The Glory of God

[Sean James]

How can deception be overcome? By relying completely on the word of God and surrendering fully to Jesus. But Judas had never fully surrendered to Jesus, and as an unconverted man he had ideas that came from Satan and led him astray. May we learn our CONTINUAL need of Jesus and abide in His love so we can overcome by His word and be protected from the treacherous reasonings that Satan will suggest to our minds, similar to the deceptive thinking Satan presented to Judas to the point that he thought it a good idea to betray Christ. What deception! Flee to Jesus for victory over WRONG THINKING and let Jesus convert your heart in a full surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing may be manifest in your life as you grow in His grace and obey Him up to the light He has revealed on your path!!

Judas reasoned that if Jesus was to be crucified, the event must come to pass. His own act in betraying the Saviour would not change the result. If Jesus was not to die, it would only force Him to deliver Himself. At all events, Judas would gain something by his treachery. He counted that he had made a sharp bargain in betraying his Lord.

The lies that Judas believed finally led him to despair and suicide. May we learn how dangerous it is to go against God's word, surrendering to His plan instead of being led astray by Satan like Judas to do the horrible deed of betraying Jesus. Christ can keep us from falling today. Let us abide in His love and grace!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!!

Beholding Christ we see a powerful revelation of our Heavenly Father's character. By beholding we become changed as the Holy Spirit imbues us with His thoughts, feelings and motives to reflect His actions of selfless love to the universe watching for the final display of God's true character! Christ in His trial modeled how we can be godlike amid intense suffering and humiliation, manifesting the courage of His character to stand true to who we are as witnesses for His kingdom that will never pass away.

There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful than now. The Saviour's visage was not marred before His enemies. Every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes. In His manner there was no cowardly weakness, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the countenance of Barabbas proclaimed him the hardened ruffian that he was. The contrast spoke to every beholder. Some of the spectators were weeping. As they looked upon Jesus, their hearts were full of sympathy. Even the priests and rulers were convicted that He was all that He claimed to be.

Christ is not only the Messiah, but He is now our High Priest and soon returning King! Let us abide in His love so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered in constant union and communion with Him! Then, by grace through faith, we are empowered in affectionate obedience to God's law of love!

[Sean James]

Darkness is not the enemy--sin is. And Jesus bore the darkest experience in becoming sin for us (and yet never sinned in that sacrificial offering of Himself), and by taking our deserved experience of darkness by faith to death at the cross, He opened up a way for us to be able to endure the time of trouble (the darkest period ever to transpire in earth's history) because we have learned to depend on God's character revealed in Christ in His word and not our circumstances for assurance as to having favor with God. By surrendering the WHOLE heart to Jesus, He cleanses it and makes us new, so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are seen in our lives as we gladly obey God up to the light of present truth for this time! Let us by faith be victorious just on the verge of Jesus' second coming!!

Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father's acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.

Victory is only in Christ. As long as we are in Him, defeat is impossible. Apart from Christ, sin, the world and the devil will always overcome us, but if we are abiding in Christ, we can enjoy CONSTANT victory in doing God's will and having a song to sing of His glory, even the song of Moses and the Lamb!!!

[Sean James]

When we pause to reflect on the victory over Satan that Christ accomplished on the cross for us, well is it to realize why Satan still exists, in light of God's love and desire for all to freely choose whom they will serve!

Yet Satan was not then destroyed. The angels did not even then understand all that was involved in the great controversy. The principles at stake were to be more fully revealed. And for the sake of man, Satan's existence must be continued. Man as well as angels must see the contrast between the Prince of light and the prince of darkness. He must choose whom he will serve.   

The great controversy continues to this day, and the characters of those who follow Christ and Satan are fast ripening up to reveal what is in the heart. Thankfully, even those who have gone far into sin and served Satan can still break free by beholding the loveliness of Jesus and accepting His word! It is not too late, but the time of probation is short and today is the day of salvation! Let us look to Christ in total surrender of our hearts so He can fill us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are empowered by Him to obey His law of love from the heart He renews by His grace!!

[Sean James]

What did your sin and my sin do to Jesus? It killed Him in a matter of hours on the cross. He paid our debt and now offers us His righteous life! When we truly appreciate all that Christ is to us, surrendering all the heart to Him so He can cleanse and purify it, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are empowered by Him to true obedience!

But it was not the spear thrust, it was not the pain of the cross, that caused the death of Jesus. That cry, uttered "with a loud voice" (Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46), at the moment of death, the stream of blood and water that flowed from His side, declared that He died of a broken heart. His heart was broken by mental anguish. He was slain by the sin of the world. 

What love Christ manifested in giving up His life for us! What joy we may have as we abide in Him today and go forth to bless others by the power of His life in us!

[Sean James]

What a joy it is to be hidden in Christ by abiding in His life through a full-heart surrender, gladly walking in His truth with all of the fruits of the Spirit in the character as long as we are abiding in His will and word! The converted Christian need not be afraid of death if Jesus reigns in the heart!

 To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death," "he shall never taste of death." To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." John 8:51, 52; Colossians 3:4.

Look by faith to the return of Jesus when He will raise the dead in Christ, and the living saints will be caught up with Him in glory!! We shall always praise God for what He has done for us in Christ!!

[Sean James]

What a blessing it is to know that Christ desires to encourage us to believe fully in His resurrection and love for us! His love is infinite, and now that He is our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, we can trust that He will soon return as our King to take us to our heavenly home! All He has said has come true, and that is just as true about what is JUST TO COME!! JESUS IS COMING AGAIN!!!

