Orange Moon Saturday, November 25, 2023 "So Good"

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

"So Good"

"We must establish the goodness of God within our hearts and minds as a foundational doctrinal principle.  Upon this basis, we then expect the Holy Spirit will continually work to make personal the principle."

     We occasionally sing the children's hymn "God Is So Good" in services.  Written very simply in both musical and lyrical terms, the song nevertheless references a reality infinitely beyond all understanding.

    "Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!" (Psalm 31:19).

    Forever will not exhaust the discovery of our Lord's goodness, that is, the sublime beauty of His character and nature.  To say or to sing "God is so good" flows easily off the tongue and from the hearts of devoted believers.  If, however, we perceive the reality as anything less than eternally beyond our complete comprehension, we err regarding most profound truth of God's existence, and of our own.  His character and nature precedes all other facets of His glorious being.  "Thou art good, and doest good" (Psalm 119:68).  Who God is forever guides and motivates His every thought, attitude, word, and deed.  The pristine purity of His moral being means that "doest good" ever proceeds from "art good."  It (He) cannot be otherwise, nor do otherwise.  "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" (Psalm 145:17).

    We must make this truth personal in our own hearts, as it exists in God.  Whatever this present moment holds in condition, circumstance, and situation, a Lord of goodness beyond every contemplation we can ponder holds it.  And, holds us.  Apply this wonder to the blessings of life, and we will remember that there is Someone to thank in all things.  Apply the same wonder to the challenges of life, and we will realize there is Someone to trust in all things.  Indeed, God is so good that we thank Him in the challenges no less than in the blessings because a Lord of infinite and eternal goodness will be as faithful to us in our pains as in our pleasures.  "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20).

   We must establish the goodness of God within our hearts and minds as a foundational doctrinal principle.  Upon this basis, we then expect the Holy Spirit will continually work to make personal the principle.  Indeed, it will not be long for the believer who walks with the Lord to become overwhelmed by a goodness, the depths of which cannot be plumbed, and the heights of which cannot be scanned.  The longer he walks with God, the more he will understand why the Lord answered Moses' request to behold His glory by declaring, "I will make all My goodness pass before thee" (Exodus 33:18-19; emphasis added).  Born again believers have set forth on voyage that will never end, and upon an ocean whose shores we will never reach.  "God is so good."  He is, and the full measure of "so" in this simple, but infinite expression of glory will never be known.

There is no end to the quest we know, 

forever beckons on.

We soar in skies so bright and blue,

above all clouds of storm.

Yes, we fly into the heart of God

as in His Son we trust.

This present world will soon be nothing more

than long forgotten dust.

So spread your wings and catch the wind,

o journeyman of hope,

and race toward horizons blessed

with those who also know

That the quest of hearts is Jesus,

He is our shining sun.

It matters not how far we've come,

the journey's just begun.

"The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."

(Psalm 145:9)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord, He is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else. 

(Deuteronomy 4:39)

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Orange Moon Friday, November 24, 2023 "Protection, According To Purpose"

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

"Protection, According To Purpose"

"Safety, according to our Father's primary definition, involves His protection of that which matters most in our hearts and lives, namely, His eternal purpose in Christ and our eternal place in that  purpose."

   

    When we ask God for protection and safety, He frequently answers in the context of how we ask, providing His care for our hearts, minds, and bodies.  "The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord" (Proverbs 21:31).  We rightly rejoice in His defense and His devotion to our natural well being.

   However, the Lord sometimes lets the hedge down.  Things happen that cause harm to us in the natural sense, and may even seem to damage us in deeper ways.  Where is God's protection on those occasions?  "They break in pieces Thy people, O Lord, and afflict thine heritage" (Psalm 94:5).

    The primary answer lies in our Heavenly Father's stated purpose for His Son, and for His born again sons and daughters in Christ.  

    "The eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Ephesians 3:11).

    "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).

