The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"A Place All Its Own"
Amid all things that define what it means to be a human being, one stands not only above all others, but rather occupies a place all its own as the very essence of who and what we are.
"This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3)
God exists as a relational being, that is, one God dwelling in three Persons who love and communicate with one another. He made humanity in His image, meaning relationship will also be central in our existence. The entrance of sin into the human race through Adam gravely damaged our capacity for relationship with God, making necessary a spiritual redemption and resurrection. This our Heavenly Father provided through the Lord Jesus Christ, and the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to all who believe.
"The Holy Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16).
Of all Scripture declares about what it means to be a Christian, nothing more defines the reality than relationship. God knows us, and we know Him. Of course, on His part, He knows us perfectly. On our part, we "see through a glass darkly" (I Corinthians 13:12). Still, we see, and still, we know, to one degree or another. Indeed, in every believer, the witness abides - "I know Him." We may or may not know Him well, and we all must surely know Him so much more and so much better. Nevertheless, the Christian knows God, and deeply within, knows that availing ourselves of this wondrous bond of grace received through faith is the very essence of our existence. "He is thy life… To live is Christ" (Deuteronomy 30:20; Philippians 1:21).
Such a gift bears with it great privilege and great responsibility. In all times, and at all places, we may "come boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). This involves personally relating to God in prayer and in the light of His Biblical truth, the two key components of what it means in our present existence to relate to our Lord. We may also come with praise and thanksgiving, with request for knowledge and wisdom, with confession of sin and confidence of forgiveness and cleansing, and with the simple desire for communion with the One for whom our hearts were made. Indeed, the Spirit of God ever beckons us to remember the relationship freely given by grace in the Lord Jesus, and to avail ourselves thereunto.
Our Heavenly Father obviously loves relating to us. Let us look with our hearts into Heaven to see the prints of nails that mark our Savior's hands and feet, and that bear such vivid witness to how much God loves our fellowship. "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people" (Psalm 149:4). Such a realization will surely fuel the flame of our desire to respond to Him, pleasing His heart by the response of our heart. Long before the advent of the Lord Jesus, and with far less light of grace than we possess, the Psalmist realized the blessed truth. We close with his affirmation that must increasingly become our own, the affirmation of relationship with God as having a place, all its own…
"When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek."
(Psalm 27:8)
"One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple."
(Psalm 27:4)
"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue."
(II Peter 1:2-3)
Weekly Memory Verse
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men."
(I Timothy 2:1)
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