Orange Moon Tuesday September 30, 2025 “When Reading” (Part 2 - Guideposts)

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

"When Reading"

(Part 2 - Guideposts)

    We continue with "guideposts" of truth believers do well to establish in heart and mind that can help us in our reading and response to Scripture.  

   To be taught.  "Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day" (Psalm 25:5).  God made our minds to learn, primarily to learn the truth of His Word.  We rightly use our brains for many things, but if we do not use them to view the light that awaits us in Scripture, we neglect the first reason for our mind's existence.  Thus, we ever approach the Bible as learners, regardless of how long we have read and studied the sacred pages.  Even more, we do so with great joy that we have at hand and in heart the most sublimely splendid Teacher imaginable, and the very Author of the Book that teaches us.  "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).

   Encouragement and comfort.  "This is my comfort in my affliction, for Thy Word hath quickened (enlivened) me" (Psalm 119:150).  In a world fraught with temptations to discouragement, the Bible exists as the volume of assurances and reassurances that affirm God's promise to keep our hearts, regardless of circumstance, condition, or situation.  In the darkest hour, Scripture shines with light that guides, life that resurrects, and the love of God present in all who trust Him through the Lord Jesus.  So long as we have a Bible before us, and hidden in our hearts, encouragement and comfort will always be available as we avail ourselves to its hope and help.

    Challenge and correction.  Because of our presently imperfect understanding and application, Scripture necessarily serves "for reproof, for correction" (II Timothy 3:16).  "Tell me where I am wrong, Father" should be a frequent prayer from our needy hearts to the God whose devoted heart loves us enough to correct us.  He will lead us to His Word as a primary means of answer.  Our flesh will resist the challenge, but our spirits well know the ongoing need for wayward thoughts, beliefs, words, and deeds to be set right.  We open our Bibles with the possibility always in mind that challenge and correction may await us.  "For reproof, for correction."

    Faith.  "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).  Little more need be said, other than to suggest that if we "live by faith," and if the Word of God ignites and fuels faith, then let us often place our wick before the flame of Scripture.  Trust will ensue, and the life to which our Father calls us for the glory of the Lord Jesus, the blessing of others, and the keeping of our hearts in His peace and joy.

    For others.  We do not read the Scriptures merely in context of our own relationship with God.  How might today's time in the Book make possible our communication of Christ to others, by what we do and how we do it, by our attitude and demeanor, by words we say and words we don't say, and by the Scripturally-directed sacrifices that reveal the Lord Jesus to our sphere of influence?  The Bible serves as the manual of ministry for every born again believer, whatever our calling of life may involve.  We read and ponder for others as well as ourselves, as through Christ we live to serve.

   Pleasure.  God's pleasure.  As we suggested at the outset of this consideration, we will not always consciously think of each of the guideposts we reference upon every reading of the Bible.  One thought to frequently ponder, however, involves God's response to our search for Him and His truth in His Word.  As we approach Scripture with a humble, trusting heart, we cannot imagine what it means to our Heavenly Father.  "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people" declared the Psalmist at a time when His people did not have the opportunity to please the Lord by regular readings of the Scriptures (Psalm 149:4).  We do possess that opportunity.  Let us then determine that of all the reasons we read the Scriptures, the pleasure of our Heavenly Father forms and informs the most personal of the guideposts that direct our hearts Homeward, to the God who "hast been our dwelling place in all generations (Psalm 90:1).  Let us indeed read and ponder the Word of God to please the heart of God.

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts."

(Jeremiah 15:16)

Weekly Memory Verse  

  Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

(Jeremiah 15:16)

   

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Orange Moon Monday, September 29, 2025 “When Reading” (Part 1 - Guideposts)

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

"When Reading"

(Part 1 - Guideposts)

    When reading and pondering the Scriptures, certain guideposts of truth help us to absorb and assimilate God's truths found in this sublime gift to our hearts and lives.  Consider a few:

    The Lord Jesus Christ.  The written Word of God exists to exalt and reveal the living Word of God.  Every letter, word, sentence, verse, chapter, and book of Scripture flows with the current of Christ, from its holy headwaters unto the shoreless ocean of grace and truth found only in the Lord Jesus.  We will not always see or perceive Him in every passage.  He abides there nonetheless, and we search in vain for Scriptural light if the Lord Jesus does not form and inform our quest.  "Search the Scriptures… they are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39).

