Life of Jesus Discussion
The Life of Jesus => The Life of Our Savior => Topic started by: Richard on January 11, 2018, 08:18:18 AM
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What truth!! The glory of God is seen in Christ. That makes me think of the words of Jesus when He said, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. What a joy to know God through Christ!
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Thank you for sharing that Richard. What an awesome privilege we have been given to get to know God through His Son. I love to read the stories in the bible about His life and to learn that God the Father loves me with the same tender passion that His Son Jesus does.
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Amen, Dorine. What a God we serve! " Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven." What a thought!!!
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God loves to do miracles--the kind that change lives!! If you read John 8:1-11, you see one of the great miracles Jesus performed in giving a woman hope and purpose by His pardoning grace. This is all to the glory of God!! So it is with us. As we realize our true identity as sons and daughters of God, we gladly yield all to Christ whose atoning blood pardons our sins and offers us the Holy Spirit to live in and through us to reveal all of the attributes of His divine nature without one of those fruits missing!
This was to her the beginning of a new life, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In the uplifting of this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease; He cured the spiritual malady which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of His most steadfast followers. With self-sacrificing love and devotion she repaid His forgiving mercy.
May we extend the same grace today to those around us, that they may find true purpose and joy even as Christ has first treated us!
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May you find the true help in Jesus--there is no limit to what He can do! He can take our sinful, weak, broken lives and as we behold Him in His infinite loveliness, transform our characters as we surrender fully to Him by giving us a new heart and a new mind--filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
May this reflection based on John 9 be a blessing!
The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of His hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, 'Are we blind also?' Jesus answered, 'If ye were blind, ye should have no sin.' If God had made it impossible for you to see the truth, your ignorance would involve no guilt. 'But now ye say, We see.' You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight. To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need; they refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness,--a blindness for which they were themselves guilty. Jesus said, 'Your sin remaineth.'
If we will but acknowledge our need, Jesus offers us His infinite help. Let us cleave to Him this Sabbath and abide in the light of His word, letting it guide all we say and do!
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As we take time to behold the loveliness of Jesus, the great miracle of conversion takes place in our hearts as we surrender unreservedly to Him because His love has awakened love in our hearts, and we gladly allow Him to recreate us into His image. The image of His purity is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit, not one missing, and it is only by abiding continually in Christ that we may have this blessed experience! Let us look upon Jesus and invite others to do so by a life of continual, affectionate obedience to the One who gave all for us in dying as our Sacrifice and rising as our Victor over sin and death!!
Because we are the gift of His Father, and the reward of His work, Jesus loves us. He loves us as His children. Reader, He loves you. Heaven itself can bestow nothing greater, nothing better. Therefore trust.
I love Jesus because He first loved me, and it is by communion with Him and contemplation upon His character that sin truly becomes hateful and we find that we would truly rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today! As the Divine Shepherd, Jesus is able to safely lead us all the way to heaven as we choose continually to surrender all to Him and let His Spirit fill us to be His witnesses!
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Jesus offers us a complete experience of victory over the world, the flesh and the devil, and the more weak we know ourselves to be, and the more firmly we cling to Jesus, the more deeply will we reflect His character. As we surrender unreservedly to the Holy Spirit, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing, and others will be drawn to Christ by the revelation of His loveliness wrought out in our lives and characters! Let us keep looking up to Jesus, even amid the trials multiplying in our world!!
Jesus added, "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Rejoice not in the possession of power, lest you lose sight of your dependence upon God. Be careful lest self-sufficiency come in, and you work in your own strength, rather than in the spirit and strength of your Master. Self is ever ready to take the credit if any measure of success attends the work. Self is flattered and exalted, and the impression is not made upon other minds that God is all and in all. The apostle Paul says, "When I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10. When we have a realization of our weakness, we learn to depend upon a power not inherent. Nothing can take so strong a hold on the heart as the abiding sense of our responsibility to God. Nothing reaches so fully down to the deepest motives of conduct as a sense of the pardoning love of Christ. We are to come in touch with God, then we shall be imbued with His Holy Spirit, that enables us to come in touch with our fellow men. Then rejoice that through Christ you have become connected with God, members of the heavenly family. While you look higher than yourself, you will have a continual sense of the weakness of humanity. The less you cherish self, the more distinct and full will be your comprehension of the excellence of your Saviour. The more closely you connect yourself with the source of light and power, the greater light will be shed upon you, and the greater power will be yours to work for God. Rejoice that you are one with God, one with Christ, and with the whole family of heaven.
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Praise the Lord for such a Savior as Jesus, who willingly fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we surrender the whole heart to Him and go forth to bring the light of His love to those around us!
"Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." Galatians 6:1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing balsam to the bruised and wounded one. Many, many, have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God.
Let us help others by relating how Jesus has helped us. As we experience the fulfillment of the promise: "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11), many hearts that were discouraged or felt their case was hopeless will hear of what Jesus has done for us, and they also may find complete restoration through beholding Christ's infinite loveliness and surrendering fully to Him! What a blessed mission we have to share the love of Jesus with others today as He guides us step by step!
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What a Savior we have who offers us the true solution to our sin-polluted hearts that must be cleansed and made new by His blood and imbued fully with the Holy Spirit as we behold Him and surrender unreservedly to Him! Oh, let us lift high the cross of Christ in this time in earth's history when all need a fresh revelation of His character--lived in humanity as all of the fruits of the Spirit (not one missing) are seen in the life of each truly converted soul!
When the apostle Paul began his ministry in Corinth, that populous, wealthy, and wicked city, polluted by the nameless vices of heathenism, he said, "I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2. Writing afterward to some of those who had been corrupted by the foulest sins, he could say, "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." "I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 6:11; 1:4.
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Simple lessons, often repeated, can make a deep impression on the heart and mind. We are God's children and no two of us have the same experience. Let us not look for a certain emotion to tell whether we are converted, but simply yield the whole heart to Christ and allow Him to fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--which are character traits of the divine nature that will be manifest in each converted soul regardless of how he or she is feeling at the moment. When we learn how to simply point souls to Christ because we are living in union and communion with Christ, we will find a grace, a joy and a simplicity in life that is refreshing and invigorating!
In working for the conversion of our children, we should not look for violent emotion as the essential evidence of conviction of sin. Nor is it necessary to know the exact time when they are converted. We should teach them to bring their sins to Jesus, asking His forgiveness, and believing that He pardons and receives them as He received the children when He was personally on earth.
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Jesus is all we need, but the entire heart must be yielded to Him so He may abide in us in order for the promise to be fulfilled: "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:10). The rich young ruler who came to Christ was not complete in Christ, for he had not chosen to surrender his life unreservedly to Jesus. That was why he felt he was missing something. Whatever we put first in life--if it be other than Jesus--will inevitably absorb our time, focus, and attention, and of that we do make an idol. May we see our continual need of Jesus, and trust Him to be all we truly need to be complete, yet knowing that He has more to give us in the fulfillment of His purposes of omnipotence!
Christ was drawn to this young man. He knew him to be sincere in his assertion, "All these things have I kept from my youth." The Redeemer longed to create in him that discernment which would enable him to see the necessity of heart devotion and Christian goodness. He longed to see in him a humble and contrite heart, conscious of the supreme love to be given to God, and hiding its lack in the perfection of Christ.
Let us have all our weakness and imperfection hidden in Christ--not as a cloak for sin, but inasmuch as we are finite beings, we need a divine-human Savior to guide us moment-by-moment in His perfect will in the use of all the blessings He has entrusted to us for the fulfillment of the purpose of blessing others and helping them to come to total surrender. That complete surrender brings the joyful miracle of the Holy Spirit filling the heart and mind and bringing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and an affectionate obedience to all God calls us to do!
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As we behold His loveliness in His word, accept His atoning blood to cleanse us from our sins, and let the Holy Spirit transform our thoughts and feelings with His own through a complete surrender of the entire heart and mind, we are prepared to go forth to bless others by being imbued with Christ's character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with the law of love--and thus we will reflect His grace to others who need to see Jesus!
The "one thing" that Martha needed was a calm, devotional spirit, a deeper anxiety for knowledge concerning the future, immortal life, and the graces necessary for spiritual advancement. She needed less anxiety for the things which pass away, and more for those things which endure forever. Jesus would teach His children to seize every opportunity of gaining that knowledge which will make them wise unto salvation. The cause of Christ needs careful, energetic workers. There is a wide field for the Marthas, with their zeal in active religious work. But let them first sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus. Let diligence, promptness, and energy be sanctified by the grace of Christ; then the life will be an unconquerable power for good.
Let us rest in Jesus' presence today and invite others to rest in Him--the one who has power to raise the dead and has power to keep us from falling into sin as we enjoy moment-by-moment union and communion with Christ!
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Jesus is reasonable and logical. He speaks to our hearts and minds, and what He does is true. If we are willing to see truth as it really is, how can we not come to Him that we may have eternal life? Well, here lies the deeper issue--truth requires the surrender of the will to Christ. We, naturally as sinful and proud beings, must come to a point of total acknowledgement of our sinfulness and our need of a Savior. This is the struggle we all must realize; Christ longs to give us the victory over this "warfare against self." When Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead, there were so many who KNEW He was the Messiah, yet so many who just kept opposing His work. Why? Not because they couldn't see "the facts," but because they did not want to acknowledge that they had been in error and needed to come to repentance. Oh, may we not be hardhearted and obstinate in turning from the light Jesus longs to bless us with!! Today as we behold the infinite loveliness of Jesus may our hearts yield to omnipotent love and allow the miracle of a fresh conversion to take place in our experience in which all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest, and not one will be missing as we gladly obey the law of God from the heart renewed by divine grace! Let us allow Jesus to give us a new heart and a new mind in which all the pride, vanity, and selfishness are fully cleansed away and we experience His character on a moment-by-moment basis all the way to heaven!!
Bethany was so near Jerusalem that the news of the raising of Lazarus was soon carried to the city. Through spies who had witnessed the miracle the Jewish rulers were speedily in possession of the facts. A meeting of the Sanhedrin was at once called to decide as to what should be done. Christ had now fully made manifest His control of death and the grave. That mighty miracle was the crowning evidence offered by God to men that He had sent His Son into the world for their salvation. It was a demonstration of divine power sufficient to convince every mind that was under the control of reason and enlightened conscience. Many who witnessed the resurrection of Lazarus were led to believe on Jesus. But the hatred of the priests against Him was intensified. They had rejected all lesser evidence of His divinity, and they were only enraged at this new miracle. The dead had been raised in the full light of day, and before a crowd of witnesses. No artifice could explain away such evidence. For this very reason the enmity of the priests grew deadlier. They were more than ever determined to put a stop to Christ's work.
We can choose to oppose Jesus or join Him in His work. Let us learn from the lessons of the past as recorded in sacred history and choose this day to serve Jesus--not by our finite strength, but by His Spirit working in us in our human weakness as we yield completely and continually to Him!!
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God gives us freedom. Sin, the transgression of the law, is simply bondage to selfishness and Satan. True freedom is entire conformity to His will, and yet how we choose to respond to God's love and be set free from sin by yielding the entire heart to Christ to cleanse and purify is a matter of freedom of conscience. No one is forced to follow Christ, and we are to remember that in all our dealings with others, that we are to reflect the law of the new kingdom, which is self-sacrificing love that seeks the glory of God and the benefit of humanity. When that love is implanted in the soul by the Holy Spirit, all of the fruits of God's character will be manifest in and through the life of the soul! We can rejoice in the freedom Christ offers us today--not freedom that is to be used in the way of sin, but freedom in the way of righteousness! "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein" (Isaiah 35:8).
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
Let us live to bless others this day, even as Jesus did--by ever having Him as an abiding guest in our soul teaching us how to go out and how to come in (see 1 Kings 3:7).
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Let us invite Jesus into our homes! Though many are worshipping at home during this time with the risk of the coronavirus, we can be thankful that no matter what reason we are at home, Christ longs to enter in and bless us with His divine presence! Zacchaeus and his family had not been welcome at the synagogue because of his occupation as a tax collector--but Jesus came to him and his family in a personal way to bring hope and salvation! Jesus longs to take up residence in every heart fully surrendered to Him, cleansing us from sin by His atoning blood as we confess our continual need of Him, and imbuing us with all of the fruits of the Spirit, so not one is missing.
To Zacchaeus the Saviour said, "This day is salvation come to this house." Not only was Zacchaeus himself blessed, but all his household with him. Christ went to his home to give him lessons of truth, and to instruct his household in the things of the kingdom. They had been shut out from the synagogues by the contempt of rabbis and worshipers; but now, the most favored household in all Jericho, they gathered in their own home about the divine Teacher, and heard for themselves the words of life.
Let us daily gather about the Bible to hear the word of eternal life, meditating upon it, memorizing it, and sharing it with others! We find strength and nobility of character by receiving the word of God into our character building experience!
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Jesus loves you and has a perfect plan for your life. No matter what your past, and no matter what crisis is taking place in our world, you may freely come to Jesus as did Mary and become one of His "Final Moment Miracles"--a portrait of what His grace can do to transform the most sinful, broken and helpless soul into a new creation whose heart and mind are in fully surrendered harmony with the divine nature so that the attributes of heaven--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance may flow forth through your soul as freely as did the anointing oil that Mary lavished on Jesus. Oh, how Jesus longs to see the revelation of His character in us!! As we come to Him in penitence and humiliation, realizing our continual need of Jesus, He lifts us into His service with a purpose and love that dispels our fears and gives us courage for the final crisis stealing upon our world! Let us look to Jesus, the amazing Savior who has never lost a case entrusted fully to Him!!
Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.
Come as you are, for there is no other way to come to Christ. But give Jesus full permission to unite your finite weakness to His divine strength to keep you steadfast by the word of God, the transforming agency applied by the Holy Spirit in renewing us into the image of His purity! Oh, what wondrous love is this that Jesus would leave heaven to save such a worm as you and I! Jesus saves us not because we are are so good, but because He is so good, and He sees what we may become through His grace! Through the merits of Christ's blood each soul is of infinite value in God's sight, and we may so experience oneness with Christ that His light, His character, shines through to reach other hearts with hope in earth's final hour!
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May we realize that the same doom that came upon Jerusalem in 70 AD is about to fall upon the entire world as the seven last plagues will be poured out upon the impenitent and unbelieving. May we see in Christ's yearning for the repentance of His people during His triumphal ride a heart appeal to us to turn completely to Jesus with a full-heart surrender so He may give us the miracle of conversion in our hearts! Oh, let us see the true value of each soul for whom Christ died by beholding Him laying down His life for us on Calvary!
Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee go to fill up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it, worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the golden throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's great heart of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies, despised His warnings, and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it was not yet too late. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour's love, and avert her doom? Beautiful and unholy city, that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,--her day of mercy was almost spent!
As we choose to respond to Christ in full surrender of the heart to Him, He will blot out our transgressions and give us a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit--not one missing. Otherwise, we will inevitably drift in the downward course to eternal ruin, and oh how that would break the heart of Jesus! He gave all for us, and shall we not yield all to Him so we may gladden His heart by the joy of being with Him--one of His redeemed sons or daughters for eternity? Let us look and live, and know the depth of that love given us in Christ more fully this day!
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I choose Jesus this day, and desire His help to be in complete harmony with His will. Looking upon Jesus whose heart was pained by the fruitless fig tree that represented His nation that had not responded as a corporate people to His pleading love, I pray that each of our hearts may be sensitive the Holy Spirit and willing to accept the gift of repentance in turning us away from our iniquities. Only true repentance will bring true fruit into the life. What fruit? "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). We cannot originate or perpetuate these traits of the divine nature. Like a complete whole (like light from the sunshine that contains every hue of the light spectrum), all these traits of the infilling of the Holy Spirit will be manifest in one who has invited Jesus into the soul temple to abide there and live out His self-sacrificing life. Only in Christ is there life. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12). May you today--for only today is granted us--respond to Jesus' loving invitation to have Him give you His life, for apart from Him there is only eternal death, the results of resisting His loving call to repentance.
All the trees in the fig orchard were destitute of fruit; but the leafless trees raised no expectation, and caused no disappointment. By these trees the Gentiles were represented. They were as destitute as were the Jews of godliness; but they had not professed to serve God. They made no boastful pretensions to goodness. They were blind to the works and ways of God. With them the time of figs was not yet. They were still waiting for a day which would bring them light and hope. The Jews, who had received greater blessings from God, were held accountable for their abuse of these gifts. The privileges of which they boasted only increased their guilt.
The greater part of the world's teeming billions have not yet seen an accurate picture of the character of God. Jesus understands all this. And so it is to those who have had the privilege of knowing the loveliness of His character that He calls upon to walk with Him in total heart surrender in an ever-deepening repentance, that the final movement to prepare for His second coming may be fulfilled: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). My prayer is that we may be found faithful to do our part in sharing this revelation of Jesus' character--not merely in words, but in how we allow the Holy Spirit to so shape our thoughts and aims that we are doing God's will continually--and inviting others into the miraculous joy of what it means to be converted and live for the glory of God and the benefit of humanity. The world needs a message of hope, and Jesus has entrusted that to us as we commune with Him! I pray that you will be able to join, starting on April 17, 2020 at 7pm ET/6pm ET and also 7pm Pacific for "Hope Awakens," a free online event that will present hope in these final moments of earth's history. You can register and invite others to do so simply by going to hopeawakens.com! May God bless you in letting Christ in you, the hope of glory, bear fruit through your life this day on a moment-by-moment basis!
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This morning I was impressed with the thought of how God holds out the same character of love to all people, and it is by the choices we make that determine our destiny for this world and the world to come. Many will blame God for the bad things that happen in life or in the world--even the Covid-19 crisis, failing to realize that there is an enemy who has done this. Matthew 13:28. Oh, that we may more fully value things of eternal worth, and this Sabbath reflect on Jesus who holds out His invitation for our hearts to be "all in" for Him, so He can align us with His plan that means an experiential realization of His character!
And on "whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." The people who rejected Christ were soon to see their city and their nation destroyed. Their glory would be broken, and scattered as the dust before the wind. And what was it that destroyed the Jews? It was the rock which, had they built upon it, would have been their security. It was the goodness of God despised, the righteousness spurned, the mercy slighted. Men set themselves in opposition to God, and all that would have been their salvation was turned to their destruction. All that God ordained unto life they found to be unto death. In the Jews' crucifixion of Christ was involved the destruction of Jerusalem. The blood shed upon Calvary was the weight that sank them to ruin for this world and for the world to come. So it will be in the great final day, when judgment shall fall upon the rejecters of God's grace. Christ, their rock of offense, will then appear to them as an avenging mountain. The glory of His countenance, which to the righteous is life, will be to the wicked a consuming fire. Because of love rejected, grace despised, the sinner will be destroyed.
We can choose to behold Jesus' loveliness and respond with an entire heart surrender. We need not choose the downward path, the easier-to-the-flesh way that leads to death. We can look and live as we let Christ live in us, the hope of glory, by allowing His atoning blood to cleanse us from our sins and imbue us with His Holy Spirit, who brings love, joy and peace with all of the fruits of the Spirit so that not one is missing.
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As we reflect on the resurrection of Christ and how that offers us His life and power over sin and death, we can rejoice that the victory is gained in Jesus, and now He invites us to yield our whole heart to Him and have an abiding experience of complete victory! When we really grasp how much God loves us and that, as a tender Father He plans good things for us both in this life and in the life to come, it become easier and easier to trust Him COMPLETELY even in great trials, like what our world is facing! Christ is finishing His work in heaven and is about to return to take us to Himself for eternity, because of what He has accomplished for us in His death and resurrection!
By His words and His works, Christ testified to a divine power that produces supernatural results, to a future life beyond the present, to God as a Father of the children of men, ever watchful of their true interests. He revealed the working of divine power in benevolence and compassion that rebuked the selfish exclusiveness of the Sadducees. He taught that both for man's temporal and for his eternal good, God moves upon the heart by the Holy Spirit. He showed the error of trusting to human power for that transformation of character which can be wrought only by the Spirit of God.
We can safely look unto Christ as our guide in our trials and know that He has done what none other could do, for He is divine: He gave up His life at Calvary and took it back up at the call of His Father early that first day of the week, thus promising us His presence in all our experiences--even unto death!! We can rejoice for "HE LIVES" and now Jesus is willing to LIVE IN US by the Holy Spirit to produce in us all of the fruits of the Spirit--so not one will be missing as we gladly obey Him in all He has revealed to us!
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What a blessing it is to be able to abide in Christ and experience His character of selfless love as we let Him serve and bless others through us. We can offer our lives in willing service because He first loved us, and came to seek and save the lost.
"But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." Again and again Christ had taught that true greatness is measured by moral worth. In the estimation of heaven, greatness of character consists in living for the welfare of our fellow men, in doing works of love and mercy. Christ the King of glory was a servant to fallen man.
We find our highest joy in service and blessing others, even as Jesus went about doing good and found joy in His Father's will. Often He was found in prayer--interceding for those whose hearts could be reached with the power of grace to transform them from sinners trapped by Satan in the works of the flesh into converted saints who would manifest through complete surrender to Him all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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The more time we focus on Jesus' infinite sacrifice, the more joy we find in His experience being wrought out in our lives. Only by the most universal law--by beholding we become changed--is lasting transformation possible. We need to look above the pull of the world, self and sin and fix our eyes on the glory of Calvary--the glory of our God becoming flesh to die in our place, to show us the depths of infinite love, and the power of His grace to transform us from being unrepentant rebels into obedient, willing, loving saints whose lives in continual complete surrender to Christ will inevitably bear all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we covet pain, toil and sacrifice for His dear sake!
"If any man serve Me," said Jesus, "let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor." All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. It was the joy of Christ in His humiliation and pain that His disciples should be glorified with Him. They are the fruit of His self-sacrifice. The outworking in them of His own character and spirit is His reward, and will be His joy throughout eternity. This joy they share with Him as the fruit of their labor and sacrifice is seen in other hearts and lives. They are workers together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors His Son.
The joy of Jesus is not a static joy--it does not only relate to a past experience, but it is meant to be exponential in its growth and blessing. While the devil is wreaking havoc on our world with the exponential spread of the coronavirus (for Satan is the author of all suffering, disease and death), we know that Jesus is simultaneously working an exponential miracle of hearts that are responding to His grace because they FEEL THEIR NEED of His help!! Oh, what a privilege it is to live in these closing moments before Jesus comes!! Let us spread the hope! You can share with those you love the opportunity to be blessed by the free completely online series "Hope Awakens," starting this Friday, April 17, 2020 at 7pm ET/7pm PT at hopeawakens.com! Let us keep our eyes constantly on Jesus!!
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What we watch changes us. If we are spending more time watching unto prayer and meditating on Jesus and God's word, than the final events of this world's history are something we can face with courage and grace, knowing that if we have invited Christ into our heart and surrendered fully to Him, His perfect love casts out fear. We can speak of His loveliness of character for we have seen the king in His beauty morning by morning. I pray that we will use the time God has given us before Jesus returns to overcome through Christ and to spread the good news of the everlasting gospel so souls around us can also be ready, and turn from beholding the vain distractions of this world to see the value of eternal realities!
Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
As we choose to look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, our life and example can encourage others to "go and do likewise." God does not force any to follow Him, or to take time each day in personal devotional time. But we can live a life so surrendered to Christ and so happy in Jesus that we make such an experience attractive to others so that they will also desire to "taste and see" (Psalm 34:8) that the Lord is indeed very good, and that union and communion with Christ is far sweeter than ANYTHING the world, the flesh or the devil could EVER try to offer us!!
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Whoever you are, wherever you are, and no matter what you have gone through, Jesus has a mission FOR YOU!! When we invite Jesus into our hearts by unreservedly surrendering to Him, He not only atones for our sins by His blood, but He imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and thus sends us on a mission of mercy to bless others! Let us rejoice in Jesus today and point them to the true joy of life--unselfish ministry to do others good in helping them come to eternal salvation in Christ!
The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of caring for sorrowful, tempted souls. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and even in "the regions beyond," whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.
As we make a beginning, however small it may seem, Jesus works by the Holy Spirit to accomplish something beyond what we can ask or think. The key it staying linked up with Jesus by continual surrender to Jesus who knows what is best for us each day and will lead us to be a blessing! On that note, I sure hope you will join the series and invite others to "Hope Awakens" that starts on Friday, April 17 at 7pm Eastern/7pm Pacific, available for free at hopeawakens.com!! May you be blessed in inviting others to come also be blessed and learn of the hope that Jesus offers us!!
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Jesus is calling us higher--to a higher, holier experience with Him. And yet He shows us how that experience is gained. To advance in the kingdom of God is to condescend, to serve, to give and to be willing to be anything or nothing as God's providence directs. Jesus, the King of the universe, would gladly wash His disciples feet to show us what true greatness is all about: it is about having a thoroughly converted heart that is willing to serve others in true humility, that others may come also to partake of the divine nature. Christ offers us His union and communion with the Father, and each time we embrace the lessons of self-sacrifice and walk in the path His providence assigns, we are blessed by being a blessing! May you diffuse the light of the loveliness of Jesus today by looking unto Him continually and inviting others to share of His character, for by beholding we become changed!
As the lesson of the preparatory service is thus learned, the desire is kindled for a higher spiritual life. To this desire the divine Witness will respond. The soul will be uplifted. We can partake of the Communion with a consciousness of sins forgiven. The sunshine of Christ's righteousness will fill the chambers of the mind and the soul temple. We "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29.
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May God bless you with a fresh experience in beholding the loveliness of Jesus! By beholding Him we become changed as we surrender our fallen, sinful hearts in exchange for the new heart He gives us that, renewed by divine grace, partakes of the divine nature and becomes imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! What wondrous love is this that God the Father would send His Son to die for us, and give us His Spirit to transform us into His very image!! Hallelujah!!
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
He who beholds the Saviour's matchless love will be elevated in thought, purified in heart, transformed in character. He will go forth to be a light to the world, to reflect in some degree this mysterious love. The more we contemplate the cross of Christ, the more fully shall we adopt the language of the apostle when he said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14.
Let us ever keep our focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified, seeing that the Bible is a revelation of His love and invites us continually to enjoy union and communion with God by faith working by love!!
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When we face great trials and things do not go as we had hoped, we can remember that we are but partaking of the same experience of our loving Savior, Jesus. Satan is enraged at efforts to bring hope and salvation to the souls in this dark world, but we can rejoice in tribulation, continue to pray earnestly, and remember that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). Let us abide in Christ in our trials and point all that we can to Christ the One who can save to the uttermost by blotting out our sins with His blood and imbuing us with His Spirit! As we abide in Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.
As the world's Redeemer, Christ was constantly confronted with apparent failure. He, the messenger of mercy to our world, seemed to do little of the work He longed to do in uplifting and saving. Satanic influences were constantly working to oppose His way. But He would not be discouraged. Through the prophecy of Isaiah He declares, "I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely My judgment is with the Lord, and My work with My God. . . . Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My strength." It is to Christ that the promise is given, "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth; . . . thus saith the Lord: . . . I will preserve Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that Thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. . . . They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them." Isaiah 49:4, 5, 7-10.
Jesus understands what it feels like to be faced with great opposition and trial. We can come to Him in earnest prayer and faith and remember that the plan of salvation still goes forward and will culminate in glorious triumph!
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Jesus saw you--and even now He sees you--and it was love that moved Him in His decision to save us in His agonized struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, knowing the need we would have for His redeeming sacrifice, contemplating the full cost of the agony in being separated from His Father by becoming sin for us and experiencing what we deserve, would choose to become our atoning sacrifice, and now He offers us the cup of blessing in turning us away from our iniquities. May we never see sin as a light thing, for it cost the death of the Son of God. May we, in contemplating His love for us, be changed into His image, fully surrendered to Him so He can transform us, and be deeply imbued with His Spirit!
Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the human race comes up before the world's Redeemer. He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself. He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission. He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His prayer now breathes only submission: "If this cup may not pass away from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done."
So now Christ offers us the cup of blessing in the experience of salvation--that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives, and not one will be missing as long as we are partaking by grace through faith of His divine nature and choosing to resist the temptation to sin and self by keeping our eyes on Jesus and depending upon Him in a moment-by-moment attitude of surrender. Jesus counted the cost, and love moved Him to die for us. May we too count the cost and realize that heaven in cheap enough, and that Jesus longs for His reward--you and me redeemed and with Him in heaven. Even now, after His agony in Gethsemane has been culminated at Calvary, Christ is ministering as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven, and yearns to fully transform us into His character and blot from the records the sins He has led us to repent of and confess. He longs to be WITH US IN PERSON!! He is coming VERY SOON!!
Let us allow Jesus to have all of us today for His plans and His will to be wrought out in our lives--that we may partake of the cup of blessing in salvation: "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:13).
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Everything that was heaped upon Jesus in His trial was not what He deserved--but what we deserved. We deserve to be condemned for our sins, but Christ, the innocent Savior, bore uncomplainingly all that cruel men could heap upon Him. He loved His enemies. Yet all will reap what they have sown, and nothing that took place in Jesus' trial will be forgotten, for the angels record all we do as evidence to the universe as to what decision we make as to how we treat Jesus. Will we open our hearts to the One who left heaven because He wants to save us? Will we allow Jesus to transform our characters into His image? I pray that we will allow Him in, for Christ loves to save His people from their sins.
The angels of God faithfully recorded every insulting look, word, and act against their beloved Commander. One day the base men who scorned and spat upon the calm, pale face of Christ will look upon it in its glory, shining brighter than the sun.
Though Jesus was sorely tried and His pale face was witnessed after He passed through the mock trials before Annas and Caiaphas, we know the end of the story--He will return in power and great glory and His face will shine brighter than sunshine, for He is the King of the universe. When we remember that in surrendering fully to Christ we are only acknowledging what is REALLY TRUE--that Jesus Christ is Lord, then we can have joy and patience in trials like He faced by abiding in Him, loving our enemies, praying for those who despitefully use us, and desiring all to come to the knowledge and love of the truth, that they may be saved, even as Christ's desires become our desires by abiding in Him!
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There are many who are hoping and desiring to be Christians, but, like Judas, they never come to the point of yielding themselves FULLY to Christ so that they may receive from Him a new mind, a new heart and a life imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit so that not one is missing. Apart from such a complete surrender, our own will and plans will ever seek to strive for the mastery, even as Lucifer had plans for how to take God's throne and be like the Most High. Ever since the fall of the human race, self is ever seeking its own way. The only way to find relief from this insatiable lust for "my way" is to come and learn at the feet of Jesus, experience true repentance, and become like the One who left heaven to seek and save the lost. Judas' "repentance" in the end of his betrayal was not true repentance, but rather a selfish desire to seek to relieve the terrible burden of guilt he felt for what he had done--but that is not the same as yielding fully to Christ with a desire and willingness to be truly converted. The "repentance" of Judas in many ways mirrors the demise of Saul and Balaam, both men who had great light, but went in the downward path and did not turn to God to be transformed in character. Oh, may we learn that we have a CONTINUAL NEED of Jesus to do any good thing!!
Judas now cast himself at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging Him to be the Son of God, and entreating Him to deliver Himself. The Saviour did not reproach His betrayer. He knew that Judas did not repent; his confession was forced from his guilty soul by an awful sense of condemnation and a looking for of judgment, but he felt no deep, heartbreaking grief that he had betrayed the spotless Son of God, and denied the Holy One of Israel. Yet Jesus spoke no word of condemnation. He looked pityingly upon Judas, and said, For this hour came I into the world.
Yet Christ loves even the rejecters of His grace. As persecution comes upon God's people in various forms, we love and pity those who are so deceived and entrapped in the devil's snares, but we do not become cruel towards them. We pray for them like Jesus did upon Calvary, even if many by their impenitence will not yield to Christ's saving grace. Oh, let us not tamper with sin, for we see in the life history of Judas that one sin (covetousness, in his case--the desire for money), finally came to control Him. Behold, now is the day of salvation! Let us look to Christ and live that we may be His witnesses of the blessed true happiness that comes from continual surrender to Christ in contrast to the misery and destruction that is in the path of sin, guilt and shame.
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As Jesus walked through this world, so we are called to walk. While His faithfulness to the Father's will led Him to uncomplainingly endure the trials that led to His crucifixion, He was constantly exerting a heavenly influence for the kingdom that He came to establish. We are invited to surrender all of our hearts to Christ so He can establish His kingdom of grace in our hearts. This is only possible as we receive and appropriate truth to our lives and characters. As we learn of Christ in humility, learning what it is to be still and know that He is God, we can take the time necessary for His life and lessons to exert such power upon us that we gladly yield to Christ. I appreciate the lessons we can gather from beholding Christ's trial before Pilate, for we are all by nature vacillating and weak without Christ's truth in our hearts. We need a Savior, and Christ offers Himself freely to us today just as surely as He offered Himself before Pilate as a living witness of the kingdom that will never pass away.
"My kingdom is not of this world," He said; "if My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is My kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto Him, Art Thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice."
Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could his ruined nature be reconstructed.
Will you receive the word of God into your soul? Christ, the word, will accomplish all He promises in the lives of those who are willing and obedient. The fruit of truly learning of Christ and yielding our will to Christ is that He comes to take up the throne of the heart and casts out sin, fear, and guilt through the merits of His atoning blood, and then He imparts His Spirit so that love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--will have an ever-widening influence in our lives so that we will be able, through Christ, to reveal what it is to live by the divine nature in every circumstance. Let us look upon Jesus and be transformed! This is the reason we exist (to bring God pleasure and to enjoy Him), and in Him we find life, and life more abundantly!
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By beholding Jesus there is converting grace strong enough to transform the vilest sinner (as I am, and as Paul understood, see 1 Timothy 1:15), and make us saints who have new hearts and minds, partakers of the divine nature!!
Jesus understands the most fierce and fiery temptations, and at Calvary Satan did everything He could to seek to drive Jesus to despair. But read Psalm 22, and you know that Christ was victor. "It is finished" came from His lips, even though His heart was broken by our sin, for He became sin for us. I am so thankful for Jesus as my Savior, for in Him I find strength to resist temptation--no matter how strong--as the power of what He did at Calvary impels me to remember that Satan has been vanquished, Christ is victorious, and by a living faith surrender to Christ, I may continually share in His victory to walk above the clamor of the world, the flesh and the devil by having Christ imbue me with the Holy Spirit so that every trait of His divine nature--not one missing--will be manifest as the reason He came to this planet. He came to save us to the uttermost. Let us allow Jesus to have all of us continually!!
Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as man's substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.
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Christ's death was victory, and as we identify fully with what He has accomplished at Calvary, it is as we die to self that victory also becomes our experience. Victory over what? The victory in Christ is over the world, the flesh, and the devil, for these antagonistic powers are constantly seeking to intercept the true glory of life: union and communion with God by the Holy Spirit given us in Christ. How may the victory be gained? By beholding the Lamb of God, true repentance is offered us as a gift, and the desire to be transformed is created in the soul. The soul, yielding to the divine agency of the Holy Spirit, yields the whole heart and mind by a simple surrender of the will, and a new being is created in the image of God. Even if ONLY ONE OF US would have chosen to experience this miracle (conversion), Jesus STILL would have come to die on Calvary and proclaim "It is finished." What value we have in the sight of God! Now may we go forth as happy, peaceful and obedient witnesses reflecting all of the Spirit without one missing as we keep Christ uppermost in our thoughts!
Well, then, might the angels rejoice as they looked upon the Saviour's cross; for though they did not then understand all, they knew that the destruction of sin and Satan was forever made certain, that the redemption of man was assured, and that the universe was made eternally secure. Christ Himself fully comprehended the results of the sacrifice made upon Calvary. To all these He looked forward when upon the cross He cried out, "It is finished."
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A strong, unshakable faith arose in the experience of Nicodemus after beholding the crucifixion of Christ. So it may be with us. As we behold what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us at Calvary, His loveliness can so move our hearts to a complete surrender that we will experience true conversion, and the fruit of that will be all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing, gladly doing what God's providence designs for us to do for the glory of God!!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
May we come through the season when the coronavirus has affected our world with a stronger faith as we use this time for deeper study of the character of God in His word, in His providential leadings, in communion with Him in, prayer, in meditation upon God's love, and enjoying the blessings He has for us in nature. Greater trials can yield greater blessings if we learn and profit from the experience.
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When we have an eternal perspective like Jesus had, in which He understood the result of His mission, whether we are sick, dying, in quarantine, or facing any other type of adversity (or blessing!) we can keep it all in perspective. I am so happy to find in Jesus the lasting source of life's joy that is not dependent upon changing circumstances (and yes, they are seemingly ever changing). May you, by a complete surrender to Christ, know the blessedness of a life in which fear of death or any other circumstance is swallowed up in the reality of the "blessed hope" (Titus 2:13) that Jesus is about to return, and that even if we have lost loved ones before He returns, if they have fully yielded to Christ and experienced His converting grace, then death is but a short "nap" so to speak before Jesus raises them to glorious, immortal life! With news this good, how can we be sad, and how can we be silent?! Let the world know the real hope is in Christ!!
To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," "he shall never taste of death." To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.
I remember when I was 15 at my mom's funeral in 2002 after she passed away from cancer sharing the hope that is in Christ. I still have that hope burning in my heart to this day, and it is a LIVING HOPE that the world needs now!
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Let us fix our eyes on the One who has power to save the uttermost, bring peace to the soul in every perplexity, and give strength to the weakest soul who surrenders fully to Him!!
We are more than conquerors through Christ who has loved us! What does that mean in our day-to-day, moment-by-moment experience? It means that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead has power to keep us from falling into sin! It means that the same good news that thrilled the hearts of the disciples when they realized Jesus was risen and not dead is the kind of good news we can give to the world because we know JESUS IS COMING AGAIN! When our focus is lifted above the things of this world onto Jesus, we have eternal joy and lasting pleasure! Let us be light bearers on the way to heaven because we know HE LIVES!!!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen." Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
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Praise the Lord for the privilege of being able to have our faith anchored in what is the most convincing evidence of Christ's divinity--that His life is a fulfillment of the prophecies given in the Old Testament! When we read incredible passages like Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and promises like Genesis 3:15, we see that the Bible establishes Christ as the Messiah in a way that the miracles of His life were an evidence of His divine character, but not the STRONGEST EVIDENCE. If we desire evidence of God's will, the strongest evidence is that what He is leading us to do is FROM THE SCRIPTURES. Even Satan and his evil angels at times are permitted to perform miracles for the purpose of deception (see Revelation 16:14), but only Christ and those who are in a converted union and communion with Him will bear evidence of lives that are to be found in complete harmony with Scripture, not only manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, but fulfilling their specific purpose in God's eternal plan. Let us allow our lives to be so shaped by the word of God that this becomes the reason why we do what we do, and let God bring miracles or other evidences if it is best. Even Christ never worked a miracle except to supply a genuine necessity, and He never worked a miracle for His own benefit (hence why He did not turn stones into bread for Himself as accorded in Matthew 4). We can depend completely on God to lead us each step of the way towards heaven because we have the heavenly guidebook, the Bible, a precious revelation of Jesus!!
It is the voice of Christ that speaks through patriarchs and prophets, from the days of Adam even to the closing scenes of time. The Saviour is revealed in the Old Testament as clearly as in the New. It is the light from the prophetic past that brings out the life of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty. The miracles of Christ are a proof of His divinity; but a stronger proof that He is the world's Redeemer is found in comparing the prophecies of the Old Testament with the history of the New.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105). May the light of God's perfect word direct you in the formation of a character after the image of Jesus, who promises by His Spirit to be "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
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God gives us true freedom of conscience. This is only fully experienced to its utmost capacity in complete surrender to Christ for His will alone to be done--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else. Let us yield unreservedly to Jesus so He may abide in our hearts and reveal the attributes of His divine nature to all with whom we come in contact both now and for eternity!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
Let us cooperate with Jesus today in His plan to bless the world with the light of His character. We are free to do God's will as we let the Holy Spirit direct our steps. May this freedom be more deeply appreciated than ever before as Jesus is about to return in power and great glory!
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Does Jesus know your unuttered desires? Yes! Jesus knew that Zacchaeus desired to see Him, and He knows that our deepest longing--whether we know it or not--is for Him! Jesus truly is the fulfillment of this prophecy: "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts" (Haggai 2:7). He is "the desire of all nations," and only in Him and in complete surrender to His will do we find an experience in which all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest without one missing in humble, self-distrustful obedience to God's law of love!
Above the clamor of priests and rabbis and the shouts of welcome from the multitude, that unuttered desire of the chief publican spoke to the heart of Jesus. Suddenly, just beneath the fig tree, a group halts, the company before and behind come to a standstill, and One looks upward whose glance seems to read the soul. Almost doubting his senses,the man in the tree hears the words, "Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house."
Let us invite Jesus into our hearts and homes, let us make Him all in all! As Christ is central, our hearts will become renewed by His grace to be His abiding place!
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What victory we find in Jesus!
"Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
Let us look upward to Jesus and allow Him to give us a new heart--filled with His love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance as we obey His law of love from a heart renewed by His grace!
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What does Jesus say through His prophet Hosea? "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help" (Hosea 13:9).
When the fig tree was cursed by Jesus it was a warning and a lesson for us, too!
The parable of the fig tree, spoken before Christ's visit to Jerusalem, had a direct connection with the lesson He taught in cursing the fruitless tree. For the barren tree of the parable the gardener pleaded, Let it alone this year, until I shall dig about it and dress it; and if it bear fruit, well; but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. Increased care was to be given the unfruitful tree. It was to have every advantage. But if it remained fruitless, nothing could save it from destruction. In the parable the result of the gardener's work was not foretold. It depended upon that people to whom Christ's words were spoken. They were represented by the fruitless tree, and it rested with them to decide their own destiny. Every advantage that Heaven could bestow was given them, but they did not profit by their increased blessings. By Christ's act in cursing the barren fig tree, the result was shown. They had determined their own destruction.
We are choosing our eternal destiny, for we reap what we sow, we reap more than what we sow, and we reap later than what we sow. God is letting things in our world reach a final harvest point so that the righteous and the wicked "go to seed" in the sense that they come to full maturity. We are invited to "go to seed" in Christ and bear much fruit to His glory! "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God" (Luke 8:11). Rather than have a fruitless experience, let us have roots deep in His word of love, branches reaching high to experience the "Sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4:2) and fruit that is from God as these which are all present when the heart is fully yielded to Christ: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
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God has infinite wisdom to cleanse us from ALL of our sins and to heal us from ALL of our diseases in His perfect way, timing, and plan. Let us see how Jesus ministered in the temple that He cleansed the second time:
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, and said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise? And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and He lodged there" (Matthew 21:12-17).
In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it "a sure foundation." The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a "tried stone." Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam's guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.
Let us learn of Christ and find in Him the rest and cleansing that only comes from His abiding presence! Surrendering the whole heart to Christ, He cleanses us from sin, renews our will to be cleansed from desiring evil, and imparts a freshness and vigor to all of the fruits of the Spirit that He brings in our lives that will not be missing as long as we abide in Him with a complete surrender! Wholehearted obedience then freely comes to Christ as we see in the Ten Commandments His path of freedom and the narrow way to heaven!
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Let us learn of God's love today, receiving into our experience to dispel our fear and impart freshness and vigor to all of our faculties! Only when the love of Christ constrains us will we consider it a delight to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate!
"And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, Thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but He: And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask Him any question" (Mark 12:28-34).
The scribe was near to the kingdom of God, in that he recognized deeds of righteousness as more acceptable to God than burnt offerings and sacrifices. But he needed to recognize the divine character of Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righteousness. The ritual service was of no value, unless connected with Christ by living faith. Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour. Christ had repeatedly shown that His Father's law contained something deeper than mere authoritative commands. In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man's duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.
Let us behold Jesus on Calvary's cross by faith, and as His grace melts and subdues our hearts, we will find in Christ transformation of character whereby the life comes into harmony with God's will, being a blessing to others as we reflect Jesus!! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we abide in Jesus continually!
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Look upon upon the countenance of Jesus as He yearns over His people: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:37-39).
Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" This is the separation struggle. In the lamentation of Christ the very heart of God is pouring itself forth. It is the mysterious farewell of the long-suffering love of the Deity.
As we look upon Jesus, we see that there is so much pain in His heart over His wayward children. Let us lessen the pain of the heart of God by helping others see His true character, for when even one sinner repents, all heaven rejoices! As we receive the gift of repentance from Jesus by beholding the goodness of God and realizing it true in our experience, others may also come a knowledge of the truth and turn in full surrender to Christ, so He may transform the life by His atoning blood and the infilling of the Holy Spirit! Let us yield fully to Jesus!!
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Let us continually choose Jesus! He is our strength in these extremely trying last days that culminate in the Time of Trouble, the Sunday Law crisis, the outpouring of the seven last plaques, and the glorious return of Christ in power and glory! We have every reason to be ALL IN for Jesus!! We live in the most exciting time of all!!
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.
Just as Jesus went to Calvary, God's people will be tried to the uttermost while continually choosing to remain vitally connected to the Holy Spirit as a living demonstration that Christ has power to reproduce His character in the weakest of the weak (the fallen race keeps degenerating from generation to generation). By putting ourselves in the center of God's will, we are thus placed in the place where we are needed most, and God can use us to draw souls to Him as we uplift Jesus CONTINUALLY!
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Let us patiently bear the trials as they come as we approach the great consummation of all our hopes: the second coming of Jesus!!
Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory. A multitude of shining angels will attend Him. He will come to raise the dead, and to change the living saints from glory to glory. He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise. There will be a relinking of the family chain. When we look upon our dead, we may think of the morning when the trump of God shall sound, when "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52. A little longer, and we shall see the King in His beauty. A little longer, and He will wipe all tears from our eyes. A little longer, and He will present us "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24. Wherefore, when He gave the signs of His coming He said, "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
As we look upward to Christ, not down at our difficulties, we are given increased strength of character for the way God is leading us day by day!
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Let us allow Jesus to accomplish in us His mission! "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
Those who minister to others will be ministered unto by the Chief Shepherd. They themselves will drink of the living water, and will be satisfied. They will not be longing for exciting amusements, or for some change in their lives. The great topic of interest will be, how to save the souls that are ready to perish. Social intercourse will be profitable. The love of the Redeemer will draw hearts together in unity.
Unity is the result of union with Christ. There was perfect unity in heaven until Lucifer was not content with the ministry entrusted to him as the covering cherub. Coveting the place of Christ, he wanted to be God. That was impossible. No created being can be God! May we learn the lesson that our truest happiness today and always is found in complete surrender to Christ and joyful conformity to God's will--which is high, noble and elevating!
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Let us realize the unity Christ offers us and experience it today by a complete surrender to Him!
The holy Watcher from heaven is present at this season to make it one of soul searching, of conviction of sin, and of the blessed assurance of sins forgiven. Christ in the fullness of His grace is there to change the current of the thoughts that have been running in selfish channels. The Holy Spirit quickens the sensibilities of those who follow the example of their Lord. As the Saviour's humiliation for us is remembered, thought links with thought; a chain of memories is called up, memories of God's great goodness and of the favor and tenderness of earthly friends. Blessings forgotten, mercies abused, kindnesses slighted, are called to mind. Roots of bitterness that have crowded out the precious plant of love are made manifest. Defects of character, neglect of duties, ingratitude to God, coldness toward our brethren, are called to remembrance. Sin is seen in the light in which God views it. Our thoughts are not thoughts of self-complacency, but of severe self-censure and humiliation. The mind is energized to break down every barrier that has caused alienation. Evil thinking and evilspeaking are put away. Sins are confessed, they are forgiven. The subduing grace of Christ comes into the soul, and the love of Christ draws hearts together in a blessed unity.
While it is often at the communion service that we seek to have differences between us and others reconciled, let us not wait for that time to seek to be the Christ-like missionaries that are true peacemakers who are seeking not to exalt self, but to save souls, and bring each heart to a complete surrender to Christ. Only in Him is there true rest from self and sin, and the happiness of His presence flows forth spontaneously!
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"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
And the Saviour had still another purpose. He had not withheld His ministry from him whom He knew to be a traitor. The disciples did not understand His words when He said at the feet washing, 'Ye are not all clean,' nor yet when at the table He declared, 'He that eateth bread with Me hath lifted up his heel against Me.' John 13:11, 18. But afterward, when His meaning was made plain, they had something to consider as to the patience and mercy of God toward the most grievously erring.
God is patient, but He also lets us choose. Let us remember how Jesus treated Judas as a lesson of why He is being so longsuffering with our world in its deeply wicked state, knowing that there will be many whose hearts will be touched by the exceedingly great loveliness of Jesus and yield fully to Christ and be saved at the eleventh hour of earth's history! When hearts fully yield to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit supernaturally flow forth from a heart renewed by divine grace, cleansed from selfishness, and imbued with His purity! What a miracle Jesus does by His grace for the whole universe to see!!
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Looking to Jesus we may have continual victory in His will! Let us look up to Christ continually! Surrendering our hearts to Christ is truest freedom and victory!
Christ rejoiced that He could do more for His followers than they could ask or think. He spoke with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; and that the bloodstained banner would wave triumphantly over His followers. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter.
Let us look away from self, upward to Christ, and experience God's constant victory! Uninterrupted victory is only possible when we abide in Christ and allow all of the fruits of the Spirit to flow through our lives in continual obedience to God's will!
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Even Jesus had to battle through depression and discouragement when He was contemplating the price to be paid for the human race. What an infinite sacrifice He made for us, so we, too, may fully overcome all sin in Him and remember the price He paid for us! What wondrous love is this!!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
Let us never forget the infinite love of Jesus! It is as we yield the whole heart to Him that He cleanses us from sin, creates in us a clean heart and a new mind, makes us partakers of the divine nature, and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so that our lives are brought into willing, happy obedience to all the commandments of God as revealed in the Ten Commandments, including the commandment that invites us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy! Praise the Lord for God's gift of His Son to us!
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"Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). Oh, let us realize our continual need of Jesus and why He desires us to be wide awake to behold Him in His sufferings so we can be prepared to face temptation--not alone, but with Him abiding in our hearts!
It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.
As we approach the time of trouble such as never was, we can learn from the experience of the disciples who slept in the Garden of Gethsemane that now is the time to be wide awake to look upon Jesus and the promises of His word! As we behold Jesus' loveliness and appreciate His character, knowing how much He suffered for us to make salvation possible, we will consider it a privilege to suffer for His dear name and be His witnesses to a world soon to perish! As we allow Christ to reign on the throne of our hearts by a continual surrender of our will to Him, He will signify His presence in and through us by manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in our lives, leading us to gladly obey the Ten Commandments which are a transcript of His character!
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The case of Judas is very similar to many people in our world today, and also many who are in the church. They are in a course of sin that keeps getting stronger the more they go in the wrong direction, but they are not beyond the possibility of repentance! Oh, let us do as Jesus did and give every soul EVERY reason to come to repentance and faith in Him! As Jesus washed Judas' feet, He gave Him the final appeal. May we never consider a soul unreachable--even if that soul will not yield to Christ. Let us look upon souls the way Jesus did, and give people the freedom to see the loveliness of Jesus which has power to melt and subdue hearts!!
But Judas was not yet wholly hardened. Even after he had twice pledged himself to betray the Saviour, there was opportunity for repentance. At the Passover supper Jesus proved His divinity by revealing the traitor's purpose. He tenderly included Judas in the ministry to the disciples. But the last appeal of love was unheeded. Then the case of Judas was decided, and the feet that Jesus had washed went forth to the betrayer's work.
Many today are making their final decision, but they may not realize that is what they are doing. By every sin we crucify Christ afresh and make it harder to yield to Him the next time. Let us not tamper with sin but turn from it. May today be a day be a day of rest from sin in your life and rejoicing in choosing to walk in harmony with Christ in true conversion, whereby He give us a new heart and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Only abiding in Christ are we able to truly obey the Ten Commandments!
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Our witness depends not so much upon what we say as upon what we are. Jesus' real character shone forth in His countenance and brought conviction to Pilate. Let us so deeply commune with God in these closing moments of earth's history that our countenances will reflect the loveliness of Jesus whom we may behold continually by grace through faith. His life is to be our experience; He died for our sins, and now He offers us His righteousness. When Christ is abiding in the heart moved by divine grace, it is because we have yielded our will to Him and chosen to allow the Holy Spirit to shape our characters, reflecting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as He guides our lives in harmonious obedience to the Ten Commandments.
Standing behind Pilate, in view of all in the court, Christ heard the abuse; but to all the false charges against Him He answered not a word. His whole bearing gave evidence of conscious innocence. He stood unmoved by the fury of the waves that beat about Him. It was as if the heavy surges of wrath, rising higher and higher, like the waves of the boisterous ocean, broke about Him, but did not touch Him. He stood silent, but His silence was eloquence. It was as a light shining from the inner to the outer man.
As our world becomes increasingly violent and immoral, let us ever remember how Christ treated everyone during His unjust trial. He was patient, calm and self-possessed, and He offers us the same experience by union and communion with Him! May His longing of soul for the salvation of those around us lead us to graciously reflect Jesus and present the present truth for this time, for Jesus is coming again in power and great glory!
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To compare the time to trouble that is about to come upon the whole world with what Christ endured on Calvary, we learn what will sustain the righteous who live through that time. "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (Daniel 12:1). Knowing that Christ stands for us, we can remember His character and how He has treated us in our life journey. Though God's people may feel utterly forsaken, and even though every earthly support may fail, Christ's victory on Calvary will be the victory of the triumphant saints who pass through that time, for Christ will come the second time in power and great glory. Let us learn the lessons now to prepare us for what is to come as an overmastering surprise to the world soon to perish! Let us live lives that invite ALL to repent and come to Christ while there is still time!!
Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.
This victory is for us. Let us walk in the victory in Christ by beholding His loveliness of character and accept His atoning blood to cleanse us from all sin, so that this amazing grace may melt and subdue our hearts, lead us to gladly yield our will to Him, and become partakers of the divine nature through appropriating His promises to our lives! As we do so, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our characters because Christ is abiding in us by a living faith surrender to Him! Such a life will be lived in happy obedience to all of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment that enjoins the observance of the seventh day Sabbath as the light comes to the soul!
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When Jesus comes in power and great glory VERY VERY VERY SOON, the righteous go to be with Him in heaven, but what is it that destroys the wicked? Notice how 2 Thessalonians 2:8 answers this: "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming."
This is not an act of arbitrary power on the part of God. The rejecters of His mercy reap that which they have sown. God is the fountain of life; and when one chooses the service of sin, he separates from God, and thus cuts himself off from life. He is "alienated from the life of God." Christ says, "All they that hate Me love death." Ephesians 4:18; Proverbs 8:36. God gives them existence for a time that they may develop their character and reveal their principles. This accomplished, they receive the results of their own choice. By a life of rebellion, Satan and all who unite with him place themselves so out of harmony with God that His very presence is to them a consuming fire. The glory of Him who is love will destroy them.
Everyone right now is making eternal decisions. We either choose to surrender to God, the Life-Giver, and thus enjoy eternal life with Him because we accept Jesus' atoning blood and allow Him to give us new hearts and minds imbued with all of the fruits of His Spirit without one missing, or we choose death. Life is defined in the Ten Commandments and will be gladly kept by all who have Jesus, the Author of these principles of life, in the heart! Another way to say it is that the Ten Commandments are "FREEDOM DEFINED"!! Why would someone choose death? It is because sin is deceptive, and the one who chooses sin may think that "this is better than what God has for me" or they may even not believe God exists. Why risk not believing in God? Oh, let us turn from the strange, insane infatuation with sin and YIELD to Christ and experience LIFE FOREVER!!! Please join me in the adventure of letting God give you life and life more abundantly starting NOW!!!
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Is your faith wavering? Are you struggling to really believe? Look to Calvary, and as it happened in Nicodemus' life when He saw Jesus dying for Him on Calvary's cross, faith was made sure for He knew that all Jesus said was true, and the faith that works by love moved Nicodemus to be willing to be "all in" for Jesus. As Jesus is about to come in power and great glory, let us not only look to Calvary, but by faith see Him finishing His ministry as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven from whence He is so soon to come and take all who have overcome in Him home to heaven!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
Unwavering faith is the faith of Jesus. Christ offers that to you and me today as we yield the whole heart to Him and let Christ abide in us. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing when Christ is abiding in us by a living faith surrender to Him! Then the obedience that Christ is calling us to experience becomes a delight! May this be our experience this day and continually!
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Jesus loves you and is personally interested in your happiness. He offers you His endless life because He has conquered sin and death. No matter how great your present trials or how difficult your past has been, by looking unto Jesus, we all may freely find healing for all the diseases and disorders of our souls, experiencing the power of the gospel of His grace whereby our lives are brought into loving obedience to His law as He manifests through us all the fruits of His divine nature without one trait missing!
The voice that cried from the cross, "It is finished," was heard among the dead. It pierced the walls of sepulchers, and summoned the sleepers to arise. Thus will it be when the voice of Christ shall be heard from heaven. That voice will penetrate the graves and unbar the tombs, and the dead in Christ shall arise. At the Saviour's resurrection a few graves were opened, but at His second coming all the precious dead shall hear His voice, and shall come forth to glorious, immortal life. The same power that raised Christ from the dead will raise His church, and glorify it with Him, above all principalities, above all powers, above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come.
Victory! Victory in Jesus! The goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus and bring others to Him! Let us always allow the same resurrection life of Jesus that raised Him from the dead to keep us on a moment-by-moment basis from sin because we have found something infinitely better: God's love that heals us and gives us peace that passes all understanding!
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Be of good courage! Though things will get worse in this world before Jesus, comes, HE IS COMING AGAIN!! "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen" (Revelation 1:7). As surely as Jesus rose from the dead, He will come again in power and great glory the second time to take all who have been saved by His grace to be with Him for ALL ETERNITY!! As you look upon Jesus and realize His infinite love, remember how much He loves you and patiently bear each trial He allows for your good so that your character may be refined and elevated to reflect Him! As we yield the whole heart to Jesus, He cleanses and renews the mind and heart by His atoning blood, imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing, and gives us the miraculous experience of affectionate obedience to all His commandments!!
Christ's first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb, and could no longer be held by the enemy death; to reveal that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their beloved Teacher, He appeared to them again and again. He would draw the bonds of love still closer around them. Go tell My brethren, He said, that they meet Me in Galilee.
Let us meet Jesus when He comes AGAIN!! Look up and be of happy that He will fulfill His word!! "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).
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While things may get darker in our world through a misapprehension and misunderstanding of God's character of love, let us look to the RISEN CHRIST who is SOON TO RETURN in power and great glory to take home to heaven all who have yielded their lives fully to Him! As we look to Christ, the light of His countenance shines upon us! "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee" (Isaiah 60:1). As surely as the disciples on the road to Emmaus found hope in Jesus who anchored their faith in His word, let us find in the word of God the anchor for our souls in the troubles we face and in the great time of trouble to transpire before Jesus returns, knowing that He will lighten our darkness by the sure word of His truth!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
Share the glad tidings of Jesus as a living Savior far and wide! As we behold His loveliness, He lifts our hearts into His presence, forgives our sins, renews our minds, and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Such a life testifies that obedience is a delight in Christ! Let the light of His love shine through you this day!
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I look forward to the resurrection when Jesus will raise the dead in Christ and all will receive glorious, new bodies who have yielded fully to Him!
The resurrection of Jesus was a type of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him. The countenance of the risen Saviour, His manner, His speech, were all familiar to His disciples. As Jesus arose from the dead, so those who sleep in Him are to rise again. We shall know our friends, even as the disciples knew Jesus. They may have been deformed, diseased, or disfigured, in this mortal life, and they rise in perfect health and symmetry; yet in the glorified body their identity will be perfectly preserved. Then shall we know even as also we are known. 1 Corinthians 13:12. In the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, we shall recognize the lineaments of those we love.
And today we may have the joy of full salvation in the beholding Jesus Christ! Inviting Him into the heart leads us to go forth to bless others as He lives out His life within us whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen without one missing! Galatians 5:22-23.
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Jesus goes before us to direct the path we are to take to heaven. Let us remember that our temptations have already been mastered by One who suffered in temptation by always chose to trust His Father and rely upon the word of God! "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16). Let us learn the lesson Peter also needed to learn--and not run ahead of God, but let Him lead us as we take up our duties in love patiently and wisely!
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
As we look to Jesus we find a perfect Savior and Example in His life of self-denial. What wondrous love is this that He came to save us from ourselves and make us like Him in mind and character by giving us a new heart and a new mind imbued with His Spirit so His character may be fully reflected in Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and truth (Exodus 20:1-17)!
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Let us give the message Christ has entrusted to us!!
In the commission to His disciples, Christ not only outlined their work, but gave them their message. Teach the people, He said, "to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The disciples were to teach what Christ had taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament, is here included. Human teaching is shut out. There is no place for tradition, for man's theories and conclusions, or for church legislation. No laws ordained by ecclesiastical authority are included in the commission. None of these are Christ's servants to teach. "The law and the prophets," with the record of His own words and deeds, are the treasure committed to the disciples to be given to the world. Christ's name is their watchword, their badge of distinction, their bond of union, the authority for their course of action, and the source of their success. Nothing that does not bear His superscription is to be recognized in His kingdom.
As we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and feed upon His word, we can gladly and boldly share with others what will uplift the soul from the ruin and degradation of sin to receive new hearts as they become partakers of the divine nature whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing! What joy to live in harmony with the will of God as revealed in His law--the definition of freedom!
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I am so thankful that I have been freshly brought into Jesus' presence by beholding Him and seeing the precious promises in the Bible so powerfully highlighted in His experience! I love that He is not satisfied until we are all with Him!!
But He waves them back. Not yet; He cannot now receive the coronet of glory and the royal robe. He enters into the presence of His Father. He points to His wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet; He lifts His hands, bearing the print of nails. He points to the tokens of His triumph; He presents to God the wave sheaf, those raised with Him as representatives of that great multitude who shall come forth from the grave at His second coming. He approaches the Father, with whom there is joy over one sinner that repents; who rejoices over one with singing. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled. When upon the cross He cried out, “It is finished,” He addressed the Father. The compact had been fully carried out. Now He declares: Father, it is finished. I have done Thy will, O My God. I have completed the work of redemption. If Thy justice is satisfied, “I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.” John 19:30; 17:24.
Let us keep looking to Christ and surrendering UNRESERVEDLY to His will on a moment-by-moment basis so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be manifest in our lives without one missing as we live the law of heaven with affectionate willingness!!
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God is so genius. Really. Always. Constantly. He takes ALL THE BAD STUFF that the devil intends to use to separate us from Jesus, and then revolutionizes the experience into a song and science whereby through the cross of Christ we are brought into a closer intimacy with God than if the sin and bad stuff had not happened. The only condition for us? Look to Jesus and yield the WHOLE heart to Him!! While we should not intentionally sin (and why would we if we truly love God and know His plan is best?), but if we make mistakes, and as this planet has been plunged into the sin pandemic since Adam and Eve sinned, let us rejoice that Jesus came to bring us into oneness with God!! What a blessedness!!
The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God's grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died,--here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, "and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift,--Immanuel, "God with us."
God is with you right now. You may not feel Him, but that is where love is experienced BY FAITH! When God says He is with us, we can trust Him and let Him deliver us from all of our sins, heal us into His image, and fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Then because He shows us the definition of the freedom in the universe (Hint: it's the Ten Commandments) we gladly walk in harmony with these declarations of continual dependence upon Jesus in order to do any good thing!! What love is this that we find in Christ! Share it! Sing it! Live it!!
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May we allow Jesus to enter into our hearts today, to abide there on a moment-by-moment basis. Only He can give us the true faithfulness that we need, and He invites us by beholding His loveliness to cooperate with Him in the most blessed experience--winning souls to see them enjoy eternal blessedness in reflecting His divine image!
Had Israel been true to God, He could have accomplished His purpose through their honor and exaltation. If they had walked in the ways of obedience, He would have made them "high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor." "All people of the earth," said Moses, "shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee." "The nations which shall hear all these statutes" shall say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:10; Deuteronomy 4:6. But because of their unfaithfulness, God's purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.
Let us choose faithfulness. Yielding our sinful hearts to Christ, He gives us a new one imbued with His character traits without one missing! As one of the fruits of the Spirit, faithfulness can only come from a living union and communion with Christ. As we acknowledge our continual need of Jesus, He will lead us in the path that is best both now and for all of eternity!
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What a blessing it is to let Christ transform our character. Only Christ has the wisdom and the grace to restore what sin has ruined. Let us look away from self to Christ and allow Him to transform us fully into His image!!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
Beauty of character is the effect of union and communion with God by a complete surrender of the will to Christ. As Christ lives in us by faith, He heals the disorders of our sin-sick souls and imparts to us a heavenly freshness of His life--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we turn away from the vain works of the flesh! What joy!!
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When we think of the risk that our Heavenly Father took in sending Jesus to our dark planet to bring light and salvation, it can be an immense encouragement to know that God will provide for each of us and lead us in the path that leads to eternal life. Let us receive His word, His plan, and His character so He may reveal His grace in and through us!
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
What wondrous love we see in Christ! The goodness of God leads us to repentance whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in and through our lives! What joy to abide in Christ!
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God knows our thoughts. But it is as we see Jesus, that our thoughts become clear. We realize that in and of ourselves, apart from God, our "best" thoughts are still selfish and evil, for by nature we are separated from God. But when we yield the whole heart to Christ and accept His grace by the power of His blood to transform the heart and the mind, He imbues us with the Holy Spirit so all the attributes of the divine nature will be manifest in and through us. Then the thoughts He implants from His word will bear fruit to His glory from a character that is fashioned after the divine similitude. Oh, let us more fully appreciate the power of right thinking and acting when Christ the hope of glory lives in us!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
Let us be thankful that the greatest happiness that can be found in this world or in the world made new is from loving Jesus. As we realize this, it will refocus our priorities and prayers, guiding us to choose what is enduring. Let us guard jealously the hours for prayer and Bible study so we can behold the loveliness of Jesus and become like Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered!
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What is great faith? It is dependence upon the word of God to do what the word of God says it will do. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). But what motivates the faith to become active in the life? Grace, or the infinite love of God extended to those who do not deserve it! "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:8-10). Though the magi did not deserve to be among the first to welcome the Savior to this world, they were open to what God had revealed to them, and they had an incredible experience in beholding the loveliness of Jesus in person! Oh, let us come Christ morning by morning, moment-by-moment, and in beholding His love let His faith lead us to give all we have to Him--yielding the whole heart so He may abide in us, cleansing us from all sin, and imbuing us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Only as we abide in Christ by a continual surrender to Him is His saving grace through faith made active in our experience!!
"When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshiped Him." Beneath the lowly guise of Jesus, they recognized the presence of Divinity. They gave their hearts to Him as their Saviour, and then poured out their gifts,--"gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." What a faith was theirs! It might have been said of the wise men from the East, as afterward of the Roman centurion, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matthew 8:10.
What joy it is to walk by faith. Let us trust the Holy Spirit to lead this day and each day in the path of faith made active by love. We herald now the soon coming of Jesus in power and great glory, and our experience may grow sweeter every day in Him!!
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Trials mean benefit. They keep us on guard. The fact that Jesus was placed in a very trying place should encourage us that while we live in a very trying time in earth's history, just before Jesus returns, that He will give us strength to meet the emergencies of our life experiences, grace to surrender the whole heart to Him and be in a converted, abiding union and communion with Him, and freedom to walk in affectionate obedience to Christ whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in and through the life to the glory of God's name!
Christ was the only sinless one who ever dwelt on earth; yet for nearly thirty years He lived among the wicked inhabitants of Nazareth. This fact is a rebuke to those who think themselves dependent upon place, fortune, or prosperity, in order to live a blameless life. Temptation, poverty, adversity, is the very discipline needed to develop purity and firmness.
When we go through trials and difficulties, let us not forget the promise God has given us that will not fail: "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). Will you turn to Christ in every difficulty? As we do, we find Him growing us in His image and giving us the grace to bear the experiences of that day, that we may be more like our Savior!
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What a blessing it is to receive the gospel remedy for backsliding and lukewarmness! If the connection with Christ has been broken up by our own neglect or conscious choice, He seeks us out, and offered us His gold tried in the fire (faith working by love), white raiment (His righteousness by faith) and eyesalve (that we may receive by the Holy Spirit a true sense of our continual need of Christ and have all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we behold the loveliness of Jesus). May we ever feel our continual need of Christ, and surrender to Him on a moment-by-moment basis!
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:14-22).
In our association with one another, we should take heed lest we forget Jesus, and pass along unmindful that He is not with us. When we become absorbed in worldly things so that we have no thought for Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered, we separate ourselves from Jesus and from the heavenly angels. These holy beings cannot remain where the Saviour's presence is not desired, and His absence is not marked. This is why discouragement so often exists among the professed followers of Christ.
Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence.
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
Let us be happy in Christ today by allowing Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure. While the times around us are full of trial and perplexity, the heart stayed upon Christ may have peace that passes all understanding, along with every trait of the divine nature!
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What a blessing it is to realize how Jesus walked on this earth, and how His life may become our life experience by grace through faith, yielding the whole heart to Him and allowing Him to reflect through us all of the attributes of the divine nature, so not one of those precious fruits of His Spirit will be lacking from our lives!
Yet through childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus walked alone. In His purity and His faithfulness, He trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him. He carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Filled with intense purpose, He carried out the design of His life that He Himself should be the light of men.
God calls us to let our light shine. Today, as you keep your eyes fixed by faith on Jesus, look away from self to the bright beams of His righteousness! May this promise be your experience today: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
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As we look upon Jesus, the sinless One, we see our need of a clean heart. This He freely gives to all who ask Him for it, and who let Him cleanse them from sin by imputing and imparting His righteousness. He is seeking us even now and desiring to offer us something vastly better than what we would choose for ourselves. May this be our prayer today: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
In the time of John the Baptist, Christ was about to appear as the revealer of the character of God. His very presence would make manifest to men their sin. Only as they were willing to be purged from sin could they enter into fellowship with Him. Only the pure in heart could abide in His presence.
Jesus is coming very soon and as we allow Him to transform us into His lovely image, we will experience all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives and gladly walk in obedience to His will. Nothing good will He withhold from those who walk uprightly!
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As we contemplate the Savior's baptism, an important truth unfolds before our hearts and minds. We see that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). God is the one who offers us the gift of His love that draws upon the heart. All who respond to the drawing, constraining, infinite love of God may have abundant entrance into His kingdom as they experience His grace through saving, surrendered faith that purifies the heart and mind and imbues the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such a life is gladly brought into harmony with the law of freedom from sin revealed in the Ten Commandments!
None among the hearers, and not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of these words, "the Lamb of God." Upon Mount Moriah, Abraham had heard the question of his son, "My father, . . . where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The father answered, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Genesis 22:7, 8. And in the ram divinely provided in the place of Isaac, Abraham saw a symbol of Him who was to die for the sins of men. The Holy Spirit through Isaiah, taking up the illustration, prophesied of the Saviour, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter," "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:7, 6); but the people of Israel had not understood the lesson. Many of them regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked upon their sacrifices,--as gifts by which they themselves might propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.
May we look away from ourselves to the true motivation for serving God--the love that led Him to give His only begotten Son so we may be ransomed and exalted into His eternal kingdom to fulfill a purpose that is higher than our highest human thoughts can think!
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Temptations may not be comfortable to face. But in them we may always flee to Christ who is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Thus, we see the access point of deliverance in this promise: "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).
When every earthly support is cut off for those who choose to follow God by a living union and communion with Him as they obey the Ten Commandments by the faith of Jesus at work in their lives by His infinite love that has transformed them by the Holy Spirit, it will be so important to keep the focus on Christ who alone has power to uphold us in every time of trial, even the time of trouble such as never was. Let us not forget that His victory is ours by His faith by His grace! We reach out our hand and grasp it today by beholding Him and yielding the whole heart to Christ!! Then the fruit of such faith is that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be in our lives without one missing!
Not without a struggle could Jesus listen in silence to the arch-deceiver. But the Son of God was not to prove His divinity to Satan, or to explain the reason of His humiliation. By conceding to the demands of the rebel, nothing for the good of man or the glory of God would be gained. Had Christ complied with the suggestion of the enemy, Satan would still have said, Show me a sign that I may believe you to be the Son of God. Evidence would have been worthless to break the power of rebellion in his heart. And Christ was not to exercise divine power for His own benefit. He had come to bear trial as we must do, leaving us an example of faith and submission. Neither here nor at any subsequent time in His earthly life did He work a miracle in His own behalf. His wonderful works were all for the good of others. Though Jesus recognized Satan from the beginning, He was not provoked to enter into controversy with him. Strengthened with the memory of the voice from heaven, He rested in His Father's love. He would not parley with temptation.
Let us not invite temptation by going in a direction that we know makes it more difficult to hear God's still, small voice leading us on step-by-step to heaven. Let us realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing!
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What a privilege it is to realize the value of the salvation offered us in Christ. His victory becomes ours by a living faith experience as we yield the whole heart to Him because His love attracts us and motivates us to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate. Only in eternity will the value of what we have been offered more fully unfold before us. So let us value it now more and more each day as we look upon Jesus and live!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
The more fully we contemplate the loveliness of Jesus, the more the things of this world look like dimness and darkness by contrast. Let not the focus be for the things that pass away, but for the things which will never pass away: the word of God, the soul transformed by His grace, and the souls that are saved by the witness Christ is effecting in our lives!
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If someone asked you if you loved God, and you realized your weakness and lack of love in and of yourself, the good news is that you can go to God to receive the love that is to flow back to Him. Only by love is love awakened, and as we behold the loveliness of Jesus and see His perfect character, we see our deep need of His love to transform our hearts. He turns no one away. Do not stay away because you do not "feel" good enough, for Christ came to save the ungodly (we are all qualified). As we acknowledge our sinfulness, yield the whole heart to Him, and experience the power of His transforming grace, He gives us a new heart and a new mind that is filled with love--and all that accompanies that love: joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as promised in Galatians 5:22-23). Then the life of obedience that Christ invited us to live that once seemed impossible is seen to be a delight as it really is by abiding in Him!
It is contrition and faith and love that enable the soul to receive wisdom from heaven. Faith working by love is the key of knowledge, and everyone that loveth "knoweth God." 1 John 4:7.
May the love of Christ so fill your life today that His promise is fulfilled: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18). Let the love of Christ cast out all selfish fear and instead give you the power and sound mind that is the fruit of His love in the life so you may walk even as Jesus walked!
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We need Jesus to abide in our hearts in order for our sins to be cast out and for His presence to keep us from returning to the path of sin and selfishness! HE IS ABLE!! Let us fully yield to Jesus so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing!!
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb. 7:25. Though the ministration was to be removed from the earthly to the heavenly temple; though the sanctuary and our great high priest would be invisible to human sight, yet the disciples were to suffer no loss thereby. They would realize no break in their communion, and no diminution of power because of the Saviour's absence. While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. He is withdrawn from the eye of sense, but His parting promise is fulfilled, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20. While He delegates His power to inferior ministers, His energizing presence is still with His church.
Jesus will energize you with the Holy Spirit so He can work in and through you to accomplish His good pleasure! We were made of His pleasure (Revelation 4:11), and it pleases Him that we avail ourselves of His cleansing grace!! He is able to keep us from falling by the power of His word!
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We need to be converted daily, and abide in the converting, renewing grace of God on a moment-by-moment basis!
"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit" (John 3:5-8).
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself in every act of him who has felt its saving power. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God.
But how does the Spirit of God renew us? What motivates the heart to yield FULLY to Jesus? "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:14-17).
By beholding the loveliness of Jesus, and meditating upon the infinite love of God the Father who gave His only begotten Son to the shameful death of Calvary, we are enabled to truly experience a renewing of the our hearts and minds by the supernatural agency of the Holy Spirit. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we live by faith upon Him, gladly living the principles of the law of God with affectionate obedience!
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Let us keep our focus on Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Our part, though small, is to behold Him in HIs loveliness and yield the entire heart to Him! Then we will be glad to say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, John had risen to the height of self-abnegation. He sought not to attract men to himself, but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher, until they should rest upon the Lamb of God. He himself had been only a voice, a cry in the wilderness. Now with joy he accepted silence and obscurity, that the eyes of all might be turned to the Light of life.
May this day be filled with the joy of self-abnegation--letting God direct your steps and guide you in His selflessness. Only in perfect acquiescence is perfect rest. Then all of the fruits of the Sprite flow spontaneously from a life that is in union and communion with Christ!
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Are you satisfied? If you are looking for anything in this world to supply that sense of want, it will always prove to be unsatisfying. Nothing earthly can satisfy us, because we were made in the image of God. Only as we receive the faith that comes from God will there be true satisfaction. We need to realize our continual need of Jesus and yield the whole heart to Him so He can truly satisfy us, keeping every earthly blessing--even water and food--in their proper place. Then, with heart yielded to Him totally, all of the fruits of the Sprit will be seen in the life without one missing, for the life-giving Spirit flowing in the converted soul is the living water that truly does satisfy--and gives us a new capacity and desire for more and more from God that we may also impart to others!! "Therefore with joy shall ye draw waters from the well of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).
Jesus did not convey the idea that merely one draft of the water of life would suffice the receiver. He who tastes of the love of Christ will continually long for more; but he seeks for nothing else. The riches, honors, and pleasures of the world do not attract him. The constant cry of his heart is, More of Thee. And He who reveals to the soul its necessity is waiting to satisfy its hunger and thirst. Every human resource and dependence will fail. The cisterns will be emptied, the pools become dry; but our Redeemer is an inexhaustible fountain. We may drink, and drink again, and ever find a fresh supply. He in whom Christ dwells has within himself the fountain of blessing,--"a well of water springing up into everlasting life." From this source he may draw strength and grace sufficient for all his needs.
Let us go to Christ just as we are--no matter how satisfied we are with what He is to us now or how unsatisfied we may feel. He is the ANSWER in the drought of this world's desert!
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We are fallen beings, and as such, until Christ has the ENTIRE heart, our motives in seeking Him will still be selfish--but He does not turn us away from Him! We can come to Him as we are, and we may find healing in His presence! Let us look to Christ and persevere in prayer, knowing He DOES want to answer our prayers in a way that not only brings us to true conversion (total surrender in abiding in His will so we allow His blood to cleanse us from all sin in true repentance so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing). Then the trial turns to a benefit, and we have a testimony of His grace to share with others of what Christ has done for us!
Like a flash of light, the Saviour's words to the nobleman laid bare his heart. He saw that his motives in seeking Jesus were selfish. His vacillating faith appeared to him in its true character. In deep distress he realized that his doubt might cost the life of his son. He knew that he was in the presence of One who could read the thoughts, and to whom all things were possible. In an agony of supplication he cried, "Sir, come down ere my child die." His faith took hold upon Christ as did Jacob, when, wrestling with the Angel, he cried, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." Genesis 32:26.
Like Jacob he prevailed. The Saviour cannot withdraw from the soul that clings to Him, pleading its great need. "Go thy way," He said; "thy son liveth." The nobleman left the Saviour's presence with a peace and joy he had never known before. Not only did he believe that his son would be restored, but with strong confidence he trusted in Christ as the Redeemer.
No matter how much the world seems to be falling apart, our lives may be held in the palm of God's hand by His divine grace as we choose Him continually! We need Jesus continually in order to do any good thing!
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Let us realize there are only two paths in life--the path of eternal life and the path of eternal death. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11). There are many ways to walk the path of eternal death. Satan tries to make it look fun and inviting with lots of distractions and delusions, but in the end, it leads to death--separation from God and His infinite plan of blessing for the life He created. But as we yield the will to Christ because we are drawn by His loveliness of character, we see that He has a plan for our lives that exceeds our highest expectations! He renews our hearts and minds with His selflessness and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so that not one is missing! Then duty becomes a delight, and sacrifice a pleasure! Let us allow God to chart our destiny, and praise Him as our Provider, for all the things needful for this life and the life to come are already ours in Christ!!
The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.
Dependence upon God is our real condition, and when we appreciate all He is to us and all He does for us, we may gladly be "ALL IN" for Him. Would you like to yield completely to Christ today? If so, you may rejoice in His purpose being fulfilled in and through you! What a blessing!
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How does divinity really reveal itself? What was seen in Jesus' life? The evidence of His divinity was seen in its adaptation to the needs of suffering humanity. His glory was shown in His condescension to our low estate.
And Jesus offers us this same character! This is His promise: "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
When the Holy Spirit takes full possession of the heart and mind that is surrendered unreservedly to Christ, Christ's blood atones for the sin of the soul, a new heart and mind is given! Thus, there is such healing and transformation when we live by faith on the Son of God so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing is seen in a life of true, affectionate obedience to all of the commandments of God! Let us go forth to bless others as God provides for all our needs and leads us to bless others!
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Jesus wants us to understand what is happening in our world and what is so soon to come to pass. As Jesus ministers in the sanctuary in heaven, ministering cleanse the record of those who have confessed and forsaken their sin in true repentance by beholding His loveliness and yielding the entire heart and mind to Him, how He longs to give us the moral courage to stand victorious in the closing moments of earth's history! All who yield in total faith surrender by His grace will be filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! As the seven last plagues described in Revelation 16 will fall upon the world after Jesus finishes His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, only those who have received the seal of the living God (applied by the Holy Spirit, and which is seen in keeping all of the commandments of God, including the fourth commandment that enjoins us to remember the Sabbath of the seventh day to keep it holy) will be spared the unutterable agony of those judgments that fall upon the wicked without mercy. Oh, let us make use of the time of probation now! Let us search the Scriptures that we may see Jesus high and lifted up, and in beholding Him, have every desire and aspiration bound up with His plan to save the world from the ruin that is so swift to come!!
“The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants and prophets.” While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29. God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures.
God is not trying to hide things from the world. He desires ALL to be saved! But alas, how few are willing to yield to Him! Let us not grow discouraged in the good fight of faith, but keep presenting Christ as the center of prophecy, studying the books of Daniel and Revelation together as they give us PRESENT TRUTH that Jesus is SO SOON TO COME--an event that is the ultimate deliverance of the righteous, but that which destroys the wicked by the brightness of His coming, for sin cannot exist in the full glorious presence of God. There is still time to repent! Look to Jesus even now, and there is still hope!! What wondrous love God has manifested in being SO SO PATIENT with us and with our world--but soon His judgements will fall in full measure, and now is the day of salvation!!
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Christ is being SUPER patient with us—let us avail ourselves of these closing seconds of earth’s history and receive and exercise the gift of true repentance offered us in Him by a total surrender!!
Not without one more call to repentance could He give them up. Toward the close of His ministry in Galilee, He again visited the home of His childhood. Since His rejection there, the fame of His preaching and His miracles had filled the land. None now could deny that He possessed more than human power. The people of Nazareth knew that He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by Satan. About them were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness in any house; for He had passed through them, and healed all their sick. The mercy revealed in every act of His life testified to His divine anointing.
We see Jesus’ character that attracts us to Him! Look and live!
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God sees the end from the beginning. It is so encouraging to remember that Jesus thought of us when He was in His ministry on earth!
Beside the throng on the shores of Gennesaret, Jesus in His sermon by the sea had other audiences before His mind. Looking down the ages, He saw His faithful ones in prison and judgment hall, in temptation and loneliness and affliction. Every scene of joy and conflict and perplexity was open before Him. In the words spoken to those gathered about Him, He was speaking also to these other souls the very words that would come to them as a message of hope in trial, of comfort in sorrow, and heavenly light in darkness. Through the Holy Spirit, that voice which was speaking from the fisherman's boat on the Sea of Galilee, would be heard speaking peace to human hearts to the close of time.
Let Jesus speak lasting peace to your heart--a peace that passes all understanding in the trials and tribulations of this moral life that will soon be swallowed up in glory by the coming of Jesus! As we yield the whole heart to Christ He cleanses us from sin by His atoning blood, imparts to us a living union and communion with Him by the Holy Spirit, and empowers us to happily obey God's law of love!
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The light of the glory of God as seen in the face of Jesus Christ is shining brighter and brighter in our world! Let us surrender unreservedly to Christ today so He may shine the light of His love through us whereby all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit's presence may be revealed in our lives! Then we will go forth in affectionate obedience to God's law of love, for our highest delight is in doing His service!
The Sun of Righteousness did not burst upon the world in splendor, to dazzle the senses with His glory. It is written of Christ, "His going forth is prepared as the morning." Hosea 6:3. Quietly and gently the daylight breaks upon the earth, dispelling the shadow of darkness, and waking the world to life. So did the Sun of Righteousness arise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2.
The gradually increasing brightness of the sunlight is a reminder of how God keeps shedding more and more light upon our life path as we follow Christ, the Light of the world! May this be your experience today so others are drawn to Jesus, too!
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Let us remember that when God answers prayer, it is always in the best way and the best time. But when we truly come to Christ in full surrender and repent of sin, confessing and forsaking it, we can know that God pardons IMMEDIATELY! What a blessing to know that sin need not weigh us down as we come to Christ who has power to forgive sin and restore us to His moral image! Then in the life surrendered totally to Christ, we may enjoy the experience of having all of the fruits of the Sprit in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love from the heart and mind renewed by divine grace!
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Galatians 1:4. And "this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5:14, 15. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
Let us remember how much God loves us this entire day and cultivate the intimacy that He is seeking with us. Only sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), and He desires us to have nothing between our souls and Him! May we walk with God even as Enoch did, and as the healed paralytic and healed leper walked in the joy of total restoration!
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What does God desire?
“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.
Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life of every soul fully surrendered to Jesus! His love will lead to happy obedience to His law of freedom!
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Jesus gave us the Sabbath to be a blessing as we rest in Him. Each week as the sun sets on Friday night, Christ is inviting us to enjoy a day devoted to our relationship with Him as we rest from our business cares and find joy in fellowship with Him, others, and nature! As the Sabbath comes to a close each Saturday evening at sunset, Christ invites us to carry the blessings of His rest into the new week so we may be strengthened to do His will!
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.
If it is your desire to rest fully in Christ, would you also like to embrace the joyful rest He offers us in the gift of the seventh day Sabbath? When Christ has the whole heart, we gladly obey His will revealed in His word, for His commandments are definitional freedom from sin found only by abiding in Christ! Then the heart completely surrendered to Christ is renewed by His divine grace and will spontaneously bring forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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The gospel truth is revealed in how by beholding the character of Christ, we will become transformed into His image. The heart and mind are renewed as we yield the will to Christ, choosing His divine merit (grace) to renew us by His atoning blood that blots out our sins and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then the law of love as seen in the Ten Commandments and lived in the life of Jesus will become our joyful experience!
Jesus reproved His disciples, He warned and cautioned them; but John and his brethren did not leave Him; they chose Jesus, notwithstanding the reproofs. The Saviour did not withdraw from them because of their weakness and errors. They continued to the end to share His trials and to learn the lessons of His life. By beholding Christ, they became transformed in character.
As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save. Christ took upon Himself humanity, that He might reach humanity. Divinity needed humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man. So with the servants and messengers of Christ. Man needs a power outside of and beyond himself, to restore him to the likeness of God, and enable him to do the work of God; but this does not make the human agency unessential. Humanity lays hold upon divine power, Christ dwells in the heart by faith; and through co-operation with the divine, the power of man becomes efficient for good.
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What a miracle takes place as we behold the loveliness of Jesus and surrender fully to Him on a continual basis!
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” The sense of unworthiness will lead the heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and this desire will not be disappointed. Those who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied. The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not rest short of the fullness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled."
What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit not cease to work in our hearts the transformation and gracious work that He alone can accomplish! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, but indeed these fruits--traits of the divine nature accessible to us by God's word--will be richer and more abundant the more we commune with Christ in every life experience!
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Speak but the word, and my servant shall be healed.
God did speak the Word--Jesus--and by Him we are healed as we to Him our hearts fully yield. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will flow in our lives without one missing!
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A complete surrender is the key to abiding in Christ. The motivation for the surrender is beholding His loveliness of character so clearly revealed at Calvary!
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.
God can keep the weakest soul who yields fully to Him. We need not be discouraged in the battle of life, for we may have the Victor, Christ Himself, living in our hearts by the Holy Spirit! Cooperation with Christ always means victory as revealed in the life filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Then we may gladly walk in the path of obedience (freedom defined) that God has shown us in the Ten Commandments and as exemplified in the life of Jesus! He is soon to return and promises to keep us moment by moment! "I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day" (Isaiah 27:3).
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What a privilege it is to yield the whole heart to Christ now so He gives us the blessing of heavenly union and communion with Him by the Holy Spirit!!
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 Bible clearly shows that God desires us to experience heaven while still on earth: "That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth" (Deuteronomy 11:21). I choose to yield fully to Jesus so He may bring forth in the new heart and mind that He creates by His grace, and thus He gives me all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Will yield fully to Him, too?
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What a blessing that the two demoniacs Jesus healed were sent forth to share their testimony! As we are transformed by God's grace that can convert a rebellious sinner into a repentant child of God who has received a new heart and mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit, we can gladly walk in the path He chooses for us--the path of obedience to the Ten Commandment law of love!
And souls that have been degraded into instruments of Satan are still through the power of Christ transformed into messengers of righteousness, and sent forth by the Son of God to tell what "great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
God loves to hear YOUR STORY--and He loves individuality! We are as unique as the snowflakes, but each one of us is significant to God! Let Him lead you this day to be a blessing to everyone He guides you to connect with! May God bless you to be a blessing!!
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Praise the Lord for the privilege of having Jesus in our hearts by beholding Him and yielding fully to Him!
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.
Let us walk in the victory of Christ on a moment-by-moment basis, so He may reveal through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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How does God see the soul that is truly converted, fully surrendered, and allowing the Holy Spirit to manifest in the life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while walking in the path of true obedience?
Jesus continues: As you confess Me before men, so I will confess you before God and the holy angels. You are to be My witnesses upon earth, channels through which My grace can flow for the healing of the world. So I will be your representative in heaven. The Father beholds not your faulty character, but He sees you as clothed in My perfection. I am the medium through which Heaven's blessings shall come to you. And everyone who confesses Me by sharing My sacrifice for the lost shall be confessed as a sharer in the glory and joy of the redeemed.
Even though converted, the character still needs to be changed from "glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18)--from one degree of maturity and growth to the next. The Father sees us clothed in Christ's righteousness as long as we are abiding in Christ. Let us remember, though, that if we neglect Jesus or choose another master (sin, self, and the devil) that instead of our characters in their growth being clothed in Christ's righteousness, we are indeed in deep need of repentance, that we may have Christ abiding in the heart again! What a blessing that Christ does not leave us in an unconverted state without earnest appeal, for He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20). As we hear the Holy Spirit speaking to us to again surrender fully to Christ, we find that there is an immediate change when we do fully yield, for Jesus always brings His loveliness of character into our hearts and minds: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance will all be manifest in the character because Christ abides there with His OWN DIVINE NATURE by the Word (2 Peter 1:4)! What a blessing to have this constant union and communion with Christ by grace through faith!
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What a friend we have in Jesus! Our hearts may be happy, peaceful and obedient as we commune with Jesus and trust Him to guide us continually! He gives us the entire Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday to enjoy a day of rest in abiding in Him (Exodus 20:8-11). Let us come to Him and experience what He had with the Father by the same things He did--by taking time to be in nature, to pray, to read our Bibles, to commune with our own hearts, and to hear Him speaking to us personally and individually! What a joy it is to surrender fully to Christ so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be seen in our lives without one missing!! No matter what may be going on around us, let us know His still, small voice saying, "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10).
In a life wholly devoted to the good of others, the Saviour found it necessary to withdraw from the thoroughfares of travel and from the throng that followed Him day after day. He must turn aside from a life of ceaseless activity and contact with human needs, to seek retirement and unbroken communion with His Father. As one with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses, He was wholly dependent upon God, and in the secret place of prayer He sought divine strength, that He might go forth braced for duty and trial. In a world of sin Jesus endured struggles and torture of soul. In communion with God He could unburden the sorrows that were crushing Him. Here He found comfort and joy.
With God all things are possible--and the experience Jesus had is offered to us all. Not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing in our lives as we abide in Christ and having a living faith surrender to His will on a moment-by-moment basis! Then the very law of God--the Ten Commandments that are perfectly seen in Jesus, become our heart experience in a lifestyle of love!
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We need a living connection with Jesus!! How do we get one? We realize that by nature our hearts and minds are disconnected, and therefore we sense our great need, so we behold Jesus dying for sinners at Calvary, and finishing His work for His people now in the heavenly sanctuary to blot out all sin, and we realize that it is His loves that constrains us to go forward in His faith working by love! Then the heart and mind yielded fully to Christ will bring forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, as the repentant converted child of God lives in affectionate obedience to God's law of love as revealed in the Ten Commandments lived in Christ!
The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to His disciples today. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from Him. The most intelligent, the most spiritually minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from Christ; and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting, we continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting.
As we receive to give today, we will be blessed to be a blessing, and find great joy in knowing with God all things are possible!
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Let us not forget our continual need of Jesus today to do any good thing. When the whole heart is yielded to Him, He brings forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure, and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, "I know in whom I have believed; nothing can shake my faith in God and in His word." But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects. Only through realizing our own weakness and looking steadfastly unto Jesus can we walk securely.
Jesus knows the best way to lead us today. Let us walk by faith abiding in Him so He may bring forth the peace of His presence--a peace that passes all understanding--even in the midst of the greatest storms of life!
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We become like what we behold. We are to look away from self, the faults of others, this dark world, and the trials that come our way, and look upon Christ and let Him lead us step by step. He has a plan for this day of each of our lives and He desires to work in and through us for His good pleasure!
By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.
When we realize the privilege of suffering with Christ and partaking of His divine nature by the word of God, we shall gladly live in harmony with the law of love--the universal definition of freedom in the universe that allows for all relationships to thrive between God and all others! Then the very fruits of the Spirit (not one missing) that are the overflow of the Word of God in our hearts and minds will be a blessing to all around us!
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Let us not get distracted. Jesus is coming VERY VERY SOON! He is preparing a people to stand without a mediator during the time of the seven last plaques, the time of Jacob's trouble such as never was (Daniel 12:1). The message of the loveliness of Jesus in the everlasting gospel--the righteousness of His character in the law of God as He lived it in humanity--is freely offered to us! Let us surrender unreservedly to Christ and not become entangled with any hindering device of the enemy! May this day be one spent in constant union and communion with Christ by a living faith surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
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.
Walking even as Jesus walked in this life in the most exciting time of all--let us realize the privilege of being in harmony with God no matter how sinful we may be, since Jesus came to save sinners and by His grace make them renewed saints!!
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We may come to Christ just as we are and be completely transformed and healed by His grace!
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.
When we live by faith on Jesus as the Son of God, nothing that the devil tries to use against us will be able to keep love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--from being present in our lives!
Let us choose Christ on a moment-by-moment basis!
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What unity we find in complete surrender to Christ!
When the message of truth is presented in our day, there are many who, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign. Work us a miracle. Christ wrought no miracle at the demand of the Pharisees. He wrought no miracle in the wilderness in answer to Satan's insinuations. He does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or to satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But the gospel is not without a sign of its divine origin. Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God's heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought; so also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Ezekiel 36:26. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to those that hear. This is God's witness before the world to the divine mission of His Son.
Let us allow the great miracle of conversion not only to be our experience, but let us also invite others to yield unreservedly to Christ who alone has power to save all of us FULLY from sin and self to make us partakers of the divine nature whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest through our lives without one missing! The miracle of conversion is such a blessing and there will be many who will come to Christ just before Jesus returns in power and great glory!!
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When we look away from the things which are seen to the things which are not seen, the value of eternal realities as they are manifest in Christ will be seen as infinitely more valuable than anything in this world. Let us value what God values--moral worth--and experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are in complete surrender to Christ by grace through faith! Then we will affectionally obey God because our lives are being transformed by His love!
Peter had expressed the faith of the twelve. Yet the disciples were still far from understanding Christ's mission. The opposition and misrepresentation of the priests and rulers, while it could not turn them away from Christ, still caused them great perplexity. They did not see their way clearly. The influence of their early training, the teaching of the rabbis, the power of tradition, still intercepted their view of truth. From time to time precious rays of light from Jesus shone upon them, yet often they were like men groping among shadows. But on this day, before they were brought face to face with the great trial of their faith, the Holy Spirit rested upon them in power. For a little time their eyes were turned away from "the things which are seen," to behold "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. Beneath the guise of humanity they discerned the glory of the Son of God.
Let us see Jesus more clearly each day. Come spend a thoughtful hour upon the life of Christ and taste and see that He is good!
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The kingdom is being set up even now. All of the righteous on the earth are being assembled. Those who die before Jesus comes will be resurrected like Moses! Those who live until Jesus comes will be translated without seeing death, redeemed from among the living, like Enoch and Elijah! Let us be found faithful in Christ so we may fulfill our appointed destiny!
Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ's victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ's second coming, and who will be "changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;" when "this mortal must put on immortality," and "this corruptible must put on incorruption." 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come "the second time without sin unto salvation." For He will come "in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Saviour's promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature,--Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones.
When we live by faith on Jesus as the Son of God, not only does He bring all of the fruits of the Spirit into our lives (Galatians 5:22-23), but He leads us to affectionately obey the law of life as revealed in Christ and proclaimed in glory from Sinai in the Ten Commandments! All His invitations are evidence of His power to make it happen in our lives, so we may be courageous witnesses of Christ to the glory of God!!
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Faith is not seeing the possibility--it is relying fully on the God who can do the impossible by His creative word, melting hearts of stone into new hearts that are truly converted, trusting that God is working all things together for good to them that love Him!
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed," said Jesus, "ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove." Though the grain of mustard seed is so small, it contains that same mysterious life principle which produces growth in the loftiest tree. When the mustard seed is cast into the ground, the tiny germ lays hold of every element that God has provided for its nutriment, and it speedily develops a sturdy growth. If you have faith like this, you will lay hold upon God's word, and upon all the helpful agencies He has appointed. Thus your faith will strengthen, and will bring to your aid the power of heaven. The obstacles that are piled by Satan across your path, though apparently as insurmountable as the eternal hills, shall disappear before the demand of faith. "Nothing shall be impossible unto you."
What a blessing it is to walk with Jesus and allow Him to give us His faith working by love, so that in all the trials we may face, we may experience His saving, abiding grace!
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If we are humble and teachable from having been with Jesus and surrendered fully to Him, He can use us most efficiently to bless others! Let us keep our eyes on Jesus today!
Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. He who feels most deeply his need of divine aid will plead for it; and the Holy Spirit will give unto him glimpses of Jesus that will strengthen and uplift the soul. From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission; and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail.
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If what you are seeking is not satisfying, why not go to the only One who knows what you are really desiring? Christ offers us true satisfaction in union and communion with Him--and there is true joy in His presence!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
The gift of salvation is above all other gifts--and it is found only by abiding in Christ! He alone knows the deepest need of our souls! Let us yield fully to Him so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
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As we behold Jesus, we become transformed in mind and character by yielding fully to Him so He can give us a new heart and a new mind!
The same power the spoke light into existence in the beginning brought light and life to the penitent woman, and by His creative word of love offered her a new beginning that was a true miracle! Wherever you find yourself today, Jesus offers you a new beginning by abiding fully in Him in full surrender! Then the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in your life without one missing as you let Christ the hope of glory reveal His grace through your life!
In His act of pardoning this woman and encouraging her to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of perfect righteousness. While He does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, He seeks not to condemn, but to save. The world had for this erring woman only contempt and scorn; but Jesus speaks words of comfort and hope. The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand. While the hypocritical Pharisees denounce, Jesus bids her, "Go, and sin no more."
The invitation to "Go, and sin no more" (John 8:11) is spoken by the One who has power to keep us from falling, to uphold us in His plan that glorifies Him! Even if we do fall into sin, we can know that He will pardon and transform us by His grace, for He gives "grace for grace" (John 1:16). Then, abiding in Jesus, we find sin to be hateful through an appreciation of His character and communion with God, and we will not only delight to do His will, but delight to invite others to share the joy of His salvation!
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The only condition upon which the freedom of man is possible is that of becoming one with Christ.
When we are one with Christ, we have the purpose of the gospel--for Christ in us reveals all of the attributes of His divine nature by the power of His creative word leading us constantly in harmony with His divine law of love!
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Let us never forget the depth of love we see in Jesus coming to this earth to be our Savior! He left heaven to bring us into a union and communion with Himself that is likened to the oneness between Himself and our Heavenly Father! What wondrous love is this!
However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our "everlasting Father." And He says, "I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father." John 10:14, 15, R. V. What a statement is this!--the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be "the Man that is My fellow" (Zechariah 13:7),--the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth!
When our hearts truly experience this love by yielding to Christ fully as we behold Him continually, we experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! The blessing of intimacy with God far exceeds the temporary pleasures of sin for a season and become the lasting reason for us to abide in Christ in every experience of life, no matter how trying!
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Simple yet profound is what Jesus has done for us. Only by Him is there salvation--an experience that is infinite!
The science of salvation cannot be explained; but it can be known by experience. Only he who sees his own sinfulness can discern the preciousness of the Saviour.
Yielding fully the heart to Christ we can have all of the fruits of the Spirit manifest in the life by the divine nature without one missing; then the path of eternal life becomes brighter from day to day!
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We can see Jesus in the true story of the good Samaritan. As Jesus comes to live in our hearts today as we surrender fully to Him, we can let Him live out His merciful, healing life to bless all those around us!
In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness.
When the loveliness of Jesus is manifest through us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing as we not only live in obedience to the law of love, but let God give us divine appointments with those who are in need of help wherever we find them in life's path.
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God is building His kingdom upon the eternal foundation of His word. Let us yield fully to the Jesus in His infinite loveliness, for by His creative word the Holy Spirit has power to recreate our hearts and minds and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--even amid the most difficult earthly situations!
Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.
As we abide in Christ we can be ambassadors of the world to come while still in this dark speck of a world. We may not realize we are changing other people's lives, but by our consistent choice to yield to Christ, others also may realize that this is where true happiness is found, for happiness is the result of holiness!
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The Saviour regards with infinite tenderness the souls whom He has purchased with His own blood. They are the claim of His love. He looks upon them with unutterable longing. His heart is drawn out, not only to the best-behaved children, but to those who have by inheritance objectionable traits of character. Many parents do not understand how much they are responsible for these traits in their children. They have not the tenderness and wisdom to deal with the erring ones whom they have made what they are. But Jesus looks upon these children with pity. He traces from cause to effect.
Let us see the value of each person the way Jesus sees them, and treat all with the love and compassion so the Holy Spirit may reach the heart. All of God's children--regardless of our age--may come to Christ and admit that we have fallen short of God's glory by sin (Romans 3:23); we may believe in the gift of our Father in heaven who so loved us to save us by sending His Son Jesus to save us (John 3:16); and then we may freely confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). As we accept the gift of salvation, a new heart imbued with the Holy Spirit is given to us (Ezekiel 36:26-27), and the mind of Christ is the gift of this new experience (Philippians 2:5) as we accept God's promises and become partakers of the "divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), which is ever manifest in the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23).
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Simplify. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ.
When the whole heart is surrendered to Christ, He recreates it into His image and pours all of the fruits of the Spirit into the life without one missing! What a miracle! May this be your experience today and always!
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Implicit belief in Christ's word is true humility, true self-surrender.
Let us just do what God says because we love Him who first loved us!
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Why was the resurrection of Lazarus so significant in Jesus' ministry?
It was a demonstration of divine power sufficient to convince every mind that was under the control of reason and enlightened conscience.
We can see clearly that the Bible is true and that what it said would happen in the last days IS HAPPENING NOW! We are nearing the VERY SOON coming of Jesus, and we also may see the evidence that God is trying to get our attention, that all may come to a thorough repentance and allow Jesus to live in us, the hope of glory, so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then we will affectionately obey all the Ten Commandments as a delight because we see Christ in the law, the Giver of life!
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We are daily invited to experience new victories in the Christian life--to walk by faith and not by sight or feeling as we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil by keeping our eyes steadfastly fixed upon Jesus! Then the self-conquest experienced will be like what we see in the life of Christ--a life that revealed the Father's will!
"But to sit on My right hand, and on My left," He continued, "is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father." In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ.
May we allow the Savior to lead us in true humility and growth of character, becoming more like Christ as, through abiding in Him by a living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
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Let us point people to Jesus and our true need of true conversion--which Zacchaeus experienced!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul.
Let us look away from self to the Savior and abide in His love today by a continual surrender of our will to Him. Then the fruit of such a union and communion with Him will be evidenced by all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing!
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We may be lifted above the strife that is so prevalent by letting God's estimate of us be our focus. Mary Magdalene was transformed by grace, and we also may abide in Christ as did she. Let us allow all of the fruits of the Spirit to abide in our hearts by a living faith surrender to Christ!
The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:33, 34.
Christ desires ALL of us to be in heaven. Let us look upon each soul as of infinite value--as they truly are in Christ!
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Let us realize what Jesus did for us, and how He desires all to behold His infinite sacrifice!
Never before in His earthly life had Jesus permitted such a demonstration. He clearly foresaw the result. It would bring Him to the cross. But it was His purpose thus publicly to present Himself as the Redeemer. He desired to call attention to the sacrifice that was to crown His mission to a fallen world. While the people were assembling at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, He, the antitypical Lamb, by a voluntary act set Himself apart as an oblation. It would be needful for His church in all succeeding ages to make His death for the sins of the world a subject of deep thought and study. Every fact connected with it should be verified beyond a doubt. It was necessary, then, that the eyes of all people should now be directed to Him; the events which preceded His great sacrifice must be such as to call attention to the sacrifice itself. After such a demonstration as that attending His entry into Jerusalem, all eyes would follow His rapid progress to the final scene.
Looking upon Jesus, we see the Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! Now the world is on the verge of Jesus' second coming, and we are to point people to the events that come just before He returns so all may be prepared to have that living heart surrender of affectionate obedience to the will of God manifest in a life imbued with all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing!
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In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.
Let us yield fully to Christ and utilize every moment for God's glory! By yielding continually fully to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly, affectionately obey the law of God even under the most exciting and trying circumstances!
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Every foundation except Christ must fail. Let us put Christ's word as our foundation of true character building, and we may overcome as Christ as called us to do by His grace!
To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
Looking unto Jesus we see a victorious experience offered us in which we may be truly converted by surrendering fully to Christ and have Christ in us, the hope of glory!
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Christ declared to His hearers that if there were no resurrection of the dead, the Scriptures which they professed to believe would be of no avail. He said, "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." God counts the things that are not as though they were. He sees the end from the beginning, and beholds the result of His work as though it were now accomplished. The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life. God will be their God, and they shall be His people. There will be a close and tender relationship between God and the risen saints. This condition, which is anticipated in His purpose, He beholds as if it were already existing. The dead live unto Him.
God bless you all as we are rise from the dead by living the gospel in Christ, for abiding in Him continuously we allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
"And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). As Jesus takes ALL our sin, we live by faith--even the life of God in us by the miracle of conversion!
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He is looking upon us now. Jesus years for us and desires our entire heart to be melted and subdued by His divine grace. As surely as He yearned over the people of Jerusalem in 31 AD, so surely does He now yearn over the plight of His church today--and His desire for true revival and reformation WILL BEAR FRUIT!
Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" This is the separation struggle. In the lamentation of Christ the very heart of God is pouring itself forth. It is the mysterious farewell of the long-suffering love of the Deity.
Yet Jesus does not say farewell to us, for mercy still lingers at present. Today He invites all who will come to surrender unreservedly to Him so that by the miracle of His grace He may imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Only as we abide in Christ is there eternal life! When Christ finishes His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, the close of probation comes, so now He invites us to do all we can by union and communion with Him to go forth to seek and to save the lost before what happened to Jerusalem becomes the plight of the lost of this world. Lift up the trumpet! Jesus is coming again!
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It's harvest time! Jesus sowed His life in this world in dying for us, so He could reap a rich harvest of souls who partake of His Spirit and character! As Jesus finishes His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary very soon, those who have continued to walk by faith in Him are made fully ripe by beholding Him and letting Him work in and through them to seek and save the lost!
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.
As we approach the transition from ministry in this world to the experience of ministry with Jesus after His second coming, let us realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing so that He may manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--the inevitable effect of living by faith on the Son of God!
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In this world of chaos, what will endure? "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away" (Luke 21:33), is what Jesus said. Let us realize our continual need to abide in Jesus so we can realize the times we are living in and not only live ready, but help others to be living in readiness for Jesus' coming SO SOON!
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
Let us choose this day to serve Christ, and continue to walk with Him by grace through faith! Then the result of having received a new heart and a new mind is that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Gladly will we affectionately obey God's law of love--the definition of freedom!
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Let us allow the love of Christ to flow through us. His perfect love casts our fear, but that same love abiding in the soul leads us to fear God and give glory to Him for we are in the time of the judgment, and all decisions of character pend on how we treat others--a revelation of how we treat God in the person of "the least of these." Each soul is worth an infinite price, for Jesus paid for us with an infinite sacrifice on Calvary. Now, abiding in Jesus, we are constrained to forward to reveal the light of His love manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as Christ abides in our souls, the hope of glory!
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
Only in Christ can we live out His unselfish life. In Christ there is no limit to the usefulness of one who, putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit and lives a life completely consecrated to God! May we allow heaven to truly begin in the soul as we choose Jesus continually!
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What a joy it is to let Christ live out His life in us. Only as we behold Him and yield continually to Him will all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be manifest in our lives. The new heart and new mind given us in conversion are really the outflow of the new will--the power of decision that we have allowed God to cleanse by His blood and sanctify by His divine Spirit so we may continually choose and DO the will of God even as Jesus did in His sphere of service, as we serve God in the unique sphere where He has placed us!
In His life and lessons, Christ has given a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and by upholding all things, He is constantly ministering for others. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45. This ideal of ministry God has committed to His Son. Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, that by His example He might teach what it means to minister. His whole life was under a law of service. He served all, ministered to all. Thus He lived the law of God, and by His example showed how we are to obey it.
Continual communion with God establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that we become like Him whom we adore. The world needs now a living revelation of the loveliness of Jesus, that all may see His grace is powerful enough to keep repentant sinners transformed into saints upheld from the pull of sin by living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!
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What are we looking for?
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." John 14:27.
The greatest longing of the soul is for true peace. The only true peace we can have comes from abiding in Jesus, believing that His blood has power to cleanse us from every stain of sin, and allowing the Holy Spirit to renew and transform our hearts and minds to be imbued with the personal presence of Jesus, whereby not only peace, but all of the fruits of the Spirit (without one missing) will be manifest in our lives truly converted!
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We are called to abide in Christ!
The life of the vine will be manifest in fragrant fruit on the branches. "He that abideth in Me," said Jesus, "and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing." When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.
What a blessing to have Christ living in us, the hope of glory! Then His character is manifest in and through us so our hearts and minds remain imbued with His divine nature! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). Let us choose to look to Christ so His character will flow spontaneously through us to bless others!
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As we look upon Jesus' incredible sacrifice in Gethsemane, let us remember that He chose not to take the way of escape so we could have one in every time of need!
The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ's thrice-repeated prayer. Angels had longed to bring relief to the divine sufferer, but this might not be. No way of escape was found for the Son of God. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God's presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ's hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father's love. He came to give power to the divine-human suppliant. He pointed Him to the open heavens, telling Him of the souls that would be saved as the result of His sufferings. He assured Him that His Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that His death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that He would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied, for He would see a multitude of the human race saved, eternally saved.
Now, when temptations assail us, and we know we are weak and cannot face the situation in our own strength, we can always turn to Christ who IS THE WAY of escape! "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).
What a blessing it is today to abide in Jesus so He can keep us from falling into sin, knowing that the way for us to be set free is by beholding Christ and remaining in continual union and communion with Him by grace through faith. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing because we have Christ in us, the hope of glory!
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May we remember that we have nothing to fear as we serve Jesus without seeking to hide our identity. We can be open and clear that we are followers of Christ, and seek to be as close to Him as possible!
The disciple John, upon entering the judgment hall, did not try to conceal the fact that he was a follower of Jesus. He did not mingle with the rough company who were reviling his Master. He was not questioned, for he did not assume a false character, and thus lay himself liable to suspicion. He sought a retired corner secure from the notice of the mob, but as near Jesus as it was possible for him to be. Here he could see and hear all that took place at the trial of his Lord.
May the Lord give us a willingness of heart to be as near to Jesus as possible. When we yield the whole heart to Christ, He comes to abide in us and reveal through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. We can learn to be like John and have a living experience of sanctification even in the most trying times.
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While the gospel has power to transform sinners into saints, all are given free opportunity to see that Christ is offering a spiritual kingdom, not one in which self may be allowed to live for its fallen, self-seeking purposes. Judas reached a turning point when he realized what Christ was offering, and it would be well for us to realize where Christ is taking us day by day if we are fully surrendered to Him and abiding in Him moment-by-moment. Christ is preparing us for a selfless heaven where God's will is what we delight to do, and He is teaching us here, day by day, not to take the path that may seem easier to us in our fallenness, but the path that His providence marks out by His word and the Holy Spirit's leading. Let us shun the example of Judas by beholding the loveliness of Jesus' character and allow His lessons to take us into an ever-deeper appreciation of what His grace can do for and through us!
Christ's discourse in the synagogue concerning the bread of life was the turning point in the history of Judas. He heard the words, "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you." John 6:53. He saw that Christ was offering spiritual rather than worldly good. He regarded himself as farsighted, and thought he could see that Jesus would have no honor, and that He could bestow no high position upon His followers. He determined not to unite himself so closely to Christ but that he could draw away. He would watch. And he did watch.
We are to watch and pray, but Judas was watching for an opportunity to do things his way. Let us allow God to purify our hearts by faith working by love so that the traits Judas manifested will not be allowed to crowd out the precious presence of Jesus in and through our hearts and minds. When Christ is in us the hope of glory, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives--not one will be missing!
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What a Savior we have in Jesus! As He endured His trial uncomplainingly, He offers us the same experience through union and communion with Him as we yield the whole heart to Him today for Him to purify and make white as snow, and then all of the fruits of the Spirit will flow forth from our lives because Christ is on the throne of the heart!
Christ's enemies had demanded a miracle as evidence of His divinity. They had evidence far greater than any they had sought. As their cruelty degraded His torturers below humanity into the likeness of Satan, so did His meekness and patience exalt Jesus above humanity, and prove His kinship to God. His abasement was the pledge of His exaltation. The blood drops of agony that from His wounded temples flowed down His face and beard were the pledge of His anointing with "the oil of gladness" (Hebrews 1:9.) as our great high priest.
We can be glad as we approach the last days, for every trial only gives God a greater opportunity to reveal through His converted children His true character in its beauty and glory. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history. Jesus' perfect sacrifice and witness amid His trial is a promise of what we may experience when brought to trial, knowing that whether we die or live until Jesus returns, we may entrust the keeping of our souls to God who holds all destinies in His hands and leads us in the way that is best!
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The good news is really a cross--a paradox--in that the closer you come to Christ the more sinful and weak you will know yourself to really be, thus moving your heart to completely surrender and trust Christ who bore your sin, relying upon His power to save you to the uttermost by giving you a new mind and heart! Let us remember that whatever sinfulness we see in our sinful flesh, Jesus bore the agony of becoming that sin for us, so as to deliver us from sin slavery! The deliverance from sin slavery will always bear fruit, for on a moment-by-moment basis we may abide in Jesus by the divine nature accessible to us in His promises, and thus live a life that will overflow with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The spotless Son of God hung upon the cross, His flesh lacerated with stripes; those hands so often reached out in blessing, nailed to the wooden bars; those feet so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to the tree; that royal head pierced by the crown of thorns; those quivering lips shaped to the cry of woe. And all that He endured--the blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet, the agony that racked His frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father's face--speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, It is for thee that the Son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt; for thee He spoils the domain of death, and opens the gates of Paradise. He who stilled the angry waves and walked the foam-capped billows, who made devils tremble and disease flee, who opened blind eyes and called forth the dead to life,--offers Himself upon the cross as a sacrifice, and this from love to thee. He, the Sin Bearer, endures the wrath of divine justice, and for thy sake becomes sin itself.
Since Christ became sin itself, we can realize that sin becomes hateful to us as we behold His loveliness and realize we do not want to keep bringing pain to the heart of infinite love!
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What happened when Christ died on Calvary?
Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings. Henceforth his work was restricted. Whatever attitude he might assume, he could no longer await the angels as they came from the heavenly courts, and before them accuse Christ's brethren of being clothed with the garments of blackness and the defilement of sin. The last link of sympathy between Satan and the heavenly world was broken.
When someone is fully unmasked their character becomes known. God desires us to see the full goodness of His character in contrast with Satan's accusing, false character. Let us choose this day to serve Christ and let Christ in us, the hope of glory, reveal Himself by bringing forth in our lives all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such an experience will be through the Holy Spirit leading us to obey the law of God--the Ten Commandments--as the definition of freedom and love because we love Him who first loved us!
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Don't despise the day of small things. Nicodemus did not immediately surrender to the truth about how to be converted the night that Jesus presented it to his mind, but Christ knew the soil of the heart into which the seed was placed. There are SO SO MANY who, like Nicodemus, when the see Jesus for who He truly is and realize the depth of His grace to transform them from being a sinner into a saint renewed in the image of God, they will also have a supernatural all-in experience of total surrender to the one who died to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
What a blessing it is that we may look to Jesus and live, and by living on Him as the Son of God, overcome every defect in our characters because Christ has the power to make us new creatures! The gospel of His grace is so powerful that we are invited to LOOK AND LIVE and then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey the law of God from the heart renewed by the atoning blood of Christ!
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Jesus desires all of us to be happy, peaceful, and obedient, and when we see the glorious promise of the resurrection, how can we not choose Him? In light of His infinite love, shall we not praise Him continually and make His service appear attractive, as it really is? What a joy it is to know the TRUE STORY of this world's history from the Bible and the GREAT CLIMAX that we may look forward to! But even before Jesus returns, we may have a true conversion by beholding the loveliness of Jesus, surrendering the whole heart to Him in true repentance as His blood cleanses us from sin, with the spontaneous result that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then as we grow more like Jesus, we may gladly obey His law of love to the extent that we know it and that is has been revealed to us, and we may walk in the path that He appoints for us!
The voice that cried from the cross, "It is finished," was heard among the dead. It pierced the walls of sepulchers, and summoned the sleepers to arise. Thus will it be when the voice of Christ shall be heard from heaven. That voice will penetrate the graves and unbar the tombs, and the dead in Christ shall arise. At the Saviour's resurrection a few graves were opened, but at His second coming all the precious dead shall hear His voice, and shall come forth to glorious, immortal life. The same power that raised Christ from the dead will raise His church, and glorify it with Him, above all principalities, above all powers, above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come.
