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7/31/26 On to the High Calling

“Would you give up hearing the words, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant,’ for relief from whatever you’re going through right now? Is the removal of some of the pressure that is now part of your life worth the price of not blessing Jesus? Will you trade all the work that is intended to be done in you just to have some ease and comfort? I know it isn’t so! So many have given up when the times got too tough. So many took the easy road of moving in their own strength when it looked as if they had to find a way to survive.

“I know that you can see past that immature behavior. I know that you will press on to the high calling that is intended for you. Please don’t cave in under the light pressure to which you are now called. Place your eyes on Jesus. He is your strength. He is your wisdom. He is your guide to the crucified/resurrected life. He did not fail when the cost was everything. His power is now available to you so that you will make it. Press in to Him. He will never fail you.”

Genesis 25:29-33 NIV

29) Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.

30) He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!”…

31) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32) “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33) But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Philippians 3:12-14 NIV

12) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

13) Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

14) I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

As trailblazers to the high calling that is once again being heralded by our Father, the only precedent that is available to us is the Word and the lives of those who have gone before us, especially Jesus Christ. Whenever the Lord begins to straighten the path that His church is on, those who respond to the call back to the pursuit of holiness and the high calling of Jesus Christ are considered to be running contrary to the established norm by those traveling the well-worn road. Looking to those who will not deviate from the norm of self-comforting, socially acceptable, practical Christianity will accomplish nothing but confusion and heartache.

Most of you know that the Lord is raising up a standard against the flood of complacency in His church. The standard is Jesus Himself. Looking to Him is the only pattern to follow. Observing the lives of those who walked with Him and understanding that they had the same dilemma in the world in which they lived, can give comfort when times get especially rough. The price paid to overcome the ways of their world - using God’s ways and not their own - was everything they had and all that they owned.

God is not able to fully use those who fold under pressure from the people around them who will not move where He wants them to go. He is calling out those who know His heart, and are determined to follow it, no matter what the cost.

Needing Your strength to make it, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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7/31/26 Who Controls Your Family?

As the world grows darker, and men and women seek out answers for their lives that are out of whack, I am amazed at how many of them are reeling from fathers who had little or no ability to parent. The world is looking to its own wisdom as to why we have horrific things done by youth, or why marriages are thrown away at a whim, or why our cities are festering with hate and crime. For them there are no answers.

In God's economy, however, the answer is very simple. Satan understands the incredible detriment a strong family, headed by a man who seeks the Lord, is to his kingdom. He does everything in his power to destroy it. Generations upon generations have been blinded to the importance and power of a God-honoring father and a Christ-centered family. This erosion has brought our world to the point that the family, God's most important institution, is guided and controlled by peer groups, experts trained in the ways of the world, and governments who make life decisions for us instead of Him.

How is your family doing? As a husband and father, are you leading those God has given you to a place of spiritual power, the kind of power that is overcoming the world and its pressures? Do you have a strong relationship with your heavenly Father, and does your guidance come from Him? Have you determined in your heart that as a steward of your wife and children, you will do what is necessary by the power of the Holy Spirit to see that they have real answers for their lives and are equipped to represent Christ to a world that is out of answers? If not, what do you plan to say to the Lord when you stand before Him and have to give an account for those He has given you?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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7/30/26 Fill and Empty

“In My economy, you are most prosperous when you own nothing with your heart and crave nothing but Me to fulfill your every desire. It is then that you are an empty vessel fit for My use. I can pour Myself into you and know that you will fill others with proper nourishment. It is a simple system. I fill you, then you empty yourself to others and come back to Me to fill you again. That is My kind of fun!”

2 Cor. 4:7 AMP

However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves.

 2 Chr. 16:9 NIV

“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him...”

1 Cor. 4:2 AMP

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

2 Cor. 5:20a NIV

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

2 Cor. 12:15 AMP

But I will most gladly spend [myself] and be utterly spent for your souls...

 

Have you ever thought of pouring yourself out for others as fun? How about owning nothing but the love of Jesus as your wealth? We just don’t get it, do we?

