, as He promised He would.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: flickr.com

Rejoice

2010-12-14T08:45:00.008-05:00

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

It is only after I realized that I could not solve my own problems that I started to look outside myself for answers. Turning to the world and its empty promises only complicated my life, nearly destroyed my family, and made life worse. I had made myself hostage and the chains that bound me I put there myself. And, then love rescued me.

Tired of the world, Christmas has become holy to me. The birth of Christ means hope and mercy to a person who deserves neither. I sit in the quietness of my home, pray for my boys, pray for my wife, look at the Christmas tree, and rejoice like a man nearly drowned might rejoice, plucked from the sea and resting face down on the deck of a ship as he waits for strength to return to his body. Thank you, Father.

The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5

... I praise our heavenly Father for you. I raise my hands and cry out to Him that you are blessed this Christmas, in Jesus name ...

Question of the Week: What is Joy / Rejoicing?

2010-12-10T00:00:00.007-05:00

Image source: denverbroncos.com

The Finnish language has three dozen different words for snow. Some of us understand the difference between Colorado champagne powder, Michigan sleet, and springtime mashed potato snow—any of which may be a foreign concept to the Floridian.

The Bible has over two dozen Hebrew words and about a dozen Greek words used in 69 different ways to express joy and rejoicing, with an astounding variety of concepts. Three basic points that the Bible makes about joy and rejoicing are these:
• rejoicing actively shares unrestrained joy
• joy is commonly connected to labor or sorrow
• lasting joy springs from the Lord’s goodness

Some Hebrew & Greek words used to describe rejoicing include ideas of exult, cheer, make merry, gush, burst out, laugh, congratulate, celebrate, gleam, be bright, skip, jump, leap, dance, twirl, spin, spring, stomp, shout, boast, sing, scream, clamor, toss the head, enjoin, hurry eagerly.

Perhaps the clearest example of biblical-style rejoicing in our culture is watching sports fans, particularly at season’s finale. Otherwise staid and placid humans go into fanatical frenzy and embrace strangers when their team overcomes all others. I well remember being in the Denver crowd which threw a parade for the Broncos in 1978. After a thirteen losing seasons, we didn’t seem to mind that our team returned from Super Bowl XII as the NFL’s Number Two.

The Bible often describes the most intense joy following the most intense sorrow. Among Jesus’ last words before His cruel death were these:

"Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."
~ John 16:20-22 (NKJV)

I have never known a time when so many Christians are struggling through so many intense difficulties. Amid affliction, how do we produce the spiritual fruit of joy (Greek chara—delight, cheerfulness)?

We keep our hearts mindful of the blessings we do have by continually expressing thanks to God. We express love, because we know God's love. We remind ourselves often that of all the good things we might ask from God, He already offers us His greatest gift: His Son Jesus.

Now when [the shepherds] had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child... Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
~ Luke 2:17,20 (NKJV)

If you're able, picture the shepherds high-fiving and hugging one another, then jamming cell phone lines and putting Twitter & Facebook "over capacity" in the excitement to share their joy.

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

The Science of Faith

2010-12-06T20:56:00.014-05:00

Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:5

One of my favorite places in Berlin is the Natural History Museum. My wife grew up in communist East Berlin and has happy memories of going to the museum as a little girl.

Whenever we go back we love to watch Lucas and Tristan get excited about the exhibits. Their eyes pop open as they run around the old hardwood floors in the museum. The family favorite is the largest assembled dinosaur skeleton in the world, a Brachiosaurus. It is impossible to take a photograph of the entire skeleton without a wide-angle camera lens.

Some Christians shy away from museums like Berlin’s Natural History Museum because the museums strongly promote the theory of evolution. I encourage my boys to probe and ask the hard questions. Truth in science will always point us back to God, we need not fear.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2

In science a law is something that is verifiable and inarguable. For example, no one argues against the law of gravity, at least not at the user level here on planet Earth. A theory on the other hand is something that cannot be verified using scientific method.

Good scientific theories are built upon evidence to be fair, but what separates a theory from a law is that a theory cannot be proven. In order to fully embrace a theory some degree of faith is required.

Contemporary scientists like Stephen Hawking and Jared Diamond, who attack the possibility of a divine Creator, seem to lean upon their own presuppositions that God does not exist. Their logic is often circular. They have decided in advance that God does not exist and then text proof nature to support their own ideas. But the theory of evolution begs a question to the modern scientist: Why is evolution a theory and not a law?

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

We cannot decide God into existence, but others cannot decide Him out of existence either. God exists, or does not exist, despite what we think.

Based upon my own experiences I believe that God exists and that Jesus Christ is His son. I do so as a matter of faith. Those who choose not to believe in God do so as an exercise of faith, too.

... Father thank You for life, thank You for creation. Father please help us to better understand the world You have created for us, this precious space You have given us to let our lives unfold. We pray to You in Jesus name ...

Question of the Week: What is Glory?

2010-12-03T00:00:00.006-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Some of the [Christmas] words have been worn out. Can you put "glory," "joy," "Messiah / Christ," etc. in today’s vernacular?
~ Don Kimrey

A wonderful Q&A theme for the Advent season is to revisit biblical definitions of these words. We'll insert the quintessential Christmas word "peace" for "etc.," and spread the answers out over four posts:

December 3: Glory
December 10: Joy / Rejoice
December 17: Peace
December 24: Messiah / Christ

: : :

Photo courtesy of Sandra Heska King

Glory

The Bible uses no fewer than nine Hebrew and four Greek words which are translated "glory" in English. Both noun and verb forms of those words include familiar concepts such as splendor, majesty, grandeur, and especially dazzling light. But they also take in much more than the inherent beauty we commonly associate with glory.

The Bible's words for glory include praise, or boasting, as in the phrase "give glory." Some of the original language words' literal meanings include "ample" or "swell up"—because glory is always something huge. When we give glory, we are boasting in a showy way; we are magnifying God, or making Him bigger in the eyes of others.

Yet glory is even more than size. We think of it as abstract, but it has substance. The most common word for glory (Hebrew kâbôd) literally means "weight." However else we think of dazzling light and glory, we do not think of it as heavy. On the contrary, we attribute heaviness to the burden of suffering and affliction.

But the two usually go together. The greater the weight of affliction borne with faith, the greater the glory we give to God—and the greater the glory we lay up for ourselves. This is the concept described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17:

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

Jesus exemplified this principle on behalf of us all. Yet He sought glory for only His Father, rather than for Himself, trusting that the Father would one day share that glory with His Son. It is this weight of glory—bound up in the weight of suffering—which we shall one day share with God.

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
~ Hebrews 2:9-10 (NKJV)

In the Old Testament, the presence of God was occasionally visible in His shekinah glory, or His visible glory. At Jesus birth, the glory of the Lord again became visible: God became man to manifest the dazzling light of His love; His shekinah glory shone around the angels who heralded His presence; and their message carried the weight of the cross and all its suffering, bound up in the name "Savior."

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
~ Luke 2:11 (NKJV)

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What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Can Marital Sex be Sinful? Part III

2010-11-19T00:00:00.008-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Is pornography adultery?
~ Anonymous
Am I obligated to sleep with a spouse who I do not think loves me anymore and is just using me for sex?
~ Anonymous

These were submitted as two separate questions. Both might receive a simple 'yes' based on Matthew 5:28 and 1 Corinthians 7:4-5. But addressing sin in context of marital sex deserves far more depth, and three posts are planned to offer some answers:

Part I: Sexual Immorality, Unique Sin
Part II: Sex Drive, Unique Motivation
Part III: Sexual Contrasts, Unique Solution

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SEXUAL CONTRASTS, UNIQUE SOLUTION

"In a relationship conflict,
crying is often a woman's response to feeling unloved,
and anger is often a man's response to feeling disrespected."
~ Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Love and Respect Ministries, Inc.

Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
~ Ephesians 5:33 (NKJV)

The same contrasts between a man and woman which cause differences also have potential to bring distinction to their relationship.

The entire fifth chapter of Ephesians weaves back and forth in discussion of union between the believer with the Spirit, between a man and wife, between Christ and His bride. Paul blurs the lines throughout the section, so that all he says may be applied to marriages both spiritual and human. He ends on the emphatic point of love and respect—Greek agapaō and phobeō.

This verb phobeō (from which we derive the noun "phobia") is translated "fear" every other time it appears in the Bible. There is only one reason to justify the deviation of most translations, which render this verb as "respect" rather than "fear" in this exceptional verse.

Here, phobeō is coupled with love.

Men must be respected by their wives, or they will not feel loved. If a man thinks his wife does not convey respect—whether in her assessment of his judgments and capabilities, or by her words spoken to him and about him—he will not feel loved, and he will have difficulty conveying love to her. She may even think she intends respect, but what will matter to him is what he perceives.

Likewise, regardless of how a man actually feels about his wife, a woman who feels unloved will not only be utterly crushed, but will also have some difficulty showing her husband respect in a way which is meaningful to him.

Few things are as vulnerable as a man’s ego and a woman's heart.

The bedroom has more potential than anywhere else as a place for love and respect to be displayed or denied. Here, where a man and woman are most vulnerable and exposed, a marriage may be bonded or broken.

The man who wants a wife to respect his judgment and capabilities anywhere else will first demonstrate them here. When he unlocks her emotions with his love and tenderness, he finds the key to her passions and responsiveness.

If a woman struggles to show respect to a husband she feels unworthy of it, even that must be communicated with respect. If she would invite him to love her unconditionally, she will respect him unconditionally.

The soul of a man's ego and a woman's heart are where they are most easily injured—or where they find most exquisite delight.

When sin and immorality and injury persist via sex, without repentance, marriage breaks down.

When love and respect flourish via marital sex, they will likely bloom throughout the marriage—with her as his most passionate champion, him as her most devoted lover.

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For more on love and respect, see "For Guys Only."