We have a world to encourage with this GOOD NEWS! The goodness of God leads us to repentance! And how each one receives the good news of God's true character determines their eternal destiny. God does not force anyone to be saved, but if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be in earnest about how to bring others to Jesus that they may know the life that is more abundant for time and all eternity!
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We may trust that Christ has a work for us to do--to bring the light of the gospel to light so hearts can know how to be converted and find the strength to resist temptation by abiding in Jesus moment-by-moment!
Christ's first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb, and could no longer be held by the enemy death; to reveal that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their beloved Teacher, He appeared to them again and again. He would draw the bonds of love still closer around them. Go tell My brethren, He said, that they meet Me in Galilee.
The resurrection of Christ PROVES that God is stronger than the devil's power (sin and death) and that we may walk also today in the resurrection life of Jesus by abiding in Him! Jesus is coming AGAIN very soon and He is inviting us to persevere in humble, hopeful faith! When we live by faith on the Son of God, Jesus comes to dwell in the heart and cleanse us from all our sin so the Holy Spirit will manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Indeed it would be well to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes, for in beholding Christ we may be changed. Then we will realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing and walk by faith in Him as He leads us step by step to fulfill our in Him!
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God will lighten the darkness as we let the light of His word shine in our hearts! Jesus is a RISEN SAVIOR and He will arise in your heart with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you yield unreservedly to Him!!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
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Let us remember why Jesus came to this world. It was to save us from our sins and to reveal the universe what He can do with those who were sunken in sin but like Thomas have come to truly acknowledge Him as Lord and God and allow Christ to have the whole heart to cleanse and purify. Then we will gladly confess our faith of the living, risen Christ who will live out His life in and through us as we abide in Him--whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives--not one missing!
Turning to Thomas He said, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing." These words showed that He was acquainted with the thoughts and words of Thomas. The doubting disciple knew that none of his companions had seen Jesus for a week. They could not have told the Master of his unbelief. He recognized the One before him as his Lord. He had no desire for further proof. His heart leaped for joy, and he cast himself at the feet of Jesus crying, "My Lord and my God."
When we think we need more proof, what we really need is a heart that will accept the pure, clear evidence that God has already given. We have not before us the living Christ with the print of nails in His hands, but we have abundant evidence that the gospel is real, that Christ is alive, and in the condition of our world around us and the unity He is bringing in the present truth we can see a fulfillment of the prophecies and promises that Christ made to us, for He is COMING AGAIN and we will see Him in His glory!!
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Simplify what it means to follow Jesus. Spend about an hour focusing on Jesus' perfect life and sacrifice in the Bible and precious books like The Desire of Ages. Pray earnestly to become like Jesus and pray for others, asking God to forgive your sins and to fill you with the Holy Spirit, surrendering your whole heart to Him so He fills you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Share Jesus' love with others as you gladly obey the Ten Commandments--the definition of freedom! We can learn from Peter how important it is to let GOD PLAN for us!!
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
Jesus has a plan for you today. He lived to bless others, and when He is in our hearts by living faith, we will follow in His steps to be a light in this world and help many more souls come to Christ while He is still ministering in the heavenly sanctuary before coming as our King to deliver us from this world and take us to heaven! Let us walk with Jesus!!
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Our Heavenly Father gives us amazing promises as we go forth in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit to spread the everlasting gospel that uplifts Jesus in His infinite loveliness so that all who will "look and live" may have everlasting life! Yielding the whole heart to Christ, He cleanses the heart and makes it new, comes to abide in us and fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and motivates us to affectionately obey His law of freedom--the Ten Commandments!
The Saviour longs to manifest His grace and stamp His character on the whole world. It is His purchased possession, and He desires to make men free, and pure, and holy. Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, yet through the blood shed for the world there are triumphs to be achieved that will bring glory to God and the Lamb. Christ will not be satisfied till the victory is complete, and "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." Isaiah 53:11. All the nations of the earth shall hear the gospel of His grace. Not all will receive His grace; but "a seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." Psalm 22:30. "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High," and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun." Daniel 7:27; Isaiah 11:9; 59:19.
Let us dismiss our fears and doubts and go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit by having enjoyed that "thoughtful hour" upon the life of Christ, realizing that by beholding Christ, we become changed, and that others will see Jesus in us as long as we have that moment-by-moment union and communion with Him!
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Go forward with Jesus!!
Upon reaching the Mount of Olives, Jesus led the way across the summit, to the vicinity of Bethany. Here He paused, and the disciples gathered about Him. Beams of light seemed to radiate from His countenance as He looked lovingly upon them. He upbraided them not for their faults and failures; words of the deepest tenderness were the last that fell upon their ears from the lips of their Lord. With hands outstretched in blessing, and as if in assurance of His protecting care, He slowly ascended from among them, drawn heavenward by a power stronger than any earthly attraction. As He passed upward, the awe-stricken disciples looked with straining eyes for the last glimpse of their ascending Lord. A cloud of glory hid Him from their sight; and the words came back to them as the cloudy chariot of angels received Him, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." At the same time there floated down to them the sweetest and most joyous music from the angel choir.
Let us rejoice that Jesus is COMING SO SOON and we have the privilege of sharing the GOOD NEWS with as many as possible! Jesus can take the most sinful, broken life and transform the heart and mind into the place where He dwells, manifesting in and through the life His true character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in happy obedience to the law of God!
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God gives us such a privilege in the universe. While the suffering we endure in the here and now is immense, from it comes a living testimony of God's power to save sinners to the uttermost and make them saints who reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then the law of God that condemned the sinner is the very definition of the freedom into which we now walk abiding in Christ, for the law of God is in His heart, and when our heart and mind is merged in His will in union and communion, we have the joy of fellowship for which we were created--both now with God by faith and with others as missionaries of this incredible news: "God is love" (1 John 4:8)!
Of His people God says, "They shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!" Zechariah 9:16, 17. The exaltation of the redeemed will be an eternal testimony to God's mercy. "In the ages to come," He will "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." "To the intent that . . . unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known . . . the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 2:7; 3:10, 11, R. V.
When we experience what God has for, the universe sees the power of the gospel in the weakest of the weak by which God accomplishes the most important mission ever--sealing the universe from sin ever rising up again because His people so know His love that they would rather obey Him than sin against Him--choosing to abide in Christ's faithfulness even unto death or translation--whichever God chooses!!
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There are so many deceptions around us and we need Jesus continually! Only in Him can we find rest and true obedience. At the time Jesus was about to come the first time, this was the experience of so many who desired to obey God:
"With all their minute and burdensome injunctions, it was an impossibility to keep the law. Those who desired to serve God, and who tried to observe the rabbinical precepts, toiled under a heavy burden. They could find no rest from the accusings of a troubled conscience. Thus Satan worked to discourage the people, to lower their conception of the character of God, and to bring the faith of Israel into contempt. He hoped to establish the claim put forth when he rebelled in heaven,--that the requirements of God were unjust, and could not be obeyed. Even Israel, he declared, did not keep the law."
Satan is an accuser. It is possible to obey God as we abide in Jesus who first loved us. He invites us to lay aside the yoke of bondage of human tradition and accept the law of God as it is seen in His life, and which He will live out in us. As we live by faith upon the Son of God, Christ will manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! This is the true yoke Christ gives us:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). Let us yoke up with Jesus as He comes in glory the second time SO SOON!
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When we realize that things are shaping up in this planet for a final display of God's character, let us learn to moment-by-moment cooperate with Jesus in being made like Him. He has power stronger than Satan to renew our hearts and minds and give us love, joy and peace with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! The witness of God's character, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) will bless those who behold Jesus' loveliness revealed in and through us!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
What a joy to abide in Christ and let Him make us new--what He has planned for us!
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What joy it is to behold Jesus' loveliness and by beholding to become changed! Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and we can gladly walk in the path God chooses for us because He so loved us that He would risk sending His Son so we could walk safely by faith into heaven! The more we contemplate this love in a yielded union and communion with God, the more He imbues with His Spirit as we experience that heaven begins in the soul, and as heavenly-mindedness increases, Christ is more and more appreciated, and finally becomes the Chiefest among ten thousand, the One altogether lovely.
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
Little children walking the earth in these perilous last days can know that Jesus walked the path before, and has made a way for them! Parents and teachers may rejoice that they have a loving Heavenly Father who so loved all of us as to give His Son to die that we might live lives that measure with the life of God forever! What wondrous love!!
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Love Jesus. Be happy in surrender to Him in affectionate obedience. Let Him live out His life in you. He gives us a new heart and a new mind as we behold His loveliness of character, and in continual union and communion with Him He imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
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What a generous God we have in giving us His Son to save us from all sin! Jesus was willing to be anything or nothing, and what a blessing of how the wise men gave their best to Jesus--even when He was but a little child!
The magi had been among the first to welcome the Redeemer. Their gift was the first that was laid at His feet. And through that gift, what privilege of ministry was theirs! The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
Jesus is able to convert us as we behold His loveliness of character, giving us a new heart a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Such a converted witness through which Jesus can work is more valuable to Him than all the gold and the silver in this world, but when Christ is all in all to us, we count it a joy to give and live even as Jesus walked while upon this earth!
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Today is Reformation Day, as in 1517 on October 31 Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg! The greatest reformation is to become like Jesus in mind and character! What a high privilege it is to be like Jesus! "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
As a child, Jesus manifested a peculiar loveliness of disposition. His willing hands were ever ready to serve others. He manifested a patience that nothing could disturb, and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of unselfish courtesy.
When we are abiding in Jesus by a living faith surrender, He renews our hearts and minds and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit; then the same peculiar loveliness of disposition we see in Jesus will be wrought out in our life and character! We can praise Him for His unspeakable gift of eternal life that begins now through union and communion with Christ!
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What a blessing it is to contemplate the life of Christ and let His character become ours by surrendering to Him fully and appropriating His words to become what we think upon, act upon, and share with the world who needs to see a living revelation of His loveliness of character!
Mary also had to learn to trust Jesus' divine character and let Him act for Himself in the formation of His character as the Holy Spirit was leading Him. Here is a lesson for parents in that if a child learns more truth from the Bible, it would be well for the whole family to apply it and live it out in humble, surrendered trust.
At times she wavered between Jesus and His brothers, who did not believe that He was the Sent of God; but evidence was abundant that His was a divine character. She saw Him sacrificing Himself for the good of others. His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home, and His life was as leaven working amid the elements of society. Harmless and undefiled, He walked among the thoughtless, the rude, the uncourteous; amid the unjust publicans, the reckless prodigals, the unrighteous Samaritans, the heathen soldiers, the rough peasants, and the mixed multitude. He spoke a word of sympathy here and a word there, as He saw men weary, yet compelled to bear heavy burdens. He shared their burdens, and repeated to them the lessons He had learned from nature, of the love, the kindness, the goodness of God.
As we learn of Christ, we also unlearn the distrust, worry and fear so common in our world today. Our lives may be living witnesses of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing like Jesus' life was, as long as He has full possession of the heart and we walk in the path that He has for us day by day!
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Let us learn to walk with Jesus like John the Baptist did:
He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.
We have no power to do good of ourselves, but Jesus will give us a new heart and a new mind as we surrender fully to Him. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will spontaneously come forth in the life as we abide in Jesus in living faith surrender. The obedience of Christ will be our delight, for He kept His Father's commandments (John 15:10), and we will grow more like Jesus as we walk the path His providence assigns for us as we help others prepare for the return of Jesus!
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The power of God's grace is so strong and deep that God can take the most broken life and make it into a miracle of His healing love. As we look upon Jesus and abide in Him in complete surrender, we can be grateful that today is a new day to give God glory and praise for sending Jesus to be our Savior! Jesus is finishing His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary and is inviting all to receive His power to overcome! The door of probation is still open, so let us point all to Jesus!
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2. Our Redeemer has opened the way so that the most sinful, the most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find access to the Father. All may have a home in the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. "These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; . . . behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Revelation 3:7, 8.
The invitation we all need to hear is one of compassion and truth, and Christ was baptized as our Savior and Example, offering us His perfect repentance and perfect life so we, through His imputed and imparted righteousness, may have a life bearing the fruits of all the traits of His character without one missing!
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How can it be that Satan will have "nothing in us"? We need Jesus in the heart, and there was nothing in Jesus that responded to Satan! This is what the gospel offers us--a constant union and communion with Christ so we may overcome by abiding in Christ! Then the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and the obedience manifest in Jesus are manifest in us as we are branches connected to Him, the true Vine!
"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
Let us keep looking up to Jesus and pointing all in our sphere of influence to look to Him as the only WAY to be saved in these perilous last days!
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We are so expensive to God! Jesus paid so much for us! Let us choose to be "ALL IN" for Jesus so He can use us to reach as many souls as possible in these last days! When Jesus has the whole heart, we will gladly go where He leads us and soon meet in heaven!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
What a blessing to be truly converted each day and look forward in earnest expectation to what God has in store for us!! Jesus is coming SOON!!
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Let us link up with Jesus and go out in personal ministry to reach souls like Jesus did! As He abides in our hearts by a living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing and we will gladly invite others to come and see what a wonderful Savior we have found in Jesus!
With the calling of John and Andrew and Simon, of Philip and Nathanael, began the foundation of the Christian church. John directed two of his disciples to Christ. Then one of these, Andrew, found his brother, and called him to the Saviour. Philip was then called, and he went in search of Nathanael. These examples should teach us the importance of personal effort, of making direct appeals to our kindred, friends, and neighbors. There are those who for a lifetime have professed to be acquainted with Christ, yet who have never made a personal effort to bring even one soul to the Saviour. They leave all the work for the minister. He may be well qualified for his calling, but he cannot do that which God has left for the members of the church.
We all have a part in sharing the gospel! Let us find the greatest joy in using our entrusted capabilities to bless others and bring them to Jesus so heaven may be full of happy souls redeemed by Jesus!
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How did Jesus do it?
It was by personal contact and association that Jesus trained His disciples. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside; sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them by the way, He revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He did not sermonize as men do today. Wherever hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of the way of salvation. He did not command His disciples to do this or that, but said, "Follow Me." On His journeys through country and cities He took them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. He linked their interest with His, and they united with Him in the work.
As we learn of Christ, we shall walk, even as He walked. His life will flow out from our lives that are experiencing genuine union and communion with Him. And such lives will ever more fully express all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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Jesus can cleanse our soul temple and make us instruments of His healing grace and redemption! There is no limit to what He can do with our lives yielded fully to Him which will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,--from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver." Mal. 3:1-3.
God is the purifier of our lives and He invites us to abide in Him continually! Then our lives will be pure and clean with new hearts and new minds because He can remove unbelief and perform the miracle of converting us to Himself so He can mature us in His image!
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With God all things are possible! By complete surrender to Jesus on a moment-by-moment basis we can enjoy the experience in our souls whereby God supernaturally brings forth love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and temperance! By grace through faith we may be partakers of the divine nature by receiving the exceedingly great and precious promises of God's holy word! What a privilege! Let us go forth to bless others as we abide in Jesus!
It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.
While we may not fully realize the value of the gift offered us in Christ, let us CHOOSE HIM today and help others choose Jesus!!
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Let us look to Christ who is the truth, and as we approach Him as the great center, we may experience true unity!
Those who are true to their calling as messengers for God will not seek honor for themselves. Love for self will be swallowed up in love for Christ. No rivalry will mar the precious cause of the gospel. They will recognize that it is their work to proclaim, as did John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. They will lift up Jesus, and with Him humanity will be lifted up. "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isaiah 57:15.
Unity among Christ's converted disciples is evidence of the Holy Spirit revealing what is important--beholding Jesus and letting self be swallowed up in His will. As we abide in Christ, there will be love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance without one of the traits of the divine nature missing! Christ in us the hope of glory will be uplifted, and all who look and live may have truly converted hearts that long to bear His image, breathe His Spirit, and please Him in all things!
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Start right where you are. Share what Jesus has done for you! As you behold His loveliness of character and yield the whole heart to Him, He will imbue you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and cleanse your soul from all sin by His atoning blood!
The Saviour did not wait for congregations to assemble. Often He began His lessons with only a few gathered about Him, but one by one the passers-by paused to listen, until a multitude heard with wonder and awe the words of God through the heaven-sent Teacher. The worker for Christ should not feel that he cannot speak with the same earnestness to a few hearers as to a larger company. There may be only one to hear the message; but who can tell how far-reaching will be its influence? It seemed a small matter, even to His disciples, for the Saviour to spend His time upon a woman of Samaria. But He reasoned more earnestly and eloquently with her than with kings, councilors, or high priests. The lessons He gave to that woman have been repeated to the earth's remotest bounds.
Then as you start in the very place where you are with the people you can share with of what Jesus has done, it will spread like wildfire as others "taste and see" that the Lord is good by a personal experience! Like the woman at the well in John 4, you may be a missionary with what God has revealed to you of His everlasting love! Go and share Jesus' love and let other hearts be melted and transformed by the revelation!
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God answers prayer not because we feel it, but because of His grace. He will turn no one away. We may come in our great need and find healing from sin by an immediate, complete surrender of our will to Him, thus receiving a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Then, as we pray for earthly blessings, we will let God choose how to answer best and in what timing. Apart from a continual union and communion with Christ we are by nature selfish and cannot change ourselves--that is why we need Jesus CONTINUALLY! The nobleman in Capernaum experienced the healing of his son once Jesus had converted his heart, thus giving him a greater blessing than he initially sought!
Like Jacob he prevailed. The Saviour cannot withdraw from the soul that clings to Him, pleading its great need. "Go thy way," He said; "thy son liveth." The nobleman left the Saviour's presence with a peace and joy he had never known before. Not only did he believe that his son would be restored, but with strong confidence he trusted in Christ as the Redeemer.
We may let God orchestrate His healing plan for our lives in the way that is best. Let us believe He answers every sincere prayer and be earnest, fervent, and consistent. With God all things are possible!
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The people in our fallen world are trying so many ways to do things apart from God's will. It is quite an experiment. But it is not leading to genuine happiness. We find true, genuine and consistent happiness in union and communion with Christ who has the power to convert the heart and fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Let us choose what Jesus chose--conformity to God's will!!
But the Son of God was surrendered to the Father’s will, and dependent upon His power. So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself. He accepted God’s plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will.
As we do God's will, our lives will continually reflect more and more of the loveliness of Jesus' character, for by beholding we become changed!
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Let us trust God's leading in our lives, even though we do not see the whole picture yet! Jesus is coming soon, and He will make the mysteries of this life plain as we abide in Him and overcome through His grace. Such an experience of complete surrender to Jesus in the most trying experiences of life allows the Holy Spirit in the converted heart to bring forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in even sweeter and greater abundance! Hallelujah!!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
Because God loves us, He gives us what is best. Trusting in Him, let go forward today that others may find the joy of salvation no matter what their circumstances may be!
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Jesus is coming soon! Now is the time to look upon Him by faith ministering as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven where He is blotting out the record of the repented and confessed sins of His people whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life! May we earnestly seek to invite as many as possible to come to Christ, accept the salvation so freely offered, and thus experience in our characters the transformation that is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
To truly live in readiness for Jesus coming means to be in constant union and communion with Him and allow us to go about our Father's business to give the final everlasting gospel call revealed in Revelation 14:6-12 which when truly accepted will bring forth a people whose lives are in harmony with the faith of Jesus and the commandments of God!
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The only real greatness is humility. Entire surrender to Christ motivated by beholding His loveliness of character (grace) moves us to surrender completely in true repentance (faith working by love) so we may walk in constant union and communion with Him! Then He brings forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing from our lives that are joined to Him!
Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?
Yes, many a time religious leaders are in error--not simply because they are religious leaders, but because if they do not surrender fully to Christ on a moment-by-moment basis, then the heart is not open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is to lead each one of us and teach us so we will uplift Christ and then humanity also will be uplifted in beholding Him!
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Be encouraged! Connect your life in complete surrender to Jesus and press onward and upward in God's appointed plan for your life!
During that sad night on the lake, when they were separated from Christ, the disciples were pressed hard by unbelief, and weary with fruitless toil. But His presence kindled their faith, and brought them joy and success. So it is with us; apart from Christ, our work is fruitless, and it is easy to distrust and murmur. But when He is near, and we labor under His direction, we rejoice in the evidence of His power. It is Satan's work to discourage the soul; it is Christ's work to inspire with faith and hope.
Christ will give a converted heart, filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we surrender fully and continually to Him and become partakers of the divine nature! Then like the disciples Jesus first called, we may be encouraged to go forward to win souls to His kingdom!
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God's word is so powerful and can subdue our iniquities as we learn of Christ and abide in Him! Then He will manifest in and through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame,--the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John 8:32; 7:17, R. V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.
The victory is in Christ! Let us experience all God has for us!
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Let's allow God to choose for us in every area of life--but know that He will ALWAYS forgive our sins IMMEDIATELY! In all other areas of prayer, we can trust that He will provide what is best in His best timing, for He makes everything beautiful in Him time. The converted soul renewed by divine grace, cleansed from sin like the healed leper or the restored paralytic, will have a testimony of what God's grace can do! Grace changes sinners into saints who by faith lay hold of Christ's merits and, reconciled to God, will manifest what their souls united to Him will inevitably manifest--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments to the extent that they are known at that point in the perfection of Christ appropriated to the soul!
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Galatians 1:4. And "this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5:14, 15. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
Do not doubt that if you confess your sins to God in true repentance that He forgives you, for repentance is the power of God to confess sin. He delights to restore us FULLY to His image and to remove the only thing that separates us from Him--sin. He does so by giving us a new heart and a new mind, and thus a new will (the power of decision, or choice) that He sanctifies from the hereditary and cultivated tendency to unbelief as we accept what His word says over our feelings and walk where His providence directs!
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When we experience the power of the gospel, we will value fellowship with Christ over anything offered in this whole world! When Jesus has the whole heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life and we will gladly obey Him out of an intelligent appreciation of all He is to us and is offering us in union and communion with Him!
To Matthew in his wealth, and to Andrew and Peter in their poverty, the same test was brought; the same consecration was made by each. At the moment of success, when the nets were filled with fish, and the impulses of the old life were strongest, Jesus asked the disciples at the sea to leave all for the work of the gospel. So every soul is tested as to whether the desire for temporal good or for fellowship with Christ is strongest.
Let us keep looking unto Jesus!! He will finish what He starts in our lives!!
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Each time the seventh day of the week comes at sunset on Friday, let us rejoice in those sacred 24 hours until the sunset on Saturday and find increased joy in experiencing true rest in Christ by receiving His righteousness by faith!
"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive." Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:6, 7.
Let us look to Christ continually who gives every good and perfect gift--including salvation as exemplified in the gift of the Sabbath, for we enter into the rest of Christ and cease from the works of sin (the flesh) by being truly converted in heart so that all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit are manifest in us, for we get to live by the Spirit!
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Unity is what we need. But how does it come? True unity comes from complete surrender to Christ, so that the converted heart renewed by His divine grace will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to the law of God. Then, no matter how much you may differ from a person because of your genetics or background, if you are both abiding in Christ, there will be true unity in proportion to how you approach Christ. Let us uplift the Christ of Scripture and come into the unity of the faith of Jesus, for He is coming soon for a people that reflect His loveliness!
The apostles differed widely in habits and disposition. There were the publican, Levi-Matthew, and the fiery zealot Simon, the uncompromising hater of the authority of Rome; the generous, impulsive Peter, and the mean-spirited Judas; Thomas, truehearted, yet timid and fearful, Philip, slow of heart, and inclined to doubt, and the ambitious, outspoken sons of Zebedee, with their brethren. These were brought together, with their different faults, all with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil; but in and through Christ they were to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit. They would have their tests, their grievances, their differences of opinion; but while Christ was abiding in the heart, there could be no dissension. His love would lead to love for one another; the lessons of the Master would lead to the harmonizing of all differences, bringing the disciples into unity, till they would be of one mind and one judgment. Christ is the great center, and they would approach one another just in proportion as they approached the center.
As we look to Jesus, the One who finishes what He has begun in our lives, we can rejoice that we can look upon our brothers and sisters in Christ and reflect to them His character so that our joy will overflow to reach others, too! A truly unified people in love in Christ is an attractive family to be a part of! Let's allow this love to shine in our countenances and in all we say and do by having constant union and communion with Christ!
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Hungry? Your deepest soul hunger can only be satisfied by Jesus. He alone is the true Bread of Life, and He will fill us with His words so our hearts are renewed by divine grace so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest through us as we are partaking of the promises of His word that nourish our souls unto eternal life, making partakers of the divine nature!
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” The sense of unworthiness will lead the heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and this desire will not be disappointed. Those who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied. The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not rest short of the fullness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
God will fill you just in proportion to your capacity to receive, and the more you receive to impart of His infinite loveliness, the more you will be given to share with others, for by God's word we are freed from sin and born again unto the joy of eternal life!!
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So who is more powerful? God is MUCH MORE powerful than Satan, and we need to dwell more upon the loveliness of Jesus and His grace! As we contemplate His power to raise the the dead, certainly He has the power to keep us from sin, for the wages of sin is death! The same resurrection power that keeps us from being afraid of death because we can be resurrected is the SAME POWER that should keep us from being afraid that God cannot keep us from falling into sin! HE CAN DO IT CONSTANTLY!! Then let us praise God MORE AND MORE and be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL, for Satan is a defeated foe and Jesus is able to save to the UTTERMOST all who come to Him by a living faith surrender whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!!
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.
What joy we may have as we walk today in the victory of Christ!!
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Happy Thanksgiving! Wherever we are today, may we be grateful for having our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ as our Brother, and the Holy Spirit guide us and bless us as partakers of the divine nature as we receive His promises moment-by-moment! Then, through a vital union with Christ, we may experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour are not left as orphans, to bear the trials of life alone. He receives them as members of the heavenly family; He bids them call His Father their Father. They are His "little ones," dear to the heart of God, bound to Him by the most tender and abiding ties. He has toward them an exceeding tenderness, as far surpassing what our father or mother has felt toward us in our helplessness as the divine is above the human.
Let us be truly grateful, for gratitude and praise are such a blessing to experience through abiding in Christ!
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Rest is what everyone really wants. Peace in the soul, true happiness, and meaning in life. But people are not finding it apart from God. What the world promises will give rest apart from Christ proves to be unsatisfying and brings unhappiness in the long run. Oh, let us realize that it is sin and self that spoil our peace, and that when we are fully yielded to Christ, then peace that passes all understanding--along with all of the fruits of the Spirit with none of them missing--will be manifest in our lives so we can be truly happy in any circumstances. Christ modeled this as He went to Calvary's cross, considering it "the joy that was set before Him" (Hebrews 12:2), as it would lead to the salvation of all who would come to Him. May we also consider it true joy to face the end times before Jesus returns in light of how we can win souls to His kingdom!!
It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind that led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of our work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world, and in being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of our work is in proportion to the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Trust in God brings holier qualities of mind, so that in patience we may possess our souls.
Christ loves to heal us from ourselves, to make us into true witnesses of His character! Then the world will know that true happiness is the result of holiness, and conformity to God's will!
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Happy Sabbath!! What a joy to be resting in Jesus!
As Jesus rested by faith in the Father's care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
We cannot save ourselves, but we can admit our continual need of Jesus and allow Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! He is well pleased when we come to Him in simple faith, take Him at His word, yield our whole heart to Him to purify, and allow Him to impute and impart His righteousness to us! Then the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, and we will gladly go where Jesus bids us--even if it be through the storm of the time of trouble soon to break upon this world. Let us remember that Jesus sees the way that is best and let Him direct us moment-by-moment!
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Let us not forget God's goodness, for His goodness leads us to repentance and guides us into a total surrender to Him so Christ by the Holy Spirit renews our hearts and imparts and imputes to us His righteousness! Then we will spontaneously manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we continue to choose to abide in Christ!
It is for our own benefit to keep every gift of God fresh in our memory. Thus faith is strengthened to claim and to receive more and more. There is greater encouragement for us in the least blessing we ourselves receive from God than in all the accounts we can read of the faith and experience of others. The soul that responds to the grace of God shall be like a watered garden. His health shall spring forth speedily; his light shall rise in obscurity, and the glory of the Lord shall be seen upon him. Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord, and the multitude of His tender mercies. Like the people of Israel, let us set up our stones of witness, and inscribe upon them the precious story of what God has wrought for us. And as we review His dealings with us in our pilgrimage, let us, out of hearts melted with gratitude, declare, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people." Psalm 116:12-14.
We need not fear for the future as we remember the way God has led us and His teaching in our past history! Look up! Jesus is coming SO SOON!!
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The good news is better than you can ask or think! Look to Jesus and let Him give you a new heart and a new mind as you fully surrender your will to Him! Then He blots out your sins and fills you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father's notice. Satan's hatred against God leads him to hate every object of the Saviour's care. He seeks to mar the handiwork of God, and he delights in destroying even the dumb creatures. It is only through God's protecting care that the birds are preserved to gladden us with their songs of joy. But He does not forget even the sparrows. "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."
Jesus continues: As you confess Me before men, so I will confess you before God and the holy angels. You are to be My witnesses upon earth, channels through which My grace can flow for the healing of the world. So I will be your representative in heaven. The Father beholds not your faulty character, but He sees you as clothed in My perfection. I am the medium through which Heaven's blessings shall come to you. And everyone who confesses Me by sharing My sacrifice for the lost shall be confessed as a sharer in the glory and joy of the redeemed.
When we truly believe that God loves us and has an eternity planned of blessings, we can learn to trust Him on a moment-by-moment basis to keep us from sin and to direct us in the way that He knows is best to draw souls to Him!
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What a joy it is to become like Jesus! This is why Jesus left heaven--to offer us His perfect life by His shed blood and to give us the example of His sinless life so that by continual union and communion with Him, we may become like Him in mind and character whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
In a life wholly devoted to the good of others, the Saviour found it necessary to withdraw from the thoroughfares of travel and from the throng that followed Him day after day. He must turn aside from a life of ceaseless activity and contact with human needs, to seek retirement and unbroken communion with His Father. As one with us, a sharer in our needs and weaknesses, He was wholly dependent upon God, and in the secret place of prayer He sought divine strength, that He might go forth braced for duty and trial. In a world of sin Jesus endured struggles and torture of soul. In communion with God He could unburden the sorrows that were crushing Him. Here He found comfort and joy.
We can give Jesus anything and everything that we are going through! There is no need to carry burdens that He has not placed upon us, but at the same time we can appreciate that He will impart all the strength and grace that we need to do His will on a moment-by-moment basis!
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Remember that God has a plan to save the world--but that includes you! It is not that He simply wants to save you from sin, but He desires to give you the joy of working in His service with a converted heart that manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so that you may have the joy of bringing others to share the bread of life--the word of God that nourishes the soul unto salvation!
In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master Worker. Too often the worker for Christ fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burden upon organizations, instead of relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. It is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith. Personal responsibilities must be borne, personal duties must be taken up, personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. In the place of shifting your responsibility upon someone whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability.
Jesus knows our infirmities and has Himself shared our experience in all things but in sin, and thankfully He has prepared a path suited to our strength and capacity, for He knows what we can bear and what will be the best use of the unique talents and abilities He has given us to bless others!
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You are going to be tempted today. It is a given. But God has also promised that you need NEVER yield to that temptation and sin. "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). Let us learn our continual need of Jesus! When we are abiding in Him and fully surrendered to Him, He fills our hearts with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so that we may affectionately obey God's law of love--the Ten Commandments!
Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure, and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, "I know in whom I have believed; nothing can shake my faith in God and in His word." But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects. Only through realizing our own weakness and looking steadfastly unto Jesus can we walk securely.
Let us walk with Jesus today like Enoch. Let us learn from Peter's experience of falling when he took his eyes off Jesus that unless our eyes are fixed on Him, we cannot have a victorious Christian experience. Only in and through Christ may our lives be strong, and useful to be a true blessing to others for the glory of God!
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It's happening! God is working out His plan! Now it is God's plan to bless you and to give you an incredible, intimate union and communion with God by healing you with His word! Jesus will feed with you His promises so that in all your trials you may be filled by His Spirit so that all of the fruits of His character--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance--without one missing will be seen in your life!
To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins, and that we are complete in Him. It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being. So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated.
As we assimilate God's grace, we become new creatures! There is no limit to the usefulness to each of us who are willing to be fully submitted to His plan! God heals us by taking us to behold Jesus and in beholding Him, we become changed into the image of relational love! This is such GOOD NEWS!!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming very soon, and the everlasting gospel is the MAIN FOCUS for us in these last days in the context of the three angel's messages of Revelation 14:6-12. Let us not get distracted! Keep looking unto Jesus and pointing souls to what matters for eternity!
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.
As we make choices today, let us choose to speak and act in harmony with the faith of Jesus and the commandments of God--for in Him is fullness of joy and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in Him in total surrender to His will!
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What do you choose? God chose for you to be saved into His everlasting kingdom. Satan chose for you to be lost. But only YOU cast the DECIDING VOTE as to what your eternal destiny will be. Will you join me in choosing Jesus CONTINUALLY? As you behold His infinite loveliness of character, yield the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, you will that God's love keeps moving you forward in the blessed path of life that He chose for you!! Make God's choice your choice today like the woman of Phoenicia whose daughter Jesus healed from demon possession! Come to Christ and KNOW that NO MATTER WHAT your circumstances, God can hear your prayer, give you a hatred for sin, and restore you to His image!
"And He said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed." (Mark 7:29-30).
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.
In light of what God has planned for us for all eternity, let us walk in harmony with His choice today, and go forth to encourage others to choose Christ and His plan on a moment-by-moment basis!!
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Where do we get zeal? It is the fruit of the repentance Christ gives us! "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). And to His last-day people, Christ pleads: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:19-20).
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. "Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to "walk, even as He walked;" and "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:6, 3.
To walk as Jesus walked means that we will go about doing good--whether in-person or in a virtual format--manifesting His true character of heartfelt, affectionate obedience that is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life! Let us look up by faith to Christ in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest who is able to finish what He started in our lives as by grace through faith we experience His infinite gift of salvation!
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He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. We are given a probationary life to choose either Christ or self (the power of the devil). We are given every incentive to right-doing as we behold the loveliness of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit leads and woos us to surrender FULLY to Christ so that He can create in us a clean heart and a new mind so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will flow freely through our lives to bless others! As we believe that Christ's blood atones for our sins, there is victory in Jesus for the weakest soul who abides in Him! Let us learn to embrace the principle of self-sacrifice which is the very essence of heaven's bliss!
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And "what is a man profited," said Jesus, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Let us choose Christ today on a moment-by-moment basis, knowing that He is faithful to finish what He has begun in our lives!
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Are you open to the blessing? God wants to give us something better than we can ask or think--a character like Christ's--and yet character is formed through experience. As the three closest disciples of Jesus went up to the mount with Jesus as He was transfigured, they slept through a good portion of the conversation Christ had with Elijah and Moses; had they heard those key words, they would have been better prepared for the trial just before them in witnessing Christ's crucifixion. We are in a similar position, as Jesus is about to return and the time of trouble will transpire before Jesus comes. Let us learn now to receive all the blessings God wants to give us in gaining a character experience like Christ's so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives and we will be enabled to suffer and be strong for His dear sake. Then the power of the gospel will be so evidently seen that it will recommend itself to the hearts and minds of those who are watching to see if indeed we are like Jesus.
Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,--a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them.
When we appreciate the salvation offered us in Christ, we will gladly be WIDE AWAKE to watch and pray and learn of Christ each precious lesson, recognizing that fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
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As we realize that God's work can only be done by abiding in Him by His Spirit in complete surrender to His will, we will yearn to spend more time with Jesus and reflect the loveliness of His character to those around us! Let us learn from the disciples' experience the importance of a constant connection with God! When we are truly converted, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, and we will gladly go where God leads us in affectionate obedience to His law of love!!
In order to succeed in such a conflict they must come to the work in a different spirit. Their faith must be strengthened by fervent prayer and fasting, and humiliation of heart. They must be emptied of self, and be filled with the Spirit and power of God. Earnest, persevering supplication to God in faith--faith that leads to entire dependence upon God, and unreserved consecration to His work--can alone avail to bring men the Holy Spirit's aid in the battle against principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits in high places.
We are in a war--but there is One who already won it! At Calvary the exclamation point of the great controversy between Christ and Satan was sounded: "It is finished" (John 19:30). Now all heaven is waiting to witness that Christ's victory will be wrought out in the lives of His people so fully that there is no risk of sin ever rising up again in their lives because they have learned to depend on Him FULLY and ALWAYS, and to such a witness is sounded "It is done" (Revelation 16:17). Because God's purpose to have a people who reflect Him in a world of sin will reach its fulfillment, Christ and His bride, the church, are seen as united in such an intimacy that forever the purpose God conceived in His infinite mind of love will never be thwarted, and the promise will forever ring true: "What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time" (Nahum 1:9). Let us be a part of God's plan in the fulness of the gospel experience by letting God do in and through us exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think!!
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What are you looking at? What we focus on changes us. As we behold the infinite loveliness of Jesus, we will become like Him in mind and character as we yield the whole heart to Him, and in contemplation of Him, self will be forgotten. Like a little child, we shall be happy to let Him lead us moment-by-moment, for the truly converted heart will ever manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life of affectionate obedience to all the light of God's law that is known and understood! Let us be living witnesses of Jesus' character today!!
Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); and by beholding, he becomes changed. His fear is turned to joy, his doubts to hope. Gratitude springs up. The stony heart is broken. A tide of love sweeps into the soul. Christ is in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. When we see Jesus, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, working to save the lost, slighted, scorned, derided, driven from city to city till His mission was accomplished; when we behold Him in Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, and on the cross dying in agony,—when we see this, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. Looking unto Jesus, we shall be ashamed of our coldness, our lethargy, our self-seeking. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing, so that we may do heart service for the Master. We shall rejoice to bear the cross after Jesus, to endure trial, shame, or persecution for His dear sake.
No matter what the future holds, Jesus has a path suited to your strength and capacity that will bring you joy as you seek and save souls who also will become happy, peaceful and obedient in coming into union and communion with Christ! May God bless you to be a blessing today!
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Happy Sabbath! Read the Owner's manual (the Bible). Jesus created you and He knows what will make you happy. If you want to try other things to satisfy your soul that do not lead to eternal happiness, you will experience loss and disappointment. But as you surrender your whole heart and mind to Christ because you see His loveliness in dying to save you from your sins, your whole life may be transformed and you may experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you are truly converted! Then the happiness instructions in the Bible will be your chief delight and you will gladly obey the law of God revealed therein because Christ writes His character in your mind and heart!!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
We are all looking for happiness, but we are tempted to try the things the world is rushing after to satisfy us. Thankfully, Jesus navigated this entire earthly life and followed EVERY WORD of the happiness manual, the Bible, and though He experienced great sorrow and trial in dying for us, He was cheered by the thought and the realization that He was bringing happiness to all who would come and accept the priceless gift of salvation. Only as we look to Jesus can we realize that happiness is the result of holiness, conformity to the will of God, and that in order to be happy ourselves we must live to make others happy! May this be your experience today and always by constant union and communion with Christ!
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The woman caught in adultery was seen through the eyes of Jesus as having infinite value. He knew her sin could be pardoned and forgiven. He saw her potential. He sees your potential. Fix your eyes upon the loveliness of Jesus and walk by faith in His character. Surrendering the entire heart to Him, your sins He freely pardons by His atoning blood and His grace empowers you to live a new life manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
In His act of pardoning this woman and encouraging her to live a better life, the character of Jesus shines forth in the beauty of perfect righteousness. While He does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, He seeks not to condemn, but to save. The world had for this erring woman only contempt and scorn; but Jesus speaks words of comfort and hope. The Sinless One pities the weakness of the sinner, and reaches to her a helping hand. While the hypocritical Pharisees denounce, Jesus bids her, "Go, and sin no more."
Let us go forth in His grace today to reflect the tenderness and compassion of Christ by having Him live in us, the "hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
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We have a problem. It is an infinite problem. Sin separates us from God and only Jesus can solve our problem. But when we admit our need and come to Him in total surrender, He offers us His infinite help, converting grace, and power to recreate us into His image! The result of accepting by faith such a miracle is that our lives will reflect all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and we will be gladly obeying all of the light of God's law of love that is known to us!
The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of His hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, "Are we blind also?" Jesus answered, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin." If God had made it impossible for you to see the truth, your ignorance would involve no guilt. "But now ye say, We see." You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight. To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need; they refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness,--a blindness for which they were themselves guilty. Jesus said, "Your sin remaineth."
Why would we choose to have our sin remain on the books of heaven? Jesus is about to leave the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and He is preparing us to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator because His grace has restored us to His image in such a way that during the time of trouble such as never was His people will be kept from falling because they so fully trust His character that they would rather die than sin, and Christ has matured His character in them. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11). Let us keep our eyes on Jesus because He is ABLE to HELP us and SAVE us FULLY!! What good news this is!! May our lives bear witness of the loveliness of Jesus this day and each day!
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Why follow? What leads us to respond to Christ and continue to go where He invites?
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
By faith today we may hear the voice of Jesus saying, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
As we unlearn the ways of the world with its false theories, standards and expectations and come under the tender care of Jesus, we can know that He will lead us in the way that is best to save our souls and to use us as witnesses of His loveliness to those around us! When we surrender the whole heart to Him, He comes and makes it His abiding place, forgiving our sins by His shed blood, filling us the Holy Spirit so that not one of the fruits of the Spirit is missing, and gladly leading us to obey the definition of loving freedom found in the Ten Commandments. Let us keep listening the Savior-Shepherd each moment of this day and invite others to do the same. If everyone in the world would but listen to Jesus in His word, He could come VERY SOON!
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Are you afraid of caged lions? Or what about defeated foes? Let us remember that Christ defeated Satan at Calvary and let us praise God who has power to keep us from coming under Satan's power as we yield our whole heart to Christ on a moment-by-moment basis! The only reason Satan still exists is that the whole universe may see the irrefutable evidence of how sinful sin and rebellion is, and give all free moral agents the opportunity to fully choose Christ or Satan. We need not be afraid for the future as we rely on God's promises which make us partakers of the divine nature! Then, abiding in Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives!
Henceforward Christ's followers were to look upon Satan as a conquered foe. Upon the cross, Jesus was to gain the victory for them; that victory He desired them to accept as their own. "Behold," He said, "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.
As we see the goodness of God, it leads us to an ever-deepening repentance. We may gladly go forward on the mission God has entrusted to us because Christ has defeated the devil, and soon he will no longer exist, because the wages of sin is death. Thankfully, all who know their need of Christ and come to Him are set free to do God's will and find great joy in His plans which are always best!
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With so many errors and poor examples in the world because of sin, what is the true solution?
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
Selfishness is death. Christ came to break the power of selfishness by manifesting self-sacrificing love, the true character of God, and show us the path of true happiness which is the result of holiness. To break sin's power and pay the penalty for our sins, Jesus died for us at Calvary. Now He is in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary ministering to blot out even the record of the confessed and forsaken sin of His people, as He is preparing His people to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator by living His character in this world consistently. When we live by faith on the Son of God, the Holy Spirit lives in the converted heart that is cleansed by the blood of Jesus and renewed by grace so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing! The effect of such union and communion with God is that we will gladly obey the law of love and seek and save the souls around us that need Jesus. Let us go forth today to bless others by looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith!
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The world is becoming more corrupt, but the gospel of the grace of God is still the only lasting solution to change hearts and lives. We can look around us and know that the things Jesus said would transpire before He returns are happening, but thankfully, there has never been a better time to uplift Jesus and share that as we behold Him and yield unreservedly to Him with the whole heart and mind, He blots out our sins by His atoning blood, fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and then lives out His life in us in complete obedience! Let us look keep looking higher and higher as the coming of Christ is SO SOON!
Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.
An ambassador is someone who lives in another land representing another. We are representatives of heaven, and as such are to keep our identity clear and district. We represent Jesus who promises to prepare a place for us. Though we are strangers and pilgrims in this short earthly life, we can be thankful that He is willing to work in and through us and appeal to the hearts of those around us to be adopted into His kingdom by a true heart conversion! Let us be faithful by abiding in Him today!
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Happy Sabbath! As you accept Jesus into your heart, may you let the Holy Spirit reflect His love, joy and peace along with all of the fruits of the Spirit through your life to the children of God around you who need Christ in their hearts, too!
As you win their confidence in you as followers of Christ, it will be easy to teach them of the great love wherewith He has loved us. As you try to make plain the truths of salvation, and point the children to Christ as a personal Saviour, angels will be by your side. The Lord will give to fathers and mothers grace to interest their little ones in the precious story of the Babe of Bethlehem, who is indeed the hope of the world.
Whatever our age, everyone begins life through childhood. Let us cultivate the happy trust in Jesus that is best cultivated early in life, even from babyhood! May you be like Jesus to everyone you meet--especially children!!
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In complete surrender to Christ there is perfect peace, along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then the life bears witness to the eternal realities that God intends to reveal to us, manifesting through us His divine nature made accessible to us by His infinite promises! Let us realize we are all in high positions of trust simply because of WHEN WE LIVE! We live RIGHT BEFORE Jesus returns, and we have a message to bear (Revelation 14:6-12) and a Savior who will finish the mystery of His character being fully manifest in us (Colossians 1:27, Revelation 10:7). The key is being fully surrendered on a moment-by-moment basis! As we let our Heavenly Father cut away any and all forms of selfishness and unlikeness to Christ in our characters, the message of the loveliness of Jesus in the context of the everlasting gospel will blaze with glory, and the Holy Spirit will be poured out in FULL measure!
To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trust and have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to give up all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for all who would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can be accepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ. Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative, because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those things which, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being.
Had the rich young ruler realized that Jesus was offering him a promotion from his current experience to one that was in harmony with the present truth, he would gladly have yielded. Why the struggle for him? And why do we struggle to surrender so often? Because we have a fallen nature that is naturally deceptive and we must learn to walk by faith (what God says) rather than by feeling. What our flesh, the world, and the devil seek to deceive us to believe is all an attempt to get us to miss out on the eternal life Jesus has planned for us and the most weighty trust and highest honor this side of His coming--fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. Had the rich young ruler been like Moses who forsook Egypt and all its "advantages," that young man would have been such a help to Christ's work and there would have been MANY MORE SOULS in heaven because each soul saved in total surrender to Christ becomes another agency that God can use to save MANY MORE SOULS!! Let God use you in ANY WAY He chooses and you will always be happiest in light of eternity, even though trials and tribulation come because of following God's word!!
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Try to imagine the scene. Jesus is standing before the tomb of Lazarus, and He speaks in such a clear, ringing voice: "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43). This is the test of Christ's divinity. Can He raise the dead?
There is a stir in the silent tomb, and he who was dead stands at the door of the sepulcher. His movements are impeded by the graveclothes in which he was laid away, and Christ says to the astonished spectators, "Loose him, and let him go." Again they are shown that the human worker is to co-operate with God. Humanity is to work for humanity. Lazarus is set free, and stands before the company, not as one emaciated from disease, and with feeble, tottering limbs, but as a man in the prime of life, and in the vigor of a noble manhood. His eyes beam with intelligence and with love for his Saviour. He casts himself in adoration at the feet of Jesus.
So it will be when Jesus raises ALL THE DEAD IN CHRIST when He returns VERY SOON! All who have surrendered their lives to Him fully and accepted His saving grace by faith need not fear death, for it is likened in the Bible to sleep, for "the dead know not any thing" (Ecclesiastes 9:5), but those whom Christ raises will know His power over death and be given new, immortal bodies!! Lazarus' resurrection is an ASSURANCE that Jesus can DO IT AGAIN and we can go forth today to be His witnesses by the life He gives us--a life that will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as Christ has ALL THE HEART!! What joy may fill our hearts as we approach the soon coming return of Christ and the resurrection of life of all His believing children! If we are privileged to be alive until that day, having passed through the time of trouble, we will be given the blessing of a new body even though we never died!!
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Be consistent. By beholding Jesus, become like Jesus in complete surrender to God's will. Jesus consistently did the Father's will, and that was why He was persecuted. We do not seek to arouse antagonism or cause conflict, but as hearts choose either to respond to or reject the grace of Christ, there will be persecution. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
When God's people are reflecting Christ's character in all its glory as it is prophesied in Revelation 18:1, persecution will be inevitable. We are to do what the early church did, though, and rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for Him! As far as possible, if we are persecuted in one place, we should go to another to keep spreading the light. Jesus will keep us as we look to Him by faith, for when we are abiding in Him in living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! We will affectionately obey His law of love from a heart renewed by divine grace, and though loss, persecution and suffering may be our lot, we will rejoice to go where He leads, because Jesus is coming again soon and we have nothing to fear for the future except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history!
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Freedom is good. God loves freedom. But the definition of freedom is love, and the definition of love is the Ten Commandments as exemplified in the life and character of Christ. (A "freedom" outside the context God created is really a deceptive form of slavery to sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil.) When we live by faith on Christ as a personal Savior in continual union and communion of our souls with Him, He cleanses us from our sins and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit, for "against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:23). When we realize that our greatest need is to abide in Jesus on a constant basis, we will live in total freedom to do God's will which is defined by His word and revealed in His providences by the Holy Spirit. Oh, let us realize the HIGH PRIVILEGE of being free to do God's will that we may invite others to go and do likewise!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
As we go forth to be a blessing today in whatever way God's providence directs us in harmony with His word, let us encourage others to know that God is able to do more than we ask or think when we simply trust Him with the whole heart by surrendering fully to His love!
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Merry Christmas! Let’s look to Jesus and remember He came to save souls as broken as we!
Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.
This is good news! Share this grace in how you live and treat others today by looking upon Jesus, yielding the whole heart to Him, and letting Him imbue you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey the Holy Spirit’s promptings like Mary Magdalene did in how she anointed Jesus in gratitude! Affectionate obedience from a converted heart is the miracle He offers us as the greatest of all gifts! One soul is worth more than worlds!
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The full value of a soul can be fully known only by looking to Jesus, the One who paid for us and offers us an eternity with Him! Oh, how Christ longed for His people in Jerusalem, which is also a symbol of His longing for the souls of the entire world. Christ paid the price. Let us count the cost and realize our true value as we look to Jesus and abide in Him in a full-heart surrender!
Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee go to fill up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it, worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the golden throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's great heart of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies, despised His warnings, and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it was not yet too late. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour's love, and avert her doom? Beautiful and unholy city, that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,--her day of mercy was almost spent!
There is still time for us to turn fully to Christ. Probation is still open and people can still come to repentance, but Christ is about to complete His work as our High Priest (and close probation for repentance) and return to this world as a King (to rescue those who have received the gift of repentance)! Only those who behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world and receive the divine nature by grace through faith which is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be able to stand when probation closes, for they have washed the robes of their character in Christ's blood and made them white. We can overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony!
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Let us look to Jesus and choose to make the best use of the time He gives us in our probation. We each can choose Christ and by choosing to surrender fully to Christ, allow Him to live out His life in us by grace through faith so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! We can only bear fruit by abiding in Christ!
In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.
May God's Spirit not cease to lead us to repentance as we choose to listen to His still, small voice today! May our earnest desire be to do His will so His plans may come to pass!
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What is your foundation? What is your security? In a world where EVERYTHING is changing SO QUICKLY, what can we safely depend upon when we are tempted, tried, and in difficulty? What is the only source of enduring strength for now and forever?
"He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4). We must come to Jesus, the Rock, the Word who cannot fail us! "Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31).
Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. This is the only foundation upon which we may securely build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world. And by connection with Christ, the living stone, all who build upon this foundation become living stones. Many persons are by their own endeavors hewn, polished, and beautified; but they cannot become "living stones," because they are not connected with Christ. Without this connection, no man can be saved. Without the life of Christ in us, we cannot withstand the storms of temptation. Our eternal safety depends upon our building upon the sure foundation. Multitudes are today building upon foundations that have not been tested. When the rain falls, and the tempest rages, and the floods come, their house will fall, because it is not founded upon the eternal Rock, the chief cornerstone Christ Jesus.
Jesus invites us ALL to come--no matter what we have done or are struggling with in our lives. There is no sinner too deep in sin for Him to redeem; there is no illness too grievous for Him to heal, there is no shame too great for Him to remove and crown the life with honor and glory! Come to Christ as you are but EXPECT Him to transform your life because He has promised to do so! "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
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With so many winds of doctrine that tend to lead away from a simple, childlike trust of the word of God as it reads, we would do well to learn from the time in which Jesus lived and reflect on how Scripture was often misunderstood because of unbelief and hypocrisy. At Jesus' time there were Pharisees and Sadducees, and while the Pharisees often were arraigned by Jesus for their hypocrisy (teaching one thing and doing another), the Sadducees were arraigned by Christ for their unbelief of the word of God. Both could come to Christ and be saved if they would surrender the whole heart to Christ and let Him lead them into all truth, but they would need to surrender their own plans and purposes to be in harmony with God's word. So it is still. Let us accept God's word and allow Jesus to lead our lives according to His word as our standard. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
The Sadducees had flattered themselves that they of all men adhered most strictly to the Scriptures. But Jesus showed that they had not known their true meaning. That knowledge must be brought home to the heart by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Their ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God He declared to be the cause of their confusion of faith and darkness of mind. They were seeking to bring the mysteries of God within the compass of their finite reasoning. Christ called upon them to open their minds to those sacred truths that would broaden and strengthen the understanding. Thousands become infidels because their finite minds cannot comprehend the mysteries of God. They cannot explain the wonderful exhibition of divine power in His providences, therefore they reject the evidences of such power, attributing them to natural agencies which they can comprehend still less. The only key to the mysteries that surround us is to acknowledge in them all the presence and power of God. Men need to recognize God as the Creator of the universe, One who commands and executes all things. They need a broader view of His character, and of the mystery of His agencies.
We cannot fully understand everything, because God is infinite and we are finite. We need to accept the one principle of taking God's word as it reads, and also making the service and honor of God supreme so that perplexities may vanish, and we may find a plain path before our feet! Then, as we obey God's word as it reads because Jesus lives in our hearts by a true conversion experience whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, we can be kept from the snares of Satan in the form of winds of doctrine that lead away from God's word in its true context. Let us look to Jesus in all His loveliness and realize that when met with controversy, He did not enter into controversy, but called His hearers and questioners to answer their own questions from the word of God.
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It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation.
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Christ said: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto Me” (John 12:32).
As the word “men” is supplied in the translation, Christ’s sacrifice was really to reach the whole universe in regard to God’s true character.
But the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth," He said, "will draw all unto Me."
Let us be drawn by Christ and reflect His true character—all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in complete surrender of our heart in affectionate obedience to God’s law of love!
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Happy new year 2021! Jesus is coming again, and we can see the signs of the times around us! But let us remember that Christ is preparing us to share the message of the everlasting gospel by life and character and message so all the world may know that God is able to finish what He started in the plan of redemption and glorify His character to the onlooking universe! As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, yielding the whole heart to Him, we are given a new heart that He fills with all of the fruits of the Spirit so that not one is missing! What a privilege!
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
Yet in an agitated world we may have peace from God, love in the heart for all, and a joy that is not from this earth! Look up, for the promises of God cannot and will not fail the weakest soul who comes to Christ by grace through faith to be saved in God's appointed way!
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Happy Sabbath! As you go forth to be a blessing to others this Sabbath by inviting Jesus into your heart by a living-faith surrender to His will in an intelligent appreciation of the loveliness of His character, be encouraged that Jesus will minister to you as you let Him minister through you! "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40).
Those who minister to others will be ministered unto by the Chief Shepherd. They themselves will drink of the living water, and will be satisfied. They will not be longing for exciting amusements, or for some change in their lives. The great topic of interest will be, how to save the souls that are ready to perish. Social intercourse will be profitable. The love of the Redeemer will draw hearts together in unity.
True unity is from union and communion with Christ! We were created to bless others and our greatest happiness is found in being a blessing to others as Jesus has come to bless us, too!
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Selflessness is bliss. Implicit surrender to God will is the true path of eternal life. We are moved by beholding the loveliness of Jesus and in perfect acquiescence to Him there is perfect rest in our soul. Let us abide in Him and overcome by His divine grace! Complete union and communion with Christ means that we experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Again and again Jesus had tried to establish this principle among His disciples. When James and John made their request for pre-eminence, He had said, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister." Matthew 20:26. In My kingdom the principle of preference and supremacy has no place. The only greatness is the greatness of humility. The only distinction is found in devotion to the service of others.
Let us go forth to bless by letting Christ the source of all blessings abide in us on a moment-by-moment basis!
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Have you ever dealt with depression and discouragement? All of this Someone has already experienced more deeply than you can ever fully know. Let all the depression and discouragement that you may tempted to yield to today be rolled upon Jesus, fully, who bore it for us in Gethsemane and chose to save us from our wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked condition in sin to give us the cup of salvation. As we contemplate how much we are loved by God the Father who would send His Son to suffer and die for us, as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform our characters into the image of Christ by receiving all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing in true conversion, let us remember the cost of our salvation and appreciate the love of God for a world that did not love Him. It is as we behold Him that love awakens in our hearts, for only by love is love awakened. "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
As we taste and see that the Lord is good today, we can be encouraged to know that nothing is too great for Jesus to bear, for He has already passed through Gethsemane and He already died for us at Calvary. As we look away from self to Jesus, we find strength to resist evil in the aggressive service of pointing souls to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
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Wide awake, praying, and beholding Jesus is how our Heavenly Father would have us be living as we approach the final events of the last days. Peter's fall and failure to watch and pray in the garden is left on record to help us to navigate away from the condition that led him to deny Jesus. We are nearing the heavenly home, but the great storm of temptations climaxing in the time of trouble will grow more intense to prove to the universe that God's grace is powerful enough to produce and sustain His people who profit from His word and choose to be continual partakers of the divine nature, thus manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in obedience to God's law of love even when Christ's mediation in the heavenly sanctuary comes to a close! This is so Christ may come to take us home to heaven as He is our conquering King! Let us heed the lesson: "Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is" (Mark 13:33).
It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.
Unlike Peter who had a "second chance" after denying Jesus, there will not be a "second chance" during time of trouble when probation has closed for the world, and the final declaration is made: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still" (Revelation 22:11). Thankfully, God is giving us the "second chance" now to learn wherein we fail, and then guard ourselves, overcoming by the grace of Christ through the blood of the Lamb and by the word of the testimony entrusted to us! This is the grand finale of the universe, so let us be all we can possibly be for the glory of God because Jesus suffered so much for us to make us one with Him and enjoy Him forever!
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Happy Sabbath!!
There is a perfect example of how God's people can face the anarchy and confusion of the last days that is increasing rapidly. We see in Jesus' character a living invitation to abide in His patience that is the outflow of the divine nature accessible to us by the "exceeding great and precious promises" of God (2 Peter 1:4), thus linking us with all of the fruits of "the Spirit" without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23) as long as we are completely surrendered to have Christ live in us, "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27)! Accepting Christ's cleansing blood in the experience of true repentance, the Holy Spirit produces in us a "new heart" (Ezekiel 36:26) so that the fallen nature in league with the evil heart of unbelief that is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9) will not be manifest even by a thought to corrupt the witness that Christ will produce in those who look unto Him as the "Author and Finisher" (Hebrews 12:2) of the genuine faith experience that led Him to Calvary to die as our Sacrifice and offer us an eternity with Him!
"Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe." The Roman soldiers joined in this abuse. All that these wicked, corrupt soldiers, helped on by Herod and the Jewish dignitaries, could instigate was heaped upon the Saviour. Yet His divine patience failed not.
When the storm of temptation seems beyond your capacity to bear, behold Jesus in His exceedingly great loveliness of character; yield fully to Him and let Him live out His life within you! He will keep you from falling because His grace is stronger than sin, and His power is greater than that of Satan who was defeated at Calvary when Christ proclaimed "It is finished" (John 19:30). May you today let Christ fulfill His promises in you as you look away from yourself to His word that cannot fail and that will not pass away!
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The greatest pain felt and known to a depth that is beyond human comprehension by Jesus Christ at Calvary was on account of His separation from God because of sin. Here He experienced the separation that sin makes between the soul and God, and as His Father's countenance was withdrawn from Him, Jesus' heart was pierced so deeply that the physical anguish He was enduring was barely felt. Oh, let us contemplate more of the cost of our salvation and appreciate the loveliness of Jesus, for by beholding Him we become changed, have the true motivation to surrender the entire heart and mind to Him so He can renew us and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and make us willing to be willing in any and every area of life and character as we approach the final moments of earth's history. Christ's sacrifice is the great impetus for us to go forth and give the last message of mercy to a world soon to perish. Sin leads to death, and Christ's death is a pledge that all who will come to Him and be saved may lay aside the habits and mindset of death to receive the very mind of Christ--which is life and peace!
Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father's mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father's reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt.
The value of each soul can only be estimated by realizing the experience of Christ at Calvary. And as exceedingly great as was the pain of Christ in His soul, so much greater was the anguish the Father endured in seeing His Son bear the crushing weight of the sin of the world. Oh, let us appreciate how even now the Holy Spirit is laboring to bring us to an intelligent appreciation of the sacrifice made by the Godhead in saving all who will come and be saved! Look and live! Jesus is able to save the uttermost all who come unto Him!
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As we realize how God wins the great controversy over His character, it is helpful to realize how easily Satan could have been destroyed, but that God acts in harmony with His character to allow every being who has been given free moral agency to see clearly what is at stake and to make an intelligent decision by seeing the contrast between Christ and Satan. As we yield fully to Jesus, He blots out our sins as we have freely confessed and forsaken them and He imparts to us His very attributes--the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--so we may be a blessing to reveal God's character in this universe as witnesses!
God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.
When brought into trying circumstances, let us rely implicit on the moral power of love and truth to be wrought in and through us, and in so doing allow God's plan for our life to be fulfilled!
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Why did Jesus die?
But it was not the spear thrust, it was not the pain of the cross, that caused the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered "with a loud voice" (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46), at the moment of death, the stream of blood and water that flowed from His side, declared that He died of a broken heart. His heart was broken by mental anguish. He was slain by the sin of the world.
Our sin--all of our sin--was the cause of Jesus' death. As we realize the depths to which He would go to save us, let us not become weary in well doing, knowing that in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Christ persevered to Calvary, and now He invites us to persevere in the last days that culminate in the experience of translation! Jesus is preparing witness like Enoch and Elijah who will not die! Jesus is coming and He will have living witnesses upon the earth! When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing. This is the very essence of what conversion does in taking away our sin and brining us into harmony with God. Let us appreciate the cost of our salvation and go forth to seek and save the lost as Jesus did!
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There is something so amazing about the resurrection of Christ! At Calvary, His humanity died, but His divinity did not die, and that is why at the Father's call He came forth by the life that was in Himself.
When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, "I lay down My life, that I might take it again. . . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 10:17, 18; 2:19.
The glorious reality is that through the gospel the same life that is in Christ becomes our life by an entire heart surrender, for we are one with Him and will manifest the traits of His true character--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith, temperance--for these very traits are the life of God imparted to every repentant, believing soul who trusts in Christ's blood for forgiveness and cleansing from sin and allows the Holy Spirit to fill the life on a constant basis! Not one of these fruits of the Spirit will be missing as long as Christ is in us, the hope of glory!
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When Jesus went to heaven after He rose from the dead, what was He first doing in the presence of our Heavenly Father?
Jesus refused to receive the homage of His people until He had the assurance that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. He ascended to the heavenly courts, and from God Himself heard the assurance that His atonement for the sins of men had been ample, that through His blood all might gain eternal life. The Father ratified the covenant made with Christ, that He would receive repentant and obedient men, and would love them even as He loves His Son. Christ was to complete His work, and fulfill His pledge to "make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isaiah 13:12. All power in heaven and on earth was given to the Prince of Life, and He returned to His followers in a world of sin, that He might impart to them of His power and glory.
It is finished. The sacrifice is complete. The Father accepted fully what Christ did for us at Calvary as a perfect way to save all who will come unto Him and be saved from sin, healed from the disorders of their sin-sick souls, and become partakers of the divine nature so that all of the fruits of the Spirit may be seen in the converted life as Christ will live out His life through the abiding soul! What affectionate obedience to all of the Ten Commandments will come as we look to Jesus and realize how valuable we are to God! One soul is worth more than worlds!
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We can be hopeful! Even in these trying times, we can be hopeful in the prophecies that are fulfilling rapidly around us, for Jesus is coming again!
"Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" The disciples wondered who this stranger could be, that He should penetrate to their very souls, and speak with such earnestness, tenderness, and sympathy, and with such hopefulness. For the first time since Christ's betrayal, they began to feel hopeful. Often they looked earnestly at their companion, and thought that His words were just the words that Christ would have spoken. They were filled with amazement, and their hearts began to throb with joyful expectation.
When Christ is in our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! We can be joyful in Jesus who came to save to the uttermost and make us like Him in mind and character!
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Let us learn to walk in saving faith! What is the best way for unbelief to be overcome?
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach, nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith, but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers. Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense, and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
As we look to Jesus in humble submission to His will, He cleanses us from our sins as we confess and forsake them, He heals our lives, and unites us to His divine nature so unbelief is overcome by beholding His loveliness, so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be seen in our lives without one missing! May this be your experience today in Christ!
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What does it mean to be "rich" in the kingdom of heaven? Let us look at where the disciples gathered after the resurrection of Christ and contemplate the experience they had gained.
Seven of the disciples were in company. They were clad in the humble garb of fishermen; they were poor in worldly goods, but rich in the knowledge and practice of the truth, which in the sight of Heaven gave them the highest rank as teachers. They had not been students in the schools of the prophets, but for three years they had been taught by the greatest Educator the world has ever known. Under His instruction they had become elevated, intelligent, and refined, agents through whom men might be led to a knowledge of the truth.
To know and practice truth is what makes a person truly "rich" in God's sight. Just professing to know and practice truth will avail nothing. Such is the profession of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3, and that is why Christ calls for the door of the heart to be opened to Him. Only by yielding the whole heart to Christ and letting His truth become our very lived experience--thus leading us in true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life--will cause the soul to walk in a saving, abiding relationship with Christ! May our lives become like Jesus by spending time with Jesus!
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Does what we are called to do seem impossible? Good! Because with God, nothing is impossible and He can make ways where there seems to be no way! His Holy Spirit can constantly increase our strength and capacity for service and guide in ways that pass our finite understanding!
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.
Let us look away from the weakness of self to the omnipotence of God's grace, love and power. As we look and live, the Holy Spirit will abide in the converted soul and not only cause all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing to be seen in the life, but will open up ways to reach others by an affectionate obedience experience of living to bless others! When we let God do in us what He plans, it is a joy!
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Thirty-three years is how long Jesus sojourned on earth. He ascended to heaven as a Man with glorified human nature, but He is ever our Brother! Let us rejoice that we have One who "fully gets us" and can save us COMPLETELY from sin because He became sin for us, and is willing to heal us completely into the image of His righteousness! He is with us forever!! He invites us to yield the whole heart to Him so we may have a converted heart and mind that is cleansed by His blood and filled with His Holy Spirit so that all of the traits of the divine nature will be manifest in our life without one missing!
Christ had sojourned in the world for thirty-three years; He had endured its scorn, insult, and mockery; He had been rejected and crucified. Now, when about to ascend to His throne of glory,--as He reviews the ingratitude of the people He came to save,--will He not withdraw from them His sympathy and love? Will not His affections be centered upon that realm where He is appreciated, and where sinless angels wait to do His bidding? No; His promise to those loved ones whom He leaves on earth is, "I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matthew 28:20.
As we look above the trials of this life to Christ and His soon return, we can remember that He is our intercessor and mediator for us in the heavenly sanctuary, preparing a place for us as we cooperate with Him in true character building after the image of His character--the law of love and the definition of freedom!
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We simply do not deserve it. God treats us the way we do not deserve through Christ! That is grace! Grace changes the heart that is yielded to Jesus and we can have peace that passes all understanding as we look to His sacrifice and contemplate His eternal promise to restore us fully from sin!
Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. "With His stripes we are healed."
When how mercifully God treats us really sinks in, we can treat others the way we have been treated by allowing Christ to abide in our hearts, cleansing us from our sin in true repentance, and healing the disorders of our sin-sick souls. We can look by faith to Christ and rejoice in Him forevermore! Then not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit be seen in our lives, but we will be cheerfully obedient to every known statute of God's word and His counsel!
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May we choose to learn from Israel's experience and choose God's ideal for our lives by beholding His true character, following His word, and surrendering unreservedly to Him in the experience of true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, so that He may accomplish His purpose through bringing His people into honor and exaltation rather than adversity and humiliation.
Had Israel been true to God, He could have accomplished His purpose through their honor and exaltation. If they had walked in the ways of obedience, He would have made them "high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor." "All people of the earth," said Moses, "shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee." "The nations which shall hear all these statutes" shall say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:10; Deuteronomy 4:6. But because of their unfaithfulness, God's purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.
We can learn from history, or we will tend to repeat it. May the experience of where those before us fell short of God's ideal not discourage us, but lead us to prayerfully watch for His will through His word and do what He has called us to do by being lights in this dark world that is soon to perish. Oh, what longsuffering love we see in the character of God, but He longs to have us cooperate with Him in His purposes and plans to bless the world with a revelation of His true character!
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Timing is important. God's timing is perfect. We can trust that as surely as there was an appointed time for Christ to come the first time, that God is working out all things together for good to them that love Him in His time and way. We can trust Him implicitly remember that when we behold the loveliness of Jesus and yield our whole heart to Him, then we will have a renewed heart and mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
But like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and no delay. Through the symbols of the great darkness and the smoking furnace, God had revealed to Abraham the bondage of Israel in Egypt, and had declared that the time of their sojourning should be four hundred years. "Afterward," He said, "shall they come out with great substance." Genesis 15:14. Against that word, all the power of Pharaoh's proud empire battled in vain. On "the self-same day" appointed in the divine promise, "it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt." Exodus 12:41. So in heaven's council the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
God Himself knows just what is needed. Look to Him today in humble, confiding faith and remember that God is faithful!
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Our genetics are fully known by God. And Jesus fully experienced how heredity affects the life. He battled in faith and love and overcame! There is hope for ALL of us!! As we look to Jesus in simple, humble faith, we may have victory and overcome through the merits of Christ!! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing!!
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
May the sinless life of Jesus be an encouragement that no matter how sinful our life may have been, His imputed righteousness is available to us by His cleansing blood, and His imparted righteousness is available to us as we allow the whole heart to be united with Christ!!
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Thankfully, Jesus disproved Satan's charge that the law cannot be obeyed, for Jesus as a man never sinned by the grace offered to us in the word of God. May we know that even though our past life is faulty, Christ will impute and impart His righteousness to us so He can keep us from falling into sin and reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit through us with out one missing! Then obedience which comes from loving and knowing God is our highest delight!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
Let us walk in true happiness in obedience today in doing God's will!
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No matter how long until Jesus returns, we can have a happy journey if we are walking in the faith that works by love and purifies the soul so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives. As we let Jesus work out His plan for us, we can go wherever He leads us to go!
As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, "not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. The Eastern country abounded in precious things, and the magi did not set out empty-handed. It was the custom to offer presents as an act of homage to princes or other personages of rank, and the richest gifts the land afforded were borne as an offering to Him in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. It was necessary to journey by night in order to keep the star in view; but the travelers beguiled the hours by repeating traditional sayings and prophetic utterances concerning the One they sought. At every pause for rest they searched the prophecies; and the conviction deepened that they were divinely guided. While they had the star before them as an outward sign, they had also the inward evidence of the Holy Spirit, which was impressing their hearts, and inspiring them with hope. The journey, though long, was a happy one to them.
As the Holy Spirit leads us to follow God's plan for us, we may never know until we are in heaven how much was accomplished by the faith of Jesus working through us! The wise men who gave their gifts to Jesus in worship were used by God to actually finance the deliverance trip for Joseph, Mary and Jesus to make it to Egypt in safety with provision for the way! When we go and give as God prompts us, we are privileged to be co-laborers with Christ for the blessing of the world in Christ's plan to save all who will come unto God by Him! May we be in such union and communion with God today that He can fulfill His plan in and through us!
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Real greatness can dispense with all outward show, as we see in the life of Jesus! The purity and simplicity of His character allowed Him complete freedom to do the will of His Father, manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and living the law of God out of an intelligent appreciation of His Father's beneficent character! Surrendered fully to Christ, we may partake of the same experience!
Yet Jesus shunned display. During all the years of His stay in Nazareth, He made no exhibition of His miraculous power. He sought no high position and assumed no titles. His quiet and simple life, and even the silence of the Scriptures concerning His early years, teach an important lesson. The more quiet and simple the life of the child,--the more free from artificial excitement, and the more in harmony with nature,--the more favorable is it to physical and mental vigor and to spiritual strength.
May we value what heaven values and dispense with that which will not transfer over to our experience in heaven. Now is the time to behold Jesus and become more like Him!
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May we experience the blessing of beholding Jesus! By beholding Christ and reflecting on His true character, we can experience renewing of our hearts and minds and become like Him in mind and character! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing and we will gladly obey the law of God as He writes it in our hearts and minds!
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
By beholding we become changed. Looking to Jesus there is healing for each and every one of us, and no matter how far we have fallen short of the glory of God, looking in faith to the Redeemer is the answer for each and every one of us on a moment-by-moment basis to have constant union and communion with Him! May you go forth this day to be a blessing as you are blessed by Jesus!
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If we feel alone in walking the path of truth, may we look upon Jesus and know that He understands better than we can imagine the trials of our hearts and lives when we sincerely desire to do His will and choose to follow where He leads in purity and self-denial. As we yield fully to Christ, we come to fellowship with Him in His sufferings by partaking of the divine nature, and then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, gladly going in the path of character He has directed for us to bring other souls to Him, too!
Yet through childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus walked alone. In His purity and His faithfulness, He trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him. He carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Filled with intense purpose, He carried out the design of His life that He Himself should be the light of men.
As the light of Jesus' character shines upon us and we allow it to shine out to others, they also may be filled with the intense purpose to hasten Christ's return by giving the pure gospel truth that Christ has power to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling by His grace! Nothing is too hard for the Lord, so we can remember the path Jesus trod and be encouraged for the path He has for our lives, too!
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With God all things are possible. Let us look above the weakness of humanity and trust God's promises to us in a whole-heart surrender to Him! Then as we behold the loveliness of Jesus and trust Him implicitly, He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing so our lives are in harmony with His law of love!
The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of the child of Abraham, and that of Mary, was to teach a great spiritual truth, a truth that we are slow to learn and ready to forget. In ourselves we are incapable of doing any good thing; but that which we cannot do will be wrought by the power of God in every submissive and believing soul. It was through faith that the child of promise was given. It is through faith that spiritual life is begotten, and we are enabled to do the works of righteousness.
God can work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! Let us rejoice in the Lord always and persevere in His plan for our lives, that we share the gospel with the whole world in the spirit and power of Elijah! Jesus is coming again and He is preparing a people to walk before Him in true holiness! He can make us holy by dwelling in us by the Holy Spirit!
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As we realize our true value because of what Christ experienced to save us from sin, let us walk in the courage of the Lord to in turn bless others!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
We get to be adopted into God's eternal family! What joy this brings to our hearts, along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as Christ is reigning on the throne of our hearts by grace through faith taking away our sinful heart of unbelief and giving us a heart of flesh to know and do His holy will!
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Praise the Lord for the power of His word to sustain us as it sustained Jesus in His time of temptation! We can rely upon God's promises to make us partakers of the divine nature, whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit may be seen in our lives without one missing!
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it appears that obedience to some plain requirement of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world upon which we can rely is the word of God. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God's command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one, and trust the other.
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, let us trust His daily provision for our lives and go forth to be a blessing to others that they may know that our dependence is in God!
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If what we are being offered is more valuable than we can fully comprehend this side of heaven, then it only makes complete sense to be ALL IN for God's will so He may fulfill His will and plan in our lives. We can rejoice in Jesus and persevere by His grace to overcome in the conflicts with the world, the flesh and the devil--all of which may be overcome by a complete surrender of the whole heart to Christ so He may live in us and work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure by the Holy Spirit renewing the heart and making it clean and pure. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Gladly we may obey God's law of love in revealing the character of Christ to a world that needs to see that we value salvation over any thing else in this world which is so soon to perish. May we see the souls all around us that need to see the value of what Christ is offering by a living revelation of the loveliness of Jesus in life and character!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
Our Heavenly Father loves us and sent His Son to take a risk that is incomprehensible. Christ endured agony and torture of soul in a world of sin and suffering, and we are blessed to be able to be partakers of the divine nature so that we may have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings and help others come to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus!
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There is a wonderful way for us to be connected to our heavenly Father--and that is through Christ! We come to Him in all of our helpless unworthiness and accept His divine grace which has power to convert sinners into saints, to renew the heart and mind and make us partakers of the divine nature whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in our lives without one missing! Let us rejoice in Jesus and abide in His true character by grace through faith, for by beholding we become changed!
"And He saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51).
Here Christ virtually says, On the bank of the Jordan the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended like a dove upon Me. That scene was but a token that I am the Son of God. If you believe on Me as such, your faith shall be quickened. You shall see that the heavens are opened, and are never to be closed. I have opened them to you. The angels of God are ascending, bearing the prayers of the needy and distressed to the Father above, and descending, bringing blessing and hope, courage, help, and life, to the children of men.
We need all the help we can receive from God and the ministry of His angels to us! Even though we may not see them, let us be thankful for all that the heavenly angels do to help protect us and bless us! We get to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us to form a character that will give evidence to the angels that the gospel of God's amazing grace has wrought a change in our lives, and we are new creatures in Christ Jesus!
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Each of us has infinite value to God based upon the price paid for us at Calvary. We may not see or feel our true value, but thankfully we will have an eternity to more fully appreciate what God did for us in Christ in sending His only begotten Son to this dark speck of a planet to redeem His fallen sons and daughters and reclaim us into an infinite fellowship with Him that is better than we can ask or think. As we look to Jesus as our perfect Savior and Example, we can enjoy the blessing of fellowship with Him in being trained for soul-winning service! As we follow His example, others will be blessed!
It was by personal contact and association that Jesus trained His disciples. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside; sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them by the way, He revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He did not sermonize as men do today. Wherever hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of the way of salvation. He did not command His disciples to do this or that, but said, "Follow Me." On His journeys through country and cities He took them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. He linked their interest with His, and they united with Him in the work.
To unite with Jesus in His work means to be "all in" for what His will is for our lives. As we yield the whole heart to Christ so He can abide in us by grace through faith, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen our lives without one missing! We may go forth on missions of mercy to extend the triumphs of the cross!!
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Let us allow Jesus to cleanse us!
"In the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,--from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. 'The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver.' Mal. 3:1-3."
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This is a good question, followed by a biblical answer:
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
Are we willing to let God do the miracle in our hearts that must take place? We must look and live. Look away from self in our helpless unworthiness and believe that He does save the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! Let us continually pray that we will look to Jesus and live, turn resolutely from ALL sin that crucified Christ, and become like Him in mind and character so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we go forth to obey the law of God from an intelligent appreciation of the loveliness of Jesus' character!
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The plans that God has are MUCH BIGGER than you or I can imagine. That is why He uses so many different people to accomplish His will. When we realize we are part of the body of Christ by surrendering our whole heart to Christ so He can imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we can gladly let Christ increase!!
The work of God is not to bear the image and superscription of man. From time to time the Lord will bring in different agencies, through whom His purpose can best be accomplished. Happy are they who are willing for self to be humbled, saying with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
May God bless you to be a blessing in whatever sphere He has placed you!
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What are you looking for? What is the deepest longing of your soul? Where can we go to be truly satisfied?
He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, "The Desire of all nations," is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
By grace we are saved through faith. We can look upon Jesus and live. Then as we come to Him in true repentance, confessing and forsaking our sins, He blots our out sins by His atoning blood and fills us with the Holy Spirit, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. There is no limit to what God can do with one soul who is truly abiding in Jesus continually!
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We need Jesus to have a true conversion experience and feel our deep need of Him on a moment-by-moment basis to abide in Christ to do His will! Let us be converted by beholding the loveliness of Jesus' character so that we may seek Him from a selfless reason when it is the Holy Spirit inspiring our prayers!
He who blessed the nobleman at Capernaum is just as desirous of blessing us. But like the afflicted father, we are often led to seek Jesus by the desire for some earthly good; and upon the granting of our request we rest our confidence in His love. The Saviour longs to give us a greater blessing than we ask; and He delays the answer to our request that He may show us the evil of our own hearts, and our deep need of His grace. He desires us to renounce the selfishness that leads us to seek Him. Confessing our helplessness and bitter need, we are to trust ourselves wholly to His love.
Let us rely implicit on Jesus to do His holy will! He loves us and wants us to grow more like Jesus so we can overcome in Him, letting Jesus convert our hearts so fully that we are filled with all of the selfless fruits of the Spirit without one missing--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance! Then we can obey God from love because we are one with God in mind and character!
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Let God choose for you! When we learn of our Heavenly Father as did Christ, we shall delight to trust Him and follow the specific plan He has for our lives to fulfill the specific purpose for which He created us! There is no greater joy than being in the center of God's will on a moment-by-moment basis! Beholding the loveliness of Jesus' character, yielding the whole heart to Him so He can cleanse us by His blood and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we shall affectionately obey the law of God with an increasing appreciation of His character of selfless love!
Israel had chosen their own ways. They had not builded according to the pattern; but Christ, the true temple for God’s indwelling, molded every detail of His earthly life in harmony with God’s ideal. He said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.” Psalm 40:8. So our characters are to be builded “for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22. And we are to “make all things according to the pattern,” even Him who “suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps.” Hebrews 8:5; 1 Peter 2:21.
To suffer for the sake of Christ and have fellowship with Him in His sufferings is truly the most weighty trust and the highest honor that God can give us this side of heaven. Let us learn of Christ and be in an abiding union and communion with Him today so His purposes may be accomplished in our lives!
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God leads. Are you willing to let Him lead you?
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
If you surrender to God fully, He not only leads us, but converts the heart so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing! Then we gladly obey God out of an intelligent appreciation of His true character!
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What is about to happen? Jesus is about to return!
As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
The only way to be ready for Jesus to come is to live in complete surrender to Christ on a moment-by-moment basis having all of the attributes of the divine nature manifest in our lives without one missing--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our world is spinning out of control, but God's people will abide in Him through affectionate obedience to His law of love, and they will gladly follow where the light of His truth leads! God's people will choose to stand free do His will because they have Christ abiding in them, the hope of glory!
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When we use what we have for God's glory, this is pleasing to Him! When we follow what we know to be true, then God can reveal more! True conversion enables the soul to be cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus through a complete heart surrender to Him, fills the renewed mind and heart with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and empowers the soul to live up to all the light of truth that is known at that point in character building! Let us seek for light and walk in it as God prepares us for heaven!
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession.
May we realize that God is calling for us to live the light of truth, and that He Himself, the Light of the world, will live out His life within us as we experience a genuine union and communion with Christ! What joy we may have in doing His will! The happiest place on earth is to be in the center of God's will!
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Limitless and infinite possibilities of service to the glory of God are spread out before us as we surrender ALL to Him and let Christ come live in our hearts by grace through faith so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin as we confess and forsake our sins and choose Jesus on a moment-by-moment basis in the blessing of constant union and communion with Christ!
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
Let us go forth to be a blessing today in all the ways of God's providential leading!
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God's word is our victory place! God gives us the word to have abiding in our heart to overcome sin!
The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame,--the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John 8:32; 7:17, R. V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.
We need Jesus continually! Let us yield the whole heart to Christ and allow Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are in complete surrender to Christ and allow Him to abide in our hearts by grace through faith!
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God's healing from sin is immediate. The miracle of what His grace can do is make us a new creation, to renew our heart and mind and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. His grace is more powerful than the leprosy of sin; let us come to Christ and know that HE IS WILLING AND ABLE to fully save us from the deceptive power of transgression of the law of God. He loves us and wants us to know the joy of His full salvation.
Immediately a change passed over the leper. His flesh became healthy, the nerves sensitive, the muscles firm. The rough, scaly surface peculiar to leprosy disappeared, and a soft glow, like that upon the skin of a healthy child, took its place.
God heals us when He forgives us, and the amazing truth of His grace is that it can transform sinners into saints who will become happy inhabitants of heaven and the new earth. We can partake of the blessing of His restoration now so that others may also see how good God is to us in Christ by the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit!
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God heals our characters as we look to Jesus and choose His will of love. Let us grow in grace and behold the true character of Christ on a continual basis!
"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.
As we look to Christ, there is hope for the most broken soul. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we choose Him continually!
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What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus who gave us the Sabbath to rest from our own works and abide in Him! When we surrender the whole heart to Christ He will cleanse and purify us, making us one with Him in mind and character, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then we will gladly obey the law of God from an intelligent appreciation of His true character! His grace renews the life and such who become like fine gold in character are seen as witnesses of the character of Christ!
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.
True rest can only be found in Christ! Jesus longs to make us like Him and He gives us an entire day to lay aside our secular work and to focus on His word, His providences, and the blessing of getting to be a blessing to others!
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How would you feel if you knew your choice to let God use you meant that angels could communicate through your voice, your typing, and your sharing? Wouldn't you want God to be able to use you to the fullest? As we behold Jesus in His infinite loveliness, He converts our hearts when they are fully yielded to Him, renewing us with His pure motives and thoughts and feelings that align with His word, so our experience will be in harmony with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Gladly we can obey His Ten Commandments because they are definition of freedom in relationship with God and others!
We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.
The love of Christ constraints us to go forward in speaking with the messages God gives us for this lost world in need of healing, hope, and restoration. What messages do the angels want to share through us? They are clearly given here:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:6-12).
May we let the angels give this message through our lips to the WHOLE WORLD!! Will you join me in proclaiming it?
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What is character? Our thoughts and feelings that spring from our motives that lead to our actions are what constitute our character, and we need Jesus CONTINUALLY to have His character wrought out in our lives, blotting out our sins as we continually surrender fully to Him, as He is able to keep us from falling, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be radiating from within and shining upon the life path of all around!
True character is not shaped from without, and put on; it radiates from within. If we wish to direct others in the path of righteousness, the principles of righteousness must be enshrined in our own hearts. Our profession of faith may proclaim the theory of religion, but it is our practical piety that holds forth the word of truth. The consistent life, the holy conversation, the unswerving integrity, the active, benevolent spirit, the godly example,—these are the mediums through which light is conveyed to the world.
When we have Jesus living in us, how can we not show forth His glorious praise? Let us allow His light to shine out from our lives to bless others today!
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We do not deserve God's grace and we do not earn salvation. As we kneel in faith at the foot of the cross of Christ, we have reached the highest place to which man can attain. Our great need is to realize our continual need, and cleave to Jesus so He can transform us into His lovely image! By beholding we become changed, and when the whole heart is yielded to Christ, He blots out our sins, fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and gives us courage to proclaim the last message of mercy that is in perfect harmony with His Ten Commandments! May you walk in the victory of Calvary today!!
It is thus that every sinner may come to Christ. 'Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.' Titus 3:5. When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners. We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and ever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity. Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say,--
'In my hand no price I bring;
Simply to Thy cross I cling.'
Jesus loves you so much that He would have left heaven JUST FOR YOU!! Let us proclaim the final gospel message to a dying world with the love of Christ constraining us!
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Our closest relationship is to be with Jesus! We need to have Him as the center of our experience, and when He is on the throne of the heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
“Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. ‘Fear not,’ He says, ‘for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.’ ‘Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.’ Isaiah 43:1, 4.”
Let us choose Christ in a full-heart surrender so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! He is the One closer to us than any other, and from Him we may always find comfort and strength!
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Let us allow God to fulfill His will for us!
Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3. Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. And that character which expresses the glory--character--of Christ will be received into the Paradise of God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.
What rest comes to the soul that is fully surrendered to Christ! When Christ lives in us, the hope of glory, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! May this be your experience today in Christ!
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Satan is the one who seeks to bring in confusion and destruction. God is the healer and restorer, and the gospel of His grace has the power to transform sinners into saints and keep them from falling back into the pit of sin! When Jesus is abiding in the heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing!
The encounter with the demoniacs of Gergesa had a lesson for the disciples. It showed the depths of degradation to which Satan is seeking to drag the whole human race, and the mission of Christ to set men free from his power. Those wretched beings, dwelling in the place of graves, possessed by demons, in bondage to uncontrolled passions and loathsome lusts, represent what humanity would become if given up to satanic jurisdiction. Satan's influence is constantly exerted upon men to distract the senses, control the mind for evil, and incite to violence and crime. He weakens the body, darkens the intellect, and debases the soul. Whenever men reject the Saviour's invitation, they are yielding themselves to Satan. Multitudes in every department in life, in the home, in business, and even in the church, are doing this today. It is because of this that violence and crime have overspread the earth, and moral darkness, like the pall of death, enshrouds the habitations of men. Through his specious temptations Satan leads men to worse and worse evils, till utter depravity and ruin are the result. The only safeguard against his power is found in the presence of Jesus. Before men and angels Satan has been revealed as man's enemy and destroyer; Christ, as man's friend and deliverer. His Spirit will develop in man all that will ennoble the character and dignify the nature. It will build man up for the glory of God in body and soul and spirit. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7. He has called us "to the obtaining of the glory"--character--"of our Lord Jesus Christ;" has called us to be "conformed to the image of His Son." 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Romans 8:29.
The character God is offering us is a miracle--a miracle that He can produce and sustain by the Holy Spirit on account of the blood Jesus shed for us on Calvary! Right now Christ is in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary blotting out the record of the confessed, repented and forsaken sins of all who have chosen Him as Lord and Savior and continued with Him to the close of their probation! Since probation will close while God has souls He has redeemed who are still alive on earth before Jesus returns, we can look to the power of the gospel and realize what grace can truly do the more we behold the loveliness of Jesus!
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Let us look to Jesus and remember the way He has led us in our past experience, thus helping us to be encouraged in the upward path to heaven and inspiring others to look to Jesus, too! We may be courageous in the most trying experiences as we look away from the weakness of self to the strength and grace that He so freely provides! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives, and not one will be missing!
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.
Praise God continually and express in words, in countenance, and in character the grace of Christ! His grace has power to transform sinners into saints and to keep us from falling back into the pit of sin from which God has so graciously delivered us!
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What a joy it is to have a strong relationship with God based on His word! Each day offers us new opportunities for victory! Let us look to Jesus and look away from self. As we yield all we have and are to Him who gave all for us, He renews our hearts and minds by writing His law of love in our very character, which spontaneously brings forth the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! This is what it means to have a character refined like fine gold, to become like Christ in mind and character and go forth to be a blessing to world that needs to see there is an eternal way to live--the way of selfless love!
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.
We can trust that God will do what is best in our lives--not based on our own understanding, but based on His word! May you find in Christ the anchor of strength in every temptation, and the only way of escape from yielding to our fallen nature as on a moment-by-moment basis we look to Jesus and live by faith on the Son of God!
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To be trained for heaven means emancipation from ideas, habits, customs and practices that have been gained in the school of unbelief in a fallen world. We need time to be with God so He can individually speak to our hearts, giving us rest as we find restoration in the scenes of nature and better grasping the experience of our own hearts that need continually to be renewed by divine grace. As we yield fully to Christ, He imputes and imparts to us of His righteousness, imbuing us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one of the traits of the divine nature is missing as we affectionately obey the law of God!
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.
There are souls all around us through whom our loving Savior desires to speak a word in season by working in and through us. As we fellowship with Christ, the holy angels, and those also who are seeking the Lord wholeheartedly, we can go forth refreshed in harmony with God as missionaries to a dying world, that our lives may be a living invitation of the life that is lived in harmony with God in purity, holiness, and true moral worth evinced in the love and purity found in Christ who abides in us, the hope of glory!
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Do you wonder if what God has given you is enough? He can multiply all that we put into His hands as He has all the resources of heaven at His command! Our great need is to be looking continually to Jesus, to yield the whole heart to Him moment-by-moment, that our hearts may be renewed by divine grace and filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey the law of God as He providentially leads us into the very place to serve Him and in the way that He has planned for us!
The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.
Jesus is "the bread of life" (John 6:48), and as we uplift Him who died for us on Calvary, others also will be uplifted to know that there is a God in heaven who has the power to convert sinners into saints, has a love for us that is infinite, and will never fail the weakest of His children who trusts Him implicitly! Let us allow God to bring about His will for us today!
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May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ sustain us so that we let Him keep us from falling into sin as we fix our eyes upon His loveliness! Well would it be to spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the life of Christ, point by point, especially the closing scenes relating to Gethsemane and Calvary! What love God has lavished upon our poor, frail human race in sending Jesus! Then, when we face trouble in our lives, the Holy Spirit can help us remember how great a struggle Jesus passed through, and He can keep our souls abiding in His perfect peace accompanied by all of the other fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to Him that he should perish; He does not call us to follow Him, and then forsake us. "Fear not," He says; "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Isaiah 43:1-3.
We have the privilege of serving a God who knows the future. There is nothing hidden from Him. Whatever trials He allows today, let us accept them graciously and learn more deeply of our continual need of Jesus. Our Savior Himself suffered and learned obedience, preparing Him for the greater trials that befell Him in Gethsemane and at Calvary. Because He never separated from His Father, when the sin of the whole world was crushing out His life and bringing Him through extreme mental agony, He still by faith trusted the Father and in submission to His will gained the victory, exclaiming by faith (not feeling), "It is finished" (John 19:30). May we learn to depend upon God's word and not on our feelings so that when the time of trouble comes just before Jesus returns in power and great glory, our lives will be found abiding in Jesus even though our mental anguish may be immense. May you choose to abide in Christ today, for He can prepare us for what is coming!
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Where are you looking? Are you looking down at your difficulties, or at yourself and your own finite weakness, helplessness and sinfulness? Are you distracted by the pleasures of the world and its perplexities and sorrows? Maybe the temptation is to look at others' mistakes and failings--but praise God, we can choose to look at the ONLY ONE who can safely help us--Jesus Christ!! By grace through faith, Jesus makes it possible for us to live this one day in constant union and communion with Him in true conversion (total surrender of the whole heart to Christ so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey His law of love). Let us look up to Jesus who is even now ministering for us in the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven, preparing a place for us to dwell forever and simultaneously preparing us for being with Him as we look to Him in true faith!
By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.
We may be more like Jesus as we each day choose to look and live. Jesus saves us from looking at the things that will only destroy our souls, helping us to keep our continual focus on Him and so He can use us to reach others for Him!
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May we realize the love Jesus has for us, and then be willing to follow His will in everything! Do you really desire to serve God? Jesus wants to set you free from being burdened with man-made traditions, and set you free to have a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit because you have fixed your eyes upon His loveliness of character and are continually yielding the whole heart to Christ so He can fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then by His grace you also will be happy to return tithes and offerings because this is how God chooses to spread the gospel to the world through His church! "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10).
Never, by word or deed, did Jesus lessen man's obligation to present gifts and offerings to God. It was Christ who gave all the directions of the law in regard to tithes and offerings. When on earth He commended the poor woman who gave her all to the temple treasury. But the apparent zeal for God on the part of the priests and rabbis was a pretense to cover their desire for self-aggrandizement. The people were deceived by them. They were bearing heavy burdens which God had not imposed. Even the disciples of Christ were not wholly free from the yoke that had been bound upon them by inherited prejudice and rabbinical authority. Now, by revealing the true spirit of the rabbis, Jesus sought to free from the bondage of tradition all who were really desirous of serving God.
To serve God means to serve Him wholeheartedly in everything He reveals! Jesus sets us free to be happy, peaceful and obedient Christians whose lives bear witness of His true character of love!
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What is your choice? A pure, biblical faith is what leads to uplifting Jesus, believing in His power through His atoning blood to save completely from sin, and offers the renewing of the heart and mind by the Holy Spirit so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are seen in the life! Then affectionate obedience to the law of God is the true result of constant union and communion with Christ! No matter what your background or past, God has a plan to save you! Will you choose His will?
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.
Since God lets us choose, it is something akin to insanity to choose the way of death and destruction, as the pleasures of sin such a course offers us are for only a short season. May we ever realize our continual need of Jesus and choose to look to Him no matter what our circumstances, feelings, or trials. Christ came through this world victorious so that we, abiding in Him, may also have complete victory! "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).
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What is sincerity? The religion of Christ is a revelation of true sincerity in action. He knew His Father's will, He loved fallen humanity, and He did exactly what the word of God said He would do. Jesus was in earnest and He is willing to live out that very same sincere faith in us so that as we look to Him in His loveliness, yield the whole heart to Him, and let Him cleanse us from our sins by His atoning blood, we may become partakers of the divine nature and live victorious lives in Christ manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then obedience to God is our joy because Christ is working in and through us to fulfill His divine mission to reveal His character to this world and to the onlooking universe!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. "Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to "walk, even as He walked;" and "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:6, 3.
May the very experience of Jesus in each of our unique contexts be manifest today as we look above our difficulties and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus whose love never fails!
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While every failure on the part of God's children is due to a lack of faith, when we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and Christ will live out His life in us, giving us a new heart and mind to reflect His true character of love! Love is selflessness, and God created us to live in selfless union and communion with Him and others!
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And "what is a man profited," said Jesus, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
The price paid for our soul is the death of Christ, His perfect life, and His intercession for us in the heavenly sanctuary even now. The Father gave His Son for us, and the Holy Spirit is even now working to draw all to come to Christ who will come. Let us value what heaven values--moral worth, love and purity, and the redeeming of souls from this planet to repopulate heaven!
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Jesus wants to bless each of us with a deeper knowledge of His character, so that we may be prepared to enter into fellowship with Him in His sufferings and manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey His law of love because we have chosen to yield the WHOLE HEART to Him so He can make it white as snow! May we be wide awake to do His will because Jesus is reigning on the throne of our hearts!
Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,--a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them.
God wants to bless us with a deeper experience in the path of humble self-sacrifice in which we are willing to be anything or nothing as His providence shall direct. Christ was transfigured before His disciples, but they could have been so much more aware of the depths of His love had they been awake for the entire experience. So it is with us. It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour upon the life of Christ each day, letting the imagination grasp and appreciate each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus meditate upon His great sacrifice for us, we shall receive the remedies to the Laodicean condition and be filled with a true faith working by love (gold tried in the fire), be clothed with His righteousness (white raiment), and be given true spiritual discernment (eye salve) to discern our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing! May we never lose sight of Jesus in the trials of this life, and be looking upon His loveliness so He may reproduce His character in us!
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Promises are really awesome! Especially promises that help you know where you can ALWAYS go in ANY need. It is when we have sinned and feel that we cannot pray that it is time to pray. It is when we feel weak and without strong faith that we can most meaningfully rely upon "the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12), which, yielded to by His grace, will spontaneously produce all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life and bring the character into harmony with God's Ten Commandments. So when you feel you lack faith and your spiritual life may seem to be withering, what is God's promise to us? What can we learn from the earnest entreaty of the father whose son was demon-possessed? We catch his struggle in these words and learn that this is also how we can come to God and NEVER perish when we truly pray that we do believe, but need God to help our unbelief. God loves it when we come to Him because we are so needy!
"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." You can never perish while you do this--never.
Praise the Lord for such needed encouragement as we come ever nearer to the second coming of Christ and need Jesus continually to do any good thing!
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Where can we safely look continually?
Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); and by beholding, he becomes changed. His fear is turned to joy, his doubts to hope. Gratitude springs up. The stony heart is broken. A tide of love sweeps into the soul. Christ is in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. When we see Jesus, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, working to save the lost, slighted, scorned, derided, driven from city to city till His mission was accomplished; when we behold Him in Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, and on the cross dying in agony,—when we see this, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. Looking unto Jesus, we shall be ashamed of our coldness, our lethargy, our self-seeking. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing, so that we may do heart service for the Master. We shall rejoice to bear the cross after Jesus, to endure trial, shame, or persecution for His dear sake.
When we behold Jesus' loveliness, yield the whole heart to Him to purify and cleanse, and then have the Holy Spirit abiding in us, love, joy and peace along with all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives because we have experienced the converting power of God leading us to gladly obey His Ten Commandments!
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He gets you. Completely. After all--He made you!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
May we all yield to this invitation and let Christ work in and through us so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then we can have our true soul desire satisfied by Jesus!
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Let us choose to yield the whole heart to Christ. It is not merely the facts we need, it is to have our hearts and minds so filled with the experiential reality of knowing Jesus in whom is eternal life that our will is swallowed up in His will, and He can give us a new heart and a new mind that is filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we may affectionately obey Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered! What joy we may have as we choose the pure teaching of Christ!
"My teaching is not Mine," said Jesus, "but His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from Myself." John 7:16, 17, R. V. The question of these cavilers Jesus met, not by answering the cavil, but by opening up truth vital to the salvation of the soul. The perception and appreciation of truth, He said, depends less upon the mind than upon the heart. Truth must be received into the soul; it claims the homage of the will. If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception. But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart; and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. Man's advantages for obtaining a knowledge of the truth, however great these may be, will prove of no benefit to him unless the heart is open to receive the truth, and there is a conscientious surrender of every habit and practice that is opposed to its principles. To those who thus yield themselves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do His will, the truth is revealed as the power of God for their salvation. These will be able to distinguish between him who speaks for God, and him who speaks merely from himself. The Pharisees had not put their will on the side of God's will. They were not seeking to know the truth, but to find some excuse for evading it; Christ showed that this was why they did not understand His teaching.
We may understand the teaching of Christ as we surrender all to Him and follow where He leads us!
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In simplicity, let us trust unreservedly to God!
To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help.
We need Jesus continually!
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God is so good to us! Love awakens in the hearts of those who behold the loveliness of Jesus!
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
Let the love of Christ constrain you and allow the fruits of the Spirit, not one missing, to be in your life by having Christ in you in the hope of glory!
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May we choose to put our will on the side of Christ in complete surrender, letting the glorious experience of salvation by God's amazing grace transform our characters so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing! Then we may obey the Ten Commandments from a heart renewed in the image of His purity and holiness!
The only way in which we can gain a more perfect apprehension of truth is by keeping the heart tender and subdued by the Spirit of Christ. The soul must be cleansed from vanity and pride, and vacated of all that has held it in possession, and Christ must be enthroned within. Human science is too limited to comprehend the atonement. The plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy cannot explain it. It will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reasoning cannot fathom. The science of salvation cannot be explained; but it can be known by experience. Only he who sees his own sinfulness can discern the preciousness of the Saviour.
The loveliness of Jesus is to be our focus as we keep trusting Him to unfold more and more of His glory to us both here and in the great hereafter!
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The light of truth and love from God is essential to transform the life. When Christ is lifted up in life and character, then the way He lived will be wrought out in us, for He abides in us to produce the same fruits of the Spirit without one missing accompanied glad obedience to the law of God!
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
Selfishness is death, and Jesus came to die for us at Calvary to break the power of self so that as we surrender fully to Him, we can live to bless others by having Him abide in us!
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How does God establish His kingdom?
Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:12, 13. Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practicing of the word of God.
When the whole heart is yielded to Christ in true confession, by virtue of His atoning blood, He gives each repentant sinner a new heart and a new mind filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing, making the child of God a partaker of the divine nature through receiving the promises of God! Then happy obedience to the Ten Commandments is the ready response of one who is truly a "new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17). May this be your experience today and each moment of the day in constant union and communion with Christ!
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Let us be loving and lovable Christians!
Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.
When we invite Jesus into the heart to cleanse us from all our sins by His blood and believe that God loves us, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart to fill us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, and not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing in our lives as long as Jesus has full possession of the heart and we walk in the light of the law of His love as He is in the light! May this be your experience continually!
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Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ.
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Turn to Jesus in every situation, and let Him turn it into something beautiful in His time.
To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest.
As we yield the whole heart to Christ, He cleanses us from sin by His atoning blood and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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History is repeating. As Christ's righteous character was an open rebuke in love to the religious people of His time, so when Christ's character is perfectly reproduced in His people, the world will not be able to endure the revelation and persecution connected with the final events of earth's history and the close of probation for the world will unfold. Jesus invites us to abide in Him and experience His character, so we can be living witnesses and help hasten His return. Only by a complete, continual surrender to Him of the entire heart will the blood of Jesus avail to cleanse us from sin, and He will fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we live by faith upon Him. This revelation of character is directly connected with the final gospel proclamation that must go to the whole world!
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
With the love of Christ constraining us, let us go forth to reveal to the world the loveliness of Jesus and trust in Him with our whole heart! We can be thankful that He has pioneered the way before us, and pressed down the cruel thorns we will face as we choose to be faithful to God in these trying times of the last days!
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Freedom is so amazing in Christ--the freedom to obey God in the unique way God made us to glorify Him as He renews our hearts and minds to reflect His loveliness of character!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
We can be thankful that when Jesus has full possession of the heart, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit be seen in our lives, but we will be led by the Holy Spirit to obey God's law of love with complete freedom of conscience! Surrender to Christ means a complete victory in being free to do the will of God!
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What is repentance, and from whom does it come? The Bible gives the answer: "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). Repentance is the gift of God through Christ, and is the power of God to confess and forsake sin so that the life is transformed by beholding the loveliness of Jesus, leading to entire surrender of the whole heart so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing while the character is brought into harmony with all the light of truth known and understood! As Jesus said, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).
No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.
May we truly have heaven in the soul today by having Christ in our hearts as an abiding Friend! Jesus is all in all when we are in harmony with Him!
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Even when you do not feel like you are worth it, Jesus sees your true value, for He paid for your life with His very blood! Let us appreciate the loveliness of Jesus and let Him work in and through us so by the power of transforming grace we may have new hearts, new minds, and a full infilling of the Holy Spirit manifested in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (without one of the fruits of the Spirit missing!). Praise the Lord God can do this great miracle in us!
When to human eyes her case appeared hopeless, Christ saw in Mary capabilities for good. He saw the better traits of her character. The plan of redemption has invested humanity with great possibilities, and in Mary these possibilities were to be realized. Through His grace she became a partaker of the divine nature. The one who had fallen, and whose mind had been a habitation of demons, was brought very near to the Saviour in fellowship and ministry. It was Mary who sat at His feet and learned of Him. It was Mary who poured upon His head the precious anointing oil, and bathed His feet with her tears. Mary stood beside the cross, and followed Him to the sepulcher. Mary was first at the tomb after His resurrection. It was Mary who first proclaimed a risen Saviour.
Jesus is not only a risen Savior, He is also our High Priest in heaven, interceding for us and working out His plan to restore us fully to the moral image God intended for us to have in our creation. Then He is very soon to come as our King, taking the redeemed saints to heaven--both the resurrected and those who will be translated! As we learn of Him, we may experience rest of soul by having selfishness banished by His selfless love!
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Try to imagine what is was like when Jesus, on the first day of the week, made His triumphal procession into Jerusalem just before He would be crucified on the preparation day, just five days later. The "Hosannas" of some that day would in a few days later be turned to "Crucify Him," but He meekly followed the path the Father laid out for Him to fulfill the plan of salvation! May we praise the Lord and lay all our sins on Jesus, so He can work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure this day!
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
We are the reward of Jesus' infinite sacrifice! As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, love awakens in our hearts, and we are enabled to have Him produce in us by the divine nature all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing! What a joy to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth!
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Only by inviting Christ to abide in our hearts continually will we be enabled to live faithfully and victorious over the temptations from the world, the flesh and the devil. By beholding Jesus' loveliness which motivates us to yield to Him the whole heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can overcome sin in Christ because He is our victory! Then the precious experience of loving obedience will be manifest in harmony with all of the light God has graciously given us, because Jesus first loved us! Let us make the most of our probationary time before Jesus returns!
In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.
While Jesus is still interceding for us in the heavenly sanctuary, there is time to repent! But soon the door of probation will close, for Jesus will cease His ministry in the sanctuary above and come in power and great glory to take those with Him who have yielded themselves to His transforming grace that has the power to turn sinners into saints! He calls us to become like Him in mind and character and has the power to do in and through us His holy will! Let us listen and let Him lead us moment-by-moment!
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What is faith? It is surrender to all God says because we see His love and let Him have His way in us. Freedom from sin is possible only by constant union and communion with Christ, for the fruits of the Spirit without one missing can only be manifest in hearts and minds renewed by grace through faith! The conversion of a soul is a great miracle, and Christ has power to do this in each of our lives as we look away from self to Jesus!
To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
True obedience comes from the heart because it is a matter of love. "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Only by love is love awakened, and to know God is to love Him. Thus, the time we spend in the "thoughtful hour" contemplating the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes, is truly needed for us to experience the remedy from a lukewarm and backslidden spiritual condition (see Revelation 3:14-22)! He gives us His faith working by love to purify the soul (gold tried in the fire), His righteousness (white raiment) and spiritual discernment to realize our continual need of Jesus by the Holy Spirit to do any good thing (eyesalve). As we are healed from our backsliding (Hosea 14:4), we will want to invite others to taste and see the goodness of the Lord!
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And since all the commandments are summed up in love to God and man, it follows that not one precept can be broken without violating this principle. Thus Christ taught His hearers that the law of God is not so many separate precepts, some of which are of great importance, while others are of small importance and may with impunity be ignored. Our Lord presents the first four and the last six commandments as a divine whole, and teaches that love to God will be shown by obedience to all His commandments.
Let us love God who first loved us and in sending Jesus came to save us from our sins!
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Jesus can give us pure motives by recreating our hearts! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we gladly obey all His Ten Commandments! Let us surrender the whole heart to Jesus so this will be our experience!
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation.
Praise the Lord for the opportunity to bless others when Jesus lives in us, the hope of glory!
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How does God break the power of Satan over the minds and affections of every being in the universe?
"Now is the judgment of this world," Christ continued; "now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die." This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. Satan's hold upon the souls of men will be broken. The defaced image of God will be restored in humanity, and a family of believing saints will finally inherit the heavenly home. This is the result of Christ's death. The Saviour is lost in contemplation of the scene of triumph called up before Him. He sees the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory.
Christ would die on Calvary's cross to break the power of Satan so all who would submit to reason and enlightened conscience could not only be free from Satan's power (sin), but enjoy the blessing of being in God's presence by faith even now, and enjoying His presence in-person once Jesus comes in power and great glory! Now God is preparing His people to stand through the time of trouble such as never was and to be victorious because they have come to have an abiding trust no matter how great a trial they may endure, considering that the all-important sacrifice of Christ has been made on Calvary! Realizing that all who truly repent have the privilege of becoming partakers of the divine nature, receiving all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life, and becoming like Christ more and more, from character experience to character experience, "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18), God's faithful saints will remember that fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust, and the highest honor. May we seek the will of God--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else!
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Praise the Lord that God loves us enough to warn us and help us to be ready for the second coming of Jesus! When we surrender fully to Him the whole heart, He gives us true repentance and helps us confess our sins so we can overcome, manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut.
While the door of opportunity lingers, let us surrender all to Jesus and go forth to give the final gospel call to the world of the soon coming Savior! Now is the time to know Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered!
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How would you like heaven to be in your heart?
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
May this be your experience by an entire surrender to Christ who will recreate you in His image of loveliness!
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May we look continually to Jesus and allow His character to be reproduced in us by a full surrender of our will to Him! Then He produces in us by His supernatural grace a life of unselfish service that is filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in happy obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments because they are the definition of liberty from selfishness!
Jesus, the served of all, came to be the servant of all. And because He ministered to all, He will again be served and honored by all. And those who would partake of His divine attributes, and share with Him the joy of seeing souls redeemed, must follow His example of unselfish ministry.
As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with the joy of His presence and the joy of seeing souls saved by God using us as His instruments! May your life today be in the center of God's will for whatever He knows is best as you let Him lead you moment-by-moment!
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In a world of strife, confusion and anarchy, where can we safely look continually?
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
By beholding we become changed by His grace. By grace through faith we are saved, and we can surrender the whole heart to Jesus to cleanse and purify by His atoning blood, receive all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the result of union and communion with Christ, and go forth to be a blessing to the world in the selflessness of Christ who lives out His life in us! What wondrous love is this that we may reflect Him to this world and give the final gospel message of hope before Christ returns in power and great glory!
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The path to eternal life is steep and rugged, but Christ has traveled the way before us and shown us how to walk in victory! When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing. Such an experience comes from abiding in Jesus in complete surrender to Him moment-by-moment!
The path of sincerity and integrity is not a path free from obstruction, but in every difficulty we are to see a call to prayer. There is no one living who has any power that he has not received from God, and the source whence it comes is open to the weakest human being. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name," said Jesus, "that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it."
May we let God glorify His name through us as Jesus did, for He went to Calvary and rose from the grave to give us victory over sin, the world, the flesh and the devil so the weakest soul may have eternal life who trusts fully in Him!
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Have you ever battled through depression and discouragement? So has Jesus! And He was victorious, because He surrendered His will to the Father and went through with the crowning sacrifice and would go to Calvary to atone for our sins and make a way for us to be with Him for all eternity! Whatever you are feeling or going through right now, go to Jesus in every experience and surrender fully to Him so He can give you a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! In order for us to have this experience, Christ became sin for us and made a way for the most sinful to have everlasting salvation! What amazing love and grace! Hallelujah!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
May you remember the cost of your salvation secured by Jesus and be of good courage as we approach the time of trouble which precedes His second coming to take us home to heaven! Let us share what Jesus has done to help as many go home on that day because the price has been paid--now we get to let Jesus live out His life in us!
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When under trial, how did Jesus respond?
Christ calmly replied, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?" He spoke no burning words of retaliation. His calm answer came from a heart sinless, patient, and gentle, that would not be provoked.
Christ is our Pattern for how we are to act when persecuted for doing the will of God. His sinless character manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing He will gladly live out in and through us as we accept His atoning blood to cleanse us from sin and allow Him to keep us in constant union and communion with God even in circumstances the most trying! May we let Jesus shine through us today!
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"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). This is where the battle takes place in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. In our thoughts we choose either the word of God and the kingdom of heaven it presents, or we choose our own thoughts and ways that lead in the path of death. May we learn from the life of Judas the need to bring every thought captive to Christ.
Christ's oft-repeated statement that His kingdom was not of this world offended Judas. He had marked out a line upon which he expected Christ to work. He had planned that John the Baptist should be delivered from prison. But lo, John was left to be beheaded. And Jesus, instead of asserting His royal right and avenging the death of John, retired with His disciples into a country place. Judas wanted more aggressive warfare. He thought that if Jesus would not prevent the disciples from carrying out their schemes, the work would be more successful. He marked the increasing enmity of the Jewish leaders, and saw their challenge unheeded when they demanded from Christ a sign from heaven. His heart was open to unbelief, and the enemy supplied thoughts of questioning and rebellion. Why did Jesus dwell so much upon that which was discouraging? Why did He predict trial and persecution for Himself and for His disciples? The prospect of having a high place in the new kingdom had led Judas to espouse the cause of Christ. Were his hopes to be disappointed? Judas had not decided that Jesus was not the Son of God; but he was questioning, and seeking to find some explanation of His mighty works.
If we trust God's word even when we do not fully understand everything, and by faith go forward in harmony with His divine ideal, our characters will come under the divine molding of the Holy Spirit as we surrender FULLy to Jesus. Judas never FULLY surrendered himself to Christ, and it was because of this that he made shipwreck of faith. Let us choose the path of eternal life by constant surrender to Christ of all we have and are, so His will may be done in and through us!
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What sustained Jesus as He was about to be crucified?
Satan's rage was great as he saw that all the abuse inflicted upon the Saviour had not forced the least murmur from His lips. Although He had taken upon Him the nature of man, He was sustained by a godlike fortitude, and departed in no particular from the will of His Father.
Christ chose not to depart from the will of His Father. When we look upon the majesty and meekness of Jesus, His loveliness of character inspires us to choose the will of our Father in heaven and be willing to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate that God's plans may be fulfilled. Because Jesus was sustained by a godlike fortitude through a living faith surrender to the will of His Father, we also may walk by the faith of Jesus in continual surrender to God and be filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in true obedience to His commandments as long as we choose the will of God no matter the cost. Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus today!
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The miracle of divine grace is so evident in the heart work that took place in the experience of the life of the penitent thief. What grace and hope come to us in Jesus, that no matter how far we have fallen, if we will take one earnest look to Calvary and see the true character of God manifest there, we may surrender our sin-polluted lives and be cleansed by the efficacy of His blood, receive a new heart and mind by the power of the Holy Spirit, and be remembered for eternity by having eternal life by grace through faith! Even though the repentant thief only had a few more hours to live after surrendering fully to Christ, and even though he was suffering on his cross, he could have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing because he became a converted man!
To Jesus in His agony on the cross there came one gleam of comfort. It was the prayer of the penitent thief. Both the men who were crucified with Jesus had at first railed upon Him; and one under his suffering only became more desperate and defiant. But not so with his companion. This man was not a hardened criminal; he had been led astray by evil associations, but he was less guilty than many of those who stood beside the cross reviling the Saviour. He had seen and heard Jesus, and had been convicted by His teaching, but he had been turned away from Him by the priests and rulers. Seeking to stifle conviction, he had plunged deeper and deeper into sin, until he was arrested, tried as a criminal, and condemned to die on the cross. In the judgment hall and on the way to Calvary he had been in company with Jesus. He had heard Pilate declare, "I find no fault in Him." John 19:4. He had marked His godlike bearing, and His pitying forgiveness of His tormentors. On the cross he sees the many great religionists shoot out the tongue with scorn, and ridicule the Lord Jesus. He sees the wagging heads. He hears the upbraiding speeches taken up by his companion in guilt: "If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us." Among the passers-by he hears many defending Jesus. He hears them repeat His words, and tell of His works. The conviction comes back to him that this is the Christ. Turning to his fellow criminal he says, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" The dying thieves have no longer anything to fear from man. But upon one of them presses the conviction that there is a God to fear, a future to cause him to tremble. And now, all sin-polluted as it is, his life history is about to close. "And we indeed justly," he moans; "for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss."
As all the pieces come together for the thief on the cross, his earnest, sincere prayer is so fitting! "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus responds and gives the assurance of eternal life that very day. As we surrender fully to Christ, we, too, may be remembered in God's kingdom and let our lives be a witness of the power of grace to transform sinners into saints!
