The Glory of God

[Sean James]

Be childlike, converted, and willing to be anything or nothing by sitting afresh each day at the feet of Jesus and learning of Him. As the heart is fully surrendered to Jesus, He cleanses it from sin and imbues His little child of faith with all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing, empowering such an one to obey the law of God as a delight!

It was not enough for the disciples of Jesus to be instructed as to the nature of His kingdom. What they needed was a change of heart that would bring them into harmony with its principles. Calling a little child to Him, Jesus set him in the midst of them; then tenderly folding the little one in His arms He said, “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The simplicity, the self-forgetfulness, and the confiding love of a little child are the attributes that Heaven values. These are the characteristics of real greatness.

May we seek to be like Jesus and encourage others to be like Jesus. It is a blessing, not a burden!

[Sean James]

By beholding the loveliness of Jesus and abiding in His love by a fully surrendered heart, mind and will, it is amazing how the paradigm of life shifts from questions of commonplace life to things that are spiritual and eternal. When Christ abides in the soul, heaven has begun within, for all of the attributes of His divine character--the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--and affectionate obedience to God's commandments up to the light revealed, becomes an ongoing reality within the soul that shines forth in labors of love to bless others even as Jesus walked!

Let us seek to imagine what was taking place as Jesus was in the temple court at the feast of tabernacles. He was offering the water of life that alone can satisfy the soul. Only Jesus can truly satisfy your soul need and want. He is all in all to us. And His words by His grace offer us that very life that He lived.

As Jesus spoke in the temple court, the people were held spellbound. The very men who were the most violent against Him felt themselves powerless to do Him harm. For the time, all other interests were forgotten.

To have every other interest swallowed up in the righteousness of Christ--to let all other aspects of life be carried out or given up as God's providence designs because we have come to experience Christ within, the hope of glory, enables us to sail like the sun above the clamor, commotion and trials of this life in such a way that we can focus on blessing others and trusting God's plans to spread the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-12) to the whole world in preparation for Christ's glorious return.

[Sean James]

The parallels are remarkable. As those who professed to keep the Ten Commandments were largely influenced to reject the Lawgiver incarnate, Jesus Christ, and put him to death on the cross, so today, many who profess to accept Christ Jesus reject the Ten Commandments and will ultimately go so far as to seek to kill those who still choose to keep the commandments of God through the faith of Jesus (see Revelation 13). The devil is always playing sides and trying to get souls off track. Learn to accept the truth in Christ, for the gospel uplifts Christ in the law, and when Christ abides in us, we will gladly obey His commandments by the power of the Holy Spirit! A converted soul will reveal all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing because Christ lives in the soul! The converted, teachable soul will be open to prophetic truth to guide safely to our heavenly home!

Many who were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God were misled by the false reasoning of the priests and rabbis. These teachers had repeated with great effect the prophecies concerning the Messiah, that He would “reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously;” that He would “have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 24:23; Psalm 72:8. Then they made contemptuous comparisons between the glory here pictured and the humble appearance of Jesus. The very words of prophecy were so perverted as to sanction error. Had the people in sincerity studied the word for themselves, they would not have been misled. The sixty-first chapter of Isaiah testifies that Christ was to do the very work He did. Chapter fifty-three sets forth His rejection and sufferings in the world, and chapter fifty-nine describes the character of the priests and rabbis.

With such clear light shining in our day that the seventh day Sabbath has never changed from creation, many who come under conviction of its truthfulness are swayed by the false reasoning of the popular teachers of this generation who reason away its significance or importance. Many try to make it out to be a "yoke of bondage" or a "Jewish Sabbath" when it is the Sabbath for all people from the beginning, kept by Jesus Himself, still kept by the early church, and will be kept even in heaven and the new earth! Were it not for the little horn power that sought to "change times and law" (Daniel 7:25), many would gladly accept the Sabbath without thinking it is Sunday or that it does not matter at all. May we do our appointed part in sharing the Three Angels' Messages (Revelation 14:6-12) to help souls come to understand the IMPORTANCE of this message to prepare a people for Christ's return so that souls will not go along with enforced Sunday laws when they become global. Let us sound the trumpet with love and earnestness!

[Sean James]

Let us yield to Jesus, be cleansed from sin, and experience true sight to walk in the light as He is in the light!

The manifestation of divine power that had given to the blind man both natural and spiritual sight had left the Pharisees in yet deeper darkness. Some of His hearers, feeling that Christ's words applied to them, inquired, “Are we blind also?” Jesus answered, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin.” If God had made it impossible for you to see the truth, your ignorance would involve no guilt. “But now ye say, We see.” You believe yourselves able to see, and reject the means through which alone you could receive sight. To all who realized their need, Christ came with infinite help. But the Pharisees would confess no need; they refused to come to Christ, and hence they were left in blindness,—a blindness for which they were themselves guilty. Jesus said, “Your sin remaineth.”

As we realize our deep need of His grace, Christ helps us to accept His strength and grace to do His will each day. All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be revealed in the life fully converted to Him in complete, continual surrender to Him! Gladly we can obey God up to the light of His law He has revealed to us as we grow in understanding.