   God does not deviate from His devotion to the glory and revelation of the Lord Jesus, being guided by an "eternal purpose."  Nor does He fail to work in our lives accordingly, ever acting in ways that effect and enhance our spiritual and moral likeness to Christ.  At times, this means His protection will manifest in our lives in terms just as we prayerfully desire.  At other times, however, God's definition of "safety" will differ from our own.  His working to fulfill the primary purpose of glorifying the Lord Jesus and making us like Him will not coincide with protecting us from earthly harm.  "We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).  Presently, painful buffetings serve to fulfill the glory of the Lord Jesus and our best interests no less than pleasant blessings.  "Safety," according to our Father's primary definition, involves His protection of that which matters most in our hearts and lives, namely, His eternal purpose in Christ and our eternal place in that purpose.  

    Romans 8:28, cherished and often memorized by believers, actually involves an incomplete proposal.  Without Romans 8:29, already quoted above, God's working in all things has no meaning.  We must know why He is doing so.

    "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:29).

    Regarding protection, God works all things for the defined "good" of our conformity to the Lord Jesus.  When the hedge stands firm and thwarts fiery darts, we rejoice in blessings coordinated to make us like Christ.  When fiery darts are allowed to pass over and through the hedge, God protects us by preserving His primary purpose for us.  All work together for the good of glorifying the Lord Jesus by furthering our conformity to Him.  Prayers for protection are answered no less in one contingency than in another.  In essence, God protects the name and glory of His Son when we pray, and His goal of our likeness to the Lord Jesus.  He could answer in no more loving and effectual way, ever working according to eternal significance rather than short-sighted temporal realities.  The remembrance of such grace and truth results in the gratitude commanded by the Apostle Paul, based on God's protection, according to purpose…

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

(I Thessalonians 5:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord, He is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else. 

(Deuteronomy 4:39)

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Orange Moon Thursday, November 23, 2023 "Never Enough Thanks"

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

"Never Enough Thanks"

"Thereby, we will be far more aware of the sacrifice that made possible our place in His presence, and our belovedness in His heart.  And thereby we will know that eternity will not allow for enough gratitude and thanksgiving for "His unspeakable (indescribable) gift."

   

    "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15).

    The more we discover the scope and measure of God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ, the more we realize the indescribable goodness and greatness for which we can never express enough thanks.  We feel this way now, and we will doubtless feel it even more in eternity, wherein our  awareness of the Savior's sacrifice will be far greater than we presently comprehend with heart and mind.

    "We shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2).

      "As He is" means that we shall see Him tangibly marred for our sakes.  "Behold My hands and My feet… Reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side" said the Lord Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection (Luke 24:39; John 20:27).  With glorified eyes and perfected spiritual, mental, and emotional sensibilities, we will look upon our Lord and the tangible evidence of His love for us.  Thereby, we will be far more aware of the sacrifice that made possible our place in His presence, and our belovedness in His heart.  And thereby we will know that eternity will not allow for enough gratitude and thanksgiving for "His unspeakable (indescribable) gift."

   The laws of indentured servitude in Israel meant that after his prescribed time of service, a man could leave his master with all debts absolved and liberty at hand.  However, if he had married and had children during his time of service, he could not take his family with him.  He had to leave by himself.  He could, however, choose to remain with his loved ones by remaining with his master.  If so, the servant's ear was pierced by an awl to tangibly mark his sacrifice as he affirmed loving devotion to his family, and lifetime obligation to his master - "I will not go out free!" (21:1-6).  A wounded ear, imprinted by a scar, united with a loving heart to reveal the devotion that led to servant to pay whatever price necessary to be with those whom he loved.  

   "And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends" (Zechariah 13:6).

    I do not know what our first words will be when we see the Lord Jesus.  I would not be surprised, however, if we personally and collectively express with both heart and tongue, "Thank You!"  Certainly, we will express such gratitude forever in countless offerings of wonder as our Lord's goodness abides in open display of His sacrifice.  Even more, we shall know His heart of boundless devotion to us, and His desire to be for us and do for us all we require as our provider and as our provision.  The Apostle Paul knew this, and exulted in the wonder of the Lord Jesus and the grace that will forever bless us, based on the sacrifice for which we will know we can never give enough thanks…

"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 in Christ Jesus, 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)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord, He is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else. 

(Deuteronomy 4:39)

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