Orange Moon Saturday, June 20, 2026 "Not Of Works"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

“Not Of Works”

      “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?   And in Thy name have cast out devils?  And in Thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23).

    Certainly, there is nothing wrong with good works per se.  There is much wrong with them, however, per salvation.

    “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

    The very essence of sin involves the pride long ago embraced in Eden.  “Ye shall be as gods” tempted the devil with the delusion in which he himself exists (Genesis 3:5: Isaiah 14:14).  Nothing could have been further from the truth, resulting in the darkness of heart whereby we naturally believe ourselves capable of producing a life and its works worthy of God’s standard, or in most cases, of a standard we create for ourselves.  If honest, we must admit we fail at both, preparing us for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ whereby we trust in His works on our behalf.  “God, have mercy on me a sinner” pled the justified publican, in contrast to the rejected Pharisee who touted his own sacrifices and works (Luke 18:10-14).

    The redeemed of Heaven will have worked much for the glory of God, whereby we “show” a genuine relationship with Him through how we live, but never earning or maintaining the bond thereby  (James 2:18).  Not one of our deeds will serve as the basis for a salvation completely provided through the works of the Lord Jesus.  He alone fulfills the perfect standard through which we become “accepted in the Beloved” by His righteousness freely imputed to us (Ephesians 1:6; I Corinthians 1:30).  Christ alone “died for us” and “ever liveth to make intercession for us” (Romans 5:8; Hebrews 7:25).  We come to God solely by Him, or we do not come at all.  The works of believers are fruit.  The Lord Jesus alone is the root.  This the Gospel, thrice declared in Romans 5 as a "free gift" purchased by the price only Christ could remit.  He did so, perfectly, and we approach God by the works of His Son.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  Nothing else.

“By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.  It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”

(Ephesians 2:8-9)

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.”

(Ephesians 2:10)

Weekly Memory Verse

     Sanctify them through Thy truth.  Thy Word is truth.

(John 17:17)

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Orange Moon Friday, June 19, 2026 "Joy"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

“Joy”

      On the surface, it can seem to be one of the most unlikely and impossible of commands found in Scripture:

    “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4).

    First, let us consider that God cannot command us to do anything beyond possibility.  His integrity will not allow such injustice, any more than I could justly tell my granddaughter Evelyn to cut our grass (she cannot reach the handles of the lawn mower).   Of course, all must be done by His presence, guidance, motivation, and enabling  - “through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).  All can be done thereby in the believer who determines to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).  Thus, the seemingly mountainous mandate that calls us to rejoice always must be viewed in terms of the possible, and even more, the vital and necessary.

     Let us also ponder the truth that joy, as defined by Scripture, does not primarily mean happiness.  It rather speaks of a deeply settled assurance of the spirit, whereby regardless of condition, circumstance, situation, or emotion, we reckon that all is ultimately well.  We know this about joy because the Apostle Paul speaks of being “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (II Corinthians 6:10).  Indeed, the believer can feel overwhelmed emotionally, physically, and in every human sensation.  He can nevertheless rejoice as a matter of choice, based on the God he knows, loves, trusts, and to whom He looks for the enabling to obey in all things.   

 

   As in… “rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice.”  The dual command involves our determination to rejoice in both God Himself and in His doings.  We trust His heart and His hand that He fulfills the countless promises of His Word as He abides in presence, involvement, care, and working in all things for those who love Him (Romans 8:28-29).  This does not mean that we will always understand His way in our lives, or that it will not greatly challenge and even perplex us (as Paul confessed regarding his own experience - II Corinthians 4:8).  The choice to rejoice often arises in broken hearts, from pained bodies, and by bewildered minds that cannot fathom God’s ways, but nevertheless cast themselves upon the perfect integrity of His character.  “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” declared battered Job, who knew something about a joy that abode somewhere deep in the heart, even as all else seemed destroyed (Job 13:15).

    The issue involves not our faith, but rather the faithfulness of God.  Is He who He is?  Does He and can He do what He promises to do?  We know the answers.  We understand that God cannot lie, nor fail to act in accordance with the perfection of His character, nature, and way (Titus 1:2; II Samuel 22:31).  Nothing will approach us in this lifetime that makes impossible our determination to rejoice, and then again, to rejoice.  Do we believe this?  If our flesh does not offer numerous rationalizations as we initially ponder the matter, we are likely not thinking about the matter seriously enough.  However, if in our spirits, the light does not shine upon the truth of God as able to enable us in the matter of joy, we must ponder and pray a bit more earnestly.  He commands our joy in the assurance of His ability to inspire our joy, again, our settled assurance in the midst of all things that all is ultimately well.  This is truth.   This is reality.  This is the infinitely faithful God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is our joy.  He is our joy.

    A final thought.  We live in days wherein calamity from around the world presents itself to our attention, sometimes almost instantaneously.  Our hearts rightly grieve and even break as we see the hearts of others shattered by sorrow and suffering.  In those times, however, we do well to see another Heart always present, able, and willing to reveal His help, comfort, and yes, His joy in even the greatest loss.  I recall seeing an interview years ago with a woman who had lost everything in a storm, including a loved one.  She wept and could barely speak.  But with her voice she said faintly, but with a faith obviously sincere and trusting, “I don’t know what I am going to do.  But I know the Lord will take care of me.”  I am sure He did, because in the moment when the settled assurance of joy seemingly could not be present in her heart, it was.  He was for our sister who discovered what we will find as we choose to believe we can rejoice because “God, my exceeding joy” is who He is, and does what He does (Psalm 43:4).

“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations.”

(James 1:2)

“The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing.”

 (Psalm 41:3).

Weekly Memory Verse

     Sanctify them through Thy truth.  Thy Word is truth.

(John 17:17)

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Orange Moon Thursday, June 18, 2026 "A Miracle of Life"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

“A Miracle of Life”

      In both the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, and in Christ Himself, a miraculous imparting of life was required.

   “And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years” (Luke 1:7).

   “A virgin shall be with child” (Matthew 1:23).

    Such miracles also take place in the spirits of all who “with the heart believe unto righteousness” (Romans 10:10).  Salvation in Christ involves many wonders of grace, more than even eternity will fully reveal - “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).  At the heart of all, “newness of life” births the sinner who believes through the entrance of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  “And you hath He quickened (enlivened)” (Ephesians 2:1).  Apart from such life, no hope exists for truly living as God commands.  

    This explains why unbelievers act as they do, and why we should not be surprised.  “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5).  To live in accordance with God’s will requires His presence and life in the spirit.  “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).  Life begets life.  Those bereft of the Lord’s vital and active presence have no capacity to fulfill the transcendent standard to which we are called: “Walk even as He walked” (I John 2:6).  Thus, when unbelievers think, speak, act, and relate in unChristlike ways, we acknowledge the obvious reason: “Ye have not the love of God in you” (John 5:42).

   Walking faithfully with God presents great challenge to even believers indwelt and empowered by His presence (Philippians 2:12-13).  Little wonder the unbeliever acts as if “alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18).  Because he is.  We therefore pray, seek to bear witness of God’s offer of life, and do not find ourselves surprised when citizens of the world act like the world.  Our Heavenly Father offers hope, “the hope of eternal life” to those “dead in sins” (Titus 3:7; Ephesians 2:5).  We serve as His witnesses, declaring the empty tomb of the Lord Jesus that speaks not only of His resurrection, but of a miracle of life offered to all born again by its grace and power.

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

(I John 5:11)

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.”

(John 20:31)

Weekly Memory Verse

     Sanctify them through Thy truth.  Thy Word is truth.

(John 17:17)

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