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Can Marital Sex be Sinful? Part II

2010-11-12T00:00:00.011-05:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Is pornography adultery?
~ Anonymous
Am I obligated to sleep with a spouse who I do not think loves me anymore and is just using me for sex?
~ Anonymous

These were submitted as two separate questions. Both might receive a simple 'yes' based on Matthew 5:28 and 1 Corinthians 7:4-5. But addressing sin in context of marital sex deserves far more depth, and three posts are planned to offer some answers:

Part I: Sexual Immorality, Unique Sin
Part II: Sex Drive, Unique Motivation
Part III: Sexual Contrasts, Unique Solution

: : :

PART II: SEX DRIVE, UNIQUE MOTIVATION

"In real love you want the other person's good.
In romantic love, you want the other person."
~ Margaret Chase Smith

Once upon a time, in a world without sin, the Creator gave woman to man as a companion. In all creation, she alone was like him, and yet she was wholly different. Their ideal lives had nothing to challenge unconditional love for each other.

Then sin came into the picture. Agonizing toil and labor would now consume both the man and woman in their respective occupations, and newfound self-centeredness would forevermore put their relationship in continual jeopardy.

Little might compel a man and woman to unite if the Creator did not also give the man a fight-to-the-death sex drive and the woman a drive for relationship ("your desire shall be for your husband"—Genesis 3:16). While there is no doubt that men were also created for relationship, and women were also created to enjoy sex, it's generally understood that most men are more driven toward physical satisfaction and most women are more driven toward emotional satisfaction. *

Ideally, each partner prompts the other to find both kinds of satisfaction in sexual intimacy—the Creator's super glue to permanently bond together two otherwise ill-fitting creatures in the institution of marriage.

Super glue is interesting stuff. It is reputed to create a bond stronger than the materials it unites. It forms that bond with incredible speed. And if not used with sufficient care, it will bond things not meant to be bonded, or otherwise cause damage.

The same is true of sexual intimacy. Blog host Russell Holloway noted in his comment last week that sex has recreational and procreational components, but is most importantly a form of communication. Sexual intimacy creates a unique vulnerability and opens channels of communication in marriage which can strengthen it as nothing else. If intimacy includes immorality, sexual intimacy can also injure a marriage as nothing else.

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
~ 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 (NKJV)

It’s been said that women learn to fake pleasure and men learn to fake relationship.

Dishonesty and vulnerability are a dangerous mix.

Faking might seem preferable to facing how weak the marriage is. Indulgence of sexual immorality might look like a way to revive the sexual bond of marriage. But sin can never deliver on what it promises. What it does always deliver is consequences greater than its fleeting pleasure.

Not-faking might seem an adequate excuse to avoid sexual intimacy. But frustrated desire—whether a man's physical desire or a woman's emotional desire—makes a person vulnerable to seeking some manner of satisfaction outside of marriage, and is a recipe for marriage failure.

God’s Spirit provides another, better option, to be examined next week.

~ ~ ~

* Paul mentions that for the sake of God's kingdom, the Holy Spirit gives some people a gift to appreciate celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:7-9;32-34).

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For more on the consequences of sexual immorality, see "For Beauty, If She is Listening."

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: homepages.ius.edu

Question of the Week: Can Marital Sex be Sinful? Part I

2010-11-05T00:00:00.010-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

1. Is pornography adultery?
~ Anonymous
2. Am I obligated to sleep with a spouse who I do not think loves me anymore and is just using me for sex?
~ Anonymous

These were submitted as two separate questions. Both might receive a simple 'yes' based on Matthew 5:28 and 1 Corinthians 7:4-5. But addressing sin in context of marital sex deserves far more depth, and three posts are planned to offer some answers:

Part I: Sexual Immorality, Unique Sin
Part II: Sex Drive, Unique Motivation
Part III: Sexual Contrasts, Unique Solution

: : :

PART I: SEXUAL IMMORALITY, UNIQUE SIN

"What makes pornography so addictive
is that more than anything else in a lost man's life,
it makes him feel like a man
without ever requiring a thing of him."
~ John Eldredge, from Wild at Heart

(To provide full explanations, today's post includes full biblical texts rather than the usual links.)

Jesus unequivocally defined lust as the sin of adultery. Perhaps He anticipated an argument that lust is inescapable—a person can’t help where the eye looks and what is then compelled of the hand—because He went on to address such rationale. Here is the complete text:

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."
~ Matthew 5:27-30 (NKJV)

The context of sexual immorality continues into the verses which immediately follow:

"Furthermore it has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' 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 5:31-32 (NKJV)

Thoroughly despicable to the Jews, adultery carried the death penalty. Jesus pointed out that a divorced woman was compelled to seek another man for support, and He declared a man who commits divorce as guilty of complicity to resulting adultery—unless his wife gave him sufficient grounds for divorce. Jesus didn’t specify grounds for divorce as adultery (Greek moicheia). He instead spoke of sexual immorality (Greek porneia), a broader sin which includes adultery. Jesus affirms permanency of marriage—and how intolerable sexual immorality in marriage is.

Paul describes sexual immorality as a unique sin because of the way sex unites one person, body and soul, to another. He uses this principle to point out that God's Spirit unites Himself to our bodies, and our bodies are to honor that Spirit:

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "The two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
~ 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 (NKJV)

We generally think of pornography as a visual temptation which indulges men to lust. But pornography can include images, audio, or text, whether explicit or evocative. It may tempt a man or a woman, married or single. It may tempt indulgence of physical lust or emotional lust. Pornography sabotages marriage, both present and future, and cannot be separated from the lust which violates the commandment, "You shall not commit adultery."

Such lust is only one aspect of sexual immorality, which violates a higher commandment. Because it degrades our bodies, which serve as dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, sexual immorality sabotages efforts to love the Lord our God with all our soul, heart, mind, body.

: : :

For more on defining sin, see "Is It Wrong?"

For more on divorce and the sanctity of marriage, see "What is Marriage?"

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: What About Job?

2010-10-29T00:18:00.006-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

I wonder about the whole showdown with Job ...
~ Wendy Paine Miller

Set in the post-flood era, the book of Job evokes a picture of chess game between God and the devil, in which humans are pawns with wills of their own.

This book offers fascinating depictions of our God's personality, the devil, heavenly sparring, human suffering, philosophy, creationism, and far more—fodder for an entire book series. We'll peek at just three points.

RESPONSE TO SUFFERING

Job represents epitome of suffering in every area of life, regardless of doing what's right.

Job holds the honor of Billy Graham and the riches of Bill Gates. Then he loses all—family, wealth, health, reputation. What he has left brings him only grief—an embittered wife's nagging, three accusatory "friends," and a despised life.

Job sowed goodness and reaps adversity.

Though he will be rebuked for calling God to account and complaining "not fair," Job's response to suffering itself has inspired humanity throughout the ages:

...[Job] fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD."
In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
~ Job 1:20-22 (NKJV)

RESPONSE TO THE DEVIL

Job's wife provokes her husband using the exact words spoken in Heaven by God and the devil. (Compare Job 2:3 and 2:5 with Job 2:9.) We may deduce that her share in Job's losses has brought bitterness, making her vulnerable to accepting the devil's suggestions, which in turn enables the devil to use her as his mouthpiece.

God desires to be praised. The devil desires to see God cursed.

Job will curse his life. He will question God. He will complain at length, which is dangerously close to cursing God. Yet Job sets an example of rebuking the devil's words:

[Job] said to [his wife], "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
~ Job 2:10 (NKJV)

RESPONSE TO GOD

Job curses his birth, cries "not fair," and seeks and audience with God to question Him. God gives Job an audience, but turns the questions on him with a reference to "children of pride."

Job is treated to a raw display of the Lord's power in lightning storm, tornado, and the possibly present behemoth and leviathan (likely a dinosaur and dragon).

Job already feared God. Now he is terrified. Realizing Whom he attempted to call into account, Job recants, calls himself vile, and repents. He thought he wanted God to justify His actions. But now Job justifies having trust in Almighty God's purposes, though we cannot comprehend them:

"I know that You can do everything,
And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You...
I have uttered what I did not understand,
Things too wonderful [incomprehensible] for me, which I did not know."
~ Job 42:1-3 (NKJV)

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: armchairtravelogue.blogspot.com

Question of the Week: Why Not Skip the Old Covenant?

2010-10-22T00:00:00.004-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Why did God make an Old Covenant if He knew He was going to make a better Covenant?
~ Michaelle B., Michigan

There’s a joke which says God made Adam first as a rough draft, and Eve was perfection.

That implies that God was only warming up the first time around, and didn’t get it quite right until the second time.

God made male and female different, each one for a different purpose, and neither of them inferior to the other.

His covenants are also different, each one for a different purpose. However, the Bible clearly admits that the Old Covenant had problems:

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
~ Hebrews 8:7 (NKJV)

The book of Hebrews elaborates about many problems with the Old Covenant. Among them are that it commanded sacrifices of animals be offered for sins, but ongoing sins meant the need for more sacrifices. Furthermore, the Old Covenant did nothing to fix the problem of sin by changing the sinner. And a person could not live solely by faith, because the Old covenant required them to live by rituals and sacrifices and laws.

Because Jesus (and only Jesus) fulfilled the requirements of the Old Covenant, He was able to make the New Covenant of grace. His sacrifice for sin was the final one, for all sins of all time. His covenant gives His Holy Spirit to His followers, so that we not only have a righteous standing before God (which permits us access to Him), but are also being changed to stop sinning. We are no longer required to live by law*, but can live by faith in God through His grace.

"Grace is when God gives you what you don't deserve and
mercy is when God doesn't give you what you do deserve."
~ Unknown

The problem with grace is that a person who receives grace doesn't recognize it unless that person has been without grace and knew the need for it.

But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
~ Galatians 3:23-25 (NKJV)

The law of the Old Covenant establishes that we are sinners because we inevitably break the law. Because of the Old Covenant, we understand our need for mercy. And only after we've understood what it is to live under law can we understand the freedom of grace.

*For more on what it means to live in freedom from law, see Question of the Week "Is it Wrong?"

For more on the continuing relevance of the Old Testament, see "Value of the Old Testament?"

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below (anonymous questions welcome), or email buildingHisbody [plus] @ gmail.com.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: mrpotatomash.com

Question of the Week: Why Do Christians Lie?

2010-10-15T00:00:00.010-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Why Do Christians Lie?
~ Anonymous

Rather than the lies for specific situations, this question implies general and ongoing deceit, most likely one of the following complaints:

1. Why do Christians contradict one another?
2. Why do Christians pretend to have all the answers?
3. Why are Christians hypocrites?
4. Why do Christians assert what obviously can't be true?

These questions are more easily answered if restated with less bias.

