The Glory of God

[Sean James]

You are so deeply loved. God sent His Son into our world at such an infinite cost--for Christ would yield up His omnipresence (the ability to be everywhere at the same time) in becoming a human being! Love takes risks and thinks and acts selflessly. Let us look up to Jesus constantly, and appreciate how our Heavenly Father felt about His Son coming to our world! As you yield unreservedly to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in your life as long as you remain connected to Him in constant union and communion with Him!

 The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child, and trembles at the thought of life's peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan's power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son, that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones. “Herein is love.” Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!

What a joy we have to be able to enjoy the love of God toward us!  Let us reveal that love to others each day!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! What a joy to receive true happiness from Jesus! Looking to Him, surrendering to Him, abiding in Him, we will find the true source of happiness--His presence in our souls! When Christ abides within us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest--not one missing! As love leads to affectionate obedience to God's law, we will gladly obey the law of God from a heart renewed by the Holy Spirit up to every known statute of His truth! What a joy to grow more like Jesus and point others to Him!

"That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." In the light of the Saviour's life, the hearts of all, even from the Creator to the prince of darkness, are revealed. Satan has represented God as selfish and oppressive, as claiming all, and giving nothing, as requiring the service of His creatures for His own glory, and making no sacrifice for their good. But the gift of Christ reveals the Father's heart. It testifies that the thoughts of God toward us are "thoughts of peace, and not of evil." Jeremiah 29:11. It declares that while God's hatred of sin is as strong as death, His love for the sinner is stronger than death. Having undertaken our redemption, He will spare nothing, however dear, which is necessary to the completion of His work. No truth essential to our salvation is withheld, no miracle of mercy is neglected, no divine agency is left unemployed. Favor is heaped upon favor, gift upon gift. The whole treasury of heaven is open to those He seeks to save. Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, All these are for man. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me. 

Christ is willing to live out His life in you, and make you a true witness of His character! Will you let Jesus do in and through you what He so longs to to? Surrender all and cooperate with Him by the Holy Spirit to taste and see that He is truly good!

[Sean James]

When we truly behold Jesus and allow nothing to eclipse the loveliness of His character, we will be happy to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate! The magi were glad to give their best to Jesus! Let us go and do likewise as we respond to Christ's converting, sanctifying grace that enables sinners to become saints who reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

The magi had been among the first to welcome the Redeemer. Their gift was the first that was laid at His feet. And through that gift, what privilege of ministry was theirs! The offering from the heart that loves, God delights to honor, giving it highest efficiency in service for Him. If we have given our hearts to Jesus, we also shall bring our gifts to Him. Our gold and silver, our most precious earthly possessions, our highest mental and spiritual endowments, will be freely devoted to Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us.

As we let God have our best for His service, we will be the happiest knowing that for such a purpose were created--to glorify and honor God!

[Sean James]

No one and nothing is unimportant to God. He is love, and cares intimately and infinitely for all He has made. As seen in the beautiful, perfect earthly life of Jesus, the Son of God who became flesh and dwelt among us, we see a clear revelation of the character He is willing to live out through us today as we behold Him, yield our will to Him fully, and allow Him to give us a new heart and mind. Then all the fruits of the Spirit flow forth from our recreated inmost being as we abide in Him who loves us and gave Himself for us. Gladly we experience true heart obedience because Jesus' life is merged with our life, and we go forward in His providence to bless others!

Jesus was the fountain of healing mercy for the world; and through all those secluded years at Nazareth, His life flowed out in currents of sympathy and tenderness. The aged, the sorrowing, and the sin-burdened, the children at play in their innocent joy, the little creatures of the groves, the patient beasts of burden,--all were happier for His presence. He whose word of power upheld the worlds would stoop to relieve a wounded bird. There was nothing beneath His notice, nothing to which He disdained to minister.

May we see each experience around us as a ministry opportunity to reveal the loveliness of Jesus. No matter how fallen we are, His grace is sufficient to empower us to a life of obedience because we love Him who first loved us!

[Sean James]

How can you live a happy, victorious Christian life filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing? Come commune with Jesus and do not let other temptations pull you away from appreciating His loveliness of character. Then His experience becomes ours, and our life is hid in Him. What a joy to be complete in Christ and have the Holy Spirit transform us from one degree of Christ's character perfection to the next degree of Christ's character perfection! As long as the whole heart is yielded to Him, He abides in us and we in Him and the sinful heart of unbelief, also known as the flesh, is kept under by the divine nature accessible to us in His word by the Holy Spirit!

