Orange Moon Thursday, March 26, 2026 "Truth"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Truth" 

    

     All truth begins and forever continues with He who declared Himself to be the truth, the Lord Jesus Christ.  "I am… the truth" (John 14:6).

      Be it creation, history, prophecy, salvation, grace, faith, righteousness, peace, joy, prayer, obedience, forgiveness, judgment, or any subject, the Lord Jesus forms both the beginning and end of all Scriptural revelation and understanding.  We either begin with Him, or we do not begin at all.  "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:27).

    Consider creation.  The first and most important truth we must know involves the Who who "made all things" (Proverbs 16:4).  Certainly, all three Persons of the triune godhead acted in unison - as They always do - in the origination of creation.  However, the New Testament identifies a particularly significant role for the Son of God, who would ultimately become a part of creation.  The Gospel of John opens with this unequivocal affirmation regarding the role of "the Word… made flesh" declared to be one and the same with the One who made all things:

   "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:1-3)

    I recently watched a brief documentary that included a photo of the Earth taken by the Voyager I probe, from 4 billion miles away.  Of all that could be said about the so-called "Pale Blue Dot," we must begin at the beginning, and proceed to a particular epoch in history.  Namely, the Lord Jesus made the "Dot.  Moreover, in the Incarnation, He became a part of it.  Whatever one believes about creation, we begin here, with the earth's Creator and ultimate Redeemer.  Or we do not begin at all.  He is the truth about creation.  All other truths about the things that are made must flow from this Christological headwater of the river of reality.

    The same origin applies to all Biblical truth and doctrine.  We embark on our journey of knowledge and understanding by realizing the Person and work of the Lord Jesus forever serves as our point of departure.  "The truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21).  Every letter, word, sentence, verse, chapter, and book of Scripture glimmers with "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (II Corinthians 4:6).  Thus, we open the written Word, the Bible, to seek the living Word, the Lord Jesus.  He dwells among the holy pages in the words inspired by the Holy Spirit, who ever seeks to glorify and reveal the Son of God (John 15:26; 16:14).  Our best response?  Remembering the Bible's plain declaration that Christ is the truth,  and His declaration, "I am the truth."  We then personally affirm, "Lord, You are the truth" as we approach the blessed gift of Scripture that shines on every page with the blessed gift of the Savior.

"Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."

 (John 1:17)

"Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life.  And they are they which testify of Me."

(John 5:39)

Weekly Memory Verse 

   He that is entered into His rest, he hath ceased from His own works, as God did from His.

 (Hebrews 4:10)

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Orange Moon Wednesday, March 25, 2026 "The Drops and the Rain"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"The Drops and the Rain" 

    

     Relatively few big things happen to any human being.  This includes kings as well as hermits.  Life rather involves countless small matters of the day wherein the battles of life are most often won and lost.

   "He maketh small the drops of water.  They pour down rain" (Job 36:27).

      Seemingly inconsequential moments, events, and experiences govern the course of our lives.  This is especially true regarding our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ and with people.   Loving Him and others involves apparently insignificant thoughts, attitudes, actions, and words that may seem tiny in the moment, but which often loom large in hindsight.  "Small drops of water" indeed make for "pouring rain."  Faithfulness to God and people regarding the tiniest matters and moments may greatly honor Him and change the course of lives.  Conversely, Solomon reminds us that "little foxes" often "spoil the vines" (Song of Solomon 2:15).  We can hinder and damage in a moment, with a word, an action, an inaction, an attitude, or a look on the face.  

    Small drops and pouring rain remind us of life's eternal significance, and of how vital it is that we walk prayerfully and carefully with our Lord.  This day will involve countless small matters that unite to chart the course of life's journey.  Our Heavenly Father will be there for them all.  Remembering His presence and involvement transforms our hearts and minds regarding how we perceive the moments that may feel and appear to be insignificant.  They are not.  The drops and the rain tell us that.

"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."

(I Corinthians 10:31)  

"There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?"

(John 6:9)

Weekly Memory Verse 

   He that is entered into His rest, he hath ceased from His own works, as God did from His.

 (Hebrews 4:10)

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Orange Moon Tuesday, March 24, 2026 "Why?"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Why?" 

    What we do matters much.  Why we do it matters more.

    "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing" (I Corinthians 13:3).

    The challenge of this truth - and the blessing - involves the fact that we cannot independently form and maintain our proper motivations.  Much influences the reasons for why we do what we do.  This is especially true regarding the will of God, the greatest challenge of our existence.  The path to which He calls us requires His presence, involvement, and working in our hearts to ensure that our "Why?" accompanies our "What?"  Scripture does call us to purify our heart and souls (James 4:8; I Peter 1:22).  The means by which we accomplish this, however, requires faith in our Heavenly Father's working:

   "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:2-3).

   Hope in God's progressive process to conform us to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ maintains our assurance regarding both our "What?" and our "Why?"  

    "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

   The Holy Spirit moves within believers to motivate and enable the sincerity that must accompany our actions. God alone sees into the innermost depths of our being to determine our "Why?"  Therein, He alone can accomplish the purification of our reasons and motivations.  As the Apostle John declares, we cooperate by our hope in the Lord's working, purifying ourselves as by faith we "work out" that which He "works in" (Philippians 2:13).  "Search me, o God, and know my heart" requested the Psalmist in one of the wisest prayers ever uttered (Psalm 139:23).  We do well to echo David, frequently seeking our Father's examination not only of what we do, but of why we do it.

"Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins (mind) and my heart."

(Psalm 26:2)

Weekly Memory Verse 

   He that is entered into His rest, he hath ceased from His own works, as God did from His.

 (Hebrews 4:10)

7747