The Glory of God

[Sean James]

Anyone is reachable. Do you believe it? Then treat people like you do!! The Roman Centrurion accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, boldly confessing what he knew was true: “Truly this was the Son of God.” Matthew 27:54.

These words were said in no whispered tones. All eyes were turned to see whence they came. Who had spoken? It was the centurion, the Roman soldier. The divine patience of the Saviour, and His sudden death, with the cry of victory upon His lips, had impressed this heathen. In the bruised, broken body hanging upon the cross, the centurion recognized the form of the Son of God. He could not refrain from confessing his faith. Thus again evidence was given that our Redeemer was to see of the travail of His soul. Upon the very day of His death, three men, differing widely from one another, had declared their faith,—he who commanded the Roman guard, he who bore the cross of the Saviour, and he who died upon the cross at His side.

We need to look beyond externals and let Jesus reach the heart. The man who carried Jesus' cross, the thief nailed next to Him, and the Roman Centurion, when that Friday began, might not have thought they would come to a saving faith surrender in confessing Jesus as Lord, but they did! His love melted their hearts and they were won for His kingdom! As you go about each day, learn to look with God's eyes upon people and see each one as reachable if they would but come and yield the heart to Christ. Then He will miraculously produce in them all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and empower the soul to obey because it is the fruit of love!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!!

Are you afraid of dying? You need not be if you are a converted Christian, abiding in Him with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing and gladly obeying the law of God from the heart up to the light He has revealed! Death is but a sleep for those who are trusting in Christ!

To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. “I am come,” He said, “that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 10:10; 4:14; John 6:54.

If we are living at the second coming of Jesus, we also get new, glorified bodies and will be given immortality, to rise with Jesus to heaven and dwell in His presence forever!!

[Sean James]

When we really believe that Christ loves us, died for us, rose from the grave, and offers us everlasting life, then we can be willing to be made willing in every area of life to grow in His grace, reflecting His unselfish attributes (all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing) to do His holy will (true obedience to all of His Ten Commandments)! Let's sound the good news by a godly character experience! Christ is alive and is soon to return!

Oh that the bowed head might be lifted, that the eyes might be opened to behold Him, that the ears might listen to His voice! “Go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen.” Bid them look not to Joseph's new tomb, that was closed with a great stone, and sealed with the Roman seal. Christ is not there. Look not to the empty sepulcher. Mourn not as those who are hopeless and helpless. Jesus lives, and because He lives, we shall live also. From grateful hearts, from lips touched with holy fire, let the glad song ring out, Christ is risen! He lives to make intercession for us. Grasp this hope, and it will hold the soul like a sure, tried anchor. Believe, and thou shalt see the glory of God. 

The glory of God is His character, and in true faith working by love we become like Him whom we adore! Glorify God in all the experiences of daily life and let the Lord guide you continually!

[Sean James]

The whole Bible reveals Jesus, and rather than initially encourage His followers after His resurrection with the knowledge that He was the risen Christ, He first anchored their faith in God's word--an anchor that is so strong that would help them to endure in salvation! We also need to have a living faith experience anchored in God's word, for as we surrender fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we are obedient out of love for God to all His commandments! God is so good to lead us into all truth!

Beginning at Moses, the very Alpha of Bible history, Christ expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. Had He first made Himself known to them, their hearts would have been satisfied. In the fullness of their joy they would have hungered for nothing more. But it was necessary for them to understand the witness borne to Him by the types and prophecies of the Old Testament. Upon these their faith must be established. Christ performed no miracle to convince them, but it was His first work to explain the Scriptures. They had looked upon His death as the destruction of all their hopes. Now He showed from the prophets that this was the very strongest evidence for their faith.

Christ's death anchored the reality that His sacrifice was complete for all of us, and His resurrection broke the power of sin and death, defeating the devil, and offering us everlasting consolation and good hope! Let us spread the good news far and wide!!

