Saturday, August 1, 2020

Orange Moon "Grace and Truth"

Friends: you may occasionally notice a different title in the subject line in the coming days. Apparently, "Orange Moon Cafe" has been blacklisted, and some of you may not receive the message if sent under that title. This happened in the past, so we may alter the title a bit at times to get the messages through.


As always, we have no desire to send the devotionals to anyone other than those who would like to receive them. We respond immediately when asked to remove an address from the mailing list. However, through oversight or computer glitch, we may sometimes err. Be sure this is the case, and we will act promptly to remove your address as soon as you let us know. Thanks, Glen


The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

 

  "Grace and Truth"     

    Grace and truth are inseparable companions.

 

   "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

 

    Without grace, truth would rightly condemn us because of God's righteousness and our sin.  "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).  Without truth, we would perceive grace as license to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  "Sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under the law but under grace" (Romans 6:14).  Thus, we do well to rejoice in God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ as our redemption from sin's consequences.  But we also do well to remember and affirm that grace travels along the narrow path of the living Word, the Lord Jesus, and the written Word, the Bible.  "I am the way, the truth and the life… Thy Word is truth" (John 14:6; John 17:17).

 

     We must maintain within our hearts and minds this dual nature of God's presence and working.  He will ever seek to remind us of the grace that began and continues our relationship with Him.  He will also keep before us the necessity of experiencing His freely given favor in accordance with Scriptural truth and authority.  Without continual remembrance of grace, we will inevitably crash on the rocks of futility and frustration.  Without continual remembrance of Biblical truth, we will inevitably misunderstand and misapply what it means to be freely accepted in Christ.  Grace comes to us only in the context of truth.  Truth illuminates us only in the context of grace.  "The Word was made 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).

 

    Grace never ventures forth apart from truth.  Truth never travels apart from its companion, grace.  "Grace and truth... by Jesus Christ."  We do well to be sure these dual rails of reality are established and maintained in our conviction as God's eternal way of life and light.

 

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth."

(Colossians 1:5-6)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(Romans 5:2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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