The Glory of God

[Sean James]

May we every open our whole heart to Jesus so He can satisfy us. As we behold His infinite loveliness and surrender the whole heart to Him to purify, He will empower us to affectionately obey Him and simultaneously manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

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.

Only Christ by His Holy Spirit, filling our hearts and minds with His loving words, can truly satisfy! Let us turn to Christ to truly satisfy us in every way! Jesus is coming again, and all the trials of life will be as nothingness in comparison to being in His presence forever!

[Sean]

God gives you the freedom to choose! As we behold Christ’s loveliness and are drawn to Him in complete surrender of the entire heart to Jesus, He fills us with all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, empowering us to affectionately obey God from the new heart given us in true conversion! Let us live in godly character development a life that invites others to choose Christ!

God does not compel men to give up their unbelief. Before them are light and darkness, truth and error. It is for them to decide which they will accept. The human mind is endowed with power to discriminate between right and wrong. God designs that men shall not decide from impulse, but from weight of evidence, carefully comparing scripture with scripture. Had the Jews laid by their prejudice and compared written prophecy with the facts characterizing the life of Jesus, they would have perceived a beautiful harmony between the prophecies and their fulfillment in the life and ministry of the lowly Galilean.

So it is today. The powerful and relevant prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are open to our study, and when letting the Bible be its own interpreter, the inspired Scriptures clearly reveal that Jesus is about to come in power and great glory following the outpouring of the seven last plagues! Let us prepare for the glorious event soon to come by yielding the whole heart to Christ and walking where His word leads!!

[Sean James]

When Jesus is revealed to our souls in His infinite loveliness, it is phenomenal the work that He can do in our hearts! If we but open the whole heart to Jesus to purify and cleanse, He will fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, simultaneously empowering us to affectionately obey God's law of love by His divine nature at work in and through us!

When Jesus was in His ministry, He faced questions in the way the Father led Him, also revealing to us today that He lived what He taught, and that is why He spake as never man spake!! He offers us His experience of converted victory over sin!

But to their question, "Who art Thou?" Jesus replied, "Even that which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning." John 8:25, R.V. That which had been revealed in His words was revealed also in His character. He was the embodiment of the truths He taught. "I do nothing of Myself," He continued; "but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him." He did not attempt to prove His Messianic claim, but showed His unity with God. If their minds had been open to God's love, they would have received Jesus.   

To live as Jesus lived, to walk even as He walked--this is our privilege and destiny by the power of the Holy Spirit! Let us allow God to do all He longs to do through us today for His glory and eternal honor!!

[Sean James]

Keep your eyes on the big picture, with Christ's victory at the center of that reality! Even though we face trials and struggles in this mortal life, we can rejoice to have Christ converting our hearts by His grace and preparing us for heaven, where all the sufferings of this life will be eternally over!

     Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day, when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil forever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth. 

As we appreciate the loveliness of Jesus and all He is offering us, it is so wonderful to grow in God's grace and find victory over sin through an abiding whole-heart surrender to Christ, so that He miraculously fills us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empowers us to affectionately obey God with pure motives, thoughts and feelings that are the outflow of His divine presence in our lives! Keep looking up to Jesus!

[Sean James]

Let us be kind and Christlike in our characters by inviting Jesus into our hearts, yielding the whole heart to Him because we are motivated by His loveliness. As we learn to express our gratitude to Him for all He has done, we can in turn share with others of the loveliness of Jesus, as in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest, for Christ empowers us to obey His law of divine love from the heart renewed by His grace!

Encourage the expression of love toward God and toward one another. The reason why there are so many hardhearted men and women in the world is that true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed. The better nature of these persons was stifled in childhood; and unless the light of divine love shall melt away their cold selfishness, their happiness will be forever ruined. If we wish our children to possess the tender spirit of Jesus, and the sympathy that angels manifest for us, we must encourage the generous, loving impulses of childhood. 

As we are converted and become like little children who love Jesus wholeheartedly and trust His leading, we find the greatest joy in bringing others joy!

[Sean]

Love begets love!! By beholding God’s love, we are changed!!

Jesus saw in this ruler just the help He needed if the young man would become a colaborer with Him in the work of salvation. If he would place himself under Christ’s guidance, he would be a power for good. In a marked degree the ruler could have represented Christ; for he possessed qualifications, which, if he were united with the Saviour, would enable him to become a divine force among men. Christ, seeing into his character, loved him. Love for Christ was awakening in the ruler’s heart; for love begets love. Jesus longed to see him a co-worker with Him. He longed to make him like Himself, a mirror in which the likeness of God would be reflected. He longed to develop the excellence of his character, and sanctify it to the Master’s use. If the ruler had then given himself to Christ, he would have grown in the atmosphere of His presence. If he had made this choice, how different would have been his future!

