The Glory of God

[Sean James]

What a blessing it is to have Jesus deal with us in such a way as to purify our hearts and do more for us than we can ask or think! His grace has the power to reconcile us to God and to restore us into His image wherein all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest in the converted (fully surrendered, abiding) character! Let us trust Christ who has the power to convert the heart and guide us in His will and way as we overcome through Him and gladly obey Him up the light He has revealed to us! Like the nobleman who came to Christ, we need to trust that Christ will work with us in such a way as to change our hearts from selfish motives to ones that are selfless and pure, believing in Jesus regardless of the outcome of how He grants requests we may bring to Him. Trust His will and way is best!!

The nobleman wanted to see the fulfillment of his prayer before he should believe; but he had to accept the word of Jesus that his request was heard and the blessing granted. This lesson we also have to learn. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust in His promises. When we come to Him in faith, every petition enters the heart of God. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have received it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be realized when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us "exceeding abundantly," "according to the riches of His glory," and "the working of His mighty power." Ephesians 3:20, 16; 1:19.

No matter what we may think God has for us, His plans are even higher and better as we let His word work in and through us! Praise the Lord!

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord for the power of God to direct our course heavenward!

Let God choose what is best for you! He develops our capacity to make His choice our choice out of love!

The words of Christ teach that we should regard ourselves as inseparably bound to our Father in heaven. Whatever our position, we are dependent upon God, who holds all destinies in His hands. He has appointed us our work, and has endowed us with faculties and means for that work. So long as we surrender the will to God, and trust in His strength and wisdom, we shall be guided in safe paths, to fulfill our appointed part in His great plan. But the one who depends upon his own wisdom and power is separating himself from God. Instead of working in unison with Christ, he is fulfilling the purpose of the enemy of God and man.

God has a destiny for each of us if we are willing to be made willing, God will guide us in the path that is ideal for the fulfillment of His will in reaching souls for His kingdom and proclaiming the present truth for this time!!

[Sean James]

When questions came to John the baptist as to the nature of Christ's ministry being the true fulfillment of that of the Messiah, what did John do? In the midst of the struggle, John chose to trust and retain faith in Christ as the Messiah. Well would it be for us to trust God even when the outcome of our life is not what we may have expected, or when Christ unfolds His mission to us in ways that may disappoint our own expectations. The key is remembering the word of God and communing with Him, as in full surrender to Christ all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing. We will be empowered by Christ to keep His commandments.

But the Baptist did not surrender his faith in Christ. The memory of the voice from heaven and the descending dove, the spotless purity of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit that had rested upon John as he came into the Saviour's presence, and the testimony of the prophetic scriptures,—all witnessed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Promised One.

Grace and strength to bear whatever trials God allows will only deepen our faith and create a testimony that will encourage others, too. Let God lead you to trust in Christ without any reservation, for Jesus is coming again VERY SOON!

[Sean James]

What did Jesus focus on in His ministry when He walked this earth?

The burden of Christ's preaching was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Thus the gospel message, as given by the Saviour Himself, was based on the prophecies. The “time” which He declared to be fulfilled was the period made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. “Seventy weeks,” said the angel, “are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.” Daniel 9:24. A day in prophecy stands for a year. See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. Daniel 9:25. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in the autumn of B. C. 457. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A. D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A. D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed. “The time is fulfilled.”

So the truth for this time is that the prophetic time of the 2300-day prophecy (Daniel 8:14) has been fulfilled (as each day represented a year), spanning from 457 B.C. to A.D. 1844, marking the beginning point of Christ's ministry as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary as our Judge to cleanse the records in heaven of all the confessed sins of His people who through Him overcome! He is blotting out our sins so at His second coming they will not be mentioned because those sins are no longer part of our experience because of His saving power! Today we can overcome by His divine grace that has power to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into sin! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all the light He has revealed on our pathway is the joyful true conversion experience He offers all who come to Him! We may come just as we are and learn of Him, and in learning of Him in true surrender begin the joyous life eternal! May you choose today to let Jesus perform the miracle of true conversion in sincere earnestness to be all He can make you for His glory as His witness!!

[Sean James]

We get to be united in present truth as we focus on Jesus and appreciate the message for this time (Revelation 14:6-12, Revelation 3:14-22)! Jesus is coming soon, and He is working mightily even when human eyes cannot see what is taking place in hearts.

