The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"A Sweet Sigh, a Full Breath"
Leonardo da Vinci wisely said, "He who possesses most must be most afraid of loss."
Thankfully, born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ need not concern ourselves with the loss of possessions. In terms of truth and reality, we have none.
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, and all they that dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1).
Let us inventory the things we own according to earthly definition and measure. Then, let us breathe the sweet sigh of relief that, in real terms, we own absolutely nothing. Houses, lands, bank accounts, cars, clothes, tools, toys, and most of all, ourselves, the list could go on and on. All belong to "the Possessor of Heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:22). The most blessed peace descends upon us and arises within us as the Spirit of God calls us to remove our weary hands from the reins of possessions that belong to Another. "All that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine" (I Chronicles 29:11).
We bear the role and responsibility of stewards, that is, of God-led and enabled caretakers of our Heavenly Father's possessions entrusted to us. "It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful" (I Corinthians 4:2). Our calling of stewardship abides well within our capability because God promises the power to enable our care of that which belongs to Him. "God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (II Corinthians 9:8). What grace, and what a privilege to realize our role to remember "All is Thine," and to serve as caretakers of God's own.
Wondrous peace and wonderful purpose accompanies the realization of God's ownership and our stewardship. Yes, we breath the sweet sigh of relief, and then inhale a full breath of the Spirit of God to go forth and take care of that which belongs to "the Possessor of Heaven and earth." That includes everything and everybody. All are His, we are His, and no truth more blesses our hearts with reality and tranquility, and our hands with the power to serve the Owner as His steward sons and daughters.
"As having nothing, and yet possessing all things."
(II Corinthians 6:10)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."
(I Corinthians 1:30)
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shared with a dear friend yesterday that 99.99% of the Bible involves God's revelation and glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. We exist to know Him, and to find in such holy light the reality, reason, and ramifications of our existence (John 17:3). The Holy Spirit who indwells us ever works to reveal and glorify the Lord Jesus (John 15:28; 16:14). However, I also mentioned to my friend that a .01% place exists for the believer's self-knowledge and awareness. To know God means we will know ourselves in the context of Christ, as it were. "Ye are in Christ Jesus… He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit" (I Corinthians 1:30; 6:17). Of all that God sees of us, we can be sure this is first and this is primary. Indeed, how can it not be so when we consider…
"He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21).
If God gave His Son to the cross to make possible and actual His giving of the Holy Spirit to our hearts, could it be that He sees us with any other essential focus? If He poured out His wrath on the Lord Jesus so that He might pour out the Spirit into our spirits, will He ever overlook this "hope of glory, which is Christ in you?" And if He left His beloved Lord Jesus to die alone in utter abandonment to make possible His presence within us, will He ever take leave of seeing us in terms less than "Ye are the temple of the living God?" (II Corinthians 6:16).
Find the most faithful believer on the planet in this moment, and you will find one viewed by God as united to the Spirit of His Son. Find the most failing believer on the planet in this moment, and you will find one viewed by God as united to the Spirit of His Son. Too much was sacrificed for the Divine gaze upon us to be other or less. Certainly, our faithful or failing response to Him matters much, and He works to enhance the former, and correct the latter. However, God's first gaze ever sees us in light of the cross, the empty tomb, and the Spirit of the crucified and risen Christ within us. We must see ourselves accordingly. "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).
This is the .o1% - how we view ourselves - based on the 99.99% - how we view God. But how important it is. To share God's view of Christ in us and ourselves in Christ will go far in motivating and empowering a corresponding life of faith and faithfulness. Moreover, our Savior suffered agonized abandonment on the cross to bestow such grace upon and within us. We will never throughout eternity, or in this lifetime, live a moment apart from the Holy Spirit's abiding and empowering presence within us. Yes, God gave Himself to dwell within our hearts when we believed. He will not leave. This is how He views us. This is how we must view ourselves.
"I am with you always… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
(Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5)
"Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
(Romans 6:11)
Weekly Memory Verse
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