Orange Moon Friday, November 28, 2025 "Faithful and True"

    

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

   

    

"Faithful and True" 

     No one has ever trusted in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and been disappointed for doing so.  And no one ever will.

    "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (I Peter 2:6).

    The saints of God ever and forever find their Lord to be exactly who He declares Himself to be, and to do what He promises to perform.  Of course, this does not mean He always works in ways comfortable to us.  Sometimes, disciples must see their Lord hanging on a cross, with help and hope seemingly shattered and come to an ignoble end.  God works to reveal His faithfulness in ways truly faithful.  In our present existence, this involves His administration and allowance not only of pleasant blessing, but of painful buffeting.  "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).  

   Our Heavenly Father's perfect wisdom guides His hand.  United with a perfectly loving commitment to our best interests, this means that we will always find Him faithful when we commit our confidence in Him.   However, trusting His heart when we cannot understand His hand can be greatly challenging.  Faith often does not come easy in a world that continually beckons us to trust any and everything other than God and His Word.  Thankfully, "greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world" (I John 4:4).  The Holy Spirit works to lead us in making the choices of "I will trust in Thee" as we look to His Word for its ongoing source of confidence and comfort.  "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Psalm 56:3; Romans 10:17).  Knowing that God not only calls us to trust Him, but works on our behalf to foster and fuel our faith goes far in leading us to make our choices to believe.  "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).  Thereby, we find over and over and over that, again, no one has ever trusted in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and been disappointed for doing so.  And no one ever will.

There is a Heart, so faithful and true.

It bears a scar for me and for you.

And we can know for a lifetime through,

It's faithful and true, faithful and true.

faithful and true, faithful and true.

There is a grace that makes all things new,

born in that valley our Lord passed through,

where He was smitten for me and for you,

so faithful and true, faithful and true.

faithful and true, faithful and true.

Forever draws nigh, we'll see His face soon,

Shining in glory, so lovely the view.

And the glad anthem of our hearts will ensue,

so faithful and true, faithful and true,

faithful and true, faithful and true.

"God cannot lie."

(Titus 1:2)

"Thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds."

(Psalm 36:5)

"Thy Word is truth."

(John 17:17)

"Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust."

(Psalm 40:4)

"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

    Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."

 (II John 1:3)

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Orange Moon Thursday, November 27, 2025 “The Most Thankful Person”

    

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

Thanksgiving Day, 2025

   

    

"The Most Thankful Person" 

        Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America, a time in which we do well to gratefully remember the most thankful Person who ever lived.

    "Jesus answered and said, "I thank Thee, o Father" (Matthew 11:25).

    In a lifetime of complete dependence on His Father, the Lord Jesus Christ modeled what it means realize and respond to the Giver of "every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17).  

    "The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands… I can do nothing of Myself… the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works" (13:3; John  5:19; 14:10).

   God the Son became the son of man (without relinquishing His divinity) to live an earthly lifetime such as we live, including complete dependence on His Father.  Thereby, He identified with us, living by faith in God's leading and provision.  This life involves persistent gratitude as the firstfruits of faith whereby we acknowledge all things as our Father's gifts of grace (Acts 17:25).  "Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks" (I Thessalonians 5:17:18).  One can only imagine the thankfulness witnessed by the disciples during their time with the Lord Jesus, including both the attitude of gratitude and the countless prayers that ensued from the Son to the Father.  Little wonder they voiced one of the wisest of all requests, "Lord, teach us to pray," a plea that surely included the Savior's counsel on gratitude (Luke 11:1).  

    The Apostle Paul reveals the Lord's primary answer to the disciples' request:

    "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6).

    The thankful Christ dwells in born again believers.  His "Abba Father" works in us to motivate and empower a life of continual thanksgiving.  Indeed, every genuine expression of gratitude, from the briefest "Thank You" to more lengthy offerings, approaches our Father as the fruit of Christ's grateful presence within our hearts.  In this sense, we may rightly give thanks for the capacity to give thanks, as led and enabled by the most thankful One of all.  Indeed, our Lord exemplified a grateful life.  Even more, He empowers our eternally ongoing journey of thankfulness.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me" declared Paul of the grace to live in faithfulness to God that surely includes thanksgiving (Philippians 4:13).

    In this day, and in all days, we give thanks for the Lord Jesus and His innumerable provisions in all things.  The capacity for giving thanks and the power to live accordingly must surely be included in our grateful prayer.  The most thankful One of all lives in the hearts of believers.  He does so actively, ever working by the Holy Spirit to lead us in gratitude.  As in this moment, wherein we do well to give thanks for the Christ-empowered grace of giving thanks.

"To live is Christ."

(Philippians 1:21)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."

 (II John 1:3)

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Orange Moon Wednesday, November 26, 2025 "The Matter"

    

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

   

    

"The Matter" 

        Regarding the matter at hand and in heart, God can be trusted.  Be it the faith that gives thanks for obvious blessings, or the trust in trials we must often express, our Heavenly Father will prove perfectly faithful in all.  "God… cannot lie" (Titus 1:2).

    "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart" commanded Solomon of a comprehensive faith only possible when we believe in the faithfulness of a Heart that will perfectly fulfill our confidence (Proverbs 3:5; emphasis added).  Thus, we can be sure that the gift for which we give thanks by faith did in fact come by the One from whom "every good gift and every perfect gift" proceeds (James 1:17).  Or the challenge that confronts us will find God's "very present help in trouble"  to be all we need (Psalm 46:1).  It matters not the mode or measure of blessing or challenge, faith is always the perfect response to our Heavenly Father's perfect faithfulness.  "Trust in Him at all times" (Psalm 62:8).

    "All times" include this time.  How might our Lord be trusted regarding the current matters at hand and in heart?  In a lifetime wherein "the just shall live by faith," the question continually applies (Romans 1:17).  The ongoing discovery of God's trustworthiness declared by the Scriptures and illuminated by the Holy Spirit will lead us to avail ourselves of the opportunity that ever lies before us.  He will not fail us as we trust Him, and as the matters of life - all of them - direct us to that which matters most…

"His compassions fail not. They are new every morning.  Great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in Him."

(Lamentations 3:22-23)

"I will trust in Thee."

(Psalm 55:23)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."

 (II John 1:3)

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