[Sean James]

Could it be that false theories and false doctrines make it hard to really believe in Jesus? In the case of Thomas, one of the reasons he did not really want to believe that Jesus was risen was that it would take away the hope (false though it was) of a literal, earthy kingdom. There are many lessons to draw from this for our time, but let us realize how patient Jesus was with Thomas and also be patient with people who may struggle to accept the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week (rather than the tradition of Sunday sacredness passed down by tradition) and the second coming of Jesus as one event to take all His people to heaven (not a separate event with a secret rapture to take some first to heaven, and then others at a later time). As we realize that false ideas can make simple Bible truths seem obscure, let us keep uplifting Jesus and help souls anchor their faith on Him in His word, the Bible, and not on false ideas and theories that have no foundation in the word of God.

When Jesus first met the disciples in the upper chamber, Thomas was not with them. He heard the reports of the others, and received abundant proof that Jesus had risen; but gloom and unbelief filled his heart. As he heard the disciples tell of the wonderful manifestations of the risen Saviour, it only plunged him in deeper despair. If Jesus had really risen from the dead, there could be no further hope of a literal earthly kingdom. And it wounded his vanity to think that his Master should reveal Himself to all the disciples except him. He was determined not to believe, and for a whole week he brooded over his wretchedness, which seemed all the darker in contrast with the hope and faith of his brethren.

When Thomas did surrender fully to Christ, the joy of the Lord and all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing came into His experience, and we also can have a fruitful, converted walk with Christ in true surrender, gladly obeying God out of love because He first loved us. While it may seem like a great sacrifice to give up our false ideas and theories that are not in God's word, if we are willing to be made willing, Jesus will help us to overcome unbelief and gloom so we can be happy, peaceful and obedient witnesses of the risen Savior! Jesus is coming again!!

[Sean James]

What a great example of faithfulness in being a true disciple is found in the life of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.

John lived to be very aged. He witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem, and the ruin of the stately temple,—a symbol of the final ruin of the world. To his latest days John closely followed his Lord. The burden of his testimony to the churches was, “Beloved, let us love one another;” “he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:7, 16.

When unselfish love fills the heart, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as we are empowered by His divine grace to obey the commandments of God up to the light He has revealed to us! John's life is a testimony that it is possible to live in a way that is holy and pleasing to God!

[Sean James]

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 Jesus do what He wants to do in your life! Invite Him into your heart and obey His word by grace through faith, letting the Holy Spirit manifest through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! In readiness for His coming, you can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

[Sean James]

What a wonderful family we can be a part of as we accept Christ as a living Savior into our hearts and abide in His unselfish love! In complete surrender to Him all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives, as Christ in us as the hope of glory empowers us to obey Him from the new heart He imparts! Praise God that such a character experience will reach through the eternal ages!

From that scene of heavenly joy, there comes back to us on earth the echo of Christ's own wonderful words, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” John 20:17. The family of heaven and the family of earth are one. For us our Lord ascended, and for us He lives. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.

Christ not only intercedes for us, but He empowers us to do His will, preparing us for heaven by imparting heaven into our hearts!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath! Jesus is coming again, and because of what He has done for us, we can rejoice that sin will be forever at an end! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life of those who yield wholeheartedly to Christ and gladly follow in true obedience His will!

Through Christ's redeeming work the government of God stands justified. The Omnipotent One is made known as the God of love. Satan's charges are refuted, and his character unveiled. Rebellion can never again arise. Sin can never again enter the universe. Through eternal ages all are secure from apostasy. By love's self-sacrifice, the inhabitants of earth and heaven are bound to their Creator in bonds of indissoluble union. 
   
Being united with Christ, we can go forward on the missions of blessing in this life and in the life to come!

[Sean James]

The first advent of Christ presents striking parallels to learn from as our world is on the verge of the second advent of Christ!

At the time of the birth of Christ the nation was chafing under the rule of her foreign masters, and racked with internal strife. The Jews had been permitted to maintain the form of a separate government; but nothing could disguise the fact that they were under the Roman yoke, or reconcile them to the restriction of their power. The Romans claimed the right of appointing and removing the high priest, and the office was often secured by fraud, bribery, and even murder. Thus the priesthood became more and more corrupt. Yet the priests still possessed great power, and they employed it for selfish and mercenary ends. The people were subjected to their merciless demands, and were also heavily taxed by the Romans. This state of affairs caused widespread discontent. Popular outbreaks were frequent. Greed and violence, distrust and spiritual apathy, were eating out the very heart of the nation.

