June 2024 | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

6/05/24 Seek the Truth

“You need to guard your heart. You must be cautious about what you allow in your spirit. You need to make sure that you are functioning in truth, not in perceived notions that sound like truth, which are actually inroads designed to lead you astray. My Word is truth. The roads on which it takes you lead you to absolute truth. Make sure that you invest enough time to know what it says, so that no one can confuse you. Spend time absorbing the life of My Word, so that the death of the world cannot touch you.”

Mark 4:24 AMP

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you – and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

Phil. 3:10-11 AMP

10) [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11) That if possible I may attain to the [spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

The enemy of our soul loves to distort the truth. He loves to mix reality with just enough conjecture to plant a seed of confusion that eventually distorts all that we do. He loves to play with our minds, so that we cannot accept truth when it presents itself. That keeps us fearful and confused. It nullifies our effectiveness in doing the work of the Lord and functioning as Jesus would function in front of others. Jesus is Truth. There is no lie in Him. He is the embodiment of the Word of God. He can be trusted.

I am often asked by people, who have been deeply wounded or led astray for a season, how to recover from whatever hurt them. There is a formula for recovery that never fails: find truth in everything you do. Start with Jesus. Study His life. Study His heart. Get to know Who He is intimately. He is the solid foundation for everything. Ask Him to show you small steps of truth that apply to everyday living.

Is what you function in absolute truth, or are you basing your thought patterns and your life on piercing words, false perceptions, wounds from others, innuendos, or flat out lies? One by one, eliminate every thought or action that is not based on absolute truth. Present everything to the Lord for His discernment before you move on it, even the smallest thoughts. Consider them nailed to the cross. Allow the Lord to replace them with thoughts and perceptions that have no falsehood in them. Apply His Word to everything. Build a foundation of truth as God sees truth.

Teach me to function in truth, Lord,

Jim Corbett

6/05/24 Generation Gap

Did you know that in God’s eyes there is no such thing as a generation gap? That whole concept is nothing more than spiritually ignorant, psycho-babble hogwash. Spiritually alive parents who have chosen to invest in their children, considering them more important than themselves and spiritually alive children, who have chosen to invest in the family by the power of the Holy Spirit, have no time to buy into that ridiculousness.

The generation gap concept was created by spiritually impotent people, who attempted to incorporate their impotence into guiding and directing their offspring. It is nothing more than a way to excuse their inability to lead their children as they continue to walk in their own ways and thinking. What they really need to do is submit to God through Jesus Christ so that the life of Christ can flow in them through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s wisdom, strength, love, etc. that we need – not ours. Ours will not truly get the job done. Of course, each generation has its own tastes and preferences; but communication, understanding, mutual love and respect, discernment, and prayer overcome any differences and allow generations to flow together with peace and harmony.

Raising godly children requires a lifetime of investing in them, most of the time in ways that violate our personal comfort zones. It is going to take a lot of surrender of our own ways to the Lord, a lot of prayer, a lot of selfless choices, placing their well-being above our comfort; and a lot of heart work. Yes, heart work. However, the eventual satisfaction and rewards of seeing a child being formed by God and the character of Jesus going forth through our children more than compensates for whatever price we may have to pay.

Godly children, who eventually become godly adults, are the goal and heart desire of Father God for both marriage and family. His standards are higher than the world’s standards and most of the standards in the typical church of today. He is after the heart of our children, not their compliance. His methods raise the bar in comparison with “normal” child rearing.

[While education is vitally important and must be part of any child’s growth process, which child lives a more significant life – one who has all of the degrees in the world, a successful business, and a mediocre life in Christ; or one who has the priorities of God as his priority, dedicating himself to bringing others to significance while having few of the successes of the world?]

Investing in our children God’s way creates generations of strong, healthy children, who are full of integrity and inner wealth and capable of not only overcoming any of the challenges that come their way, but actually prospering because of them. Raising children God’s way brings proper credit to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and a testimony of His eternal work.

Knowing this, each of us has a choice to make at some point in our lives. This moment may be that time for you. You can approach child rearing with an attitude that your children are the ones who need to conform to His ways on their own, or you can settle it in your heart, once and for all time, that who you are and who you become in Christ is a major factor in determining who they will become.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

6/04/24 Remain Faithful

“Do you live a life of truth? I’m not asking if your life makes sense to those who haven’t heard what you and I have discussed and judge you with their own ideas of what following Me means. I am asking you, are you listening to what I am saying to your heart and following Me in obedience? You see, I’m not really concerned if My cold church understands your life. Most of them have forgotten how to follow Me long ago. I am concerned though that you, those of you who are responding to My training, remain faithful.

