The Glory of God

[Sean James]

Uplifting Jesus is the only way for humanity to be lifted up! As Jesus shared the story of the good Samaritan, He was giving us the opportunity to also be drawn to Him and share His life of love to bless others!

In the story of the good Samaritan, Jesus gave a picture of Himself and His mission. Man had been deceived, bruised, robbed, and ruined by Satan, and left to perish; but the Saviour had compassion on our helpless condition. He left His glory, to come to our rescue. He found us ready to die, and He undertook our case. He healed our wounds. He covered us with His robe of righteousness. He opened to us a refuge of safety, and made complete provision for us at His own charges. He died to redeem us. Pointing to His own example, He says to His followers, “These things I command you, that ye love one another.” “As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 15:17; 13:34.

As we abide in Jesus by surrendering fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing, we will gladly obey God from the heart, and ministry to those in need will be a delight even if it means inconvenience and trial. Love moves the disciple to be like Christ who went to the cross to save us!

[Sean James]

What a paradigm shift! During Jesus' personal ministry with His disciples, they often kept trying to ignore or disregard His clear words about His crucifixion (as they hoped it would not actually happen), but after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they considered it a high honor to suffer for His name! They had been thoroughly converted and transformed! The disciples were converted before the crucifixion, clearly revealed by Jesus' words when He washed their feet and said "ye are clean, but not all" (John 13:10), for, with the exception of Judas, all had made that complete surrender. The Holy Spirit had changed them in heart to be willing to concede the highest place to another. Yet being converted at one point is not enough--for we need to remain in a converted state and be thoroughly transformed in every area of character! Conversion is the result of a long, protracted process of wooing by God's Holy Spirit, and will always bring all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as the soul is empowered to obey God's holy law (the Ten Commandments) up to the light revealed. Such an experience is to be maintained by a continual surrender of the will to Christ. It was after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that God could do SO MUCH MORE for the disciples because they FELT THEIR NEED of His help and were learning more fully each day that God's kingdom is not based on external measures of greatness, but holiness of heart and life, for "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).

As priests and rulers combined against them, and they were brought before councils and thrust into prison, the followers of Christ rejoiced “that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.” Acts 5:41. They rejoiced to prove, before men and angels, that they recognized the glory of Christ, and chose to follow Him at the loss of all things.

Thus, as we learn more each day, following in the sacrificial steps of Jesus, we can also remember that fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. May you rejoice in whatever plans God's providence leads you into for His kingdom sake, even though it be at the loss of all things, and even life itself! "Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee" (Psalm 63:3)! Praising God in our tribulations and trials that we endure for His sake is a powerful witness to reach others with the true experience of the gospel! Giving the Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14:6-12 while having the experience of Revelation 14:1-5 is so powerful that it hastens Jesus' return and impels us to go to the ends of the earth to reach souls bought at the cost of Jesus' blood!

[Sean James]

Praise God for the way Jesus sees us as His children!

The Saviour regards with infinite tenderness the souls whom He has purchased with His own blood. They are the claim of His love. He looks upon them with unutterable longing. His heart is drawn out, not only to the best-behaved children, but to those who have by inheritance objectionable traits of character. Many parents do not understand how much they are responsible for these traits in their children. They have not the tenderness and wisdom to deal with the erring ones whom they have made what they are. But Jesus looks upon these children with pity. He traces from cause to effect.

When the whole heart is yielded to Jesus, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives, we will gladly obey God from the new heart up to the light He has revealed to us, and we will be enabled to love souls like Jesus does! Praise God that He does not give up on us, even though we have areas that need to be healed and changed!

[Sean James]

Infinite value--that is what you have! Thus, it follows that every soul has infinite value, because of what Christ did for us in creating us and redeeming us! Oh, what wondrous love to woo us to Himself away from the unsatisfying pleasures of sin and lead us to abide in His loveliness of character as we grow in His grace and strength to do His holy will! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Him in humble faith and obedience! Let us enter into the true joy of our lives being used by God to win souls to Him at any cost to ourselves, motivated by the One who went to Gethsemane and Calvary for us, and is not interceding in heaven as our High Priest, preparing us for His coming as King! 

When Christ's followers give back to the Lord His own, they are accumulating treasure which will be given to them when they shall hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; ... enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Matthew 25:23; Hebrews 12:2. The joy of seeing souls redeemed, souls eternally saved, is the reward of all that put their feet in the footprints of Him who said, “Follow Me.”

To follow Jesus is to be TRULY HAPPY!! He loves us and wants what is best for us. When the rich young ruler turned away sorrowful, it was because He did not let Jesus lead him the only path that leads to true happiness--and that is the path Jesus has planned for us! "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psalm 16:11)!!! Trust Jesus fully and watch Him lead you in paths that bring the greatest joy to God, others, and you, too!