When we yield the whole heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing (Galatians 5:22-25) even as we affectionately obey God’s law of love from a new heart (John 14:15, Ezekiel 36:26). May you let Christ produce this genuine experience in your life as you surrender all!

[Sean James]

Do we always realize the significance of what happened with Lazarus? Jesus raised him from the dead after he had been in the grave for FOUR DAYS! That means his body would have already started to decompose! There is nothing TOO HARD for God to do! Maybe your situation with your family, your vehicle, your life or ministry seems like it is falling apart or dead...but God can RESURRECT the dead (and handle ANYTHING ELSE in your life as you surrender all to Him)! And Jesus, who is fully God and fully man, is right here to help you every step of the way to heaven, to embolden you to face the trials with grace, power and love with His sound mind in you! When we surrender all the heart to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, for this is evidence of the resurrection life of Christ at work in the character! Then He boldly empowers us to obey God from the new heart of faith working by love that His Spirit has purified!

"And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth." His voice, clear and penetrating, pierces the ear of the dead. As He speaks, divinity flashes through humanity. In His face, which is lighted up by the glory of God, the people see the assurance of His power. Every eye is fastened on the entrance to the cave. Every ear is bent to catch the slightest sound. With intense and painful interest all wait for the test of Christ's divinity, the evidence that is to substantiate His claim to be the Son of God, or to extinguish the hope forever. 

And Lazarus DID COME FORTH!! "And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go." {John 11:43-44). Now that Jesus offers you His resurrection life, what are the things that bind you that need to be let loose? Anything that savors of death or sin God can give you the courage and grace to let go, so you can walk and live in the fullness of the resurrection power of Jesus in a moment-by-moment union and communion with Christ!

[Sean James]

After raising Lazarus from the dead, how did the religious leaders respond?

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. 

Plots were laid for Jesus' death, but He willingly went to another area to do ministry until the prophetic time came for Him to lay down His life at the cross (based on Daniel 9). Jesus' example shows us that we are not to let one closed door keep us from serving God continually, but should rather go where He leads us in the faithful fulfillment of the mission God has for us. When we surrender completely to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be in our lives, and we are empowered to obey God from the new heart of faith working by love!

[Sean James]

Freedom of conscience! What a gift! Praise the Lord that the God who made us chooses to love us so much that He created us also with the capacity to love--the capacity to choose--so we can render back to Him voluntary service from the new heart that we ask Him to recreate in us as we, beholding the loveliness of His character, yield fully to the Holy Spirit who will supernaturally manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empower to obey God's commandments that are the true definition of freedom to live forever! God gives immortality to those who overcome by His grace! Hallelujah!

In matters of conscience the soul must be left untrammeled. No one is to control another's mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. "Every one of us shall give account of himself to God." No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another. In all matters where principle is involved, "let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:12, 5. In Christ's kingdom there is no lordly oppression, no compulsion of manner. The angels of heaven do not come to the earth to rule, and to exact homage, but as messengers of mercy, to co-operate with men in uplifting humanity.   

What a joy it is to abide in Jesus and be an overcomer by His divine grace through the merits of His atoning blood! Look away from self to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us!

[Sean James]

Let us turn to Christ FULLY and allow Him to COMPLETELY transform our lives into His image. True repentance includes a sorrow for sin and a turning away from it in heart, leading to a transformed life that makes past wrongs right and goes forward in the faith that works by love and purifies the soul so thoroughly that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest as the soul who is a new creation gladly obeys the law of God from the new heart given at conversion and maintained by constant union and communion with Christ!

No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.

Zacchaeus is a man whose life bore witness of true conversion and transformation, for when he met Jesus and turned from his past sins, making amends with those he had wronged, he was an example of how it is possible for God to save anyone that surrenders to His grace fully!

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord for how God can give us hearts that lovingly respond to opportunities to be a blessing to others! When we behold the loveliness of Jesus, surrender the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to truly convert us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey God from the new heart!

Christ values acts of heartfelt courtesy. When anyone did Him a favor, with heavenly politeness He blessed the actor. He did not refuse the simplest flower plucked by the hand of a child, and offered to Him in love. He accepted the offerings of children, and blessed the givers, inscribing their names in the book of life. In the Scriptures, Mary's anointing of Jesus is mentioned as distinguishing her from the other Marys. Acts of love and reverence for Jesus are an evidence of faith in Him as the Son of God. And the Holy Spirit mentions, as evidences of woman's loyalty to Christ: "If she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work." 1 Timothy 5:10.   

May we go forth in every way possible to share the light of Christ's character in blessing others, helping each to come to the knowledge of the present truth and appreciate the character experience that God offers us in Christ!

