December 2022 | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

12/26/22 From the Cross

“The most beautiful view of life, love, and your world is from the cross of Jesus Christ. From the cross, everything falls in place. From the cross, the reasons for living and for dying make perfect sense. From the cross, there is no purpose but My purpose for your life. That makes everything else clear. Take up your cross and passionately follow Jesus. From the cross, you will see what Jesus saw. You will be above the world and its ways. From the cross, the view is beautiful.”

Matthew 16:24-25 AMP

24) Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

25) For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

1) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Jesus saw far beyond all the pain and suffering of the cross. He saw the love of His Father from the cross. He saw you and me being able to spend eternity with Him. From the cross, He saw the answer to all of life’s problems for anyone who embraced it.

As the world searches blindly for a reason to live, anyone who embraces the cross of Jesus Christ has a clear vision of what life is all about. The cross removes all carnal distractions, all worldly views, and all confusing priorities. The cross is the focal point of all eternity. It is that to which those living on this earth prior to Jesus looked forward. It is what those living after Him can all look back on with perfect eternal vision. Yes, the view from the cross is beautiful, because it is seen through the eyes of Jesus Who hung there for us and made everything right.

Teach me how to see clearly from the cross, Lord,

Jim Corbett

12/26/22 Time Spent for True Success

If you are in business, preparation is as important as implementation. Sometimes it is more important. It is unthinkable to enter a sales presentation, office meeting, or strategic planning session without deep, adequate research and information gathering. To do so would be pretty counterproductive, possibly even detrimental to whatever was going to be accomplished.

Let’s look at the command you have been given from your Father in heaven regarding your family. He has called you to provide an atmosphere for them to become all they can be in Christ. He wants your marriage to be an example of the relationship He has with His church. He has given you offspring so you can help equip them to carry on a Christ-like legacy for you and for Him. In His eyes, that responsibility is far more important than anything you will be required to do at your job or in any other part of your life for that matter.

Here are the operative questions. How much planning and prayer do you do so that God’s plan will go forth? How much time, effort, strategizing, and monitoring do you do to counteract the daily challenges aimed at your marriage or your family, so that these challenges can be turned around and His will prevails? Could you be trusted to drop whatever you are doing when the need for the fulfillment of His goals becomes apparent? Do you plan and pray as your primary focus? Will you do whatever it takes to accomplish God’s will, even if that includes downsizing, moving, or changing jobs? If not, why not?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

12/24/22 People Need You

“I have placed you in a specific group of people, so that you could show them Who I really am through your life. I have empowered you with My Holy Spirit. I have given you the heart of Jesus. I have told you that I am with you wherever you go. I have told you what I love. I have assured you that I love you and will never leave you. Rejoice in who you are and who I am making you. People need you!”

Hebrews 10:14 NIV

because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

As you grow in Christ, you must learn to joyfully embrace a life of repentance before Him. Delight in what He is doing in you as you are shown who you are not. Understand that you are still very welcome in His presence. You are a deeply loved work in progress. Submission to the changes the Lord is making in you develops your ability to present Jesus to the world, which is your heritage and God’s original plan for your life. He knows who you are and everything you are not. Real heart changes are needed in all of us and can only take place when spending quality time with Him to know His heart and looking to Him alone for all things.

Above all, remember that your relationship with Jesus Christ is the most astounding privilege that anyone could possibly have. You are cherished.

Thank You for including me in Your plans, Lord,

Jim Corbett

12/24/22 Where’s Daddy?

Everywhere you turn you see that the world is attempting to minimize the role of husband and father. For many years, as only one example, sitcoms did their best to deride God’s image of those roles by portraying a weak, pathetic, or absent father in a household atmosphere run by siblings or a domineering wife. If the father was there at all, he was stationed as the butt of many jokes or nullified by the “wisdom” of those around him.

And why not! In a society bent on redefining the role of the family because it endangers their humanistic position, the man of the house must be shown to be ineffective and unimportant to the family’s success. The family unit God intends must be restructured to one with no permanent guidelines or parameters so humanistic thinking can whimsically remold it to suit its agenda. The goal is to devalue the family unit to the point where it is simply a holding tank for youth so that society as a whole can shape children’s views - views which are contrary to most everything Father God holds dear.

Dads, maybe it’s time to look around. What is your role? Has it been redefined to the point that it doesn’t resemble the role God intends for you? Are you simply a breadwinner and weekend social director? Do you even take interest in the personal affairs of your children, or have you been told in one way or another that your participation is off limits? Can you comfortably sit and talk to your children about the deep things of God and the significance of their walk with Jesus? Is your opinion respected and sought after when your children have need of guidance?

To one degree or another, most men in this day and age have accepted the role society demands they play. Most men are functioning in an innocuous manner, right where the enemy wants them, because they have been brainwashed into believing that this is how they are to function. Going to church on Sunday doesn’t get the job done. If your children are not on their way to a vibrant life in Christ, you have some work to do. Get what you need from the Father for yourself, and then give it to those who are counting on you to lead them to wholeness in Jesus.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

12/23/22 Waiting for God’s Plan to Develop

“Don’t expect praise from others as you work for Me. Don’t wait for others to validate what I tell you to do. Success, as you see it, has little to do with why you are to continue functioning where you are until I give you another assignment. You are to obey. You are to stay the course I have given you. You are to listen only to My heart and wait for My plans to develop.”

Psalm 106:12-15 AMP

12) Then [Israel] believed His words [trusting in, relying on them]; they sang His praise.

13) But they hastily forgot His works; they did not [earnestly] wait for His plans [to develop] regarding them.

14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted and tried to restrain God [with their insistent desires] in the desert.

15) And He gave them their request, but sent leanness to their souls and [thinned their numbers by] disease and death.

We love to second-guess God. We love to use our own reasoning to further the kingdom of God. We also love to tell God when enough is enough, and that our trial should be over by now.

So often we move ahead of God and miss the best that He has for us by moments. If we had waited to make sure that it was God’s time to move instead of ours, we would have His best for us rather than mediocre success. We need to allow patience to have its perfect work.

Teach me to rest in You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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