[Sean James]

What is most important to you? As we contemplate the experience of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet, it is evident that she had found what really mattered in life--being with Jesus and hearing His word with a sincere, open heart to abide in His love. After all, the plan of salvation is a love story. God so loves us that He sent His Son to redeem us at infinite cost to Himself. Well would it be to enjoy the sweet union and communion that come from abiding in Jesus in complete surrender to Him which gives Him permission to supernaturally produce in the converted soul all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing while simultaneously empowering the life abiding in Christ to affectionately obey God up to the light He has revealed! What a miracle!!

As Christ gave His wonderful lessons, Mary sat at His feet, a reverent and devoted listener. On one occasion, Martha, perplexed with the care of preparing the meal, went to Christ, saying, “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.” This was the time of Christ's first visit to Bethany. The Saviour and His disciples had just made the toilsome journey on foot from Jericho. Martha was anxious to provide for their comfort, and in her anxiety she forgot the courtesy due to her Guest. Jesus answered her with mild and patient words, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Mary was storing her mind with the precious words falling from the Saviour's lips, words that were more precious to her than earth's most costly jewels.

As you store your mind with the jewels of God's word, know that such an experience is worth more than gold, for God is preparing our characters to bear trials so we may impart these words of life to souls who need them, so they, too, can be saved in God's appointed way! Praise the Lord!

[Sean James]

Don't even listen! Whatever Satan tells you is a LIE!! Sadly, the Jews listened to lies from Satan and put Jesus to death. In the last days, Satan will seek to deceive the whole world by His lies and lead the nations to enact laws enforcing Sunday observance and prohibiting freedom to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Oh, let us choose to walk in truth and humbly keep the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) by the power of Jesus offered us when we surrender all to Him, so that we can experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus offers us the three angels' messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to prepare us for His return! Let us live and give the message and turn resolutely away from Satan's crafty, cunning lies!

Satan told them that in order to maintain their authority, they must put Jesus to death. This counsel they followed. The fact that they might lose the power they then exercised, was, they thought, sufficient reason for coming to some decision. With the exception of a few who dared not speak their minds, the Sanhedrin received the words of Caiaphas as the words of God. Relief came to the council; the discord ceased. They resolved to put Christ to death at the first favorable opportunity. In rejecting the proof of the divinity of Jesus, these priests and rulers had locked themselves in impenetrable darkness. They had come wholly under the sway of Satan, to be hurried by him over the brink of eternal ruin. Yet such was their deception that they were well pleased with themselves. They regarded themselves as patriots, who were seeking the nation's salvation.

So it will be in the last days. Those who enact laws to finally kill God's commandment keeping people will think themselves doing God service, but we must test everything to God's word to know what is true!

[Sean James]

It's a gift! Jesus offers you His character, and then gladly will bless you to be a blessing to as many as possible! Let us yield all to Him so He can manifest through us all the fruits of His Spirit without one missing as we are empowered to obey God from the new heart!

"But to sit on My right hand, and on My left," He continued, "is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My Father." In the kingdom of God, position is not gained through favoritism. It is not earned, nor is it received through an arbitrary bestowal. It is the result of character. The crown and the throne are the tokens of a condition attained; they are the tokens of self-conquest through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What a joy it is to partake of Christ's character!

[Sean James]

Grace is more than a word--it is the power of God to pardon and transform a sinner into a saint! When Zacchaeus became truly converted, his life was changed by God's grace revealed to him in and through Christ, and his entire heart was surrendered to God's will. Such an experience led Zacchaeus to do what was right in true obedience from the heart, restore what was wrong from his past, and the Lord filled him with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! We, too, can experience the grace of God to make us partakers of the divine nature which enables us to do God's holy will!

When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples had marveled at their Master's saying, "How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!" They had exclaimed one to another, "Who then can be saved?" Now they had a demonstration of the truth of Christ's words, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Mark 10:24, 26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.

In beholding true testimonies of how God saved others, we ourselves can be immeasurably blessed as we realize God can convert us and make us new in heart and life! There is no greater joy than being truly converted and bringing others to Christ to experience the same joy! May you go forth to be a blessing in Christ this day!

[Sean James]

Let it overflow! When you get to know Jesus' love so well that you cannot help but share it, you are experiencing the true grace of God that makes sinners into saints who love to express His character--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in harmony with God's law of love--to bless the Lord and others! Mary's example shows us what love does--it overflows!!

Christ delighted in the earnest desire of Mary to do the will of her Lord. He accepted the wealth of pure affection which His disciples did not, would not, understand. The desire that Mary had to do this service for her Lord was of more value to Christ than all the precious ointment in the world, because it expressed her appreciation of the world's Redeemer. It was the love of Christ that constrained her. The matchless excellence of the character of Christ filled her soul. That ointment was a symbol of the heart of the giver. It was the outward demonstration of a love fed by heavenly streams until it overflowed.

May your experience of knowing and loving God in all the ways He has revealed Himself in Christ by the Holy Spirit lead you to overflow that love in blessing to others!

