Orange Moon Friday, December 6, 2024 ”Jesus Paid It All"

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

"Jesus Paid It All"

  

      

      In His earthly lifetime, the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished so much.  

   "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen" (John 21:25).

    In His earthly death, the Lord Jesus perhaps accomplished even more.  Consider.  Had the Son of God not been in the eternal purpose of God the Father "a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world," creation could not have continued after rebellion and sin entered the dark picture (I Peter 1:20).  We see this in the Apostle Paul's greetings to the churches, which introduce his New Testament epistles:

     "Grace to you and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7).

    Had the Lord Jesus not died on the cross, no such salutations of lovingkindness could have been penned.  In fact, creation would have been become the subject of wrath and judgment in Eden.  The One by whom "all things were created" existed  in the divine intention as the Lamb of God before He made all things (Colossians 1:16).  A means of mercy had to exist before creation.  The cross made this possible, that is, the tree of suffering, forsakenness, and death that stood in the foreknowledge of God long before it bore the Lord Jesus on Mt. Calvary.  We bow before our Father in awed wonder when pondering such grace of heart that would lead to our Savior's sacrifice.  His death made possible every grace administered by the hand of God in this life and forevermore.  Indeed, our next breath comes to us by the price of blood, as the Apostle Paul declared of every gift given by our Father:

    "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

    The cross stands as our hope of salvation's forgiveness, relationship with God, and assurance of eternal life to all who believe.  However, it no less stands as the hope of everything our Father provides to a creation that could not continue were it not for the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.  The old hymn sings it well - "Jesus paid it all."  He did.  He paid for every "good gift and every perfect gift" given by God to His creation and His creatures (James 1:17).  A glorious life led to a glorious death, and a glorious resurrection whereby the person and work of the Lord Jesus serves as the price paid for all so freely and graciously given through…

"The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

(Revelation 13:8)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor."

(Ephesians 5:2)

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Orange Moon Thursday, December 5, 2024 "Infallible Proofs"

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

"Infallible Proofs" 

  

      

      "He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2-3).

   Unlike the early followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not yet blessed to physically see the Lord Jesus Christ in His risen glory.  "We walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).  We do not have to be a believer for long, however, before "many infallible proofs" begin to accumulate in our hearts and minds that powerfully confirm the reality, presence, and working of God.  Answered prayers, along with the blessings of people, provisions, protections, and happenings realized as more than mere happenstance increasingly  reveal our lives to be the scene of divine involvement.  We also find our Lord to be "a very present in trouble," whether He delivers us from our trials, or in them (Psalm 46:1).  God proves Himself to be who He is, and to do what He promises to do in the experience of His sons and daughters in Christ.  "Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice" (Psalm 63:7).

   We should expect this ongoing confirmation from our Heavenly Father.  He administers such grace in His time and way, and according to His perfect wisdom.  We do not attempt to manipulate matters, and we do not necessarily factor God's direct activity into every event or occurrence.  Indeed, we exercise great caution in thinking or saying "The Lord did this or that" because we do not want to erroneously attribute to Him something He did not do.  However, we do anticipate that our Lord's personal working in our lives will impart "many infallible proofs" that more and more convince us He is present, involved, willing, and able as the very Life of our lives.  "To live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).

   "We shall understand it better by and by" sings the familiar old hymn.  To a lesser degree, we can understand it better in the here and now as we live our lives in the confident expectation of our Father's working to confirm Himself and His living reality.  Genuine faith does not involves a blind leap into the dark, but rather an expectant leap into the light whereby God's involvement and our expectation ever proceed to infallibly prove that Jesus is Lord, He is alive, and He is the great reality of our existence.

"He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is. rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

(Hebrews 11:6)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor."

(Ephesians 5:2)

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Orange Moon Wednesday, December 4, 2024 “Grace - Beginning and Continuing”

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

"Grace - Beginning and Continuing" 

  

      

      That which occurred in the first moment of our relationship with God must continue to occur in all subsequent moments.

     "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving" (Colossians 2:6-7).

    Faith in the Lord Jesus delivers us from the delusion that we can somehow make ourselves right with God by our own dedication, effort, and determination.  We came to Him helpless and hopeless, acknowledging He had to do something for us we could not do for ourselves.  The Holy Spirit shined the spotlight on the Savior's person and work, leading us to hear in the depths of our hearts, "I am thy salvation" (Psalm 35:3).  We responded, "He is become my salvation" (Exodus 15:2).

   The same means of grace calls to us in this day.  We can no more live the Christian life by our own means than we could have begun it.  "Let us have grace, that we my serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear" (Hebrews 12:28).  The standard of being and life is far too high, and infinitely beyond our means - "Walk even as He walked" (I John 2:6).  We cannot think, pray, speak, act, or relate apart from the presence and power of God.  "Without Me, ye can do nothing."  Through Christ, however, we can "do all things" that glorify God and fulfill His will.  "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13; II Corinthians 9:8).

    "All grace - every good work."  An inextricable bond exists between God's freely given favor in the Lord Jesus and the life of godliness to which He calls us.  Our calling today involves the same response that led us to first receive the saving grace of the Savior.  Growth proceeds from birth by the life - the life of Christ - that alone supplies our hope.  He lives in us, we live through Him, and a walk far beyond our human means results from grace received through faith.  Thereby, God is glorified, our hearts are filled and fulfilled, and others are blessed as the grace that originated our relationship with Him serves as the power by which it is forever - and in this day - perpetuated.

"It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace."

(Hebrews 13:9)

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen."

(II Peter 3:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor."

(Ephesians 5:2)

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