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Sin is an anomaly to the universe. It should not exist. There is no reason why a perfect being should rebel against a perfect, loving God. But because God is love, He gave Lucifer and all the angels freedom of choice. When Lucifer sinned in heaven and became the accuser, Satan, the adversary, his warfare continued to lead a third of the angels to join him in rebellion and to tempt our first parents on earth to fall, which finally led to the cross of Christ where Satan was defeated by Christ's death as a sinless divine-human sacrifice. We can be thankful that we may choose this day to serve the Lord and have victory over Satan by complete surrender to Christ, so He may fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and lead us in the path of obedience to His Ten Commandments!
The warfare against God's law, which was begun in heaven, will be continued until the end of time. Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. All will be called to choose between the law of God and the laws of men. Here the dividing line will be drawn. There will be but two classes. Every character will be fully developed; and all will show whether they have chosen the side of loyalty or that of rebellion.
While rebellion is the default condition of fallen human beings, we may be born again by divine grace through faith and experience the power to receive new hearts and minds so Christ may live out His life in and through us! What wondrous love is this that Christ can restore us to Himself and fully develop our character like His! May you choose Christ so that through divine copartnership with Christ your life may reveal His life at work in and through you!
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When the evidence is so striking in what Christ has done for us, and the Holy Spirit has done His work upon the heart, the next step is the only appropriate thing to do--surrender the WHOLE heart to Jesus! This was the experience of Nicodemus as the seeds planted in his heart a few years before now bore fruit in true conversion because Jesus had been lifted up at Calvary, and he knew this was the Messiah WITHOUT A DOUBT! We have so much Bible evidence of Jesus being the Messiah--and He is even now ministering for us in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary based on the evidence of Scripture and prophecy! Will we also yield FULLY to the present truth and share the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 as this is the appropriate gospel call in our time? As we do, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives because we have allowed Jesus to cleanse us from all iniquity and to bring our lives into affectionate obedience to His will revealed in the Ten Commandments, the law of liberty!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
Let us go forth in courage like Nicodemus and Joseph with the present truth for our time, and be bold in the love of Christ to point as many souls as possible to Christ who is about to finish His ministry as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven and return as King to take His sealed people home to heaven to reign with Him for the glory and honor of His name!
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Jesus is coming soon, and all that has been lost through sin will be fully restored! Let us persevere in continual whole-hearted surrender to Jesus so He can manifest in and through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! His grace has power to transform sinners into saints and makes us partakers of His divine nature as we receive His exceeding great and precious promises!
To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. "I am come," He said, "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." "Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 10:10; 4:14; John 6:54.
Let us choose Christ and trust the way He leads our lives as He knows what is best and plans for the good of each of us, for all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose! In eternity the things that were hard to understand will be made plain, so we can learn to have a peaceful, abiding trust in Christ today because He first loved us, and gladly obey His Ten Commandments because they are the definition of relational freedom in fellowship with God and others!
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Let's choose to be happy! Jesus is risen! He is soon to return from heaven after completing His ministry as our High Priest! Just like the disciples who were tempted to sorrow after the resurrection of Christ because they did not really believe the good news, let us REALLY BELIEVE that God loves us and means to do us good, trust Him completely, and praise Him continually--even in adversity! As the good news really sank in, they could not help but be happy, peaceful and obedient Christians who would share the glad tidings of a crucified and risen Savior! May we surrender the entire heart to Jesus, let Him convert us thoroughly, and then allow the Holy Spirit to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such an experience of the power of the gospel is a needed witness in these last day!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen." Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
The glory of God is to be seen in His true followers as they live by faith on the Son of God and give the present truth for that specific time in earth's history. Just after Christ rose from the dead, the present truth was that Christ had fulfilled prophecy in dying on Calvary and rising from the dead, and now the present truth for our generation is that the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 are to be proclaimed with a LOUD VOICE to the WHOLE WORLD to give everyone an opportunity to receive the everlasting gospel that has power to transform sinners into saints and thus avoid receiving the mark of the beast and be ready for translation when Jesus comes in power and great glory upon completing His ministry as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary! What a message to share and what a powerful Savior we serve! Hallelujah!!
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What an experience the disciples had with Jesus on the walk to Emmaus after His resurrection! He anchored their faith in His word and gave them hope and courage to share the gospel of His grace! May we let Jesus also open to us the Scriptures that by surrendering fully to His word through the power of the Holy Spirit we may be "partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives and not one of the works of the flesh will be manifest!
Thus Christ discoursed to His disciples, opening their minds that they might understand the Scriptures. The disciples were weary, but the conversation did not flag. Words of life and assurance fell from the Saviour's lips. But still their eyes were holden. As He told them of the overthrow of Jerusalem, they looked upon the doomed city with weeping. But little did they yet suspect who their traveling companion was. They did not think that the subject of their conversation was walking by their side; for Christ referred to Himself as though He were another person. They thought that He was one of those who had been in attendance at the great feast, and who was now returning to his home. He walked as carefully as they over the rough stones, now and then halting with them for a little rest. Thus they proceeded along the mountainous road, while the One who was soon to take His position at God's right hand, and who could say, 'All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,' walked beside them. Matthew 28:18.
May your day be filled with Jesus' personal presence as you go forward in the faith which works by love and purifies the soul! Jesus is coming again and we can rejoice in Him!
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What happened after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples, speaking, "Peace be unto you," gives us direction as to our ministry as well!
The disciples began to realize the nature and extent of their work. They were to proclaim to the world the wonderful truths which Christ had entrusted to them. The events of His life, His death and resurrection, the prophecies that pointed to these events, the sacredness of the law of God, the mysteries of the plan of salvation, the power of Jesus for the remission of sins,--to all these things they were witnesses, and they were to make them known to the world. They were to proclaim the gospel of peace and salvation through repentance and the power of the Saviour.
As we uplift the crucified, risen, and soon-coming Jesus in His infinite loveliness, we may rejoice that by a full heart surrender He will abide in us and fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we go forward in courage, affectionately obedient to all His commandments!
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What does God have planned for you? Seek to follow Jesus step by step by beholding the loveliness of His selfless character, so that in surrendering your whole heart to Christ and allowing all of the fruits of the Spirit to be manifest in your life without one missing, you may be transformed in character and reflect Jesus without manifesting one of the works of the flesh. We can learn to let Jesus teach us our duty rather than being so concerned about what God has planned for others.
How many today are like Peter! They are interested in the affairs of others, and anxious to know their duty, while they are in danger of neglecting their own. It is our work to look to Christ and follow Him. We shall see mistakes in the lives of others, and defects in their character. Humanity is encompassed with infirmity. But in Christ we shall find perfection. Beholding Him, we shall become transformed.
What joy it is to become like Christ in mind and character, as He seeks to lead us into the path with the most unalloyed happiness both now and evermore! Let us choose to look away from the weakness of fallen humanity and behold what divinity and humanity combined can do as is perfectly exemplified in the life of Jesus, our Savior who died for us at Calvary and is even now interceding in heaven as our High Priest to blot out the record of our confessed sins that have been turned from in true repentance, so we may be with Him forever in peace following His eternal plan as part of the family more intimately joined to the Godhead than even angels who have never fallen! Praise the Lord!!
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We are to preach the gospel by living the gospel, and Jesus, the embodiment of the gospel, is wiling to live out His life in us as we surrender the whole heart to Him and let the Holy Spirit manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while simultaneously keeping us from manifesting one of the works of the flesh! Grace has power to transform sinners into saints and to keep the repentant soul from falling!
The gospel is to be presented, not as a lifeless theory, but as a living force to change the life. God desires that the receivers of His grace shall be witnesses to its power. Those whose course has been most offensive to Him He freely accepts; when they repent, He imparts to them His divine Spirit, places them in the highest positions of trust, and sends them forth into the camp of the disloyal to proclaim His boundless mercy. He would have His servants bear testimony to the fact that through His grace men may possess Christlikeness of character, and may rejoice in the assurance of His great love. He would have us bear testimony to the fact that He cannot be satisfied until the human race are reclaimed and reinstated in their holy privileges as His sons and daughters.
God has great plans for us--and we can scarcely begin to realize what eternity will have for us, so now is the time to share the good news with as many as possible, and with as much enthusiasm and perseverance as possible, for the value of the soul is infinite in light of Christ's sacrifice at Calvary!
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Try to imagine what it was like when Jesus went to heaven after ascending from the earth, taking those who were also resurrected with Him at the time He rose from the dead. Contemplate the glorious victory and realize that this victory was wrought for you and me--to live a life of constant victory over sin by the power of the Holy Spirit!!
The voice of God is heard proclaiming that justice is satisfied. Satan is vanquished. Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth are "accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. Before the heavenly angels and the representatives of unfallen worlds, they are declared justified. Where He is, there His church shall be. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalm 85:10. The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Hebrews 1:6.
When we realize what is being offered to us and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus' infinite loveliness of character, He empowers us to go forward in a full-heart surrender by grace through faith that works by love and purifies the soul, so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
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Happy Sabbath! Hold on by grace through faith to Jesus, for His grace has power to transform sinners into saints and to keep us from falling! Though the struggles we face in this life are many, because of the incarnation of Christ and the plan of redemption, we have the privilege of getting to be sealed for eternity, and forever with Christ who gave all for us! Let us look to Jesus in His loveliness and yield the whole heart to Him in true repentance so His blood may blot out our sins and all of the fruits of the Spirit may be seen in our lives without one missing!
The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God's grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died,--here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, "and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God." And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift,--
Immanuel, "God with us."
Let God be with you this entire day, moment-by-moment, to lead you in the path of holiness and faithfulness, and by beholding Christ to become changed into His image more fully each day!
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Will we choose to be true to God? If our eyes are kept fixed upon the loveliness of Jesus and we remember how God has led us in our past history and His teaching, we have nothing to fear for the future. Let us not forget what God has done for us, and let us realize that we need Jesus abiding in the heart by an affectionate surrender of the will to Him which encompasses the whole heart and mind, thus supernaturally producing in the soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing which is in harmony with God's law of love! When God's love fills the soul, we do not ask for the lowest standard, but seek to walk in faithfulness to the glory and honor of God.
Had Israel been true to God, He could have accomplished His purpose through their honor and exaltation. If they had walked in the ways of obedience, He would have made them "high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor." "All people of the earth," said Moses, "shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee." "The nations which shall hear all these statutes" shall say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:10; Deuteronomy 4:6. But because of their unfaithfulness, God's purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.
As you choose to surrender to God, remember that no matter how far you have fallen, if you truly repent, confess your sins, and look in simple faith to Jesus as the foot of the cross, Jesus will restore you to His image and complete His plan to sanctify you into His image. The Israelites chose "the hard way" and many of them apostatized from the true faith that acknowledged a continual need of God's grace, but we can choose the yoke of Christ (Matthew 11:28-30) and let Him lead us in the path of revival and reformation by receiving the message to the Laodicean church (Revelation 3:14-22). As we thus apply this counsel by spending a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ, letting each point be imagined and contemplated (especially the closing scenes), Jesus clothes us with His white raiment of righteousness, eye salve of spiritual discernment of our continual need of Him to do any good thing, and gold tried in the fire composed of faith working by love to purify the soul! What a privilege it is to be a witness of Christ!
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It was true then, and it is true now. When Jesus first came to the earth, Satan was doing everything possible to try to destroy God's image in humanity. In these closing moments before Christ returns the second time in power and great glory, Satan is again setting in operation every agency to destroy souls. But God is more powerful than Satan, and we can abide in Jesus as we behold Him in His infinite loveliness, yield fully to Him and let Him fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Christ is able to fully restore His image in us and bring our lives into harmony with His law of love. We need to realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing and to rely completely upon His promises in every experience of life.
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
When our will is swallowed up in the will of God, we find true happiness to be the result of holiness. Look to Jesus and let Him shape you after the pattern of His character. God is faithful to finish what He started in your life!
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The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and realize the sacrifice He made for us--as well as the depth of the Father's sacrifice in sending His Son to be our Savior! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Let us yield fully to the power of God's grace and let it make us eternally grateful for all He has done for us and will do in us as we surrender all to Him, thus becoming partakers of the divine nature so that Christ by the Holy Spirit can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing!
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Where is the greatest happiness to be found in this life and in the life to come? It is found in knowing and loving God! All God's invitations are really for our best good, and we can trust Him to lead us continually! "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39). When Jesus was dedicated by His parents, Simeon prophesied of what would take place, and we can be thankful that God offered His Son to implant the love He calls us to render back to Him! Only by love is love awakened!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
Let us behold the loveliness of Jesus, believe fully upon Him, yield continually our whole heart to Him, and let Him cleanse us from all sin by His atoning blood as we humbly confess to Him our sins in true repentance. Then as the Holy Spirit renews our souls, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, and we can be a blessing to others for Christ as we walk in willing obedience to God's law of love!
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Praise the Lord that today we can choose to act in humble faith and surrender fully to Christ, appreciating the example of the wise men who came to worship Jesus!
"When they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshiped Him." Beneath the lowly guise of Jesus, they recognized the presence of Divinity. They gave their hearts to Him as their Saviour, and then poured out their gifts,--"gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." What a faith was theirs! It might have been said of the wise men from the East, as afterward of the Roman centurion, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matthew 8:10.
Great faith is complete surrender to Christ in worship which brings us into possession of the traits of His divine nature--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance! Not one of these traits of His divine nature will be missing when a complete surrender of the whole heart is made to Christ and we gladly follow where He leads us in obedience to His Ten Commandments, the declaration of dependence upon God for freedom from sin!
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Why did Jesus receive grace in His earthly life?
Throughout His life on earth, Jesus was an earnest and constant worker. He expected much; therefore He attempted much. After He had entered on His ministry, He said, "I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4. Jesus did not shirk care and responsibility, as do many who profess to be His followers. It is because they seek to evade this discipline that so many are weak and inefficient. They may possess precious and amiable traits, but they are nerveless and almost useless when difficulties are to be met or obstacles surmounted. The positiveness and energy, the solidity and strength of character, manifested in Christ are to be developed in us, through the same discipline that He endured. And the grace that He received is for us.
Jesus received grace to give to us. We are never called to "go it alone" without Jesus first living the life He calls us to live and then by His grace empowers us to be able to experience! When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives--not one will be missing! That grace to have that kind of converted character experience in true obedience to the Ten Commandments is only possible through Christ!
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Happy Sabbath! If we had to simplify why it is we need to behold Jesus every day, it can be said so beautifully in this this way:
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
As we behold Jesus and surrender FULLY to Him, He renews our hearts and minds and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit--so not one will be missing as we gladly obey God's law of love! Let us keep our eyes on Jesus today and invite others to do the same!
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He was the kind of Friend that wouldn't tell others your struggles and was always willing to listen. He encouraged others to be all God could make them as He Himself fulfilled the design of His life. Jesus, the lowly Savior, was fulfilling His heaven-ordained mission even in His youth and invites us all, at every season of life, to be in the center of God's will by beholding His true character in its infinite purity and loveliness, yielding the whole heart to Him, and letting all of the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in the life without one missing in true, affectionate obedience to the Ten Commandments--the definition of selfless, relational love!
He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.
When we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, we can allow Him to manifest through us the same beauty of character. May the experience of abiding in Jesus be a constant one for you today, for we need Jesus continually to do any good thing!
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How does God wake up a sleeping people? Think of the prospect before John the Baptist:
He saw his people deceived, self-satisfied, and asleep in their sins. He longed to rouse them to a holier life. The message that God had given him to bear was designed to startle them from their lethargy, and cause them to tremble because of their great wickedness. Before the seed of the gospel could find lodgment, the soil of the heart must be broken up. Before they would seek healing from Jesus, they must be awakened to their danger from the wounds of sin.
If we do not feel the need, how can God heal? When Jesus is lifted up at Calvary in our lives and characters, we point others to the only One who can cause us to see that we have caused Him such pain, and need to turn to Him wholeheartedly! Oh, that the clear realization of our sinfulness may cause us to feel our deep, continual need of Jesus so that He can live out His life in us! Then, in true conversion that is the result of an entire surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are wide awake to abide in Christ and bless others who need to see their need and then flee to Christ for the healing that He alone can give! John the Baptist is a type of God's people alive on earth today to point people to "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
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What a joy it is to behold Christ who was baptized as our Savior and Example, and remember how He give us a promise of victory as we look to Him in humble faith!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
Let us look and live, and truly believe that God loves us and has plans to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! We may surrender the whole heart to Christ and then have all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing, obedient to all the light that God sends upon us from His Ten Commandment law of love because of His divine grace having power to transform sinners into saints and to keep us from falling!
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Let us allow Jesus' experience to become our experience as we surrender fully to Him and walk by faith in the word of God that is more powerful than all the subtle temptations of Satan!
"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
As we yield fully to Jesus, He cleanses the heart from sin and makes it white as snow so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love!
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The value of salvation offered us in Christ--the victory Jesus gives us--is so valuable that we do not fully grasp it yet. Let us then look by faith to Jesus continually in full surrender to Jesus and let Him live out His life in us so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing and we may obey God from a heart renewed by His grace!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
Praise the Lord for the victory Christ achieved over Satan, and that all who are united to Christ by faith are united to His victory over sin and death and will be with Him for eternity. Let us not let go of Jesus or allow our hearts and minds to wander from Him who has done so much for us and is even now interceding for us in heaven to prepare a place for us and prepare us for the place He has for us! God is so faithful!
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Let us allow Jesus to fill us with His faith working by love--so all of us can reflect Christ to a world that needs to see that His grace is powerful enough to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling by filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
It is contrition and faith and love that enable the soul to receive wisdom from heaven. Faith working by love is the key of knowledge, and everyone that loveth "knoweth God." 1 John 4:7.
May we let love from Jesus move us in His will constantly!
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Happy Sabbath!! The TRUE gospel is NOT bait and switch, but when you receive Jesus, He ALWAYS has infinitely more to give you of His self-sacrificing love! Only by love is love awakened, and Jesus provides His grace that converts the soul and by His blood cleanses us from sin as we surrender the WHOLE HEART to Him so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love--the definition of relational bliss with God and others!
As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. The feast that He provides for the soul never fails to give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow. The words of Jesus to Nathanael express the law of God's dealing with the children of faith. With every fresh revelation of His love, He declares to the receptive heart, "Believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." John 1:50.
Let us REALLY BELIEVE God loves us and go forward to bless others the way God blesses us!!
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May we appreciate and enter by faith into the experience of having our lives cleansed from sin, especially as we contemplate the ministry of Jesus at this very moment in the heavenly sanctuary, the heavenly temple where every case is decided and each may find strength and grace to overcome every defect of character by continual surrender of the whole heart to Christ. Such a surrender in true repentance, confession, and forsaking of sin allows the blood of Jesus to atone for the sins of that soul and allows the Holy Spirit to produce in the soul the fruits of the divine nature (Galatians 5:22-23), so that not one attribute of God's unselfish character will be missing!
"Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb. 7:25. Though the ministration was to be removed from the earthly to the heavenly temple; though the sanctuary and our great high priest would be invisible to human sight, yet the disciples were to suffer no loss thereby. They would realize no break in their communion, and no diminution of power because of the Saviour's absence. While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. He is withdrawn from the eye of sense, but His parting promise is fulfilled, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20. While He delegates His power to inferior ministers, His energizing presence is still with His church.
No matter how weak you are, Jesus is willing to use you--and to produce in and through you His true character. The key is realizing our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing and letting Him keep us from the sin that so easily besets us. Grace is so powerful that it can make sinners into saints who are made holy by the Holy Spirit living in them, keeping the fallen nature crucified with Christ, so not one of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) will defile the witness of Christ living in the soul, "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
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The question so important to all of us may be asked:
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
As we surrender all to Jesus in true repentance for our sins leading to confession of our sins and allowing Christ's blood to cleanse us, He imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit and we gladly follow in the path that He has for our lives in obedience to His law of love. Only as we look and live and in humble, surrendered faith may we grow more like Jesus and remember that He will not fail the soul that surrenders fully to Him.
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May we always let Christ be the great center of attention and focus, and allow self to be crucified with Him, hidden, and ever abiding in Jesus so that He may cleanse us from all sin by His atoning blood as we confess our continual need of Him and allow all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing to be manifest in our lives by a genuine conversion experience which leads to affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! John the Baptist was a true witness of this experience as he uplifted Jesus and turned people away from himself. May we follow such a selfless example and remember that Christ will lead each of us in the way that is best.
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, John had risen to the height of self-abnegation. He sought not to attract men to himself, but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher, until they should rest upon the Lamb of God. He himself had been only a voice, a cry in the wilderness. Now with joy he accepted silence and obscurity, that the eyes of all might be turned to the Light of life.
When we realize how great God truly is and how much He has done for us, self need not clamor for attention. Our greatest desire will be to see that souls behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. By beholding Christ we become changed into His lovely image, and there is no limit to what He can do with a life that is completely surrendered to Him! May this be your experience moment-by-moment all day and every day!
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The woman at the well experienced true conversion and went to bless others because she became a partaker of the divine nature, receiving in her own life the promises that led her to true repentance and a willingness to let Christ be all in all! As we surrender the whole heart to Christ, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one will be missing, and then we can gladly go forth to bless others and share with them what Christ is to us!
This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.
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Let us expect God to do what He longs to do as we surrender our WHOLE heart to Jesus to cleanse it from ALL selfishness and allow Him to atone for our sins by His blood and fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! There is no limit to what God can do in our lives when we are truly converted, for we are set for "signs and for wonders" (Isaiah 8:16) as true, converted witnesses of what grace can do in transforming sinners into saints!!
The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us "exceeding abundantly," "according to the riches of His glory," and "the working of His mighty power." Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
Let God plan for you! Let Him lead you in His perfect will and keep you in His plan. Let us believe that God hears our prayers because of His promises, not to test whether He will fulfill them!! He loves us and is to wise to err, and too good to withhold any good thing from them that walk uprightly!
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Happy Sabbath to all! Let God lead you!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
Invite God to do what He knows is best in your life--for purposes that exceed knowledge. We do not know when we are going through a trial who will be blessed by the testimony or at what time in God's providence others will need to hear that to help them heavenward. Just today I heard a testimony from a church member share that something I had shared months ago--maybe even years ago--about how I had fallen at a well and broken a glass jar by slipping on the ice (though it was a trial) was an opportunity for praising God! This apparently impacted this church member's son who shared it in a testimony in another situation. In that I am reminded that we may not immediately see the benefits of praising God in our adversity, but others will be blessed even at a much later time. Imagine if John the Baptist knew that in 2021 we were being blessed by the testimony of his life that ended in the dungeon (at least on earth), but bore witness to steadfast faith in the most difficult trial! What a joy it will be to meet him in heaven because we also have learned to count all our trials as opportunities for joy! Praise God!!
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We have this hope anchored in prophecy! Jesus preached the present truth for His time and today it is still just as important to know that we have a more sure word of prophecy, that the call to repentance in preparation for the second coming of Christ (both in message and character preparation, see Revelation 14:6-12 and Revelation 3:14-22) may be based on clear evidence that God will do what He says, and that He cannot lie. The fact that the prophecies are true should also encourage us to fully believe in His power to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9, Isaiah 44:22) and the ability He has by His grace to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling (Jude 24-25) by blotting out our sins and filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one will be missing (Galatians 5:22-23)! Then we may gladly obey the One who has promised to live out His life in and through us by having constant union and communion with Jesus!
The burden of Christ’s preaching was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Thus the gospel message, as given by the Saviour Himself, was based on the prophecies. The “time” which He declared to be fulfilled was the period made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. “Seventy weeks,” said the angel, “are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.” Daniel 9:24. A day in prophecy stands for a year. See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. Daniel 9:25. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in the autumn of B. C. 457. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A. D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A. D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed. “The time is fulfilled.”
Jesus is coming again!! Let it echo and clearly resound that all may know of a truth from Scripture that God is faithful and will finish what He has begun not only in our lives, but in preparing a people who will stand through the time of trouble such as never was because of the power of the gospel that is stronger than the fallen nature because the divine nature offered us in God's promises gives us access to His strength that is made perfect in our weakness! Cling to Jesus today and know that He will lead you to share the truth for this time as you behold the loveliness of His character and become transformed into His image, from glory to glory!
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In a world or rebellion, truth is unpopular. But in the world to come, truth will be what all holy beings will love and experience! We have a choice as to whether we are preparing for the world to come by inviting Jesus into our hearts in complete surrender, or whether we are living for this world, its traditions, its sinful pleasures, and the things that will soon pass away. I pray that we will choose truth over error, the light of God's love over man-made traditions, and let the Lord change our hearts as we surrender fully to Jesus moment-by-moment! He is the only Way!!
Truth was unpopular in Christ's day. It is unpopular in our day. It has been unpopular ever since Satan first gave man a disrelish for it by presenting fables that lead to self-exaltation. Do we not today meet theories and doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God? Men cling as tenaciously to them as did the Jews to their traditions.
Let go of whatever hinders you from serving God and let Christ live in you, the hope of glory! He is all in all and His word will triumph! When we live by faith on the Son of God whose very life and character is truth, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Then we can gladly obey God's commandments from a heart renewed by His divine grace because the Holy Spirit lives in us! Hallelujah!
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Grace from God takes us as we are, and grace from God transforms us into His image! By beholding the loveliness of Jesus, the heart and mind are brought into union and communion with God through complete surrender to Christ so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in and through the life that is hid with Christ in God! What wondrous love that God is willing to use us and make us like Him in mind and character so we can gladly obey God's law of love!
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.
The fruits of the Spirit as well as souls redeemed are the fruit of letting God work out His purpose through us! May this be your experience today on a moment-by-moment basis in Jesus' surrender wrought out through your life!
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Let us make the focus of our lives what Christ made His focus--the spiritual and eternal. As we look to the loveliness of Jesus and surrender the whole heart to Him, He cleanses us from sin and gives us a new heart imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so we can be true missionaries who live to bless others as did Jesus!
In the excitement which then pervaded Capernaum, there was danger that the object of His mission would be lost sight of. Jesus was not satisfied to attract attention to Himself merely as a wonder worker or a healer of physical diseases. He was seeking to draw men to Him as their Saviour. While the people were eager to believe that He had come as a king, to establish an earthly reign, He desired to turn their minds away from the earthly to the spiritual. Mere worldly success would interfere with His work.
May our eyes be ever upon Jesus and not think upon mere world success, but realize that a character actuated by moral worth--love and purity--is what God most desires! This He offers us by abiding in Christ!
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God desires to forgive us and is able to answer our prayers as soon as we ask, as we are confessing our deep need of His healing grace, He came to set us free from sin and make us new creatures in Christ Jesus, bearing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Jesus is able to deliver from any sin when the whole heart is surrendered to Him and we let Him live out His life in us!
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Galatians 1:4. And "this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5:14, 15. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
God is faithful to fulfill His promises! Trust Him no matter what!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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!
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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).
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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!
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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!
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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!
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What a miracle Jesus offers us in true conversion! What is sincerity? It is full-heart surrender to what God says motivated by the love of Christ!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working.
May we look upon Jesus the perfect Savior and Example of consistent sincerity in His life to seek and save the lost. All we have and are is a gift from Him, and to be blessed in the way He chooses for us is a true gift from God! The heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey the law of God from the heart living up to all the light of His character that He has revealed to us!
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Look to Jesus, and away from self and others as an unerring source of guidance. Realize that He has grace sufficient for you at this moment for God's will to be done in your life in giving you a true, thorough conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in your life without one missing as you gladly obey the law of God from a heart renewed by the cleansing blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit!
All are exposed to temptation, and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can we depend for guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Upon this the weakest may depend, and those who think themselves the strongest will prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency.
As we trust to Christ continually, He will lead us constantly! May this be your experience in Christ today!
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You can bank on God's promises. They cannot fail. Let us come to Him acknowledging our helpless condition and truly believe fully even though we know all to well how inclined we are in our struggle to unbelief. God is honored when we are honest with Him and accept the help He provides so we may have saving faith and power to do His will as we are drawn by His saving grace revealed in the loveliness of Jesus' character to transform sinners into saints! The heart renewed by divine grace will not only believe fully but also manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in following God's plan of true obedience!
"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." You can never perish while you do this--never.
Let us not talk about unbelief and defeat, but magnify the power of Jesus to save all who come to Him--and that includes you today with all the struggles you are facing. As we trust God fully to save us completely and forget about self in seeking to others good, we find the joy of life in His plan to use us to be a blessing to others!
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We are loved and invited to be truly converted and walk in humble dependence upon Jesus at every step heavenward. As we surrender all to Him, He gives us a willingness to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate so we may be like Jesus in our sphere of ministry and witness, manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and growing more like Jesus each day in obedience to His Ten Commandments that He writes upon our hearts by the Holy Spirit!
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3).
The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God.
May the efficiency found in childlike humility be what helps us move forward in His will at each step today!
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What a joy to go to the source of happiness for true satisfaction in life. Only Christ can satisfy us. All things earthly are transient, but His grace in the soul is what converts the heart and mind to be filled with His self-sacrificing love as is manifested in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing when we surrender all to Him! Let us not nourish any secret grief in our life but fully believe that God loves us, truly repent of our sins in true confession and forsaking of them, and allow Him to guide our lives on the path to heaven to invite others, too, to follow the Savior in the path to eternal life!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
Since we were made by Jesus, it follows that He will guide us in the path that is for our greatest happiness and usefulness in His service, because serving Him becomes our highest delight when He reigns in our hearts! May you abide in Jesus all day long!
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Happy Sabbath to you all as we look to Jesus, the One who came not to condemn, but to restore and save! Notice how Jesus does not condemn the woman who was caught in adultery, and after she realizes the depth of His grace, she then confesses her sins. This is a great encouragement to all of us who have sinned. We can come to Christ just as we are, and He will not condemn, but restore. As we confess our sins to Him in true repentance, the act of confessing those sins releases us from those things being written upon our hearts and gives Jesus the permission to blot them out of the records in the heavenly sanctuary. When we better understand how we are saved by grace through faith, we will realize that as long as we choose Christ, He will never cast us away, even if we have grievously sinned. His grace is sufficient for the weakest soul to come to Him and be restored to His image of purity and love so that in true conversion (whole heart surrender renewed by the Holy Spirit) all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing!
The woman had stood before Jesus, cowering with fear. His words, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone," had come to her as a death sentence. She dared not lift her eyes to the Saviour's face, but silently awaited her doom. In astonishment she saw her accusers depart speechless and confounded; then those words of hope fell upon her ear, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." Her heart was melted, and she cast herself at the feet of Jesus, sobbing out her grateful love, and with bitter tears confessing her sins.
As we accept the promises of God, they are like anchors to us in times of our greatest trial! "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Praise the Lord for what happens to all who are in Christ! May you come to Christ and let Him give you a true conversion so that you may walk in newness of life and go forth to bless others with a living union and communion with Him!
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We need Jesus continually to experience freedom from sin-slavery. Christ offers us that freedom on a moment-by-moment basis as we yield the whole heart to Him and cooperate with Him so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest through us! Then we may be happy, peaceful and obedient Christians!
Jesus revealed Himself to the blind man as the Messiah, but to the Pharisees who felt no need, He was more reserved. Jesus invites us all to look to Him and live, and admit how much we need Him to see spiritual things, which are spiritually discerned!
"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:35-41).
To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help.
May we never think we can do God's will apart from union and communion with Him. He will teach us as we look to Him as the light of life!
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What moves you? What drives you? Are you afraid to be lost or are you hoping for a heavenly reward? While it is true that following Christ means that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win, we must realize the only LASTING motivation that will sustain a converted soul in all circumstances is the love of Christ. It was love that led Jesus to endure Gethsemane and Calvary, and it is His self-sacrificing love that will constrain us to be truly converted witnesses of His who allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
May we every hear the voice of Jesus today and follow where our gracious Shepherd leads!
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We need the Holy Spirit. When this lack is supplied, we shall serve Him with a thousandfold more earnestness than we do now. Let us pray continually for the Holy Spirit to fill us and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus whom the Holy Spirit exalts in His loveliness!
The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.
As we look away from self and stop praying for self but for the Holy Spirit, a shift takes place in our lives. We find freedom in doing God's will and only desire His will. The height of self-abnegation is only possible through a true, thorough conversion made possible by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. When He comes into the heart that is renewed by divine grace, He manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and leads us to gladly obey God with deep, ardent affection for God's glory and not our own!
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Jesus set us a worthy example when the question arose as to "Who is my neighbor?" He did not get into a controversy, but revealed love in a real occurrence (the story of the good Samaritan) and revealed what matters to God! When our hearts are truly converted, we receive a new heart and mind from Jesus, manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and will avoid being drawn into a controversy. We will seek to let Jesus use us to reach hearts!
Again Jesus refused to be drawn into controversy. He did not denounce the bigotry of those who were watching to condemn Him. But by a simple story He held up before His hearers such a picture of the outflowing of heaven-born love as touched all hearts, and drew from the lawyer a confession of the truth.
When we realize we are on earth not to get into debates but to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in reaching hearts, we will find many precious opportunities for sharing the truth in love in a way that those whose hearts are open may be favorably impressed to make decisions for Christ and be ready to meet Him when He returns. May you choose to follow His path of selfless love today as He leads you by the Holy Spirit as you submit to Him moment-by-moment!
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Choose to build up Christ's kingdom in Christ's way by letting Him persuade others through you to come to Christ just as they are, repent of sin in true confession, accepting the cleansing blood of Christ to make the soul a new creation whereby through constant union and communion of the soul with God, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life as the Holy Spirit writes the law upon the mind and heart!
Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.
Invite! Encourage! Call! Do all you can to bring others to Jesus who alone can save, and cooperate with Him as He leads you step by step on the narrow path to heaven!
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Let us be loving and lovable Christians. As we look to Jesus who saves us from our sins and fills us with the Holy Spirit so His consistent love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control flow through our lives, we can gladly go forth to bless others with kind words and acts as children of our Heavenly Father!
Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.
The most childlike disciple is most efficient in labor for God. As we realize the love God has for us manifested in Christ who came from heaven to die for us and rose from the grave to prepare a place for us in heaven, it will stir the soul like nothing else can and constrain us to go forth to bless others even as Jesus did, for He lives in every fully surrendered soul! "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
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Happy Sabbath!!
Imagine these words being spoken to you directly:
"One thing thou lackest," Jesus said. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me." Christ read the ruler's heart. Only one thing he lacked, but that was a vital principle. He needed the love of God in the soul. This lack, unless supplied, would prove fatal to him; his whole nature would become corrupted. By indulgence, selfishness would strengthen. That he might receive the love of God, his supreme love of self must be surrendered.
Put yourself in the rich young ruler's shoes. Are you completely surrendered to Jesus? If He asked you to sell all that you have and give to the poor, would you gladly do it, or would you turn away sorrowful? May we realize that WHATEVER Jesus calls us to do--no matter how out of our comfort zone or convenience (and He calls us all to do different things as we all have different talents and capacities for service), is His APPOINTED way of saving us from self so He can thoroughly convert us and make us like Him. Had the young man realized the loveliness of Jesus as His all-encompassing desire and need, He would gladly have surrendered all to Jesus and been one of His disciples! We may profit from the lesson the young ruler failed to apply, and surrounding all to Jesus today, we may experience true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing and we get to gladly obey His law of love to the extent that He has revealed its beautiful principles to us! God bless you in following the voice of Jesus moment-by-moment!
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Gratitude and praise to God are so needed now! Jesus has conquered death! The resurrection of Lazarus, as well as Christ's coming forth from the tomb, are clear evidence that death is but a sleep, that all who are fully surrendered to Jesus (truly converted) and abide in Him need not fear for the future, for Christ is stronger than death and His life is given us now to live in true holiness with all of the fruits of the Spirit manifest in and through our lives without one missing! Gladly we get to follow all the light of His law of love shining upon our path because Christ is all in all to us, and we would rather have Jesus than the world, the flesh and the devil as we realize the value of what Christ is giving us to receive to give to others! Rejoice in the Lord constantly!!
The beholders are at first speechless with amazement. Then there follows an inexpressible scene of rejoicing and thanksgiving. The sisters receive their brother back to life as the gift of God, and with joyful tears they brokenly express their thanks to the Saviour. But while brother, sisters, and friends are rejoicing in this reunion, Jesus withdraws from the scene. When they look for the Life-giver, He is not to be found.
The humble Savior left the scene of rejoicing, for His mission was not yet complete. Let us remember that no matter how much joy we have now, there is a great hereafter and we have a mission to point as many souls as possible to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and persuade them to yield fully to the only One whose word is stronger than death! May you remember that sin is the power of the devil and death, and that living the power of Christ today means living in His blessed victory over sin! Abide in Him and let Him make your life an ongoing miracle of His grace!
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After Lazarus was resurrected, there was such clear evidence that Jesus was the Messiah that a decision was reached by many minds.
That mighty miracle was the crowning evidence offered by God to men that He had sent His Son into the world for their salvation. It was a demonstration of divine power sufficient to convince every mind that was under the control of reason and enlightened conscience.
Will we submit to reason and enlightened conscience? Jesus loves us and has the power to convert every heart that yields fully to Him. The same resurrection power by which the dead come forth from the grave is the same power by which we may live in harmony with God's law of love and have Him manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! May you submit fully to Jesus and let Him lead you, rather than fight against the clear evidence of His love!
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Let us allow Christ to give us His true character as we surrender unreservedly to Him!
The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,--love that "vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5),--love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul. He said, "For to me to live is Christ;" for his life revealed Christ to men; "and to die is gain,"--gain to Christ; death itself would make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. "Christ shall be magnified in my body," he said, "whether it be by life or by death." Philippians 1:21, 20.
Christ knows what is best for us. Look to Him in full surrender so He can imbue you with the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of without one missing!
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Jesus gives us true repentance, giving us a new heart and filling us with all the traits of the divine nature without one missing--the fruits of the Spirit leading us to true obedience!
No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.
Let us look to Jesus always!
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Go higher. Listen not to the voice of accusing, but the loving voice of Jesus inviting you to repent and overcome sin by the merits of His blood so that His character may be reproduced in you. Let the experience of Mary Magdalene whom Jesus healed and pardoned encourage you to believe more fully, pray more fervently, and realize the power of God's grace to transform sinners into saints imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Let Jesus live out His life in you today in affectionate obedience to His law of love!
The souls that turn to Him for refuge, Jesus lifts above the accusing and the strife of tongues. No man or evil angel can impeach these souls. Christ unites them to His own divine-human nature. They stand beside the great Sin Bearer, in the light proceeding from the throne of God. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:33, 34.
As we realize the power of grace, we will gladly extend it to others! May you let the grace of God flow through you on a moment-by-moment basis today through constant union and communion with God by the Holy Spirit!
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Jesus is coming very soon, but before He comes, all will decide their eternal destiny. We are either softening under His gracious overtures of mercy or we are hardening our hearts against the infinite gift of salvation that He offers us so we may in turn impart blessings selflessly to others. May you surrender fully to Him so the light of His character will produce in you all of the fruits of His Spirit without one missing, and your life be a living witness of affectionate obedience to His will as He has defined relational freedom in His law of love!
In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.
May we listen to Jesus by the Holy Spirit while mercy still lingers for our human race. Let us avail ourselves of every opportunity of becoming like Jesus, that He may reproduce His character in and and then use us as witnesses to draw others, too! May you today be a loving and lovable Christian!
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Children are very receptive to the gospel in many instances. Jesus loved children and still does, and it is a joy to see how when Christ came to the temple to cleanse it, the children who were happy in Jesus' presence were glad to be rejoicing in Him! May we be truly converted as little children who let Jesus manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so that we may affectionately obey God out of a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit!
The sound of these happy, unrestrained voices was an offense to the rulers of the temple. They set about putting a stop to such demonstrations. They represented to the people that the house of God was desecrated by the feet of the children and the shouts of rejoicing. Finding that their words made no impression on the people, the rulers appealed to Christ: "Hearest Thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
Thou hast perfected praise?" Prophecy had foretold that Christ should be proclaimed as king, and that word must be fulfilled. The priests and rulers of Israel refused to herald His glory, and God moved upon the children to be His witnesses. Had the voices of the children been silent, the very pillars of the temple would have sounded the Saviour's praise.
Praise the Lord today constantly in an attitude of praise and thanksgiving and watch how others hearts may be drawn to Him in selfless love! Hallelujah!
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Love is from God, for God is love. We need His love in our hearts by beholding the love of Jesus who reveals the Father's love to us. As we surrender fully to Him, He imbues us with all of the attributes of His love, which includes love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance! All glory to God!
"The first four of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one great precept, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.' The last six are included in the other, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially." {The Desire of Ages, page 607, paragraph 2}
Let this love flow through you and you will be a blessing to others as Jesus does a new work in and through you today to manifest the love that is infinite!
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What a blessing it is that even when Christ was giving His rebukes in love to the Pharisees to seek to lead them to repentance that He offered such beautiful gems of truth that those who listened were drawn to Him and the true religion that leads from God to God. When we behold Christ in His loveliness, we will realize that His love is infinite and can be experienced in every moment of our lives as we surrender unreservedly to Him and let Him live out His life in us manifest by all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. When we have a clear knowledge of His character, Satan cannot lead us into doubt and despondency, for we have learned to trust His true character over any thing else!
The gems of truth that fell from Christ's lips on that eventful day were treasured in many hearts. For them new thoughts started into life, new aspirations were awakened, and a new history began. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, these persons came to the front, and fulfilled their divine commission with a wisdom and zeal corresponding to the greatness of the work. They bore a message that appealed to the hearts of men, weakening the old superstitions that had long dwarfed the lives of thousands. Before their testimony human theories and philosophies became as idle fables. Mighty were the results flowing from the words of the Saviour to that wondering, awestruck crowd in the temple at Jerusalem.
Let us yield fully to Christ moment-by-moment so His truth may bear a great harvest--the harvest of character like Him--in our lives and in the lives of others who are influenced heavenward! May we today choose to be like Jesus by abiding in Him!
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May the Lord guide us to evermore keep our focus on Jesus and what His sacrifice has accomplished--even much more than our redemption. As we surrender unreservedly to Christ He creates in us a clean heart, renews a right spirit within us, and imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love!
But the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth," He said, "will draw all unto Me."
Being drawn to Jesus is tremendous healing adventure. We may safely have much more exalted conceptions of what we may become in Christ as we learn of Him! By the cross, our loving God purposed to unite the family of heaven and earth as one for eternity in selfless, happy ministry!
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But the day and the hour of His coming Christ has not revealed. He stated plainly to His disciples that He Himself could not make known the day or the hour of His second appearing. Had He been at liberty to reveal this, why need He have exhorted them to maintain an attitude of constant expectancy? There are those who claim to know the very day and hour of our Lord's appearing. Very earnest are they in mapping out the future. But the Lord has warned them off the ground they occupy. The exact time of the second coming of the Son of man is God's mystery.
While the mystery of exactly when Jesus' return will take place is left unstated in the word of God, there is a mystery that also must take place before He returns--the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). As you surrender your heart, mind and will fully to Jesus, let Him live out His life in you so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be manifest in your life without one missing as you affectionately obey God's law of love!
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You have infinite value--yes, YOU! What you pay for something reveals its value, and since Jesus paid His very LIFE for us with His DEATH on Calvary, we can see that every soul is worth more than worlds, because the One who can by a word create entire planets and galaxies created and redeemed us! Oh, let us look to Jesus and not miss the blessed opportunities to show His love to others, for Jesus said: "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me" (Matthew 25:40). We get to be part of His royal family!! He sends His angels to help us all get home to heaven! May you surrender unreservedly to His will so He can guide you to heaven and help bring many others to heaven, too! Jesus is coming again SO SOON!!!
The angels of heaven are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. We know not now who they are; it is not yet made manifest who shall overcome, and share the inheritance of the saints in light; but angels of heaven are passing throughout the length and breadth of the earth, seeking to comfort the sorrowing, to protect the imperiled, to win the hearts of men to Christ. Not one is neglected or passed by. God is no respecter of persons, and He has an equal care for all the souls He has created.
May the love of Christ constrain you forward in His infinite will of redeeming grace to transform sinners into saints. Let us not look at the outward appearance of people as to know their value, but keep our eyes fixed on Calvary's cross to know that no matter how fallen or sinful, each soul is worth more than the universe, because Jesus created the universe and gave Himself for that soul!! Speak words of grace and truth so souls can come to Christ as you treat them with the medical missionary healing ways of Jesus working through you!
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Christ is offering us His unselfish experience! Let us embrace Him so He can live out His life in us!
In His life and lessons, Christ has given a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and by upholding all things, He is constantly ministering for others. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45. This ideal of ministry God has committed to His Son. Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, that by His example He might teach what it means to minister. His whole life was under a law of service. He served all, ministered to all. Thus He lived the law of God, and by His example showed how we are to obey it.
By beholding Christ we become changed and we get to experience His love in our hearts in true conversion so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing for God's glory and not our own!
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Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus' loveliness so we will become like Him in mind and character in the fruition of true conversion whereby we receive a new heart, a new life actuated by all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and a new mission in perfect harmony with the law of love!
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Since Satan's craft is most successful against those who are depressed by difficulties, we should continually fix our focus higher to the heavenly home Jesus is preparing for us and seek to win as many more souls to Christ by exemplifying His true character in our lives to those we meet. Let us allow all of the fruits of the Spirit to be seen in our lives without one missing as we allow Christ to have full possession of the heart and make it His abiding place!
But the Saviour's words to them were full of hope. He knew that they were to be assailed by the enemy, and that Satan's craft is most successful against those who are depressed by difficulties. Therefore He pointed them away from "the things which are seen," to "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. From earthly exile He turned their thoughts to the heavenly home.
Keep your focus onward, upward, forward in God's will! Joy awaits the overcomer!
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You are human. But don't miss this--so is Jesus! As a Man, He longed for what we long for when we go through times of suffering and adversity; yet as God He has power to save the world. Yet when He most needed it, His disciples were asleep. May we all choose to be wide awake to depart from sin by seeing what it cost Jesus in Gethsemane, and may the love He has for you totally motivate you to be a blessing--a true friend--to those around you who need to see Jesus living through you to draw them to Him. As in complete surrender the heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest through your life as you let Jesus reveal the miracle of His character through you in affectionate obedience to His will!
The human heart longs for sympathy in suffering. This longing Christ felt to the very depths of His being. In the supreme agony of His soul He came to His disciples with a yearning desire to hear some words of comfort from those whom He had so often blessed and comforted, and shielded in sorrow and distress. The One who had always had words of sympathy for them was now suffering superhuman agony, and He longed to know that they were praying for Him and for themselves. How dark seemed the malignity of sin! Terrible was the temptation to let the human race bear the consequences of its own guilt, while He stood innocent before God. If He could only know that His disciples understood and appreciated this, He would be strengthened.
As we head closer to the soon return of Jesus, let us seek to be intentional about how we live to bless others by letting Christ live out His life in and through us!
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Do you know yourself? Not like Jesus does. Jesus knows you completely (Psalm 139). He foretold that Peter would deny Him, and if Peter had humbly recognized the weakness of his own character, he would have surrendered then and there to Jesus and asked Christ to keep him from such an act of unfaithfulness. May we never think we can do any good thing apart from Jesus. Let us yield fully to Jesus the whole heart so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
The sight of that pale, suffering face, those quivering lips, that look of compassion and forgiveness, pierced his heart like an arrow. Conscience was aroused. Memory was active. Peter called to mind his promise of a few short hours before that he would go with his Lord to prison and to death. He remembered his grief when the Saviour told him in the upper chamber that he would deny his Lord thrice that same night. Peter had just declared that he knew not Jesus, but he now realized with bitter grief how well his Lord knew him, and how accurately He had read his heart, the falseness of which was unknown even to himself.
As we recognize that Jesus desires to protect us from going in the way of selfishness and self-destruction, we may find great joy in heeding Christ's warnings and invitations so we may go forth to bless others in true conversion!
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Fully surrender. Unlike Judas who did not fully surrender, realize that we need Jesus continually in order to do any good thing. Let us not seek to criticize and accuse but to edify others and help them come to Christ on His terms--surrender of the whole heart so Christ may reproduce His character in us--all of the fruits of Spirit without one missing as we affectionally obey God's law of love!
Judas had joined the disciples when multitudes were following Christ. The Saviour's teaching moved their hearts as they hung entranced upon His words, spoken in the synagogue, by the seaside, upon the mount. Judas saw the sick, the lame, the blind, flock to Jesus from the towns and cities. He saw the dying laid at His feet. He witnessed the Saviour's mighty works in healing the sick, casting out devils, and raising the dead. He felt in his own person the evidence of Christ's power. He recognized the teaching of Christ as superior to all that he had ever heard. He loved the Great Teacher, and desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus. The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among the twelve. He trusted him to do the work of an evangelist. He endowed him with power to heal the sick and to cast out devils. But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ. He did not give up his worldly ambition or his love of money. While he accepted the position of a minister of Christ, he did not bring himself under the divine molding. He felt that he could retain his own judgment and opinions, and he cultivated a disposition to criticize and accuse.
Choose Christ's way over your own way, and learn from Judas as a beacon of warning as a pattern of life not to follow. Be like Jesus all day long in joyful union and communion.
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As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, we clearly see the power of the gospel in His life in how infinite love was shining forth from Him even amid the farce of a trial heaped upon Him. The way Jesus responded is evidence of the perfection of His character, and all that He did in His trial He offers us in the most trying and exciting moments of life so we may be patient, calm and self-possessed no matter what comes to us. May you today allow Jesus' perfection to keep you in perfect peace so His grace and strength are your constant stay no matter what our Heavenly Father allows to befall you for your good and the blessing of the world, as was true in the experience of Christ.
Standing behind Pilate, in view of all in the court, Christ heard the abuse; but to all the false charges against Him He answered not a word. His whole bearing gave evidence of conscious innocence. He stood unmoved by the fury of the waves that beat about Him. It was as if the heavy surges of wrath, rising higher and higher, like the waves of the boisterous ocean, broke about Him, but did not touch Him. He stood silent, but His silence was eloquence. It was as a light shining from the inner to the outer man.
By beholding we become changed, and we are to look to the Lamb of God and live. When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we affectionately obey God's law of love, and we shall be imbued deeply with His Spirit because we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, especially dwelling upon the closing scenes of His life.
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We all have a choice. So did Jesus. When He was on the cross, He chose to stay in the midst of the suffering to save us from sin. When we love Jesus with the whole heart, as we contemplate His infinite loveliness, we may find healing from self and grow to be more like Jesus as we realize how much He loves us!
Jesus, suffering and dying, heard every word as the priests declared, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Christ could have come down from the cross. But it is because He would not save Himself that the sinner has hope of pardon and favor with God.
Praise God that we may have pardon with God because of the merits of Christ. Let us patiently and calmly receive the infinite salvation offered us and grow more like Him in constant union and communion with Christ! God is so gracious!
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True freedom is found in complete surrender to God's law of freedom--love as revealed in Jesus' life who kept the Ten Commandments and will live out its holy principles in you as you come to Him in simple faith and permit Him to guide you in true conversion!
The law requires righteousness,--a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God's holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:26.
Let Jesus live out His character in you by beholding His loveliness, surrendering unreservedly to Him whose blood cleanses you from all sin as you confess and forsake sin and turn to Him who paid the price for your human soul to have TRUE FREEDOM in obedience to His law of love! Thus you may be constantly growing in His grace so all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in your life as you experience constant union and communion with Him by the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father!
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A lot of it depends on your perspective. For many of the disciples, the crucifixion of Christ was so disappointing to their hopes because they had a false idea of what the Messiah's mission and kingdom was to entail. But for Nicodemus, who had been given great light about the way the Son of Man was to die, the crucifixion was a clinching clarification that confirmed his faith, and He went forth boldly as a converted disciple without any reserve.
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
Let us understand the gospel clearly and then go forward in a bold, humble faith. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are vitally connected to Christ!
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It's over for him, and it has been over for a long time. The devil knows he must die. That's why he is seeking to take as many down with him as possible as revenge against God, even though God has been so good to him and all of us and does not change. God's love will be demonstrated to all the universe in how He has dealt with the crisis of the mystery of rebellion that began with Lucifer in heaven, and it culminates in having a restored race and a safe universe without sin or sinners. Let us choose Jesus continually and submit our will to Him so He can work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! Jesus' resurrection is proof that God is more powerful than Satan, sin, or any power against us! Rejoice in the Lord always!!
When Jesus was laid in the grave, Satan triumphed. He dared to hope that the Saviour would not take up His life again. He claimed the Lord's body, and set his guard about the tomb, seeking to hold Christ a prisoner. He was bitterly angry when his angels fled at the approach of the heavenly messenger. When he saw Christ come forth in triumph, he knew that his kingdom would have an end, and that he must finally die.
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What if you feel sad when Jesus is seeking to make you glad? Good news! God is patient with us in the emotional healing time it takes to REALLY BELIEVE that God loves us and that JESUS IS RISEN!! It is true! You can walk in the victory of life and life more abundantly! Keep your eyes on Jesus and let Him lead your life!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen." Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
As we behold the infinite loveliness of Jesus and think only of others like He did, we will better realize that He has plans for us that exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think! When we yield the WHOLE HEART to Christ, there is TRUE CONVERSION and all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as we walk in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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Praise the Lord for the risen Savior, Jesus, who is now our High Priest interceding for us in the sanctuary in heaven, blotting out the record of the sins of all who have come unto Him in true repentance which He offers us as a gift! Then with hearts renewed by divine grace, Jesus manifests through us all of the fruits of His Spirit without one missing, for we have a message to give to a world that needs to know His love and the promise of His soon return!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
Christ is the center of our hopes, the anchor of our salvation. As we share what He has done for us, the loveliness of His character means even more to us as we learn to walk by faith in uplifting Jesus continually!
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After He rose from the dead, Christ treated Thomas with compassion and forbearance, thus showing us how we can treat those who have a weak faith, and guiding us to win and heal, not denounce and destroy. When we surrender fully to Jesus in living faith, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we affectionately obey God's law of love, and we will have courage to go forward in reaching out to souls who need the healing balm of love to guide them in the path of life!
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach, nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith, but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers. Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense, and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
Jesus is Lord and God, Savior of the world, but desiring to be the personal Savior of all in an ever-deepening union and communion with Himself by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Only when Christ abides in us will our thoughts, feelings and actions be in harmony with the loving decision of a sanctified will to do what God calls us to do in fulfilling the great commission!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us not run ahead of Jesus. He knows our future, and He has a perfect plan. We can learn to rest in Him, wait upon Him, and allow Him to guide us. Had Peter learned this lesson earlier in his experience, it could have protected him in Christ from taking things into his own hands in a way that only brought disappointment. But God loves to take us right where He finds us and give us grace to overcome sin and allow Him to write His story in our lives! As we surrender unreservedly to Jesus, He gives us a new heart and mind in which all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives--not one will be missing as we affectionally obey God's law of love!
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
Let Jesus guide the way before you, directing your path and guiding your steps. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way" (Psalm 37:23). As we let Jesus lead our steps, we will find love, joy and peace that passes all understating!
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With limitless possibilities before us, how can we ever be discouraged when Christ abides in our hearts and leads the way before us to victory in reaching souls for Him? What love, joy and peace that pass all understanding along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come to us as we experience total surrender to Christ and let Him live out His life in us in affectionate obedience to His law of love!
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.
This is so amazing! Let's expect great things of God and allow Him to do more than we can ask or think through us!
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Praise the Lord, we have a risen Savior!! Be not afraid for the future as you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and experience true conversion in constant surrender to His will and allow Him to manifest through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you affectionately obey God's law of love!
The disciples no longer had any distrust of the future. They knew that Jesus was in heaven, and that His sympathies were with them still. They knew that they had a friend at the throne of God, and they were eager to present their requests to the Father in the name of Jesus. In solemn awe they bowed in prayer, repeating the assurance, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:23, 24. They extended the hand of faith higher and higher, with the mighty argument, "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34. And Pentecost brought them fullness of joy in the presence of the Comforter, even as Christ had promised.
May you let Jesus direct you constantly in His perfect will! He is preparing us for heaven!!
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Look to Jesus and live by grace through faith! When we are truly converted, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love!
Through Christ's redeeming work the government of God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan's charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love's self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble union.
To be forever bonded to Jesus in marriage is an amazing miracle! We can be so happy for the word of God that promises: "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion" (Jeremiah 3:14). Will you let Jesus create you anew in His image through the experience of infinite intimacy with Him? When you do, He will do in and through you more than you can ask or think!
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We have a lot to do with how our lives turn out. As we learn of Christ and respond to His providential leading, He desires to bless us and fulfill His plans in our lives in the ideal way of blessings us to be a blessing. But if we are unfaithful, God will still fulfill His purpose--but it will come about through adversity and humiliation. May we choose to look to Jesus and live, surrendering the whole heart to Him in affectionate obedience as all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we choose to be in constant union and communion with God. Only in Christ can God's purpose for us be fulfilled. Let us truly abide in Him today!
Had Israel been true to God, He could have accomplished His purpose through their honor and exaltation. If they had walked in the ways of obedience, He would have made them "high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor." "All people of the earth," said Moses, "shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee." "The nations which shall hear all these statutes" shall say, "Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:10; Deuteronomy 4:6. But because of their unfaithfulness, God's purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.
As we look away from our weak, fallen souls and realize we have a divine-human Savior who perfectly navigated the human experience without sin, when we face temptation to be unfaithful, we can rejoice that God knows exactly what we need when we need it, and He will lead us in His perfect will and way. Look to Jesus to be both the author and finisher of the faith experience that you need to abide in Him in true readiness for His return!
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There is incredible hope for all who let Christ restore the character from sin to holiness! He can do it as we behold Him, yield to Him, and abide in Him! Then He gives us a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we obey the law of God as our highest delight!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
The glory of God is seen in Jesus! Keep looking to Him and let Him finish what He has started in your life for His glory--a character after His pattern to reach souls in repopulating heaven!
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You are so deeply loved. God sent His Son into our world at such an infinite cost--for Christ would yield up His omnipresence (the ability to be everywhere at the same time) in becoming a human being! Love takes risks and thinks and acts selflessly. Let us look up to Jesus constantly, and appreciate how our Heavenly Father felt about His Son coming to our world! As you yield unreservedly to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in your life as long as you remain connected to Him in constant union and communion with Him!
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. “Herein is love.” Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
What a joy we have to be able to enjoy the love of God toward us! Let us reveal that love to others each day!
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Happy Sabbath!! What a joy to receive true happiness from Jesus! Looking to Him, surrendering to Him, abiding in Him, we will find the true source of happiness--His presence in our souls! When Christ abides within us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest--not one missing! As love leads to affectionate obedience to God's law, we will gladly obey the law of God from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit up to every known statute of His truth! What a joy to grow more like Jesus and point others to Him!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
Christ is willing to live out His life in you, and make you a true witness of His character! Will you let Jesus do in and through you what He so longs to to? Surrender all and cooperate with Him by the Holy Spirit to taste and see that He is truly good!
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When we truly behold Jesus and allow nothing to eclipse the loveliness of His character, we will be happy to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate! The magi were glad to give their best to Jesus! Let us go and do likewise as we respond to Christ's converting, sanctifying grace that enables sinners to become saints who reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The magi had been among the first to welcome the Redeemer. Their gift was the first that was laid at His feet. And through that gift, what privilege of ministry was theirs! The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
As we let God have our best for His service, we will be the happiest knowing that for such a purpose were created--to glorify and honor God!
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No one and nothing is unimportant to God. He is love, and cares intimately and infinitely for all He has made. As seen in the beautiful, perfect earthly life of Jesus, the Son of God who became flesh and dwelt among us, we see a clear revelation of the character He is willing to live out through us today as we behold Him, yield our will to Him fully, and allow Him to give us a new heart and mind. Then all the fruits of the Spirit flow forth from our recreated inmost being as we abide in Him who loves us and gave Himself for us. Gladly we experience true heart obedience because Jesus' life is merged with our life, and we go forward in His providence to bless others!
Jesus was the fountain of healing mercy for the world; and through all those secluded years at Nazareth, His life flowed out in currents of sympathy and tenderness. The aged, the sorrowing, and the sin-burdened, the children at play in their innocent joy, the little creatures of the groves, the patient beasts of burden,--all were happier for His presence. He whose word of power upheld the worlds would stoop to relieve a wounded bird. There was nothing beneath His notice, nothing to which He disdained to minister.
May we see each experience around us as a ministry opportunity to reveal the loveliness of Jesus. No matter how fallen we are, His grace is sufficient to empower us to a life of obedience because we love Him who first loved us!
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How can you live a happy, victorious Christian life filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing? Come commune with Jesus and do not let other temptations pull you away from appreciating His loveliness of character. Then His experience becomes ours, and our life is hid in Him. What a joy to be complete in Christ and have the Holy Spirit transform us from one degree of Christ's character perfection to the next degree of Christ's character perfection! As long as the whole heart is yielded to Him, He abides in us and we in Him and the sinful heart of unbelief, also known as the flesh, is kept under by the divine nature accessible to us in His word by the Holy Spirit!
If Joseph and Mary had stayed their minds upon God by meditation and prayer, they would have realized the sacredness of their trust, and would not have lost sight of Jesus. By one day's neglect they lost the Saviour; but it cost them three days of anxious search to find Him. So with us; by idle talk, evilspeaking, or neglect of prayer, we may in one day lose the Saviour's presence, and it may take many days of sorrowful search to find Him, and regain the peace that we have lost.
In our association with one another, we should take heed lest we forget Jesus, and pass along unmindful that He is not with us. When we become absorbed in worldly things so that we have no thought for Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered, we separate ourselves from Jesus and from the heavenly angels. These holy beings cannot remain where the Saviour's presence is not desired, and His absence is not marked. This is why discouragement so often exists among the professed followers of Christ.
Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence.
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
Let us experience this and encourage others also in this happy way to be ready for heaven!
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Every soul has infinite value because of the infinite price paid for the soul by the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Even now He is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary to blot from the record books all of the sins of His truly converted people who by grace through faith have experienced true repentance leading to confession and renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. We need Jesus continually to do any good thing, and when He is in us, the experiences of His earthly life will be wrought out in our experience by abiding in Him. May this the way Jesus lived His early be a living invitation to go and do likewise by the power of the Holy Spirit!
He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.
When a child realizes that they can choose Jesus' plan for their life over Satan's plan, it is amazing! Each of us has a choice--God's will, or the deceptive path of selfishness which leads to death. Only as we realize that Christ has something infinitely better for us by receiving His thoughts, which lead to actions, which lead to habits, which lead to character will there be a lasting change in our life heavenward. May we ask people, "How are you thinking today?" because they can receive God's thoughts from His word--and then the entire life experience can be brought into harmony with God's divine plan to repopulate heaven with beings who know and love to do His will!
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As we learn our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing as we see our natural inefficiency and unworthiness, we will be able to be fearless amid changing surroundings because we have allowed the love of God to fill our hearts and minds as we behold the King in His beauty as did John who was called to prepare for Jesus' first advent, like how God has His people to give the present truth message to prepare for the second coming of Jesus!
He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.
Let self be lost in Jesus today. Behold Him and become changed into His image and character, a character that is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in wholehearted affectionate obedience to God!
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Who initiates and completes the work? It is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, and it is so phenomenal that the gift that reconciles us to Himself is provided by God Himself. God is in Christ reconciling us to Himself and He invites us to really believe that He loves us and abide in Him in a moment-by-moment union and communion with Him! The joy of the Lord is our strength because of what Christ has done for us!
None among the hearers, and not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of these words, "the Lamb of God." Upon Mount Moriah, Abraham had heard the question of his son, "My father, . . . where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The father answered, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Genesis 22:7, 8. And in the ram divinely provided in the place of Isaac, Abraham saw a symbol of Him who was to die for the sins of men. The Holy Spirit through Isaiah, taking up the illustration, prophesied of the Saviour, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter," "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:7, 6); but the people of Israel had not understood the lesson. Many of them regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked upon their sacrifices,--as gifts by which they themselves might propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.
As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, we can yield to the gracious motivation of His love and allow His atoning blood to cleanse us from every stain of sin while filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! There is no greater joy than being in the center of God's will!
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Who needs signs and wonders when you have the word of God? God gives us grace to do His will by His word, and Jesus perfect example of faithfulness under temptation when passing through the wilderness gives us hope that by abiding in Him by His word, we may walk in constant victory over sin and experience sweetest union and communion with Jesus in infinite intimacy! Let nothing eclipse the loveliness of His character before your eyes of faith today!
Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. "It is written," He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a "Thus saith the Lord," was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.
Satan is trying to trick us into thinking that what sin offers us will be to our advantage, but sin is always a loss, and we can find the greatest joy of victory in staying connected to Christ by surrendering fully to His word! Look to Jesus and live! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in your life as long as Jesus abides in your soul!
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Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
We can choose to walk in victory moment-by-moment as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! Let us realize the value of the character experience we are being offered can only be fully realized when we are in heaven seeing all Jesus risked for us.
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As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. The feast that He provides for the soul never fails to give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow. The words of Jesus to Nathanael express the law of God's dealing with the children of faith. With every fresh revelation of His love, He declares to the receptive heart, "Believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." John 1:50.
Let us choose Jesus today and allow Him to give us a richer gift than what we experienced yesterday! By abiding in Jesus, we can overcome and experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in our lives. Growth in grace is a result of beholding, surrendering, and abiding in Jesus.
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What is God's purpose for our lives?
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." Rev. 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; . . . and they shall be My people." "He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 2 Cor. 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and "an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21, 22.
Jesus desires to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we happily obey His law of love from a heart renewed by divine grace. Apart from Him we can do no good thing, but united to Him by the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to what He can do for and through us to bless others and fulfill the purposes He has for us. May this day be filled with the Holy Spirit in a marked manner, as we pray for the early and the latter rain of the Holy Spirit to use us to win souls!
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God's plans are infinite, and as we behold Jesus, yield fully to Him, and become truly converted so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our life, we experience a mystery that will reach throughout eternity--starting now!!
It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.
May your day be a foretaste of heaven by having Jesus constantly in your heart by a living faith surrender to His will!
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May we let Jesus be lifted higher as we are hidden behind His glory. As we behold Jesus, we will be willing to be like John the Baptist who came to point souls to Him!
The work of God is not to bear the image and superscription of man. From time to time the Lord will bring in different agencies, through whom His purpose can best be accomplished. Happy are they who are willing for self to be humbled, saying with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, we can experience true self-abnegation which is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we obey the law of God from a heart renewed by divine grace!
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Happy Sabbath!! Are you thirsty? Of course you are! We were all designed by God to need water, and just as this is true in our physical nature, so we were created by God to thirst for the living water, the grace of Christ that will renew our hearts and minds in His image! Then as we surrender in humble faith to Jesus and receive His grace to renew our will, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be our experience because we keep abiding in Him so our lives reflect Him!
He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, "The Desire of all nations," is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
Christ will live in us as an abiding guest, and we will affectionately obey God because we are created anew in His image of relational love as seen in Jesus' life and expressed in the Ten Commandments!
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Jesus loves us and leads our lives. While it may not turn out the way we thought, in heaven we will fully understand why He allowed all He did. Trust Him because He first loved you, and as you surrender unreservedly to Jesus, in the power of His converting grace He renews your heart and mind and imbues you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Great joy comes from being in the center of God's will--as the most weighty trust and high honor God gives us is to have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
May we never complain as we go along the life journey God leads us to experience, praising God for His love that sustains us even when we are in immense emotional or spiritual pain. Pain is not the enemy in our lives--sin is, and Jesus became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Him. What a joy to do God's will by His imputed and imparted righteousness!
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Jesus longed to use the leaders in Israel to share the present truth for that generation, just as He desires us to share the present truth in this generation, the Three Angels' messages of Revelation 14:1-12, in light of the power of the gospel in a lived experience whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in the life in affectionate obedience to God from a heart renewed by divine grace (Ephesians 2:8-10, Galatians 5:22-23, John 14:15, and Ezekiel 36:26-27). Look to Jesus and allow Him to use you to share that He is coming soon for a people that He has prepared!
If the leaders in Israel had received Christ, He would have honored them as His messengers to carry the gospel to the world. To them first was given the opportunity to become heralds of the kingdom and grace of God. But Israel knew not the time of her visitation. The jealousy and distrust of the Jewish leaders had ripened into open hatred, and the hearts of the people were turned away from Jesus.
May we never turn souls from Jesus, but point all to Him as the Lamb of God and as the High Priest interceding in the heavenly sanctuary to soon return as our King!
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Praise the Lord for the opportunity to be in the center of His will! Let us choose truth over error by walking by grace through faith in constant union and communion with Jesus!
Truth was unpopular in Christ's day. It is unpopular in our day. It has been unpopular ever since Satan first gave man a disrelish for it by presenting fables that lead to self-exaltation. Do we not today meet theories and doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God? Men cling as tenaciously to them as did the Jews to their traditions.
Let us learn to trust God's word over anything else--no matter how strong the temptations that may come that contradict it! As we learn of Christ and surrender fully to Him, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we obey Jesus with true, affectionate obedience!
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Let God use you just as you are as you let Him change you into the image of who He is--selfless love!
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.
May you rejoice in Jesus constantly! He knows what is best for your life! Surrender all to Him and He will guide you continually!
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Praise the Lord for what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives!!
And "if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Romans 8:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. This is the word of comfort wherewith He bids us comfort one another.
Let us be courageous and not despondent in the midst of great opposition, suffering and persecution. When Jesus lives in our hearts by a living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be in our lives without one missing!
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We need not be in fear when Jesus leads us in His perfect will! By choosing today to serve Him, yielding our will to Him so He can purify our hearts and minds by His divine grace, we can be happy, peaceful and obedient Christians no matter what the trial we may face! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow from our converted lives as we abide in Jesus!
As Jesus rested by faith in the Father's care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
Let us always turn to Jesus as naturally as the flower turns to the sun. We can look to Him continually, and He will guide us continually!
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We are invited to look to Jesus and to become like Him. The simplicity of the gospel encourages us to believe in God's grace--the power to transform a sinner into a saint--and by a living faith surrender invite Jesus to abide in the heart that He recreates in His purity so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives. Then we can gladly and affectionately obey God's law of love!
Jesus continues: As you confess Me before men, so I will confess you before God and the holy angels. You are to be My witnesses upon earth, channels through which My grace can flow for the healing of the world. So I will be your representative in heaven. The Father beholds not your faulty character, but He sees you as clothed in My perfection. I am the medium through which Heaven's blessings shall come to you. And everyone who confesses Me by sharing My sacrifice for the lost shall be confessed as a sharer in the glory and joy of the redeemed.
Let us look to Jesus as the Author and Finisher of our faith and walk with Him in humble obedience to His will and plan for us.
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Praise the Lord for the blessing of receiving from Jesus the blessing of His word, His provision, and His healing. We can be truly converted and allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, as we gladly obey the law of love!
When the question comes home to your heart, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" let not your answer be the response of unbelief. When the disciples heard the Saviour's direction, "Give ye them to eat," all the difficulties arose in their minds. They questioned, Shall we go away into the villages to buy food? So now, when the people are destitute of the bread of life, the Lord's children question, Shall we send for someone from afar, to come and feed them? But what said Christ? "Make the men sit down," and He fed them there. So when you are surrounded by souls in need, know that Christ is there. Commune with Him. Bring your barley loaves to Jesus.
As we surrender all to Jesus there is no limit to what God can do in and through our lives!
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May we let the love of Christ constrain us in doing God's holy will!
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.
When Jesus lives in our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! We can obey God from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit!
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Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,--a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them.
Let us not be asleep spiritually but wide awake by receiving a living union and communion with Christ so we can grow more like Him constantly!
Choose to be all in for Jesus! Surrender all and let Him lead you continually! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in the life truly converted by His grace as God leads us in obedience to His law of love!
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Let us recognize we need Jesus continually to do any good thing! Only abiding in Him is there an experience of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey the law of God from the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit!
"To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help." {The Desire of Ages, page 475, paragraph 3}
God is faithful to heal our lives!
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Praise the Lord! Let us look and live! Jesus knows what we most need and is able to heal our hearts!
Jesus knows us individually, and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He knows us all by name. He knows the very house in which we live, the name of each occupant. He has at times given directions to His servants to go to a certain street in a certain city, to such a house, to find one of His sheep.
Jesus is finding His sheep all around the world and guiding us to surrender fully to His grace! He renews the heart and mind by the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life--without one missing! Then we gladly can obey the law of God from a heart made new!
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Jesus loves you!! He has the best for you!! Do not get distracted from Jesus and the word of God. Satan will seek to present subtle temptations to lead us in a path that is less than the biblical ideal for our lives, but God has a better plan--and that is that we all press together and be united, even though it means our own ways are laid down at the foot of the cross. When we live by faith on the Son of God, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly can obey the law of love from the heart renewed by His grace. Turn away from sin and self and keep looking to Jesus without allowing anything to eclipse the loveliness of His character!!
To the heart of Christ it was a bitter task to press His way against the fears, disappointment, and unbelief of His beloved disciples. It was hard to lead them forward to the anguish and despair that awaited them at Jerusalem. And Satan was at hand to press his temptations upon the Son of man. Why should He now go to Jerusalem, to certain death? All around Him were souls hungering for the bread of life. On every hand were suffering ones waiting for His word of healing. The work to be wrought by the gospel of His grace was but just begun. And He was full of the vigor of manhood's prime. Why not go forward to the vast fields of the world with the words of His grace, the touch of His healing power? Why not take to Himself the joy of giving light and gladness to those darkened and sorrowing millions? Why leave the harvest gathering to His disciples, so weak in faith, so dull of understanding, so slow to act? Why face death now, and leave the work in its infancy? The foe who in the wilderness had confronted Christ assailed Him now with fierce and subtle temptations. Had Jesus yielded for a moment, had He changed His course in the least particular to save Himself, Satan's agencies would have triumphed, and the world would have been lost.
Let us surrender all to the Holy Spirit and be like Jesus in a moment-by-moment union and communion with Him!!
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Let us look to Jesus and live and allow the light of His love to shine through us so the darkness of sin and unbelief are dispelled by His healing presence!
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
Selfishness is death, and Jesus defeated selfishness when He died for us at the cross. Now as we by faith can look to Him in the sanctuary in heaven, we can rejoice to follow where He leads in the selfless path of life and life more abundantly to bless others! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as long as we have Jesus abiding on the throne of our hearts in true surrender and follow in true obedience by grace through faith! Jesus is preparing us for heaven!!
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Look upon Jesus and see what really matters! Let the things that are passing away not be the main focus in life, even while being faithful in our everyday responsibilities. As we share the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 and invite Jesus to guide us to follow Him whithersoever He goeth (Revelation 14:1-5), we can joyfully set our affections upon the kingdom of God and live a life to the glory of God! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be the supernatural evidence of our lives truly converted by His grace as we continually partake of His divine nature by receiving His exceedingly great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4)! May you affectionately obey God from the heart because Christ lives in you, the hope of glory!
Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.
Motivating others to follow Jesus by making His service appear attractive--as it really is--is such a joy!! May all you say and do today be a living witness of the loveliness of Jesus!
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What a joy it is to surrender all to Jesus rather than to turn away from Him sorrowful like the rich young ruler. Let us realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing, let Him cleanse our hearts from all sin, and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--then we can gladly obey God's law from a heart renewed by His divine grace!
To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trust and have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to give up all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for all who would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can be accepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ. Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative, because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those things which, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being.
As we experience the power of the gospel, we are invited to give it in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, proclaiming with a loud voice the truth that Christ is our righteousness (imputed and imparted) as we surrender ALL to Him, leading us to fear God and give glory to Him in obedience to all of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth, and to share the reality that Babylon is fallen--the systems of confusion and error under the great head of the Roman Church that fulfills the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation as the power that would "think to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25) so we can warn all to know that to continue to remain in Babylon is perilous on the verge of the second coming of Christ! Why? Because the enforcement of Sunday observance (the mark of the beast enforced) in contrast to the willing worship on the Sabbath of the fourth commandment means that those who continue in sin will receive the seven last plagues! Repentance is a gift from Jesus, and we SO NEED JESUS moment-by-moment so we can give the present truth message for our time with a heart renewed with His love for those who need to know the message for our time! May you boldly, lovingly, and faithfully share and live the message for our time by following Jesus wherever He goes!
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What a joy it is to know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying! Jesus is coming again very soon in harmony with His holy word, and He allows the trials that build our character to have an uninterrupted union and communion with Him as we have learned in prior trials how to trust Him no matter what!
"For your sakes," "to the intent ye may believe." To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly," 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience.
The joy of salvation is not dependent upon circumstances. The fruits of the Spirit without one missing can be freely manifest in our characters no matter what we are going through if we are truly converted in receiving the new heart and new mind He promises, because Jesus is the only one who knows what is best and how to direct our lives in His holy will. Surrender fully to Him so He can lead your path based on His word--over all subjective experience, as His word is our anchor of hope and truth. He does deliver and heal us so we can reflect His will!
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As we are in the last days, what are we waiting for? Why is Jesus not yet here? Quite frankly, two crops of character are ripening, and when the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, He will come to claim them as His own. It is also the ripeness of the character of the godly that leads to the final attempt by those who refuse the invitation of mercy to seal their destiny in perdition in plotting the death of the righteous. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history. Christ in His pure life is the greatest Example of the pattern character to navigate the last days of earth's history, and we would do well to see that as He was persecuted for being faithful, we need not fear what we will face, for His perfect love casts out fear and enables us to go forward in holy boldness to proclaim the everlasting gospel in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life that is truly converted and abiding in Jesus, leading to affectionate obedience to all of the Ten Commandments because Christ lives in us, the hope of glory!
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12).
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
As Jesus reveals Himself in you, be courageous and persevering to keep your eyes fixed on His loveliness, for the work of the Spirit will not cease in behalf of those who are walking in true conversion and victory--even when Jesus ceases His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary! Prepare to meet thy God! Jesus is coming again!!
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As we approach Jesus, the great center of our hopes and the One from whom comes all goodness and loveliness of character, we can rejoice to be partakers of the divine nature by having made His promises the foundation of our thoughts, feelings and motives! Then as we act in harmony with the law of love, our lives will bear witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing because Christ lives in us, the hope of glory!
The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,--love that "vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5),--love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul. He said, "For to me to live is Christ;" for his life revealed Christ to men; "and to die is gain,"--gain to Christ; death itself would make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. "Christ shall be magnified in my body," he said, "whether it be by life or by death." Philippians 1:21, 20.
When we look upon Jesus and see Him dying to save us from sin and selfishness, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing as His providence assigns us in His great plan of love! If you would like to experience Jesus continually in your life, learn to keep your eyes fixed on His loveliness as you surrender the whole heart to Him, thus giving you a true conversion so you can tell others of the wonderful Savior who left heaven to redeem you!!
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Happy Sabbath!! Jesus saves!!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7.
Let Christ within your heart to cheer and He will guide you to be in the center of His will, so that by giving you a new heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in your heart and life! Then you can gladly, affectionately obey God's law as the declaration of dependence upon Jesus moment-by-moment to do any good thing!
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Jesus loves us too much to fail to warn us of what will happen if we keep going down a selfish path. Jesus warned the Jews that they needed true repentance and He offered it to them, as without Him they could do nothing. We need Jesus continually and He offers us a new heart so we can be imbued with His Spirit--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable. That barren tree, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Saviour desired to make plain to His disciples the cause and the certainty of Israel's doom. For this purpose He invested the tree with moral qualities, and made it the expositor of divine truth. The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been specially favored by Him, and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people. But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements of God, and were full of hypocrisy. Like the barren tree, they spread their pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance, and beautiful to the eye, but they yielded "nothing but leaves." The Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple, its sacred altars, its mitered priests and impressive ceremonies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but humility, love, and benevolence were lacking.
When Christ lives in us, He empowers us to overcome sin and to do what God's will is regardless of how many things would pull us away from Christ and faithfulness to Him. Look to Jesus and live!
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Nothing in our world is stable or enduring but Christ and His word. He is the sure foundation upon which our characters may safely be built. As we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can go forward to gladly obey God's law of love!
To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
We cannot trust ourselves, our own understanding, or our own ways. We can safely look to Jesus, the Word of God, who cannot change and whose promises offer us the gift of partaking of His divine nature. As you look to Jesus and overcome sin by His grace, victory is assured!
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I am SO SO HAPPY Jesus gives us both PARDON and POWER to do His will as revealed in His law of love! I am SO SO THANKFUL that He came not to condemn, but to restore and heal! Then the heart He heals and restores will bear the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionately doing His will! Glory to God forevermore!!
In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man's duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.
By looking to Jesus constantly with the eye of faith, we may be strengthened! There is no limit to the usefulness of the soul who puts self aside and makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon the heart and lives a life fully consecrated to God! Let your life be one lived above the confusion of controversy in the joy of His will as revealed in His word and His providential leading!
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What joy it is to behold the loveliness of Jesus moving upon hearts, like it did for the woman who gave her two mites to the cause she loved! Jesus, who gave all, invites us to be "all in" for His glory and overcome sin by His divine nature available to us by His exceedingly great and precious promises! When we yield the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life that is hid with Christ in God! Gladly we may obey Him from a new heart and a new mind!
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation.
May the unselfish character of Christ be your experience today as He will live out His life in you!
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How can Jesus coming be hastened? We can look to Jesus and surrender our whole heart to Christ so He can live out His life in us. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can gladly go forward in humble obedience to God's law of love, sharing the gospel of His grace to help others be ready for Jesus return as soon as possible! "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). The gospel--lived and shared--is to go global! Let us be found faithful in our sphere that we may encourage others to be faithful in their sphere of service!
In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to "every creature which is under heaven." Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Revelation 14:6, 14. God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world." Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.
Looking to Jesus we can realize His power to save us and the exceedingly sinful nature of rebellion against God, the transgression of the law. By sharing the present truth for this time, we can help to hasten His return!
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We may begin to experience the relational love of heaven right now by inviting Jesus into our hearts for Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure!
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
When we have Jesus, we have all heaven. Christ leads us into all truth in His word and guides us aright in the path to eternal life. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives when we are truly converted and overcome as Christ also overcame. What a joy to abide in Jesus and do His will to bless others!
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God is selfless. He invites us to surrender our selfishness natural to our fallenness and be imbued with His unselfish character manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey God up to all the light He has revealed to us and happily approach whatever else He desires to teach us and how He desires to lead us! May your life today be the unfolding of His will for your life as you stay connected to Jesus in true surrender so the new heart of faith working by love may conquer the evil heart of unbelief (the flesh) and keep you from falling by His grace!
Again and again Jesus had tried to establish this principle among His disciples. When James and John made their request for pre-eminence, He had said, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister." Matthew 20:26. In My kingdom the principle of preference and supremacy has no place. The only greatness is the greatness of humility. The only distinction is found in devotion to the service of others.
As you go forth to bless others in God's providential leadings, know that His grace is sufficient to make you whatever He has planned for your life!
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Who is the only One who can truly uplift us from the pit of ruin caused by sin, selfishness and rebellion? Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the Way, the Truth and the Life! In Him there is power to overcome all sin--whether it had a hereditary or cultivated root to it, and to empower us to live as He lived by grace through faith as partakers of the divine nature, enabling us to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust and be more than conquerors!
He who beholds the Saviour's matchless love will be elevated in thought, purified in heart, transformed in character. He will go forth to be a light to the world, to reflect in some degree this mysterious love. The more we contemplate the cross of Christ, the more fully shall we adopt the language of the apostle when he said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14.
As we appreciate all that Christ is to us, we can share the loveliness of His character in truly converted lives as He manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we can go forward in humble, affectionate obedience to His law of love!
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Have you ever had to battle through depression and discouragement? So did Jesus! It was in the Garden of Gethsemane where the strongest trial of His life to that point was faced, and He chose to lay down His life for us as a sacrifice (just hours away from dying on the cross), choosing to become fully identified with sin and sinners in taking upon Himself our guilt, and He began to feel the separation that sin causes between the sinner and God. How He wrestled in prayer! How Jesus loved the Father, but He also loved us--what a crux to face! And praise the Lord, He chose to go through with the sacrifice so we could be saved--eternally saved! As we behold the loveliness of Jesus and yield the whole heart to Him, He creates in us a new heart and a right Spirit so we can have in our experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then affectionate obedience is the supernatural result of constant union and communion with Him! What a sacrifice was made for us! May we ever praise God for His love and goodness to us!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
Looking unto Jesus, we realize the words in Scripture are so true: "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10). May we not allow a murmur to escape our lips but rather praise to God and the Lamb ever flow from our lives in whatever lot God's providence assigns for us on the journey to heaven!
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What a blessing that we can receive the truth for our ruined natures to be restored to God's plan. When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, and we can gladly do His will because we are abiding in His word.
Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could his ruined nature be reconstructed.
The blessing of the truth coming into our hearts means we can overcome and resist evil as we recognize that God's word is better than the way our sinful nature would pull us to go. God's word is more powerful, and the key is abiding in Jesus!
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Let us look to Jesus and be truly converted, as this miracle God offers to all who come in willing surrender of the whole heart to Him! Just like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, the death of Christ clinches our hope and reveals the love of God that has power to win hearts to Him!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
Beholding Christ we will be changed, and perfect love casts out fear, even filling the soul with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey the law of God from a converted heart! May this be your experience today in Christ!
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Jesus is coming soon, and whether we are alive for the event as those who will be translated or we are raised from the grave by the power of Jesus' life, we need not fear death if we have Jesus in our hearts! That is what the gospel delivers us from--the fear of death that Satan has brought to our world. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15). We can rejoice over the power of the grave because we have chosen to look to Jesus, yield our will to Him, and let Him give us a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then our characters can bear witness to the glory of God in that we are enabled by His grace to gladly obey God's law up to every known statute that He has revealed because we know it is best and trust Him to lead our lives!
To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," "he shall never taste of death." To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.
We need to let the world know that the things of earth are passing away (maybe that is becoming more obvious to many in these perilous times). We are called to point souls to the only anchor that will hold us, and that is Jesus, the Word. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). He has a present truth message for us to live and share (Revelation 14:1-12) and He yearns over every soul in this poor, dark speck of a world that all would come to repentance and know the truth that sets the soul free from sin, fear, shame and guilt to live a life that is more abundant than we can ask or think!
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Beautiful is the thought that Jesus meets us where we are, and seeks to win our hearts above the emotional and mental fog we might be facing through disappointment. When the disciples walked along the road to Emmaus, they initially start out very discouraged.
Late in the afternoon of the day of the resurrection, two of the disciples were on their way to Emmaus, a little town eight miles from Jerusalem. These disciples had had no prominent place in Christ's work, but they were earnest believers in Him. They had come to the city to keep the Passover, and were greatly perplexed by the events that had recently taken place. They had heard the news of the morning in regard to the removal of Christ's body from the tomb, and also the report of the women who had seen the angels and had met Jesus. They were now returning to their homes to meditate and pray. Sadly they pursued their evening walk, talking over the scenes of the trial and the crucifixion. Never before had they been so utterly disheartened. Hopeless and faithless, they were walking in the shadow of the cross.
But the One who died on the cross and rose from the grave did not leave the disciples in the condition He found them. So today, Christ is willing to win our hearts to the healing reality of His word and help us to overcome the sin that so easily besets us, so we can be victorious witnesses for Him! After having their faith anchored in Christ, we see the change of experience that comes from understanding the prophecies as they are found in Christ:
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
When we have Christ abiding in us and intelligently grasp His promises by which we become partakers of the divine nature, we can rejoice to overcome by His divine grace and have Him renewing our hearts and minds! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we grow more like Jesus in affectionate obedience to His law of love! May we never lose sight of Jesus in all the trials we face in life!
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If we treat people the way Jesus treats us, we can expect that the Lord can work in the hearts of precious souls the most effectively by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing to see how Jesus met Thomas and how the disciple's experience was turned from unbelief to faith that works by love!
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach, nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith, but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers. Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense, and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
As we tenderly and graciously work with souls in the way of Christ's method, we can pray for each one to come to that true-hearted acknowledgment of Christ as Lord and Savior, a willing embrace of all the light shining upon the life path, and a complete heart surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in the life. May we be missionaries to reflect the loveliness of Jesus to others today!
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What a lesson to learn!
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
If we would wait upon the Lord to guide us rather than rush on in our own way, we would be protected and guided to walk in the path He has planned. Often our plans fail that God's plans for us may succeed. Let us look to Jesus in full surrender of our heart and mind, unite our weakness to His strength so His grace may convert us thoroughly, and then let Jesus live out in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey His law of love! He has the best plan for us--and faith working by love will accept His plans so we become one with Him in the joy of unselfish service!
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Let us trust God to guide us by the Holy Spirit! There is no limit to the usefulness of our lives when we surrender COMPLETELY to Jesus! Then, when the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be in our lives without one missing! Then we can obey Jesus up to all the light He has shown us because He is inviting us to an experience higher and better than we can ask or think!
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.
Trust God in the trying seasons and speak faith and hope. Encourage others even when facing deep trial. Rejoice evermore and pray without ceasing! There are great triumphs to be gained for the cross as we GO FORWARD in His will!
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What a joy it is to be accepted in the Beloved! Christ gives us graciously His acceptance on account of His sacrifice as we yield the whole heart to Him, confess and forsake our sins, and abide in His victory! No fear in love becomes our abiding experience as we rest in the reality of His word! Constant union and communion with Christ is such a blessing, accompanied by all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey the law of God!
The voice of God is heard proclaiming that justice is satisfied. Satan is vanquished. Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth are "accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. Before the heavenly angels and the representatives of unfallen worlds, they are declared justified. Where He is, there His church shall be. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalm 85:10. The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, "Let all the angels of God worship Him." Hebrews 1:6.
Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus no matter what may come in our earthly pilgrimage! Jesus has the power and the grace to guide us in His healing path to heaven, encouraging us to invite others to the heavenly home, too! Let us do all we can to present the attractive loveliness of Jesus to the whole world for His promises are sure and cannot fail the weakest soul who trusts unreservedly in Him and follows where His Spirit leads!
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God is a planner, and He intends to save everyone! All who come to Him He freely receives, revealing His grace that has the power to transform a sinner into a saint and keep such a one from falling! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of the truly converted soul who abides in Christ, thus leading to affectionately obeying all the truth of God's law that is revealed! What a joy to go where God sends and to do His holy will!
The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of "the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God's throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
Would you like to abide in Jesus? Behold the Lamb of God and overcome!
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There are so many parallels to the spiritual condition of the world on the verge of the first coming of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus. What is hopeful is that the same power of the gospel is still accessible to us to find victory to overcome sin and experience a complete renewal of the heart and mind fully to surrendered to Christ Jesus so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
May we never grow discouraged as we reflect upon the power of God's grace to restore the character into the image of Christ's loveliness. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. The key is being in continual union and communion with Christ so His will is revealed in our lives by the Holy Spirit as we affectionately obey God from a new heart and mind!
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When we contemplate the unfathomable, unchangeable love of God and realize what the Father risked in sending His Son to our world as a helpless babe, we can truly trust Him to guide and bless us in the way that He knows is best! Let us surrender our whole heart unreservedly to God so He can impute and impart to us His righteousness manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in humble, affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. "Herein is love." Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
The plan of salvation is an infinite theme! The more we contemplate God's love and let it change our characters, the more we will appreciate what He has given us in His Son! What a thought--we are loved by the God who made all things and yet became one of us to redeem us from sin! Hallelujah!
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Do you want to be happy? Love Jesus!! How? By beholding Jesus and trusting Him!
Remember that for all of us, happiness is the result of holiness and conforming our will to God's will!
It is like Jesus is saying right to our human family: His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
We can love Jesus with the whole heart as we yield the whole heart to Him! Then He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we go where He leads us to go in the path of life!
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When the magi came to worship Jesus, they gave Him their best! May we give Jesus our best--but how? First, we must look to His loveliness and let His divine character attract us to Him, surrender the whole heart to Him, and then we become partakers of the divine nature so we can have Him living in us and working through us His good works in tandem with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! What joy comes to us when we let God move us by the Holy Spirit!
The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
The inevitable outflow of a truly converted heart is a desire to do our best for Jesus who gave ALL for us and left heaven to become helpless baby dependent upon peasant parents! What an incredible exchange! As we contemplate the infinite riches of God's grace, we come into possession of them as we abide in Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Today we can let the Lord guide us in His perfect plan for our lives!
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We need Jesus continually. Something supernatural takes place when we behold Jesus and fully surrender the heart to Him! He has the power to transform our hearts, giving us zeal and earnestness with the sweet love of Jesus in our hearts by the power of the Holy so we can do God's will in true conversion thus manifest with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as we obey God from a new heart and mind!
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
By beholding we become changed, and that is why we need to keep our eyes continually upon Jesus and live by grace through faith as His witnesses! We are to share a living witness of Christ living in us to a world soon to perish but still given mercy to come to repentance in beholding the true character of God!
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What a joy to trust in Jesus, and take Him at His word! He desires us to be in an intelligent appreciation of what it means to be "accepted in the Beloved" as we yield our will to Christ and go where He leads us to follow Him!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
The joy of salvation comes to us as we trust in His divine grace, walk in His will and way, and learn of Him in a moment-by-moment union and communion of our souls with Christ by grace through faith! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come to the life as we let Christ live in us, the hope of glory! Faith and feeling are as distinct as the east is from the west, so it is important to trust Christ even when we may not feel like we are accepted, as long as we continue to surrender fully to Him and let Him lead us in His plan!
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We are called to walk in Jesus' victory over temptation! He has conquered Satan and offers us His word in every moment so we can be vitally united to Him by a living faith surrender (true conversion) manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit with affectionate obedience to His promises! Let us walk it out today by grace through faith!
And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. "It is written," He said. And unto us are given "exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. "Thy word," says the psalmist, "have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee." "By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." Psalm 119:11; 17:4.
When you feel most disconnected, when circumstances assail you and you see your weakness, look away from self to Jesus! Talk and think of Jesus and grow more like Him today, for by beholding we become changed!
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We are shown in Christ's victory how to have victory over Satan by submission to God and trust in His word! Jesus' victory is for us! Let us choose Christ because He came to our dark world to redeem us at an infinite cost to Himself! What wondrous love is this!
So we may resist temptation, and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but "the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Proverbs 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.
Choosing to trust Jesus no matter how trying our circumstances is so important. No matter what we are going through, we have a sure refuge in Jesus who loves us and has a plan to save us to the uttermost! Grace and strength are supplied as we pray for Him to help us continually abide in Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow spontaneously from a life experiencing true conversion and growth in Christ!
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What a joy comes to our hearts as we surrender fully to Jesus and abide in His love! His love in the soul brings all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, enabling Spirit-filled obedience to Him out of an intelligent appreciation for His loveliness of character! Whatever gift He has given us thus far, He has a greater gift to bestow today and tomorrow! Let us keep walking with Jesus moment-by-moment!
As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. The feast that He provides for the soul never fails to give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow. The words of Jesus to Nathanael express the law of God's dealing with the children of faith. With every fresh revelation of His love, He declares to the receptive heart, "Believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." John 1:50.
Looking unto Jesus we find that God is the true Giver, and in union and communion with Him, we also shall delight to give and bless others as Jesus has first blessed (loved) us!
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Someone is drawing you to Himself. Who is it? It is Jesus! He yearns over you with a longing that is incomprehensible! His love does not grow cold and His efforts to win your heart do not cease! May we ever keep our hearts tender and receptive to Jesus' love so that the converting power of His grace may restore us into His image by making us partakers of the divine nature whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing! We are to look to Him, surrender the whole heart, and allow Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure!
The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,—a patient, protracted process.
God sees that IT IS WORTH IT to draw us to Himself. He knows that He can provide a love that will satisfy the soul that can be found in no other source in the universe. Simply put, trying to find meaning and purpose in life without Jesus is IMPOSSIBLE! Look to Him and let Him do the greatest miracle in your life--making you a new creature who loves Jesus and loves others unselfishly!
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Where are you looking for satisfaction?
He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, "The Desire of all nations," is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
If we look to Jesus and surrender the whole heart to Christ, we find true satisfaction and restoration to God's plan for us as free moral agents! Only in Christ is true satisfaction. Let us surrender fully to Christ so He can give us a new heart and a new mind, imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, so we can abide in His love and obey God's law of love to the extent that He has revealed it to us by His grace!
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You are known and understood. Jesus cares and has a plan to save you, and even the trials of life He can sanctify to the conversion of souls! Let us yield fully to Jesus so the Holy Spirit can freely work through us moment-by-moment in manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The nobleman longed to know more of Christ. As he afterward heard His teaching, he and all his household became disciples. Their affliction was sanctified to the conversion of the entire family. Tidings of the miracle spread; and in Capernaum, where so many of His mighty works were performed, the way was prepared for Christ's personal ministry.
Jesus makes a way each day for us to bring all we have and are to Him so that whatever we are facing, His grace is sufficient for the day that we may believe fully in Him and obey Him with a heart that is renewed by the Holy Spirit!
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Please don't miss this! We are by nature just as paralyzed spiritually to walk by faith as was the man who had been palsied for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda found in John 5! Jesus makes healing SO SIMPLE: "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath" (John 5:8-9). We need Jesus' mighty word to resurrect us spiritually so we can walk by a living faith union and communion with God and overcome every defect of character in our lives as He manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can supernaturally and gladly obey God's word to the extent that He has reveled His law of love to us because we are living the new life of faith!
Through the same faith we may receive spiritual healing. By sin we have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Of ourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was the impotent man capable of walking. There are many who realize their helplessness, and who long for that spiritual life which will bring them into harmony with God; they are vainly striving to obtain it. In despair they cry, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24, margin. Let these desponding, struggling ones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood, saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, “Wilt thou be made whole?” He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel that you are made whole. Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled. Put your will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting upon His word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice, the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul and body, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soul that is “dead in trespasses.” Ephesians 2:1. He will set free the captive that is held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.
Why would we choose anything less than God's ideal for us? Let us realize that the world, our own fallen nature, and the devil are trying to keep us bound by sin and in slavery to fear and doubt. But God is stronger!!! God's word is our pledge of deliverance and power to walk by faith, not by sight! May you today connect with Jesus by the Holy Spirit so He can do in and through you what would otherwise have been an impossibility! God is able to do more than we can ask or think! Hallelujah!
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What is most valuable?
It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most.
"God is love" (1 John 4:8), and when He lives in us, the same purity and love from Jesus will flow out of our lives to others in good works that are motivated by the Holy Spirit and made possible by His grace! May you let all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be manifest in your life today as you choose to surrender all you have and are to God moment-by-moment, enjoying constant union and communion with Christ! Then you can gladly obey God from a heart renewed by divine grace and go forth to bless others in affectionate obedience to God's will as revealed in His law of love, the Ten Commandments!
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Praise the Lord for the light that Christ sheds upon our pathway! As we surrender fully to Christ and let Him lead us in His perfect will, we can make the best use of the light of the everlasting gospel and go forward in faith! 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 from a heart renewed by divine grace!
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession.
Let us not violate the light that God gives us, but apply the truth as we surrender fully to His will!
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Praise the Lord for God's grace! What would life be like without grace? Without grace, we would perish! Oh, what wondrous love in how Jesus takes us as we are but does not leave us the way He finds us! As we behold the loveliness of His character, we can rejoice to surrender fully to Him and be truly converted, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without on missing will be in our lives! Then we can truly affectionately obey God as He invites us to in His law because He first loved us!
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.
Jesus will bear much fruit through us--not just our characters reflecting Him, but others coming to Christ in true conversion! May you let others see Jesus at work in your heart and life today by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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Jesus offers us His character experience! Let’s behold Him, yield the whole heart to Him, and let Him manifest through us all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit without one missing! Then affectionate obedience is the sure result of constant union and communion with our Savior!
His tender compassion fell with a touch of healing upon weary and troubled hearts. Even amid the turbulence of angry enemies He was surrounded with an atmosphere of peace. The beauty of His countenance, the loveliness of His character, above all, the love expressed in look and tone, drew to Him all who were not hardened in unbelief. Had it not been for the sweet, sympathetic spirit that shone out in every look and word, He would not have attracted the large congregations that He did. The afflicted ones who came to Him felt that He linked His interest with theirs as a faithful and tender friend, and they desired to know more of the truths He taught. Heaven was brought near. They longed to abide in His presence, that the comfort of His love might be with them continually.
Praise the Lord!
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Praise the Lord for the healing that God brings to us in a complete way! Jesus knows us individually and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, so come to Him just as you are, accept His divine grace in a complete surrender of your whole heart to Christ, and find forgiveness and healing to transform you into His image so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in your life without one missing!
The paralytic found in Christ healing for both the soul and the body. The spiritual healing was followed by physical restoration. This lesson should not be overlooked. There are today thousands suffering from physical disease, who, like the paralytic, are longing for the message, "Thy sins are forgiven." The burden of sin, with its unrest and unsatisfied desires, is the foundation of their maladies. They can find no relief until they come to the Healer of the soul. The peace which He alone can give, would impart vigor to the mind, and health to the body.
Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil." "In Him was life," and He says, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." He is "a quickening spirit." 1 John 3:8; John 1:4; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45. And He still has the same life-giving power as when on earth He healed the sick, and spoke forgiveness to the sinner. He "forgiveth all thine iniquities," He "healeth all thy diseases." Psalm 103:3.
What joy it is to walk in the victory Christ offers us! The devil is a defeated for, though he still roams around to try to discourage and distract us. But we can choose Christ and look and live because He ever lives to intercede for us. Christ is about to return in power and great glory, and now is the time to rejoice in the Lord!
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Do you discern the presence of Jesus? Do you realize that He is your personal Savior, and have you surrendered your heart fully so He as your Lord can lead you in the path that is best? As you look to Christ's infinite love, an intelligent appreciation of His self-sacrifice will stir you to "go and do likewise" to what He has done in reflecting His true character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in humble obedience to all of His Ten Commandments! As our High Priest in heaven, He is even now interceding for us to help us walk in His victorious character experience, blotting out our sins that are confessed in true repentance, and preparing us for His soon return in power and great glory!
When He should come forth from the tomb, their sorrow would be turned to joy. After His ascension He was to be absent in person; but through the Comforter He would still be with them, and they were not to spend their time in mourning. This was what Satan wanted. He desired them to give the world the impression that they had been deceived and disappointed; but by faith they were to look to the sanctuary above, where Jesus was ministering for them; they were to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, His representative, and to rejoice in the light of His presence. Yet days of temptation and trial would come, when they would be brought into conflict with the rulers of this world, and the leaders of the kingdom of darkness; when Christ was not personally with them, and they failed to discern the Comforter, then it would be more fitting for them to fast.
Christ is waiting to guide each of us in the path that He knows to be best. Constant union and communion with God is open to each of our hearts! Let us rejoice in the Lord always and praise Him who gives the Holy Spirit as we ask and surrender to Him!
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The currency of relationships is time. God has graciously given us the seventh day Sabbath as a gift to build our relationship with Him.
As we surrender fully to Jesus, He converts our hearts and changes us from the inside out to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love expressed in the Ten Commandments, including the holy Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset! Happy Sabbath as it comes soon!!
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.
As the sun sets this Friday evening, may you rest in Jesus knowing that His grace is strong and powerful to keep you from sin and shame as you accept Christ's new name by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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Happy Sabbath! We are privileged to be able to offer God our finite weakness so He can fill us with His infinite grace, power and love by the Holy Spirit! Only in Christ do we find our real purpose and identity!
"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.
We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.
God is willing to send the angels to speak through our voices so we can be a blessing to others and point them to the love of Christ. Let us be available for what God has planned today! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest through a life that is fully surrendered to Christ in constant union and communion with God! Affectionately we are empower to obey God from a new heart and a new mind because the gospel of His grace transforms sinners into saints!
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Hungry? Righteousness is not natural to us, for we are sinful and unholy and need the righteousness of Christ to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! When we surrender the will entirely to Christ, He gives us a new heart and mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then affectionately we will obey the Ten Commandments and every known statute of the law of God--the law of love! Let us hunger and thirst for this true conversion experience and thank God that He does give it to us!
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.” The sense of unworthiness will lead the heart to hunger and thirst for righteousness, and this desire will not be disappointed. Those who make room in their hearts for Jesus will realize His love. All who long to bear the likeness of the character of God shall be satisfied. The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto him. If the eye is kept fixed on Christ, the work of the Spirit ceases not until the soul is conformed to His image. The pure element of love will expand the soul, giving it a capacity for higher attainments, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that it will not rest short of the fullness. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.”
Jesus has the power to keep making us more like Him--for eternity!! But while we are on earth, He is teaching us the most important lesson that He has grace sufficient to keep us from falling into sin! Let us rejoice continually in Christ who gives us more than we can ask or think!!
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We need Jesus and yet we do not deserve anything good. What we receive from Him is completely by grace! As by faith we accept His promise of salvation, we cling to Him and let Him live out His life in us!
The Jewish elders who recommended the centurion to Christ had shown how far they were from possessing the spirit of the gospel. They did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God's mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to "our nation." But the centurion said of himself, "I am not worthy." His heart had been touched by the grace of Christ. He saw his own unworthiness; yet he feared not to ask help. He trusted not to his own goodness; his argument was his great need. His faith took hold upon Christ in His true character. He did not believe in Him merely as a worker of miracles, but as the friend and Saviour of mankind.
It is thus that every sinner may come to Christ. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." Titus 3:5. When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners. We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and ever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity. Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say,--
"In my hand no price I bring;
Simply to Thy cross I cling."
May we never lose sight of Jesus, and as we abide in Him in complete surrender to His will, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Praise the Lord for God's power of grace to transform sinners into saints!
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Who is the closest to you?
Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. "Fear not," He says, "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine" (Isaiah 43:1).
Even if you are far away from family and friends, and if circumstances have made it such that you cannot be with them, remember that Jesus is the CLOSEST and will carry you through life's trials as you surrender all to Him. He will work in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure as you are truly converted, and He graciously manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing through the new heart and mind He gives you while guiding in affectionate obedience to His law of love! Praise the Lord!
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How can we be changed, truly changed?
It is the love of self that brings unrest. When we are born from above, the same mind will be in us that was in Jesus, the mind that led Him to humble Himself that we might be saved. Then we shall not be seeking the highest place. We shall desire to sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. We shall understand that the value of our work does not consist in making a show and noise in the world, and in being active and zealous in our own strength. The value of our work is in proportion to the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Trust in God brings holier qualities of mind, so that in patience we may possess our souls.
To be born again, or born from above, means we let Jesus fill us with the selfless presence of the Holy Sprit so all of the selfless traits of His life are manifest through us without one missing! Only a true conversion makes this possible, and a true conversion also includes ongoing growth in grace to be more like Jesus! Let us keep our eyes of faith fixed on Him as we accept His invitation today moment-by-moment: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). Are you wiling to surrender fully to Him? Jesus' way is always the best both now and for eternity!
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As Jesus rested by faith in the Father's care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
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Let us allow Jesus to speak through us in true conversion as we surrender the entire heart to Christ so He can imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we can then obey God's law of love because we are in union and communion with Jesus!
The servants of Christ are not to act out the dictates of the natural heart. They need to have close communion with God, lest, under provocation, self rise up, and they pour forth a torrent of words that are unbefitting, that are not as dew or the still showers that refresh the withering plants. This is what Satan wants them to do; for these are his methods. It is the dragon that is wroth; it is the spirit of Satan that is revealed in anger and accusing. But God's servants are to be representatives of Him. He desires them to deal only in the currency of heaven, the truth that bears His own image and superscription. The power by which they are to overcome evil is the power of Christ. The glory of Christ is their strength. They are to fix their eyes upon His loveliness. Then they can present the gospel with divine tact and gentleness. And the spirit that is kept gentle under provocation will speak more effectively in favor of the truth than will any argument, however forcible.
God is love, and He invites us to reveal the love of Christ constantly! May you walk by grace through faith constantly!
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You are infinitely loved by Jesus, and He desires to give you a life like His. How? By giving you constant union and communion with Himself. As we come aside to rest awhile and listen to His still, small voice, He will teach us individually and personally what to do by the Holy Spirit!
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.
As we get to know Jesus in a personal way by surrendering our will to Him, we can find truest joy in constantly allowing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing to be manifest in our character experience, for Christ in us, the hope of glory, will guide us in the path of true obedience that comes from the heart!
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What do you have? What has God given you? As you surrender your whole heart, mind and soul to Jesus for Him to recreate in true conversion in the image of His loveliness, He will open amazing ways for His glorious character to be manifest in your life to bless others! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will spontaneously flow from a life in constant union and communion with Jesus! Gladly, affectionately, and willingly obedience to God results from knowing and loving Him! Let all you have and are be "ALL IN" for Jesus!!
The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.
As we contemplate how God invites us to share the good news of salvation with others in the context of the three angels' messages of Revelation 14, what a joy it is to know that His grace is sufficient to empower us to live consistently for His glory in the blessing of others!
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Listen to the voice of Jesus. He can dispel our fears and implant in our hearts and minds His divine nature, so powerful that we can live above the pull of the world, the flesh and the devil, and in each storm of life walk by faith, not by sight! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in a life of affectionate obedience to all the commandments of God!
They think it a phantom that omens their destruction, and they cry out for fear. Jesus advances as if He would pass them; but they recognize Him, and cry out, entreating His help. Their beloved Master turns, His voice silences their fear, "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid."
Let us choose Jesus moment-by-moment by having His thoughts in our minds, for we are invited to live by every word that proceeds from His mouth--no matter how great the trial that would tempt us to have our minds diverted from Him, for Christ is the Word made flesh! He will dwell in every heart that is fully yielded to Him! Will you choose Jesus?
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Praise the Lord for His love that underlies all He does in our lives! Let us trust Jesus constantly!
While we cannot now comprehend the works and ways of God, we can discern His great love, which underlies all His dealings with men. He who lives near to Jesus will understand much of the mystery of godliness. He will recognize the mercy that administers reproof, that tests the character, and brings to light the purpose of the heart.
May you let all of the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in your life without one missing as you abide in the new heart experience offered in Christ!
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Let us keep the main thing the main thing. Where are we at with Jesus? Are we in a saving relationship with Him? Have I yielded the whole heart to Him for Him to purify so I may be a perfect overcomer and reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life? Am I affectionately obedient to all of God's commandments? As we behold Jesus and surrender completely to Him, He can do all of this in our characters as we enjoy constant union and communion with Him!
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.
Let us not get into unnecessary controversy, but keep lifting up Jesus and planting the truth of His unchanging, unerring word!
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There is a lot more going on than we can immediately perceive from any given situation in the life and character of Christ. This should be a lesson for us that when God brings us into different life situations, that He has more to teach us and more souls to bless than were directly involved in the experience at hand. This is so true in the way Jesus ministered to the woman of Phoenicia! Jesus went there to even bless you and me--TODAY!
The Saviour's visit to Phoenicia and the miracle there performed had a yet wider purpose. Not alone for the afflicted woman, nor even for His disciples and those who received their labors, was the work accomplished; but also "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." John 20:31. The same agencies that barred men away from Christ eighteen hundred years ago are at work today. The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active. Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and His mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel. But let them not feel that they are shut away from Christ. There are no barriers which man or Satan can erect but that faith can penetrate.
The faith of Jesus can penetrate any and every barrier, for it is simple, direct reliance upon God's word regardless of any other circumstance. We can be thankful that God has so many ways to provide just what we need, and the key is to have a heart fully surrendered (converted) to Christ so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life, accompanied by a character experience of affectionate obedience to all of God's holy Ten Commandments! That miracle God will gladly give you and me today!!
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Praise the Lord for sincerity in serving God! Jesus can truly fill us with His true character, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's Ten Commandments in light of the present truth of the soon return of Jesus!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. "Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to "walk, even as He walked;" and "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:6, 3.
May we ever realize the goodness of God that makes a genuine conversion possible! Jesus can change us from selfishness to selfless love. We can open the heart door to Him so on a moment-by-moment basis we may enjoy constant union and communion with Christ by the Holy Spirit!
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Let's follow Jesus!
Jesus now explained to His disciples that His own life of self-abnegation was an example of what theirs should be. Calling about Him, with the disciples, the people who had been lingering near, He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." The cross was associated with the power of Rome. It was the instrument of the most cruel and humiliating form of death. The lowest criminals were required to bear the cross to the place of execution; and often as it was about to be laid upon their shoulders, they resisted with desperate violence, until they were overpowered, and the instrument of torture was bound upon them. But Jesus bade His followers take up the cross and bear it after Him. To the disciples His words, though dimly comprehended, pointed to their submission to the most bitter humiliation,--submission even unto death for the sake of Christ. No more complete self-surrender could the Saviour's words have pictured. But all this He had accepted for them. Jesus did not count heaven a place to be desired while we were lost. He left the heavenly courts for a life of reproach and insult, and a death of shame. He who was rich in heaven's priceless treasure, became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich. We are to follow in the path He trod.
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God sees us for what we can be. We are tempted to see ourselves as hopeless, in light of our past sins and mistakes. But let us realize that like the father whose son was tormented with demons, all it takes to be set free is a living faith surrender to Christ in which we allow His victory over sin, the world, the flesh and the devil to connect us with the unlimited power of His grace to redeem a sinner and make such a child of His a saint!
"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." You can never perish while you do this--never.
There is no limit to what Jesus can do with your life yielded to Him! Will we simply trust Him unreservedly and allow all of the fruits of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God from a heart renewed by His divine grace? Let us choose Jesus even now, yielding the whole heart to Him, and being open to what He has planned for us so we will not only not perish, but be able to point others to Christ who can save all who come to Him to the uttermost!
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Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus!
"It was not enough for the disciples of Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of His kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart that would bring them into harmony with its principles. Calling a little child to Him, Jesus set him in the midst of them; then tenderly folding the little one in His arms He said, 'Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.' The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness." {The Desire of Ages, page 427, paragraph 1}
True greatness is revealed in moral worth--to be like Jesus!
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God desires to lead us into all truth! Let’s be willing to be made willing!
Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the Scriptures. “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 7:17, R. V.
When Jesus has the whole heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing even in the most trying circumstances! Let us be teachable and obedient to all we know of God's truth through the power of God's grace!
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Praise the Lord we can be uplifted and restored by beholding Christ, the Lamb of God, and have Him work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! He not only gives us a new heart and a new spirit as we behold Christ and surrender fully to Him, but He keeps uplifting us to new ways of growth in likeness to the loveliness of Jesus!
It is the gospel of the grace of God alone that can uplift the soul. The contemplation of the love of God manifested in His Son will stir the heart and arouse the powers of the soul as nothing else can.
Let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ continually!
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Look up to Jesus constantly!!
The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.
We can always safely look to Jesus to guide us continually! When the whole heart is yielded to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we affectionately obey God's law of love!!
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Praise the Lord for the opportunity to let Christ work in and through us by His grace!
Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God.
When Christ lives in our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey His law from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit to go forth to bless others!
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Praise the Lord that His kingdom is eternal, invisible and spiritual, for God is seeking to save every soul to the uttermost!!
Now, as in Christ's day, the work of God's kingdom lies not with those who are clamoring for recognition and support by earthly rulers and human laws, but with those who are declaring to the people in His name those spiritual truths that will work in the receivers the experience of Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20. Then they will labor as did Paul for the benefit of men. He said, "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20.
Let us yield fully to Christ so He can live out His life in us!! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are vitally connected to Jesus! Then we are supernaturally enabled in Christ to obey the law of God from the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit! May we go forth as His missionaries today!
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Why is it important to show love and tenderness to others? What is it that takes place in our character experience as we express to others our love and appreciation of them? We enter into the joy of being more like Jesus, for His heart was ever overflowing with love and we can be so thankful that He loves us with a love that is infinite! As we surrender the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our lives as we affectionately obey God's Ten Commandments--the definition of relational reality for eternity! May today be a day filled with Christ in you the hope of glory manifesting His love through you to others!
Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.
When we are truly converted, we have the simplicity of a little child in that we seek to win souls to Christ and point them to the never-failing Helper and Healer we have in Jesus! Praise the Lord!!
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What was the evidence? How was Jesus' divinity forever revealed with certainty?
"And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." His voice, clear and penetrating, pierces the ear of the dead. As He speaks, divinity flashes through humanity. In His face, which is lighted up by the glory of God, the people see the assurance of His power. Every eye is fastened on the entrance to the cave. Every ear is bent to catch the slightest sound. With intense and painful interest all wait for the test of Christ's divinity, the evidence that is to substantiate His claim to be the Son of God, or to extinguish the hope forever.
There is a stir in the silent tomb, and he who was dead stands at the door of the sepulcher. His movements are impeded by the graveclothes in which he was laid away, and Christ says to the astonished spectators, "Loose him, and let him go." Again they are shown that the human worker is to co-operate with God. Humanity is to work for humanity. Lazarus is set free, and stands before the company, not as one emaciated from disease, and with feeble, tottering limbs, but as a man in the prime of life, and in the vigor of a noble manhood. His eyes beam with intelligence and with love for his Saviour. He casts himself in adoration at the feet of Jesus.
In the resurrection of Lazarus is a promise of all the righteous dead who will rise at the second coming of Christ. May we have a living faith anchored in Christ that works by love and purifies the soul so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in our lives! What joy to walk in newness of life today as we affectionately obey God up to all the light He has shown upon our path!
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Let us keep our eyes fixed on Christ, who was persecuted in this world but fulfilled His mission faithfully! As we experience the present truth of the three angels' messages in our life and character building experience and share the reality of the soon coming of Christ, it calls souls to repentance and reveals the necessity of an ever-living connection with Christ!
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
Christ now is ministering as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary and He is willing to live in and through us by the Holy Spirit! When we surrender all to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we affectionately obey the law of God from the heart He has renewed! Let us walk in the life of Christ!
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Since God really loves us, He cannot remain silent if we are pursuing a course that would destroy us. He calls us to repentance and warns us that a path of sin leads to death, while accepting His offer of mercy leads to receiving eternal life in Christ Jesus. Let us appreciate the love of God and let it work genuine repentance and reformation in which all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in the life without one missing as we affectionately obey God from a heart renewed by His grace!
God "delighteth in mercy." "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." Micah 7:18; Ezekiel 33:11. To Him the work of destruction and the denunciation of judgment is a "strange work." Isaiah 28:21. But it is in mercy and love that He lifts the veil from the future, and reveals to men the results of a course of sin.
Receiving God's word and applying it to our lives, we find healing and freedom to obey God and walk in His will. He desires all to be saved! Let us allow God's purpose to be fulfilled in our lives today by surrendering the whole heart to Christ!
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May God bless you in receiving Jesus as a personal Savior to transform your character!
“To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.” {The Desire of Ages, page 599, paragraph 3}
As we abide in Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest without one missing! Affectionately we are empowered to obey God’s law from the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit!
