The Glory of God

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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? 

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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:.

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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)!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!!!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!