Who helps protect us from danger day and night?

So, in all ages, angels have been near to Christ's faithful followers. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them. From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, until in the light of eternity we see the providences of God. Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day.

Thank God for the angels He sends to protect you and each of us. He loves us and desires to help us know and love Him, and the angels are sent to help us to be safe so we can fulfill the purpose God has for us. Jesus was protected by the angels so that He could fulfill God's purpose in Him dying for our sins and rising to give us newness of life! When we surrender our whole heart to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in our converted characters, and gladly we are enabled to obey God from the new heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, being led in safe paths by the angel messengers! We can rejoice that today Jesus is sending holy angels to help us heavenward!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! When we have Jesus living in us by surrendering fully to Him, what will take place in our lives?

He who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God. If men will endure the necessary discipline, without complaining or fainting by the way, God will teach them hour by hour, and day by day. He longs to reveal His grace. If His people will remove the obstructions, He will pour forth the waters of salvation in abundant streams through the human channels. If men in humble life were encouraged to do all the good they could do, if restraining hands were not laid upon them to repress their zeal, there would be a hundred workers for Christ where now there is one.

Jesus will reveal through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are truly converted and yield fully to His divine grace! Christ in us the hope of glory will be blessing others through us as we grow in His love! Rejoicing in the Lord may be our continual experience of victory as we overcome in Him!

[Sean James]

What a joy it is to let Christ by His word transform our character experience into that which is victorious in Him! He offers us His presence in His word and by yielding fully to His divine nature in His word we are imbued with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowered simultaneously to obey God gladly up to the light He has revealed on our pathway!

The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame,—the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent; but if we desire to know and to do His will, His promises are ours: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching.” John 8:32; 7:17, R. V. Through faith in these promises, every man may be delivered from the snares of error and the control of sin.

Jesus will not fail us; He is able to keep us from falling, and by His grace we are strengthened for the daily tests and trials to reflect Him and not the weakness of self. Praise the Lord for such a Savior who is now interceding in heaven for us and soon to return to take us to the home He has prepared for us! It is all promised in His word!!

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord that God has a purpose in all He tells us. Jesus told the healed leper not to tell others about his healing except to go to the priest and offer what the law enjoined in the event of the cleansing of a leper as a testimony to the priests. But the man did not remain silent and told so many people that it hindered Jesus' work. We need to learn to to trust God even when we do not understand always why He tells us to do something, for He sees better than do we.

There were other objects which Christ had in view in enjoining silence on the man. The Saviour knew that His enemies were ever seeking to limit His work, and to turn the people from Him. He knew that if the healing of the leper were noised abroad, other sufferers from this terrible disease would crowd about Him, and the cry would be raised that the people would be contaminated by contact with them. Many of the lepers would not so use the gift of health as to make it a blessing to themselves or to others. And by drawing the lepers about Him, He would give occasion for the charge that He was breaking down the restrictions of the ritual law. Thus His work in preaching the gospel would be hindered.

God would not have the gospel hindered. He loves us and longs to have us to do all we can to spread the everlasting gospel as it is now articulated in the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12, and we can do that by receiving the character preparation offered us in Revelation 3:14-22 and receive a new heart from Jesus (Ezekiel 36:26) in true surrender so all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we abide in Christ (Galatians 5:22-23). God will fill us with true love from Jesus so we can be truly obedient up to the light He has revealed to us (John 14:15). Praise the Lord!!!

[Sean James]

As we feel our need of total transformation of character, we can look to Christ and accept His divine grace to convert our hearts thoroughly and imbue us with all of the fruits of the Spirit so not one is missing! Then by the indwelling power of Christ in us the hope of glory, we can obey God up to the light He has revealed on our pathway!

As it was in the days of Christ, so it is now; the Pharisees do not know their spiritual destitution. To them comes the message, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." Revelation 3:17, 18. Faith and love are the gold tried in the fire. But with many the gold has become dim, and the rich treasure has been lost. The righteousness of Christ is to them as a robe unworn, a fountain untouched. To them it is said, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Revelation 2:4, 5.

Repentance is a gift from God and empowers us to be true to principle, faithful to Jesus and not letting self come between us and Him so His faith working by love flows freely to bless others!!   

