Author Topic: The Glory of God  (Read 154781 times)

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #345 on: May 14, 2021, 08:08:01 AM »
May we realize what God truly desires in our characters and go to Jesus to have the experience of character He offers us. When we "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), we will appreciate the new heart He offers us that is cleansed by His atoning blood, renewed by the Holy Spirit, and imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! We cannot produce the character God alone can give us, but we can consent and cooperate with Jesus who is seeking to restore in us His image which has been ruined by sin. Thankfully, that work of grace was powerfully wrought out in the life of Levi-Matthew, the fifth disciple Jesus directly called after Andrew, John, Peter and James. The gospel today still has the same power to transform sinners into saints and keep them from falling back into sin.

"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." Psalm 51:17. Man must be emptied of self before he can be, in the fullest sense, a believer in Jesus. When self is renounced, then the Lord can make man a new creature. New bottles can contain the new wine. The love of Christ will animate the believer with new life. In him who looks unto the Author and Finisher of our faith the character of Christ will be manifest.

Jesus will complete what He has begun in your life if you will but keep looking to Him and yielding fully to Him. No matter how great the trials you face, no matter what people may think of you, let Christ in you the hope of glory keep your focus heavenward in a true character building experience that will reflect love and purity as attributes He most desires in His children!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #346 on: May 15, 2021, 03:49:19 AM »
Happy Sabbath!!

The rest Christ offers us is relational. It is union and communion with Himself, and it cannot be found in self. We are to come to Christ just as we are--sinful, helpless, dependent, and fall at His feet in true repentance, confessing our sins, and accepting His atoning blood to make us new creatures in Christ Jesus! Then the Holy Spirit will fill the heart and mind renewed by divine grace and produce all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life that is kept moment-by-moment by Christ's grace through a living faith surrender to His will as revealed in the law of love, the Ten Commandments! Thankfully, Jesus gives us the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as a wonderful day to rest from our worldly business, thoughts and conversations so we can magnify Him and His power to restore us into His image!! What a gift Jesus gives us in Himself by giving us the Sabbath day to focus on Him, coming together for worship, and having opportunities to be a blessing to others!

And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

May you experience this rest in Christ as offered us in the gift of the Sabbath today by surrendering all to Jesus!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #347 on: May 16, 2021, 08:31:48 AM »
As we appreciate how God uses weak, finite human beings to accomplish His infinite purposes, we should ever realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing and the power of His grace to convert the heart and make it the abiding place of the Holy Spirit so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life and character. In whatever role a person is called to serve God, they need to do so with a humble reliance on Jesus to keep them moment-by-moment in constant union and communion with Christ by being a partaker of the divine nature offered so freely in the promises of God! Then the heart is cleansed by the blood of Jesus and Christ is able to accomplish His plans through His people!

 "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves." 2 Corinthians 4:7, R. V. This is why the preaching of the gospel was committed to erring men rather than to the angels. It is manifest that the power which works through the weakness of humanity is the power of God; and thus we are encouraged to believe that the power which can help others as weak as ourselves can help us. And those who are themselves "compassed with infirmity" should be able to "have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way." Hebrews 5:2. Having been in peril themselves, they are acquainted with the dangers and difficulties of the way, and for this reason are called to reach out for others in like peril. There are souls perplexed with doubt, burdened with infirmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the Unseen; but a friend whom they can see, coming to them in Christ's stead, can be a connecting link to fasten their trembling faith upon Christ. 

May our lives today be living testimonies of the power of the gospel so others will look to Jesus because they see He is at work in our lives! As you surrender all to Christ, let His life flow out through you in irrepressible streams of grace and healing love!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #348 on: May 17, 2021, 07:09:34 AM »
Let us look to Jesus and choose to put His kingdom first! As we surrender the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we fulfill the appointed part God has given us in His great plan!

All who choose Christ’s kingdom of love and righteousness and peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the world above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs. In the book of God’s providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are numbered. God’s children are never absent from His mind.

