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1/28/25 Respect

Saying that we have respect for someone is becoming a statement that is almost obsolete. The world has turned so dark, that the qualities determining if a person is to be respected are not qualities admired. The appearance of success or power has taken the place of a life that is worth respecting by those who are watching.

When was the last time anyone in your family said that they respect you as a father or husband? When was the last time that you have exhibited a life, or even an action, that was worthy of being respected in God's eyes, and then in those around you?

God has ordained the offices of husband and father as a covering for those he has been given. We are to provide a safe place for our families to function in as they grow in Christ. You, as the one functioning in that office, are to act as Christ would act if he were in your position. Obviously you will only be able to act worthy of the kind of respect He would have if you have been with Him enough to learn His ways.

The life we live in this world is important to God. How we function in front of others determines how they perceive a man of God should act, especially those in our families. Are you acting in a manner that garners respect from your wife or your children? Do others show respect for Jesus because you act in a way that represents Him properly? What are you going to do about it if you are not?

Let’s talk more!

Jim Corbett

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1/27/25 When to Stand and Wait

“I want you to function beyond your personal abilities. When you have done all that you know to do, just stand and wait for Me to show Myself strong. I will be found when you are in need. I will be strong when you are at your weakest or when you have no answers. I am the answer to your every need.

“Never be afraid to walk in areas to which I call you. I will always be in those places with you. It is the way I intended your life to be. It is the way of the cross. It is the way of real life.”

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?

Isaiah 30:21 NIV

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying “This is the way; walk in it.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

11) “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12) Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

 

Seeking God with all of our heart usually happens when we are out of answers. Only when we have exhausted our own resources do we finally give in to the reality that we need God. We have it backwards.

Needing God should be our priority in life. It should be the most important function of our everyday living. Learning to need God should be the goal of every thought or action.

When we function in need of God, we have the presence of God with us. What more could we ask for? Where could there be a better place to function? Where could there be a better place to rest from our own frailties and be free to see the power of God? Where else could we be aligned with the heart of Jesus, Who did nothing of Himself but said and did only what His Father wanted?

Teach me to need You every moment, Lord,

 Jim Corbett

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1/27/25 Why Are You Married?

Most of us would answer that question in some way that has hopefully grown past the "I really love her, man" kind of statement. Let's forgo the stupidity of the "I really can't keep my hands off of her" answer and get on with why our Father in heaven has given us permission to be married.

In a nutshell, God has had us men covenant with Him to marry the one He has chosen for us, for His honor and for her best interests. I know that kind of thought has rarely passed through our world-trained, pea-brain ability to understand His ways about marriage; but it is, none-the-less, true. We are to join together with one of His precious children so that she has fertile soil to become all that she can be in Him. That honors Him!

In Ephesians 5, we husbands are called to lay our lives down for our wives in the way that Jesus laid His life down for the church. He died so that we could live. That is how the Lord can use marriage as an example of the relationship of Christ and His church.

When two people are joined together, they are given the privilege of knowing the most intimate details of the other person. They get to see whatever is undone in the other. Most of the time, especially after many years together, those cute little habits or actions become a source of irritation, sometimes even separation, instead of looking at them with Christ's heart. Jesus would hold them before His Father so that we and our wives could be healed. So should we.

God sees our job in marriage as laying down our needs, our desires, and our comforts, and living for the best interests of our wife and our children. The best interests of our circle of influence violates every area of our fleshly comfort zone. It demands that we live in the spiritual zone where Jesus lived for us. That is why He has given us someone to go through our lives with. They are to be given an atmosphere to learn how to love Him with all of their hearts. We are to provide that atmosphere by the power of the Holy Spirit. How's that working for you?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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1/25/25 Time to Readjust

“Why do you hang on to things that are not yours? Each day I observe your comings and goings. I see what you are striving for and what you are setting aside. You are still making a futile attempt to hold those things close that I want to pry from your hands. They are like idols to you; you must throw them aside as the rubbish that they are.

“Look how you hold on to your reputation. I want you to seek true humility; you long to be recognized. Your days are spent in the quest for riches–only to hoard them or use them to pad your comfort areas. Can you not see that those things that hold you captive only hinder you from being free to have My interests as your priorities? Come to Me with a desire to seek out My kind of true wealth. Come to Me to learn of a freedom that you have never enjoyed. Come and learn of My heart. You will never regret holding close those riches that I impart to you. You will never achieve the kind of joy that is your heritage unless My desires become your desires.

“I love you. I want to use you to accomplish My plan in your midst. Come now; let’s readjust your priorities together.”

So many Bible verses come to mind as I ponder the paragraphs above. Listen to these for starters.

Acts 8:1 and 4 NIV

1) On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

4) Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Let’s see. I get kicked out of my home. I have no place to live. I’ve lost everything. What a great time to proclaim victory in Christ. I believe that my priority should be preaching the Gospel to those who hate me.  (That would be my attitude - yeah, right!!!)

II Cor. 9:6-8 NIV

6) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

7) Each man should also give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

8) And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

OK, OK, I’ll give 10% of what I earn. Is that 10% of the net or the gross? I need to figure that out.

Colossians 3:1-4 AMP

1) If then you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2) And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

3) For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.

4) When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.

Only ten more years until I retire. Then watch me do this Christian thing. I think I’ll get a horse and put “Jesus loves you” on the saddlebags and go across country. What a witness that will be!

 

I am really beginning to smell my own rotting flesh when I compare my motives to those who have gone before me. How about you? I really appreciate the patience of the Lord. Whew!!

I need Your heart, Lord,

Jim Corbett

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1/25/25 Comfort Zone Gifts

After broadcasting a person's need for a couch over the air at our radio station, we found ourselves staring at something that once resembled furniture in the living room of someone who answered the request. When we refused the explosion of stuffing that was home for her cat, the woman said, "Well, what am I supposed to do with it now?"

Her "gift" to someone in need may be the extreme example of wrong motives, but her attitude resembles the attitude of the church throughout history. Although heartfelt generosity propels the gospel of Jesus, there is an underlying plague of corrupt thinking originally confronted by Jesus. As gifts were being given, He asked a question that rings through the centuries right up to each of us. "Who gives more, those guys over there who give out of their abundance, or the widow who gives a small amount, but it is all that she has?"

As a covering for our families, we as men are to teach those in our midst about the heart of Jesus by our actions. When referring to gifts and giving, we are stewards, not owners of everything we have. We are to teach others about the cross of Jesus by sacrifice, not by giving away our surplus. If a person has untold wealth and gives a seemingly large amount away, God looks upon the gift as far less than one who gives very little, but it is all they have.

Be assured that people who don't know Christ - and for that matter our children, - are watching us as fathers, and how we function. Without knowing it, how we act in every area of our lives is speaking much louder than our words. The freedom in which we give to others, especially sacrificial giving, broadcasts volumes to those who may not understand the cross and its work. People see Jesus in every cup of cold water given by us, especially if the water given means that we go thirsty. Are you ready to be uncomfortable?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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