Author: Jim Corbett

“I have always given My best to you. Never have you received less than the finest that all of heaven could offer you. My love for you is more powerful than any wealth in heaven or on earth, so I hold nothing back. When it came time to redeem all of mankind from the nature that everyone legally inherited, the very best was sent to do what was necessary. His Name is Jesus.”

John 3:16 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 10:17a, 18a AMP

17a) For this [reason] the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life…

18a) No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily.

Have you ever seen the movie “Dances with Wolves?” There is one statement in it that has touched me deeply. When Lieutenant Dunbar was getting married, the tribe was generous in supplying him with “payment” for his bride. They would give gifts that he could, in turn, give to “purchase” her. His statement, “The more valued the gift, the more easily it was given,” reminds me of the heart of our Father God. God’s love for us was so strong that only the most valued gift would suffice when He sent a Savior. The perfect sacrifice would not have been complete with anything less. Perfection in its truest form would have been watered down if a lesser gift had been sent.

Jesus, in turn, did the same. He gave His life. There was, again, no greater gift that He, as God, could give for fallen, depraved man. Just consider the astounding imbalance. The life of God was traded for the uncaring, undeserving, rebellious heart of man.

The saga continues to unfold as we continually violate every principle established for us. God gave His best. We, when we are called upon, give what we no longer need or what we have left over. Rarely do you see the newest car given to someone in need rather than the “junker,” or the best furniture instead of whatever was replaced because it was no longer wanted. We even give second best to God, holding back parts of our lives when we have promised Him everything. Somehow, we then have the audacity to demand God’s best for us. Yikes!

Help me, Lord,

Jim Corbett

“I am about to do something in My remnant people that most of My church will miss. I am about to implement My covenant with them in a much more visible form to separate wheat from chaff. To the casual observer, My hand on some will look as though they have made big mistakes and wrong decisions, appearing to fail Me and those around them. In reality, I am bringing a refining fire to their lives to purify them and bring them to the end of themselves, so that I can fill them with My Spirit.

“Although things may seem harsh at first, it is My mercy fulfilling My part of the covenant that I have entered into with My chosen ones. So often the church judges those who are going through rough times harshly. Often, I lead My children in a direction in which they appear to have failed. It is in that precise spot that they are of most value to Me.”

2 Cor. 1:8-9  NIV

8) We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

9) Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

Through foolish, self-serving teachings that sound good to the ear, we have doctrines that have little to do with biblical truth. Let me say this out loud. In some places this statement would be considered heresy. When you move in a direction that you believe is God and things don’t work out, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you haven’t heard Him.

The Bible is full of examples where His greatest servants looked as if they had failed miserably; when, in fact, they were directly in the center of God’s will. Paul is one of the most visible examples. He spent most of his ministry in prison. To others, even to some of those whom he led to the Lord, he was a failure.

Here are some well-worn statements that are used to cripple anyone who has moved where the Lord has led him only to find hardship and peril. You need to be on the alert for them, so they don’t cripple you when you hear them. Plan on it. When you are down, one or more of these will be given to you by someone ignorant in the Word and the ways of God.

“If God guides, He will provide. You are a burden to the church. If it was of God, it would not have failed.” These are usually said by people who have the means to relieve you from your plight but may not know what to do with you.

You don’t have enough because you are: out of the will of God, haven’t given enough, don’t tithe, there is sin in your life, you don’t hold your mouth right when you speak,” (that was a joke) and so on and so on and so on. These statements are true in some cases, but not all cases. They are usually presented to you by people who haven’t spent enough time in the Word to have their own opinion. They are simply mouthing the words of some well-known evangelist or teacher.

Don’t be discouraged if you happen to receive this counsel. Some of the most used people of God appeared foolish. Look at Jesus Himself. To many He looked like He had failed. However, plans that no one could see at the time of the cross were being implemented by the Father.

Wanting to trust my Father, even when it looks like I’ve failed,

Jim Corbett

“Why are you still responding to situations as the world does, rather than how Jesus would respond? You still defend your reputation when He laid His down. You have difficulty forgiving small offenses. He forgave those who killed Him. You think mostly of yourself, while He is still your Advocate. I ask you once again to study His life. I need you to represent Him to your world. Time is so short and there are many who need to turn from their sin. Love them as He loved you. I do! Respond to that!”

Isaiah 28:9-10 TLB

9) “Who does Isaiah think he is”, the people say “to speak to us like this! Are we little children, barely old enough to talk?

10) He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time and in such simple words!”

John 4:34 NIV

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

1 John 2:6 AMP

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

Most of us ask God to serve us rather than us serving Him. We surrender to Him through Jesus for our good, so that we can go to heaven; and then act as if He is our personal genie, who fulfills our commands, whims, and requests.  We often forget that it is only through incredible mercy on God’s part that we even have the privilege of knowing the One True Living God at all.

Jesus is our example of living. As we study how He, as God, lived among those whom He had created, we - those of us who have His Spirit - are to live the same way. It is not an option; it is the way we reveal that we are really His.

Teach me Your ways, Lord,

Jim Corbett