Orange Moon Thursday, April 18, 2024 "The Good Fight"

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

"The Good Fight"

"We live our present lives on a spiritual battlefield, whereupon if possible, we would smell the smoke of conflict as we awaken to every new day.  Somebody does not want you and me to trust God today."

   

    Trusting God in a fallen world involves conflict termed by the Apostle Paul as "the good fight of faith" (I Timothy 6:12).

    Occasionally, foes of the Lord Jesus Christ refer to faith as a crutch wielded by the weak.  Scripture, however, affirms faith as a shield borne by the saints who recognize the absolute necessity of dependence on God in order to overcome assaults by enemies far more cunning and able than ourselves.  "The just shall live by faith" declare both Old Testament and New (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17).  Failure to live by faith results in exposure to "the fiery darts of the wicked," purposed by the world, the flesh, and the devil to lead the unsuspecting away from the only true life human hearts can know - "to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).

    For the believer, recognition of the "good fight" must accompany our present experience in a world that "lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19).  Somebody - many somebodies, actually - do not want us to trust God.  Make this personal.  As a believer in the Lord Jesus, you will face assaults on your confidence in God every day of your present lifetime.  This includes today.  Walking by faith does not merely involve our fellowship with the Lord.  We also make our way with friends who help, and in the presence of foes who seek to hinder.  We rightly emphasize the former.  However, we minimize the latter to our own detriment.  "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).  Little wonder we require a shield, along with the other armaments that comprise "the whole armor of God" (Ephesian 6:11-19).

    The fight of faith is "good" because, by definition, the conflict leads us to trust God.  James teaches that we "resist the devil" not by directly confronting our foe, a foolhardy and dangerous gesture even the warrior angel Michael avoided, but rather by heeding our calling to "submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 4:7; Jude 1:9).  We fight the good fight of faith by doing what the engagement clearly implies - we "look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," trusting "the Captain of our salvation" to lead and enable us (Hebrews 12:2; 2:10).

   We live our present lives on a spiritual battlefield, whereupon if possible, we would smell the smoke of conflict as we awaken to every new day.  Somebody does not want you and me to trust God today.  Awareness of the challenge that awaits helps us to realize the very nature of the conflict.  Everything in our life flows from how well we know and trust God.  Again, "the just shall live by faith."  The fight - the good fight of faith - provides opportunity to do exactly that which our enemies seek to hinder.  Let us therefore get our spiritual dander up, realizing that the challenges we face in trusting God are not simply about our flesh.  No, somebody does not want you and me to trust our Lord today.  By the grace of God, and our faith therein, may they not be successful.

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

(II Corinthians 10:3-5)

"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
(I John 5:4)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:11) 

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Orange Moon Wednesday, April 17, 2024 The Prayer of the Upright Conclusion - “Design… Delight”

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

"The Prayer of the Upright"

Conclusion - "Design… Delight"

"The prayer of the upright is His delight."

(Proverbs 15:8)

"We must seek to understand fellowship with God in Biblical terms of truth.  We must also seek to marvel regarding prayer in its potential of delight, God's delight in our fellowship through Christ."

   

    What if the Bible depicted the Creator it proclaims as dispassionate and unemotional in how He views His creation, particularly regarding ourselves as members of the race originally created in His image?  If so, Solomon would not have declared God's delight in the prayers of His trusting sons and daughters in Christ.  The wise man might rather have written, "The prayer of the upright is His design."

    If, however, the living and true God finds our humble and trusting communication with Him personally dear to His heart, then "delight" perfectly defines His joy in our fellowship.  This we believe, as those devoted to the truth and authority of the Bible.  However, I must admit that despite having pondered this truth for  decades as a believer, I still find delight more challenging to comprehend than viewing prayer in the technical terms of doctrine - design - also proclaimed by Scripture.  It seems fanciful to believe that creatures such as ourselves could bear the potential to deeply affect the heart of a God far more wondrous and glorious than eternity will allow us to fully discover.  "His greatness is unsearchable" (Psalm 145:3).  The Bible nevertheless declares delight as blessing the heart of our Heavenly Father when the Holy Spirit blesses our hearts by leading us to pray.