    The Holy Spirit.  As referenced in a message several weeks ago, the Bible exists as the Holy Spirit's masterpiece biography of the Lord Jesus.  We doubtless bless Him as we read with His theme in mind, and as we seek to learn the truth He inspired in order to live the life - the life of Christ - He imparts.  As with any author, the Spirit of God must rejoice as we approach His Book in humility, faith, joy, and the determination to trust its promises and obeys its commands by the power He supplies.  "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:21).  The Bible comes with its Author, as the Holy Spirit leads and enables all who respond to His literary wonder of grace and truth in the Lord Jesus

    Truth.  The propositional Word, the Bible, reveals the personal Word, the Lord Jesus.  "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said" declared the Lord Jesus of the only perfect source of knowing Him.  We must know facts about the Savior in order to trust rightly in His Person.  "Thy Word is truth" said the Lord, referencing the Biblical doctrine, teaching, and history we must know in order to discover our Lord's person, and in order to ensure we know and walk with Him in truth (John 5:39; John 17:17).

    Glory.  "Whatsoever ye do… do all to the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).  We exist to bring honor to our Lord.  Scripture tells us how to do this in countenance, demeanor, attitude, word, and deed.   Believers "shine as lights in the world," existing to serve as moons to the sun (Son).  The Bible supplies the primary means of absorbing God's illumination, and leads us in knowing how to glorify Him by every means possible (Philippians 2:15).

   The character, nature, and way of God.  The Bible tells us who our Lord is, and how He thinks, feels, speaks, and acts.  "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).  To say that we know the Lord means, to one degree or another, that we know the Scriptures that reveal Him.  His heart, mind, and hand grace the sacred pages, revealing our Lord's "Who?" and "What?" as the sole authoritative revelation that leads us to know Him as He is, and to rightly interpret His actions.

    Prayer.  A primary reason we read the Bible involves praying according to God and His truth.  The Psalmist, and the Apostles Paul and John unite to lead us to the Scriptures, that we might be led in our prayers:

   

    "Let my cry come near before Thee, O Lord: give me understanding according to Thy word" (Psalm 119:169).

   "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us" (I John 5:14).  

   "I will pray with the understanding" declared the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 14:15).   

    "Effectual, fervent" praying correlates with effectual and fervent reading and assimilation of the Bible (James 5:16).  Indeed, every time we open its pages in humility and faith,  new paths of prayer welcome us, or old paths shine more brightly.  Attempting to pray apart from the lamp and light of Scripture indicates an ignorance and even a pride that will always hinder our genuine communion with God.  We can - and inevitably will - "ask amiss" if we do not devote ourselves to the Bible as our singular guidebook of learning to pray, and being confirmed that we pray rightly (James 4:3).

    We will not specifically or consciously consider each of these truths (or others we will address) every time we read the Bible.  We do well, however, to have them hidden in our hearts as guiding lights that make it more likely we will respond to God and His Word, and to God in His Word.

To be continued…

"Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts."

(Jeremiah 15:16)

Weekly Memory Verse  

  "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts."

(Jeremiah 15:16)

   

7595

 

Orange Moon Sunday, September 28, 2025 Pen and Ink Edition - "Enlarged"

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

"Enlarged"

Pen and Ink Edition

     "Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer" (Psalm 4:1).

   How does God "enlarge" the challenged, hurting believer?  The answer lies in Himself.  When we call to the "God of my righteousness" in trouble, He bears witness that He is "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  

     Are we merely ourselves as God's trusting sons and daughters in Christ?  Or are we spiritual temples of the infinite, eternal, and living God?  The Spirit of God and the Scriptures of God bear witness that we are the dwelling place of of the One who "is our help" (Psalm 33:20).  Our enlarging thus begins and continues by the realization that we are not alone in our trouble, of whatever mode and measure.  Our Lord is, in fact, "very present" in such times, a nearness never mentioned in the Bible regarding seasons of happy blessing.  We may seem very small when challenged.  We are not, however, so long as God is at hand, and even more, in heart.  "The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their strength in the time of trouble" (Psalm 37:39).

   Believers in the Lord Jesus face nothing alone.  We can live as if God is not true and faithful to His Word, of course, a scandalous notion we must never entertain in our minds.  Such unbelief results in our navigating the storms of life as if the Captain of our salvation does not only control our ship, but also the winds and waves that crash upon it (Luke 4:35-41).  We may be - and are - small in and of ourselves.  We are huge in Christ, however, and He is huge in us.  The enlarging we require in distress involves our faith in the truth of who Christ is, and how near He abides in us, whether in blessing, everyday moments, and most of all, the challenges that find Him "very present."

 

"He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble."

(Psalm 91:15)

Weekly Memory Verse  

   Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that 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."

(Ephesians 3:20-21)

   

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