What love and tenderness God has for us! May we ever remember that the love He has for us is the love He has for all, and to treat others the way Jesus has treated us by letting Him live out His life in us! Praise the Lord for the blessing of being a part of the family of God as we are truly converted and walk in the path He has for us!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #349 on: May 18, 2021, 05:28:45 AM »
God's word is our access to healing, victory over sin, and constant union and communion with Himself! As we surrender the WHOLE heart to Christ to the power of His word moved by beholding the loveliness of Jesus, we can experience total transformation of character so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love!

Satan cannot hold the dead in his grasp when the Son of God bids them live. He cannot hold in spiritual death one soul who in faith receives Christ's word of power. God is saying to all who are dead in sin, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." Ephesians 5:14. That word is eternal life. As the word of God which bade the first man live, still gives us life; as Christ's word, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise," gave life to the youth of Nain, so that word, "Arise from the dead," is life to the soul that receives it. God "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Colossians 1:13. It is all offered us in His word. If we receive the word, we have the deliverance.   

May you walk in the victory Jesus offers you today by having His word abide in you continually because He will keep working out His plan in your life!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #350 on: May 19, 2021, 04:06:55 AM »
There really is no middle ground. You are either ALL IN for Jesus, or you are holding back from complete surrender and are thus still under Satan's control. We need to realize our CONTINUAL need of Jesus to do ANY GOOD THING, for there is nothing good in us by nature because we are fallen, and we must have the divine nature at work in us by continually beholding Christ, yielding to Christ, and communing with Christ to walk in the humble path of victory over sin that Jesus offers us at the cost of His very life that He gave us at Calvary as our Sacrifice and in every moment of His life as our perfect Example. Let us choose this day to be ALL IN for Jesus!!

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan. But unless we do yield ourselves to the control of Christ, we shall be dominated by the wicked one. We must inevitably be under the control of the one or the other of the two great powers that are contending for the supremacy of the world. It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light. If we do not co-operate with the heavenly agencies, Satan will take possession of the heart, and will make it his abiding place. The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness. Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, for the time we may part company with Satan; but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome. Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end. 

When Christ takes the whole heart a miracle takes place--He gives us a new heart and a new mind and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing as we gladly obey the law of God from the new heart He has given us (Ezekiel 36:26). Praise the Lord for the power of the gospel that we may experience today moment-by-moment!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #351 on: May 20, 2021, 07:15:14 AM »
We are invited to start experiencing heaven--NOW!! What a blessing! In surrendering the WHOLE heart to Christ, He comes into the soul to make it His abiding place by virtue of His atoning blood cleansing the soul from sin and filling our hearts and minds renewed by the Holy Spirit with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance so not one of the traits of His divine nature is missing in our lives! And then when we are actually physically in heaven, it will only get better and better for eternity!! Let us not resist this infinite love drawing us to Himself!

As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter? There "are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17.

The more we appreciate the loveliness of Jesus, the more the trials of life seem insignificant in comparison to what He is offering us through continual union and communion with Himself! May you find Christ's grace and strength today to be sufficient for you to overcome even as Christ overcame by the power of the word of God, and realize His presence will kindle your faith and bring you joy and success in whatever His providence directs you to do for this day!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #352 on: May 22, 2021, 03:37:15 AM »
Happy Sabbath!! Let us share what Jesus has done! He heals and restores our lives from sin as we look upon Him and live, reaching out the hand of faith to touch Him!

Our confession of His faithfulness is Heaven's chosen agency for revealing Christ to the world. We are to acknowledge His grace as made known through the holy men of old; but that which will be most effectual is the testimony of our own experience. We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked by our own individuality. These precious acknowledgments to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christ-like life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls. 

Let us confess how good God is to us! As we open our hearts to the presence of Jesus by beholding Him with open face in total surrender to Him of our whole heart, He comes to live in us by the Holy Spirit and fill us with all of the traits of His divine nature without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23) so we reflect His loveliness to others! May your life be filled with the joy of the Lord this holy Sabbath day!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #353 on: May 23, 2021, 07:39:28 AM »
He was ablaze with the Father's love, zealous in doing the will of God for His glory, and ever seeking to redeem fallen humanity by a tie of love that could never be broken. Jesus offers us His grace to atone for our past sins by the merits of His blood, the impartation of the Holy Spirit that His life may be lived out in us, and will give us supernatural power to do His will--continually! May we all choose to yield fully to such infinite love and become like Him in mind and character!