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. 

When the love of Christ reigns in the heart, it will be reflected in the life! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will spontaneously flow forth from a heart surrendered fully to Christ as He works in the soul to will and to do of His good pleasure, leading in true obedience to His law of love!

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord for a living Savior who is the center of our hope! We can tell the world the good news of what Jesus has done and is now doing in heaven as our High Priest! He is soon to return in glory as our King and take up home to be with Him! By grace through faith in total surrender to Him, we can experience a new heart filled with the Holy Spirit so all of the traits of the divine nature will be manifest in our lives without one missing as we gladly obey Him in the path He chooses for us!

     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. 

We have a very important message to share with the WHOLE WORLD!! Jesus is coming again and He gives us a loving, urgent warning message in Revelation 14:6-12 to let all know the necessity of following Christ in true worship and departing from Babylon and its errors! Christ will have a people alive when He returns who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus! Let us choose to walk in the light of His word and go where He sends us in His service!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! Praise the Lord for the gift of the Holy Spirit! When He lives in us, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest without one missing as we are empowered to do God's will in true obedience to His law of love! God is faithful!

The Holy Spirit is the breath of spiritual life in the soul. The impartation of the Spirit is the impartation of the life of Christ. It imbues the receiver with the attributes of Christ. Only those who are thus taught of God, those who possess the inward working of the Spirit, and in whose life the Christ-life is manifested, are to stand as representative men, to minister in behalf of the church.

Let the Holy Spirit abide in you to bless others this day in the way He leads you! God is love and "the love of Christ constraineth us" (2 Corinthians 5:14) to go forward in God's plans and purposes to share the gospel with the whole world!

[Sean James]

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" (Psalm 27:14).

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.

Waiting on God does not mean doing nothing; it means actively serving the Lord in what He has revealed to be His will, trusting He will direct the next step in His plan for us. When we are fully surrendered to Jesus, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing be in our lives as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart, but we will be strengthened to walk in the plan He has appointed us without running ahead of Him presumptuously. Waiting on God brings peace to the soul as we trust He knows what is best for us and allow Him to lead us safely and in the most ideal experience to heaven.

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord for the triumph of Jesus over Satan and His grace to help us at each step heavenward to do His will!

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 keep our eyes on Jesus and overcome as He overcame--by the word of God!!

[Sean James]

Looking in faith to the Redeemer, we may have continual victory over sin and walk with Jesus by grace through faith in His word! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are surrendered fully to Jesus! He empowers us to obey God from the heart and obey His commandments as an expression of His infinite love at work in our hearts by grace through faith!

Christ had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet,--the same Jesus had now gone to share His Father's throne. And the angels had assured them that the very One whom they had seen go up into heaven, would come again even as He had ascended. He will come "with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise." "The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory." Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 25:31. Thus will be fulfilled the Lord's own promise to His disciples: "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. Well might the disciples rejoice in the hope of their Lord's return.

God is so gracious to us to prepare us for our eternal home and guide us in the heavenward way! Praise the Lord for Jesus' soon return!!

[Sean James]

The plan was in place before God created us, and the grace that was to be revealed is now actively at work for our benefit. God did not desire sin or suffering, but He would rather create us with freedom of choice and thus give us the free capacity to be able to love than create a robotic universe that is all fixated without character development. When we fully appreciate the freedom God gives us to love Him in light of what it cost Him, our whole hearts will gladly yield to Him and we can experience the fruit of true conversion, for all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth from the life in which Christ abides! Gladly we are empowered to obey God's law from the heart without yielding to sin as Christ lives in us the hope of glory!

 The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of "the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal." Romans 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God's throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. 

God desires us all to be in heaven with Him, but today He lets us choose if we will walk with Him in true surrender, getting a foretaste of heaven while still on earth. Let us trust that He has a plan not just for the whole world but for our individual lives as to what is best for us in His great plan to bless the universe with the true knowledge of His character of love in which we can share testimony of what He has done to save us by His grace! What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus!

[Sean James]

Don't lose it. If you have known the pardoning love of Christ and chosen Christ and His loveliness, do not let other things come in between you and Jesus and separate you from knowing His love by a personal experience of His grace through faith changing you into His image! By surrendering the whole heart to Him and giving Jesus our will back to Him, He has power and grace to fill us with His Spirit so not one of the fruits of the Spirit will be missing in our lives as we grow in His grace to be more like Him!

As they departed from God, the Jews in a great degree lost sight of the teaching of the ritual service. That service had been instituted by Christ Himself. In every part it was a symbol of Him; and it had been full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms. They trusted to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead of resting upon Him to whom they pointed. In order to supply the place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of the love of God was manifested. They measured their holiness by the multitude of their ceremonies, while their hearts were filled with pride and hypocrisy.

Jesus can help us guard against the mistakes the Jews made on the verge of Christ's first coming as we are very very near HIS SECOND COMING!!

[Sean James]

It is happening, similar to the time Christ first came to our world. Satan is still seeking to destroy souls, but Jesus is in the miraculous ministry of restoring souls who were once so confused and broken by sin. We can praise God for His grace that is sufficient for us that has power to transform sinners like ourselves into saints who are enabled to do His will and be obedient to His truth while having His Spirit manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing!

Satan was exulting that he had succeeded in debasing the image of God in humanity. Then Jesus came to restore in man the image of his Maker. None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.

Joy comes in being set free in Christ! Joy comes in receiving the fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit so we are made partakers of the divine nature, enabled to grow in His grace and reflect His beauty of character! What a joy it is walk with Jesus!