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!! Jesus did SO MUCH for us! May our praise ascend to Him in gratitude for how He laid down His life to save us from the depths of sin and degradation!

“I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.” While as a member of the human family He was mortal, as God He was the fountain of life for the world. He could have withstood the advances of death, and refused to come under its dominion; but voluntarily He laid down His life, that He might bring life and immortality to light. He bore the sin of the world, endured its curse, yielded up His life as a sacrifice, that men might not eternally die. “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6.

Because of what Jesus did for us, all of us can freely accept the salvation purchased for us at infinite cost, surrendering our will to Him, letting the Holy Spirit imbue us with all of the fruits of God's character without one missing, and empowering us to obey God's law as the very essence of liberty!

[Sean James]

Keep the end in mind.

Beyond the cross of Calvary, with its agony and shame, Jesus looked forward to the great final day, when the prince of the power of the air will meet his destruction in the earth so long marred by his rebellion. Jesus beheld the work of evil forever ended, and the peace of God filling heaven and earth.

While you may be facing trials and tribulations of many kinds, remember that it is all temporary. Christ's agony on the cross, and the final time of trouble yet future to the saints who will live to the second coming of Christ will be soon forever in the past. Let's endure cheerfully whatever God's providence designs for us as ministry so as many souls as possible can be saved and the great controversy between Christ and Satan can come to an end as quickly as possible. As we surrender all to Jesus and let Him live out His life in us revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing accompanied by an affectionately obedient life up to all the truth God has shown us, we will be mighty missionaries for His kingdom! Let's keep looking unto Jesus!!

[larry]

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.

Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and realize the sacrifice He made for us--as well as the depth of the Father's sacrifice in sending His Son to be our Savior! "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Let us yield fully to the power of God's grace and let it make us eternally grateful for all He has done for us and will do in us as we surrender all to Him, thus becoming partakers of the divine nature so that Christ by the Holy Spirit can manifest through us all of the fruits of the Sprit without one missing!

Amen Brother Sean James! We see the great sacrifice made on the cross, but how important to understand that the Son of God left heaven and came to this Earth where Satan claimed dominion. Satan hated Christ and tried to kill Him even when a helpless baby. Joseph was directed by God to take baby Jesus to Egypt knowing the babies were to be slaughtered. Imagine our heavenly Father allowing His innocent Son to come to this dark spot in the universe! He came here as a helpless baby and had to fight the battle of life as we have to. He left the throne in heaven and took an infinite risk, He could have failed. Yet, our Father in heaven loves us so very much He risked losing His innocent Son. This is love!

[Sean James]

Love only comes from God, for God is love. We get to dwell in His love so it can overflow to others as we surrender fully to Him. A truly converted soul will reveal all the attributes of His love--the fruits of the Spirit without one missing--accompanied by selfless ministry to bless others in obedience to God's law of love.

All this is but a fulfillment of the principle of the law,—the principle that is illustrated in the story of the good Samaritan, and made manifest in the life of Jesus. His character reveals the true significance of the law, and shows what is meant by loving our neighbor as ourselves. And when the children of God manifest mercy, kindness, and love toward all men, they also are witnessing to the character of the statutes of heaven. They are bearing testimony to the fact that “the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7. And whoever fails to manifest this love is breaking the law which he professes to revere. For the spirit we manifest toward our brethren declares what is our spirit toward God. The love of God in the heart is the only spring of love toward our neighbor. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Beloved, “if we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” 1 John 4:20, 12.

To abide in God's love--what a blessing this makes life, and what a blessing we can be to others through union and communion with Christ!

[Sean James]

How blinding selfishness and earthliness are! Let’s look to Jesus in humble faith, yield the whole heart to Him, and allow Him to produce in and through us a new character revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing as Christ supernaturally empowers us to obey the Ten Commandments!

Because of their selfishness and earthliness, even the disciples of Jesus could not comprehend the spiritual glory which He sought to reveal unto them. It was not until after Christ’s ascension to His Father, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers, that the disciples fully appreciated the Saviour’s character and mission. After they had received the baptism of the Spirit, they began to realize that they had been in the very presence of the Lord of glory. As the sayings of Christ were brought to their remembrance, their minds were opened to comprehend the prophecies, and to understand the miracles which He had wrought. The wonders of His life passed before them, and they were as men awakened from a dream. They realized that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14. Christ had actually come from God to a sinful world to save the fallen sons and daughters of Adam. The disciples now seemed, to themselves, of much less importance than before they realized this. They never wearied of rehearsing His words and works. His lessons, which they had but dimly understood, now came to them as a fresh revelation. The Scriptures became to them a new book.

The beauty and power of the Bible can be ever-fresh to us as we abide in Christ, appreciating His character, renouncing selfishness and earthliness, because we dwell in the kingdom of God that has begun within the heart. Thankfully, God’s kingdom endures forever, while selfishness and earthliness pass away.

[Sean James]

What a joy it can be to follow in the steps of Jesus and point precious children to Him as Lord and Savior! All of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will come into the heart of a little converted child who surrenders fully to the Savior and walks in humble obedience, trusting that His plan for life is best! 

