The Glory of God

[Sean James]

While there is no competition in the kingdom of God, there is continually more available to all who come unto God by Christ Jesus. Rather than seeking to excel someone else who has different talents and capacities for service, we get to yield the whole heart to Christ and let Him pour into and through our souls all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, enabling us to affectionately obey God from the new heart up to the light He has revealed to us! The converted soul having such an experience will grow and be a witness to invite others to go "all in" for Jesus, so He can manifest through them the unique traits of character and gifts for the furthering of His kingdom! Let us work together as a loving family to further God's purposes of restoring the human race to holiness and hastening the coming of Jesus by giving the everlasting gospel to our world in this present time, helping to finish the final movements of the great controversy between Christ and Satan! Christ is longing for the manifestation of His own character in His people, and when He has a ripe crop of souls who will not turn from Him ever again--a people who can safely go through the time of trouble such as never was--then He will finish His work as High Priest and come to take His children home as their King! Hallelujah!!

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.

Praise the Lord that God will multiply workers for His kingdom as we ourselves yield to Him all we have and are! Then we can accept the loving call to repentance in Revelation 3:14-22 and give the present truth message of Revelation 14:6-12! Jesus is coming again! Let's help that day come even sooner by doing our part with the very love Christ has lavished upon us!!

[Sean James]

What a wonderful Savior we have in Jesus! Look to Him and be saved, yield the whole heart to Him to have Him convert it from selfishness to unselfish, holy love that delights to obey God! Allow Him to lead you into all truth by the Holy Spirit, and expect God to do great things!

His tender compassion fell with a touch of healing upon weary and troubled hearts. Even amid the turbulence of angry enemies He was surrounded with an atmosphere of peace. The beauty of His countenance, the loveliness of His character, above all, the love expressed in look and tone, drew to Him all who were not hardened in unbelief. Had it not been for the sweet, sympathetic spirit that shone out in every look and word, He would not have attracted the large congregations that He did. The afflicted ones who came to Him felt that He linked His interest with theirs as a faithful and tender friend, and they desired to know more of the truths He taught. Heaven was brought near. They longed to abide in His presence, that the comfort of His love might be with them continually.

All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life of one who surrenders fully to Jesus and follows in true obedience all the light shining on the pathway to heaven! Let's look up to Jesus and remember how He lived His life on earth--for His experience may be ours!

[Sean James]

Do you always get what you ask for? Well, when it comes to God's answers to our prayers, thankfully the answer is "what is best," as IT IS HIS WILL to forgive and cleanse us from sin, but if we ask for an earthly blessing like healing, a home, a spouse, a child, a specific ministry, or certain gifts we desire, God may providentially grant the request immediately, later, or let us know He has "something better"--and because we can see how much He loves us in Christ (after all, He left heaven to die for us and save us!!!!), it would be best to TRUST HIM and LET HIM LEAD based on His word: "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20)!!!!!!

In some instances of healing, Jesus did not at once grant the blessing sought. But in the case of leprosy, no sooner was the appeal made than it was granted. When we pray for earthly blessings, the answer to our prayer may be delayed, or God may give us something other than we ask, but not so when we ask for deliverance from sin. It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children, and to enable us to live a holy life. Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” Galatians 1:4. And “this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14, 15. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9.

What comfort we can have when we REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES US and that He will ALWAYS fulfill His promise: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). ARE YOU CONVINCED GOD REALLY LOVES YOU? THEN LIVE BY FAITH UPON EVERY WORD OF GOD AND NOT BY SIGHT, FEELING OR THE FLESH!!!!! ALL THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT WITHOUT ONE MISSING WILL FLOW THROUGH YOUR LIFE AS LONG AS YOU ARE COMPLETELY SURRENDERED TO GOD AND DOING HIS WILL AS HE LEADS YOU IN TRUE OBEDIENCE TO ALL OF HIS COMMANDMENTS!!!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sean James]

There's something for everyone!! Jesus knows what we really desire and need, and He will supply us with all we need for this life and the life to come as we come in true surrender and faith to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we continue to abide in Jesus in complete surrender and obey His law up to the light He has revealed to us! Praise God for the gift of salvation that we can experience and share with others by pointing them to Jesus!!

The Prince of heaven was among His people. The greatest gift of God had been given to the world. Joy to the poor; for Christ had come to make them heirs of His kingdom. Joy to the rich; for He would teach them how to secure eternal riches. Joy to the ignorant; He would make them wise unto salvation. Joy to the learned; He would open to them deeper mysteries than they had ever fathomed; truths that had been hidden from the foundation of the world would be opened to men by the Saviour's mission.

