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1/11/25 Judgment or Mercy?

“Do you know that a great number of the problems in this world manifest themselves because of the burdensome weight of sin? Sin upon unconfessed sin is a ruthless task master. All other issues and actions are tainted, all perspectives are darkened when sin rules a heart. No relief from that heavy weight of sin causes relationships to crumble, nations to war, and eventual death to any form of mercy and grace, either received or given.

“Jesus died to relieve the world of the need to carry the weight of sin. Anyone who acknowledges Him and the work of the cross has a new life, a clean slate, and the prospect of a sinless future. With the freedom imparted when you are forgiven, there is also a wonderful power placed in you. It is the power to forgive those who sin against you. Those who have gone before you forgave those who laughed, as their children were eaten by mastiffs and lions. They forgave when their loved ones were crucified or impaled. They forgave those who took their lives - dying with unblemished hearts. They truly overcame the world and its love of sin. I require the same kind of forgiveness from you before you can become totally free.

“I see the foolishness of holding unforgiveness in your heart for the smallest violation of your precious ego. I see you burden others for the sin that you daily embrace. I see your life destroyed in exchange for your need to harbor and protect your right to hold someone’s sin against him or her. You are not free because you will not free others from their offenses. You are foolish; you are deceived; you are in bondage to the world. If I held you accountable for all of your sin, you would not be able to bear up under its weight.

“I forgave you; now you forgive everyone. Start with those who sin against you now. Prepare to forgive those who might someday kill you.”

Matt. 6:12, 14-15 AMP

12) And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts, and have given up resentment against) our debtors.

14) For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

15) But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

I Cor. 13:5b AMP

Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

Col. 3:13 AMP

Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

I Pet. 4:8 AMP

Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].

 

Merry and I once lived near a man who was totally crippled because of unforgiveness. To be with him was like standing next to a dark hole that sucked every joy from your entire being. There was no light in him.

If you should happen to be accepted by him for a season, it was just a matter of time before he separated himself from you because of some perceived injustice you had done to him. Once that happened, he then was a ruthless enemy to you and everyone you held dear. He held your offense against you forever with no hope of reprieve.

The fascinating thing is that at one time he was a smiling, happy person - very amiable and joyful to be around. He was well-liked and a friend to many. Upon investigation through talking to those who knew him, there seemed to be a specific time when he changed. It occurred whenever he was offended by someone, usually a family member. It made no difference whether or not the offense was real or simply something he perceived to be an offense.

Of course, there was no communication on his part to express how he felt, so most of the time the people around him wouldn’t know of their offense until he stopped talking to them. To him, the offense was so great that he closed his heart to any kind of compassion toward others.

Every relationship then became an opportunity for him to repay the injustice done against him by holding that injustice over the other party. Now unforgiveness ruled his entire being. He was totally crippled in mind and daily becoming crippled in body. The weight of his sin - the habit of unforgiveness, now a way of life for him - was in fact causing him to deteriorate.

Unforgiveness in the hearts of His children is not tolerated by the Lord. He is a formidable foe to anyone who harbors it and does not want any of His children to hold onto it, because it causes separation from Him as well as others. If your life is out of order, examine the black pit of holding anyone’s offense against you in your heart. Forgive, forgive, forgive. You will be set free, free, free!

Remember: If you will not forgive, you are standing in judgment. If you choose to forgive, you are extending mercy. The choice is yours. It is of eternal significance.

Needing desperately what I am required to give out!

Jim Corbett

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1/11/25 You Are Valuable

Do you have any idea how valuable you are to your Father God? I don't think many of us men can really grasp the concept of a Father that loves us not for what we do, but just because we are valuable to Him. In fact, most of us look at the stewardship that we have been given only as an obligation that we will be held accountable for, without realizing that it is because He really cares for us, He chooses to trust us.