    A daily, earnest striving to know God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, would bring power and efficiency to the soul. The knowledge obtained by diligent searching of the Scriptures would be flashed into the memory at the right time. But if any had neglected to acquaint themselves with the words of Christ, if they had never tested the power of His grace in trial, they could not expect that the Holy Spirit would bring His words to their remembrance. They were to serve God daily with undivided affection, and then trust Him.   

Let us fill our hearts and minds with the words of Christ so the Holy Spirit may bring them to our remembrance--just when we need them most!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #354 on: May 24, 2021, 07:40:59 AM »
What pattern of life are you seeking to follow? In this world, the ruling motive is selfishness, but in God's kingdom the ruling motive is self-sacrifice. We need to come aside and rest awhile with Jesus to unlearn the ways of this world, yield the whole heart to Him as we are moved by the grace of His loveliness of character, and in true conversion experience the depth of rest and surrender that only comes from union and communion with Him. May you find true rest in complete surrender to Christ, and learn precious lessons in nature, the word of God, and by the moving of His Spirit upon your heart. Then from the heart renewed and refreshed by union and communion with Christ will flow forth spontaneously all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you gladly go forth in humble obedience to the law of God, the definition of relational happiness with God and others!

In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and everyone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, "Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10. Here alone can true rest be found.  And this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God. Amid the hurrying throng, and the strain of life's intense activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance, and will reveal a divine power that will reach men's hearts. 

May Jesus speak through you today because there are many more who have yet to come to experience all that God offers, and no matter how sweet and genuine our relationship with Jesus is now, He has infinitely more to give us of the overflow of His grace!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #355 on: May 25, 2021, 06:50:34 AM »
The Passover was the feast that pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God and the Bread of Life, and it is so amazing to see how Jesus was even at this season breaking the bread of life to people who were on their way to celebrate the feast, and thus give the people an opportunity to better see His works of mercy and compassion in feeding them by a miracle provided by His Father when there was a genuine need. It is beautiful how needs often create great ministry opportunities for uplifting Jesus! May you realize that wherever God has placed you in His providence is part of His divine plan for uplifting Jesus to those in your sphere of influence!

Christ had retired to a secluded place with His disciples, but this rare season of peaceful quietude was soon broken. The disciples thought they had retired where they would not be disturbed; but as soon as the multitude missed the divine Teacher, they inquired, "Where is He?" Some among them had noticed the direction in which Christ and His disciples had gone. Many went by land to meet them, while others followed in their boats across the water. The Passover was at hand, and, from far and near, bands of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem gathered to see Jesus. Additions were made to their number, until there were assembled five thousand men besides women and children. Before Christ reached the shore, a multitude were waiting for Him. But He landed unobserved by them, and spent a little time apart with the disciples. 

Notice the connection to the Passover with the bread being broken both in the feeding of the five thousand and at the last supper with Jesus' disciples before His death, in which the Passover ceased to have significance since Christ had fulfilled its meaning, and the communion service would take its place thereafter:

"Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude" (Luke 9:16).

"And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).

May you realize that every morsel of bread you eat today (or whatever food you enjoy in God's loving providence) comes stamped with the cross of Calvary!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #356 on: May 26, 2021, 04:49:49 AM »
You are like an open book. Jesus reads your character and knows just what lessons are needful that you may understand your weakness and continual need of Him to do any good thing. When we truly realize and believe the loveliness of Jesus' character and trust Him completely by having our eyes of faith fixed upon Him, no matter what storm He allows, we can walk securely in the plain path of love and duty that will help us be prepared for greater trial as we approach the soon coming of Jesus! Such a character experience of continual union and communion with Christ in full-heart surrender means all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest through our lives without one missing as we grow more like our Savior continually in true affectionate obedience to His law of love!

