Orange Moon Friday, January 9, 2026 "Never Still"

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

  

"Never Still"   

  

      

    "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2).

     A vibrantly active Holy Spirit worked to bring forth the earth in its richness, complexity, and variation of God's engineering and artistic prowess.  The same marvel occurs in the "new creature" of born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).  The Spirit of God does not merely sit on the throne of our hearts as He works to reveal the character and nature of the Lord Jesus in us.  He rather moves upon and within us to bring forth glories of the Savior as the Life of our lives.  We see relatively little of all the Holy Spirit does, but He nevertheless works incessantly to fulfill our Heavenly Father's purpose in us.

    "I will dwell in them and walk in them" (II Corinthians 6:16; emphasis added).

    The physical creation beautifully illustrates the spiritual creation in Christ.  Many things appear to be still.  None are.   Immeasurable movement constantly takes place in both the microscopic and macroscopic realms of creation.  Some aspects of the activity we can see; the vast majority, we cannot.  This clearly reflects the Holy Spirit's working in our hearts and lives.  We can behold some of what He does.  We can grow in our perception thereof.  The preponderance of His movement, however, escapes the awareness of our sight and understanding as "all things work together for good to them the love God" (Romans 8:28).  Indeed, at times when He may appear to be the most still, the Holy Spirit may well be moving in the most dynamically engaged activity to glorify the Savior and fulfill His purpose in us.

       The Apostle Paul declared "the power that worketh in us" to be "exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:8; 20).  Believers in the Lord Jesus exist as temples of the moving marvel of the Holy Spirit dwelling within 0ur hearts and working in our earthly faculties.  At times, we may recognize a modicum of the miracle, which can seem great indeed.  Most often, however, the power of the Spirit works in immeasurable grace, but we see little to nothing of its movement.  This is exactly as we would expect in a life wherein we "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).  In this moment, in fact, the Holy Spirit works in all of God's children, regardless of how well we may or may not be responding to Him.  This may involve confirmation and growth, or correction and restoration.  Whatever the case, we can be sure the Holy Spirit is never still in His movement to conform us to the spiritual and moral image of the Lord Jesus.  

    "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thessalonians 5:23-24).

    We were not there to see the Holy Spirit so powerfully moving upon the face of the waters.  We are here to see Him moving upon the face of our hearts, and the hearts of fellow believers.  We see by faith as a matter of conviction, even as we see relatively little as a matter of understanding and perception.  Let us give thanks for the movement of the Spirit we see, and the movement so vast and wondrous we cannot see.  We will understand things better by and by, although even then, God's working will far transcend our ability to fully see and understand…

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" 

(Romans 11:33)

Weekly Memory Verse

    We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(II Corinthians 4:18).

   

   

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Orange Moon Thursday, January 8, 2026 "Seems. Is."

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

  

"Seems.  Is,"   

  

      

    We can live by the "seem."  Or we can live by the "is."

    "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment" (John 7:24).

   

    Whatever God has revealed of Himself and His involved presence and working in all things constitutes the righteous judgment of "is."  That which we comprehend by our human understanding and perceive by our senses forms the "seem."  We must build an altar within our hearts to sacrifice the seem in order to embrace and affirm the is.  This leads us to the Scriptures, of course.  What does the Word of God declare about the matters of life, regardless of what appearances and perceptions suggest?  The question presents itself in countless ways as we navigate life in a fallen world, and more to the point, along the pathways of God's providence.

   "I am… the truth" (John 14:6).

    "God… worketh all things after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:3; 11).

     How true are these statements?  "Seem" would tell us that they sometimes apply to the matters of life.  "Is" declares that our Heavenly Father works in all things to glorify and reveal the Lord Jesus Christ, His "eternal purpose" (Ephesians 3:11).  How He does so we do not know in countless aspects of His involvement.  That He does so is as sure as the perfect veracity of His Word.  "Thy Word is truth" (John 17:17).  

