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

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Orange Moon Saturday, September 26, 2026 "The Light of the Living"

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

“The Light of the Living”

From Eden onward, the great personal challenge of every human being has involved reality. “Am I walking it it?” The question becomes more and more pertinent in these days of information and imagery that may or may not originate in the substantively real. Moreover, many have little or no awareness of what reality actually is. Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ know. We nevertheless face constant temptation to live in the darkness or fog of unreality.

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

“Teach me Thy way, O Lord; I will walk in Thy truth” (Psalm 86:11).

We must be prepared to overcome the temptations. This involves availing ourselves of the gifts God has given to enable life in the Light. The Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, fellow believers, faithful communicators of God’s truth, and the realization of our Lord’s presence and working along the pathways of providence in our lives illuminate our hearts to know the real well enough to consistently spot and reject unreality.

“For Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness… Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness” (Psalm 18:28; Psalm 112:4).

Bank tellers well know this truth and principle. They learn to spot counterfeit bills not by focusing on bogus currency, but rather by counting so many of the real that the false becomes easy to detect and reject. Reality, known and understood, results in the rejection of unreality. In similar manner, believers must become so familiar with God’s truth that we increasingly recognize devilish, worldly, and fleshly deceptions difficult and even impossible to discern apart from the divine revelation of “Thy Word is truth” (John 17:17).

“Am I thinking rightly about this matter? This person? This circumstance or condition? The world? This moment?” We direct these questions to our Heavenly Father in ongoing discourse regarding reality. We require His confirmations and corrections in a life lived amid the darkness and the fog of unreality. No possibility exists of our walk in truth apart from the consistent entrance of His light into our hearts and minds. We must respond to reality through the gifts given by our Father, making possible our rejection of the unreality our enemies ever seek to foist upon us. He ever works to expose us to His light. May we open our eyes to see the real, that the unreal might become obvious.

“For Thou hast delivered my soul from death. Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?”

(Psalm 56:13)

Weekly Memory Verse

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

(II Corinthians 9:8)

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Friday, September 25, 2026

Orange Moon Friday, September 25, 2026 "Consideration of the Heart"

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

“Consideration of the Heart”

“Know therefore this day and consider it in thy heart, that the the Lord, He is God in Heaven above and upon the earth beneath. There is none else” (Deuteronomy 39:4).

Being monotheistic involves far more than the propositional belief that one God alone exists, the God of Scripture. We must also make the matter intensely personal: “consider it in thine heart.”

Countless opportunities for such faith present themselves throughout our earthly lifetimes. How we view the world, other people, circumstances, conditions, and ourselves all fall under the purview of God alone as the providential and prevailing influence of His creation. “Thou art God alone” (Psalm 86:10).

This presents great challenge to our understanding as we seek to correlate our Lord’s working “the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” amid the innumerable appearances and events that often seem to indicate a spiritual and moral universe completely out of control (Ephesians 3:11). This is never the case for even a moment. It often appears otherwise, of course, particularly because so much of sin, wickedness, trouble, and tragedy occur that our Lord does not cause or originate. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man” (James 1:13). How can our Heavenly Father “work all things after the counsel of His own will” when so much happens that flies in the face of His will? (Ephesians 1:11).

Interestingly, the Bible does not answer this question, either directly or tacitly. Indeed, in the best opportunity for explanation ever possible, Scripture does not record that the Lord Jesus Christ ever gathered His disciples together to say, “I will now explain to you how divine sovereignty correlates with angelic and human freedom to ultimately fulfill our Father’s purposes.” The Word of God never even raises the issue of what seems an impossible conundrum. What it does state over and over again is that the God of the Bible is so wise, so present, so righteous, so gracious, so merciful, so powerful, and so faithful to His Word that conundrums to our mind become opportunities to consider who is God with our hearts. It clearly reveals He exists and acts as the sublime coordinator of decidedly disparate realities impossible for human minds to fathom. “How unsearchable are His ways, and His judgments past finding out” (Romans 11:33).

But not for human hearts to believe. Indeed, in those times when we come to an impasse regarding ways and judgments far beyond our comprehension, an even greater illumination shines into our hearts. Namely, the winsome wonder and glorious greatness of our Lord. Certainly we need to know His ways as best we can and “with all thy getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). But we need to know God Himself far more and far better. The realities about Him that lie beyond our reach tell us so much. So very much. Thus, when we ponder how our Lord does what He does, in ways of correlating all things, we waste little time seeking anything approaching more than the most primary answers. We spend much time, however, in wonder regarding who this God of Scripture must be, knowing that His character forever guides His capabilities (Psalm 119:68). Yes, He made us to know His ways with our minds, and to know Him with our hearts. Both glorious illuminations will bring us to times when we reach the limits of understanding, providing opportunity to “consider it in thine heart.”

“This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”

(John 17:3)