Some of us had an earthly father who demanded from us without the corresponding love and encouragement. We were told to live up to expectations to maintain some kind of worth in his eyes. Possibly because he never had any encouragement from his father, he wasn't able to pass on what he had no knowledge of. Whatever the case, we spent our days attempting to prove our worth to him, and to anyone else for that matter.

God is not like that. He lovingly places value on us, value that is not changed by our actions good or bad, right or wrong. His kind of value is a wealth beyond our comprehension. It is placed on us simply because we exist and belong to Him.

If we ever really comprehend that concept, we can take on the powerful stewardship given us as husband and father with an incredible joy, knowing that our heavenly Father is not only for us, but covers our back when we blow it. In essence, His mercy and grace flow stronger to us and our needs when we turn to Him because we are out of answers. He guards us, protects us, loves us unconditionally, and guides us to truth, just because we are His. Maybe it's time to bask in the value He places on us as we go about our days heading up our family, so we can pass unquestioned value on to them.

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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1/10/25 Prepare Your Heart

“Prepare, prepare, prepare. Prepare for a time when things as you know them will no longer exist. Prepare for seasons when you will need to call upon Me and then make sure that it is Me that you hear, rather than the enemy of fear and confusion. Prepare for situations where people, ignorant of My ways, desperately need answers and are asking you for them. It is time to stop playing games. It is time for those who know Me, to now also know how to use what I have provided for them.

“From this date forward, be ready for anything that may come your way. Herald the call, talk to your friends, forgive your enemies. Make things right between you and anybody. Clean house and make sure all is in order. Children, prepare your hearts. Receive My love for you. Walk with purpose, for the time is near when I will need you to be a representation of My Son. Everything else will soon pass away.”

Psalm 24:7-10 NIV

7) Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.

8) Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9) Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

10) Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty - he is the King of glory.

1 Timothy 1:16-17 NIV

16) But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Jesus Christ might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

17) Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever, Amen.

 

Boy! I wish that I could always send sweet, lovely, fun kinds of messages. It seems that that is not always going to happen. For those of you who have been receiving these messages for a season, you know that we have seen the many sides of our Father during that time. The messages have had a range that has allowed all of us to “drink some milk” between the “meat” messages. That has been very freeing, and frankly quite wonderful - for me, at least.

At certain times, however, I have had to just sit quietly after writing and sending them to you. I have had to realize deep within my heart that, fact is, our Father is God with a “big G.” This is not a game. He is an absolute, unchangeable Creator and Lord, worthy of all our service. Also, He is our best friend, caring for us more than we could ever imagine. His love for us is beyond our deepest comprehension.

There was something worthy of note with this particular message. As I was praying, it seemed to me that, in the spiritual realm, a page was turning; and a new season was at hand. If before this day, Jesus, as our guide, had been taking us down a hallway toward a room, explaining all the way what we should do once we get there; now, we have just arrived at the room. What He had been explaining before was about to be needed, soon after we step through the doorway.

I’m not saying that peril is necessarily within hours or days, or even years, for with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day; but if you are archiving these messages, I believe that this one is worthy of note. Bookmark it in some way and by all means take to heart what has been said.

Sensing a new urgency,

Jim Corbett

 

 

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1/10/25 It’s Not About You

How would you fare if you found out that nothing in this life is about you - nothing? What if you fully understood that there may be no Hollywood ending for you; that you were asked to burn yourself out for Jesus and no one will ever know about it? What if you were called to pour yourself and all that you had into others out of obedience? What if, in God's eyes, there is really no other way to live?

As a father, husband, and man of God, your job is to seek out the life of Jesus and then live it out in front of those around you. That means that you do nothing of yourself or for yourself. It's called the crucified life - a life of laying down your own for the best interests of others and for the glory of God.

Jesus overcame the world from the cross. Although that kind of life is foreign to us, He asks us to do the same. He asks us to provide a smooth path for our wives to become all that they can be in Christ. He asks us to guide our children to the life that has been bought for them from the cross. He asks us to be an example of Him to our friends and acquaintances. We are stewards of their precious lives. When we stand before Jesus He won't be impressed about how much money we made, or how big a house we had; we will answer for the lives that God has placed in our path to direct and love.

