Monday, May 31, 2021

Orange Moon Monday, May 31, 2021 "Opportunities To Serve"

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


"Opportunities To Serve" 


   "I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember Thy wonders of old" (Psalm 77:11).

   Our son Noah's fellow Marine, team leader and friend, Sgt. Foster Harrington, was killed in 2004, while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  During a family gathering yesterday, I asked Noah to share a memory of Foster.  "In the Marine Corps, we stress servant leadership," said Noah.  "The further you progress in your career, the more opportunity you look for to serve others.  Foster was the classic example of that."

    What a legacy Foster paved in Noah and his fellow Marines' hearts, and in ours as we remember his service and sacrifice.  And what an example to follow.  I am reminded of the source of all servant leadership, and of One who, like Foster, sacrificed His life to serve:

    "As the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 28:20).

     

    The Christ who dwells within the hearts of believers ever looks for opportunities to serve.  He did this in His earthly lifetime, and He continues His devotion to others as He spiritually walks in us, and as we "live through Him" (II Corinthians 6:16; I John 4:9).  No greater peace arises within us than the fulfillment of heart we know when taking opportunity to serve God and others by self-sacrificial attitude and action.  We were made and born again for this.  As the spiritual temples of God, we exist to reflect His character, nature, and way of unselfish devotion to others.  The bells of our spirit ring only as we walk accordingly, even when the sacrifices of our service lead to much challenge in soul and body.  

   "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all" (Philippians 2:17).

   Opportunities to serve.  I am grateful for Foster and his sacrifice.    Surely we are all grateful for the sacrifices made by those who have served to preserve the sanctity and freedom of our nation.  Most of all, we give thanks for the Source of all self sacrificial devotion to others.  The Lord Jesus graces us with the privilege to "walk, even as He walked" by empowering a life of devotion to God and others (I John 2:6).  What will that involve in this day?  As we open our eyes to the possibilities, the Holy Spirit will lead us to find them, revealing in us the joy our Savior Himself knows by service and sacrifice.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.  And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
(Philippians 2:5-8)

Weekly Memory Verse
    Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
(Philippians 2:17).

  

   












































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Weekly Memory Verse
   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).

   












































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Saturday, May 29, 2021

Orange Moon Cafe Saturday, May 29, 2021 "Biblical". Part 2 - "Thus Saith the Lord".

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


"Biblical" 

Part 2 - "Thus Saith the Lord"


   Having established that the first aspect of being Biblical involves the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ and the realization of His place as the great theme of all Scripture, we proceed to another vital protocol.  Namely, the Bible interprets the Bible.

    "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 28:8-10).

    I recently read a well known Christian's position regarding a vital matter of truth and doctrine.  He said he believed and taught a particular perspective because of the position held by the theological movement he followed.  Sadly, his view directly contradicted a number of direct Scriptural statements.  This was troubling, of course, but the gentleman's devotion to sectarian doctrine rather than Scripture was just as alarming.  

    "Thy Word is truth" declared the Lord Jesus to the Father" (John 17:17).

    Note the Savior's affirmation of the Word of God.  It is truth.  Theological movements and disciplines may contain truth, and present a coherent and reasonably accurate expression of Biblical doctrine.  None are truth, however.  Scripture alone occupies that exalted place in God's light.  It must also occupy an exalted place in our hearts.  We interpret the Bible by the Bible.  Surely we may benefit by the positions of denominational and theological movements if they faithfully communicate Scriptural truth.  Never, however, do they begin to bear the weight of authority found only in the Bible's "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written" (Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 4:4).

    We seek the Savior according to Scriptural authority because we realize the Bible resembles a giant puzzle, composed of an infinite number of pieces shaped and sized to fit perfectly together.  More and more, their interlocking part mesh together - "line upon line; precept upon precept" - revealing the glorious image of Christ and His relationship to God, and to us.  We will never go far down the road of truth if we fail to understand this essential protocol.  Only devotion to "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written" leads to a genuine understanding and faithful response to God and His Word.   "I trust in Thy Word" (Psalm 119:42).

      We will not be held accountable for how well we responded to the doctrines of a sect or movement, including those who seek to be faithful to God and His truth.  We will be held accountable for our response to "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written."  Only Scripture interprets Scripture. What does the Bible teach?  This is the the question.  Only the quest of seeking to fit its Christ-exalting pieces together will yield the present and eternal benefit of knowing Him rightly, and being able to faithfully communicate Him to others.

"In Thy light shall we see light."
(Psalm 36:9)

Weekly Memory Verse
   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).

   












































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Weekly Memory Verse
   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).

   












































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Friday, May 28, 2021

Orange Moon Friday, May 28, 2021 "Biblical"

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


"Biblical" 


   What does it mean to be "Biblical?"  A friend and I recently discussed the issue.  All sincere believers in the Lord Jesus Christ seek to walk accordingly.  But what does it mean?  Our Savior Himself answered the question.

    "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life.  But they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).

   To be Biblical first and foremost means that we seek to know and exalt the Savior as the heart of all Scriptural truth.  Every subject we consider must begin with the Person and work of the Lord Jesus as its theme.  Be it love, truth, grace, mercy, faith, salvation, righteousness, obedience, prayer, history, prophecy, forgiveness, wrath, judgment, chastening, or any other Biblical issue, the Lord Jesus must initiate our consideration.  He must also be maintained as the theme, and there will be no end in knowing Him as the truth of all things.  "I am… the truth" (John 14:6).

   This means we may sometimes think we are being Biblical when we actually are not.  Indeed, I can ponder prayer without emphasizing the Lord Jesus as the source, means, and purpose of all praying.

    "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).
    "For through Him we have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18).
    "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you" (II Thessalonians 1:11-12).

   We can know much about prayer, or any other Scriptural revelation.  However, if do not know Christ as the heart of truth about each matter, we miss the point.  "They testify of Me" declared the Lord Jesus of the Scriptures (which at the time only included the Old Testament, which proclaim Him without ever actually naming Him).  Only our devotion to the Christ-exalting and revealing theme of Scripture grants us a justifiable claim to being Biblical.  Thus, we open the Book to search for the Lord Jesus, trusting that knowing Him regarding any Biblical subject we consider will grant us both understanding and the enabling to effectively respond.  "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).  

    An author once told a prospective reader he had written a new book.  He planned to give the gentleman a copy.  "Oh, is it about the American Revolutionary War, like your last book?" the man asked excitedly.  "Well," the author began to respond, "It's actually about…". The man interrupted, "Oh yes, I love to read about Washington, and Patrick Henry, and the the battle of Bunker Hill!"  The author resigned himself to the fact that the gentleman would not likely be interested in his new volume on the Great Depression.  He kept the book to himself, and the man did not benefit from his work on a different issue.

   The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible to glorify and reveal the Lord Jesus (II Peter 1:21; John 15:28; 16:14).  We read out of context and limit our understanding if we fail to maintain this holy determination regarding the Bible made glorious because of the Christ whose wonder glimmers on every page.  Let us then open the written Word to find the living Word.  The Lord Jesus serves as the center and circumference of all Scripture, and we will be genuinely Biblical only as we devote ourselves to seeking Him as the great and glorious theme of God's great and glorious Book.

"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
(Luke 24:27)

Weekly Memory Verse
   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).
   











































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Weekly Memory Verse
   Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."
(I John 3:2).
   











































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