Orange Moon Friday, September 3, 2021 "Exceeding, Abundantly Above"

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

"Exceeding, Abundantly Above"

      

   

     How many prayers does a born again Christian pray from the time he or she comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ, until the time comes to go home to be with Him?

    "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17).

    The answer varies, of course, and in real terms, the quantity of our prayers does not matter nearly as much as their quality.  However, I raise the issue not so much about this aspect of our communion with God, but rather to consider the question: How many answers do we see to the prayers we pray?  Or, even more, how many answers do we not see?

    Certainly, the number is vast for believers who seek to consistently and persistently "let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6).  Consider the Apostle Paul's assurance of such grace, expressed to the believers of Ephesus:

    "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. Amen" (Ephesians 3:20-21).

   As we pray for others and for ourselves with humble, trusting, and sincere hearts, our Father's answers transcend our asking, and even our thinking.  They do so to the measure of "exceeding, abundantly above."  This means we cannot possibly know all He does, or even most of what He does when we ask and He answers.

    Why is this so?  First, because God exists as being of gracious generosity, again, to the degree of "exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think."  He so loves to give because lovingkindness so fills His glorious heart.  The Psalmist referred to such wonder as "Thy marvelous lovingkindness," and what a marvel it is! (Psalm 17:7).  Upon our arrival in Heaven and into the direct presence of our Lord, we will know far better this eternally glorious splendor of a Heart devoted to providing all His creation will ever need, and infinitely more.  "Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:16).  Surely, our glorified hearts will more clearly behold the "wonders without number" our Father has already bestowed, with more to come beyond any accounting we can fathom or imagine (Job 9:10).  But even then, they will not behold all.  "Without number…"

    Most wondrously, we will also see upon our arrival in Heaven the tangible evidence of the price paid to make possible God's abundance of provision.

   "Behold My hands; and reach hither Thy hand, and thrust it into My side" (John 20:27).

   The Lord Jesus said these words to His disciple Thomas, who desired visible confirmation of his Master's resurrection.  The Savior's beckoning rings through the ages, calling us to recall the cost of not only our salvation, but of every gift we will ever know throughout an everlasting eternity.

    "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

   The next breath we breathe, so freely given, cost the Father His Son, and cost the Savior sorrow, pain, forsakenness, and death to a degree that can only be known by the gifts purchased thereby.  We will understand this far better in Heaven.  But "far better" will only be a small measure of the full extent of how God so loves to give and forgive, and of how far He was willing to go to make such exceeding, abundantly above grace possible.

   We do well to sometimes think of such things when pondering our prayers, and far more importantly, our Father's answers.  He could never begin to tell us all He does in response to the simplest request.  We could never begin to comprehend.  Knowing this will help us in our praying, and in our confidence regarding the Lord's response.  Most of all, knowing this will grace our hearts with the wonder, gratitude, and love that must surely accompany every remembrance of our God's glorious heart of generosity, and of the price He paid to make its bestowals possible.  The hymnwriter penned it so beautifully, and we close with her exultant expression of amazement and wonder…

   "Out of His infinite riches in Jesus, 

He giveth and giveth and giveth again."

 

(Annie Johnson Flint, "He Giveth More Grace").

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in Heavenly places, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." 

(Ephesians 2:4-7)

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

(Hebrews 4:16)

Weekly Memory Verse

   To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

(Romans 8:6)

    

 

    

   

  

   

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Orange Moon Wednesday, September 2, 2021 "Always With the Heart"

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

"Always With the Heart"

      

   

     God's love within born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ leads us to do what we can, when we can, where we can, as we can, and for whom we can.

    "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good" (Acts 10:38).

    "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5).

    "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men" (Galatians 6:10).

    "What can I do to help?"  We ask this of our Heavenly Father first, who answers by infusing us with His attitude and demeanor of willingness. He then leads us to look for opportunity to "do good unto all," which engages our hearts, hands, and feet to serve as our Lord's means of administering His help and accompanying hope through us.  "What can I do to help?" actually serves as our consecration to being the earthly expression of our Savior's heart, hands, and feet as He walks the earth in His spiritual body, the church.  "I will dwell in them and walk in them" (II Corinthians 6:16).

