Orange Moon Monday, July 31, 2023 "Innate Or Imparted"

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

"Innate Or Imparted"

   

"Christ alone occupies such an exalted place of righteousness,  accounted perfect not only in His eternal divinity, but in His earthly humanity.  All others must receive the gift of righteousness."      

     

    Two ways exist whereby human beings can be right, or righteous, with God.  Either we must innately fulfill the standard required for acceptance by a perfect Lord  Or we must have righteousness imparted to us by His grace.  The first possibility excludes all but One.  The second is the Gospel.

    "We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

    "By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

    First, we marvel at the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, tempted more than any other, and yet sinless throughout His earthly lifetime.  He faced the challenges in His humanity since "God cannot be tempted with evil" (James 1:13).  Thus, He felt the temptations as do we ourselves, being confronted directly by Satan, and being required to overcome by faith and submission to God, as do we ourselves.  As a man, "He learned obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8).  Indeed, of the innumerable wonders for which we will praise our Savior forevermore, His sinless earthly lifetime amid what must have been constant challenge will lead us to fall before Him in grateful praise and thanksgiving.  "He Himself hath suffered being tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).

    Christ alone occupies such an exalted place of righteousness,  accounted perfect not only in His eternal divinity, but in His earthly humanity.  All others must receive "the gift of righteousness… by One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17).  Our Lord so fulfills the standard that He not only abides as righteous Himself, but also as the justifier of all who receive His grace through faith.  His innate acceptance with the Father becomes the basis for our imparted relationship and standing with Him - "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).  No other way of justification exists for human beings.  Nor is any other required.  "Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us… righteousness" (I Corinthians 1:31).

   Innate or imparted.  A company of One occupies the former.  We fall to our faces in wonder.  A church of multitudes fills the latter, saints redeemed unto righteousness by the grace of God, the blood of the Lamb, and the Holy Spirit who spiritually births the believer into righteous relationship and standing with God.  We fall again to our faces in wonder.  Growing realization of so marvelous a Giver and so merciful a gift will lead us in the determination to "bear the fruits of righteousness," which yet again are "by Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:11).  Yes, as with every Biblical truth, the consideration of righteousness begins, continues, and culminates with the glorious One of whom the Father declared…

"By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many."

(Isaiah 53:11)

"But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe."

(Romans 3:21-22)

Weekly Memory Verse

   By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.

 (Hebrews 10:14)

UPDATE:

Dear Orange Moon Friends,

    In responding to a friend about today's message, I reread what I had written.  I found a sentence that did not express exactly what I meant, and which might cause misunderstanding.

    "Thus, He felt the temptations as do we ourselves, being confronted directly by Satan, and being required to overcome by faith and submission to God, as do we ourselves."

    While the gist of the sentence is correct regarding the temptations of the Lord Jesus, it seems to suggest that not only was He directly confronted by Satan in the challenges, but so are we ourselves.  While this might be the case at times for believers, the truth of the matter is that Scripture does not present Satan as an omnipresent being.  Thus, he cannot directly confront all of us in every temptation.  I suspect he did so in all of the Lord's temptations because of who He was - which was the point I attempted to make -  but it does not seem possible it will always be true of us.  Certainly, there  are plenty of demonic influences we face, who possess similar capabilities of deception and temptation as does the devil himself.  So, the principle of temptation in this sense applies, but in broader terms than I expressed.

Thanks,

Glen

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Orange Moon Saturday, July 29, 2023 “Hearts Made Large”

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

"Hearts Made Large"

   

"God has given to those who trust the Lord Jesus a most wondrous gift.  He has given Himself to us in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit."      

     

    We often feel so human.  Because we are.  However, for born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must remind ourselves and each other that we are human, as inhabited by the Divine.

    "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).

    "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16).

    "I will dwell in them and walk in them" (II Corinthians 3:16).

    Such wondrous truth and reality changes everything upon every remembrance and affirmation.  In times of weakness, we recall "the power that worketh in us" whereby we divert our focus from our human inability to His divine enabling.  In times of faith and obedience to God, we give glory to Him that His indwelling life has led and empowered us - "yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."  In times of the seemingly mundane and everyday happenings of life, we realize that nothing can actually be "mundane and everyday" wherein the living God dwells and walks (Ephesians 3:20; I Corinthians 15:10; Genesis 28:16).  God has given to those who trust the Lord Jesus a most wondrous gift.  He has given Himself to us in the Person of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  We will forever remain human, but we will forever be something far more than it appears and seems.

    "I will run the way of Thy commandments when Thou shalt enlarge my heart" (Psalm 119:32).

    The ultimate fulfillment of hearts enlarged took place on the day of Pentecost, when no less than the presence of the infinite God inhabited believers.  Since that blessed time, all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ become "the habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22).  We do not always remember such grace.  We do not always think, speak, or act accordingly.  We do not always honor "the unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15).  Always, however, the Gift abides with and within us.  "I am with you always" declared the Lord Jesus - just before leaving the disciples in the ascension (Matthew 28:20).  He spoke, of course, of Pentecost when He would come to spiritually dwell within their hearts, never to depart.  The promise began that day.  It continues until this day and this hour, and it will never be broken.  "With you always… I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5).  

   Forevermore human.  Forevermore human, as inhabited by the Divine.  This "hope of glory" characterizes every believer, and carries every believer into wonders of grace "exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think" as we remember, believe, and submit ourselves to the living God in hearts made large by His glorious presence (Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 3:20).  

"This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." 

