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

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Orange Moon Wednesday, February 18, 2026 "Who? What?"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Who? What?"

"And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:5-6).

So began Paul's lifelong - and eternal - journey in the grace and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. He asked the perfect questions at the outset of his relationship with God, which he doubtless continued to ask throughout his lifetime. This provides a powerful example for all believers as we do well to frequently ask, "Who are You, Lord? What will You have me to do?"

God's ongoing response to "Who are You?" leads us to love and trust Him as He reveals Himself in terms of His perfect character. The growing discovery of His loving nature results in our growing response as we more and more realize His goodness and faithfulness. "We love Him because He first loved us" began our relationship with our Lord (I John 4:19). Our devotion to Him then grows as we more and more discover the infinite vastness of His devotion to us. Moreover, we trust someone to the degree we know the extent of their integrity. Growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus results in the growth of our confidence and our walk by faith (II Peter 3:18). "Who are You, Lord?" Increasing love and faith lie in the answers.

His answers to "What will You have me to do?" confirm Solomon's assurance, "The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). Doing what God would have us to do is always the way of light and life, no matter the challenge or the sacrifice. He supplies the power of the Holy Spirit for obedience as He works in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). Thereby, we more and more "walk and please God" as we realize His will as the optimum and only path that leads to peace (I Thessalonians 4:1). "What will You have me to do?" The light of Christ glimmers ever more brightly as we seek the path of His will upon which it shines.

We would do well to adopt Paul's inquiries as a daily offering: "Who are You, Lord? What will You have me to do?" Believers require ongoing realization of who our God is, and current leading regarding His will for the day. The questions help to put us in the proper frame of heart and mind as we love, trust, and submit to God by faith. The Holy Spirit will shine His light and direct our feet as we join the Apostle who began his walk with the Lord Jesus by asking the most pertinent of questions, and who would tell us that we can offer no better inquiries.

"Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord."

(II Peter 1:2)

"Show me Thy ways, O LORD; teach me Thy paths."

(Psalm 25:4)

Weekly Memory Verse

Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear thee, which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!

(Psalm 31:19)

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Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Orange Moon Tuesday, February 17, 2026 "Ought"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"Ought"

I once heard a preacher suggest there are no "oughts" under God's freely given grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Ought was for the law of Moses," he said, "but not for believers under grace."

The Bible does not confirm this notion.

"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more" (I Thessalonians 4:1).

The word "ought" is mentioned much more in the pages of the New Testament than the Old (60-40). The reason for this lies in the extent of God's grace given through the Lord Jesus. Our Heavenly Father not only forgave our sins, birthed us into relationship with Himself, and assured us of eternal life with Himself when we believed. He also gave the Holy Spirit to dwell within us as the Life of our lives, and the power to fulfill the 'oughts" of God's will.

"For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48).

It is true that fulfillment of God's "oughts" does not give or maintain our freely bestowed relationship with God through the Lord Jesus - "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). It does, however, lead us in the realization of His presence and power, and most importantly, in our capacity to glorify Him and communicate Christ to others. This we ought to do, based on how present and active our Lord is in our hearts and lives. The Apostle Paul perhaps most vividly confirms such enabling in his epistle to the Ephesians:

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end, Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21; emphasis added).

God can justifiably decree our "oughts," based on how abundantly He has provided our capacity to fulfill them. We live for Him by living from Him as He empowers us to walk in faithfulness, rendering us without excuse for failure to do so. Certainly, we view our calling to trust and obey God as a grace-provided privilege and gift. In this sense, we get to do what God calls us to do through Christ. However, we also ought to do so as a solemn responsibility, based on the grace-empowered capacity to live for the glory of God. Our hearts and minds require the sense of duty in order to function properly. Knowing that we are able to do so through "the power that worketh in us" prepares us to do what we ought to do, based on the confidence that we can do so.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

(Romans 12:1)

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."

(Acts 5:29)