1. Why do Christians hold different perspectives?

We're each speaking the truth we understand, like the blindfolded group describing an elephant as a snake, a tree, a wall, etc. How important for us to work for unity and share information to obtain a whole picture!

2. Why do Christians sometimes share the wrong answers?

We hold all the truth we need in the Bible and in the Holy Spirit. But we're still learning to understand and apply it, and will continue to do so throughout our lifetime because it is so immense. We tend to fill in the gaps in our understanding with what we think is the truth but later learn to be off the mark. It is important to first ascertain the accuracy of foundational truths, remain teachable about all we have yet to learn, and remember that everyone else is also still learning.

That especially applies to teachers, (as well as people bold enough to attempt Q&A on Christianity and the Bible). James 3:1-2 (NKJV) says this: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things."

3. Why don't Christians live up to what they preach?

Christians can become so excited about how salvation has changed us that we make it sound as if we've been made complete. We can start sharing a message implying perfect people rather than invoking the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ. Although our redemption from sin's death penalty is complete, learning to live like Jesus is a lifelong process. If we uphold Jesus Who lives inside of us as the Author of eternal Life, we'll be safely speaking truth. If we uphold our incomplete selves as "Life," the world may only see a crumbling bit of dying flesh and call it "Lie."

4. Why do Christians believe the impossible?

Perhaps the harshest physical reality of this world is that the dead don't come back to life. The definition of a Christian is a Christ-follower anointed with His Holy Spirit, who used to be spiritually dead but has been spiritually resurrected. Once death has been overcome, nothing else God asks of the Christian is "impossible."

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below. Anonymous questions are welcome.

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Image source: inside.isb.ac.th

Chip Ministry

2010-10-10T22:35:00.013-04:00

I can see me continuing to make the best music I can, and let the chips fall where they may. - Lee Ann Womack

About one year ago we and some friends started hosting a Bible study in our home. The idea was to invite people from different denominations to the study. General Patton is known to have said, "If everyone is thinking the same then no one is thinking."

We have Roman Catholics attend, several Methodists, a few Evangelicals, and friends from The Church of Christ study scripture with us, too.

It is definitely one Bible study where people are never accused of thinking the same. And, most nights we have a great after party, too.

My wife sets out chips for people to snack on while we read and discuss scripture. Mike Ellis, probably my best friend, calls it her chip ministry. We all laugh, but it is the simple acts of service that sometimes mean the most.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. - Jesus Christ

I am constantly telling clients that what we do is not nearly as important as why we do what we do. Motive is so important.

A man might be the founder of a mega Church, but if his motive is to massage his own ego, is he serving Jesus Christ? Yet even the smallest act, like a chip ministry, done selflessly in Jesus' name and out of love, brings glory to our Father.

Remember that Jesus works through us. We are his hands, arms, feet, and body. Serve each other in love, in Jesus name, and you will find the love you are looking for.

Question of the Week: Who Compiled the Bible?

2010-10-08T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the word of God, because you have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness and your own duty."
~ Woodrow Wilson

Who decided which books would be in the Bible? I understand others were considered, but not added.
~ Andrew Garber, Port Orange, Florida

The Bible boldly declares itself to be the Word of God, that Jesus is the Word of God personified, and that Jesus is God—squarely placing the Bible as equivalent to God in authority.

The wise person is willing to question why any authority should be recognized as such.

The Bible requires reliable testimony be established by two or three witnesses. (Two witnesses are sufficient, but if doubt remains let there be a third witness.) Who are the witnesses to determine the difference between a simple writing (Greek gramma) and Scripture (graphē)?

When the Lord gave the Ten Commandments, He took the extraordinary step of speaking directly to the Israelites (Exodus 18:19-22), giving miraculous signs as a second testimony. There was no question of the commandments being God's Word. Because Moses was God's spokesman, likewise performing miraculous signs as confirming testimony, the first five books of the Bible (Torah) were accepted as Scripture without question (about 1450–1400 BC).

The remainder of the Old Testament (OT) was written by various prophets, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Torah instructed that a prophet of the Lord would be confirmed by accurately foretelling what would come to pass. The Jews preserved the writings of these men as Scripture. In the third century BC, when the Greeks sought to establish a common language throughout their empire, the OT was translated into Greek as the Septuagint. Additional historical and philosophical writings of the time were included, and are contained in some Bibles to this day. But those additional writings were not recognized as Scripture by the Jews of the time, and are therefore referred to as apocryphal writings to distinguish them from the writings unquestionable as Scripture.

And that is the same standard used by compilers of the New Testament (NT). Early church leaders determined which writings to include as the authoritative Word of God by consensus. This was not a matter of voting, with majority rule. Only those writings judged as above reproach to be God’s Word were copied and handed down as Scripture. (See the "Criteria for Canonicity" below for further specifics.)

The most prominent criteria was if writings which recorded the Word of God came from Jesus' apostles—men with authority confirmed by miraculous signs and power of God. While they wrote many letters (or epistles), only some of those writings were held up as as Scripture (2 Peter 3:15-16.)

In our days, we still have witnesses to confirm the Word of God's authority. Church teachers who speak audibly are known as reliable by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-17)—by consistently displaying the fruit of the Spirit in revering Jesus Christ as Lord and God.

And when we seek God in truth, the Holy Spirit testifies truth to our heart.

Related post, from February: Who Wrote the Bible?

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Criteria for Canonicity * [inclusion in the canon of Scripture]:
• Apostolic Origin — attributed to and based upon the preaching/teaching of the first-generation apostles (or their close companions).
• Universal Acceptance — acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the ancient world (by the end of the fourth century) as well as accepted canon by Jewish authorities (for the Old Testament).
• Liturgical Use — read publicly when early Christian communities gathered for the Lord's Supper (their weekly worship services).
• Consistent Message — containing a theological outlook similar to or complementary to other accepted Christian writings.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below. Anonymous questions are welcome.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy.
Image source unavailable.
* Source, "Criteria for Canonicity": justasiamchristian.com (original author unknown)

A past rewritten

2010-10-05T21:37:00.008-04:00

Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music. ~William Stafford

Children are much better at forgiveness than their parents. We talk about a parent’s innate love for a child like it is a given, but counselors know that is not always true.

Many parents, maybe most parents at one point or another, are willing to sacrifice their children on the altar of self-interest, often in seemingly small ways, sometimes in ways that make us ashamed to be human.

This weekend the pastor of Beachside Church, in Ormond Beach, Florida, Robbie O’Brien, proposed that forgiveness essentially rewrites history. Forgiveness, bundled up with the mystery of grace, can transcend time, and heal.

Young children know this intuitively. Children continue to love those who take their love for granted.

I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. – Jesus the Messiah

The human capacity for cruelty stopped surprising me a long time ago. What still catches me off guard now and then is the power of forgiveness and those who offer forgiveness.

Just one example among many, I know of a girl who went to her dying father’s bedside in a hospital to forgive him for molesting her. Where does that kind of strength come from? How could I dare withhold forgiveness from people who have hurt me after hearing a story like that? What does a story like that say about the power of love?

Forgiveness is without a doubt a process. A process we need a loving God to guide us through.

Prayer, and tears, and anger, and more prayers, and more tears, mark our steps as we move toward forgiveness. But, the end effect is peace and healing, and maybe a past rewritten.

... Father, You are our God, and we praise you for being a God of love and mercy. Father, teach us to forgive. We cry out to You in Jesus name ...

Question of the Week: Is Self-Defense Biblical?

2010-10-01T01:01:00.013-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
~ Edmund Burke (1729-1797),
Irish statesman who supported American revolutionaries

: : :

"Is self-defense biblical?"
~ Abbey S., Michigan

The question implies use of deadly weapons. The Bible provides interesting contrasts about "the sword." Consider two directives from Jesus on the night He was arrested:

"But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." (Luke 22:36 NKJV)

"Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:52-53 NKJV)

Contrast brings balanced perspective. Context is critical.

In the second passage, Jesus asserts the adequacy of defense from God and the peril of living with reliance on weaponry.

Yet weapons can serve godly purposes. In the first passage, Jesus gives new marching orders for going out into the world with the Gospel, instructing self-sufficiency which prepares for hazards. One way to avert violence—whether on a personal or national level—is to display strength and ability of defense with refusal to use it offensively.

Weapons serve other purposes of God's will. Governing authorities are called ministers of God, entrusted with use of force to suppress evil (Romans 13:1-4). Soldiers who accepted the Gospel were instructed to not intimidate others rather than to shun use of force altogether (Luke 3:14).

God also employs human weaponry as His own sword (Deuteronomy 32:39-42; Isaiah 34:5; Ezekiel 30:25). This same principle is evident throughout the book of Revelation.

"You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also."
~ Matthew 5:38-39 (NKJV)

These words of Jesus are sometimes used to argue against self-defense. The context is examples of how to bless others. Jesus observes that a directive for equity in payment of damages had become justification for retaliation. Scripture condemns vengeance and exhorts tolerance of insult, teaching there is blessing in suffering for the sake of righteousness (Matthew 5:10; 1 Peter 3:14). The early church set an example of enduring violence, but they also took measures to avoid being victims of violence.

Every person must apply these passages as faith and conscience dictate. There is room in Christianity for both pacifists and warriors. I'll share my personal application.

As a former police officer, and now the wife of a police officer, I know anarchy would result if government did not provide civilian and military defense. I also know the danger of displaying a firearm unless one is prepared to use it. Bluffing is more dangerous than being unarmed.

As a student of history, I know that oppression results when citizenry's ownership of arms is abolished by government. I support the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

If I were in a position to defend the lives of others from criminal violence, my preferred weapon is a pump action shotgun, which unequivocally communicates strength of defense so it might not be necessary to use deadly force.

But if my life alone was threatened, I'd guess my offender is less prepared than me to meet our Maker. As my King's ambassador, I'm less inclined to use a weapon of steel as I am to take up the sword of the Spirit for my defense.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below. Anonymous questions are welcome.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: hubpages.com

Sex, Drugs, and Rock-n-Roll

2010-09-26T21:24:00.015-04:00

As our love for Jesus grows, so will our obedience. - Ray Kelley

When I was an adolescent, I believed that to follow Jesus, to join God’s Kingdom today, was a kind of death sentence.