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Praise the Lord for how Jesus implants selfless motives in our hearts as we behold His infinite loveliness, and yield unreservedly our entire heart to Him! Then He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering us to affectionate obedience to all of His holy Ten Commandments!
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour’s commendation.
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Get ready! Be ready! Live ready! Jesus is coming again! When we surrender the whole heart to Jesus to purify from sin He makes it white as snow and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering us to affectionately obey God's law up to what He has revealed from the heart!
In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to "every creature which is under heaven." Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Revelation 14:6, 14. God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world." Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.
By living and sharing the gospel we can help more people be ready so Jesus can come sooner!
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Let us look to the One who can perform the greatest miracle in our hearts! By beholding the loveliness of Jesus, the Holy Spirit can totally transform our hearts and minds to purge away sin and selfishness and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! What a joy to obey God from a heart He recreates! Our part is to look and live, cooperate with Him, and persevere in union and communion with Jesus who gave all for us!
He who beholds the Saviour's matchless love will be elevated in thought, purified in heart, transformed in character. He will go forth to be a light to the world, to reflect in some degree this mysterious love. The more we contemplate the cross of Christ, the more fully shall we adopt the language of the apostle when he said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14.
By beholding we become changed, and what a joy it is to appreciate Jesus who is the anchor of our souls!
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In Christ through a total surrender of the will by the Holy Spirit we may experience continual victory over sin and a constant union and communion with Him whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest! Affectionately God empowers us to obey Him by His grace through faith!
"These things I have spoken unto you," He said, "that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Christ did not fail, neither was He discouraged, and His followers are to manifest a faith of the same enduring nature. They are to live as He lived, and work as He worked, because they depend on Him as the great Master Worker. Courage, energy, and perseverance they must possess. Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way, by His grace they are to go forward. Instead of deploring difficulties, they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love Christ has bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the source of all power, shall be theirs. They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame.
When we realize the constant victory Christ offers us, we can have a good time all the time, because we glory in our tribulations and trust that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose! Let us praise God for His victory in our lives through Christ continually!
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It's worth it. You are worth it. Christ valued the souls of human beings over the prospect of His own existence. He was willing to be identified with sinners and face the consequences of transgression so we could experience in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit in His righteousness! Let us more fully comprehend the cost paid for our salvation in what Christ went through, and we will correspondingly value souls the way Christ did!
The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ's thrice-repeated prayer. Angels had longed to bring relief to the divine sufferer, but this might not be. No way of escape was found for the Son of God. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God's presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ's hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father's love. He came to give power to the divine-human suppliant. He pointed Him to the open heavens, telling Him of the souls that would be saved as the result of His sufferings. He assured Him that His Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that His death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that He would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied, for He would see a multitude of the human race saved, eternally saved.
What is your "Gethsemane"? What is your "Calvary"? In comparison to what Christ endured for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and how He died for us on Calvary, we are never called to make a real sacrifice. All that we face is given us by grace, preparing us for greater trial and finally for the eternal bliss of heaven. Even the time of Jacob's trouble cannot fully compare to what Christ endured for us, for He faced the sufferings of death for every human being. We are called to suffer trial and endure uncomplainingly so that our lives may be purified from all the dross of earthliness and selfishness. Amid all your pain and suffering in life, be cheered by the reality that Christ will never leave you, but go the step that He took--surrender your will to God so that Christ will live IN YOU by the Holy Spirit. If we choose to sin, Christ cannot remain in the heart, for He will not force us to have Him in control of our lives. But as in choosing sin it is inevitable that the soul must at some point realize that true affectionate obedience and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing is no longer the experience of the character. At such a point, may such an experience of nakedness of soul lead to the realization of the need to heed the voice of the Jesus knocking on the door of the heart for entrance to convert the soul anew, or for the first time if it has never been experienced before! May we learn our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing and always walk with Him in constant union and communion of the soul! Then the sufferings of Christ will propel us forward to cheerfully experience all that God in His infinite love allows to befall us in preparation for Christ's SOON RETURN!! Will you surrender the whole heart to Him in light of how much He suffered for you and paid for your soul? Such a love constrains you to be "ALL IN" for Him!!
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We are offered a new character in Christ. His calm manner under trial is a promise of what we may be under the most trying and difficult circumstances, when our hearts are fully surrendered to Him and stayed on God!
Jesus held His peace. "He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth." Isaiah 53:7.
Let us go forth calm in the times of trial and crisis because we have a living Savior to abide in our hearts! All of the fruits of the Spirit without on missing are the outflow of a living union and communion with Him that leads the converted soul to affectionately obey God up the light He has revealed!
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What is repentance? It is the power of God to confess sin from a heart made truly sorry for the sin itself accompanied by a wilingness to renounce that sin by the power of the Holy Spirit. This gift of repentance Jesus offers us: "Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:31-32).
In contrast to the true repentance the Bible reveals, the experience of Judas reveals a false repentance of sorrow for the consequences of sin, but not true sorrow for the sin itself and a true turning away from it in heart. After betraying Jesus, Judas had this experience:
"Judas now cast himself at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging Him to be the Son of God, and entreating Him to deliver Himself. The Saviour did not reproach His betrayer. He knew that Judas did not repent; his confession was forced from his guilty soul by an awful sense of condemnation and a looking for of judgment, but he felt no deep, heartbreaking grief that he had betrayed the spotless Son of God, and denied the Holy One of Israel. Yet Jesus spoke no word of condemnation. He looked pityingly upon Judas, and said, For this hour came I into the world." {The Desire of Ages, page 722, paragraph 2}
May we turn to Jesus and receive the GENUINE gift of repentance so our characters can be truly converted by God's grace. Christ offers us a new heart and a new mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as He leads us to affectionately obey God's law of love! May this be your experince today, guading against the false repentance seen in Judas' life.
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Beholding the loveliness of Jesus changes us. By beholding we become changed and Jesus did all He could to reach the hearts of those around Him. He loves us with a love that is infinite and we can come to Christ just as we are, but the inevitable result of being in constant union and communion with Him is to be like Jesus!
There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour's visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.
As we look to Christ and surrender to Him in true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing!
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Apparently--or on the surface--it might have seemed like Jesus was forsaken at the cross. But was He? No! The Father had not changed, Jesus had not changed, and the Holy Spirit was mightily active to lead all to appreciate the depth of the sacrifice being made for us, both then and forever! While sin cut off Jesus' human life in only a matter of hours, the Father was with His Son, though unseen. Jesus' divinity did not die, but He bore our nature to the point of death as a sinless sacrifice to destroy Satan's power and set us free from sin, that we may affectionately obey God and overcome by having all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing! May we learn to exercise the "faith of Jesus" in how He learned to trust the Father's character over the horror of the way sin slew Him in order to redeem us from sin's ruin! What love we see here, and what an anchor to help us in the time of trouble so soon to come upon the world!
Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.
We can be victorious in Christ in every time of "apparent" failure. Let us remember that as the world's Redeemer Christ was constantly confronted with apparent failure--so do not look the circumstances you face, look to the character of God, the sacrifice made for us at Calvary, and the unchanging promises of His word whereby we may become partakers of the divine nature!
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Happy Sabbath and Merry Christmas! What a blessed gift we have in Jesus!! We not only receive Him in true conversion as our Savior, but we receive His character whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives and we are empowered to affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us!
The law requires righteousness,--a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God's holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:26.
Praise the Lord that such a gift as Jesus empowers us to live new lives to the glory of God! We receive Him to give out His life in blessing to bless others with the light of present truth! Jesus is coming again so soon!
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Praise the Lord for the way God confirms faith in the way it may be least expected.
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, "It is finished," spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
While the disciples were devastated by Jesus' death, Nicodemus and Joseph "got it." They were truly converted because they beheld the depth of Christ's sacrifice and surrendered fully to Christ and received a new heart that impelled them to go forward in faith!
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We need never worry. If death is but a small matter, then we can trust God in ALL THE AFFAIRS of our lives and walk by faith in Him. In true surrender to Christ all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God from a heart He renews by divine grace!
To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," "he shall never taste of death." To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.
We can continually choose Christ and His way for our lives, and as such overcome even if it means through the valley of the shadow of death. Christ's resurrection is a promise to resurrect our characters for His purpose of love and grace! The life we live even before Jesus comes is by the power of the risen Christ!
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Praise the Lord for what Jesus did after His resurrection!
Christ’s first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb, and could no longer be held by the enemy death; to reveal that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their beloved Teacher, He appeared to them again and again. He would draw the bonds of love still closer around them. Go tell My brethren, He said, that they meet Me in Galilee.
Let us walk by faith in the anchored hope in Christ as our risen Savior as He is now ministering in our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary, preparing a place for us and preparing us for the place by bringing us through trials and tribulations to help us develop godly traits of character! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we remain in union and communion with Christ, gladly obeying Him where He leads the way!
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Try to imagine what it was like. Their hearts were so disappointed that they could hardly believe that Jesus would actually rise from the dead. But then when Jesus meets them as though he were another man, the Holy Spirit begins to awaken hope in their hearts! In your most trying moments, may you turn to Jesus and His word for the strength and victory He offers!
For the first time since Christ’s betrayal, they began to feel hopeful. Often they looked earnestly at their companion, and thought that His words were just the words that Christ would have spoken. They were filled with amazement, and their hearts began to throb with joyful expectation.
Jesus takes us all the way. From the depths of the most discouraging moments, He seeks to resurrect the most significant hope in our lives—He anchors us in the unchanging reality of His risen life and as we surrender fully to Him we are partaking with Him of the Holy Spirit! In true conversion, this is our lifestyle without one trait missing: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). Then we can affectionately obey God from the heart He has renewed by the power of the risen Christ!
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Let us treat those who are struggling to truly believe the way Jesus did! When Christ is revealed to the soul, faith working by love can spring up and make the sinful soul into a new creation bearing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach, nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith, but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers. Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense, and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, "My Lord and my God."
As we obey God from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit, God gives us grace to not only believe ourselves with saving faith in true surrender, but to invite others to look upon Jesus, be truly transformed, and overcome sin by God's grace!
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It wasn't a direct answer. Jesus did not tell Peter what John's mission was, but He did encourage Peter to follow Him. Follow Jesus based on how He leads you, and let the Lord be the one to lead others!
How many today are like Peter! They are interested in the affairs of others, and anxious to know their duty, while they are in danger of neglecting their own. It is our work to look to Christ and follow Him. We shall see mistakes in the lives of others, and defects in their character. Humanity is encompassed with infirmity. But in Christ we shall find perfection. Beholding Him, we shall become transformed.
By beholding Christ we are changed. Let us look away from self to Jesus, let us trust Him constantly, and in true conversion accept the gift of the Holy Spirit who changes the heart from sinful unbelief to loving obedience spontaneously manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Let's always walk with Jesus the way HE LEADS US!
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Happy new year 2022!! May this year be filled with Holy Spirit transforming your life!
All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through co-operation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deeds of Omnipotence.
There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit can do in our lives when w surrender fully to Him! In true conversion the heart is made pure and filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we are empowered to affectionately obey God as our true joy! Christ is able to do this in you continually!!
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Let us appreciate the gift of Jesus to us and become like Him by beholding Him! What an infinite gift God the Father offers us in Christ! As we yield the whole heart to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us!
By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,--God's thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, "I have declared unto them Thy name,"--"merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,"--"that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God's wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which "angels desire to look," and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which "seeketh not her own" has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.
We are invited to dwell with God and be free from the power of sin by having Christ live out His life in us. What a joy it is to walk by grace through faith in the genuine experience of salvation and invite others into this experience, too!
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Praise the Lord for what Jesus can do to transform our characters! He is able to make us like Him in mind and character and give us a new heart and a new mind so we can overcome sin by abiding in Jesus! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our characters as we are vitally connected to Christ!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
Let us walk in Christ's healing victory today!!
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Let us trust Jesus continually! He came all the way down to this world to uplift us from sin's ruin and degradation! Only by true conversion can we allow the Holy Spirit to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Jesus helps us to walk in His life and abide in His love! Praise the Lord for how God gives us grace to overcome sin by union and communion with Christ!
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It is a choice. God chose to send His Son because He loves us, and we can choose to look to His greatest manifestation of the gift of Himself at the cross, and by beholding His love, we can be fully transformed in character! Look and live! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ and living up to all the light He has shown us!
At the cross of Calvary, love and selfishness stood face to face. Here was their crowning manifestation. Christ had lived only to comfort and bless, and in putting Him to death, Satan manifested the malignity of his hatred against God. He made it evident that the real purpose of his rebellion was to dethrone God, and to destroy Him through whom the love of God was shown.
Let us appreciate the great love manifested in Christ toward us and go forth to bless others as He has first blessed us! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Would you be willing to let God use you to proclaim the gospel of His grace in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14 because of what Christ has done for you?
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Happy Sabbath!!!
Where is the only safe place?
There seemed to be no place of rest or safety for the infant Redeemer. God could not trust His beloved Son with men, even while carrying forward His work for their salvation. He commissioned angels to attend Jesus and protect Him till He should accomplish His mission on earth, and die by the hands of those whom He came to save.
Our safest place now and ever is to be in the center of God’s will, truly converted, and letting God lead us. We can trust His word fully! He will lead us as we let Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life fully surrendered to God in mind and heart, empowering us to affectionate obey God up to all the light of truth He has revealed to us!
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How you relate to God will affect how you relate to others. If you behold the loveliness of Jesus and surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in your life, you will gladly obey His law from the heart He renews, and you will be empowered to do His will no matter how trying the circumstances you face! Let us look to Christ in true faith surrender and in turn go forth to bless others!
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
The joy of becoming like Christ is so sweet and deep that it leads us to hunger and thirst to know Him more. Since Christ is the infinite Son of God, it is such a blessing to be given an infinite amount of time (eternity) to enjoy and know Him more and more! "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Let us come in true surrender to Christ to experience this gift of eternal life and by grace through faith be empowered to live this experience of character while sharing the everlasting gospel of His grace in the context of the three angels' messages of Revelation 14! Jesus is coming soon, and He is preparing us for His return! Let us encourage others to be ready, too!
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John the Baptist is a good example of how to become selfless in character. By beholding Christ He forgot about self and went forward to point others to Jesus! As we look upon the sinless perfection of Christ, we also can be changed and transformed into His image with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey God from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit, following all the light of truth that is revealed upon our pathway!
He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.
We need not fear what man will say or do, but we are called to fear God and give glory to Him. As we do this, we become like our Savior and experience victory over sin through abiding union and communion with Christ! Let us praise God that we can have boldness in the day of judgment because we allow Christ to transform our characters!
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What a gift we have in Jesus!! Jesus' incarnation and baptism reveal deep spiritual truths to us--and invite us to have saving faith in Him!! The faith of Jesus brings with it all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us in Christ!! What a miracle!!!!!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
God loves to bring us into harmony with Himself! What a joy that there is no limit to the usefulness of the soul surrendered to Him! We can have continual victory because of Jesus at work in us and because of what He has done for us! Hallelujah!!!!
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Praise the Lord for the victory we have in Jesus!! Only by surrendering fully to Him and abiding in Him can we truly overcome! It was on the point of appetite that Adam and Eve fell, and on this point Christ was victorious so we can resist the pull of our fallen nature and choose to do the right thing for God's glory!
Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, "I thirst." He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours.
As we learn our continual need of Jesus, His victory through our lives is assured! Such a victory means all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered to gladly obey God from the new heart!
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Praise the Lord for Jesus’ victory for us—at a cost we can never fully comprehend until we are in heaven by His grace!!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.
As he humble faith whole-heart surrrbder we let Jesus live His life through us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest through our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God from the heart He renews by His grace!
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By beholding the loveliness of Jesus and becoming like Him, for by beholding we become changed, our lives will have an influence on others as we point them to the One who gave all for us. As our characters reflect all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we choose to be vitally connected to Christ in true conversion, we are empowered through Christ to obey the law of God from the new heart He gives us!
The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character.
So it may be with us. What a blessing to go forth as witnesses like Christ! He is able to do more than we ask or think by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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Only Christ can fully supply what we need. We need His grace and His forgiveness; we need His healing and provision. Christ offers us much more than we can ask or think. He gives us overcoming power so we can have all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we surrender all to Christ and let Him lead us in the path of true, affectionate obedience.
The word of Christ supplied ample provision for the feast. So abundant is the provision of His grace to blot out the iniquities of men, and to renew and sustain the soul.
Christ not only renews us, but keep us by His grace! Let us look away from self to Jesus!!
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What a blessing that Jesus can totally transform the heart that is yielded to Him! There is nothing too hard for the Lord! By looking to the uplifted, crucified and risen Savior, surrendering the entire heart to Him to cleanse and purify, and walking in the way that He chooses for us, we can have rest and joy in the soul as the Holy Spirit will manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Thankfully, we can see how Jesus addressed Nicodemus in the interview Christ had with him at the beginning of His ministry, which John the evangelist would record for the blessing of millions!
Jesus continued: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” By nature the heart is evil, and “who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” Job 14:4. No human invention can find a remedy for the sinning soul. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Romans 8:7; Matthew 15:19. The fountain of the heart must be purified before the streams can become pure. He who is trying to reach heaven by his own works in keeping the law is attempting an impossibility. There is no safety for one who has merely a legal religion, a form of godliness. The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether. This change can be brought about only by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit.
When we have Christ working in us, it means continual victory in true conversion! May you walk in the light of the loveliness of Jesus because of what He has done for you!! We love Him because He first loved us!
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There are so many paradoxes in the gospel experience. In order to be full, you must be empty, and in order to be great, you must realize your own nothingness. The fullness of Christ can only indwell a converted soul who is fully emptied of self by having the power of the Holy Spirit bring forth all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in doing God's holy will as revealed in His word! True greatness is the effect of true humility in knowing that in and of ourselves we are nothing, but united to Christ, there is no limit to what He can do with and through us! It all is about our continual need for union and communion with Christ moment-by-moment!
So with the followers of Christ. We can receive of heaven's light only as we are willing to be emptied of self. We cannot discern the character of God, or accept Christ by faith, unless we consent to the bringing into captivity of every thought to the obedience of Christ. To all who do this the Holy Spirit is given without measure. In Christ "dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full." Colossians 2:9, 10, R. V.
When Christ has the whole heart, He empowers us to see more beautiful glimpses of His character so others can be blessed by our choice to be continually uplifting Jesus!
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What happens when you surrender fully to Jesus Christ because you behold His loveliness and are motived to do so by His word?
The dominion of evil is broken, and through faith the soul is kept from sin. He who opens his heart to the Spirit of Christ becomes a partaker of that mighty power which shall bring forth his body from the grave.
As partakers of the divine nature, the Holy Spirit manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we are empowered to affectionately obey God's law of love from the heart He has renewed by His divine grace! What a miracle!!
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Do you like surprises? Well, thankfully, God is NOT TRYING TO SURPRISE us when it comes to KEY DEVELOPMENTS of prophetic import! He tells us what He is going to do, so we can know that when it happens, it is He who did it! He sees everything spread out before Him and knows what is going to happen today, tomorrow, and for all of eternity! Let us study the Bible prayerfully so we can know and do God's will with a true conversion experience in which all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives!
“The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants and prophets.” While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.” Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29. God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures.
God is so good to us! He tells us the truth so we can know and live the truth! Especially let us study Daniel and Revelation and look upon the uplifted Savior who is revealed in all of Scripture, teaching us the way we are to live in preparation for Jesus' soon return!!
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May we not only use the light God sends us, but diffuse it upon the pathway of others! May our hearts and minds be so knit with His that His life flows through us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession.
Only as we experience constant union and communion with Christ rooted in the ever-present power of His living word are we enabled to practice the truth as we yield our will to Christ in complete surrender. By beholding Christ who lived a perfect life we are drawn to Him in true repentance who has power to cleanse us from every stain of sin and make us new creatures as partakers of His divine nature.
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Don’t look at yourself and give up! Look at your Savior, and look up! He sees infinite potential with your life! As you trust Him, surrender the whole heart to Hin, and live by grace through faith upon Him as an all-powerful Savior, He can transform you into His image and equip you for eternal service! The result of such a miraculous transformation of character is that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in your life, and not one will be missing!
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.
Bearing much fruit to the glory of God—winning many souls to Jesus—there is no greater joy this side of heaven! May you today go forth by the power of the great commission, in consecrated service to Jesus! As our heavenly high priest, He is about to return as our victorious King! 😊🙏
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Wouldn’t it be nice to know that what you asked for was God’s will?
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." Galatians 1:4. And "this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." 1 John 5:14, 15. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
God always wants us forgiven and restored from sin, and what a blessing it is to pray and know we are forgiven when we ask in faith. When we are in union and communion with Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. Then we can gladly, affectionately and consistently obey God’s law of love from the heart!
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What a joy it is to let Jesus use us!!
"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.
We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.
When Christ has possession of the WHOLE heart, not only will we speak His words with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, but we can know that the angels are with us to help us choose what to say and when! As affectionate obedience to God's law of love springs forth spontaneously from our lives as we abide in Christ, what a joy it is to thrive in His love and let Him work in and through us by His grace!
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What storms are you going through? Are you in perfect peace through complete surrender to Jesus? If so, whatever God allows, you can face with a peace that passes all understanding through abiding in Jesus!
When Jesus was awakened to meet the storm, He was in perfect peace. There was no trace of fear in word or look, for no fear was in His heart. But He rested not in the possession of almighty power. It was not as the "Master of earth and sea and sky" that He reposed in quiet. That power He had laid down, and He says, "I can of Mine own self do nothing." John 5:30. He trusted in the Father's might. It was in faith--faith in God's love and care--that Jesus rested, and the power of that word which stilled the storm was the power of God.
What a blessing to learn that we can do no good thing apart from Jesus, and yet when we surrender all to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we affectionately obey God from the new heart God gives us as a miracle of His grace!
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Right now is the golden opportunity to turn to Jesus! Whatever you’re going through, whatever you’re facing, Christ has the grace and strength to get you through! Turn to Him with the touch of living faith surrender, and let Him bring about the miraculous transformation in your heart whereby all the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest! Then you are empowered to gladly obey Jesus where He leads you!
The golden opportunity had come. She was in the presence of the Great Physician! But amid the confusion she could not speak to Him, nor catch more than a passing glimpse of His figure. Fearful of losing her one chance of relief, she pressed forward, saying to herself, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.” As He was passing, she reached forward, and succeeded in barely touching the border of His garment. But in that moment she knew that she was healed. In that one touch was concentrated the faith of her life, and instantly her pain and feebleness gave place to the vigor of perfect health.
Like the woman who was healed in the touch of faith, Jesus has something infinitely better for you than you’ve ever known in the paths of sickness and doubt. Look up to Him and live!
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How does our Heavenly Father see us when we are truly converted, abiding in Jesus, and allowing the Holy Spirit to use us?
Jesus continues: As you confess Me before men, so I will confess you before God and the holy angels. You are to be My witnesses upon earth, channels through which My grace can flow for the healing of the world. So I will be your representative in heaven. The Father beholds not your faulty character, but He sees you as clothed in My perfection. I am the medium through which Heaven's blessings shall come to you. And everyone who confesses Me by sharing My sacrifice for the lost shall be confessed as a sharer in the glory and joy of the redeemed.
We are seen as clothed in Christ's character--and our lives will bear witness while on earth, with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's law of love from the heart renewed by His grace! May you today go forth to bless others as Jesus has first blessed you!
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Where do we find true rest?
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.
When we surrender the whole heart to Jesus and commune with Him, with nature and with our own hearts, we find rest in His divine presence through receiving the personal application of His word to our lives. As we experience the depth of true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, for Christ also empowers us to affectionately obey God from the heart He renews by divine grace! Such a life will bless others!
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Don’t let your mind dwell upon what you don’t have, look to Jesus and trust His provision!
The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.
When we surrender the entire heart to Christ, He gives us a new heart filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then by His divine grace, we are empowered to affectionately obey God, keeping His commandments in relational freedom! We will delight to give the bread of life to others!
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Troubles and trials are often part of our experience in this life, but who can we always turn to in them? Who is always near to deliver and give us strength to go through them? Jesus is always there to help us, and more than just help us through the trial, He desires to dwell in our hearts as we surrender fully to Him! Then He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit and empower us to obey Him because He first loved us! Let us look upon Jesus and not lose sight of Him in our trials, no matter how intense they may be!
When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to Him that he should perish; He does not call us to follow Him, and then forsake us. "Fear not," He says; "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Isaiah 43:1-3.
By looking to Jesus continually, we are strengthened not just for the present trial, but our character is developed to be able to bear greater trial in the future, and thus God can be glorified by the revelation of His character in His people! Let us not lose sight of Jesus from the eye of faith for a moment!
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Happy Sabbath!! Let us keep looking up to Jesus!! Then His grace converts us fully as we surrender the WHOLE heart to Him, cooperating with Him to obey Him out of love and allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.
As we walk with Jesus this day, let us keep our focus on what Christ is doing in the heavenly sanctuary and how He is preparing a people to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator, because He will have a people that reflect Him and have experienced His victory over sin! Hallelujah!
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Let's cut to the chase and deal with the REAL issues that are important to our 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.
As we surrender FULLY to Christ and accept His grace to empower us to affectionately obey God's Ten Commandments (including the fourth, which enjoins the observance of the seventh day Sabbath), we are not only given all of the fruits of the Spirit, but we are kept from falling back into sin as long as we choose to abide in Him!
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Let’s be sincere by keeping our eyes of faith clearly stayed upon Christ in constant surrender of our entire heart! Then He miraculously imputes His righteousness to us by giving us a new heart and imparts to us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, simultaneously empowering us to affectionate obedience to His holy law of love, the Ten Commandments!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God’s glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ’s life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:6, 3.
As you go forth today in God’s plans for you, let Him work in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure!
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Praise the Lord for the open door to salvation!!
"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." {The Desire of Ages, page 403, paragraph 2}
Let us trust the Lord's grace and walk where He leads us to go! He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! Let us always choose Christ and surrender the whole heart to Him, so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing, even as we affectionately obey God from a new heart!
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Be a link! Let God use you as you surrender the whole heart to Jesus so you are not only a converted missionary manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, but allow God to make you a link to others so they are drawn to Christ by your life, words and example! Be like Jesus all day long by beholding Him continually! That is why it would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ, taking it point by point, and letting our imagination dwell especially upon the closing scenes of His life! By beholding we become changed!
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.
Praise the Lord for the power of God's grace to transform us from rebellious sinners into repentant, adopted saints of His who love Him wholeheartedly with the new heart He gives us filled with His Spirit! The greatest miracle is the conversion of a soul, and a consistent life in Christ is a great miracle! Let God work that miracle in your life and in reaching others!!
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What is the answer? To turn to Jesus and to admit that we need strong faith that He offers us as we acknowledge our own sinful unbelief. Then Christ will readily work in and through us as we acknowledge Him in full surrender and accept His strength and grace! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we abide in Jesus in true conversion! Then we are empowered by His divine grace to live a life of continual victory over sin through affectionately obeying God's law of love!
"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." You can never perish while you do this--never.
Jesus is ready to help us no matter how weak or faith may seem. He is the one who offers us His faith that is strong, for it is surrender to the word of God!
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Happy Sabbath!! Let us keep our eyes of faith fixed on Christ to have a moment-by-moment miraculous experience of all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing!
Let the repenting sinner fix his eyes upon “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); and by beholding, he becomes changed. His fear is turned to joy, his doubts to hope. Gratitude springs up. The stony heart is broken. A tide of love sweeps into the soul. Christ is in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. When we see Jesus, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, working to save the lost, slighted, scorned, derided, driven from city to city till His mission was accomplished; when we behold Him in Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, and on the cross dying in agony,—when we see this, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. Looking unto Jesus, we shall be ashamed of our coldness, our lethargy, our self-seeking. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing, so that we may do heart service for the Master. We shall rejoice to bear the cross after Jesus, to endure trial, shame, or persecution for His dear sake.
May we never look down at our difficulties, but always up at our Savior who has power to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! Nothing is too hard for the Lord!! When the whole heart is yielded to Him, there is no limit to what He can do for us as we grow in His grace!
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May we every open our whole heart to Jesus so He can satisfy us. As we behold His infinite loveliness and surrender the whole heart to Him to purify, He will empower us to affectionately obey Him and simultaneously manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
Only Christ by His Holy Spirit, filling our hearts and minds with His loving words, can truly satisfy! Let us turn to Christ to truly satisfy us in every way! Jesus is coming again, and all the trials of life will be as nothingness in comparison to being in His presence forever!
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God gives you the freedom to choose! As we behold Christ’s loveliness and are drawn to Him in complete surrender of the entire heart to Jesus, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, empowering us to affectionately obey God from the new heart given us in true conversion! Let us live in godly character development a life that invites others to choose Christ!
God does not compel men to give up their unbelief. Before them are light and darkness, truth and error. It is for them to decide which they will accept. The human mind is endowed with power to discriminate between right and wrong. God designs that men shall not decide from impulse, but from weight of evidence, carefully comparing scripture with scripture. Had the Jews laid by their prejudice and compared written prophecy with the facts characterizing the life of Jesus, they would have perceived a beautiful harmony between the prophecies and their fulfillment in the life and ministry of the lowly Galilean.
So it is today. The powerful and relevant prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are open to our study, and when letting the Bible be its own interpreter, the inspired Scriptures clearly reveal that Jesus is about to come in power and great glory following the outpouring of the seven last plagues! Let us prepare for the glorious event soon to come by yielding the whole heart to Christ and walking where His word leads!!
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When Jesus is revealed to our souls in His infinite loveliness, it is phenomenal the work that He can do in our hearts! If we but open the whole heart to Jesus to purify and cleanse, He will fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, simultaneously empowering us to affectionately obey God's law of love by His divine nature at work in and through us!
When Jesus was in His ministry, He faced questions in the way the Father led Him, also revealing to us today that He lived what He taught, and that is why He spake as never man spake!! He offers us His experience of converted victory over sin!
But to their question, "Who art Thou?" Jesus replied, "Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning." John 8:25, R.V. That which had been revealed in His words was revealed also in His character. He was the embodiment of the truths He taught. "I do nothing of Myself," He continued; "but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." He did not attempt to prove His Messianic claim, but showed His unity with God. If their minds had been open to God's love, they would have received Jesus.
To live as Jesus lived, to walk even as He walked--this is our privilege and destiny by the power of the Holy Spirit! Let us allow God to do all He longs to do through us today for His glory and eternal honor!!
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Keep your eyes on the big picture, with Christ's victory at the center of that reality! Even though we face trials and struggles in this mortal life, we can rejoice to have Christ converting our hearts by His grace and preparing us for heaven, where all the sufferings of this life will be eternally over!
Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day, when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil forever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth.
As we appreciate the loveliness of Jesus and all He is offering us, it is so wonderful to grow in God's grace and find victory over sin through an abiding whole-heart surrender to Christ, so that He miraculously fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empowers us to affectionately obey God with pure motives, thoughts and feelings that are the outflow of His divine presence in our lives! Keep looking up to Jesus!
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Let us be kind and Christlike in our characters by inviting Jesus into our hearts, yielding the whole heart to Him because we are motivated by His loveliness. As we learn to express our gratitude to Him for all He has done, we can in turn share with others of the loveliness of Jesus, as in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest, for Christ empowers us to obey His law of divine love from the heart renewed by His grace!
Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.
As we are converted and become like little children who love Jesus wholeheartedly and trust His leading, we find the greatest joy in bringing others joy!
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Love begets love!! By beholding God’s love, we are changed!!
Jesus saw in this ruler just the help He needed if the young man would become a colaborer with Him in the work of salvation. If he would place himself under Christ’s guidance, he would be a power for good. In a marked degree the ruler could have represented Christ; for he possessed qualifications, which, if he were united with the Saviour, would enable him to become a divine force among men. Christ, seeing into his character, loved him. Love for Christ was awakening in the ruler’s heart; for love begets love. Jesus longed to see him a co-worker with Him. He longed to make him like Himself, a mirror in which the likeness of God would be reflected. He longed to develop the excellence of his character, and sanctify it to the Master’s use. If the ruler had then given himself to Christ, he would have grown in the atmosphere of His presence. If he had made this choice, how different would have been his future!
When we yield the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing (Galatians 5:22-25) even as we affectionately obey God’s law of love from a new heart (John 14:15, Ezekiel 36:26). May you let Christ produce this genuine experience in your life as you surrender all!
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Do we always realize the significance of what happened with Lazarus? Jesus raised him from the dead after he had been in the grave for FOUR DAYS! That means his body would have already started to decompose! There is nothing TOO HARD for God to do! Maybe your situation with your family, your vehicle, your life or ministry seems like it is falling apart or dead...but God can RESURRECT the dead (and handle ANYTHING ELSE in your life as you surrender all to Him)! And Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, is right here to help you every step of the way to heaven, to embolden you to face the trials with grace, power and love with His sound mind in you! When we surrender all the heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, for this is evidence of the resurrection life of Christ at work in the character! Then He boldly empowers us to obey God from the new heart of faith working by love that His Spirit has purified!
"And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." His voice, clear and penetrating, pierces the ear of the dead. As He speaks, divinity flashes through humanity. In His face, which is lighted up by the glory of God, the people see the assurance of His power. Every eye is fastened on the entrance to the cave. Every ear is bent to catch the slightest sound. With intense and painful interest all wait for the test of Christ's divinity, the evidence that is to substantiate His claim to be the Son of God, or to extinguish the hope forever.
And Lazarus DID COME FORTH!! "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go." {John 11:43-44). Now that Jesus offers you His resurrection life, what are the things that bind you that need to be let loose? Anything that savors of death or sin God can give you the courage and grace to let go, so you can walk and live in the fullness of the resurrection power of Jesus in a moment-by-moment union and communion with Christ!
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After raising Lazarus from the dead, how did the religious leaders respond?
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
Plots were laid for Jesus' death, but He willingly went to another area to do ministry until the prophetic time came for Him to lay down His life at the cross (based on Daniel 9). Jesus' example shows us that we are not to let one closed door keep us from serving God continually, but should rather go where He leads us in the faithful fulfillment of the mission God has for us. When we surrender completely to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our lives, and we are empowered to obey God from the new heart of faith working by love!
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Freedom of conscience! What a gift! Praise the Lord that the God who made us chooses to love us so much that He created us also with the capacity to love--the capacity to choose--so we can render back to Him voluntary service from the new heart that we ask Him to recreate in us as we, beholding the loveliness of His character, yield fully to the Holy Spirit who will supernaturally manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empower to obey God's commandments that are the true definition of freedom to live forever! God gives immortality to those who overcome by His grace! Hallelujah!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
What a joy it is to abide in Jesus and be an overcomer by His divine grace through the merits of His atoning blood! Look away from self to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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Let us turn to Christ FULLY and allow Him to COMPLETELY transform our lives into His image. True repentance includes a sorrow for sin and a turning away from it in heart, leading to a transformed life that makes past wrongs right and goes forward in the faith that works by love and purifies the soul so thoroughly that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest as the soul who is a new creation gladly obeys the law of God from the new heart given at conversion and maintained by constant union and communion with Christ!
No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.
Zacchaeus is a man whose life bore witness of true conversion and transformation, for when he met Jesus and turned from his past sins, making amends with those he had wronged, he was an example of how it is possible for God to save anyone that surrenders to His grace fully!
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Praise the Lord for how God can give us hearts that lovingly respond to opportunities to be a blessing to others! When we behold the loveliness of Jesus, surrender the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to truly convert us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God from the new heart!
Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. When anyone did Him a favor, with heavenly politeness He blessed the actor. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child, and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life. In the Scriptures, Mary's anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of woman's loyalty to Christ: "If she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work." 1 Timothy 5:10.
May we go forth in every way possible to share the light of Christ's character in blessing others, helping each to come to the knowledge of the present truth and appreciate the character experience that God offers us in Christ!
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What does true victory look like? It looks like lives transformed by grace and renewed to do God's will! When Jesus triumphantly came to Jerusalem, so many came with Him who had been changed by His power and grace! What a joy it is to surrender the WHOLE heart to Jesus so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empower us to obey God from the new heart of faith that works by love!
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
Let us invite others to "taste and see" (Psalm 34:8) the victory Jesus has for each of us--victory over sin by an abiding union and communion with Him!
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Imagine planting a fig tree, and year after year looking forward to getting delicious figs...and only getting leaves! How disappointing. But how much more keenly does Jesus feel the disappointment when He comes looking for the precious fruit of the Spirit in our lives and find that those professing to follow Him are only living for self. May we look to Jesus, surrender the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we seek to reach souls for Christ!
The warning is for all time. Christ's act in cursing the tree which His own power had created stands as a warning to all churches and to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to others. But there are many who do not live out Christ's merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God, but who bears no fruit to His glory.
Only by abiding in Christ in a living union and communion with Him are we enabled to do His will effectively. We need grace and strength to do God's will, and He will empower us to do it from the new heart of faith working by love that purifies the soul!
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When Jesus cleansed the temple for the last time before His crucifixion, He manifested the wisdom of divinity, and thankfully He offers us that, too, as we ask in humble faith (Janes 1:5). May we fully allow Jesus to cleanse our entire heart from sin, filling us with all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit without one missing as He empowers us to obey Him!
All these sayings and doings of Christ were important, and their influence was to be felt in an ever-increasing degree after His crucifixion and ascension. Many of those who had anxiously awaited the result of the questioning of Jesus were finally to become His disciples, first drawn toward Him by His words on that eventful day. The scene in the temple court was never to fade from their minds. The contrast between Jesus and the high priest as they talked together was marked. The proud dignitary of the temple was clothed in rich and costly garments. Upon his head was a glittering tiara. His bearing was majestic, his hair and his long flowing beard were silvered by age. His appearance awed the beholders. Before this august personage stood the Majesty of heaven, without adornment or display. His garments were travel stained; His face was pale, and expressed a patient sadness; yet written there were dignity and benevolence that contrasted strangely with the proud, self-confident, and angry air of the high priest. Many of those who witnessed the words and deeds of Jesus in the temple from that time enshrined Him in their hearts as a prophet of God. But as the popular feeling turned in His favor, the hatred of the priests toward Jesus increased. The wisdom by which He escaped the snares set for His feet, being a new evidence of His divinity, added fuel to their wrath.
Let’s appreciate all that Jesus is to us!! God bless you this day in looking to Hik in full surrender!!
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If the standard of truth and morality is lowered, then the power of the gospel is also lowered. Jesus lived the law of God in a beautiful, perfect relational way to save the world, laying down His life at Calvary and coming forth from the grave to give us His victory! He calls upon us to look to the law as the great standard, see our duty and guilt inasmuch as we are sinners who have come short of His standard of relational glory, and then flee to Him for pardon and power to do His will by having Him live out His life in us. Such a converted life will bear the fruits of all the character traits of the Holy Spirit and empower affectionate obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments! What a privilege it is to not only understand but DO the will of God by His grace through faith!
The scribe was near to the kingdom of God, in that he recognized deeds of righteousness as more acceptable to God than burnt offerings and sacrifices. But he needed to recognize the divine character of Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righteousness. The ritual service was of no value, unless connected with Christ by living faith. Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour. Christ had repeatedly shown that His Father's law contained something deeper than mere authoritative commands. In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man's duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.
Will we let Jesus give us this experience? And even if we are struggling, we can pray, "Lord, I am willing to be made willing"!! Let's trust God for healing and power as we go forth in the faith of Jesus that works by His love in the new heart He gives us!
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When we have the true conversion experience that we see Christ manifested His whole life, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God, but we will be empowered to do the right thing from the right motive. Such a character experience means it is impossible to remain silent while souls are being destroyed by the deceptive power of sin, yet all will be done by the Holy Spirit! We need to realize the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged, and do all by God's methods that secure the winning of souls from the power of Satan!
Christ's indignation was directed against the hypocrisy, the gross sins, by which men were destroying their own souls, deceiving the people and dishonoring God. In the specious deceptive reasoning of the priests and rulers He discerned the working of satanic agencies. Keen and searching had been His denunciation of sin; but He spoke no words of retaliation. He had a holy wrath against the prince of darkness; but He manifested no irritated temper. So the Christian who lives in harmony with God, possessing the sweet attributes of love and mercy, will feel a righteous indignation against sin; but he will not be roused by passion to revile those who revile him. Even in meeting those who are moved by a power from beneath to maintain falsehood, in Christ he will still preserve calmness and self-possession.
When we are patient, calm and self-possessed through an abiding union and communion experience with Jesus, God will give us wisdom and grace to lovingly and firmly warn souls not to choose the path of sin that leads to death. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ and to reflect His heavenly principles, for He "hath translated us" (Colossians 1:13) into His kingdom when are truly converted! May our lives reflect the kingdom into which our characters are translated, even as we prepare for the coming of Jesus at which time the living saints will be translated without seeing death and the righteous dead will be raised to immortal life!
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When we surrender fully to Christ by contemplation of His infinite sacrifice for us at Calvary, it is amazing how this is preparatory to what we will do for eternity! May we choose that full-heart surrender so Christ can reproduce His character in us! Such a character of experiential union and communion with Christ is reflected in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.
May we even now begin the joy of what it means to "glory in the cross" by taking up the experiential life walk of denying self and doing God's will in blessing the Lord and others!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming soon! Let us live in readiness for His return by being wide awake to duty and to allow Christ to reflect through us His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in His love!
Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
May we be ever in a state of readiness to do God's will so that when opportunities to share Christ with others unfold, we may do His will cheerfully! Only by constant union and communion with Christ are we able to walk victoriously over sin because Christ will dwell in our hearts by faith!
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What does it mean for self to be forgotten? Does it mean that we neglect our health and forget to be responsible? No, for those things are evidences of selfishness and being "slothful in business" (Romans 12:11); while we are ever to be thoughtful of opportunities to bless others and to act appropriately to the time and the circumstances, we are called to be industrious and to do our work with exactness and thoroughness as we see in the life of Jesus!
It is because this work is neglected that so many young disciples never advance beyond the mere alphabet of Christian experience. The light which was glowing in their own hearts when Jesus spoke to them, "Thy sins be forgiven thee," they might have kept alive by helping those in need. The restless energy that is so often a source of danger to the young might be directed into channels through which it would flow out in streams of blessing. Self would be forgotten in earnest work to do others good.
Let us recognize that God is gracious to help us to overcome and to advance beyond the beginning point of our experience with Christ. At the point of conversion in which the WHOLE heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest, but it is also true that these very fruits are to grow as we mature in Christ! True simplicity and godly sincerity is to be coupled with maturing Christian principles in seeking and saving the lost!
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What a great way to live!
In His life and lessons, Christ has given a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and by upholding all things, He is constantly ministering for others. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45. This ideal of ministry God has committed to His Son. Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, that by His example He might teach what it means to minister. His whole life was under a law of service. He served all, ministered to all. Thus He lived the law of God, and by His example showed how we are to obey it.
When we live the way God invites us to live, not by might nor by power but by His Spirit, in true conversion we not only experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, but we are also enabled to do God's will, obey His law, and be used by Him to reach others from the new heart He offers us by His divine nature!
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In the universe, both now and for eternity, what is our only protection against yielding to selfishness?
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
As we contemplate the matchless charms of Jesus, not only are we transformed, but God uses us as missionaries so others can experience that divine nature transformation! When we live by faith on Christ as a personal Savior and abide in Him in complete surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey the law of God from the new heart He offers us!
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But the Saviour's words to them were full of hope. He knew that they were to be assailed by the enemy, and that Satan's craft is most successful against those who are depressed by difficulties. Therefore He pointed them away from "the things which are seen," to "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. From earthly exile He turned their thoughts to the heavenly home.
When we look above our difficulties and earthly trials to the great hereafter, we can praise God for His goodness and grace that even now has power to convert us from being rebellious sinners into repentant saints who love to do God's will in obeying Him fully with all of the fruits of the Spirit manifest in our lives without one missing!
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If Jesus was not alone in His suffering, neither are you! While we may not feel God's presence near us, we can know He is with us because He has promised! When Jesus was in agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, bearing the sins of the whole world, the Father suffered with Him in seeing His Son's agony, similar to how Abraham suffered when he was willing to offer up Isaac (see Genesis 22). While in the case of Isaac a way of escape was found in the ram divinely provided, there was no way of escape for Jesus, who must bear the sin of the whole world and die to atone for our sins if we could have salvation. May we more fully appreciate the value of Christ's sacrifice and what God has given us in Jesus!
But God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour's agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched. Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in silent grief they watched the Father separating His beams of light, love, and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive in His sight is sin.
While sin is the transgression of the law, we can see that the Lawgiver, Jesus, was willing to become sin for us and offer us the hope of eternal salvation! What a privilege to abide in Christ by a full-heart surrender and have all of the fruits of the Spirit in our hearts without one missing as we overcome even as Christ overcame so we can be with Him in loving fellowship and ministry forever!
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By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened and encouraged to be clearly known as disciples of Jesus like John during Jesus' trial that led to His death. May we see and hear all we can about our lovely Jesus and let others know how much we love Him who first loved us!
The disciple John, upon entering the judgment hall, did not try to conceal the fact that he was a follower of Jesus. He did not mingle with the rough company who were reviling his Master. He was not questioned, for he did not assume a false character, and thus lay himself liable to suspicion. He sought a retired corner secure from the notice of the mob, but as near Jesus as it was possible for him to be. Here he could see and hear all that took place at the trial of his Lord.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives when we accept a complete heart-transformation from Christ and abide in His love! May you today grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus by being with Him in constant union and communion!
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Do we agree with all that Jesus has said? If we do not, we are on the track of the character experience of Judas, who betrayed Christ. May we realize that the Bible is the insirpred word of God and that the counsel God has given in the spirit of prophecy is "the testimony of Jesus" (Revelation 12:17)! As we accept the lessons Christ has for us, we can be prevented from the path of destruction Judas chose for himself. Let us be zealous and repent by keeping our eyes on Jesus and following all the light He has for us!
In all that Christ said to His disciples, there was something with which, in heart, Judas disagreed. Under his influence the leaven of disaffection was fast doing its work. The disciples did not see the real agency in all this; but Jesus saw that Satan was communicating his attributes to Judas, and thus opening up a channel through which to influence the other disciples. This, a year before the betrayal, Christ declared. "Have not I chosen you twelve," He said, "and one of you is a devil?" John 6:70.
Christ offers us union and communion with Himself in true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God's Ten Commandments--the definition of life's reality and freedom in healthy relationships! May you walk in God's ways and not go in the path that Judas chose, but rather, the path like John the beloved chose in coming into likeness to Christ!
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At the eleventh hour--the latest possible time--Jesus can still save to the uttermost! Look to Him and live! Be converted in Him and grow in His supernatural grace so He can produce in your surrendered life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you gladly are empowered to obey God's law of love!
For long hours of agony, reviling and mockery have fallen upon the ears of Jesus. As He hangs upon the cross, there floats up to Him still the sound of jeers and curses. With longing heart He has listened for some expression of faith from His disciples. He has heard only the mournful words, "We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel." How grateful then to the Saviour was the utterance of faith and love from the dying thief! While the leading Jews deny Him, and even the disciples doubt His divinity, the poor thief, upon the brink of eternity, calls Jesus Lord. Many were ready to call Him Lord when He wrought miracles, and after He had risen from the grave; but none acknowledged Him as He hung dying upon the cross save the penitent thief who was saved at the eleventh hour.
No matter how sinful we are, we can come to Christ. Look away from the weakness of yourself and choose Christ, cooperating with Him so there can be a renewal of your attitudes, thoughts, habits and character in harmony with His unselfish love!
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Jesus loves us and invites us to look up in faith to Him, so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we abide in Him in true conversion!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! "Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen." Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
As we behold and surrender to the infinite loveliness of Jesus and think only of others like He did, we will better realize that He has plans for us that exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think! Christ empowers us to walk in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus, who is preparing a place for us in heaven and has gone to the sanctuary above to blot out our sins as we cooperate with Him now in true repentance to overcome! As we live by faith on the Son of God in complete surrender of our will to Him, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we go forth to bless others in glad obedience to God's law of love, the Ten Commandments!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
We can rejoice in the Lord always, because He is able to do more than we can ask or think! Let us talk and think of Jesus!
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Let us allow God to plan our lives for us and trust His leading.
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
When we live by faith on the Son of God, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives, and not one will be missing as we allow God to direct our paths in the way of obedience.
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God has way more for us than we can ask or think! Let us allow Jesus to fully transform us into His image!!
The gospel is to be presented, not as a lifeless theory, but as a living force to change the life. God desires that the receivers of His grace shall be witnesses to its power. Those whose course has been most offensive to Him He freely accepts; when they repent, He imparts to them His divine Spirit, places them in the highest positions of trust, and sends them forth into the camp of the disloyal to proclaim His boundless mercy. He would have His servants bear testimony to the fact that through His grace men may possess Christlikeness of character, and may rejoice in the assurance of His great love. He would have us bear testimony to the fact that He cannot be satisfied until the human race are reclaimed and reinstated in their holy privileges as His sons and daughters.
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Why should we be afraid about the future? God knows it and it is always safe to trust an unknown future to a known God! The key is completely surrendering the whole heart to Him moment-by-moment!
The disciples no longer had any distrust of the future. They knew that Jesus was in heaven, and that His sympathies were with them still. They knew that they had a friend at the throne of God, and they were eager to present their requests to the Father in the name of Jesus. In solemn awe they bowed in prayer, repeating the assurance, "Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:23, 24. They extended the hand of faith higher and higher, with the mighty argument, "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34. And Pentecost brought them fullness of joy in the presence of the Comforter, even as Christ had promised.
When we look away from the weakness of self and abide in the loveliness of Jesus, we can thrive in all situations because we have His Spirit abiding in our hearts, with all of the fruits of His character manifest without one missing!
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May God bless you in beholding the loveliness of Jesus! As we surrender the whole heart to Him, He manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are converted instruments of His grace!
The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2.
There is such a miracle that takes place when we are loved by God and really BELIEVE and RECEIVE it in its completeness! We become like the One we behold and adore! Healing love is amazing, because it expands our capacity for knowing and loving God and for being a blessing to others!
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Praise the Lord for God's grace and His promise to send Jesus the second time! We can learn some major parallels in prophetic application by studying the experience of God's people at the time of Christ's first coming and comparing it to God's people today. May we seek redemption from sin so we can be ready to meet Jesus when He returns in power and great glory, rather than merely desiring to be free from the trials and troubles of the world in which we live. As we realize the true import and meaning of the Scriptures, we can surrender the whole heart to Jesus so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey all the light of His revealed truth given to us!
While the Jews desired the advent of the Messiah, they had no true conception of His mission. They did not seek redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break the oppressor's power, and exalt Israel to universal dominion. Thus the way was prepared for them to reject the Saviour.
May we not be tricked into preparing for the wrong Messiah by having our hopes set in the wrong direction. Before Christ's actual coming in power and glory with all of His holy angels, the devil will counterfeit Christ's coming on the earth (but he will not be able to counterfeit its manner, for the devil will not be found coming from heaven with all the angels). The devil, appearing like Christ on the earth in harmony with the world's powers that enforced the mark of the beast will be seeking to unite the world in acceptance of the false Sabbath, Sunday, in opposition to the plain teaching of Scripture that the seventh day of the week, from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, is the true Sabbath that has never been changed and is still God's sign of rest and worship in Christ. Only a living faith surrender in Christ is enough to prepare us for what is coming on this earth before Jesus returns the second time!!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming again! Praise the Lord that God can set our will free to love and serve Him wholeheartedly! Let us look to Jesus continually with the eye of faith so we may be strengthened to reflect all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us in true conversion!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
God will lead us in the path that is best for His glory to be seen in and through our lives! What a joy it is to walk by grace through faith in Jesus and point others to Him as a perfect Savior from all sin!
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Let us never grow weary of repeating the precious present truth of Jesus! As we look upon Christ in His loveliness of character, we are transformed from glory to glory to become like Him in mind and character with all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us in true conversion! Such an experience will only deepen our walk with God throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity!
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
We are so blessed to be able to realize what Christ has done for us! We can more fully realize the value of His sacrifice and appreciate His loveliness of character the more we commune with Him! Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus who can help us through every time of trial and temptation, and who has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing! Let us ever keep the service and honor of God supreme so He can make perplexities vanish in showing us a plain path for our feet!
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We find in Christ the only One who can truly discover to us our deepest thoughts and motives, and when we see how sinful we are, we are given the glorious promise of forgiveness and character restoration to His image as we yield the whole heart to Christ to cleanse and purify. When Christ comes into our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen without one missing, and we are empowered to obey God's law of love up to all the light He has revealed as we affectionately do so because He first loved us!
"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
Since true happiness is the result of holiness, it also follows that God is ever seeking to increase our happiness as we grow in God's grace and love and overcome through His power!
Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God's ideal for His children. Godliness--godlikeness--is the goal to be reached. Before the student there is opened a path of continual progress. He has an object to achieve, a standard to attain, that includes everything good, and pure, and noble. He will advance as fast and as far as possible in every branch of true knowledge. But his efforts will be directed to objects as much higher than mere selfish and temporal interests as the heavens are higher than the earth.
May you ever keep the heavenly realities before you, that Christ the hope of glory may live out His life through you in ways that exceed your highest expectations!
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When we realize that Jesus' birth is also a promise of what we may receive by faith, the story of His incarnation takes on a whole new meaning! When we are truly converted, "born of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:3), all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23) as we affectionately obey God's law of love (John 14:15, Exodus 20:1-17) from a heart made pure and holy (Ezekiel 36:26) by the atoning blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:22)! The key to victory is abiding (John 15:1-5) in our new identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) as "kings and priests" (Revelation 1:6) who get to serve the Lord throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity!
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to worship Him."
The wise men from the East were philosophers. They belonged to a large and influential class that included men of noble birth, and comprised much of the wealth and learning of their nation. Among these were many who imposed on the credulity of the people. Others were upright men who studied the indications of Providence in nature, and who were honored for their integrity and wisdom. Of this character were the wise men who came to Jesus.
May we walk in the same wisdom to find Jesus today in every experience of life where we gladly go forth to bless others and share the glad tidings of the everlasting gospel call in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14 as Jesus is coming again!!
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It is not your circumstances, but rather your character, that really makes the difference in life!
Christ was the only sinless one who ever dwelt on earth; yet for nearly thirty years He lived among the wicked inhabitants of Nazareth. This fact is a rebuke to those who think themselves dependent upon place, fortune, or prosperity, in order to live a blameless life. Temptation, poverty, adversity, is the very discipline needed to develop purity and firmness.
When God allows us to go through trial and tribulation, let us praise Him who so loves us in allowing us to grow in character by having habitual thoughts and feelings upon God in love and affection who so loved us as to come to this earth to live, suffer and die to redeem us and rise from the dead so we also may have victory and eternal life in Him, too! At true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit come into the character without one missing, and will keep growing as we walk with Jesus in complete surrender of all we have and are, gladly obeying His law from a new heart!
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Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence.
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
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Are we intensely in earnest for the salvation of those around us? If we are imbued with the Holy Spirit, the same godly character we see in Christ will be our character through constant union and communion with Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives without one missing as long as we are united to Christ by living faith surrender of all we have and are! Then we can gladly obey God from the new heart He gives us and keeps pure by His presence!
Yet through childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus walked alone. In His purity and His faithfulness, He trod the wine press alone, and of the people there was none with Him. He carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him. Filled with intense purpose, He carried out the design of His life that He Himself should be the light of men.
Jesus calls us to be the light of the world by having His light of selfless love shine through us! "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16).
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What an amazing promise!!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
I choose to trust Jesus today--faith over feeling--and rely implicitly upon the strength and grace Jesus gives me as I receive a fresh baptism of the Holy Spirit! That is the only way to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as I abide in Jesus! May this be your experience, too! Praise the Lord!
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May we all learn the important lesson of implicit trust in the word of God, even as Jesus showed us is possible amid His great temptations in the wilderness after His baptism! His victory by the word is freely offered to us!
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it appears that obedience to some plain requirement of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world upon which we can rely is the word of God. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God's command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one, and trust the other.
Let us obey and trust God affectionately, willingly, and in true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in our lives without one missing as we go forth on God's missions for us!
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It's just too expensive and valuable to understand. If someone said that they were giving you a planet worth $500 Trillion, would you grasp what that meant? Likely not. Well, what if you were actually being given the entire universe for eternity to enjoy? How can you put that into a financial value? And then to make it better, what if you knew you got to enjoy all that you were being given with heavenly beings and redeemed humanity in perfect fellowship with your Creator forever? So, it is hard for us to grasp what God is giving us, and it is even harder for us to realize what Jesus gave up in coming to this earth, but let us praise Him now and forever!!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
Not only has Jesus given us eternity and Himself to enjoy, but He endured a death-on-account-of-sin experience at Calvary that is incomprehensibly horrific because the Godhead had never been separated before Their experience at the Jesus' death. When the Son of God, divinity did not die, but in becoming sin for us, He felt and experienced a separation that is beyond our power to fully grasp, for every time we have sinned or fallen short of God's glory, up to this point, God has tempered that experienced with mercy. When Jesus died, He felt the full wrath of God against transgression, as will those who are finally lost and consumed in the lake of fire and turn to ashes (Malachi 4) will experience! Oh, let us be INTENSELY in EARNEST to save souls from the death that Christ already endured for us, and day by day overcome sin, the world and the devil by continually surrendering our WHOLE HEART to Jesus so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God!!
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What a blessing to choose to follow Christ's method and walk in His will! When we yield all of the heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we grow in affectionately obeying God and blessing others!
It was by personal contact and association that Jesus trained His disciples. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside; sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them by the way, He revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He did not sermonize as men do today. Wherever hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of the way of salvation. He did not command His disciples to do this or that, but said, "Follow Me." On His journeys through country and cities He took them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. He linked their interest with His, and they united with Him in the work.
As we are linked up with Christ, He empowers us to do new things for His kingdom!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Jesus is alive and well able to save us from sin!!
In the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,--from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver." Mal. 3:1-3.
May we fully yield the whole heart to Jesus so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we grow in His grace!
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When grateful love begins in your soul as you behold the loveliness of Jesus and surrender fully to Him, it means so much to Him! Let us bring a smile to Jesus today and gratefully love Him back for all the love He has shown to us! Such an experience of grateful love is in perfect harmony with all of the fruits of the Spirit being in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God from a new heart given us!
Our Redeemer thirsts for recognition. He hungers for the sympathy and love of those whom He has purchased with His own blood. He longs with inexpressible desire that they should come to Him and have life. As the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her little child, which tells of the dawning of intelligence, so does Christ watch for the expression of grateful love, which shows that spiritual life is begun in the soul.
As we grow in grace, we learn new ways to please and honor the Lord and bless others, too! May God bless you in being a blessing this day in His appointed plan!
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Selfishness is a real problem. But only the grace of Christ can cure it! When our first parents Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, selfishness took the place of love, and separation from God and disunion in their relationship with one another was the sure result! But God in His great mercy offers us "enmity" (Genesis 3:15) against sin, Satan, and our fallen nature by His divine grace, and He wisely works to lead us to see our need of that grace.
Such was the experience of the afflicted father whose son he desired Jesus to heal. Staking his faith in Christ as the Messiah upon the granting of the request of his son's healing was selfish and conditional, and Jesus in His love and mercy desired to lead the father to a saving faith experience, offering him a new heart and mind in true conversion whereby the father could trust Christ regardless of the outcome of his son's health. When we learn to trust God "no matter what" and rely on His promises from the selfless love He reveals to us (grace), then we are truly free to go about our work in humble confidence that the blessing we need will be realized when we need it most--in God's timing!
May you learn to trust God fully and rely on Christ, not depending on your feelings or circumstances, but accepting His grace to convert your heart with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as Christ living in you, the hope of glory, empowers you to obey Him out of love!
He who blessed the nobleman at Capernaum is just as desirous of blessing us. But like the afflicted father, we are often led to seek Jesus by the desire for some earthly good; and upon the granting of our request we rest our confidence in His love. The Saviour longs to give us a greater blessing than we ask; and He delays the answer to our request that He may show us the evil of our own hearts, and our deep need of His grace. He desires us to renounce the selfishness that leads us to seek Him. Confessing our helplessness and bitter need, we are to trust ourselves wholly to His love.
What a blessing that the father DID surrender fully to Christ as the Messiah and trusted His ability to heal his son, at the same hour in which his faith took hold upon Christ! When Jesus has the whole heart, we can rejoice in Him in all of our circumstances, because we know that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). In that sense, the converted Christian is having a good time all the time, because of such a paradigm of trust and faith in God's overruling providence! May you see the truth of this by grace through faith each day!
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With Christ, all things are possible; but without Him in the heart, we can do no good thing, for only Christ, the source of every right impulse, can implant His grace in the heart whereby we may do His will with all of the fruits of the Spirit manifest in the character without one missing! Let us yield the WHOLE heart to Jesus and keep learning and growing in His grace as we opens the doors for serving Him!
The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.
Each moment we can have a sweet union and communion with Christ so all of His plans come to pass in our lives as we abide in Him like the branch in the Vine!
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Let us allow God to lead us so we can grow more like Christ! In complete surrender there is perfect peace that passes all understanding! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as long as we are abiding in Christ!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
For God to entrust us with suffering for His sake and allow it to be a witness of His character to this world and the onlooking universe is an amazing gift--one that may not FEEL like a gift at the time, but one that brings us into experiential intimacy with God in a way that even is beyond what the angels can fully know! May we learn to rejoice in the Lord always, no matter what our circumstances!
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Jesus is coming soon! Now is the time to live in complete surrender to Him so He can manifest through us His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to affectionately obey God from a new heart and mind as conversion makes us partakers of the divine nature! Let us be a blessing to others by remaining in constant union and communion with Christ!
As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
Now we can be living witnesses of the kingdom of God, partaking of His grace, and living in readiness for Christ's return to establish the kingdom of His glory! All the righteous--both the resurrected and the translated--will meet the Lord in the air as we ascend on that glorious day of Christ's second coming to go to heaven with Him!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us allow the light of Christ shining from His loveliness to thoroughly convert our hearts and motivate us to live up to all the light He has revealed even as we abide in Him in true surrendered conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing!
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession.
May we walk in the true consistency as we grow in God's amazing grace, truth and faithfulness! God bless you in living the law of love by the power of the indwelling Christ, who will abide in every truly converted soul as "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
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Let us allow Christ's love to constrain us to do as much possible for His kingdom! Love awakens love and empowers us to obey because we enjoy union and communion with Him in a true heavenly atmosphere of trust and acquiescence to His will! All of the attributes of the divine nature come into the life in complete surrender to Christ as we grow in His grace to be more and more like Him!
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
God is well able to raise up more laborers on a continual basis! Praise Him always!
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Let us choose to have Christ rule in our hearts by His word through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit! As we do, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be present in the character that is in constant union and communion with God by a living faiths surrender! There is no greater joy than to be in God's will!
Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart's unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power. The Lord says, "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? . . . Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." Isaiah 49:24, 25.
May we learn continually how much we need Jesus and how His power can lift us above the clamors of our fallen nature, no matter how strong the temptations may seem, for Christ has defeated the devil and taken our fallen humanity to Calvary to let us know that self can be subdued through continual submission of the will to God! Then in death to self in Christ we can rejoice in the resurrection power of His endless life!
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We need Jesus continually! He can remove the leprosy of sin from our lives by abiding in our hearts to cleanse and purify!
The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man who came to Jesus was "full of leprosy." Its deadly poison permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement. His touch imparted life-giving power. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin,--deep-rooted, deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." Isaiah 1:5, 6. But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean," shall hear the answer, "I will; be thou made clean." Matthew 8:2, 3, R. V.
When we yield to the cleansing, sanctifying grace of God, He powerfully sustains us and restores us to His image, imputing and imparting all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God from a new heart filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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"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.
True repentance is a gift from God. By beholding Christ continually, yielding the whole heart to Him, we can experience true conversion and growth in character whereby not only all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest without one missing, but each trait of Christ's character in us grows in expression and application to bless others as we gladly obey God from the new heart!
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Jesus is offering us His rest--in relational intimacy with Him in the way He rested! He rested on the seventh day after the glorious six days of creation, and He invites us to rest in His love and abide in Him, the Lord of the Sabbath, by ceasing our own work for a livelihood and devoting the time on Sabbath from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset to healthful rest, holy convocation at church for worship, holy deeds, communion and fellowship with Him and others in nature, and godly conversation! There are so many ways to enjoy the Sabbath in His will!
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 we enter into Christ's rest even now in fully surrendering our hearts to Him as He prepares us for another Sabbath closer to the final day of His return! When we have Christ abiding in our hearts in true, relational rest, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from hearts renewed by His grace, keeping the Ten Commandments out of love because of all that Jesus has done for us!
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Only in continual union and communion of our souls with Christ are we able to have true unity with others who also surrender fully to Him. Apart from Christ, no true peace or unity is possible for fallen humanity, for the very foundation of Satan's government is based on selfishness and discontent with God's authority, and fallen humanity has come under that dominion of evil until true conversion takes place in the soul whereby Christ empowers us to live by the divine nature and keep the fallen nature crucified with Him. When we accept Christ as Lord and Savior and allow Him to bring us into harmony with His character of unselfish love whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in our lives without one missing, we can be empowered to do God's will with true faithfulness, being unified with others who also surrender, and lovingly inviting others to come into harmony with Jesus!
The apostles differed widely in habits and disposition. There were the publican, Levi-Matthew, and the fiery zealot Simon, the uncompromising hater of the authority of Rome; the generous, impulsive Peter, and the mean-spirited Judas; Thomas, truehearted, yet timid and fearful, Philip, slow of heart, and inclined to doubt, and the ambitious, outspoken sons of Zebedee, with their brethren. These were brought together, with their different faults, all with inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil; but in and through Christ they were to dwell in the family of God, learning to become one in faith, in doctrine, in spirit. They would have their tests, their grievances, their differences of opinion; but while Christ was abiding in the heart, there could be no dissension. His love would lead to love for one another; the lessons of the Master would lead to the harmonizing of all differences, bringing the disciples into unity, till they would be of one mind and one judgment. Christ is the great center, and they would approach one another just in proportion as they approached the center.
May we all choose continually to approach Christ, the great center, and in doing so, be found faultless to stand before His throne when He returns very soon in power and great glory!
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Let us allow Jesus to lead us day by day, rather than thinking we need to know all our life directions at once. Trust God to plan for you, and let Him work out the plan in your life as you surrender fully to Him moment-by-moment! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in your life without one missing as you abide in Christ by a vital union and communion of your soul with Him by the power of His divine nature, keeping your fallen nature crucified with Christ!
“Be not therefore anxious for the morrow.” Matthew 6:34, R. V. We are to follow Christ day by day. God does not bestow help for tomorrow. He does not give His children all the directions for their life journey at once, lest they should become confused. He tells them just as much as they can remember and perform. The strength and wisdom imparted are for the present emergency. “If any of you lack wisdom,”—for today,—“let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5.
We can fully trust ourselves to God's love and cease to worry about the future, knowing His perfect love casts out fear and guides us to grow in His character constantly! Rejoice in His plan for you today to be a blessing to Him and others as He is the source of all blessing!
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Victory in Jesus is offered us in His word! Let us behold His loveliness, yield the whole heart to Him, and accept His strength and grace to live a holy life that reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us!
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.
Christ is more powerful than Satan, and grace is more powerful than sin. The Lord gives us grace and glory, and the grace He gives us now to bear the trials of life is equal to the glory that He offers us in the hereafter. That is is why we can be praising God continually in all circumstances because His faith works by love and purifies our souls in constant union and communion with Him! What a joy it is to know and love God who gave Himself for us to set us free from the power of Satan and make us new creatures in Christ Jesus!
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What are you looking for? And to whom are you looking to give you true relational fulfillment? We have One who is already closer to us than any earthly relationship ever can be--and His name is Jesus! Surrendering the whole heart to Him to cleanse and purify, accepting His divine grace to implant enmity in our hearts against sin, and empowering us to live affectionately obedient lives manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit, we can be happy in His presence wherein is fullness of joy!
Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. "Fear not," He says, "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." "Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." Isaiah 43:1, 4.
Oh, what a blessing it is to be accepted in the Beloved by yielding all we have and are to Him and His blessed service to seek and save souls!! Will you choose complete surrender to Christ?
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What is heaven, and when and where does it begin for us?
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.
While we can look forward to the LOCATION of heaven in the future, we can already be enjoying the INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with Jesus that causes us to experience heaven's attributes of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the soul as we affectionately serve and obey Him from new hearts given us by grace through faith! May you let the loveliness of Jesus ever be your focus and always be who you enjoy communing with moment-by-moment!
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What is a very effective way to bless people and reach them for Christ? Let's look at what Christ did in sending out His disciples!
Calling the twelve about Him, Jesus bade them go out two and two through the towns and villages. None were sent forth alone, but brother was associated with brother, friend with friend. Thus they could help and encourage each other, counseling and praying together, each one's strength supplementing the other's weakness. In the same manner He afterward sent forth the seventy. It was the Saviour's purpose that the messengers of the gospel should be associated in this way. In our own time evangelistic work would be far more successful if this example were more closely followed.
What a joy it is to labor with a fellow brother in the Lord for souls! May this be your experience, too! You can pray that God will send you a co-laborer to share in the joy of winning souls!
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What a joy it is to simplify our wants and come into harmony with God's loving purpose to bless others with a saving knowledge of His character so that they can be in constant union and communion with Christ! Such a living experience of faith will be manifest with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as we are empowered to obey God's law from the heart!
If men today were simple in their habits, living in harmony with nature's laws, as did Adam and Eve in the beginning, there would be an abundant supply for the needs of the human family. There would be fewer imaginary wants, and more opportunities to work in God's ways. But selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world, from excess on the one hand, and from want on the other.
As we let the Lord simplify our habits, remove imaginary wants, and weed all vanity from our lives, we find great joy in His service, for He Himself is the Provider of all of our needs! May you let the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, revitalize your life in the joy of divine communion accompanied by the blessedness of finding ways to share what God has given you with others!
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To glory in tribulation means to trust that God is love and praise Him in all the circumstances that He allows to befall us. While we know He is good and kind, and as we trust His divine leading, we can rejoice in Him even amid the most trying circumstances, knowing that His grace is sufficient for us and that He has His way to keep us in a state of true conversion, or, if we have yet to experience it or neglected to maintain that connection with Christ by a living faith surrender of the whole heart, to bring us through the needed trials that will allow us choose to be connected or get re-connected so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in our lives as we affectionately obey God! When we go through trial in a thoroughly converted state, the glory goes to God as those seeing us in the trial and the onlooking universe realize that God is able to keep His finite people abiding in Him and glorifying Him, even as Jesus did, all the way to the cross!
When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to Him that he should perish; He does not call us to follow Him, and then forsake us. "Fear not," He says; "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." Isaiah 43:1-3.
Trials mean benefit in the sense that they develop and reveal character more clearly. Let's thank God today for all that He brings us through because He loves us and is preparing us for heaven! Before we enter there, He is giving us heaven in our hearts, sealing His people so that they are settled into the truth intellectually and spiritually so they will never be moved from His character and word!
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What a blessing that we can have a fresh start--with a new heart from Jesus! A full surrender to Him enables the Holy Spirit to have free access to all of us so we become partakers of the divine nature and overcome every defect of character by abiding in Christ, allowing all of the fruits of the Spirit to be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love!
Are you a follower of Christ? Then all that is written concerning the spiritual life is written for you, and may be attained through uniting yourself to Jesus. Is your zeal languishing? has your first love grown cold? Accept again of the proffered love of Christ. Eat of His flesh, drink of His blood, and you will become one with the Father and with the Son.
Oneness with God is what Christ longs for us to have, as it was His experience. Such a joyful union and communion with Christ empowers us to day by day let God work out His will in us so others are blessed by seeing His kingdom revealed in our characters!
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What a blessing it is to keep our focus on the power of the true gospel message, and to remember that the saving faith questions we need to ask are at this time in earth's history when the three angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 show us the context of the times in which we are living and the great necessity of living in harmony with God so we are in readiness for Christ to come. Only a complete heart surrender and a yielding of all of self to Christ by having our thoughts, words and character transformed by union and communion with Christ will enable us to overcome as we partake of the divine nature and let all of the fruits of the Spirit be manifest through us without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love!
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.
True obedience is from the new heart given in true conversion, and Christ empowers us to do His will gladly and faithfully even if no one around us is choosing that path! Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and remember that He will never fail the weakest soul who trusts fully in Him!
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What is your choice?
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.
Only YOU are the deciding factor in salvation. God loves you and is doing ALL He can to save you. Satan is against you and seeks to discourage you from trusting God's promises, but Jesus defeated Him at the cross and rose in triumph from the tomb and offers us His same victory over the world, the flesh and the devil as we abide in Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing abide in the truly converted soul that lives by faith on Christ, and we are empowered to overcome even as Christ did by humble, affectionate obedience to God's will revealed in His word! Will you choose Christ today, continually?
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What is a great miracle? A consistent life in Christ that manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit in affectionate obedience to God's law of love in continual growth! Only Christ can produce this miracle in us by the Holy Spirit as we surrender the whole heart to Him, and only we can choose to resist or frustrate it from happening if we go our own way. May God keep us from sin by His grace!
When the message of truth is presented in our day, there are many who, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign. Work us a miracle. Christ wrought no miracle at the demand of the Pharisees. He wrought no miracle in the wilderness in answer to Satan's insinuations. He does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or to satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But the gospel is not without a sign of its divine origin. Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God's heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought; so also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." Ezekiel 36:26. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to those that hear. This is God's witness before the world to the divine mission of His Son.
Christ has come to set us free from sin, and He is still just as powerful in His love to set us free from selfishness and make us unselfish in heart and mind like Him. May we live to bless others today by His grace!
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Let us receive the gift of bearing the cross with Jesus, and remember that His love constrains us to go forward in His will to bless others! As long as Christ is reigning in our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we gladly obey God from a new heart!
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.
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Only by love is love awakened, and Jesus in His tender, self-forgetful love longs to bless His disciples with a fresh revelation of His kingdom where all is purity and glory so that when He would die for them on the cross they would be able to endure it. It Jesus so loved them (and all of the human family) as to take upon Himself the very experience of sin and its penalty in the sight of a holy God and die on account of it, and so He seeks to prepare them for what is yet future (and cause us to value what He already did!). So Jesus seeks to prepare us, as He ministers now in the heavenly sanctuary, as He desires us to trust Him so well that when the seven last plagues are falling on the earth and all the powers of earth are arrayed against His faithful ones, we will remember that He has not changed, and that He loves us just as much in that severe trial as He did in the days of our sunniest prosperity, and that His grace is still powerful enough to cleanse the heart and keep the weakest soul who trusts in Him from sinning!
Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,--a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them.
May we value what Jesus is doing for us now, and learn from the experience of the disciples how prone we are to go to sleep (not just physically, but spiritually). Oh, let us keep our eyes on Jesus and be wide awake to His will and plan for us moment-by-moment in constant union and communion with Him! Then, in such sweet fellowship of true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us by His grace!
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"If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief." You can never perish while you do this--never.
Let us let these words SINK IN DEEPLY!!
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Let us allow Jesus to make us true disciples! When we live in total surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we obey God up to the light He has revealed to us and eagerly receive all that He has to teach us! May we be all in because Jesus is all in for us!
Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. He who feels most deeply his need of divine aid will plead for it; and the Holy Spirit will give unto him glimpses of Jesus that will strengthen and uplift the soul. From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission; and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail.
When we let Jesus live out His life in us, there is joyful victory and growth in His grace and love! What a blessing to be efficient in labor for God as childlike, converted children of His!
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We cannot improve on what Christ already offered us. Salvation--the true experience of being in harmony with God by being saved by grace through faith from sin--is the true desire and need of every soul. Whether we know it or not, we are all longing to experience Christ, the Desire of all nations, and it is only in complete surrender of all we have and are to Him that there can be true love, joy and peace (along with all of the other fruit of the Spirit without one missing) as we are empowered to eagerly obey God's law of love, revealed in the Ten Commandments as the transcript of His selfless character. May we learn continually to go to Christ, the Source of all blessing and healing for our souls! Don't let the devil, the world or your own self trick you to think that other things will ever satisfy like Jesus and what He graciously gives us in loving relationships with Him and others!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
As the Holy Spirit works to change us from glory to glory, from character to character, we experience an ever-deepening realization of our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing, and in abiding in Him, we are enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God!
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What is love? Love is patient and love is kind, and it helps those who need it most. We need help so much, and God in infinite love offers us His help that we may be wholly transformed in His character.
To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help.
Let us accept in a full-heart surrender the help God offers us in Christ and receive all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing even as we are empowered by His grace to obey God from a heart that is renewed in His image!
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What is love? It is grace in action; it is seeing what we can be rather than what we are; it is pursuing the very ones who are in need of it, even if they have yet to fully believe it, reflecting selflessness until it becomes the principle of every heart and the outflowing experience of affection and intimate oneness with the God whose character will never change! "God is love" (1 John 4:16). And such a Shepherd pursues us so earnestly that we come to fully believe we are worth more than anything else to God in the entire universe to Him--WOW!!! AND IT IS TRUE!!
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
Listen to Him. Get to know Him who is love. The patient, wooing, winning love of Jesus changes hearts that were cold, heals lives that were terrorized by lies and confusion, and brings to fruition every good and perfect gift in God's appointed way! Oh, let us not resist this love but yield all we have and are to Him who upon entrance into the soul temple will ALWAYS bring ALL of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and temperance, in harmony with righteousness and truth! And the incredible attractiveness of Christ constraints us to an obedience that we yearn to offer from a heart that is made new by Him in love!
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Love heals hearts that are wounded by selfishness. Only Jesus abiding in the heart gives true conversion, true rest and strength to resist evil and ever go forth to bless others in His appointed way! Let us allow Jesus to be all to us and to see each of the people around us as those whom He loves with infinite compassion and pity.
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
When we turn our minds off of self onto Christ, we experience supernatural healing; grace changes us and heals our souls so we can go forth to bless others wherein we have been comforted of God.
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Why did Jesus not try to overthrow the government? The cure needs to reach the heart. Only Christ can change the heart from sin to selflessness, and bring lasting change to lives that will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and obey God affectionately, keeping all of the Ten Commandments!
The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abuses,--extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart.
The new heart is the miracle Christ offers us, and that enables us to be the change in the world that is so needed now as Jesus is coming soon, so others' hearts can be reached! "The kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21). Are you willing to open the whole heart to Christ so His kingdom can be established in your life?
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Let us make Jesus look as good as possible! He is wonderful to all of us and has grace to guide us in winning children and youth to Him! After all, we all are children of God and He loves to have us come to Him in whole-heart surrender to be ready for heaven! Such a true conversion experience brings all of the fruits of the Spirit into the life without one missing as we gladly obey God from a new heart and live to bless others!
As you win their confidence in you as followers of Christ, it will be easy to teach them of the great love wherewith He has loved us. As you try to make plain the truths of salvation, and point the children to Christ as a personal Saviour, angels will be by your side. The Lord will give to fathers and mothers grace to interest their little ones in the precious story of the Babe of Bethlehem, who is indeed the hope of the world.
Only Jesus can make us happy, and He loves to create happy marriages and happy children who compose happy homes that are getting ready to be in the happiness of heaven! Let us look away from the sinful allurements of this life and look to the enduring joy that Jesus offers us when He comes again!
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Why did Jesus weep at the grave of Lazarus? "Jesus wept" (John 11:35), and yet His grief was not for the man He was about to resurrect, but for something much deeper. There may be times in our lives when our sorrow and tears go far beyond the present circumstances, and Jesus understands all this.
It was not only because of the scene before Him that Christ wept. The weight of the grief of ages was upon Him. He saw the terrible effects of the transgression of God's law. He saw that in the history of the world, beginning with the death of Abel, the conflict between good and evil had been unceasing. Looking down the years to come, He saw the suffering and sorrow, tears and death, that were to be the lot of men. His heart was pierced with the pain of the human family of all ages and in all lands. The woes of the sinful race were heavy upon His soul, and the fountain of His tears was broken up as He longed to relieve all their distress.
Christ longs to convert every heart and make us new in Him so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God from the new heart offered us by grace through faith so we can develop a character after the divine similitude.
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How long will the world be able to endure the character of Christ reproduced in humanity? We have a parallel in the earthly life of Jesus to what is taking place in our world today and among God's people. When Christ's character is perfectly reproduced, not only will persecution be stirred up against them in a final death decree in the enforcement of Sunday laws, but God will intervene to deliver His people who will live through the time of trouble without a mediator because they have become complete in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Such a ripening, maturing experience of the character the universe is waiting to see, and God yearns to bring it about in us. Christ's perfect character was opposed because His sinless life condemned the selfish, sinful course of those who were going their own way against the clear evidence of the word of God and the life of Jesus. Praise God for His grace to save us and to restore us into Him image, so we are NEW creatures in Christ when the whole heart is yielded to Him as He supernaturally produces in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are enabled to endure whatever trials God allows us to face in preparation for Christ's glorious second coming.
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
Jesus is coming again, and He is preparing us for His coming! Even as He prepares a place for us in heaven, so He is also bringing us as a loving Shepherd through what is needful to strengthen us to face what is coming on our world. We are His witnesses of His loveliness as we grow in His grace and love!
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When you are making big decisions, it is important to know that God gives you freedom to think and act in harmony with His law of love. True freedom is always found in obedience to God out of love for the One who first loved us. How we develop character and grow in His grace is a unique unfolding of life principles in day to day application similar to the development of a tree that will bear fruit--even the fruit of the Spirit without one missing! Affectionately obeying God in the way He leads brings true happiness!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
God does not force, but He helps us understand that to resist His love and to choose the way of sin only leads to death, for He alone is the source of life. Once we choose to fully surrender to Christ, the new heart He gives us is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and He loves to guide us in the path of true happiness where the unique talents and abilities He has given us can be the greatest blessing!
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Praise the Lord for genuine repentance that comes from Jesus! Living by faith on Christ as a personal Savior, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart of faith working by love!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7.
Let us look continually upon Christ and walk in the present truth for this time--the proclamation of the Three Angels' messages of Revelation 14 to prepare the world for the close of probation, the seven last plagues, and Jesus' glorious second coming to take those who are truly converted and walking in truth home to heaven with Him to enjoy the bliss of eternal fellowship with God and all who love Him!
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You don't know. When you look at others, you do not know the circumstances that shaped their experience, and in Christ's dealing with Mary and Simon we see a profound lesson of compassion, pity and longsuffering love that has the power to lead even the most hardened sinner to repentance and transformation. Let us choose to love people the way Christ did--always manifesting mercy without sacrificing justice, for He Himself became our Sin-Bearer and offers us His grace to overcome. When we yield the whole heart to His miraculous, converting grace, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives, for Christ abides in us, the hope of glory, as He empowers us to obey His commandments from the heart!
Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.
Let us come to Christ, just as we are, and invite all others to do the same. Only in Him and through Him and by Him is there power and pardon to find victory over sin in a moment-by-moment union and communion of our souls with Christ that enables us to do His will, no matter how far we fell into sin! Let us really believe God loves us and means to do us good, and go forth on missions of mercy to bless others, even as Jesus did!
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Why did Jesus allow the crowd to hail Him as King and proclaim "Hosanna" as He rode into Jerusalem?
Christ knew the triumphal entry would lead the minds of those who would behold it then and in future time to the sacrifice He was to make at Calvary to save the world from sin. And He longed for all to come to Him and experience His salvation so freely offered!
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
When Christ offers us a gift--an experience of beholding Him--He has good things in store for us. He knows how to grow us in His grace and restore us into His image; when the whole heart is surrendered to Christ and all of the fruits of the Spirit come into the life without one missing, Christ empowers us to affectionately obey Him from the new heart He gives us! What a joy it is to live in harmony with Him, not only thankful for His deliverance from sin in our lives but deeply appreciating His death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, for He is there our High Priest ministering in the heavenly sanctuary and is soon to return to take all who abide in Him in truth home to heaven!
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When we realize how sinful and helpless we really are, we come to trust in Christ who can create in us a clean heart and keep us from falling into sin. Only He can imbue us with the unselfish character of heaven in which all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest without one missing! We are then embowered to gladly obey God in ministering to Him and others because it is our highest delight to do God's service!
The warning is for all time. Christ's act in cursing the tree which His own power had created stands as a warning to all churches and to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to others. But there are many who do not live out Christ's merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God, but who bears no fruit to His glory.
The only way to bear fruit is to be connected to the One who gives us His all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in Him and grow in grace and strength!
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Who is leading? And who is building a temple that will never be destroyed?
In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it "a sure foundation." The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a "tried stone." Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam's guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.
God laid upon Jesus all our iniquities; now we can yield the whole heart to Him to cleanse and purify, so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in our lives as we are empowered to affectionately obey God from the new heart! Then each of us get to be living stones as part of His temple that will endure throughout eternity--a living building of souls who uniquely reflect the loveliness of Jesus because we have Him in our hearts and build upon Him as our sure foundation! Would you like Jesus to be your sure foundation? Surrender all you have and are to Him and let Him lead you in building a character in union and communion with the Holy Spirit that will endure by His grace forever!
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Happy Sabbath! Let’s cooperate with Jesus in His miraculous plan for our lives! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we live up to every known statute His word reveals because we love Hin who first loved us!! Praise the Lord for His grace and patience with us as He grows that experience in our lives by the Holy Spirit! “God is love” (1 John 4:16).
By His words and His works, Christ testified to a divine power that produces supernatural results, to a future life beyond the present, to God as a Father of the children of men, ever watchful of their true interests. He revealed the working of divine power in benevolence and compassion that rebuked the selfish exclusiveness of the Sadducees. He taught that both for man’s temporal and for his eternal good, God moves upon the heart by the Holy Spirit. He showed the error of trusting to human power for that transformation of character which can be wrought only by the Spirit of God.
God desires to bless you beyond what you can ask or think! Yield the whole heart to Him, commune with Him in His word, and walk by faith in His perfect will! 😊
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Love wins!! Jesus’ love in the heart is so powerful that we can have His motives, thoughts, feelings, impulses and actions propelling us and as many others as possible to heaven! That’s the love that moved the widow to give her all to God’s service!!
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour’s commendation.
Let’s invite Jesus into our hearts to recreate them into the image of His selflessness—all the fruits of the Spirit without one missing—as He empowers us to obey God’s law of love continually!
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Praise the Lord, for the goodness of God leads us to repentance and also helps protect the universe from sin ever arising again! Look upon Jesus at Calvary and experience the power of His grace to transform a sinner into a saint and keep such a one from falling by the power of the Holy Spirit! Such a divine miracle brings with it all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life that God leads in true obedience in the commandments of God!
But the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth," He said, "will draw all unto Me."
God is drawing all--let's all yield the whole heart to Christ so He can do more than we can ask or think in and through us for His glory!
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Where can we find peace in this turbulent world? Only in Christ, and only in complete surrender of all we have and are to Him!
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
Let us look away from self to Jesus, by beholding to become changed into Christ's image and overcome with all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we affectionately obey God from the new heart offered us in Christ!
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What a blessing it is to discern the loving character of God! He is drawing all, and this promise shares that many will be saved whom may surprise us! Let’s surrender all to Jesus and experience all of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey Christ from the new heart!
Those whom Christ commends in the judgment may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles. Through the influence of the divine Spirit they have been a blessing to those about them. Even among the heathen are those who have cherished the spirit of kindness; before the words of life had fallen upon their ears, they have befriended the missionaries, even ministering to them at the peril of their own lives. Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God.
When the heart is reached, the life is changed. No matter how God reaches the heart in full surrender, what a joy it is to become converted and look forward to heaven when we meet all our family in heaven and earth in one glorious experience!
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Let us behold Christ and cooperate with Him in the selfless love He manifested to us! In true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing as long as we remain vitally connected to Christ and gladly obey God where He leads us!
In His life and lessons, Christ has given a perfect exemplification of the unselfish ministry which has its origin in God. God does not live for Himself. By creating the world, and by upholding all things, He is constantly ministering for others. "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Matthew 5:45. This ideal of ministry God has committed to His Son. Jesus was given to stand at the head of humanity, that by His example He might teach what it means to minister. His whole life was under a law of service. He served all, ministered to all. Thus He lived the law of God, and by His example showed how we are to obey it.
What joy it is to become like Jesus! Perfect love casts out fear as we bless others in God's will and way!
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There is infinitely more love from Jesus when we behold Him in His pure, unselfish loveliness! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we abide in Him who gave ALL for us! Let us yield ALL we have and are to Him so we can be empowered to affectionately obey God from the new heart of faith that works by love!
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
We glory in the cross as that is where Christ paid the price for every human soul. Oh, let us talk it, sing it, pray it and live it! "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) is the surety of constant victory over sin!!
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God helps us through Jesus! Contemplate Gethsemane!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
What a gift! Let's yield the whole heart to Christ!
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What if we realized the true value of eternal things over the temporal, and by beholding Christ became changed into His lovely image? Day by day we can contemplate more fully the loveliness of Jesus and become like Him in mind and character! A full-heart surrender to Christ will produce in the converted soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to affectionately obey God from the new heart and new mind He gives us in His love!
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life."
No temptation is too great for Jesus to help us navigate without yielding to the power of evil. As we abide in Him, He will direct our steps in unselfish service! May God bless you today in being a blessing to others by letting Jesus live and work out His plan through you!
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What a gift Jesus is to us, and thankfully He can restore us into His image of unselfishness! God's healing power to renew our hearts and minds is so powerful that He can keep us from falling as we trust in Him day by day! Let us choose to yield to Christ and overcome sin through Him! He will give us the desire and capacity for serving Him in true conversion so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart!
By the life and the death of Christ, the thoughts of men also are brought to view. From the manger to the cross, the life of Jesus was a call to self-surrender, and to fellowship in suffering. It unveiled the purposes of men. Jesus came with the truth of heaven, and all who were listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit were drawn to Him. The worshipers of self belonged to Satan's kingdom. In their attitude toward Christ, all would show on which side they stood. And thus everyone passes judgment on himself.
May we all pass judgment on ourselves in the way of saying, "I surrender all" rather than choosing to go our own way. God is gracious to woo us and win us to His purity and power! In the midst of the greatest suffering and trials of this life we can have the peace that passes all understanding because we can recognize Christ living in us, the hope of glory!
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We live in a fallen world, and God does not bid us to seek great things for ourselves, but to seek Him. He is drawing us to Himself. When we fully acquiesce to His will as revealed in His word, we find rest and peace in our hearts and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow in as a result of a living union and communion with Christ. Christ empowers us to affectionately obey Him so we can be a blessing to others. The wise men who sought Christ were being drawn by the Holy Spirit, and today the Holy Spirit is drawing souls to Him so we can happily persevere in our journey towards heaven!
As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, "not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. The Eastern country abounded in precious things, and the magi did not set out empty-handed. It was the custom to offer presents as an act of homage to princes or other personages of rank, and the richest gifts the land afforded were borne as an offering to Him in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. It was necessary to journey by night in order to keep the star in view; but the travelers beguiled the hours by repeating traditional sayings and prophetic utterances concerning the One they sought. At every pause for rest they searched the prophecies; and the conviction deepened that they were divinely guided. While they had the star before them as an outward sign, they had also the inward evidence of the Holy Spirit, which was impressing their hearts, and inspiring them with hope. The journey, though long, was a happy one to them.
Whatever God leads us to, He will lead us through, as by grace through faith we may be partakers of the divine nature and overcome the world, the flesh and the devil by the same power Christ relied upon--the word of God! Let us treasure each moment as a treasure to be employed for holy purposes, so others will be drawn to Christ by our life and example! "Christ in you, the hope of glory" offers you a new heart and mind. Let us abide in Him!
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Happy Sabbath to all! Let us behold Jesus and become like Him in mind and character, growing in grace and knowledge of the truth for this time! As we share the Three Angels' Messages (Revelation 14:6-12) with the world, let us do it reflecting the character of Christ (Revelation 14:1-5)!
As a child, Jesus manifested a peculiar loveliness of disposition. His willing hands were ever ready to serve others. He manifested a patience that nothing could disturb, and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of unselfish courtesy.
Jesus will abide in the heart that is fully yielded to Him, and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through the life to bless others as we let our Savior lead us this day in His ideal will! May you be blessed in His happy presence today! Jesus' presence is the only source of true, lasting happiness!
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When God invites us to do something, it is well to remember that it is selfless--an unselfish desire on His part to bless us so we may bless others! It is in this light that we are invited to behold the loveliness of Jesus daily, as it makes us happy!
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
By beholding Christ we become changed into His image and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life that is abiding in Jesus. He empowers us to affectionately obey Him, living up to all the light He has shed on our path from His inspired sources, so we can go forth to bless others as Jesus did! What a joy it is to have a true conversion experience and have it renewed each day!
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When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, we will desire what Jesus desires for us! He yearned to commune with the Father and found His hours of happiness in such sweet fellowship, thus preparing Him for the opportunities to minister to others! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives when we are abiding in Jesus in true surrender of all we have and are!
From the time when the parents of Jesus found Him in the temple, His course of action was a mystery to them. He would not enter into controversy, yet His example was a constant lesson. He seemed as one who was set apart. His hours of happiness were found when alone with nature and with God. Whenever it was His privilege, He turned aside from the scene of His labor, to go into the fields, to meditate in the green valleys, to hold communion with God on the mountainside or amid the trees of the forest. The early morning often found Him in some secluded place, meditating, searching the Scriptures, or in prayer. From these quiet hours He would return to His home to take up His duties again, and to give an example of patient toil.
What a blessing it is to let Christ strengthen us to walk even as He walked, knowing that His grace is strong and mighty to keep us from falling into sin, no matter how weak we may be!
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We need HELP!! The Holy Spirit has the power to give us strength and grace to enables us to overcome--and our part is yielding to Him continually so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! Grace and strength proportionate to our need will be given to each soul that desires the help that God alone can give!
John declared to the teachers of Israel that their pride, selfishness, and cruelty showed them to be a generation of vipers, a deadly curse to the people, rather than the children of just and obedient Abraham. In view of the light they had received from God, they were even worse than the heathen, to whom they felt so much superior. They had forgotten the rock whence they were hewn, and the hole of the pit from which they had been digged. God was not dependent upon them for the fulfilling of His purpose. As He had called Abraham out from a heathen people, so He could call others to His service. Their hearts might now appear as lifeless as the stones of the desert, but His Spirit could quicken them to do His will, and receive the fulfillment of His promise.
May the Holy Spirit take us from where we are to where we need to be in character and experience. All that we have and are is a gift from God, and the worse we are, the more we need Jesus! Yield to Him and let Him empower you to do what is right from the right motives out of love!
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What an encouraging reality to dwell upon that we are "accepted in the Beloved" as we abide in Christ! May we internalize how God regards us and allow the word of God to transform our characters into the image of Christ!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
As we allow Christ into the heart as He knocks for entrance, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we affectionately obey God from the heart He renews by His divine grace! Nothing is too hard for the Lord, and His grace is sufficient for us to empower us to do His will cheerfully and faithfully!
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Are you struggling? In truth, we all are. The battle that we daily face against the world, the flesh and the devil is as real as the battles that often hit news headlines, but they are often unseen. In our inmost soul, we are daily deciding whether we will allow God's word to produce the victory we see it brought in the life of Jesus. He wrought out a perfect character in humanity as the divine Son of God and died as our perfect sacrifice, so we can have His victory manifest in character with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are simultaneously empowered to obey God's law from the new heart He gives us in true conversion! While the struggle is real, the victory is also real. Let His mind "be in you" (Philippians 2:5) and see where He leads you by His grace!
Let him who is struggling against the power of appetite look to the Saviour in the wilderness of temptation. See Him in His agony upon the cross, as He exclaimed, "I thirst." He has endured all that it is possible for us to bear. His victory is ours.
The joy of victory is so wonderful that it encourages us to face each new trial with the triumph of His grace at work in heart and life. When others see how happy we are having Jesus give us victory, we make Christ and His service appear attractive--as they really are--and get to live in this sinful world as witnesses of the gospel's supernatural power to keep us from falling into sin through constant union and communion with Jesus!
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Victory is offered you and me by abiding in Jesus. How did He overcome Satan? It was by the word of God. And as by grace through faith we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God here, we can joyfully look forward to our heavenly home in the hereafter and more fully realize the value of the salvation so freely offered us today!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.
What a blessing to get to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb in triumph because of His victory! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow forth through the truly converted life because Christ gives us a new heart and mind! What a joy that He can keep us from falling into sin from temptations that assail us from the world, the flesh and the devil. Look to Jesus and contemplate heaven as the REAL PLACE we belong! We are simply here in this world as missionaries to help more souls come to Him!
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Happy Sabbath to you all! Remember the loveliness of Jesus and let His character transform you as you behold Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of one who is truly abiding in Him! Let us look away from self to Jesus and walk by faith in the path His word leads us to follow!
"But as the people looked upon Him, they saw a face where divine compassion was blended with conscious power. Every glance of the eye, every feature of the countenance, was marked with humility, and expressive of unutterable love. He seemed to be surrounded by an atmosphere of spiritual influence. While His manners were gentle and unassuming, He impressed men with a sense of power that was hidden, yet could not be wholly concealed. Was this the One for whom Israel had so long waited?" {The Desire of Ages, page 137, paragraph 4}
What a blessing it is to realize that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah! He is soon to return in power and great glory! Let us look to Him and be saved from sin and prepared for holy, happy service!
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It was by personal contact and association that Jesus trained His disciples. Sometimes He taught them, sitting among them on the mountainside; sometimes beside the sea, or walking with them by the way, He revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God. He did not sermonize as men do today. Wherever hearts were open to receive the divine message, He unfolded the truths of the way of salvation. He did not command His disciples to do this or that, but said, "Follow Me." On His journeys through country and cities He took them with Him, that they might see how He taught the people. He linked their interest with His, and they united with Him in the work.
Let us follow Christ in every aspect as He reproduces His character in us! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are connected to Him in a vital union and communion of our souls by grace through faith!
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Since Jesus' presence alone can make us happy, it is so encouraging to know that it is also only His presence that can cleanse our souls from sin! As we receive true repentance from Christ and confess our sins, He freely forgives us and renews our hearts and minds to have all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the heart! Sin destroys our true happiness, while holiness brings the sweetest bliss that can ever be known both for this life and the life to come!
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." Rev. 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; . . . and they shall be My people." "He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 2 Cor. 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and "an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21, 22.
When we abide in Jesus and He abides in us by His word, there can be no such thing as failure, loss or defeat because God works out His divine purpose through teaching us our continual need of Jesus! May you stay in constant union and communion with Christ today!
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You are being drawn to Christ right now. If you do not resist Him, you will be led to look to Christ in simple faith and live. A new heart and a new mind are offered you by the atoning blood of Christ and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. When you surrender the whole heart to Christ, the greatest miracle takes place--you become a new creation--and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life as affectionate obedience to all the light God has revealed becomes your highest delight in doing His service!
Nicodemus was being drawn to Christ. As the Saviour explained to him concerning the new birth, he longed to have this change wrought in himself. By what means could it be accomplished? Jesus answered the unspoken question: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Do you long for a change? Are you yearning to be what God has planned for your life? Then look to Christ uplifted on Calvary's cross, and by grace through faith lay hold of the miraculous experience He is offering you right now. Look away from sin, self and the devil's lies and "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). Confess and forsake the sins that the Holy Spirit reveals to you and go forward in His appointed plan for you which He so graciously will unfold day by day!
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Self-abnegation is in no way akin to self-depreciation. Selflessness is the foundation for the highest development for this life and the life to come, and it can only come into the soul from Jesus as a gift, for selflessness is love. As John looked to Jesus, his entire focus was the mission that was given him from heaven. May we realize our heaven-given mission to proclaim and live the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-12), prepare for translation, and see Jesus come to end the sin and suffering in the universe as soon as possible! Victory over sin begins the moment the heart is fully yielded to Christ in faith and all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life (even as at ever advance step our repentance will deepen, and we confess and forsake the sins the Holy Spirit reveals), but Christ also is performing a work in the heavenly sanctuary to blot out all of the sins that have been confessed and forsaken by His people. The judgment taking place above will pass to the cases of the living saints right before the time of trouble during which time the seven last plagues will be poured out, climaxing in the return of Jesus to take those redeemed from the grave (resurrected saints) and those redeemed from among men (the translated saints) to heaven to judge the wicked for 1000 years, following which time Christ will return the third time to this earth with His people in the New Jerusalem, the wicked will be raised to receive the judgment written, and the fires of hell will consume the wicked to ashes (Malachi 4:1,3) so that the earth can be made new (Revelation 21:1) and sin and sinners will be no more (Nahum 1:9)! The entire universe will be clean! Let us look in faith to Christ and give the WHOLE MESSAGE out of love in Christ Jesus!! We can help hasten His return by being faithful to let His word produce in us the experience He has promised!
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, John had risen to the height of self-abnegation. He sought not to attract men to himself, but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher, until they should rest upon the Lamb of God. He himself had been only a voice, a cry in the wilderness. Now with joy he accepted silence and obscurity, that the eyes of all might be turned to the Light of life.
Look up to Christ and be victorious! With Him there is no such thing as defeat!! Jesus is coming again!! Hallelujah!!
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What a blessing it is to know Jesus, the source of true satisfaction, and ever go to Him afresh for strength and grace for all His providence assigns as best for us!
Jesus did not convey the idea that merely one draft of the water of life would suffice the receiver. He who tastes of the love of Christ will continually long for more; but he seeks for nothing else. The riches, honors, and pleasures of the world do not attract him. The constant cry of his heart is, More of Thee. And He who reveals to the soul its necessity is waiting to satisfy its hunger and thirst. Every human resource and dependence will fail. The cisterns will be emptied, the pools become dry; but our Redeemer is an inexhaustible fountain. We may drink, and drink again, and ever find a fresh supply. He in whom Christ dwells has within himself the fountain of blessing,--"a well of water springing up into everlasting life." From this source he may draw strength and grace sufficient for all his needs.
When we live by faith on the Son of God, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing and we are empowered to obey God from the new heart given us in true conversion! Jesus calls us to receive Him in ever-increasing measure as the living water that alone can satisfy us! May we reflect Christ to others in a way that invites them to know and love Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered!
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We are so obvious to God. He reads us like an open book. He gets why we do what we do, even more fully than we can discern. That is why what He says is so important. When the nobleman came to Jesus desiring to have his son healed, he put conditions on whether he would accept Christ as the Messiah, and upon those conditions he based his faith. But Christ longed to give to him an unconditional faith that works by love--a faith that could trust that no matter what the outcome of the immediate situation, his faith would be anchored in Christ as Redeemer. May we learn from this our deep need of God's grace to have Him transform the reason we do things from being selfish to being founded upon God's unchanging character and believing fully all His word reveals!
Like a flash of light, the Saviour's words to the nobleman laid bare his heart. He saw that his motives in seeking Jesus were selfish. His vacillating faith appeared to him in its true character. In deep distress he realized that his doubt might cost the life of his son. He knew that he was in the presence of One who could read the thoughts, and to whom all things were possible. In an agony of supplication he cried, "Sir, come down ere my child die." His faith took hold upon Christ as did Jacob, when, wrestling with the Angel, he cried, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." Genesis 32:26.
When we see our sinfulness, we are not to despond as is we have no Savior; rather, we are to come to Him as we are, surrender fully to the Holy Spirit, and let Him fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God affectionately because He first loved us! What goodness He lavishes upon us to lead us to repentance! Hallelujah!
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We need Jesus continually! As we stay connected to Him by a living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives to His glory as we are gladly obedient to His law of love!
The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.
Let us allow God to fulfill His will through us by His word and by His Spirit!
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Who is leading you? Are you submitting daily your will to God and letting His word direct your path? If so, rejoice in the midst of trial and tribulation, even unto death for the sake of Christ, knowing that His plans are best and His love is infinite. He knows what is best and plans for the good of His creatures. Then trust God. Praise Him in the midst of all the experiences of life, and depend upon the Holy Spirit to produce in you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you grow in His grace, love and truth, affectionately obeying God's law from the new heart He gives you.
John the Baptist lost his life as he was faithful to the end, and we should not fear to lose our lives if we choose to be faithful, too. As our Savior suffered beyond our comprehension, in His gracious love He offers us fellowship with Him in that experience as we are on the verge of the close of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Our lives and the witness manifest through us can help hasten Christ's return as He desires living witnesses for Him who reveal His character to the universe! He is preparing a people who enjoy sweetest fellowship with Him though they will suffer with Him in the experience, and He will have a living witness of saints prepared for translation without seeing death, because self is dead and Christ "the hope of glory" shines forth from them spontaneously! Let us this victory offered us be our choice by the love and purity given us through abiding in Jesus moment-by-moment!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
We can trust God to lead us this day, for faithfulness today prepares us for faithfulness tomorrow. Only by abiding in Christ by grace through faith will we have strength to resist evil and be empowered by God to bless others unselfishly. Looking upon the Savior's crucifixion puts everything in perspective as we more fully appreciate the cost our salvation!
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Looking to Jesus we find strength and grace as we ask for it in His name to overcome sin as we abide in Him! By the Holy Spirit we can do God's will as He unfolds His plan for us!
As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
Let us rejoice in His promises and abide in His character! When we live by faith on the Son of God, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, giving us affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
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If it happened at the time of Christ, it can surely happen again. Prejudice, unbelief and misunderstanding can blind hearts and minds to the truth for this time so that it become nearly impossible for many to discern it. But we can look to God's word in sincerity for ourselves and let the Holy Spirit interpret spiritual things to us so we can walk humbly in truth with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life like Jesus did. Let us walk even as He walked thought many errors abound in our time, too.
Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?
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When you go through a difficult season, remember who is right there to help you look up--it is Jesus!! He desires to inspire your heart with faith, hope and love and empower you to do more than you thought was possible because the Holy Spirit will imbue your soul with His very divine nature!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in your life and character as long as you stay connected to the Source of life--Jesus Christ and Him crucified!! Then affectionate obedience becomes the focus of life--to do as much as possible in harmony with the present truth for this time (proclaiming the three angels' messages while living in preparation for translation)!
During that sad night on the lake, when they were separated from Christ, the disciples were pressed hard by unbelief, and weary with fruitless toil. But His presence kindled their faith, and brought them joy and success. So it is with us; apart from Christ, our work is fruitless, and it is easy to distrust and murmur. But when He is near, and we labor under His direction, we rejoice in the evidence of His power. It is Satan's work to discourage the soul; it is Christ's work to inspire with faith and hope.
Don't listen to Satan who wants you to stay away from Christ because of your past sins. Look up to Christ and move forward in faith in His providential leadings!! Jesus has great plans for you that will glorify His name and clothe you in humility!
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Freedom is what we need. And freedom from sin can only be found in Christ. Through a complete surrender of the heart, mind and will to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life that is centered in Him. Christ living in the soul then constrains us out of love to obey Him up to the light He has revealed to us! Let us walk in this glorious freedom!!
Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart's unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, "Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me." Isaiah 27:5. The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power. The Lord says, "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? . . . Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." Isaiah 49:24, 25.
What promises God offers us! Let us keep our eyes of faith fixed on Christ and overcome even as He did--by the power of the word of God!!
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Let us accept all the spiritual help Christ offers us. He is willing to make us new in Him--with new motives, thoughts, feelings and character from His very "divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4), taking away the leprosy of sin!
The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man who came to Jesus was "full of leprosy." Its deadly poison permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement. His touch imparted life-giving power. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin,--deep-rooted, deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." Isaiah 1:5, 6. But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean," shall hear the answer, "I will; be thou made clean." Matthew 8:2, 3, R. V.
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Happy Sabbath! Let us allow Jesus to do in us the true heart work that makes us like Him in mind and character as we overcome sin through union and communion with Him, receiving new hearts that have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love!
"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.
What a joy to have Jesus revealed in our characters today to bless others in willing service! Go forth with Christ and let Him be revealed to this world I harmony with the present truth messages for this time calling people to prepare for His return in experiencing true conversion and proclaiming the three angels' messages of Revelation 14! Christ is coming!! He will prepare our hearts as we grow in His grace!
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Praise the Lord for God's plan to redeem us from sin! He gave us the Sabbath to continually bring our minds to this great purpose, and to deepen our relationship with Christ! Let us appreciate all that God has for us and walk even as Jesus walked--by the word through the Holy Spirit's grace and power! In such an experience, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our lives as we are empowered to affectionately obey God's Ten Commandment law of love! Hallelujah!
Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are accused of violating.
Christ never broke the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week, for He created it for our benefit! He gave us a perfect example of following the word of God in the face of all the conflicting traditions that would only confuse the mind and life. He is the One we are to follow by His grace through His faith at work in our hearts by His infinite love!
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Teamwork makes the dream work!! Let us realize we are a team with the angels to reach the world for Christ with the Holy Spirit using us to speak in harmony with the prompting of the angels! Let us give the Three Angels' messages in harmony with the character of Christ--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey the Ten Commandments and live in harmony with all of the light God shines on our pathway!!
We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.
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What a blessing that Christ was willing to disappoint earthly hopes to incline every heart to the kingdom of heaven in preparation for the eternal world! Let us yield the whole heart to Christ and abide in Him with all of the fruits of the Spirit revealing the loveliness of Jesus through us! Obedience becomes our highest delight because we yearn to please and honor Christ in all things!
Christ disappointed the hope of worldly greatness. In the Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and of His own character. Yet He did not make a direct attack on the errors of the people. He saw the misery of the world on account of sin, yet He did not present before them a vivid delineation of their wretchedness. He taught them of something infinitely better than they had known. Without combating their ideas of the kingdom of God, He told them the conditions of entrance therein, leaving them to draw their own conclusions as to its nature. The truths He taught are no less important to us than to the multitude that followed Him. We no less than they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God.
As we reflect on Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7 and realize that Christ's kingdom is what we all need, let us lay aside every weight and run with perseverance the race marked out for us! Christ has the power to cleanse us from all selfishness and to impute and impart to us His unselfish love!
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Who is being drawn to Christ? All of us! Even the centurion who came to Christ to have his servant healed chose to trust the word of God as the assurance that the servant would be healed simply by the word of God, and the word of God only! Let us not set up expectations beyond God's word in our lives, but let what He says be true in our life and character by surrender of the heart, mind and will to Jesus! Then in such a converted experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will spontaneously be manifest in and through us to the glory of God even as we learn to walk as Jesus walked in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
The Jews had been instructed from childhood concerning the work of the Messiah. The inspired utterances of patriarchs and prophets and the symbolic teaching of the sacrificial service had been theirs. But they had disregarded the light; and now they saw in Jesus nothing to be desired. But the centurion, born in heathenism, educated in the idolatry of imperial Rome, trained as a soldier, seemingly cut off from spiritual life by his education and surroundings, and still further shut out by the bigotry of the Jews, and by the contempt of his own countrymen for the people of Israel,--this man perceived the truth to which the children of Abraham were blinded. He did not wait to see whether the Jews themselves would receive the One who claimed to be their Messiah. As the "light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9) had shone upon him, he had, though afar off, discerned the glory of the Son of God.
What a blessing to walk in the light that shines on our path and go forth today to bless others! May this be your genuine experience in Christ!
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Where can we find relief? Where can we find rest? Jesus navigated this earthly life experience pain, misunderstanding and misapprehension in His own home and He understands what it feels like for us to face those experiences that can be very difficult. He knows the thorny path, for He travelled it--but never sinned while He walked it. Let us look to Him to find strength and grace to travel the path He knows is best and go to our heavenly Father to find true relief and joy as we commune with Him!!
These things made His path a thorny one to travel. So pained was Christ by the misapprehension in His own home that it was a relief to Him to go where it did not exist. There was one home that He loved to visit,--the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest. Yet there were none on earth who could comprehend His divine mission, or know the burden which He bore in behalf of humanity. Often He could find relief only in being alone, and communing with His heavenly Father.
In such sweet communion with God as we surrender all we have and are to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit flow into our hearts and lives as we gladly obey God from the new heart He gives us by the supernatural power of the divine nature at work in and through us by His word!
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Let us take Christ at His word and experience all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as He empowers us to affectionately obey His law from the new heart He gives us! Let us walk even as He walked!
Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3. Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. And that character which expresses the glory--character--of Christ will be received into the Paradise of God. A renovated race shall walk with Him in white, for they are worthy.
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When every human source of help is unavailing, what a blessing that we can always turn to Jesus! May we learn to go to Him FIRST, and then we need never fear what He allows in our lives for our good and the good of others!
As Jesus rested by faith in the Father's care, so we are to rest in the care of our Saviour. If the disciples had trusted in Him, they would have been kept in peace. Their fear in the time of danger revealed their unbelief. In their efforts to save themselves, they forgot Jesus; and it was only when, in despair of self-dependence, they turned to Him that He could give them help.
Jesus will help all who come to Him in faith. His grace and love move us to come, and He has a thousand ways of which we know nothing to help and provide! Let us surrender the WHOLE heart to Jesus so all of the fruits of the Spirit may be manifest in our lives without one missing as Christ living in us empowers us to obey God up to the light He has shown us because He first loved us!
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Faith is like dynamite! When faith is activated by love, you WILL SEE it in action! When the woman reached forth to touch Christ, like dynamite she put forth every element of the faith God had given her moved by the love of Christ who was drawing her, and she was INSTANTLY healed! When we come to Christ in faith that works by love and purifies the soul, we can believe that He cleanses us from sin as we confess to Him our sins and in true repentance turn from them! Jesus supernaturally restores us into His image with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are abiding in Him, for such a union and vital experience of communion empowers us to affectionately obey God!
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.
Let us allow God to continually GUARD us against a NOMINAL faith--a faith that is not active in love. We need Jesus CONTINUALLY to do any good thing! He loves to have us come to Him JUST AS WE ARE, but His faith working by love in our souls will make us like Him! Praise the Lord!!
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Looking to Jesus we see what it means to be true Christians. He invites us to be united to Him by a living faith surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our character experience with Him by an appreciative understanding of His love! He calls us to confess Him as Lord and Savior by a character united with Him by continual communion! May this be our experience by beholding His love as we are changed into His image! It would be well each day to contemplate the loveliness of Jesus, especially the closing scenes of His earthly life as He went to Calvary for us! He is now our High Priest and we can look to Him as able to save us fully! Look away from self and talk and think of Jesus, even as He transforms you by beholding Him!
He who would confess Christ must have Christ abiding in him. He cannot communicate that which he has not received. The disciples might speak fluently on doctrines, they might repeat the words of Christ Himself; but unless they possessed Christlike meekness and love, they were not confessing Him. A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny Him, whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evilspeaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny Him by shunning life's burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny Him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwelling in darkness. In all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them. And "whosoever shall deny Me before men," He says, "him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven."
Jesus longs to continually confess us before our Heavenly Father, and He invites us to receive from Him the Holy Sprit that we may give a consistent witness of His true character!
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What a blessing it is to truly "rest" in the presence of Jesus. Such rest is restorative and rejuvenating, not selfish and narrowing! As we commune with Christ in sincerity, He graciously speaks to us of His infinite love! Let us rest in the Lord today and be open to the souls we are given the opportunity to bless as we abide in Jesus. Such restful union and communion as the result of true conversion will be revealed in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love!
The rest which Christ and His disciples took was not self-indulgent rest. The time they spent in retirement was not devoted to pleasure seeking. They talked together regarding the work of God, and the possibility of bringing greater efficiency to the work. The disciples had been with Christ, and could understand Him; to them He need not talk in parables. He corrected their errors, and made plain to them the right way of approaching the people. He opened more fully to them the precious treasures of divine truth. They were vitalized by divine power, and inspired with hope and courage.
As Jesus works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, He calls us to come with Him into the restful scenes of nature where we can be truly happy in His love; in gaining a deeper experience with Him in His word, we are better prepared to reach souls around us as they see that we have truly been with Jesus!
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Praise the Lord for the blessing of getting to work according to our ability, rather than think we cannot do something because we may not have the skills others do. God has a place for us in His service, and He loves to have us share the word of life--the bread from heaven--so others can be truly nourished in God's way. Let us yield fully to Christ and abide in His love so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God out of love!
In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master Worker. Too often the worker for Christ fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burden upon organizations, instead of relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. It is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith. Personal responsibilities must be borne, personal duties must be taken up, personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. In the place of shifting your responsibility upon someone whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability.
Let us do what God gives us the ability to do, and do it cheerfully!
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We need help--constantly--from Jesus. He longs to teach us day by day of our continual need of Him to do any good thing. As we abide in Him, He imparts to us the strength of His character so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are in our lives. Gladly we can obediently go in the path His providence assigns! May you today let the Lord lead you constantly!
Those who fail to realize their constant dependence upon God will be overcome by temptation. We may now suppose that our feet stand secure, and that we shall never be moved. We may say with confidence, "I know in whom I have believed; nothing can shake my faith in God and in His word." But Satan is planning to take advantage of our hereditary and cultivated traits of character, and to blind our eyes to our own necessities and defects. Only through realizing our own weakness and looking steadfastly unto Jesus can we walk securely.
"When I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). While the strength of character God offers us is found in humility and surrender, it is only by union and communion with Christ that we can walk above the pull of the world, the flesh and the devil.
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How did Jesus come in "the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3) and never sin? He could only remain untainted by the word, for He, the living Word of God, laid aside His glory He had in heaven and came into this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and by faith in the written word of God overcame, offering us a perfect character in place of our fallen character. As our first parents' disobedience to God's word has caused us to inherit a fallen nature, we have sinful hearts that must be converted by grace through faith if we are to be saved, and Jesus offers us by His word a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus came into this world with His overflowing heart of infinite love and resisted every temptation that Satan could try on Him, and since Jesus overcame by the word as He is the Word made flesh, if we are in union and communion with Him in His word in affectionate obedience to Christ the word, then the same divine nature will be manifest in us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. This is such a miracle, but it is exactly what God offers ALL OF US! Let us yield to Him and cooperate with Christ at every step heavenward! We have hope in Christ to overcome! He took our fallen nature to Calvary and died, defeating sin in the flesh because He never yielded to the sin of unbelief in the word of God that leads to disobedience. Let us look to Christ and walk in this "Christ in you the hope of glory" that is really the word in you, the hope of glory!
By looking constantly to Jesus with the eye of faith, we shall be strengthened. God will make the most precious revelations to His hungering, thirsting people. They will find that Christ is a personal Saviour. As they feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus.
When we have the life of the word in us, we have the victory we need! Rejoice in the word--Christ, the Lord--always!
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Happy Sabbath!!
