The Glory of God

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!

The gift of salvation is beyond our finite comprehension to fully grasp in terms of its magnitude and cost. God suffered so much for us in sending Jesus to this world to become our Savior. He offers us His life because He took our life of sin and shame upon Him, dying for us at Calvary, and offering us an eternity of bliss with Him. Will we be willing to deny self and follow His word, going in the appointed path He has for us and letting Him truly convert our souls so all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing are in our lives? If so, true obedience from the heart will be flow from a life that deeply appreciates what Jesus has done for us. He was victorious over all of Satan's temptations, and we can be, too, by abiding in Christ, the Victor!!

Never can the cost of our redemption be realized until the redeemed shall stand with the Redeemer before the throne of God. Then as the glories of the eternal home burst upon our enraptured senses we shall remember that Jesus left all this for us, that He not only became an exile from the heavenly courts, but for us took the risk of failure and eternal loss. Then we shall cast our crowns at His feet, and raise the song, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Revelation 5:12.

We will study into the depths of God's love for eternity, and the cross of Christ will ever be our science and song. God loves us and offers us something this world cannot give--a life of love, joy, peace and all of His character attributes because He comes to live in us and keep our fallen nature crucified with Christ! When Jesus returns, the faithful who have walked with Him in this life will either be resurrected or translated, and will then receive a new nature that will NEVER again be tempted. But until then, keep looking unto Jesus and choose to be faithful by grace through faith! Praise the Lord it is possible, and a couple evidences are Enoch and Elijah, who are already in heaven!! Jesus is coming soon, and He offers us His life of unselfishness. Let us yield fully to Him!!

[Sean James]

Praise God for the way God knows us better than we know ourselves! Jesus, in calling Peter, foresaw his entire life history in a glance, and it is wonderful to know that God also knows us individually, and has a plan for each of us to fulfill!

Andrew sought to impart the joy that filled his heart. Going in search of his brother Simon, he cried, “We have found the Messias.” Simon waited for no second bidding. He also had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and he hastened to the Saviour. The eye of Christ rested upon him, reading his character and his life history. His impulsive nature, his loving, sympathetic heart, his ambition and self-confidence, the history of his fall, his repentance, his labors, and his martyr death,—the Saviour read it all, and He said, “Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”

In true conversion, all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be seen in our lives as long as we are fully surrendered to Christ and abiding in His will! We need not fear for the future as we remember how God has led us in the past and His teaching in our past history. He calls us to true obedience so we can enjoy the blessing of infinite love and fellowship with Him here and in the hereafter. Praise God for the call Jesus extended to His disciples! Let us follow in His will today!

[Sean James]

What a faith journey Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, experienced!

From the day when she heard the angel's announcement in the home at Nazareth Mary had treasured every evidence that Jesus was the Messiah. His sweet, unselfish life assured her that He could be no other than the Sent of God. Yet there came to her also doubts and disappointments, and she had longed for the time when His glory should be revealed. Death had separated her from Joseph, who had shared her knowledge of the mystery of the birth of Jesus. Now there was no one to whom she could confide her hopes and fears. The past two months had been very sorrowful. She had been parted from Jesus, in whose sympathy she found comfort; she pondered upon the words of Simeon, “A sword shall pierce through thy own soul also” (Luke 2:35); she recalled the three days of agony when she thought Jesus lost to her forever; and with an anxious heart she awaited His return.

Apparently having faith in Jesus does not always mean a smooth road. At times we may suffer and experience emotional struggles as we are seeking to grasp the meaning of the word of God and His specific will for us. As Mary had to battle through doubts and disappointments, and even though she did not grasp before His crucifixion His mission, she did trust Him completely. Things became clearer with subsequent events in Jesus' life and ministry. He was ever seeking to prepare her and His disciples for what He would face at the cross, but they did not grasp it as it was so out of harmony with the purposes and thoughts that they had about Christ as the Messiah, expecting Him to reign as a temporal king in Jerusalem. Yet all the same, Jesus faithfully fulfilled His mission and did so right on prophetic time (see Daniel 9:24-27). As we learn to trust Christ completely and let Him guide our lives in the path He knows is best, let us remember that God will help us to depend upon Him and overcome sin by His divine grace, purifying the heart fully surrendered to Him, and enabling us to reflect His character with all of the fruit of the Spirit in the life without one trait of His divine nature missing. Christ guiding us will enable us to be obedient up the light of God's law that we understand! Let us talk and speak faith because Jesus is truly our Savior and He who came the first time will come again in the clouds of heaven very soon!

[Sean James]

In imagination, seek to grasp the scene as Jesus is in the temple, cleansing it from the unholy traffic and providing healing and grace to all who yearned for His love! Christ restored the souls of those who remained in the temple after He cleansed it. He prepared the temple so He could effectually minister there. Let us open our hearts to Jesus so He can minister to our souls, too, and then minister through us to others!

