The Glory of God

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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).

[Sean James]

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:; 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!!

[Sean James]

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!!!

[Sean James]

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.

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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).

[Sean James]

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!!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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).

[Sean James]

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).

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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).

[Sean James]

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.