When Jesus was faced with traditions that were not based on God's word, He knew they would not endure. We are to build on Christ and His word, for His word is sure and establishes our character on what will last. When we have Christ the living word abiding in us in full surrender of the whole heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly are empowered to obey Him from the heart renewed by His grace!
He answered, "Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." The customs and traditions so highly valued by the rabbis were of this world, not from heaven. However great their authority with the people, they could not endure the testing of God. Every human invention that has been substituted for the commandments of God will be found worthless in that day when "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Ecclesiastes 12:14.
Let us turn our eyes on Jesus and build on Him as our foundation of character. To know God is to love Him, and abiding in Him we are made complete to do His will!
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Praise the Lord for the gift of salvation, and for how God empowers us to choose His will and way! We can be so thankful for His grace that is sufficient for us to be victorious in Christ by the faith He imparts us! As we yield fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life as we grow in His grace and thrive in His purposes, obeying Him gladly from the new heart He gives us! Let us press through every barrier that Satan may try to erect against coming to Christ just as we are and learn to become like Jesus more fully each day, for by beholding we become changed!
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.
When we have Christ working in us, He encourages us to see the needs of those around us. We learn of Him and in coming to Him find healing for heart, soul, mind, body and spirit. Nothing is too hard for the Lord! Jesus is coming SO SOON and He longs to reach as many as possible with the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-12) and to have a people prepared to meet Him (Revelation 14:1-5). We can choose to overcome even as He overcame--by relying on the word of God to do what it says because we discern the loveliness of Jesus' character, just like the woman of Phoenicia did as she asked for Jesus to heal her daughter who was possessed by a demon. When we really believe that God loves us, we will cease to worry about the future and we will entrust the keeping of souls to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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What is religion? It is the way we relate to God, and only the way Christ related to God in total surrender and joyful service is TRUE RELIGION! Such an experience is filled with genuine happiness, for it flows from being in the happy presence of our holy God! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are the supernatural result of having Christ in us by living faith surrender to Him of the whole heart, mind and will so He can do His will through us as we are empowered to cooperate with Him in affectionate obedience to all of the heavenly light shining on our pathway!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. "Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to "walk, even as He walked;" and "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:6, 3.
May you today let Christ be ALL to you, for He is well able to qualify us to serve not just in this life, but in the life to come!
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What is most valuable? Life--but the life we now have, apart from Christ, will inevitably perish. That is why living for this life only is only a path to death, for we are sinful and cannot save ourselves. But there is hope. We can look to Christ and receive "life...and [life] more abundantly" (John 10:10). Only in complete surrender to the love of Christ will we experience the unique crucifixion to self and resurrection to His righteousness by faith! Only in Him can we become what we really are meant to be, and apart from Him, we are but ebbing out a short earthly existence that will perish. Choose to look to Christ by a living faith surrender and be motivated by the loveliness of His character to become like Him, for in union and communion with Christ all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest, so we can gladly do God's will from the heart!
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And "what is a man profited," said Jesus, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
When we value souls as Jesus does, our entire priority in life shifts from selfish goals that are "what I want" to the greater joy of seeing souls redeemed and realizing that this is what we REALLY want to do (in a truly converted experience)--for nothing else even makes sense this close to the second coming of Jesus! Jesus is coming! Let us die to self through complete surrender to Him and let Him live out His life in us by the Holy Spirit! What a miracle!!
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What did Jesus first need to go through, in order to save us?
But before the crown must come the cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as king, but the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference with Jesus. Bearing the weakness of humanity, and burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone in the midst of men. As the darkness of the coming trial pressed upon Him, He was in loneliness of spirit, in a world that knew Him not. Even His loved disciples, absorbed in their own doubt and sorrow and ambitious hopes, had not comprehended the mystery of His mission. He had dwelt amid the love and fellowship of heaven; but in the world that He had created, He was in solitude. Now heaven had sent its messengers to Jesus; not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow, and who could sympathize with the Saviour in the trial of His earthly life. Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of men. Moses had pleaded for Israel: “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.” Exodus 32:32. Elijah had known loneliness of spirit, as for three years and a half of famine he had borne the burden of the nation’s hatred and its woe. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Alone he had fled to the desert in anguish and despair. These men, chosen above every angel around the throne, had come to commune with Jesus concerning the scenes of His suffering, and to comfort Him with the assurance of the sympathy of heaven. The hope of the world, the salvation of every human being, was the burden of their interview.
Christ offers us His kingdom today to be established in our hearts as we surrender fully to Him; all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we are strengthened by grace through faith to obey God out of an intelligent appreciation of His loveliness of character! Let us appreciate all that Jesus did for us on earth and all He is doing for us now as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven, for He is SOON to return as our King!!
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Is it possible? Can you be saved? Have you ever felt like God couldn't save you--yes, YOU? Maybe the devil has so tempted you to try to give up on life or not to believe that God can really forgive YOUR SIN. But God's love pierces through the darkness of the lies we have been influenced by, and Christ offers us His faith so we can overcome and have His faith! The key is simply acknowledging our need!! Let us yield fully to Christ and cry out to Him for the faith that DOES TRUST even when everything else seems to discourage us. Let us look to Christ as the One who CAN SAVE ALL WHO COME TO HIM--and that includes YOU!!!
"'If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.' How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, 'If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.' It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, 'Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.' John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, 'Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.' You can never perish while you do this--never."
God did not plan to lose you when He created you. He is working out all things for your highest good and the blessing of the world. Look to Christ in simple faith and let Him heal you, save you, and recreate in you a new heart! When Christ does come into your heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life--not one will be missing! One of the fruits of the Spirit is faith, and that faith is a gift from God!! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). May this be your experience today and always!! God will not fail His promises to you!!
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What makes us truly happy? Becoming like Jesus by becoming like selfless children!
It was not enough for the disciples of Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of His kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart that would bring them into harmony with its principles. Calling a little child to Him, Jesus set him in the midst of them; then tenderly folding the little one in His arms He said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness.
As Jesus lives in our hearts as we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23) will be in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the heart, glad to embrace the present truth for this time (Revelation 14:1-12) and go forth as missionaries for God (Matthew 28:18-20)!
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Happy Sabbath!!
What do you really want? The One who created you and died to redeem you really knows!!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
Let us look above the pull of this world's deceptions and the fallen nature that we are all compassed with and trust Jesus who, by His word, can truly satisfy us and make us partakers of His divine nature!! The devil cannot overcome one soul who trusts fully in Jesus with the whole heart, for such a true conversion will bring all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart He gives us!
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Are you willing to obey the truth, whatever it reveals?
Many are deceived today in the same way as were the Jews. Religious teachers read the Bible in the light of their own understanding and traditions; and the people do not search the Scriptures for themselves, and judge for themselves as to what is truth; but they yield up their judgment, and commit their souls to their leaders. The preaching and teaching of His word is one of the means that God has ordained for diffusing light; but we must bring every man's teaching to the test of Scripture. Whoever will prayerfully study the Bible, desiring to know the truth, that he may obey it, will receive divine enlightenment. He will understand the Scriptures. "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching." John 7:17, R. V.
Let us not allow what others do influence our perception of the truth as it is in Jesus! As we look to His sinless life, His sacrificial death, and His supernatural resurrection, let us appreciate all that Christ has done for us and walk by faith that works by love (accompanied by all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing), and in true obedience to God's changeless law of love experience the highest freedom! God bless you as you let the word of God define reality, morality and the path God has for you this day and each day in the journey to heaven!
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Are you truly free? True freedom can only be found in complete surrender to Christ, and He does not force any of us to yield to Him. But by His infinite love He reveals His loveliness of character as manifest in the gift of Himself in Christ, and God invites us to surrender fully to Him, and as we do and confess and forsake sin by the power He gives us in the free exercise of our will, He gives us a new heart and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we are empowered to obey God and walk in the highest freedom found in union and communion with God!
In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.
God will work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, and we can be so thankful that His grace is sufficient for us and that He knows what we need before we even ask! Look to Him continually and abide in His love, for the greatest freedom found is in knowing and loving Him which enables us to do His will!
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Are you going through trials? Who can you always turn to? Jesus, our loving Savior, is ever-present to help just when we need Him most!! In surrender of all we have and are to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from our hearts and lives as we gladly are empowered to obey God's law, the definition of true happiness!
Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." Revelation 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live. "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isaiah 54:10.
Jesus "gets you." He understands you better than you yourself understand your own character and experience. Let Him lead you this day one step closer to heaven's glory as you let Him live in you, diffusing the light of His loveliness of character as you continually behold Him who died for you and is now risen to intercede for us as our High Priest in heaven! He is soon to return as our King!! Hallelujah!!
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How can we know Christ in a saving way?
The only way in which we can gain a more perfect apprehension of truth is by keeping the heart tender and subdued by the Spirit of Christ. The soul must be cleansed from vanity and pride, and vacated of all that has held it in possession, and Christ must be enthroned within. Human science is too limited to comprehend the atonement. The plan of redemption is so far-reaching that philosophy cannot explain it. It will ever remain a mystery that the most profound reasoning cannot fathom. The science of salvation cannot be explained; but it can be known by experience. Only he who sees his own sinfulness can discern the preciousness of the Saviour.
As we see our sinfulness, we can rejoice that God makes it possible for us to partake of the divine nature and overcome sin by receiving a new heart, mind and will that transforms the character by a revelation of all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as we are empowered to obey God up to the light Christ has revealed to us!
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How can the light of truth best be shared?
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
Only by abiding in Christ in complete surrender is it possible to be centered in God's love rather than in self. When we see Jesus and all He has done for us, self will no longer clamor to be recognized and we shall consider it a joy to surrender all to Him who died to redeem us at infinite cost to Himself. As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, we shall be changed into His glorious image and He will manifest through us in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. What a blessing to go forth in God's light of truth to allow Him through us to reach hearts for heaven!
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What do we need to understand and experience the kingdom of God?
Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which He sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ's ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour's character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of glory. As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which He had wrought. The wonders of His life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realized that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed, to themselves, of much less importance than before they realized this. They never wearied of rehearsing His words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became to them a new book.
We need the Holy Spirit to fill the soul fully surrendered to Him and cleansed from sin. Christ living in us can accomplish the great miracle of our lives being a living outflow of His life, manifesting all of the fruits of His Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the heart of love! What a joy it is to experience the kingdom of heaven now and forevermore as long as we choose to abide in Christ!
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How can we become like Jesus? Let us allow Jesus to fill us with the childlike love and faith that He offers us freely by the Holy Spirit!
Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood.
When we have Jesus in our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life accompanied by affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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What is our greatest need? Let us look at how Christ dealt with the rich young ruler to understand we need love in the heart that leads to obedience--and Christ can give this to us as we surrender fully to Him! Only by having Christ abiding in us will all of the fruits of the Spirit be manifest without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the heart! Jesus is the answer to our soul's great need! Let Him in and grow in the atmosphere of His loveliness this day!
To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trust and have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to give up all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for all who would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can be accepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ. Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative, because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those things which, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being.
Christ has the power to change us. When we let go of the things that will demoralize us, we are really appreciating the One who is of greatest value--Jesus--and all else is seen to be worthless in comparison. Then all that God gives us, whether it be possessions, talents or responsibilities, are never allowed to eclipse the greatest Gift of all--Christ in the heart, Christ in the life. Only by having a living union and communion with Jesus is it possible to rightly appreciate all the things of this life and even in the life to come. A true conversion by having Christ in us is such a miracle, but He freely offers it to each of us now so we can overcome sin by His grace. Let's yield to the Holy Spirit who makes us new creatures in Christ Jesus.
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Why does God allow trials and difficulties, and even times when we may feel discouraged?
"For your sakes," "to the intent ye may believe." To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly," 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience.
Let us accept cheerfully the way God leads us knowing that it will be for our highest good as we look back and see what He has done, trusting Him also to lead in the future day by day. By His grace we can go forward and learn from every trial, abiding in Christ in complete surrender as He manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Gladly we are empowered to obey God from the new heart He gives us!
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What effect did Jesus' unselfish, sinless life and ministry have on the world?
Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.
Jesus had a short time of public ministry. The priests and rulers plotted His death, and He went to the cross as He laid down His life to save us. As we behold the infinite loveliness of Jesus, we each have a choice. Will we yield to Him the whole heart? If we do, Christ will recreate our hearts in the image of His love with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, giving us power to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. Let us abide in Jesus and let the light of His character shine to the whole world!
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What was the foundation of Christ's kingdom? Loving service that flows from God's heart to all! He invites us to yield fully to Him so that the Holy Spirit can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly serve others because we trust God who provides for our needs!
Christ was establishing a kingdom on different principles. He called men, not to authority, but to service, the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak. Power, position, talent, education, placed their possessor under the greater obligation to serve his fellows. To even the lowliest of Christ's disciples it is said, "All things are for your sakes." 2 Corinthians 4:15.
Let us allow Christ to establish His kingdom in our hearts and then we can be truly happy as we go forth to bless others!
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What is a great miracle? The true, thorough conversion of a soul! What seems impossible to us, God makes possible! True conversion brings all of the fruits of the Spirit into the life without one missing as the truly repentant soul gladly obeys God's law of love up to the light revealed in His word and the gracious counsel the Holy Spirit sends!
When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples had marveled at their Master's saying, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" They had exclaimed one to another, "Who then can be saved?" Now they had a demonstration of the truth of Christ's words, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Mark 10:24, 26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.
If grace can change a sinner into a saint, then it means God's grace can change each of us! Let us allow the grace of God to work in us as we behold the loveliness of Jesus and trust His power to fully make us like Him so we can stand faithful now and each day in preparation for His soon return. Nothing is too hard for God--oh, let us yield up the full heart to Him and become like Jesus by spending time with Jesus!
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Are you too sinful be saved?
Jesus knows the circumstances of every soul. You may say, I am sinful, very sinful. You may be; but the worse you are, the more you need Jesus. He turns no weeping, contrite one away. He does not tell to any all that He might reveal, but He bids every trembling soul take courage. Freely will He pardon all who come to Him for forgiveness and restoration.
No one is too sinful to be saved--come to Christ just as you are, and let Him transform your heart and mind as you yield your will to Him by choosing Christ as your personal Lord and Savior! He will fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you abide in His infinite love, moving you in deep ardent affectionate love to obey Him who first loved you! What a miracle the experience of salvation is from Jesus!
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How does Jesus feel about this precious world that He created, so soon to face the seven last plagues? We can gain insight into how Jesus feels about this world by understanding His feelings about Jerusalem that would be destroyed. Jesus years over the lost....He hungers to save all, but His love will never force an entrance. He calls and woos us so we can come to Him and be saved.
Jerusalem had been the child of His care, and as a tender father mourns over a wayward son, so Jesus wept over the beloved city. How can I give thee up? How can I see thee devoted to destruction? Must I let thee go to fill up the cup of thine iniquity? One soul is of such value that, in comparison with it, worlds sink into insignificance; but here was a whole nation to be lost. When the fast westering sun should pass from sight in the heavens, Jerusalem's day of grace would be ended. While the procession was halting on the brow of Olivet, it was not yet too late for Jerusalem to repent. The angel of mercy was then folding her wings to step down from the golden throne to give place to justice and swift-coming judgment. But Christ's great heart of love still pleaded for Jerusalem, that had scorned His mercies, despised His warnings, and was about to imbrue her hands in His blood. If Jerusalem would but repent, it was not yet too late. While the last rays of the setting sun were lingering on temple, tower, and pinnacle, would not some good angel lead her to the Saviour's love, and avert her doom? Beautiful and unholy city, that had stoned the prophets, that had rejected the Son of God, that was locking herself by her impenitence in fetters of bondage,--her day of mercy was almost spent!
So it is in our world. The day of mercy is almost spent. Souls are still making decisions for Christ as probationary time still lingers, but we do not know how much longer the Lord will tarry before He comes in power and great glory at the apex of the seven last plagues (see Revelation 16). We can praise God that He will help us appreciate His unselfish character and walk by grace through faith in true salvation from sin and self to abide in Christ so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly Christ will save us by empowering us to obey Him from the new heart He gives us in true conversion! Then the sorrow He feels over the impenitence and sin in the world is lightened one soul at a time as He feels joy over one sinner who repents!
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To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
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Let us allow Jesus to give us true conversion!!
The first four of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one great precept, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." The last six are included in the other, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.
God is faithful to save us in His love!
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Do you need pure motives? Jesus offers us His motives--love for God, zeal for His glory and love for people who need salvation so that the lives we live will reflect His true character. Only as we come to Christ in simple faith like a little child are we enabled to become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust so we can gladly be filled with all of the fruit of the Spirit without one missing! Jesus lives in the converted heart and empowers us to obey Him in self-sacrificing love!
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation.
When we have Jesus' selflessness at work in us, there is no limit to what He can do with our lives! Let us be joyful in His will for us to be a blessing to others and further the work of God, just like how the widow gave her all!
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Let us behold Jesus and abide in His love continually! His death on Calvary is the very center of our hope and the ground of our salvation! We can rejoice now as if we were already in heaven, for Satan is defeated and Christ is soon to return! Even the trials God allows in this life and all that Satan intends for evil God overrules for good because He so loves us, and we thus enabled to love Him who first loved us! What a joy to surrender the whole heart to Christ and have the miracle of conversion bring love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance in all righteousness, goodness and truth--without one trait of the divine nature missing from our experience of abiding in Christ! When we abide in Christ true obedience from the heart up to all the light shining upon us is our highest delight because we have a loving Savior who leads the way to heaven!
"Now is the judgment of this world," Christ continued; "now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die." This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. Satan's hold upon the souls of men will be broken. The defaced image of God will be restored in humanity, and a family of believing saints will finally inherit the heavenly home. This is the result of Christ's death. The Saviour is lost in contemplation of the scene of triumph called up before Him. He sees the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory.
As we learn to "glory in the cross" in this life, we are preparing for the better world, where the cross of Christ will be our science and our song. The song of Moses and the Lamb begins here as we worship God in Spirit and in truth and learn an experience that even angels cannot fully know, but the experience that begins here spans eternity! Will you learn to sing it?
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Happy Sabbath!! Jesus is coming soon! The simple and yet profound reality is that we are almost home to heaven! All that the word of God prophesies to take place preceding Christ's return is LITERALLY happening, and now is the time to be WIDE AWAKE to present the present truth for this time in a true conversion experience with Christ whereby all of the fruits the Spirit are manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God's law of love from the heart!
Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares." "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."
When Christ returns we will be so thankful for how He led us by His word and helped us to navigate away from the pitfalls that Satan intended to use to snare us away from the eternal world that is assured in Christ to all who allow the Holy Spirit to transform the character into the image of His purity!
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Happy Sabbath!! God's love will flow in our hearts as we abide in Jesus, and in turn this will flow to others in selflessness! Let us rejoice in the Lord and walk by grace through
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
As we abide in Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. No good thing will Jesus withhold from them that walk uprightly! As we gladly obey Christ up to the light that He has revealed to us, we can walk in the path that will best bless others!
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Where does true happiness come from? It is the result of holiness experienced by doing what Jesus says!
As they come to this ordinance, the children of God should bring to remembrance the words of the Lord of life and glory: "Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." There is in man a disposition to esteem himself more highly than his brother, to work for self, to seek the highest place; and often this results in evil surmisings and bitterness of spirit. The ordinance preceding the Lord's Supper is to clear away these misunderstandings, to bring man out of his selfishness, down from his stilts of self-exaltation, to the humility of heart that will lead him to serve his brother.
As we gladly serve one another by inviting Jesus into our hearts by a complete surrender, we grow in the spirit of selfless love whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are in the character in true conversion! Thus we can rejoice in the Lord always and walk by grace through faith in His promises because He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! May you gladly obey God's law of love from the heart today because Christ lives in you, the hope of glory!
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What is important to remember? The expiatory sufferings of Christ and His love for us. That is why a realization of His grace has the power to change a sinner into a saint so we can overcome in Him with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are abiding in Jesus! Then we are empowered to obey God from the heart up the light He has revealed on our path!
These are the things we are never to forget. The love of Jesus, with its constraining power, is to be kept fresh in our memory. Christ has instituted this service that it may speak to our senses of the love of God that has been expressed in our behalf. There can be no union between our souls and God except through Christ. The union and love between brother and brother must be cemented and rendered eternal by the love of Jesus. And nothing less than the death of Christ could make His love efficacious for us. It is only because of His death that we can look with joy to His second coming. His sacrifice is the center of our hope. Upon this we must fix our faith.
As our faith is fixed on Jesus, anchored in His character, we are empowered to do His will and reflect His loveliness to those who need to see a living Savior at work in and through us!
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Where is Jesus lifting our focus? He points us to the enduring realities of heaven! No matter how trying life is here, and no matter what trials we are called to endure, we have an eternal home in the heavens and the promise of Jesus' presence with us through all our experience. What a song that will give us--the song of Moses and the Lamb as our experience on the way to heaven! What a blessing it is to anchor in His word and praise God CONSTANTLY NO MATTER WHAT!!!
But the Saviour's words to them were full of hope. He knew that they were to be assailed by the enemy, and that Satan's craft is most successful against those who are depressed by difficulties. Therefore He pointed them away from "the things which are seen," to "the things which are not seen." 2 Corinthians 4:18. From earthly exile He turned their thoughts to the heavenly home.
Jesus is coming again, and He offers us the promises we need to encourage us to look up to Him incessantly! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are abiding in Christ in complete surrender to Him! Gladly we are empowered to obey Him from the heart renewed by divine grace!
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Let us look upon our Heavenly Father who suffered with Jesus in Gethsemane as His Son contemplated the enormity of the sacrifice to save us from eternal ruin. Only as we reflect more on the great love wherewith He has loved us can we find true motivation to overcome sin as we recognize how horrible an experience it was for Jesus to die for our sins and be separated from the Father on account of it. As our whole heart is yielded to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly learn to obey God from the heart!
But God suffered with His Son. Angels beheld the Saviour's agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces, His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. No harp was touched. Could mortals have viewed the amazement of the angelic host as in silent grief they watched the Father separating His beams of light, love, and glory from His beloved Son, they would better understand how offensive in His sight is sin.
Jesus has the power to give us victory, and contemplating His immense struggle is so helpful when we are feeling the effects of the great struggle we all go through in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. We need to look and live, and in abiding in Jesus, walk in the victory He paid so much for in order for us to have it! Let us value the infinite love of Jesus and walk in true obedience from the heart!
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We need to keep looking to Jesus and the long-range reality of His victory over Satan by living a victorious experience in the trials he faced leading up to His crucifixion.
The angels of God faithfully recorded every insulting look, word, and act against their beloved Commander. One day the base men who scorned and spat upon the calm, pale face of Christ will look upon it in its glory, shining brighter than the sun.
When we look upon Christ and His grace upholds us to walk in His victory, there is joy in His presence because we are walking in harmony with His word! Christ's sacrifice of patience under the unjust farce of a trial is a powerful witness to us to walk in Christ's character amid the greatest trials He allows us to face! Look on Jesus constantly and let Him guide us! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are in constant surrender to Christ as our Lord and Savior! Affectionately obeying God is the reality of experience all can have in constant union and communion with Jesus!
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How can deception be overcome? By relying completely on the word of God and surrendering fully to Jesus. But Judas had never fully surrendered to Jesus, and as an unconverted man he had ideas that came from Satan and led him astray. May we learn our CONTINUAL need of Jesus and abide in His love so we can overcome by His word and be protected from the treacherous reasonings that Satan will suggest to our minds, similar to the deceptive thinking Satan presented to Judas to the point that he thought it a good idea to betray Christ. What deception! Flee to Jesus for victory over WRONG THINKING and let Jesus convert your heart in a full surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in your life as you grow in His grace and obey Him up to the light He has revealed on your path!!
Judas reasoned that if Jesus was to be crucified, the event must come to pass. His own act in betraying the Saviour would not change the result. If Jesus was not to die, it would only force Him to deliver Himself. At all events, Judas would gain something by his treachery. He counted that he had made a sharp bargain in betraying his Lord.
The lies that Judas believed finally led him to despair and suicide. May we learn how dangerous it is to go against God's word, surrendering to His plan instead of being led astray by Satan like Judas to do the horrible deed of betraying Jesus. Christ can keep us from falling today. Let us abide in His love and grace!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Beholding Christ we see a powerful revelation of our Heavenly Father's character. By beholding we become changed as the Holy Spirit imbues us with His thoughts, feelings and motives to reflect His actions of selfless love to the universe watching for the final display of God's true character! Christ in His trial modeled how we can be godlike amid intense suffering and humiliation, manifesting the courage of His character to stand true to who we are as witnesses for His kingdom that will never pass away.
There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour's visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.
Christ is not only the Messiah, but He is now our High Priest and soon returning King! Let us abide in His love so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered in constant union and communion with Him! Then, by grace through faith, we are empowered in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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Darkness is not the enemy--sin is. And Jesus bore the darkest experience in becoming sin for us (and yet never sinned in that sacrificial offering of Himself), and by taking our deserved experience of darkness by faith to death at the cross, He opened up a way for us to be able to endure the time of trouble (the darkest period ever to transpire in earth's history) because we have learned to depend on God's character revealed in Christ in His word and not our circumstances for assurance as to having favor with God. By surrendering the WHOLE heart to Jesus, He cleanses it and makes us new, so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are seen in our lives as we gladly obey God up to the light of present truth for this time! Let us by faith be victorious just on the verge of Jesus' second coming!!
Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.
Victory is only in Christ. As long as we are in Him, defeat is impossible. Apart from Christ, sin, the world and the devil will always overcome us, but if we are abiding in Christ, we can enjoy CONSTANT victory in doing God's will and having a song to sing of His glory, even the song of Moses and the Lamb!!!
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When we pause to reflect on the victory over Satan that Christ accomplished on the cross for us, well is it to realize why Satan still exists, in light of God's love and desire for all to freely choose whom they will serve!
Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan's existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.
The great controversy continues to this day, and the characters of those who follow Christ and Satan are fast ripening up to reveal what is in the heart. Thankfully, even those who have gone far into sin and served Satan can still break free by beholding the loveliness of Jesus and accepting His word! It is not too late, but the time of probation is short and today is the day of salvation! Let us look to Christ in total surrender of our hearts so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered by Him to obey His law of love from the heart He renews by His grace!!
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What did your sin and my sin do to Jesus? It killed Him in a matter of hours on the cross. He paid our debt and now offers us His righteous life! When we truly appreciate all that Christ is to us, surrendering all the heart to Him so He can cleanse and purify it, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered by Him to true obedience!
But it was not the spear thrust, it was not the pain of the cross, that caused the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered "with a loud voice" (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46), at the moment of death, the stream of blood and water that flowed from His side, declared that He died of a broken heart. His heart was broken by mental anguish. He was slain by the sin of the world.
What love Christ manifested in giving up His life for us! What joy we may have as we abide in Him today and go forth to bless others by the power of His life in us!
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What a joy it is to be hidden in Christ by abiding in His life through a full-heart surrender, gladly walking in His truth with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the character as long as we are abiding in His will and word! The converted Christian need not be afraid of death if Jesus reigns in the heart!
To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," "he shall never taste of death." To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.
Look by faith to the return of Jesus when He will raise the dead in Christ, and the living saints will be caught up with Him in glory!! We shall always praise God for what He has done for us in Christ!!
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What a blessing it is to know that Christ desires to encourage us to believe fully in His resurrection and love for us! His love is infinite, and now that He is our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, we can trust that He will soon return as our King to take us to our heavenly home! All He has said has come true, and that is just as true about what is JUST TO COME!! JESUS IS COMING AGAIN!!!
Christ's first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb, and could no longer be held by the enemy death; to reveal that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their beloved Teacher, He appeared to them again and again. He would draw the bonds of love still closer around them. Go tell My brethren, He said, that they meet Me in Galilee.
When the love of Christ reigns in the heart, it will be reflected in the life! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will spontaneously flow forth from a heart surrendered fully to Christ as He works in the soul to will and to do of His good pleasure, leading in true obedience to His law of love!
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Praise the Lord for a living Savior who is the center of our hope! We can tell the world the good news of what Jesus has done and is now doing in heaven as our High Priest! He is soon to return in glory as our King and take up home to be with Him! By grace through faith in total surrender to Him, we can experience a new heart filled with the Holy Spirit so all of the traits of the divine nature will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey Him in the path He chooses for us!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen--over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
We have a very important message to share with the WHOLE WORLD!! Jesus is coming again and He gives us a loving, urgent warning message in Revelation 14:6-12 to let all know the necessity of following Christ in true worship and departing from Babylon and its errors! Christ will have a people alive when He returns who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus! Let us choose to walk in the light of His word and go where He sends us in His service!
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Happy Sabbath!! Praise the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit! When He lives in us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest without one missing as we are empowered to do God's will in true obedience to His law of love! God is faithful!
The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ. Only those who are thus taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men, to minister in behalf of the church.
Let the Holy Spirit abide in you to bless others this day in the way He leads you! God is love and "the love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Corinthians 5:14) to go forward in God's plans and purposes to share the gospel with the whole world!
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"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" (Psalm 27:14).
To Peter the words "Follow Me" were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, "Follow Me." Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
Waiting on God does not mean doing nothing; it means actively serving the Lord in what He has revealed to be His will, trusting He will direct the next step in His plan for us. When we are fully surrendered to Jesus, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart, but we will be strengthened to walk in the plan He has appointed us without running ahead of Him presumptuously. Waiting on God brings peace to the soul as we trust He knows what is best for us and allow Him to lead us safely and in the most ideal experience to heaven.
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Praise the Lord for the triumph of Jesus over Satan and His grace to help us at each step heavenward to do His will!
The Saviour longs to manifest His grace and stamp His character on the whole world. It is His purchased possession, and He desires to make men free, and pure, and holy. Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, yet through the blood shed for the world there are triumphs to be achieved that will bring glory to God and the Lamb. Christ will not be satisfied till the victory is complete, and "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." Isaiah 53:11. All the nations of the earth shall hear the gospel of His grace. Not all will receive His grace; but "a seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation." Psalm 22:30. "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High," and "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun." Daniel 7:27; Isaiah 11:9; 59:19.
Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and overcome as He overcame--by the word of God!!
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Looking in faith to the Redeemer, we may have continual victory over sin and walk with Jesus by grace through faith in His word! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are surrendered fully to Jesus! He empowers us to obey God from the heart and obey His commandments as an expression of His infinite love at work in our hearts by grace through faith!
Christ had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet,--the same Jesus had now gone to share His Father's throne. And the angels had assured them that the very One whom they had seen go up into heaven, would come again even as He had ascended. He will come "with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise." "The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory." Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 25:31. Thus will be fulfilled the Lord's own promise to His disciples: "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord's return.
God is so gracious to us to prepare us for our eternal home and guide us in the heavenward way! Praise the Lord for Jesus' soon return!!
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The plan was in place before God created us, and the grace that was to be revealed is now actively at work for our benefit. God did not desire sin or suffering, but He would rather create us with freedom of choice and thus give us the free capacity to be able to love than create a robotic universe that is all fixated without character development. When we fully appreciate the freedom God gives us to love Him in light of what it cost Him, our whole hearts will gladly yield to Him and we can experience the fruit of true conversion, for all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from the life in which Christ abides! Gladly we are empowered to obey God's law from the heart without yielding to sin as Christ lives in us the hope of glory!
The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of "the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God's throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
God desires us all to be in heaven with Him, but today He lets us choose if we will walk with Him in true surrender, getting a foretaste of heaven while still on earth. Let us trust that He has a plan not just for the whole world but for our individual lives as to what is best for us in His great plan to bless the universe with the true knowledge of His character of love in which we can share testimony of what He has done to save us by His grace! What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!
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Don't lose it. If you have known the pardoning love of Christ and chosen Christ and His loveliness, do not let other things come in between you and Jesus and separate you from knowing His love by a personal experience of His grace through faith changing you into His image! By surrendering the whole heart to Him and giving Jesus our will back to Him, He has power and grace to fill us with His Spirit so not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing in our lives as we grow in His grace to be more like Him!
As they departed from God, the Jews in a great degree lost sight of the teaching of the ritual service. That service had been instituted by Christ Himself. In every part it was a symbol of Him; and it had been full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms. They trusted to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of resting upon Him to whom they pointed. In order to supply the place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride and hypocrisy.
Jesus can help us guard against the mistakes the Jews made on the verge of Christ's first coming as we are very very near HIS SECOND COMING!!
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It is happening, similar to the time Christ first came to our world. Satan is still seeking to destroy souls, but Jesus is in the miraculous ministry of restoring souls who were once so confused and broken by sin. We can praise God for His grace that is sufficient for us that has power to transform sinners like ourselves into saints who are enabled to do His will and be obedient to His truth while having His Spirit manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
Joy comes in being set free in Christ! Joy comes in receiving the fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so we are made partakers of the divine nature, enabled to grow in His grace and reflect His beauty of character! What a joy it is walk with Jesus!
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Happy Sabbath to you all! Let us rejoice in the Lord always as we grow in His grace and appreciate all He has done to save us from sin! From the manger to Calvary Jesus fought the battle and He WON!! We get to enjoy His victory by coming into harmony with Him by grace through faith!
Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hated Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life's peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.
Because Jesus fought the battle in humanity and won by relying always on the word of God, we, too, can experience His victory and be with Him forever! Satan is defeated and we need to depend on the Father's love in every moment to help us do the right thing from the new heart given us in conversion! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are abiding in Christ!!
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Let us remember how Jesus was received on earth and let it comfort us if we are not always received favorably when Christ lives in us. He was persecuted because His life revealed the love of God, and as the love of God flows from our hearts that are truly converted in Christ in complete surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing! God will empower us to obey God even if our life is threatened with death! Let us be faithful to the end by abiding in Jesus' love and keeping uppermost in our mind His grace and love to us!
Such was the Saviour's reception when He came to the earth. There seemed to be no place of rest or safety for the infant Redeemer. God could not trust His beloved Son with men, even while carrying forward His work for their salvation. He commissioned angels to attend Jesus and protect Him till He should accomplish His mission on earth, and die by the hands of those whom He came to save.
Jesus is coming soon and we can rejoice in His goodness to us to save us from sin and prepare a heavenly mansion for each of us! Even if this earth does not provide the kind of rest or safety we would desire, we have Jesus as an Example as one who passed through this life without sin because He kept trusting His Father at each step. Let our Heavenly Father lead each day and you will experience the victory of Jesus!!
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Praise the Lord for Jesus who is offering us His experience! We can rejoice in Him always and walk by grace through faith in His word! As we surrender the whole heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart He gives us!
Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. It requires much patience and spirituality to bring Bible religion into the home life and into the workshop, to bear the strain of worldly business, and yet keep the eye single to the glory of God. This is where Christ was a helper. He was never so full of worldly care as to have no time or thought for heavenly things. Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.
We are traveling through this life on the way to heaven as we let Jesus lead us day by day! Choose to follow His pattern of life to be wrought into your character building experience, and trust Him to direct your steps in the way of blessedness! Jesus is coming again, and oh how He loves to see us forming characters by His grace that reflect His image, for by beholding we become changed!
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Are you hungry for the word of God, to see and love the Lamb of God? Jesus desired to understand the Scriptures that revealed His own mission, and in doing so, He was a loving witness sent from the Father to shed light upon other hearts and minds at the Passover visit He first took. Well would it be for us, also, to realize the importance of yielding to the Holy Spirit who gives us a hunger and thirst for truth so we can impart what God gives us to others!
Jesus presented Himself as one thirsting for a knowledge of God. His questions were suggestive of deep truths which had long been obscured, yet which were vital to the salvation of souls. While showing how narrow and superficial was the wisdom of the wise men, every question put before them a divine lesson, and placed truth in a new aspect. The rabbis spoke of the wonderful elevation which the Messiah's coming would bring to the Jewish nation; but Jesus presented the prophecy of Isaiah, and asked them the meaning of those scriptures that point to the suffering and death of the Lamb of God.
Jesus loves us and has good plans for us. As our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary at this very time, He is interceding for us and soon He will finish His work there and return in the clouds of glory as our King! This is all because He first fulfilled His sacrificial role as the Lamb of God! Let us yield fully to Him so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are gladly empowered to obey God from the new heart He gives us by His grace!
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Praise the Lord, Brother Beacon, Brother Richard, and God bless you all who read and are blessed here!! You matter to God! Jesus taught us to value eternal things over temporal things, and He spent His time in a way that revealed this value system. Rather than seeking happiness from sources that are transient, He sought it in communion with God in nature, a reminder that this is how God intends for us to find true happiness! God bless you in following Jesus all the way to heaven as we yield the whole heart to Him so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life as we overcome by His grace and are empowered to keep the commandments of God through the faith of Jesus!!
From the time when the parents of Jesus found Him in the temple, His course of action was a mystery to them. He would not enter into controversy, yet His example was a constant lesson. He seemed as one who was set apart. His hours of happiness were found when alone with nature and with God. Whenever it was His privilege, He turned aside from the scene of His labor, to go into the fields, to meditate in the green valleys, to hold communion with God on the mountainside or amid the trees of the forest. The early morning often found Him in some secluded place, meditating, searching the Scriptures, or in prayer. From these quiet hours He would return to His home to take up His duties again, and to give an example of patient toil.
The loveliness of Jesus is so powerful to encourage us to walk by grace through faith in His will! Walk with Him and enjoy constant union and communion with Christ!!
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Let us allow Christ to take our whole heart which really belongs to Him, so He can do what He LONGS to do in recreating us into His image of unselfish love! Only by consent and cooperation with the Holy Spirit can we overcome through Christ! Christ lives out His life in those who look away from self and choose to walk in His righteousness, like what John the Baptist chose!
He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.
When we see how glorious Jesus truly is, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. We shall be happy to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate for the fulfilling of the everlasting gospel proclamation to the world! Jesus is coming soon!
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Happy Sabbath!!
When do we become children of God?
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2. Our Redeemer has opened the way so that the most sinful, the most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find access to the Father. All may have a home in the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare. "These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; . . . behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it." Revelation 3:7, 8.
It is when the soul is converted that the adoption into the heavenly family takes place! Beholding the loveliness of Jesus, yielding all the heart to Him, He will cleanse and transform the life into His image by filling the soul with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering to affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! True conversion will lead the soul to desire to follow Jesus' call and example to also be baptized, thus revealing in humble faith the death to sin and self and resurrection to a new life in Christ Jesus in true righteousness by faith!
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What a joy it is to allow Jesus to perfect our characters as we cooperate with Him by accepting the power of His word to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing as we are empowered to do His will obediently from a sincere appreciation of the loveliness of His character! Christ overcame by the word and He offers us His victory today!
"The prince of this world cometh," said Jesus, "and hath nothing in Me." John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
The perfection of character Christ offers us is one that grows and matures. As long as we are fully surrendered to Christ and walking in all the light He has revealed to us, we are perfect at that stage of development, growing more like Him day by day. If we see areas of our characters that God's word reveals need to be changed, we rejoice that Jesus has the power to save us "to the uttermost" (Hebrews 7:25), knowing that He will give us strength and grace to stand faithful to Him because we have learned to trust and obey Him. The experience of Enoch and Elijah who are already in heaven may be our experience by abiding in the word and letting its supernatural power work in us its reality!
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We can never truly say, "The devil made me do it." God gives us the freedom to choose Christ who has the power to save us from sin. When we yield fully to Christ, He lives in us and imbues us with the Holy Spirit so all of the traits of the divine nature are manifest in us so we can experience consistent victory in affectionate obedience to God's law of love! Ask God to remove any sinful desires that afflict you and let Christ empower you to overcome as He did--by the word of God, whereby we are made "partakers of the divine nature" as we trust in His promises!
The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent, faith must let go its hold upon Christ, before Satan can exercise his power upon us. But every sinful desire we cherish affords him a foothold. Every point in which we fail of meeting the divine standard is an open door by which he can enter to tempt and destroy us. And every failure or defeat on our part gives occasion for him to reproach Christ.
When we do God's will it is a blessing, but to let go of Jesus for even a moment is a great loss. Let us acknowledge Him in all our ways, for He will direct our paths!
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What do the angels bring us in their ministry in connection with Christ by the Holy Spirit?
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51)
Here Christ virtually says, On the bank of the Jordan the heavens were opened, and the Spirit descended like a dove upon Me. That scene was but a token that I am the Son of God. If you believe on Me as such, your faith shall be quickened. You shall see that the heavens are opened, and are never to be closed. I have opened them to you. The angels of God are ascending, bearing the prayers of the needy and distressed to the Father above, and descending, bringing blessing and hope, courage, help, and life, to the children of men.
As the angels help us, let us cooperate with their ministry and surrender fully to Jesus so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart and live up to the light He has revealed to us! Jesus is coming again and He will come with all His holy angels!
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What a joy to experience the blessing of Christ living in us, and giving us great joy to bless others! When we yield fully to Christ, He fills us with His holy presence and produces in us the fruit of the Spirit as the expression of our union and communion with Him! May you find great peace in God working in and through you today to bless others!
Christ is pleased with His followers when they show that, though human, they are partakers of the divine nature. They are not statues, but living men and women. Their hearts, refreshed by the dews of divine grace, open and expand to the Sun of Righteousness. The light that shines upon them they reflect upon others in works that are luminous with the love of Christ.
As we grow in Christ, not only will be gladly obey the light of truth that He has revealed to us, but we will be empowered to be more and more like Christ who has no limit to what He can do in and thorough a life truly converted to Him! Praise the Lord!
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Why did Jesus speak these words?
"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19).
It was for the sake of those who should believe on Him that these words of Christ were spoken. He knew that they would be repeated. Being spoken at the Passover, they would come to the ears of thousands, and be carried to all parts of the world. After He had risen from the dead, their meaning would be made plain. To many they would be conclusive evidence of His divinity.
When Jesus spoke these words they were not understood, but they WOULD be understood at a later time. We can trust that God's word is true, and let Jesus guide us in His perfect will. Surrender to Him fully and you will experience Him reshaping your character after His image so He can imbue you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you are empowered to obey God's law from the heart renewed by divine grace! Praise the Lord!
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What is the evidence of true conversion?
The wind is heard among the branches of the trees, rustling the leaves and flowers; yet it is invisible, and no man knows whence it comes or whither it goes. So with the work of the Holy Spirit upon the heart. It can no more be explained than can the movements of the wind. A person may not be able to tell the exact time or place, or to trace all the circumstances in the process of conversion; but this does not prove him to be unconverted. By an agency as unseen as the wind, Christ is constantly working upon the heart. Little by little, perhaps unconsciously to the receiver, impressions are made that tend to draw the soul to Christ. These may be received through meditating upon Him, through reading the Scriptures, or through hearing the word from the living preacher. Suddenly, as the Spirit comes with more direct appeal, the soul gladly surrenders itself to Jesus. By many this is called sudden conversion; but it is the result of long wooing by the Spirit of God,—a patient, protracted process.
It is in GLADLY surrendering FULLY to Jesus that one is converted, and the effect in the life is that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will supernaturally be revealed because Christ lives within the soul temple! The soul then yearns to obey God from the new heart and does so up to the light revealed and the strength and capacity that God imparts to the soul by His grace. In finite human weakness, God's abundant grace makes up for our deficiencies when the heart desires to obey God and does so willingly, for "if ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15) is a promise of what the soul WILL DO when true conversion has taken place. We will not seek the lowest standard, but desire to be perfectly conformed to the image of Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered!
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Why does God not always use the same person to accomplish His work?
The work of God is not to bear the image and superscription of man. From time to time the Lord will bring in different agencies, through whom His purpose can best be accomplished. Happy are they who are willing for self to be humbled, saying with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
As we realize that God has a thousand ways to provide for us and the furthering of His work of which we know nothing, we can be so grateful to let Jesus be magnified and self be crucified! In complete surrender to Christ we come into union and communion with Him, receiving all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, so the focus will be on how to present His attractive loveliness before the world so others are drawn to Him and enabled to overcome even as He did in true obedience to God! By uniting with Christ by the creative word that produces that which it promises, we can be grateful that God will give us what is best in the furthering of His kingdom, whether that be our promotion to be used in a more prominent way or that we are in the background, either way serving to uplift Jesus and the present truth for this time, and not ourselves!
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What can we learn from the woman at the well in John 4?
This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.
When we accept Christ as a personal Savior and let Him be Lord of our life, a full yielding of the heart to Him allows the Holy Spirit to change us and to empower us to live above the pull of sin from our past or present. We become true missionaries who love to bless others! When the whole heart is offered to Christ in happy worship, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives and we will be enabled to obey God up to the glorious light He has shown us in His law of unselfish love!
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What a blessing it is to have Jesus deal with us in such a way as to purify our hearts and do more for us than we can ask or think! His grace has the power to reconcile us to God and to restore us into His image wherein all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest in the converted (fully surrendered, abiding) character! Let us trust Christ who has the power to convert the heart and guide us in His will and way as we overcome through Him and gladly obey Him up the light He has revealed to us! Like the nobleman who came to Christ, we need to trust that Christ will work with us in such a way as to change our hearts from selfish motives to ones that are selfless and pure, believing in Jesus regardless of the outcome of how He grants requests we may bring to Him. Trust His will and way is best!!
The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us "exceeding abundantly," "according to the riches of His glory," and "the working of His mighty power." Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
No matter what we may think God has for us, His plans are even higher and better as we let His word work in and through us! Praise the Lord!
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Praise the Lord for the power of God to direct our course heavenward!
Let God choose what is best for you! He develops our capacity to make His choice our choice out of love!
The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.
God has a destiny for each of us if we are willing to be made willing, God will guide us in the path that is ideal for the fulfillment of His will in reaching souls for His kingdom and proclaiming the present truth for this time!!
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When questions came to John the baptist as to the nature of Christ's ministry being the true fulfillment of that of the Messiah, what did John do? In the midst of the struggle, John chose to trust and retain faith in Christ as the Messiah. Well would it be for us to trust God even when the outcome of our life is not what we may have expected, or when Christ unfolds His mission to us in ways that may disappoint our own expectations. The key is remembering the word of God and communing with Him, as in full surrender to Christ all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. We will be empowered by Christ to keep His commandments.
But the Baptist did not surrender his faith in Christ. The memory of the voice from heaven and the descending dove, the spotless purity of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit that had rested upon John as he came into the Saviour's presence, and the testimony of the prophetic scriptures,—all witnessed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Promised One.
Grace and strength to bear whatever trials God allows will only deepen our faith and create a testimony that will encourage others, too. Let God lead you to trust in Christ without any reservation, for Jesus is coming again VERY SOON!
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What did Jesus focus on in His ministry when He walked this earth?
The burden of Christ's preaching was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Thus the gospel message, as given by the Saviour Himself, was based on the prophecies. The “time” which He declared to be fulfilled was the period made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. “Seventy weeks,” said the angel, “are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.” Daniel 9:24. A day in prophecy stands for a year. See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. Daniel 9:25. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in the autumn of B. C. 457. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A. D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A. D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed. “The time is fulfilled.”
So the truth for this time is that the prophetic time of the 2300-day prophecy (Daniel 8:14) has been fulfilled (as each day represented a year), spanning from 457 B.C. to A.D. 1844, marking the beginning point of Christ's ministry as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary as our Judge to cleanse the records in heaven of all the confessed sins of His people who through Him overcome! He is blotting out our sins so at His second coming they will not be mentioned because those sins are no longer part of our experience because of His saving power! Today we can overcome by His divine grace that has power to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into sin! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all the light He has revealed on our pathway is the joyful true conversion experience He offers all who come to Him! We may come just as we are and learn of Him, and in learning of Him in true surrender begin the joyous life eternal! May you choose today to let Jesus perform the miracle of true conversion in sincere earnestness to be all He can make you for His glory as His witness!!
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We get to be united in present truth as we focus on Jesus and appreciate the message for this time (Revelation 14:6-12, Revelation 3:14-22)! Jesus is coming soon, and He is working mightily even when human eyes cannot see what is taking place in hearts.
Who helps protect us from danger day and night?
So, in all ages, angels have been near to Christ's faithful followers. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them. From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, until in the light of eternity we see the providences of God. Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day.
Thank God for the angels He sends to protect you and each of us. He loves us and desires to help us know and love Him, and the angels are sent to help us to be safe so we can fulfill the purpose God has for us. Jesus was protected by the angels so that He could fulfill God's purpose in Him dying for our sins and rising to give us newness of life! When we surrender our whole heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our converted characters, and gladly we are enabled to obey God from the new heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, being led in safe paths by the angel messengers! We can rejoice that today Jesus is sending holy angels to help us heavenward!
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Happy Sabbath!! When we have Jesus living in us by surrendering fully to Him, what will take place in our lives?
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
Jesus will reveal through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are truly converted and yield fully to His divine grace! Christ in us the hope of glory will be blessing others through us as we grow in His love! Rejoicing in the Lord may be our continual experience of victory as we overcome in Him!
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What a joy it is to let Christ by His word transform our character experience into that which is victorious in Him! He offers us His presence in His word and by yielding fully to His divine nature in His word we are imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowered simultaneously to obey God gladly up to the light He has revealed on our pathway!
The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame,—the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 8:32; 7:17, R. V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.
Jesus will not fail us; He is able to keep us from falling, and by His grace we are strengthened for the daily tests and trials to reflect Him and not the weakness of self. Praise the Lord for such a Savior who is now interceding in heaven for us and soon to return to take us to the home He has prepared for us! It is all promised in His word!!
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Praise the Lord that God has a purpose in all He tells us. Jesus told the healed leper not to tell others about his healing except to go to the priest and offer what the law enjoined in the event of the cleansing of a leper as a testimony to the priests. But the man did not remain silent and told so many people that it hindered Jesus' work. We need to learn to to trust God even when we do not understand always why He tells us to do something, for He sees better than do we.
There were other objects which Christ had in view in enjoining silence on the man. The Saviour knew that His enemies were ever seeking to limit His work, and to turn the people from Him. He knew that if the healing of the leper were noised abroad, other sufferers from this terrible disease would crowd about Him, and the cry would be raised that the people would be contaminated by contact with them. Many of the lepers would not so use the gift of health as to make it a blessing to themselves or to others. And by drawing the lepers about Him, He would give occasion for the charge that He was breaking down the restrictions of the ritual law. Thus His work in preaching the gospel would be hindered.
God would not have the gospel hindered. He loves us and longs to have us to do all we can to spread the everlasting gospel as it is now articulated in the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, and we can do that by receiving the character preparation offered us in Revelation 3:14-22 and receive a new heart from Jesus (Ezekiel 36:26) in true surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we abide in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). God will fill us with true love from Jesus so we can be truly obedient up to the light He has revealed to us (John 14:15). Praise the Lord!!!
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As we feel our need of total transformation of character, we can look to Christ and accept His divine grace to convert our hearts thoroughly and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Then by the indwelling power of Christ in us the hope of glory, we can obey God up to the light He has revealed on our pathway!
As it was in the days of Christ, so it is now; the Pharisees do not know their spiritual destitution. To them comes the message, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." Revelation 3:17, 18. Faith and love are the gold tried in the fire. But with many the gold has become dim, and the rich treasure has been lost. The righteousness of Christ is to them as a robe unworn, a fountain untouched. To them it is said, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:4, 5.
Repentance is a gift from God and empowers us to be true to principle, faithful to Jesus and not letting self come between us and Him so His faith working by love flows freely to bless others!!
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Let us learn from the past and not depart from God, for this makes the gifts He offers us cease to have a sanctifying influence in our lives. Far better it is to be truly converted, surrendered fully to Jesus, and to overcome in Christ as we appreciate the gift of the seventh day Sabbath and obey Christ (all 10 Commandments) out of love! When the whole heart is yielded to Him and we gladly obey Him as He manifests through us the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we can truly be a consistent blessing to others in Christ's loveliness of character shining through us!
As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.
What a blessing to be a blessing to others as we follow in the path Jesus give us, as we let Him live His life through us!
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God is merciful and knows how to make us like Him in mind and character! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ, and He empowers us to obey Him fully as we grow in character to be more like Christ!
Jesus reproved His disciples, He warned and cautioned them; but John and his brethren did not leave Him; they chose Jesus, notwithstanding the reproofs. The Saviour did not withdraw from them because of their weakness and errors. They continued to the end to share His trials and to learn the lessons of His life. By beholding Christ, they became transformed in character.
As the Holy Spirit leads us, we experience transformation and restoration into His image! God's grace is sufficient for us to do His will continually!
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As you choose God's service, you can rest in Him who also so graciously cares for the birds and flowers! We can allow God to care for us even as we abide in His love in total surrender to Him! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, as we gladly are empowered to obey God from the new heart up to the light He has generously revealed to us!
All who have chosen God's service are to rest in His care. Christ pointed to the birds flying in the heavens, to the flowers of the field, and bade His hearers consider these objects of God's creation. “Are not ye of much more value than they?” He said. Matthew 6:26, R. V. The measure of divine attention bestowed on any object is proportionate to its rank in the scale of being. The little brown sparrow is watched over by Providence. The flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth, share the notice and care of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine the glory of Solomon. How much more does He care for man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to see His children reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul the beauty of His own character.
True beauty of character radiates from within as Christ abides in the soul. His purity, perfection and loveliness will be reproduced in all who come unto Him to be saved in God's appointed way. What a blessing to trust Jesus today and each moment of every day!
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Receiving the word of God by having Christ live in us to transform our lives, there is no limit to what God can do with the soul fully converted and willing to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate!! Trust God to give you spiritual life from the dead by His word, and trust His guidance in your life day by day!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are revealed in the life that is fully yielded to Christ in which He lives in us by the Holy Spirit!! From this union and communion with God, we are empowered to affectionately obey God our 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.
Praise the Lord we can walk in the victory today!! May this be a very special Sabbath for you as you trust Christ to fulfill His word in your life and character!!
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No matter how close or distant your earthly relationships, if you are fully surrendered to Jesus and abiding in Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are refreshed and encouraged to overcome by His grace to be obedient to His law of love! We have One who is willing to be the closest to us--always and forever!!
Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. "Fear not," He says, "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." "Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." Isaiah 43:1, 4.
What a joy it is to have Jesus be the center of life and draw constant strength and grace from His abiding presence! Nothing of the world can make us sad when Jesus makes us glad by His presence! Praise the Lord!!
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Would you like to be in heaven? Good news!! The experience of heaven can start now in fully surrendering to Jesus!!
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.
Now in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are affectionately obedient to all the light God has revealed to us on our pathway! We can overcome by His grace and enjoy the bliss of heaven for eternity!!
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Satan's plans backfire!! God is love, and love never fails, and so He is able to overrule ALL that Satan intends to harm us and transform the experience into an opportunity of blessing! This is what happened with the destruction of the swine and the healed demoniacs, as Jesus' miraculous healing of these men and the alarm into which the surrounding region was brought opened a door for proclaiming the good news of Jesus' healing power and grace!! Hallelujah!! What an example of His promise: "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" (Romans 8:28). With such promises like this, surrender the WHOLE heart to Jesus so He can by His grace produce in you ALL of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empower you to gladly obey ALL He has revealed to you in ALL circumstances!!
In causing the destruction of the swine, it was Satan's purpose to turn the people away from the Saviour, and prevent the preaching of the gospel in that region. But this very occurrence roused the whole country as nothing else could have done, and directed attention to Christ. Though the Saviour Himself departed, the men whom He had healed remained as witnesses to His power. Those who had been mediums of the prince of darkness became channels of light, messengers of the Son of God. Men marveled as they listened to the wondrous news. A door was opened to the gospel throughout that region. When Jesus returned to Decapolis, the people flocked about Him, and for three days, not merely the inhabitants of one town, but thousands from all the surrounding region, heard the message of salvation. Even the power of demons is under the control of our Saviour, and the working of evil is overruled for good.
When we truly trust God NO MATTER WHAT, then we can have peace like Jesus when He awoke from the storm (which He calmed by His word, trusting His Father's power) and when He met the demoniacs (whom He subsequently healed). God has GOT THIS THING CALLED LIFE!! Trust HIM FULLY and start singing His praises!!! Hallelujah!!
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Has God been faithful to you? Then tell people about it! Share what God has done in the unique way He has gifted you to share His character, and in letting Jesus into your heart in full surrender, allow all of the fruits of the Spirit to spring forth spontaneously by the result of constant union and communion with God!! Others are in deep need to see the living God work in us true obedience and faithfulness as they come to know He lives and has power to transform sinners into saints and keep His new creation (us in Christ) from falling!!
God has been so good to me to bring me so much closer to Him after the death of my parents when I was young (orphaned at 15), to lead me into His remnant church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church at 20, and to call me to be a pastor. He specifically answered my prayer for a call in Northern Michigan where I have been so thankful to get to preach the everlasting gospel freely for over seven years! He has healed me in so many ways and I love to sing new songs to keep praising Him more and more!!!
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.
As people see that GOD IS REAL because they see we have surrendered all to Him and let Him reveal His glory in our lives, we find increased joy in bringing others to Christ who so loved us that He would die for us on Calvary, rise from the dead in victory, be our perfect High Priest in heaven's sanctuary, and soon come as our King to take us home to the heavenly mansions He has prepared!! Hallelujah!!
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Don't doubt--God will work it out!!
It is Satan's work to fill men's hearts with doubt. He leads them to look upon God as a stern judge. He tempts them to sin, and then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their heavenly Father or to excite His pity. The Lord understands all this. Jesus assures His disciples of God's sympathy for them in their needs and weaknesses. Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart.
Get to know God's true character, so that even if you or someone you know falls into sin, they will know to go right back to God and be healed by His grace in His gift of true repentance! We can freely receive His pardon to transform our hearts so we can experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God's law from the new heart! Praise the Lord God is true and Satan is liar, so we need to trust God's word and not the doubts that Satan suggests!
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Where can we find true rest of soul?
In the estimation of the rabbis it was the sum of religion to be always in a bustle of activity. They depended upon some outward performance to show their superior piety. Thus they separated their souls from God, and built themselves up in self-sufficiency. The same dangers still exist. As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a savior of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good.
Christ alone brings rest of soul to us, and it is in looking to Him continually and abiding in His love in complete surrender that we are enabled to do what He calls us to do in winning souls. The time spent in prayer, meditation and Bible study is not wasted, but is a true character investment in having a genuine experience with Christ to be able to impart what He has given us. Let us not seek to make ceaseless activity our goal, but intentional union and communion with Christ from which flows all successful work for God in which Christ works in and through us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are enabled to obey Him gladly!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Do you have enough to share?
The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.
God will multiply what we yield to Him! As we surrender the whole heart to Christ, He imbues us with His pure, unselfish love that is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life of affectionate obedience to all the light of His law revealed to us! Christ loves to see us trusting His provision for our souls as we grow in His grace!! Give from what He has given, and it will be a blessing to reach others for Him!!
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God is faithful and He is able to work all things together for good to them that love Him. Whether we avail ourselves of the blessings He has in store for us in the experience He brings us through, it is a choice we make. Peter could have learned in his experience in nearly drowning on the sea and being saved by Jesus that He needed Jesus continually--and that would have proved a key difference for when he would be tempted to deny knowing Christ. Had he realized that Jesus was able to keep him and felt his own weakness, he need not have denied Jesus three times. Oh, let us learn how much we need Jesus on a moment-by-moment basis, as through continual surrender to Him all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as long as we are truly converted. Then through abiding in Jesus we can be cheerfully obedient to all God has revealed to us by His grace!
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.
The grace of God is sufficient for us to keep us from falling into sin, but the strength is not in ourselves, it is in Christ. When Christ lives out His life in us, we can be consistently godly witnesses of what He is to us--a living Savior and Friend who only wants to make us truly happy both in this life and in the life to come, even as we seek to reach many more for Christ!!
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In the life of Jesus, though He was full of love, joy, and peace along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, what was it that brought Him deep sorrow?
With a yearning heart, Jesus saw those who had been His disciples departing from Him, the Life and the Light of men. The consciousness that His compassion was unappreciated, His love unrequited, His mercy slighted, His salvation rejected, filled Him with sorrow that was inexpressible. It was such developments as these that made Him a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
So it will be for the converted follower of Christ. We will experience His love for souls and when they turn from Jesus, we taste to some degree of His sufferings, as He yearns for each to come to Him and be saved. He knows that only through union and communion with Himself can we find fullness of joy and a life that will really have lasting peace. All that the enemy offers us in turning aside to our own way only brings temporary pleasures of sin for a season along with suffering and, in the end death. Jesus calls us to fellowship with Him in surrender of our whole heart, and though the Christian life has trials, each soul abiding in Jesus gets to be cheered by the personal presence of Christ who will live out His life within us in true obedience because we have chosen Him above all others! What a blessing Jesus is to us! Let us not bring Him sorrow by turning away from Him even for a moment!
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When it comes to Satan's tactics, distraction and controversy are definitely used by the enemy a lot! How much emphasis, then, we should place on the important features of Bible faith so that the invitation to get embroiled in something unessential (from whatever source it apparently is coming from) will not pull us away from our mission of seeking the lost and pointing them to Jesus!
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.
Praise the Lord that Jesus can be each of our personal Savior! He can lead us into all truth by the Holy Spirit, and when we have yielded the whole heart to Him, He makes evident His personal presence in the soul by manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Simultaneously, the converted soul is given the desire and capacity to obey God from the heart up to the light God has revealed from His holy commandments! Even now, Jesus intercedes as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, for He is cleansing His people from committing sin, blotting out the record of their confessed sins, and empowering them to live victorious so when He returns as King, His people will be ready for heaven, for they have heaven in their hearts! Hallelujah!
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What a blessing it is to get to surrender fully to Jesus like the woman of Phoenicia! She trusted completely in Jesus, and Christ gave her salvation and healing for her daughter! Oh, what a blessing it is to behold Christ and become changed into His image! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we continue to surrender to Christ and abide in His love! We can be more than conquerors through Him that loved us!
The Saviour's visit to Phoenicia and the miracle there performed had a yet wider purpose. Not alone for the afflicted woman, nor even for His disciples and those who received their labors, was the work accomplished; but also “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John 20:31. The same agencies that barred men away from Christ eighteen hundred years ago are at work today. The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active. Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and His mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel. But let them not feel that they are shut away from Christ. There are no barriers which man or Satan can erect but that faith can penetrate.
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.
It is our choice! Let's all choose Christ!!
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How can we be sincere? We come to Christ just as we are--all stained with sin--and ask Him to send the Holy Spirit and to change our natural, evil hearts into pure and sincere ones, believing that He is well able to do this, and then we spend time in His word day by day beholding the loveliness of Jesus to continue the surrender of true conversion so we will not continue to sin and grieve Him. When the soul is truly converted all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life without one missing, and as such an experience is in harmony with the law of God, we will gladly obey God up to the revelation of His truth that He has shown us! Let us walk in Him and overcome by His grace through His faith!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. "Father, glorify Thy name" (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to "walk, even as He walked;" and "hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." 1 John 2:6, 3.
Jesus is our Savior and Example. How He lived, He invites us, also, to live. He knows we are weak, and that is why He promises that His strength is made perfect in weakness! Come to Him and let Him make a miracle out of your life in reflecting the consistency of true conversion in all the experiences of daily life! You will find much more holy joy sincerely following Him than in trying to do things in the way of self and sin!
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The abundant life is the one yielded to Christ fully, in which we are available fully for His plans and for being a blessing to others! In true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as the soul is motivated by love to obey all of God's commandments from the heart!
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it." Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And "what is a man profited," said Jesus, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
In light of what Christ paid for us at the cross, the only reasonable service is to surrender all to Him and consent to cooperate with Him daily in His plans of blessing! Joy and gladness flow into a soul where Jesus abides!
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Happy Sabbath!! Jesus is coming SOON! But before He comes, there will be a time of trouble such as never was (Daniel 12:1), and how Jesus was prepared for His trial at the cross can encourage us as to how we can be ready for what is coming upon this earth as a great surprise for most of the world. We can strengthen our faith by dwelling upon the promises of God; by surrendering fully to Christ now, He can teach us His precious lessons of trust and obedience. As we abide in Him in complete surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing so we can gladly obey God even when such obedience becomes against the laws of this earth (amid the coming Sunday law crisis). Christ remained faithful through His trial to give us the strength and grace we would also need to remain faithful in our trials!! Yoke up with Him for complete and constant victory!!
But before the crown must come the cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as king, but the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference with Jesus. Bearing the weakness of humanity, and burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone in the midst of men. As the darkness of the coming trial pressed upon Him, He was in loneliness of spirit, in a world that knew Him not. Even His loved disciples, absorbed in their own doubt and sorrow and ambitious hopes, had not comprehended the mystery of His mission. He had dwelt amid the love and fellowship of heaven; but in the world that He had created, He was in solitude. Now heaven had sent its messengers to Jesus; not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow, and who could sympathize with the Saviour in the trial of His earthly life. Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of men. Moses had pleaded for Israel: “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.” Exodus 32:32. Elijah had known loneliness of spirit, as for three years and a half of famine he had borne the burden of the nation’s hatred and its woe. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Alone he had fled to the desert in anguish and despair. These men, chosen above every angel around the throne, had come to commune with Jesus concerning the scenes of His suffering, and to comfort Him with the assurance of the sympathy of heaven. The hope of the world, the salvation of every human being, was the burden of their interview.
Look above your trial to your Savior. He will keep us if we keep choosing Him who first loved and chose us!
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The faith of Jesus brings complete victory! Saving faith is surrender by grace to the word of God so He can work in us His will, producing supernaturally all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing while giving us a true power to obey Him from the heart!
"If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed," said Jesus, "ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove." Though the grain of mustard seed is so small, it contains that same mysterious life principle which produces growth in the loftiest tree. When the mustard seed is cast into the ground, the tiny germ lays hold of every element that God has provided for its nutriment, and it speedily develops a sturdy growth. If you have faith like this, you will lay hold upon God's word, and upon all the helpful agencies He has appointed. Thus your faith will strengthen, and will bring to your aid the power of heaven. The obstacles that are piled by Satan across your path, though apparently as insurmountable as the eternal hills, shall disappear before the demand of faith. "Nothing shall be impossible unto you."
With God all things are possible and we can look by faith to Him for all we need for this life and the life to come! Remember the unseen realities of the Holy Spirit, the angels, and the promises of God that cannot fail! Let us humbly comply with the conditions and trust God's outcome for us to be better than we can ask or think!
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Who is the greatest? That's a great question! Jesus answered and illustrated it this way:
"And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:2-4).
The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls.
It is the motive that gives character to our acts, and when we invite Jesus into the heart to make it pure as the new snow, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life as each child of God abiding in Christ is enabled to obey Him up to the light of His holy law revealed! Let's go increase others' happiness today by being a blessing in whatever way possible, pointing them to Jesus!!
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Why go down a path in life that does not really satisfy?
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
We need the salvation so freely offered by Jesus! And the good news is that when we surrender the whole heart to Him and allow Him to lead us by His word, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so we can gladly obey Him from the new heart! Look to Jesus and accept what He offers you to be truly satisfied!
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Truth will only triumph in the life that yields to its transforming power! Let us allow God to melt our hearts with His love as we behold Jesus so we can gladly surrender fully to Him in saving faith to become partakers of His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life that is brought into harmony with His law of love!
“My teaching is not Mine,” said Jesus, “but His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:16, 17, R. V. The question of these cavilers Jesus met, not by answering the cavil, but by opening up truth vital to the salvation of the soul. The perception and appreciation of truth, He said, depends less upon the mind than upon the heart. Truth must be received into the soul; it claims the homage of the will. If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception. But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart; and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. Man's advantages for obtaining a knowledge of the truth, however great these may be, will prove of no benefit to him unless the heart is open to receive the truth, and there is a conscientious surrender of every habit and practice that is opposed to its principles. To those who thus yield themselves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do His will, the truth is revealed as the power of God for their salvation. These will be able to distinguish between him who speaks for God, and him who speaks merely from himself. The Pharisees had not put their will on the side of God's will. They were not seeking to know the truth, but to find some excuse for evading it; Christ showed that this was why they did not understand His teaching.
When we truly understand God's love and His teachings, we gladly can obey Him and share Christ with others--His living word--to be a blessing and an encouragement!
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The light shines--we choose whether we will walk in it or reject the help that Jesus offers us! Let us all choose to walk in the light as He is in the light!
The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of His hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, "Are we blind also?" Jesus answered, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin." If God had made it impossible for you to see the truth, your ignorance would involve no guilt. "But now ye say, We see." You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight. To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need; they refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness,--a blindness for which they were themselves guilty. Jesus said, "Your sin remaineth."
Christ came to take away our sins, and when we fully surrender to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowred to gladly obey God's law of love! Christ helps us infinitely!
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Praise the Lord for the blessing of getting to experience how much God loves us through our relationship with Jesus, our Good Shepherd! By the Holy Spirit abiding in us in complete surrender to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to do God's will up to the light He has revealed to us!
However much a shepherd may love his sheep, he loves his sons and daughters more. Jesus is not only our shepherd; He is our "everlasting Father." And He says, "I know Mine own, and Mine own know Me, even as the Father knoweth Me, and I know the Father." John 10:14, 15, R. V. What a statement is this!--the only-begotten Son, He who is in the bosom of the Father, He whom God has declared to be "the Man that is My fellow" (Zechariah 13:7),--the communion between Him and the eternal God is taken to represent the communion between Christ and His children on the earth!
We are loved infinitely, and the more time we spend with God and appreciate His character, the more we will become like Him in mind and character through knowing more and more of God, for to know God is to love Him! Praise the Lord that He takes the initiative to seek us and save us, and our part is to behold Him, yield to Him, and cooperate with Him as we grow in His love revealed in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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Happy Sabbath!! What an incredible gift the Holy Spirit is to us! Because of Jesus' great sacrifice, the Father lovingly pours upon us the Holy Spirit, filling us with all the attributes of His divine nature--the fruit of the Spirit--without one missing! Gladly we are empowered to obey God up to the light He has revealed to us from the new heart given when we surrender fully to Him, and then we have the ongoing privilege to cooperate with Him in the work of character building to prepare for heaven!!
The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.
Jesus will help you, so turn to Him in every experience of life! His victory is ours by continual union and communion with Him! Praise the Lord!!
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Let us learn to appreciate the lessons of Christ and how we can be converted by yielding the whole heart to Him, to in turn go forth to bless others!
In the story of the good Samaritan, Christ illustrates the nature of true religion. He shows that it consists not in systems, creeds, or rites, but in the performance of loving deeds, in bringing the greatest good to others, in genuine goodness.
"The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" (Romans 2:4), and even if our lives have not been what Christ would have them be, we can be changed by beholding His love and receiving a new heart that enables us to grow in grace with a new character as we abide in Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ. Then we will experience the impulse to help and bless others that will lead us to love from the overflow of Christ within us, the hope of glory!
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There are many parallels to the time of Christ's first advent and ministry to the ministry He has given His people heralding the three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-12) as the world is now on the verge of His second coming. One of the parallels is the corruption and immorality we see permeating our society, affecting so many systems. But Jesus, our Savior and Example, focused on the work the Father gave Him in working to reach the hearts of people, as He knew that was what was needed for there to be any real change. When we surrender our whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the heart. No matter how corrupt things are in this world, we can each be converted through responding by faith to the grace of God and be missionaries to do good in our world to help prepare people for the kingdom of heaven. Christ will soon return, and His eternal government of love, peace and truth will reign forever.
The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abuses,--extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart.
While we live in this world, we are to make it better for our stay in it, and allow God to make us the salt and light that will help to restrain evil among men. By living a consistent life in Christ, others can be drawn to Christ and choose, by His grace, to resist evil. Praise the Lord!
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Jesus was ever a lover of children. He accepted their childish sympathy and their open, unaffected love. The grateful praise from their pure lips was music in His ears, and refreshed His spirit when oppressed by contact with crafty and hypocritical men. Wherever the Saviour went, the benignity of His countenance, and His gentle, kindly manner won the love and confidence of children.
And so can we be. When Jesus reigns in our hearts as King, the loveliness of His character--the fruits of the Spirit--will be revealed without even one missing! We will love children like He did and seek to lead them to Christ who has a heaven of blessings for them! Thankfully, He knows so well each child's life situation, His heart yearning over even the ones struggling with behavioral issues or trauma. He looks upon each child with compassion and pity with the desire to heal the heart that has been broken by sin.
The Saviour regards with infinite tenderness the souls whom He has purchased with His own blood. They are the claim of His love. He looks upon them with unutterable longing. His heart is drawn out, not only to the best-behaved children, but to those who have by inheritance objectionable traits of character. Many parents do not understand how much they are responsible for these traits in their children. They have not the tenderness and wisdom to deal with the erring ones whom they have made what they are. But Jesus looks upon these children with pity. He traces from cause to effect.
May we go forth to lead children to Christ with a tender, affectionate heart of love to bless and encourage others in the path of eternal life! By constant surrendered obedience to Jesus in harmony with His word, moved by His love, many more children (of all ages--for we are all God's children!!) will be converted to become part of the kingdom of God!
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What is really valuable? The lives of people saved for eternity because of Jesus' sacrifice for each of us! Christ was inviting the rich young ruler to follow the only path that would orient His character in the way of salvation, leading him to prioritize saving souls over accumulating earthly things. Oh, if he would have chosen to follow Christ instead of turn away! Let us learn from his example and follow Christ in self-surrender of all we have and are to do His will!
When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant; . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, "Follow Me."
Christ loves us too much to let us think that what this world offers is all that there is. When we put His kingdom first and surrender our whole heart to Him in true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered supernaturally by God to obey Him because we love Him!
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The only true direction of faith is complete surrender to Christ! Look to Christ and abide in His life, and we will have victory in Him! Death has been defeated by Christ and He invites us to look away from self to Him and trust His word over every other competing influence!
Still seeking to give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection, and the life." In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. "He that hath the Son hath life." 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life. "He that believeth in Me," said Jesus, "though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are abiding in Christ in true conversion. Christ can keep us from falling into sin if we choose to continue to trust Him and learn of our continual need of Jesus! Even if we fall, He is able to cleanse and forgive the sins we confess to Him in true repentance, making it possible for us to overcome even as He did! Christ is fully divine and fully human, offering us His saving power and example to connect us with His life of victory!
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It's always a choice. Light shines from Jesus, but we choose whether we accept the light or not. The light of His character, received into the soul, will work reformation and transformation of character, producing all of the fruits of the Spirit in one who abides in full surrender to Jesus! He longs to reach all, but He will not force an entrance. Let's bring happiness to Jesus and open our hearts to His will
His life had been one of persecution and insult. Driven from Bethlehem by a jealous king, rejected by His own people at Nazareth, condemned to death without a cause at Jerusalem, Jesus, with His few faithful followers, found a temporary asylum in a strange city. He who was ever touched by human woe, who healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb, who fed the hungry and comforted the sorrowful, was driven from the people He had labored to save. He who walked upon the heaving billows, and by a word silenced their angry roaring, who cast out devils that in departing acknowledged Him to be the Son of God, who broke the slumbers of the dead, who held thousands entranced by His words of wisdom, was unable to reach the hearts of those who were blinded by prejudice and hatred, and who stubbornly rejected the light.
Jesus loves to reach hearts. Will you let Him reach your heart today?
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Happy Sabbath!! Love is of God, for "God is love." We are invited to enjoy the endless love expression that the Godhead has been experiencing for all of eternity by opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit! Then, the love that God experiences can be poured into us with all the manifestations of that love--including joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance! Not one of the attributes of love will be missing when the soul is truly converted, for conversion is the miracle of God making a person new from the heart! We can be kept from falling into sin by abiding in His love! By choosing Christ, we can enjoy the miracle of being made like Him in mind and character to go forth to bless others!
The principles and the very words of the Saviour's teaching, in their divine beauty, dwelt in the memory of the beloved disciple. To his latest days the burden of John's testimony to the churches was, "This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:11, 16.
This was the spirit that pervaded the early church. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, "the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own." "Neither was there any among them that lacked." "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." Acts 4:32, 34, 33.
God is bringing revival and reformation to His church so we can again experience the unity and love that was manifest in the early church! Let's allow God's love to work in us this experience even now and invite others to enjoy the blessedness of His love!
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The Lord is gracious to save us like He did Zacchaeus! Let us praise God for the blessing of salvation as we surrender fully to Him!! Faith works by love and purifies the soul as we grow in grace and overcome sin by abiding in Jesus--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives, helping us to grow in true obedience to all the light God has shown us in His word!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7.
Everything God has given us in Christ is for the purpose of blessing us to be a blessing to others! God is so compassionate! Hallelujah!
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Do you truly know God? Apparently Simon the Pharisee whom Christ healed of leprosy, when he saw Jesus allow Mary to anoint Him, had a certain idea of God that was not true to God's unselfish and merciful character. Christ sought to heal Simon's conception of His character and restore Simon's soul, even as He had done for Mary.
But it was Simon's ignorance of God and of Christ that led him to think as he did. He did not realize that God's Son must act in God's way, with compassion, tenderness, and mercy. Simon's way was to take no notice of Mary's penitent service. Her act of kissing Christ's feet and anointing them with ointment was exasperating to his hardheartedness. He thought that if Christ were a prophet, He would recognize sinners and rebuke them.
Thankfully, Christ's mission was not to destroy and condemn, but to uplift and heal. Even Simon, after Christ's heart-touching parable of the two debtors, was able to receive a true knowledge of God's character, and Simon became converted as a lowly, self-sacrificing disciple. Like Simon and Mary, we all need a Savior who can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are truly surrendered to Him and walking in harmony with the true character of God as He reveals Himself to us, for His law of unselfish love is His character! Praise the Lord for the miracle of conversion available to all who come to experience how "the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance" (Romans 2:4).
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What high hopes the disciples had as Jesus entered Jerusalem before His crucifixion!!
This day, which seemed to the disciples the crowning day of their lives, would have been shadowed with gloomy clouds had they known that this scene of rejoicing was but a prelude to the suffering and death of their Master. Although He had repeatedly told them of His certain sacrifice, yet in the glad triumph of the present they forgot His sorrowful words, and looked forward to His prosperous reign on David's throne.
Christ had plainly shared that He would die, but the disciples forgot this in the excitement of the triumphal entry! May we realize that Christ's words shall be fulfilled, that even though we may have many blessings that seem like they can go on for quite some time, that a "time of trouble" is coming before Christ's second coming, and yet, as we learn to trust His word over our senses, He will help us be ready by abiding in Him in true conversion as all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life yielded fully to Him, for the living Christ in the soul will empower us to obey Him from genuine love! Jesus is coming again!!
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Let us choose to be abiding in Christ so He can produce through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and lead us to truly obey Him from the heart! Coming in close touch with humanity as we see Jesus did, we learn what it means to truly bear fruit--to live to bless others in the way of our Heavenly Father's direction. Even the seemingly harsh judgments God manifests are for the benefit of His people to come to TRUE repentance and not continue in a path of destruction self-deceived. Oh, what infinite love of God in ALL He does for us!!
The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable. That barren tree, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Saviour desired to make plain to His disciples the cause and the certainty of Israel's doom. For this purpose He invested the tree with moral qualities, and made it the expositor of divine truth. The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been specially favored by Him, and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people. But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements of God, and were full of hypocrisy. Like the barren tree, they spread their pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance, and beautiful to the eye, but they yielded “nothing but leaves.” The Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple, its sacred altars, its mitered priests and impressive ceremonies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but humility, love, and benevolence were lacking.
Christ invites us to come with Him in all of our sinful unworthiness and be healed so He can make us into the people He knows we can be! Let not your fruitless self (for selfishness is death) discourage you from coming to Christ, but rather let your sense of need motivate you to come to Christ and never let your mind wander from His abiding presence which alone can make us fruitful for His glory and kingdom!
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Happy Thanksgiving! We can be so thankful that Jesus is a sure foundation for character that will last forever! All our sins and griefs He can fully bear and take from us, healing our hearts with the new one He gives us in true conversion, enabling us to navigate the storms of temptation and walk in harmony with His word with all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing!
To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
True obedience springs from an intelligent appreciation of the loveliness of Jesus! He has power and grace to sustain each of us and prepare us for heaven as we cooperate with Him! Praise the Lord! We have so much to be thankful for because of Jesus!!
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When we appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus, we realize that God sees the end from the beginning and already sees the fulfillment of His infinite purposes (yet future) as though they are already accomplished! Today we can behold Jesus, yield the heart to Him as motivated by His loveliness, and be truly converted so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart! Temptations and trials will come, but His word is able to keep us from falling as we abide in Him! Today by adding in Christ we get to have His resurrection power of life already at work in our lives!
Christ declared to His hearers that if there were no resurrection of the dead, the Scriptures which they professed to believe would be of no avail. He said, “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” God counts the things that are not as though they were. He sees the end from the beginning, and beholds the result of His work as though it were now accomplished. The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life. God will be their God, and they shall be His people. There will be a close and tender relationship between God and the risen saints. This condition, which is anticipated in His purpose, He beholds as if it were already existing. The dead live unto Him.
We can trust that God will bring the dead in Christ back to life, and we can also trust that God is able to keep us from falling into sin as we let Jesus fulfill His promises to us (2 Peter 1:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:13 are two amazing ones)! Praise the Lord!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us be truly great in God's sight by letting Jesus convert our hearts in a total surrender to Him so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart of love!!
“But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.” Again and again Christ had taught that true greatness is measured by moral worth. In the estimation of heaven, greatness of character consists in living for the welfare of our fellow men, in doing works of love and mercy. Christ the King of glory was a servant to fallen man.
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When we appreciate the loveliness of Jesus and all that He has done for us, we will realize that we are part of a story and a plan that is bigger than us!
But the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer. “I, if I be lifted up from the earth,” He said, “will draw all unto Me.”
Turning in complete surrender to Christ means that all of character attributes of the fruit of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing, enabling us to affectionately obey God from the heart He renews and keeps pure by His atoning blood and ever-living word! What a gift it is to be the recipients of such infinite grace and not only be redeemed, but point as many others as possible to Him as Savior, King and Redeemer! Praise the Lord!!
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Jesus is coming SOON!! We can help it be SOONER by cooperating with Him in surrendering fully to Him so He can manifest His unselfish character--all of the fruit of the Spirit in harmony with the Ten Commandments--and lead us in unselfish service which is the essence of heaven's bliss (and thankfully, we can start to enjoy it while still on earth!)!!!
In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to “every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Revelation 14:6, 14. God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world.” Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.
The everlasting gospel is the overflow of the everlasting goodness of God, the unchanging character of His love and His government that is based on freedom in harmony with His law of liberty! What a blessing it is to be a true witness of what God is like, discovering more each day like an adventure what God has planned!!
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True rest can only be found in God's presence as we surrender fully to Jesus and go forth in His plans to bless others! Let us abide in Christ and be blessed by Him in being a blessing to others!
When we realize that we are workers together with God, His promises will not be spoken with indifference. They will burn in our hearts, and kindle upon our lips. To Moses, when called to minister to an ignorant, undisciplined, and rebellious people, God gave the promise, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” And He said, “Certainly I will be with thee.” Exodus 33:14; 3:12. This promise is to all who labor in Christ's stead for His afflicted and suffering ones.
God's rest is not found in inactivity, for the Savior's invitation to rest is united with the call to labor: "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Will you yoke up with Jesus so He can manifest through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as He gives you true rest of soul in being blessing to those who need help and encouragement?
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Love is what we need--the unselfish love that leads to true ministry following Christ's method alone. As we abide in Him, He will live out His life in and through us as a miracle of His grace, supernaturally revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we affectionately obey God's Ten Commandment law of freedom from the heart renewed by grace!
Again and again Jesus had tried to establish this principle among His disciples. When James and John made their request for pre-eminence, He had said, “Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.” Matthew 20:26. In My kingdom the principle of preference and supremacy has no place. The only greatness is the greatness of humility. The only distinction is found in devotion to the service of others.
Our focus as we abide in Christ is to please Him and to bless others. We find joy in constant union and communion with Christ, for heaven begins in the soul that is yielded fully to Christ, growing continually in His will and way!
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Keeping fresh in our minds what Christ has done for us in His perfect life and sacrificial death changes our entire perspective in life. We find joy and rest in His presence, enjoying His will and growing more like Him in mind and character as we abide in His love. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered with the desire and strength to obey God's law from the heart He renews by divine grace!
Our Lord has said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.... For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” John 6:53-55. This is true of our physical nature. To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring. All this Christ has taught in appointing the emblems of His great sacrifice. The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament.
Everyday blessings like a drink of water or a bite of healthy food take on the sense of being consecrated by Jesus' very life and death. All we have and are we owe to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. What wondrous love is this!
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Happy Sabbath!! The gospel is simple yet profound. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
Accepting Christ into our hearts in total surrender enables Him to purify the heart, subduing the selfishness that is inherent in the fallen nature, enabling us to overcome by His grace and have the Holy Spirit produce in us God's perfect character, growing in perfection and grace at each step of life as long as compete surrender to Christ is maintained while living up to the light God has given us.
The life of the vine will be manifest in fragrant fruit on the branches. “He that abideth in Me,” said Jesus, “and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.
When we accept Christ's power and grace to make us new in Him, then we can be SO THANKFUL that like Jesus, even when we face apparent failure, God can turn it into a success because we need never be discouraged!
As the world's Redeemer, Christ was constantly confronted with apparent failure. He, the messenger of mercy to our world, seemed to do little of the work He longed to do in uplifting and saving. Satanic influences were constantly working to oppose His way. But He would not be discouraged.
May you be blessed in the victory offered you in Jesus!!
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Happy new week!!
Praise the Lord for what Jesus endured--beyond what we could ever endure--so that we can become like Him in mind and character and be ready for heaven! His grace is so powerful that He can transform a sinner into a saint and keep us from going back to sin because we realize it would crucify Jesus afresh. Love wins in the heart that yields to Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life given unreservedly to God for His will to be done--nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else! Gladly we are empowered to obey God from the heart He renews by divine grace!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
Within our hearts Christ shall abide as we surrender fully, choosing to remember that an infinite price was paid for us in Gethsemane and at Calvary. Oh, let us be in constant union and communion with God on account of His yearning, pitying love for us to know Him even as the Godhead knows each member of the heavenly Trio!
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What an incredible promise! Had the disciples remained awake to better understand Christ's sufferings, their faith would not have been dashed like it was when they saw Jesus go through the trials He did and die on the cross. Oh, let us realize that as we accept God's counsel into our hearts today, beholding the loveliness of Jesus, that it will prepare us to continually abide in Him, even through the time of trouble soon to come upon the world before Jesus returns in power and great glory!
It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.
Trials will come to the soul, but the time spent beholding Jesus strengthens the soul to bear the trial in an abiding faith experience of union and communion with Christ. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing is the converted character miracle Christ offers all who yield the whole heart to Him. He motivates the converted soul to affectionately obey Him out of true love up to the light of truth He has revealed! Such an experience will surely mean continual victory in Jesus, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb!
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Satan tricked Judas, and made him his base tool. Because Judas thought Christ would deliver Himself, Judas presumed to deliver Christ over to the priests and rulers after getting paid thirty pieces of silver for his treachery. Greed had overcome him. One sin, persistently cherished, is enough to neutralize all the power of the gospel! Let us cry out to Jesus to be kept from the deceitfulness of sin!!
Judas did not, however, believe that Christ would permit Himself to be arrested. In betraying Him, it was his purpose to teach Him a lesson. He intended to play a part that would make the Saviour careful thenceforth to treat him with due respect. But Judas knew not that he was giving Christ up to death. How often, as the Saviour taught in parables, the scribes and Pharisees had been carried away with His striking illustrations! How often they had pronounced judgment against themselves! Often when the truth was brought home to their hearts, they had been filled with rage, and had taken up stones to cast at Him; but again and again He had made His escape. Since He had escaped so many snares, thought Judas, He certainly would not now allow Himself to be taken.
And so deception is at the heart of sin. Satan had deceived a third of the angels in heaven to think that "do as thou wilt" and "we are free to do as we please" was really true happiness and freedom apart from the law of God and the sovereignty of Christ, but it has turned out to be bondage and slavery to a being (Satan himself, the author of sin) whose only motive is to steal, kill and destroy. After causing such misery in heaven, he moved his warfare to this earth. In the garden of Eden, Satan deceived and hypnotized Adam and Eve, leading them into sin, and God mercifully made a way for them to be pardoned through Christ. But now that Christ was on the earth, Judas, a professed disciple of Jesus, was so deceived by Satan that he thought he could teach Jesus a lesson and presumed to think Christ would not allow Himself to be taken if betrayed. Such lies lead to such sin! Oh, turn resolutely from any deviation from the clear, plain word of God and allow God to perform the greatest miracle of all--a converted life that is yielded fully to Christ! When we do yield to Him the WHOLE heart, He can then work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we can gladly obey God's law--all Ten Commandments in the depth of their spirituality--from the heart! Love in the heart from Christ through the word of God is the only true protection from the deceitfulness of sin!
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Try to imagine the scene. Christ is being treated with cruelty and injustice, and yet He patiently bears it all. Why? Because He willingly stepped down from heaven to be born as our Brother, live a perfect life as our Example, and then endured uncomplainingly all that wicked men could heap upon Him as He was about to go to the cross as our atoning Sacrifice. Beholding such infinite love changes us--enabling us to surrender fully to Him, be thoroughly converted, and overcome sin because He became sin for us. When united with Him by faith, sin loses its power over us and we are enabled to bear the fruit of the Spirit without one trait of the divine nature missing from our experience. Gladly we are empowered to obey God from the new heart and go forth to bless others because of the infinite blessing of salvation we have received in Christ.
“Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe.” The Roman soldiers joined in this abuse. All that these wicked, corrupt soldiers, helped on by Herod and the Jewish dignitaries, could instigate was heaped upon the Saviour. Yet His divine patience failed not.
The divine patience Christ manifested in His trial is for us, too, in our trials and tribulations. Nothing He endured was for Himself--it was ALL FOR US!!! He offers us His character so we can let our sinful character be crucified with Him, and thus walk in newness of life! What a blessing comes from understanding the purpose of Christ's expiatory sufferings!
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Why should we keep our minds clear? Look at Jesus, dying at Calvary, and see the reason clearly!
"They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink" (Matthew 27:34).
In another prophecy the Saviour declared, “Reproach hath broken My heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:20, 21. To those who suffered death by the cross, it was permitted to give a stupefying potion, to deaden the sense of pain. This was offered to Jesus; but when He had tasted it, He refused it. He would receive nothing that could becloud His mind. His faith must keep fast hold upon God. This was His only strength. To becloud His senses would give Satan an advantage.
Why would the Lord have us abstain from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine (and even as we see here in the life of Jesus moments before his death), vinegar? The reason has to do with the effect that these substances have on the mind. God desires to have a living connection with Him and enjoy the blessedness of union and communion that springs from an intelligent appreciation of His loveliness of character. Then, as we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as we are empowered by an abiding experience with Christ to truly obey God and do His will cheerfully! Temperance, one of the fruits of the Spirit, is essential to a clear mind to calmly decide to follow Christ wholeheartedly!
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Does God make mistakes? As we grasp the great controversy at work against God's holy law, it is helpful to realize that Satan is ever seeking to charge God with fault, and thus Satan aims his accusations at God's holy law and those who choose, through the power of Christ, to obey Him from love. God is perfect, and yet He bears long with all in the great controversy so all can clearly see the contrast between His holy work of love and the deceptive work of sin authored by Satan.
Another deception was now to be brought forward. Satan declared that mercy destroyed justice, that the death of Christ abrogated the Father's law. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or abrogated, then Christ need not have died. But to abrogate the law would be to immortalize transgression, and place the world under Satan's control. It was because the law was changeless, because man could be saved only through obedience to its precepts, that Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Yet the very means by which Christ established the law Satan represented as destroying it. Here will come the last conflict of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
We are living in ripening period of this final deception. Satan is maturing his plans to fasten the world in the deceptive Sunday law crisis in which transgression of God's law will be enforced by the ruling powers of the world, in harmony with the same antichrist spirit that has been at work for centuries opposing God's law. We need a living union and communion with Christ to be able to navigate this final crisis and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, glorifying God in true obedience through surrendering all to Him, letting Christ in us manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Fear not for the future as you remember how God has faithfully delivered those who have trusted in Him in past! Even if one loses physical life in the conflict, if the soul is truly converted, that is but a victory, for the next conscious thought of such a soul is to rise in the resurrection of life when Jesus returns in power and great glory, translating the living and resurrecting the righteous!!
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Anyone is reachable. Do you believe it? Then treat people like you do!! The Roman Centrurion accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, boldly confessing what he knew was true: “Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:54.
These words were said in no whispered tones. All eyes were turned to see whence they came. Who had spoken? It was the centurion, the Roman soldier. The divine patience of the Saviour, and His sudden death, with the cry of victory upon His lips, had impressed this heathen. In the bruised, broken body hanging upon the cross, the centurion recognized the form of the Son of God. He could not refrain from confessing his faith. Thus again evidence was given that our Redeemer was to see of the travail of His soul. Upon the very day of His death, three men, differing widely from one another, had declared their faith,—he who commanded the Roman guard, he who bore the cross of the Saviour, and he who died upon the cross at His side.
We need to look beyond externals and let Jesus reach the heart. The man who carried Jesus' cross, the thief nailed next to Him, and the Roman Centurion, when that Friday began, might not have thought they would come to a saving faith surrender in confessing Jesus as Lord, but they did! His love melted their hearts and they were won for His kingdom! As you go about each day, learn to look with God's eyes upon people and see each one as reachable if they would but come and yield the heart to Christ. Then He will miraculously produce in them all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empower the soul to obey because it is the fruit of love!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Are you afraid of dying? You need not be if you are a converted Christian, abiding in Him with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and gladly obeying the law of God from the heart up to the light He has revealed! Death is but a sleep for those who are trusting in Christ!
To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. “I am come,” He said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 10:10; 4:14; John 6:54.
If we are living at the second coming of Jesus, we also get new, glorified bodies and will be given immortality, to rise with Jesus to heaven and dwell in His presence forever!!
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When we really believe that Christ loves us, died for us, rose from the grave, and offers us everlasting life, then we can be willing to be made willing in every area of life to grow in His grace, reflecting His unselfish attributes (all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing) to do His holy will (true obedience to all of His Ten Commandments)! Let's sound the good news by a godly character experience! Christ is alive and is soon to return!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! “Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen.” Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
The glory of God is His character, and in true faith working by love we become like Him whom we adore! Glorify God in all the experiences of daily life and let the Lord guide you continually!
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The whole Bible reveals Jesus, and rather than initially encourage His followers after His resurrection with the knowledge that He was the risen Christ, He first anchored their faith in God's word--an anchor that is so strong that would help them to endure in salvation! We also need to have a living faith experience anchored in God's word, for as we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are obedient out of love for God to all His commandments! God is so good to lead us into all truth!
Beginning at Moses, the very Alpha of Bible history, Christ expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Had He first made Himself known to them, their hearts would have been satisfied. In the fullness of their joy they would have hungered for nothing more. But it was necessary for them to understand the witness borne to Him by the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. Upon these their faith must be established. Christ performed no miracle to convince them, but it was His first work to explain the Scriptures. They had looked upon His death as the destruction of all their hopes. Now He showed from the prophets that this was the very strongest evidence for their faith.
Christ's death anchored the reality that His sacrifice was complete for all of us, and His resurrection broke the power of sin and death, defeating the devil, and offering us everlasting consolation and good hope! Let us spread the good news far and wide!!
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Could it be that false theories and false doctrines make it hard to really believe in Jesus? In the case of Thomas, one of the reasons he did not really want to believe that Jesus was risen was that it would take away the hope (false though it was) of a literal, earthy kingdom. There are many lessons to draw from this for our time, but let us realize how patient Jesus was with Thomas and also be patient with people who may struggle to accept the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week (rather than the tradition of Sunday sacredness passed down by tradition) and the second coming of Jesus as one event to take all His people to heaven (not a separate event with a secret rapture to take some first to heaven, and then others at a later time). As we realize that false ideas can make simple Bible truths seem obscure, let us keep uplifting Jesus and help souls anchor their faith on Him in His word, the Bible, and not on false ideas and theories that have no foundation in the word of God.
When Jesus first met the disciples in the upper chamber, Thomas was not with them. He heard the reports of the others, and received abundant proof that Jesus had risen; but gloom and unbelief filled his heart. As he heard the disciples tell of the wonderful manifestations of the risen Saviour, it only plunged him in deeper despair. If Jesus had really risen from the dead, there could be no further hope of a literal earthly kingdom. And it wounded his vanity to think that his Master should reveal Himself to all the disciples except him. He was determined not to believe, and for a whole week he brooded over his wretchedness, which seemed all the darker in contrast with the hope and faith of his brethren.
When Thomas did surrender fully to Christ, the joy of the Lord and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing came into His experience, and we also can have a fruitful, converted walk with Christ in true surrender, gladly obeying God out of love because He first loved us. While it may seem like a great sacrifice to give up our false ideas and theories that are not in God's word, if we are willing to be made willing, Jesus will help us to overcome unbelief and gloom so we can be happy, peaceful and obedient witnesses of the risen Savior! Jesus is coming again!!
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What a great example of faithfulness in being a true disciple is found in the life of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.
John lived to be very aged. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem, and the ruin of the stately temple,—a symbol of the final ruin of the world. To his latest days John closely followed his Lord. The burden of his testimony to the churches was, “Beloved, let us love one another;” “he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:7, 16.
When unselfish love fills the heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered by His divine grace to obey the commandments of God up to the light He has revealed to us! John's life is a testimony that it is possible to live in a way that is holy and pleasing to God!
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The Saviour longs to manifest His grace and stamp His character on the whole world. It is His purchased possession, and He desires to make men free, and pure, and holy. Though Satan works to hinder this purpose, yet through the blood shed for the world there are triumphs to be achieved that will bring glory to God and the Lamb. Christ will not be satisfied till the victory is complete, and “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:11. All the nations of the earth shall hear the gospel of His grace. Not all will receive His grace; but “a seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.” Psalm 22:30. “The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High,” and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun.” Daniel 7:27; Isaiah 11:9; 59:19.
Let Jesus do what He wants to do in your life! Invite Him into your heart and obey His word by grace through faith, letting the Holy Spirit manifest through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! In readiness for His coming, you can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!
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What a wonderful family we can be a part of as we accept Christ as a living Savior into our hearts and abide in His unselfish love! In complete surrender to Him all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives, as Christ in us as the hope of glory empowers us to obey Him from the new heart He imparts! Praise God that such a character experience will reach through the eternal ages!
From that scene of heavenly joy, there comes back to us on earth the echo of Christ's own wonderful words, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” John 20:17. The family of heaven and the family of earth are one. For us our Lord ascended, and for us He lives. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.
Christ not only intercedes for us, but He empowers us to do His will, preparing us for heaven by imparting heaven into our hearts!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming again, and because of what He has done for us, we can rejoice that sin will be forever at an end! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of those who yield wholeheartedly to Christ and gladly follow in true obedience His will!
Through Christ's redeeming work the government of God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan's charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love's self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble union.
Being united with Christ, we can go forward on the missions of blessing in this life and in the life to come!
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The first advent of Christ presents striking parallels to learn from as our world is on the verge of the second advent of Christ!
At the time of the birth of Christ the nation was chafing under the rule of her foreign masters, and racked with internal strife. The Jews had been permitted to maintain the form of a separate government; but nothing could disguise the fact that they were under the Roman yoke, or reconcile them to the restriction of their power. The Romans claimed the right of appointing and removing the high priest, and the office was often secured by fraud, bribery, and even murder. Thus the priesthood became more and more corrupt. Yet the priests still possessed great power, and they employed it for selfish and mercenary ends. The people were subjected to their merciless demands, and were also heavily taxed by the Romans. This state of affairs caused widespread discontent. Popular outbreaks were frequent. Greed and violence, distrust and spiritual apathy, were eating out the very heart of the nation.
As greed, violence, distrust and spiritual apathy are affecting so many, we need to look to the only One who can save us from ourselves--Jesus, our High Priest in heaven's sanctuary who is soon to return as our King to take all of His converted, obedient saints home to heaven from this earth! We need a living union and communion with Christ, and by abiding in Him in complete surrender of all we have and are, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives so we can overcome all sin through the grace of Christ as we see clearly how much He loves us! "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15) is both an invitation and a promise, for loving Christ wholeheartedly leads to obedience perfect and perpetual! Thus we are made ready for heaven by having heaven in our hearts! Jesus is coming soon! Praise God for His promises that shall be fulfilled! "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:1-3). Let's make Jesus happy by letting Him prepare our characters for the home He is preparing for us in heaven!
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God is able to overrule what Satan does to debase human beings. All who come to Him thorough Christ He will not cast out, but freely receive and enable to experience healing and victory. "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
Being reshaped into God's image begins with a new heart and mind, filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering the soul to true obedience by the grace of God through faith!
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How would you like to hear a story that never grows old, that always has new depths of love to reveal as it is repeated and studied, and helps us better appreciate God's unselfish, infinitely good character? Well, thankfully, we need look no farther than the amazing gift offered us in Bethlehem when Jesus was born!
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Christ offers us His character experience by grace through faith--and that will reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in true obedience to God's law of love! The more we contemplate God's love for us in Christ, the more we become like Him who loved us and gave Himself for us! Rejoice in the Lord, always!!
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At some point, EVERYONE will confess that God's ways are true and right. Why not start now, and enjoy the love experience His life offers you in Christ? As we yield our wills to Christ, He gives us new hearts and minds that are filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in Him in true obedience to His commandments! The best time to come to Christ is RIGHT NOW and to stay vitally connected to Him by letting His thoughts, motives, purposes and experiences become ours by union and communion with Jesus!
In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God's government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? ... for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:3, 4.
While all the loyal and rebellious will all come to the same conclusion in the end, how much joy we can bring to the heart of God as we enter into the fellowship of the mystery of His love today and abide in His will! Then we are ready for eternity, for we have heaven in our hearts through Christ!
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What can we give to God? Let's look at the example of the Magi and remember that it brings joy to God when we give Him the best we have! After surrendering our sin-polluted heart to Jesus so He can purify and cleanse it by His blood, we can receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest! Then, from a truly converted experience, we will gladly go forward in offering the best talents and gifts we have to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth!
The magi had been among the first to welcome the Redeemer. Their gift was the first that was laid at His feet. And through that gift, what privilege of ministry was theirs! The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
When we go all-out for God, we do it because He went all-out for us in giving us His Son! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Go forth today to let the love of Christ through you bless others!
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Let's labor the way Jesus did! We can be happy doing whatever He has for us to do! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our hearts and lives as long as we surrender fully to Christ and obey Him affectionately up to the light He has revealed!
Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. It requires much patience and spirituality to bring Bible religion into the home life and into the workshop, to bear the strain of worldly business, and yet keep the eye single to the glory of God. This is where Christ was a helper. He was never so full of worldly care as to have no time or thought for heavenly things. Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.
We are homeward bound! JESUS IS COMING SO SOON!! While we walk our pilgrim pathway, doing whatever our hands find to do with all our might and heart, let us shed about us the light of a cheerful piety that reflect the infinite loveliness of Jesus!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Jesus longs to reveal Scriptures to us that prepare us to bear the future trials on the horizon of our experience before He comes again in power and great glory! What a joy it is to abide in His love and overcome sin by His grace!
As Joseph and Mary should return from Jerusalem alone with Jesus, He hoped to direct their minds to the prophecies of the suffering Saviour. Upon Calvary He sought to lighten His mother's grief. He was thinking of her now. Mary was to witness His last agony, and Jesus desired her to understand His mission, that she might be strengthened to endure, when the sword should pierce through her soul. As Jesus had been separated from her, and she had sought Him sorrowing three days, so when He should be offered up for the sins of the world, He would again be lost to her for three days. And as He should come forth from the tomb, her sorrow would again be turned to joy. But how much better she could have borne the anguish of His death if she had understood the Scriptures to which He was now trying to turn her thoughts!
As Jesus prepares a people to stand in the time of trouble without His mediation because they are settled into the truth intellectually and spiritually so they cannot be moved, He is helping us recognize that fellowship with Him in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor! All we need to do is keep walking in the light in full surrender to Him, as from union and communion with Christ all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from our lives in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
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Praise the Lord that it is possible to be trained in a godly way. If we surrender the whole heart to Jesus, learn of Him, and exercise temperance in our habits of life, even from our early years, it can make a difference for eternity! I am so thankful for a praying, Christian mother who loved me and taught me to be healthy, abstaining from drugs, alcohol, caffeine and appreciating eating foods lots of fresh fruits and vegetables! As the Lord saves us by grace through faith, we can enjoy being temperate so our minds can be clear to hear the Holy Spirit's voice and do God's will!
In childhood and youth the character is most impressible. The power of self-control should then be acquired. By the fireside and at the family board influences are exerted whose results are as enduring as eternity. More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life. Youth is the sowing time. It determines the character of the harvest, for this life and for the life to come.
As we sow to the Spirit, we will reap to the Spirit, growing in grace and godliness as we thrive in His love! All of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing will be manifest in the life fully surrendered to God, walking in affectionate obedience to all of His Ten Commandments!
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You are very loved by God! He has power to save us and to prepare us for heaven, and we see in the life of Jesus the joy of true victory available to us! In complete surrender of our will to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest as Christ lives in us, the hope of glory!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,--how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
God loves to speak His words of love over you, so rejoice in Him and overcome by His grace day by day!
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There are so many ideas of what is true these days. But what is the ONLY thing we can safely trust in this world?
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it appears that obedience to some plain requirement of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world upon which we can rely is the word of God. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God's command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one, and trust the other.
Only the word of God is a safe foundation for making wise decisions for this life and the life to come. As we surrender our whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in and through our experience of character as we abide in Christ and overcome by His grace! True, affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments will flow like a stream from the heart that has learned to depend only on God's word for an eternal character foundation.
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Wow! If you and I could realize HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US and HOW MUCH CHRIST GAVE UP in giving Himself to save us, our perceived value of salvation would catapult us into such zealous, earnest, loving service for Jesus who left heaven and chose to lay aside His omnipotence for eternity so He could become our Brother! Amazing love! Received into our lives, we will yearn to bless others and find creative ways to reach souls so they can taste the bliss of relational selflessness (also known as true obedience)! Such grace, dwelt upon and appreciated, is so powerful that it can change us into the image of Christ and propel us to live such selfless lives that the only way to understand the self-sacrifice is to continually behold the loveliness of Jesus and overcome as He did, too!!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.
When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing! We will gladly go forth in God's plans for us as we discover more and more of His loveliness of character--which will be our experience for eternity as we choose to keep letting God's will become our own!
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Imagine how you would have felt beholding Jesus, the just-announced Lamb of God by John!
Was this the Christ? With awe and wonder the people looked upon the One just declared to be the Son of God. They had been deeply moved by the words of John. He had spoken to them in the name of God. They had listened to him day after day as he reproved their sins, and daily the conviction that he was sent of Heaven had strengthened. But who was this One greater than John the Baptist? In His dress and bearing there was nothing that betokened rank. He was apparently a simple personage, clad like themselves in the humble garments of the poor.
Chrsit's humility was not a detraction from His greatness, but a revelation of His true loveliness. We, through abiding in Him in complete surrender, may also have His humble character in any lot to which God's providence assigns us! Let's rejoice in His loving presence and walk by grace through faith in Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit come into the character of one truly converted to Christ, and then we are enabled to joyfully obey God from the heart in which He dwells! Now, by faith, behold the Savior as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, soon to come as our King in glory to take us home to heaven!
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Happy Sabbath!!
It was all out of love. Everything Jesus did was because He loved the Father and the souls for whom He came into this world to lay down His life to save. As we abide in Christ's love by a complete surrender of all we have and are, His experience becomes ours. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will spontaneously "break forth as the morning" Isaiah 58:8. This converted experience will lead to selfless obedience to God's law of love as manifest in unselfish ministry to those in need, even as Jesus gave us the perfect example!
Jesus reproved self-indulgence in all its forms, yet He was social in His nature. He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and seeking to elevate their thoughts from questions of commonplace life to those things that are spiritual and eternal. He gave no license to dissipation, and no shadow of worldly levity marred His conduct; yet He found pleasure in scenes of innocent happiness, and by His presence sanctioned the social gathering. A Jewish marriage was an impressive occasion, and its joy was not displeasing to the Son of man. By attending this feast, Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution.
When we realize how much God loves us and trust the way God leads us, we can be happy, peaceful and obedient Christians who thrive in doing God's will!
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Happy new year 2023!! What is to make us bold? Jesus power to save us!!
"Seeing then that we have a great high priest, . . . Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:14-16.
When we realize how sinful and weak we are, rather than trying on our own to make ourselves better, we will come to Christ just as we are--sinful, helpless, and dependent, and let Him bind up the wounds of our soul with His atoning blood and fill us with the Holy Spirit so all the attributes of His character are manifest in our lives without one missing! Praise God for the power of grace to change sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into the path of rebellion!
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Let Jesus draw you to Him!!
Nicodemus was being drawn to Christ. As the Saviour explained to him concerning the new birth, he longed to have this change wrought in himself. By what means could it be accomplished? Jesus answered the unspoken question: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
Here was ground with which Nicodemus was familiar. The symbol of the uplifted serpent made plain to him the Saviour's mission. When the people of Israel were dying from the sting of the fiery serpents, God directed Moses to make a serpent of brass, and place it on high in the midst of the congregation. Then the word was sounded throughout the encampment that all who would look upon the serpent should live. The people well knew that in itself the serpent had no power to help them. It was a symbol of Christ. As the image made in the likeness of the destroying serpents was lifted up for their healing, so One made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was to be their Redeemer. Romans 8:3. Many of the Israelites regarded the sacrificial service as having in itself virtue to set them free from sin. God desired to teach them that it had no more value than that serpent of brass. It was to lead their minds to the Saviour. Whether for the healing of their wounds or the pardon of their sins, they could do nothing for themselves but show their faith in the Gift of God. They were to look and live.
As we look and live, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, as we are enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God in winning souls to His kingdom and teach others the simplicity of the gospel! We will gladly obey God when Christ lives in us, the hope of glory! Praise God!!
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In reading about the woman at the well in John 4, what is a key lesson to learn from her experience that is an example to us? Once she surrendered fully to the grace of Christ, her heart was converted and she left her sinful past, gladly obedient to God and empowered to reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such a missionary experience is available to each of us through complete, continual surrender to Christ!
This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.
As we go forth by God's grace to bless others, we find the joy of salvation so wonderful that our experience will overflow to bless others!
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What if you came to realize that God's love for you is so great that He would even let you realize how sinful you are, so you could become transformed in character? After all, our character is the only thing we get to take to heaven with us when Jesus returns! Let us learn from the experience of the nobleman in John 4 how Christ reads the heart--not to condemn, but to purify and save! Then, when the ENTIRE heart is yielded to Christ and we are willing to seek Him for His will to be done and not our own, we can experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are abiding in Christ! We can affectionately obey God up to the light He has revealed to us because we have Jesus living in us, the hope of glory!
He who blessed the nobleman at Capernaum is just as desirous of blessing us. But like the afflicted father, we are often led to seek Jesus by the desire for some earthly good; and upon the granting of our request we rest our confidence in His love. The Saviour longs to give us a greater blessing than we ask; and He delays the answer to our request that He may show us the evil of our own hearts, and our deep need of His grace. He desires us to renounce the selfishness that leads us to seek Him. Confessing our helplessness and bitter need, we are to trust ourselves wholly to His love.
When you trust God's love fully, worry no longer makes any sense. The only thing that does make sense is complete surrender and joyful union and communion with the God who gave His Son to save us fully! Can we not then trust Him in every other area of life? Praise God for the experience that comes to us when we do!
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Is anything too hard for God to do? He can raise the dead and bring the spiritually dead back to life! Such a new life comes when we behold Christ's loveliness of character, believe in His power to save us, repent of sin, confess our sins to Him, and submit the whole heart to Christ to grow in His grace! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life that is truly converted! Then we can affectionately obey God from the new heart given by Christ that is vitally connected to His divine nature!
The Saviour continued: “What things soever He [the Father] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.... As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.” The Sadducees held that there would be no resurrection of the body; but Jesus tells them that one of the greatest works of His Father is raising the dead, and that He Himself has power to do the same work. “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. Christ declares that even now the power which gives life to the dead is among them, and they are to behold its manifestation. This same resurrection power is that which gives life to the soul “dead in trespasses and sins.” Ephesians 2:1. That spirit of life in Christ Jesus, “the power of His resurrection,” sets men “free from the law of sin and death.” Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:2. The dominion of evil is broken, and through faith the soul is kept from sin. He who opens his heart to the Spirit of Christ becomes a partaker of that mighty power which shall bring forth his body from the grave.
We are to present the word of life to those whom we may judge to be as hopeless subjects as if they were in their graves. Though they may seem to be unwilling to hear or to receive the light of truth, without questioning or wavering we are to do our part.
Present the truth as it is in Jesus, and help others to overcome sin by bringing them to the Savior who has power to restore the soul to wholeness! Trust that God can take the very most desperate case and transform such a soul into a monument of His grace and mercy!
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Happy Sabbath!! There's always more with Jesus!! John the Baptist had an important ministry to point people to Jesus, but there was still so much more that he did not understand! As we look to Christ and abide in His love, surrendering all we have and are to Him, He unites us to His grace so we can overcome sin and be ready for the future, immortal life!
The prophet John was the connecting link between the two dispensations. As God's representative he stood forth to show the relation of the law and the prophets to the Christian dispensation. He was the lesser light, which was to be followed by a greater. The mind of John was illuminated by the Holy Spirit, that he might shed light upon his people; but no other light ever has shone or ever will shine so clearly upon fallen man as that which emanated from the teaching and example of Jesus. Christ and His mission had been but dimly understood as typified in the shadowy sacrifices. Even John had not fully comprehended the future, immortal life through the Saviour.
What a joy it is to walk with Christ and look forward to what is to come! Yet in this life we can grasp by faith the experience of being a new creature in Christ as He manifests through us all of the traits of His divine nature, enabling us to affectionately obey God from the heart He renews!
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Angels are involved! Our experience in learning the truth is connected with the ministration of the angels! What a blessing that the angel Gabriel would be so involved in helping to guide in the unfolding of truth to those in need of prophetic counsel. Just as surely as Daniel and John were blessed with God's help through the angel Gabriel's ministry, we can be assured that the heavenly angels are involved in seeking to awaken in our hearts the desire to receive God's truth and study it so we can be faithful to do God's will in the times in which we live!
It was Gabriel, the angel next in rank to the Son of God, who came with the divine message to Daniel. It was Gabriel, “His angel,” whom Christ sent to open the future to the beloved John; and a blessing is pronounced on those who read and hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things written therein. Revelation 1:3.
The great blessing God desires for us is salvation, and that blessing is guarded and protected by receiving the prophetic truth for the time in which we live, for the three angels' messages, the return of Christ, and the final conflict with religious apostasy through the work of Satan are clearly foretold in Revelation in connection with the book of Daniel, helping us to walk a safe path for our feet in these last days. In complete surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life as the converted soul is empowered to live up to all the light that God has sent to shine upon the life path, and as we follow the truth, we grow more and more like Jesus with a better preparation to reach others in these last days! May you value the prophetic truths of God's word as they reveal Jesus and His plan to save all who come unto God by Him!
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What can cure the unbelieving heart? Learning from the experience of those who rejected Christ at Nazareth in the beginning of His ministry, we see that unbelief must be surrendered to the light of God's word, enabling the soul to overcome by grace through faith, giving us a new capacity for God's will to be done in our lives! Self must be crucified and yielded to Christ. As we surrender all we have and are to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are enabled to obey God from the heart. We must learn to trust God's word over every other influence, relying upon God's glory and not seeking our own. Since real greatness can dispense with outward show, it is well for us to value truth because it is truth, regardless of who presents it to us. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?
Throughout time, many religious leaders have been in error, and it was the religious leaders in Christ's day that were very intent on His crucifixion. Oh, let us cease from trusting man and rely completely upon God as He has revealed Himself in the word of God!
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While there is no competition in the kingdom of God, there is continually more available to all who come unto God by Christ Jesus. Rather than seeking to excel someone else who has different talents and capacities for service, we get to yield the whole heart to Christ and let Him pour into and through our souls all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, enabling us to affectionately obey God from the new heart up to the light He has revealed to us! The converted soul having such an experience will grow and be a witness to invite others to go "all in" for Jesus, so He can manifest through them the unique traits of character and gifts for the furthering of His kingdom! Let us work together as a loving family to further God's purposes of restoring the human race to holiness and hastening the coming of Jesus by giving the everlasting gospel to our world in this present time, helping to finish the final movements of the great controversy between Christ and Satan! Christ is longing for the manifestation of His own character in His people, and when He has a ripe crop of souls who will not turn from Him ever again--a people who can safely go through the time of trouble such as never was--then He will finish His work as High Priest and come to take His children home as their King! Hallelujah!!
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
Praise the Lord that God will multiply workers for His kingdom as we ourselves yield to Him all we have and are! Then we can accept the loving call to repentance in Revelation 3:14-22 and give the present truth message of Revelation 14:6-12! Jesus is coming again! Let's help that day come even sooner by doing our part with the very love Christ has lavished upon us!!
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What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus! Look to Him and be saved, yield the whole heart to Him to have Him convert it from selfishness to unselfish, holy love that delights to obey God! Allow Him to lead you into all truth by the Holy Spirit, and expect God to do great things!
His tender compassion fell with a touch of healing upon weary and troubled hearts. Even amid the turbulence of angry enemies He was surrounded with an atmosphere of peace. The beauty of His countenance, the loveliness of His character, above all, the love expressed in look and tone, drew to Him all who were not hardened in unbelief. Had it not been for the sweet, sympathetic spirit that shone out in every look and word, He would not have attracted the large congregations that He did. The afflicted ones who came to Him felt that He linked His interest with theirs as a faithful and tender friend, and they desired to know more of the truths He taught. Heaven was brought near. They longed to abide in His presence, that the comfort of His love might be with them continually.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life of one who surrenders fully to Jesus and follows in true obedience all the light shining on the pathway to heaven! Let's look up to Jesus and remember how He lived His life on earth--for His experience may be ours!
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Do you always get what you ask for? Well, when it comes to God's answers to our prayers, thankfully the answer is "what is best," as IT IS HIS WILL to forgive and cleanse us from sin, but if we ask for an earthly blessing like healing, a home, a spouse, a child, a specific ministry, or certain gifts we desire, God may providentially grant the request immediately, later, or let us know He has "something better"--and because we can see how much He loves us in Christ (after all, He left heaven to die for us and save us!!!!), it would be best to TRUST HIM and LET HIM LEAD based on His word: "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" (Ephesians 3:20)!!!!!!
In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” Galatians 1:4. And “this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14, 15. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.
