The Glory of God

[Sean James]

What a joy it is to surrender all to Jesus rather than to turn away from Him sorrowful like the rich young ruler. Let us realize our continual need of Jesus to do any good thing, let Him cleanse our hearts from all sin, and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--then we can gladly obey God's law from a heart renewed by His divine grace!

To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trust and have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to give up all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for all who would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can be accepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ. Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative, because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those things which, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being. 

As we experience the power of the gospel, we are invited to give it in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, proclaiming with a loud voice the truth that Christ is our righteousness (imputed and imparted) as we surrender ALL to Him, leading us to fear God and give glory to Him in obedience to all of the Ten Commandments, including the fourth, and to share the reality that Babylon is fallen--the systems of confusion and error under the great head of the Roman Church that fulfills the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation as the power that would "think to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25) so we can warn all to know that to continue to remain in Babylon is perilous on the verge of the second coming of Christ! Why? Because the enforcement of Sunday observance (the mark of the beast enforced) in contrast to the willing worship on the Sabbath of the fourth commandment means that those who continue in sin will receive the seven last plagues! Repentance is a gift from Jesus, and we SO NEED JESUS moment-by-moment so we can give the present truth message for our time with a heart renewed with His love for those who need to know the message for our time! May you boldly, lovingly, and faithfully share and live the message for our time by following Jesus wherever He goes!

[Sean James]

What a joy it is to know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying! Jesus is coming again very soon in harmony with His holy word, and He allows the trials that build our character to have an uninterrupted union and communion with Him as we have learned in prior trials how to trust Him no matter what!

"For your sakes," "to the intent ye may believe." To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly," 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience. 

The joy of salvation is not dependent upon circumstances. The fruits of the Spirit without one missing can be freely manifest in our characters no matter what we are going through if we are truly converted in receiving the new heart and new mind He promises, because Jesus is the only one who knows what is best and how to direct our lives in His holy will. Surrender fully to Him so He can lead your path based on His word--over all subjective experience, as His word is our anchor of hope and truth. He does deliver and heal us so we can reflect His will!

[Sean James]

As we are in the last days, what are we waiting for? Why is Jesus not yet here? Quite frankly, two crops of character are ripening, and when the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, He will come to claim them as His own. It is also the ripeness of the character of the godly that leads to the final attempt by those who refuse the invitation of mercy to seal their destiny in perdition in plotting the death of the righteous. We have nothing to fear for the future except as we forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our past history. Christ in His pure life is the greatest Example of the pattern character to navigate the last days of earth's history, and we would do well to see that as He was persecuted for being faithful, we need not fear what we will face, for His perfect love casts out fear and enables us to go forward in holy boldness to proclaim the everlasting gospel in the context of the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in the life that is truly converted and abiding in Jesus, leading to affectionate obedience to all of the Ten Commandments because Christ lives in us, the hope of glory!

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you" (Matthew 5:10-12).

Jesus had now given three years of public labor to the world. His example of self-denial and disinterested benevolence was before them. His life of purity, of suffering and devotion, was known to all. Yet this short period of three years was as long as the world could endure the presence of its Redeemer.

As Jesus reveals Himself in you, be courageous and persevering to keep your eyes fixed on His loveliness, for the work of the Spirit will not cease in behalf of those who are walking in true conversion and victory--even when Jesus ceases His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary! Prepare to meet thy God! Jesus is coming again!!

[Sean James]

As we approach Jesus, the great center of our hopes and the One from whom comes all goodness and loveliness of character, we can rejoice to be partakers of the divine nature by having made His promises the foundation of our thoughts, feelings and motives! Then as we act in harmony with the law of love, our lives will bear witness of all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing because Christ lives in us, the hope of glory!

The one who stands nearest to Christ will be he who on earth has drunk most deeply of the spirit of His self-sacrificing love,--love that "vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, . . . seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil" (1 Corinthians 13:4, 5),--love that moves the disciple, as it moved our Lord, to give all, to live and labor and sacrifice, even unto death, for the saving of humanity. This spirit was made manifest in the life of Paul. He said, "For to me to live is Christ;" for his life revealed Christ to men; "and to die is gain,"--gain to Christ; death itself would make manifest the power of His grace, and gather souls to Him. "Christ shall be magnified in my body," he said, "whether it be by life or by death." Philippians 1:21, 20.

When we look upon Jesus and see Him dying to save us from sin and selfishness, self will no longer clamor to be recognized. We shall be willing to be anything or nothing as His providence assigns us in His great plan of love! If you would like to experience Jesus continually in your life, learn to keep your eyes fixed on His loveliness as you surrender the whole heart to Him, thus giving you a true conversion so you can tell others of the wonderful Savior who left heaven to redeem you!!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! Jesus saves!!

