August 2024 | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

8/17/24 The Dog and Pony Show

For many years, the errant, undiscerning church has embraced various ways that they interpret as the presence of God being with them. False prophets, so-called evangelists whose agenda is to build a following, and even just plain, honest people needing to hear from God have manipulated the Word, tapped into the wrong source of supernatural power, and even flat out lied in their claims of supernatural intervention – some trying to convince their audience that God is real, others to make themselves look credible and important. The world has watched this dog and pony show for so long, that they’ve cast aside any need for this kind of foolishness in their lives.

Make no mistake. God is real, and He is about to separate make-believe religion from the cross-won relationship given to us by Jesus. I believe that He is about to clearly define Himself to the true church and to the world. In fact, He has already been proving Himself strong in other parts of the world, and beginning to do the same here in America.

As a husband and father, you need to become very discerning in the days ahead. Business-as-usual policies will not be an answer to the needs and challenges on the horizon. Only a real relationship with Jesus and a determination to walk in the world as He did will allow you to overcome as He did.

It’s time to stay away from the dog and pony shows and seek out honest believers, who are only concerned with the souls of men and women, the truth of the Word going forth, and glorifying the Lord. Hang with them and you will walk right into an atmosphere ripe and prepared for the overwhelming, wonderful presence of our majestic God and Father. It’s a good place to be.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

8/16/24 In the Gap

“When was the last time you stood in the gap for someone who could not stand for himself? How often have you been an advocate friend for another? My heart never sways from a total commitment to you. I ask you to do the same for each other. Commit to each other with unbridled love. Be immovable in your love for each other. Stand strong alongside weaker hearts. Love as Jesus does. Love as I do.”

Romans 15:1-7 NIV

1) We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

2) Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

3) For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”

4) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

5) May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,

6) so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7) Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

It is so easy to forget that real, passionate, immovable love is at the center of all that the Lord does. Dead religion practices rituals, builds programs, does good stuff; and tolerates those who are less than perfect. It judges, condemns, and separates from others at the drop of a hat.

The kind of love that inspired the violence of the cross, the passion of the resurrection, and the promise of the return of Jesus is a love that each of us is called to practice. It is a selfless love devoted to living for the best interests of others. That is not a suggestion for each of us to consider. It is a command to us if we say that we belong to God.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

8/16/24 All Smoke and Mirrors

Have you ever heard someone say that magic tricks are all smoke and mirrors? The magician deceives us by using tactics that distract us from reality and turn us to the false reality he wants us to accept. His illusions and deceptions appear genuine in our minds, unless we uncover his secrets - his use of false images and just plain trickery.

Believe it or not, the devil does the same kind of trickery every day in each of our lives. He continually goads us to believe that what the world presents is reality. He flashes false wisdom, creates seemingly insurmountable scenarios, tries to plant his own thoughts in our minds, and attempts to deceive us into thinking that he holds the keys to our days.

Well, as real as his plan seems, it’s all smoke and mirrors. The Word says that we’re to look past what we see with our earthly perceptions, and focus on the eternal, the truth of what’s really happening. We’re to allow the Lord to retrain our thinking. We’re to look past what seems normal, and see what the Lord has done and is doing in every situation. We’re to believe more in God’s kingdom principles than the principles we’ve been taught by the world all our lives.

There is no smoke and there are no mirrors with God. His Word is always true. His promises are always reliable. What Jesus has done for us will always be real, no matter how much it is distorted by the world and its ways. You can rely on the fact that God is far more powerful than any situation you face. God said it; therefore, it is clear, honorable, smokeless truth. Do you believe it?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

8/15/24 The Season You Live In

“Become determined to follow My calling for you. Let nothing, I mean nothing, interfere with what you have been told to do for Me. You must understand the season in which you are living. It is the closing hours of what must come. My plans are unfolding at an increased rate. I need people whom I can trust to walk with My heart and My goals in mind, looking only to Jesus.

"If you are swayed by the invasions of the enemy, or even by immature believers, you will be unable to fulfill the reason you have been born. Shake loose from all the dictates of mankind. Stop following their rules, regulations, and timetables. You are Mine. You have been bought with a price. Become Mine from your heart now, not your head. We have much to do. Jesus made a way - now walk in it.”

Exodus 33:13-16 NIV

13) “If you are pleased with me, 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?”

Luke 9:23-25 AMP

23) And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].

24) For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [from the penalty of eternal death].

25) For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?

God is calling His people to holiness. He is requiring the crucified life exhibited by Jesus as part of our devotion to Him. Praise without devotion is empty words set to a pretty melody. Worship without a proper, holy heart assignment is nothing more than religious games.

There is a groundswell of believers who are hearing the call of the heart of the Lord on their lives. It is deafening to those who hear it and as silent as a dog’s whistle to those who desire “business as usual” in their relationship with the Lord.

In the near future, what is required to prosper will have little to do with the ways of the world, even for those who are of the world. True prosperity will be governed by the Holy Spirit. It will be heavenly wealth given to those who have containers prepared to receive it, honor it, and share it as directed by the Father.

The price to flow in this life of Christ is high. It is the same price that was demonstrated from the manger to the cross. Abiding in absolute obedience, prospering in unselfish love, waiting as a prepared bride, and bathed in the exquisite fragrance of continual communion with our heavenly Father, the remnant believer will be the true representation of Jesus to a dying world. Are you part of it?

Prepare my heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

8/15/24 Mind War

Does this sound familiar? You’re finally able to clear your busy schedule and find those few quiet moments you’ve been looking for to spend time with God, only you’re unable to focus on Him. The Bible study part comes relatively easy because you can focus on the words on the page; but to sit quietly and simply wait on Him for intimate communication is an incredible task. Your thoughts go to incidental stuff that needs to be done, old sins, the workload that’s waiting, etc., etc. Finally, you give up and walk away, feeling that your time was wasted or even that you’ve failed God one more time.

Most of us don’t realize the real war we face. The enemy has relatively little trouble with us going to church, attending men’s breakfast meetings, feeding the poor, or participating in any other spiritual in nature activity. However, if he can keep us from building an intimate relationship with our Lord, he wins. His deadly fear is that believers - especially men who are stewards of others - will develop an intimacy of love, power, and spiritual wealth with their Father in the throne room. The enemy is already defeated through the cross, but he loses all battles in every area of our lives if we get our strategies directly from God.

Therein lies the battle. We, as believers, need supernatural wisdom to overcome the world. The only place we can get this kind of wisdom is in quiet intimacy with our Father God. Since the enemy knows this, he will do anything to keep us from that kind of interaction. He will use extreme challenges, distractions, business, remembrances of past fishing trips, anything to keep us from developing that relationship.

Understanding the war and knowing the primary battle is the first step to winning. The battle plan is to keep going to God and pressing in through His power. Cast down the imaginations placed in your way. Give them over to the Lord. Seek God for His power to keep your mind focused. Press in, press in, and press in some more until the only desire you have in your heart is to be with your Father. Delight yourself in the Lord, and all the heart desires and needs you have will become part of the full, mature, loving relationship for which you’ve been born.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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