What comfort we can have when we REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES US and that He will ALWAYS fulfill His promise: "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" (Romans 8:28). ARE YOU CONVINCED GOD REALLY LOVES YOU? THEN LIVE BY FAITH UPON EVERY WORD OF GOD AND NOT BY SIGHT, FEELING OR THE FLESH!!!!! ALL THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT WITHOUT ONE MISSING WILL FLOW THROUGH YOUR LIFE AS LONG AS YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURRENDERED TO GOD AND DOING HIS WILL AS HE LEADS YOU IN TRUE OBEDIENCE TO ALL OF HIS COMMANDMENTS!!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!
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There's something for everyone!! Jesus knows what we really desire and need, and He will supply us with all we need for this life and the life to come as we come in true surrender and faith to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we continue to abide in Jesus in complete surrender and obey His law up to the light He has revealed to us! Praise God for the gift of salvation that we can experience and share with others by pointing them to Jesus!!
The Prince of heaven was among His people. The greatest gift of God had been given to the world. Joy to the poor; for Christ had come to make them heirs of His kingdom. Joy to the rich; for He would teach them how to secure eternal riches. Joy to the ignorant; He would make them wise unto salvation. Joy to the learned; He would open to them deeper mysteries than they had ever fathomed; truths that had been hidden from the foundation of the world would be opened to men by the Saviour's mission.
Jesus also continues to have more and more for us if we will but open our hearts to receive Him and walk in the path He leads us to take! Praise God!!
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As God each week gives us the seventh day Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, we can rejoice in the love that makes us happy and walk in the light of His word!
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.
By yielding the whole heart to Christ and accepting His strength and grace, we can choose day by day to overcome sin through truly obeying God from the new heart--even the heart of unselfish love! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are connected to Christ, the living vine!
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Who are you letting speak through you? Each time you utter a word of doubt or unbelief, you express sentiments from Satan, but each time you express faith, hope and love and point souls to Christ and His word, holy angels are ministering through you!
We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.
Let's bring a smile to Jesus today by letting His will be done in our lives! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in and through us as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us in true conversion!
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How would you like to be as close to Jesus as possible? He loves all of us, but if our hearts are tender and open to what He wants to share with us, we can have a very deep, spiritual union and communion with Christ that is like what John experienced!
The Saviour loved them all, but John's was the most receptive spirit. He was younger than the others, and with more of the child's confiding trust he opened his heart to Jesus. Thus he came more into sympathy with Christ, and through him the Saviour's deepest spiritual teaching was communicated to His people.
As we point others to how to have that ever-deepening union and communion with Christ, others are drawn to Christ because they can see that the gospel of the grace of God does make us partakers of the divine nature, filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered and growing in His will through true obedience to all the Lord has taught us!
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To be meek and humble in heart is what Christ offers us by coming into union and communion with Himself. Only as we abide in Christ by a complete surrender can we experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Then, through letting His will be done in us as we cooperate with Him, we can be living witnesses of the power of grace to change the life from sin to holiness!
“Blessed are the meek.” The difficulties we have to encounter may be very much lessened by that meekness which hides itself in Christ. If we possess the humility of our Master, we shall rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed, and they will cease to cast a gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a calm and trustful spirit robs God of His right to reveal in him His own perfection of character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts above.
When we manifest self-control and all of the other fruit of the Spirit, it is only because Christ is giving us the power and ability to do what is right, and we are availing ourselves of His strength made perfect in our weakness!
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What an amazing, simple, direct faith experience the centurion had as he heard of what Jesus' word could do! Do we believe that God really means what He says to us personally? Then when you confess your sins to God in sincerity, believe that He forgives, believe that He restores and cleanses from all unrighteousness, and then go forward to inspire others with faith, hope and love! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life of those who take God at His word and surrender fully to Him as a living Savior!
Christ had said to the nobleman whose son He healed, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” John 4:48. He was grieved that His own nation should require these outward signs of His Messiahship. Again and again He had marveled at their unbelief. But He marveled at the faith of the centurion who came to Him. The centurion did not question the Saviour's power. He did not even ask Him to come in person to perform the miracle. “Speak the word only,” he said, “and my servant shall be healed.”
Praise the Lord for the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. As we see the accounts of God's work in the healing of people in the Bible, let us believe that God can also restore us by His word!
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Oh, Jesus gets us so deeply--even more deeply than we understand ourselves! We can find rest in every trying situation where Jesus found it--in union and communion with the Father! Let's go there--continually!!
These things made His path a thorny one to travel. So pained was Christ by the misapprehension in His own home that it was a relief to Him to go where it did not exist. There was one home that He loved to visit,—the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest. Yet there were none on earth who could comprehend His divine mission, or know the burden which He bore in behalf of humanity. Often He could find relief only in being alone, and communing with His heavenly Father.
God's presence brings us true relief amid the chaos, confusion and conflicts that are so often experienced in human relationships; Jesus longed to have people who would gladly enter into fellowship with Him in His sufferings and gladly accept the spiritual teachings that He presented that would convert the soul, and He longs for your friendship today. Are you willing to open the heart fully to Christ so He can fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as you are totally surrendered to Him? If so, He will enable you to find rest and peace in His presence so you can experience His intimacy and love with the Father that sustains you and empowers you to live the life of holiness.
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We are being trained!!
“Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.
If you let Jesus lead you, He will fully save you! To be saved to the uttermost from sin and its effects is a great miracle of grace, but it is possible to be a repentant sinner who is a true saint abiding in Christ, manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while affectionately obedient to all of the light of God's law that is revealed! Let's let Jesus do this in us as He puts forth ALL His power by the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great miracle and as we put forth all the effort and energy He has given us to be in harmony with His will! Praise God for such a glorious experience of character offered us in Christ! Let's live it out moment-by-moment!!
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Whose experience would you rather have in the storm--that of Jesus who was kept by His Father in perfect peace, or that of the disciples who were afraid on the boat? By communing with the Father as Jesus did and following His example, we, too, can experience God's abiding peace in every storm of life that arises, trusting Him to deliver us in the way that is best! Then, instead of being afraid, we can have a rest of soul that will invite others to trust Christ, too, and come enter into His experience by union and communion with Him in complete surrender of the heart, mind and will to Him!
How often the disciples’ experience is ours! When the tempests of temptation gather, and the fierce lightnings flash, and the waves sweep over us, we battle with the storm alone, forgetting that there is One who can help us. We trust to our own strength till our hope is lost, and we are ready to perish. Then we remember Jesus, and if we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain. Though He sorrowfully reproves our unbelief and self-confidence, He never fails to give us the help we need. Whether on the land or on the sea, if we have the Saviour in our hearts, there is no need of fear. Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that He knows to be best.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are abiding in Christ in complete surrender! Then, we can gladly obey Christ up to the light He has revealed with intense love and earnestness, having a peace that transcends understanding because we accept the love of God as an abiding principle in the soul!
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We can overcome! Like the woman who reached out for Christ and was instantly healed, we can reach out in faith and be spiritually restored to wholeness, experiencing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are abiding in Christ! Then our lives will bear witness for Christ as we affectionately obey Him from the new heart!
The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.
What a joy it is to walk in the victory of Christ and have a genuine faith walk with Jesus that brings life and life more abundantly!
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True Christian character is a consistent experience. Let us behold Christ, yield fully to Him, abide in Jesus, and let His life flow through us as manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all the light shining upon the life path from God's law! From such an experience, we can keep growing in grace!
He who would confess Christ must have Christ abiding in him. He cannot communicate that which he has not received. The disciples might speak fluently on doctrines, they might repeat the words of Christ Himself; but unless they possessed Christlike meekness and love, they were not confessing Him. A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny Him, whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evilspeaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny Him by shunning life's burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny Him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwelling in darkness. In all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them. And “whosoever shall deny Me before men,” He says, “him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”
Christ loves to confess our names before our Heavenly Father--so let us avoid the booby traps the devil has laid for our feet and walk on the straight and narrow path to heaven--the path of life Jesus walked by conforming all He did and said to the word of God!
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Jesus is training us for heaven! Let us not fail to experience what He is offering us by His own life and example!
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.
Christ loves to transform the character of every soul who yields fully to Him! He longs to do it for everyone, but He will not force and entrance! When we surrender completely to Christ and have that sweet, intimate time with Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow into the life and we are empowered to partake of the divine nature, enabling us to obey all of the truth from God's law that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us! What a miracle and what a blessing life becomes when we know God and Jesus Christ whom Has sent--for this is eternal life (John 17:3)!!
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Simple yet satisfied--what a great way to describe how the Father worked the miracle through Christ to provide for the thousands who had gathered to hear the word of God as Christ preached and were in need of food. From a small lunch given in humble faith, all the multitude were able to eat to satisfaction. After all had their fill, nothing was wasted, as they took up "twelve baskets full" (Mark 6:43) of the remaining food to then share with others!
If men today were simple in their habits, living in harmony with nature's laws, as did Adam and Eve in the beginning, there would be an abundant supply for the needs of the human family. There would be fewer imaginary wants, and more opportunities to work in God's ways. But selfishness and the indulgence of unnatural taste have brought sin and misery into the world, from excess on the one hand, and from want on the other. DA
If we can be content with the simple provision God makes for our needs and let Him weed all vanity from our lives, giving us strength and grace to do God's will as He leads, it can be a witness to others to experience "godliness with contentment" in which there is "great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to God and cheerfully obedient to all of the truth God has revealed to us!
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You are fully known by Someone. Let Christ's loving knowledge of you lead you to completely trust Him and accept His plans for your life, heed His warnings, and graciously appreciate the way He will help you learn what is needed to be kept from falling into temptation. May we all learn to be humble and teachable so Jesus can do in and through us what He longs to do! When we yield our whole heart to Him and abide in His love, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through our lives in unselfish blessing of others, as Christ enthroned on our hearts enables us to obey the royal law of love, the Ten Commandments!
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.
The trials we face are for growth of character and benefit to prepare us for future trials. Jesus Himself modeled this by His experience, as we see from Hebrews 5:8: "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which He suffered." Had Peter remembered that he could only be kept from sin by keeping his eyes on Jesus and trusting fully in His grace, Peter would have been able to resist the temptation to deny Jesus three times, and could have had a much happier experience with Jesus. Oh, let us realize that all that God tells us is really to deepen our loving relationship with Him and to make us happier as we abide in His holiness! Praise the Lord!!
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What a blessing to know that by virtue of uniting with Christ by faith, we can have no fear of death, for all who sleep in Christ will rise again! We can be one spirit with Him today!
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” Through the beloved John, who listened to these words, the Holy Spirit declared to the churches, “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:11, 12. And Jesus said, “I will raise him up at the last day.” Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave,—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal.
We get to experience eternal life starting now--as through a complete surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as He empowers and motivates us to obey Him up to the light of His law He has revealed!
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Keeping the main focus of the everlasting gospel does not mean neglecting essential points of present truth relating to the high priestly ministry of Christ in the most holy place of the sanctuary, the non-immortality of the soul, the seventh day Sabbath, the soon second coming of Jesus as our King upon completion of His work of judgment, or any other Bible doctrine. But as we see Jesus by faith ministering for us in heaven above to prepare a place for us while He is guiding us by the Holy Spirit to prepare our characters for heaven, it is so essential that we do not get distracted by side issues that are not important. Satan often uses distraction to keep souls away from experiencing the power of the gospel whereby a sinner who yields fully to Christ is made a saint to partake of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowered to obey the law of God up the light revealed!
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.
As we learn the enemy's tactics, we can go right to Jesus and His word for a sure foundation of truth and experience that is in harmony with HIs will. Whatever temptations you are facing, come to Christ and let His word abide in you so you can reveal the power and simplicity of the gospel! "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). Let's experience this true conversion each day by walking in the truth as it is in Jesus!
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Happy Sabbath!! God is very generous! Let us open our hearts to His unselfish love and live to bless others! All He does is for the good of the universe and those whom He loves with an infinite love! As Jesus granted the request of the Gentile woman whose daughter needed healing from demon possession, Christ was showing how He yearns to bless all! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life that is fully yielded to Jesus, empowering the soul to affectionately obey God from the new heart given by grace through faith in the genuine experience of salvation!
Jesus longed to unfold the deep mysteries of the truth which had been hid for ages, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews, and “partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6. This truth the disciples were slow to learn, and the divine Teacher gave them lesson upon lesson. In rewarding the faith of the centurion at Capernaum, and preaching the gospel to the inhabitants of Sychar, He had already given evidence that He did not share the intolerance of the Jews. But the Samaritans had some knowledge of God; and the centurion had shown kindness to Israel. Now Jesus brought the disciples in contact with a heathen, whom they regarded as having no reason above any of her people, to expect favor from Him. He would give an example of how such a one should be treated. The disciples had thought that He dispensed too freely the gifts of His grace. He would show that His love was not to be circumscribed to race or nation.
As we open our hearts to Jesus and all He longs to do, we will find new opportunities to go forth to bless others in His appointed ways! May your heart be fully knit with Christ this Sabbath as you grow in His love!
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Someone desires to bless you--and that is God Himself! "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord" (Psalm 119:1). The margin for "undefiled" is "sincere," and God desires to give us a sincere, undefiled character as we accept the cleansing blood of Jesus, turn from sin, surrender the whole heart to Him, and let Him lead us to glorify His name and bless others! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth in a converted soul, leading sincerely in true affectionate obedience to all of the light of the law of God that has been revealed! Praise God for such an experience that is given us by abiding in Christ!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:6, 3.
Walking with Jesus and reflecting His character brings true joy and contentment, for "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). When others see that we have a consistent life in Christ--which is a great miracle--it is a powerful way to draw souls to Christ and invite them also to experience the rest and peace that alone come through complete acquiescence to God's will!
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With God it is totally possible! As we unite our weakness to His strength and love Him with the whole heart because He first loved us, we are enabled to become like Christ in mind and character who gave Himself for us so we can be fully saved! A complete, continual surrender to Christ is the only way to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in our lives as Christ living in us empowers us to obey God's law because He writes it upon our hearts and minds!
Love for souls for whom Christ died means crucifixion of self. He who is a child of God should henceforth look upon himself as a link in the chain let down to save the world, one with Christ in His plan of mercy, going forth with Him to seek and save the lost. The Christian is ever to realize that he has consecrated himself to God, and that in character he is to reveal Christ to the world. The self-sacrifice, the sympathy, the love, manifested in the life of Christ are to reappear in the life of the worker for God.
What an incredible gift God is offering us--a character like Jesus!! Will you yield all you have and are to Him? Nothing brings greater joy to God's selfless heart than to be able to reproduce His character in His people!
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Let's seek to grasp what was really on Jesus' heart as He went to the mount with Peter, James and John and prayed earnestly!
Presently Christ tells them that they are now to go no farther. Stepping a little aside from them, the Man of Sorrows pours out His supplications with strong crying and tears. He prays for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity. He must Himself gain a fresh hold on Omnipotence, for only thus can He contemplate the future. And He pours out His heart longings for His disciples, that in the hour of the power of darkness their faith may not fail. The dew is heavy upon His bowed form, but He heeds it not. The shadows of night gather thickly about Him, but He regards not their gloom. So the hours pass slowly by. At first the disciples unite their prayers with His in sincere devotion; but after a time they are overcome with weariness, and, even while trying to retain their interest in the scene, they fall asleep. Jesus has told them of His sufferings; He has taken them with Him that they might unite with Him in prayer; even now He is praying for them. The Saviour has seen the gloom of His disciples, and has longed to lighten their grief by an assurance that their faith has not been in vain. Not all, even of the twelve, can receive the revelation He desires to give. Only the three who are to witness His anguish in Gethsemane have been chosen to be with Him on the mount. Now the burden of His prayer is that they may be given a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, that His kingdom may be revealed to human eyes, and that His disciples may be strengthened to behold it. He pleads that they may witness a manifestation of His divinity that will comfort them in the hour of His supreme agony with the knowledge that He is of a surety the Son of God and that His shameful death is a part of the plan of redemption.
So much is on Jesus' heart, and He prays to His Father, knowing the way to receive strength and grace to help His disciples in this time of great need. As we feel our dependence on God and deeply see our need of His help, we can go to the very place Jesus found power and comfort--the secret place of prayer! As we surrender all we have and are to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow in our lives as we are enabled by His divine nature at work in and through us to obey all of His commandments because He abides in us! Let us never forget the agony of Calvary and the glory of Christ's kingdom (He is about to come the second time with all His glory!!), for both are essential truths relating to our salvation as we appreciate more fully all that God has done for us in Christ!
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Mustard seeds are pretty small. But God can take the measure of faith He has given you (however small that seems to you), and if you are willing to surrender fully to God's word and put faith into action by continual surrender to Him, He can do whatever it takes to save you and to work out His will in and through you! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through your life as long as you choose to let the seed of God's word keep your heart and mind from yielding to sin! Christ in you, the hope of glory, loves to do character miracles! The fact that a tiny mustard seed can grow to a large plant is also a promise that God can take you--no matter how small you may feel in and of yourself--and grow your character to reflect His in true obedience and power!
“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed,” said Jesus, “ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove.” Though the grain of mustard seed is so small, it contains that same mysterious life principle which produces growth in the loftiest tree. When the mustard seed is cast into the ground, the tiny germ lays hold of every element that God has provided for its nutriment, and it speedily develops a sturdy growth. If you have faith like this, you will lay hold upon God's word, and upon all the helpful agencies He has appointed. Thus your faith will strengthen, and will bring to your aid the power of heaven. The obstacles that are piled by Satan across your path, though apparently as insurmountable as the eternal hills, shall disappear before the demand of faith. “Nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
When God makes promises to us, the best thing to do is to put our will on the side of His word and expect Him to do great things for the glory of His character!
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You are invited to value what really brings true happiness by coming to Jesus and learning to unselfishly live to bless others! Christ gives us the strength and grace to do His will as we surrender all to Him, for all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into our llves as we obey God from a sincere heart!
Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. He who feels most deeply his need of divine aid will plead for it; and the Holy Spirit will give unto him glimpses of Jesus that will strengthen and uplift the soul. From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission; and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail.
Living to bless others flows from Christ abiding in the soul. In childlike simplicity and self-forgetfulness it is a joy to find ways to seek and save others, pointing them to the Savior who has power to save us from sin and heal us into His image!
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Sin, selfishness, and resisting God only bring dissatisfaction, no matter how much Satan may try to deceive the soul to think that the "pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25) will be worth it. It never is. Don't take the bait. Look to Jesus, learn of Him, surrender fully to Him, and cooperate with Him in the formation of a character that manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with all of the Ten Commandments--for such is the evidence of genuine conversion, drinking the living water that Christ offers!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me.” The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
Christ longs to give us something this world cannot provide to satisfy us. Only the Holy Spirit abiding in the soul can deeply satisfy us and lead us to make a wise use of our earthly life here in preparation for heaven and the new earth!
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Happy Sabbath!! Don't be deceived! Prayerfully study the Bible with a sincere desire to conform your life to its teachings by receiving Jesus as a personal Savior! Let Him as Lord of your life renew your heart and mind, fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and empower you to affectionately obey the Ten Commandments from the heart He keeps pure by His grace! In contemplating the deceptions at the time of Jesus' first advent, we can learn lessons to help protect us from the deceptions Satan is spreading on the verge of Christ's second advent!
Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would “reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously;” that He would “have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error. Had the people in sincerity studied the word for themselves, they would not have been misled. The sixty-first chapter of Isaiah testifies that Christ was to do the very work He did. Chapter fifty-three sets forth His rejection and sufferings in the world, and chapter fifty-nine describes the character of the priests and rabbis.
Jesus is soon coming in the clouds with power and great glory to receive us to His heavenly kingdom (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)! He will return from having completed the work of judgment in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest, and probation will close before Jesus returns. How important, then, is it for us to prayerfully study the Scriptures to allow the Holy Spirit to conform our life and character to His character so we can meet Him in the air (not on the earth--those will be false Christs!) at His second coming in peace! Jesus is coming soon! Praise God His word is our anchor of truth to help guide us safely to the heavenly home He has gone to prepare for us!
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Satan is the source of all sin and suffering, but God overrules all that Satan does for purposes of mercy! Let us learn of Christ and overcome sin by abiding in Jesus in complete surrender of our heart, mind and will to Him! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through our lives as He empowers us to obey Him from the new heart He imparts!
God had given a lesson designed to prevent this. The history of Job had shown that suffering is inflicted by Satan, and is overruled by God for purposes of mercy. But Israel did not understand the lesson. The same error for which God had reproved the friends of Job was repeated by the Jews in their rejection of Christ.
When Jesus came into the world and suffered immensely, Satan led the Jews to think that Jesus was a great sinner, which was a lie, and yet Christ went straight forward, fulfilling the will of the Father in becoming sin for us, dying the death we deserve on the cross, so we might be made the righteousness of God in Him as He rose from the dead and offers us His endless, perfect life!
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There is nothing in this life that you will ever face that He doesn't already know about. Even if no one else on earth understands your pain and struggle, we have a Savior who does! Jesus has a safe path for you to walk and He will guide you through every thorny, fiery trial with His divine presence if you but let Him. Let us surrender fully to the Divine Shepherd and let the Holy Spirit abide in us so all of the attributes of God's character can flow through us in true obedience from the heart!
Through all our trials we have a never-failing Helper. He does not leave us alone to struggle with temptation, to battle with evil, and be finally crushed with burdens and sorrow. Though now He is hidden from mortal sight, the ear of faith can hear His voice saying, Fear not; I am with you. “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore.” Revelation 1:18. I have endured your sorrows, experienced your struggles, encountered your temptations. I know your tears; I also have wept. The griefs that lie too deep to be breathed into any human ear, I know. Think not that you are desolate and forsaken. Though your pain touch no responsive chord in any heart on earth, look unto Me, and live. “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Isaiah 54:10.
God is so merciful and kind, leading us to Him if we will but come--just as we are--so He can change us to become in mind and character just like Him! By beholding God in Christ we are changed into His image by the Holy Spirit! Praise God for the gift of salvation in Christ!
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He had the big picture in mind. We should learn from Jesus' perspective how to face our daily trials, crucifying self, rising to fulness of life in Him by a continual surrender of the entire heart, so He can manifest through us all the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while simultaneously empowering us to affectionally obey Him up to all the light He has revealed!
Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day, when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil forever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth.
Let us contemplate the peace God offers us--a peace that passes all understanding, a peace that is the result of communing with Christ who is our peace! Heaven begins in the soul, and as we meditate upon the perfection, the loveliness, and the goodness of God in how He is orchestrating all things for the eternal good of all who love Him, well may we rejoice in the Lord always and be beacons of hope and encouragement to souls that need the present truth for this time by seeing Christ live in us, the hope of glory!
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Uplifting Jesus is the only way for humanity to be lifted up! As Jesus shared the story of the good Samaritan, He was giving us the opportunity to also be drawn to Him and share His life of love to bless others!
In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus gave a picture of Himself and His mission. Man had been deceived, bruised, robbed, and ruined by Satan, and left to perish; but the Saviour had compassion on our helpless condition. He left His glory, to come to our rescue. He found us ready to die, and He undertook our case. He healed our wounds. He covered us with His robe of righteousness. He opened to us a refuge of safety, and made complete provision for us at His own charges. He died to redeem us. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 15:17; 13:34.
As we abide in Jesus by surrendering fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, we will gladly obey God from the heart, and ministry to those in need will be a delight even if it means inconvenience and trial. Love moves the disciple to be like Christ who went to the cross to save us!
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What a paradigm shift! During Jesus' personal ministry with His disciples, they often kept trying to ignore or disregard His clear words about His crucifixion (as they hoped it would not actually happen), but after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they considered it a high honor to suffer for His name! They had been thoroughly converted and transformed! The disciples were converted before the crucifixion, clearly revealed by Jesus' words when He washed their feet and said "ye are clean, but not all" (John 13:10), for, with the exception of Judas, all had made that complete surrender. The Holy Spirit had changed them in heart to be willing to concede the highest place to another. Yet being converted at one point is not enough--for we need to remain in a converted state and be thoroughly transformed in every area of character! Conversion is the result of a long, protracted process of wooing by God's Holy Spirit, and will always bring all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the soul is empowered to obey God's holy law (the Ten Commandments) up to the light revealed. Such an experience is to be maintained by a continual surrender of the will to Christ. It was after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that God could do SO MUCH MORE for the disciples because they FELT THEIR NEED of His help and were learning more fully each day that God's kingdom is not based on external measures of greatness, but holiness of heart and life, for "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
As priests and rulers combined against them, and they were brought before councils and thrust into prison, the followers of Christ rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Acts 5:41. They rejoiced to prove, before men and angels, that they recognized the glory of Christ, and chose to follow Him at the loss of all things.
Thus, as we learn more each day, following in the sacrificial steps of Jesus, we can also remember that fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. May you rejoice in whatever plans God's providence leads you into for His kingdom sake, even though it be at the loss of all things, and even life itself! "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee" (Psalm 63:3)! Praising God in our tribulations and trials that we endure for His sake is a powerful witness to reach others with the true experience of the gospel! Giving the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 while having the experience of Revelation 14:1-5 is so powerful that it hastens Jesus' return and impels us to go to the ends of the earth to reach souls bought at the cost of Jesus' blood!
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Praise God for the way Jesus sees us as His children!
The Saviour regards with infinite tenderness the souls whom He has purchased with His own blood. They are the claim of His love. He looks upon them with unutterable longing. His heart is drawn out, not only to the best-behaved children, but to those who have by inheritance objectionable traits of character. Many parents do not understand how much they are responsible for these traits in their children. They have not the tenderness and wisdom to deal with the erring ones whom they have made what they are. But Jesus looks upon these children with pity. He traces from cause to effect.
When the whole heart is yielded to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, we will gladly obey God from the new heart up to the light He has revealed to us, and we will be enabled to love souls like Jesus does! Praise God that He does not give up on us, even though we have areas that need to be healed and changed!
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Infinite value--that is what you have! Thus, it follows that every soul has infinite value, because of what Christ did for us in creating us and redeeming us! Oh, what wondrous love to woo us to Himself away from the unsatisfying pleasures of sin and lead us to abide in His loveliness of character as we grow in His grace and strength to do His holy will! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Him in humble faith and obedience! Let us enter into the true joy of our lives being used by God to win souls to Him at any cost to ourselves, motivated by the One who went to Gethsemane and Calvary for us, and is not interceding in heaven as our High Priest, preparing us for His coming as King!
When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; ... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, “Follow Me.”
To follow Jesus is to be TRULY HAPPY!! He loves us and wants what is best for us. When the rich young ruler turned away sorrowful, it was because He did not let Jesus lead him the only path that leads to true happiness--and that is the path Jesus has planned for us! "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11)!!! Trust Jesus fully and watch Him lead you in paths that bring the greatest joy to God, others, and you, too!
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What is most important to you? As we contemplate the experience of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, it is evident that she had found what really mattered in life--being with Jesus and hearing His word with a sincere, open heart to abide in His love. After all, the plan of salvation is a love story. God so loves us that He sent His Son to redeem us at infinite cost to Himself. Well would it be to enjoy the sweet union and communion that come from abiding in Jesus in complete surrender to Him which gives Him permission to supernaturally produce in the converted soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while simultaneously empowering the life abiding in Christ to affectionately obey God up to the light He has revealed! What a miracle!!
As Christ gave His wonderful lessons, Mary sat at His feet, a reverent and devoted listener. On one occasion, Martha, perplexed with the care of preparing the meal, went to Christ, saying, “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” This was the time of Christ's first visit to Bethany. The Saviour and His disciples had just made the toilsome journey on foot from Jericho. Martha was anxious to provide for their comfort, and in her anxiety she forgot the courtesy due to her Guest. Jesus answered her with mild and patient words, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Mary was storing her mind with the precious words falling from the Saviour's lips, words that were more precious to her than earth's most costly jewels.
As you store your mind with the jewels of God's word, know that such an experience is worth more than gold, for God is preparing our characters to bear trials so we may impart these words of life to souls who need them, so they, too, can be saved in God's appointed way! Praise the Lord!
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Don't even listen! Whatever Satan tells you is a LIE!! Sadly, the Jews listened to lies from Satan and put Jesus to death. In the last days, Satan will seek to deceive the whole world by His lies and lead the nations to enact laws enforcing Sunday observance and prohibiting freedom to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Oh, let us choose to walk in truth and humbly keep the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) by the power of Jesus offered us when we surrender all to Him, so that we can experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus offers us the three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to prepare us for His return! Let us live and give the message and turn resolutely away from Satan's crafty, cunning lies!
Satan told them that in order to maintain their authority, they must put Jesus to death. This counsel they followed. The fact that they might lose the power they then exercised, was, they thought, sufficient reason for coming to some decision. With the exception of a few who dared not speak their minds, the Sanhedrin received the words of Caiaphas as the words of God. Relief came to the council; the discord ceased. They resolved to put Christ to death at the first favorable opportunity. In rejecting the proof of the divinity of Jesus, these priests and rulers had locked themselves in impenetrable darkness. They had come wholly under the sway of Satan, to be hurried by him over the brink of eternal ruin. Yet such was their deception that they were well pleased with themselves. They regarded themselves as patriots, who were seeking the nation's salvation.
So it will be in the last days. Those who enact laws to finally kill God's commandment keeping people will think themselves doing God service, but we must test everything to God's word to know what is true!
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It's a gift! Jesus offers you His character, and then gladly will bless you to be a blessing to as many as possible! Let us yield all to Him so He can manifest through us all the fruits of His Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart!
"But to sit on My right hand, and on My left," He continued, "is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father." In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ.
What a joy it is to partake of Christ's character!
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Grace is more than a word--it is the power of God to pardon and transform a sinner into a saint! When Zacchaeus became truly converted, his life was changed by God's grace revealed to him in and through Christ, and his entire heart was surrendered to God's will. Such an experience led Zacchaeus to do what was right in true obedience from the heart, restore what was wrong from his past, and the Lord filled him with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! We, too, can experience the grace of God to make us partakers of the divine nature which enables us to do God's holy will!
When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples had marveled at their Master's saying, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" They had exclaimed one to another, "Who then can be saved?" Now they had a demonstration of the truth of Christ's words, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Mark 10:24, 26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.
In beholding true testimonies of how God saved others, we ourselves can be immeasurably blessed as we realize God can convert us and make us new in heart and life! There is no greater joy than being truly converted and bringing others to Christ to experience the same joy! May you go forth to be a blessing in Christ this day!
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Let it overflow! When you get to know Jesus' love so well that you cannot help but share it, you are experiencing the true grace of God that makes sinners into saints who love to express His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with God's law of love--to bless the Lord and others! Mary's example shows us what love does--it overflows!!
Christ delighted in the earnest desire of Mary to do the will of her Lord. He accepted the wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. The desire that Mary had to do this service for her Lord was of more value to Christ than all the precious ointment in the world, because it expressed her appreciation of the world's Redeemer. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. The matchless excellence of the character of Christ filled her soul. That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver. It was the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed.
May your experience of knowing and loving God in all the ways He has revealed Himself in Christ by the Holy Spirit lead you to overflow that love in blessing to others!
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What a blessing to know that Jesus is our Deliverer! He came to present Himself as the One who was about to be offered up on the cross as our Sacrifice!
Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode.
Christ knows what we need before we even ask, and now it is helpful for us to experience the joy of the Lord and walk in His victory over sin by continually surrendering to Him all we have and are! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we abide in Christ and grow in His grace!
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The invitation stands! Christ invites all to come to Him and be saved from pride, unbelief and the downward path of selfishness. Only in Christ is there true healing! As we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth through our lives as we abide in Christ and obey Him affectionately from the heart!
Christ overlooked the world and all ages from the height of Olivet; and His words are applicable to every soul who slights the pleadings of divine mercy. Scorner of His love, He addresses you today. It is “thou, even thou,” who shouldest know the things that belong to thy peace. Christ is shedding bitter tears for you, who have no tears to shed for yourself. Already that fatal hardness of heart which destroyed the Pharisees is manifest in you. And every evidence of the grace of God, every ray of divine light, is either melting and subduing the soul, or confirming it in hopeless impenitence.
Christ's grace is powerful enough to transform a sinner into a saint and keep us from failing back into sin. Let us come just as we are, invite Him to make us like Him, and turn away from the path of sin. Christ knows what is best and only in perfect acquiescence is there perfect rest in the soul.
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Patiently let God build your character after His pattern--Jesus! He did God's will on earth to make it possible for us, when surrendered fully to Him, to have an experience of character that reflects heaven's glory--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are also empowered to obey God from the new heart!
In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it “a sure foundation.” The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a “tried stone.” Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam's guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.
Praise God for the joy of building on Christ as the true foundation! He never fails those who come to Him!
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When God fills us with love, it heals our relationship with Him and others!
The first four of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one great precept, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” The last six are included in the other, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.
Only by love is love awakened, and thankfully, God first loved us to woo us to Himself so we can experience His true character manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly are empowered to obey the Ten Commandments from the new heart given us when we surrender fully to Christ!
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He did everything that He could. Can the same be said of us?
Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This is the separation struggle. In the lamentation of Christ the very heart of God is pouring itself forth. It is the mysterious farewell of the long-suffering love of the Deity.
As Christ reproduces His character in us as His people, we will experience His yearning over the souls in this world whose probation is closing, for Christ's ministry as our High Priest in heaven is about to close and He will soon return to take His children home to the mansions He has prepared. How He longs for all to come to Him and be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4), yet He will not force any to choose Him. He calls and waits, but if the soul refuses to respond, Christ sadly will give us up to what we have chosen--they way of death. Oh, let us not only turn fully to Christ today but invite others to fully surrender to Him, and thus experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! It's not too late--let's respond to Christ and invite others to do so with His Spirit moving us to make heartfelt appeals to reach souls who need all that Christ is offering us--salvation to the uttermost from sin and its effects upon us! Praise God for such love as we see in Christ!
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The seed is Jesus, the word of God, who in dying on Calvary and rising from the dead offers us eternal life as we consent to die to sin and abide in His righteous life! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through the life that is truly converted and abiding in Him in true obedience! More and more glory unfolds to our hearts and minds as we contemplate the infinite love manifest toward us in Christ's death on the cross! It starts now, and continues forever!!
The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.
Let us praise God more and more for His wonderful power and grace towards us to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into sin and the way of death! The path of life found through union and communion with Christ is infinitely better than anything we are tempted to do that is wrong!
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Christ is coming very soon! Let us behold Christ in His word, by faith that works by love surrender all we have and are to Him, and give the present truth message for this time reflecting our need of genuine conversion (Revelation 3:14-22) and the proclamation of the three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-12). Look to Him and be saved to the uttermost!
Everything in the world is in agitation. The signs of the times are ominous. Coming events cast their shadows before. The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders. There are those who are waiting and watching and working for our Lord's appearing. Another class are falling into line under the generalship of the first great apostate. Few believe with heart and soul that we have a hell to shun and a heaven to win.
We are all making choices as to our priorities! Now is the time to be thoroughly converted, abiding in Jesus, to walk in His victory over sin and truly obey His commandments from the heart as the abiding Christ in and through us will manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Praise God for the victory we have in Him moment-by-moment in preparation for the coming of Christ!
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Happy Sabbath! It's all about love--love from God that flows through us to others! Only by love is love awakened, and when we invite Jesus into our hearts by surrendering to Him fully, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the heart! We will yearn to bless others as Christ works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure!
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
Heaven starts in a character experience before we go to heaven at the coming of Christ. Oh, praise God that the joy of Him within our hearts makes heaven real--not just a dream!
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Praise the Lord for the gift of Jesus, who invites us to rest in His selflessness of character this Sabbath day! Let us surrender fully to Him so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in and through us to be a blessing to others in true obedience to His Ten Commandments!
Again and again Jesus had tried to establish this principle among His disciples. When James and John made their request for pre-eminence, He had said, “Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.” Matthew 20:26. In My kingdom the principle of preference and supremacy has no place. The only greatness is the greatness of humility. The only distinction is found in devotion to the service of others.
True humility is what leads us to rightly appreciate the value of God's gift to us in His Son. Pride and selfishness were first indulged in by Lucifer when he rebelled in heaven, and ever since our first parents fell into sin, it is a warfare to overcome these traits. But praise God that as we behold Christ's sacrifice on Calvary, we are enabled to discern the selfless love of God that works in the repent soul the renunciation of selfishness. As we come to REALLY trust God to be ALL He has promised in His word, we do not need to worry about the future, for we have a God who has plans for us that are better than anything we could conjure up on our own! Trust Him with all your heart, and let His love remove any trace of sin from your life as you are cleansed by His atoning blood and baptized by the Holy Spirit! Happy Sabbath!
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What if you ate every meal with the realization that it was purchased with the blood of Jesus?
Our Lord has said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.... For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” John 6:53-55. This is true of our physical nature. To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring. All this Christ has taught in appointing the emblems of His great sacrifice. The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament.
As we come to more fully appreciate what Christ has done for us and how our daily blessings are dependent upon Him, what love, joy and peace (along with all of the fruits of the Spirit, without one missing), can flow forth from our character experience when we continually surrender all we have and are to Him! True obedience is the fruit of faith that works by love and reveals an ever-living Savior abiding in us! He is preparing a place for us in heaven as our High Priest, giving us the final gospel proclamation to prepare the world for His coming (Revelation 14:6-14), and desires all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Praise God for all Jesus is to us!
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It's all open and fully known to the universe. Jesus' sufferings for a lost world were better realized for what they were by the onlooking universe at the time that He experienced His superhuman agony in Gethsemane than they were by His own disciples. Oh, let us look to Him to better grasp our real value to God and the horror of sin and its effects as we realize what Jesus has suffered for us. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow into our lives as we are empowered to affectionately obey God's Ten Commandment law from the new heart when we surrender all to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!
The worlds unfallen and the heavenly angels had watched with intense interest as the conflict drew to its close. Satan and his confederacy of evil, the legions of apostasy, watched intently this great crisis in the work of redemption. The powers of good and evil waited to see what answer would come to Christ's thrice-repeated prayer. Angels had longed to bring relief to the divine sufferer, but this might not be. No way of escape was found for the Son of God. In this awful crisis, when everything was at stake, when the mysterious cup trembled in the hand of the sufferer, the heavens opened, a light shone forth amid the stormy darkness of the crisis hour, and the mighty angel who stands in God's presence, occupying the position from which Satan fell, came to the side of Christ. The angel came not to take the cup from Christ's hand, but to strengthen Him to drink it, with the assurance of the Father's love. He came to give power to the divine-human suppliant. He pointed Him to the open heavens, telling Him of the souls that would be saved as the result of His sufferings. He assured Him that His Father is greater and more powerful than Satan, that His death would result in the utter discomfiture of Satan, and that the kingdom of this world would be given to the saints of the Most High. He told Him that He would see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied, for He would see a multitude of the human race saved, eternally saved.
We have such value that the Father sent His Son to this world to save all who would come. The gift makes it possible for all to be saved, but only those who yield to Him and let the Holy Spirit transform the life will experience the salvation Christ so freely offers. He's now ministering as our High Priest, soon to return in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory as our King to take all who have loved and obeyed Him to heaven! Love awakens love as we realize the depth of the reality that "God is love" (1 John 4:8).
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Wake up! We need to be wide awake spiritually, surrendered fully to Christ and abiding in His will, faithful to duty and His counsel, or we will make our future experience so much harder than it would have been had we remained focused in watching and prayer to do God's will in light of the present truth for our time!
It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.
To be spiritually asleep while the Three Angel's Messages are sounding around the world (Revelation 14:6-12) and Christ is calling to enter the heart and give us white raiment, eyesalve and gold tried in the fire of a zealous, earnest character experience of true conversion with all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives in true obedience to His law (Revelation 3:14-22), well would it be for us to be wide awake to fulfill the privileges and responsibilities of such a weighty trust while Christ is about to finish His work as our High Priest and return as our King from heaven to take us home to dwell with Him!
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Try to grasp the scene, leading up to Christ's crucifixion. Though Judas did not from the heart repent, he felt an awful sense of guilt and condemnation for betraying Jesus. He pleaded for Jesus to release Himself, but Christ would not, for He was meekly surrendered to the Father's will to go to the cross.
Judas now cast himself at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging Him to be the Son of God, and entreating Him to deliver Himself. The Saviour did not reproach His betrayer. He knew that Judas did not repent; his confession was forced from his guilty soul by an awful sense of condemnation and a looking for of judgment, but he felt no deep, heartbreaking grief that he had betrayed the spotless Son of God, and denied the Holy One of Israel. Yet Jesus spoke no word of condemnation. He looked pityingly upon Judas, and said, For this hour came I into the world.
While Judas was the one who betrayed Him, and this led to the fulfillment of the prophecy of how Christ would die, this did not take away the baseness of such an act. Sadly, Judas had so hardened himself in sin that he did not really feel bad about the sin itself--rather, he felt bad about the consequences (and that is not true repentance). May we let the Holy Spirit change our hearts before it is too late, realizing that the cry from those who are unprepared to see Jesus come in the clouds of heaven (Revelation 6:15-17) is very similar to the way Judas was feeling as he realized what he had done. Only by surrendering FULLY to Christ can we be saved from the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. When the WHOLE heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives and we will be empowered by Christ to be obedient to all His commandments by grace through faith as His workmanship to do His good pleasure! Judas' life is a warning--may we heed the warning and turn to Christ who can save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him!
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In beholding we become changed. In beholding Christ we become changed into His image as we surrender the whole heart to Him for His miracle-working power of converting us and giving us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are motivated and enabled to obey God's law. Jesus' experience in Pilate's judgment hall in which He was so mistreated reveals to us how far God's infinite love would go to save us from the lowest depths of degradation caused by sin. His death on the cross shows us the price has been paid. We are of infinite value to God, and He is calling all to true repentance and salvation.
There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour's visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.
Christ is fully God and man, and the mystery of His incarnation to save us means so much to us! We needed a divine-human Savior, for without the divine, the power of resurrection would not have been His; without the human, the price would not have been paid for us as He endured what we all as sinners deserve--and took our place so we could experience what He deserves--an eternal home in heaven. Oh, wondrous love we see in Jesus, and what grace God lavishes upon us to melt our hearts and make us new in Him! May we more fully appreciate the greatest gift of all--God's Son who suffered without a murmur in becoming our sin-bearer and Savior!
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Happy Sabbath!! We need help--and Jesus is offering it to us by virtue of His life, death, and resurrection! Praise God for what He did for us at Calvary and the gift of life found in Him as we surrender fully to Jesus and accept the Holy Spirit to produce in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!!
And now the Lord of glory was dying, a ransom for the race. In yielding up His precious life, Christ was not upheld by triumphant joy. All was oppressive gloom. It was not the dread of death that weighed upon Him. It was not the pain and ignominy of the cross that caused His inexpressible agony. Christ was the prince of sufferers; but His suffering was from a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that through familiarity with evil, man had become blinded to its enormity. Christ saw how deep is the hold of sin upon the human heart, how few would be willing to break from its power. He knew that without help from God, humanity must perish, and He saw multitudes perishing within reach of abundant help.
Christ's death is what offers us life! Praise the Lord for all the grace He lavishes on us and the way He is working in our hearts and minds as we behold Christ, the Lord of glory! He has power to renew us into His holy image!!
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What a victory Christ achieved!! Let's trust Him fully with the final aspects of salvation history as we grow in His grace and love!
Well, then, might the angels rejoice as they looked upon the Saviour's cross; for though they did not then understand all, they knew that the destruction of sin and Satan was forever made certain, that the redemption of man was assured, and that the universe was made eternally secure. Christ Himself fully comprehended the results of the sacrifice made upon Calvary. To all these He looked forward when upon the cross He cried out, “It is finished.”
As we walk in the light of the cross, realizing that Jesus had defeated Satan, we can joyfully go forward in life in true surrender to Christ, letting Him give us true obedience and all of the fruits of the Spirit in our characters without one missing as we are empowered to do God's will from the new heart! Sin and Satan will finally come to an end because of what Jesus did for us, and we can realize with the whole universe that it is fitting to keep praising God continually!!
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Don't take the bait! Satan tries to trick us into thinking that in fulfilling sinful ideas or plans, we will find satisfaction, but it is all a lie. Just like the priests and rulers who plotted Jesus' death, when He was actually dead, they found themselves in a very bitter experience. Oh, how sweet it is to trust God like a little child and take His word as it reads, humbly yielding our hearts to Him and letting Him convert us so all of the fruits of the Spirit are in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey His law of love from the new heart! But to choose the path that Satan suggests...is a disaster!!
The revenge which the priests had thought would be so sweet was already bitterness to them. They knew that they were meeting the severe censure of the people; they knew that the very ones whom they had influenced against Jesus were now horrified by their own shameful work. These priests had tried to believe Jesus a deceiver; but it was in vain. Some of them had stood by the grave of Lazarus, and had seen the dead brought back to life. They trembled for fear that Christ would Himself rise from the dead, and again appear before them. They had heard Him declare that He had power to lay down His life and to take it again. They remembered that He had said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19. Judas had told them the words spoken by Jesus to the disciples while on the last journey to Jerusalem: “Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify Him: and the third day He shall rise again.” Matthew 20:18, 19. When they heard these words, they had mocked and ridiculed. But now they remembered that Christ's predictions had so far been fulfilled. He had said that He would rise again the third day, and who could say that this also would not come to pass? They longed to shut out these thoughts, but they could not. Like their father, the devil, they believed and trembled.
Because God's word WILL be fulfilled, well would it be for us to put our will on the side of Christ and walk in harmony with His plans. When we go our own way, we are simply choosing the path of misery and destruction, no matter how much Satan may try to get us to believe the contrary.
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Praise God that Jesus is RISEN!! And those who have trusted in Him as Lord and Savior have the assurance of everlasting life, on the foundation of His death and resurrection!! Praise God that the moment we fully surrender to Jesus, the very power of His resurrection life comes into our hearts and minds so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are present as witness that we are truly partakers of the divine nature! Abiding in Christ, we gladly are motivated and empowered to obey God's law of love and to do His will as He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure!! Go forth to be a blessing to others because of what Jesus has done!! By beholding Him, we become changed from glory to glory, from one character experience to the next--evermore to be like Jesus, for God has promised this in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
During His ministry, Jesus had raised the dead to life. He had raised the son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler's daughter and Lazarus. But these were not clothed with immortality. After they were raised, they were still subject to death. But those who came forth from the grave at Christ's resurrection were raised to everlasting life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave. These, said Christ, are no longer the captives of Satan; I have redeemed them. I have brought them from the grave as the first fruits of My power, to be with Me where I am, nevermore to see death or experience sorrow.
Oh, what a wonderful reality that those who were raised at the time of Christ's resurrection went to heaven with Him, but praise God also for the promise we find in His word of a new world where sorrow and death will never again be experienced for ALL the redeemed! Let us look up in humble faith to Jesus and walk in harmony with His divine will and plan so we can be there with Him forever!! "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4)! What can be better than God's will? Nothing!!
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Look up! Your trial is temporary, the tears are only for a season, and the risen Christ is inviting us to be hopeful and courageous because He died and rose from the dead to defeat sin and Satan! He offers us salvation full and free, restoring us to His moral image as we surrender fully to Christ! As we abide in Him, we let the Holy Spirit manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we grow in His grace to obey God from the heart up to the light of His holy law that He has revealed!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! “Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen.” Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
Faith is like an anchor in a world of sorrow, suffering, unbelief and apathy. God calls us to do His will and offers us the courage, love and zeal needed to do so--through abiding in Christ! "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13)!
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From Genesis to Revelation, Jesus is speaking to us and His character is being revealed! Let us learn to appreciate ALL of the Bible and apply the message it shares with our hearts and lives. As we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart! Praise God for the gift of Jesus revealed in His word!
It is the voice of Christ that speaks through patriarchs and prophets, from the days of Adam even to the closing scenes of time. The Saviour is revealed in the Old Testament as clearly as in the New. It is the light from the prophetic past that brings out the life of Christ and the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty. The miracles of Christ are a proof of His divinity; but a stronger proof that He is the world's Redeemer is found in comparing the prophecies of the Old Testament with the history of the New.
While Christ did miracles and revealed the Father's character in great power and glory, thankfully His life perfectly fit with the prophecies given before His birth and anchor us to know that He is the Lord and Savior the Scriptures reveal Him to be! Trust and obey for there's no other way to be fully happy in Jesus!
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When we realize the true character of Christ, we will understand that His love is a perfect blend of mercy and justice, and that while we are not able to judge motives, God does call upon His church to faithfully deal with sin in such a way as to seek to win the heart of the one who may be struggling and erring. God is so gracious to us, but His grace does not mean sin is "no big deal," rather, as we look to Calvary and see the way Christ suffered and died for our sin, and yet after His resurrection was so patient and gracious with Thomas, we can learn how we can deal with one another on account of the great love with which He has so loved us. By surrendering all we have and are to Jesus, all of the fruits of His Spirit come into our hearts and lives in the experience of true conversion as we are empowered by abiding in Christ to overcome sin! As we believe and know His infinite love, we obey Him because we love Him up to the light He has revealed to us. May the Lord bless you in walking with Jesus today in preparation for the Sabbath!
“Whosesoever sins ye remit,” said Christ, “they are remitted; ... and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.” Christ here gives no liberty for any man to pass judgment upon others. In the Sermon on the Mount He forbade this. It is the prerogative of God. But on the church in its organized capacity He places a responsibility for the individual members. Toward those who fall into sin, the church has a duty, to warn, to instruct, and if possible to restore. “Reprove, rebuke, exhort,” the Lord says, “with all long-suffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2. Deal faithfully with wrongdoing. Warn every soul that is in danger. Leave none to deceive themselves. Call sin by its right name. Declare what God has said in regard to lying, Sabbathbreaking, stealing, idolatry, and every other evil. “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:21. If they persist in sin, the judgment you have declared from God's word is pronounced upon them in heaven. In choosing to sin, they disown Christ; the church must show that she does not sanction their deeds, or she herself dishonors her Lord. She must say about sin what God says about it. She must deal with it as God directs, and her action is ratified in heaven. He who despises the authority of the church despises the authority of Christ Himself.
Christ loves His church and it is important that she be faithful to the word of God; as we learn to take everything to God in prayer and seek His divine wisdom, He will help us to grow in His grace and faithfulness as we remember the great love He has for us.
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Happy Sabbath!! Fill your whole heart with the words and deeds of the Savior! Fill your memory with the loveliness of His character, and He will transform you as you behold Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life of one who is fully converted by a continual surrender of the whole heart to Christ so He can manifest through the life His divine nature in true obedience to the law of love up to the light of truth revealed!
Much of the time of Christ's ministry had been passed near the Sea of Galilee. As the disciples gathered in a place where they were not likely to be disturbed, they found themselves surrounded by reminders of Jesus and His mighty works. On this sea, when their hearts were filled with terror, and the fierce storm was hurrying them to destruction, Jesus had walked upon the billows to their rescue. Here the tempest had been hushed by His word. Within sight was the beach where above ten thousand persons had been fed from a few small loaves and fishes. Not far distant was Capernaum, the scene of so many miracles. As the disciples looked upon the scene, their minds were full of the words and deeds of their Saviour.
Keep looking unto Jesus! Walk in His victory and love today to do His will by His grace!!
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While we were originally made in the image of God, sin has marred that image. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, coming as a Man and yet retaining His divinity, lived life a perfect life by faith and not by His own divine power. He offers us His divine nature by His word on account of purchasing us with His own blood at the cross, and in rising from the dead and giving us the great commission, is calling us to true repentance so we can overcome sin and be fully restored to God's image! What a great gift He gives us as all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to God and obedient to the light He has reveled to us--in response to His loving salvation!
In Christ is the tenderness of the shepherd, the affection of the parent, and the matchless grace of the compassionate Saviour. His blessings He presents in the most alluring terms. He is not content merely to announce these blessings; He presents them in the most attractive way, to excite a desire to possess them. So His servants are to present the riches of the glory of the unspeakable Gift. The wonderful love of Christ will melt and subdue hearts, when the mere reiteration of doctrines would accomplish nothing. “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.” “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! ... He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.” Isaiah 40:1, 9-11. Tell the people of Him who is “the Chiefest among ten thousand,” and the One “altogether lovely.” The Song of Solomon 5:10, 16. Words alone cannot tell it. Let it be reflected in the character and manifested in the life. Christ is sitting for His portrait in every disciple. Every one God has predestinated to be “conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:29. In every one Christ's long-suffering love, His holiness, meekness, mercy, and truth are to be manifested to the world.
Praise God for the infinite salvation offered us! Let us do all we can to reach the hearts of those around us by His grace!
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He did it! Christ completed the work the Father gave Him on this earth; He lived a sinless life, died as our Sacrifice, rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven with those who rose from the dead as witnesses of His power to raise His people in anticipation of the resurrection to take place at His second coming! As we yield our whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we abide in Him and obey our Lord from love! Having heaven in our hearts, we are prepared to be with Jesus in heaven at His soon second coming!
The voice of God is heard proclaiming that justice is satisfied. Satan is vanquished. Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth are “accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6. Before the heavenly angels and the representatives of unfallen worlds, they are declared justified. Where He is, there His church shall be. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10. The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6.
What a glorious victory Jesus has accomplished for us! What a blessing it is to trust in Him and walk by grace through faith in His infinite promises! All glory to God who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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How does Jesus deserve to be treated? Well, as the Creator and King of the universe, He deserves to be treated as royalty with highest honor, praise and adoration! But Christ chose to step down from His heavenly throne, come to be born as our Brother in this sin-darkened earth and experience the results of the working of the law of heredity after our race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Amazingly, by faith in God's word, He lived a sinless life, died as our Sacrifice, rose from the dead triumphant over Satan, and has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us! He is soon to return to to take His earth-born children home to the mansions above! But why is it that He can treat us like such royalty? After all, we have sinned and deserve to die--not just physical death, but the second death on account of our sins, which would include suffering for all the sins we have committed and perishing forever, ceasing to exist. The ONLY reason we can be treated so well is because of God's grace lavished upon us in Christ! Praise God that Jesus stepped in and offered Himself as our Substitute! Oh, as our Example He calls us to follow in His humble path of obedience and today do God's will in love! Jesus can save us to the uttermost from sin and its effects! Hallelujah!
Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. "With His stripes we are healed."
Healing from Christ is deeply complete, encompassing the mental, emotional, spiritual, physical and social dynamics of our lives. He is a COMPLETE Savior and Healer! When we surrender the WHOLE heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow into our lives, and we will be enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God in true obedience to all of His commandments because we love Him who first loved us! What amazing grace!! Through Christ we can courageously give the Three Angels' messages of Revelation 14:6-12 because they are present truth for this generation! Even though we have been weakened by six thousand years of sin and are so weak and sinful, Christ is demonstrating MIRACLES JUST AS GREAT as His own incarnation by transforming such wretches of character (that's us apart from Christ!) into saints that reveal His glory (that can also be us by abiding in Christ!)! WOW!! Now can we start praising God incessantly and praying without ceasing?! All glory to God!!
The Lord gave me a new hymn, and in light of HOW GOOD THE NEWS IS, I hope you can sing it!! It is to the melody of "Blessed Assurance" (Seventh-day Adventist Hymn 462):
"Happy Assurance" by Pastor Sean James Brizendine, composed March 12, 2023
Happy assurance, doing God%u2018s will
Helping the needy, imprisoned and ill
Letting my Savior bless through me still
As I thus trust Him, He makes souls well
Christ is my Saviour
O how I long
To be more like Him
In weakness made strong
All of His merits
Accrue to me
Because He lived, died and rose for me!
Perfect conversion, revealing the light
Of a pure heart that my God has made right
All the fruits of His Spirit are seen in the life
Without one missing, by faith and not sight
Christ is my Saviour
O how I long
To be more like Him
In weakness made strong
All of His merits
Accrue to me
Because He lived, died and rose for me!
Constant communion, with my precious Lord
I gladly trust Him, who gives me His word
Oh how I love Him, who first loved me
I truly obey Him, for Christ set me free!
Christ is my Saviour
O how I long
To be more like Him
In weakness made strong
All of His merits
Accrue to me
Because He lived, died and rose for me!
Perfect protection from Satan%u2019s lies
For %u201Cit is written%u201D his %u201Clogic%u201D defies
With trials increasing, so comes greater joy
As character is purged from base alloy
Christ is my Saviour
O how I long
To be more like Him
In weakness made strong
All of His merits
Accrue to me
Because He lived, died and rose for me!
Christ is returning, just as He said!
He%u2019ll translate the living, and raise up the dead!
No matter the outcome there%u2019s nothing to fear
So long as we trust Him and follow him here!
Christ is my Saviour
O how I long
To be more like Him
In weakness made strong
All of His merits
Accrue to me
Because He lived, died and rose for me!
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Let us stand by a purpose true and learn from the experience of Israel that His way is best, and that He would far prefer to accomplish His mission on earth through our honor and exaltation than continued adversity and humiliation. As we surrender the whole heart to God and abide in Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to do His will in true obedience and be a blessing to others in our sphere of influence. It brings joy to God to have souls who are allied with Him in the fulfillment of His purposes in the saving of souls through the merits of Christ!
Had Israel been true to God, He could have accomplished His purpose through their honor and exaltation. If they had walked in the ways of obedience, He would have made them “high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor.” “All people of the earth,” said Moses, “shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.” “The nations which shall hear all these statutes” shall say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” Deuteronomy 26:19; 28:10; Deuteronomy 4:6. But because of their unfaithfulness, God's purpose could be wrought out only through continued adversity and humiliation.
God knows the end from the beginning, and He leads us to see in His word the precious lessons that help us to remember that we need to abide in Christ continually and practice His word in heart and life! His path is always best! "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11). Will you surrender fully to God so He can lead you in His plan and path?
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He did it again! God has been working throughout earth's history to bring things to a point that the world is ripe for the coming of Christ. People need hope. They need purpose. And knowing that Christ is a loving Savior preparing a home for us in heaven gives amazing vision to a world that needs direction. We are not going to be on this planet in its sinful, corrupt state much longer. Jesus is coming again, and we can grasp precious lessons from His first advent as we help prepare many more for His second advent in power and great glory!
“When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.” Providence had directed the movements of nations, and the tide of human impulse and influence, until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer. The nations were united under one government. One language was widely spoken, and was everywhere recognized as the language of literature. From all lands the Jews of the dispersion gathered to Jerusalem to the annual feasts. As these returned to the places of their sojourn, they could spread throughout the world the tidings of the Messiah's coming.
As it was Greek at the time of Christ's first advent, so now English is the widely spoken language in the world and used for business. While the world may not be under one government as Rome dominated the world, there are clearly two global influential superpowers--the Vatican and the United States of America--that according to Revelation 13 will fulfill the major prophetic role of leading the whole world to the issue of the mark of the beast, the final test of whether humanity will be loyal to God in response to the Three Angel's Messages, or reject His final offer of mercy and go along with the global enforcement of Sunday laws. Providentially, God sent a last-day messenger named Ellen White who spoke and wrote in English, publishing many books to uplift Christ and help many more be ready for His return by exalting the Bible as the rule of faith and practice! Jesus longed to return much before our time, and could have come even back in the 1800s, had the church arisen to embrace the full power and glory of the message of righteousness by faith and fulfilled the proclamation of the everlasting gospel to the whole world. But the message God desired to have broadly proclaimed was not given its free course, and there were many left unreached and unwarned. God is patient. He suffers long for His people. Christ in mercy has delayed His coming as His church has yet to fully fulfill its purpose and mission and there are still so many who need to hear the everlasting good news. The amazing truth is that when we surrender the whole heart to Christ, He cleanses it by His atoning blood, forging us all trespasses, and fills the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so the soul is enabled by divine grace to obey God up to the light He has revealed, even keeping all Ten Commandments as a gift of Christ's character in the life! With such amazing news of what Christ can do to change the life, the choice to remain loyal--even if threatened with the final death decree prophesied in Revelation 13--will not move the soul that is settled into the truth intellectually and spiritually so he or she cannot be moved. This is because they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and abiding in the gift of the experience of gospel rest in Christ that includes the seal of His law--the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment! Praise God!!
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You'll never run out of things to learn or appreciate from it...
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
As we contemplate the infinite loveliness of Jesus and His mission to save a lost world, well would it be for us to grow more like Christ in character as we incarnate with a world that is six thousand years fallen in sin, weakened as generation after generation has sunk lower and lower in moral worth, in physical strength, and in mental power. Now, more than ever, we need to uplift Jesus who alone can restore the souls He created and cooperate with Him in bringing hope to the hopeless, and courage to those who feel like they have no purpose. God is love and His love is steadfast from generation to generation. We can look to Christ in His amazing condescension to become a human being and also contemplate His sacrifice at Calvary, being afresh motivated to do God's will from a sincere heart out of a true conversion experience in complete surrender to Him. Such a full surrender to God supernaturally gives Him the freedom to produce in the heart, mind and life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the born again soul is led in true obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments because love is awakened for the One who first loved us!
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Do you believe you can be like Jesus? Well, that is what God desires and designs for each of us to become like! By beholding we become changed, and as we behold His loveliness of character, surrender the whole heart to Him, in true repentance confess and forsake our sins, and abide in His love, we are changed by the Holy Spirit who comes to live in our lives, manifesting through the converted soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with God's law of love! What an amazing gift salvation is, knowing the spotless Lamb of God came to take our sins and transform our characters to prepare us for heaven!
The offerings presented to the Lord were to be without blemish. These offerings represented Christ, and from this it is evident that Jesus Himself was free from physical deformity. He was the “lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:19. His physical structure was not marred by any defect; His body was strong and healthy. And throughout His lifetime He lived in conformity to nature's laws. Physically as well as spiritually, He was an example of what God designed all humanity to be through obedience to His laws.
When we appreciate more fully all that Christ has done for us and is even now doing for us in heaven as our High Priest, we will become more and more fruitful for His everlasting kingdom that cannot be moved!
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Happy Sabbath!!
God ALWAYS provides!!
Satan was bent on shutting out the divine light from the world, and he used his utmost cunning to destroy the Saviour. But He who never slumbers nor sleeps was watching over His beloved Son. He who had rained manna from heaven for Israel and had fed Elijah in the time of famine provided in a heathen land a refuge for Mary and the child Jesus. And through the gifts of the magi from a heathen country, the Lord supplied the means for the journey into Egypt and the sojourn in a land of strangers.
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Make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Jesus loved to praise the Father in song, and we can follow in His steps as the Lord moves on our hearts to praise His name for His glory and grace!
Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. It requires much patience and spirituality to bring Bible religion into the home life and into the workshop, to bear the strain of worldly business, and yet keep the eye single to the glory of God. This is where Christ was a helper. He was never so full of worldly care as to have no time or thought for heavenly things. Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.
We are nearing home! Let's start singing songs and psalms to praise God because we love God who first loved us! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered to Jesus and walking in the light of His truth that He has given us! Praise God for all He has given us in the example of Jesus!
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It's so uplifting to keep our focus on Christ and His loveliness!
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
Becoming like Jesus by beholding Jesus brings us the truest joy! Thankfully, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from the life that is fully surrendered to Him. We are empowered to gladly obey Him as He abides in us and we abide in Him by His word.
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What a Savior and Example we find in Jesus!
He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.
Christ is offering us His experience, His love, and His victorious character in place of our defective, sinful one. Oh, what marvelous grace God lavishes upon us that we can surrender the whole heart to Him to cleanse and purify, and He will make it new and pure, filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in His will and obey Him from the heart up the light of His truth revealed from His holy law! Praise God for His unchanging grace and strength upon which we can safely build our characters anew in Christ! He is able to cleanse us from all our sins and to keep us from sinning! Praise God!!
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen" (Jude 24-25).
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Jesus offers us deliverance from sin--completely! If we are not cleansed from sin, we will be destroyed with it at the revelation of the glory of God! Thankfully, God offers us His converting grace so we can be motivated to yield the whole heart to Him so all of the fruits of the Spirit without missing will be in our lives as long as we abide in Christ!
“I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance,” said John; “but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.” Matthew 3:11, R. V., margin. The prophet Isaiah had declared that the Lord would cleanse His people from their iniquities “by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” The word of the Lord to Israel was, “I will turn My hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin.” Isaiah 4:4; 1:25. To sin, wherever found, “our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29. In all who submit to His power the Spirit of God will consume sin. But if men cling to sin, they become identified with it. Then the glory of God, which destroys sin, must destroy them. Jacob, after his night of wrestling with the Angel, exclaimed, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Genesis 32:30. Jacob had been guilty of a great sin in his conduct toward Esau; but he had repented. His transgression had been forgiven, and his sin purged; therefore he could endure the revelation of God's presence. But wherever men came before God while willfully cherishing evil, they were destroyed. At the second advent of Christ the wicked shall be consumed “with the Spirit of His mouth,” and destroyed “with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8. The light of the glory of God, which imparts life to the righteous, will slay the wicked.
God destroys no one. We choose our own self-destruction if we cling to sin. Let sin go in true confession and repentance as you look to Christ in humble trust and love! He loves you and is doing everything He can to save you!
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Let us look up to Christ and appreciate the victory His life offers us!
And the word that was spoken to Jesus at the Jordan, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” embraces humanity. God spoke to Jesus as our representative. With all our sins and weaknesses, we are not cast aside as worthless. “He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6. The glory that rested upon Christ is a pledge of the love of God for us. It tells us of the power of prayer,—how the human voice may reach the ear of God, and our petitions find acceptance in the courts of heaven. By sin, earth was cut off from heaven, and alienated from its communion; but Jesus has connected it again with the sphere of glory. His love has encircled man, and reached the highest heaven. The light which fell from the open portals upon the head of our Saviour will fall upon us as we pray for help to resist temptation. The voice which spoke to Jesus says to every believing soul, This is My beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ and growing in His grace! By beholding His character, we become changed into His holy, lovely image! True obedience comes from the heart He renews by His holy Spirit! Praise God!
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It's for you and me--now! Christ's experience may be ours by the same means that He accessed freely while walking this earth. We also may trust our Father so deeply that we do not doubt His word; rather, we surrender fully to His word and let the Holy Spirit keep us from Satan's temptations. While we by nature are fallen and need grace, Jesus, the Sinless One, became a Man and took our fallen nature upon Him. Therefore, He understands us to the depth that we need help--He knows how to guide us to safely trust the Father over all the temptations that come to us from within and without. Though He never sinned, He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and by His sinless life that He lived by faith (and not His inherent divinity), He offers us the victory WE NEED! Praise God!!!
“The prince of this world cometh,” said Jesus, “and hath nothing in Me.” John 14:30. There was in Him nothing that responded to Satan's sophistry. He did not consent to sin. Not even by a thought did He yield to temptation. So it may be with us. Christ's humanity was united with divinity; He was fitted for the conflict by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And He came to make us partakers of the divine nature. So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.
Praise God that perfection of character can start NOW! When we surrender FULLY to Christ the WHOLE heart, He cleanses it and makes it new, blotting out our sins and and filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19), and love always leads to TRUE obedience, for Jesus stated and promised clearly, "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Thankfully, our growth in understanding what it means to obey will keep deepening and expanding as we see the infinite love of God for us in Christ and the value He places upon each of us as His children. Abiding in Christ means victory! Let's live it out and invite others to come and do likewise!
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Happy Sabbath!
The gift of salvation is beyond our finite comprehension to fully grasp in terms of its magnitude and cost. God suffered so much for us in sending Jesus to this world to become our Savior. He offers us His life because He took our life of sin and shame upon Him, dying for us at Calvary, and offering us an eternity of bliss with Him. Will we be willing to deny self and follow His word, going in the appointed path He has for us and letting Him truly convert our souls so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are in our lives? If so, true obedience from the heart will be flow from a life that deeply appreciates what Jesus has done for us. He was victorious over all of Satan's temptations, and we can be, too, by abiding in Christ, the Victor!!
Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.
We will study into the depths of God's love for eternity, and the cross of Christ will ever be our science and song. God loves us and offers us something this world cannot give--a life of love, joy, peace and all of His character attributes because He comes to live in us and keep our fallen nature crucified with Christ! When Jesus returns, the faithful who have walked with Him in this life will either be resurrected or translated, and will then receive a new nature that will NEVER again be tempted. But until then, keep looking unto Jesus and choose to be faithful by grace through faith! Praise the Lord it is possible, and a couple evidences are Enoch and Elijah, who are already in heaven!! Jesus is coming soon, and He offers us His life of unselfishness. Let us yield fully to Him!!
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Praise God for the way God knows us better than we know ourselves! Jesus, in calling Peter, foresaw his entire life history in a glance, and it is wonderful to know that God also knows us individually, and has a plan for each of us to fulfill!
Andrew sought to impart the joy that filled his heart. Going in search of his brother Simon, he cried, “We have found the Messias.” Simon waited for no second bidding. He also had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and he hastened to the Saviour. The eye of Christ rested upon him, reading his character and his life history. His impulsive nature, his loving, sympathetic heart, his ambition and self-confidence, the history of his fall, his repentance, his labors, and his martyr death,—the Saviour read it all, and He said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”
In true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ and abiding in His will! We need not fear for the future as we remember how God has led us in the past and His teaching in our past history. He calls us to true obedience so we can enjoy the blessing of infinite love and fellowship with Him here and in the hereafter. Praise God for the call Jesus extended to His disciples! Let us follow in His will today!
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What a faith journey Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, experienced!
From the day when she heard the angel's announcement in the home at Nazareth Mary had treasured every evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. His sweet, unselfish life assured her that He could be no other than the Sent of God. Yet there came to her also doubts and disappointments, and she had longed for the time when His glory should be revealed. Death had separated her from Joseph, who had shared her knowledge of the mystery of the birth of Jesus. Now there was no one to whom she could confide her hopes and fears. The past two months had been very sorrowful. She had been parted from Jesus, in whose sympathy she found comfort; she pondered upon the words of Simeon, “A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35); she recalled the three days of agony when she thought Jesus lost to her forever; and with an anxious heart she awaited His return.
Apparently having faith in Jesus does not always mean a smooth road. At times we may suffer and experience emotional struggles as we are seeking to grasp the meaning of the word of God and His specific will for us. As Mary had to battle through doubts and disappointments, and even though she did not grasp before His crucifixion His mission, she did trust Him completely. Things became clearer with subsequent events in Jesus' life and ministry. He was ever seeking to prepare her and His disciples for what He would face at the cross, but they did not grasp it as it was so out of harmony with the purposes and thoughts that they had about Christ as the Messiah, expecting Him to reign as a temporal king in Jerusalem. Yet all the same, Jesus faithfully fulfilled His mission and did so right on prophetic time (see Daniel 9:24-27). As we learn to trust Christ completely and let Him guide our lives in the path He knows is best, let us remember that God will help us to depend upon Him and overcome sin by His divine grace, purifying the heart fully surrendered to Him, and enabling us to reflect His character with all of the fruit of the Spirit in the life without one trait of His divine nature missing. Christ guiding us will enable us to be obedient up the light of God's law that we understand! Let us talk and speak faith because Jesus is truly our Savior and He who came the first time will come again in the clouds of heaven very soon!
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In imagination, seek to grasp the scene as Jesus is in the temple, cleansing it from the unholy traffic and providing healing and grace to all who yearned for His love! Christ restored the souls of those who remained in the temple after He cleansed it. He prepared the temple so He could effectually minister there. Let us open our hearts to Jesus so He can minister to our souls, too, and then minister through us to others!
As the priests and temple officials witnessed this great work, what a revelation to them were the sounds that fell on their ears! The people were relating the story of the pain they had suffered, of their disappointed hopes, of painful days and sleepless nights. When the last spark of hope seemed to be dead, Christ had healed them. The burden was so heavy, one said; but I have found a helper. He is the Christ of God, and I will devote my life to His service. Parents said to their children, He has saved your life; lift up your voice and praise Him. The voices of children and youth, fathers and mothers, friends and spectators, blended in thanksgiving and praise. Hope and gladness filled their hearts. Peace came to their minds. They were restored soul and body, and they returned home, proclaiming everywhere the matchless love of Jesus.
True restoration of character means becoming like Jesus, being filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and being empowered by His grace to obey the law of God from the heart up to the light that He has revealed to us! Let's keep our eyes on Jesus and experience the peace He alone can truly give!
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Salvation is VERY important. Thankfully, it is not something that Jesus leaves us in the dark about!
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
What a transformation salvation brings to the soul! By making a complete surrender to Christ, a person goes from rebel sinner to repentant, adopted child of God as the Holy Spirit moves us to see the loveliness of Jesus and enables us to bear much fruit to God's glory! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow in and through the life that is vitally connected to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us! True obedience to God's commandments will not fail to be seen in the life that loves God supremely and one's neighbor as oneself!
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Let's trust God to do His work in His perfect way! If you are a converted Christian and walking in the light of His truth, whatever role you have in His service, learn to appreciate how God will not only use you according to your strength and capacity, but He will bring in others to keep it going forward!
God calls a man to do a certain work; and when he has carried it as far as he is qualified to take it, the Lord brings in others, to carry it still farther.
As we surrender the whole heart to Christ and keep surrendering fully to Him, we can rejoice that our heavenly Father knows how to keep growing the work of saving souls and reaching them for His purposes of grace and blessing! A truly converted person is happy to be anything or nothing as God's providence shall indicate!
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If you would have met her at the well, you might not have thought of her as a powerful soon-to-be missionary, but Jesus saw what she could be (that's grace) and revealed Himself to her (that's love) and then she was so transformed by surrendering to what she learned of the Messiah that she wanted to share with others (that's evidence of true conversion!)!! When we yield the WHOLE heart to Christ, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit be seen in our lives without one missing, not only will we gladly be obedient to the light of God's holy law as He has helped us to understand it by His grace, but we will YEARN to share with others so they can know the INCREDIBLE news about Jesus as Savior who can make our messy lives into miracles that reflect Him!! Oh, let's be true missionaries by letting Jesus, the great Missionary abide in us!!
This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.
The good news about Jesus gets clearer and clearer as we approach His second coming! His Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14 are given to prepare the world to meet Him in the clouds of glory as He returns very soon, and we can be SO GRATEFUL that He has so many more souls to be gathered into His fold before He returns! Let us help hasten the return of Christ by sharing with others so they can be ready! Praise the Lord!!
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Happy Sabbath!
With the eyes of faith enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we can see things before they happen before our naked eyes!!
The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory,” and “the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
Right now, Jesus is in the heavenly sanctuary ministering as our High Priest. He hears and answers every sincere prayer in the way that is best. He is preparing a place for us, as well as preparing us for the place He has in mind. Let us by faith grasp our eternal home and live today as pilgrims and strangers on earth to do God's will in reaching others with the everlasting gospel! God is so good to give us eternal life as we surrender all to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is vitally connected to God by faith and true obedience will be reflected in mind and character as a witness of God's love at work in the soul! May your experience be more and more faith-filled, linking you to the unseen realities of the world to come!
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He was offering it to them, but they were blinded by their own selfish desires. Jesus came just as the prophecies had predicted, offering the very spiritual kingdom to all who would receive Him as Savior, but sadly, by and large, His own people rejected Him. Oh, let us open our hearts wide to Jesus and His everlasting gospel for this time (Revelation 14:6-12), letting Him prepare us for His glorious second coming! All the word of God says is fully true and will be fulfilled in its time and way!
This assurance of the future life was that for which Israel had so long waited, and which they had hoped to receive at the Messiah's advent. The only light that can lighten the gloom of the grave was shining upon them. But self-will is blind. Jesus had violated the traditions of the rabbis, and disregarded their authority, and they would not believe.
When we DO FULLY BELIEVE and YIELD to Christ, a miracle takes place in the heart. Jesus' perfect life stands for the life of the repentant sinner, justifying the soul with His righteousness; all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life and not one will be missing; the character is brought into harmony with the Ten Commandments, because Jesus lives out His perfect life in the soul! With such an experience taking place in the life, gladly we can look forward to the soon coming of Jesus and be ready to meet Him in peace, renouncing all blind self-will and letting God's will become our highest delight!!
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Oh, let us more fully appreciate the gift of salvation and the joy of getting to be both converted and also enjoy the blessing of understanding the present truth for this time! Let us trust God's leading in our lives!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
Instead of avoiding the trials that are so often a source of great difficulty in the Christian life, let us embrace what God is seeking to teach us in and through them. From the death of John the Baptist we can learn that God is faithful even when Satan seems to get a supposed victory. We will need to remember clearly the goodness of God that will help sustain those who live in these last days and will go through the time of trouble just before the return of Christ. In all things, God's overruling providence is manifest and His goodness never changes, even when every earthly resource is cut off. God will be with His people to the end. May we not only be fully surrendered to Christ now, but also surrender fully to Him each day so that He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are gladly obedient to all of the light of His law that He has revealed to us! Praise God for the overarching providence of God in all things both for this life and for the life to come!
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Praise the Lord for the message that prepares us to Jesus' second coming, as we can see Jesus faithfully fulfilled the prophecies relating to His first coming to be our Sacrifice! When He returns in glory, He will be our King coming to take us home to heaven!
As the message of Christ's first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life of the soul that surrenders fully to Jesus! Gladly will be obey God up to the light we understand from His law of love! Praise God for the message preparing us for His second coming!!
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If it was possible then, it is certainly possible now. By and large, the religious teachers of Jesus' day missed the significance of His life and teachings because they misinterpreted the Scriptures. Just because a teaching is popular or widely shared does not make it true. We must test everything to God's word to see if it is true! "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).
Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?
By surrendering to Jesus and His pure teachings in His word, our hearts can be converted and renewed by His grace! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are abiding in Him, and He will enable us to obey the law of God up to the truth we understand from it! Let's guard against the deceptions that are so widespread by testing everything by the word of God, and letting the Lord lead us by the Holy Spirit day by day in the harmony with the humble example of Jesus.
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Let this sink in as you realize how God treats you, and what He can do in and through you as you come to Him in full surrender!
God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.
By complete surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, but even that experience can grow and deepen in God's love! From love to God, it is possible to obey God up to the light that He has revealed of His law! Praise the Lord!
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As we remember Jesus this Good Friday, let's remember that His salvation is accessible to ALL of us! Let's choose to accept His grace and power to deliver us from Satan and set us free from all sin! By surrendering fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing!
Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart's unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Isaiah 27:5. The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power. The Lord says, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? ... Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:24, 25.
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Happy Sabbath!! Let Jesus fully heal and save you from sin and all its effects! By coming to Him just as you are, He will gladly restore you into His image and fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as you are abiding in Him! He will empower heartfelt obedience to Him because you love Him who first loved you!! Whether leprosy, paralysis, or deep-rooted sin, Christ has the power to fully restore!!
Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” “In Him was life,” and He says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He is “a quickening spirit.” 1 John 3:8; John 1:4; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45. And He still has the same life-giving power as when on earth He healed the sick, and spoke forgiveness to the sinner. He “forgiveth all thine iniquities,” He “healeth all thy diseases.” Psalm 103:3.
As we are restored, we will gladly point others to Christ who has power to restore fully! Jesus is coming soon and is preparing His people for this glorious event!
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Praise God for the risen Christ who can save us from sin! His resurrection, His life and teachings, are all about helping us to experience His death to sin and His perfect life of holiness! With Jesus, the Savior Shepherd, we can overcome! Of ourselves, we are incapable of doing any good thing, but when we open our hearts to the miracle of His divine grace, Jesus makes us new and heals the disorders of our sin-sick souls so He can work in and through us His work of righteousness, which will bring true peace. He gladly fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empowers us to affectionately obey God because we love Him who first loved us! Let's allow Him to send us forth to be a blessing to others each day as we receive the salvation so dearly purchased with His blood shed for us at Calvary! With His stripes we are healed, by beholding we become changed, and His intercessory ministry in heaven right now is for the purpose of preparing us to dwell in the society of holy angels! Jesus is coming again!!
“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.
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Need some rest? Thankfully, God has provided the rest our souls all need--first in true conversion to Christ as we surrender fully to Him, setting us free from the unrest of sin, and then included in this experiential gift of salvation is His loving command to us to keep the seventh day Sabbath, a special temple in time to build our relationship with God in holiness and joy!
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.
When we truly rest in saving faith upon Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing; we will be empowered to obey God's law up to the degree we understand it, and as we enter into rest here by faith, we get a foretaste of the rest God has prepared for us in heaven and the new earth! Thankfully, even in eternity we will get to enjoy the Sabbath each seventh day! "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord" (Isaiah 66:22-23). Let's allow Jesus to lead us in His will each day in preparation for eternity! Praise the Lord!!
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What is so special about John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21:20)? Why was He so close to Jesus? To better understand John's intimate relationship with Jesus, we need to reflect on how Jesus worked with His disciples and what He was offering them. He was offering them His very life of unselfishness; He yearned for them to become like Him in mind and character through their unique personalities. He loved all of them, but He let them choose how close they desired to be to Him. He invites us, too, to be as close to Him as possible!
These disciples had been for some time associated with Jesus in active labor. John and James, Andrew and Peter, with Philip, Nathanael, and Matthew, had been more closely connected with Him than the others, and had witnessed more of His miracles. Peter, James, and John stood in still nearer relationship to Him. They were almost constantly with Him, witnessing His miracles, and hearing His words. John pressed into still closer intimacy with Jesus, so that he is distinguished as the one whom Jesus loved. The Saviour loved them all, but John's was the most receptive spirit. He was younger than the others, and with more of the child's confiding trust he opened his heart to Jesus. Thus he came more into sympathy with Christ, and through him the Saviour's deepest spiritual teaching was communicated to His people.
Did you catch that? John was younger than the others, and because he was more receptive, Christ could teach John His deepest spiritual teaching! The amazing thing is that Jesus is looking for "modern day Johns" who will be childlike in confiding trust, receptive to His Spirit, and willing to be shaped by His deep spiritual teaching. If you are willing, why not pray that God will lead you even now to go deeper with Jesus by His word and then share with others of the overflow of what you know of Him! A GREAT book in which to discover Jesus' loveliness is The Desire of Ages, and prayerfully reading its pages is such a wonderful way to draw nearer to Jesus!! By beholding Christ, we become changed!! We can rejoice that it is as we by faith surrender fully to Christ that we become partakers of the divine nature, keeping the corruption of our fallen nature crucified! Christ abiding in us will thus give the Holy Spirit power to manifest all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in and through us as we are empowered to gladly obey God up to the light of His holy law of (the Ten Commandments) that we understand. Praise God for the privilege of being a true disciple of Jesus! Let's go with Him as deep as possible!! "Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" (James 4:8). When we are drawing near to God, He is drawing near to us! After all, the desire to come to God first comes from Him!!
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While we cannot earn it, in humility we are to receive it. Salvation is a gift from God and yet it is a gift that will completely transform the life as in complete surrender the righteousness of Christ is received into the life.
The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God. Then he can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow. From the soul that feels his need, nothing is withheld. He has unrestricted access to Him in whom all fullness dwells. “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15.
When we acknowledge our deep need of Jesus' guidance and grace and in sincerity surrender fully to Him, He supplies all our need. Christ will come to abide in the soul fully yielded to Him, imbuing the character with the supernatural attributes of His divine nature--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--empowering the soul to walk in true obedience to all of God's commandments! May you gladly walk in harmony with God today as a true missionary to be a blessing to others!
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We can learn a lot from the faith of Jesus as is manifested in the experience of the centurion. He trusted that Jesus' word would do exactly what Jesus said. Jesus, the Son of God, depended completely on the Father's word to Him at each step in His life, and this "faith of Jesus"--depending completely and solely on the word of God to do what it says, is accessible to us even now! By yielding the WHOLE heart to Christ, He can then work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and empowering us to obey His holy law up to the degree we understand it because we love Him who first loved us!
Jesus immediately set out for the officer's home; but, pressed by the multitude, He advanced slowly. The news of His coming preceded Him, and the centurion, in his self-distrust, sent Him the message, “Lord, trouble not Thyself: for I am not worthy that Thou shouldest enter under my roof.” But the Saviour kept on His way, and the centurion, venturing at last to approach Him, completed the message, saying, “Neither thought I myself worthy to come unto Thee;” “but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” As I represent the power of Rome, and my soldiers recognize my authority as supreme, so dost Thou represent the power of the Infinite God, and all created things obey Thy word. Thou canst command the disease to depart, and it shall obey Thee. Thou canst summon Thy heavenly messengers, and they shall impart healing virtue. Speak but the word, and my servant shall be healed.
While we do not deserve to be saved, we can see CLEARLY from the word of God that He desires to save us, and that His grace is sufficient for us as we abide in Him who loved us and gave His only begotten Son to redeem us from all sin! Jesus is preparing us for heaven as we walk by faith, depending on his word to do just what it says! He will come again very soon for those who, like the centurion, trust His word fully and entirely!!
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We are so loved and valuable to Jesus--as He came to this earth and became our Brother, died to redeem us, and is inviting us to follow His steps of love all the way to heaven!
Christ loves the heavenly beings that surround His throne; but what shall account for the great love wherewith He has loved us? We cannot understand it, but we can know it true in our own experience. And if we do hold the relation of kinship to Him, with what tenderness should we regard those who are brethren and sisters of our Lord! Should we not be quick to recognize the claims of our divine relationship? Adopted into the family of God, should we not honor our Father and our kindred?
The closeness which we may have with God and others all depends upon our complete surrender to Christ--to have ongoing union and communion with Christ. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives as we are abiding in Him and cheerfully, promptly obedient to the light of truth He has revealed to us! Let's abide in the family of God and let His love flow in and through us! May you have a very happy Sabbath as it comes at sunset this Friday!
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Happy Sabbath!!
May you truly rest in perfect surrender to Jesus so He can teach you His lessons of love and calm trust in His will and way. By yielding the whole heart to Him, He makes it His abiding place and fills the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! His Spirit makes it possible to truly obey up to the light He has revealed because Christ lives out His life in and through us!
“Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.
It was disloyalty to God's law of love that led to the rebellion in heaven when Lucifer wanted to do things "his way" apart from God's love and wisdom. Oh, let us allow Jesus to fully emancipate us so we can have the rest of soul that only comes in His presence and His will being done in and through us!
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Find another way! After Jesus healed the demoniacs and the swine were destroyed, even though the people did not desire Jesus' presence, He found another way to reach them--by sending them the healed men as testimonies of His love and grace. Let us pray that God will give us wisdom to "find another way" to reach someone when one avenue seems closed at a certain time.
Though the people of Gergesa had not received Jesus, He did not leave them to the darkness they had chosen. When they bade Him depart from them, they had not heard His words. They were ignorant of that which they were rejecting. Therefore He again sent the light to them, and by those to whom they would not refuse to listen.
God is gracious and sees the end from the beginning. We need to have a vital connection with God in true conversion so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives. As we gladly obey the light of truth as He reveals it, we can courageously walk in the doors His providence opens for us. The healed men would be the most effective testimony to reach the surrounding region, and so we can let Jesus heal our lives to be living testimonies of His character, too!
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God is so faithful! And He desires to reveal that testimony of His faithfulness through you!
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.
As we let the Holy Spirit into our hearts, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow like a living stream of His grace to refresh us and bless others! What joy it is to truly obey God up to the light that He has shown us in His law of love! The more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness! God IS faithful!! Let's live in fully faith of that truth!!
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What does "family" mean to you? Well, if you look at Jesus' life and ministry, it was His loving plan to include the apostles in His family. You are invited into Jesus' family, too! By surrendering your whole heart to Jesus, He will come abide in you and fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering you to obey God's law of love up to the light He has revealed and you understand.
The apostles were members of the family of Jesus, and they had accompanied Him as He traveled on foot through Galilee. They had shared with Him the toils and hardships that overtook them. They had listened to His discourses, they had walked and talked with the Son of God, and from His daily instruction they had learned how to work for the elevation of humanity. As Jesus ministered to the vast multitudes that gathered about Him, His disciples were in attendance, eager to do His bidding and to lighten His labor. They assisted in arranging the people, bringing the afflicted ones to the Saviour, and promoting the comfort of all. They watched for interested hearers, explained the Scriptures to them, and in various ways worked for their spiritual benefit. They taught what they had learned of Jesus, and were every day obtaining a rich experience. But they needed also an experience in laboring alone. They were still in need of much instruction, great patience and tenderness. Now, while He was personally with them, to point out their errors, and counsel and correct them, the Saviour sent them forth as His representatives.
Jesus is able to guide us continually in the joy of selfless service and partaking of His character to reflect Him to the world! He empowers us to give the Three Angels' Messages to the world in our time, now! Jesus is coming again to take us to our eternal family--all the redeemed and the angels together forever!!
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Jesus' invitation is open to you today! He knows that we often get so busy that it seems challenging to have meaningful time to be with Him, so He graciously calls us to come and commune with Him to be strengthened to do His will through His abiding presence!
“Come ye yourselves apart,” He bids us. If we would give heed to His word, we should be stronger and more useful. The disciples sought Jesus, and told Him all things; and He encouraged and instructed them. If today we would take time to go to Jesus and tell Him our needs, we should not be disappointed; He would be at our right hand to help us. We need more simplicity, more trust and confidence in our Saviour. He whose name is called “The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace;” He of whom it is written, “The government shall be upon His shoulder,” is the Wonderful Counselor. We are invited to ask wisdom of Him. He “giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” Isaiah 9:6; James 1:5.
As we come to Christ just as we are, opening our whole heart to His life and character, it is in total surrender to Him that we experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, for the abiding Savior also empowers us to obey Him from the heart up to the light He has revealed! Praise God for the time we can take with Jesus to grow more like Him! His desire is to make us truly happy in His will and way!
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God's eternal kingdom will triumph over the temporary kingdom Satan has sought to establish based on sin. We need to be encouraged in the Lord by spending time with Him to know that He will provide for all our needs in Christ Jesus, especially our greatest need to be truly converted and have all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing as we choose to abide in Him and obey Him up to the light of His truth that He has shown us! We can be thankful that God is in charge, and He will provide at each step in the way to heaven, even like He did when Jesus was surrounded by hungry crowds and all that seemed to be available was five loaves and two small fishes. But with God's blessing upon it, the miracle of all being fed with even twelve baskets left over proves that God is able to do more than we can ask or think! Let's trust God each moment with all we have and are for His service to always be first!!
The work of building up the kingdom of Christ will go forward, though to all appearance it moves slowly and impossibilities seem to testify against advance. The work is of God, and He will furnish means, and will send helpers, true, earnest disciples, whose hands also will be filled with food for the starving multitude. God is not unmindful of those who labor in love to give the word of life to perishing souls, who in their turn reach forth their hands for food for other hungry souls.
As the loaves and fishes multiplied, so can God multiply the needed workers to carry forward His kingdom in harmony with His eternal principles of righteousness!
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Because God loves us, He allows trials in our lives that prepare us for greater trials, as His great desire is to see His character reflected in us so we are ready to be with Him in heaven where all is happiness, peace and glory! Peter was graciously given an opportunity to see his own weakness so he need not have denied Jesus before Christ's crucifixion. Let's learn from today's trials to prepare us for the ones yet to come leading up to the second coming of Christ!
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.
Without one missing, all of the fruits of the Spirit will abide in our hearts to be reflected in the life if we are fully surrendered to Christ and walking in harmony with His will in true obedience! Let's learn of Christ today in humility and go forth to be a blessing by having profited from God's daily instruction!!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Let us open our hearts to Jesus, the Bread of Life, and assimilate His character as our own experience in preparation for heaven!!
To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as a personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins, and that we are complete in Him. It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. What food is to the body, Christ must be to the soul. Food cannot benefit us unless we eat it, unless it becomes a part of our being. So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Him as a personal Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. We must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated.
What a miracle that we can be new in Christ! His Spirit, received into the soul, connects us with the divine nature with all of His heavenly attributes without one missing! Christ abiding in us will actuate our conduct and empower us to obey Him up to the light He has graciously revealed to us! Let's go forward in faith to share the grace of God that has first touched and converted our souls as we surrender and continually surrender all to Jesus!!
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What are you planting? Not just in a literal sense, but by your words and example. We can learn from the experience Jesus had with the religious leaders in regard to tradition that any tradition which is planted, taught and cherished as supplanting or superseding the word of God will ultimately be uprooted. Let us look to Jesus, His word and His perfect example to find what it would be well for us to plant in our character building so we can be ready for heaven, where only what God has planted will endure! Every tradition contradicting God's word is like a weed in the way of the precious plant of heavenly love and truth!
But “every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.” In place of the authority of the so-called fathers of the church, God bids us accept the word of the eternal Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. Here alone is truth unmixed with error. David said, “I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Thy precepts.” Psalm 119:99, 100. Let all who accept human authority, the customs of the church, or the traditions of the fathers, take heed to the warning conveyed in the words of Christ, “In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
As we surrender fully to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives as we apply His word to our characters and live in harmony with His law of love up to the light He has shown us! Let us keep looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith and let the traditions of this world pass away from our experience because we have found a better "seed packet" to draw from--the Bible!! With 31,102 verses, there are plenty of promises and precepts to fill the garden of our hearts with what is true and good!
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What do you choose? Salvation is freely offered to EVERY human being, and only YOU can make the final choice regarding whether you accept the gift of Jesus and His truth! Let us abide in Him by a complete surrender so He can supernaturally bring forth in our lives all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we can obey God's law up to the light we have received and thus glorify God by a life that accepts the salvation He gave us at infinite cost to Himself! We can see in the eager desire of the Syrophoenician woman to receive help from Jesus for healing for her daughter--with His salvation--that God is drawing all to Him, and we can know He freely receives each one, if we will but accept His word as the foundation of our faith!
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.
Christ is gracious to each and knows the needs of each soul. As we learn of Christ in humility, day by day we can grow in grace and strength to joyfully experience salvation and then go forth as Christ has commissioned us, extending His saving love to those we meet in preparation for heaven!
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Let God perform the greatest of all miracles in your life--making you like Him in mind and character!
When the message of truth is presented in our day, there are many who, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign. Work us a miracle. Christ wrought no miracle at the demand of the Pharisees. He wrought no miracle in the wilderness in answer to Satan's insinuations. He does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or to satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But the gospel is not without a sign of its divine origin. Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God's heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought; so also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” Ezekiel 36:26. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to those that hear. This is God's witness before the world to the divine mission of His Son.
As we experience the transforming power of the gospel by complete, continual surrender to Christ in which all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives, let us be encouraged in Christ to obey Him up to the light He has shed upon us in harmony with His law (the Ten Commandments--the universe's constitution of life and freedom), as we go forth to bless others in His appointed way!
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While it keeps getting tried over and over again by sinful humanity, sin does not bring lasting pleasure (it's only for a short season, and then fades). Since selfishness is death, it follows that selfless love is life! Only by abiding in Christ and surrendering fully to Him will we experience the fullness of joy and purpose that we were created to fulfill. God loves us and wants us to be saved even more than we are desiring it, for He alone can see the full potential of each soul completely restored from sin. Let us open the heart to Jesus and His word so we can be guided into all truth and unique, beautiful plan God intends for each of us!
“Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” Selfishness is death. No organ of the body could live should it confine its service to itself. The heart, failing to send its lifeblood to the hand and the head, would quickly lose its power. As our lifeblood, so is the love of Christ diffused through every part of His mystical body. We are members one of another, and the soul that refuses to impart will perish. And “what is a man profited,” said Jesus, “if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
As we impart what we receive from Jesus, we experience joy in seeing the joy of others! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through the life that is fully surrendered to Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us! Obedience up to all the light He has revealed is possible only by a continual, complete surrender to Jesus! Let's value what heaven values--moral worth revealed in love and purity of character empowering the life to reach others for God's eternal kingdom!
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Let's be wide awake to what God desires to tell us from His word and the experience He is offering us! God knows the best for us and is able to save us from being spiritually lethargic and indifferent to what He has for us. Peter, James and John could have chosen to stay awake on the mount of transfiguration and been much better prepared to understand the nature of Christ's agony on Calvary--but they largely missed it. Could we do the same thing by being asleep when God has more to teach us? By consistency spending time with Jesus, by yielding all we have and are to Him, we can experience thorough conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in our lives without one missing! We are empowered by Christ to live in obedience to all of His commandments, growing in grace to be more like Him and better prepared for the future that leads up to the time of trouble that immediately precedes the second coming of Christ! Oh, let us appreciate God's love and grace and grow in His will as we abide in Jesus!
Through being overcome with sleep, the disciples heard little of what passed between Christ and the heavenly messengers. Failing to watch and pray, they had not received that which God desired to give them,—a knowledge of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. They lost the blessing that might have been theirs through sharing His self-sacrifice. Slow of heart to believe were these disciples, little appreciative of the treasure with which Heaven sought to enrich them.
God loves us. It is because He loves us that He desires to teach and shepherd us in His will and way so we can be better prepared for what is yet future. Jesus is coming again!
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We need a vital connection with God in true consecration to be able to succeed in doing God's work to reach souls and help them break free from Satan's power. In true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God up to the light as we are privileged to have received from Him!
In order to succeed in such a conflict they must come to the work in a different spirit. Their faith must be strengthened by fervent prayer and fasting, and humiliation of heart. They must be emptied of self, and be filled with the Spirit and power of God. Earnest, persevering supplication to God in faith—faith that leads to entire dependence upon God, and unreserved consecration to His work—can alone avail to bring men the Holy Spirit's aid in the battle against principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits in high places.
Victory is available to each of us, and when we love God who first loved us, the victory God gives us in character is an experience that can lead us to extend victory to others, too! Jesus is coming soon and invites us to walk in His ministry of love to bless others!
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Happy Sabbath!!
When God created us, He made us all with a unique individuality. While we can have sweet unity of doctrine, judgment and spirit as we abide in Christ and learn of Him daily, we need to learn to be gracious towards others in our walk with Christ, recognizing that God is drawing them and is willing to use them at the very point that they are in their experience, even as He guides into all truth by the Holy Spirit. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of one who is fully surrendered to Christ and truly converted, for the abiding presence of God in the soul makes it possible to be obedient up to the light He has shed on our pathway.
The fact that one does not in all things conform to our personal ideas or opinions will not justify us in forbidding him to labor for God. Christ is the Great Teacher; we are not to judge or to command, but in humility each is to sit at the feet of Jesus, and learn of Him. Every soul whom God has made willing is a channel through which Christ will reveal His pardoning love. How careful we should be lest we discourage one of God's light bearers, and thus intercept the rays that He would have shine to the world!
Let us allow God to work with people in such a way that we are encouraging people to go directly to God and experience the healing, winning and transforming love of Christ. In Him is life, and life more abundantly!
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He gets you. Jesus understands. And He offers you what REALLY satisfies!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me.” The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
Christ, the living water, can renew the soul in true conversion to make each one who fully surrenders to Him a well of blessing overflowing with all of the fruits of His Spirit, without one missing! He leads in true obedience to His commandments all who accept His divine grace and strength to walk even as He walked. Even in the most trying situations and circumstances, such as what led up to Him being at the feast of tabernacles, at just the time He did attend it, Christ had the Father's presence surrounding Him and guiding Him to do what pleased Him--for He was always living by faith! He offers us His living-faith victory as well!
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What are you looking for? If you go to Christ and acknowledge His word as truth, allowing Him to sanctify and transform your character by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit, your desire and capacity for knowing and loving God will only increase! He will enable you to be a true missionary to bless others! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, in connection with true obedience in the life up to the light Christ has revealed, will be reflected in the character and life!
He whose heart has responded to the divine touch will be seeking for that which will increase his knowledge of God, and will refine and elevate the character. As a flower turns to the sun, that the bright rays may touch it with tints of beauty, so will the soul turn to the Sun of Righteousness, that heaven's light may beautify the character with the graces of the character of Christ.
We can rejoice in the grace and power of Christ to encourage and transform the life in ways that glorify Him!
Praise the Lord!!
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How well do you think you are known? There is Someone who knows you better than you even know yourself, for, Solomon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, prayed to God these true words: "Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men" (1 Kings 8:39). Since we have a God of love and truth who desires to shepherd us safely into our heavenly home, well would it be for us to respond to the Good Shepherd, Jesus, and go where He leads us! It is in complete surrender to Him that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in our lives without one missing as we are empowered by His grace to obey His law up to the light He has revealed! Let's praise God for such a wonderful Savior in Jesus and ever walk with Him!
Every soul is as fully known to Jesus as if he were the only one for whom the Saviour died. The distress of every one touches His heart. The cry for aid reaches His ear. He came to draw all men unto Himself. He bids them, “Follow Me,” and His Spirit moves upon their hearts to draw them to come to Him. Many refuse to be drawn. Jesus knows who they are. He also knows who gladly hear His call, and are ready to come under His pastoral care. He says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” He cares for each one as if there were not another on the face of the earth.
Let's go where the Shepherd leads--in glad, self-sacrificing service to seek and to save others! Praise the Lord for His unfailing love!
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We are warmly invited by Jesus to come to Him. And He works in many ways to seek to woo us to receive Him so that our lives may be restored from the ruin of sin. But He does not force the will. He invites us to choose Him. May we learn continually of how much we need Jesus to do any good thing, surrendering fully and continually to Him so He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as He empowers us by His love to obey Him from the heart renewed by His divine grace. Let us not neglect so great salvation as is offered us by God and His holy word!
The True Witness says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” Revelation 3:20. Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the word of God or through His messengers is a knock at the door of the heart. It is the voice of Jesus asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, the disposition to open becomes weaker. The impressions of the Holy Spirit if disregarded today, will not be as strong tomorrow. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of life, and of the great eternity beyond. Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the fact that we have been in error, but from the fact that we have neglected heaven-sent opportunities for learning what is truth.
Let us not neglect heaven-sent opportunities for learning truth, but gladly accept the truth as it is in Jesus and walk in His ways. By His grace we are to go forward through the providential doors He opens for us! "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
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Let the light shine--the light of God's truth revealed in character--to shine forth to bless others!
The way to dispel darkness is to admit light. The best way to deal with error is to present truth. It is the revelation of God's love that makes manifest the deformity and sin of the heart centered in self.
As Christ commended the unselfish ministry of the Samaritan who revealed a kind heart towards the man left by the road by robbers, Jesus invites us to receive from Him a new heart whereby we also can go forth to bless others. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life completely surrendered to Christ and abiding in Him! He empowers us to obey Him because we love Him, walking in all the light that He has revealed to us by His love and grace! So when God gives you a divine appointment to help someone, gladly accept the opportunity and do what Jesus would have you do!
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Happy Sabbath!! Let's value what heaven really values and teach and practice God's word so many can be saved in God's appointed way!
Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13. Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practicing of the word of God.
Receiving God's word in complete surrender means that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, empowering us to obey God up to the light of His truth revealed in our path! Praise God!!
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Let us follow Christ's method alone in reading souls--especially the precious children He loves with infinite tenderness!
As you win their confidence in you as followers of Christ, it will be easy to teach them of the great love wherewith He has loved us. As you try to make plain the truths of salvation, and point the children to Christ as a personal Saviour, angels will be by your side. The Lord will give to fathers and mothers grace to interest their little ones in the precious story of the Babe of Bethlehem, who is indeed the hope of the world.
As we surrender fully to Christ in a living-faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, and we will be enabled to obey God up to the light He has shed on our path, walking in Jesus' victory!!
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Because Jesus knows you perfectly, it follows that whatever He tells you to do is for your highest good. In the case of what Jesus told the rich young ruler, it was imperative that he follow exactly what Christ said, for to fail to do so would reveal a lack of surrender, holding on to the idol of riches. We all need Jesus to help us see our plague spots of character so He can help us renounce anything that would get in the way of fully following Him.
Christ's words were verily to the ruler the invitation, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.” Joshua 24:15. The choice was left with him. Jesus was yearning for his conversion. He had shown him the plague spot in his character, and with what deep interest He watched the issue as the young man weighed the question! If he decided to follow Christ, he must obey His words in everything. He must turn from his ambitious projects. With what earnest, anxious longing, what soul hunger, did the Saviour look at the young man, hoping that he would yield to the invitation of the Spirit of God!
When we do yield FULLY to the Holy Spirit, He converts us and makes us partakers of His divine nature; all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life and we will be enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God, heeding all of His commandments because we love Him who first loved us. We need to remember that Jesus loved the rich young ruler--but sadly, he turned away from Jesus. May we learn the lesson and not turn from Jesus, even if what Christ calls us to do seems trying for us. Let us remember that Christ calls for the WHOLE heart and an entire life surrender in which we put His teachings into practice!
In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord's and half the world's. We are not God's children unless we are such entirely.
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Let's try to imagine the conversation that Martha is having with Jesus, just moments before He resurrected Lazarus (you can catch the whole story in John 11). What Christ did for Lazarus He will do for ALL THE DEAD IN CHRIST at His second coming, raising them to immortal life with Him to enjoy the ceaseless ages of eternity in His presence where there is fullness of joy!
Still seeking to give a true direction to her faith, Jesus declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. “He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer's assurance of eternal life. “He that believeth in Me,” said Jesus, “though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Christ here looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would represent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal life.
As we can walk in Christ's victory over sin and death by a full-heart surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--as an expression of His life abiding in us--will lead us in an overflowing witness of His love in true obedience to all of God's commandments! There is no limit to what God can do in and through us as we abide in Jesus!!
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Straight up, he lied. Satan did not want the religious rulers in Jesus' day to know that if they accepted Christ, that they could have experienced a far higher and better authority than they had been trying to hold on to in this world. Christ was offering all--including the religious leaders--the authority that comes from union and communion with God for the accomplishment of His purposes that span eternity. Whatever contradicts the Ten Commandments, we can surely know proceeds from Satan. The idea of putting Jesus to death was surely from the father of lies (as it was a violation of the sixth commandment!), and we need to learn to disregard all lying ideas and temptations, replacing those thoughts and temptations with the word of God in our hearts and minds by daily beholding Jesus! When we do fully surrender to Christ and abide in His word, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we will be enabled to keep all of God's commandments out of love for Him!
Satan told them that in order to maintain their authority, they must put Jesus to death. This counsel they followed. The fact that they might lose the power they then exercised, was, they thought, sufficient reason for coming to some decision. With the exception of a few who dared not speak their minds, the Sanhedrin received the words of Caiaphas as the words of God. Relief came to the council; the discord ceased. They resolved to put Christ to death at the first favorable opportunity. In rejecting the proof of the divinity of Jesus, these priests and rulers had locked themselves in impenetrable darkness. They had come wholly under the sway of Satan, to be hurried by him over the brink of eternal ruin. Yet such was their deception that they were well pleased with themselves. They regarded themselves as patriots, who were seeking the nation's salvation.
We need to reject Satan's deceptive lies, and cultivate an entire-heart surrender to Jesus based on the plain, clear reading of His word. By God's grace, each of us can overcome Satan's delusions and abide in the purity and power of the Holy Spirit who is preparing us for heaven! It is important to understand what happened in the plots against Jesus, as they parallel a future crisis that will come against God's people who choose to keep the seventh day Sabbath.
As the Sabbath has become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, and religious and secular authorities have combined to enforce the observance of the Sunday, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration. It will be urged that the few who stand in opposition to an institution of the church and a law of the state ought not to be tolerated; that it is better for them to suffer than for whole nations to be thrown into confusion and lawlessness. The same argument many centuries ago was brought against Christ by the "rulers of the people." "It is expedient for us," said the wily Caiaphas, "that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." John 11:50. This argument will appear conclusive; and a decree will finally be issued against those who hallow the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, denouncing them as deserving of the severest punishment and giving the people liberty, after a certain time, to put them to death. Romanism in the Old World and apostate Protestantism in the New will pursue a similar course toward those who honor all the divine precepts.
Knowing this is true, let us be braced to persevere in faithfulness because Jesus will not forsake His people that trust and obey Him!
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God gives us freedom because that is the only way in which we can experience love. What a blessing that He values us so much as to give us the capacity to think and to do--and thus to respond to His infinite love by following in the steps of Jesus, serving others out of love!
In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, “let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we abide in Christ in complete surrender to Him! We can freely follow in His plans for our lives and find our highest joy in His service!
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Happy Sabbath! Praise God for the gift of adoption into His heavenly family! By surrendering fully to Christ, we can become partakers of His divine nature, and reflect His loveliness of character by abiding in Him!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.
Not one of the attributes of the Holy Spirit will be missing from our lives as long as we are fully yielded to Jesus and humbly walking in His will by His word. What wondrous love is this that we can experience life and life more abundantly in Jesus!
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Let the Holy Spirit lead you! Remember the offering of Mary that she lavished upon Jesus, as this shows us what happens when a heart is fully converted and in love with the Savior! We will long to be a blessing to Him and let the Holy Spirit plan for us! Not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be in our lives as we gladly obey His law of love, but we will find joy in blessing others, as Jesus loves to see His character being reproduced in us!
Mary knew not the full significance of her deed of love. She could not answer her accusers. She could not explain why she had chosen that occasion for anointing Jesus. The Holy Spirit had planned for her, and she had obeyed His promptings. Inspiration stoops to give no reason. An unseen presence, it speaks to mind and soul, and moves the heart to action. It is its own justification.
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Jesus loves you. He loved Jerusalem, and all the people in it. But it hurt His heart so much to see so many rejecting Him when He was the only source of help and salvation.
The tears of Jesus were not in anticipation of His own suffering. Just before Him was Gethsemane, where soon the horror of a great darkness would overshadow Him. The sheepgate also was in sight, through which for centuries the beasts for sacrificial offerings had been led. This gate was soon to open for Him, the great Antitype, toward whose sacrifice for the sins of the world all these offerings had pointed. Near by was Calvary, the scene of His approaching agony. Yet it was not because of these reminders of His cruel death that the Redeemer wept and groaned in anguish of spirit. His was no selfish sorrow. The thought of His own agony did not intimidate that noble, self-sacrificing soul. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus—Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles, and was about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer, and what she might have been had she accepted Him who alone could heal her wound. He had come to save her; how could He give her up?
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life in which He abides; Christ will give grace and strength to truly obey Him from the heart and receive His message of truth and love.
We need Jesus to help us to overcome sin that separates us from God, for "sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). Following His triumphal entry and His tears over Jerusalem, He cursed the fig tree as an acted parable to warn all who would not receive Him and experience the fruit of His character in the life that would lead to helping others to come to experience salvation. Oh, what wondrous love to know how much He will do to seek to win our hearts and guide us into all truth!
The warning is for all time. Christ's act in cursing the tree which His own power had created stands as a warning to all churches and to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to others. But there are many who do not live out Christ's merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God, but who bears no fruit to His glory.
Bearing fruit to God's glory is the result of being in true union and communion with Christ and in constant surrender to Him who empowers us to obey Him as we see the beauty and excellence of character revealed in the Ten Commandments lived out in Christ! It is possible to overcome, heed the warnings, and do God's will by His divine grace!
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If He did it for Jesus, He can do it for you, too! God knows just where to place us in His service and kingdom, not only growing us for His glory but guiding us to take on the character and attributes of Jesus, the chief Cornerstone!
In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it “a sure foundation.” The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a “tried stone.” Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam's guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.
When we build on Jesus in full surrender to His word, will and way, our lives become ALIVE for His glory! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we grow more like Jesus day by day, humbly obeying Him in the path His providence assigns for us in His service! Praise God!!
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Praise God for what is coming in the future life! Today by surrendering fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we will be enabled to live in obedience to all of God's commandments! Such an experience is a foretaste of heaven, for we can have heaven in our hearts!
Christ declared to His hearers that if there were no resurrection of the dead, the Scriptures which they professed to believe would be of no avail. He said, “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” God counts the things that are not as though they were. He sees the end from the beginning, and beholds the result of His work as though it were now accomplished. The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life. God will be their God, and they shall be His people. There will be a close and tender relationship between God and the risen saints. This condition, which is anticipated in His purpose, He beholds as if it were already existing. The dead live unto Him.
What a blessing it is to look forward to the future life!
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Jesus did everything He could to reach the people of Jerusalem! In His yearning love to save them, the deep compassion of His heart finally overflowed in tears as He still desired them to turn to Him for salvation! He knew that the offering of animals--without faith in Him as the atoning sacrifice--was meaningless. He was about to lay down His life to save all who would come unto Him for deliverance from sin. Oh, let us come to Jesus in full surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, and we will be empowered to keep all of God's commandments from the heart renewed by His divine grace!
Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This is the separation struggle. In the lamentation of Christ the very heart of God is pouring itself forth. It is the mysterious farewell of the long-suffering love of the Deity.
The struggle of Jesus' heart over Jerusalem will be felt again, in even greater measure, as He sees the world about to perish leading up to His second coming. In like manner to the religious leaders of His day, Satan will deceive the world into thinking they are doing God service by exalting Sunday as Sabbath and seeking to put to death those who do not align with the Sunday. So it was with the Jewish leaders whom Satan led on to murder the Son of God, thinking that they could preserve their nation by doing so. What insanity! Oh, please, before it is too late, turn from the deceptions of Satan that contradict Scripture. Turn to Jesus and His word to escape from the pit of ruin Satan intends for you! "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
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Let us realize what Jesus really values--a life and character that is willing to come into harmony with Him!
"If any man serve Me," said Jesus, "let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor." All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. It was the joy of Christ in His humiliation and pain that His disciples should be glorified with Him. They are the fruit of His self-sacrifice. The outworking in them of His own character and spirit is His reward, and will be His joy throughout eternity. This joy they share with Him as the fruit of their labor and sacrifice is seen in other hearts and lives. They are workers together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors His Son.
We can look forward to eternity, not just with our loving God, but also with all the redeemed whom the Holy Spirit helped us to reach for Jesus by abiding in Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Jesus and humbly obeying Him up to the light He has revealed to us! Praise God!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming again, and He desires us to be living in readiness for the glorious day of His appearing! Only by a living union and communion with Jesus in true surrender to God of all we have and are can the converting power of the Holy Spirit abide in us to produce in us Christ's loving character. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we abide in Christ and live in humble obedience to all of the light of His truth that He has revealed to us!
Solemnly there come to us down through the centuries the warning words of our Lord from the Mount of Olives: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Let us watch and pray, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, growing in His grace and love, trusting in His promises each moment, and walking in harmony with Him because we discern and appreciate how much He loves us. By beholding Christ's life in His word afresh, we watch unto prayer, asking the Lord to lead us in His will and way. In perfect acquiescence to Christ, we find perfect rest for the soul in a world of confusion, letting Him emancipate us from ideas, habits and practices that have been gained in this fallen world. We can rejoice in the Lord always, knowing that the Lord is preparing us for the heavenly home He has gone to prepare for us!
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Brighten the corner where you are!
The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of caring for sorrowful, tempted souls. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and even in “the regions beyond,” whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.
As we start by surrendering the whole heart to Jesus based on the love He has revealed to us, we get to be a blessing in our homes, our neighborhoods, our towns, and wherever God sends us as His missionaries! Thankfully, we can be assured of Jesus' abiding presence by the Holy Spirit as we keep choosing His will and way, for as we grow in His grace and allow Him to reflect through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we become more and more like Jesus! True obedience to His law prompted by love will be experienced in each heart that has beheld the matchless loveliness of Jesus and experienced in His deliverance from sin!
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What Jesus did in selfless ministry He empowers us to do as our hearts are cleansed by His blood and our lives are united to Him by the Holy Spirit in a full-heart surrender so we become teachable and obedient. In Christ, we are enabled to bear all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and have the strength, desire and capacity to obey God up to the light of His truth that He has revealed to us! Praise God!
Jesus, the served of all, came to be the servant of all. And because He ministered to all, He will again be served and honored by all. And those who would partake of His divine attributes, and share with Him the joy of seeing souls redeemed, must follow His example of unselfish ministry.
Unselfishness brings true contentment and lasting joy. Only by abiding in Christ are we able to experience our true purpose for which God created us! May you today experience the lasting pleasure of being in the center of God's will as you yield fully to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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Take a sip of water. Eat a piece of bread. But take a moment to think about how valuable that water and bread is to you. It cost Someone a lot to make it freely accessible to you. Since sin entered our world, we have deserved death, for "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But praise God for Jesus, who stepped in to to our human race to be born as our Brother, lived a perfect life as our Example, offered His life for us at the cross as our Substitute, and is now interceding as our High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven to prepare us to be with Him for eternity as He returns soon in glory as our King! God is so generous to us in Christ! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we surrender our heart fully to Christ, renounce every sin that the Holy Spirit reveals, and willingly walk in the path of obedience that God leads us into by His grace!
Our Lord has said, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.... For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” John 6:53-55. This is true of our physical nature. To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water we drink is bought by His spilled blood. Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring. All this Christ has taught in appointing the emblems of His great sacrifice. The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament.
Oh, what a blessing it is to realize how much Jesus has done for us and allow Him to motivate us to even greater appreciation for all He has given us by His sacrifice, and the light of His love shining upon us from His word! Keep looking to Jesus!!
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Everything--yes, completely everything is wrapped up in that one gift! In sending the Holy Spirit to guide us, Jesus offers us everything we need for this life and for the life to come!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life fully surrendered to Jesus! What a blessing it is to let Him guide and lead us!
Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church, and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many who believe and profess to claim the Lord's promise; they talk about Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit God works in His people “to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the capacity to receive.
As we open our hearts fully to Jesus and let Him give us His strength and grace to confess and forsake our sins, we can rejoice that by the Holy Spirit abiding in us, we will be enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God!
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How would you like your depression and discouragement to leave you? While you may not be experiencing those struggles now (or maybe you are), if you find yourself in that "valley" of emotional/mental/spiritual darkness, go to the DARKEST place in the HISTORY of the universe--Gethsemane. Why? Because when you go there, you come to see and know that One who INFINITELY LOVES you would be willing to take on ALL OUR EMOTIONAL/MENTAL/SPIRITUAL angst to become sin for us and offer us deliverance! We can have HOPE to break through and find healing joy (along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing) in union and communion with Christ in complete surrender to Him! Now that is GOOD NEWS!!!
Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.
Christ did something none of us will ever do. None of us will bear the weight of the sin of the whole world--but He did!! And even though it was intense, even though He was tempted intensely by Satan to think that if He went through with the Sacrifice that He would never again be one with God, Jesus CHOSE to do it because He loved the Father and each of us SO MUCH!! Now that puts new meaning into these words:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Will you let Jesus take whatever you are going through right now, trusting Him even now for salvation, and letting Him heal you in every area of life?
