April 2025 | TFRC | The Faith Resource Community

4/10/25 Getting Honest with Yourself

Men, if you are typical of the Christian man of today, you function as if you are unable to recognize your spiritual impotence to the point that you do not desire to see the character of Christ reproduced completely in you or in those around you as your priority in life. As a typical Christian man, you have chosen to set aside God’s desire for your life in order to fulfill your own concept of what your life should be, or maybe just survive in an incredibly difficult world. You feel that you are spiritually comfortable and adequate, and see no need to consistently act as Jesus would act and love as He would love in your family.

Like a gelded horse that no longer has an interest in mares, most of you have little Christ-like spiritual enthusiasm toward the people within your circle of influence or for your part in God’s plan for mankind. Remember, we are talking priorities. If you would really get honest with yourself, your thoughts are not continually on where others will spend eternity or on who they could become in this lifetime through your influence on them by the way you represent Jesus. Even the spiritual well-being of your family, those God has entrusted to you as His steward, falls somewhere behind economic challenges, your job demands, the home and yard work, the toys you want to acquire, and the sports teams you idolize. If this is you, you are impotent in discerning the things that are important to God.

As an example of your impotence, if you sports fans would also get honest with yourself, you’d admit you focus more on whatever teams you follow than on the spiritual condition of your wife and children. Even if you do care about their spirituality, you probably have little ability, little desire, and few tools to foster their spiritual growth, to do whatever it takes to have them able to present a significant life to God. If you are not that heavy into sports, you can substitute the word “sports” with any other personal god, such as worry, fear, work, success, money, or worldly power, etc., to which you’ve pledged your allegiance.

[Even attempting to gain a significant life for your own good shows your spiritual impotence.]

If you take that same “getting honest with yourself” and carry it further to the point of getting honest with God, you will have to admit that the things that are important to God have been placed somewhere behind the things that give you some semblance of purpose for your life here, not eternally. Focusing on your personal fulfillment for so long, you may have actually become impotent in even discerning the things that are important to God.

Think of the eternal impact of those last statements if they are true for your life. Ask the Lord to reveal how accurate they might be for you. They may not be exactly where you stand with God; but more than likely, they’re quite close to the spiritual impotence you experience every day, if you are like Christian men in general. To whatever degree you are dealing with spiritual impotence in your life, the sooner you realize and admit it, the sooner you will be on your way to a significant, world-overcoming life in God’s eyes.

(From The Father Factor by Jim and Merry Corbett)

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/09/25 Just the Beginning

“You are seeing all things that I have created in your world so far fall in their place. Through My Word, you have seen the creations of the heavens and the earth. You have seen the creation and rebellion of My angelic beings. You have also seen the creation of mankind. Each and every one of My creations has an order that is to be followed and is functioning in My plan. I have designed it to be that way. There is no guesswork in anything that I do.

“Both My angelic creation and your creation have an initial period that allows proper choices to be made, and then there is a conclusion that fits within My overall plan. You are now part of the initial period - the earthly portion of your life. Your world, as you know it, will no longer exist once all of My purposes for it have been fulfilled. Once they are accomplished, you will remain with Me to fulfill the plans that I have for the eternal future. That may seem relatively unimportant at this moment in your life, but do not limit its impact in regard to your future.

“You need to remove your focus from the immediate and begin to realize that I have much more for you to do once your creation has fulfilled its initial purpose. Just as the angelic creation had a time to be involved in the playing out of their initial purpose to then function in My plan because of their choices, your involvement today directly impacts your future with Me. Your choice to serve Me was only the beginning. Your actions and daily choices have far more impact than you know.

“What you do each day, the choices you make, the decisions you follow, really play a part in your eternal future. Make proper choices. See a larger picture than what is presented to you each day by your life. I am a very creative God. Do not limit Me because you cannot see beyond what is happening in your little world.”

Joshua 24:15b NIV

“…then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…”

Matthew 24:35 NIV

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

I often wonder what the timeframe was that the angels had to make their decision to follow God. How much time did Lucifer have to influence that decision? How long did they function with God before the rebellion was exposed? Did they spend all of their “days” in the rebellion plot, weeding out those who would remain faithful to the Lord and those who would rebel, or did “life” go on as usual, in service to God, while all things were playing out?

I know that those things are not necessary for us to know in order to function or they would have been revealed to us through the Word. It is fascinating, however, to understand that there was some sort of timeframe whereby the angels functioned; and then there was a conclusion to life as they knew it for some of them. Once the heavenly rebellion was concluded and the “players” of God’s plan had solidified their positions by their actions, God went on to His next work – us.

Now we, as a human race, are in the same sort of initial timeframe that the angels had. We have been created. Biblical history has shown us of a rebellion - this time with a means for redemption through Jesus Christ - and this very day we are on our way to the conclusion of this timeframe in our lives. What happens next, only God knows.