How much time have you spent to find out what this life is really all about? The more you devote yourself to the Word of God and spend time in His presence, you will see that your life is to be spent for others, not yourself. That's what the life of Jesus looked like. That's what ours should look like. What does yours look like?

Let's talk more!

Jim Corbett

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1/09/25 A Teachable Heart

“Because of the changes taking place all around you, most of you will soon be out of your comfort zone. You will need to rely upon what you have learned about Me up until that time. You will need to call upon your knowledge of who I am and what I consider to be valuable. That is why you have been in such rigorous training. I have placed you in continuously intensifying situations to train you and make you strong in preparation for the coming time.

“Most of you have responded favorably. You have learned to turn to Me and Me alone in your need. You have understood My desire that none should perish, and work toward that end as your priority each day. Your own needs and desires have decreasing value as you take on the values of Jesus. You are continually submitting to the finished work of the cross as your only source for life. I am very proud of you. I can trust you with much. I will be able to send you into circumstances with special needs, knowing that you will represent Me properly.

“Some of you have found it difficult to submit fully to the training in which I have placed you. You are still struggling with the idea that you need to be shaken from the former, foolish, self-serving beliefs that you have held all these years. You are beginning to see, however, that your positive confessions, prosperity demands, and fist clenching aggressions will not hold up under the extreme situations you may soon face. I am grateful for your teachable heart, your desire for truth, and your willingness to leave behind immature beliefs. As you submit to the truth of My Word, I will build the necessary faith in you to trust Me with everything. You will see prosperity as I see it. You will understand the overwhelming power behind a crucified life. Study the life that Jesus lived. Keep your heart open to My Word. You can still be useful to My work if you submit to My truth.

“Others of you will need to turn your hearts toward Me and My desires before I can trust you to do My will when faced with open aggressions, critical dilemmas, and life-threatening challenges that will come your way. You will need to either submit to My hand of training upon you, or you will be passed by when I need to call upon someone I can trust. I am willing to work with you as long as you have a teachable heart. Do not harden your heart to My training. Come to Me now while there is still time for you to learn of My ways. I am waiting.” the

Ps. 86:11 AMP

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk and live in Your truth; direct and unite my heart [solely, reverently] to fear and honor Your name.

John 4:34 NIV

“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

II Cor. 5:18, 20a AMP

18) But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].

20a) So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us.

 

The true heroes of the Bible had a common characteristic that is little recognized as a warrior’s heart and an unbeatable weapon in the face of danger. Their lives were not their own. Sometime before they were called upon to display this Christ-following character - whether they lived during Old or New Testament times - they had an understanding of the heart of God’s ways and gave their lives fully to His use and service, no matter what the cost.

The true church of Jesus Christ fully recognizes the work that is being done in open, teachable hearts. It is a work of unquestionable submission to the cross and the kind of life it represents. It is the crucified heart that beats in unison with its Lord as a prepared bride, waiting for the wondrous moment of meeting her Groom.

As always, the enemy counterfeits a move of God to sidetrack its importance - in this case, the heart of full submission and sacrificial giving. He calls upon those who follow his plan to seek physical martyrdom for some sort of eternal gain, denying the eternal gain achieved at the cross. The suicide tactics displayed in today’s world show that distorted and misdirected zeal. The enemy’s followers lay their lives down sacrificially in order to do harm to others and for their own gain. Jesus laid His life down for the benefit of others.

God is calling His people to return to the heart that led Jesus to the cross. Obviously He in no way condones purposeful, planned, physical death; but He does require the setting aside of our own desires, replacing them with His desires - a death to our fleshly, carnal nature, which is accomplished in the spiritual realm. The degree to which we submit to God’s will - at the expense of our own – is the degree to which God will be able to trust and use us.

Wanting to submit fully to the ways of Jesus,

Jim Corbett

 

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