The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Tribute"
The Book
It is not technically necessary, but it would not be unwise before every reading of Scripture to pause for a moment of remembrance, realization, and reverence.
"My heart standeth in awe of Thy Word" (Psalm 119:161).
The Book we open existed in the heart and purpose of God from everlasting, long before the Holy Spirit inspired within hearts and imprinted upon pages the words of prophets and apostles. It abides forevermore as the self-communication of a Being more infinitely glorious than eternity will ever fully reveal. It reveals the splendor of His character, nature, and way, and bears witness to our utter need for His redemption and the enabling of a life that is truly life. It shines with the wonder of the Lord Jesus Christ, for whom its every word was inspired to honor and reveal. It fosters and empowers relationship with God in a bond presently known by faith, but which graces the believer with a fellowship nevertheless experienced as real, vital, and joyously blessed. It drips with the blood of the Savior, as it were, and of the thousands who gave their lives to bring the Book into print and distribution. It graces us with a gift of light and life for which the thanksgiving of an eternity will never be adequate. It tells us "the old, old story of Jesus and His love," but with a presence, power, and persuasion that forms within our hearts the new, new glory of Jesus and His life. The Bible is a gift, and its every opening should and must be perceived as a moment of grateful wonder in the presence of God and His truth.
"I rejoice at Thy Word, as one that findeth great spoil" (Psalm 119:162).
We will not always think of such things when we approach the Word of God. But such things must have their sacred place, deeply rooted and living within our hearts. The Book is a light. The Book is a voice. The Book is a heart and a mind. The Book is grace and truth. The Book is Christ in print, given that we may know Him in person. The Book is God's unveiling of who He most deeply is. Indeed, the Book is something we know if we have believed, escorting us into the glory of Someone we know. The Book is a book. But it is so much more, so much infinitely and eternally more than we will ever fully discover. Yes, such things must abide in our hearts and minds as the prevailing awareness that accompanies our every approach into the light of Scripture, which so brightly shines with the light of the Savior. The prophet, possessed of far less of God's Word than blesses us, found himself utterly enraptured in the glory of words, which form and inform the Word. May we join him in joy, wonder, and gratitude for the Book, that so perfectly and sublimely bears witness to the Person for whom it exists…
"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)
"Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of Me."
(John 5:39)
Weekly Memory Verse
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:2)
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