What does seem of paramount importance, however, is how we redeem each moment that the Lord has given us before He closes this portion of history. Our days are definitely numbered. What we do with each one seems to have a definite impact on our function in God’s economy, not only for today; but also for the futures to come.

Needing to function in God’s plans, not mine,

Jim Corbett

4/09/25 Too Many Times

When I was young in the Lord, I had many besetting sins. Even though I loved the Lord with all my heart, the bondages had not yet fallen away. The Lord was removing them one at a time and I had many left to address.

Once after many failures, I cried out to the Lord, asking Him how He could continue to forgive me. It seemed like the thousandth time I had come to Him. In the quiet of the evening, He came to me and said, “Do you know that I forgive you no longer unto My remembrance? I don’t have a bad memory; I choose to forgive and forget, never remembering the last time you offended me. Your sins are as far as the East is from the West.” He then told me I had a million “forgivenesses” in my account and many more after that if I needed them.

Our Father is on our side. He knew how many times we would fail Him even before He asked us into His kingdom, and He still asked us! He is in the forgiveness business as long as we are in the repentance business. That means we always have His power available to us to do whatever tasks we may have on hand with the knowledge that He is with us.

Men, there are times when you and I fall down on the job concerning our families. If things are so bad that the possibility of reconciliation seems hopeless, we can be confident that the Lord is with us in our time of need. He is waiting for us to call out to Him, and by the power of His Holy Spirit, He will do whatever it takes to help us overcome our situation.

You can’t fall down one too many times. He will be there, enabling you to repent. Your life is His. It was His idea in the first place, and He delights in your need of Him.

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

4/08/25 The End of Yourself

“Sometimes it is in times of pain and suffering that you find Me. Sometimes I need to bring you to the end of yourself, so that you will seek Me with all your heart. It is My love for you that turns your eyes toward Jesus. When you call out to Him in your desperation, He will come to you and bring you new life. Your religious heart will be softened. Your priorities will be put in line. Your motives for all that you do will become My motives as you grow in Me.

“Call out to Jesus in your need. Call to Him for the first time or for as many times as you need. He is waiting to ease your pain. His love is always for you, never against you. He is Lord, and He is waiting to be Lord over your every situation. Turn everything over to Him. Submit yourself to a love greater than you have ever known. You will find the answers you have been looking for as you find Him.”

2 Samuel 14:14 NIV

“But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.”

Matt. 11:28-30 AMP

28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

29) Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.

30) For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good – not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.

Luke 22: 61-62 NIV

61) The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”

62) And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Some of us think that we have the corner on this thing called Christianity. For a while, I sure did. Having met Him in a cemetery - stupid, full of dope, one day before I planned to kill myself - I found real life and real love for the very first time. I, of course, immediately turned everyone off with my zeal and freedom - being so full of newfound love, but so immature and insensitive.

What I didn’t realize at the time is that my Father in heaven brought me to the place of desperation, so that I would finally come to the end of myself and cry out to Him in my need. Because I was such a hardhead, I had to be stripped of everything before I would submit fully to Jesus and His Lordship over my life. I had to realize that I was helpless and needed a Savior.

Since then, His faithfulness has brought me to a point of need often, so that I would realize the necessity of resubmitting and recommitting my life to His Lordship. He would stop me dead in my tracks, making me realize that I was running off by myself somehow; and quietly bring me back to the place of total submission to Him, the only place of safety.

Here’s a thought. No matter how long you have known Jesus, no matter how much you are doing for Him, stop for a moment. Ask a few questions about your life. Is everything in order? Is everything at peace in your heart? If not, maybe the Lord is calling you to turn your life back to a place of total submission to Him. Maybe He wants all of you once again. Maybe the Father is saying that the answer to all your needs is Jesus, and He is asking you to get back to basics with Him before you can move on.

Going back often,

Jim Corbett

4/08/25 My Weakness Brings His Strength

So many men, whether they admit it or not, don’t like to be labeled as weak in any area. All the criteria dictated by society tells men from the time they are little boys that they need to be strong and good in bed, must have answers; and, in general, never let anyone know that they are frightened by anything. That kind of attitude has been ingrained in men for so long, that it permeates everything we do without us even being aware of it.

I’m convinced those teachings are some of the major stumbling blocks that hinder men from giving themselves over to the complete Lordship of Christ. Letting go, giving it all over, is so foreign to our thinking that most of us have to be broken before we’ll even consider surrendering everything to Him. In most cases, being out of control is very unfamiliar territory to a man.

God asks us to surrender everything we have and everything we are to the Lordship of Jesus. He asks us to rely totally on Him and His Word in everything we do without question, no matter what the consequences. In God’s economy, full surrender to Him is the opposite of weakness. Total reliance on Him is the strongest, most powerful position any man can take. It allows God’s limitless power, wisdom, and caring to flow in our direction, making us capable of overcoming everything the world has to offer.

Men, it’s time to finally lay down all false dictates and fully surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. It’s time to become weak, so we can become strong in Christ. It’s just time, isn’t it?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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