   The design of prayer, as it were, must never be neglected or minimized as we seek to commune with God "according to His will" (I John 5:14).  His righteous character and nature means that  not every prayer uttered by the human race pleases Him, nor does He respond to all attempts to approach Him.  "When ye make many prayers, I will not hear" said the Lord to wayward Israel.  To born again believers in the Lord Jesus, James also warned that we can "ask amiss" when we pray according to the flesh rather than as led by the Spirit (Isaiah 1:15; James 4:3).  Thus, we seek to know, interpret, and act regarding prayer in accordance with the principles and patterns set forth in Scripture.  To "walk in truth" most certainly involves praying in truth (III John 1:4).

   Genuine prayer involves both instruction and inspiration.  We must seek to understand fellowship with God in Biblical terms of truth.  We must also seek to marvel regarding prayer in its potential of delight, God's delight in our fellowship through Christ.  This involves our proper perception of Him and of ourselves.  The hymnwriter pondered such mystery: 

   "And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?" (Charles Wesley).  

    In terms of our current consideration, let us take the matter further.  Can it be that we so matter to God that we have gained not only an interest through Christ, but also the potential and possibility of eliciting joy in our Father's heart?  We have.  Is it possible that in this moment of time, we can bring a particular and personal joy to the eternal God He will not know unless we pray?  It is.  May the Spirit of God therefore grant much grace in often reminding us of such a wonder - including this moment - and in leading us to please the Heart so worthy of all the delight we can bring to it…

"The Lord taketh pleasure in His people."

(Psalm 149:4)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:11) 

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Orange Moon Tuesday, April 16, 2024 “The Prayer of the Upright” Part 4 - No Greater Motivation

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

"The Prayer of the Upright"

Part 4 - No Greater Motivation

"The prayer of the upright is His delight."

(Proverbs 15:8)

"Whether we sense desire to pray or not, the remembrance that the Father who loves the fellowship of our hearts so dearly will always direct our attention Heavenward."

   

    What motivates true prayer?   The better question might be, "Who motivates true prayer?"

    "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

    One aspect of  God's "good pleasure" wrought by the Holy Spirit in believers is the prayer that "is His delight."  Our seeking communion with God ever results from His seeking communion with us.  The Holy Spirit moves within our spirits to lead us to the throne of grace.  This includes motivation, or our realization of the need and desire to pray.  God teaches us through His Word to pray, how to pray, and why to pray.  He orchestrates and allows circumstances in our lives to draw us to Himself.  He also reveals in Scripture a motivator that may the greatest of all prompts to pray in those who love Him: "The prayer of the upright is His delight."

   Can it be that created beings such as ourselves possess the capacity to bring personal pleasure to a Creator infinitely beyond our understanding?  Does the fellowship of our hearts mean that much to His heart?  If, in this moment, we direct our communication toward Him, can it be that He responds emotionally to us?  The Word of God plainly states the truth of our Father's delight in the prayers of the upright, that is, of those who have been lifted from the mires of sin by receiving the grace of the Lord Jesus.   We can "walk and… please God," a primary aspect of which involves the prayer that matters so much to us - and matters so much more to Him.  "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people" (I Thessalonians 4:1; Psalm 149:4).

    The conscious desire and motivation to pray ebbs and flows in all believers.  Sometimes fellowship with God seems like the most natural of all expressions.  At other times, prayer may seem more a practice of personal responsibility.  What if, however, our feelings and sensibilities regarding  prayer are not actually the main issue of fellowship with God?  What if how He feels about our communion with Him matters by far the most in motivating prayer?  It cannot be otherwise in the hearts of those who been redeemed by the grace and mercy of Christ as the Holy Spirit works in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure."  Whether we sense desire to pray or not, our remembrance that the Father who loves the fellowship of our hearts so dearly will always direct our attention Heavenward.  Whether this means the briefest of devoted and grateful expressions of appreciation, or more lengthy seasons of communing with God, His desire for our prayers matters far more than our desire to pray.  "I will love Thee, o Lord my strength" declared the Psalmist to to the One who had so mercifully loved him, and whose heart he so desired to please (Psalm 18:1).

    Let us establish as a matter of principle, conviction, and personal devotion that "the prayer of the upright is His delight" will serve as our primary motivation to pray.  Let us make prayer more about what it elicits in God's heart than in our own.  We may well pray more as we do so.  Most importantly, we will pray better as the love of Christ in our hearts directs our focus upward, outward, and away from ourselves and unto the love in God's heart for us.  Can it be that we matter so much to Him?  The Spirit of God, the Christ of God, and the Word of God bear witness that we do.  Of all the motivations to pray, never will we find a greater.

"Let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice."

(Song of Solomon 2:14)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "In Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

(Psalm 16:11) 

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