If I gave up everything the world had to offer: sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, and all the other fun stuff, in the end I could go to Heaven, or at least avoid that place where Barry Manilow songs are played in perpetual loop for all eternity, Hell.

I tried the sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. It was fun for a while, but in the end there was just pain.

If I have learned anything, a life without our Father is a life empty. When we look for our own answers, and when we consult the world to do the same, the outcome is never, ever, good. If you don't believe me, pick up the newspaper.

If you love me, you will obey what I command. – Jesus of Nazareth

To obey that world revolutionary Jesus is to embrace love. To follow Jesus is to practice forgiveness. To accept His assurances and to repent is to turn away from the empty promises of the world and to rap your arms around peace.

To follow Jesus is in fact a death sentence … it is the death of yesterday’s lies, and the birth of a new day.

... Father, thank You for being a God of grace and love. Father thank You for Your son Jesus. Father we ask that You open our eyes to the lies of the world, and we pray that You cover us in the forgiving blood of Your son. In Jesus name we pray ...

Question of the Week: How to Forgive Self?

2010-09-24T02:09:00.009-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"What does the Bible say about forgiving yourself?
What does it say about our faith
when we still experience guilt after being forgiven?"

~ Anonymous

Last year I spoke to a group of ladies gathered for a church rummage swap. I compared sin and guilt to the trash discovered during spring cleaning. The drastically condensed version below is a bit longer than my usual answer, but it makes the point "cleanly." ;D

: : :

There are three kinds of trash in our lives.

The FIRST is trash that has always been trash and always will be trash. Until we clean it out, it will sit around and make the house dirty.

The ugly little critter above is trash.

Let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which so easily ensnares us.
Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)

Until we go looking for dust bunnies in all the places they like to hide, they just keep getting bigger.

Sin is like a hidden dust bunny. We need God's Spirit to show us what sin is hiding in our hearts. Until we clean sin out of our lives, it will make our souls sick and dirty and just plain ugly.

The SECOND kind of trash is stuff that used to be good and useful, but isn't anymore.

Guilt is good when it makes us feel bad for sin so that we'll want to ask forgiveness.

If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

The first Person we need forgiveness from is God. God sent Jesus to die for our sins so that we could say to God (in our own words), "Father God, since Your Son Jesus took my punishment for sin, would You please forgive me and give me peace with You and be Lord of my life?"

When we say we’re “saved,” we mean that because we have God’s forgiveness, we’re saved from any punishment for sin after we die.

But even if we’re saved, there are at least three reasons we might experience guilt:

1) we still sin, and we still need to confess that sin to God so He can clean it out of our lives;
2) if we haven't done it yet and if it's possible, we have guilt until we ask forgiveness from the people who have been hurt by our sin;
3) if we've asked forgiveness from God and others, (even if they refuse forgiveness), and we still have guilt, then we're allowing someone to remind us of our sin in a way that steals the joy and the peace of forgiveness.

There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 (NKJV)

When guilt compels us to confess sin and ask forgiveness, it's from God’s Spirit and is a good thing called conviction. But when guilt stops being conviction from God and it starts being condemnation—whether from the devil, from others, or from ourselves—it has become trash which must be thrown away and replaced with the truth of Scriptures like the one above.

The LAST kind of trash started out as trash, but is no longer trash.

These tiny cheeses each come wrapped in wax to stay fresh.

You peel open and eat the cheese, then throw away the wax—unless you're my daughter Elizabeth, who found a way to make treasure out of trash.

Elizabeth shaped this rose using only her fingers.

God can do the same thing.

The story of Joseph and the brothers who sold him into slavery 22 years earlier comes to a climax when they voice fear that he will now retaliate. Joseph responds:

"Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Genesis 50:19-20)

God used something as ugly as his brothers’ hatred to put Joseph where God could use him to save the lives of his family during a famine.

Every person here has been hurt by sin, and sin is always trash. But we have a God so good and so powerful that He can shape the leftovers of sin and hurt into something good, whether it is our own sin or someone else sinned against us.

God wants to heal our hearts from the hurt that sin causes. The first step is obtaining forgiveness from God, and then asking it of others. It’s just as important for us to forgive, even if we haven't been asked for forgiveness.

If Joseph hadn’t forgiven his brothers before they even knew who he was, he would have killed them or put them in prison instead of saving their lives. But because he forgave them, something bad became something good.

When we forgive the sins of others, we begin to turn evil into good. We begin to be free in our own hearts from the hurt they've caused us.

And in the practice of forgiving others, we also learn to forgive ourselves.

: : :

What questions do you have about Christianity or the Bible? You're invited to leave them in the comments below or here, with your name or as Anonymous.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.

Question of the Week: Religion or Spirituality?

2010-09-17T00:00:00.004-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

What is the difference between religion and spirituality?
~ Renatta, Michigan

Good question! Especially because when being religious is compared to having relationship with God, religion is worthless. But when placed next to spirituality, religion is absolutely necessary.

Worthless religion is religion narrowly defined by law or doctrine. It puts emphasis on good works or obedience to law to make a person righteous. People who pride themselves on how well their actions conform to the standards of their religion—especially when they look down on those who they feel do not conform—are also called pharisaical, after the Pharisees of Jesus' time.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ calls people everywhere to give up any attempt at being made righteous by any religion. Every person is guilty of sin and condemned to eternal death. The payment required for sin is death, not good works. (A death row inmate cannot compensate for his crime with community service.) As the only Man to never sin, Jesus is the only Person Who did not need to pay the death penalty for Himself. He was therefore able to pay the death penalty for us, and He did so by dying on the cross. (He stepped into our place before the Executioner.)

The blood of Jesus Christ is the only acceptable compensation for our sin, no matter how much good we do.

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified [made righteous], and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
~ Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

To believe God raised Jesus is to believe in His death. To declare Jesus as Lord is to be purchased with His blood and belong to Him, to then be made righteous and repent of the sin which once condemned us, and to receive His Holy Spirit. Salvation includes the whole package.

Once saved, good works can't make us more righteous, and failure to do good works won't make us less righteous. Religion is no longer the law which condemns us, but the truth which defines our righteousness and faith.

Spirituality is uniting our will to the Holy Spirit of God so He might work into our lives His fruit: love, joy, peace, patient longsuffering, active and merciful kindness, goodness (godliness), faith-filled faithfulness, meek and humble gentleness, and temperate self-control. Again, it is an entire package, not pick and choose. Spirituality includes expressing such fruit with good works.

For those who belong to Jesus, religion might be called the foundation and framing, and spirituality the roof, floor and walls. The former is necessary for support, but will soon prove of little purpose unless covered with the latter. And the latter doesn't hold up well without the support of the former.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: cha-amproperty.com

Question of the Week: Relationship Priorities?

2010-09-10T00:03:00.013-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

“Should you go to the person who needs you more or the person you love?”
~ Renatta Szukhent, Michigan

We are to love everyone. Everyone has needs we can meet. And the Bible's directions on how we respond to others is usually put in the context of relationship. So let’s look at priorities with one another based on relationship.

The greatest commandment gives God primary priority. Only when we first love Him with all heart, soul, mind, and strength are we able to truly love others or effectively minister to them.

The second commandment says love neighbor as self. Like the airline directive to don your own oxygen mask before assisting others, nurturing our own souls in God’s Word, Spirit and love enables us to love others equally.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
~ Philippians 2:4 (NKJV)

Here are priorities set by the Bible:

First: Spouse (with whom we’re one flesh, part of “self”) –
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
(Ephesians 5:28-29 NKJV;
also see Matthew 19:4-6 & 1 Corinthians 6:18)

Second: Immediate Household (parents and children) –
But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
(1 Timothy 5:8 NKJV;
also see Ephesians 6:1-3 & 2 Corinthians 12:14)

Third: Household of Faith (Christians; called “brother” or “brethren”) –
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
(Galatians 6:10 NKJV;
also see Ephesians 4:1-6 & Romans 12:4-5)

Last: All Unbelievers (as the Lord brings them into our lives) –
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all ...
(1 Thessalonians 3:12 NKJV;
also see 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 & Luke 10:29-37)

[LATE ADDENDUM TO POST: – There is actually one more category of people the Bible places after this: the person who claims to be a Christian but lives in flagrant and continuing immorality, committing serious sin without repentance, bringing disgrace to the name of Christ.
See Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 5:9-13.]

The unbeliever might seem to have greater need for love and ministry than the believer, but the Bible gives preference to other Christians, with whom we are to be united.

We might seem judgmental to categorize others as "Christian" or "unbeliever," but the Bible makes that distinction, and also between "judgment" which condemns and "discernment" which protects.

No one is able to meet all the needs of others, no matter how close their relationship. The Lord alone is able to meet all human need. Maintaining a close relationship with the Lord enables us to discern how He desires to meet their needs through us.

And incidently, even God needs us—He needs the praise, worship, and fellowship which flow naturally out of our love for Him.

: : :

When she posed the above question, Renatta also asked about the difference between religion and spirituality. Next week's Q&A will tackle this.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: 21stcenturystrategiesinc.com

Question of the Week: What is Marriage?

2010-09-03T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

In God's eyes, what is marriage? What is divorce?

~ Jodi, Michigan

The short answer I'd offer is that marriage is God making two people one flesh and divorce is humans ripping flesh apart:

[Jesus] said to them, "... 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh' ... they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
Matthew 19:4-6 (NKJV)

Marriage is the lifelong covenant relationship between a man and woman, instituted by God for our temporal time on earth, officially established by formal vows made before witnesses. Among the purposes of marriage are:

• Supportive human companionship (Genesis 2:18)
• Procreation of godly offspring (Genesis 1:28)
• To clarify God's relationship with His people (Ephesians 5:22-33)

Marriage is the most significant human relationship, but it is only a model of a bigger, spiritual relationship between God and His people. We are to love the Lord and be united to Him physically (yielding our bodies to His Holy Spirit), in mind (conforming our way of thinking to His), in heart (loving who and what He loves), and in soul (our identity is attached to Jesus Christ).

"The goal in marriage is not to think alike,
but to think together."
~ Robert Anderson

"One flesh" signifies that two people are joined not just physically, but also by thinking together from different perspectives, by sharing desires and aspirations, and uniting their identities as part of each other.

Through His relationship with us, God also indicates how we respond to an imperfect spouse. God loves us despite our neglect, shortcomings, misplaced priorities, and indifference. He asks us to do the same.