    The cross of Calvary assures us of the truth of "is."   The worst thing that ever occurred in history transpired as the working of God's heart and hand, amid the utterly sinful actions of human hearts and hands.  Nothing compares to Calvary in the horror of its sin and its devilish and human consequences, which God did not cause (James 1:13).  God nevertheless moved in mercy to make possible the best thing of our salvation.  "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself" (II Corinthians 5:19).  "Seem" does not reveal this, bearing witness only to the surface aspects that are real and have consequences, but which do not constitute the greatest reality of all things, namely, the "is" of God's presence, involvement, and working in the worst thing that, for believers, became the best thing.

   As we apply the "is" of the cross to all other things, we see by faith the providence of God.  "Seem" does not and cannot reveal this.  May the Lord lead us to His Word, which bears witness to His working in all things.  And may the "seem" of appearance lead us to remember and affirm the "is" of God's truth and "righteous judgment."

"For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever, Amen."
(Romans 11:36)

Weekly Memory Verse

    We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(II Corinthians 4:18).

   

   

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Orange Moon Wednesday, January 7, 2026 "Transcendent"

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

  

"Transcendent"   

  

      

    Perhaps you have heard the rhetorical question, "How big is your God?"  The interesting answer is that He is not big at all.  That is, our Lord is spiritual rather than spatial.

   "The heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee" (II Chronicles 6:18).

    In the 1920s, the astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered the universe to be far more vast than previously known, and that it also expands at an unimaginable rate.  The James Webb telescope, active since July, 2022, has revealed the size and expansion to be of immeasurably greater scope than previously realized.  The number of galaxies is presently estimated to be at least in the billions, and possibly the trillions, many of which likely contain billions of planets.  Moreover, the acceleration of expansion may well be far greater than present calculations, considering the increasing awareness of creation's scope and measure.  "Thus saith God the Lord, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out" (Isaiah 42:6).  "Overwhelming" serves as the only adjective that comes to mind when pondering such wonder.

    "The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1).

   Far more than overwhelming is the Creator of a universe that "cannot contain" Him.  God transcends all things by an infinite measure, although again, His spiritual reality does not involve a matter of measure, size, or scope.  What does this mean for creatures such as ourselves who are subject to limitations in our understanding of such a mystery?  

   First, we acknowledge that we cannot understand.  We have no frame of reference for the transcendence of a reality - God - whose existence dwarfs the creation He made.  Regardless of how vast the universe may be, or how complex and intricate, its Maker stands infinitely above and beyond all things.  Unto a race of beings fallen into the deception of "ye shall be as gods," the truth of how small we are in relationship to the living and true God serves as a vital illumination (Genesis 3:5).  "Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am" (Psalm 39:4).

   The transcendence of God also fills and thrills our hearts with hope, especially since He has communicated His desire to provide for us in every way.  "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).  Apply this to the blessings of life, given so abundantly from a provision inexhaustible and never ending.  Gratitude fills our being.  Or see the challenges, pains, sorrows, and problems of life in the light of the infinite One who promises to be present, involved, and able to lead us as our "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  Indeed, while it is permissible to suggest God as bigger than our problems, the truth rather beckons us to see Him in terms far greater.  "Very present… in trouble" declares that the greatest reality in both earthly blessings and challenges is the Heavenly God whose presence and provision transcend all.  "It is I" revealed the Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples in the midst of a violent storm (John 6:20).  He beckons us in all things with the same assurance, the assurance of His presence and transcendence.

    "It is I."  No simpler statement graces the pages of the Bible.  No greater reality shines forth from those same pages.  May our Heavenly Father grant much grace to see our lives in the reality far beyond our sight, senses, and comprehension.  Yes, He made a creation that boggles the mind.   It pales in comparison, however, to His own being, which thrills, fascinates, and illuminates our hearts as we look to see the light that will forever reveal the inexhaustible and immeasurable glory of God.

"His greatness is unsearchable."

 (II Chronicles 6:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

    We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

(II Corinthians 4:18).

   

   

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