    Sometimes, however, we don't seem to know anything we can do to be of help.  We live in a generation wherein the challenges of a fallen world make themselves all too known to us.  What can we do for someone far away who needs help, but for whom we possess no means to seemingly be of service?  Again, we serve as our Lord's heart, hands, and feet.  When we cannot engage the latter two, we can always engage the former.

   "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men" (I Timothy 2:1).

   While we never view prayer as a substitute for actions we can perform with our hands and feet when possible, we do realize there is  something we can do even when it seems there is nothing we can do.  Think of the Lord Jesus during the first thirty years of His life.  During that time, it was not His Father's will to provide miraculous working such as the world had never seen before.  So, was He unable to be of any benefit to the hurting, the sick, the broken, the blind, and the lame during more than 90% of His lifetime?  The absurdity of such a thought makes it difficult to even suggest it.  Indeed, one can only imagine the prayers our Lord prayed and the answers our Father administered during the years when He worked miraculously with His heart rather than His hands and feet.  "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  Amen" (John 21:25).

    There is always something we can do.  Hands and feet, "as we therefore have opportunity."  The heart?  We might say, "As we always have opportunity."  The Spirit of the praying Christ dwells within us.  He will lead us to act when we seemingly cannot act.  He will lead us to pray.  More importantly, our Heavenly Father will answer our prayers offered to seek help for others.  We may not, and likely will not, see His answers.  But we can be sure they will flow from the fount of His love, His desire to help, and the determination He forms within us to be of service with hands and feet when possible, and with the heart, always.

"I give myself unto prayer."

(Psalm 109:4)

Weekly Memory Verse

   To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

(Romans 8:6)

    

 

    

   

  

   

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Orange Moon Wednesday, September 1, 2021 "A Question Never Asked"

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

"A Question Never Asked"

      

   

     Allow me to suggest a question we can be almost sure the disciples never asked the Lord Jesus Christ.

     "Master, how do You feel today?"

     Scripture does not record such an inquiry, and it is difficult to imagine Peter, John, or James approaching our Savior with the question.  Indeed, His character, nature, and demeanor, while comprised of all human traits and characteristics, would surely have made the disciples hesitant to approach the subject of how their Lord felt.

    This is not to suggest the Lord Jesus did not experience feeling.  I believe Him to be the most emotional person who ever lived.  The writer of Hebrews declares Him to have been "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15).  Of course, His emotions completely aligned with His character, never leading Him to foolishness, inappropriate, or sinful actions.  He felt nevertheless, with a depth we doubtless cannot know or even imagine.  His joys reached heights, His sorrow plumbed depths, His anger burned with untold intensity, and His affections of love all transcend emotions unknown by any being who does not exist as both God and man.  Indeed, consider that the Lord Jesus knew feelings of both Divine and human sensibility and measure in order to fulfill His Father's will and identify with us as our great High Priest.  Then, join me as we fall to our knees in wonder and adoration.

    This being said, asking one like the Lord Jesus how he felt would surely seem inappropriate when directed toward One whose character so clearly led Him to consider the glory of His Father and the needs of others.  I am reminded of the farmer from long ago who was asked how he felt.  The man smiled with bemusement, removed his sweat-stained hat, wiped his brow, and responded with a thoughtful sigh:  "I'm sorry, I have not had time to think about that.  I have fields to plow today, animals to be herded and fed, a fence to mend, and a tree to be cut down that threatens my barn."  The farmer paused, placed his hat back on his head, and repeated, "No, I have not had time to think about how I feel."

   Of the Lord Jesus, the Apostle John declared, "There are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen" (John 21:25).  The Savior had no time nor inclination to concern Himself with how He felt.  The disciples surely knew that, and would have considered no question more inappropriate to ask their Lord.  I will allow you to draw your own conclusions as to what this means to each of us.  For me, the aforementioned wonder and adoration leads me to once again descend to my knees.  When I arise, I very much hope that "how I feel" will seem far less an issue in my own emphasis and considerations.

"For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed."

(Psalm 50:7)

"And it came to pass, when the time was come that He should be received up, He stedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem."

(Luke 9:51)

Weekly Memory Verse

   To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

(Romans 8:6)

    

 

    

   

  

   

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