Orange Moon Monday, March 2, 2026 "Watch"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Watch"   

     The first mention of "that old serpent, called the devil and Satan" occurs in Genesis 3, where Scripture reveals what we perhaps most need to know about him (Revelation 12:9).

    "The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which God had made" (Genesis 3:1).

   Our enemy confirmed the description by deceiving Eve with appearances that would have seemed to indicate partaking of the forbidden "tree of knowledge of good and evil" was actually beneficial rather than destructive (Genesis 2:9).

    "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6).

    Little wonder the Lord Jesus Christ would one day warn, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).  At the outset of human history, we see the need to keep our guard up regarding the fact that a crafty deceiver exists who ever seeks to lead us away from life unto death.  As I once heard a young man say many years ago in a Bible study, "Satan makes good things seem bad, and bad things seem good."  It could also be said that the devil makes living things seem deadly, and deadly things seem to promise life.  Our enemy is indeed "subtle" in conveying such deception, and we all must "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8).  Or, as the Apostle John commanded,

    "Try (test) the spirits, whether they be of God" (I John 4:1).

    God has given us gifts whereby we can evaluate incoming information and data in the light of truth and reality.  The Word of God, the Spirit of God, the church of God, and the many promises of His guidance and keeping protect us as we seek to "walk in truth" (III John 1:4).  Recognizing that He provides such grace because we so desperately require it reminds us that an enemy exists who ever seeks to lead us astray.  Like Eve, the devil will tempt us most often not by frontal and obvious assaults, but rather by subtle misleadings whereby we can be caught unawares if we fail to be aware.  "Let us therefore not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober" (I Thessalonians 5:6).

    Again, good things made to seem bad.  Bad things made to seem good.  Living things made to seem deadly.  Deadly things made to seem living.  May our Heavenly Father lead us in keeping our eyes open to Himself and His truth, whereby we see darkness as darkness because we see it in its stark contrast to the Light.

"With Him is wisdom and strength, He hath counsel and understanding… and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

(Job 13:13; 22)

"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith."

 (I Corinthians 16:13). 

Weekly Memory Verse 

   Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

 (I Peter 5:8)

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Orange Moon Saturday, February 28, 2026 "His Best"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"His Best"   

     The woman's orientation at the textile mill concluded with a final instruction from her manager.  "The most important thing to remember as you operate your loom is that you do not attempt to untangle any knots yourself.  If threads tangle, call me."

     Things went well for the first few hours.  The loom seemed to run itself, and the woman found herself enjoying the beauty of seeing material beautifully appear.  However, just before her lunch break, a small tangle occurred, stopping the machine.  She examined the problem, determining that a mere two threads seemed to cause the glitch.  Remembering her manager's admonition, she hesitated to attempt a fix.  The more she looked at the tangle, however, the more it appeared easy to unravel.  She hated the idea of seeking help for what seemed so minor a challenge.  "I want to do my best," the woman thought to herself.  Reaching into the spools, she parted the tangled threads, only to be startled as the machine automatically restarted.  Advancing more thread into the spot where the problem had existed, a weave of wayward strands intertwined not magically as before, but disastrously.  Within seconds, the loom began to vibrate, making a terrible, shrieking noise.  This brought the manager onto the scene, appearing from what seemed like nowhere.  He quickly flipped several switches, shutting the machine down, and began to work on the knotted threads.

    The manager finished the repair quickly, but to the woman it seemed an eternity.  With the last thread untangled, he restarted the loom, which again began to hum smoothly and produce material.  Turning to the woman, he found her in tears.  "Everything is fine, my dear," said the kindly man, who added,  "I'm sure you've learned a valuable lesson, haven't you?"  The woman looked at her supervisor through tears and quietly responded, "Yes sir.  And I'm so sorry.  I just... I just wanted to do my best!"  The manager paused for a moment, and then said,  "Doing your best would have been calling me."

    "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

    Amid the tangles of our lives, the Word of God and the Spirit of God unite to beckon our hearts.  "Call Me."  How tempted we are, however, to apply our own hands to knots beyond our capacity to unravel.  As a last resort rather than a first response, we finally approach our Heavenly Father when our own efforts fail.  Like the manager - and infinitely more - the Lord is patient and longsuffering.  If we could hear Him audibly, He would likely remind us that our best always begins with an approach to the throne of grace as we realize we require His best rather than our own.  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

   One suspects the woman in our story never again attempted to unravel the knots of her loom.  Would that we might learn so quickly regarding the knots of our lives.  We did not awaken in this day to the Bible calling us to be strong in our own abilities, but rather, "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10; emphasis added).  He is present, involved, active and able to lead us in all matters as we join the Psalmist in his determination to remember the command so full of promise…

"In the day of my trouble, I will call upon Thee, for Thou wilt answer me."

(Psalm 86:7)

Weekly Memory Verse 

    "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

(I John 5:4)

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