The Old Testament permitted a man to divorce his wife for sexual "uncleanness" (or "shamefulness"), though the Jews came to divorce for other kinds of disfavor. Jesus made clear that while Moses permitted divorce because of hardened hearts, only sexuality immorality provided legitimate grounds for divorce. Paul went on to explain that a Christian shouldn't divorce an unbelieving spouse, but was released from the marriage only if the unbelieving spouse abandons the Christian.

God calls divorce "violence." Its effect upon our souls is no less than if we ripped an arm off a person, separating flesh from flesh. An arm would only be amputated when it contains disease which has already separated it from life in the body.

It might be said that when all other means of recovery have failed to restore the member diseased with sexual immorality or abandonment, divorce cuts off what is already dead. To use divorce for lesser reason is to commit unnecessary violence to ourselves and to the model of God's enduring covenant.

A final note: The sanctity of the marriage covenant never demands self-sacrifice which allows oppressive abuse. Jesus says, "... learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' "

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: 123nonstop.com

Question of the Week: Does the Bible Require Tithing?

2010-08-27T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"If money be not thy servant,
it will be thy master."
~ Francis Bacon

What does the Bible say about tithing?
~ follow up to last week's question about prosperity theology

Tithing is repeatedly directed, in both Old and New Testaments.

But the follower of Jesus is given different directions.

Tithing's history begins with Abel's offering (Genesis 4:4-5), and the tithe by Abraham of one tenth of his spoils of war (Genesis 14:20). The Law of Moses required a tithe from both produce and animals (Leviticus 27:30-32). Jesus told the Pharisees that justice, mercy, and faith were more important than tithing even as He confirmed tithing as their obligation (Matthew 23:23).

Primary reasons for tithing are:
• to worshipfully honor God and express thanks for His blessings (Deuteronomy 26:9-10);
• to provide for the material needs of those who are set apart by God as His full-time ministers (Numbers 18:21; 1 Corinthians 9:11,14);
• to provide for the material needs of "the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow" (Deuteronomy 26:12-13; James 1:27).

Scripture indicates that refusal to tithe offends the Lord:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings."
~ Malachi 3:8 (NKJV; also see Isaiah 43:23-24)

Those of us who belong to Jesus are not bound by the tithing directives of the Old Testament law, nor are we explicitly commanded to follow the example of the early church by selling our assets and owning everything in common (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32,34).

Nonetheless, 1) everything in the earth belongs to the Creator; and 2) Christians have been purchased by Christ. We own neither ourselves nor the material possessions given us as gifts (1 Corinthians 4:7). We are therefore held to a higher standard than simply tithing.

Jesus said the cost of following Him is this:

"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."
~ Luke 14:33 (NKJV)

And the reward of leaving treasures behind for Him is this:

"Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life."
~ Luke 18:29-30 (NKJV)

To forsake all we have may or may not mean saying goodbye to it. But at the very least, each of us might examine how tightly we cling to health and wealth, time and talents, even lands and loved ones. Tithing money (as well as time) is a good practice—but it represents only a starting place for stewardship of what the Lord has entrusted to us.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: yorkblog.com

Question of the Week: Name It and Claim It?

2010-08-20T00:00:00.007-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Jim Bakker,
once a prominent prosperity gospel proponent,
who fully renounced that doctrine
after reading the entire Bible for the first time
while incarcerated for fraud

“What is the prosperity gospel I keep hearing about?”
~ Nina, Daytona Beach, Florida

Please forgive me for removing the capital "g" from that question, Nina, but the message you speak of—the prosperity theology also spoken of with terms such as "health and wealth" or "name it and claim it"—is anything but The Gospel.

The Gospel of Jesus says that the children of God Almighty—those reconciled to Him through the blood of Christ, who are adopted as His heirs—receive riches exceeding their highest imagination, beginning with forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The prosperity gospel takes that truth and applies it to material wealth and financial prosperity, relying upon this Scripture in particular:

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,"
Says the LORD of hosts,
"If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it."
~ Malachi 3:10 (NKJV);
(also see Deuteronomy 8:18; John 10:10; 3 John 2-4; Romans 8:32)

Because of the emphasis on tithing, the people most "blessed" by prosperity theology are those collecting tithes, purportedly to further ministry in general and healing in particular. Listeners are told that if they tithe with sufficient faith, they can name a Bible verse and claim its blessing for themselves, obtaining desired health and wealth.

But the Lord always defines true riches in spiritual terms ...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
~ Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV);
(also see Psalms 119:71-72; 1 Corinthians 2:9)

... while He speaks of the desire for money as a snare to God's people ...

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
~ 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NKJV);
(also see Mark 10:23-24; Matthew 6:19-20;
Luke 6:24; Luke 12:33-34;
& Proverbs 30:7-9—my personal favorite)

... and He describes material wealth as simply one more of the gifts we're given as a test to see how we'll use it:

Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-30

Thus it is good to prosper in health and wealth, so that we have an abundance to put to use for building up God's true kingdom. But it is dangerous to desire to be rich or love money—the fundamental doctrine of prosperity theology.

Concerning why Christians aren't always healed in response to prayer, see "Why No Healing?"

Next week: Is tithing a requirement of Christianity?

© 2010, Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: Amazon.com

Question of the Week: Of the World?

2010-08-13T00:00:00.006-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

What is the difference between “in the world” and “of the world”?
~ Max, Ormond Beach, Florida

Unless we understand that "the world" is God's confirmed enemy, the answer won't matter.

Planet Earth and creation belong to the Creator. The world is the system, standards and society of Earth, which all oppose the Creator with rebellion, disregard, and open hostility. Numerous Scripture passages about the world include statements such as:

We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
~ 1 John 5:19

Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
~ James 4:4

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
~ 1 John 2:15

People of the world and people of God's kingdom may be identified by what they value:
• this life and its physical, temporal pleasures—or eternal life and its spiritual rewards which begin now and endure into eternity;
• darkness with its ignorance and immorality—or light with its knowledge of God and His holy righteousness;
• receiving praise—or giving God praise

For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
~ 1 John 2:16 (NKJV)

To answer the original question, few metaphors are as vivid as a ship in the sea likened to a Christian in the world.

God places His people throughout the world to make Jesus known. A Christian who is isolated from the world is like a ship which has been dry-docked—it may be a safer ship, but it has become useless. On the other hand, a ship put to good use spends plenty of time in the sea, and cannot help but get the sea on it and even in it.

How much sea in the ship is too much? A little salt water may corrode metal and eat sails. Some water in the hold may ruin cargo. A lot of water makes the ship less seaworthy, and may even sink the ship in a storm.

The sea must be kept out of the ship which is in the sea.

How much world in the Christian is too much? The world on us may corrupt our understanding of God's Word and ways. Some world in our heart compromises what we value. Lots of the world in us means we'll experience anxiety rather than peace, despair rather than joy, apathy rather than love. When one of life's storms hits, we'll go down quickly. (Matthew 7:24-27)

The world must be kept out of the Christian who is in the world—who is there to bring God's light and salvation to those drowning in the darkness.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: hydrolance.net

Lonely is healing if you let it.

2010-08-07T13:34:00.013-04:00

Mom hates dad, Dad hates mom, it all makes you feel so sad.- Kurt Cobain

Two of my friends. Two people that I love very much say they are getting divorced. Although I love them, maybe because I love them, I am angry at Mike and Becky for giving up.

My heart wishes they would hang on a little longer. It also wishes that they would not give up and fight to save their marriage a little harder.

Both are loving people. They do so much to help and love others. That two loving people cannot relearn to love each other does not make sense to me.

But, it is not about me. If I have learned anything, it is impossible to truly know the hearts and minds of even the closest family members and friends.

For legal and ethical reasons I cannot explicitly tell my clients not to divorce, but Mike and Becky are not my clients, they are my friends. I want to scream and tell Mike and Becky that divorce will not help. I want to tell them that their problems are bigger than their marriage and will follow them should their marriage end. Turn and face your problems together, maybe truly for the first time ever.

I'll never stop loving Mike and Becky. My prayer is that they try one more time.

Here is a resent post from Mike's blog, Mike in Progess:

I've been feeling alone and lonely lately. It just got worse. I just found out where Becky and my son will be living after they leave Florida and move to Washington state in a few months. It hurts a little bit more when I found out that she'll be living with the couple that introduced us to each other almost 14 years ago. I'm going to need to get use to being alone. I know what you Christ followers are saying, "Mike, you're never alone. God is always with you!" I know. I know. But tonight I feel alone. This is one of those moments where I can easily do something stupid because it hurts too much to deal with reality. Please God help me deal with being alone and heal my heart. Don't worry. I won't do anything stupid tonight.

Funny how God works. Just moments ago he led me to a video at the Flower Dust blog. It's another way that God reaches out to me and tells me it's going to be okay. See the video below from a really cool chick named Jamie. The video below is about learning to be alone.

Question of the Week: What Kind of Sin is It?

2010-08-06T03:11:00.003-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

What are the different kinds of sin? How are they overcome?

Last week's question addressed generational sin and the sources of temptation to sin: the devil, the world, our own desire.

The study of sin is as unpleasant as sin itself. After hours of studying dozens of words related to sin, I'm plenty sick of it. The types of sin might be narrowed down to the following categories:

Iniquity – general worthlessness and moral corruption within us
Ignorance – carelessly sinning or backsliding
Perversion – distorting God's ways
Betrayal / Transgression – knowingly crossing over to evil
Wickedness – deliberate, premeditated evil in rebellion against God
Miss the Mark – doing wrong simply because we fail to do right

One last word summed up everything: GUILTY.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
~ James 2:10 (NKJV)

How many crimes must a person commit to become a criminal? Only one.

How many sins makes us guilty of being a sinner unfit for Heaven? Only one.

Sin needn't be exhaustively analyzed to understand that we're sinners without hope of overcoming apart from the power of God. We don't defeat sin by studying sin, but by fixing our eyes on God and understanding His righteousness.

To overcome the eternal death penalty of sin:

• acknowledge that God is allowed to make the rules for His creation, and it is wrong to violate His rules regardless of any explanation we'd offer;
• admit to being a sinner and ask God for His forgiveness through Jesus Christ;
• resolve to turn away from sin (repent of sin).

