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

Friday, November 13, 2026

Orange Moon Friday, November 13, 2026 "The Great Fact"

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

“The Great Fact”

I recently watched a panel discussion of three notable and accomplished men speaking on a variety of subjects. Intelligent, witty, and literate, they offered interesting perspectives on a variety of subjects - save one, namely, the great fact.

“I will make mention of Thy righteousness, even of Thine only” (Psalm 71:16).

The panel was not one of which I expected consideration of God and His truth. I have not heard that either of the three men profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It therefore did not surprise me that no mention of spiritual reality occurred. However, the omission did cause me to think in general terms of the vast blindness of humanity regarding the One who created and sustains our very being. Speaking to unbelieving Greek philosophers, the Apostle Paul alluded to the reality far nearer to every human being than we sometimes consider:

“They should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us, for in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring” (Acts 17:27-28).

The greatest reality of creation is the presence of its Creator that saturates all things. The wicked completely ignore the reality. The most godly barely see the overarching, all encompassing, and nearer than the next breath fact of their existence. He abides in the closest proximity to all nevertheless, and actively so - “He giveth to all life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25). God is indeed the great fact of all things. That unbelievers completely miss Him, and that believers “know nothing yet as we ought to know,” speaks to His infinite wonder and the human condition of spiritual cluelessness regarding truth and reality (I Corinthians 8:2).

I viewed the panel last night with sadness and pity as they spoke of things that seemed so significant, and perhaps are in their own limited way. However, they gave indication to having missed the essential reality of their life and being. Upon clearer consideration, I thought of myself in similar terms of culpability regarding my personal stake in the “ought to know” of God and His truth. I realize how barely I have touched the hem of our Lord’s garment after more than a half century of knowing Him. The infinite vastness of His being accounts for a portion of how little I have discovered. Inexcusably missed opportunity comprises the other cause of my ignorance. My stake in “ought to know” would condemn me, were it not for that which I have discovered, namely, a faithful, long-suffering, and merciful Lord who calls us all to arise from where we are and continue the journey into His light. As Moses discovered of such abiding mercy: “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6).

I recently heard what I am coming to believe was the wisest personal testimony I have ever heard from a believer. A noted and faithful preacher, after more than six decades of knowing and walking with the Lord, said this: “I feel like I know less now than I did when I started.” Amen, Brother. I will pray for the men mentioned who seemed ignorant of the great fact of their being and life. I will pray just as earnestly for myself, that the Lord will enlighten my ignorance, caused by both His infinite glory and my inexcusable neglect. Of this I am sure: He will reveal Himself in wondrous mercy to the men on the panel. May they respond. He will also reveal Himself to the man writing these words. May he respond.

“Call unto Me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.”

(Jeremiah 33:3)

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect (mature) be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."

(Philippians 3:13-14)

Weekly Memory Verse

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

(I Timothy 3:16)

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Thursday, November 12, 2026

“Orange Moon Thursday, November 12, 2026 The Tongue: Death and Life”

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

“The Tongue: Death and Life”

As those created by the Christ referred to in Scripture as "The Word," we would expect that our words would greatly influence on the course of our lives (John 1:1-3). Over and over in the book of Proverbs, Solomon tells us they do:

"The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright… A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth… Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 15:2; 23; 18:21).

James echoes in the New Testament the controlling influence of the tongue. "If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body" (James 3:2). How we speak about life - beginning with relationship to God, and proceeding to all things - determines the course of our existence. Our salvation involves utterance - "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus… thou shalt be saved" (Romans 10:9). We then live the Christian life in the light of our Lord's redeeming grace, which leads to corresponding words - "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so" (Psalm 107:2). Little wonder that the Apostle Paul requested prayer regarding utterance, and the Psalmist also besought the Lord to "set a watch before my mouth, keep the door of my lips" (Ephesians 6:19; Psalm 141:3).

Let us make this personal and pertinent. Are there matters of life about which we do not speak in terms of God's Truth as revealed in Scripture? This especially involves challenges, problems, difficulties, and pains. The default position of our flesh tempts us to complaint, or expressions of bewilderment and even despair. If we succumb to the enticement, we chart a course of joylessness and lack of peace as "the power of the tongue" leads to death rather than life. "I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed" (Proverbs 77:3). Most importantly, we dishonor our Lord by ignoring His involved presence and working on our behalf in all things. Certainly we can talk about the challenges of life. However, we must seek our Lord and His grace, ensuring that we speak from the foundation of His Truth and our determination to believe He really does "work all things together for good to them that love Him" (Romans 8:28).

Throughout Scripture, the recurrent theme of what we say and how we say it calls us to the realization that words are central to our existence. Again, this is just as we would expect in light of the Word who made us and sustains our being. No greater challenge confronts us, and no aspect of our walk with the Lord more requires the leading and enabling of His Spirit. We cannot independently control our own verbal capacity - "the tongue can no man tame" (James 3:8). We can, however, consistently commit our capacity to speak to our Heavenly Father regarding this vital aspect of our existence. The recurrent Biblical theme regarding words beckons us to the recurrent prayerful theme in our hearts that leads us to seek God's grace and control of our tongue. Solomon tells us we live by the tongue, or die thereby. Nothing in our walk with God is more important, and nothing will more honor Him as He empowers us to speak in a manner that reflects the Word who made us, and who enlivens us as we walk in the light of "all the words of this life” (Acts 5:20).

"The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord."

(Proverbs 16:1)

"The tongue of the wise is health."

(Proverbs 12:18)