 Jesus read the character of His disciples. He knew how sorely their faith was to be tried. In this incident on the sea He desired to reveal to Peter his own weakness,--to show that his safety was in constant dependence upon divine power. Amid the storms of temptation he could walk safely only as in utter self-distrust he should rely upon the Saviour. It was on the point where he thought himself strong that Peter was weak; and not until he discerned his weakness could he realize his need of dependence upon Christ. Had he learned the lesson that Jesus sought to teach him in that experience on the sea, he would not have failed when the great test came upon him. 

May we not seek to find strength in self, but in Christ. He is our sufficiency, and His promise is sure to the weakest soul who takes hold of His grace by faith: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #357 on: May 27, 2021, 07:08:16 AM »
May the experience of Christ truly become our experience by beholding the loveliness of His character, letting Him lead us in His providences, and teaching us by the Holy Spirit in the way He knows is best. As by faith we yield the whole heart to Him motivated by His grace, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we enjoy constant union and communion with Christ by the Holy Spirit, who leads us to obey God out of love for Him!

As the Son of God lived by faith in the Father, so are we to live by faith in Christ. So fully was Jesus surrendered to the will of God that the Father alone appeared in His life. Although tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world untainted by the evil that surrounded Him. Thus we also are to overcome as Christ overcame. 

This is the victory that overcomes the world--the faith of Jesus! May you let the life of Christ alone appear in your life today so that all He has planned for you will come to pass in His perfect time and way!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #358 on: May 28, 2021, 08:06:54 AM »
Don't fall for it. Satan is a master at distraction. Focus on what is spiritual and eternal, and do not let the controversies the devil is trying to drum up keep you from knowing how it is with your soul today, and whether you are fully surrendered to Jesus so you can be in harmony with His will here and be ready to meet Him in peace when He comes in the clouds of heaven SO SOON!!

Whenever the message of truth comes home to souls with special power, Satan stirs up his agents to start a dispute over some minor question. Thus he seeks to attract attention from the real issue. Whenever a good work is begun, there are cavilers ready to enter into dispute over forms or technicalities, to draw minds away from the living realities. When it appears that God is about to work in a special manner for His people, let them not be enticed into a controversy that will work only ruin of souls. The questions that most concern us are, Do I believe with saving faith on the Son of God? Is my life in harmony with the divine law? "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life." "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." John 3:36; 1 John 2:3. 

Choose to look to Jesus and away from self and all the theories of men that have no significance in eternity. Beholding the Lamb of God, let self be crucified so only the pure character of Christ will shine forth from you in beautify and holiness, a revelation of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life in harmony with the law of God, the definition of relational freedom and righteousness! Jesus will give you what you cannot produce, by manifesting in you His character. Let us not allow man's traditions to eclipse the truth of the gospel for our time (Revelation 14:6-12) in harmony with the fearlessness that comes in being His witnesses by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8)! The only solution for spiritual blindness is true conversion, and Christ offers us that in His counsel to His final church before He returns (Revelation 3:14-22), so we can be undistracted and unhindered from Him working through us by His word!

Sean James

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Re: The Glory of God
« Reply #359 on: May 29, 2021, 03:27:32 AM »
Happy Sabbath! It's your choice! You are the only one that can make the decision to come to Christ or choose to resist His love that is drawing you to repentance! May you look to Jesus, yield the whole heart to Him, and let Him live out His life in you manifest by all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to His law of love as He reveals His plan to you to go forth to bless others!

In faith the woman of Phoenicia flung herself against the barriers that had been piled up between Jew and Gentile. Against discouragement, regardless of appearances that might have led her to doubt, she trusted the Saviour's love. It is thus that Christ desires us to trust in Him. The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel.

What a blessing to CHOOSE JESUS! May you see that He chose you, and now you can agree with His plan in total heart surrender so that no barrier will be in your way from experiencing the fulness of Christ in you, the hope of glory, for Jesus is coming again to take to heaven those who have Him living in their hearts by grace through faith!