As greed, violence, distrust and spiritual apathy are affecting so many, we need to look to the only One who can save us from ourselves--Jesus, our High Priest in heaven's sanctuary who is soon to return as our King to take all of His converted, obedient saints home to heaven from this earth! We need a living union and communion with Christ, and by abiding in Him in complete surrender of all we have and are, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives so we can overcome all sin through the grace of Christ as we see clearly how much He loves us! "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15) is both an invitation and a promise, for loving Christ wholeheartedly leads to obedience perfect and perpetual! Thus we are made ready for heaven by having heaven in our hearts! Jesus is coming soon! Praise God for His promises that shall be fulfilled! "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And 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 14:1-3). Let's make Jesus happy by letting Him prepare our characters for the home He is preparing for us in heaven!

[Sean James]

God is able to overrule what Satan does to debase human beings. All who come to Him thorough Christ He will not cast out, but freely receive and enable to experience healing and victory. "God is love" (1 John 4:.

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.

Being reshaped into God's image begins with a new heart and mind, filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering the soul to true obedience by the grace of God through faith!

[Sean James]

How would you like to hear a story that never grows old, that always has new depths of love to reveal as it is repeated and studied, and helps us better appreciate God's unselfish, infinitely good character? Well, thankfully, we need look no farther than the amazing gift offered us in Bethlehem when Jesus was born!

The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour's sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger, and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man's nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life.

Christ offers us His character experience by grace through faith--and that will reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in true obedience to God's law of love! The more we contemplate God's love for us in Christ, the more we become like Him who loved us and gave Himself for us! Rejoice in the Lord, always!!

[Sean James]

At some point, EVERYONE will confess that God's ways are true and right. Why not start now, and enjoy the love experience His life offers you in Christ? As we yield our wills to Christ, He gives us new hearts and minds that are filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we abide in Him in true obedience to His commandments! The best time to come to Christ is RIGHT NOW and to stay vitally connected to Him by letting His thoughts, motives, purposes and experiences become ours by union and communion with Jesus!

In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God's government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, “Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? ... for Thy judgments are made manifest.” Revelation 15:3, 4.

While all the loyal and rebellious will all come to the same conclusion in the end, how much joy we can bring to the heart of God as we enter into the fellowship of the mystery of His love today and abide in His will! Then we are ready for eternity, for we have heaven in our hearts through Christ!

[Sean James]

What can we give to God? Let's look at the example of the Magi and remember that it brings joy to God when we give Him the best we have! After surrendering our sin-polluted heart to Jesus so He can purify and cleanse it by His blood, we can receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are manifest! Then, from a truly converted experience, we will gladly go forward in offering the best talents and gifts we have to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth!

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.

When we go all-out for God, we do it because He went all-out for us in giving us His Son! "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Go forth today to let the love of Christ through you bless others! 

[Sean James]

Let's labor the way Jesus did! We can be happy doing whatever He has for us to do! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our hearts and lives as long as we surrender fully to Christ and obey Him affectionately up to the light He has revealed!

Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact. It requires much patience and spirituality to bring Bible religion into the home life and into the workshop, to bear the strain of worldly business, and yet keep the eye single to the glory of God. This is where Christ was a helper. He was never so full of worldly care as to have no time or thought for heavenly things. Often He expressed the gladness of His heart by singing psalms and heavenly songs. Often the dwellers in Nazareth heard His voice raised in praise and thanksgiving to God. He held communion with heaven in song; and as His companions complained of weariness from labor, they were cheered by the sweet melody from His lips. His praise seemed to banish the evil angels, and, like incense, fill the place with fragrance. The minds of His hearers were carried away from their earthly exile, to the heavenly home.

We are homeward bound! JESUS IS COMING SO SOON!! While we walk our pilgrim pathway, doing whatever our hands find to do with all our might and heart, let us shed about us the light of a cheerful piety that reflect the infinite loveliness of Jesus!