Orange Moon Saturday, January 24, 2026 "The Most Unlikely Candidate"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe

"The Most Unlikely Candidate"  

    

 

   When considering those who ardently oppose the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel, we do well to remember a man from long ago who did the same.  We also do well to remember ourselves.

    "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women, committed them to prison" (Acts 8:3).

    No greater enemy of the Lord Jesus existed in his day than Saul of Tarsus, whom we better know as the Apostle Paul.  That very fact should give us pause.  The adversary became the apostle, a transformation that has occurred countless times in the history of the church as God worked to reveal Himself and His truth to enemies redeemed by His grace received through faith in the Lord Jesus.  He continues His redemptive march through history, bearing witness by His Spirit, His Word, and His church that the most ardent foes can become the most devoted friends, and far more, sons and daughters of God in Christ.  "The gospel of Christ… is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (Roman 1:16).

    Apply this wonder of grace to those who presently oppose the Lord Jesus.  Do we view anyone with hopelessness?  If so, we inadvertently exalt the person's sin above the Gospel's power, believing he or she to be too far gone and too hopelessly entrenched in unbelief for salvation to be possible.  Thereby, we minimize the power of Christ's gospel in our own minds, hindering prayer and adorning a shroud of despair rather than the garment of hope God calls us to wear.  I must confess that even as I type these words, a strong sense of conviction arises in my heart in the realization that I have too often forgotten or neglected the truth of how "mighty to save" is our Lord's grace and truth (Isaiah 63:1).

   A final thought, regardingl ourselves.  We should all have the attitude expressed by Paul, who viewed the Gospel and himself in these terms: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (I Timothy 1:15).  The Apostle saw himself as having been the most unlikely candidate for God's grace.  We all should adopt the same attitude, namely, "Lord, if You can save me, You can save anybody!"  Indeed, regardless of how much we may know of another person's history of sinfulness, we all know our own far better.  We know the inner chambers of darkness from which God redeemed us, something about others we cannot see.  So long as this is true, viewing ourselves, like Paul, as "the chief" of sinners, will go far in maintaining our hope for all.  Yes, if  "the most unlikely candidate" - ourselves - could have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus and His Gospel, we bear the beacon of hope that signals no one as beyond the scope of His grace.

"For our Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit."

(I Thessalonians 1:5)

Weekly Memory Verse 

   Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation."

(II Corinthians 1:3-4).

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