[Sean James]

Let us learn from the past and not depart from God, for this makes the gifts He offers us cease to have a sanctifying influence in our lives. Far better it is to be truly converted, surrendered fully to Jesus, and to overcome in Christ as we appreciate the gift of the seventh day Sabbath and obey Christ (all 10 Commandments) out of love! When the whole heart is yielded to Him and we gladly obey Him as He manifests through us the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, we can truly be a consistent blessing to others in Christ's loveliness of character shining through us!

As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.

What a blessing to be a blessing to others as we follow in the path Jesus give us, as we let Him live His life through us!

[Sean James]

God is merciful and knows how to make us like Him in mind and character! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ, and He empowers us to obey Him fully as we grow in character to be more like Christ!

Jesus reproved His disciples, He warned and cautioned them; but John and his brethren did not leave Him; they chose Jesus, notwithstanding the reproofs. The Saviour did not withdraw from them because of their weakness and errors. They continued to the end to share His trials and to learn the lessons of His life. By beholding Christ, they became transformed in character. 

As the Holy Spirit leads us, we experience transformation and restoration into His image! God's grace is sufficient for us to do His will continually!

[Sean James]

As you choose God's service, you can rest in Him who also so graciously cares for the birds and flowers! We can allow God to care for us even as we abide in His love in total surrender to Him! When the whole heart is yielded to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, as we gladly are empowered to obey God from the new heart up to the light He has generously revealed to us!

All who have chosen God's service are to rest in His care. Christ pointed to the birds flying in the heavens, to the flowers of the field, and bade His hearers consider these objects of God's creation. “Are not ye of much more value than they?” He said. Matthew 6:26, R. V. The measure of divine attention bestowed on any object is proportionate to its rank in the scale of being. The little brown sparrow is watched over by Providence. The flowers of the field, the grass that carpets the earth, share the notice and care of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them so beautiful that they outshine the glory of Solomon. How much more does He care for man, who is the image and glory of God. He longs to see His children reveal a character after His similitude. As the sunbeam imparts to the flowers their varied and delicate tints, so does God impart to the soul the beauty of His own character.

True beauty of character radiates from within as Christ abides in the soul. His purity, perfection and loveliness will be reproduced in all who come unto Him to be saved in God's appointed way. What a blessing to trust Jesus today and each moment of every day!

[Sean James]

Receiving the word of God by having Christ live in us to transform our lives, there is no limit to what God can do with the soul fully converted and willing to be anything or nothing as His providence shall indicate!! Trust God to give you spiritual life from the dead by His word, and trust His guidance in your life day by day!! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are revealed in the life that is fully yielded to Christ in which He lives in us by the Holy Spirit!! From this union and communion with God, we are empowered to affectionately obey God our of love!!

Satan cannot hold the dead in his grasp when the Son of God bids them live. He cannot hold in spiritual death one soul who in faith receives Christ's word of power. God is saying to all who are dead in sin, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." Ephesians 5:14. That word is eternal life. As the word of God which bade the first man live, still gives us life; as Christ's word, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise," gave life to the youth of Nain, so that word, "Arise from the dead," is life to the soul that receives it. God "hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Colossians 1:13. It is all offered us in His word. If we receive the word, we have the deliverance.

Praise the Lord we can walk in the victory today!! May this be a very special Sabbath for you as you trust Christ to fulfill His word in your life and character!!

[Sean James]

No matter how close or distant your earthly relationships, if you are fully surrendered to Jesus and abiding in Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are refreshed and encouraged to overcome by His grace to be obedient to His law of love! We have One who is willing to be the closest to us--always and forever!!

Closer than father, mother, brother, friend, or lover is the Lord our Saviour. "Fear not," He says, "for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine." "Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." Isaiah 43:1, 4. 

What a joy it is to have Jesus be the center of life and draw constant strength and grace from His abiding presence! Nothing of the world can make us sad when Jesus makes us glad by His presence! Praise the Lord!!

[Sean James]

Would you like to be in heaven? Good news!! The experience of heaven can start now in fully surrendering to Jesus!!

 As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ. The longer we are in the heaven of bliss, the more and still more of glory will be opened to us; and the more we know of God, the more intense will be our happiness. As we walk with Jesus in this life, we may be filled with His love, satisfied with His presence. All that human nature can bear, we may receive here. But what is this compared with the hereafter? There "are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Revelation 7:15-17.

Now in true conversion all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are affectionately obedient to all the light God has revealed to us on our pathway! We can overcome by His grace and enjoy the bliss of heaven for eternity!!