November 2024 | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

11/09/24 Just Say Yes

Make sure you respond to the call God has for your life. Make sure you don’t choose to take the easier road by living a life that’s different than God intended.

If you follow hard after God, you’ll probably feel like you’re on the outside looking in within the church. I'm not talking about doing weird things that discredit the integrity of the Gospel. I mean that if you follow the example of the life of Jesus and move only when and where God tells you, people will not understand. You may find yourself giving away your possessions, taking a lesser job so you can reach people, or - heaven forbid - trusting God completely for your provision while you go into full time service.

One of the most heart-wrenching sights you'll ever see is the emptiness in the eyes of those who have not responded to the call of God, usually because of fear or their lust for worldly goods. Those desires may be simple things, like security, new clothes, or a new car. They understand deep down that they have heard the call of their Creator and have said "no" when asked to fulfill His desires for their lives. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will satisfy the emptiness of soul that follows.

After saying “no” to the Lord, most of them eventually find themselves working feverishly at some other ministry or filling a myriad of church positions to cover up the emptiness. The end result is almost always an involvement with other weary, often critical people who are also doing good works, attempting to make a difference of some sort to cover their pain, rather than following after God's original plan for their lives. How sad! How grievous to God. Just say yes!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/08/24 Overcome Selfishness through Service

“When Jesus died, He was thinking of everyone but Himself. It was the perfect act of selflessness and set the pattern for you to live. If you focus only on yourself and your needs, you have little or no time to think of the needs of others. Not only are you useless to My plans, but you become useless to those around you. Selfishness is murderous to any relationship. It hinders Me from pouring My wealth into you because you will misuse it. It eventually kills any hope of service to others. It also destroys the ability for those around you to see the heart of Jesus through how you act. Overcome selfishness through service. Serve as Jesus served. Come to Me to learn His heart and to gain Mine. Then walk in Our love toward others.”

Exodus 17:12 AMP

But Moses’ hands were heavy and grew weary. So [the other men] took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Joshua 24:15 NIV

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Luke 12:19-21 NIV

19) ‘And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

20) “But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21) “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 23:34a NIV

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

The fastest way to stop someone from seeing the heart of Jesus in your actions is to think and act only for yourself. Walking past the needs of others is the opposite of the heart of Jesus. Going to Father God with a continual laundry list does not resemble nor define the kind of relationship for which Jesus died. Consuming what you have been given on yourself consumes wealth designed for Kingdom use.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett

11/08/24 The Bad Guys

As men, we are taught to hold on to our own safety and make sure no one takes our stuff. Some time ago, the Lord startled me while I was in one of those quiet-almost-sleepy-could-really-be-dozing kind of prayer times. His voice was quiet and full of love. He said, "I want you to know that I love your most aggressive enemies as much as I love you. There is no one on the face of this earth that I wish would perish. I want you to pray for all those who hate Me. In fact, I want you to pray for anyone who will hate My children. Pray that they will be able to share My love."

Then things got personally serious. "I want you to pray for those who will kill you. I don't mean that someone is going to do that, necessarily; but I want you to have the heart that would care about their salvation more than you care about your own life." By now, I was awake. Pray for someone who hated me enough to kill me! Love others - even the bad guys?

The Lord then reminded me of His actions on the cross. He had words of forgiveness for those who were spitting on Him and an attitude of great love for those who drove the nails in His hands. He told me to do the same with anyone who came against me. It was enough to remind me this life is not centered around my well-being. What a novel thought!

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

11/07/24 Why Don’t We Go?

“Intimacy with Me is where your new life is fulfilled. Your inner being thrives in My presence. It is where you learn My heart and the heart of Jesus. It is where you receive grace and mercy. You will receive power to overcome all the challenges you face. You become changed when We are together. Come to Me. I will give you rest. I will give you My time. I will give you what is needed for your life and for My plan. Make intimacy with Me your priority. Jesus won that place for you with Me. You are invited and welcome; why would you not come?”

Luke 23:44-45 NIV

44) It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,

45) for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

For some unknown reason, most of us avoid the most incredible privilege known to mankind. We have been invited into the presence of the Creator of all things. We have been asked to come into His presence because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Other generations were not even allowed to look upon Him. We are invited to spend intimate time with Him.

But we don’t go! We do all kinds of activities for Him. We come to Him with our laundry lists. We tell others about Him; but we deny the work of Jesus, nullify the torn veil, and minimize the astounding privilege that has been earned for us. How foolish!

I no longer want to be a fool, Lord,

Jim Corbett

11/07/24 Easier to Do

As men, it’s easier to try to do something about all the brush fires we ignite with our spiritual ignorance than it is to become everything we’re called to be in Christ. Making something happen is far easier than waiting on God to direct our steps and completely oversee our lives, which allows us to avoid the many pitfalls the enemy has planned against our families.

Doing stuff to make things better in our own strength means we’ve unknowingly decided to make ourselves vulnerable to the traps set by the enemy against our families. It means we’ve reduced the outcome of our lives to the limitations of our own carnal thinking and insufficient power. It means we’ve offered the enemy an opportunity to attempt to override the plans God has for us and our families. It means we’re in the world and of the world; and, therefore, incapable of winning any spiritual war waged against us. It means we’ve taken the well-traveled, easier road and chosen to walk in spiritual weakness.

On the other hand, becoming a true man of God and a mighty warrior means we’ve overcome and discarded the ways of the world. We’ve ceased to function in the realm of the enemy and have planted our flag in the kingdom of God by submitting to its guidelines in our lives. It means we’ve crucified the flesh, having gladly died to its demands and becoming fully submitted to the Lordship of Jesus over every area of our lives and the lives of our families. It means we’ve accepted God’s invitation into His throne room, which He can make our war room where nothing harmful prevails over us or those we love. Would you like to live there?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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