Among the many ways to overcome the power of sin are these:

• acknowledge that God is wise and knows what's good, that He loves us and wants us to have true joy, that goodness and joy cannot be obtained apart from Him—and resolve to do God's will;
• faithfully read the Bible without ever believing that you know God well enough;
• cultivate dependence on God by continually praying to Him;
• when you sense God's Holy Spirit prompting you to action, yield immediately to increase His power;
• develop spiritual discipline by saying "no" to self-indulgence (fasting helps!);
• spend time with people who follow Jesus to strengthen a bond with Him;
• use caution to avoid being conformed to worldly influences.

I plan to address this last point next week in response to a question about the difference between being in the world and of the world.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: nolanyogilaw.com

Question of the Week: Generational Sin?

2010-07-30T00:00:00.009-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future. We make discoveries about ourselves."
~ Gail Lumet Buckley

"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)

"Does this biblical curse still exist today?"
~ Bud Ezekiel

As surely as the Lord is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth—yes, sin is indeed visited upon successive generations.

This is most obvious when people imitate the same sin they observe in the world, often in a context which makes sin look normal. Another explanation for the same negative behaviors occurring in multiple generations is genetic predispositions being passed on in the flesh. (Those related to some forms of mental illness are one example; the human disposition to sin is another.)

But what about spiritual factors? The Bible says God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13). When otherwise inexplicable forces seem to be powerfully at work for evil, presence of the devil (a demon) is a possibility. Evil spiritual forces may even follow a generation in the person separated from a parent, such as by death or adoption.

The person belonging to Christ is inhabited by the Holy Spirit, and need not fear being possessed by a demon. Yet we can still be influenced, tempted, and attacked by demons:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
~ 1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

God has not left us powerless against sin:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

Iniquity is visited upon our generation by the devil, the world, and our own flesh desires. Knowing that the devil is an adversary out to get us should prompt daily training with the spiritual armor provided by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18). Such practice readies us to defeat temptation, regardless of its source.

A closing thought is that with God, even His curse works for our good.

Christians will face sin which feels irresistible. We are then frustrated by seeming inability to overcome sin and its inevitable suffering. But like a pregnant woman compelled by love to overcome the temptation to take in unhealthy substances which can hurt her child, the realization that our sin hurts others besides ourselves works together with love to compel us to muster the resistance we cannot otherwise find.

Those in Christ are members of one body. Any sin to which we yield is visited upon our natural and spiritual family. There is no such thing as a sin we can "get away with."

Tomorrow (Saturday) on Building His Body: window">Generational Blessing. Next week's question will be about the different words for sin / kinds of sin, and about overcoming sin. Please see my follow-up comment below.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image Source: corbisimages.com

Question of the Week: Who Killed Jesus?

2010-07-23T08:29:00.006-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

Who killed Jesus? ~ Anonymous

I offer these questions in reply: Who didn't kill Jesus? Exactly what killed Jesus?

The scheme to kill Jesus was empowered by satan. (Luke 22:3-4)

The betrayer Judas arranged for Jesus to be seized and killed. (Matthew 26:14-15)

The leaders of the Jews orchestrated the execution of Jesus. (Matthew 27:1-2)

The people of Israel had gathered to Jerusalem for Passover, nearly rioted to demand Jesus' death, and declared that His blood should be upon them and their descendants. (Matthew 27:20-25)

Pilate clearly willed to release Jesus, affirmed Jesus as King, and washed His hands of Jesus' blood—yet gave the consent by which both the individual Roman soldiers under his command and the Roman government carried out the crucifixion of Jesus. (John 19:16-22)

Jesus Himself submitted to death despite His power to escape it (Matthew 26:53)—not because it was His will (Matthew 26:39-44), but because it was the will of His Father:

Yet it was the will of YHWH to crush Him with grief of suffering.
When You make His soul a sacrificial offering for sin,
He shall see His seed,
He shall prolong His days.
The will of YHWH will prosper [triumph] in Him.
Isaiah 53:10 (author; full context: Isaiah 53)

God set in motion all these events because there was no other way to remove the guilt of our sins and triumph over death:

... without shedding of blood there is no pardon for sin... [Christ] has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself... Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Hebrews 9:22,26,28 (NKJV)

The "many" for whom Jesus died is all humanity. Thus we might see ourselves responsible for His death only as part of the collective human race—except that each of us has sinned as an individual and is therefore personally guilty.

Exactly what killed Jesus? The above verse of Isaiah 53:10 says Jesus was crushed with chalah, a Hebrew word for sickness of grief or extreme suffering. Medical science and Scripture indicate that Jesus likely died neither as a result of bleeding to death nor of the suffocation which accompanies crucifixion, but of extreme grief. For more details, see "Broken."

Please allow me to suggest that when we resist the touch of the Lord in our lives, we fail to show appreciation for Jesus' death and continue to cause Him grief.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image from the movie "Passion of the Christ," © 2004 Icon Productions

Question of the Week: How Should Marriage be Performed?

2010-07-16T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"Chains do not hold a marriage together.
It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads
which sew people together through the years."
~ Simone Signoret

What does the Bible say about how marriage should be performed? Are marriages outside the Church valid?
~ Rachel Hirst, Port Orange, FL

If there's a topic offering more room for misunderstanding of Scripture than the Trinity and the sovereignty of God combined, it would be marriage.

Though the first question (above) is how marriage should be performed, it implies a query about how to perform the weddings by which marriage is established. Let’s address both.

The Bible (particularly Song of Solomon) describes how couples of ancient Israel were joined in marriage—but Scripture does not give actual instructions on necessary components of a wedding.

Marriage itself was established when the Lord created Eve, in a passage later quoted and confirmed by Jesus. The verses are most familiar for their use in wedding ceremonies:

But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.... Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said:
"This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man."
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
~ Genesis 2:20-24 (NKJV)

The Bible goes on to say a great deal about how men are to treat their wives. Several places address women about their attitude toward husbands. Throughout Old and New Testaments, it is clear that God established marriage as a most sacred institution, and that He thoroughly abhors adultery and divorce. Reverence of marriage is emphasized as a portrait of the covenant relationship the Lord makes with His people.

Who has authority to validate marriage?

Marriage between a man and woman is the family institution which stabilizes civilizations, and societies in which marriage breaks down also crumble, so the state is one entity with a reasonable interest in establishing marriage, where no church sanction is sought. However ...

Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
~ Proverbs 11:14 (NKJV)

The man and woman who respect God do well to ask the counsel and blessing (officiating) of church authority. Responsible church leaders of all denominations will actively guide couples to neither enter nor exit marriage without the most serious consideration.

I am aware that the Roman Catholic Church goes beyond offering counsel, and that it denounces marriage by Catholics performed “outside” the church. However, since I consider the Bible the first and final authority on matters of faith, I suggest that a valid marriage covenant is established when a man and woman:
• reverence marriage as a permanent relationship established by God;
• exchange formal vows before witnesses; and
• give themselves to one another in physical union.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: luxeproductionsnw.blogspot.com

Question of the Week: Seven Day Creation?

2010-07-09T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

“Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”
~ A.W. Tozer

Does a person have to believe that the world was created in seven days in order to go to heaven?
~ Russell, Port Orange, FL

Nope. But it sure is the shortest and safest route.

If a person believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ contained in the pages of the Bible, it will bolster faith considerably to also believe the entire Bible as God’s Word. The moment a person begins to pick and choose which parts of the Bible to believe, no point of faith—including salvation—can be certain.

Evolution masquerades as science. It is an absurd and rapidly crumbling theory of atheism, in conflict with both science and the Bible. A culture brainwashed to accept evolution as fact will have difficulty believing the opening pages of the Bible which describe the actual creation.

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 (NKJV)

If the Bible can be discounted on page one, why believe anything else it says? It isn’t difficult to believe that the earth was created in seven days, because science thoroughly supports that fact.* The Bible goes on to assert quite outlandish ideas which completely defy science:
• the woman Mary conceived a child by divine word without a man;
• Jesus was raised to life after being dead for three days and nights;
• Christians will one day be instantaneously transported into the sky without any vehicle.

Today’s question could also be viewed this way:

How much of the Bible must a person believe and understand to secure eternal life? How does a person determine which details of Scripture are critical to faith, and which ones supplement faith?

Neither theologians nor committed Christians will all agree on all those answers this side of Heaven’s gates. The points of Scripture I personally consider critical are contained in my Statement of Faith.

If I could choose a single biblical point to show Scripture's irreconcilable conflict with evolution, it is the emphatic assertion (recorded in both Old and New Testaments) that death did not exist anywhere in creation until after humans sinned. Evolution demands that life evolved from billions of years of death before man and sin existed.

* For those interested in creation facts from the Bible and science, showing their agreement with one another and their conflict with evolution, you may find a handful of them over at my blog, Building His Body.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: condor.depaul.edu

Question of the Week: How to Hear the Holy Spirit?

2010-07-02T00:00:00.008-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"I still have many things to say to you,
but you cannot bear them now.
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come,
He will guide you into all truth."
~ John 16:12-13 (NKJV)

How does a person know the voice of the Holy Spirit?
~ T. Anne

The same way one knows any voice—by being familiar with it. But of course, the Holy Spirit must also speak to be heard.

My experience and the testimony I’ve heard from other people is that to hear God speak audibly (with the ear) occurs on only the most exceptional occasions. (If that happens, there’s no doubt about Who has spoken.)

My experience and the testimony I’ve heard from other people is that the Holy Spirit speaks words like a breath heard in the heart alone.

Part of prayer is talking, but richest prayer includes hearing. Many people have told me that they don’t hear God speak when they pray. I would offer the following reasons for that:
• we don’t listen quietly enough
• we don’t listen long enough
• we talk too much to listen
• He is silent for a reason
• we confuse His voice with other voices
• we don’t recognize His voice
• He is speaking without words

We live in a loud world. Retreating from noise makes it easier to hear from God. Listening long enough is another. Quieting our own desires (our will) is perhaps most important of all, because until we lay aside the will within us, it usually drowns out hearing God’s will.

Which is one of the reasons God may simply be silent—He knows we’re not ready to truly hear what He wants to say. We might pray for a long time, telling Him what we want, and never reach the place of asking what He wants. But if we do ask what He wants, and are ready to do whatever it is, I’ve never known Him to remain silent or unclear.