Jesus also continues to have more and more for us if we will but open our hearts to receive Him and walk in the path He leads us to take! Praise God!!

[Sean James]

As God each week gives us the seventh day Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, we can rejoice in the love that makes us happy and walk in the light of His word!

And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord." Isaiah 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28.

By yielding the whole heart to Christ and accepting His strength and grace, we can choose day by day to overcome sin through truly obeying God from the new heart--even the heart of unselfish love! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are connected to Christ, the living vine!

[Sean James]

Who are you letting speak through you? Each time you utter a word of doubt or unbelief, you express sentiments from Satan, but each time you express faith, hope and love and point souls to Christ and His word, holy angels are ministering through you!

We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.

Let's bring a smile to Jesus today by letting His will be done in our lives! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in and through us as we affectionately obey God from the new heart He gives us in true conversion!

[Sean James]

How would you like to be as close to Jesus as possible? He loves all of us, but if our hearts are tender and open to what He wants to share with us, we can have a very deep, spiritual union and communion with Christ that is like what John experienced!

The Saviour loved them all, but John's was the most receptive spirit. He was younger than the others, and with more of the child's confiding trust he opened his heart to Jesus. Thus he came more into sympathy with Christ, and through him the Saviour's deepest spiritual teaching was communicated to His people.

As we point others to how to have that ever-deepening union and communion with Christ, others are drawn to Christ because they can see that the gospel of the grace of God does make us partakers of the divine nature, filling us with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are fully surrendered and growing in His will through true obedience to all the Lord has taught us!

[Sean James]

To be meek and humble in heart is what Christ offers us by coming into union and communion with Himself. Only as we abide in Christ by a complete surrender can we experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing. Then, through letting His will be done in us as we cooperate with Him, we can be living witnesses of the power of grace to change the life from sin to holiness!

“Blessed are the meek.” The difficulties we have to encounter may be very much lessened by that meekness which hides itself in Christ. If we possess the humility of our Master, we shall rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoyances, to which we are daily exposed, and they will cease to cast a gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a calm and trustful spirit robs God of His right to reveal in him His own perfection of character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts above.

When we manifest self-control and all of the other fruit of the Spirit, it is only because Christ is giving us the power and ability to do what is right, and we are availing ourselves of His strength made perfect in our weakness!

[Sean James]

What an amazing, simple, direct faith experience the centurion had as he heard of what Jesus' word could do! Do we believe that God really means what He says to us personally? Then when you confess your sins to God in sincerity, believe that He forgives, believe that He restores and cleanses from all unrighteousness, and then go forward to inspire others with faith, hope and love! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing come into the life of those who take God at His word and surrender fully to Him as a living Savior!

Christ had said to the nobleman whose son He healed, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” John 4:48. He was grieved that His own nation should require these outward signs of His Messiahship. Again and again He had marveled at their unbelief. But He marveled at the faith of the centurion who came to Him. The centurion did not question the Saviour's power. He did not even ask Him to come in person to perform the miracle. “Speak the word only,” he said, “and my servant shall be healed.”

Praise the Lord for the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. As we see the accounts of God's work in the healing of people in the Bible, let us believe that God can also restore us by His word!

[Sean James]

Oh, Jesus gets us so deeply--even more deeply than we understand ourselves! We can find rest in every trying situation where Jesus found it--in union and communion with the Father! Let's go there--continually!!

These things made His path a thorny one to travel. So pained was Christ by the misapprehension in His own home that it was a relief to Him to go where it did not exist. There was one home that He loved to visit,—the home of Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha; for in the atmosphere of faith and love His spirit had rest. Yet there were none on earth who could comprehend His divine mission, or know the burden which He bore in behalf of humanity. Often He could find relief only in being alone, and communing with His heavenly Father.

God's presence brings us true relief amid the chaos, confusion and conflicts that are so often experienced in human relationships; Jesus longed to have people who would gladly enter into fellowship with Him in His sufferings and gladly accept the spiritual teachings that He presented that would convert the soul, and He longs for your friendship today. Are you willing to open the heart fully to Christ so He can fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as you are totally surrendered to Him? If so, He will enable you to find rest and peace in His presence so you can experience His intimacy and love with the Father that sustains you and empowers you to live the life of holiness.

[Sean James]

We are being trained!!