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We can learn from the experience of the disciples the importance of being wide-awake and being prayerful, focused, and surrendered to Jesus. Had the disciples REALLY heeded the call of Jesus to "watch and pray" and had taken to heart that He WAS going to die for them, then rise from the dead, when the events that led up to that were actually transpiring, they could have faced it in faith, rather than from a perspective of doubt, discouragement, and unbelief. We have intense trials on the horizon before Jesus returns the second time, but if we will heed the call to watch and pray, take to heart Jesus' messages given us in Revelation 3:14-22, Revelation 14:6-12, and embrace, teach, and live out the health message inviting us to apply God's principles of nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, air, rest, and trust in God's power, we will be much better prepared to face the trials that we will be allowed to experience as God refines our characters to be more like Him! His purpose in all of this is to save souls by empowering us to be His witnesses by the Holy Spirit! In surrendering fully our heart to Christ, we let Him fill us with all of the fruits of His character so not one is missing, giving us the strength and grace needed to obey God up to the light of His truth He has revealed to us!
It was in sleeping when Jesus bade him watch and pray that Peter had prepared the way for his great sin. All the disciples, by sleeping in that critical hour, sustained a great loss. Christ knew the fiery ordeal through which they were to pass. He knew how Satan would work to paralyze their senses that they might be unready for the trial. Therefore it was that He gave them warning. Had those hours in the garden been spent in watching and prayer, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength. He would not have denied his Lord. Had the disciples watched with Christ in His agony, they would have been prepared to behold His suffering upon the cross. They would have understood in some degree the nature of His overpowering anguish. They would have been able to recall His words that foretold His sufferings, His death, and His resurrection. Amid the gloom of the most trying hour, some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness and sustained their faith.
God desires our faith to be sustained in the time of trouble such as never was (Daniel 12:1). But even today, His promise is that He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), for He can keep the soul that is surrendered to Him from sinning. Will we take the hand of Jesus, heed His loving messages, and let Him lead us safely to heaven? Though the path may be steep and rugged, His infinite love motivates us all along the way!
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Happy Sabbath! When we study inspiration, we see both promises and warnings, and when it comes to the case of Judas, his life is a strong warning not to yield to covetousness and refuse to believe the word of Christ just as He gave it. What a deception he fell for! Let us yield our WHOLE heart to Jesus so ALL of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we abide in Christ and overcome sin as He empowers us in TRUE obedience to all His commandments because we love Him who first loved us!
Judas reasoned that if Jesus was to be crucified, the event must come to pass. His own act in betraying the Saviour would not change the result. If Jesus was not to die, it would only force Him to deliver Himself. At all events, Judas would gain something by his treachery. He counted that he had made a sharp bargain in betraying his Lord.
Judas did not, however, believe that Christ would permit Himself to be arrested. In betraying Him, it was his purpose to teach Him a lesson. He intended to play a part that would make the Saviour careful thenceforth to treat him with due respect. But Judas knew not that he was giving Christ up to death. How often, as the Saviour taught in parables, the scribes and Pharisees had been carried away with His striking illustrations! How often they had pronounced judgment against themselves! Often when the truth was brought home to their hearts, they had been filled with rage, and had taken up stones to cast at Him; but again and again He had made His escape. Since He had escaped so many snares, thought Judas, He certainly would not now allow Himself to be taken.
Judas decided to put the matter to the test. If Jesus really was the Messiah, the people, for whom He had done so much, would rally about Him, and would proclaim Him king. This would forever settle many minds that were now in uncertainty. Judas would have the credit of having placed the king on David's throne. And this act would secure to him the first position, next to Christ, in the new kingdom.
The sad ending of Judas shows us that when things did not go the way he had planned, he ended his own life. Oh, what a warning not to go in the deceptive path Satan will lead us on whenever we doubt our reason away the plain teachings God gives! In these last days, Satan will pull a massive deception over the world to get them to think they are following Christ while rejecting His law, as if there is a way to separate Christ from His character (His law). When those making movements to enforce Sunday as a day of worship and rest go down this path, they may think they are doing God service, but their neglect of the plain teachings of the word of God shows their error, for God, who gave the Sabbath from creation (Genesis 2:1-3) and calls all to remember it (Exodus 20:8-11) also makes it clear that He does not change (Malachi 3:6). The Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 are God's final love appeal to call all to worship Him as the Creator in harmony with the seventh-day Sabbath, in light of the judgment taking place in heaven, and in earnest warning not to receive the mark of the beast (enforced Sunday worship) which leads to eternal death to those who go along with this deception and refuse to yield obedience to Christ who so loves every soul that He died to offer them salvation. Let us abide in the unchanging love and word of God, enabling us to be ready to meet Jesus at His glorious appearing!!
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Have you ever looked out over a lake, perfectly calm, serene and peaceful? It is as if this is how Jesus' countenance reflected the inner peace of heaven He had with the Father as He went through His excruciating trial that would lead up to His crucifixion, bearing it all because He knew it would make salvation accessible to all of us! Oh, what wondrous love is this!!
Satan led the cruel mob in its abuse of the Saviour. It was his purpose to provoke Him to retaliation if possible, or to drive Him to perform a miracle to release Himself, and thus break up the plan of salvation. One stain upon His human life, one failure of His humanity to endure the terrible test, and the Lamb of God would have been an imperfect offering, and the redemption of man a failure. But He who by a command could bring the heavenly host to His aid—He who could have driven that mob in terror from His sight by the flashing forth of His divine majesty—submitted with perfect calmness to the coarsest insult and outrage.
When we are abiding in Christ in complete surrender, the serene peace of God seen in Christ along with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives. Christ's victory becomes ours by trusting Him and letting Him lead us moment-by-moment through every trial so His grace can reveal its power to make a sinner into a saint and keep such a one from sinning! True, affectionate obedience is the outflow of a heart united with His heart of unselfish love!
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Where do your thoughts turn in a trying situation? As we learn of the unselfish love and life of Jesus, we see that it is possible even amid the most trying experience to think of others and seek to bless them. Christ in dying on Calvary was still focused on saving the souls around Him, and when we surrender fully to Jesus, His Spirit and character will be manifest in and through us if we do not resist what He desires for us. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives and we will be praying for those around us to come to a saving knowledge of salvation that will help them understand how to surrender fully to Christ and walk in harmony with God's law of love. Oh, what a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!!
With amazement the angels beheld the infinite love of Jesus, who, suffering the most intense agony of mind and body, thought only of others, and encouraged the penitent soul to believe. In His humiliation He as a prophet had addressed the daughters of Jerusalem; as priest and advocate He had pleaded with the Father to forgive His murderers; as a loving Saviour He had forgiven the sins of the penitent thief.
Christ is calling us into His experience, and as He prepares us for His soon return, what a joy it is to help point others to Christ and do all we can to reach them for His kingdom!
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True security--where do we find it? It is as we contemplate the sufferings of Christ and understand His great love for us, as we realize that Satan has been defeated and that God's eternal plan of having a free universe with free beings who love and know Him will not be thwarted, that we can experience true, eternal security in full surrender to God! In a true yielding of all we have and are to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are gladly empowered to obey God from the heart He makes new by His divine grace! This security reaches to all beings in the universe--including the holy angels!
Well, then, might the angels rejoice as they looked upon the Saviour's cross; for though they did not then understand all, they knew that the destruction of sin and Satan was forever made certain, that the redemption of man was assured, and that the universe was made eternally secure. Christ Himself fully comprehended the results of the sacrifice made upon Calvary. To all these He looked forward when upon the cross He cried out, “It is finished.”
Oh, praise God for the victory Jesus achieved for us! He suffered divine justice against sin and became sin for us, He died and remained in the tomb for the time allotted to fulfill the plan of salvation, and rose from the grave to ascend to heaven and be our high priest, now interceding for us to have victory over sin, blotting out our sins that we have confessed and forsaken, and He is about to return as our King to take us home to the heavenly mansions He has prepared! Praise God for the wonderful plan God has for each of us through Christ!
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We hear about Jesus dying on the cross. But what ACTUALLY caused His death?
But it was not the spear thrust, it was not the pain of the cross, that caused the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered “with a loud voice” (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46), at the moment of death, the stream of blood and water that flowed from His side, declared that He died of a broken heart. His heart was broken by mental anguish. He was slain by the sin of the world.
Since Jesus died on account of sin, that means that we killed Jesus. Our sin slew Him. He loves us so much that He would bear ALL the suffering that sin causes mentally, emotionally, physically, and relationally in terms of the experiential separation He felt from God, and He endured it to save us. He offered up His life as a willing sacrifice! Oh, what wondrous love! When we behold Jesus, yield the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to put into our hearts all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we can know that we are truly living by faith on the Son of God as He empowers us to live in affectionate obedience to all Ten Commandments!! What a miracle grace effects in the life of those truly converted and consecrated to His service who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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What a change!! Things turned around quickly for Satan!!
When Jesus was laid in the grave, Satan triumphed. He dared to hope that the Saviour would not take up His life again. He claimed the Lord's body, and set his guard about the tomb, seeking to hold Christ a prisoner. He was bitterly angry when his angels fled at the approach of the heavenly messenger. When he saw Christ come forth in triumph, he knew that his kingdom would have an end, and that he must finally die.
For Satan, his doom is sure. But for each of us, who have been deceived and bitten by Satan the serpent, for we have all sinned, we may have hope of eternal life in looking to Jesus, learning the plan of salvation, exercising faith in God's amazing grace, and surrendering fully to God in true repentance as we experience forgiveness of our past sins and are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to live in harmony with the resurrection power of Jesus in obedience to all of God's commandments! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that has let Jesus deliver the soul from Satan's power by having Christ reign on the throne of the heart in continual union and communion with Him!
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Try to imagine the morning of the resurrection of Christ! After He ascended to the Father, He returned to the earth to encourage His disciples to help them REALLY believe that His love for them had not changed! God's love for you does not change when you pass through trials. Trust His character and walk with Him in love and faithfulness!
Christ's first work on earth after His resurrection was to convince His disciples of His undiminished love and tender regard for them. To give them proof that He was their living Saviour, that He had broken the fetters of the tomb, and could no longer be held by the enemy death; to reveal that He had the same heart of love as when He was with them as their beloved Teacher, He appeared to them again and again. He would draw the bonds of love still closer around them. Go tell My brethren, He said, that they meet Me in Galilee.
It is in truly understanding, believing, and embracing Jesus as a crucified and risen Savior that true victory comes to the soul to overcome sin, living in harmony with God's law of love with a new character renewed by a new heart in which all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing! Live in the Savior's victory today by inviting Him to abide in your heart by faith, walking in constant prayer and praise to glorify Him! Even now Jesus lives to intercede for us in the heavenly sanctuary; He is soon to come as our King to take us to heaven, and we have SO MUCH to be thankful for both now and forever!!
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Happy Sabbath!! Jesus is coming soon!!
What is the purpose of prophecy in the Bible? The prophecies of Christ reveal His character, mission and purposes so we can have deep confidence in the One in whom our hope of eternal life is centered!
Reasoning from prophecy, Christ gave His disciples a correct idea of what He was to be in humanity. Their expectation of a Messiah who was to take His throne and kingly power in accordance with the desires of men had been misleading. It would interfere with a correct apprehension of His descent from the highest to the lowest position that could be occupied. Christ desired that the ideas of His disciples might be pure and true in every specification. They must understand as far as possible in regard to the cup of suffering that had been apportioned to Him. He showed them that the awful conflict which they could not yet comprehend was the fulfillment of the covenant made before the foundation of the world was laid. Christ must die, as every transgressor of the law must die if he continues in sin. All this was to be, but it was not to end in defeat, but in glorious, eternal victory. Jesus told them that every effort must be made to save the world from sin. His followers must live as He lived, and work as He worked, with intense, persevering effort.
The result of fully surrendering to Christ is that we become partakers of the divine nature, which allows the Holy Spirit abiding in the soul to produce in and through the life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! As the Holy Spirit leads in true obedience to all of God's commandments (see Exodus 20:1-17), we are liberated in Christ to obey God because we love Him who first loved us!
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Are you going to rely on what is natural to you, or will you surrender fully to Jesus and let Him work in you a thorough transformation of character? Peter's experience presents a powerful lesson of the importance of thorough conversion and an abiding union and communion with Jesus! Let us abide in Christ so He can produce in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we obey His law of love from the heart He renews by His divine grace!
Peter was naturally forward and impulsive, and Satan had taken advantage of these characteristics to overthrow him. Just before the fall of Peter, Jesus had said to him, “Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” Luke 22:31, 32. That time had now come, and the transformation in Peter was evident. The close, testing questions of the Lord had not called out one forward, self-sufficient reply; and because of his humiliation and repentance, Peter was better prepared than ever before to act as shepherd to the flock.
When we learn our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing, God gives us increased power and grace to do His will in true ministry to others!
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"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
The Saviour’s commission to the disciples included all the believers. It includes all believers in Christ to the end of time. It is a fatal mistake to suppose that the work of saving souls depends alone on the ordained minister. All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be co-workers with Christ.
If we are baptized, then we by taking those sacred vows are to go forth by the Holy Spirit to win souls!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life that is truly converted, and Christ converts us so we can in turn reach others! Gladly we can be empowered to obey God from the new heart and live in obedience to all of God's commandments!!
Praise God!!
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We get to be part of one family, even though the rest of the family is in heaven and the vast realms of the universe. While we are here on earth, let us ever keep heaven in view by faith, for Jesus has victoriously ascended there as our High Priest and Representative before the Father! He has conquered Satan and is giving us the victory He won as we surrender all to Him and allow His grace and strength to be made perfect in our weakness! Such an abiding experience with Jesus will produce in our character all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we have the privilege of rendering true obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments because He loved us and gave Himself for us! With God all things are possible!!
From that scene of heavenly joy, there comes back to us on earth the echo of Christ's own wonderful words, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” John 20:17. The family of heaven and the family of earth are one. For us our Lord ascended, and for us He lives. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.
Soon Jesus will return in like manner as He ascended to heaven, and we will meet Him in the air with all the redeemed who have been resurrected and translated, having the eternal joy of being with our God forever along with all the eternal family!! Hallelujah!!
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What is the only way to be secure from apostasy? By looking unto Jesus, surrendering fully to Him, and letting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow through our lives, Christ empowers us to obey His Ten Commandments—the constitution of the universe! That’s TRUE character security—but we need to realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing!
Through Christ’s redeeming work the government of God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan’s charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love’s self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble union.
In such an experience of abiding in God’s love, we can be sure that once the horrible experiment of rebellion is over that was introduced by Lucifer, sin will not happen again, for love will eternally be the happy, free choice of all in the whole universe!
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Let us choose true obedience to Christ by surrendering fully to Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of one who acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Savior, truly yields the whole heart to Him so He can cleanse and purify it, and allows God to lead. We can learn from the experience of Israel right on the verge of Christ's first advent that we need to choose to follow God's word by letting Him work in us His will. May the revival and reformation Christ brings in our lives not be followed by deeper apostasy, but by an ever-growing love for Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!
But the Israelites fixed their hopes upon worldly greatness. From the time of their entrance to the land of Canaan, they departed from the commandments of God, and followed the ways of the heathen. It was in vain that God sent them warning by His prophets. In vain they suffered the chastisement of heathen oppression. Every reformation was followed by deeper apostasy.
True greatness has to do with godliness of character, which only can be experienced when one trusts God fully to do what He has promised. By seeking first God's kingdom, we can value what He values, love what He loves, and heed the light He has shining upon our path from prophetic revelation so more souls can be saved in God's appointed way. "He that winneth souls is wise" (Proverbs 11:30).
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Happy Sabbath!!
It is getting ripe again! That's right--the world as we know it is getting very close to the second coming of Jesus, with many spiritual parallels to what took place in the world on the verge of the first coming of Jesus. We can learn from God's word the importance of watchfulness and prayer, understanding His present truth message for our time (Revelation 14:1-14, Revelation 3:14-22) and helping to prepare the world for Christ's return in glory so they will not be deceived by the counterfeits (see Matthew 24) or faint and fall into sin during the time of trouble that precedes His return (Daniel 12:1). Let us look unto Jesus and let Him finish the work that He has begun in our lives!
The fullness of the time had come. Humanity, becoming more degraded through ages of transgression, called for the coming of the Redeemer. Satan had been working to make the gulf deep and impassable between earth and heaven. By his falsehoods he had emboldened men in sin. It was his purpose to wear out the forbearance of God, and to extinguish His love for man, so that He would abandon the world to satanic jurisdiction.
God did not give up on the world as Jesus was about to come the first time, nor has He given up on the world on the verge of Christ's second coming. We need to look away from the distractions and temptations that Satan seeks to allure with, and yield the whole heart to Christ so He can live in and through us with a revelation of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the soul truly converted is empowered to live a life of continual obedience to all of God's commandments because of love (Exodus 20:1-17, John 14:15). Only by love is love awakened, and God is wooing us from the world that now is to prepare our hearts for the world to come!! Praise God!!!
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When an earthly father welcomes the birth of his first child, a new relationship begins that had no pre-existence. But when Jesus was born into the human family, our Heavenly Father's yearning love over His Son had eternal pre-existence, for Christ was the Word made flesh who has existed from eternity past, fully God, but upon His birth, also fully man. Oh, what deep love the Father felt over His Son, and from this, we can learn of the depth of His love over us, as Christ's birth into our human family is a pledge of God's infinite love for us which led Him to give His Son to become one of us, live for us, die for us as our perfect sacrifice, and rise from the grave to take away the sting of death so we could live bold, fearless lives in harmony with heaven and be ready to live with God forever! What an amazing gift God has given us in Jesus! Praise the Lord for the Holy Spirit who woos our hearts to behold Christ, appreciate His love, and in yielding all we have and are to Him, God fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly obey God from the heart up to the light of truth He has shown us!
The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. “Herein is love.” Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!
Especially in these last days, let us point each child to the loving example of Jesus and His blameless life, giving us hope and courage to go forward in the love of Christ to serve and bless, seeking to reach others in the way Jesus did it!
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God’s love for each of us is infinitely deep! We will experience the greatest level of happiness in knowing and loving Him!
“That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” In the light of the Saviour’s life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father’s heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are “thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God’s hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
By daily beholding afresh the loveliness of Jesus, let us come to more fully appreciate the value that Christ’s sacrifice places on each of us, yield our entire heart to him, and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with all of the attributes of the divine nature! Not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing from our lives as long as we choose to continue to abide in union and communion with Christ as our living Savior! Such a vital connection with our God imputes and imparts to us His righteousness by faith so that we are enabled to obey God‘s holy law and live faithful in the sight of a holy God at this very moment and also through the time of trouble when Jesus ceases His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary so that He can come and take us home as our King! Praise God!
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Let Jesus make you divinely efficient! That can only happen when you willingly surrender your entire heart and life to Him, for He will impute and impart to you His righteousness! Such an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ makes you a partaker of His divine nature, filling your life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you are simultaneously empowered to obey the law of God!
The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.
Like the magi who gave their best to Jesus, as we give our best to him, there is no limit to the usefulness of our lives for His service as we abide in His infinite love!
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Follow the pattern Man, and you can see the way of a godly character clearly! As we learn of Christ day by day, surrender the whole heart to Him, and let Him fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance, we are enabled by His abiding presence to be true and obedient, glorifying God! To be like Jesus--what a treasure!!
Jesus is our example. There are many who dwell with interest upon the period of His public ministry, while they pass unnoticed the teaching of His early years. But it is in His home life that He is the pattern for all children and youth. The Saviour condescended to poverty, that He might teach how closely we in a humble lot may walk with God. He lived to please, honor, and glorify His Father in the common things of life. His work began in consecrating the lowly trade of the craftsmen who toil for their daily bread. He was doing God's service just as much when laboring at the carpenter's bench as when working miracles for the multitude. And every youth who follows Christ's example of faithfulness and obedience in His lowly home may claim those words spoken of Him by the Father through the Holy Spirit, “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth.” Isaiah 42:1.
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Imagine getting to hear the voice of Jesus! When Mary and Jospeh left Jerusalem without Jesus as recorded in Luke 2, when they finally found Him again in the temple, they knew it was Jesus--just by His voice! May we also learn to cultivate the serious yet melodious manner of speaking we find in Christ. How? By surrendering our whole heart to Him and learning to cultivate godliness of character. In such joyful union and communion with Christ in the experience of true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are enabled by His divine grace to obey all of the commandments of God up to the light shining upon our pathway!
Returning to Jerusalem, they pursued their search. The next day, as they mingled with the worshipers in the temple, a familiar voice arrested their attention. They could not mistake it; no other voice was like His, so serious and earnest, yet so full of melody.
Let us also realize that Jesus (though we hear His voice by faith) loves to speak and sing His love over us! "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17). Praise God for such love--even in His voice!!
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Does your life and character need some weeding? Come to Jesus, the Master who is able to cultivate the good traits in your life and help you to choose to let Him remove whatever is not in harmony with His character. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we live by faith on the Son of God, guiding us in the true experience of affectionate obedience to do God's will! Let us trust in Him fully and allow Jesus to transform us into His image!!
He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.
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We need Jesus continually!!
The birth of a son to Zacharias, like the birth of the child of Abraham, and that of Mary, was to teach a great spiritual truth, a truth that we are slow to learn and ready to forget. In ourselves we are incapable of doing any good thing; but that which we cannot do will be wrought by the power of God in every submissive and believing soul. It was through faith that the child of promise was given. It is through faith that spiritual life is begotten, and we are enabled to do the works of righteousness.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we surrender fully to Christ as Jesus abiding in us enables us to obey God’s law from the new heart He gives us!
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Praise God that Jesus is the Lamb of God!! He takes away our sin as we by grace through faith surrender fully to Him!! Then He lives out His perfect life in us and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! His Spirit makes possible true obedience from the heart! ❤️
None among the hearers, and not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of these words, “the Lamb of God.” Upon Mount Moriah, Abraham had heard the question of his son, “My father, ... where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” The father answered, “My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” Genesis 22:7, 8. And in the ram divinely provided in the place of Isaac, Abraham saw a symbol of Him who was to die for the sins of men. The Holy Spirit through Isaiah, taking up the illustration, prophesied of the Saviour, “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,” “and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:7, 6); but the people of Israel had not understood the lesson. Many of them regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked upon their sacrifices,—as gifts by which they themselves might propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.
Let the love of Christ heal you and Dave you to the uttermost!!
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You ALWAYS have a choice. The freedom to choose is something God has given us, and we can choose to rely on God's word and let Him fulfill His promises to us as we gladly obey Him, or we can distrust Him and choose to follow Satan in the path of sin, which is the transgression of the law. As we see Jesus in the wilderness of temptation, it is so encouraging to know that He chose the path of faith so we can choose that, too! As we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered by His divine grace to obey God's law up to the light He has revealed to us!
Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. “It is written,” He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a “Thus saith the Lord,” was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.
Satan has no advantage over us when we depend on God's word. Our trials will only refine and purify our characters, helping them to grow stronger, each time we choose to trust God and obey Him because we love Him who first loved us!
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Temptations come to us all, as Satan, the world and our own fallen nature present areas in which we will be tempted to draw away from God and yield to sin. But none of us are ever FORCED to sin. We can acknowledge our sinfulness, come in our need to Jesus, repent of our sin in true confession and forsaking of sin, and in full surrender let Him fill our hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit so that we can discern the reality and application of God's promises for us in each situation. Let us abide in Jesus in full surrender, allow Him to reveal through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and gladly obey God up to the light that He has shed on our pathway. Only by abiding in Christ can we overcome! Remember that every temptation resisted strengthens the character!!
So we may resist temptation, and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but “the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.
Jesus, our mighty refuge, offers us His word as an anchor to hold us steadfast when the storms of temptation come. Let us allow Him to safely guide us in the heavenward path as by grace we faith we walk, even as He walked!
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It's a win-win! As we seek to win others to Christ, not only are those souls blessed, but the unselfish ministry to reach others also helps our characters to become like Jesus! It is as we surrender to Him the whole heart that He imbues us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to do God's will in true obedience to all of God's commandments!
And he who seeks to give light to others will himself be blessed. “There shall be showers of blessing.” “He that watereth shall be watered also himself.” Proverbs 11:25. God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid; but in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work. In order to enter into His joy,—the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice,—we must participate in His labors for their redemption.
As we unite our interest with Christ, He gives us the greatest joy of becoming like Him and reaching others for His eternal kingdom! There is no limit to the usefulness of those who put self aside to go and bless others!
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What an Example! Jesus shows us a godly way of interacting with people, while being true to His Father's will at each step. While He Himself chose to remain single, Jesus attended the wedding feast with His disciples and offers us a beautiful witness of how we can interact with others in a way that points their thoughts up to heaven! Praise God for the gift of salvation in Jesus and the experience He gives us in serving the Lord in all circumstances.
Jesus reproved self-indulgence in all its forms, yet He was social in His nature. He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and seeking to elevate their thoughts from questions of commonplace life to those things that are spiritual and eternal. He gave no license to dissipation, and no shadow of worldly levity marred His conduct; yet He found pleasure in scenes of innocent happiness, and by His presence sanctioned the social gathering. A Jewish marriage was an impressive occasion, and its joy was not displeasing to the Son of man. By attending this feast, Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution.
As we surrender all to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives. We will be enabled to live in true obedience to God's law as the new heart Jesus gives us expands in union and communion with Him! Let us choose to reflect Christ to others by abiding in Him!
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The presence of Christ in the soul--this is our continual need! He alone can bring true happiness, contentment, and effectiveness. When we invite Him into our hearts to abide with us by the Holy Spirit, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives, and we shall be enabled to obey God's law of love up to the light He has revealed to us!
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” Revelation 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; ... and they shall be My people.” “He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” 2 Corinthians 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and “an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:21, 22.
When the Holy Spirit ls living in us, we can have true joy in His service and strength and grace for each life situation. He will keep us from falling into sin if we let Him keep us moment by moment! "I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day" (Isaiah 27:3). Will you let Jesus abide in you? He asks for a full-heart surrender!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Since your life here in this world is temporary, wouldn't it be important to know how to receive eternal life? Thankfully, God reveals this to us clearly in His word!
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
When Christ is invited into the heart that is fully surrendered to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life! The Holy Spirit makes possible true obedience to God's Ten Commandments, and then we can go forth as effectual witnesses to point others to Jesus and share the way of salvation in Him! Praise God!!
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It's not that complicated. But it is VERY IMPORTANT!!!! We are sinful and we cannot save ourselves. But if we come to Christ and acknowledge our need, accept the grace that He gives us that moves us to repentance, confess and forsake our sins, and truly believe that He pardons us so we can be partakers of the divine nature by abiding in His promises, then we will gladly let God direct our path in His service according to His providences. We need to keep Jesus ever before us as our Savior and Example!
Christ could say, “I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.” John 5:30. To Him it is declared, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” Hebrews 1:9. The Father “giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.”
So with the followers of Christ. We can receive of heaven's light only as we are willing to be emptied of self. We cannot discern the character of God, or accept Christ by faith, unless we consent to the bringing into captivity of every thought to the obedience of Christ. To all who do this the Holy Spirit is given without measure. In Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full.” Colossians 2:9, 10, R. V.
Praise God that Christ IS ENOUGH for EACH OF US! We need to daily be in His word so we can know we are following His character, His counsel, and His plan for us. He lovingly fills the converted believer with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, enabling us to obey Him because we love Him, and strengthening us for present truth duty! We are to respond to the message in Revelation 3:14-22 to overcome even as Jesus did, give the Three Angels' Messages to prepare the world for the second coming of Christ, and realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing. When the Holy Spirit is leading us, we are truly free in the blessedness of obedience!
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Only Jesus can satisfy us. Only He, the Truth, is the way of salvation. And in Him we can experience life and life more abundantly! As we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our characters. Christ, abiding in us, makes it possible to truly obey God from the heart!
He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, “The Desire of all nations,” is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
Praise God for what His divine grace can do in our souls! With Jesus, all things are possible for this life and the life to come!
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Let God bless you in His way, in His timing, and for His glory!
He who blessed the nobleman at Capernaum is just as desirous of blessing us. But like the afflicted father, we are often led to seek Jesus by the desire for some earthly good; and upon the granting of our request we rest our confidence in His love. The Saviour longs to give us a greater blessing than we ask; and He delays the answer to our request that He may show us the evil of our own hearts, and our deep need of His grace. He desires us to renounce the selfishness that leads us to seek Him. Confessing our helplessness and bitter need, we are to trust ourselves wholly to His love.
We can trust God's love. If God sent His Son to die in our place and offer us eternal life, will He not also freely give us all things needful for this life and the life to come? When we live by faith on Christ as a personal Savior in complete surrender of our hearts to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives. With Christ abiding in us, we are empowered to obey the law of God up to the light of His truth that He has revealed! He can cleanse us from all sin and make us like Him in mind and character!
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What's going on? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to almost unreasonably resist truth? We see it happened to Jesus with how many of the Jews rejected Him, and we know that it is happening also in our day with many turning aside from Bible truth. But we need to look to the real source of the issue--the spiritual warfare Satan is seeking to wage against Christ. All that happens in the play and counterplay of nations, of people, and even in our own character has to do with the great controversy. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
But the plans which these rabbis were working so zealously to fulfill originated in another council than that of the Sanhedrin. After Satan had failed to overcome Christ in the wilderness, he combined his forces to oppose Him in His ministry, and if possible to thwart His work. What he could not accomplish by direct, personal effort, he determined to effect by strategy. No sooner had he withdrawn from the conflict in the wilderness than in council with his confederate angels he matured his plans for still further blinding the minds of the Jewish people, that they might not recognize their Redeemer. He planned to work through his human agencies in the religious world, by imbuing them with his own enmity against the champion of truth. He would lead them to reject Christ and to make His life as bitter as possible, hoping to discourage Him in His mission. And the leaders in Israel became instruments of Satan in warring against the Saviour.
But Jesus would not be discouraged. He kept on faithfully presenting the character of God in its exhaustless fulness, revealing how we are to live and work in harmony with heaven. As Jesus walked, so we may do as we abide in Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Jesus and abiding in Him. True obedience will be the fruit of loving and knowing One who first loved us and endured all the trials of this life without a murmur and without sin. Praise God we have a Savior who can help us face trying moments--from whatever direction they come to us!
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Trust God even when life doesn’t make sense—and look to Jesus to see that He suffered to save us, so we can also suffer and be strong as we abide in His eternal kingdom! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives—even in severe trial—as long as we abide in Jesus! Let’s choose to be happy, peaceful and obedient by His grace!
To many minds a deep mystery surrounds the fate of John the Baptist. They question why he should have been left to languish and die in prison. The mystery of this dark providence our human vision cannot penetrate; but it can never shake our confidence in God when we remember that John was but a sharer in the sufferings of Christ. All who follow Christ will wear the crown of sacrifice. They will surely be misunderstood by selfish men, and will be made a mark for the fierce assaults of Satan. It is this principle of self-sacrifice that his kingdom is established to destroy, and he will war against it wherever manifested.
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The Lord Jesus was right on prophetic time when He came at His first advent, and He has given us the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 to help prepare the world for His glorious second advent! Let us be spiritually wide awake to duty and the love of Christ that constrains us forward in His service in seeking to save souls! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the truly converted life of each of His followers who are fully surrendered to Him! Praise God that we can help hasten Jesus' second coming by faithfulness to what He has called us to do!
As the message of Christ’s first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
Let us stand faithful in whatever path God's providence designs for us! Praise the Lord for His grace and strength that He offers us by the Holy Spirit so we can be affectionately obedient to all the light shining upon our pathway of life!
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Happy Sabbath!
Let us open our hearts to all of the light of God’s truth as given in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, being willing to walk in it as we choose to surrender fully to Jesus! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is truly converted and abiding in Him! We can learn from the experience of the people at Nazareth that it is dangerous to reject the light of God’s truth!
Our standing before God depends, not upon the amount of light we have received, but upon the use we make of what we have. Thus even the heathen who choose the right as far as they can distinguish it are in a more favorable condition than are those who have had great light, and profess to serve God, but who disregard the light, and by their daily life contradict their profession.
The words of Jesus to His hearers in the synagogue struck at the root of their self-righteousness, pressing home upon them the bitter truth that they had departed from God and forfeited their claim to be His people. Every word cut like a knife as their real condition was set before them. They now scorned the faith with which Jesus had at first inspired them. They would not admit that He who had sprung from poverty and lowliness was other than a common man.
Even though in His human birth and life He came from poverty and lowliness, Jesus was the embodiment of the truth of heaven, and had come down from heaven to uplift all who would open their hearts to the salvation He graciously offered. When we see Him, we see our heavenly Father! Let us open our hearts to Him fully today so the Holy Spirit can make us like Jesus!
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What is Jesus' goal for you? He desires for you to become like Him in mind and character. While He gave you a unique individuality and personality, He yearns for you to experience the living connection He has with the Father so you also can reveal the grace of unselfish courtesy to all, inviting others into His heavenly kingdom whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through your life in true obedience to God's law of love! Will you let Him do that? He asks for a full surrender--all you have and are from the heart--so that His atoning blood will remove your sins and the Holy Spirit will transform you in mind and character from glory to glory!
Jesus chose unlearned fishermen because they had not been schooled in the traditions and erroneous customs of their time. They were men of native ability, and they were humble and teachable,—men whom He could educate for His work. In the common walks of life there is many a man patiently treading the round of daily toil, unconscious that he possesses powers which, if called into action, would raise him to an equality with the world's most honored men. The touch of a skillful hand is needed to arouse those dormant faculties. It was such men that Jesus called to be His colaborers; and He gave them the advantage of association with Himself. Never had the world's great men such a teacher. When the disciples came forth from the Saviour's training, they were no longer ignorant and uncultured. They had become like Him in mind and character, and men took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.
May it be said of each of us that we have been with Jesus!!
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Let us follow Jesus and remember why He came to this earth! He did a lot of ministry in Capernaum, but He yearned to turn people's attention to what was spiritual and eternal, away from the sensational and popular errors of his time. So it is today. Rather than getting caught up in the confusion of society, let us seek to implant eternal principles by sharing the word of God that helps people to see God's love and trust Him no matter what their circumstances may be. When we fully surrender to Jesus, because of His sacrifice of Himself on the cross in shedding His blood to save and cleanse us, we can experience a new heart and mind imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Christ living in the soul, the hope of glory, makes true obedience to God's commandments a joyful reality!
In the excitement which then pervaded Capernaum, there was danger that the object of His mission would be lost sight of. Jesus was not satisfied to attract attention to Himself merely as a wonder worker or a healer of physical diseases. He was seeking to draw men to Him as their Saviour. While the people were eager to believe that He had come as a king, to establish an earthly reign, He desired to turn their minds away from the earthly to the spiritual. Mere worldly success would interfere with His work.
Praise God that Jesus came in the manner that He did to help guide our priorities and focus if we will but trust and follow Him based on His word. Each day presents new opportunities for implanting truth in the minds of those around us. May we do so because we rely on Jesus working in and through us by the Holy Spirit to the glory of our Father in heaven!
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Do you realize that when God forgives your sin, He is essentially resurrecting you from spiritual death? We learn this POWERFUL lesson from the way Jesus forgave and healed the paralytic! Praise God, He is still able to do this today for YOU--to resurrect you from a living death in the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) to newness of life in Christ with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in your heart and life (Galatians 5:22-23)! Then the walk of living, loving obedience becomes the true joy of life abiding in Christ!
It required nothing less than creative power to restore health to that decaying body. The same voice that spoke life to man created from the dust of the earth had spoken life to the dying paralytic. And the same power that gave life to the body had renewed the heart. He who at the creation “spake, and it was,” who “commanded, and it stood fast,” (Psalm 33:9), had spoken life to the soul dead in trespasses and sins. The healing of the body was an evidence of the power that had renewed the heart. Christ bade the paralytic arise and walk, “that ye may know,” He said, “that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins.”
Whatever the sin, if you repent and believe, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ! Let's be so happy in Jesus that people are attracted to the Savior who loves us, is interceding for us now as our High Priest, and is SO SOON to return as our King! As it is 4th of July, remember that the HIGHEST FREEDOM we can experience is FREEDOM IN CHRIST TO OBEY HIM OUT OF LOVE!!! Hallelujah!
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To know and love God is so valuable that all other things are but loss. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to realign our values with heaven! In turning from sin, surrendering the heart fully to Jesus, and becoming a partaker of the divine nature, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be reflected in the life that stays connected to Christ! Let us choose moment-by-moment to walk in harmony with heaven's principles.
Principle is always exacting. No man can succeed in the service of God unless his whole heart is in the work and he counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. No man who makes any reserve can be the disciple of Christ, much less can he be His colaborer. When men appreciate the great salvation, the self-sacrifice seen in Christ's life will be seen in theirs. Wherever He leads the way, they will rejoice to follow.
Rejoicing in the Lord as we go forward in faith brings true satisfaction in the life that is surrendered to God's holy will as revealed in His word, His law, and the life of Christ!
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Praise God for the gift of Sabbath rest each seventh day which we can truly experience as we surrender to Christ's power to make us holy! When the whole heart is yielded to Jesus, He comes to abide in us by the Holy Spirit, filling the life with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering the soul to live in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
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.
Heaven begins in the soul that is truly converted. We can have a foretaste of heaven each Sabbath as we anticipate the second coming and remember that Christ is WELL ABLE to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him!
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While the gospel is not about you (though you are infinitely loved by God!), as Jesus is revealed THROUGH you by the Holy Spirit, the power of the gospel is made manifest and souls are encouraged to believe that what God can do IN YOU He can also do IN THEM!! God loves ALL of us, and the emphasis ever needs to be put on finding our unity and truth in Christ and His word in harmony with the law of God! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life surrendered fully to Christ as He leads the soul in true obedience to all of the commandments of God, as perfectly seen in the life of Jesus who kept the Ten Commandments!
“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.
Be the link to reach others with the love of Christ. Let Him work in and through you His character miracle of grace!
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Happy Sabbath!
Try to imagine what it would have been like to hear Jesus preach the "Sermon on the Mount" nearly 2,000 years ago. Praise God that it is recorded for our learning and instruction in Matthew 5, 6 and 7 (and you also see elements of it in the book of Luke). What a joy it is to let Christ into the heart so His kingdom begins in the soul!
Christ's first words to the people on the mount were words of blessing. Happy are they, He said, who recognize their spiritual poverty, and feel their need of redemption. The gospel is to be preached to the poor. Not to the spiritually proud, those who claim to be rich and in need of nothing, is it revealed, but to those who are humble and contrite. One fountain only has been opened for sin, a fountain for the poor in spirit.
As we receive Christ into the soul in complete surrender, truly repenting of our sin, confessing and forsaking it, and abiding in Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow in our lives as we are empowered to walk in true obedience to all of God's commandments! We need Jesus continually to do any good thing, and with Him all things are possible!
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He got it. Let's face it. It's NOT that complicated. We DO NOT DESERVE salvation. Even the Roman centurion could understand the simplicity and power of the gospel!! AND SO CAN YOU!!!!
The Jewish elders who recommended the centurion to Christ had shown how far they were from possessing the spirit of the gospel. They did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God's mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to “our nation.” But the centurion said of himself, “I am not worthy.” His heart had been touched by the grace of Christ. He saw his own unworthiness; yet he feared not to ask help. He trusted not to his own goodness; his argument was his great need. His faith took hold upon Christ in His true character. He did not believe in Him merely as a worker of miracles, but as the friend and Saviour of mankind.
Our sins merit us one thing--death--but the Father SO LOVED US that He sent Jesus to step in, take our guilt and death (which He fully did), and then by the power of His resurrection, He offers us His selfless, endless life as we repent and forsake our sins! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life of the one who surrenders unreservedly to God and lets Christ give the new heart that is intimately united with the divine nature! The Holy Spirit LOVES to show us the things of Christ as we partake of the spirit of the gospel--selfless service to bless others and trusting God's character as to the reason why He blesses us, and not depending on any "goodness" in ourselves (for we have none apart from God)! Yet God desires us to build character by cooperation with Christ, and thankfully, the more we behold Jesus and assimilate into the image of His character, for by beholding we become changed, the stronger will be our experience of always abiding in Jesus so that self, Satan and the world are not able to pull us away from Jesus! Praise God that the character GETS STRONGER each day that we are on our knees in prayer, surrendering to Him fully, beholding Christ's loveliness in His word, and then praying EARNESTLY for our own character and that of others to become like Jesus! Let's choose Jesus continually and praise Him all the way to heaven!!!!!
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You're warmly invited into the family. Really? Yes! God's family is made up of those who are willing to do His will, and let Jesus become their personal Lord and Savior! Because our first parents sinned, we are by nature alienated from God and slaves of Satan, but PRAISE GOD, Jesus was willing to come into our little world, clothe His divinity with humanity, and reveal a life of constant union and communion with our Heavenly Father without sin, "for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). Knowing that it would be hard for us at times to REALLY BELIEVE that God loves us and is offering us adoption into His family because of all the trials and tribulations we face in a fallen world, Jesus consented to bear ALL OUR SIN, suffer OUR DEATH, and yet, even in His final moments, still reveal trust in the Father's love (though on account of our sin He FELT forsaken), for He said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit" (Luke 23:46). Do you feel lonely or like no one understands you? Well, the good news is that JESUS UNDERSTANDS, HE LOVES YOU, and He is even now inviting you to cast all your cares upon Him, surrender fully to Him, repent and confess all your sins to Him, and let Him live out His sinless life of holiness in you by the Holy Spirit! When you let Him into your heart in complete surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in your life, and by abiding in Christ you will be enabled to walk even as He walked, in true affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! Then, having such a miraculous experience, you will find other souls who need to know this GOOD NEWS, and invite them also to share in what it means to be adopted into God's family by becoming a partaker of the divine nature through receiving the word of God! Those who do respond in love to God and do His will are the members of His family, and will fit into heaven when Jesus comes to take us home there, because we already have heaven in our hearts!
Those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour are not left as orphans, to bear the trials of life alone. He receives them as members of the heavenly family; He bids them call His Father their Father. They are His %u201Clittle ones,%u201D dear to the heart of God, bound to Him by the most tender and abiding ties. He has toward them an exceeding tenderness, as far surpassing what our father or mother has felt toward us in our helplessness as the divine is above the human.
Even if you lost both of your earthly parents, you are NOT an orphan in God's family by accepting Jesus!! He loves you even more than your earthly parents ever could, because He knew you before you were born (Jeremiah 1:5) and has plans for you that span the eternal ages!!
The work of redemption involves consequences of which it is difficult for man to have any conception. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." 1 Cor. 2:9. As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness finds that it has nothing more to require. God Himself is "the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Rom. 3:26. And "whom He justified, them He also glorified." Rom. 8:30. Great as is the shame and degradation through sin, even greater will be the honor and exaltation through redeeming love. To human beings striving for conformity to the divine image there is imparted an outlay of heaven's treasure, an excellency of power, that will place them higher than even the angels who have never fallen.
Now that's GOOD NEWS!!!!!
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When does heaven start?
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.
Since heaven begins here in the soul that is filled with the Holy Spirit, it follows that those who are truly converted to Jesus in complete surrender will see all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as long as living faith in Christ is exercised! "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23). True obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments will be revealed in the life because love always leads to obedience to the One who first loved us! Then the heaven that is already being experienced in the soul will truly prepare each of us to FIT into heaven at the SOON COMING OF JESUS!!
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Is it really so? God's mercy is involved in areas of life that we may not always understand until we surrender to God and are converted. As we surrender fully to Jesus, He transforms us in mind and character so we partake of the divine nature by receiving His precious promises, revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing!
It was in mercy to the owners of the swine that this loss had been permitted to come upon them. They were absorbed in earthly things, and cared not for the great interests of spiritual life. Jesus desired to break the spell of selfish indifference, that they might accept His grace. But regret and indignation for their temporal loss blinded their eyes to the Saviour's mercy.
Even the trials, losses and difficulties we experience are part of how God seeks to minister to our hearts. In the case of the swine that went over the cliff after Jesus healed the demoniacs, we can see that Jesus was actually trying to break the spell of selfish indifference that was keeping the swine owners from responding to the gospel. We need to trust God's overarching wisdom in all that He does and allows. As one would testify, "The affliction that had darkened my childhood seemed to have been dealt me in mercy for my good, to turn my heart away from the world and its unsatisfying pleasures, and incline it toward the enduring attractions of heaven." If you look back over your life and reflect on what you went through, is it not amazing that God's mercy was involved all the way? Praise God for His compassion, mercy and goodness that leads us to repentance to we can be truly converted and saved eternal!y!
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You have a story to tell. If you have yielded the WHOLE heart to Christ, then the Holy Spirit has moved into your heart to reveal God's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and temperance, in all righteousness and truth! Since your experience is UNIQUE to you, others will be blessed by hearing what God has done in your life! So share it with HOLY BOLDNESS constrained by the infinite LOVE OF CHRIST!!!
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.
Good authors write good books. And Jesus, the Son of God, the ultimate Author and Finisher of faith, is offering you a once-in-a-lifetime experience of getting published!!! That's right!!!! "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name" (Malachi 3:16).
As you let Him take your heart, mind and will, He will lead you in a path that is suited to your strength and capacity so that the story of your life will be sealed by the Holy Spirit so that sin, which leads to death, will not cause the story of your life to be eternally lost. Then, your life saved fully, will be an eternal witness to God's mercy!!
Of His people God says, "They shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty!" Zechariah 9:16, 17. The exaltation of the redeemed will be an eternal testimony to God's mercy. "In the ages to come," He will "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." "To the intent that . . . unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known . . . the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 2:7; 3:10, 11, R. V.
Are you willing to let God "publish" your life by inviting Jesus to save you completely from sin, leading you in true obedience to all of God's commandments? You will be thankful you did--for eternity!!
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Keep calm by abiding in Jesus.
Those who are brought in controversy with the enemies of truth have to meet, not only men, but Satan and his agents. Let them remember the Saviour's words, “Behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.” Luke 10:3. Let them rest in the love of God, and the spirit will be kept calm, even under personal abuse. The Lord will clothe them with a divine panoply. His Holy Spirit will influence the mind and heart, so that their voices shall not catch the notes of the baying of the wolves.
As the Holy Spirit gives the converted believer all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to God's Ten Commandments, a consistent life in Christ is revealed as a great miracle to bless others in doing God's holy will, trusting His leading day by day!
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Happy Sabbath! We can enter into the experience of Jesus by beholding Him, surrendering fully to Him, and abiding in Him! Let us today grow in His grace and allow the Holy Spirit to produce in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! True obedience to God's law of love, the Ten Commandments, in His service will be our highest delight as we stay vitally connected to Jesus!
In Christ the cry of humanity reached the Father of infinite pity. As a man He supplicated the throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that should connect humanity with divinity. Through continual communion He received life from God, that He might impart life to the world. His experience is to be ours.
"Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Whatever trials we face, we can receive them in Christ as educators to help us enjoy even deeper rest, stronger character capacity to resist temptation, and preparation for service that is found only in complete acquiescence to God's will! Praise God!!
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Praise God, we can ALL do something--through Christ who strengthens us! When we yield fully to Christ and turn from sin, Christ connects us with His infinite resources, enabling us to obey God's law of love up to the light He has revealed while manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
In our work for God there is danger of relying too largely upon what man with his talents and ability can do. Thus we lose sight of the one Master Worker. Too often the worker for Christ fails to realize his personal responsibility. He is in danger of shifting his burden upon organizations, instead of relying upon Him who is the source of all strength. It is a great mistake to trust in human wisdom or numbers in the work of God. Successful work for Christ depends not so much on numbers or talent as upon pureness of purpose, the true simplicity of earnest, dependent faith. Personal responsibilities must be borne, personal duties must be taken up, personal efforts must be made for those who do not know Christ. In the place of shifting your responsibility upon someone whom you think more richly endowed than you are, work according to your ability.
As we do what God gives us to do with a cheerful, contented heart and mind, the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to encourage others to do what they can, and as a result, many more souls are blessed! Trust God to guide you moment-by-moment in His holy will!
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What a contrast! The disciples were on the verge of arranging to have Jesus crowned as an earthly king, and Jesus moments later is praying in agony and tears that this STRONG DECEPTION about the nature of His mission and kingdom would be uprooted from the hearts of those whom He was training for heaven. Oh, what PAIN this brought to Jesus, but praise God that His prayers and labors for them were not in vain! After the storm on the lake had helped to reveal to the disciples their helplessness and need of Jesus, their hearts were more open to keep learning that Christ's kingdom is not of this world. Oh, let us allow Christ into the heart in full surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life, for this is the evidence that a soul has passed from the self-seeking worldly kingdom to the kingdom of heaven, where selfless love in truth reigns in all who truly obey God because they REALLY believe His word is truth and love Him whom the truth reveals! Error is never harmless. Do not fall for the deception that says it does not really matter what a person believes, for through false theories Satan seeks to gain power over the mind to lead to distrust of the word of God.
When left alone, Jesus “went up into a mountain apart to pray.” For hours He continued pleading with God. Not for Himself but for men were those prayers. He prayed for power to reveal to men the divine character of His mission, that Satan might not blind their understanding and pervert their judgment. The Saviour knew that His days of personal ministry on earth were nearly ended, and that few would receive Him as their Redeemer. In travail and conflict of soul He prayed for His disciples. They were to be grievously tried. Their long-cherished hopes, based on a popular delusion, were to be disappointed in a most painful and humiliating manner. In the place of His exaltation to the throne of David they were to witness His crucifixion. This was to be indeed His true coronation. But they did not discern this, and in consequence strong temptations would come to them, which it would be difficult for them to recognize as temptations. Without the Holy Spirit to enlighten the mind and enlarge the comprehension the faith of the disciples would fail. It was painful to Jesus that their conceptions of His kingdom were, to so great a degree, limited to worldly aggrandizement and honor. For them the burden was heavy upon His heart, and He poured out His supplications with bitter agony and tears.
If Jesus prayed VERY EARNESTLY that His disciples be delivered from Satan's deceptions, let us believe that EVEN NOW Jesus is STILL PRAYING EARNESTLY as our High Priest in heaven that His church not be pulled away from the truth of His word, for He is the One who counsels us thus:
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:14-22).
In contrast to flattering the church with words of "all is well," Christ earnestly, lovingly rebukes His people BECAUSE HE LOVES SO MUCH!! May we lay aside all false theories and doctrines that do not find place in the word of God, daily enter into an affectionate union and communion with Jesus by spending a thoughtful hour upon His life, especially the closing scenes, and be WIDE AWAKE to duty to give the Three Angels' Messages to the WHOLE WORLD (Revelation 14:6-12). Let self-interest be crucified so the life is bound up in God's purpose to save a world soon to perish in a last day events scenario that will blend church and state and lead many professed followers of Christ astray if they do not heed the warnings in the word of God given in love and mercy. As we become like Christ in mind and character by beholding His loveliness continually, the messages given will take effect under the power of the Holy Spirit! Pray for the early and latter rain, ever keeping the present-truth message of Christ the center who CAN DELIVER us from ALL SIN and DECEPTION in the way that He knows best!! Praise God!!!
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Just let this sink in.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” Through the beloved John, who listened to these words, the Holy Spirit declared to the churches, “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life.” 1 John 5:11, 12. And Jesus said, “I will raise him up at the last day.” Christ became one flesh with us, in order that we might become one spirit with Him. It is by virtue of this union that we are to come forth from the grave,—not merely as a manifestation of the power of Christ, but because, through faith, His life has become ours. Those who see Christ in His true character, and receive Him into the heart, have everlasting life. It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of the life eternal.
As the Spirit of God brings us life eternal, that includes a vital connection with God that brings all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing as we are affectionately obedient to God up to the light of His law that He has revealed and we understand, for we abide in Christ and He lives His sinless life in us. Emphasis: it is Christ living in us. We may make mistakes or sin if we let go of Jesus, but He is right there to forgive and lift us up if we fall. Let's realize HE CAN KEEP US FROM FALLING!! The key is STAYING CONNECTED. Praise God!!
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Distracted driving is a real problem, especially in a spiritual sense. When traveling the path of life with Jesus, if the focus is on distracting traditions that get in the way of simple, heartfelt obedience to God's law because one loves and trusts Him, then it is time to let the distractions go! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is abiding in Jesus without any sin distracting the life from constant union and communion with Him!
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.
Obedience is an act of faith. Only by Christ can we truly obey and enjoy the experience. Then we are willing to lay aside the things that so easily hinder us and accept the word of God as the only rule of faith as to what pleases Him!
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What God is doing in your life has an impact far beyond you. Let the Lord perform His good will in you.
The Saviour's visit to Phoenicia and the miracle there performed had a yet wider purpose. Not alone for the afflicted woman, nor even for His disciples and those who received their labors, was the work accomplished; but also “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John 20:31. The same agencies that barred men away from Christ eighteen hundred years ago are at work today. The spirit which built up the partition wall between Jew and Gentile is still active. Pride and prejudice have built strong walls of separation between different classes of men. Christ and His mission have been misrepresented, and multitudes feel that they are virtually shut away from the ministry of the gospel. But let them not feel that they are shut away from Christ. There are no barriers which man or Satan can erect but that faith can penetrate.
You can get through! God has made a way for you to access His infinite love and power so you can be saved in His will and way! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life that has broken through the barriers and is truly converted, surrendered, abiding in Christ.
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Be sincere and honest. How? By surrendering fully to Jesus and willingly confessing and forsaking all your sins. Let go of self and let Jesus be the one who plans for you, giving you His motives, His character (all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with all of the light of His law), and His purposes! When we have such an experience, we will be TRULY HAPPY, for happiness is the result of holiness and conformity to the will of God!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:6, 3.
To walk as Jesus walked is the greatest joy, for it means heaven has already begun in the soul! Christ abides in us by the same intimate union He had with the Father! By the Holy Spirit, not one of the attributes of the divine nature will be missing from a thoroughly converted character that gladly accepts what God has planned for one's life and service! The joy is that this starts here and continues for ETERNITY!!
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Happy New Week!!
Let us learn to filter EVERY thought through the only safe guide--the word of God! When Peter tried to discourage Jesus from going to the cross, that thought came from Satan, not Peter. We need to realize that Jesus is ever seeking to anchor our thought life in His word which is stable and enduring!
Peter loved his Lord; but Jesus did not commend him for thus manifesting the desire to shield Him from suffering. Peter's words were not such as would be a help and solace to Jesus in the great trial before Him. They were not in harmony with God's purpose of grace toward a lost world, nor with the lesson of self-sacrifice that Jesus had come to teach by His own example. Peter did not desire to see the cross in the work of Christ. The impression which his words would make was directly opposed to that which Christ desired to make on the minds of His followers, and the Saviour was moved to utter one of the sternest rebukes that ever fell from His lips: "Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
With God it is possible to be fully surrendered, truly converted, willing to see the cross in the life and teachings of Jesus, and happy to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--even in the most trying circumstances of life--will be revealed in the life that yields continually and fully to Christ! He empowers the soul to true, affectionate obedience to God's law of love!
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The Holy Spirit loves to give new spiritual insights, and regarding the cross as associated with the power of Rome, this leads to a question...what is the symbol NOW associated with the power of Rome? It is clearly not the cross, for crucifixion in not regularly practiced at this time. But there IS A SIGN or MARK that shows Rome's authority in spiritual matters--and that is Sunday!!! Please DO NOT MISS the significance of this. As Jesus was to be CRUCIFIED ON A ROMAN CROSS, the WHOLE WORLD is to be tested on the Sunday law that Rome will enforce globally--leading to a death decree against those who still keep the TRUE SIGN of God's kingdom--the seventh day Sabbath!!! Look at Revelation 14:6-12 more closely:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
This will be the testing truth for the whole world. As accepting the cross for Jesus meant crucifixion on a Roman cross, accepting the cross for God's remnant people means resisting the Sunday law, even if one faces physical death and persecution for not compromising! Praise God!! Victory in Jesus is assured to ALL WHO SURRENDER ALL TO HIM!!!
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Don't miss the cross in the life and teachings of Jesus. Only by crucifixion could His kingdom be established. Only by crucifixion of our natures to receive the divine nature by the promises of God are we able to have victory in Christ over sin!
But before the crown must come the cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as king, but the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference with Jesus. Bearing the weakness of humanity, and burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone in the midst of men. As the darkness of the coming trial pressed upon Him, He was in loneliness of spirit, in a world that knew Him not. Even His loved disciples, absorbed in their own doubt and sorrow and ambitious hopes, had not comprehended the mystery of His mission. He had dwelt amid the love and fellowship of heaven; but in the world that He had created, He was in solitude. Now heaven had sent its messengers to Jesus; not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow, and who could sympathize with the Saviour in the trial of His earthly life. Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of men. Moses had pleaded for Israel: “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.” Exodus 32:32. Elijah had known loneliness of spirit, as for three years and a half of famine he had borne the burden of the nation's hatred and its woe. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Alone he had fled to the desert in anguish and despair. These men, chosen above every angel around the throne, had come to commune with Jesus concerning the scenes of His suffering, and to comfort Him with the assurance of the sympathy of heaven. The hope of the world, the salvation of every human being, was the burden of their interview.
Praise God JESUS DID GO TO THE CROSS and He is also our risen and soon coming Savior after He finishes His high priestly ministry in heaven!! Let's keep looking to Him and JOYFULLY bearing the cross, knowing that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is fully surrendered (converted) to Jesus!! Then the abiding Christ in us will enable us to obey the law of God as our highest delight in His service!! Hallelujah!!!!!
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Whatever your struggle, and whatever your experience, you can STILL CHOOSE to trust God and let His grace and strength be made perfect in your weakness. There is no reason for discouragement in the heart and life of one who takes God at His word in full surrender and lets all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be in the life! Such a transformation of character is evidence of genuine conversion, which is accompanied by true obedience up to the light of truth God has revealed. The father who struggled to believe Christ could heal his son needed to just SURRENDER and let Christ do what was for him an impossibility without Christ. With God all things are possible!
“If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us.” How many a sin-burdened soul has echoed that prayer. And to all, the pitying Saviour's answer is, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” It is faith that connects us with heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. In Christ, God has provided means for subduing every sinful trait, and resisting every temptation, however strong. But many feel that they lack faith, and therefore they remain away from Christ. Let these souls, in their helpless unworthiness, cast themselves upon the mercy of their compassionate Saviour. Look not to self, but to Christ. He who healed the sick and cast out demons when He walked among men is the same mighty Redeemer today. Faith comes by the word of God. Then grasp His promise, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37. Cast yourself at His feet with the cry, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.” You can never perish while you do this—never.
Christ came to save the chief of sinners (we are all eligible), and praise God for His willingness to save all who will simply come. So do not wait to make yourself better or delay coming, expecting a change of feeling in your life (as feelings come and go and can be deceptive if they contradict the word of God). COME!! He will gladly receive you and save you!! Then follow His word day by day!
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Be childlike, converted, and willing to be anything or nothing by sitting afresh each day at the feet of Jesus and learning of Him. As the heart is fully surrendered to Jesus, He cleanses it from sin and imbues His little child of faith with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering such an one to obey the law of God as a delight!
It was not enough for the disciples of Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of His kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart that would bring them into harmony with its principles. Calling a little child to Him, Jesus set him in the midst of them; then tenderly folding the little one in His arms He said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness.
May we seek to be like Jesus and encourage others to be like Jesus. It is a blessing, not a burden!
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By beholding the loveliness of Jesus and abiding in His love by a fully surrendered heart, mind and will, it is amazing how the paradigm of life shifts from questions of commonplace life to things that are spiritual and eternal. When Christ abides in the soul, heaven has begun within, for all of the attributes of His divine character--the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--and affectionate obedience to God's commandments up to the light revealed, becomes an ongoing reality within the soul that shines forth in labors of love to bless others even as Jesus walked!
Let us seek to imagine what was taking place as Jesus was in the temple court at the feast of tabernacles. He was offering the water of life that alone can satisfy the soul. Only Jesus can truly satisfy your soul need and want. He is all in all to us. And His words by His grace offer us that very life that He lived.
As Jesus spoke in the temple court, the people were held spellbound. The very men who were the most violent against Him felt themselves powerless to do Him harm. For the time, all other interests were forgotten.
To have every other interest swallowed up in the righteousness of Christ--to let all other aspects of life be carried out or given up as God's providence designs because we have come to experience Christ within, the hope of glory, enables us to sail like the sun above the clamor, commotion and trials of this life in such a way that we can focus on blessing others and trusting God's plans to spread the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-12) to the whole world in preparation for Christ's glorious return.
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The parallels are remarkable. As those who professed to keep the Ten Commandments were largely influenced to reject the Lawgiver incarnate, Jesus Christ, and put him to death on the cross, so today, many who profess to accept Christ Jesus reject the Ten Commandments and will ultimately go so far as to seek to kill those who still choose to keep the commandments of God through the faith of Jesus (see Revelation 13). The devil is always playing sides and trying to get souls off track. Learn to accept the truth in Christ, for the gospel uplifts Christ in the law, and when Christ abides in us, we will gladly obey His commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit! A converted soul will reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing because Christ lives in the soul! The converted, teachable soul will be open to prophetic truth to guide safely to our heavenly home!
Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would “reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously;” that He would “have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error. Had the people in sincerity studied the word for themselves, they would not have been misled. The sixty-first chapter of Isaiah testifies that Christ was to do the very work He did. Chapter fifty-three sets forth His rejection and sufferings in the world, and chapter fifty-nine describes the character of the priests and rabbis.
With such clear light shining in our day that the seventh day Sabbath has never changed from creation, many who come under conviction of its truthfulness are swayed by the false reasoning of the popular teachers of this generation who reason away its significance or importance. Many try to make it out to be a "yoke of bondage" or a "Jewish Sabbath" when it is the Sabbath for all people from the beginning, kept by Jesus Himself, still kept by the early church, and will be kept even in heaven and the new earth! Were it not for the little horn power that sought to "change times and law" (Daniel 7:25), many would gladly accept the Sabbath without thinking it is Sunday or that it does not matter at all. May we do our appointed part in sharing the Three Angels' Messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to help souls come to understand the IMPORTANCE of this message to prepare a people for Christ's return so that souls will not go along with enforced Sunday laws when they become global. Let us sound the trumpet with love and earnestness!
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Let us yield to Jesus, be cleansed from sin, and experience true sight to walk in the light as He is in the light!
The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of His hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, “Are we blind also?” Jesus answered, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin.” If God had made it impossible for you to see the truth, your ignorance would involve no guilt. “But now ye say, We see.” You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight. To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need; they refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness,—a blindness for which they were themselves guilty. Jesus said, “Your sin remaineth.”
As we realize our deep need of His grace, Christ helps us to accept His strength and grace to do His will each day. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life fully converted to Him in complete, continual surrender to Him! Gladly we can obey God up to the light of His law He has revealed to us as we grow in understanding.
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Happy Sabbath!! Jesus did SO MUCH for us! May our praise ascend to Him in gratitude for how He laid down His life to save us from the depths of sin and degradation!
“I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” While as a member of the human family He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of life for the world. He could have withstood the advances of death, and refused to come under its dominion; but voluntarily He laid down His life, that He might bring life and immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6.
Because of what Jesus did for us, all of us can freely accept the salvation purchased for us at infinite cost, surrendering our will to Him, letting the Holy Spirit imbue us with all of the fruits of God's character without one missing, and empowering us to obey God's law as the very essence of liberty!
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Keep the end in mind.
Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day, when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil forever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth.
While you may be facing trials and tribulations of many kinds, remember that it is all temporary. Christ's agony on the cross, and the final time of trouble yet future to the saints who will live to the second coming of Christ will be soon forever in the past. Let's endure cheerfully whatever God's providence designs for us as ministry so as many souls as possible can be saved and the great controversy between Christ and Satan can come to an end as quickly as possible. As we surrender all to Jesus and let Him live out His life in us revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing accompanied by an affectionately obedient life up to all the truth God has shown us, we will be mighty missionaries for His kingdom! Let's keep looking unto Jesus!!
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The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden "the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God." Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and realize the sacrifice He made for us--as well as the depth of the Father's sacrifice in sending His Son to be our Savior! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Let us yield fully to the power of God's grace and let it make us eternally grateful for all He has done for us and will do in us as we surrender all to Him, thus becoming partakers of the divine nature so that Christ by the Holy Spirit can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing!
Amen Brother Sean James! We see the great sacrifice made on the cross, but how important to understand that the Son of God left heaven and came to this Earth where Satan claimed dominion. Satan hated Christ and tried to kill Him even when a helpless baby. Joseph was directed by God to take baby Jesus to Egypt knowing the babies were to be slaughtered. Imagine our heavenly Father allowing His innocent Son to come to this dark spot in the universe! He came here as a helpless baby and had to fight the battle of life as we have to. He left the throne in heaven and took an infinite risk, He could have failed. Yet, our Father in heaven loves us so very much He risked losing His innocent Son. This is love!
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Love only comes from God, for God is love. We get to dwell in His love so it can overflow to others as we surrender fully to Him. A truly converted soul will reveal all the attributes of His love--the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--accompanied by selfless ministry to bless others in obedience to God's law of love.
All this is but a fulfillment of the principle of the law,—the principle that is illustrated in the story of the good Samaritan, and made manifest in the life of Jesus. His character reveals the true significance of the law, and shows what is meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves. And when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, they also are witnessing to the character of the statutes of heaven. They are bearing testimony to the fact that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. And whoever fails to manifest this love is breaking the law which he professes to revere. For the spirit we manifest toward our brethren declares what is our spirit toward God. The love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward our neighbor. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Beloved, “if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:20, 12.
To abide in God's love--what a blessing this makes life, and what a blessing we can be to others through union and communion with Christ!
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How blinding selfishness and earthliness are! Let’s look to Jesus in humble faith, yield the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to produce in and through us a new character revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as Christ supernaturally empowers us to obey the Ten Commandments!
Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which He sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ’s ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour’s character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of glory. As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which He had wrought. The wonders of His life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realized that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed, to themselves, of much less importance than before they realized this. They never wearied of rehearsing His words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became to them a new book.
The beauty and power of the Bible can be ever-fresh to us as we abide in Christ, appreciating His character, renouncing selfishness and earthliness, because we dwell in the kingdom of God that has begun within the heart. Thankfully, God’s kingdom endures forever, while selfishness and earthliness pass away.
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What a joy it can be to follow in the steps of Jesus and point precious children to Him as Lord and Savior! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the heart of a little converted child who surrenders fully to the Savior and walks in humble obedience, trusting that His plan for life is best! 
The Christian worker may be Christ’s agent in drawing these children to the Saviour. By wisdom and tact he may bind them to his heart, he may give them courage and hope, and through the grace of Christ may see them transformed in character, so that of them it may be said, "Of such is the kingdom of God."
Let us all choose to cooperate with Jesus in His work to save every soul possible! Every child in the world (older or younger) is precious to Him—including you!!
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If you live on an island where beautiful shells are considered of highest value and that is what is understood to be of greatest importance, then it follows that your object would be to have them. But since we live in a universe where the highest value are souls created and redeemed by Jesus, it follows that when He gives us directions on how to win those souls and bring more of them into the heavenly home, that if we REALLY value what God does, we will gladly surrender fully to Him if we love God with the whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Had the rich young ruler understood what heaven values and let the grace of God convert His soul, he could have gladly yielded his wealth to help the poor to win souls, and would have been privileged with walking and talking with Jesus. Sadly, he held on to the things that pass away, and as a result would pass away with those things. Let us realize our deep need of God's grace to help us overcome the deceptive allure of riches and overvaluing the things of this life that can pull us away from a full surrender to Jesus if we let them. Only the life fully put in His hands will be truly efficient for good (keeping all things in proper balance/perspective for the winning of souls), revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; ... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, “Follow Me.”
Oh, what bliss it will be to see each soul brought to Christ in eternity! Christ gives us a part in this work to help us be fitted for heaven and to give us His joy! Heaven is cheap enough! Hallelujah!
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Praise God for His goodness to us in our most trying moments!
“For your sakes,” “to the intent ye may believe.” To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly,” 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience.
God has promised us, "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). Whatever your trials or temptations, surrender fully to Jesus, let Him cleanse you from sin by His atoning blood as you truly confess all your sins to Him! He will convert your inmost soul by the power of the Holy Spirit to produce through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such a life abiding in Christ is empowered to obey God up to the light of truth He has shown in harmony with the Ten Commandments!
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Happy Sabbath!
Let us live in such a way that always honors God! We can learn from the unwise choices of the priests and leaders who plotted the death of Christ that such a proposition was fighting against God. Jesus came to uplift, save and heal all who would come unto Him; sadly, some who had great access to the truth of the Scriptures closed their hearts to Him and resisted His invitation to repentance and salvation. May we learn from this experience our deep need of His grace and yield fully to Jesus!
In this council, assembled to plan the death of Christ, the Witness was present who heard the boastful words of Nebuchadnezzar, who witnessed the idolatrous feast of Belshazzar, who was present when Christ in Nazareth announced Himself the Anointed One. This Witness was now impressing the rulers with the work they were doing. Events in the life of Christ rose up before them with a distinctness that alarmed them. They remembered the scene in the temple, when Jesus, then a child of twelve, stood before the learned doctors of the law, asking them questions at which they wondered. The miracle just performed bore witness that Jesus was none other than the Son of God. In their true significance, the Old Testament Scriptures regarding Christ flashed before their minds. Perplexed and troubled, the rulers asked, “What do we?” There was a division in the council. Under the impression of the Holy Spirit, the priests and rulers could not banish the conviction that they were fighting against God.
Instead of fighting against God, conversion is coming into complete surrender to God and the light of His word, enabling God's grace through faith to make us partakers of the divine nature so the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, empowering us to live in such a way that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life! May we trust God's word fully and resist the temptation to fight against God and the light of His word that is sent to bless us!
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What an excellent example of a godly character we see in the beloved disciple John. What was it that so helped him to become more and more like Jesus?
The principles and the very words of the Saviour's teaching, in their divine beauty, dwelt in the memory of the beloved disciple. To his latest days the burden of John's testimony to the churches was, “This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:11, 16.
As we receive God's word into the heart in complete surrender, we become partakers of the divine nature, which results in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing manifest in the life as God gives the power to obey His law up to the light of His truth revealed! "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19).
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If Zacchaeus could respond to Jesus, so can you!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:6). Taking God at His word, relying upon His character of unselfish love (grace), we can surrender fully to Christ to convert us and make us partakers of His divine nature! All of the fruits of the Spirit will come into the life as Christ simultaneously empowers the soul to obey the law of God--the Ten Commandments--as highest delight in His service! Let us continually receive Jesus in His fullness, proclaim His present-truth message (Revelation 14:6-12), and overcome as Christ calls us to (Revelation 3:14-22)! With God all things are possible!
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Are you grateful that Jesus came to save you from sin? Then prayerfully find ways to express your gratitude to Him! By beholding Jesus' loveliness of character and surrendering fully to Him in true repentance, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is empowered to true obedience to God's commandments! Let Him lead you in the path of gratitude today, having "Mary Magdalene Moments" of creative ways to express how grateful you are to Him for His amazing salvation!
The same want is evident in our world today. But few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary would be expressed, the anointing would be freely bestowed. The expensive ointment would not be called a waste. Nothing would be thought too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to be endured for His sake.
What a privilege it is to be a vessel in Jesus' hands to bless others! He loves us and desires to share with us the joy of seeing souls redeemed by giving us a part in sharing with others in reaching them for His kingdom! Praise God!
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We have a sure word of prophecy! Jesus IS the Messiah and the word of God is clear evidence that He fulfilled the prophecies so all who would come to Him could experience salvation!
The events connected with this triumphal ride would be the talk of every tongue, and would bring Jesus before every mind. After His crucifixion, many would recall these events in their connection with His trial and death. They would be led to search the prophecies, and would be convinced that Jesus was the Messiah; and in all lands converts to the faith would be multiplied.
Souls are still coming to Christ to this day! Jesus is coming again SOON and He calls us all to accept Him as Lord and Savior, abide in Him in full surrender so He can manifest through us His character (true obedience to His commandments accompanied by all the fruits of the Spirit without one missing)! What a blessed experience is ours in being saved to the uttermost from sin to do His holy will!
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Are you thankful God is giving you time to be reconciled to Him?
In every age there is given to men their day of light and privilege, a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted and rejected; but there comes a time when mercy makes her last plea. The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the Spirit of God. Then the sweet, winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and warnings cease.
If we appreciate what God is offering us in Christ, surrender the whole heart to Him in true repentance of sin, confessing and forsaking all that is transgression of His law, we can rejoice in the experience of true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life! Then the law we once broke by our sins we find delight in keeping out of love for the God who sent His Son to live, suffer and die in our place so we could be with Him forever. Let us not seal our own doom by neglecting so great salvation.
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He can carry it. Jesus, having already borne the guilt and weight of the sins of the whole world, can certainly bear ALL your sins and griefs. As our Savior and High Priest, He is even now in heaven, ministering in the sanctuary there to completely blot out the record of the sins of each of His children who have cone to Him in true repentance and confession. In surrendering fully to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life as God empowers affectionate obedience to all of His commandments!
In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it “a sure foundation.” The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a “tried stone.” Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam’s guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.
Rest in God. He is able to keep you from sinning as you maintain the union and communion of the soul with Him in continual abiding trust. Praise God for such an amazing experience with Jesus each day! May you go forth with moral courage and power to bless others!
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Happy Sabbath! Oh, how wonderful are fresh glimpses of Jesus! When questions arose that were intended to draw Jesus into controversy, He wisely answered by asking questions, letting the questioners answer what they asked. He pointed to the law of God as a divine unity, and it is as we receive Christ into the heart as a personal Savior that we are enabled to obey the law from the heart with the supernatural accompanying witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing. True conversion--the result of entire surrender of the heart, mind, will and character to God--is a far happier experience than any counterfeit path of sin that Satan has devised.
The scribe was near to the kingdom of God, in that he recognized deeds of righteousness as more acceptable to God than burnt offerings and sacrifices. But he needed to recognize the divine character of Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righteousness. The ritual service was of no value, unless connected with Christ by living faith. Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour. Christ had repeatedly shown that His Father's law contained something deeper than mere authoritative commands. In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man's duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.
Trust God to work out His will in your life as you surrender fully to Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Nothing is too hard for God to do. He can save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him!
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What an example we have in Christ! As Lord and Savior, He could not be silent while the very people He came to save were pursuing a course to destroy themselves. Let us follow in His steps and lovingly warn souls of the danger and peril of sin, which is the transgression of the law. Christ came to save us from our sins and restore us to the image of God. When we allow Him to heal us from the wounds of sin in true repentance, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life as true obedience up to the light revealed becomes both possible and delightful!
Christ's indignation was directed against the hypocrisy, the gross sins, by which men were destroying their own souls, deceiving the people and dishonoring God. In the specious deceptive reasoning of the priests and rulers He discerned the working of satanic agencies. Keen and searching had been His denunciation of sin; but He spoke no words of retaliation. He had a holy wrath against the prince of darkness; but He manifested no irritated temper. So the Christian who lives in harmony with God, possessing the sweet attributes of love and mercy, will feel a righteous indignation against sin; but he will not be roused by passion to revile those who revile him. Even in meeting those who are moved by a power from beneath to maintain falsehood, in Christ he will still preserve calmness and self-possession.
The godly character of Jesus is offered us by the Holy Spirit. Let us trust God to lead us in faithfulness and choose continually to walk even as He walked!
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The selfless act of God giving His Son to save the human family that led to the sufferings and death of Christ on the cross is so opposite to the character of Satan. Christ's death would destroy the hold of Satan on the hearts and minds of those who would be drawn to God in His love. As each soul is drawn to God and chooses to fully surrender to Him, a supernatural new birth takes place in which all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life. Then the soul that used to be a slave of sin now delights to obey God's Ten Commandments from the heart. Let's learn to daily keep the sacrifice of Christ before us to strengthen and motivate us to walk in God's loving will!
“Now is the judgment of this world,” Christ continued; “now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die.” This is the crisis of the world. If I become the propitiation for the sins of men, the world will be lighted up. Satan's hold upon the souls of men will be broken. The defaced image of God will be restored in humanity, and a family of believing saints will finally inherit the heavenly home. This is the result of Christ's death. The Saviour is lost in contemplation of the scene of triumph called up before Him. He sees the cross, the cruel, ignominious cross, with all its attending horrors, blazing with glory.
The glory God revealed at Calvary's cross will be our science and song not just in this life, but for eternity. Praise God for the power of His love and grace to transform sinners into saints and renew lives into His image! What is bearing the cross for the human agent who responds to Jesus?
We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed in complete union with Him. “Take my yoke upon you,” He says. Obey My requirements. But these requirements may be in direct opposition to the will and purposes of the human agent. What then is to be done? Hear what God says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing,—the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites finite man in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places man where he learns how to bear Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ without wearing His yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him. If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps.
Let us choose continually to walk in harmony with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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Cut loose before it is too late! So much around us is competing for our attention! Look to Jesus, His prophetic word, and let Him transform your inmost thoughts and emotions so that in heart you can turn from the world and its unsatisfying pleasures to have a life that is being fitted for heaven! We are each building character day by day, and it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit converting the soul that we can resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. When we do surrender fully to Christ and experience the miracle of conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life, and Christ abiding within makes it possible to find highest delight in obedience to all His commandments in willing service to further His kingdom!
The crisis is stealing gradually upon us. The sun shines in the heavens, passing over its usual round, and the heavens still declare the glory of God. Men are still eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying, and giving in marriage. Merchants are still buying and selling. Men are jostling one against another, contending for the highest place. Pleasure lovers are still crowding to theaters, horse races, gambling hells. The highest excitement prevails, yet probation's hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended, and the door of mercy be forever shut.
There is still time, but we do not know how much more time. Choose this day to serve the Lord and be ALL IN for Jesus by following His word!
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You never know. Only in eternity will we fully see the far-reaching results of even one kind word, deed or prayer. God calls us to do what we can according to our ability in blessing others, and thankfully we have a perfect example in Jesus. As we acknowledge our need of Him, surrender fully to Him, and let Him fill us with the Holy Spirit (whereby all of the fruits of God's character will be in our lives without one missing), we can go forth day by day to be a blessing because we have first been blessed of God with salvation from sin! Jesus abiding in us gives us power to do good from the heart made pure by His divine grace! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
The Saviour has given His precious life in order to establish a church capable of caring for sorrowful, tempted souls. A company of believers may be poor, uneducated, and unknown; yet in Christ they may do a work in the home, the neighborhood, the church, and even in “the regions beyond,” whose results shall be as far-reaching as eternity.
Won't it be awesome to read the accounts in the "book of remembrance" (Malachi 3:16) that show all the things God did through each person's life to further the kingdom of heaven? Let's seek to crowd all the good works possible into this life because Jesus is COMING SO SOON and He fills us with His desire to see MANY MORE be ready to meet Him by having a character transformed by His grace!
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He has so much for us. As we learn of Christ each day, there is always more He desires to give us in a deeper spiritual life that brings us up from where we were to where He has planned for us. As we surrender the whole heart to Christ and accept His divine grace that has the power to transform us into new creatures in Christ Jesus reflecting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, what a blessing it is to go forth in selfless service in true obedience to all of God's commandments!
As the lesson of the preparatory service is thus learned, the desire is kindled for a higher spiritual life. To this desire the divine Witness will respond. The soul will be uplifted. We can partake of the Communion with a consciousness of sins forgiven. The sunshine of Christ's righteousness will fill the chambers of the mind and the soul temple. We “behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29.
By beholding we become changed. Keep looking to Jesus. The Holy Spirit will impress His word upon the heart and mind and make us more like Jesus whom we adore. Praise God!
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Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
Look and live! Jesus living in you by the Holy Spirit produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance without one fruit of the Spirit missing as long as you maintain a living union and communion with Christ! By receiving and acting upon His word, the character becomes more and more like Jesus, for by beholding we become changed!
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Happy Sabbath!
“Herein is My Father glorified,” said Jesus, “that ye bear much fruit.” God desires to manifest through you the holiness, the benevolence, the compassion, of His own character. Yet the Saviour does not bid the disciples labor to bear fruit. He tells them to abide in Him. “If ye abide in Me,” He says, “and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” It is through the word that Christ abides in His followers. This is the same vital union that is represented by eating His flesh and drinking His blood. The words of Christ are spirit and life. Receiving them, you receive the life of the Vine. You live “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4. The life of Christ in you produces the same fruits as in Him. Living in Christ, adhering to Christ, supported by Christ, drawing nourishment from Christ, you bear fruit after the similitude of Christ.
Let us allow Jesus to reproduce His character experience in us! When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing. Such grace and strength as we see revealed in Christ's life are available to us today by receiving His promises and putting our will on the side of Christ. He is giving us all we need for this life and the life to come by the Holy Spirit, making us more and more like Him each day as we behold His loveliness and choose to overcome even as Christ overcame!
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It was worth it. Praise God that Jesus chose to endure the agony of what we deserve on account of sin, and though it seemed that few were responding, He persevered through the horror of what sin did to His soul, feeling His Father's wrath against transgression, and by faith kept moving forward to complete the great sacrifice that would make it possible for each soul to be redeemed who would choose to come to Him and have life. May His great sacrifice for you not be in vain. Behold Him daily and pray earnestly; let the things of this world be strangely dim in comparison to the exceedingly great light and love we see in Jesus' sufferings and death, obtaining eternal victory for us! As we yield the WHOLE heart to Him, Christ fills the life supernaturally with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering the soul to true, affectionate obedience to all of the Ten Commandments. This law, broken by sin, can be kept through the faith of Jesus working by love by all who let Christ abide within, the hope of glory!
And what was to be gained by this sacrifice? How hopeless appeared the guilt and ingratitude of men! In its hardest features Satan pressed the situation upon the Redeemer: The people who claim to be above all others in temporal and spiritual advantages have rejected You. They are seeking to destroy You, the foundation, the center and seal of the promises made to them as a peculiar people. One of Your own disciples, who has listened to Your instruction, and has been among the foremost in church activities, will betray You. One of Your most zealous followers will deny You. All will forsake You. Christ's whole being abhorred the thought. That those whom He had undertaken to save, those whom He loved so much, should unite in the plots of Satan, this pierced His soul. The conflict was terrible. Its measure was the guilt of His nation, of His accusers and betrayer, the guilt of a world lying in wickedness. The sins of men weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God's wrath against sin was crushing out His life.
The reality of what Jesus went through has a way of changing what is important. Let this sink in deeply.
When men and women can more fully comprehend the magnitude of the great sacrifice which was made by the Majesty of heaven in dying in man's stead, then will the plan of salvation be magnified, and reflections of Calvary will awaken tender, sacred, and lively emotions in the Christian's heart. Praises to God and the Lamb will be in their hearts and upon their lips. Pride and self-esteem cannot flourish in the hearts that keep fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary. This world will appear of but little value to those who appreciate the great price of man's redemption, the precious blood of God's dear Son. All the riches of the world are not of sufficient value to redeem one perishing soul. Who can measure the love Christ felt for a lost world as He hung upon the cross, suffering for the sins of guilty men? This love was immeasurable, infinite.
By beholding God's infinite love in sending His son to live a perfect life, suffer for all our sins (for all the human race), and die to save us, the Holy Spirit impresses eternal realities on our hearts and minds, changing us from glory to glory, from one experience of character to the next. This is why spending a thoughtful hour each day upon the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes, is such an important blessing! "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
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Do we understand how powerful God's holy angels are? Reflect on their power as well as how they witnessed Jesus' trial leading up to His crucifixion.
The angels of heaven witnessed every movement made against their loved Commander. They longed to deliver Christ. Under God the angels are all-powerful. On one occasion, in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew of the Assyrian army in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men. How easily could the angels, beholding the shameful scene of the trial of Christ, have testified their indignation by consuming the adversaries of God! But they were not commanded to do this. He who could have doomed His enemies to death bore with their cruelty. His love for His Father, and His pledge, made from the foundation of the world, to become the Sin Bearer, led Him to endure uncomplainingly the coarse treatment of those He came to save. It was a part of His mission to bear, in His humanity, all the taunts and abuse that men could heap upon Him. The only hope of humanity was in this submission of Christ to all that He could endure from the hands and hearts of men.
Oh, what wondrous love of Christ to endure without complaint all that was heaped upon Him in His innocence and purity. As the angels could have intervened, this is an encouraging reality for God's people to realize heading into the final events of this earth's history, as Jesus WILL SEND HIS ANGELS to comfort and protect His children in their times of peril. Just read and mediate upon Psalm 91. While we are not always delivered in the way we may expect, God promises to not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear while abiding in Him, for He is the WAY of escape continually! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the converted life of a true Christian who gladly is empowered to obey God's law. We can be thankful for the ministry of the angels, as well as the infinite sacrifice Jesus made for us in His blameless life, suffering, death, and resurrection. He is now ministering as our High Priest in heaven, blotting out the record of the sins of His people who have truly repented and chosen to walk with Him in faithfulness, and He is coming VERY SOON as our King to take us home to the mansions He has prepared for us! Let us rejoice and invite others to follow Him!
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"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10).
Judas is case in point. May we realize that if we love anything more than Jesus, it will lead to our eternal loss. The wages of sin is death, and even though Christ gave Judas every opportunity to repent and turn to experience eternal life, Judas would not make that full surrender. We are all free to choose whether we will surrender fully to Christ and have Him give us a new heart with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing which enables us to obey God's law of love, or to choose the downward path of sin and self under Satan's deceptive control. Let us realize our deep need of Jesus and not go the way of Judas.
Judas had naturally a strong love for money; but he had not always been corrupt enough to do such a deed as this. He had fostered the evil spirit of avarice until it had become the ruling motive of his life. The love of mammon overbalanced his love for Christ. Through becoming the slave of one vice he gave himself to Satan, to be driven to any lengths in sin.
It was shortly after Judas got what he thought he wanted in betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver that Judas went out and hanged himself. Judas' life and history is in the Bible to warn us that sin that is not renounced will lead to death. Praise God that Jesus can keep us from going in that path, helping us to choose His love and grace, His selfless service as best of all. Trusting God to provide for our needs as we learn to make wise life choices, let us not make the love of money the ruling motive in our lives. How? By surrendering fully to Christ and seeking His kingdom first. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).
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Behold Him. By beholding Jesus, something supernatural can take place in the heart and mind that yields fully to Him. Christ has the power to convert the most hardened sinner and make the soul into a repentant child of God whose union and communion with Him by the Holy Spirit will be revealed in a character experiencing manifesting affectionate obedience to God with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! How can these things be? By beholding we become changed, and we will become like what we allow our minds to value and dwell upon. Jesus' sinless life, His immense sufferings, His sacrificial death, His victorious resurrection, His high priestly ministry in heaven, and His soon return as King to take His children home--well would it be for us to keep Christ uppermost in our minds! Abiding in Him, we can courageously give the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, proclaiming Christ's present-truth message to our generation because we are motivated by His love that constrains us!
There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour's visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.
Christ, the innocent One, would bear all our sin and suffer for all of it to make a way of escape for us. When you think you are being tempted beyond what you can bear, look to Calvary and contemplate the uncomplaining endurance of Jesus who for the joy set before Him endured the cross to save us. He IS THE WAY of escape. In every temptation and in every trial, we have a never-failing helper in Jesus! "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).
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What trials are you going through? Whatever they are, and however much you are tempted in the midst of your experience, the place to go in mind and heart in those trials is to the foot of the cross. As we by faith look up to Jesus and see Him suffering and dying to save us from sin, we see what the "faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12) is all about--as Christ still CHOSE to trust His Father's character even when feeling utterly forsaken because He was bearing the sins of the whole world and suffering the wrath of God against transgression. By faith, He defeated Satan, fully paid for sin, and offers us eternal life that no one can take from us (except our own choice to reject it). Let us more fully appreciate what Jesus has given us in His divine-human sufferings at Calvary!
Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.
As you rely on God's character and praise Him for who He is, the trial may still be there, the suffering may not immediately go away, but you can have the sweet peace of acceptance with God in knowing that you are surrendered fully to Him and trusting Him through it all. The dying Savior wore a crown of thorns so we could wear a crown of victory. By faith, we can choose to live on the Son of God in complete surrender of the whole heart, and He will manifest through us His character victory--true obedience with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance without one of the fruits of the Spirit missing! Trust God in everything you face! Jesus has set the perfect example for us, and His death means our sins are PAID IN FULL!! So turn from sin motivated by the love of Christ to do God's will!
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him" (James 1:12).
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Jesus won! You can win, too, by surrendering fully to Christ and letting His experience of character become yours! By His atoning blood, your sins are cancelled as you confess and forsake them in true repentance! The Holy Spirit comes to live in the heart renewed by divine grace, reflecting through the converted heart all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! True obedience to all of God’s commandments will flow forth as an expression of love to the God who gave all heaven in the gift of Jesus!! Hallelujah!!
Christ did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, "It is finished." John 19:30. The battle had been won. His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. As a Conqueror He planted His banner on the eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? All heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s victory. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.
Since Satan has been fully defeated, it follows that through Christ we can be kept from sitting, for sin is the power of the devil. The only way this is possible is through constant union and communion of the soul with Christ by the Holy Spirit! ”Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
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Happy Sabbath! The death of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and also deeply moved the hearts of three very different men to confess their faith in Him as the Son of God. Christ's divine-human sufferings at Calvary are for all of us, for upon all lays the guilt of crucifying the Son of God, for the wages of sin, which is death, was laid upon Him. We can also confess our faith and walk in His truth, surrendering fully to Jesus and letting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be revealed in our lives as we are truly converted and are empowered to be obedient to God's Ten Commandments!
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
These words were said in no whispered tones. All eyes were turned to see whence they came. Who had spoken? It was the centurion, the Roman soldier. The divine patience of the Saviour, and His sudden death, with the cry of victory upon His lips, had impressed this heathen. In the bruised, broken body hanging upon the cross, the centurion recognized the form of the Son of God. He could not refrain from confessing his faith. Thus again evidence was given that our Redeemer was to see of the travail of His soul. Upon the very day of His death, three men, differing widely from one another, had declared their faith,—he who commanded the Roman guard, he who bore the cross of the Saviour, and he who died upon the cross at His side.
May each of our testimonies of what Jesus has done to save us reach the lives of those around us, knowing that God's word is true:
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death' (Revelation 12:11).
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In the last post, this is the Scripture reference:
"Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:54).
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He knows it’s over soon. Satan will die.
When Jesus was laid in the grave, Satan triumphed. He dared to hope that the Saviour would not take up His life again. He claimed the Lord’s body, and set his guard about the tomb, seeking to hold Christ a prisoner. He was bitterly angry when his angels fled at the approach of the heavenly messenger. When he saw Christ come forth in triumph, he knew that his kingdom would have an end, and that he must finally die.
With a few moments remaining in the raging conflict Satan has waged against God‘s unselfish character in the universe, the enemy of our souls directors fierce attacks against the church and all those who are in it or seeking to enter in. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and don’t look back at the old sinful world with its deceitful lusts (whether those temptations come from without or within). In the powerful transformation of character Christ offers as you surrender fully to Him, you can experience continuously His resurrection power to live with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you stay in the path of true obedience to God’s will—His law of love!
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He is risen! Rejoice in the Lord and let your sorrows and griefs be laid upon Him, going forward in triumphant joy as we get ever closer to the second coming of Jesus!!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! “Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen.” Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
By faith we are able to experience the grace of God that changes our character from sinful and unbelieving to repentant and faithful! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is fully surrendered to Jesus and abiding in Him! We can rejoice in His promises because they make us partakers of the divine nature as we receive them into our very thoughts and feelings! "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
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Be of good courage! Initially, the disciples walking to Emmaus were so discouraged because they did not understand the Scriptures that clearly point to the sacrifice of Christ, but as He walked with them, He opened to them the Scriptures so they could understand! Then their whole experience changed! The word of God changes things in our lives! We see Christ clearly and become changed into His image! As we surrender the whole heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life as Christ empowers us to affectionately obey His law of love!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen—over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
We cannot be silent if we truly love Jesus wholeheartedly and understand the power of the word of God that reveals the loveliness of Jesus! As Jesus said, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Let us live in the Spirit by having the word of God transforming our inmost motives, thoughts, feelings and actions! "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23). The word of God, received into the life, creates miraculous lives that reflect Jesus!
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Let's learn to be gracious, like Jesus.
In His treatment of Thomas, Jesus gave a lesson for His followers. His example shows how we should treat those whose faith is weak, and who make their doubts prominent. Jesus did not overwhelm Thomas with reproach, nor did He enter into controversy with him. He revealed Himself to the doubting one. Thomas had been most unreasonable in dictating the conditions of his faith, but Jesus, by His generous love and consideration, broke down all the barriers. Unbelief is seldom overcome by controversy. It is rather put upon self-defense, and finds new support and excuse. But let Jesus, in His love and mercy, be revealed as the crucified Saviour, and from many once unwilling lips will be heard the acknowledgment of Thomas, “My Lord and my God.”
As souls come to Jesus, behold His tender, affectionate loveliness, and realize that He has a better way than they were choosing to live or think, it is so wonderful to realize that God's grace is powerful enough to change a sinner into a saint and fill such a newly converted soul with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing empowered to true obedience to all of God's commandments up to the light revealed! Thomas received a new revelation of Jesus, and so can we--by His word!
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Praise God for the mercy we see shown towards Peter after his denial of Jesus. Christ restored Peter by His tender, forgiving love, and Peter came to experience the power of God's grace to make Him a new creation, reflecting each of the attributes of God's character of love up to the light of the experience Peter had with Jesus at that time. So it may be with us! We may walk and abide in Jesus with new hearts that rise above the old, sinful evil heart that clamors for selfish expression. With Jesus, we can resist every temptation, however strong--by the means Jesus used--the word of God! But if we do fall into sin, we can know that if we receive the gift of repentance and forsake sin in true confession, Jesus will freely accept us back and make us new in heart and mind again!
The Saviour's manner of dealing with Peter had a lesson for him and for his brethren. It taught them to meet the transgressor with patience, sympathy, and forgiving love. Although Peter had denied his Lord, the love which Jesus bore him never faltered. Just such love should the undershepherd feel for the sheep and lambs committed to his care. Remembering his own weakness and failure, Peter was to deal with his flock as tenderly as Christ had dealt with him.
Let us never lose sight of the true character of God! By beholding Christ, we become changed!
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Jesus is calling for earnest missionaries! He desires them to go to "all the world"! Will you let Him make you into a true missionary? As Christ comes to abide in the heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be reflected as you are empowered to obey God up to the light He has shown you, and you can go forward in His faith that works by love to seek and save souls!
But the command, “Go ye into all the world,” is not to be lost sight of. We are called upon to lift our eyes to the “regions beyond.” Christ tears away the wall of partition, the dividing prejudice of nationality, and teaches a love for all the human family. He lifts men from the narrow circle which their selfishness prescribes; He abolishes all territorial lines and artificial distinctions of society. He makes no difference between neighbors and strangers, friends and enemies. He teaches us to look upon every needy soul as our brother, and the world as our field.
Let us keep looking up to Jesus and trust His leading to go according to God's holy will! We can start right where we are, and go forward from there to the ends of the earth!
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Happy Sabbath!! Why fear? In the light of Christ's victory over Satan, His ascension to heaven, and His glorious work there as our High Priest with the prophetic assurance of what He said would take place before His second coming, we need not fear. We need to remember what God has said to us and how He has led, and keep looking up to Jesus who is able to save each soul to the uttermost from sin and make such a soul a true reflection of His pure, holy character because the new heart and mind Jesus gives us by the Holy Spirit is stronger than the fallen nature we are compassed with until Christ gives us a new, glorified body. Partaking of the divine nature by the promises of God, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be reflected in a life of true obedience to all of God's commandments! Praise God!!
The disciples no longer had any distrust of the future. They knew that Jesus was in heaven, and that His sympathies were with them still. They knew that they had a friend at the throne of God, and they were eager to present their requests to the Father in the name of Jesus. In solemn awe they bowed in prayer, repeating the assurance, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:23, 24. They extended the hand of faith higher and higher, with the mighty argument, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34. And Pentecost brought them fullness of joy in the presence of the Comforter, even as Christ had promised.
Ask for God's will in your life, and trust He will lead you in it day by day, moment by moment, for He is gracious and faithful!
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What good news! Sin will be no more, and Christ will be eternally our Brother! Today is the day of salvation to all who come unto Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us with all of the fruits of His abiding presence in the soul! Not one of His divine attributes will be missing as long as we are fully surrendered in heart and life to Christ and willing to be made willing in true obedience, following the light He has revealed to us!
The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God's grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died,—here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, “and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift,— Immanuel, “God with us.”
While the work of redemption is not yet complete, it is so encouraging to have this eternal reality ever in view as we seek to win souls to Christ so they can enjoy the bliss of eternal life in the presence of God. He is merciful to give us time still to share the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-12), helping souls be ready to meet Jesus at His glorious second coming!
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Why is understanding the mission of the Messiah so important? We can learn much from what happened when Jesus first came to this earth.
While the Jews desired the advent of the Messiah, they had no true conception of His mission. They did not seek redemption from sin, but deliverance from the Romans. They looked for the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to break the oppressor's power, and exalt Israel to universal dominion. Thus the way was prepared for them to reject the Saviour.
By failing to have a true conception of Christ's mission when Jesus actually walked among men, so few were ready to receive Him. And the parallel carries through to today, as Jesus is now our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, and how He longs for souls to understand His mission to cleanse the soul from sin! He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by Him! When the soul is surrendered fully to Jesus, He fills the soul with the Holy Spirit who manifests His divine presence with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then instead of being deceived in the paths of sin, the soul is enabled to walk in true obedience the the light of God's law revealed because of the power of the abiding Savior!
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Truth WILL triumph!! No matter how far Satan has tried to lead you away from God, Jesus has ALL POWER to save you to the uttermost! Let Him!!! As He fashions your character anew, it will reflect the loveliness of His divine nature as long as you are surrendered fully to Him, allowing all of the fruits of the Spirit to be revealed in the life that is offered to God in true obedience that results from intelligently appreciating God's love for us!
Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.
The glory of God restored in humanity is such a glorious ideal, and thankfully, it is possible in Christ! Christ is more powerful than Satan, and this fact is demonstrated in the truth that He has already translated two human beings to heaven (Enoch and Elijah), has already resurrected Moses (see Jude 9), and also took with Him those who were raised with Him at His resurrection! Thankfully, Christ is also preparing the 144,000 to stand through the time of trouble and also be translated without seeing death, living to sing the song of Moses and the Lamb that glorifies God both now and forever! Jesus will have His heart's desire FULLY realized: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). A people ready to serve God in this life and in the life to come--a church that reflects His image perfectly by the power of His divine grace! "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Praise God for His power to fulfill this promise!
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Let us appreciate God's protection and guidance from the angels! God will lead us as we let Him! Jesus came to become our Brother and Savior, and in stepping down to this earth, He offers us His very life! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow in and through the life completely surrendered to Christ! He empowers us to obey Him up to the light He has revealed, guiding us by His divine grace!
Heaven and earth are no wider apart today than when shepherds listened to the angels’ song. Humanity is still as much the object of heaven's solicitude as when common men of common occupations met angels at noonday, and talked with the heavenly messengers in the vineyards and the fields. To us in the common walks of life, heaven may be very near. Angels from the courts above will attend the steps of those who come and go at God's command.
Praise God for His love to us in every moment of our lives, and the greatest gift of all--His Son--so we can appreciate His leading and blessing for us in the path to heaven through Christ!
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It's no secret! Our greatest happiness will be found in knowing and loving God! No wonder Satan invents unnumbered schemes and distractions to try to get us to miss out on the real joy and purpose of life! Let God fill you with His thoughts from His word, and in complete surrender to Jesus go forward in faith to let the Holy Spirit reveal through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as He empowers you to obey the law of God up to the light He has revealed!
“That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are “thoughts of peace, and not of evil.” Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me.
What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus! When He is truly Lord of our lives, we can experience the greatest pleasure in doing His will, having fellowship with Christ in His sufferings and yet being fully sustained by the presence of God in each situation! The purest joy springs from the deepest humiliation, for the strongest and noblest characters are built on the foundation of patience, love and submission to God's will! "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11).
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If you journey with Jesus in your heart and have a sincere desire to be led by Him at each step, then you can have a happy journey all the way to heaven, even amid trials and seeming delays! Living by faith in Christ means all of the fruits of the Spirit come into the life without one missing so He can lead you in His will--true obedience and clearer and clearer discernment of His word and plan for your life to point others to Jesus!
As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, “not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. The Eastern country abounded in precious things, and the magi did not set out empty-handed. It was the custom to offer presents as an act of homage to princes or other personages of rank, and the richest gifts the land afforded were borne as an offering to Him in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. It was necessary to journey by night in order to keep the star in view; but the travelers beguiled the hours by repeating traditional sayings and prophetic utterances concerning the One they sought. At every pause for rest they searched the prophecies; and the conviction deepened that they were divinely guided. While they had the star before them as an outward sign, they had also the inward evidence of the Holy Spirit, which was impressing their hearts, and inspiring them with hope. The journey, though long, was a happy one to them.
Let us be the happiest people on earth, for just as the wise men were in search of the first advent of Christ, we can be OVERJOYED to help herald the second advent of Christ--and He will be coming in the clouds with all the holy angels to gather His children home to heaven! As He gives us the three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to herald and fulfill His gospel commission to the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20), we have the high privilege of being co-laborers with Jesus to the end, in preparation for the ministry He has for us in eternity!! Let us follow the Lamb wherever He leads us!!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Let’s gather the manna of a fresh experience with Jesus today! “And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it” (Numbers 11:9).
Jesus drew fresh spiritual lessons from the things of nature, and as the dew was upon the grass this morning, it reminded me of how God wants to pour fresh, kind words into our lips to share with others! 
The question asked during the Saviour's ministry, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” does not indicate that Jesus was unable to read, but merely that He had not received a rabbinical education. John 7:15. Since He gained knowledge as we may do, His intimate acquaintance with the Scriptures shows how diligently His early years were given to the study of God's word. And spread out before Him was the great library of God's created works. He who had made all things studied the lessons which His own hand had written in earth and sea and sky. Apart from the unholy ways of the world, He gathered stores of scientific knowledge from nature. He studied the life of plants and animals, and the life of man. From His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others. For this He found resources in nature; new ideas of ways and means flashed into His mind as He studied plant life and animal life. Continually He was seeking to draw from things seen illustrations by which to present the living oracles of God. The parables by which, during His ministry, He loved to teach His lessons of truth show how open His spirit was to the influences of nature, and how He had gathered the spiritual teaching from the surroundings of His daily life.
And let us remember WHO the Manna is!!
Christ said, “I am that bread of life” (John 6:48), and to live forever, His experience is to be ours! He is the true Manna!!
“He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever” (John 6:56-58).
The Holy Spirit is teaching that what sustains us transcends the physical nature—for Christ, His word, His life, His character—in which affectionate obedience to God with all the fruits of the Spirit without missing was ever manifest—is to become our life and experience. This is true preparation for heaven!! Jesus is coming SOON!!!
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As we reflect on the early years of Jesus' life, we learn a lot about how to build a godly character and follow God's will in our lives, too!
From the time when the parents of Jesus found Him in the temple, His course of action was a mystery to them. He would not enter into controversy, yet His example was a constant lesson. He seemed as one who was set apart. His hours of happiness were found when alone with nature and with God. Whenever it was His privilege, He turned aside from the scene of His labor, to go into the fields, to meditate in the green valleys, to hold communion with God on the mountainside or amid the trees of the forest. The early morning often found Him in some secluded place, meditating, searching the Scriptures, or in prayer. From these quiet hours He would return to His home to take up His duties again, and to give an example of patient toil.
Surrendering fullly to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives as we follow the Lord's word in true obedience up to the light God has shown us. Christ will give us rest of soul as we abide in Him and let Him lead us in following His example.
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As we reflect on the life and ministry of John the Baptist, we see that he fulfilled his mission and pointed souls to Christ, the Lamb of God. We would do well to follow in that same emphasis to turn people's attention to the higher focus--Jesus Christ as the Messiah! He is the One who fulfilled the prophecies relating to the first advent, and He will come again soon in fulfillment of the promises relating to His second advent!
Thus the Baptist declared God's message to Israel. Many gave heed to his instruction. Many sacrificed all in order to obey. Multitudes followed this new teacher from place to place, and not a few cherished the hope that he might be the Messiah. But as John saw the people turning to him, he sought every opportunity of directing their faith to Him who was to come.
Christ is offering us a new heart and mind as we surrender fully to Him. Such a new character is imbued with the divine nature, enabling the soul to obey God cheerfully and promptly, manifesting each of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!
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Do we realize how much Jesus suffered in becoming a human being and taking our fallen nature upon Him?
As one with us, He must bear the burden of our guilt and woe. The Sinless One must feel the shame of sin. The peace lover must dwell with strife, the truth must abide with falsehood, purity with vileness. Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust that transgression had brought, was torture to His spirit.
But the beautiful gift of Jesus to our human family is that He uncomplainingly endured all this anguish and suffering—without ever sinning—which culminated in His death on Calvary as He became “sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). His mind was ever stayed upon His Father’s will. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Let us allow His infinite love to constrain us to affectionate obedience to all of God’s commandments by the “faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12)—living by “every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The result of such complete surrender to Christ is that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life! “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
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Let's face it. When temptation comes, often the focus can go to circumstances or the weakness of self. But if we would learn to daily spend that "thoughtful hour" upon the life of Christ and commune with Him as a loving Friend, Savior, Guide and Shepherd, we would find His strength made perfect in our weakness by looking to His word that is unchanging! Jesus is always available and willing to help us to depend upon Him--the Word made flesh--so we could also resist temptation by continual union and communion with Him by grace through faith! In complete acquiescence to Christ we would experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, for such a total surrender allows the divine nature to be kept in the ascendancy over all the fallen nature's pull. Every temptation resisted only strengthens the character for greater trial and more acceptable service to God! What a miracle it is to be truly converted and walk in victory!! Follow Jesus in His victory, and His experience may be ours by the power of God's word!!
And how this is accomplished, Christ has shown us. By what means did He overcome in the conflict with Satan? By the word of God. Only by the word could He resist temptation. “It is written,” He said. And unto us are given “exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4. Every promise in God's word is ours. “By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” are we to live. When assailed by temptation, look not to circumstances or to the weakness of self, but to the power of the word. All its strength is yours. “Thy word,” says the psalmist, “have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” “By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Psalm 119:11; 17:4.
As we contemplate why Christ even came to this earth, it is helpful to remember that He was not facing temptation in heaven. But He saw our race in its fallen state, and moved by infinite love and pity, consented to come and become our Brother, to understand what we face, and to be tempted without ever yielding to sin so we could align our hearts and minds with His and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust! Praise God for the Savior we have in Jesus!!
Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand. And let us do all that we can to help others to gain heaven. We are to have an intense interest in Christ Jesus; for he is our Saviour. He came to this world to be tempted in all points as we are, to prove to the universe that in this world of sin human beings can live lives that God will approve.
Why is Jesus desiring to have the 144,000 prepared for translation (see Revelation 14:1-5)? Because it is a living, corporate demonstration of the power of His grace to transform sinners into saints and it lets the whole universe see that He was able to do this not just with Enoch and Elijah (already translated), but with those whose fallen natures were weakened by about 6,000 years of sin at a time when all the earthly resources are cut off from those who remain loyal to God (see Revelation 13:11-17). In short, it is a testimony that will be sung and studied forever in light of the cross, for only by the power of Christ could they overcome; only by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will such a company be enabled to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. The gospel is powerful enough to keep any soul from sinning who fully trusts Christ and is willing to spend that time with Him beholding Him so as to be changed into His image! Praise God for the witness of the everlasting gospel!!
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Temptation comes to all of us. What is a very wise way to handle it?
Often when Satan has failed of exciting distrust, he succeeds in leading us to presumption. If he can cause us to place ourselves unnecessarily in the way of temptation, he knows that the victory is his. God will preserve all who walk in the path of obedience; but to depart from it is to venture on Satan's ground. There we are sure to fall. The Saviour has bidden us, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.” Mark 14:38. Meditation and prayer would keep us from rushing unbidden into the way of danger, and thus we should be saved from many a defeat.
By watching and prayer we come to see the loveliness of Jesus while also realizing our need and helplessness. God will help us to walk in obedience as we surrender fully to Christ; such an experience of a converted character will glorify God by the witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing! Each of us can choose daily to make Jesus first, so that when Satan's temptations come, we can resist them by the mighty weapon, "It is written" (Matthew 4:4). The word of God is ALWAYS more powerful than Satan's deceptions and temptations!
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Happy Sabbath!!
It's preparation time!! Jesus is coming again VERY SOON, and the preparatory work that John the Baptist did in helping people see the necessity of heart holiness and entire surrender to God is again to be the emphasis in preparing a people to stand before God, clothed in His character!
Anciently, when a king journeyed through the less frequented parts of his dominion, a company of men was sent ahead of the royal chariot to level the steep places and to fill up the hollows, that the king might travel in safety and without hindrance. This custom is employed by the prophet to illustrate the work of the gospel. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” When the Spirit of God, with its marvelous awakening power, touches the soul, it abases human pride. Worldly pleasure and position and power are seen to be worthless. “Imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” are cast down; every thought is brought into captivity “to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5. Then humility and self-sacrificing love, so little valued among men, are exalted as alone of worth. This is the work of the gospel, of which John's message was a part. DA 135.1
The gospel has the power to change proud sinners into humble, repentant saints who love Jesus wholeheartedly and their neighbor as themselves. The witness of a life in which Christ abides reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with true obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments! May it be your experience to "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).
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Praise the Lord for the life and character of Jesus as a perfect Example for us to follow, especially in how to be "social to save." Christ mingled with people because He loved them and desired to bless them, not only desiring to bless them temporally, but most of all, with salvation! As we learn of Him, spending "a thoughtful hour" with Jesus each day in contemplation of His life and great sacrifice for us, we partake of His grace that makes it possible for us to partake of the divine nature which is reflected in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to God's commandments, eager to do God's will!
Jesus saw in every soul one to whom must be given the call to His kingdom. He reached the hearts of the people by going among them as one who desired their good. He sought them in the public streets, in private houses, on the boats, in the synagogue, by the shores of the lake, and at the marriage feast. He met them at their daily vocations, and manifested an interest in their secular affairs. He carried His instruction into the household, bringing families in their own homes under the influence of His divine presence. His strong personal sympathy helped to win hearts. He often repaired to the mountains for solitary prayer, but this was a preparation for His labor among men in active life. From these seasons He came forth to relieve the sick, to instruct the ignorant, and to break the chains from the captives of Satan.
Christ's invitation is open to us today to come and learn of Him. If we will, we will be truly blessed, and in turn go forth to bless others! "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
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Praise God for the cleansing of soul that Jesus offers us, in light of His cleansing of the earthly temple in His ministry when He came to this earth.
In the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,—from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. “The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver.” Malachi 3:1-3.
God is able to save to the uttermost to all who come unto Him by grace through faith, surrendering the whole heart to Christ and letting Him live out His life in and through them to be a blessing to others! All of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in the life of the converted soul who lets Jesus abide, cleansing the soul from sin, which is the transgression of the law of God! Will you let Jesus fully cleanse you? It will lead you to be the most blessed being possible, for God's ways are always better than the corrupting ways of the world, the flesh and the devil!
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We have a problem. By nature, our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them. But salvation is freely offered to us in Christ!
How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.
As we are truly converted, with lives that reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to God's law of love, our capacity for knowing and loving God only increases more and more!
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What is self-abnegation? In the life of John the Baptist, we see it beautifully illustrated!
Looking in faith to the Redeemer, John had risen to the height of self-abnegation. He sought not to attract men to himself, but to lift their thoughts higher and still higher, until they should rest upon the Lamb of God. He himself had been only a voice, a cry in the wilderness. Now with joy he accepted silence and obscurity, that the eyes of all might be turned to the Light of life.
When our lives are about Jesus--and not us--in fulfillment of the mission and the message to go to the whole world to prepare for Jesus' second coming (Revelation 14:6-12), as we look to the One who is alone worthy, our lives also may rise to the height of self-abnegation. True conversion brings the soul into harmony with God's law of love and reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing! As such, the heart is made pure and the desires and purposes are no longer about self, but about the selfless God whose purpose it is to bless others! May you find joy in experiencing what it means to truly live and say, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
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It is possible to be born again, to receive the living water, and to have Christ abiding in us to produce in the life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey the law of God up to the light He has revealed! Look to Jesus, and surrender all, and let His miraculous grace do a mighty work in you as you cooperate with Him moment-by-moment!
Here is declared the same truth that Jesus had revealed to Nicodemus when He said, “Except a man be born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3, margin. Not by seeking a holy mountain or a sacred temple are men brought into communion with heaven. Religion is not to be confined to external forms and ceremonies. The religion that comes from God is the only religion that will lead to God. In order to serve Him aright, we must be born of the divine Spirit. This will purify the heart and renew the mind, giving us a new capacity for knowing and loving God. It will give us a willing obedience to all His requirements. This is true worship. It is the fruit of the working of the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit every sincere prayer is indited, and such prayer is acceptable to God. Wherever a soul reaches out after God, there the Spirit's working is manifest, and God will reveal Himself to that soul. For such worshipers He is seeking. He waits to receive them, and to make them His sons and daughters.
There is no greater need than to be born again and walk in truth. Let us do all we can to help others come to this experience, like Jesus who met the woman at the well and offered her something better than anything this world can offer.
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How is your faith? Do you put conditions on whether you will fully believe God?
The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory,” and “the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
When we truly have "the faith of Jesus" our lives will be brought into harmony with "the commandments of God" (Revelation 14:12), for His faith sustained Him to trust His Father even through the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. Christ offers us salvation--and we need to realize that He hears our prayers, trusting Him to answer in the way He knows what is best for us. When we have unconditional faith by surrendering all to Him, letting Him produce in us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, the witness of God through each truly converted soul will be a great blessing!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us learn to keep this day holy in Christ after the example of Jesus!
Jesus stated to them that the work of relieving the afflicted was in harmony with the Sabbath law. It was in harmony with the work of God's angels, who are ever descending and ascending between heaven and earth to minister to suffering humanity. Jesus declared, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” All days are God's, in which to carry out His plans for the human race. If the Jews’ interpretation of the law was correct, then Jehovah was at fault, whose work has quickened and upheld every living thing since first He laid the foundations of the earth; then He who pronounced His work good, and instituted the Sabbath to commemorate its completion, must put a period to His labor, and stop the never-ending routine of the universe.
God ceaselessly lives to bless others! Praise God for the gift of an entire day to be devoted to healthful rest, holy worship, and holy deeds of blessing others! What joy we find in true conversion that results from fully surrendering all to Jesus and letting Him abide in us by grace through faith so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life! True obedience is the result of constant union and communion with the God of infinite love! May the gift of time from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, the biblical Sabbath, be the happiest day in your whole week!
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Let God lead.
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
He has the best plan; when we accept God's will above our own, Christ leads us in true conversion manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! We become obedient witnesses of His will to all in each and every trial!
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There are definite parallels.
As the message of Christ's first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
Let us live in readiness for Jesus' second coming! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life of one who fully surrenders to Christ in living faith and abides in His saving grace! Affectionately obedient to all of the light that God has revealed, God gives more light to those who walk in what they already have! "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18). Will you live in true readiness for Jesus' glorious second coming? He is coming VERY SOON!!
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Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). But why is it that so few in this fallen world really choose to follow Him?
Truth was unpopular in Christ's day. It is unpopular in our day. It has been unpopular ever since Satan first gave man a disrelish for it by presenting fables that lead to self-exaltation. Do we not today meet theories and doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God? Men cling as tenaciously to them as did the Jews to their traditions.
Satan tempts people to seek self-exalting theories and ideas, and ever since our first parents' fall, our natures have been in such a condition that we have a tendency towards self rather than unselfish love and truth. It is important for us to realize our need, come to Christ just as we are, and let Him transform our hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit so as we choose truth (even if it rebukes us and calls us to change). Then, in such a complete surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life, and the abiding soul is enabled to affectionately obey God's law of love to thus overcome sin by the divine grace offered in Christ!
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Love is like fire, and when it burns in the heart, it will ignite the lives of those touched by the constraining love of Jesus. "For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29).
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
Christ longs to impart His very life, character and experience to us. As we surrender unreservedly to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow in and through our lives to glorify Him in true obedience to all of His commandments! Then the missionary spirit of Christ will move us forward in faith that works by love to win souls who need healing from sin, so they, too, can be ignited with the holy fire of God's unselfish love!
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"It is written" (Matthew 4:4). We can always safely rely on the word of God, and that is why Jesus, the Word, taught the Scriptures as of unquestionable authority and called all to make it the rule of life, surrendering the will to the sovereignty of unselfish love whereby the life is transformed by His converting, redeeming grace. A living faith union and communion with Christ brings love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance in all righteousness, goodness and truth into the life without one missing because the abiding power in the soul is "Christ in you, the hope of glory." (Colossians 1:27).
Jesus met the people on their own ground, as one who was acquainted with their perplexities. He made truth beautiful by presenting it in the most direct and simple way. His language was pure, refined, and clear as a running stream. His voice was as music to those who had listened to the monotonous tones of the rabbis. But while His teaching was simple, He spoke as one having authority. This characteristic set His teaching in contrast with that of all others. The rabbis spoke with doubt and hesitancy, as if the Scriptures might be interpreted to mean one thing or exactly the opposite. The hearers were daily involved in greater uncertainty. But Jesus taught the Scriptures as of unquestionable authority. Whatever His subject, it was presented with power, as if His words could not be controverted.
We would do well to follow the Example of Jesus in how we share His word. Uplift the Bible as the rule of faith and practice, bring its words of life into the daily experience, and souls will be blessed and refreshed to have new life and power from above--the power of God's love in the soul!
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He can do it. Let Him. Believe Him. Behold Him. Surrender fully to Him. Abide in Him. Let Jesus FULLY cleanse you from every stain of sin!
The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin. The man who came to Jesus was “full of leprosy.” Its deadly poison permeated his whole body. The disciples sought to prevent their Master from touching him; for he who touched a leper became himself unclean. But in laying His hand upon the leper, Jesus received no defilement. His touch imparted life-giving power. The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin,—deep-rooted, deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores.” Isaiah 1:5, 6. But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, “Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean,” shall hear the answer, “I will; be thou made clean.” Matthew 8:2, 3, R. V.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is abiding in Jesus. No matter how weak or sinful we may be, Christ offers us the cleansing and healing that we need to become like Him in mind and character so we can not only affectionately obey God's law of love, but we can go forth to bless others who need encouraging words, holy deeds, and godly examples of genuine Christianity!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us allow Jesus to empty us of self so we can partake of His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with the law of God!
“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.
Christ will safely guide each one in the path that is best! What an adventure life becomes with Jesus!
