Orange Moon Thursday, March 27, 2025 "I Was Wrong"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"I Was Wrong"       

     

    

   "I was wrong."  

    Easy words to say in utterance.  Hard words to say in genuine acknowledgment and repentance.  The reason for our challenge lies more deeply than we may realize.

     "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).

     Deep in the hearts of unbelievers and remaining in the flesh of believers, an ancient devilish lie tempts us to promote and protect ourselves.  We naturally believe ourselves to be more than we are, and more than God created us to be.  Lucifer originated this delusion when he declared in rebellion, "I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14).  The devil never had a chance in fulfilling his determination to be more than he was, any more than we can "be as gods."  He nevertheless dwells  in the darkness, and passed it on to our original forebears, whose progeny are all born with the lie as part of our being.  "In sin did my mother conceive me" declared the Psalmist, the heart of such evil being that we believe ourselves to be more than we are (Psalm 51:5).

    Salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ begins our deliverance from the delusion.  When we trust the Savior, we acknowledge in our hearts that we are not what we ought to be, and that only He can deliver us from darkness to light.  In nearly every case, the convert does not realize how great a deliverance begins, namely, the rescue from believing ourselves to be something we can never be.  We become a "new creature" wherein shines the light of truth that God is God and we are not (II Corinthians 5:17).  This involves the acknowledgement in the depths of our heart,"I was wrong."    Gods would never say that, at least to the degree required for redemption. 

   The light that shines in the spirits of born again believers does not yet characterize the sensibilities of our fleshly faculties inherited from Adam.  "The flesh lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17).  We can still think, speak, act, and relate as if we are more than we are, which results in the difficulty of acknowledging, "I was wrong."  The challenge of genuine repentance involves far more than being willing to admit we have sinned against God and people.  An ancient lie tempts us through the auspices and power of an ancient liar.  To genuinely repent in any circumstance means that we have availed ourselves of God's grace that make possible the humbling of ourselves.  We likely do not think directly in such terms as we acknowledge in heart and word, "I was wrong."  However, confession and contrition always involves the overcoming of a darkness far deeper than it appears, and the entrance of a light far more redeeming than we realize.  "Put them in fear, o Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men" (Psalm 9:20).

   Knowing this truth about our fleshly tendency to promote and protect ourselves establishes a basis for a deeper and truer repentance when required.  Humbling ourselves to admit wrong overcomes the lie that began long before we existed.  Gods do not admit they are wrong.  People do, particularly people in whom the living and true God dwells to lead us in humility and the peace that He is God, and we are not.

"Thou art God alone."

(Psalm 86:10)

"Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy."

(Psalm 86:1)

Weekly Memory Verse

   When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

(Psalm 27:8)

  

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Orange Moon Wednesday, March 26, 2025 "Shed Abroad"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Shed Abroad"       

     

    

   Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the love of God for us, that came to us, now dwells within us.

    "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).

   Hereby, the mode and measure of life to which God calls us can be fulfilled, namely…

    "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And… thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Mark 12:30; 31).  

    Of course, we presently live in a process rather than perfection regarding our response to the enabling presence of God and His love.  Our spiritual enemies still tempt us to self-centeredness, and we can still fall in thought, attitude, word, and deed.  Believers can live as if the love of God is far abroad rather than "shed abroad" (gushing forth) in our hearts.  We can "neglect so great salvation" by ignoring or disregarding the most wondrous gift imaginable, the bestowal of God's own character and nature revealed in us through the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:3).

   Conversely, we can avail ourselves of a salvation that not only rescues us from condemnation, but also redeems us to serving as the living and loving temple of God.  We do not innately possess this quality of heart required for the life and eternity of self sacrifice to which God calls us.  We do possess such quality of heart through indwelling, however.  The Spirit of the One who sacrificed Himself for us lives within us (Galatians 4:6).  This includes every believer, in every moment, beginning with our new birth through faith in the Lord Jesus, and abiding forevermore.  We may or may not live accordingly, but our Lord's life and love resides within us at all times, making possible the wonder that we can "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" (Ephesians 5:2).