As the priests and temple officials witnessed this great work, what a revelation to them were the sounds that fell on their ears! The people were relating the story of the pain they had suffered, of their disappointed hopes, of painful days and sleepless nights. When the last spark of hope seemed to be dead, Christ had healed them. The burden was so heavy, one said; but I have found a helper. He is the Christ of God, and I will devote my life to His service. Parents said to their children, He has saved your life; lift up your voice and praise Him. The voices of children and youth, fathers and mothers, friends and spectators, blended in thanksgiving and praise. Hope and gladness filled their hearts. Peace came to their minds. They were restored soul and body, and they returned home, proclaiming everywhere the matchless love of Jesus.

True restoration of character means becoming like Jesus, being filled with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, and being empowered by His grace to obey the law of God from the heart up to the light that He has revealed to us! Let's keep our eyes on Jesus and experience the peace He alone can truly give!

[Sean James]

Salvation is VERY important. Thankfully, it is not something that Jesus leaves us in the dark about!

How, then, are we to be saved? “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, “I delight to do Thy will, O my God.” Psalm 40:8.

What a transformation salvation brings to the soul! By making a complete surrender to Christ, a person goes from rebel sinner to repentant, adopted child of God as the Holy Spirit moves us to see the loveliness of Jesus and enables us to bear much fruit to God's glory! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing flow in and through the life that is vitally connected to the One who loved us and gave Himself for us! True obedience to God's commandments will not fail to be seen in the life that loves God supremely and one's neighbor as oneself!

[Sean James]

Let's trust God to do His work in His perfect way! If you are a converted Christian and walking in the light of His truth, whatever role you have in His service, learn to appreciate how God will not only use you according to your strength and capacity, but He will bring in others to keep it going forward!

God calls a man to do a certain work; and when he has carried it as far as he is qualified to take it, the Lord brings in others, to carry it still farther.

As we surrender the whole heart to Christ and keep surrendering fully to Him, we can rejoice that our heavenly Father knows how to keep growing the work of saving souls and reaching them for His purposes of grace and blessing! A truly converted person is happy to be anything or nothing as God's providence shall indicate!

[Sean James]

If you would have met her at the well, you might not have thought of her as a powerful soon-to-be missionary, but Jesus saw what she could be (that's grace) and revealed Himself to her (that's love) and then she was so transformed by surrendering to what she learned of the Messiah that she wanted to share with others (that's evidence of true conversion!)!! When we yield the WHOLE heart to Christ, not only will all of the fruits of the Spirit be seen in our lives without one missing, not only will we gladly be obedient to the light of God's holy law as He has helped us to understand it by His grace, but we will YEARN to share with others so they can know the INCREDIBLE news about Jesus as Savior who can make our messy lives into miracles that reflect Him!! Oh, let's be true missionaries by letting Jesus, the great Missionary abide in us!!

This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.

The good news about Jesus gets clearer and clearer as we approach His second coming! His Three Angels' Messages of Revelation 14 are given to prepare the world to meet Him in the clouds of glory as He returns very soon, and we can be SO GRATEFUL that He has so many more souls to be gathered into His fold before He returns! Let us help hasten the return of Christ by sharing with others so they can be ready! Praise the Lord!!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!

With the eyes of faith enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we can see things before they happen before our naked eyes!!

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.

Right now, Jesus is in the heavenly sanctuary ministering as our High Priest. He hears and answers every sincere prayer in the way that is best. He is preparing a place for us, as well as preparing us for the place He has in mind. Let us by faith grasp our eternal home and live today as pilgrims and strangers on earth to do God's will in reaching others with the everlasting gospel! God is so good to give us eternal life as we surrender all to Him! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life that is vitally connected to God by faith and true obedience will be reflected in mind and character as a witness of God's love at work in the soul! May your experience be more and more faith-filled, linking you to the unseen realities of the world to come!

[Sean James]

He was offering it to them, but they were blinded by their own selfish desires. Jesus came just as the prophecies had predicted, offering the very spiritual kingdom to all who would receive Him as Savior, but sadly, by and large, His own people rejected Him. Oh, let us open our hearts wide to Jesus and His everlasting gospel for this time (Revelation 14:6-12), letting Him prepare us for His glorious second coming! All the word of God says is fully true and will be fulfilled in its time and way!

This assurance of the future life was that for which Israel had so long waited, and which they had hoped to receive at the Messiah's advent. The only light that can lighten the gloom of the grave was shining upon them. But self-will is blind. Jesus had violated the traditions of the rabbis, and disregarded their authority, and they would not believe.

When we DO FULLY BELIEVE and YIELD to Christ, a miracle takes place in the heart. Jesus' perfect life stands for the life of the repentant sinner, justifying the soul with His righteousness; all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life and not one will be missing; the character is brought into harmony with the Ten Commandments, because Jesus lives out His perfect life in the soul! With such an experience taking place in the life, gladly we can look forward to the soon coming of Jesus and be ready to meet Him in peace, renouncing all blind self-will and letting God's will become our highest delight!!