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Truth needs to be placed in the right framework. Jesus did that, and He invites us to do that, too!
The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity.
As we receive the truth as it is in Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will burst forth from the thoroughly converted life in rich profusion, taking away all wretched, miserable, poor, blind nakedness that is caused by sin and self-deception! Praise God for the goodness He lavishes upon us to woo us to heaven and lead us in the most blessed experience possible! Christ in the life--this is the power of the gospel for all who surrender unreservedly to Him and walk in true obedience to all of His commandments! Christ's ministry to restore the true purpose of the Sabbath and keep it according to God's law shows us the blessedness that comes from fulfilling the Father's will!
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Praise God for His willingness to use us!
God takes men as they are, with the human elements in their character, and trains them for His service, if they will be disciplined and learn of Him. They are not chosen because they are perfect, but notwithstanding their imperfections, that through the knowledge and practice of the truth, through the grace of Christ, they may become transformed into His image.
Jesus can transform us into His image as we behold His infinite loveliness! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life and character of all who are truly converted, surrendered fully, and growing in His grace to seek and save souls!
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Where is the great battle of life really fought and won? It is a THOUGHT WAR! And thankfully, Jesus offers us His thoughts, His mind, and His victory over all the deceptive, evil thoughts that come from Satan and what the devil has corrupted through lust--the world and the flesh. Let us yield our WHOLE HEART to Christ and abide in His word, for His word is more powerful than Satan's temptations to think ungodly thoughts. Tempted? Welcome to being human! But being tempted is not a sin--it is what you DO WITH THE THOUGHT that matters. If it contradicts the word of God, resist it as proceeding from Satan, and do not cherish it as your own thought. Choose holy, godly thoughts by filling your mind with the word of God, beholding the loveliness of Jesus, and by beholding, you will become changed! That is why it would be well to spend a thoughtful hour upon the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes of His great sacrifice for us! For when we do behold Christ, our souls will be more deeply filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we surrender unreservedly to God! Let's walk in the thought life of victory that leads to holy motives, deeds and emotions that flow from union and communion with Christ through His living, enduring word!
The merciful shall find mercy, and the pure in heart shall see God. Every impure thought defiles the soul, impairs the moral sense, and tends to obliterate the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It dims the spiritual vision, so that men cannot behold God. The Lord may and does forgive the repenting sinner; but though forgiven, the soul is marred. All impurity of speech or of thought must be shunned by him who would have clear discernment of spiritual truth.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). Will you let Christ give you His mind? He yearns to give you His experience of victory over Satan--CONSTANTLY!!
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Are you worthy? In the way the Jewish leaders approach Jesus, in contrast to the self-distrust manifested by the Centurion, we learn a valuable lesson about the nature of how we can approach God for help. (He is not asking for you to bring a resume--but just admit you need His help!)
The Jewish elders who recommended the centurion to Christ had shown how far they were from possessing the spirit of the gospel. They did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God's mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to “our nation.” But the centurion said of himself, “I am not worthy.” His heart had been touched by the grace of Christ. He saw his own unworthiness; yet he feared not to ask help. He trusted not to his own goodness; his argument was his great need. His faith took hold upon Christ in His true character. He did not believe in Him merely as a worker of miracles, but as the friend and Saviour of mankind.
Christ is a friend and Saviour, inviting all to come to Him just as they are, sinful and unworthy. His divine grace has power to transform the rebellious heart of unbelief that is fully surrendered to Him into a new heart filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! The converted soul is made worthy through the merits of Christ in such a humble way that the glory goes to God--not self.
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Jesus is very near!
All who would receive Christ by faith were united to Him by a tie closer than that of human kinship. They would become one with Him, as He was one with the Father. As a believer and doer of His words, His mother was more nearly and savingly related to Him than through her natural relationship. His brothers would receive no benefit from their connection with Him unless they accepted Him as their personal Saviour.
As we surrender unreservedly to Jesus by opening the heart to His presence through the word of God, the Holy Spirit imbues us with the divine nature, so that every one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) will be manifest in the abiding, converted life!  Then affectionate obedience is the fruit of a life that is happy in the divine relation of our heavenly Father leading us, our Savior delivering us from sin and the Holy Spirit, keeping us in the path of righteousness!
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Praise God for what Jesus gives as we come to Him in faith!
"Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.
When Jesus sets us free from sin as we surrender completely to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life, for Christ living in us makes it possible to live in obedience to His law of love!
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Happy Sabbath!! Are you praising God for the trials and difficulties He has allowed in your life for purposes of mercy? Well, as we reflect on the swine's destruction after the healing of the demoniacs, it is clear that God still had a loving purpose through the trial they experienced. He was seeking to deliver the owners of the swine from a condition that is often very perilous--the spiritual condition of selfish indifference. When you feel no need, and yet you are lost, what can God do? Well, often He allows trials to awaken us to a higher sense of need, to realize that the unseen realities of eternal life and death (facing each soul, and determined by the choices we make) are more important than the temporal things we can see with our eyes. Let us realize the love of God in EVERYTHING He has permitted in our lives!!
It was in mercy to the owners of the swine that this loss had been permitted to come upon them. They were absorbed in earthly things, and cared not for the great interests of spiritual life. Jesus desired to break the spell of selfish indifference, that they might accept His grace. But regret and indignation for their temporal loss blinded their eyes to the Saviour's mercy.
Let's not be upset when things do not go as we may have hoped. Let us remember Romans 8:28, "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." As we surrender the ENTIRE heart to Jesus, He can replace the evil heart of unbelief that is "desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9) with the "new heart" (Ezekiel 36:26) offered us by His converting grace. Beholding the loveliness of Jesus, we can be transformed into the image of His character to reflect all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--for this is the evidence of His presence abiding in the soul that is empowered to continually affectionately obey Him up to the light of truth He has revealed! Praise God for the miracle of grace to transform sinners into saints to be bless the Lord, the world, and the universe by such a witness!
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Would you like to save more souls? Then cooperate with Jesus by sharing the testimony of His faithfulness to you in your own experience, full of the Holy Spirit by continual surrender of all you have and are to 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.
Seeing a person so filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance--without one of these traits of the Holy Spirit missing even in the most trying and exciting circumstances--is a POWERFUL witness to win souls to Christ!
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Don't doubt God's love--even if you have fallen into sin!
It is Satan's work to fill men's hearts with doubt. He leads them to look upon God as a stern judge. He tempts them to sin, and then to regard themselves as too vile to approach their heavenly Father or to excite His pity. The Lord understands all this. Jesus assures His disciples of God's sympathy for them in their needs and weaknesses. Not a sigh is breathed, not a pain felt, not a grief pierces the soul, but the throb vibrates to the Father's heart.
"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). God's goodness leads us to repentance, and it is as we behold the loveliness of Jesus that we come to discern God's character of infinite love. Yielding fully to Christ, a miracle takes place in the heart to convert it from rebellious, deceptive unbelief (accompanied by the works of the flesh--see Galatians 5:19-21), to replace it with a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) by the washing of the water of His word (Ephesians 5:26) to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23). Will you let God give you this experience of victory, trusting He also can keep you from falling back into sin?
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What a gift! Christ is able to give us His experience of character victory!
In Christ the cry of humanity reached the Father of infinite pity. As a man He supplicated the throne of God till His humanity was charged with a heavenly current that should connect humanity with divinity. Through continual communion He received life from God, that He might impart life to the world. His experience is to be ours.
Let us come to Christ just as we are, behold His infinite loveliness, trust fully in His divine grace by a full-heart surrender, and allow all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing to flow through our lives as the result of constant union and communion of our souls with Him! Gladly we can obey the One who gave all heaven to save us in Jesus!
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Praise God for the way He provides!
The means in our possession may not seem to be sufficient for the work; but if we will move forward in faith, believing in the all-sufficient power of God, abundant resources will open before us. If the work be of God, He Himself will provide the means for its accomplishment. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. The little that is wisely and economically used in the service of the Lord of heaven will increase in the very act of imparting. In the hand of Christ the small supply of food remained undiminished until the famished multitude were satisfied. If we go to the Source of all strength, with our hands of faith outstretched to receive, we shall be sustained in our work, even under the most forbidding circumstances, and shall be enabled to give to others the bread of life.
As we impart to others from the overflow of His blessings to us, we find joy in seeing others drawn to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the converted life that is fully surrendered to Jesus, and we can experience the joy of divine communion with Him as we go forth in the path of true obedience to all of His commandments! Giving the bread of life to others becomes our greatest joy when we have first learned to "taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psalm 34:8).
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It's not always the way it seems. If you were in the crowd after the feeding of the five thousand, it may have seemed like the "perfect" opportunity to seize the enthusiasm and crown Jesus king! But that wasn't the kind of king Jesus came to be. While many expected an earthly conquerer to deliver Israel from the Romans, Christ actually came to be a perfect sacrifice and lay down His life at the cross. He came to establish the kingdom of heaven in the hearts of those who would let Him save them from sin. But because the misunderstanding of the nature of Christ's kingdom was so strong, Christ commanded the crowd to disperse, sent His disciples away to cross the lake, and then sought solace in the Father's presence to help solve the crisis that necessitated serious heart work for the people and His own disciples.
When left alone, Jesus “went up into a mountain apart to pray.” For hours He continued pleading with God. Not for Himself but for men were those prayers. He prayed for power to reveal to men the divine character of His mission, that Satan might not blind their understanding and pervert their judgment. The Saviour knew that His days of personal ministry on earth were nearly ended, and that few would receive Him as their Redeemer. In travail and conflict of soul He prayed for His disciples. They were to be grievously tried. Their long-cherished hopes, based on a popular delusion, were to be disappointed in a most painful and humiliating manner. In the place of His exaltation to the throne of David they were to witness His crucifixion. This was to be indeed His true coronation. But they did not discern this, and in consequence strong temptations would come to them, which it would be difficult for them to recognize as temptations. Without the Holy Spirit to enlighten the mind and enlarge the comprehension the faith of the disciples would fail. It was painful to Jesus that their conceptions of His kingdom were, to so great a degree, limited to worldly aggrandizement and honor. For them the burden was heavy upon His heart, and He poured out His supplications with bitter agony and tears.
Similar temptations still exist today. The world clamors for our attention, and we need a daily, fresh conversion to overcome sin and realize that the second coming of Jesus is not merely about being delivered from this present evil world, but about first being cleansed from sin while Christ is still ministering as our High Priest! If we are still sinning at Christ's return, we will be lost. But if we overcome as we heed His counsel (Revelation 3:14-22), we have nothing to fear for the future as we remember what He has done for us and His teaching in our past history. Jesus is still praying for us at this present time. "Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). The Holy Spirit is also praying for us. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26). If we avail ourselves of the divine help offered us, we can resist the temptation to put the wrong emphasis on things in these last days, and realize that Christ is very delirious to develop in us His loveliness of character as we abide in Him. A truly converted soul will reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and like Christ, will be able to be patient and cheerful in a life of true obedience to all of God's commandments! Let's walk in the victory of Jesus!
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As we look to Christ for healing nourishment for our souls, salvation is sure if we do surrender to Him and walk in true obedience as the fruit of an abiding faith in Him! Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance are the character traits--the fruits of the Spirit--that come into the heart in which Christ abides, dispelling the works of the flesh as a miracle of grace! Love is a decision of a sanctified will, so CHOOSE to come to Christ and CHOOSE to love Him who first loved you! He has plans for you that SPAN ETERNITY!!!
The people had referred Christ to the manna which their fathers ate in the wilderness, as if the furnishing of that food was a greater miracle than Jesus had performed; but He shows how meager was that gift when compared with the blessings He had come to bestow. The manna could sustain only this earthly existence; it did not prevent the approach of death, nor insure immortality; but the bread of heaven would nourish the soul unto everlasting life. The Saviour said, “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.” To this figure Christ now adds another. Only through dying could He impart life to men, and in the words that follow He points to His death as the means of salvation. He says, “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
As we receive the bread of life, not only are we spiritually nourished, but we are enabled to give to others the blessings we have received in Christ, helping to advance His kingdom that endures forever but is only available to each person during the period of their probation. TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION! Do not delay a complete surrender to Him! Let us use every moment for God's glory by abiding in Him constantly!
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Happy Sabbath! Jesus loves us so much, and He desires us to serve Him out of love as we come to better understand that all He has called us to do in His word is for our best good and the furthering of the kingdom of God! May we still be true to principle even if others around us are struggling or have not yet been converted. Christ is a perfect Example of faithfulness in every situation, and as our Savior He enables us to walk even as He walked.
Never, by word or deed, did Jesus lessen man's obligation to present gifts and offerings to God. It was Christ who gave all the directions of the law in regard to tithes and offerings. When on earth He commended the poor woman who gave her all to the temple treasury. But the apparent zeal for God on the part of the priests and rabbis was a pretense to cover their desire for self-aggrandizement. The people were deceived by them. They were bearing heavy burdens which God had not imposed. Even the disciples of Christ were not wholly free from the yoke that had been bound upon them by inherited prejudice and rabbinical authority. Now, by revealing the true spirit of the rabbis, Jesus sought to free from the bondage of tradition all who were really desirous of serving God.
When we really desire to serve God, Jesus makes the way clear through His word as to how we can do that. We can come to Him in simple faith, believe that He forgives our sins as we truly repent and choose to trust His divine grace to make us new creatures with new hearts manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then true obedience to all of the light of God's law becomes our delight!
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What is faith? Well, let's allow the woman of Phoenicia to illustrate faith!
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.
"Faith which worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6) is a decision to surrender to God's word and act upon it because we discern He loves us, and the reason the woman's daughter was healed had to do with her earnest faith and perseverance. We need to go forward against all discouragements and obstacles that seem to get in the way of exercising faith, humbly act upon what God says as we realize His word has the creative power of God to produce in us His purposes, and walk in His will daily. When we live by faith on the Son of God, the heart is made pure (Ezekiel 36:26, Psalm 51:10) and renewed with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23), keeping the works of the flesh crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, 5:19-21) and enabling affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments (John 14:15, Exodus 20:1-17)! Faith is willing to yield fully to God and move forward in His mission, experiencing His healing in His timing, trusting He knows what is best (Proverbs 3:5-6)!
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What is the true sign of God's working? It's a life changed by grace through faith that consistently reveals the working of the Holy Spirit in true repentance of sin and true conversion of the heart to make it pure, leading to a life of true obedience to all of God's commandments as the fruits of the Spirit will be in the life without one missing. May you let God give you such a life by beholding Christ
When the message of truth is presented in our day, there are many who, like the Jews, cry, Show us a sign. Work us a miracle. Christ wrought no miracle at the demand of the Pharisees. He wrought no miracle in the wilderness in answer to Satan's insinuations. He does not impart to us power to vindicate ourselves or to satisfy the demands of unbelief and pride. But the gospel is not without a sign of its divine origin. Is it not a miracle that we can break from the bondage of Satan? Enmity against Satan is not natural to the human heart; it is implanted by the grace of God. When one who has been controlled by a stubborn, wayward will is set free, and yields himself wholeheartedly to the drawing of God's heavenly agencies, a miracle is wrought; so also when a man who has been under strong delusion comes to understand moral truth. Every time a soul is converted, and learns to love God and keep His commandments, the promise of God is fulfilled, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” Ezekiel 36:26. The change in human hearts, the transformation of human characters, is a miracle that reveals an ever-living Saviour, working to rescue souls. A consistent life in Christ is a great miracle. In the preaching of the word of God, the sign that should be manifest now and always is the presence of the Holy Spirit, to make the word a regenerating power to those that hear. This is God's witness before the world to the divine mission of His Son.
God's word will not return to Him void. Let us unite our will with His by fully surrendering to Jesus and cooperating with His word so He can fulfill His purposes through us!
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There great controversy between Christ and Satan is raging, and it is manifest in every experience of life. As Christ revealed His sufferings and death, Peter sought to shield His loved Master from such an experience, saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee" (Matthew 16:22). But Peter did not originate that impulsive thought. It came from Satan. We need to be VERY alert to where thoughts are coming from. If ANYTHING that comes to your mind contradicts what God says, IT IS FROM SATAN. Then it is necessary AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to resist that thought and replace it with the truth from God. "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). As we see the way Jesus dealt with the experience with Peter (as Satan was definitely after him), we also realize that Satan was seeking to pull Jesus away from His mission by discouragement.
Satan was trying to discourage Jesus, and turn Him from His mission; and Peter, in his blind love, was giving voice to the temptation. The prince of evil was the author of the thought. His instigation was behind that impulsive appeal. In the wilderness, Satan had offered Christ the dominion of the world on condition of forsaking the path of humiliation and sacrifice. Now he was presenting the same temptation to the disciple of Christ. He was seeking to fix Peter's gaze upon the earthly glory, that he might not behold the cross to which Jesus desired to turn his eyes. And through Peter, Satan was again pressing the temptation upon Jesus. But the Saviour heeded it not; His thought was for His disciple. Satan had interposed between Peter and his Master, that the heart of the disciple might not be touched at the vision of Christ's humiliation for him. The words of Christ were spoken, not to Peter, but to the one who was trying to separate him from his Redeemer. “Get thee behind Me, Satan.” No longer interpose between Me and My erring servant. Let Me come face to face with Peter, that I may reveal to him the mystery of My love.
Satan is trying the same tactics on us, too. He seeks to get us so focused on earthly things that we fail to value the self-sacrifice of Christ as manifest in all of His life. It is as we behold Christ's self-sacrifice that renunciation of self can be made possible. Yielding all to His love, our hearts can be converted by His grace so that all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered to obey God's law of love up to the light He has shown us. We will find it our highest delight to do His service as long as we are in continual union and communion with Christ!
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Wonderful it is to contemplate what the second coming of Jesus will be like! In what took place at Jesus' transfiguration, we have a sneak preview of His kingdom and who will be there! Both the resurrected and translated saints who have experienced the power of converting, transforming grace are there as witnesses to glorify God!
Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ's victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ's second coming, and who will be “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump;” when “this mortal must put on immortality,” and “this corruptible must put on incorruption.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come “the second time without sin unto salvation.” For He will come “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Saviour's promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature,—Christ the King, Moses a representative of the risen saints, and Elijah of the translated ones.
Jesus loves all of us, and as we yield to Him and receive the Holy Spirit into our hearts, we have a foretaste of heaven in our experience, for heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ! What a joy it is to walk with Jesus in obedience to all of His commandments by a living witness of genuine conversion that reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Walking with Him day by day, even though the time of trouble is on the prophetic horizon, it is as we give the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, heed the call to true revival and reformation in Revelation 3:14-22, and live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4) that we can assuredly know that we have nothing to fear for the future as we do not forget how the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history! JESUS IS COMING VERY SOON!!!
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What a mighty deliverance!
Jesus turns to the suffering one, and says, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.” There is a cry, an agonized struggle. The demon, in passing, seems about to rend the life from his victim. Then the boy lies motionless, and apparently lifeless. The multitude whisper, “He is dead.” But Jesus takes him by the hand, and lifting him up, presents him, in perfect soundness of mind and body, to his father. Father and son praise the name of their Deliverer. The multitude are “amazed at the mighty power of God,” while the scribes, defeated and crestfallen, turn sullenly away.
Christ longs to take all who are oppressed by Satan and make them whole! He can restore our lives fully as we surrender unreservedly to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are received into the life that lets Jesus give the new heart of faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Glad obedience to His commandments is the fruit of genuine faith and spiritual restoration to the image of God!
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What a blessing it is to abide in Jesus in true humility! When we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are enabled by His divine grace to obey God's law like a little child is eager to obey his parents!
Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heaven chooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly place before God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor for God. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls. He who feels most deeply his need of divine aid will plead for it; and the Holy Spirit will give unto him glimpses of Jesus that will strengthen and uplift the soul. From communion with Christ he will go forth to work for those who are perishing in their sins. He is anointed for his mission; and he succeeds where many of the learned and intellectually wise would fail.
Praise God for the wonderful blessing of growing in grace and strength as we walk with Him in faith that works by love!
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Happy Sabbath! It would follow logically that the Creator understands what we really need to be happy in life. Let's come to Him just as we are and let Him transform our lives into the loveliness of His image!
Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor cannot satisfy the heart. “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me.” The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, “If any man thirst,” startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation.
When the Holy Spirit fills the life that is completely surrendered to God, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow forth in the life like living water to bless others. True obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments is a delight because it is the expression of love. Instead of trying to find satisfaction in things that pass away, we can find true satisfaction in intimate union and communion of our souls with Christ as we gladly accept His gifts as tokens to bind us closer to Him!
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God loves to give NEW BEGINNINGS!! No matter what your past has been, you can start fresh with Jesus by fully surrendering to Him so He can imbue you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as you abide in His pure, holy love which constrains you to true obedience to all of His commandments! God is so gracious! We see this clearly in the way Jesus pardoned and empowered the woman who was caught in adultery, but was enabled by the grace of God to start a new chapter of life in union and communion with the Savior!
This was to her the beginning of a new life, a life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God. In the uplifting of this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease; He cured the spiritual malady which is unto death everlasting. This penitent woman became one of His most steadfast followers. With self-sacrificing love and devotion she repaid His forgiving mercy.
As we go forth on missions of mercy, may our lives exude the compassion of Christ to invite souls to be pardoned from past sin, to encourage them walk in victory over sin, and experience a new life in God's will and way!
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Our greatest need is to be set free from sin and restored to the image of God. And Christ makes this possible by the Holy Spirit to all who desire that freedom and are wiling to ask for His power to give strength to confess and forsake sin and be cleansed from its defilement. In place of the old sinful heart of unbelief (Jeremiah 17:9), Christ gives a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) and imparts His very life into the soul by the Holy Spirit, bringing all of the fruits of His divine attributes of character (Galatians 5:22-23) without one missing! Then obedience to all of God's commandments that was before an impossibility in an unconverted state becomes the highest delight of the one born again by the word of God, and His word endures forever!
In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.
As we respond to the light of Christ shining upon our souls, it is imperative that we realize our CONTINUAL need of Jesus to do any good thing. It is not enough to be converted at one point in our experience. We need a daily baptism of the Holy Spirit and a continual willingness to do the will of God. As long as we are abiding in Christ, we will be enabled to do His will from the new heart because we are partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Such a living witness invites others to come and experience the freedom that can only be known from walking in the light of true obedience, growing in grace and strength as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and resist sin in a life of joyful service to bless the Lord and others!
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Let's look up to Jesus, our great High Priest in the sanctuary in heaven! He is still the Shepherd of His people and desires to lead us in the path that is best! Trust Him fully with your entire life, invite Him to take away your sin and give you a new heart, and let the Holy Spirit flow through your life the very attributes of His divine nature--love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance without one of the fruit of the Spirit missing as you live by faith on the Son of God!
Though now He has ascended to the presence of God, and shares the throne of the universe, Jesus has lost none of His compassionate nature. Today the same tender, sympathizing heart is open to all the woes of humanity. Today the hand that was pierced is reached forth to bless more abundantly His people that are in the world. “And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” The soul that has given himself to Christ is more precious in His sight than the whole world. The Saviour would have passed through the agony of Calvary that one might be saved in His kingdom. He will never abandon one for whom He has died. Unless His followers choose to leave Him, He will hold them fast.
Being kept by Jesus is the safest place to be. Let Him lead you in the center of His will moment-by-moment all the way to heaven! While we are pilgrims and strangers in this life, we are His ambassadors to reveal His character and invite as many as possible to be saved into His everlasting kingdom! Christ is coming soon and has given us His everlasting gospel message that is to go to the world (Revelation 14:6-12)! The greatest joy is in seeing another soul respond to Christ and become a new creature in Him!
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Let us not neglect the light of heaven-sent truth! As we are given opportunity to know and follow truth, let us act on it, and not sin willfully, for this grieves the Holy Spirit. As we come to Christ just as we are and are drawn by His loveliness, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life that yields fully to Him! Because we love Him, we will be empowered to obey Him up to the light He has revealed to us!
The True Witness says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock.” Revelation 3:20. Every warning, reproof, and entreaty in the word of God or through His messengers is a knock at the door of the heart. It is the voice of Jesus asking for entrance. With every knock unheeded, the disposition to open becomes weaker. The impressions of the Holy Spirit if disregarded today, will not be as strong tomorrow. The heart becomes less impressible, and lapses into a perilous unconsciousness of the shortness of life, and of the great eternity beyond. Our condemnation in the judgment will not result from the fact that we have been in error, but from the fact that we have neglected heaven-sent opportunities for learning what is truth.
God is so good to us and is patient with us, and He calls us to surrender because His light is the best way to live! Apart from Him, we perish. Let us abide in Jesus!!
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As we become imbued with the Holy Spirit by surrendering fully to Christ's saving grace and partake of the divine nature, God calls us to ministry!
“Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness.” Galatians 6:1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing balsam to the bruised and wounded one. Many, many, have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God.
There are souls in need all around us. With the overflow of genuine conversion manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we are empowered to go forth to seek and save the lost in a continual union and communion with Christ! Praise God that there will be more souls in heaven as a result of us cooperating with Christ in His unselfish ministry!
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Let's help build up the kingdom of God by following Christ's method that brings true success!
Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ's nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13. Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practicing of the word of God.
When Jesus is received as a personal Savior from sin into the life and we abide in Him, His kingdom of grace begins in our hearts and we partake of His divine nature which is revealed in true obedience to God's commandments up to the light we have received with the accompanying witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing! As such a complete surrender is continued in the Christian life, we can go from victory to victory in extending the triumph of the cross, for Jesus is coming very soon to take His converted children home!
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Happy Sabbath! Look to Jesus, the Pattern of godly character for us to follow! By surrendering fully to Him, He gives us a new heart and mind imbued with the Holy Spirit so love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith and temperance flow forth in the life without one of the traits of the divine nature missing!
Jesus was the pattern for children, and He was also the father's example. He spoke as one having authority, and His word was with power; yet in all His intercourse with rude and violent men He did not use one unkind or discourteous expression. The grace of Christ in the heart will impart a heaven-born dignity and sense of propriety. It will soften whatever is harsh, and subdue all that is coarse and unkind. It will lead fathers and mothers to treat their children as intelligent beings, as they themselves would like to be treated.
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Let us heed the golden rule and be a blessing to others by abiding in Jesus! True obedience to His law of love comes from beholding Him and being changed into His image, from glory to glory, from character to character!
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It makes SO MUCH SENSE!
When we surrender fully to Jesus, we get to share the joy of winning souls so they can experience the blessedness of living forever with Him and be forever with the angels and all the redeemed! It is akin to insanity to hold on to the temporary, passing pleasures of this life and refuse to fully surrender to Christ, who knows what is best and plans for the good of His creatures! There is far greater joy in His service than any worldly, temporary attraction; the Bible calls it the attempt to "enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25), but without Christ in the heart, even in those "pleasures" (so-called) there is a lack of peace in the heart. What good is that? "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isaiah 57:21). Sadly, when the rich young ruler turned away from Jesus' affectionate call to obey Him in everything as would be evinced in selling all he had so the young man could go full-time in ministry with Jesus, he turned away. His high position and riches were his idol, and he chose the things that pass away instead of the things that last for eternity. What will last for eternity? The word of God and the souls who are redeemed by it. That includes your soul if you choose to surrender fully to Jesus! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life because the heart is the abiding place for Jesus! In true obedience to all of God's commandments, selfless ministry becomes the highest delight of those who know the true riches--godly character and the winning of souls!!
When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; ... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, “Follow Me.”
So let's do what makes sense. Let's surrender ALL TO JESUS!!! You will NOT regret it--for the rest of eternity!!!
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Christ has set the example as to how we are do all things--in cooperation with Him, as He did all things in cooperation with the Father. So it is with us. "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building" (1 Corinthians 3:9). In surrendering fully to the Holy Spirit, confessing and forsaking every sin that He has revealed, and walking in all the light He has shown us, we become imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so we are truly effectual laborers together with God for the fulfillment of His mission to bless and save.
In all that He did, Christ was co-operating with His Father. Ever He had been careful to make it evident that He did not work independently; it was by faith and prayer that He wrought His miracles. Christ desired all to know His relationship with His Father. “Father,” He said, “I thank Thee that Thou hast heard Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” Here the disciples and the people were to be given the most convincing evidence in regard to the relationship existing between Christ and God. They were to be shown that Christ's claim was not a deception.
By faith and prayer God is still willing to do miracles through us as we cooperate with Jesus by the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father. While Christ in cooperation with the Father raised Lazarus from the dead, is it not a great miracle that we can be resurrected from spiritual death and live a consistent life in Christ in cooperation with Him by the Holy Spirit? We need to be in such close union and communion with God that we are discerning what His plans are so His mission goes forward in the power of the Holy Spirit!
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Fighting against God? Sounds insane! That's what was going on among the religious leaders trying to plan the death of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. Seriously--how would killing the Man who can raise the dead prevent Him from coming back from the dead? Satan imbued the minds of those fighting against the convicting, wooing voice of the Holy Spirit. Satan is a liar. Let's NOT LISTEN TO OR ACT UPON HIS LIES!!
In this council, assembled to plan the death of Christ, the Witness was present who heard the boastful words of Nebuchadnezzar, who witnessed the idolatrous feast of Belshazzar, who was present when Christ in Nazareth announced Himself the Anointed One. This Witness was now impressing the rulers with the work they were doing. Events in the life of Christ rose up before them with a distinctness that alarmed them. They remembered the scene in the temple, when Jesus, then a child of twelve, stood before the learned doctors of the law, asking them questions at which they wondered. The miracle just performed bore witness that Jesus was none other than the Son of God. In their true significance, the Old Testament Scriptures regarding Christ flashed before their minds. Perplexed and troubled, the rulers asked, “What do we?” There was a division in the council. Under the impression of the Holy Spirit, the priests and rulers could not banish the conviction that they were fighting against God.
And the evidence is left for us to choose who we will follow. Jesus only desires to bless us and save us from sin, giving us the eternity of bliss He has planned for us. Satan only desires to steal, kill and destroy us. Do we have any reason to doubt the goodness of God or the wickedness of Satan? Remember--anything that contradicts the word of God proceeds from Satan, so the safest thing to do is to FILL YOUR MIND AND HEART with ALL of God's word so you can walk in harmony with the "divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) as you surrender fully to Christ! As you fully surrender to Christ as you are motivated by His infinite loveliness, He will imbue you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as your life is empowered to true obedience to all of God's commandments! Walking with Jesus in His will is FAR BETTER than trying to fight against God.
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Let’s cheerfully follow Jesus’ example of living to bless others by surrendering fully to Him! He motivates and empowers us to obey Him out of love and live with all of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives without one missing!
“The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Among His disciples Christ was in every sense a caretaker, a burden bearer. He shared their poverty, He practiced self-denial on their account, He went before them to smooth the more difficult places, and soon He would consummate His work on earth by laying down His life. The principle on which Christ acted is to actuate the members of the church which is His body. The plan and ground of salvation is love. In the kingdom of Christ those are greatest who follow the example He has given, and act as shepherds of His flock.
“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
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Praise the Lord! We can receive Jesus as a personal Savior and what a difference He makes in our lives! We become NEW in heart and mind (taking away the old evil heart of unbelief) and He fills us with the Holy Spirit so love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and righteousness in truth burst forth from our converted lives like living waters, blessing ALL WHOM WE MEET!! Not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing as long as we are abiding in Jesus in a living faith surrender and walking in all the light of His truth He has given us! Stay connected and let God send you forth as a missionary!!
It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.
When we know who we are in Christ, and we have no doubt of God's goodness or of His power to save, deliver and guide in each situation we face, what have we to fear? Let us not allow any sin to sever the vital union and communion of our souls with Christ! He is SO GOOD TO SAVE US FROM SIN!! Let others know what Jesus has done for you if you have indeed chosen to go ALL IN for Jesus like Zacchaeus did! Hallelujah!!!
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The work of Mary was just the lesson the disciples needed to show them that the expression of their love for Him would be pleasing to Christ. He had been everything to them, and they did not realize that soon they would be deprived of His presence, that soon they could offer Him no token of their gratitude for His great love. The loneliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living the life of humanity, was never understood or appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. He was often grieved because His disciples did not give Him that which He should have received from them. He knew that if they were under the influence of the heavenly angels that accompanied Him, they too would think no offering of sufficient value to declare the heart’s spiritual affection.
Let’s allow Jesus to fill our hearts with His converting love to overflow in being a blessing as He first blessed us! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life that is fully surrendered to Him! Let’s show Jesus our heart’s spiritual affection who left heaven to make heaven accessible to us by His great sacrifice!
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Happy Sabbath! Let us learn prophetic parallels from the past in light of Christ's ministry!
When Jesus came to Jerusalem in His triumphal entry, He yearned over the people that they would come to repentance and accept His salvation. But so few would respond, and as a nation, the Jewish people were plotting His death that would take Him to the cross. It was not too late while Christ was heading to Jerusalem for the people to repent.
Yet again the Spirit of God speaks to Jerusalem. Before the day is done, another testimony is borne to Christ. The voice of witness is lifted up, responding to the call from a prophetic past. If Jerusalem will hear the call, if she will receive the Saviour who is entering her gates, she may yet be saved.
So today, Christ addresses His church, calling for true repentance:
Revelation 3:14-22: "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
Those who choose to heed Jesus' call to true repentance recognize that they continually need His abiding presence in the soul, and when there is an entire surrender to Christ of the whole heart, the power of the Holy Spirit in the soul produces all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the converted child of God walks in all the light that is shining upon the pathway in true, affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments. Then, just as Christ yearned over Jerusalem, God's people will feel a yearning desire for the conversion of the souls in the world, so many of whom are lost and do not know Jesus. Then the Holy Spirit empowers the giving of the final message of warning to the world, so they, too, can respond to Christ and be saved before it is too late, and Sunday laws are passed that, if accepted, signify allegiance to earthly powers over loyalty and worship to Christ who calls us to keep holy the seventh day Sabbath, not Sunday. While no one has the mark of the beast at this moment, the warning call must be given in love to warn souls not to go along with the fatal delusion of presuming to change the law of God by enjoining Sunday observance by law when the unity of church and state makes this a global issue. Let us heed the warning call and give it with conviction in the power of the Holy Spirit:
Revelation 14:6-12: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
We are called to share the final message, and just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He so loved the people, God's love in our hearts will constrain us to go to the ends of the earth to give the final message so all can make their final choice, and Christ's words can be fulfilled with as great rapidity as possible: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). Will you surrender your life fully, heeding the call to true repentance, given the three angels' messages, walking in the light of truth, and help others in this world have the final opportunity to respond to Jesus? Only in eternity will we know the full impact of being faithful now to His call to win souls while mercy still lingers!!! Jesus is coming soon!!!
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When Jesus came to the fig tree not long before His crucifixion, He longed to see Israel experiencing His character, not just for their sake, but that they could be the missionaries He intended them to be to seek and save others.
Jesus had come to the fig tree hungry, to find food. So He had come to Israel, hungering to find in them the fruits of righteousness. He had lavished on them His gifts, that they might bear fruit for the blessing of the world. Every opportunity and privilege had been granted them, and in return He sought their sympathy and co-operation in His work of grace. He longed to see in them self-sacrifice and compassion, zeal for God, and a deep yearning of soul for the salvation of their fellow men. Had they kept the law of God, they would have done the same unselfish work that Christ did. But love to God and man was eclipsed by pride and self-sufficiency. They brought ruin upon themselves by refusing to minister to others. The treasures of truth which God had committed to them, they did not give to the world. In the barren tree they might read both their sin and its punishment. Withered beneath the Saviour's curse, standing forth sere and blasted, dried up by the roots, the fig tree showed what the Jewish people would be when the grace of God was removed from them. Refusing to impart blessing, they would no longer receive it. “O Israel,” the Lord says, “thou hast destroyed thyself.” Hosea 13:9.
We get to choose if we will respond in full surrender to Christ so we can bear fruit to His glory--the fruits of the Spirit in the life without one missing in true obedience to His commandments as we go forth in His providences to serve and bless others. As long as we abide in Jesus, He will empower us to reflect His character and experience His will as He leads!
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Character--who you are--and the souls influenced by you through Christ ultimately saved--these are the only treasures we get to take into heaven and the new earth. How can we have a godly character and win souls? Let us build upon Christ!!
To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation.
"At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:1-3).
Through true conversion as we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is empowered to obedience up to the light Christ has revealed to us! Let us abide in Jesus and do His will cheerfully and faithfully!
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What a blessing it is to see in Jesus a life of supernatural power that is now accessible to us by the same grace He received in relying upon the word of God to lead and guide by the Holy Spirit! As we surrender fully to Christ as a personal Savior, living by faith on Him means that we partake of the divine nature that brings the continual witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as the soul remains in continual union and communion with God in the path of true obedience up to the light of truth God has revealed!
By His words and His works, Christ testified to a divine power that produces supernatural results, to a future life beyond the present, to God as a Father of the children of men, ever watchful of their true interests. He revealed the working of divine power in benevolence and compassion that rebuked the selfish exclusiveness of the Sadducees. He taught that both for man's temporal and for his eternal good, God moves upon the heart by the Holy Spirit. He showed the error of trusting to human power for that transformation of character which can be wrought only by the Spirit of God.
"I can of Mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and My judgment is just; because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me" (John 5:30). Just as surely as Jesus depended upon the Father, we are to depend on Jesus to do any good thing by receiving the Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives! What a blessing it is to go forth in His service to win souls because we are vitally connected to Christ!
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Jesus' words were not in vain. He spoke with deep love and power to the Jews in that last day He taught in the earthly temple, and many would respond to the truth He shared. Though as a nation the Jews rejected Christ, He gave them every opportunity to accept Him as Messiah and to experience the transformation of life that always comes from true conversion.
The gems of truth that fell from Christ's lips on that eventful day were treasured in many hearts. For them new thoughts started into life, new aspirations were awakened, and a new history began. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, these persons came to the front, and fulfilled their divine commission with a wisdom and zeal corresponding to the greatness of the work. They bore a message that appealed to the hearts of men, weakening the old superstitions that had long dwarfed the lives of thousands. Before their testimony human theories and philosophies became as idle fables. Mighty were the results flowing from the words of the Saviour to that wondering, awestruck crowd in the temple at Jerusalem.
When we let the words of Christ transform us, partaking of the divine nature, letting the Holy Spirit manifest Himself fully in our lives with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we not only are empowered to true obedience up to the light He has revealed, but we are sent forth on God's mission to seek and save souls. May we treasure the words of Christ so much that we seek to impart them to others!
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Praise God that Jesus is willing and able to make us like Him in character! There is no greater joy than becoming like Christ and winning souls to Him!
“If any man serve Me,” said Jesus, “let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honor.” All who have borne with Jesus the cross of sacrifice will be sharers with Him of His glory. It was the joy of Christ in His humiliation and pain that His disciples should be glorified with Him. They are the fruit of His self-sacrifice. The outworking in them of His own character and spirit is His reward, and will be His joy throughout eternity. This joy they share with Him as the fruit of their labor and sacrifice is seen in other hearts and lives. They are workers together with Christ, and the Father will honor them as He honors His Son.
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Praise God that Jesus is coming again soon! We can help hasten that day by giving the gospel to the world! When we surrender fully to Christ, He forgives our sins, transforms our characters, and fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God up to the light of the truth He has revealed to us!
In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to “every creature which is under heaven.” Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Revelation 14:6, 14. God “hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world.” Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.
Oh, how Jesus longs to have the whole world receive the opportunity to hear the gospel message, the present truth in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-14! Let us herald His return!!
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Happy Sabbath! Are you getting ready for heaven? Then let the love of Christ constrain you to live as He lived, and minister as He ministered! He is willing to live out His unselfish, holy life through you as you surrender the WHOLE heart to Him and let Him guide you in the path of true obedience connected with active service to bless others!
Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.
Jesus is coming soon! What a joy it will be to be with Him in-person with all the souls that we have been used by God to help reach for His kingdom. The things of this world are passing away, but Jesus and the souls saved will last forever! Praise God! Let us value what REALLY matters!!!
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Christ did more than say the truth. He lived it. So can we as we abide in Him. By a complete surrender of the heart, mind and will to Jesus, we can enter into the true joy of unselfish service to do God's will as He leads us. In the last supper Jesus had with His disciples, He yearned for them to experience His character.
How was Christ to bring these poor souls where Satan would not gain over them a decided victory? How could He show that a mere profession of discipleship did not make them disciples, or insure them a place in His kingdom? How could He show that it is loving service, true humility, which constitutes real greatness? How was He to kindle love in their hearts, and enable them to comprehend what He longed to tell them?
Jesus washed the disciples' feet, thus setting the example of unselfish service. When we have completely surrendered to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives and characters in true obedience to all of His commandments. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus!
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Keep looking. Continue to spend time daily with Jesus and let His love transform your heart! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is completely surrendered to Christ! He is able to empower us to true obedience to all of His commandments as the outflow of a loving relationship with Him!
Looking upon the crucified Redeemer, we more fully comprehend the magnitude and meaning of the sacrifice made by the Majesty of heaven. The plan of salvation is glorified before us, and the thought of Calvary awakens living and sacred emotions in our hearts. Praise to God and the Lamb will be in our hearts and on our lips; for pride and self-worship cannot flourish in the soul that keeps fresh in memory the scenes of Calvary.
The cross of Christ draws us. Jesus Himself said, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto Me." The original language does not have "men" in it, as Christ's sacrifice not only draws us, but the angels and all the inhabitants of the unfallen worlds!
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Praise the Lord that we can be fruitful in Christ! Living by faith means a life of abundant fruitfulness in having Christ's character revealed in and through us! We need not fear the future as we trust in Him completely and rely on His word, learning of Christ day by day!
The life of the vine will be manifest in fragrant fruit on the branches. “He that abideth in Me,” said Jesus, “and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.
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In contemplating what Jesus endured in Gethsemane, seeing His incredible agony and struggle in the decision He did make to bear all our sin, we can better understand the depth of God's love for us and how horrible sin is. The heart that beholds Jesus afresh can be motivated to do God's will and resist sin.
Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman agony, and fainting and exhausted, He staggered back to the place of His former struggle. His suffering was even greater than before. As the agony of soul came upon Him, “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” The cypress and palm trees were the silent witnesses of His anguish. From their leafy branches dropped heavy dew upon His stricken form, as if nature wept over its Author wrestling alone with the powers of darkness.
Jesus loves us so much that He would go through all this. May we cheerfully endure whatever trials we face with a deep realization of the love of God for us in Christ, turning from sin, and allowing the Holy Spirit to abide in us as He manifests all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing through our lives that are fully and continually surrendered to Him in true obedience to God's commandments. Sin becomes hateful to us as we experience communion with God and appreciate the character of Christ.
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In the final crisis over the Sabbath versus the mark of the beast--the global enforcement of Sunday (see Revelation 13 and 14)--our experience may be like that of Christ in His trial that led up to His crucifixion. Christ will have a true remnant of followers in the last days who experience genuine conversion manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in true obedience to God's commandments. Such living witnesses who have spoken and taught the truth about the character and law of God, who have uplifted "the everlasting gospel" (Revelation 14:6), will be falsely condemned as was Christ. Holding fast to the plain teachings of Scripture by having a living experience of "the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12) that works by love and leads to affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments, including the fourth commandments to hallow the seventh day Sabbath. God will have a people who, purified from sin by Christ's efficacy, can answer all their persecutors with calmness and moral fidelity to principle, for Christ abides in them, "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
Christ calmly replied, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou Me?” He spoke no burning words of retaliation. His calm answer came from a heart sinless, patient, and gentle, that would not be provoked.
Those who ever keep fresh in memory before them the scenes of Jesus' life and ministry, especially the closing ones, are not only strengthened with greater confidence in God for the day at hand by a deeper experience in the Holy Spirit with quickened love, but are being systematically prepared to face the great test that is soon to break upon the world when the United States repudiates the principles of its Constitution. When the United States goes so far as violating the principle that "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," by acceding to the demands for a law enforcing Sunday, literally fulfilling this prophecy: "And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." (Revelation 13:15-17). That image will be the union of church and state, similar to what happened in the Dark Ages under the Papal power, in connection with the enforcement of Sunday laws. May we do all we can by the missionary efforts intended to enlighten minds to the necessity of true repentance towards God in the experience of salvation in connection with helping souls to become enlightened on the principles of religious liberty that are foundational to the teachings of Scripture. We can praise God that religious liberty at this moment still exists in America, and that there remains a separation of church and state, but with so many confusing influences in the world that are antithetical to the gospel and to such religious liberty, well would it be to do all we possibly can to spread the Three Angels' Messages while freedom readily allows its global spread. A great book to distribute to do that very thing is The Great Controversy! (You can listen here to it for free: https://whiteestate.org/audio/132/the-great-controversy/) We can help hasten Christ's return by cooperating with Him in the spread of the gospel!
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What are you looking for in life? The worldly goods around us are passing away, while the things of the spiritual kingdom will endure forever. As we look carefully at the life history of Judas, we see that his desires were not in harmony with what Christ was offering those who follow Him.
Christ's discourse in the synagogue concerning the bread of life was the turning point in the history of Judas. He heard the words, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” John 6:53. He saw that Christ was offering spiritual rather than worldly good. He regarded himself as farsighted, and thought he could see that Jesus would have no honor, and that He could bestow no high position upon His followers. He determined not to unite himself so closely to Christ but that he could draw away. He would watch. And he did watch.
Sadly, Judas walked in Satan's deceptions rather than the truth Jesus plainly spoke with love. Christ offers us spiritual good because that is what our character need to be prepared to dwell in His presence in heaven itself with all the holy angels, the redeemed, and all holy created beings in the universe. While it is true that in heaven God's people will be blessed with heavenly mansions, a home in the new earth, and the eternal riches of the universe, that experience will come at a point when all who are there most highly value God Himself, His word and His character over all the other blessings. Satan has sought to lead the universe to want the position, power and blessings of God without His character. And that inevitably leads to death. So let us take warning from Judas' experience and choose to most highly value the spiritual rather than the temporal things, recognizing that God does provide for our needs, but that we are not to make worldly good a higher priority than the spiritual kingdom that endures forever.
All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the lives of those who are fully converted in complete surrender to Jesus, empowered by Him to walk in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments. That experience is one in which spiritual good is paramount, and the worldly goods we have around us for a season are properly managed with an eye single to the glory of God and the furthering of His mission.
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Happy Sabbath! It is so simple, yet so deep. It is infinite. It is the word of God. When Christ was facing the farce of a trial before Pilate, Christ yearned for Pilate and all who heard Him to receive the word of God, for only by receiving the word of God into the soul could Pilate or anyone be set free from the tyrannical insanity, ruin and degradation to character caused by sin.
Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could his ruined nature be reconstructed.
Our natures, like Pilate's, are fallen. We need reconstruction, or, in other words, "revival and reformation." But how can we have this? We need to come daily in surrender to Jesus and let His word enter into our hearts to change the current of our thoughts, feelings, motives and purposes. By the word of God we partake of the divine nature, and by the word are produced in the life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as there is a continual surrender to Christ in faith, renouncing all known sin and living up to the light of truth God has revealed. We need a daily experience of beholding Christ, for by beholding we become changed. Instead of letting the mind be filled with the suggestions and deceptions of the world, the flesh and the devil, let us all be so filled with the word of God that it not only revives and reforms us into the image of Christ, but empowers us to be missionaries like Christ. Even in the most trying experiences, we can still be patient, calm and self-possessed, ever seeking to implant truth in the hearts and minds of those around us.
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Jesus suffered selflessly, as One who was innocent. Even in His agony upon the cross, He was thinking of others. He yearned for all to come unto Him in complete surrender so that His sacrifice for sin would be received as the effectual cure for the sinning soul to be brought to repentance, faith, and true conversion. He knew that if sinners did not repent, agony and death would await them with no hope of life, though not one need perish! "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
From the fall of Jerusalem the thoughts of Jesus passed to a wider judgment. In the destruction of the impenitent city He saw a symbol of the final destruction to come upon the world. He said, “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” By the green tree, Jesus represented Himself, the innocent Redeemer. God suffered His wrath against transgression to fall on His beloved Son. Jesus was to be crucified for the sins of men. What suffering, then, would the sinner bear who continued in sin? All the impenitent and unbelieving would know a sorrow and misery that language would fail to express.
While the sinful and impenitent will ultimately perish, they do it at the cost of having rejected the salvation Christ so freely offered to all. As we contemplate the infinite love of God for us in Christ, we are motivated to become transformed in character. Yielding the whole heart to Jesus, His grace is sufficient to cleanse us from sin, empower us to overcome, and be kept from sinning. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life that is fully surrendered to God in true obedience prepares the true disciple to be an active, earnest missionary to seek and save souls! May we fully realize how much Jesus suffered for us and understand that we are in debt to those who do not know the good news that they can be FULLY PARDONED and SET FREE from the slavery of sin! "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise" (Romans 1:14). Let us do all we can to spread the "everlasting gospel" (Revelation 14:6) as the only hope to a dying world that needs Jesus and the present truth of the Three Angel's messages that help people understand God's love, God's call, and God's warning so they can be ready to meet Jesus on the glorious day! We will either meet Him in peace or in terror. The choice is ours.
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It will all come out clearly in the end!
God could have destroyed Satan and his sympathizers as easily as one can cast a pebble to the earth; but He did not do this. Rebellion was not to be overcome by force. Compelling power is found only under Satan's government. The Lord's principles are not of this order. His authority rests upon goodness, mercy, and love; and the presentation of these principles is the means to be used. God's government is moral, and truth and love are to be the prevailing power.
As God wins hearts by His love and truth, the lies that Satan pawns off are seen to be such. As we come to know and experience Christ as the way, the truth and the life in complete surrender to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow forth from a life that abides and obeys God up to the light of His law revealed and understood. God is gracious to finish the great controversy in such a way that it wil never happen again. "What do ye imagine against the LORD? he will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time" (Nahum 1:9).
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The cross did it. Both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were so moved by what Christ experienced on the cross that they were "all in" for Jesus. They chose that FULL SURRENDER! Are you "all in" for Jesus by afresh looking in faith to His crucifixion? Knowing that the One who died for us is also risen and soon to return to take His children home to heaven, let us be deeply be in earnest to share the everlasting gospel so many more can experience the transformation of character that can only come when the truth sets us free and we have Christ abiding in us, the hope of glory! Without one missing, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life of one who lives by faith on the Son of God in affectionate obedience to all of His commandments up to the light God has revealed!
Nicodemus, when he saw Jesus lifted up on the cross, remembered His words spoken by night in the Mount of Olives: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:14, 15. On that Sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave, Nicodemus had opportunity for reflection. A clearer light now illuminated his mind, and the words which Jesus had spoken to him were no longer mysterious. He felt that he had lost much by not connecting himself with the Saviour during His life. Now he recalled the events of Calvary. The prayer of Christ for His murderers and His answer to the petition of the dying thief spoke to the heart of the learned councilor. Again he looked upon the Saviour in His agony; again he heard that last cry, “It is finished,” spoken like the words of a conqueror. Again he beheld the reeling earth, the darkened heavens, the rent veil, the shivered rocks, and his faith was forever established. The very event that destroyed the hopes of the disciples convinced Joseph and Nicodemus of the divinity of Jesus. Their fears were overcome by the courage of a firm and unwavering faith.
Don't be afraid of the future. Remember all that God has said and taught you from the word of God. Trust Him completely in full surrender continually. He will constrain you to the kind of service that is moved by love because He left heaven to take away your sin and give you a new life with Him that will span eternity. Praise God!!
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Christ did not stop being divine when He died on the cross. His humanity died, but divinity did not. Like a tree that goes dormant in winter, it is still alive. Jesus, still alive in His divinity, went to sleep in the grave, as He experienced the death of His human nature. By doing so, He defeated Satan, and in coming forth from the tomb by the divine original, unborrowed, underived life in Himself came forth in triumph. What Jesus did for us is exceedingly deep and precious. No one but Jesus could have accomplished such salvation for us. As fully God and fully man, Jesus has bridged the gap that sin has made and offers us His life and life more abundantly!
Seeing Jesus' infinite loveliness, our hearts are drawn to Him in true repentance to turn from the sins that have hurt God's heart; confessing and forsaking them in sincere prayer, we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. When the WHOLE HEART is yielded to Christ, supernaturally, our fallen nature can be crucified with Him and the divine nature accessible to us by God's promises will produce all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life of true obedience to God's commandments! Praise God that this is all because of Jesus!!
When the voice of the mighty angel was heard at Christ's tomb, saying, Thy Father calls Thee, the Saviour came forth from the grave by the life that was in Himself. Now was proved the truth of His words, “I lay down My life, that I might take it again.... I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” Now was fulfilled the prophecy He had spoken to the priests and rulers, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 10:17, 18; 2:19.
Soon Jesus is coming in the clouds of heaven to take His children home. Those who have trusted in Him as the resurrection and life are assured of an eternity with Him. Let the joy and singing begin!!
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Happy Thanksgiving! Grateful hearts are indeed fitting in light of Christ's resurrection!
Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! “Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen.” Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God.
Let us surrender the whole heart to Christ, experiencing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and living in true obedience to all of God's commandments! We have so much to thank God for, knowing that His love is infinite and Jesus is now preparing a place for us in heaven!
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Try to imagine the joy that thrilled the hearts of the disciples as they truly grasped that Christ was ALIVE!
The night is dark, but the Sun of Righteousness is shining upon them. Their hearts leap for joy. They seem to be in a new world. Christ is a living Saviour. They no longer mourn over Him as dead. Christ is risen—over and over again they repeat it. This is the message they are carrying to the sorrowing ones. They must tell them the wonderful story of the walk to Emmaus. They must tell who joined them by the way. They carry the greatest message ever given to the world, a message of glad tidings upon which the hopes of the human family for time and for eternity depend.
As we center our hopes in Jesus for this life and the life to come, God gives us the grace we need to be able to overcome sin and abide in Jesus so that His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--will be revealed in the converted life manifesting affectionate obedience up to the light of truth God has revealed!
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Happy Sabbath! Are you willing to believe without seeing?
Jesus accepted his acknowledgment, but gently reproved his unbelief: “Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” The faith of Thomas would have been more pleasing to Christ if he had been willing to believe upon the testimony of his brethren. Should the world now follow the example of Thomas, no one would believe unto salvation; for all who receive Christ must do so through the testimony of others.
As we look in faith to God's word--full of the testimony of what God did in others' lives, we can be encouraged to CHOOSE to exercise faith in Christ as a personal Savior, come to Him in true repentance for all of our sins, and abide in His love as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to true obedience to all of God's commandments! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life that lets go of unbelief and simply lives by faith on the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us!
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Follow Jesus. Let Him go before you to guide the path He knows is best for your life. Thankfully, Peter learned that lesson. So can we.
To Peter the words “Follow Me” were full of instruction. Not only for his death, but for every step of his life, was the lesson given. Hitherto Peter had been inclined to act independently. He had tried to plan for the work of God, instead of waiting to follow out God's plan. But he could gain nothing by rushing on before the Lord. Jesus bids him, “Follow Me.” Do not run ahead of Me. Then you will not have the hosts of Satan to meet alone. Let Me go before you, and you will not be overcome by the enemy.
When our faith is the expression of an abiding union and communion with Jesus in complete surrender of our whole heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives. We can grow in grace and godliness as our glad response to Jesus saving and leading us is to obey the Ten Commandments up to the light of truth we understand in how they apply to our lives in active service to glorify God!
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Let's all get to work by letting Christ work in us His character and experience--His righteousness by His faith that works by His love and purifies the soul! The gospel work of saving souls is a WAY BETTER focus for each of us than all the distracting ideas that often get discussed, thus wasting precious time, resources and energy while millions of souls are perishing without a saving knowledge of Christ as Savior. While it is true that we are exhorted to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3), such contending must ever be for the sake of saving souls! We are to present the word of God--the true faith that "cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17), even "the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12), to help souls break free from delusions and error and be enabled by the word of God received into the life to experience true conversion! Such genuine conversions to the truth always produce disciples that are obedient to God's commandments as the fruit of heaven-born love in a character experience that reveals all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. The gospel is neutralized in its power when sin is cherished or allowed, when known duties are neglected, and when Christ's purposes are not lived out. Let us plead to God for His mercy to become what the gospel contemplates we will become--like Jesus!! Christ's great commission is to help us always keep our priorities straight!
So it may be now. Instead of man's speculations, let the word of God be preached. Let Christians put away their dissensions, and give themselves to God for the saving of the lost. Let them in faith ask for the blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the Spirit in apostolic days was the “former rain,” and glorious was the result. But the “latter rain” will be more abundant. Joel 2:23.
Oh, let us PRAY and LIVE in harmony with the message and spirit of the latter rain. God desired--yearned--to send the latter rain message to His remnant people (study Revelation 10 and 14 to find out who they are) in 1888 and the years that followed, and thankfully, God foresaw that though in large measure that message and experience was not widely received by many, there were souls who did respond and who did all they could to present Christ in the law in such an efficacious way that souls were won to Him! The truths that blessed those who did receive the latter rain message are STILL ACCESSIBLE TO US TODAY!! "Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month" (Joel 2:23). The marginal reading for "the former rain moderately" is "a teacher of righteousness according to righteousness" and this clarifies what God intended to give His people in the latter rain! He desired to teach His people EXPERIENTIALLY the righteousness of Christ! The gospel came to souls as vital energy from God to become new creatures in every way--in the context of the everlasting gospel for the present time (Revelation 14:16-12), which leads up to Christ's glorious return! Satan was enraged and moved upon a legislator to seek to introduce a bill into the US Congress to enact a Sunday Law in 1888 (to understand the import of both the US in prophecy and the enforcement of Sunday, please study Revelation 13). Though that bill was defeated, sadly, the latter rain at that time also did not gain its full effect among God's people, else the whole world would before this have been lovingly, faithfully warned and Christ would have come the second time in power and great glory.
The message and spirit of the latter rain is still accessible to us today. We are not only to pray for the latter rain, but we are to come into harmony with the message God gives us in uplifting Christ our righteousness whereby every soul who is willing to be made willing is enabled to keep all the Ten Commandments by the faith of Jesus and go forth to be one of His final witnesses in a world that is soon to perish! Jesus is coming again VERY SOON!! We can help hasten that day by doing our part to receive the experience of the latter rain and do the very work God has designed for us in His word and ALL His inspired counsel (see Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 19:10), as God's last day people are gifted with "the spirit of prophecy." Let us believe more fully, pray more fervently, and distrust self so we cling completely to Jesus as He who is able to save us to the uttermost and empower us to live as He lived, work as He worked, and soon go home to heaven to meet Him! Praise the Lord!!
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What an amazing homecoming! When Jesus went to heaven after finishing His ministry on earth as our atoning sacrifice, imagine the indescribable experience the Father and the Son had in that warm, longed-for embrace!
The voice of God is heard proclaiming that justice is satisfied. Satan is vanquished. Christ's toiling, struggling ones on earth are “accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6. Before the heavenly angels and the representatives of unfallen worlds, they are declared justified. Where He is, there His church shall be. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10. The Father's arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” Hebrews 1:6.
The Holy Spirit is impressing our hearts and minds to appreciate these eternal realities! As we appreciate the infinite value of salvation and the incredible gift of being adopted into the Godhead family in Christ as the Lamb's wife, it is SO ENCOURAGING to know and experience true conversion with the vitalizing power of the word of God changing our focus from the temporal things that pass away to the eternal purpose God in repopulating heaven and revealing His character in the universe! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in every converted life that lives in complete surrender to the will of God by having Christ abide in the heart, the hope of glory!
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Our loving God knows all about us. He came to dwell with us to offer us the example of a perfect life and die as our Sacrifice, rising to victory from the grave so we can also become one with God in mind and character! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives without one missing as we surrender fully to Christ in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
Since Jesus came to dwell with us, we know that God is acquainted with our trials, and sympathizes with our griefs. Every son and daughter of Adam may understand that our Creator is the friend of sinners. For in every doctrine of grace, every promise of joy, every deed of love, every divine attraction presented in the Saviour's life on earth, we see “God with us.”
What a blessing it is to have God with us in all the experiences of life! Let us walk with Him in fullness of joy!
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Why were the Jews unprepared to receive Jesus at His first coming?
For more than a thousand years the Jewish people had awaited the Saviour's coming. Upon this event they had rested their brightest hopes. In song and prophecy, in temple rite and household prayer, they had enshrined His name. And yet at His coming they knew Him not. The Beloved of heaven was to them “as a root out of a dry ground;” He had “no form nor comeliness;” and they saw in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” Isaiah 53:2; John 1:11.
Christ came in a manner that the Jews did not expect because they allowed selfish desires to eclipse eternal realities. They wanted THEIR VERSION of a Messiah, rather than the biblical revelation of who Christ would truly be. Christ came the first time to show His people His way of life. "In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6). Just as the heavenly Husband of the church came in humility and simplicity, He calls us to emulate Him. Notice the ascription of the Lamb's wife in prophecy: "In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness" (Jeremiah 33:16). Righteousness is right-doing, and it can only spring from a life in which Christ abides. Are we in danger of wanting God's church to be molded after culture, selfish desires, and human expectations rather than eternal, Bible principles? We need to look to Jesus and live by EVERY WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Not some words--EVERY WORD! When Jesus lives in the heart completely surrendered to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life that is supernaturally affectionately obedient to all of God's commandments! It is as remarkable a miracle as is rising from the dead! So Christ calls upon His church today, desiring to save us from the ruin that Jerusalem of old chose by rejecting Christ. Today, God still has a present-truth message, and if we open our hearts to Christ fully, we shall not only be saved, but we will become Christlike agents with whom all of heaven can cooperate in fulfilling the final hour mission of the remnant church of Bible prophecy (see Revelation 12:17). What is Jesus' call to His people today?
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:14-22).
Repentance is the solution, not changing the Bible principles upon which Christ's church is founded. We are reminded in this message of "the beginning of the creation of God." Satan is seeking to lead the home and the church away from Bible order, and this is leading to great wretchedness. "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths" (Isaiah 3:12). It is time for men to rise up and stand true to lead in love, women to fulfill their biblical roles, and children to respect and honor their parents. A departure from Bible order has led so many down confusing paths of rebellion and moral confusion, and only Christ can cure the heart that is steeped in the spirit of selfish indifference, rebellion and the easygoing religion that does not take up the cross and walk where the Savior is leading. God is who He says He is. He has not changed (see Malachi 3:6). And we can come to Him just as we are, and by the transforming power of the gospel, allow Him to change us from the inside out! Praise God!!!
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If it was true before the first coming of Jesus, what about now?
At this time the systems of heathenism were losing their hold upon the people. Men were weary of pageant and fable. They longed for a religion that could satisfy the heart. While the light of truth seemed to have departed from among men, there were souls who were looking for light, and who were filled with perplexity and sorrow. They were thirsting for a knowledge of the living God, for some assurance of a life beyond the grave.
God has put a longing in every heart for the eternal (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). People may try to fill that longing with false religion, selfish gratification, and worldly distractions, but the soul is unsatisfied. Only in Christ will we find true rest and purpose, for He is "the Desire of all nations" (Haggai 2:7). When we yield fully to Christ in living faith, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life that is brought into harmony with God's law of love through true obedience. Only in Christ will we find our true purpose and meaning in life. May we go forth to be true missionaries to reach souls who are longing for something this world can never give.
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Happy Sabbath!
Are you thankful for how far Jesus came to save us?
The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.
By His incarnation, His perfect life, His sacrificial death, His glorious resurrection, His effectual high priestly ministry, and His promise to come again to take us home to heaven, we have an INTENSE PURPOSE to share the ONLY GOSPEL that can actually change people's lives for eternity! We cannot save ourselves, for we need Jesus to save us to the uttermost! As we realize how much He gave up to leave heaven to come to our sin-darkened earth, we can rejoice with fullness of joy in appreciating more fully the gift our Heavenly Father gave us in His Son! The Holy Spirit comes into the fully surrendered heart to reproduce Christ's character experience with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life of true obedience to God's holy commandments! Let's keep our eyes fixed on Jesus day by day so He can lead us in His perfect way!
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Lucifer's rebellion, the incarnation of Jesus to save us and His sacrificial death, His resurrection and promise to save us to the uttermost has not changed the reality of God's character. What God has done simply reveals to the universe the two great contrasting principles--selfishness and selflessness. We get to choose whether we will side with Lucifer by simply living out our fallen nature in rebellion, or whether we will abide in Christ in true surrender and let all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be revealed in our lives in true conversion so we can experience true obedience to God's law and face the judgment with courage. Let's choose the way of Christ!
In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God's government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? ... for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:3, 4.
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What is the next step? God knows! When we surrender fully to God and let Him lead us by faith in complete surrender, not only will our character experience have the infilling of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, but we will be led in true obedience to His commandments as we follow His providence and plan for our lives! The wise men are a good example of following the light and walking where God led!
As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, “not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. The Eastern country abounded in precious things, and the magi did not set out empty-handed. It was the custom to offer presents as an act of homage to princes or other personages of rank, and the richest gifts the land afforded were borne as an offering to Him in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. It was necessary to journey by night in order to keep the star in view; but the travelers beguiled the hours by repeating traditional sayings and prophetic utterances concerning the One they sought. At every pause for rest they searched the prophecies; and the conviction deepened that they were divinely guided. While they had the star before them as an outward sign, they had also the inward evidence of the Holy Spirit, which was impressing their hearts, and inspiring them with hope. The journey, though long, was a happy one to them.
Whether our journey in this earthly life is long or short, if we are walking where God leads, we can rejoice to soon see Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven at His second coming!
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The power of example cannot be underestimated. Let us dwell more on Jesus--especially His early years and the character building experience He revealed!
Jesus is our example. There are many who dwell with interest upon the period of His public ministry, while they pass unnoticed the teaching of His early years. But it is in His home life that He is the pattern for all children and youth. The Saviour condescended to poverty, that He might teach how closely we in a humble lot may walk with God. He lived to please, honor, and glorify His Father in the common things of life. His work began in consecrating the lowly trade of the craftsmen who toil for their daily bread. He was doing God's service just as much when laboring at the carpenter's bench as when working miracles for the multitude. And every youth who follows Christ's example of faithfulness and obedience in His lowly home may claim those words spoken of Him by the Father through the Holy Spirit, “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth.” Isaiah 42:1.
As we look to Jesus, follow in His steps by complete surrender of our hearts, and walk in the path He knows is best for us, we can rejoice to let the Holy Spirit give us clean hearts whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be flowing forth from our lives as we gladly obey God's commandments up to the light of truth He has revealed! Let us humbly seek to please God in all we say and do!
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By spending time with Jesus, we are SO BLESSED! Then we can go forth to bless others because being with Jesus changes us to become more like Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as we surrender fully to Christ and walk in humble, affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be “changed into the same image from glory to glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18.
God keeps His word. By beholding Christ, we will be changed. Not one need be lost if each will come to Jesus and let Him change our hearts, minds and lives as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in how God leads us day by day in preparation for heaven!
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You have infinite value to God. Jesus sought to help all and reveal the Father's love in a way that people could understand. As we abide in Christ in a full-heart surrender, we can go and do likewise as we let the Holy Spirit manifest thorough us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we come into true obedience to all of God's commandments!
He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.
As we let Jesus weed all vanity from our lives, we can be filled with the intense purpose to proclaim the everlasting gospel to the whole world in preparation for Christ's soon return (see Revelation 14:6-12, Matthew 24:14). Such a purpose will give depth, stability and Christlike loveliness to the character as God's plans are fulfilled in the converted lives of His children!
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Why is temperance so important? As we look at the experience of John, the forerunner of Christ, we see that God desires the minds and bodies of His people to be cleansed from defiling addictions and lusts that would becloud the mind and make it impossible to discern the significance of eternal realities.
As a prophet, John was “to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” In preparing the way for Christ's first advent, he was a representative of those who are to prepare a people for our Lord's second coming. The world is given to self-indulgence. Errors and fables abound. Satan's snares for destroying souls are multiplied. All who would perfect holiness in the fear of God must learn the lessons of temperance and self-control. The appetites and passions must be held in subjection to the higher powers of the mind. This self-discipline is essential to that mental strength and spiritual insight which will enable us to understand and to practice the sacred truths of God's word. For this reason temperance finds its place in the work of preparation for Christ's second coming.
Jesus is coming again VERY SOON! Let us be temperate in all of our habits and choices, abstaining from all harmful things and moderately using that which is healthful. Laying aside alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, drugs, and unclean meat, while also seeking to replace animal flesh and dairy with plant foods that are healthier, God desires to have us make every choice in reference to His glory! With proper nutrition, exercise, water, sunshine, temperance, fresh air, proper rest and trust in God, we can be living witnesses of God's healing power. While we face trials and tribulations in a fallen world, God calls upon us to keep His purposes foremost in our minds. "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). We are called to be holy, that the holy message God desires to give through us may rightly impress our minds and those who hear it (see Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Revelation 14:6-12).
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Happy Sabbath!
As we reflect on the deep significance of Christ's baptism, we see that though He would be misunderstood on earth, He knew His mission clearly from the Scriptures, and pressed on in the way of faith to give us the gift of salvation. We can be so thankful that no matter how sinful or imperfect we may be, the Lord holds out to us the offer of eternal life as we surrender the whole heart to Jesus! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life that is yielded unreservedly to God's will, for God makes it possible for the converted soul to be cleansed from sin and live in harmony with His law of love!
Upon coming up out of the water, Jesus bowed in prayer on the river bank. A new and important era was opening before Him. He was now, upon a wider stage, entering on the conflict of His life. Though He was the Prince of Peace, His coming must be as the unsheathing of a sword. The kingdom He had come to establish was the opposite of that which the Jews desired. He who was the foundation of the ritual and economy of Israel would be looked upon as its enemy and destroyer. He who had proclaimed the law upon Sinai would be condemned as a transgressor. He who had come to break the power of Satan would be denounced as Beelzebub. No one upon earth had understood Him, and during His ministry He must still walk alone. Throughout His life His mother and His brothers did not comprehend His mission. Even His disciples did not understand Him. He had dwelt in eternal light, as one with God, but His life on earth must be spent in solitude.
Though Jesus walked alone on earth, He trusted the Father's love and chose to believe His mission must be fulfilled in the very way specified by the Scriptures in becoming our sin bearer, dying as our sacrifice, to rise from the grave and offer us His victory over sin and death. As we learn of Him and internalize our mission to give the gospel to the world (Matthew 24:14, Revelation 14:6-12), we find comfort in Jesus' selfless example, as His love constraints us to be willing to go to the ends of the earth in accordance with God's will and plan! Jesus is coming again soon, and He calls all according to our talent and ability to help herald His everlasting gospel, both by the life we live the message we give in harmony with His inspiration!
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Trust God's love, and obey His word. If we really believe that God loves us, and means to do us good, we can rely fully on Him in every trial and temptation and walk in harmony with His word as we surrender our life fully into His hands. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from a life that is unreservedly and completely surrendered to God so that true obedience up to the light God has revealed becomes the delight of the soul!
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it appears that obedience to some plain requirement of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world upon which we can rely is the word of God. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God's command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one, and trust the other.
As in Scripture we see Jesus faithfully enduring every trial by relying on His Father's love, we can be encouraged to do the same by abiding in Him. God loves us and never changes, so whatever you face today, remember that if you are truly converted, He will give you the strength and grace to do what is right in each situation because through prayer and reliance on God's promises, He will instruct and teach you in the way you should go!
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We all face temptation, which is a solicitation sin--to do something against God's will and word. But we can resist each temptation by relying upon God's word through fully surrendering to Jesus as a personal Savior! When Christ abides in us, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as we are empowered to obey His law of love up to the light of truth we have come to understand.
So we may resist temptation, and force Satan to depart from us. Jesus gained the victory through submission and faith in God, and by the apostle He says to us, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” James 4:7, 8. We cannot save ourselves from the tempter's power; he has conquered humanity, and when we try to stand in our own strength, we shall become a prey to his devices; but “the name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10. Satan trembles and flees before the weakest soul who finds refuge in that mighty name.
Let us always find refuge in Jesus, and not yield even by a thought to the devil's lies and temptations!
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By surrendering fully to Christ, let us enter into His experience, for this alone will enable the soul to have all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in the life, leading to true obedience to all of God's commandments! Then the witness of such a life will be winsome like Jesus, wooing souls to heaven in God's appointed way!
The teaching of Christ was the expression of an inwrought conviction and experience, and those who learn of Him become teachers after the divine order. The word of God, spoken by one who is himself sanctified through it, has a life-giving power that makes it attractive to the hearers, and convicts them that it is a living reality. When one has received the truth in the love of it, he will make this manifest in the persuasion of his manner and the tones of his voice. He makes known that which he himself has heard, seen, and handled of the word of life, that others may have fellowship with him through the knowledge of Christ. His testimony, from lips touched with a live coal from off the altar, is truth to the receptive heart, and works sanctification upon the character.
God desires to sanctify and make us holy, for happiness is the result of holiness, enabling us to be more like Jesus each day by beholding His loveliness of character!
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Why did Jesus do what He did? It was all out of love! Jesus loves to see happy, godly marriages and happy families experiencing His will in their lives. Yet in all of His interactions with people in various life seasons, including when He was at the marriage feast, He sought to point their thoughts up to heavenly things that are eternal. As we surrender our whole heart to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow in our lives as are empowered by God to live in true obedience to God's commandments! What a blessing it is to look to Jesus and grow more like Him day by day!
Jesus reproved self-indulgence in all its forms, yet He was social in His nature. He accepted the hospitality of all classes, visiting the homes of the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, and seeking to elevate their thoughts from questions of commonplace life to those things that are spiritual and eternal. He gave no license to dissipation, and no shadow of worldly levity marred His conduct; yet He found pleasure in scenes of innocent happiness, and by His presence sanctioned the social gathering. A Jewish marriage was an impressive occasion, and its joy was not displeasing to the Son of man. By attending this feast, Jesus honored marriage as a divine institution.
If we value what God values, then we get to experience the joy of the Lord! While the world seeks to corrupt and confuse the very things God gave for our happiness (especially marriage and the Sabbath, both established in Eden), Jesus sets the perfect example to keep things in their proper perspective! He hallowed the marriage relation by His presence at the wedding as recorded in John 2 and showed that He is Lord of the Sabbath by keeping it according to God's word! While we can gladly look forward to heaven, God desires us in this life to be happy, peaceful and obedient as the kind of witnesses that reflect His character in a way to make His kingdom and service appear attractive--as it really is! Loving and lovable Christians are a some of the most powerful witnesses in favor of the reality of true Christianity!
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What an incredible, high purpose our lives have!
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” Revelation 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; ... and they shall be My people.” “He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” 2 Corinthians 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and “an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:21, 22.
When Christ abides in us, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is brought into true obedience to all of God's commandments! The heart that is fully surrendered to Christ is cleansed from sin so the joy of divine communion becomes the highest delight, and the subtle and deceptive "pleasures of sin for a season" (Hebrews 11:25) are cast away as worthless. Confessing and forsaking all sin in the true repentance that is the gift of God, the focus of the life is transformed for the glory of God and the saving of souls!
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He's moving and wooing. Are you letting the Holy Spirit, like the wind, lead you to full surrender to Christ? If so, there will supernaturally come into your life all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with God's law of love, leading you in His plan for your life.
While the wind is itself invisible, it produces effects that are seen and felt. So the work of the Spirit upon the soul will reveal itself in every act of him who has felt its saving power. When the Spirit of God takes possession of the heart, it transforms the life. Sinful thoughts are put away, evil deeds are renounced; love, humility, and peace take the place of anger, envy, and strife. Joy takes the place of sadness, and the countenance reflects the light of heaven. No one sees the hand that lifts the burden, or beholds the light descend from the courts above. The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God.
Let us experience this ever more deeply each day as we pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us and grow us more like Christ!
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Happy Sabbath! Let Christ empty you of self and then fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing so you can gladly walk in the path of obedience and selfless service to glorify God!
So with the followers of Christ. We can receive of heaven's light only as we are willing to be emptied of self. We cannot discern the character of God, or accept Christ by faith, unless we consent to the bringing into captivity of every thought to the obedience of Christ. To all who do this the Holy Spirit is given without measure. In Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full.” Colossians 2:9, 10, R. V.
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Is Jesus thirsty?
Our Redeemer thirsts for recognition. He hungers for the sympathy and love of those whom He has purchased with His own blood. He longs with inexpressible desire that they should come to Him and have life. As the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her little child, which tells of the dawning of intelligence, so does Christ watch for the expression of grateful love, which shows that spiritual life is begun in the soul.
When we respond to the grace of God in full surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are revealed in our lives as we come into obedience to all of the light of His truth that we have come to understand and know. We can be so grateful for the goodness of God that leads us to repentance and the strength given us in Him! He is the living water to satisfy our souls!
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Life is a lot like a mosaic. While we may not see it at the time, the different experiences, trials, and blessings all have their part in the Master Artist's design to woo us to Him so our hearts will gladly, fully surrender to the constraint of His infinite love. In the case of the nobleman in Capernaum, he may have only seen the immediate piece of the life puzzle as a situation in which his son with a fever desperately needed healing. In his mind, if Christ should heal his son, then he would believe in Him as the Messiah. Jesus, who read his heart as an open book, wanted to give him something even more--the gift of salvation and a surrendered heart in which all of the fruits of the Spirit are revealed without one missing as the life is brought into true obedience to God's law. God in His infinite wisdom and love saw this experience as an opportunity to convert the nobleman's heart AND convert his whole family! Praise God!! If we would but allow God to work out what He designs in each experience and really believe that He loves us, we could have a lot happier pilgrimage in our earthly life on our way to our heavenly home! Let's start singing glory to His name!!
The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory,” and “the working of His mighty power.” Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.
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Jesus didn't break the Sabbath or commit blasphemy. But Satan stirred up those whose minds were not fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit to hurl charges at Jesus that were false. We need to let the word of God reveal to us God's true character, will and purpose--not only so we can see Him clearly so as to love, worship and obey Him in true conversion, but so we can follow in His steps of faithfulness!
Jesus repelled the charge of blasphemy. My authority, He said, for doing the work of which you accuse Me, is that I am the Son of God, one with Him in nature, in will, and in purpose. In all His works of creation and providence, I co-operate with God. “The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do.” The priests and rabbis were taking the Son of God to task for the very work He had been sent into the world to do. By their sins they had separated themselves from God, and in their pride were moving independently of Him. They felt sufficient in themselves for all things, and realized no need of a higher wisdom to direct their acts. But the Son of God was surrendered to the Father's will, and dependent upon His power. So utterly was Christ emptied of self that He made no plans for Himself. He accepted God's plans for Him, and day by day the Father unfolded His plans. So should we depend upon God, that our lives may be the simple outworking of His will.
In complete surrender to Christ we find an amazing experience of rest from self and sin while also being constrained forward in good works of love and mercy, for Christ abiding in us by the Holy Spirit not only produces love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and righteousness in truth (without one of the fruit of the Spirit missing), but He empowers us to obey Him up to the light He's shown us on the path He knows is best for the fulfillment of His omnipotent purposes! God designs to save each soul, and as we cooperate with Him, He makes it possible for us to be a part of this amazing work of redemption, in harmony with what He said would happen before He returns (Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28:18-20, and Revelation 14:6-12 give us clear guidance)! Praise the Lord!
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How much do you trust God? With your whole heart? Because if you do, it means you accept that His leading is best, and may not look the way you thought. Through a full-heart surrender, it is the intimate union and communion with God in Christ, beholding the loveliness of Jesus in His selfless life and ministry, that makes it possible for the soul to bear each trial as an impetus for rejoicing, reflecting even more fully all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Even when it is very difficult to bear, God will enable His trusting children to remain obedient to all of His Ten Commandments. The faith of Jesus is inseparable from obedience to all the commandments of God, and such a supernatural experience is offered all who fully trust Christ. Let God lead you. It will be best!
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. “Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
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What is the best way to watch and pray for the second coming of Jesus? We daily need to behold Him, fully surrender to Him, repent and forsake sin, experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit, get active in mission service, and let the Holy Spirit lead continually in a life experience manifesting all of the fruit of the Spirit without trait of the divine nature missing! We can know what God wants us to do because we have a more sure word of prophecy to guide us heavenward!
As the message of Christ's first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.
Jesus is coming soon!! Does your life reflect this reality in how you use your time, resources and influence? Let us fall on our knees and ask the Lord to lead us to value what heaven values--the salvation of souls--and do all we can to help them be saved by cooperation with Christ in loving obedience to all of His commandments!
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Since real greatness can dispense with outward show, it follows that being like Jesus is a revelation of true wisdom.
Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?
Look at Jesus. He lived truth, even when many religious teachers walked in error and did not accept Him. As we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered to true obedience to all of God's commandments. May we walk even as Jesus walked by fully surrendering to His will for us as He reveals it to us day by day.
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Happy Sabbath!!
When we look at Jesus in His infinite loveliness of character and experience the joy of divine communion by a complete surrender to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow into our lives! We can gladly go where God leads us to go by His divine grace, humbly and happily obeying God because we have learned day by day that His ways are higher and better than anything we can ask or think!
He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.
By beholding we become changed, and as we behold Jesus, learn of His complete dependence upon the Father, and then learn to fully depend on Jesus through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, it is a joy to go forth on His missions of mercy to seek and save souls in copartnership with Christ!
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Beholding the loveliness of Jesus, who Himself is the word of God, reveals to us the way of victory over Satan, sin, this fallen evil world, and our own fallen nature. We need to surrender to and abide in the word of God so its eternal principles of love enter into our thoughts and feelings, making us partakers of the divine nature, giving us continual access to God's strength and grace for His purposes to be fulfilled.
The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame,—the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 8:32; 7:17, R. V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.
Jesus is coming again very soon, and He is preparing a people who will rely fully on His word for the plan and purpose of life. What a joy to have clarity and victory in Jesus by His word, for the Holy Spirit who inspired the word of God brings to the converted soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are simultaneously empowered to obey God's law up to the light He has revealed!
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Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let us do all we can this Christmas day to spread the light of His love, joy and peace! Christ came to save from sin and all the effects of Satan's deceptive rebellion! We can be restored to wholeness in Christ! As we behold His infinite loveliness, reflecting on His amazing sacrifice for us and realizing His power to save, we can truly have fullness of joy in His presence as we surrender fully to Him and let Him also give us the fullness of all of the other fruits of the Spirit without one missing! The wonderful testimony of the man restored from palsy whom Christ first forgave all his sins gives us great encouragement to realize the power of the gospel is found in complete life transformation!!
In the home of the healed paralytic there was great rejoicing when he returned to his family, carrying with ease the couch upon which he had been slowly borne from their presence but a short time before. They gathered round with tears of joy, scarcely daring to believe their eyes. He stood before them in the full vigor of manhood. Those arms that they had seen lifeless were quick to obey his will. The flesh that had been shrunken and leaden-hued was now fresh and ruddy. He walked with a firm, free step. Joy and hope were written in every lineament of his countenance; and an expression of purity and peace had taken the place of the marks of sin and suffering. Glad thanksgiving went up from that home, and God was glorified through His Son, who had restored hope to the hopeless, and strength to the stricken one. This man and his family were ready to lay down their lives for Jesus. No doubt dimmed their faith, no unbelief marred their fealty to Him who had brought light into their darkened home.
Joy to the world, the same Lord that came to Bethlehem, lived a holy life in Nazareth, carried on a blameless ministry, and went to Calvary for us is RISEN, and SOON TO RETURN in power and great glory to take us to the heavenly mansions He has planned for us! Praise God!!
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What is your desire? What are you longing for? In what do you find your highest satisfaction? If we behold the loveliness of Jesus and surrender fully to Him, our converted hearts will have the infilling of the Holy Spirit without one of the fruits of the Spirit missing. Such a "new heart" (Ezekiel 36:26) is enabled, through continual union and communion with Christ, to resist the temptations of the fallen nature, also described in the Bible as the heart that is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). That old heart needs daily to be crucified with Christ and replaced with the new heart that is enabled to obey God up to the light He has revealed because we love Him who first loved us.
But if one has listened to and become accustomed to false teaching, Satan seeks to make truth undesirable and unwelcome, so the soul will cling to false theories and opinions that are really mental idols, keeping one from truly desiring and living in the truth as it is in Jesus. May we realize the need we have to see Jesus as He is in truth and let the heart experience the wooing of God's love to truly satisfy us! Upon true conversion in complete acquiescence to Christ of all we are in soul, body and spirit to God, there is no limit the usefulness of such a life transformed by divine grace!
Jesus pointed out the power of false teaching to destroy the appreciation and desire for truth. “No man,” He said, “having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.” All the truth that has been given to the world through patriarchs and prophets shone out in new beauty in the words of Christ. But the scribes and Pharisees had no desire for the precious new wine. Until emptied of the old traditions, customs, and practices, they had no place in mind or heart for the teachings of Christ. They clung to the dead forms, and turned away from the living truth and the power of God.
The truth as it is in Jesus is sanctifying in its power, for by His love, love is awakened in the soul. We can go forth to bless others rather than focus on self and the false theories that would make the seed of His word unfruitful. Let us keep pressing on the upward way with Jesus!
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:4-8).
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What is your favorite part about the Sabbath? Each week at Friday sunset God reserves 24 blessed hours that He has sanctified for us to enjoy His holy presence because He has the power to make us holy!
"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s." 2 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Corinthians 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. ‘The Lord commanded us,’ said Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive." Deuteronomy 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:6, 7.
When we experience true conversion by a complete surrender to Christ, the Sabbath becomes increasingly meaningful to us as all of the fruits of the Spirit are manifest in our character while also gladly obeying God’s law because Jesus lives in us, the hope of glory!
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What a joy it is to become converted, having a childlike trust that our Heavenly Father knows what is best and that He will provide for all of our needs as we go forward in doing His holy will. May we cultivate a godly character like we see in the experience of Nathanael!
In happy contrast to Philip's unbelief was the childlike trust of Nathanael. He was a man of intensely earnest nature, one whose faith took hold upon unseen realities. Yet Philip was a student in the school of Christ, and the divine Teacher bore patiently with his unbelief and dullness. When the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, Philip became a teacher after the divine order. He knew whereof he spoke, and he taught with an assurance that carried conviction to the hearers.
We may become like Jesus in mind and character as we keep our eyes of faith steadfastly fixed on Him and surrender fully to Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in our lives without one missing as long as we are truly converted, obedient to the light of truth shining on our path! Praise God!!
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Why did Jesus give the sermon on the mount? He longed for all who heard His word to receive His grace, His righteousness, and His character experience. He offers it to all of us, so that by an unreserved surrender to Him we can reflect all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to truly obey the law of God as an affectionate experience of fellowship with Him in continual union and communion of our souls with the divine! Hallelujah!
Jesus had shown in what righteousness consists, and had pointed to God as its source. Now He turned to practical duties. In almsgiving, in prayer, in fasting, He said, let nothing be done to attract attention or win praise to self. Give in sincerity, for the benefit of the suffering poor. In prayer, let the soul commune with God. In fasting, go not with the head bowed down, and heart filled with thoughts of self. The heart of the Pharisee is a barren and profitless soil, in which no seeds of divine life can flourish. It is he who yields himself most unreservedly to God that will render Him the most acceptable service. For through fellowship with God men become workers together with Him in presenting His character in humanity.
Working together with God is so exciting--because God is always on the move to do what is best for His children--both for this life and the life to come! Trust Him!!!
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Happy Sabbath! As we see the true heart of God in Christ--a heart of unchangeable tenderness--we can know that in coming to Him, He is able to comfort and bless us just the way we most need. He is able to convert our inmost soul, purifying the springs of motives, purposes, thoughts, and feelings to be in perfect harmony with His unselfish law of love in a life filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! If Jesus has power to raise the dead, He CERTAINLY has power to make and keep us from sin, which leads to death. He can give you spiritual life that will not fail, for it is Him living in you, the hope of glory! Trust Him FULLY!!
He who stood beside the sorrowing mother at the gate of Nain, watches with every mourning one beside the bier. He is touched with sympathy for our grief. His heart, that loved and pitied, is a heart of unchangeable tenderness. His word, that called the dead to life, is no less efficacious now than when spoken to the young man of Nain. He says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” Matthew 28:18. That power is not diminished by the lapse of years, nor exhausted by the ceaseless activity of His overflowing grace. To all who believe on Him He is still a living Saviour.
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Who is the closest to you?
Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. “Fear not,” He says, “for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine.” “Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” Isaiah 43:1, 4.
Thankfully, even if every human dependence were cut off from us, we would still have One who is the closest to us in a saving, abiding relationship with Jesus! He invites us to become vitally united to Him in a living faith surrender so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are supernaturally empowered to obey the law of God from the new heart given to us!
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Happy new year 2024!
We can start having heaven in our hearts by inviting Jesus to live in and through us! What a joy and privilege it is to be adopted into the royal family by grace through faith in a surrendered continual union and communion with Christ! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the heart renewed by His word!
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.
So when we finally get to the location of heaven when Jesus takes us there at His second coming, it will be but the continuation of the relationship of heaven that we have already begun in this life! Praise God it will just get better and better forever and ever! Hallelujah!
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What has Jesus done for you? Are you fully surrendered to Christ and letting Him save you from sin? If so, you have a testimony to share that will bless others and strengthen in your own heart and mind the reality of the gospel's transforming influence upon your mind and character! A life lived in true obedience to all of God's commandments with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing is such a powerful evidence that Jesus not only saves, but TRANSFORMS the life of one in whom His Spirit abides! That is why Jesus sent forth the two restored demoniacs to witness in their own home and area, so that many more could know how wonderful Jesus is as a Savior! "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Revelation 12:11).
And souls that have been degraded into instruments of Satan are still through the power of Christ transformed into messengers of righteousness, and sent forth by the Son of God to tell what “great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
When we share with others what Jesus has done, we are twice blessed--blessed to know others are encouraged by a living testimony, and also blessed to realize the truth of what Christ has done and is still doing in our hearts! Praise God!
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Do you have hope? It is amazing how much hope in God changes a situation. When the woman who was afflicted with an issue of bleeding for 12 years got closer to Jesus, she began to despair, but Jesus had planned to pass by where she was to heal her according to her need. Whatever you are facing right now--whether it is physical, financial, mental, emotional, relational, or spiritual, just know that at the point when you are tempted to despair, Jesus is drawing very near. Go to Him. He will NEVER cast you away. "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37). He yearns to bless and save us to the uttermost!
On the way to the ruler's house, Jesus had met, in the crowd, a poor woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made her life a burden. She had spent all her means upon physicians and remedies, only to be pronounced incurable. But her hopes revived when she heard of the cures that Christ performed. She felt assured that if she could only go to Him she would be healed. In weakness and suffering she came to the seaside where He was teaching, and tried to press through the crowd, but in vain. Again she followed Him from the house of Levi-Matthew, but was still unable to reach Him. She had begun to despair, when, in making His way through the multitude, He came near where she was.
Thankfully, when Jesus comes into the fully surrendered heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life, for His presence kindles faith that works by love making true obedience to all of God's commandments a delight! Jesus brings us joy over our temptation to despair. There is hope! "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost" (Romans 15:13).
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What a blessing it is to behold Jesus and trust that He is able to make us like Him in mind and character to go forth in His service as true missionaries! By His grace each soul that surrenders fully to Him is imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and is enabled to obey the law of God up to the light He has revealed to the soul! May we daily choose to walk closely with Jesus in His purpose of giving the gospel to the world!
The followers of Christ are to labor as He did. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and inspire hope in the hopeless. And to us also the promise will be fulfilled, “Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.” Isaiah 58:8. The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart will harden under reproof; but it will melt under the love of Christ. The missionary cannot only relieve physical maladies, but he can lead the sinner to the Great Physician, who can cleanse the soul from the leprosy of sin. Through His servants, God designs that the sick, the unfortunate, those possessed of evil spirits, shall hear His voice. Through His human agencies He desires to be a Comforter such as the world knows not.
Praise God that the greatest joy we can ever know will come from sharing the gospel with souls who need to know Jesus' loveliness of character and the truths of His word that give clarity and confidence in a world of confusion, suffering and pain. We can help hasten Jesus' return by being converted missionaries who love to do God's will and cheerfully step into His plans, led moment by moment by the Holy Spirit!
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To just be quiet and still--are we willing to take the time? God has precious things to speak to us if we will but put Him first and allow His word to speak to our hearts, preparing us for His plans for each day! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in a life that is surrendered and in harmony with God's law of love. Let us daily choose to come aside and rest awhile in the loving presence of Jesus!
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.
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Happy Sabbath! Are you willing to let God use you to bless others? In the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus gave the disciples the distinct privilege of parenting with Him in mission to bless the hungry multitude! As we surrender the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be revealed in the life; we will be empowered to obey God's law of love up to the degree we understand its application in our lives, and we also will become channels of blessing to help others in experiencing God's blessing--whatever God knows they need!
The disciples were the channel of communication between Christ and the people. This should be a great encouragement to His disciples today. Christ is the great center, the source of all strength. His disciples are to receive their supplies from Him. The most intelligent, the most spiritually minded, can bestow only as they receive. Of themselves they can supply nothing for the needs of the soul. We can impart only that which we receive from Christ; and we can receive only as we impart to others. As we continue imparting, we continue to receive; and the more we impart, the more we shall receive. Thus we may be constantly believing, trusting, receiving, and imparting.
Keep sharing what God gives you, and it will just keep multiplying! What a mighty God we serve! Hallelujah!
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Like an open book, Jesus reads your true character. He allows you to go through trials today that, if borne by His grace, will prepare you to stand faithfully when greater tests and trials come. We see this illustrated in the experience of Peter.
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.
When Peter denied Jesus three times right before Christ's crucifixion, it was because Peter failed to learn the lesson of His continual need of Jesus to do any good thing earlier in his experience. Do we realize our continual need of Jesus, moment by moment? If we do, and we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives, and we will be enabled to obey God from the new heart that is transformed by His grace, daily bearing greater and greater trials that prepare us for wider service and a fuller reflection of the loveliness of Jesus. "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which he suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). Christ, the sinless Son of God, also grew and learned through trials, but we can praise God that He endured those trials without ever letting go of His Father and sinning through unbelief. The faith of Jesus is PERFECT faith! By faith, Jesus trusted that the Father was preparing Him to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world; but it was still a struggle for the Father and the Son; we see this struggle in Gethsemane and at Calvary; in Gethsemane, Christ chose the Father's will that led to His crucifixion and resurrection, making salvation accessible to us. Though we are sinners and have fallen short of God's glory of character, the moment we come to God in true repentance and let Jesus be Lord and Savior of our lives, He will live through us by the Holy Spirit, so we can start "walking on water" so to speak, and live in His supernatural victory. Will you let it become reality in your life today? He can keep you and me from falling, but if we do fall through unbelief or neglect of Him, we have an advocate with the Father to help us get back up and walk faithfully with Him in preparation for His glorious, soon second coming!
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WHEN you go through a trial is just as important as the trial itself. Jesus knew that by making plain that He was offering a spiritual rather than a temporal kingdom that it would result in many turning away from Him who were not desirous of the eternal realities His kingdom was based upon. The profound statement, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), revealed He was offering the world character transformation, not merely limitless supplies of temporal bread. But He allowed that trial of faith to transpire when He could help His sincere followers through that season by His personal presence. Thank God for His timing!!
When Jesus presented the testing truth that caused so many of His disciples to turn back, He knew what would be the result of His words; but He had a purpose of mercy to fulfill. He foresaw that in the hour of temptation every one of His beloved disciples would be severely tested. His agony in Gethsemane, His betrayal and crucifixion, would be to them a most trying ordeal. Had no previous test been given, many who were actuated by merely selfish motives would have been connected with them. When their Lord was condemned in the judgment hall; when the multitude who had hailed Him as their king hissed at Him and reviled Him; when the jeering crowd cried, “Crucify Him!”—when their worldly ambitions were disappointed, these self-seeking ones would, by renouncing their allegiance to Jesus, have brought upon the disciples a bitter, heart-burdening sorrow, in addition to their grief and disappointment in the ruin of their fondest hopes. In that hour of darkness, the example of those who turned from Him might have carried others with them. But Jesus brought about this crisis while by His personal presence He could still strengthen the faith of His true followers.
The true faith of Jesus is selfless. It is not based on what we can get in this world, but is rooted in love and trust by an intelligent appreciation of the infinite excellence and matchless loveliness of His divine character. When we see Jesus for who He REALLY IS, we can find our walk with God only growing more deeply from some of the deepest trials of our lives. When we live by faith on Jesus as a personal Lord and Savior, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. But those fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance are to grow in a character that like a tree needs to be pruned. The desire of the disciples to see Jesus coronated as an earthly king with earthly glory was a branch that had to be pruned off. So our earthly desires and expectations that are not rooted in God's will for us in light of His kingdom, though it may be painful to have them pruned off, will in the end prove to bring about even greater fruitfulness and a more joyful, affectionate obedience to God's holy law of love. We need to trust God's love even in the seasons of pruning and trial. God is still good even when things do not feel good. His love is measureless and eternal. Rest in Him and walk by faith in the path He guides you to travel. He will never fail you.
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Christ, the Word (see John 1:1-3), never lessened the importance of the word of God in His life or teachings. He knew that traditions had been put in place of God's word that caused confusion and perplexity to those who really had a desire to serve God, and so He lived and taught in such a way that the word was presented as of unquestionable authority. Thankfully, we can come to God's word in full surrender with a willing heart and let the Holy Spirit fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. As we apply the word of God to our souls in the experience of true conversion, we are empowered to obey God up to the light we have received. Take God at His word, just as it reads.
Never, by word or deed, did Jesus lessen man's obligation to present gifts and offerings to God. It was Christ who gave all the directions of the law in regard to tithes and offerings. When on earth He commended the poor woman who gave her all to the temple treasury. But the apparent zeal for God on the part of the priests and rabbis was a pretense to cover their desire for self-aggrandizement. The people were deceived by them. They were bearing heavy burdens which God had not imposed. Even the disciples of Christ were not wholly free from the yoke that had been bound upon them by inherited prejudice and rabbinical authority. Now, by revealing the true spirit of the rabbis, Jesus sought to free from the bondage of tradition all who were really desirous of serving God.
What a blessing it is to return our tithe and offering to God's remnant church and also give to further missions around the world! It is a delight to serve God wholeheartedly! "I delight to do Thy will, O my God: Yea, Thy law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
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Christ's intentionality is a revelation of His kindness. We see this clearly in how He ministered to the Syrophenician woman whose daughter was demon possessed. He desires to impart that intentional kindness (along with all of the fruits of the Spirit, without one missing) into our lives and characters as His truly converted disciples.
Christ knew this woman's situation. He knew that she was longing to see Him, and He placed Himself in her path. By ministering to her sorrow, He could give a living representation of the lesson He designed to teach. For this He had brought His disciples into this region. He desired them to see the ignorance existing in cities and villages close to the land of Israel. The people who had been given every opportunity to understand the truth were without a knowledge of the needs of those around them. No effort was made to help souls in darkness. The partition wall which Jewish pride had erected, shut even the disciples from sympathy with the heathen world. But these barriers were to be broken down.
The barriers Jesus breaks down open ways for hearts to be reached for His kingdom. Are you willing to let Jesus use you to be a blessing to others, letting God lead you in paths of intentional kindness?
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Sincerity--to truly mean what we say from the heart, and to be who we profess to be as a Christian--that is such a gift from God. Apart from Him, we are liable to drift into hypocrisy and unbelief, but united to Christ in a living faith surrender, we sincerely allow the Holy Spirit to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Praise God we can be sincere and honest in our walk with God--by His grace through His faith for His glory for the accomplishment of His purpose--the spreading of the "everlasting gospel" (Revelation 14:6-12) to "all whole world" (Matthew 24:14)!
The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God's glory is the motive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working of the Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banish self-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working. When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when it leads us to seek God's glory and not our own, we may know that it is of the right order. “Father, glorify Thy name” (John 12:28), was the keynote of Christ's life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynote of our life. He commands us to “walk, even as He walked;” and “hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” 1 John 2:6, 3.
True obedience to all of God's commandments from the heart is the result of constant union and communion with Christ as we walk in the path He has appointed for us in His service!
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It's not really about you. God is longing and willing to use you, but each member of His church is to love and respect one another, without getting into controversy about who is the greatest. Let us keep our focus on the leadership of our Lord and Savior, letting Him lead us by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!
The Saviour did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to the church. And the same in substance was spoken also to the twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest. They would have submitted to the wish of their Master, and honored the one whom He had chosen.
When we partake of the divine nature by a full surrender to Christ, applying His word to our lives, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart. What a blessing it is to realize that the only true greatness is humility blended with selfless service, which we find and experience in Jesus as we abide in Him.
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Happy Sabbath! Praise God for the victory Jesus won for us at the cross! At the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah were sent to encourage Jesus to go through with the great sacrifice, for they were already happy residents of heaven, and their salvation depended upon enduring by faith all that would befall Him in Gethsemane and Calvary leading up to His resurrection. We can praise God that JESUS DID IT!!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we surrender FULLY to Jesus and let Him live in us by the Holy Spirit! Praise God!!
But before the crown must come the cross. Not the inauguration of Christ as king, but the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, is the subject of their conference with Jesus. Bearing the weakness of humanity, and burdened with its sorrow and sin, Jesus walked alone in the midst of men. As the darkness of the coming trial pressed upon Him, He was in loneliness of spirit, in a world that knew Him not. Even His loved disciples, absorbed in their own doubt and sorrow and ambitious hopes, had not comprehended the mystery of His mission. He had dwelt amid the love and fellowship of heaven; but in the world that He had created, He was in solitude. Now heaven had sent its messengers to Jesus; not angels, but men who had endured suffering and sorrow, and who could sympathize with the Saviour in the trial of His earthly life. Moses and Elijah had been colaborers with Christ. They had shared His longing for the salvation of men. Moses had pleaded for Israel: “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.” Exodus 32:32. Elijah had known loneliness of spirit, as for three years and a half of famine he had borne the burden of the nation's hatred and its woe. Alone he had stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Alone he had fled to the desert in anguish and despair. These men, chosen above every angel around the throne, had come to commune with Jesus concerning the scenes of His suffering, and to comfort Him with the assurance of the sympathy of heaven. The hope of the world, the salvation of every human being, was the burden of their interview.
What Jesus did for us is ESSENTIAL to salvation. So let us behold Him in His infinite loveliness and truly believe the power of the gospel can change sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into sin! He is preparing heavenly mansions for us just as surely as He is preparing places for us in this fallen world for us to minister and win souls! Let us keep Jesus, His word, and ALL HE HAS DONE central in the way we live and teach the gospel!
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Consecration is what we need. Jesus modeled it and lived it consistently. He offers us His consecration by the infilling of the Holy Spirit so we are enabled to overcome unbelief and live in total surrender to His word. When this total surrender is made as we live by faith on Jesus as a living Savior, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest in the life as we are enabled to obey God up to the light He has revealed to us. There is victory in Jesus continually for all who are willing to be made willing and yoke up with Him in His plans to bless and save others. The disciples' unbelief was what kept them from being able to be channels of blessing and healing to the afflicted child. May we not let slip total consecration and thus miss opportunities of blessing and saving souls!
In order to succeed in such a conflict they must come to the work in a different spirit. Their faith must be strengthened by fervent prayer and fasting, and humiliation of heart. They must be emptied of self, and be filled with the Spirit and power of God. Earnest, persevering supplication to God in faith—faith that leads to entire dependence upon God, and unreserved consecration to His work—can alone avail to bring men the Holy Spirit's aid in the battle against principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits in high places.
The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. All the hosts of evil--Satan, the fallen angels, and the rebellious in this fallen world--are all manifesting self. They are living in defiance of the laws that our loving Creator has established for eternal existence and happiness. The Farther, Son and Holy Spirit, along with the unfallen angels, are manifesting selfless love. The redeemed saints who are converted are daily learning how to overcome self by staying vitally connected to Christ! Thankfully, God gives us probation to choose if we are going to side with Satan in his doomed cause or yield to Jesus who has ALREADY WON THE VICTORY! The battle belongs to the Lord because HE ALREADY WON!!! Praise the Lord!!
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Are you in love with Jesus? Because if you are so in love with Him that you surrender all you have and are to Him, you are tasting true greatness! "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3-4).
Again Jesus explained to the disciples that His kingdom is not characterized by earthly dignity and display. At the feet of Jesus all these distinctions are forgotten.
What a blessing to forget about self and focus on Jesus! What a blessing to forget about all the things that the world tends to use to base our worth or identity on, and instead focus on union and communion with Jesus in true conversion! Such an experience will be unmistakably witnessed in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in a life of true obedience to all of God's commandments! THAT IS LOVE IN ACTION!!
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We need wisdom. Christ is our source of wisdom. As we look to Him, His selfless life example shows us that He understood His purpose in this world and acted in accordance always with the Father's plans. So our experience may be if we are fully surrendered to Christ and abiding in His selfless love so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in our lives for His glory as we walk in true obedience to all of His commandments!
The world for Christ was not a place of ease and self-aggrandizement. He was not watching for an opportunity to seize its power and its glory. It held out no such prize for Him. It was the place into which His Father had sent Him. He had been given for the life of the world, to work out the great plan of redemption. He was accomplishing His work for the fallen race. But He was not to be presumptuous, not to rush into danger, not to hasten a crisis. Each event in His work had its appointed hour. He must wait patiently. He knew that He was to receive the world's hatred; He knew that His work would result in His death; but to prematurely expose Himself would not be the will of His Father.
We can trust God fully as we journey in this fallen world on a mission to reach souls as Jesus leads us all the way!
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Let's truly listen to Jesus by yielding our heart and will to Him. The facts of Jesus' ministry, the inspiration of the word of God and God's existence cannot be denied, but they will prove of no avail if the whole heart is not surrendered to the Holy Spirit. When that entire surrender is made in childlike faith and trust, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in the life without one missing! Such a new birth produces a life that is brought supernaturally into harmony with God's law of love. Such a miracle Jesus offers us each day. By beholding Him, we become changed into the image of His infinite loveliness!
“My teaching is not Mine,” said Jesus, “but His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” John 7:16, 17, R. V. The question of these cavilers Jesus met, not by answering the cavil, but by opening up truth vital to the salvation of the soul. The perception and appreciation of truth, He said, depends less upon the mind than upon the heart. Truth must be received into the soul; it claims the homage of the will. If truth could be submitted to the reason alone, pride would be no hindrance in the way of its reception. But it is to be received through the work of grace in the heart; and its reception depends upon the renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. Man's advantages for obtaining a knowledge of the truth, however great these may be, will prove of no benefit to him unless the heart is open to receive the truth, and there is a conscientious surrender of every habit and practice that is opposed to its principles. To those who thus yield themselves to God, having an honest desire to know and to do His will, the truth is revealed as the power of God for their salvation. These will be able to distinguish between him who speaks for God, and him who speaks merely from himself. The Pharisees had not put their will on the side of God's will. They were not seeking to know the truth, but to find some excuse for evading it; Christ showed that this was why they did not understand His teaching.
If we truly want to understand God's word, we need to put it into practice in our lives. Then the victory over sin that Jesus offers us become our lived experience as a powerful witness to the grace of God as sufficient to transform a sinner into a saint, and keep such a new creation growing in grace and godliness!
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What would it be like to look upon the face of Jesus for the first time? In the case of the blind man whose eyes Jesus fully healed, we can reflect on how wonderful a countenance He beheld! By faith, we also can look upon the loveliness of the countenance of Jesus, looking forward to the day when we will see Him face to face if we keep surrendering to His will and letting the Holy Spirit direct our lives heavenward!
For the first time the blind man looked upon the face of his Restorer. Before the council he had seen his parents troubled and perplexed; he had looked upon the frowning faces of the rabbis; now his eyes rested upon the loving, peaceful countenance of Jesus. Already, at great cost to himself, he had acknowledged Him as a delegate of divine power; now a higher revelation was granted him.
God has more light and truth for us if we will walk in it. This restored man was open to truth, grateful for what Jesus had done in restoring His sight. So Jesus loves to restore our spiritual sight so we can discern the truth as it is in Him and walk in true conversion whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest in the life! If we are willing to be made willing, true obedience from the heart will be our highest delight!
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What is your motivation?
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour's matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary's cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.
When we are moved by the love of Christ, we have the true, enduring motivation to follow Him all the way to heaven, in whatever paths of service He knows are best for us both in this life and in the life to come. The key to true happiness is entire conformity of the will to God's will, ever keeping before us God's goodness that leads us to repentance and transformation of life. By surrendering the whole heart to Jesus Christ, the divine-human Savior, we live by faith in an affectionate union and communion of our souls with Him whereby all of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in our lives as we gladly obey God's law up to the light of truth He has shown us! Praise God for the motivation of love! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
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Happy Sabbath!!
Let us appreciate more fully the ministry of the Holy Spirit in lifting our thoughts and desires to Jesus, our ever-present Savior and guide!
The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy's power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. When temptations and trials come, do not wait to adjust all the difficulties, but look to Jesus, your helper.
Jesus is stronger than Satan. Talk and think of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him and abide in His love so that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be revealed in our lives as we follow the path Jesus marks out for us in true obedience to all of His holy commandments!
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We all need help. In Jesus we find infinite help for our infinite need. Only He can redeem and uplift us from the ruin and degradation which sin has wrought. But when we fully surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing and we shall be enabled to reflect Christ's character to those who need hope and healing. Abiding in Jesus makes it possible for us to be true, effectual medical missionaries to seek and save the lost. The kind, merciful man--who just happened to be a Samaritan--was just such an example of revealing Christ's character. We are to "go and do likewise."
"Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness." Galatians 6:1. By faith and prayer press back the power of the enemy. Speak words of faith and courage that will be as a healing balsam to the bruised and wounded one. Many, many, have fainted and become discouraged in the great struggle of life, when one word of kindly cheer would have strengthened them to overcome. Never should we pass by one suffering soul without seeking to impart to him of the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God.
Praise God for the gift of salvation that motivates and empowers us to live like Christ. There is no greater joy than keeping Jesus first, putting others next, and self last.
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Let it go! When we surrender fully to Christ, all the selfishness and earthliness that would tend to obstruct the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness can be cast away as worthless dross so we can abide in Christ in an affectionate union and communion with the Savior who is powerful enough to restore the most broken sinner into a transformed saint reflecting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! What a joy to overcome in Christ and obey His commandments because they are the definition of true happiness! We can learn from the struggles of the experiences the disciples had in finding what truly matters and keeping Christ in His infinite loveless central! Praise God for the love of Christ!
Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which He sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ's ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour's character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of glory. As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which He had wrought. The wonders of His life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realized that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed, to themselves, of much less importance than before they realized this. They never wearied of rehearsing His words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became to them a new book.
There is no limit to what God can do with us as we are all in, all the time, all the way!!!!
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Let us choose to unite with Jesus in winning souls--especially children--to Christ! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our lives as we surrender fully to Christ and let Him live out His life in us! Praise God!
The Christian worker may be Christ's agent in drawing these children to the Saviour. By wisdom and tact he may bind them to his heart, he may give them courage and hope, and through the grace of Christ may see them transformed in character, so that of them it may be said, “Of such is the kingdom of God.”
The kingdom of God begins in the heart that is truly converted. Even a little child can have the peace and love that Jesus gives them as they grow in His grace and truth! Praise God!
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Jesus loves you. He loved the rich young ruler, too. But He loved him too much to let him pursue a course of life that would allow him to remain self-deceived, and thus Jesus called this man to follow him, sell what he had, and give to the poor. Had he done this, he could have enjoyed the love, joy and peace of the Holy Spirit with all of the attributes (fruits) of the divine nature in his life without one missing. Without making that full surrender, he would only have the transient things of this life, and an inner sorrow that could never be filled (sadly, that is what he chose).
We were made to know and love God, and apart from Him in the path and plan He has for us, our souls will not experience true life fulfillment. We need to SEE our need of Jesus, just like how Jesus addresses the Laodicean Church (Revelation 3:14-22), and when we do accept the reproof in love, we can have total character transformation by receiving Christ's gold tried in the fire (faith working by love), white raiment (Christ's perfect righteousness revealed in right doing from right motives), and eyesalve (the continual presence of the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual discernment of our continual need of Jesus). Let us allow Jesus to do the needed work in our characters by afresh beholding His infinite loveliness, yielding to Him the WHOLE heart, and walking in the path of His choosing! True, affectionate obedience to all of God's holy commandments is the fruit of knowing and loving God in a complete surrender!
The ruler's possessions were entrusted to him that he might prove himself a faithful steward; he was to dispense these goods for the blessing of those in need. So God now entrusts men with means, with talents and opportunities, that they may be His agents in helping the poor and the suffering. He who uses his entrusted gifts as God designs becomes a co-worker with the Saviour. He wins souls to Christ, because he is a representative of His character.
As we reveal Jesus in a world that is desperately in need of a revelation of lives that are not bent on self-seeking, but rather choose to live for God's glory, He is calling each of us to be "all in" for Him. Will you come to Christ as He draws you and choose to surrender all?
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The love Christ has is deep and personal. We can be His close friends--like Lazarus, Martha and Mary!
Among the most steadfast of Christ's disciples was Lazarus of Bethany. From their first meeting his faith in Christ had been strong; his love for Him was deep, and he was greatly beloved by the Saviour. It was for Lazarus that the greatest of Christ's miracles was performed. The Saviour blessed all who sought His help; He loves all the human family, but to some He is bound by peculiarly tender associations. His heart was knit by a strong bond of affection to the family at Bethany, and for one of them His most wonderful work was wrought.
Trust Him through your trials. Because Jesus loves you, He leads in the way that is best. When we surrender the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. Jesus allowed Lazarus to get sick and die, but He resurrected Him to illustrate the depth of His love and His power over death! Jesus can deliver you, too, from the power of death--sin! Trust Him fully!
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Jesus raised the dead. He raised Lazarus, and that was such an amazing, undeniable miracle that a council was set up to try to plan what to do. Sadly, the voice of Satan was what was listened to, rather than the sweet, healing voice of the Holy Spirit.
At this council Christ's enemies had been deeply convicted. The Holy Spirit had impressed their minds. But Satan strove to gain control of them. He urged upon their notice the grievances they had suffered on account of Christ. How little He had honored their righteousness. He presented a righteousness far greater, which all who would be children of God must possess. Taking no notice of their forms and ceremonies, He had encouraged sinners to go directly to God as a merciful Father, and make known their wants. Thus, in their opinion, He had set aside the priesthood. He had refused to acknowledge the theology of the rabbinical schools. He had exposed the evil practices of the priests, and had irreparably hurt their influence. He had injured the effect of their maxims and traditions, declaring that though they strictly enforced the ritual law, they made void the law of God. All this Satan now brought to their minds.
If we choose to listen to the voice of Satan and obey his suggestions, we will manifest the works of Satan--who seeks to steal, kill and destroy. But if we listen to the voice of Jesus and surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are enabled to do God's will revealed in His law from the new heart He gives us! Let us choose the way of faith working by love!
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Happy Sabbath!
The roles we have and the positions we occupy in God's selfless kingdom are really about character. And that is why Jesus said what He did.
“But to sit on My right hand, and on My left,” He continued, “is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father.” In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus set the perfect example of character. More than this, He died as our sacrifice to take our sinful character upon Himself. He did this to forgive and heal us, enabling us to partake of His perfect character by receiving His righteousness by His faith! Praise God for the love of Christ that constrains us to go forward in the path of self-denial because we love Him who first loved us. Such a life and character of true conversion to Christ will be manifest with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are enabled to obey the law of God from the heart up to the light He has shown us. Each day character is being built and formed by the motives, thoughts, feelings, words, and actions we choose; if we see our need of transformation, we can go to Jesus just as we are and surrender to Him so we can partake of the divine nature! For with God all things are possible! "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
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What a joy it is to know and love a God who sees the WHOLE PICTURE of eternity! Because He sees things that way, we can start living and thinking that way, and it changes our perspective to be one of joy and gratitude that His plan to repopulate heaven with a holy, happy family of saints from this little world will be fulfilled!
Christ declared to His hearers that if there were no resurrection of the dead, the Scriptures which they professed to believe would be of no avail. He said, “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” God counts the things that are not as though they were. He sees the end from the beginning, and beholds the result of His work as though it were now accomplished. The precious dead, from Adam down to the last saint who dies, will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will come forth from the grave to immortal life. God will be their God, and they shall be His people. There will be a close and tender relationship between God and the risen saints. This condition, which is anticipated in His purpose, He beholds as if it were already existing. The dead live unto Him.
Praise God for the power of God to raise the dead, which is also His same power to raise us from spiritual death and make us partakers of the divine nature! When we are vitally connected to Jesus by a living faith surrender, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives and we will be enabled by His divine grace to love God from the heart and love others as ourselves!
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Happy Sabbath!!
Do you remember? If you reflect on how God has treated you your whole life, it can really melt you. His goodness leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). His love will break down the barriers that were keeping you from a complete surrender, and no matter how far you have fallen, or what you have done, there is hope for you in Jesus! Peter remembered the love of Christ after his disgraceful denial, and he was reconverted after that experience, because he remembered the love of Christ and chose to surrender all to Him. May we, too, never forget that infinite, unfathomable love!
A tide of memories rushed over him. The Saviour's tender mercy, His kindness and long-suffering, His gentleness and patience toward His erring disciples,—all was remembered. He recalled the caution, “Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” Luke 22:31, 32. He reflected with horror upon his own ingratitude, his falsehood, his perjury. Once more he looked at his Master, and saw a sacrilegious hand raised to smite Him in the face. Unable longer to endure the scene, he rushed, heartbroken, from the hall.
Knowing that God loves us should do something to our hearts. If we love Him, we will obey Him. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life of one who is truly converted in full surrender to Christ. Oh, let us remember God's love and respond to Him by yielding humble, affectionate obedience to all of His commandments!
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The glory of God will transform sinners into saints if they will behold it on a regular basis. It is a Bible promise.
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Cor. 3:18.
What is the glory of God? It is His character.
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When we are truly converted, we are new creatures. We have love, joy, and peace that passes all understanding. As long as we remain fully surrendered to God, we will walk in all of the light God has given to us. There is no condemnation to all who are in Christ Jesus. The truth is that many who think they are in Christ Jesus, are not. How can we tell which ones are in Christ and which ones are not in Christ? Read the rest of Romans 8:1. Some Bibles have deleted the rest of the verse. But, the KJV has not.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
While Satan has triumphed over his great deception in making professing Christians believe they have salvation when they do not, when we continue reading in Romans chapter 8, we find that even though he has perverted the first verse in Romans 8, there is enough in the rest of the chapter that says the same truth that if we have not His Spirit, we are none of His.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.