“Learn of Me,” says Jesus; “for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest.” We are to enter the school of Christ, to learn from Him meekness and lowliness. Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ. It means emancipation from ideas, habits, and practices that have been gained in the school of the prince of darkness. The soul must be delivered from all that is opposed to loyalty to God.

If you let Jesus lead you, He will fully save you! To be saved to the uttermost from sin and its effects is a great miracle of grace, but it is possible to be a repentant sinner who is a true saint abiding in Christ, manifesting all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while affectionately obedient to all of the light of God's law that is revealed! Let's let Jesus do this in us as He puts forth ALL His power by the Holy Spirit to accomplish this great miracle and as we put forth all the effort and energy He has given us to be in harmony with His will! Praise God for such a glorious experience of character offered us in Christ! Let's live it out moment-by-moment!!

[Sean James]

Whose experience would you rather have in the storm--that of Jesus who was kept by His Father in perfect peace, or that of the disciples who were afraid on the boat? By communing with the Father as Jesus did and following His example, we, too, can experience God's abiding peace in every storm of life that arises, trusting Him to deliver us in the way that is best! Then, instead of being afraid, we can have a rest of soul that will invite others to trust Christ, too, and come enter into His experience by union and communion with Him in complete surrender of the heart, mind and will to Him!

How often the disciples’ experience is ours! When the tempests of temptation gather, and the fierce lightnings flash, and the waves sweep over us, we battle with the storm alone, forgetting that there is One who can help us. We trust to our own strength till our hope is lost, and we are ready to perish. Then we remember Jesus, and if we call upon Him to save us, we shall not cry in vain. Though He sorrowfully reproves our unbelief and self-confidence, He never fails to give us the help we need. Whether on the land or on the sea, if we have the Saviour in our hearts, there is no need of fear. Living faith in the Redeemer will smooth the sea of life, and will deliver us from danger in the way that He knows to be best.

All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in our lives as long as we are abiding in Christ in complete surrender! Then, we can gladly obey Christ up to the light He has revealed with intense love and earnestness, having a peace that transcends understanding because we accept the love of God as an abiding principle in the soul!

[Sean James]

We can overcome! Like the woman who reached out for Christ and was instantly healed, we can reach out in faith and be spiritually restored to wholeness, experiencing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as we are abiding in Christ! Then our lives will bear witness for Christ as we affectionately obey Him from the new heart!

The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So in spiritual things. To talk of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him merely as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, cannot receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour; which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. Genuine faith is life. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.

What a joy it is to walk in the victory of Christ and have a genuine faith walk with Jesus that brings life and life more abundantly!

[Sean James]

True Christian character is a consistent experience. Let us behold Christ, yield fully to Him, abide in Jesus, and let His life flow through us as manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all the light shining upon the life path from God's law! From such an experience, we can keep growing in grace!

He who would confess Christ must have Christ abiding in him. He cannot communicate that which he has not received. The disciples might speak fluently on doctrines, they might repeat the words of Christ Himself; but unless they possessed Christlike meekness and love, they were not confessing Him. A spirit contrary to the spirit of Christ would deny Him, whatever the profession. Men may deny Christ by evilspeaking, by foolish talking, by words that are untruthful or unkind. They may deny Him by shunning life's burdens, by the pursuit of sinful pleasure. They may deny Him by conforming to the world, by uncourteous behavior, by the love of their own opinions, by justifying self, by cherishing doubt, borrowing trouble, and dwelling in darkness. In all these ways they declare that Christ is not in them. And “whosoever shall deny Me before men,” He says, “him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”

Christ loves to confess our names before our Heavenly Father--so let us avoid the booby traps the devil has laid for our feet and walk on the straight and narrow path to heaven--the path of life Jesus walked by conforming all He did and said to the word of God!

[Sean James]

Jesus is training us for heaven! Let us not fail to experience what He is offering us by His own life and example!

In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a life that is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; and everyone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. Here alone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation for all who labor for God. Amid the hurrying throng, and the strain of life's intense activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance, and will reveal a divine power that will reach men's hearts.

Christ loves to transform the character of every soul who yields fully to Him! He longs to do it for everyone, but He will not force and entrance! When we surrender completely to Christ and have that sweet, intimate time with Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow into the life and we are empowered to partake of the divine nature, enabling us to obey all of the truth from God's law that the Holy Spirit has revealed to us! What a miracle and what a blessing life becomes when we know God and Jesus Christ whom Has sent--for this is eternal life (John 17:3)!!