     If Joseph and Mary had stayed their minds upon God by meditation and prayer, they would have realized the sacredness of their trust, and would not have lost sight of Jesus. By one day's neglect they lost the Saviour; but it cost them three days of anxious search to find Him. So with us; by idle talk, evilspeaking, or neglect of prayer, we may in one day lose the Saviour's presence, and it may take many days of sorrowful search to find Him, and regain the peace that we have lost.
     In our association with one another, we should take heed lest we forget Jesus, and pass along unmindful that He is not with us. When we become absorbed in worldly things so that we have no thought for Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered, we separate ourselves from Jesus and from the heavenly angels. These holy beings cannot remain where the Saviour's presence is not desired, and His absence is not marked. This is why discouragement so often exists among the professed followers of Christ. 
     Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence. 
     It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross. 
     As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Let us experience this and encourage others also in this happy way to be ready for heaven!

[Sean James]

Every soul has infinite value because of the infinite price paid for the soul by the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Even now He is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary to blot from the record books all of the sins of His truly converted people who by grace through faith have experienced true repentance leading to confession and renunciation of every sin that the Spirit of God reveals. We need Jesus continually to do any good thing, and when He is in us, the experiences of His earthly life will be wrought out in our experience by abiding in Him. May this the way Jesus lived His early be a living invitation to go and do likewise by the power of the Holy Spirit!

He taught all to look upon themselves as endowed with precious talents, which if rightly employed would secure for them eternal riches. He weeded all vanity from life, and by His own example taught that every moment of time is fraught with eternal results; that it is to be cherished as a treasure, and to be employed for holy purposes. He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul. In whatever company He found Himself, He presented a lesson that was appropriate to the time and the circumstances. He sought to inspire with hope the most rough and unpromising, setting before them the assurance that they might become blameless and harmless, attaining such a character as would make them manifest as the children of God. Often He met those who had drifted under Satan's control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.   

When a child realizes that they can choose Jesus' plan for their life over Satan's plan, it is amazing! Each of us has a choice--God's will, or the deceptive path of selfishness which leads to death. Only as we realize that Christ has something infinitely better for us by receiving His thoughts, which lead to actions, which lead to habits, which lead to character will there be a lasting change in our life heavenward. May we ask people, "How are you thinking today?" because they can receive God's thoughts from His word--and then the entire life experience can be brought into harmony with God's divine plan to repopulate heaven with beings who know and love to do His will!

[Sean James]

As we learn our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing as we see our natural inefficiency and unworthiness, we will be able to be fearless amid changing surroundings because we have allowed the love of God to fill our hearts and minds as we behold the King in His beauty as did John who was called to prepare for Jesus' first advent, like how God has His people to give the present truth message to prepare for the second coming of Jesus!

He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten. He beheld the majesty of holiness, and felt himself to be inefficient and unworthy. He was ready to go forth as Heaven's messenger, unawed by the human, because he had looked upon the Divine. He could stand erect and fearless in the presence of earthly monarchs, because he had bowed low before the King of kings.

Let self be lost in Jesus today. Behold Him and become changed into His image and character, a character that is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in wholehearted affectionate obedience to God!

[Sean James]

Who initiates and completes the work? It is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, and it is so phenomenal that the gift that reconciles us to Himself is provided by God Himself. God is in Christ reconciling us to Himself and He invites us to really believe that He loves us and abide in Him in a moment-by-moment union and communion with Him! The joy of the Lord is our strength because of what Christ has done for us!

None among the hearers, and not even the speaker himself, discerned the import of these words, "the Lamb of God." Upon Mount Moriah, Abraham had heard the question of his son, "My father, . . . where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The father answered, "My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering." Genesis 22:7, 8. And in the ram divinely provided in the place of Isaac, Abraham saw a symbol of Him who was to die for the sins of men. The Holy Spirit through Isaiah, taking up the illustration, prophesied of the Saviour, "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter," "and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:7, 6); but the people of Israel had not understood the lesson. Many of them regarded the sacrificial offerings much as the heathen looked upon their sacrifices,--as gifts by which they themselves might propitiate the Deity. God desired to teach them that from His own love comes the gift which reconciles them to Himself.