It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For "they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." Galatians 3:7.   

Let Christ within your heart to cheer and He will guide you to be in the center of His will, so that by giving you a new heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in your heart and life! Then you can gladly, affectionately obey God's law as the declaration of dependence upon Jesus moment-by-moment to do any good thing!

[Sean James]

Jesus loves us too much to fail to warn us of what will happen if we keep going down a selfish path. Jesus warned the Jews that they needed true repentance and He offered it to them, as without Him they could do nothing. We need Jesus continually and He offers us a new heart so we can be imbued with His Spirit--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable. That barren tree, flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of the Jewish nation. The Saviour desired to make plain to His disciples the cause and the certainty of Israel's doom. For this purpose He invested the tree with moral qualities, and made it the expositor of divine truth. The Jews stood forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been specially favored by Him, and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people. But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of gain. They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements of God, and were full of hypocrisy. Like the barren tree, they spread their pretentious branches aloft, luxuriant in appearance, and beautiful to the eye, but they yielded "nothing but leaves." The Jewish religion, with its magnificent temple, its sacred altars, its mitered priests and impressive ceremonies, was indeed fair in outward appearance, but humility, love, and benevolence were lacking.

When Christ lives in us, He empowers us to overcome sin and to do what God's will is regardless of how many things would pull us away from Christ and faithfulness to Him. Look to Jesus and live!

[Sean James]

Nothing in our world is stable or enduring but Christ and His word. He is the sure foundation upon which our characters may safely be built. As we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can go forward to gladly obey God's law of love!

To those who believe, Christ is the sure foundation. These are they who fall upon the Rock and are broken. Submission to Christ and faith in Him are here represented. To fall upon the Rock and be broken is to give up our self-righteousness and to go to Christ with the humility of a child, repenting of our transgressions, and believing in His forgiving love. And so also it is by faith and obedience that we build on Christ as our foundation. 

We cannot trust ourselves, our own understanding, or our own ways. We can safely look to Jesus, the Word of God, who cannot change and whose promises offer us the gift of partaking of His divine nature. As you look to Jesus and overcome sin by His grace, victory is assured!

[Sean James]

I am SO SO HAPPY Jesus gives us both PARDON and POWER to do His will as revealed in His law of love! I am SO SO THANKFUL that He came not to condemn, but to restore and heal! Then the heart He heals and restores will bear the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionately doing His will! Glory to God forevermore!!

In the law is embodied the same principle that is revealed in the gospel. The law points out man's duty and shows him his guilt. To Christ he must look for pardon and for power to do what the law enjoins.

By looking to Jesus constantly with the eye of faith, we may be strengthened! There is no limit to the usefulness of the soul who puts self aside and makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon the heart and lives a life fully consecrated to God! Let your life be one lived above the confusion of controversy in the joy of His will as revealed in His word and His providential leading!

[Sean James]

What joy it is to behold the loveliness of Jesus moving upon hearts, like it did for the woman who gave her two mites to the cause she loved! Jesus, who gave all, invites us to be "all in" for His glory and overcome sin by His divine nature available to us by His exceedingly great and precious promises! When we yield the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life that is hid with Christ in God! Gladly we may obey Him from a new heart and a new mind!

It is the motive that gives character to our acts, stamping them with ignominy or with high moral worth. Not the great things which every eye sees and every tongue praises does God account most precious. The little duties cheerfully done, the little gifts which make no show, and which to human eyes may appear worthless, often stand highest in His sight. A heart of faith and love is dearer to God than the most costly gift. The poor widow gave her living to do the little that she did. She deprived herself of food in order to give those two mites to the cause she loved. And she did it in faith, believing that her heavenly Father would not overlook her great need. It was this unselfish spirit and childlike faith that won the Saviour's commendation. 

May the unselfish character of Christ be your experience today as He will live out His life in you!

[Sean James]

How can Jesus coming be hastened? We can look to Jesus and surrender our whole heart to Christ so He can live out His life in us. Then all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, and we can gladly go forward in humble obedience to God's law of love, sharing the gospel of His grace to help others be ready for Jesus return as soon as possible! "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). The gospel--lived and shared--is to go global! Let us be found faithful in our sphere that we may encourage others to be faithful in their sphere of service!

