The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Author and His Book"
You may have heard the old adage, "The Bible is the only book in the world that comes with its author."
"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).
To the humble, trusting heart, the Spirit of God illuminates the Word of God to make the Scriptures far more than merely ink on paper. Indeed, the Bible exists not only as a document, but as a Voice, the voice of God. We therefore make our approach in both personal and propositional terms, seeking to commune with our Heavenly Father by faith, while also seeking to understand His truth by proper reasoning and interpretation.
"Make Thy face to shine upon Thy servant; and teach me Thy statutes" (Psalm 119:135).
We cannot presently see with our physical eyes the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we open the pages of Scripture, however, the Holy Spirit applies God's truth in light that involves both heart and the mind, that is, the heart and mind of God, and our own heart and mind. A Face and statutes both await us in the Bible as we realize the love and light of its sublime Author can and must be known. "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).
I forget this truth sometimes, despite having read the Bible for nearly five decades. Hopefully, sharing these thoughts will remind me of the wonder of God's Word and its capacity to personally inspire and doctrinally inform. We neglect either to our own loss, and doubtless to the grieving of the Holy Spirit who seeks to teach us in terms of both the living and the written Word. The Author comes with His book. Of no other can this be said. Nor can any other infuse His pages with both life and light.
"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)
"I am… the truth; Thy Word is truth."
(John 14:6; John 17:17)
Weekly Memory Verse
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)
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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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