The Christian worker may be Christ’s agent in drawing these children to the Saviour. By wisdom and tact he may bind them to his heart, he may give them courage and hope, and through the grace of Christ may see them transformed in character, so that of them it may be said, "Of such is the kingdom of God."

Let us all choose to cooperate with Jesus in His work to save every soul possible! Every child in the world (older or younger) is precious to Him—including you!!

[Sean James]

If you live on an island where beautiful shells are considered of highest value and that is what is understood to be of greatest importance, then it follows that your object would be to have them. But since we live in a universe where the highest value are souls created and redeemed by Jesus, it follows that when He gives us directions on how to win those souls and bring more of them into the heavenly home, that if we REALLY value what God does, we will gladly surrender fully to Him if we love God with the whole heart and our neighbor as ourselves. Had the rich young ruler understood what heaven values and let the grace of God convert His soul, he could have gladly yielded his wealth to help the poor to win souls, and would have been privileged with walking and talking with Jesus. Sadly, he held on to the things that pass away, and as a result would pass away with those things. Let us realize our deep need of God's grace to help us overcome the deceptive allure of riches and overvaluing the things of this life that can pull us away from a full surrender to Jesus if we let them. Only the life fully put in His hands will be truly efficient for good (keeping all things in proper balance/perspective for the winning of souls), revealing all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing in affectionate obedience to all of God's commandments!

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.”

Oh, what bliss it will be to see each soul brought to Christ in eternity! Christ gives us a part in this work to help us be fitted for heaven and to give us His joy! Heaven is cheap enough! Hallelujah!

[Sean James]

Praise God for His goodness to us in our most trying moments!

“For your sakes,” “to the intent ye may believe.” To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly,” 2 Peter 2:9. From every temptation and every trial He will bring them forth with firmer faith and a richer experience.

God has promised us, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). Whatever your trials or temptations, surrender fully to Jesus, let Him cleanse you from sin by His atoning blood as you truly confess all your sins to Him! He will convert your inmost soul by the power of the Holy Spirit to produce through you all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing! Such a life abiding in Christ is empowered to obey God up to the light of truth He has shown in harmony with the Ten Commandments!

[Sean James]

Happy Sabbath!

Let us live in such a way that always honors God! We can learn from the unwise choices of the priests and leaders who plotted the death of Christ that such a proposition was fighting against God. Jesus came to uplift, save and heal all who would come unto Him; sadly, some who had great access to the truth of the Scriptures closed their hearts to Him and resisted His invitation to repentance and salvation. May we learn from this experience our deep need of His grace and yield fully to Jesus!

In this council, assembled to plan the death of Christ, the Witness was present who heard the boastful words of Nebuchadnezzar, who witnessed the idolatrous feast of Belshazzar, who was present when Christ in Nazareth announced Himself the Anointed One. This Witness was now impressing the rulers with the work they were doing. Events in the life of Christ rose up before them with a distinctness that alarmed them. They remembered the scene in the temple, when Jesus, then a child of twelve, stood before the learned doctors of the law, asking them questions at which they wondered. The miracle just performed bore witness that Jesus was none other than the Son of God. In their true significance, the Old Testament Scriptures regarding Christ flashed before their minds. Perplexed and troubled, the rulers asked, “What do we?” There was a division in the council. Under the impression of the Holy Spirit, the priests and rulers could not banish the conviction that they were fighting against God.

Instead of fighting against God, conversion is coming into complete surrender to God and the light of His word, enabling God's grace through faith to make us partakers of the divine nature so the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, empowering us to live in such a way that all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing will be manifest in the life! May we trust God's word fully and resist the temptation to fight against God and the light of His word that is sent to bless us!

[Sean James]

What an excellent example of a godly character we see in the beloved disciple John. What was it that so helped him to become more and more like Jesus?

The principles and the very words of the Saviour's teaching, in their divine beauty, dwelt in the memory of the beloved disciple. To his latest days the burden of John's testimony to the churches was, “This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:11, 16.

As we receive God's word into the heart in complete surrender, we become partakers of the divine nature, which results in all of the fruits of the Spirit without one missing manifest in the life as God gives the power to obey His law up to the light of His truth revealed! "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19). 

[Sean James]

If Zacchaeus could respond to Jesus, so can you!

It is when Christ is received as a personal Saviour that salvation comes to the soul. Zacchaeus had received Jesus, not merely as a passing guest in his home, but as One to abide in the soul temple. The scribes and Pharisees accused him as a sinner, they murmured against Christ for becoming his guest, but the Lord recognized him as a son of Abraham. For “they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:6). Taking God at His word, relying upon His character of unselfish love (grace), we can surrender fully to Christ to convert us and make us partakers of His divine nature! All of the fruits of the Spirit will come into the life as Christ simultaneously empowers the soul to obey the law of God--the Ten Commandments--as highest delight in His service! Let us continually receive Jesus in His fullness, proclaim His present-truth message (Revelation 14:6-12), and overcome as Christ calls us to (Revelation 3:14-22)! With God all things are possible!