Saturday, January 30, 2021

Orange Moon "Sometimes"

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


(a repeat from 2013)


"Sometimes"   


"The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping" (Psalm  6:8).     

    

    

Sometimes tears are prayers,

voicing the yearnings of our heart

far more than words 

could ever tell our cares.

Sometimes tears are prayers.

 

Sometimes sighs are cries

unto our Father above,

beckoning the grace that dwells

in His heart of caring love.

Yes, sometimes sighs are cries unto our Father above.

 

Sometimes silence sings

hymns of sacrificial offerings,

 praises graced with melody

no ear can divine, but the Divine.

Sometimes… sometimes silence sings.

 

Sometimes tears are prayers,

Sometimes sighs are cries,

Sometimes, silence sings.

Great is the mystery, but the trusting heart

hid deep with God in Christ well knows such things.

 

Sometimes, sometimes tears are prayers.

 

"I am so troubled that I cannot speak."

 (Psalm 77:4)

The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." 

(Romans 8:26)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

(Psalm 112:4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6133

 


Friday, January 29, 2021

Orange Moon "Eternal Life: Duration? Relation!

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

 

"Eternal Life: Duration? Relation!"         

    

    When thinking of eternal life, what comes to mind?  For many, duration constitutes the first answer, that is, those who have eternal life will live forever.  This is true, as the most familiar of all Bible verses blessedly proclaims.

 

   "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

 

   For beings who innately long for longevity, the wonder of a life lived forever provides a joyful contemplation.  Through the Lord Jesus Christ, God offers to the trusting heart the prospects of "life everlasting" (I Timothy 1:16).

 

    Such blessedness, however, bows before another prospect that defines and offers the greater hope and expectation:

 

    "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).

 

    In our Savior's words just before His suffering on the cross of Calvary, we see that eternal life actually involves relation more than durationWho we will know rather than how long we will live constitutes the true essence of life forevermore.  The word "know" in Christ's statement above is translated from  the Greek word "ginosko," meaning intimate knowledge, as opposed to mere understanding or awareness.  Thus, eternal life glimmers with the prospect of loving relationship and fellowship with a Being more gloriously winsome than even the most devoted human heart has begun to imagine.  "In Thy presence is fullness of joy.  At Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).  Yes, who we will know far transcends how long we will live - this is the prospect of perpetual communion with God that promises to believers His everloving heart in His everlasting Heaven.  "God… is my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

 

     To know the Father and Son forever, as revealed by the Holy Spirit - this is eternal life in its primary meaning.  For believers, such life has already begun because we already know "the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19).  Indeed, note the Apostle John's affirmation that believers already possess eternal life, that is, we already know the Lord who is Himself the joy of both our now and our everlasting forever…

 

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

(I John 5:13)

"God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

(Ephesians 2:4-7)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

(Psalm 112:4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6132

 


Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Orange Moon "The Successor" Thursday, January 28, 2021

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


Friends: this is Thursday's message, which I am sending out Wednesday night because I wrote this earlier in commemoration of our beagle Sparrow's passing a year ago today, and also in gratitude for Ellie, our newest beagle family member (who, interestingly, was conceived about the same time). Glen

 

"The Successor"      

   

    Our beloved beagle Sparrow left us a year ago today.  If you've been with us awhile, you know about Sparrow.  She was part of our family for 13 and ½ years, and remains with us by her legacy of loving sweetness, gentleness, and literary inspiration (she was my co-author all those years).  We miss her presence, and this afternoon has brought happy memories, along with sad tears and yet another realization of what a gift she was and is to our hearts.

 

    "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17).

 

    Now, of course, there's Ellie, our newest beagle.  She was conceived, unbeknownst to us at the time, during the same time frame in which Sparrow departed (possibly the same day).  Ellie has become pure joy to us as well, and most certainly one of those "good gifts" our Heavenly Father so loves to give.  She is quite a bit more lively than Sparrow (who had a heart murmur from the time she was a pup).  Indeed, there is no NFL running back who would not give a fortune to have Ellie's speed and ability to stop on a dime, or spin like a whirlwind (the rabbit community is said to be greatly relieved that Ellie will not be a hunting dog!).  She is sweet like Sparrow, and while she could never replace our departed sweetheart, Ellie has found her own place in our hearts and home.

 

   I believe with all my heart than when we lose things, our Lord replaces them in some manner as we trust and submit to Him.  The successor may not be as literal a replacement as beagle for beagle, but God always has something new for our hearts when we must say farewell to old and cherished things.  The most vivid expression of this truth was found when the disciples lost the physical presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, certainly the most heartbreaking sorrow that ever befell human hearts.

 

   "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" (John 16:7).

 

    The disciples of the Lord Jesus suffered the greatest of all losses when the Savior left them by way of the cross, the resurrection, and the ascension.  Without minimizing the sorrows we have all known, only the disciples lost the perfection and wonder of God as man.  The Lord Jesus went away.  However, He did not leave them alone.  He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort and indwell their spirits.  Broken hearts made possible the entrance of the living God, and thus a life beyond anything the Lord Jesus could have given them by His physical presence.  The loss of the Savior in that sense led to the life of the Successor, the Holy Spirit, who reveals the Lord Jesus within trusting hearts in such a manner that the Apostle Paul termed the gift, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

 

    Ellie did not replace Sparrow.  That is not possible.  But she brings her own gifts of comfort, joy, and blessing from the One who always has a successor of some form when, with broken hearts, we receive His consolation and compensation.  Long ago, shattered disciples became the very temples of the living God when their great loss led to the most wondrous gain imaginable.  The principle continues to this day as we look to our Father who so loves to fill voids of loss with gifts of love that make us "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (II Corinthians 6:10).

 

"Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father?  They said therefore, What is this that He saith, A little while?   We cannot tell what He saith. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

(John 16:17-22)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

(Psalm 112:4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6131

 


Orange Moon "With Its Author"

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

 

"With Its Author"      

   

    Perhaps you've heard the old adage, "The Bible is the only book in the world that comes with its Author."  This is blessedly true, but even more, it is necessarily  true.

 

    "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26).

   "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?  Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (I Corinthians 2:11-12).

 

    Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ do well to seek God's illumination as we read and ponder the Scriptures.  We will not understand His truth otherwise.  This does not mean that we do not read the Bible carefully and consistently, nor that we do not seek to consider the truth in accordance with reasonable guidelines for proper interpretation.  In fact, one of the Holy Spirit's aspects of teaching will be to instruct us in how to effectively read the Bible.  This will involve maintaining primary focus on the Person and work of the Lord Jesus, which serves directly and indirectly as the theme of every word of the Word (John 5:39).  The Spirit will also guide us in reading the Bible in context, and also to realize that Scripture interprets Scripture.  

 

   "Whom shall He teach knowledge?  And whom shall He make to understand doctrine?  Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:9-10).

 

   We do well to seek the Holy Spirit's illumination upon every reading of Scripture, realizing our need for His teaching and guidance.  We cannot understand even the simplest Biblical concept apart from the light He shines upon God and His truth.  The Bible comes with its Author for all who trust the Lord Jesus, and who realize that reading the Scriptures with a trusting, humble heart offers not merely learning, but also living fellowship with God.

 

"Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me: for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day."

(Psalm 25:5)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

(Psalm 112:4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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