If we are in prayer and hear (feel) someone speak but aren’t sure whose voice it is, making assumptions is unwise. It could be the Lord, or our own will—or the voice of the devil, who certainly makes himself heard. If it was the Lord, waiting for Him to confirm Himself is better than assuming He spoke.

We better recognize the Lord’s voice by spending time with Him. The more time we spend in prayer and reading the Bible, the more sensitive we become to His voice and language. The more time we spend listening to the world, the more difficult it is to discern Him.

I have also known the Spirit to sometimes speak without words during prayer. He will gently turn my attention where He wishes it and fill me with such clear understanding that I know it is truth. I think of it as "the light bulb goes on."

Any good relationship is far more than talking to a person. It is talking with a person—talking mingled with listening. In relationship with God, one listens attentively for His voice, knowing He wants to be heard.

When one deeply loves God and sits quietly in His presence, even His silences can be quite pleasant.

"And the sheep follow [the shepherd], for they know his voice... I am the good Shepherd... My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
~ John 10:4,11,27 (NKJV)

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Art image: "Pentecost" (1732) by Jean II Restout
Image source: jesuschristsavior.net

Question of the Week: Follow-up

2010-06-25T00:00:00.006-04:00

By Anne Lang Bundy

A recent "Question of the Week" listed five of the devil’s lies which sound close enough to the truth to make them believable. On my blog "Building His Body," I did five posts this week to address those lies in more detail:
• Monday – "You'll never be worthy of God's grace or love."
• Tuesday – "If you have faith, it doesn't matter if you sin."
• Wednesday – "Following Jesus solves your problems."
• Thursday – "Problems indicate God's condemnation."
• Friday – "If you love others then you're loving God."

If you haven't seen them yet, I invite you to look over those posts.

Q&A for next Friday (July 2) will address how to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. Hope to see you then!

Question of the Week: Why No Healing?

2010-06-18T00:00:00.008-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

'Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me;
I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal;
Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
~ Deuteronomy 32:39 (NKJV)

: : :

[In praying for healing], should we really be demanding our way, thinking we know what is best? Or should we strive to learn whatever lessons are hidden in the sickness and trials we may be going through? [I’ve been] told that because healing was not granted, the prayers ... were not earnest, fervent, or persistent enough. ~ Hannah Meyer

The short answer? Ask in faith without presuming upon God's answer. But there's a mighty fine line between faith in God's perfect will and presumption of God's sovereign will.

It's been explained this way: Between God’s perfect will and God’s sovereign will is the place to exercise human free will.

If you ask ten theologians to explain the intersection between divine will and human free will, you'd likely get eleven answers. I won't pretend that I can best them or that I have all the answers. Today's question falls into the category of my adequate but imperfect understanding, and that's what I'll share.

Almighty God does not allow human will to trespass His sovereign will. But God’s perfect will requires our cooperation. If we walk closely with Him so that we understand His will in a situation, if we rely upon Him so that He empowers us, and if we are submitted to His Spirit so that He has His perfect will—then we will experience His best.

There are a lot of ‘ifs’ and a lot of yielding that must occur for us to obtain God’s perfect will in our lives. We are nonetheless assured that we will not fall short of His sovereign will and promises.

Prayer is an opportunity to cooperate with God’s perfect will and seek to obtain His best while still acknowledging His sovereign will.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
~ Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Those who belong to Jesus Christ are assured of healing. But we are not assured of when it will occur, or if it will occur at all before we are resurrected.

Jesus spoke of "sickness unto death" because death and therefore sickness are a continued part of our existence for now. If sickness is a means of testing or character building, it may be healed when those are achieved—or it may be the Lord's intent that it continue throughout life (as was the case with the apostle Paul). When injury or sickness exists as a direct result of our actions—whether spiritual, emotional or physical—perhaps it will be healed when those conditions cease. If sickness exists for the purpose of glorifying God, it may be that miraculous healing is ours for the asking.

For more information on the reasons for sickness, see "Your Healer."

A similar question was previously answered in the post "Why Pray."

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: sacredpursuit.com

Question of the Week: What Exactly is the Gospel?

2010-06-11T00:00:00.007-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"The recognition of sin
is the beginning of salvation."
~ Martin Luther

"What exactly is the Gospel? I hear that term all the time."
~ Anonymous

The word "gospel" means "good news." The Gospel is the best news ever shared.

The Gospel's good news comes with bad news. The devil doesn't want you to believe either one.

The Gospel is this: God sent His Son Jesus to the earth to die for our sins. His death may be credited to us so that we ourselves need not pay the death penalty for sin. We obtain that credit as righteousness, through our faith in Jesus Christ, by God's grace as His gift.

The bad news is that the Gospel's value to a person diminishes in proportion to how lightly one looks at sin. Here are three common views.

1) If I believe I am not quite bad enough for God to actually send me to Hell, I will neither fear God nor understand my genuine need of a Savior. Grace and Heaven will be considered an entitlement rather than a gift. I will believe I posess salvation because of my intellectual agreement or association with religion. My life will be lived for myself rather than for God. If I claim to be a Christian, my failure to bring God glory will defame His name.

The Bible says such belief, without fear of God and Hell, is less than a demon’s:

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
~ James 2:19 (NKJV)

2) If I understand that I am a sinner who needs salvation to avoid Hell, I'll accept God's gift of salvation. But if I think I'm not all that bad a sinner—that my sin is simply human nature—then I'll be inclined to see salvation as something collectively bestowed upon a portion of deserving humanity. I'll likely retain the self-righteous pride which looks down on the “real” sinners, struggles to extend forgiveness, and is selective with love.

I cannot love God until I get past such pride:

If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
~ 1 John 4:20 (NKJV)

3) If I believe Almighty God created me, laid down commandments which I've violated, and is offended by my sin; if I see my sin as a filthy stench which covers me and makes me offensive to a good God; and if I understand that Holy God provided the precious blood of His Son to clean away the filth of my evil because of His great love for me—then I will consider the Gospel the greatest of all good news, gratefully bow the knee before God and humbly accept His Gift, and love my Lord with all my heart forever:

"Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."
~ Luke 7:47 (NKJV)

Here are some lies the devil does want you to believe:
• Your sin is so bad that you'll never be worthy of God's grace or love.
• If you've been saved from sin's death penalty it doesn't matter if you sin.
• Once you make Jesus Lord of your life, your problems are over.
• Problems in life indicate God's condemnation for your sin.
• If you love others then you're loving God and don't need to love Him first.

Further questions about the Gospel (or about Christianity / the Bible) are welcome.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image from the movie Passion of the Christ © 2004

Question of the Week: Why Separation?

2010-06-04T01:27:00.013-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

The triquetra (from a Latin word meaning “three-cornered”) is an ancient symbol for the Trinity. It comprises three interwoven arcs, distinct yet equal and inseparable, symbolizing that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three distinct yet equal Persons and indivisibly One God.

: : :

When we speak with words such as "return" or "reconciled," we do imply separation. Is it possible that we both hold and not hold God within ourselves? Or that He does and does not live in us? And if God dwells in us, how can we be separated from Him and be empty?
~ Maureen

There are various kinds of separation. And since one God is expressed in a Trinity of three distinct personalities—Father in Heaven, Jesus the Son, Spirit Counselor—our types of separation with each Person is different.

"Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father."
~ John 6:45-46 (NKJV)

There is an order within the Trinity. The Father holds supreme authority above creation and creatures, over humanity and angels, and above the other two Persons of God. No one of the earth may see His face. The ugliness of our sin, however small we think it, separates us completely from His absolute goodness (or holiness), and makes us His enemy—with no permission to enter His presence. Accompanied by Jesus, we have the right to enter the Father’s presence in prayer, make peace with Him, and be adopted as His child. We are then fully reconciled to Him spiritually and have the privilege of as much time in His presence as we spend in prayer. But we will not see His face before the day we go to where He is, in Heaven.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
~ John 1:14 (NKJV)

Jesus is fully God. He expresses the Father in logic as the Word of God, in creation as its Maker, and in human flesh as God become Man. When we take in Scripture, we are in the company of Jesus the Word. In perception of creation (including of ourselves), we know the Creator. But Jesus the God-Man now resides in the Paradise of Heaven. We are physically separated from Him until we meet in Paradise upon physical death, or when we meet Him in the sky at the rapture.

"It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."
~ John 16:7-8 (author)

No one is separated from the Holy Spirit. Named Paraclete, or Counselor, He is present in the voice of conscience which convicts any person of sin. The Holy Spirit may come upon a person in more strength and give the power to do what pleases the Father. The Holy Spirit comes into the person who entrusts himself or herself to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will occupy as little or as much place as is given to Him. When He fills a person, His presence cannot be missed. When He is given a small measure of trust, He occupies a small space, and may even seem absent.

Yesterday’s post on my blog is titled “Father, Son, Spirit.” Those interested in my personal experience of relationship with these three Persons are invited to read more there.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: anglicancatholic.ca

Question of the Week: Why Forgive?

2010-05-28T00:00:00.003-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
~ Mark Twain

: : :

Why should someone constantly forgive someone they love OVER and OVER for the same thing? At what point would the smart choice be to leave? ~ Anonymous

Oy vey what a question! Where to start?

Let’s begin by talking about “smart.”

Smart follows this logic:
God is wiser than I am.
God loves me and wants to bless me.
Therefore, doing what God says is good for me.

God’s greatest act was a response to humanity’s greatest need. Our greatest need is not for joy, or peace, or even love. Our greatest need is for the forgiveness which makes joy, peace and love possible. God provides what we need to obtain His forgiveness and receive freedom from our sins (through the death of Jesus Christ); He also directs us to forgive others so that we obtain freedom from the sins committed against us.

Forgiveness acts in cooperation with God toward His blessing.

Among the biggest objections to forgiveness are:
1) What about justice?
2) What about putting a stop to sin?
3) What about protecting the person being hurt by sin?

1) Forgiveness means allowing justice to be handled by the proper government, church, or perhaps family authority. Where no authority seems able or willing to enact justice, it must be left in the hands of God. As a former police officer, a former church board member, and a daughter, wife and mother, I can attest that human authorities all fail at perfect justice anyway. We should nonetheless seek their intervention as appropriate, remembering that final justice and vengeance lies solely in the hands of God, whose decision is perfect. To seek our own vengeance on any level is to accuse God of being inadequate.