    If we have never considered this clearly stated truth of Scripture, our first response should be, "What???   How can this be???  And doesn't it mean something other than what the Bible seems to plainly declare???"  Indeed, that God's love dwells within us should initially drive us to our faces in bewilderment, before raising us up in grateful wonder, hope, and expectation.  Our calling involves the faith that believes such grace to be true, and the submission to God whereby we acknowledge and anticipate He will orchestrate the matters of our life to provide opportunity for the love of Christ to be revealed in us.  "And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 1:14).

    To love God and others as our Savior loves?  Impossible - unless His "shed abroad" love dwells within us.  It does, and we must not neglect this most wondrous of gifts whereby a life and a love far beyond our human means can - and must - be known in us.  Yes, the process that will perfected when face to face with our Lord began when we believed and a gift beyond compare entered our hearts.  It continues in this moment, calling us to wonder, and then to walk in love as Christ loved us, and as His love now dwells "shed abroad" in us.

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God… God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

(I John 3:1; 4:16)

"I will dwell in them and walk in them."

(II Corinthians 6:16)

Weekly Memory Verse

   When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

(Psalm 27:8)

  

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Orange Moon Tuesday, March 25, 2025 "The Giver"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"The Giver"       

     

    

   "He giveth to all life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25).

    God exists and acts as the source of all provision and supply in His creation.  When created beings give, they do so as the stewards  and conduits of the One from whom "every good gift and every perfect gift" proceeds (James 1:17).  

   No characteristic of God's nature more defines who He is.  To say that He "is love" means to declare that He heart rejoices in providing for others, serving as the One whose sublimely generous disposition originates and perpetuates the truth of "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (I John 4:8; Acts 20:35).  To know our Lord rightly means that we must view Him in terms of this sublime love for giving, particularly in light of the sacrifice that made and makes possible every provision He so generously supplies:

    "God gave His only begotten Son… He that spared not His own Son, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (John 3:16; Romans 8:32).

    Before God created all things, He knew the sacrifice that would be required if He proceeded with His purpose.  In His heart and mind, the Lord Jesus Christ existed as "a lamb without blemish and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world" (I Peter 1:19-20).  At the greatest cost to Himself, our Lord made angels, the universe, and human beings in full knowledge of the horror of sacrifice He would one day know at the cross of Calvary.  There, the Lord Jesus would die alone, abandoned by the Father and the Holy Spirit as He "bore our sins" and was "made to be sin for us" (I Peter 1:24; II Corinthians 5:21).  "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46).  How much does God love to give?  How intrinsic to His nature is provision for others?  How blessed is it in His heart to supply for His creation?  Look to the cross for the most vivid revelation of our Lord's love for giving, at the highest cost to Himself.  

   "Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2).

   No prospect of pain in spirit, soul, and body was greater in our Savior's heart than "the joy that was set before Him."  The giving of Himself for our salvation would make possible His glad giving of Himself to our spirits.  No prospect of wonder in our own spirits, souls, and bodies transcends this awareness of how much our Lord loves to provide.  Indeed, consider the most generous person you have ever known among human beings.  Then realize that his or her disposition originates in their Creator, and that their magnanimity reveals but a glimmer of the infinitely bright light of giving that shines in His heart.  We will never fully know how much our God loves to open His heart and hand to "give unto all life and breath and all things."  We can, however, know such grace better as we acknowledge through the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, fellow believers, and His generous providence in our lives that joy ever lies before our Lord, the gladness He knows in the giving of "every good gift and every perfect gift."

"It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

(Luke 12:32)

"The living God… giveth us richly all things to enjoy."

(I Timothy 6:17)

Weekly Memory Verse

   When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

(Psalm 27:8)

  

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