We observe three separate heart positions functioning in the church body today, all called “Christianity.” There is the infant heart, the growing heart, and the mature heart - one that symbolizes the bridal heart, or more simply, the kind of heart that Jesus has. You will need to know and understand these three distinctive heart positions, so that you can function properly with the Lord’s help as you encounter them – either in yourself or others.

The Infant Heart

The infant heart beats only for itself. All of the things that God does center around their needs in some way. The salvation process was for them alone. It was put in effect by God specifically for them, to make them safe after they die.

The Bible is simply a book of promises that they can call upon to relieve their hurts in time of need. God is perceived as this wonderful benefactor, who is waiting for their next need to occur, so that He can help them through it; and prayer is solely a channel by which they can make their needs known.

In essence, everything that God has done, is doing, and will do hinges upon the perception that mankind is at the center of it all; and they have somehow tapped into this incredible opportunity. So, God is all about them and for them alone. There is no need to go any further; it is enough, and it is very good.

You are so patient with us, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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7/30/26 Are You a Spiritual Wimp?

As a husband and father, are you teaching your family to be spiritual wimps? If you are, you probably believe that if everything is going your way you are in the will of God. Conversely, if you are under pressure of any kind - especially if the pressure is tremendous or if you don't seem to have what you need to remain in your comfort zone - you feel that you have somehow missed God, or He has missed you.

In general, United States Christians work from their comfort zones. With a few exceptions, they give away only what they no longer need. They pour into God's work only after they have done what is necessary to fill their personal containers.

To take a day off from work simply to be with God is almost unheard of. To actually trust God for everything is looked upon as foolish and even lazy. Prayer is considered less productive than whatever can be accomplished on their own. Only when they run out of their own abilities do they pray, and then only to remove them from their hurt. Whether these examples are extreme or not, any one of them is not a blueprint for others to follow.

If you are a spiritual wimp, you are going to be surprised as the world heads for the conclusions that the Lord has planned from the beginning. You will experience many before unheard of challenges. You will be further surprised when God does not respond to your needs in the way you expect. If you have created a god that serves you and your needs, you will find out that your false god does not exist.

Those who have trusted in their own abilities - what they have earned, what securities they have established for their safety - will not know what to do. When all the normal handles of security have disappeared and there are no familiar places to hang on to, only those who have made intimacy with God their priority will understand His purposes during difficult times - which do not necessarily include their safety or their seeming best interest.

Men, God is sovereign. God's plan is eternal and has eternal consequences. Although greatly loved, we are to be His servants and implementers of His plans, no matter what it costs us, just as Jesus did. All challenges that come our way are designed to make us function like Jesus did, overcoming the world in each of us. As husbands and fathers, we are to listen to our Father from our place of intimacy on His lap, and then do whatever we are called to do for the good of His plan, all to His glory.

Extreme challenges make us weak and out of answers. Trusting in God to overcome those challenges brings us in line with our Father's plan for mankind. Jesus trusted Him for every need as our example. For every challenge, every soul, every situation, He did the unquestioned will of His Father no matter what it cost Him. We are to do the same in front of our families.

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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7/29/26 Time to Remember

“Please don’t forget that everything that happens to you is part of the training to equip you for greater things. Remember how far you’ve come. Remember from where you came. Look how different you are now than when you first came to Jesus. There was a time when you couldn’t or wouldn’t embrace proper things. There was a time when you had no hope. Now you are part of My family. You belong. You are completely accepted. If you focus on the difficulties of your training, you will miss the wonders of what has and is being accomplished. Turn your eyes toward Jesus. Remember!”

Rom. 8:28 NIV

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2 Cor. 3:18 AMP

And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.

Heb. 12:2-3 NIV

2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3) Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 

So often we get so caught up in the circumstances that surround us that we forget the wonders of those things that have accompanied us along the way of our lives. Remember first love? Remember the first time you discovered that Jesus was real? Remember the astounding relief of forgiveness? Remember the wonder of belonging, really belonging to your new loving Father? Remember how mundane the world was and the useless days that were spent pursuing nothing important?

Teach me to never forget, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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