The Glory of God

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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.

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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.   

[Sean James]

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!!

[Sean James]

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!!

[Sean James]

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!

[Sean James]

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!