In the prophecy of Jerusalem's destruction Christ said, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." This prophecy will again be fulfilled. The abounding iniquity of that day finds its counterpart in this generation. So with the prediction in regard to the preaching of the gospel. Before the fall of Jerusalem, Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declared that the gospel was preached to "every creature which is under heaven." Colossians 1:23. So now, before the coming of the Son of man, the everlasting gospel is to be preached "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Revelation 14:6, 14. God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world." Acts 17:31. Christ tells us when that day shall be ushered in. He does not say that all the world will be converted, but that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our Lord's return. We are not only to look for but to hasten the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:12, margin. Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned, and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory. 

Looking to Jesus we can realize His power to save us and the exceedingly sinful nature of rebellion against God, the transgression of the law. By sharing the present truth for this time, we can help to hasten His return!

[Sean James]

We may begin to experience the relational love of heaven right now by inviting Jesus into our hearts for Him to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure!

Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, "Love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.

When we have Jesus, we have all heaven. Christ leads us into all truth in His word and guides us aright in the path to eternal life. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives when we are truly converted and overcome as Christ also overcame. What a joy to abide in Jesus and do His will to bless others!

[Sean James]

God is selfless. He invites us to surrender our selfishness natural to our fallenness and be imbued with His unselfish character manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then we can gladly obey God up to all the light He has revealed to us and happily approach whatever else He desires to teach us and how He desires to lead us! May your life today be the unfolding of His will for your life as you stay connected to Jesus in true surrender so the new heart of faith working by love may conquer the evil heart of unbelief (the flesh) and keep you from falling by His grace!

Again and again Jesus had tried to establish this principle among His disciples. When James and John made their request for pre-eminence, He had said, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister." Matthew 20:26. In My kingdom the principle of preference and supremacy has no place. The only greatness is the greatness of humility. The only distinction is found in devotion to the service of others. 

As you go forth to bless others in God's providential leadings, know that His grace is sufficient to make you whatever He has planned for your life!

[Sean James]

Who is the only One who can truly uplift us from the pit of ruin caused by sin, selfishness and rebellion? Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the Way, the Truth and the Life! In Him there is power to overcome all sin--whether it had a hereditary or cultivated root to it, and to empower us to live as He lived by grace through faith as partakers of the divine nature, enabling us to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust and be more than conquerors!

He who beholds the Saviour's matchless love will be elevated in thought, purified in heart, transformed in character. He will go forth to be a light to the world, to reflect in some degree this mysterious love. The more we contemplate the cross of Christ, the more fully shall we adopt the language of the apostle when he said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Galatians 6:14.

As we appreciate all that Christ is to us, we can share the loveliness of His character in truly converted lives as He manifests through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Gladly we can go forward in humble, affectionate obedience to His law of love!

[Sean James]

Have you ever had to battle through depression and discouragement? So did Jesus! It was in the Garden of Gethsemane where the strongest trial of His life to that point was faced, and He chose to lay down His life for us as a sacrifice (just hours away from dying on the cross), choosing to become fully identified with sin and sinners in taking upon Himself our guilt, and He began to feel the separation that sin causes between the sinner and God. How He wrestled in prayer! How Jesus loved the Father, but He also loved us--what a crux to face! And praise the Lord, He chose to go through with the sacrifice so we could be saved--eternally saved! As we behold the loveliness of Jesus and yield the whole heart to Him, He creates in us a new heart and a right Spirit so we can have in our experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Then affectionate obedience is the supernatural result of constant union and communion with Him! What a sacrifice was made for us! May we ever praise God for His love and goodness to us!

Christ's agony did not cease, but His depression and discouragement left Him. The storm had in nowise abated, but He who was its object was strengthened to meet its fury. He came forth calm and serene. A heavenly peace rested upon His bloodstained face. He had borne that which no human being could ever bear; for He had tasted the sufferings of death for every man.

Looking unto Jesus, we realize the words in Scripture are so true: "For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings" (Hebrews 2:10). May we not allow a murmur to escape our lips but rather praise to God and the Lamb ever flow from our lives in whatever lot God's providence assigns for us on the journey to heaven!

[Sean James]

What a blessing that we can receive the truth for our ruined natures to be restored to God's plan. When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, and we can gladly do His will because we are abiding in His word.

Christ affirmed that His word was in itself a key which would unlock the mystery to those who were prepared to receive it. It had a self-commending power, and this was the secret of the spread of His kingdom of truth. He desired Pilate to understand that only by receiving and appropriating truth could his ruined nature be reconstructed.

The blessing of the truth coming into our hearts means we can overcome and resist evil as we recognize that God's word is better than the way our sinful nature would pull us to go. God's word is more powerful, and the key is abiding in Jesus!