"Light and Light"

    Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ seek to travel along the parallel tracks of the living Word and the written Word.

    "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14).

    "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38).

    Genuine knowledge of the Lord Jesus involves both the personal and the doctrinal.  God originally made humanity in His image for the wondrous purpose of fellowship with us.  Even a cursory reading of the New Testament confirms that our Lord can be known in living reality, even in this present dispensation wherein we "see through a glass darkly" (I Corinthians 13:12).  As our Lord declared, "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).  The "know"of this statement (ginosko in the original Greek) implies intimacy, as opposed to a mere surface intellectual assent.  Thus, we expect God to be personal with us as He leads, enables, and reveals Himself as the very Life of our lives.  

    We also expect such Presence to flow in the current of "as the Scripture hath said."  John 17 also contains the Lord's affirmation to His Father, "Thy Word is truth" (John 17:17).  Clearly referencing the authority of Scripture, the Lord Jesus established the written Word as the objective standard of all genuine experience of the living God.  Every jot and tittle of what we know about our Lord and His working in our lives must rest upon "as the Scripture hath said" and "Thy Word is truth."  Doctrine is vital, serving as the indispensable source and test of our walk in the Spirit.  Any supposed personal knowledge of God that does not align with the Bible rightly interpreted must be rejected as dangerous deviation from Truth, regardless of how spiritual or noble the experience may seem.  "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits" (I John 4:1).

    Our train, as it were, requires two tracks.  "In Thy light shall we see light" (Psalm 36:9).  The light of Scripture leads us to the light of Christ.  The light of Christ leads us to the light of Scripture.  We will spiritually derail if we fail to emphasize both gifts of God to our relationship and fellowship with Him.  Our Heavenly Father calls us to know Him and His Son, as revealed by His Spirit and the Scriptures.  He engages both the heart and the mind of His trusting children in Christ as we seek to know and to understand the wonder of His living and true presence in our lives…

"God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

(John 4:24)

Weekly Memory Verse

   I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.  So shall I be saved from my enemies.

(II Samuel 22:4)

"Hidden Harvest"

(Thanks to Char and Marie for inspiration on this one)

  A tall pear tree stands in the backyard of the house our eldest daughter Marie recently purchased.  This morning, I picked 30 pounds of the bumper crop of fruit the tree presently bears.  Hundreds more pounds remain, and we'll be eating, cooking, canning, and giving away pears for awhile to come.

  Interestingly, few people in the world even know the tree exists.  The previous owner informed Marie of her love for the fruit it bears each season.  Our family knows about it, and perhaps a few neighbors.  But that's all (and now, you folks).  A beautiful, healthy, and fruitful tree stands, beautifying Marie's backyard and providing delicious sustenance for her family and friends.  However, it fulfills its reason for being largely unnoticed.

    "He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground.  He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2).

    In His incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ lived most of His life in obscurity, even as He bore a hidden harvest of the Spirit of God every day of His life.  At the time of His appearing, relatively few know of the advent that would change the world and redeem multitudes from their sins.  Many who did know rejected the Lord outright because He bore fruit that didn't fit their definition of beauty and sustenance.  Such ones cut the Tree down, as it were, but God raised His Son from the dead, planting Him in the soil of an everlasting life of resurrection that will bear fruit forevermore.  "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.  But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24).

    The same truth presently applies to the coming of the Lord Jesus to His church, as manifested in us by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Most of the fruit borne upon the branches of born again believers occurs in unnoticed backyards, as it were.  Christ walks the earth again - in us - and He "bringeth forth much fruit."  God harvests most of the crop far away from the sight of the masses.  The branches themselves often do not see the fruit that hangs upon them in plentiful and spiritually succulent blessing.  A few may know, here and there, but it is best that the bounty springs forth as known by God alone, and solely for His glory.

   As we often suggest, with God there is more to the picture than meets the eye.  Below the surface, behind the scenes, and along the back lanes (or in the backyards) of this present world, the Tree of life stands in abundant beauty and fruitfulness.  Of this we can be sure: whether we see it or not, or whether outward indications even seem to deny the Tree's existence, it fulfills its glorious purpose.  Moreover, it bears the fruit of everlasting and overcoming life that will one day shine forth all the more beautifully because the harvest of grace, the hidden harvest, was largely seen only by eyes of faith.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God."

(Philippians 1:9-11)

Weekly Memory Verse

   I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.  So shall I be saved from my enemies.

(II Samuel 22:4)

“More?”

     Many years ago, a reader wrote to me with an idea for "how to get more people to receive the Orange Moon devotionals."   I'm sure the friend meant well, and I responded politely - "Hey, that's an interesting idea!"  However, a problem existed regarding the suggestion, a complication that remains until this day.  I'll be blunt.  I don't care how many people read the devotionals.  It doesn't matter to me.  I never think about it, and only bring this up because I heard something today that reminded of that well meaning recommendation from long ago.

    The reason I don't care about this matter is that I choose not to care.  I do so because I know that if I sought to make the messages popular or more widely read, I would succumb to the temptation to write differently than I do.  I am greatly blessed that five or six days a week, I have opportunity to pen a few thoughts that many people like yourselves choose to read.  I get to write  in accordance with my beliefs and convictions, hopefully, as formed and guided by the Word of God.  I have no need whatsoever to consider the popularity of the messages, to promote them, or to write with an eye toward the numbers on our mailing list (along this line, I have no idea how many names are on the list.  And again, I don't care).  I rather seek to write for One (or Three, if you consider the goal in Trinitarian terms).  When I finish writing, if I honestly believe my words faithfully express the Bible's truth, and if I think the Lord might be pleased with what I have written, I hit the "Send" button to transmit to whoever out there might want to consider the ramblings of the most ordinary of people.  For me, this is the only way I could possibly remain faithful to what I believe the Lord has called me to do in these messages.  Others can and do overcome the temptations faced when more becomes an issue.  Of such folks, I am in genuine awe.  For me, I know better than to go there.  I would fail, I would fall, and I would compromise if I did.

  I cannot express in words the deep tranquility of heart made possible by having no need to concern myself with more.  I find this to be the purest bliss as it grants the freedom to write according to the dictates of my conscience.  Only time and the Judgment Seat of Christ will tell whether these convictions are faithful to God and His truth.  For now, I rest and rejoice in the liberty and the peace of writing for One (Three).  And I hope that perhaps some of you may sometimes catch a glimpse of Light as we together make our way to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to whom we all desire to direct more glory, honor, and adoration.

"And He said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what comparison shall we compare it?  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which when it  is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth.  But when it is sown, it growth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it." 

(Mark 4:30-32)

Weekly Memory Verse

   I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.  So shall I be saved from my enemies.

(II Samuel 22:4)