[Sean James]

Oh, let us more fully appreciate the gift of salvation and the joy of getting to be both converted and also enjoy the blessing of understanding the present truth for this time! Let us trust God's leading in our lives!

God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Philippians 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.

Instead of avoiding the trials that are so often a source of great difficulty in the Christian life, let us embrace what God is seeking to teach us in and through them. From the death of John the Baptist we can learn that God is faithful even when Satan seems to get a supposed victory. We will need to remember clearly the goodness of God that will help sustain those who live in these last days and will go through the time of trouble just before the return of Christ. In all things, God's overruling providence is manifest and His goodness never changes, even when every earthly resource is cut off. God will be with His people to the end. May we not only be fully surrendered to Christ now, but also surrender fully to Him each day so that He can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as we are gladly obedient to all of the light of His law that He has revealed to us! Praise God for the overarching providence of God in all things both for this life and for the life to come!

[Sean James]

Praise the Lord for the message that prepares us to Jesus' second coming, as we can see Jesus faithfully fulfilled the prophecies relating to His first coming to be our Sacrifice! When He returns in glory, He will be our King coming to take us home to heaven! 

As the message of Christ's first advent announced the kingdom of His grace, so the message of His second advent announces the kingdom of His glory. And the second message, like the first, is based on the prophecies. The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:4, 10. The Saviour Himself has given signs of His coming, and He says, “When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.” “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:31, 34, 36.

All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the life of the soul that surrenders fully to Jesus! Gladly will be obey God up to the light we understand from His law of love! Praise God for the message preparing us for His second coming!!

[Sean James]

If it was possible then, it is certainly possible now. By and large, the religious teachers of Jesus' day missed the significance of His life and teachings because they misinterpreted the Scriptures. Just because a teaching is popular or widely shared does not make it true. We must test everything to God's word to see if it is true! "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

Because their understanding was darkened by selfish prejudice, they could not harmonize the power of Christ's convicting words with the humility of His life. They did not appreciate the fact that real greatness can dispense with outward show. This Man's poverty seemed wholly inconsistent with His claim to be the Messiah. They questioned, If He was what He claimed to be, why was He so unpretending? If He was satisfied to be without the force of arms, what would become of their nation? How could the power and glory so long anticipated bring the nations as subjects to the city of the Jews? Had not the priests taught that Israel was to bear rule over all the earth? and could it be possible that the great religious teachers were in error?

By surrendering to Jesus and His pure teachings in His word, our hearts can be converted and renewed by His grace! All of the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives without one missing as long as we are abiding in Him, and He will enable us to obey the law of God up to the truth we understand from it! Let's guard against the deceptions that are so widespread by testing everything by the word of God, and letting the Lord lead us by the Holy Spirit day by day in the harmony with the humble example of Jesus.

[Sean James]

Let this sink in as you realize how God treats you, and what He can do in and through you as you come to Him in full surrender!

God takes men as they are, and educates them for His service, if they will yield themselves to Him. The Spirit of God, received into the soul, will quicken all its faculties. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the mind that is devoted unreservedly to God develops harmoniously, and is strengthened to comprehend and fulfill the requirements of God. The weak, vacillating character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character. Through a connection with Christ he will have clearer and broader views. His discernment will be more penetrative, his judgment better balanced. He who longs to be of service to Christ is so quickened by the life-giving power of the Sun of Righteousness that he is enabled to bear much fruit to the glory of God.

By complete surrender to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in the life without one missing, but even that experience can grow and deepen in God's love! From love to God, it is possible to obey God up to the light that He has revealed of His law! Praise the Lord!

[Sean James]

As we remember Jesus this Good Friday, let's remember that His salvation is accessible to ALL of us! Let's choose to accept His grace and power to deliver us from Satan and set us free from all sin! By surrendering fully to Christ, all of the fruits of the Spirit will be manifest in our lives without one missing!

Every man is free to choose what power he will have to rule over him. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart's unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded. Those who will consent to enter into covenant relation with the God of heaven are not left to the power of Satan or to the infirmity of their own nature. They are invited by the Saviour, “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.” Isaiah 27:5. The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power. The Lord says, “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? ... Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” Isaiah 49:24, 25.

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! Let Jesus fully heal and save you from sin and all its effects! By coming to Him just as you are, He will gladly restore you into His image and fill you with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as long as you are abiding in Him! He will empower heartfelt obedience to Him because you love Him who first loved you!! Whether leprosy, paralysis, or deep-rooted sin, Christ has the power to fully restore!!

Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.” “In Him was life,” and He says, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” He is “a quickening spirit.” 1 John 3:8; John 1:4; 10:10; 1 Corinthians 15:45. And He still has the same life-giving power as when on earth He healed the sick, and spoke forgiveness to the sinner. He “forgiveth all thine iniquities,” He “healeth all thy diseases.” Psalm 103:3.

As we are restored, we will gladly point others to Christ who has power to restore fully! Jesus is coming soon and is preparing His people for this glorious event!