As we behold the loveliness of Jesus, we can yield to the gracious motivation of His love and allow His atoning blood to cleanse us from every stain of sin while filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! There is no greater joy than being in the center of God's will!

[Sean James]

Who needs signs and wonders when you have the word of God? God gives us grace to do His will by His word, and Jesus perfect example of faithfulness under temptation when passing through the wilderness gives us hope that by abiding in Him by His word, we may walk in constant victory over sin and experience sweetest union and communion with Jesus in infinite intimacy! Let nothing eclipse the loveliness of His character before your eyes of faith today!

Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. "It is written," He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a "Thus saith the Lord," was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage. 

Satan is trying to trick us into thinking that what sin offers us will be to our advantage, but sin is always a loss, and we can find the greatest joy of victory in staying connected to Christ by surrendering fully to His word! Look to Jesus and live! Then all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in your life as long as Jesus abides in your soul!

[Sean James]

Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12.   

We can choose to walk in victory moment-by-moment as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! Let us realize the value of the character experience we are being offered can only be fully realized when we are in heaven seeing all Jesus risked for us.

[Sean James]

As men set forth the best wine first, then afterward that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which it offers may please the eye and fascinate the senses, but it proves to be unsatisfying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which was begun with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disgust. But the gifts of Jesus are ever fresh and new. The feast that He provides for the soul never fails to give satisfaction and joy. Each new gift increases the capacity of the receiver to appreciate and enjoy the blessings of the Lord. He gives grace for grace. There can be no failure of supply. If you abide in Him, the fact that you receive a rich gift today insures the reception of a richer gift tomorrow. The words of Jesus to Nathanael express the law of God's dealing with the children of faith. With every fresh revelation of His love, He declares to the receptive heart, "Believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." John 1:50. 

Let us choose Jesus today and allow Him to give us a richer gift than what we experienced yesterday! By abiding in Jesus, we can overcome and experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in our lives. Growth in grace is a result of beholding, surrendering, and abiding in Jesus.

[Sean James]

What is God's purpose for our lives?

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." Rev. 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; . . . and they shall be My people." "He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 2 Cor. 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and "an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21, 22.

Jesus desires to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we happily obey His law of love from a heart renewed by divine grace. Apart from Him we can do no good thing, but united to Him by the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to what He can do for and through us to bless others and fulfill the purposes He has for us. May this day be filled with the Holy Spirit in a marked manner, as we pray for the early and the latter rain of the Holy Spirit to use us to win souls!

[Sean James]

God's plans are infinite, and as we behold Jesus, yield fully to Him, and become truly converted so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our life, we experience a mystery that will reach throughout eternity--starting now!!

It is impossible for finite minds to comprehend the work of redemption. Its mystery exceeds human knowledge; yet he who passes from death to life realizes that it is a divine reality. The beginning of redemption we may know here through a personal experience. Its results reach through the eternal ages.

May your day be a foretaste of heaven by having Jesus constantly in your heart by a living faith surrender to His will!

[Sean James]

May we let Jesus be lifted higher as we are hidden behind His glory. As we behold Jesus, we will be willing to be like John the Baptist who came to point souls to Him!

The work of God is not to bear the image and superscription of man. From time to time the Lord will bring in different agencies, through whom His purpose can best be accomplished. Happy are they who are willing for self to be humbled, saying with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Looking in faith to the Redeemer, we can experience true self-abnegation which is manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we obey the law of God from a heart renewed by divine grace!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! Are you thirsty? Of course you are! We were all designed by God to need water, and just as this is true in our physical nature, so we were created by God to thirst for the living water, the grace of Christ that will renew our hearts and minds in His image! Then as we surrender in humble faith to Jesus and receive His grace to renew our will, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be our experience because we keep abiding in Him so our lives reflect Him!

He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that want. The need of the world, "The Desire of all nations," is Christ. The divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying, refreshing, and invigorating the soul. 

Christ will live in us as an abiding guest, and we will affectionately obey God because we are created anew in His image of relational love as seen in Jesus' life and expressed in the Ten Commandments!