Month: November 2024

“Jesus lived a passionate life. He involved His entire being in every task presented to Him. Equipped from Our time together and empowered by Our Holy Spirit, His presentation of truth caused some remarkable changes in those who came near to Him. Ordinary people went on to do extraordinary representations of My desires because they followed His pattern of living.

 “That same presence is available to you. The same Holy Spirit that lives in everyone totally committed to Our way is available to you if you will only surrender fully to Him. Choose this day whom you will passionately serve. Choose each moment to submit fully to the Lordship of Jesus over every aspect of your life. Determine to live the kind of life that is your heritage. Become zealous about presenting the Truth to a world that lives in lies. Live as Jesus did.”

Psalm 111:2 NIV

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.

Isaiah 2:22 AMP

Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?

Matthew 11:12 NIV

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”

Acts 17:28a AMP

For in Him we live and move and have our being…

Rom 11:36 AMP

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. [For all things originate with Him and come from Him; all things live through Him, and all things center in and tend to consummate and to end in Him] To Him be glory forever! Amen (so be it).

 

When was the last time you became passionate about the Lord’s plans? For that matter, when was the last time the Lord’s plans for your life took priority over the other demands of your life?

God is clearly requiring each of us to make Him our priority. Still, most of us agonize over the demands of simply living out each day - paying the rent, providing for food, etc. To stop, even for a day, and spend it entirely with the Lord should He ask us to do so, would be a gift beyond comprehension for some of us. I believe that the answer is heart commitment.

I believe that each and every one of us must make a choice to live Christ’s passionate life throughout our every very ordinary days. We are to approach with zeal the tasks and the people placed before us, presenting every one of them as an offering. I am convinced that this life is not so much about what we do as it is about the One for whom we are doing it. If everything that we become involved in is truly offered to the Lord and placed under His Lordship, the fluff will fall away and the eternal purposes of God will become priorities to us, changing us and those around us who are looking for answers.

Take my stuff and replace it with Your stuff, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“You walk in unforgiveness and still claim to be My vessel of service. How can that be? Forgiveness is what the cross of Jesus is all about. He died so that you could be forgiven. Forgiveness is what you have received so that We could talk. Forgiveness is what you are counting on when you stand in front of Me on that last day. Would you like to be given the same forgiveness that you have given others, especially those close to you? That is what will happen unless you change your heart. Forgive as Jesus did. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Don’t think that I am with you in anything you do until you have forgiven everyone who has harmed you. Come to Me; I will help you!”

Matthew 5:23-24 NIV

23) “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

 

The root sin of unforgiveness is pride.  Because that is rarely recognized, it is never really dealt with as such; and we evade submitting the root sin to the total Lordship of Jesus Christ. Anyone harboring unforgiveness toward another has, in essence, determined to hold that sin (real or imagined) over that person and has chosen to be the “lord” of that incident or grieving situation. The dominance and control exercised by the unforgiving party denies all that was promised to God when he/she committed to the Lordship of Jesus in all areas.  This area, therefore, remains under the dominance of Satan. Pride caused him to be expelled from the presence of God, and he is delighted when we follow his lead in any area of our lives.

If God has forgiven the person who has offended you, but you won’t; are you not telling Him that your position is loftier than His? In light of the truth, that’s not possible, is it? What do you need to do at this point?

God demands that we forgive if we desire to be truly free.  He even shows us, in Luke’s account of the crucifixion, that Jesus forgave all those who harmed Him; and also the repentant thief just before he died. We must do the same.

Unforgiveness, although often deeply masked by wounds, scars, and self-pity, is one of the greatest causes of weakness in the body of Christ and it will cripple any attempt to draw close to the Lord if left unconfessed. Once this main stronghold is acknowledged and confessed, a tide of healings and freedoms are able to surface, and it can be brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

 Help me forgive everyone, Lord,

Jim Corbett