"Are you doing what I ask you to do, no matter how it appears to others who cannot see? If you are, understand that you will make those who judge your life very uncomfortable. In fact, that is why I have placed you in their midst. They don’t know it yet, but I am exposing their lives through your life. I am using you to bring light to their sinful hearts and traditional beliefs that deny My sovereignty.

"Keep following Me. There will come a time when I will vindicate your life. I will move on your behalf and others will be amazed. Some will even come to repentance for judging you. I will forgive them. Others will go about the business of judging and condemning with their hearts. They will eventually get to a point where I cannot reach them. Pity them, but move on with Me.”

1 Cor. 4:2 AMP

Moreover, it is [essentially] required of stewards that a man should be found faithful [proving himself worthy of trust].

I Peter 1:14-15 AMP

14) [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel].

15) But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.

The Lord is shaking up His present-day church. He is separating those who will truly follow Him from those who will stop short of His will when it becomes uncomfortable for them.

If you have a heart to glorify God with your life and spend enough time with Him to hear His true heart, you will, at times, appear to be a fool to those around you. You will stand when others sit, move when others are hamstrung with fear; and turn left when others can only follow a call to go right in their carnal logic. You will often be alone. People will give up on you. People will judge you according to their entrenched standards. Be at peace; you are in good company.

Few understood Paul’s life at the time He was called to live it. His actions defied the logical thinking of the day. He was considered foolish to those who had raised themselves up as leaders. Only when the Lord chose to have people understand the logic of His ways did Paul’s life make sense.

In this present time, God is calling His trusted servants to an intimacy with Him. If you have responded to that call, you will hear His heart for your life. Sometimes what you are asked to do will make little sense at the time you are told to do it. Make sure that you have heard your instructions clearly, and that they line up with His Word; then move with your Lord. Do not fear those who are standing in judgment. Follow God.

Teach me to follow only You, Lord,

Jim Corbett

6/04/24 Disciplining or Nurturing?

Fathers, are you only disciplining your children when they do something wrong, or do you spend your life nurturing them in the path they should go? Discipline alone on a continual basis leads to a “I can never do anything right” attitude in a child. It leads to a beaten spirit that says, “Why try? He won’t like what I do anyway.” This attitude fosters the seeds of rebellion and heart separation. It turns a child away from a father’s sound biblical influence of love and encouragement to his or her peers’ worldly perspective.

Nurturing, on the other hand, leads to loving interaction and proper companionship between father and child. Their relationship is like the one between a craftsman and his apprentice.

A true craftsman is a person with practiced skills, skills that over time make him an expert because of the perfection found in his work. When a craftsman takes on an apprentice, the purpose of their association is to hand down the craftsman’s skills to someone who chooses to be a study of him. The craftsman guides, instructs, directs, and nurtures the skills of the apprentice with understanding and patience as he learns. It is a relationship for the good of the apprentice. When the skills handed down are mastered by the apprentice, he is then a craftsman himself and the process is completed. The new craftsman has what is necessary to function properly in what he does.

So it is supposed to be with a father-child relationship. The father - a man who has learned what he knows from the throne room of his Father - is ordained to pass those skills down to his offspring by guiding, instructing, and teaching his children so they can navigate their time in the world with Christ-like character. This teaching includes loads of love, encouragement, and enthusiastic monitoring. The result for you is a person who is ready to function as a significant legacy. The benefit to the child is the ability to fulfill his or her task of representing Christ properly to a dying world. Your children are waiting for the wealth you have to give them!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

6/03/24 No Need to Guess

“When I call you to move with Me, you will know in your heart that it is the right thing to do. If you have any check in your spirit or are not clear as to what you are to do, stand and wait for things to unfold. There is no hurry. I would rather that you know for sure and move in confidence, than to guess and not be where I want you to be. My children do not need to guess when I am available to confirm My directions and bring My presence to their every move. Why would you want to be where I am not? Make sure that I am the initiator of where you are going and then move with confidence. I will be there with you.”

Exodus 33:13-16 NIV

13) “If I have found favor in your eyes, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14) The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15) Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.

16) How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

Psalm 127:1 AMP

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.

Proverbs 16:9 AMP

A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Isaiah 30:21 NIV

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

It is such a privilege to know that we have the ability to check and double check with our Lord to make sure that we are in His will. It is also wonderful to know that the Lord desires for us to have His presence with us to accomplish things that we could never accomplish on our own.

So often we are afraid to stop and check our motives, or reverse our direction if needed, or even abandon an idea should it be out of the will of the Lord, when the Lord has provided His promise of guidance to us. He desires that we don’t make mistakes. He desires to guide us and direct us wherever we go. He wants us to be sure of our steps as we follow Him.

Thank You for Your patience with us, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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