2) Putting an end to sin requires repentance. An authority might compel outward repentance. We can ask for sincere and inward repentance. But the thorough heart repentance which puts an end to sin is possible only through God, with the cooperation of the offender.

3) Sin will always hurt someone. Sin and suffering are part of life on Planet Earth. When sin is overtly abusive, it is certainly appropriate to make attempts to protect those it injures. But instead of asking “when is it smart to leave?” the question is “what is the next step?” There is no way to anticipate all the next steps and their timing except by asking God. The person who is willing to act according to God’s plan will get answers from Him:

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 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.”
~ Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV)

Here are a few more reasons to forgive:

• sin is against God, and owned by him; to forgive is merely acknowledging His ownership and allowing Him to deal with sin
• forgiveness sets both parties free
• failing to forgive causes bitterness, which harms its holder
• we repeatedly sin against God, needing His forgiveness "over and over"
• forgiveness does not remove accountability
• forgiveness does not remove the need to rebuild trust and relationship
• forgiveness does not remove consequences

This is an extremely brief piece on the hardest thing we are asked to do. I did another, guest post earlier this week on forgiveness, titled “Divine Gift.” A number of questions about forgiveness were posed, and I provided additional answers in the comments there. I invite you to look at them if you’re interested in further thoughts. You’re also welcome to ask as many more questions as you’d like in the comments below.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: ayalasmellyblog.blogspot.com

Question of the Week: How Do Christians KNOW?

2010-05-21T00:05:00.008-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

“How do I know that God exists?
It would be much harder for me to prove that He doesn’t.”
~ Mary McFarland

How do Christians KNOW that God exists?
Anonymous young girl, Napa Valley, California

There are so many proofs of God’s existence that the Bible says God doesn't believe in atheists:

What can be known about God is clear to [people] because he has made it clear to them. From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse.
~ Romans 1:19-20 (GW)

Although the Bible supports them, the ten proofs presented here also exist independently of the Bible.

CONSCIENCE Romans 2:14-15
God gave Ten Commandments to define right behavior. But humans also know inside their own hearts when they have done wrong. The experience of guilt comes from the Creator. (See remarks on C.S. Lewis, below.)

CREATION Romans 1:18-21
Only the existence of God explains creation, whether the vast universe or the incredible amount of information stored in tiny DNA—whether life’s impossibly delicate balance or the beauty of nature explained only by a divine Artist. Scientists can neither prove nor agree on the origins of the universe and of life, but science supports everything in the Bible.

CIRCUMCISION Genesis 17:10-11
Over 4,000 years ago, Abraham began to practice circumcision—cutting off a piece of skin on male genitals—as a sign of covenant with God. This testifies of God because it is impossible that men would think of it on their own or do it to themselves for something less than faith in God.

COVENANT Deuteronomy 4:27,31; Rom 11:25-26
God promised that He would preserve His people Israel forever. They have endured slavery, captivity, diaspora, exile, occupation, pogroms, holocaust, and terrorism. They regained sovereignty in 1947 for the first time in over 2500 years. No other people has survived so much. It has been said by many people that Israel's existence is sufficient proof of God’s existence.

CHRONICLES John 20:30-31
The Bible is foremost the Word of God. It is also a legitimate historical record among numerous others. We know about the existence and words of other people based on their writings and those of firsthand witnesses. The existence of God and of Jesus and of what they said and did are more widely attested by historical chronicles and archeological finds than any other person.

CRUCIFIXION John 15:22-24
The Romans used crucifixion as the most horrific death possible. Historical records confirm the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He had opportunities to avoid being crucified, and the Bible shows that His own will was for God to spare Him from it in some manner. His submission to crucifixion testifies that He did it in obedience to God and love for mankind, not as a victim of the Jews or Romans.

CONFESSION 1 Corinthians 15:17,19
Hundreds of people confessed to seeing the divine and living Jesus after He rose from the dead. Their testimony is reinforced by their willingness to undergo persecution, torture and death. It is not reasonable to believe they would die for something they did not know to be true with certainty.

CHARACTER Matthew 5:16
While no Christian is as good as Christ Himself—and some claim to be Christians who are not—the character of Christians is often so loving that it defies explanation apart from God.

COUNSELOR John 14:26-27
Those who entrust themselves to Jesus receive His Holy Spirit (“Counselor”). They know the change He produces in their lives, and the power He gives them to be whom God asks them to be and to do what is otherwise impossible.

CONVICTION Mark 3:29; John 16:8-11
Jesus said even those who are not Christians receive conviction (internal knowledge) from the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit’s truths and proofs are so powerful, Jesus also said that those who defame the Holy Spirit will be eternally condemned.

Many people have attempted to prove that God does not exist. A prominent example is C.S. Lewis, the atheist who was converted to Christianity by the simplicity of morality being present in the human conscience but having no explanation in the absence of holy God. The classic Mere Christianity is his resulting book, with more detail and eloquence than this post. I highly recommend it to Christians and non-Christians alike.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image Source: acus.org

Know your enemy

2010-05-18T00:01:00.059-04:00

Youth is wasted on the young.

- George Bernard Shaw

Since my youth, O God, you have taught me ... - Psalm 71:17

One morning during second grade summer school, when my family lived in Northern California, I stood in front of a school assembly and sang Johnny Horton's Sink The Bismarck. Everyone clapped. It was great. Since that moment, I’ve wanted to be a rock star.

Thank God for unanswered prayers.

My one brush with rock stardom came when I got on stage with a New Jersey punk-rock band, touring through Europe, named Mucky Pup. We met in a overlit bar before one of their concerts. We shared a few beers … then a few more … and then we did shots of Jaegermeister … and then we drank a few more beers ....

Before you could shout Sex Pistols! three times fast, I was on stage with Mucky Pup, in front of 800 screaming Germans, singing covers from The Who. The base player for Mucky Pup stopped playing long enough to take my picture. It was cool.

Near the end of the set, I climbed on top of stage speakers. About eight feet above the audience, I executed a stage dive - a very stylish one, I might add - directly on top of the mosh pit. A dense cluster of unsteady arms held me up for a few seconds before we collapsed on the floor. About half the people were cursing, the rest were laughing, and all of us were scrambling to stand up before our heads got stomped on. The music continued.

One is never too hedonistic for prayer. – Kari Cobham

Outside the concert hall, I shared a cigarette with a German girl, while Mucky Pup continued to play. After, I had to run to catch the last regional train back to Bamberg and the Army base. Morning formation was just three hours away.

The train was empty. I slid a window down, shut my eyes, and let the cool German country air hit my face.

At moments like this I felt lonely and a little lost, and would wonder about God. -- How far away He seemed, how wrong I was to think so.

+++

It took a long time for me to realize that attention seeking behavior, like trying to impress people who do not know me, hard partying, stage diving, performing for the crowd, are empty promises.

All human stories, your story, my story, are stories about grace, either accepted or rejected.

You can reject God’s love, but you cannot outrun God’s love. He loves you dearly, no matter what you have done.

Even when I was wide open and running from God as fast as I could … He was there, pursuing me, loving me, waiting for me. He loves you that much, too. Do yourself a favor and stop running.

... Father, You are our God and we thank You for your mercy and grace. Walk with us and turn our hearts to follow You. Help us to see Your truth. In Jesus name we cry out to You ...

Question of the Week: Default Destination

2010-05-14T00:00:00.005-04:00

by Anne Lang Bundy

"Whoever be our people here—God's people or the devil's—
death will gather our souls to them."
~ Thomas Boston

If a child is sanctified by their believing parent, what about the children of the unbelieving?
~ Anonymous

This question was posed in response to the following statement from last week's Q&A about baptizing infants:

If infants are not baptized, are their souls in jeopardy? The Bible indicates that children are "sanctified" (made holy) by the believing parent (1 Corinthians 7:14). There is no indication of up to what age such sanctification continues. It might be: until an unspecified age of accountability; until a specific age of recognized maturity such as twelve or twenty; or for as long as the child remains in the believing parent’s house, under their "covering" of authority.

There is an ancient principle observed to this day in some cultures which offers protection to someone brought under the covering offered by another person. When Paul's ship faced destruction, God told him that all who sailed with him would be protected, and Paul warned the centurion: "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." (Acts 27:31 NKJV) Ruth asked Boaz to bring her under his covering: "Spread the corner of your garment over me." (Ruth 3:9 NIV) The principle was explicit when Lot brought two men into his home in evil Sodom: "Do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof." (Genesis 19:8 NKJV)

In numerous biblical examples, a person entering the walls of a city not only received the covering of protection from that city, but the entire city might be either spared or destroyed due to that person's presence—unless that person left the city. This is why the Lord did not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until righteous Lot (whose name means "covering") had departed from those cities. When Lot's wife looked back, she was displaying continuing alliance to Sodom and its wickedness rather than to her husband and his righteousness, so she was also destroyed.

I believe this principle is employed in the Scripture which speaks of children being sanctified by the faith of just one parent. The word "sanctified" means "made holy," which indicates a change from another condition.

We all start out evil.

Although humanity wants to see itself as basically good, we are inherently evil. We want to see infants as innocent, but they are born with the parents' DNA for evil. If at least one parent has been sanctified by the blood of Jesus and made holy, children are brought under the covering of the parent's faith and protected. If neither parent has been sanctified, then children have no spiritual protection from condemnation until they obtain sanctification on their own. (It cannot be obtained by baptizing them, because baptism is a personal testimony—see last week's post.)

My guess would be that this spiritual covering extends until children separate themselves from the parent spiritually in some way. Each individual must make a decision to turn from evil toward God, and obtain sanctification for oneself. If this occurs while still under the parent's covering, then there is no "lapse in coverage."

If it seems harsh for an infant to suffer condemnation, it might help to shift our perspective from an entitlement mentality which thinks Heaven is our right. Heaven is not the destiny for everyone who doesn't opt out, but the destiny of those who choose to be reconciled with their Creator and opt in. Heaven would be no better than Earth if filled with unsanctified, unholy, evil people.

God does not force people to dwell with Him for eternity who are united to those who oppose Him. Earth is the place to determine our alliance.

© 2010 Anne Lang Bundy
Image source: guardian.co.uk