[Sean James]

What does true victory look like? It looks like lives transformed by grace and renewed to do God's will! When Jesus triumphantly came to Jerusalem, so many came with Him who had been changed by His power and grace! What a joy it is to surrender the WHOLE heart to Jesus so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empower us to obey God from the new heart of faith that works by love!

Never before had the world seen such a triumphal procession. It was not like that of the earth's famous conquerors. No train of mourning captives, as trophies of kingly valor, made a feature of that scene. But about the Saviour were the glorious trophies of His labors of love for sinful man. There were the captives whom He had rescued from Satan's power, praising God for their deliverance. The blind whom He had restored to sight were leading the way. The dumb whose tongues He had loosed shouted the loudest hosannas. The cripples whom He had healed bounded with joy, and were the most active in breaking the palm branches and waving them before the Saviour. Widows and orphans were exalting the name of Jesus for His works of mercy to them. The lepers whom He had cleansed spread their untainted garments in His path, and hailed Him as the King of glory. Those whom His voice had awakened from the sleep of death were in that throng. Lazarus, whose body had seen corruption in the grave, but who now rejoiced in the strength of glorious manhood, led the beast on which the Saviour rode. 

Let us invite others to "taste and see" (Psalm 34: the victory Jesus has for each of us--victory over sin by an abiding union and communion with Him!

[Sean James]

Imagine planting a fig tree, and year after year looking forward to getting delicious figs...and only getting leaves! How disappointing. But how much more keenly does Jesus feel the disappointment when He comes looking for the precious fruit of the Spirit in our lives and find that those professing to follow Him are only living for self. May we look to Jesus, surrender the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we seek to reach souls for Christ!

 The warning is for all time. Christ's act in cursing the tree which His own power had created stands as a warning to all churches and to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to others. But there are many who do not live out Christ's merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God, but who bears no fruit to His glory.   

Only by abiding in Christ in a living union and communion with Him are we enabled to do His will effectively. We need grace and strength to do God's will, and He will empower us to do it from the new heart of faith working by love that purifies the soul!

[Sean James]

When Jesus cleansed the temple for the last time before His crucifixion, He manifested the wisdom of divinity, and thankfully He offers us that, too, as we ask in humble faith (Janes 1:5). May we fully allow Jesus to cleanse our entire heart from sin, filling us with all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit without one missing as He empowers us to obey Him!

All these sayings and doings of Christ were important, and their influence was to be felt in an ever-increasing degree after His crucifixion and ascension. Many of those who had anxiously awaited the result of the questioning of Jesus were finally to become His disciples, first drawn toward Him by His words on that eventful day. The scene in the temple court was never to fade from their minds. The contrast between Jesus and the high priest as they talked together was marked. The proud dignitary of the temple was clothed in rich and costly garments. Upon his head was a glittering tiara. His bearing was majestic, his hair and his long flowing beard were silvered by age. His appearance awed the beholders. Before this august personage stood the Majesty of heaven, without adornment or display. His garments were travel stained; His face was pale, and expressed a patient sadness; yet written there were dignity and benevolence that contrasted strangely with the proud, self-confident, and angry air of the high priest. Many of those who witnessed the words and deeds of Jesus in the temple from that time enshrined Him in their hearts as a prophet of God. But as the popular feeling turned in His favor, the hatred of the priests toward Jesus increased. The wisdom by which He escaped the snares set for His feet, being a new evidence of His divinity, added fuel to their wrath.

Let’s appreciate all that Jesus is to us!! God bless you this day in looking to Hik in full surrender!!

[Sean James]

If the standard of truth and morality is lowered, then the power of the gospel is also lowered. Jesus lived the law of God in a beautiful, perfect relational way to save the world, laying down His life at Calvary and coming forth from the grave to give us His victory! He calls upon us to look to the law as the great standard, see our duty and guilt inasmuch as we are sinners who have come short of His standard of relational glory, and then flee to Him for pardon and power to do His will by having Him live out His life in us. Such a converted life will bear the fruits of all the character traits of the Holy Spirit and empower affectionate obedience to all of God's Ten Commandments! What a privilege it is to not only understand but DO the will of God by His grace through faith!

The scribe was near to the kingdom of God, in that he recognized deeds of righteousness as more acceptable to God than burnt offerings and sacrifices. But he needed to recognize the divine character of Christ, and through faith in Him receive power to do the works of righteousness. The ritual service was of no value, unless connected with Christ by living faith. Even the moral law fails of its purpose, unless it is understood in its relation to the Saviour. Christ had repeatedly shown that His Father's law contained something deeper than mere authoritative commands. 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. 

Will we let Jesus give us this experience? And even if we are struggling, we can pray, "Lord, I am willing to be made willing"!! Let's trust God for healing and power as we go forth in the faith of Jesus that works by His love in the new heart He gives us!