[Sean James]

What a blessing to know that Jesus is our Deliverer! He came to present Himself as the One who was about to be offered up on the cross as our Sacrifice!

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.

Christ knows what we need before we even ask, and now it is helpful for us to experience the joy of the Lord and walk in His victory over sin by continually surrendering to Him all we have and are! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as we abide in Christ and grow in His grace!

[Sean James]

The invitation stands! Christ invites all to come to Him and be saved from pride, unbelief and the downward path of selfishness. Only in Christ is there true healing! As we surrender fully to Him, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow forth through our lives as we abide in Christ and obey Him affectionately from the heart!

Christ overlooked the world and all ages from the height of Olivet; and His words are applicable to every soul who slights the pleadings of divine mercy. Scorner of His love, He addresses you today. It is “thou, even thou,” who shouldest know the things that belong to thy peace. Christ is shedding bitter tears for you, who have no tears to shed for yourself. Already that fatal hardness of heart which destroyed the Pharisees is manifest in you. And every evidence of the grace of God, every ray of divine light, is either melting and subduing the soul, or confirming it in hopeless impenitence.

Christ's grace is powerful enough to transform a sinner into a saint and keep us from failing back into sin. Let us come just as we are, invite Him to make us like Him, and turn away from the path of sin. Christ knows what is best and only in perfect acquiescence is there perfect rest in the soul.

[Sean James]

Patiently let God build your character after His pattern--Jesus! He did God's will on earth to make it possible for us, when surrendered fully to Him, to have an experience of character that reflects heaven's glory--all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are also empowered to obey God from the new heart!

In infinite wisdom, God chose the foundation stone, and laid it Himself. He called it “a sure foundation.” The entire world may lay upon it their burdens and griefs; it can endure them all. With perfect safety they may build upon it. Christ is a “tried stone.” Those who trust in Him, He never disappoints. He has borne every test. He has endured the pressure of Adam's guilt, and the guilt of his posterity, and has come off more than conqueror of the powers of evil. He has borne the burdens cast upon Him by every repenting sinner. In Christ the guilty heart has found relief. He is the sure foundation. All who make Him their dependence rest in perfect security.

Praise God for the joy of building on Christ as the true foundation! He never fails those who come to Him!

[Sean James]

When God fills us with love, it heals our relationship with Him and others!

The first four of the Ten Commandments are summed up in the one great precept, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.” The last six are included in the other, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Both these commandments are an expression of the principle of love. The first cannot be kept and the second broken, nor can the second be kept while the first is broken. When God has His rightful place on the throne of the heart, the right place will be given to our neighbor. We shall love him as ourselves. And only as we love God supremely is it possible to love our neighbor impartially.

Only by love is love awakened, and thankfully, God first loved us to woo us to Himself so we can experience His true character manifest in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we gladly are empowered to obey the Ten Commandments from the new heart given us when we surrender fully to Christ!

[Sean James]

He did everything that He could. Can the same be said of us?

Divine pity marked the countenance of the Son of God as He cast one lingering look upon the temple and then upon His hearers. In a voice choked by deep anguish of heart and bitter tears He exclaimed, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This is the separation struggle. In the lamentation of Christ the very heart of God is pouring itself forth. It is the mysterious farewell of the long-suffering love of the Deity.

As Christ reproduces His character in us as His people, we will experience His yearning over the souls in this world whose probation is closing, for Christ's ministry as our High Priest in heaven is about to close and He will soon return to take His children home to the mansions He has prepared. How He longs for all to come to Him and be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4), yet He will not force any to choose Him. He calls and waits, but if the soul refuses to respond, Christ sadly will give us up to what we have chosen--they way of death. Oh, let us not only turn fully to Christ today but invite others to fully surrender to Him, and thus experience all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments! It's not too late--let's respond to Christ and invite others to do so with His Spirit moving us to make heartfelt appeals to reach souls who need all that Christ is offering us--salvation to the uttermost from sin and its effects upon us! Praise God for such love as we see in Christ!

[Sean James]

The seed is Jesus, the word of God, who in dying on Calvary and rising from the dead offers us eternal life as we consent to die to sin and abide in His righteous life! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will flow through the life that is truly converted and abiding in Him in true obedience! More and more glory unfolds to our hearts and minds as we contemplate the infinite love manifest toward us in Christ's death on the cross! It starts now, and continues forever!!

The seed buried in the ground produces fruit, and in turn this is planted. Thus the harvest is multiplied. So the death of Christ on the cross of Calvary will bear fruit unto eternal life. The contemplation of this sacrifice will be the glory of those who, as the fruit of it, will live through the eternal ages.

Let us praise God more and more for His wonderful power and grace towards us to transform sinners into saints and keep us from falling back into sin and the way of death! The path of life found through union and communion with Christ is infinitely better than anything we are tempted to do that is wrong!