The Glory of God

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean]

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).

[Sean]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

"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! 

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean]

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!

[Sean James]

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?