Orange Moon Monday, July 6, 2026 “Rest and Work”

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

“Rest and Work”      

   

   “They ceased not from their own doings” (Judges 2:19).  

   “He that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works” (Hebrews 4:10).

   “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1).

    Every born again believer has ceased from his own works by giving up the vanity of seeking any other way of salvation than the reception of the freest gift ever given, purchased by the highest cost ever remitted.  “For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Romans 5:15).  Christ only.  Christ always.  Christ forever.  All born again by faith in the Lord Jesus trust solely in His works on our behalf.  We rest in Him.

     Christians can, however, “seem to come short” of such grace in our walk with the Lord and the works that proceed from rest.

    “The flesh lusteth against the spirit” (Galatians 5:17).

    Of all the characteristics of the “law of sin” that remains in our earthly members inherited from Adam, none more aptly describe its waywardness than independence (from God).  Our flesh will be good, bad, or neutral, so long as we give it the chance to maintain influence and activity as the controlling factor of our lives.  No Christian is beyond the temptation, and all sometimes fall into the trap of forgetting that God calls us to “labor, striving according to His working” (Colossians. 1:29; emphasis added).  We overcome the enticement by faith, seeking to remember and affirm His faithfulness in leading and enabling us as we trust Him.  “Nothing without Me” declared the Lord Jesus regarding our abject need.  “All things through Christ” exulted the Apostle Paul of our Lord’s promise to work in us as we rest our hearts in Him (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13).

   We do well to specifically apply this truth to particular challenges that confront us.  Do we face the matter alone, as if the Spirit of Christ were not actively present and engaged in our hearts and lives?  Must our mental, volitional, and physical efforts serve as the primary means whereby we seek to overcome the challenge?  Must we strive according to our own working rather than first resting our hearts in God?   When believers succumb to such temptation, we scandalously “seem to come short” of resting in Christ despite having in fact “entered into His rest” in the new birth.

   We do well to often recall that which began our relationship with God, namely, we responded to the Holy Spirit’s convincing and convicting work, trusting Him and Him alone.  We then remember one of Paul’s most vital statements regarding how we walk in faithful fellowship with God…

     “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6).  

    In essence, Paul commands, “Whatever occurred in the first moment of salvation, continue therein.”  That which occurred was God promising and the believer trusting, God giving and the believer receiving, God working and the believer resting our hearts in Him.   And so must it continue.  We do much as believers.  “Faith without works is dead” (James  2:26).  However, works without faith are no less dead, being the product of the flesh rather than the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Believers work for God by working from God.  We rest in order to labor.  We trust in order to act.  Only thereby can we avoid the utter tragedy of having entered into the rest of God by trusting in the Lord Jesus, only to “seem” as if we have not done so by forgetting that we must continue as we began.  Indeed, works proceed from rest as that which began our relationship with God motivates, guides, inspires, and empowers our fellowship with Him.

“For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

(Philippians 3:3)

Weekly Memory Verse

     “He that is entered into His rest, he also hath ceased from his own works.”

 (Hebrews 4:10).

 

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Orange Moon Saturday, July 4:2026 "Faithful Creator"

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

(for America and its faithful Creator)

“Faithful Creator”      

   

   “Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator” (I Peter 4:19).

   Throughout its pages, and in the Apostle Peter’s specific declaration, the Bible proclaims “a faithful Creator.”  Indeed, the One who made the human race did not abandon us to our deserved fate when we fell into sin at the outset of our existence.  God rather purposed the Lord Jesus Christ as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” to make possible our redemption from the darkness of alienation from Him (Revelation 13:8).  Our faithful Creator would die as our faithful Redeemer, or as one once said, “To create, God had to speak.  To redeem, He had to bleed.”

   Ae we increasingly discover the wondrous vastness and complexity of the universe, the power of our Creator increasingly astonishes our minds.  Couple this with His infinite faithfulness, and we find a Maker and Redeemer who thrills and inspires our hearts.  Our all powerful Creator can.  Our faithful Creator will.  All that awaits are creatures who realize our need not only for God’s fiat that provided our existence.  “It is He that hath made us” (Psalm 100:3).  We must also have His living presence and working that provides our very life.  “He is thy life” (Deuteronomy 30:20).  This born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have, providing for the needs of every moment of our existence.  

    “A faithful Creator.”  The title says so much about our Lord’s character and capability.  We can safely and with complete confidence commit our souls to such a wondrous One in all things, at all times, and in this very moment.  May a corollary title be found appropriate of us - faithful creatures.  Moreover, through the Lord Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit,  faithful sons and daughters.  To whatever degree our commitment to such grace and privileged responsibility may be, let us seek to “increase more and more” (I Thessonians 4:10).  What other response can we offer to our glorious God, our blessed Redeemer, our perfect Lord, and yes, our faithful Creator.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True.

(Revelation 19:11)

Weekly Memory Verse

      My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction.  For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom He delighteth. 

(Proverbs 3:11-12)

 

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Orange Moon Friday, July 3, 2026 "Dying Grace, Living Grace"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

“Dying Grace, Living Grace”

      

    You may have heard about the woman who approached her pastor after he preached a message on “dying grace.”  He had assured the congregation of the Lord’s promise that He will be with us as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4).

    “Pastor, I loved your message,” said the woman.  "But I must be honest with you.  I don’t have the dying grace of which you spoke."

    The pastor looked at the woman with a smile, paused for a moment, and responded, “Of course you don’t, my sister.  You are not dying.”

     Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ always possess God’ spromised grace of provision and guidance supplied through our Lord’s presence in our hearts and lives.  “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 1:3; emphasis added).  Specific applications and appropriations, however, await the needs of the moment before their manifestation.  God determines the timing of His revealed provision, sometimes challenging our perceptions, but always acting in perfect accordance with the glory of the Lord Jesus and our best interests.  As a friend long ago said, “If I am trusting God and don’t seem to have what I need right now, I must not actually need it.”

    This speaks to the truth that our Heavenly Father defines our needs.  Certainly, we possess some understanding of the requirements of life that make possible our proper function and enjoyment.  Scripture clearly reveals, however, that we know relatively little of that which we actually need.  We use our understanding to perceive our requirements and respond accordingly.  As Solomon declared, however, we do not “lean” on our understanding it as if we possess enough facts to even begin to completely interpret our truest needs (Proverbs 3:5-6).  We rather want to be as the wise one of the Song of Solomon: “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved?” (Song of Solomon 8:5).  

    Be it the dying grace of departure, or the living grace of each day, God administers His provision in the moment His perfect wisdom determines and supplies.  He absolutely and positively knows best.  We absolutely and positively do not.  Indeed, the provision of some moments is the remembrance of this truth, which enables our waiting on the Lord, something we desperately need in a lifetime lived by faith (Psalm 27:14).  Let us plant the promise deeply within our hearts, namely, the assurance of God’s timely supply whereby…

“My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:19)

“My times are in Thy hands.”

(Psalm 31:15)

Weekly Memory Verse

      My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction.  For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom He delighteth. 

(Proverbs 3:11-12).

 

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