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

Friday, August 14, 2026

Orange Moon "Friday, August 14, 2026 "What Music We Can Make!"

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

“What Music We Can Make!”

We will one day see the risen, glorified Lord Jesus Christ “face to face.”

“For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face” declared the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 13:12). The Apostle John amplified the scene, the sight, and the effect…

“We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as is” (I John 3:2). This “seeing,” while physical, surely implies some more than just the wonder - glorious as it is - of beholding with our glorified eyes the Lord Jesus. It does, as confirmed by God’s present working in us to effect growth in His grace and its transformative result:

“Beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18).

To see by faith the Lord Jesus, declares Paul, results in our becoming more like Him. This includes thought, attitude, countenance, demeanor, word, deed, and relating to God and people. Interestingly, and seemingly unlikely, this involves “beholding as in a mirror.” That is, we are to see Christ for who He is, and also for where He is, namely, with and within us. God’s spiritual mirror, as it were, casts the wondrous reflection of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). The “new creature” birthed in the moment of our salvation arose in the newness of life made possible by the indwelling presence of “Christ, who is our life” (Colossians 3:4). Thus, every believer must by faith gaze in the mirror of grace to see and affirm ourselves as not merely ourselves, but as the spiritual temple of God, alive in His life…

“Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11).

The reflection, rightly viewed, effects “change into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Indeed, consider the challenges we all face regarding temptation, of whatever mode or measure. We all experience what a friend calls “flesh signatures,” that is, devilish and worldly enticements to unbelief and disobedience (Roman’s 7:22-25). The temptation, of whatever variety, beckons us to face it as if alone. It feels this way, seems this way, and may very possibly result in sin and failure. However, a gaze of our hearts into God’s mirror reminds us we do not face any moment of life or eternity by ourselves. We see ourselves as “in Christ” and in the wondrous light that “God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father” (Galatians 4:6).

Scottish preacher James Stewart beautifully illustrates.

“For what Christ has done is to make us feel, at all the gateways of our nature, the pressure and bombardment of the infinite energies of a world unseen. He has shown us how our little life, with unsearchable riches to draw upon, can be reinforced beyond all calculation. I may not be able to fight down some evil thing. But if Christ were here, He could. So then, if Christ is in me, He can. This transfusion of spirit and energy is really possible... If Mozart were in you, what music you could make! That cannot be. But here is something that can: if Christ were in you, what a life you could live! This is faith's logic. God wants you to know that you can rise above the level of your limitations. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

We will one day see the Lord Jesus face to face. Presently, we might say that we see Him “faith to faith,” resulting in “glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Thus, we open God’s Word to discover our Savior as He is, which make possible our becoming more like Him as we see Him where He is… “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Be it the most faithful or the most failing of believers, God’s mirror beckons us to see that which cannot fail to illuminate, encourage, challenge, enhance, and redeem us wherever we may be in our walk with God. Indeed, in Christ, through Christ, and by Christ, “what music we can make” of faith and faithfulness.

“Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints, that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.”

(Philemon 1:5-6)

Weekly Memory Verse

For the Lord is good, and His truth endureth to all generations.

(Psalm 100:5

7871

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Orange Moon Thursday, August 13, 2026 "The Ancient Lie"

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

“The Ancient Lie”

Unless devoted to certain religious philosophies and practices, most people do not consciously think of themselves as gods. However, in the hearts of unbelievers and remaining in the flesh of believers, the grievous deception embraced by our original forefathers exists.

"Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Genesis 3:3-6).

Our enemy still tempts Adam’s progeny with the false notion that we can live independently of the true Life of our lives. Certainly this is the case with those who do not trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Unbelievers seek to make the best of life by their own efforts, or the efforts of fallen human beings like themselves. Some seem to do well, others poorly, and most manage somewhere in the middle range of their autonomous attempt to live independently of God.

Believers, conversely, know that one living and true God exists. Moreover, we know that we are not Him. By definition, salvation in the Lord Jesus involves our admission that in and of ourselves, we are not and cannot be what we were made to be. We arise from the altar of conversion as "a new man, created in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:24). Note that the Apostle Paul states that we are created "in" and not "as" righteousness and holiness. In the new birth, we recognize and affirm our dependence on our Creator/Redeemer rather than ourselves.

However, Paul also teaches that a "law of sin" remains in the fleshly members and faculties of believers during our earthly lifetime (Romans 7:23-25). Our spiritual enemies still tempt our flesh with the delusion that we must govern and empower our own existence. This includes enticements to pride or despair, false confidence or fear, and in all, the deception that we can and must make the decisions of life - "the knowledge of good and evil" - by ourselves. Thankfully, even before the advent of Christ, Solomon provided the Truth that counters such spiritual deception:

"Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

We determine with our hearts to rely completely on our Lord for leadership. We use our understanding, but we do not "lean" on it. We seek to consciously affirm our Lord's presence and involvement in all our ways, determining to rest in His promise of direction. In essence, we affirm God as God, and ourselves as “He that hath made us, and not we ourselves” (Psalm 100:3). Many opportunities for such faith present themselves in a world that lies in the wickedness of Satan's deception (I John 5:19). We thus expect temptation regarding the ancient lie. Even more, we anticipate the Spirit of God orchestrating the circumstances, situations, and conditions of life to provide ample confirmation of the Psalmist's proclamation to the Lord: "Thou art God alone" (Psalm 86:10). He is. We are not. We therefore live our lives in the peace of being who and what we actually are, and in the greater peace of knowing who and what our Lord actually is…

"He is the Lord our God."

(Psalm 105:7)

"Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men."

(Psalm 9:20)