(I John 5:11)

Weekly Memory Verse

     For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

(Ephesians 5:8)

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Orange Moon Friday, July 28, 2023 "Facts, Not Fancy"

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

"Facts, Not Fancy"

   

"Beautiful poetry and prose, faithful to God and His truth, have long been written to bear witness to His wonder.  However, beautiful poetry and prose that misleads regarding spiritual matters have also been written."      

     

    An Eastern religious philosopher once wrote, quite beautifully in terms of poetic sentiment, ""Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair." 

    No disrespect intended, but no, it does not.  The earth bears no capacity for delight, nor does a mindless wind "long" to tousle our hair.  The earth is made of matter.  The wind moves as rushing molecules of air.  Neither bear a spirit or soul, and neither has ever had, or ever will have, a thought or an emotion to accompany their existence and function.  They exist as amazing creations of God, and even bore the feet and blew through hair of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly lifetime.    Never, however did the planet "delight," or did the winds "long."

    Beautiful sentiments and poetic prose must not cause us to neglect truth and reality.  We will all stand before God one day, and our response to facts, not fancy will determine our eternal destiny.  The historical Christ, who died as a literal human being on a real cross and exited a tangible tomb of stone, will be the issue of our fate.  "What think ye of Christ?  Whose son is He?" (Matthew 22:42).  Those who confess Him with their lips and answer rightly with their hearts will enter into the eternal presence of God because they believed the facts of the Gospel.  "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9).

    "We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (II Peter 1:16).

    Beautiful poetry and prose, faithful to God and His truth, have long been written to bear witness to His wonder.  However, beautiful poetry and prose that misleads regarding spiritual matters have also been written.  The former illuminates; the latter darkens.  The former bears redeeming salvation; the latter offers deceptive sentiment.  The former rests upon the bedrock of truth; the latter wafts upon breezes that lead us astray.  The Apostle John commands us to "Try (test) the spirits" (I John 4:1).  We fail to do so to our peril, and to the great risk of sentiment leading us astray.  May we all be found weighing facts and fancy in the balance, joining the Psalmist in praying for "the beauty of the Lord our God to be upon us," while heeding the warning of the Apostle Paul…

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

(II Corinthians 11:14-15)

Weekly Memory Verse

     For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

(Ephesians 5:8)

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Orange Moon Thursday, July 27, 2023 "The Heart"

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

(a repeat from 2015, and one of my favorites)

"The Heart"

   

"Beautiful wonders of countless modes and measures bless us in a world 'full of the goodness of the Lord'  (Psalm 33:5).  None, however, compare with The Heart."      

     

    The most beautiful reality that ever graced the planet on which we live was the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

    "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).

    Beautiful wonders of countless modes and measures bless us in a world "full of the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 33:5).  None, however, compare with The Heart.  The Creator of all beauty took upon Himself a human temple that had "no form nor comeliness", and "no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2).  He thereby shined all the more wondrously as Glory enrobed with Humility.  This He did in loving submission to His Father, and in loving salvation for us.  Yes, Someone has lived on this planet who perfectly loved God and humanity at the greatest cost to Himself.  Of no one else can this be said, and no other wonder we can imagine begins to compare with this most beautiful reality, this most beautiful Heart.

   "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).

    The Psalmist knew little of the Lord Jesus compared to what we see in the completed Scriptures and in the Savior's indwelling presence among believers.  He nevertheless realized that beholding his Lord's beauty comprised a lifelong pursuit of seeking.   Christians may behold the Heart in far greater measure than David could ever have dreamed.  This day offers to us such an  opportunity.   Indeed, when we take our rest, we can know the Lord Jesus better than we did when the day began.  By His Spirit, His Word, His church, and in so many other ways, the most beautiful reality that ever graced this planet can be better known.  Nothing will compare, in this day and  forevermore, with such a gift given, received, and appreciated with wonder.  Because nothing compares with The Heart.  And nothing ever will.

"He is altogether lovely."

(Song of Solomon 5:16)

"Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

(II Peter 3:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

     For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

(Ephesians 5:8)

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Orange Moon Wednesday, July 26, 2023 "Devotion and Discipline"

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

"Devotion and Discipline"

   

"The fear of His loving, but forthright discipline unites with our confidence in His loving and faithful devotion, resulting in reverence and rejoicing.  Both must be resident in the sensibilities of every believer."

      

     The security of our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ should thrill our hearts with wonder.

    "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified… Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord… Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Hebrews 10:10; 14; Romans 6:9-11; 4:8).

    The Christ who began our salvation maintains it forevermore as "He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).  Thrilling indeed!  However, as always with Scriptural truth, a counterbalancing reality accompanies the assurance, namely, a most serious and urgent admonition:

    "For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:30-31).

   God must eternally maintain His integrity in all He does.  The provision of salvation as the freest gift ever given would greatly jeopardize His righteousness and holiness if He allowed those who receive the gift to escape His discipline when and as necessary.  Warnings to believers grace the pages of the New Testament, along with promises.  "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6).  We all require these challenges to faithfully navigate the path of righteousness.  Without them, the flesh of even the most godly among us would result in taking advantage of grace.  The fear of His loving, but forthright discipline unites with our confidence in His loving and faithful devotion to us, resulting in reverence and rejoicing.  Both must be resident in the sensibilities of every believer.   

    A salvation our Father will not revoke must be accompanied by our realization He will not be mocked.  He will keep through His Son that which He promises by both the glorious intercession of our Savior, and the administration of His chastening and scourging hand if we wander from His grace and truth in Christ.  The Apostle Peter spoke to both realities in the first chapter of His first epistle, declaring the assurance and the admonition…

"Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls."

(I Peter 1:7-9)

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

(I Peter 1:17-19)

Weekly Memory Verse

     For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

(Ephesians 5:8)

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